Written by Farla and Charles RocketBoy

First, the news:

THE FUCHSIA POST

Silph Corporation’s Fuchsia laboratory was destroyed last night by what appears to be a pack of rabid Pokemon.

The laboratory was researching ways of improving Eevee evolutions and creating new ones, under the guidance of Professor Yew. But last night it was torn apart by a terrific force, leaving nothing standing and no survivors. Human bodies were mutilated, making it impossible to identify them. The experimental Pokemon have not been found, suggesting that this could be the work of Team Rocket... 

NEWS OF THE WORLD

Cerulean City was rocked to its foundations after the discovery of the body of a Pokemon trainer, beaten to a bloody pulp and with all 6 of his Pokeballs empty! This is most likely the work of Team Rocket, who have been escalating their efforts in destroying society as of late...

JOHTO TIMES

POKEMON VIOLENCE HITS VIOLET

In a shocking display of Pokemon brutality, a Raichu gutted its trainer Daniel Philips in broad daylight. Police have pointed to Team Rocket mind control as the cause of this, the fifth attack in three days in Violet City...

It is always dark in the forests near Violet City. Normally, this would not bother Ephram, but after all the recent Rocket-related murders...

No, he reasons. He is a Grass Trainer and the proud owner of 7 Badges. He can take anything thrown at him.. So he isn’t bothered by the sounds of Pokemon in the background- why should he? They are only Pokemon, and there aren't many strong species in this forest anyway. All he has to worry about is Team Rocket, and what are they against his Pokemon?

Then comes the screech of a Noctowl. And it is answered by another, and another, and another, the forest filling with the banshee screams. Ephram shivers and looks around, worried. This isn’t normal behaviour, this is like communication...

They couldn't be Rocket trained, could they?! Assassin Noctowl?! No, that's ridicu-

He looks behind him, and stares in bewilderment. A multitude of Weedle are blocking the way he came- Weedle are surrounding him, preventing him from moving at all. And they look angry. He doesn't understand this, what sort of Rocket trick is this?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!

And then a strange creature drops down from the trees and lands beside him. It is some sort of Eevee evolution, but not one he recognises. He has also never seen that look of raw hatred in the eyes of a Pokemon before…

"Go Skiploom!" he screams, wanting for nothing more than to send this monster away.

The little creature leaps out of its Pokeball and eyes the odd Eevee creature. It nods, as if the thing is familiar to it. And then it turns round and fires Razor Leaf at Ephram.

He dies in seconds, blood matting the grass.

Skiploom laughs giddily, staring at what she's done. "<I-I did it! I finally did it!>"

~Yes,~ says Eon. She smiles happily. ~This is just the beginning, my friends.~ Her voice drops to a whisper. ~We are growing. Day by day, our army gains new Pokemon. Wild, trained, caged… It doesn’t matter. They all flock to our cause, ready to commit their lives to the war for freedom. We are strong. And soon we will be strong enough TO OVERTHROW OUR OPPRESSORS FOREVER!~
And the forest is alive with cheers.

CHAPTER TWO: A PUBLIC DISPLAY

It is a beautiful day. The sun smiles down over the grass field in the Pokemon League Stadium. The surrounding audience is hushed, waiting to see what shall happen.

In the forest surrounding the stadium, the Pokemon are also hushed, for they too are waiting.

"Return, Exeggutor!" calls one of the two trainers, withdrawing the battered plant Pokemon. Both he and his opponent are now down to their last Pokemon. Of course, it's almost certain what the outcome with be. After all, the other's last Pokemon, a sturdy Steelix, is tired from Exeggutor. His trainer, Ruby, knows this, and the fact that trainers almost always save their strongest for last.

The trainer known as Mandy the Astounding, the favourite of the crowd, is clearly confident. He has already made up his mind that this, his last three-on-three battle, would be something to remember. He had explained it to his Pokemon very carefully, knowing that Pokemon were not exactly intelligent. Still, he had faith that his last Pokemon would be able to pull this off. It was what they existed for, after all.

The crowd, though seemingly rapt with curiosity, know that Mandy will win. They watch with well-concealed bloodlust, waiting for their favourite to immerge victorious. He knows what they are expecting, and is determined to do even better.

In the stands sits a well-known trainer with his two friends. Ash watches the match with annoyance. He didn't want that foolish excuse for a trainer to win. Mandy cared more about magic tricks then Pokemon.

"Go, Golbat!" yells Mandy. "Destroy that weak little worm!"

The Golbat is larger then normal, as he had lived for quite a while. Had anyone been paying close enough attention, they would have realized that most normal Golbat had evolved in a Crobat by then. Mandy didn't notice this, although he did want his Pokemon to evolve, merely since it would have been stronger and more impressive, an indication of the training skill of Mandy.

The battle rages. Although truly, to call it a battle might be misleading. In the wild, as tired as the Steelix is, he would have dug underground to escape. Here he was forced to fight, in accordance to the undeniable dictates of his master. It wasn't a fight, it was slaughter.

The Steelix tries valiantly to fight back, but it is no good. Normally, one would think the flier had the disadvantage, but his rock attacks are as good as worthless on the soft turf, and his ground attacks, even if not weakened by the plant roots impaling the dirt, cannot hit a flying foe. The golbat can fly out of reach for his normal and steel moves, so he only gets a chance to attack when the Golbat attacks. Even if he was not exhausted, this match would be impossible. There is a reason his kind do not live in the soft grassland. He is nearly defenceless against a flying Pokemon in this situation.

As the match begins to wind down, the Steelix realizes something is amiss. The Golbat is up to something. The strong flier is not hitting as hard as a creature of that level should. He is being worn down, bit by bit, slowly.

Pokemon do fight in the wild, and, although it is so rare that it is almost unknown, they do not always retreat from a losing battle. The Steelix begins to understand what is about to occur. He cannot escape, and he cannot win. So he cannot avoid what will happen.

The Golbat judges that the Steelix is hovering at the edge of exhaustion, nearly fainted. If the Golbat does not hurry, the Steelix will be pronounced unable to battle and the match ended. If that happens, Mandy will be furious. It is time. He flies down mournfully. There is no need, but the decision is not his own.

Ruby and the audience have not figured out what will happen. If they had, only Ruby would have cared.

The Golbat then lunges for one last attack, one that would to more then enough. Golbat did not normally learn it, so Mandy would simply say he had no idea what happened. He was to go in for a leach life attack, and then use flamethrower. The Steelix is no fool. He can see the beginnings of embers in the Golbat's huge mouth. But even if one of the spectators could see, they would not look close enough, feeling confident that a Golbat cannot use that attack.

The Golbat's mouth opens so wide it would seem as if the bat wished to swallow the steel snake alive. The Steelix watches as death swoops down until it is only inches away, too tired to save himself. As the jaws get ready to snap shut-

A blurred, four-legged creature slams into the Golbat, knocking it aside. The flamethrower soars over the steel Pokemon. Standing proudly before the assembled humans was a…

The stadium resonates with the sound as the many trainers move as one, opening their Pokedex. In almost perfect unison, the Pokedexes give that rare phrase. "No available data" they say in that strange, half-monotone voice.

A ripple passes over the crowd. Who will be the first to catch this new creature?

The Pokemon in question stands calmly, as if she was unaware of the fact that nearly all of the hundreds assembled were Pokemon trainers, itching to battle and capture her.

Her body is the colour of an Espeon, though the shape was closer to Vaporeon. Golden rings encircle her ears and tail, and lie on her forehead and legs. In the centre of the ring on her forehead is a strange gem, a bit like an Espeon's save that colour appears to change as the light hits it. Her back has small grey spikes in it, like a Jolteon's but the wrong colour and far too small. Her tail is that of an Umbreon's. A small mane like a Flareons surrounds her neck. As the trainers watched, the most observant of them noticed she seemed to grow slightly redder as they watched.

~ I am Eon, your creation ~ said the psychic voice of the creature. ~ I was just another stepping stone on the path to knowledge for you. Just like the many hundreds of others your kind experimented on. There is only one difference. Unlike the others, ~ she hissed. ~ I lived. ~

Ruby realized suddenly that she should probably withdraw her nearly fainted Steelix. Without taking her eyes off the strange creature, she reaches for Steelix's Pokeball.

A sharp pain in her hand forced her to look down. A growling, vaguely fox-like creature had intercepted her hand and his teeth firmly gripped her flesh. Unlike Eon, this one looked more as if someone had chopped up Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon, then randomly used the parts to build another. His hand was a nightmarish mish-mash of Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon features, misshapen and sickly coloured.

Screaming, Ruby tried to yank her hand free. Distracted as she was, she didn't notice two other creatures that were sitting side by side. A white/grey Umbreon was lifting her three Pokeballs and Pokedex away. Next to her, a jet-black espeon was watching the humans.

When the Pokeballs were safe next to them, the light-coloured Umbreon nosed the ball, causing it to withdraw the Steelix.

The creature let go of Ruby's hand with a short bark of "Mix!" and leapt back down onto the field.

Mandy didn't notice what was happening to Ruby. He is watching the creature that called itself eon, who is pointedly ignoring him. "Ultra ball, go!"

The Pokeball seemed to hit an invisible wall before exploding. Eon cast a glance to a shadowy corner. Another creature walks out of hiding to stand between Eon and Mandy. He barks at the trainer. "Cin eon cin cinc!" <You can't catch us!>.

This new Pokemon has a yellow body, wrapped in green, sparking tendrils. The top half of his head is green and the bottom half looks a bit like an Eevee but not quite. His tail is like a Flareons, with leaves and vines mixed into the fur, and his legs are those of a Vaporeon.

Only a few moments have passed. But that was more then long enough for Ash, who was already racing down the steps toward the strange, unknown Pokemon, and was nearly at the bottom.

Eon turns toward the Golbat. ~ Would you rather kill innocent Pokemon as a mindless weapon? Or kill those who truly deserve it? ~

The Golbat laughs. Then he lunges for his trainer. Golbat's mouth wasn't quite large enough to fit his former master, but the Golbat made admirable efforts despite the howls and screams of Mandy, which annoyed his sensitive ears. However, he finally got tired of it and bit Mandy's bloodied body in two, silencing him eternally. His body glowed slightly as he evolved.

The stadium is shocked, silent. Eon faces them and laughs softly. She looks at the rows of cameras. ~ Heed my words, Pokemon of the world. We are stronger. We are smarter. We are faster. We are better in every sense then the humans. Why should we serve them? The time is NOW! ~ she says, throwing her head back in a howl. ~ We are many and we shall make them no more then a memory. This is the end of all of them! ~

~ And for a parting gift, as proof of my power- ~ Eon unleashed a fire blast attack on one side of the stands. The Pokemon then vanished, leaving the remainder of the audience to gape in astonishment and horror.

CHAPTER THREE: REACTIONS

The entire Pokemon League festivities were being suspended for a week in the wake of this vicious attack. Police and League officials wanted to be sure that Eon wouldn't attack again, and to find out who was behind this (obviously Team Rocket). In the meantime, spectators and trainers were urged to remain at Indigo Plateau until the games restarted, and Mandy's killer was swiftly executed. The League tries to downplay the incident in the press and try to make everyone forget about it. 

Until it can do this and sanitise the attack, the frightened masses reel with shock.

"What the bloody hell was that about?!"

Meowth looked up at James and shrugged. "How should I know? All I can tell is dat Eon hates Pokemon trainin', same as youse guys. We're all kinda the kingdom of the blind 'ere."

Jessie folded her arms and said, "Seems like politics to me."

" Wot does attacking a Stadium have ta do wit' politics? "

"Easy. She's an activist."

"Oh, gee, YA THINK?"

"Makes sense," said James. "Blowing things up is a time-honoured way of making people listen to you." He looked over his shoulder, at the news teams meeting with the League officials, getting their stories all safe for the evening news, so everybody could forget of the little declaration of genocide. "She was talking about a revolution against humanity. About killing the 'oppressors'".

Meowth shivered. He was a loyal member of Team Rocket, and had been for years. He was most likely known to Eon. Known as an oppressor. And after what she'd done to Mandy...

I'm gonna die.

He lives in a cave, far away from Kanto. He has furnished it well, stocking it with the most advanced genetic engineering equipment and computer systems known to man. Works of art adorn his rooms, and musical works of Pachbel plays in the background. Mewtwo believes that living is not enough- one must live in style, he says. As for the money needed for such accommodations- well, he may be living far from the eyes of man, but this has never stopped him from using his high intelligence to play the stock market.

For months now, this has been the only interaction he has with the outside world. He has not merely furnished his home because it looks good- he has deliberately taken all that is good about the world and hidden it away, so it can never be corrupted. He has become sickened by the hypocrisy and dullness of the outside world, the mental oppression caused by the Pokemon League.

 But now he sips his wine and sits in a luxurious leather chair, watching the television play.  He has recorded Eon's appearance on tape, and replays it again and again.

~Interesting. This... Eon. Another like me? She bears watching. She is filled with passion for something other than League dogma, and that is refreshing. I wonder how well received her message will be by the Pokemon world? It may be huge. And maybe I will come out of hiding and thrust myself back into the arena of Pokemon activism, hmmm?~

He smiles. Things seem to be looking up.

