Knights of Pluto

The Knights of Pluto is a humorously inept group of nine knights led by Adelbert Steiner in Final Fantasy IX stationed at Alexandria Castle. Effectively a police force of Alexandria, they are charged with the protection of Queen Brahne and Princess Garnet, but they get discharged when Steiner leaves with Zidane's group, being replaced by General Beatrix and her soldiers under martial law.
== Notable members ==
* Captain Adelbert Steiner
* Blutzen, Pluto Knight II – The first super sleuth, was ambushed by Blank and Zidane, and his armor was stolen (worn by Zidane).
* Kohel, Pluto Knight III – The second super sleuth, was ambushed by Blank and Zidane, and his armor was stolen (worn by Blank).
* Laudo, Pluto Knight IV – The Writer, found in the library. If Steiner talks to him and leaves, and returns to the area, Laudo is hiding between the bookshelves, out of sight. 
* Dojebon, Pluto Knight V – The Artilleryman, a bit of a klutz, he runs straight into Steiner at the hall. 
* Breireicht, Pluto Knight VI – The knight who is exercising in the left tower. He knows all the knights and what they do best.
* Weimar, Pluto Knight VII – The knight who knows the names of all the girls in town. Steiner finds him found outside the east tower. He also appears as a boss with Haagen and Steiner.
* Haagen, Pluto Knight VIII – The Navigator, found dipping his feet in the canal in the courtyard. He also appears as a boss with Weimar and Steiner.
* Mullenkedheim, Pluto Knight IX – The Cannonball expert, found hungry in the banquet hall.
* Unnamed Pluto Knight (Blank) - Found near the right-hand gate. 
== Quests ==
=== Rallying the knights ===
During the performance of I Want to Be Your Canary the player has the option to find the Knights of Pluto in the locations listed above. Locating them all and reporting to Breireicht in the left tower will earn an Elixir.
=== Battle of Alexandria ===
When Bahamut attacks Alexandria on Disc 3, Garnet gives orders to the Knights of Pluto. Their past ineptitude has vanished, replaced by the passion they have to defend their home. The knights' personalities will be a key factor in the completion of the tasks they are assigned.
* Weimar and Haagen are more suited for the protect the townspeople task.
* Breireicht and Laudo should be the ones for the contact Lindblum task.
* Blutzen and Kohel are the simple choices for the gather information task.
* Dojebon and Mullenkedheim have the skills needed for the fire the cannons task.
An easy way to accomplish this is to first choose Gather Information and choose Blutzen and Kohel then mash confirm.
If the player assigns the jobs correctly, they will receive Angel Earrings. Otherwise, the reward is an Ether, Hi-Potion, or Elixir.
==Boss==
Haagen and Weimar are fought alongside Steiner on the M.S. Prima Vista.
==Other appearances==
===Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy===
One of Zidane's alternate outfits is the Knight of Pluto armor he uses as a disguise in Final Fantasy IX. He wears a single piece chestplate with pale gray and green shorts and brown boots. He bears a sword sheath strapped over his torso, and a small round shield on his left arm. His EX Mode form in this outfit is purple.
====Dissidia Final Fantasy NT====
Zidane's Knight of Pluto armor appears as his alternate outfit for his 2nd form.
====Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia====
right|thumb
Zidane's Knight of Pluto armor appears as his alternate costume.
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
===Other media===
"Knights of Pluto" is a quiz answer on an Academia quiz terminal in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
==Behind the scenes==
The market square in Alexandria has a monument called "The Three Heroic Knights of Pluto". Inspecting it says the following: This statue was built to commemorate the three knights who fought bravely in the 15th Lindblum War, in 1601. The trio of statues may be a reference to the Magus Sisters from Final Fantasy IV, as per their appearance.
Blutzen is seen undressed with darker skin and a blond mohawk; however, when he in his knight uniform, his skin is paler, and his hair, although mostly unseen, is a brown bowl cut.
Toys of depicting the Knights of Pluto are seen in Lindblum when Vivi stumbles upon kids playing with them. Though some other mini-figurines can be found as collectibles, the knights are only seen in this one Active Time Event.
In an early draft for the Final Fantasy IX opening unearthed from an old development memo Hironobu Sakaguchi has since shared online, it appears the group of soldiers Steiner was envisioned to lead was an unnamed guard of paladins who would have aided Steiner in storming the Theater Ship to save Garnet. When the Theater Ship would have taken flight, all of the paladins bar Steiner would have been blown off the deck.
== Gallery ==
Alexandria Pluto Knight FFIX Art.jpg|Concept art of a Knight of Pluto.
Steiner-ffix-field.png|Field model of Steiner.
KnightOfPluto-ffix-npc1.png|Knight model used by Blutzen, Laudo, Dojebon, Breireicht, Weimar, and Haagen.
KnightOfPluto-ffix-npc2.png|Knight model used by Kohel and Mullenkedheim.
KnightOfPluto-ffix-battle.png|Knight of Pluto in battle.
Blutzen-ffix-undressed.png|Model of Blutzen undressed.
Kohel-ffix-undressed.png|Model of Kohel undressed.
Blank-ffix-knight.png|Blank in Kohel's uniform.
Zidane - Knights of Pluto Costume.PNG|Zidane in Blutzen's uniform.
Beatrix-Mikoto-Red-Rose-FFIX.png|Knights of Pluto on the Red Rose.
Dissidia012-ZidaneConcept.jpg|Artwork for Dissidia Final Fantasy.
== Etymology ==
There are nine members of the Knights of Pluto. Pluto (at the time of the game's release) was considered the ninth planet from the Sun until demoted to a dwarf planet. Final Fantasy IX contains many allusions to the number nine as per its placement in the main series.
The Knights of Pluto could also be a play on The Raven, a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The titular raven arrives on the narrator's doorstep from "Night's Plutonian shore".
Though the English localization fails to accurately reflect this, the original Japanese names are based on German towns:
* Blutzen should probably be Brutzen (from Brutzen, Pomerania, now known as Brusno, Poland)
* Kohel should be Kochel (from Kochel am See, Bavaria)
* Laudo should be Lauda (from Lauda-Königshofen, Baden-Württemberg)
* Dojebon may perhaps be Tottleben (from Tottleben, Thuringia)
* Breireicht should be Bayreuth (from Bayreuth, Bavaria)
* Weimar is correct (from Weimar, Thuringia)
* Haagen should be Hagen (from Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia)
* Mullenkedheim should be Mergentheim (from Bad Mergentheim, Baden-Württemberg)
The German version of the game is slightly more accurate at retaining the knights' original names:
* Blutzen becomes Marktwart
* Kohel becomes Kochel
* Laudo becomes Lauda
*Dojebon becomes Shanel
* Breirecht becomes Bayreuth
* Weimar stays the same
* Haagen becomes Hagen
* Mullenkedheim becomes Märchenheim
==Citations==
de:Pluto-Truppe
es:Batallón Pluto
pt-br:Knights of Pluto
Category:Organizations in Final Fantasy IX