Written by Farla and Charles RocketBoy

"Go, Coin!" calls the girl desperately. A small Meowth appears.

The other Pokemon were getting closer. Her Mr. Mime had been beaten and the rest of her Pokemon had joined. The leader of the band is an angry Steelix, putting her Meowth at a disadvantage.

The Meowth faces the Pokemon hopelessly.

"Use scratch!"

"Meow?" says the Meowth. Her trainer never tells her to use scratch! She always tells Coin to use the same exact attack, and she usually loses. Coin is badly out of practice but still scratches at the Steelix.

The Steelix looks down at the Meowth, scarcely even feeling the attack. <If you're going to defeat me, it isn't a good idea to use normal type attacks. Why are you fighting at all? You can't beat any of us, let alone all.>

<I don't have a choice. You are attacking master, and she told me to attack you.>

<So you don't want to join?>

Coin stops scratching at the Steelix's metal hide. <Join? I don't understand?>

<My, you are out of the loop, aren’t you? We're from Eon's Army, and we are part of a Pokemon revolution! Any Pokemon who wish to join may. What do you owe your trainer? Are you willing to try to pay for her freedom with your own life?>

Coin stiffens, and turns to her trainer. < I paid that debt a thousand times over> she whispers softly, then steps aside, allowing the Pokemon to pass.

<Well, we have dealt with the humans, but we still have the dark evolutions to deal with.> said Nightflame.

<I thought they were all killed!> gasped Shine.

~ Most did. They fought violently and couldn't take much damage, so most were killed when Pokemon tried to subdue them. We still have a few, trapped in Pokeballs. There's no pressing concern, but we can't leave them in there. ~ replied Eon.

<What are we going to do?> asked Shine quietly. <Kill them?>

<We can't do that!> yelped Nightflame. <It isn't their fault that they have become…that.>

<We could try to calm them down, rehabilitate them. Pokemon don't get much mental illness, so we might bring them back to sanity, or at least some of the way> said Scar. <Which ones are they?>

Several Pokeballs appeared by Eon's forelegs. ~ A Gyarados, Arbok, Machamp, Rhydon and Houndoom. ~

Memory gulped. <Houndoom? Getting attacked is one thing, getting attacked by a Houndoom is another. If I was just trying to kill it, sure. But trying not to kill it and not to get burned at the same time?>

"I'll take him," said Ice, standing off to the side. Eon quickly scanned for shadows, but there were none. This was an open meadow.

~ Where did you come from? ~

"Does it matter? Anyway, I'll take the Houndoom. ~

<Ice, this one will attack you,> said Lash.

"So?" she asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone. "What does that matter?"

The Pokemon exchanged glances. ~ Ice, you do know what happens if you get burned by a Houndoom, right? ~ asked Eon.

"Of course I do," she said, starting to sound annoyed.

<But->

Ice sighed, then lunged forward, grabbed the Pokeball, and vanished.

Eon groaned. ~ How is she doing that in broad daylight? ~ she demanded. Dark Pokemon could travel through shadow, psychic Pokemon teleported. Ice was apparently doing neither.

In a nice, dark room in the large building, Ice appeared. "Go, Houndoom!"

A huge Houndoom appeared. His muzzle was at chest level, just right for ripping out hearts. As soon as he formed, he lunged for Ice, only to be stopped in his tracks.

Dark evolutions were trained to only listen to the rocket they were given and Giovanni himself. They would only listen to a new master if their old one or Giovanni gave that order. Ice wasn't even wearing a rocket uniform, so she was something he should kill. But he couldn't move.

Ice smiled slightly. Moulding shadows was one of her newest abilities, but it was already quite powerful. The Houndoom thrashed and snarled by couldn't break free.

"They made a thread out of the sound of a cat's footfall, the tooth of a hen…" she murmured. "In order to break something it has to be there. Shadows are nothing. You can't break nothing, Houndoom."

The Houndoom flamed one of the shadow chains without effect. He looked surprised.

"Darkness may retreat from light but shadows grow deeper. It all depends on which aspect you use." She cocked her head. "You know, Houndoom, you need a name. We have three Houndoom already. Nightflame, Firebringer, and my own Apocalypse. Do you have a name?"

He lunged for her and snapped, but his jaws stopped short of her flesh.

Ice smiled slightly. "I'll take that as a no. Rockets don’t usually give names to their Pokemon. I'll name you…Fenris," she said, walking over and patting him on the head.

He roared, trying to twist his head around to bite her, but he couldn't. Digging his claws into the floor he pushed with all his might against his bonds. Nothing happened.