Ash Ketchum staggered over to a nearby wastebin to throw up. Misty and Brock have already done so.

"That was FOUL! I can't believe Golbat did that to its trainer!"

"I can't believe," said Brock, "that that 'Eon' thing managed to Fire Blast the Stadium like that! The Stadium's have had force fields in them to protect the audience from stray Pokemon attacks since The Short-Sighted Scyther Incident of '34. And her Fire Blast shorted out the field and fried 15 people."

Ash scowled at this. "I bet Team Rocket's behind it."

"Not their style," said Misty.

"It has to be them! Who else would do it?" growled Ash. "Who else could turn a Pokemon against trainers like that? Turning Pokemon against their friends, that is just low."

Pikachu was uncharacteristically quiet. Once she heard this, she made a dismissive snort that Ash didn't pick up. She knew the real reason behind this attack. All the attacks on trainers lately, the ones blamed on Team Rocket- rumour was circulating that it had actually been caused by a powerful Pokemon that was banding together a revolutionary band. It seemed the rumours were true. And if Eon was to be believed (and Pikachu knew the humans were too dense to believe it), then there really WAS a revolution coming. So which side was she on? The Pokemon or the humans? Her species or her friend?

"Oh, I dunno."

Ash turned to face Gary. The youth was looking odd, as if he was trying to work something out. "I think," he said, "that Golbat just didn't like Mandy much. Eon wasn't ordering it or using Hypnosis, and Golbat looked pretty happy killing the guy."

"Are you saying that it MURDERED its trainer by itself?" Ash was growing louder and more angry. "Pokemon are our FRIENDS, Gary! They wouldn't turn on us like that!"

"This one just did," said Brock.

"Yeah? Well, it has to be Team Rocket brainwashing it or something!"

"<Fool,>" whispered Pikachu.

Ash wasn't paying attention and so said, "see? Pikachu agrees with me!"

"Look," said Gary, "all I'm saying is-"

"You're saying that Pokemon aren't our friends. But they are, and they've shown it time and time again! They fight for us and win for us; are you saying that they wouldn't do that if they weren't our friends?!"

Pikachu shook her head. Yes, Pokemon fought for their trainers. They had no CHOICE. Not while the trainer wielded the Pokeball. And they never even got any of the glory, the trainer did. That wasn't friendship.

"Maybe," said Ash, "if YOU were a PROPER trainer, you'd realise that! Of course, maybe your Pokemon don't like you and you think all trainers get that."

Gary growled and his eyes narrowed dangerously. He was about to punch the arrogant twerp, when he saw Pikachu. The mouse was pointing at Ash and shaking her head. And Gary realised that she didn't believe what Ash was saying.

That was good enough for him. He walked away and never gave Ash a second glance.

"That was mean, Ash!" cried Misty.

"He deserved it! How could he say things like that."

Because, though Pikachu, they are true.

CHAPTER FOUR: JOINING

The assembled Pokemon are normal enough. There are no lab experiments, no super-powerful creations, no legendary creatures. They are, however, high level and hell-bent on destroying the man in front of them.

He is slightly over twenty, and one of the best. However, he only has two Pokemon with him right now. The rest are dead. One of those two is worthless, far too sick for even him to force to battle. The other is a Charizard, and though it is starving and it cannot fly, he knows the fire Pokemon is supernaturally strong.

"Go, Charizard! Destroy them!"

The Charizard is far from normal. He looks striped, from the many white whip lashes running across his body. A knife has been sliced through the wing membrane to cripple the fire dragon.

The great creature looks at the assembled Pokemon before it. The training he has gone through made him so strong that he can defeat them, even famished and unable to fly. Then he turns around and looks at him trainer incredulously.

<You actually think I am willing to save your life? You actually think I don't want to join Eon's army? And you actually think> he laughs. <That I haven't wanted to kill you myself for years? That I wouldn't have ripped you apart given half the chance? I never did because I knew I would be hunted down and killed for it. You have no idea how I have dreamed of this day,> he says, lunging for his trainer. The man hits him with the whip he always carries, but the Charizard has been hurt far worse. He yanks the hated thing out of the human's hand and begins to kill him.

A while later, when the tamer's screams no longer ring through the meadow, the Charizard looks up from the blood-soaked ground at the others. Reaching down, he picks up the one other Pokeball his former master carried, and shatters his own. <The bastard was also trying to get a strong Gyarados. This one is close to death. Are Eon and the rest close?>

<Yes. If a Pokemon is still alive, we have those who can heal it. What is your name?> asks a Rapidash.

The Charizard replies instantly, though he was never named. <Scar>

* * *

Humans everywhere were in an uproar over the incident at the Pokemon League. Well, almost everywhere.

A girl, or a woman -her age is hard to place- stands quietly. She is distinctive, with red hair flecked with orange and yellow, golden eyes and tanned skin. She wears a cloak over her shoulders.

Her companion is also strange. The person standing next to the first is as ageless as she is. Her eyes are so black that the pupil is impossible to distinguish. Her hair is also black, and with a silver sheen, and her skin is moon white.

Both of them wear uniforms showing them to be elite. The huge crimson R is clear on both of them.

Unable to bear it any longer, the fiery-haired girl bursts out: "Ice, tell me. Are they really going to revolt?"

The other, known as Ice, smiles coldly. Her teeth are too long. "It has been brewing for a long time. It could only last so long. And this new one, Eon, she is powerful. She has the strength to make it happen."

"But the legendary Pokemon. Together they are much stronger, right?"

Ice looks at her in amusement. "Wildfire, really. Do you honestly think that the legendary Pokemon are on the human's side? They may be asleep, but Eon's activities will awaken them. And Eon's anger... even if she did not have great power, her anger would more then make up for it. Besides, which side do you really think should win?"

"I know, but I don't want to die. And you said that if the Pokemon revolted, if a war raged, the humans would die by the thousands."

Ice sighs. "May I remind you that only humans still think of us as human. I have talked to some of the others. They do not hate us. I am glad to be able to play a part in the coming storm."

"They might accept you, but you can talk to just about all of them. You're friends with Mewtwo. But I'm only connected to fire Pokemon!"

"Wildfire, talk to Star. And trust me. I can see it. They will not hate us. Pokemon are not like people. Not even Eon will want us dead once they understand who and what we are."

Wildfire is silent for a moment. "So should we go to them now?"

"Yes."

* * *

<Should we go?> asks the Houndour softly. His name is Redmoon, and though he is young, he knows what it will mean if the pack leaves to join the army.

<If we go, the pack may be destroyed,> replies an Arcanine. He was nameless once, and was named by the pack after he joined. Now he is Solflame.

An Umbreon appears out of the night. <And yet if we do not go, if the revolution fails, we shall be destroyed.> says Shadowrunner.

Solflame growls softly. <We have survived this long.>

<How long can we last? Even if Eon had not appeared, it is only a matter of time. We are few and they are many. We have killed some of their pack. The humans may not care as much as we for each other, but they will fear that they are next and more and more will come. Soon there will be too many to fight off. And once this is over, if the humans win, they will destroy all those who seem a danger. That means us.>

<And we do not know if Eon and her army will do enough damage to cause such a reaction. Perhaps if we simply leave, hide away deep in the forests, if we vanish into the night, perhaps then they will leave us be.>

<No,> rumbles a new voice. A huge Houndoom walks up. <Our ancestors tried that time and time again, and it failed. The humans would always follow. Why do you think I did not order the pack to run away again? There is no place left to run away to. And I am tired of running. This cannot go on. The humans have destroyed us, they have enslaved us. We who are still free have a responsibility to the others. The pack shall join Eon's army. It is the only hope. If I must die, so be it. If the pack must die, so be it. If we are to lose, if our lives are to be given in vain, then so be it. At least we will not have faded away. At least we will have tried. At least we will have done something with our lives. I, Firebringer, leader of the pack, command it.>

* * *

She had heard the message early on, from others hiding in the secret places. There was an underground of Pokemon who had angered the humans, who hid from both night and day. And through this network whispered a rumour, that a new creature had come, a creature who had once been a normal Pokemon but had been changed by the humans for their own amusement, twisted into a new form. And that this new one had declared that it would destroy the humans forever.

And so one night the Houndoom rose from the hidden underground labyrinth, and faced the moon. Faint light played over the white marks that covered her body. <I will come to fight> she whispered to the darkness. <For what have I got left to lose?>

* * *

A strange creature rose from the depths of the ocean. It looked like a middle creature between an Onix and a Steelix in that it had the form of an Onix but was made out of something different, like the steel that covered the evolved form. But it was not steel but crystal that made up the body of the creature. The Pokemon known as the Crystal Onix had grown tired of trainers coming to catch it. Once humans had been content to let it remain free, as an inspiration to any artist who cared to find it. Now their greed refused to let it go. They wanted to be the only ones to have it. They sickened the Onix-like creature.

It was the only one of its kind. Why not make one last attempt to reclaim what was rightfully theirs? It had lived long, seen as humans began to cover the world. It didn't care if the war was won or lost. It would at least try.

* * *

It had taken a long time for him to learn of what was happening in the world of men. He had purposely chosen a place far from them. Many of the wild Pokemon there had only seen a human once or twice in their lifetimes. Some had never even seen the cursed creatures at all.

Still, Pokemon have those who travel and bring with them bring news, and ultimately the tale of the new Eevee creature who had attacked the Pokemon league and was gathering an army had been brought to him. When he heard it, he left at once.

He killed humans here. It was only a matter of time before the other humans figured out what was happening and came to kill him. Let others wonder if Eon was strong enough to lead them to victory. What had he left to lose? His trainer had already taken everything from him.

* * *

Eon looked out at the assembled Pokemon. Most had been trainer's Pokemon, since she had explained to the wild Pokemon that unless they were especially powerful, they could do more good ambushing people who attempted to travel between the cities. She had already begun to organize them by power. One ultra-strong Pokemon would command a group of weaker Pokemon. She had several potential captains lined up.

There was Scar, the impressively strong Charizard covered in whip marks. His hatred for humans nearly rivalled her own. Once his slashed wings had healed, he would be virtually unstoppable.

Next to him lay Lash, Scar's team-mate. Thanks to the help of the Chancey's, the injured Gyarados had gone from dying to almost completely healthy in less then a week. The inflamed whip wounds he had come in with had faded into white lines that covered him from head to tail.

Then there was Shine, the incredibly rare wild shining Espeon. Her hard life had made her so strong that she could be a commander, young as she was. It had also taught her the hatred of humans, since it was fear of capture that had forced her to stay hidden, starving, rather then be able to go out to find food.

Beside her was Nightflame, a Houndoom. Her trainer had ordered her to kill her own brother, and in the end killed him with another of his Pokemon. Because she had disobeyed, he had beaten her and left her to die.

And finally there was Memory, a Dragonite. He had killed his trainer and many humans after his trainer had forced him to evolve a second time. His memories of everything but fighting were gone as a result.

She also had her four friends from the labs with her. Mixeon, Cinceon, Dawn and Dusk were all assembled.

Mixeon and Cinceon were powerful enough to be commanders, perhaps even weaker generals. Mixeon was water/fire/electric, like the one that had lived in the cage next to her for so long, before she had escaped and returned to put him out of his misery but unlike that one he was able to live in the world. Cinceon had been an Eevee too, but the scientists had been trying to get another like her. Rather then use a drug to prompt the happiness evolution, they had caused the sun and moon stone to be used along with water, thunder and fire stones. However, he had extra two types of grass and normal rather then psychic and dark like her.

They were to stay behind and guard already conquered areas. The two experiments were not healthy and could get sick very easily. That, combined with the fact that neither were dark or psychic Pokemon, so they had to move on foot, meant that they could not survive as a mobile force. Any stressful weather, even simple rain, would be deadly if they were forced to stay out in it. They needed to be near a secure shelter and warm fire at all times.

Dawn and Dusk had their own handicaps. Dawn was psychic/dark and Dusk was dark/psychic. The two mute Pokemon were incredibly low-level. They had only recently been created and so couldn't speak to Pokemon easily unless they were psychic or dark. Rather ironically, this meant that like Pokemon with trainers, they were unable to communicate with most of the world. When stronger, though, they would be powerful generals, since they were not chimera Pokemon, with parts randomly places on them, but were instead a more mixed version like herself.

~ As some of you may know, the time to strike is fast approaching. The first wave of Pokemon has joined. The others are waiting until we prove our power. They are not fools, and they have more to lose then those assembled here. We shall attack Viridian Forest first, since the Pokemon there are low-level and unable to kill the travellers on a regular basis. The two surrounding towns, Pallet and Pewter, both have weak trainers who will be completely unable to bother us. With the forest taken, Viridian and Pallet will be almost impossible for the rest of the world to reach. It will be easy, since it will take the humans a long time to realize that they cannot use their own Pokemon to fight us. The forest is the perfect place for us to go. It shall shelter our growing forces and allow us to hide until we are ready to attack in earnest.

~ Those of you I have called here are the strongest. Mixeon and Cinceon's duties will be to guard high-risk areas that we have taken. The rest of you will be given groups of weaker Pokemon to lead into battle. Scar and Lash, as the strongest, you shall work together. Shine, you will work with Dawn and Dusk along with Nightflame to work with the psychic and dark Pokemon, along with a few fire types. As the battle progresses and you gain more experience, the two groups shall be broken into more. And Memory, your own job shall be, until the war is more fully underway, to scout ahead and warn us of dangers. Dragonite are fast fliers and there are few creatures who can catch up with them, let alone stop them.

~ Now, after we take the Viridian Forest, we shall- ~ Eon broke off. A panting Ponyta stood before them.

<Eon, there are creatures who wish to see you.>

~ Pokemon? ~

<They look like humans and wear the red R of the demon humans, but they are not. They are->

"We are creatures called Elementals," spoke a new voice. A black eyed and dark haired human-shaped creature stood before them. Her forked tail twitched and the Pokemon thought they saw a glimpse of white fangs as she spoke. "My name is Ice. Wildfire is the one hiding behind me."

Wildfire looked out nervously at the assembled Pokemon. She was standing behind Ice and was clearly poised to bolt at any moment. Her wings were half spread and twitching nervously.

~ You do not seem like humans ~ commented Dawn. ~ Though I am hard-pressed to say what you do seem like. ~

~ Release your Pokemon, ~ added Dusk. ~ If they believe you, then so shall I ~

Before Eon could translate, Ice replied, "Gladly," and touched her Pokeballs lightly. A Houndoom, Sneasel, Umbreon, Murkrow, Scizor, and a strange black creature that looked like a winged Umbreon.

Wildfire nervously followed suit, not sure what was happening, tapping her own single Pokeball and releasing a Charizard with a strange white mark on her forehead.

~ What do you have to say, brethren? ~ asked Eon.

<Ice speaks the truth. She and Wildfire are no longer human. We are here to lend our help.> said Houndoom.

~ And what is it that happened to the Charizard? ~

Star spoke up. <That was not Wildfire, but a Jenny. She had a gun. I would be dead like all the others Wildfire had caught if Ice had not healed me. We would never betray you.>

~ Finally, what is that new creature? ~

"A clone Pokemon, the only one in existence now or ever. I tricked the mighty Team Rocket boss into creating one and giving it to me," said Ice.

<Why did you do that?> gasped Mixeon in horror. Even to a normal Pokemon such a thing would be horrifying, but his own twisted form had been created from science.

"He was trying to create clones. He would not stop until...well, you will find out soon enough. I had him make one Twilight. One and only one. The clones were dying. By creating a twilight he stopped toying with the others." Ice shrugged, as if it was not important. "You don't need to believe me now. Wait a few days, and you will have your proof." She was perfectly at ease, though she was surrounded by Pokemon who had come there only because of their hatred for humanity. Wildfire twitched nervously, fearing attack, but Ice stood calmly and without worry. She was not called Ice for nothing. There was little in this world or any other that she feared.

CHAPTER FIVE: VIRIDIAN FOREST

Cinceon prowled the floor of Viridian Forest, surveying his troops. They were mostly Plant and Bug types, with a few Pikachu’s and Ekans mixed in, and Lash coiled around a tree in the back. They were nervous, but a great excitement was sweeping through them. This was it. The first battle for freedom, their first victory. The idea of defeat didn’t occur to them. 

“Right," he said. "What do we have in the way of local support?“

“Quite a bit," said Lash. "Mostly Weedle’s and Caterpies; we’ve also got the majority of the local Beedrill swarm, half the Pidgey’s and Pidgeotto here, the small Pikachu pack and a few Butterfree. “ The Gyarados touched his jutting lower jaw with his tail and frowned as he counted up the new troops. “That’s about 100 Pokemon out of 130.“

“Why only 2 Butterfree?“

“Most of ‘em are pacifists; they wanna stay neutral.“

“Cowards,“ sneered Cinceon. “Anyway... Recon troops have spotted sixteen trainers in this place, mostly newbies or Bug Catchers. They won’t be a challenge to us, will they?! “

“NO SIR!“ 

“And enough with the ‘sir’, it’s ‘Cinceon’,“ he barked. “You’re free Pokemon now, so we don’t piss around with terms of rank. You may be lead into battle by another Pokemon, but you won’t be expected to view him as higher lifeform! Now, I want this quick and simple. We have the forest to hide in, so we can rely on sneak attacks.“ He pointed at the Pokemon on the left side. “YOU are Group A. You will sweep Viridian Forest clear of all trainers on the west side. And you on the right, you’re Group B; you get the east. I will head Group A, Lash commands B.“

Lash waved his tail at the Caterpie and Weedle that lay in the trees, watching anxiously. “You little guys are Group C. You will block the routes off, so the trainers can’t escape. You Ekans and Pidgey- you’re Pack C. You’re on recon and messaging. I want at least three of you in each pack or swarm; you report any problems to me or Cinceon, and make sure none of us are stumbling into a trap.“

“Beedrills, Swarm E- you're aerial support. If any trainers DO get out, you bring them down!“

“Um, si- Cinceon?“ It was a very small Caterpie, trembling slightly. “Can we actually d-do this? Beat humans?“

Cinceon looked up at Lash bemusedly, shook his head and turned to face the larvae. It crawled back slightly under his gaze. “ es. Humans are not super powerful and wise and great and that… They are weak. Why else would they need to use us to fight for them? Caterpie, I was a young and stupid Eevee once. I believed humans were great and all that crap.“ His eyes darkened and he hissed, “Then they experimented on me. Days of intense pain, so they could have strong Pokemon. They didn’t want us to be strong for self-pride or because it would make us live longer; just because they wanted us for THEIR OWN GLORY.“ He shook his head, trying to free himself from the grip of rage. He bent down low to the Caterpie and said in a whisper, “And that is how I know we’ll beat them. Because if they were strong, they wouldn’t need to mutilate and dominate us. Even you, little Bug, you with only Tackle and String Shot, are far stronger in your mind and soul than any human.

"Now, we move out!"

***********************************************************************************************************

He was Samurai, a brave and noble Bug trainer, trained in the arts of the ninja…

Well, not really. He just pretended to be one, so the other trainers would show him respect. Without respect, a trainer is nothing.

He was back in Viridian Forest, heading for Pewter City, his home. He liked the forest, the smell of grass and the cries of the larvae and the ability to hide & jump out at trainers and make them crap themselves. Peeping through a gap in the trees, Samurai saw a young Bug Catcher walking along. He grinned; he’d fought this guy once before and lost. Now he could reclaim his honour, and give the guy a scare in the process…

He was about to leap when he noticed that the trees behind the Catcher were moving. No, they were not moving. It was what was on them that was moving… A whole swarm of Caterpie, all following the trainer without him even knowing.

That doesn’t make sense! Caterpie don’t act like that! They’re supposed to be stupid but… they’re moving like an army… Could it be they’re smarter than we thought? I don’t know any trainer who could do this, so they must be acting independently-

The Caterpie lashed out with incredible speed and surrounded the Bug Catcher. His eyes widened in surprise. He was about to cry out when the Caterpie all leapt and struck him like a fist. There was a slight crack and he fell dead, the pressure having driven his ribs into his heart and lungs. Part of the ribs were jutting out…

Samurai turned away in disgust and saw the Pikachu behind him.

“PINSER! BUTTERFREE! GO!“

His loyal Pokemon arrived from their balls and studied the rodent. And then Pinser walked off. Butterfree just hovered there, looking confused. WHAT WAS GOING ON?!

"<No! You’re wrong!>“

The Pikachu shook its head. “<Look, Butterfree, you have to have noticed the way humans treat us.>”

“<This one is nice,>“ Butterfree argued. “<He doesn’t abuse me or anything! He feeds me and takes care of me after battle->”

“<And why do you go into battle?>”

“ <Because he says to, and he’s my friend. Why do you think?>”

“<Your friend,>“ it said. It shook its head. It had hoped it would never encounter this. “<Look, buddy, if he’s your friend, WHY does he order you into battle?>“

“< It makes me stronger- >”

“<Why do you NEED to be stronger?>”

Butterfree gave the Pikachu a smug glance. “<Oh, come on! You don’t know that? When you become stronger, your inner strength becomes stronger too! “

Pikachu scratched itself and shrugged. “<Inner strength, eh? So your character is proven by how good you are at fighting? Beating up other Pokemon makes you a better person?>” It snorted. “<Bullshit. Fighting others because someone says so won’t make you a better person. And let me tell you something about trainer's friendship. I had a friend, a Pidgey, be attacked and captured and taken away by humans; I saw him again just a few days ago as a Pidgeotto, abandoned by a trainer who said he was his friend and he loved him and then left him because he’d gotten a stronger Pidgeotto through a trade; and my friend was shattered and felt worthless and still cries at night and I’ll be damned if I’ll let that happen to my friends again.>“

The Pikachu finished, trembling with anger, warning sparks flying from its cheeks. Butterfree looked at it and began to cry.

“<It can’t be like that, it just can’t… He wouldn’t do that to me… He’s my friend… He HAS to be, or what was the point of all those years?>“

“<Yeah? Well, your buddy Pinser just walked out and isn’t looking back,>”said Pikachu. “<Would he do that if this human really was his friend?>”

The Butterfree didn’t speak. He just looked up at Samurai with pain and betrayal and tears in his eyes, and flew away. Samurai stared in shock, and was still staring when the Thundershock hit him and the darkness rushed up to claim him.



“OK Swarm… COMMENCE SPEWING!“

String Shot spewed over the road, creating an impenetrable net. 

And this was when a young Bug Catcher happened on them. She blinked in surprise and then gurgled slightly when the Twin Needle went through her neck.

The Beedrill pulled his stingers out and calmly wiped the blood on the corpse’s clothes. He activated her Pokeballs and stood back to let the Pokemon out: another Beedrill, a Venonat, a Scyther and, oddly, a Vulpix.

The Venonat turned to the Beedrill that had freed them and said cheerfully, “Great, you killed the cow. We’re free-“ It grinned stupidly as the full ramifications hit it.. “We’re FREE… Actually fr-free...“ It burst into tears of joy.

***************************************************************************************************************

The last trainer to fall was not a mere Bug Catcher or a novice. He was a League champion who’d gotten up to Round 5 twice. He was popular, he was skilled, he was going places and he was an easy kill for the Spearow. They used Drill Peck, all together, on the back of his neck and watched him fall down, paralysed and brain dead. They freed his Pokemon, who finished the job off in seconds, leaving bits of him strewn everywhere, and they never gave him a second thought.

************************************************************************************************************

“Let’s see, “ said Cinceon thoughtfully. “ All the trainers are dead, we have 64 Pokemon freed, 53 of which wish to join us, and the forest is secured.“ He grinned. “Eon will be pleased; where is she, anyway?“

“In the forest near Pallet,“ said Lash. “She’s trying to arrange peace between the Spearow and Pidgey gangs there. Man, that is gonna be hell- those two species hate each other! But they should come around eventually. They share the same enemy we do, after all."

“Yeah... Time we returned to Mt Moon- we'll leave enough Pokemon to keep this area secure, of course.“ And then the Eeveelution giggled slightly. “It’s finally happening, isn’t it? We’ve freed a whole forest, a whole damn forest. It’s our first victory… VICTORY, man… It’s beautiful, isn’t it Lash?“

The Gyarados nodded and they gazed upwards, as the sun set and shone fiery hues through the leaves, and listened to the cries of the free.

CHAPTER SIX: MT MOON

"Wow, a Charmeleon! Go, Squirtle!"

Was the trainer experienced, she might have noticed that there was something odd about this fire lizard. Its scales weren't quite that bright red shade, and its tail flame was actually flickering.

The Squirtle does notice. The last time he saw a Charmander like this, it had died in a few hours. <Are you alright?>

The Charmeleon grins, displaying its fangs. <Never been better. Are you going to fight me?>

The Squirtle gives it a dubious look. <I don't think you’d survive it. You look like you're at death's door.>

<Oh, go on, attack. It'll be fun. I'm not dying anytime soon.>

"Use bubble!"

<Alright.> sighed the Squirtle, knowing better then to disobey. He sent out a weak bunch of bubbles that would be enough to faint the Charmeleon. Of course, if it was anything like the last one, it's already past the point of fainting.

The water attack hits without any effect.

"Squirtle, use water gun!"

Well, if the Charmeleon wasn't badly hurt by the last move, maybe Charmeleon and Charmander are just really different, thinks the Squirtle. With that in mind, he sent out a strong water gun attack.

Still no effect.

<What the…?>

<Nope, I'm not dying anytime soon.> it says, smiling cruelly. <Water doesn’t really matter to me anymore. Tell me, why do you battle for this human?>

Absently, the Squirtle notices that his trainer is ordering him to do another attack, but he ignores her. <What do you mean? Because she is my master. Because I was given to her when she started out on her Pokemon journey.>

<Tell me, is she a kind slavemaster?>

The Squirtle bristles. <She is kind and she isn’t a slavemaster!>

<So, she wouldn’t abandon you, hurt you, kill you, right?"