Outside the room, Wildfire stood nervously, her face inches away from the door. Ice had been very clear about what would happen if anyone went in and disturbed her, but would she really be able to handle a rogue Houndoom? Ice had seemed perfectly at ease, which worried Wildfire more. No one should be calm about this. If Ice was overconfident, she could be killed.

~ Where is Ice? ~ asked Mewtwo. ~ If we're going to do this, we'll have to tell her. ~

<She's released a Dark Evolution Houndoom! I'm not going to get her!> replied Shine. Shine didn't want to deal with Dark Evolutions, especially not ones with a huge type advantage, and definitely not ones that could burn her for life.

~ We do need to get her ~ said Eon. ~ Who should we send? ~

<Why not one of the humans? Dark evolutions are slightly less inclined to kill humans, and even if something happens, well, at least we didn’t lose a Pokemon.> said Scar.

<We can't do that!> replied Shine.

<I think it's a good idea. Why not send that Gary brat? He tried to have a Pokemon battle with me!> growled Lash. <Against an Arcanine, just adding insult to injury! A FIRE Pokemon!>

~ Let's ~ said Eon softly, teleporting him in and explaining where to find Ice.

Ice sat down less then an inch away from the Houndoom's teeth. He shook with anger. She was RIGHT THERE and NOT SCARED and NOT DEAD. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just bite her head off. Screaming in rage he spat out a flamethrower.

Ice yawned. "Fire doesn't burn fire, light strengthens shadow. I just have to focus on which aspect."

The Houndoom whined softly. She wasn't his master and she was here and his master hadn't told him not to kill her and he hadn't killed her or hurt her and he couldn't get free and he couldn't kill her if he couldn't get free and she wasn't scared. This was very confusing. She was here and she was someone he should kill and she was not dead. The Houndoom felt scared. He lay down.

Ice noted his current and temporary placid mood. "Are you hungry, Fenris?" The answer was obvious, of course, but asking was a good way to get his attention. He stared at her, completely baffled.

A thought, and her Sneasels Pokeball popped open. Slice then vanished, reappearing a moment later with a large slab of Mewtwo's synthetic meat. It wasn't quite as good as the real thing, but Mewtwo was getting better at it. Still, it could have been a dried hunk of gristle and Fenris would have eaten it. Slice handed the meat to Ice and, with a nervous glance at Fenris, vanished again. Ice held out the meat and Fenris gulped it down.

"I don't care if Eon said she would flay you, you can't go in," snapped Wildfire, her wings half spread unconsciously.

Gary looked at her nervously. She was standing right in the doorway, with her wingtips touching the frame. He started to ask what flaying meant, then decided he was probably better off not knowing. With his luck Eon would do just that.

"But she probably is going to kill me! She said to get Ice and hurry or I'd pay," said Gary.

"She has a dark evolution Houndoom in there. Maybe Ice has it under control, maybe not. But either way it will kill you. Ice said not to let anyone in or else."

"I need to go in! This can't wait!"

Wildfire rolled her eyes and handed him her gun.

"Huh?" said Gary.

"Just shoot yourself or go back to Eon if you can't wait. If you go in there Ice or the Houndoom will kill you. If you're lucky, it'll be the Houndoom. If you want to die there are many, many less painful ways then pissing Ice off. Take a shower in an Arbok's acid attack, play in a cloud of Poison Powder, cut your arm off and bleed to death, those kind of things. Ice told me anyone who interrupted would suffer. She takes that very seriously. She probably won't even let you just die when she's finished."

Gary stared at her, wide-eyed. He handed the gun back gingerly. "I guess I'll wait," he said meekly, sitting down. Wildfire stood without moving. He waited and waited and waited and finally fell asleep. When he woke up Wildfire was still standing in that same position. He could swear she hadn't moved an inch.

"How do you know she's still alive?" he asked.

Wildfire shrugged. "Ice is hard to kill. But if the Houndoom did, it would then break down the door and attack us."

"Aren't you worried?"

Wildfire shrugged. "She's never faced something she couldn't beat before. Her Pokemon beat over 200 fighting Pokemon once, and that was early on. They're much higher level now, and Ice herself is powerful."

Gary brightened. That gave him an idea. "Hey, why don't we have a Pokemon battle? If I win, I can go in, and if I lose I'll leave."

Wildfire glared at him. "Pokemon battles aren't the answer to everything. Besides, Star isn't here, and I'm not interested in fighting you myself in an enclosed area."

"What about your other Pokemon?"

"I only have Star."

"Only one Pokemon?" said Gary contemptuously. "Why didn't you train others?"

Wildfire's glare intensified. "I did. They're dead."

She already seemed angry. Maybe he could make her so mad she would leave to doorway and he could get past. Not a good chance, but what else could he try? He had already taken so long, and it was clear Eon had no problem with killing him. Besides, she didn't seem to have the best handle on her temper. "Why? Did you kill them?"