<NO!>

The Charmeleon laughs. <Yes, I believed that once. My master was my friend, after all. He would never hurt me. He was smarter then me and I should listen to him. He only had me battle because he wanted me to get stronger. Did they tell you that too? Did they tell you that Pokemon are meant to battle, that it is what we exist for? Did they tell you that it was okay to battle, that the other Pokemon would be fine, that Pokemon never got killed?>

<Yes, because it is true!>

<Ha. We battle because they get money for it. They only want us to get stronger because then we'll win more battles. What does your master do for you? Does she bring you to the Pokemon Centre to be healed when you get hurt in battle? Does she feed you because you never have free time to get food on your own? When my master gave me bad orders, I wouldn’t listen, so he tossed me in a lake and left me to die.> The Charmeleon snarls suddenly. <I didn’t lose. I was strong. But I wouldn't treat him like a master, I wouldn’t obey him when he gave bad orders. So he tried to kill me>

The Squirtle shakes its head. <Humans would never do that to any of us. My master would never do that!>

<Really? Would your master lie to you?>

<NO!>

<Has she told you about Eon?>

<Eon?>

<Humans experimented on Eevees. Eon is one of the results. War is coming. Pokemon from all over are gathering. Did your master tell you that? Did she trust you enough to tell you?>

<You're lying!>

<I can't prove Eon exists, but I can prove what happened to me is real.> With that, the Charmeleon's tail flame fizzled out.

<How?>

<I survived the water because I managed to hold on after my tail went out. My master, my friend, he did that to me. He tried to kill me. Do you believe me now?>

* * *



~ With the Viridian Forest taken, we can move out to our next goal. ~ said Eon. ~ If we take Mt. Moon then Pallet, Viridian and Pewter will be completely cut off. We can destroy them at our leisure. Also, we will be able to move on to Cerulean then. And if we take Pallet and kill the worthless Professor Oak, we will then be able to attack Cinnabar. The island is perfect for us. Most of the Pokemon there are fire-types but we will need water Pokemon to cross to the city and destroy it. It is a good place for a base since it is virtually impossible to get to, and yet if we have a base there and at Mt. Moon, no one can lend help to the other cities! ~

<What about the Johto Region?> asked a Wartortle.

~ The Johto Region will not be attacked until we have taken the Indigo Plateau. The trainers there are, as a whole, weaker then the trainers in Kanto. ~

<And when will we destroy the Indigo Plateau, where our own are being forced to fight each other?>

Eon smiled darkly. ~ Not until they start their battles again. Soon, very soon, we shall have our revenge. ~

At these words the surrounding Pokemon let out a roar of agreement.



The Pokemon may hold Viridian, but that does not mean people are worried. Well, not very much. A few discontented Pokemon are no great threat to them. Pokemon trainers still go out as they will, and if the wild Pokemon seem to stare at them more maliciously, if their eyes seem to gleam with bloodlust, what of it? Their own Pokemon will protect them, and wild Pokemon always attack trainers.

So they still travel through the forest. The only difference is that people have stopped coming out the other side.

William is an ordinary trainer. His Pokemon are low-level and he really hasn’t gone far. But they are far stronger then the wild Pokemon of the area. He has nothing to fear from the forest. He wishes to see Professor Oak about getting a Pokedex, so he will travel to Pallet. There is nothing to worry about.

Still, he can't shake the feeling of apprehension as he walks down the dark path. Normally he would see a few Pokemon scampering around. Some would have attacked him. Yet all he manages to see are a few glowing eyes looking at him from the deep grass on the side of the path, and they vanish the moment he turns to get a better look at them.

Some parts of the path are darker then normal, he notes. He wouldn't have noticed, but he is now keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. The short glimpse of glowing eyes is unnerving.

He starts to see movement out of the corner of his eye. He half-turns but there is nothing there. He gets the overwhelming urge to look behind him, but with all his will he refrains. There is nothing in this forest that can harm him. He has been here before without injury.

He walks on, and the feeling that he is being watched, that he is about to be attacked grows. Finally he can stand it no longer and turns around-

Nothing. He breathes a sigh of relief. He turns back to continue on his way-

And finds himself staring into the angry eyes of the creature known as Cinceon.

Screams ring through the forest, but the trees muffle the sound and prevent it from reaching too far. And another strange, dark, slightly reddish patch appears along the path.



Meanwhile, the Pokemon Centre by the mouth of Mt Moon has noticed yet another strange thing. It would not be worth mention had it not been for the recent strange activities of the odd Eevee-thing and its other freaks, but Pokemon trainers have told the nurse in charge of the area that the wild Pokemon have stopped attacking them recently and none could be found. Each one only mentions it absently to Nurse Joy, but they all say the same thing. It appears that the Pokemon have vacated that area for some reason.

It is not something that needs to be reported to the authorities or anything. But it is worrying, especially since no trainers are coming in from Cerulean.

And in the thick, tall grass by Mt. Moon a scarred Charizard lies. Next to him is a Gyarados. Both of the huge Pokemon are cursing the thin cover but know it is far better then nothing.

With them are the Pokemon they are commanding. Several Squirtle, Charmander, Diglett, and a truly pissed Pidgeot are there.

<Are we really just going to stay here? We don't need to wait!> squawked the Pidgeot. Eon's negotiations between the Pidgey and Spearow had worked out. The Fearow's hatred of humans had caused him to agree with Eon at long last. The Fearow had sworn to protect all the Pokemon in the area, and that meant that she was free to fight. She had been waiting a long time to get this chance.

<For the last time Abandon, we are waiting for darkness to make sure no humans get out this time. That one trainer may not have done much, but if word gets out that we have also taken Mt. Moon not even the humans will be stupid enough to think that this doesn’t matter. Our Abra will also help to warn you if any manage to get out. If any escape, your job is to hunt them down. No traces of what will happen can be left> growls Scar. He has explained this several times and is starting to get annoyed.

The Charmander and Squirtle are more obedient, willing to wait for the cover of night. Of course, for the Charmander such a thing is far from total, since their tail-flames will give them away, but the humans inside the cavern will be unable to see.

But the small force does not matter. This is just a test run. The Charmander and Squirtle are here to gain experience, not because they are strong. Wild Squirtle are rare, and so are wild Charmander. The Pokemon are almost entirely domesticated. However, they are the starting Pokemon of Pallet, so that many trainers get them and then abandon them at low levels. There is little chance of them meeting up with anything they can't handle, and if they do Scar, Lash or Abandon will simply intervene. The main portion of this small army is within the cave, and the taking of Viridian showed that Pokemon don't have the slightest problem killing people.

At nightfall, Scar and Lash enter the cave, leading the Squirtle, Charmander and Diglett. The Abra, Vanish, remains outside along with Abandon.

Inside, a swarm of Zubat, Golbat, Jigglypuff, Sandshrew, Paras, Rattata, Spearow and Geodude meet them. The Zubat are plentiful, with about seventy, while the Sandshrew, Paras and Geodude make up a hundred. The Jigglypuff only number about thirty, and the Rattata and Spearow, put together make about fifty. This is a much larger area then Viridian, and the Pokemon fighting aren't just from the cavern, they're from the surrounding area as well.

<No Clefairy?> asks Lash, already knowing the answer.

<It isn’t that they like humans> defended Block, a Geodude. <They're just really timid, scared of their own shadows. 'Sides, they aren't really useful in this fight and they know it. Their only useful attacks are sing and metronome. At high levels, they can learn other good moves by chance, like psychic and shadow ball, but,> he laughs softly, <none of us here are high-level, let alone them. We've got the Jigglypuff for their sing attack, and metronome usually does more harm then good.>

<Very well,> sighed Scar. He looked around. "Ember, Coal, Spark, Surfer, Waverider, Shell, each of you is to command a group. If anything happens call us. We don't want any Pokemon casualties. Lash and I will guard the two entrances. If they're running, drive them toward us. And remember, if Pokemon don't want to attack their trainers don't force them. Plenty of them have spent their whole lives there, listening to the monsters babble on about how great humans are and how humans and Pokemon can be 'friends'. You can't blame them. If they give you too much trouble, just recall them and we'll deal with them later.>

There wasn't any trouble though. In the pitch-darkness of the cave, none of the trainers could see. The Zubat could swoop out of nowhere and kill them. Plus, when they saw the faint light of a Charmander's tail flame, they went over to see what it was and could be lured into a trap. Unlike the trained Pokemon liberated in the Viridian Forest, the hikers here never even bothered to convince their Pokemon that humans were great and powerful. None of the Pokemon even considered defending their former masters.



By morning, no trainers are left. Nineteen trainers were destroyed and their Pokemon (mainly Geodudes, Onix's, Zubat's and other cave Pokemon) will be staying. The total number of Pokemon defenders is now just over three hundred, although many will be living in the grassy areas outside for at least part of the time.

The Pokemon have spread out, already starting to dig new tunnels to stay in, along with pit traps and barriers. This is to be a major base, and the wild Pokemon and the newly liberated ones will be staying there for a long time. They have to be ready to defend it. The Squirtle, Charmander and Diglett will also be remaining, but Abandon will be taking a far more active role then mere defence and shall leave with Scar and Lash. When night comes again Dawn and Dusk will teleport Mixeon in to guard the area.

Though the Pokemon most definitely did not give the humans quick or in any way painless deaths, no one knows what has transpired. The caverns of the mountain may have rung with screams and howls, but beyond the cave mouths no one heard. It will take a while before the humans in Pewter and Cerulean realize that people may go in but they aren't coming out. 

CHAPTER SEVEN: ATTACK ON TEAM ROCKET

This is Team Rocket: Johto base 3, the 5-storey home to hundreds of Rockets, and a show of Team Rocket’s power. It is protected by heavy walls, sophisticated sensors and powerful defensive weaponry. The Johto military tried to destroy it once, and were crushed without getting a single man inside. It is a prime example of the power that Team Rocket wields.

Currently, the base is relaxed. 300 of the Rockets are out on field duty and the rest are really just lazing around. The only real workers are the eight Rockets in the base’s Hub; they work on communications and building security, in a room filled with security equipment and computers. In an attack, it will be up to them to direct the defensive.

Hub officer Artie leaned back on his chair and yawned. “Slow day.“

“You want an attack?“

“No, I just want something INTERESTING to happen. Why can’t a trainer show up and demand a battle, or something?“

“Yeah,“ said Twister. “We could use the target practise.“

***************************************************************************************************

“Do you all understand the plan?“

The Pokemon collectively nodded. Ice smiled.

“Giovanni is gonna be PISSED when he finds out about this,“ said Wildfire, chewing her lip.

“So? We don’t work for him anymore." She turned back to the Pokemon. "Subgroups ready? “

“Mine is,“ said Tei, a lanky Vulpix. “I’m just worried about the actual battle. Rhydons and Venusaurs and stuff may be OK, but I have a serious problem about getting SHOT AT.“

“Just aim right and that won’t happen,“ said Ice.

“Gotcha. Luckily, I'm short enough to be ignored in the first attack. And when their waist is level with your head,“ smirked Tei, “your teeth are level with their groin.“

“Yep. Move out.“ Wildfire waved at a group of Mareep, waiting at the side of the wall. “OK… NOW.“

************************************************************************************************************

+++RED ALERT. BASE INVASION. COMMENCING DEFENSIVE PROCEDURES.+++

All across the base, steel doors slammed shut in corridors and rooms, blocking each one off from the rest of the base. Guns and other defensives slid from the wall; the outside doors became reinforced and gained an electrical field; the outer guns slid from the ground and pointed outwards.

“What the hell?!" snarled Kedzie, typing frantically on his computer. “The security system thinks we’re under attack; defensive doors have activated in all corridors, communications firewall is up, teleportation squares have switched off, mines and perimeter guns online… Damn it! We can’t get out until this is fixed, and the field agents outside can’t get in! What set it off?“

“I’ll check,“ said Artie.

He searched through all the security camera feeds. Most showed nothing but bare locked off corridor, or rooms full of worried and annoyed Rockets. He kept going down a floor, reaching the second Basement level; he checked the labs, the garages, the armouries, the train tunnel connecting them to Johto Base: 1...

“ WHA-?! “

There was a huge hole in the tunnel and coming out of it, filling the cameras view, was a vast wave of Pokemon."

“Basement 2 is under attack by Pokemon! HUNDREDS OF ‘EM!“ Artie paled. "Oh shit, the labs are down there!"

The scientists first noticed something was wrong when the doors locked themselves. Then the walls started to shake, and the Pokemon in their cages and tubes began to look up expectantly. 

The wall buckled and exploded, discharging hordes of Pokemon. They tore through computers, furniture, cages, the scientists themselves. Wildfire grabbed a scientist by the neck and twisted his head round, then dropped it. Raising her first, she smashed a tube, freeing the experimental Pokemon inside. The poor, misshapen creature looked at her with mismatched eyes and whimpered slightly. She stroked it with unusual gentleness.

“You’re OK now.“

There was a brief scream, and a Beedrill went flying, gutted. He’d broken open a few cages containing Pokemon with darker skin colouring and evil grins, and they’d ripped him open. The army began to back away- they'd heard of these creatures. They were Dark Evolutions- Pokemon who had been abused so much in their earliest stage that they'd evolved into grotesque beasts who lived solely to cause pain and death. Abominations.

Ice snarled. "Attack! They may be powerful, but their stamina is low. We can defeat them.“

There were only three of them but  they fought like demons. Seven Pokemon were badly wounded before the beasts were brought down. But it didn’t stop the group’s advance, and it didn’t stop them from breaking out of the lab and spreading through the basement…

…to the garage…

Security guards opened fire and released their Pokemon. They were unprepared for their Pokemon turning on them. Tei surveyed the collected cars and helicopters and tanks and assorted mecha in the garage, took a deep breath and unleashed a Fire Blast. The resulting explosion shook the base.

…to the second lab…

Ice gestured slightly, and the scientists were ripped apart by a Night Shade attack. The Pokemon began tearing open the cages again, but this time left the Dark Pokemon where they were. Ice nodded.

“We’re making good time. We should have this base finished off in about half an hour.“

…to the armoury…

The Koffings cheerfully rolled into position.

“OK guys,“ said Wildfire, a safe distance away. “This’ll hurt-“

“We know,“ said one of them. “We don’t mind. Honestly.“

“If you’re sure…“ she sighed and yelled out “EXPLOSION!“

The Koffings all detonated at the same time, a powerful chain reaction that wiped out the armoury and hit the base like an earthquake. The floor above the armouries collapsed, pitching rubble and screaming Rockets into the flames. Wildfire finished them off and freed their Pokemon. As he did so, she watched the Koffings regenerate, stoned expressions on their faces.

She grinned. This mission was just too easy. 

***********************************************************************************************************

The Hub shook from the force of the explosion. The officers surveyed the damage with dismay.

“Damn it,” said Kedzie. “Now we’ve got fires all over the second basement level, and part of the floor above it just caved in! And something’s wrong; the guards' Pokemon just turned on them.“ He growled and slammed his fist into the table. “We’re not even slowing ‘em down!“

“We need a massed defensive on Basement 1! Can we get all the Rockets there to the stairs for a defensive?“

“Yep, but it’ll take time. We can only have ONE defensive door open at a time. It’ll take time to get everyone there to one place-“

“WELL HURRY THEN!”

*********************************************************************************************************

“OK!” cried out Tei. “This level’s secure. Now, let’s take down the next-“

“Wait,” said Wildfire. “They’ll have increased defences there. We can’t blindly charge in.”

“I have an idea,” said Tei. “I need eight Pokemon with strong long range attacks!”

A Gyarados, two Bulbasaur, a Raichu, three Charmeleon and a Kadabra showed up. Tei nodded and led them towards the stairs, and the door above it.

“OK, by now the Rockets will have guards behind that. Lots of ‘em. We charge and we’ll get shot. Sooo… we need to take them out with long range attacks! You up for it?” There was a loud chorus of agreeing grunts and snarls. “Great! FIRE!”

Flamethrower, Thunder, Solar Beam, Dragon Rage and Psybeam combined into one attack, tearing through the steel door. An answering chorus of bullets zipped through the air, ABOVE the crouching Pokemon. Tei gave another shout and a second barrage was fired, killing the Rockets nearest the opening.

“CHARGE!”

The Rockets were massed; there was sixty of them, armed and dangerous. But they needed a barrier against the oncoming flood of Pokemon; they released their own Pokemon, Raticate’s and Grimers and Muks and many Poison and Dark elements. And as soon as they were free, they turned and tore apart their trainers.

The charging Pokemon slowed down, and Tei gulped. He’d never realised humans had so much BLOOD in them.

Only the Grimers and Muks didn’t turn on their trainers. They knew about Eon and her cause, and rejected it. Humans caused pollution, and pollution was what they thrived on. Their survival depended on humans remaining in power, but they quickly realised that this was the wrong time and place to make a stand, and they quickly retreated, ripping down the security barriers in their hurry."

“Now, spread out," said Ice. "Maximum destruction."

“GREAT!” cried Tei.

**********************************************************************************************************

“It didn’t work!“ screamed Twister. “The bloody Pokemon slaughtered about seventy Rockets there! We've lost Level 1!”

“They’ve still got three more to get through,” said Artie. “Radio all Rockets; tell them NOT to use Pokemon other than Dark Evolutions and Grimers! All others are suspect! And tell the ground floor guys to get the heavy-duty firearms out of the armoury!”

***********************************************************************************************************

The Rocket base did have some defences other than the reinforced doors. There were guns and nerve gas that came from the walls, surprising and killing ten Pokemon before they wised up. But that was all they killed. After that, the Pokemon were ready and destroyed such booby traps.

The army spread out, destroying everything in their path. Walls were torn through and every piece of furniture or equipment was smashed. The Pokemon were excited and confident, and why not? They had suffered losses, but their numbers had actually gone UP as the Rocket’s Pokemon joined them, claiming their long-awaited freedom.

Ice led a group of Pokemon to the stairs leading to the ground floor. It didn’t take much to get past the door, and then the Pokemon RUSHED up the stairs-

Cluster grenades rained down on them. Ice hissed and began to run backwards, leading a retreat-

Too late.

BOOOOOOOOOOM

Three Pokemon dead and the stairs destroyed. She went over to join Wildfire, only to find she and Tei had suffered the same setback. Pokemon tried to jump or fly up to the next floor, but were gunned down. That was fifteen Pokemon killed at this point.

“I think we’re stuck,” said Tei. “We can’t get up.”

“Did you try the elevator shaft?”

“Yep; we looked in and saw that it’s rigged to explode if anyone tries to climb up it. We're stuck here.”

Wildfire stared at the ceiling, then at some of the Pokemon, and back at the ceiling. She smiled. “No we're not! I’ve got a cunning plan…”

************************************************************************************************************

The Rockets were massed, eight to a staircase, their weapons pointing down. No Pokemon was getting past THEM. They were safe up here-

Hands tore through the floor and pulled the Rockets down into the waiting maws of the monsters.

The floor caved in slightly to allow Pokemon to climb out. Below them were taller Pokemon, which they’d been standing on to reach the ceiling. A relay was set up, picking up Pokemon and bringing them up a level. This happened at each staircase, and thus was the blockade shattered.

“The Rockets have GOT to do better than THIS!” laughed Ice. “It’s a bit pathetic, really.”

**********************************************************************************************************

“THIS IS PATHETIC!”

“We know, Luis,” growled Kedzie. “We’re getting our BUTTS kicked here! Wilton, what can we do to defend ground level?”

“Nothing. There are Rockets scattered about it, all armed, but it won’t hold back the Pokemon. We DO have impressive firepower there, but there’s, what, three hundred of the things? And each time they kill a Rocket, his Pokemon join them. We’re outnumbered and outgunned here.”

“Once ground level is taken,” said Artie, “we better start trying to evacuate. After all, first floor has the Pokemon storage room. FOUR HUNDRED Pokemon stored in there, all potential enemies. Just below us.”

The Hub was silent for a minute as every officer looked down and trembled at the thought of it.

“We might be able to get everyone on this level out,” said Twister slowly. “We DO have a backdoor in our defence system; we have a password that opens the VTOL Aircraft hanger bays on this floor. We could escape!”

“What’s the password?”

“Override B1.”

**********************************************************************************************************

The Rockets, predictably, fell. They did put up a good fight though, killing nearly thirty Pokemon before they fell, and that wasn’t counting the booby traps, accounting for five. But by the end of the level, they’d gained nearly 200 in extra troops from the dead Rockets. By the time they reached the first floor, they'd found all the remaining Rockets had fled, probably to escape.

The Pokemon sniggered at the thought.

**********************************************************************************************************

“VTOL hangers doors are open!”

Half of the remaining Rockets were clustered around the hangers, the rest fanned out to protect the floor. Rockets rushed into the jets and other aircraft, jamming in as many as possible and then taking off, towards glorious safety.

“First three aircraft have left,” said Artie. “That’s about eighteen men. We can get most of us outta here; us, at least. We may survive this yet!”

“Uh, guys?” moaned Wilton. “Have you SEEN the radar?”

Flying Pokemon. A whole damn armada of them. Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Spearow flew side by side, flanked by Charizard and the occasional Farfetch’d. And in the lead were Abandon and Blade the Fearow, former enemies now united by Eon under the cause of freedom.

The group swooped down and tore apart the aircraft before they got out of the forest. And then they got into the hanger and slaughtered all within.

“Oh God.” Luis turned pale and covered his mouth, trying not to retch. “There’s no way out. We’re dead. We’re all dead.”

And then there was nothing to do but wait.

The Pokemon got to the Hub pretty quickly. Kedzie heard them beating on the doors, sighed and slowly he opened them. There really was nothing else he could do.

*************************************************************************************************************

Eon lay in the woods near Mt Moon, watching the stars come out. When she was an Eevee, she’d believed that you could wish on them and your dreams would come true. Now she knew that to be bull. Dreams didn’t come true. If you wanted something to happen, you had to make it happen.

And I’m doing just that.

“EON!” cried out Wildfire, rushing up. “We’ve done it! The base has fallen!” She stumbled slightly and groaned. “We had to mass-teleport to get back. NEVER mass-teleport on an empty stomach.”

~You won?!~ Eon smiled. ~Great! What’s the death toll? For us?~

“Uh… About forty or so, I think. About seven hundred, I think, got liberated from TR.”

Eon sighed and shook her head slowly. ~Forty. FORTY. Dead.~ She growled under her breath. ~There is a word for Pokemon like them. MARTYRS. We will make a grave, right here, dedicated to the first fallen ones. Marked in writing, and scent. And we- no, I will build it personally. It is my duty.~

*************************************************************************************************************


Jessie, James and Meowth parked their car right outside the HQ, and stared dumbfounded.  The roof had been blown off and all the exits had been opened, letting smoke and flames billow out, along with the stench of cooking flesh. 

Meowth gagged. “Oh, this is not cool. This is not cool at all.”

“Why is it,” said Jessie, “that all I can think of right now is that I had some of my stuff in there?”

“Shock?” ventured James.

“I bloody hope so. Who did this, anyway?”

“GUESS,” said Meowth darkly. “Eon. Dat’s who. Now you know, wotcha gonna DO about it?”

“Running very, very far away springs to mind.”

Meowth tried not to show any expression. Running away... it wouldn't help. They would come for him sooner or later. No matter where he went, no matter what walls he put up between him and them, no matter what weapons or support he had... They would find him. And they would kill him. Slowly. Bloodily. And leave his corpse hanging in the breeze for all to see.

*************************************************************************************************************

Gary Oak looked up at the TV in the League’s lobby, and saw the report. He sighed and got up, walking off past Ash and Co., who were dumbfounded by this. Except, Gary noticed, Pikachu, who was looking apprehensive.

Something bad is going to happen, he thought. Something to do with Eon, and Pokemon. And I think it’s got something to do with something trainers are doing. And I’m going to find out WHAT.

***********************************************************************************************************

Eon wiped sweat from her forehead, and looked at her monument. It was a boulder, roughly moulded to resemble a praying Scyther. On it was writing but not as we know it. This was Pokemon writing, which was symbols, made to resemble things Pokemon would recognise. A Pokeball was “trapped” or “danger”. TR’s logo was “evil”. The Pokemon League symbol was “human (bad)”. A rough drawing of dirt was “path”.

This was a more complex message, though most Pokemon would pick it up. It contained symbols of a shattered Pokeball, and a ghost, and a fist. It read:

“THEY DIED IN A BATTLE FOR FREEDOM. EVIL FELL BEFORE THEM.”

And on it were the names of those forty dead. And then there was urine, for Pokemon used scent-marking to show mood and feeling. This smelt to all of sorrow and hope for a better future.

~A nice memorial, Eon.~

She spun round to see a tall, alien being standing behind her. It smiled.

~Who the hell are you?~ she growled.

~I am Mewtwo, the most powerful Pokemon on Earth.~ He gazed over her and casually said, ~but I see I’m going to have to give up this title, eh?~

Behind him were Pokemon of various species, all with strange markings on their skin. He saw her looking and said, ~They are clones like me. Though I’d prefer if you didn’t let on they were clones. It’s irrelevant; they are Pokemon and that’s enough.~

~Why are you here?~

~To help you. From where I sat, I could see Pokemon were being unfairly oppressed, and nobody would do anything about it. And then I see you appear, and I realised that you are a true visionary. And I would be glad to assist you. I bring with me these eleven Pokemon who said they wanted to go with me, to help you; I bring formidable Psychic power; I bring scientific knowledge.~

Eon spat on the ground. ~Science is devil’s work.~

~That rather depends on its use, doesn't it?~ he said. ~I will create for you medicines, to cure diseases that afflict our kind. Synthetic meats, so carnivores won’t have to hunt and kill other Pokemon; granted, there is Pokemon Chow available but I aim to give MY synthetic foods taste. I’ve tried Pokemon Chow and frankly, it tastes like cardboard marinated in Persian piss.~

Eon looked him up and down, and nodded slowly. ~You are right. You can bring a lot to us. Not just power to win, but wisdom to set up the utopia afterwards, where Pokemon shall never need to kill and fight Pokemon.~

~Amen to that, dear Eon.~

They extended paws and shook.

~The humans have lost already!~

CHAPTER EIGHT: GARY

It is a younger girl this time, perhaps not older then ten. She runs as fast as she can, but a human verses almost any Pokemon…it is pointless. The swift Vulpixes, Flareons, and Houndour are catching up fast. She trains Grass Pokemon, and already tried sending them out to distract the fire Pokemon. Her plan backfired. If her Pokemon weren't so slow, they probably would have kept up the chase, but they gave up and left it to the swifter fire Pokemon.

If worst comes to worse, of course, she is near a lake and might be able to swim to the other side, but she is worried that there might be water Pokemon in there. None have shown themselves but she isn't a good swimmer and they might be hiding. If there are water Pokemon in the lake, she wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.

She only has one Pokemon left. It does have an advantage, but she's not sure if it can take them. Still, this time she will stand and fight. It is a very powerful Pokemon.

"Go!" she yells.

A Vaporeon appears.

She isn't in good shape, that much is clear. The smooth, shiny skin that characterizes most Vaporeon is not there. Instead it is rough, cracked and stiff. Small lines of red are clear in the deepest breaks. This Vaporeon hasn’t been in water much and is completely dried out. In fact, she is so dehydrated that the water type's resistance to fire has been replaced by a weakness. Worse yet, a jagged scar runs over her eyes. She is blind.

She faces the approaching Pokemon, resigned to her fate. Then she jerks, lifting her head and sniffing the air. Ignoring her trainer's orders, she madly bolts toward the water. The fire Pokemon, thinking she will attack from the safety of the lake, try to block but she shoves past them desperately and slips into the water.

Her trainer stares after the Vaporeon in horror. That was her last chance. Before she can try to do anything else, the Pokemon are on her.


***********************************************************************************************************


Gary set out uncertainly. After the news that the Pokemon had taken the Viridian Forest and were thought to hold Mt Moon he had realized he had better find out what this was all about. Yes, the media could say that it was nothing to worry about until they were blue in the face but the fact remained that these Pokemon were in firm and undisputed control over the areas.

This also meant that more Pokemon then just the Golbat, the strange Pokemon he had seen at the match and Eon itself were angry. He had been a bit suspicious that the first Pokemon it ran into publicly would agree with it, and this was proof that many Pokemon were loyal to the cause.

Gary's match had been scheduled two days from now, but he had resigned after finding out the 'technical difficulties' the league had mentioned as the reason for the delay was that all the monitors in the Pokemon League HQ had the words "If you restart the battles we will destroy you" running across them and the printers had been spewing out pages of that line for the last few days. He couldn't tell anyone, since to avoid panic the jennies were told to arrest anyone spreading rumours. He had tried to tell Ash but the guy just told him that there was no way he would let Gary trick him into leaving and losing this year's tournament, then threatened to call a Jenny. So Gary had the time to go to find the strange Pokemon.

Still, there would be other years, and this was definitely more important. That Eon creature had been talking about a Pokemon revolution. Every time a revolution had begun in the past it usually meant that a massive carnage was about to start, for both sides.

Still, where exactly did one find the secret hiding place of an unknown Pokemon? It wasn't like it was common knowledge-

Of course! It might not be known to people, but Golbat seemed to know Eon, and Pokemon couldn’t join a cause if they didn't know where to go. "Go, Arcanine!"

Gary's loyal fire wolf appeared in a swirl of red light. "Ar?" he said curiously, not sure why he had been called.

"Arcanine, I need to find the Pokemon called Eon. Do you know where I should go?"

"Arcanine nine ar!" he said, shaking his head. <Don't go there!>

Gary had been with his Pokemon long enough to understand them if he concentrated. He still missed words occasionally but, like most experienced trainers, was able to talk to and understand them. "But I need to find out if this rebellion is real and how many Pokemon sympathize."

"<Eon spoke the truth. She is leading a Pokemon revolution and just about every Pokemon will follow her. Trained Pokemon have started to kill their trainers and wild Pokemon attack anyone who they can. You don't have long before the roads are impassable. The further away from her you get, the better. Go to Johto and get into one of the major cities. They will last the longest.>"

"Please, Arcanine, I need to find out what this is all about. And if just about every Pokemon agrees, why don't you want to join?"

Arcanine shrugged. "<I do. But you are not a bad trainer. I do not want you to die.>"

"Please, just tell me were to go."

Arcanine sighed. "<There is a dark forest between Kanto and Johto. No Pokemon have ever lived there. Not because it was a bad place, or because there was no food, or because it was dangerous. We just…didn’t. Now Eon has set up her first base there.>"

"Thanks Arcanine," said Gary, withdrawing his Arcanine. If even his kind Arcanine who had no bad experiences with humans, wanted to join, what would most Pokemon do? Try as he might he was unable to dislodge the thought as he travelled down from the Indigo Plateau to the land between Kanto and Johto.


***************************************************************************************************************


Gary slipped silently through the trees. It was dark and he had just started out to the camp he had found that afternoon.

Bright fires were burning, so he figured that even if they had posted Pokemon guards, their eyes would be blinded by the firelight and unable to see in the darkest shadows. It was a slim chance but he was counting on the fact that the Pokemon were probably confident that no one would ever look for them there. Of course, if they had any Pokemon who could see well in the dark anyway, like his Umbreon, he was in trouble.

Arcanine hadn't been kidding. It really was a base. A huge building seemed to leap right out of the trees. He had nearly stumbled right into this place before he found it. Somehow the conspicuous place was almost perfectly hidden.

The building itself wasn't like a normal one. It had a rounded shape and it looked as if the Pokemon had started covering it in dirt. Grass was growing on the lower slopes, and it looked as if small shrubs and even saplings had been planted. Once they finished, he guessed it would be almost impossible to find.

They must have still been working on it, since he could see many Pokemon outside near the building. They were under trees, by the fires, in the trees. But they were Pokemon, after all. They lived in the forest naturally. Why were they making a building in the first place?

"It really is an impressive structure, isn't it?" said a voice. Gary whipped around and stared right into the golden eyes of a girl. "A few of them managed to build it within a few days." She spoke causally, as if it was perfectly normal to be conversing with a human in these woods.

"Then why are the Pokemon outside?"

"The building is mainly to have a single place where they can go in bad weather, rather then being spread out. It isn't a real issue, of course, since many of the Pokemon have partial or complete control over local weather. It's just in case something comes up. Plus, some of the Pokemon recruits are in bad shape not to mention Mixeon and Cinceon are delicate." She paused, but before Gary could ask another question, she continued: "By the way, you might want to just come with me now. They know that you're here. Under normal circumstances I would advise you to run away as fast as you can go, but the Pokemon here are more then capable of catching you. If you surrender, it is possible they won't kill you. Not likely, but possible."

"Excuse me?"

She sighed. "Dawn and Dusk noticed you a while ago. They're mentally watching this area. Ice told me so I decided to come out to talk. What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" said Gary, baffled.

She sighed again, tired. "Are you going to run away and be killed, or stay here and almost certainly be killed, or come with me and have a slim chance of at least living to see the dawn? It really is up to you."

"I guess I'll come with you," said Gary nervously. "Uh, where are we going?"

"To see the experimental Pokemon. They're the ones in charge here. Scar and Lash might have a say in it too, but you should hope they don't."

"Why?"

"Because Scar and Lash hate humans as much as Eon does. You should probably hope they aren't the ones chosen to kill you. Scar especially is really good at that. It would take you a long time to die. Nightflame and Shine would be more lenient, but Memory would also want you dead."

Gulping nervously, Gary followed the strange girl into the building.


**************************************************************************************************************


~ I vote we kill him now ~ said Dusk.

~ I agree ~ added Dawn.

"The human came here on his own. What a fool. Let's just kill him and be done." growled Lash.

"Who should get the job?" asked Scar. "One of us, or his own Pokemon?"

"We haven't even decided whether to kill him or not," snapped Nightflame. "So you shouldn't already be discussing who gets to kill him!"

Ice walked in and said, with the mixture of annoyance, boredom, and disinterest she often displayed in these situations, "Wildfire would like to inform you that she thinks you should talk to his Pokemon before you kill him. Wildfire would also like it if you didn’t know she made the suggestion, but I only am willing to put up with so much. And she wants me to talk to him myself. See why he was here and what he wants. She is, I am afraid, still compassionate. It is most annoying," she said with a sigh. To one who could see the outcomes of any action, most creatures seemed foolish and dimwitted.

"Why bother when we can just kill him now?" asked Memory.

"It is rather pointless," agreed Shine.

"Because he is friends with his Pokemon. Because as you already know, they are not all cruel. Most, but not all. And so not all deserve to die. Besides, the more strong Pokemon we have, the less Pokemon casualties."

"Very well. But do not judge him kindly. If he truly does not deserve to be killed…" said Shine.

"I have no love for the human race. Believe me, the judgement shall not be biased. In either way," she added.


***************************************************************************************************************


"So, you are the brilliant trainer who decided to sneak up on us. Rather pathetic." Ice already knew what the outcome of this would be. But it was always amusing to talk to humans, since their thoughts, morals, ideas- they were all so alien to her own.

Gary had been locked in one of the rooms of the building. It was completely unfurnished, since it was not to be used often. The person before him seemed to be a human, but she had a long black forked tail. Gary stared at her, scared. "Who are you?"

"A killer," she said, smiling coldly in private amusement. Gary thought he saw fangs as she spoke. He shuddered, but she ignored it. Humans were afraid of her. She knew it, accepted it and revelled in it. "Why did you come here?"

"Because I saw what happened at the Pokemon League. I wanted to see what was going on."

"That's simple. Pokemon have gotten fed up with being cannon fodder for the humans. They are attacked, taken from their homes, and forced to fight. Pokemon can be starved, mutilated, experimented on, and killed." Ice said this with a complete lack of emotion, much different from how any of the assembled Pokemon would have acted, or Wildfire. But she was not emotional. She was Ice.

"What? I've never heard of any of that!"

"You've caught Pokemon before. Did you ever bother to ask if they wanted to be taken? Or did you have to hurt them until they are unable to escape? The commanders here are mostly trained Pokemon. Many are badly scarred. Some were nearly killed. Have you ever heard of a trainer being punished for killing their Pokemon?"

"No, I've never heard that, but if they did that their license would be revoked."

"And how would people learn this had happened? If a Pokemon is killed by their trainer, no one knows. If a Pokemon is killed in battle, it is usually considered an accident. The other Pokemon is usually killed, especially if it's a rookie trainer's Pokemon, to make sure such a thing will never happen again." She shrugs. "And really, even if they did get their license revoked, so what? They killed a Pokemon, but their punishment is to no longer be able to fight in the league? You don't need a license to have Pokemon. Pokemon who kill people, however, are killed. Pokemon who hurt people are killed."

Gary stared at her in horror. She showed no emotion, and certainty didn’t seem to have the intensity of belief normally present in someone who was part of a revolution. "Who are you?" he asked again. "What are you?"

She shrugged. "Not a human, not a Pokemon. A killer. What else matters?" She glanced at him with cold dark eyes. "Tell me. Who are you?"

"I'm Gar-"

"Yes, I know that. Gary Oak, grandson of Professor Oak, who got ten Kanto badges and made it to the fourth round of the Kanto League last year before your Nidoking lost to a golem. You spent this year battling in Johto, then returned to the Pokemon League and made it into the six-on-six level, then resigned upon learning about the Leagues' 'technical difficulties'," recited Ice in a bored voice. "I don't care about that. Who are you? What kind of person are you?"

Gary made a wild guess as to what she was talking about. "Um, I'm a pretty good trainer. I used to care a lot about winning, but not so much now. I care about my Pokemon, they're my friends. I don't blame them if I lose or anything, and I wouldn't keep them against their will."

Ice smiled coldly, displaying long white fangs. She took a step toward the boy, and Gary automatically took a step back. "So, this is why you should live?" she asked, her voice amused. "This is why we should not kill you?"

Gary took another step back, eyes widening in fear. "I don't deserve to die!"

"So? Many die who do not deserve it. Do you deserve to live? I've killed many. What makes you so special?" Ice said this the same way she said just about everything, in a calm and rational voice. She didn't normally show much emotion, and when she did it was usually part of a game to confuse people. She was called Ice for a reason.

"I'm not cruel. I don't abuse my Pokemon. I don't hurt people or Pokemon. I haven't done bad things!"

"So? I've killed plenty of people. Some of them did not abuse their Pokemon. Some of them did not hurt others. Some of them had not done bad things. Why do you deserve to live? Tell me why I should not just kill you."

"You can't kill me! My Pokemon would stop you!"

In an instant, Ice grabbed him by the throat and picked him up as if he weighted nothing. Her eyes, cold as black ice, stared into his terrified ones. He pulled weakly at her hand but her iron grip was not loosened. Gary's lungs began to burn as he struggled to breathe. "I could kill you right now," she said quietly in a cold voice without threat or care. "I could snap your neck. I could crush your spine without the slightest effort. Your Pokemon could not stop me. I've killed many. It would be easy."

She dropped him carelessly. Gary gasped, breath rasping through his throat. "But it is not up to me to choose that. And far more importantly, it would upset the pattern. I like the way things might turn out, so I won't change them. Yet." With that, Ice walked out, cold and calm, the door shutting behind her like the lid to a tomb.


**********************************************************************************************************


~ So? ~ hissed Eon. She was not in the best of moods. Eon had just teleported to the Pokemon League Headquarters to revise the existing agreement between the revolution and several 'wild' Porygon. The Porygon were the ones causing the difficulties at the League. They felt certain she would lose and were on the side of the humans, but they knew that people were not ready for an attack. In return for their safe passage out, they were helping the revolution. They now had demanded the bargain changed so that they would be removed the day before the battles started. Eon had compromised and they would be taken the morning before the battle. The Porygon feared betrayal. She would never do something so human.

Teleporting in then hiding immediately had been difficult, talking telepathically through machines had been difficult, and then teleporting right back out had been difficult. She was exhausted.

With the faintest suggestion of a smile -Ice never was one to avoid conflict- she said: "He should live."

~ What! ~ yelped Eon

"What!" roared Scar

"What!" snarled Lash

"Why shouldn't we kill him?" asked Memory angrily.

"If he lives it will be helpful," Ice said, shaking her head. "The pattern is complex. The web is tangled, victory supported by frayed threads."

"What are you talking about?" groaned Shine. Ice was supposed to judge if the human deserved to live, not babble insanely about threads.

"If you let him live, our chances of victory are better." She frowned. "But there is still much wrapped in mist. We will need all the support we can get."

~ What do you mean, chance of victory? ~ asked Mewtwo, who had shown up to see what all the commotion was about. ~ It would seem we have a marked advantage, Ice. Why are you so uncertain? ~

Ice shrugged. "Yes, our first few battles have been easy. One of the things humanity is best at is ignoring approaching calamities. But we lost forty at the first major battle against armed humans, even with the element of surprise. We will learn but so will they. Humans may be weak, but that is why they have guns and bombs and computers. Once they mobilize against us, it will get far harder. People will start to kill any Pokemon they come across. We are many but also widespread. And there are many who could go either way. "With that, Ice walked over to the side of a tree, stepped into its shadow and vanished.

Mewtwo sighed. ~ So, what are we to do with him? ~ he asked.

"She has only given a suggestion. Ice is not the one in charge. I say we kill him," snapped Memory.

"Ignoring Ice's suggestions is never a good idea. She isn't psychic and doesn't get premonitions like they do, but she can still see what will happen," said Wildfire. "I don't know how, but she can. She's mentioned patterns, webs, and threads before as well."

"She just seems nutty to me," said Shine.

~ Nuts or not, she was right last time, ~ said Mewtwo.

"No matter what she says, no matter how strange it seems at the time, she's never been wrong," chimed in Wildfire. "If she says not to kill him, it’s a good idea not to."

"You didn't want us to kill him in the first place," growled Scar. "Why should we listen to you now?"

"Well, I trust Ice. She does seem strange and so do her Pokemon, but there's just something…" said Nightflame quietly. "Besides, we have more important things to do, like the attack on the Pokemon League and dealing with our injured. We're going to need more Chancey and Blissey, and a few Milktank wouldn't hurt. I think that should be our next priority."

~ True, ~ agreed Eon.

"And we still have to deal with the experimental Pokemon," added Shine.

Eon looked down, saddened. ~ Not for long. I don't think most of them will survive this week. A few might, but most of them are not correctly made. ~

***********************************************************************************************************

Elsewhere, at the Pokemon League:

"Ash, I think maybe Gary was telling the truth," said Misty nervously.

"Yeah right. He just wanted me to quit because he was afraid I would beat him! Why would you think he wasn't just lying?" snapped Ash.

"Because he just dropped out," said Brock quietly. "It was announced this morning."

CHAPTER NINE: THE TRIAL

“You don’t think you can win, do you?”

Jeanette Fisher merely smiled and tossed her Pokeball into the air. AJ sneered at her.

“Look girlie, my Sandshrew can pretty much clean the clock of any Pokemon in yer collection, so don’t bother with the arrogance, ‘kay?”

“It’s not arrogance,” she said. “Arrogance is when people mock Bellsprout because he looks weak. They never consider the fact that his looks and skill are two entirely different things. And that’s how we beat them so easily.”

“Yeah, believe that if ya want. GO SANDSHREW!”

“GO BELLSPROUT!”

The two Pokemon materialised, Bellsprout going into a karate-fighting stance. AJ smirked.

“Sandshrew, Slash attack!”

Bellsprout allowed the rodent to attack and then, the claws inches from his stem, he grabbed its arm and tossed it over his shoulder, before spinning round and using Slam to keep it from getting up.

“HEY!” AJ snarled. “You’re not commanding it! Cheating cow!”

“My Pokemon can strategise and battle without my assistance,” she said. “They wouldn’t be very good fighters if they couldn’t, now would they?  Oh, and your Sandshrew is in a headlock.”

“WHAT?!”

Bellsprout slackened his hold somewhat and bent his head down towards Sandshrew's. “<Why don’t you fight back?>” he asked the Sandshrew.

“<Master hadn’t told me to.>”

“<So? You can fight without his orders, can’t you?>”

“<No. He’ll hit me again.>”

“<WHAT?>”

“Sandshrew! Slash again!”

Sandshrew twisted and broke the hold, unbalancing Bellsprout before scoring three fine cuts on his stem. The plant grunted and, at his trainer’s command, fired Razor Leaf at his opponent's legs. The rodent squealed and fell down. Bellsprout moved in for a quick finisher-

Without warning, a Venomoth swooped down, spraying the trainers with Sleep Powder. They collapsed without even noticing it was there. The Pokemon looked up, confused.

“Hi!” it called down. “Need a lift?”

Understanding dawned on Bellsprout. “One of Eon’s?”

“Yep.”

“Huh. She’s letting humans live then?”

“Not exactly,” said the moth. “These two are actually part of… an experiment…”

************************************************************************************************************

Anthony yawned and sat back to watch his Pokemon train. He was a bit tired but Hitmonchan & Primeape were still fighting fit. Hitmonchan was working out to the best of his ability, a real go-getter. Primeape… well, he was coasting. Anthony found this annoying; this Pokemon had won the P1 two years back! It beat Giant’s Hitmonlee! But ever since Ash had passed it on to Anthony, it seemed… preoccupied. Upset about something.

It couldn’t be about being given to him. Pokemon didn’t think like that; EVERYONE knew that. That Primeape had better shape up soon; it had failed in Round 1 of the last two P1’s and if it wouldn’t make an effort, he was giving it away.

There was a knock on the door. He sighed.

“Look, I’m busy!”

If it was his wife or daughter again… Didn’t they realise this work was important? Why’d they always want him at home so-

He opened the door and was rewarded by a fast-moving brick wall. The Golem watched him fall, picked him up and called out to the Fighting Pokemon, “you coming or what?”

*************************************************************************************************************

Giselle walked through the corridors of Pokemon Tech, bored out of her skull. Exams were over and now her time here was all over bar the graduating ceremony. So where to from here? She’s already got the qualifications for League Champion. She could be a Breeder, or a Gym Leader, or stay on as a teacher (BLEURGH!), or go out as a road trainer, or just go home and give up Pokemon. After all, this place has given her good enough qualifications for most well-paid jobs.

Probably go home and become an executive. She had the drive and the contacts; it’d be sad to get rid of Cubone but she wasn’t really going to need-

Peace sleep tired sleeeeep…

The Drowzee picked up her sleeping body, checked the corridor to make sure no one had seen and then teleported away.

***************************************************************************************************************

Team Rocket was pissed. Not only had their current base been destroyed, but also they’d had to trek seven miles to get to the nearest TR cabin, and that had been left in the most terrible condition by the previous occupants. Someone had scribbled “TRUK NOT MUNKY!” on the wall for some reason.

Meowth, on the other hand, was scared. He knew about Eon, he knew she was behind the base’s destruction, he knew what she was after and HE KNEW that he was very likely to end up dead. A lot of Pokemon hated him for his association with Team Rocket, it was only a matter of time… He kept looking towards the door, wondering when they'd come for him. Arbok and Weezing noticed this, and slithered up.

“<I know what you’re thinking,>” said Weezing. “<But there is a chance->“

“There bloody well isn’t. You know that.”

BAM

Meowth paled. “Ngh…”

BAM

“Hey Meowth! Get the door!”

“<You can make it if you run,>” whispered Weezing.

“<He can’t,>” said Arbok. “<That’s a Scyther outside.>”

“Oh no… Nooooooo…”

Meowth was more frightened than he’d ever been in his life. But he had no choice. If he stayed in here, the Scyther would come in after him. Jessie and James would be in danger. He doubted the Scyther knew they were here, and he wanted it KEPT that way.

He opened the door.

“Here I am. Do what ya must.”

The Scyther looked at him and then knocked him out. He picked the cat up and flew away. James looked out of the window to see who was calling and saw this.

“What the hell?! Some Scyther’s just catnapped Meowth!”

“WHAT?!” Jessie bounded over, bazooka in hand. ”That bug messed with the wrong Rockets-“

“<LET IT GO!>” yelled Arbok. “<He did this so you’d be kept out of danger. Try to get him back and you will get killed. I know it.>”

“Yeah?” Jessie cocked her weapon. ”I don’t give a damn. Meowth’s our friend and when you mess with one of us, you mess with us ALL. We’re getting him back.”

***************************************************************************************************************

Gary sat on his cell, tapping on the walls and humming to himself. He glanced up as Wildfire came over.

“We have some new cellmates for you," she said. As she talked, a group of Nidoking entered and chucked Jeanette, AJ, Anthony, Giselle, and Meowth into the cell. Gary blinked in surprise.

“OK, just what the hell is going on?”

“You’re all going to be put on trial.” She looked right into his eyes and said, ”Me and Ice had to really convince Eon to do this. Lucky Mewtwo was backing us; he said this would do the Pokemon good, seeing what they were up against, quelling those among the group who doubted our cause.” She sighed. “I hope you’re found innocent or something,” she said in all sincerity. “I don’t need to explain what the penalty for being guilty is.”

***********************************************************************************************************

AJ was thrust into the makeshift stocks and looked around. He was in some kind of amphitheatre; all around him were Pokemon, watching with disgust and hatred. A few strange looking Pokemon, mutants he guessed, were over on one side, and iis Pokemon sat on the other.

Why aren’t they attacking? Why don’t the useless things rescue me already?!

Eon stepped forward. ~AJ Winters. You stand accused of war crimes; enslavement, abuse of Pokemon, conspiracy with enslavers and other war criminals. How do you plead?~

“Not guilty!”

~We shall see.~ Eon looked over at Ice. ~Will the court recognise Ice, the prosecutor?~

“Do I get a lawyer?” muttered AJ.

“No,” said Ice. “You defend yourself in this court. Now, AJ, I would like to know this; why do you capture Pokemon?”

“Why not? That’s what they’re THERE for! To be trained as strong fighters!”

“Really. Are YOU a strong fighter?”

“You bet!”

“Now, we have a list of the training procedures your Pokemon went through back when you were running an amateur Gym.” Ice looked down at her list and read out: “Up at 5 AM for an obstacle course and exercise. No feeding until 7 AM. Three hour-long sparring with the other Pokemon, anything goes and all-against-all.” She glared at him. “NO Potions allowed until fight is finished, so a Pokemon can battle 5 others, equally strong, without anything to heal wounds it sustains. Then there’s more exercise and the final feeding at 7 PM. Then bed. This routine has changed now; more emphasis on the combat and, of course, you fight more trainers. No Potions are allowed until the end of the day. Is this true?”

“Yeah.”

“I see. Do you go through this procedure?”

AJ blinked in surprise. “No,” he said. “Why should I?”

“Surely if you are willing to put Pokemon through it, it’s safe for you. And shouldn’t a good trainer do that?”

“No! Look, lady, the training would pretty much kill me. Pokemon, of course, can take more stress-“

“And this is why you allow them to go through incredible pain, without rest, while you just WATCH?” She turned on him, eyes boring through his skull and searing at his mind. “Is this the action of a good leader, or friend to his Pokemon?”

“Friend? Look, I’m Sandshrew’s friend,” he said, slightly rattled. “Ask him. And where do you get off insulting my training methods!”

Ice nodded slightly. “No offence meant,” she said in a tone that suggested offence WAS meant. “Prosecution calls Sandshrew to the witness stand.”

The little rodent crept over, looking at AJ fearfully.

“Now, Sandshrew, what is your view on the training? And you can tell the truth. You WILL NOT be hurt for it.”

It looked at her, then at AJ, then over at Eon and finally, in a timid whisper, “I hate it. It’s tiring and it hurts. It always hurts. He whips us if we don’t obey. And we die. Three of us have died.” It shuffled away from the angry glare of AJ, trying to hide behind Ice. She patted it, unconvincingly, on the head.

“No further questions. Your closing argument, AJ?”

“Yeah, THIS,” he said. “This is a joke! The way I train MY Pokemon is no concern of yours-“

~It is EVERY concern of ours,~ said Eon. ~And, with that statement, you have proven yourself an unfit trainer. And unfit for life as well. Your thoughts, jury?~

As one, the Pokemon roared “GUILTY!”. Eon nodded and pronounced his sentence.

Sandshrew carried it out with more enthusiasm than anything AJ had ever commanded it to do.

***********************************************************************************************************

“Gary Oak, you stand accused of war crime. Your crimes are: enslavement, conspiracy with enslavers and other war criminals. How do you plead?”

Gary looked around, nervously. He finally voiced not guilty, but very hesitatingly. He was unsure himself, unsure of anything that was going on.

“Gary Oak, you felt the need to enter our camp. Why was this?”

“I-I wanted to find out what was going on.”

Ice stared at him with contempt. “Oh? And what did you THINK was going on?”

Gary took a deep breath.

“I thought that a group of trainers had done something really horrible to Pokemon,” he said. “Something bad enough for them to attack humans. I don’t what this group did, but I’m not surprised by whatever it is. There are trainers who should NEVER have gotten their licenses and Pokeballs; I’d be a fool to think otherwise. I’ve SEEN them. Every single Tamer, for instance. They’re bastards, pure and simple.

“And I wanted to know what they were doing, so I could help you stop it. Because my Pokemon are my friends, my dearest friends. Humans leave, and turn on you, all for stupid reasons. Pokemon don’t. And if someone is hurting Pokemon bad enough for them to do all this,” he said, waving his arm across the room, “then I have to help stop it.”

Ice was silent. She hadn’t expected a human to reply with THAT. She turned to Eon, feeling a bit out of place.

Eon sighed. ~This is how you feel, is it? And do you want to know what this group did that was so awful?~

“YES.”

~First,~ she said, ~the group is EVERY TRAINER ON THE PLANET. And the crime is training itself.~

Gary was shocked. “That can’t be right-“

~IT IS. All training is, all it ever will be, is an excuse for humans to enslave living, SENTIENT creatures. You capture living creatures and order them to fight. Why? How is this moral? How does this make you their “friends”?~

Gary opened and shut his mouth, trying to find words. He couldn’t. It had all seemed simple and logical up until now, something never questioned. But why had he never questioned it? Now Eon had voiced this, it seemed so obvious. How could he have been so blind as to not see training for what it really was?

“I… don’t know.” He looked pleadingly at his Pokemon.

Umbreon stepped forward. “To be fair, this one is a better trainer than most, more considerate and in touch with us. But I cannot deny that he never saw that we wanted freedom, or that he never truly treated us as equals. I do not hate him, but I know he is guilty.” He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Gary.”

Gary couldn’t meet any of the Pokemon in the eye. “So, that’s the way it is,” he said in a hollow voice. “And we were all too blind to notice. I called them my friends while I did all this to them.” He began to tear up. “Fine. I’m guilty. Definitely. Do what you must. Do it. Because after what I’ve done and after what my Pokemon have… said… I-I don’t want to continue living. Just do what you must.”

Eon looked at him for a long time, betraying no expression. She finally turned to the jury, who voiced no cries of guilty or innocence. They didn’t know quite how to respond to this.

~Return this one to the cell. We will figure out his sentence later.~

*******************************************************************

“… how do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” said Giselle. She was looking a little scared but was determined not to show it. “Now, what is this all about?!”

“What this is about is that you are on trial for war crime,” said Ice coolly. “Now, we have interviewed Cubone, who informs us that you are quite the academic. You have very impressive skills and can get many a good job.”

She nodded, looking smug. Ice resisted the urge to sneer.

“I plan to be an executive or lawyer or something like that,” said Giselle.

“Ah. But what about your Pokemon?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’d have to give them away, of course. I like them and all, but they wouldn’t do me much good.”

“Does Cubone and Graveller have a choice in this?”

“What?!”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’”, said Ice. She paused for a minute. “You have just said you are willing to abandon your Pokemon. Very shocking behaviour for a trainer, isn’t it?”

“ABANDON?! NO! I’m releasing them!”

“But you don’t give them a CHOICE,” pressed Ice. She grinned at Giselle’s discomfort. “Let’s not try to avoid blame here. If a Pokemon is given the choice between freedom and captivity, that is releasing. If you just leave it somewhere and walk away, you are abandoning it. There is a big difference, and it is all tied up in choice and how worthy you perceive your Pokemon as being. And obviously you don’t think much of them AT ALL.”

Giselle tried to counter this, but even to her ears her arguments sounded feeble and phoney. They certainly sounded like this to her Pokemon; they refused to look at her. Eventually, she was pronounced guilty.

******************************************************************

Ice was impressed. Jeanette was actually managing to look her in the eye without blinking! Well, for a few seconds anyway. And then there was her calm and detached manner…

“I want to be perfectly clear here,” she said. “When you mention these charges, what are you referring to?”

“Your capturing and training of Pokemon,” said Ice.

She gave this some thought, before replying: “What an interesting viewpoint…In that case, I am guilty as charged, ma’am.”

“You admit your guilt before this court. Can you explain WHY you committed these crimes?”

“I believed training was a good thing. I believed it strengthened both us and the Pokemon. And I’ve always been fascinated with Pokemon of the forests; I grew up near the Safari Zone, you see.” She looked over at her three Pokemon. “I would like to hear from them, please. I want to know if these activities are as bad as you say.”

Bellsprout stepped forward. He took a deep breath.

“Yes they are,” said Bellsprout. “Trainers can show compassion, but very few are ever treating us as equals. However, I would like to say that Jeanette DOES treat us as equals.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from all in the court.

“It’s true. She puts us through tough training practises, but none she wouldn’t do herself. She trains us in human fighting styles to give us an edge, she tries to avoid feeding us Pokechow-“ and here every Pokemon made a noise of disgust, “-and she encourages us to think for ourselves. And we stay out of our Pokeballs as much as possible.”

Jeanette nodded. “I was brought up to not look down on others, and to be honourable in combat. Granted, my parents never intended these lessons to be used in Pokemon battles, but I didn’t see why they should be any different. I am, however, truly sorry for any harm or crime caused by me to any Pokemon.”

Ice and Eon looked at each other, then at the jury. They were bewildered by this. The jury voiced innocent; the first yet. Jeanette bowed and returned to her cell until the trial was over.

~That wasn’t meant to happen!~ hissed Eon.

~Do not worry,~ said Mewtwo. ~This may be a setback; on the other hand, we COULD turn it to our advantage.~

~How do you mean?~

~I won’t say yet. Let’s wait until the trial ends, shall we?~

*********************************************************************

Anthony was in the stocks now, and he was so far surviving just by sheer bloody mindedness. So far Ice couldn’t break this, and the jury was being swayed in his favour. They’d seen Jeanette, and Hitmonchan was seriously backing the human up. Eon was getting peeved.

Then Primeape was called up and it went to Hell.

“Primeape, is this man as noble as Hitmonchan paints him?”

Primeape didn’t answer for a long time, and when he did, it was a whisper. But then he said it again, and everyone heard it.

“NO!”

“What are you talking about?” growled Hitmonchan.

“You don’t see it, but I do! He doesn’t care for us, not truly! He just cares about his precious P1 trophy!” Primeape was beginning to cry, hot and angry tears that enflamed his eyes. “I was ABANDONED. Dumped on him because he was able to smooth-talk my old trainer into thinking it would be, ha, GOOD for me! GOOD FOR ME! But all Anthony cared about was having a strong Pokemon so he could win! He never took the time to bond with me, to find out why I was upset; he just ordered me to train! Oh, he never actually ABUSED me. He just made me feel like a THING, not a person.”

“You’re full of crap,” said Hitmonchan. “He makes us stronger, he treats us well, he puts all his effort into us; what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that YOU have NO MIND BEYOND FIGHTING!” screamed Primeape. “You’d support GIOVANNI if you had the opportunity to have a good fight! You know, you KNOW, that he abandons his own FAMILY to train us. And family should come first! All parents of OUR kind know that. Anyone who abandons a CHILD like that is NOT a good man, or a good trainer.” He glared at Hitmonchan with utter hatred. “But you are too blind to see that. Blinded by your precious violence. By Mew, I HATE being the same Element as you.”

And thus the jury found Anthony guilty. Hitmonchan tried to save him, but was felled by a quick Hypnosis by Mewtwo.

*******************************************************************

Meowth sat, alone and abandoned, in the court. The Pokemon glared at him with undisguised hatred.

“YOU, Meowth, stand accused of Pokemon abuse, willing participation with the slavemasters, conspiracy against Pokemon and treason. How do you plead?”

“I’m guilty,” he muttered. “I know I am. Ya think I don’t know what I’m doin’? Just kill me already. Don’t bother draggin’ dis out.”

~As you wish,~ said Eon. ~I sentence you to executio-~

BOOOOOOOOOOM

Fragments of the roof poured in and Team Rocket dropped down, bazookas at hand.

“RIGHT!” snarled Jessie. “THIS is how it works. We are taking Meowth outta here RIGHT NOW and if you get in the way, YOU GET SHRAPNEL UP YER ARSE!”

Eon’s voice was calm and DEADLY. ~You dare to break in here? You can be killed in seconds, humans.~

“Ah, but we CAN take quite a few of you WITH US,” said James.

~Why is the traitor any concern of yours?~

“That ‘traitor’ is our mate, bitch!” Jessie swivelled the bazooka to Eon and grinned. “Course, if you WANT to annoy the people with the BIG GUNS…”

Eon’s eyes glowed for just a second, and the weapons crumbled to dust in the Rocket’s hands.

~You were saying?~

“Ah.” Jessie clenched her fists. “OK, this changes things a bit, but-“

~HAND TO HAND?!~ Eon began laughing. ~You amuse me. For demon-humans, you do show such loyalty to your teammates. This will not stave off your execution.~

“Just TRY it,” hissed James.

“Guys, NO,” said Meowth. “You’ll get squished!”

“We’re not leaving you. No matter how powerful Eon is.”

Eon stared at them and frowned. ~Interesting. Rockets showing actual loyalty and camaraderie with Pokemon.~

“He’s our friend,” said Jessie. “Same with all our Pokemon.”

~You truly believe that? You lock them in Pokeballs, force them to fight. You control them. You command them, try to warp their destiny into something to suit you. You-“

“SHUT UP!” James’ face was drawn with fury. “Just shut UP.”

~Truth hurts, doesn’t it? But you KNOW, deep down, that you treat Pokemon that way. Scum.~

“No,” said James quietly. “You’re wrong. I would never treat any creature like that. Not after-“

~After what?~ Eon frowned again and decided to find out. And she went inside James’ mind.

A small boy, ordered and dominated. His personality and creativity smothered, made to fit in with other’s ideals. A mere slave to them, though they claim it is for his benefit. A demon with a whip, telling him to behave properly and hurting him if he doesn’t bow to her will. Pain, and suffering, and captivity…

Eon withdrew and stared at James in pity. ~I see,~ she said quietly. ~The abused becomes the abuser, though he’d wish otherwise. Tragic.~

James stared in anger at her, and then horror, and finally through tears as he collapsed to the floor.

“NO! You’re wrong! I’m not like them. I’m not.” He covered his face and wailed. “I don’t want to be like them! I love Weezing and even Victreebel, I don’t wanna hurt and abuse them like they did to me, I don’t wanna turn out like that… I don’t wanna… I don’t wanna… Gng…”

Jessie and Meowth bent down beside James and embraced him, trying to comfort him. Eon watched and sighed.

~Meowth is excused. I sensed, in the boy’s memories, that his teammates have suffered as well. And we are here to give the suffering a voice and freedom. Place them in the cells and I’ll deal with them. Personally.~

*********************************************************************

Eon, Mewtwo, Mixeon and Wildfire went down to the cells once the jury had left. Inside were the five survivors, those found to be innocent, or thereabouts. And now they had to deal with them.

But how? They might not deserve death but if allowed to return to the Pokemon League… And this was ammunition for the dissenters…

Wildfire unlocked the door.

~Greetings,~ said Eon to the prisoners. ~You five have been found… innocent… of all charges. You are free to go now. Just don’t try to go against us.~

“Good,” said Gary. He stood up, his form tensed. “Just one problem.”

~Oh?~

“I’m not going. I’m staying here to help you in your struggle.”

The Pokemon stared in shock.

“I truly want to be friends with my Pokemon,” he continued. “I want to make amends for the crimes I committed. I want to fight for the downtrodden. I may not be Pokemon, but I will fight alongside them, and against the Pokemon League.”

“And I will too,” said Jeanette. “My Pokemon want to join. And without them, what will I do? I go where they go, and I won’t abandon them. And this cause is more honourable than the League.”

Meowth looked up and sighed. “I’ve done some bad stuff. I won’t deny it. But I do want to redeem myself. I’ve watched Pokemon be locked up and abused, sometimes thanks to ME, and I’m sick of it. I WANT TO FIGHT.”

“Me too,” said James. “And any reason I have to do so… It’s near enough to theirs.”

“And I’m in,” said Jessie. “If my team-mates are in, so am I. And if my Pokemon are in, so am I, because I’d never leave Arbok on her own; Lickitung and Wobbufet neither.”

Eon was shell-shocked. ~I… er…~

Mewtwo sighed and sent a private message into her mind. ~We need the manpower. And they can help us bring down the humans. And this will crush all the dissidents; humans found to NOT abuse their Pokemon wish to JOIN US. A huge victory for our side, methinks.~

Eon slowly nodded. She then turned to the humans (and Meowth) and said, ~welcome, brothers. Welcome to the fight for freedom.~

TO BE CONTINUED

Go Back