The next thing he knew he was slammed into the wall. Dazed, he looked up at Wildfire.

"I would never do something like that!" she roared, her voice deepening slightly into a Charizards rumble. The temperature seemed to jump fifty degrees instantly and he stared, terrified, at her eyes. He could swear that there were flames in them. He thought for a moment she was going to kill him, but with a visible effort she stepped back into the doorway, releasing him. An eternity passed as she stared at him.

Then Wildfire heard the door opening. Turning, she stared into the eyes of a Houndoom.

The dark evolution Houndoom had been big. This one was bigger, with its eyes level with Wildfire's. It just barely fit into the doorway.

Gary yelped, flattening himself against the doorway.

"Hi Ice," said Wildfire calmly. "Eon needs to see you."

The Houndoom looked past her, at Gary. He could swear her eyes were boring into his soul.

< Tell Eon that I can't be at the Pokemon League attack, but not to worry, it'll go fine.> she said, stepping out. A very confused and slightly smaller Houndoom followed her.

"Wow," said Wildfire. "That Houndoom must be pretty low level."

"What?" said Gary.

She glanced back at him. "Houndoom, like many pack Pokemon, instinctively follow those who are higher level, because they are usually stronger and smarter. Ice is strong, but she's very low level."

"How can that be?"

Wildfire shrugged again. "When she became a full elemental, her Pokemon were very strong, giving her stronger abilities. Plus, to get her power level you also have to add how old she was when she Changed to her actual level. Houndoom evolve at L24, but many dark evolutions take longer to evolve then normal. Ice was younger then twenty when she Changed, I think. For this Houndoom to follow her it must be lower level then her, and that's rare in evolved Pokemon. Anyway, I've got to go tell Eon something," she said, walking off.

"You mean to tell me that you have NO IDEA what happened?" he roared. Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket, was not known for his patience or tolerance of errors. He was known for the painful deaths he gave out to those who tried either. "A Johto base with hundreds of powerful Pokemon-"

"Yes, and seven hundred rockets."

Giovanni blinked. "Yes, not that it matters, that too. What happened to the bodies?"

"Burned, sliced, electrocuted, frozen…There doesn't seem to be any consistency in how the rockets died."

"No, the Pokemon," said Giovanni, drumming his fingers on his desk.

"We found about a hundred. Forty were regular Pokemon, the rest a few Grimer, Muk, and mostly Dark Evolution Pokemon. Their deaths were pretty much the same."

"And you have no have no idea what caused this?" repeated Giovanni.

"We're currently looking for the two rockets who weren't there. All the other's bodies were accounted for, and with a little searching we found their stuff in the nearest Team Rocket cabin."

"Really? Who?"

"Jesse and James, sir."

"They weren't killed!?!?" he roared. The rocket flinched and could swear he felt the building itself shudder under the wrath of the Boss.

"They might have been," said the reporting rocket. "They left all their stuff but the weapons and seem to have vanished."

"No, it would be too much to hope for. They always manage to survive. What is being done to prevent this from happening again?"

"Well, there really wasn't much we could do until we know more about the attacker. We have all the cameras sending the picture right back here already. Plus, all rocket bases are on full alert."

"What do you think caused this?"

"Well, we don't know but we think perhaps a group of Pokemon trainers did it. But stealing from Team Rocket…they must have a death wish."

"I wish I knew where that damn bitch Ice was," growled Giovanni. "I could send her to fight them. She'd probably be able to find them and it wouldn't even matter which one wins."

"Sir?" said the rocket questioningly.

"If Ice wins, the people who attacked my base die. If they win, Ice dies. Either is fine."

She stood before the building. "So, this is the place," she said softly. Rather inconspicuous, but after all, it was very specialized, devoted to doing one thing. So it could afford to be small and hidden.

"Excuse me, sir, but there's just been a break-in at lab 27. We're getting the camera pictures. Do you want us to sent them in?"

"Yes," said Giovanni, watching the screen closely. Once they found out the people who were doing this, they would wish they had never been born.

Scientist were scribing frantically, trying to record everything possible about the creature in the cage, as if it might vanish at any moment. One looked up, staring across to the other side of the room. Her face displayed confusion, not like she had seen a Pokemon trainer but a regular rocket.

Giovanni cursed. The person or persons were standing right out of the view of the camera. Who were they?

A person walked out in front of the camera. She stared right at the camera, as if she was staring at him. "You know," she said softly. "I never liked you much, Giovanni. But really, killing him just because you screwed up and got greedy, made him worthless for fighting? You really should take better care of your creations. The others all hate you, so you should really have tried not to make more enemies. Doesn't matter much. Your time is almost up anyway."

He stared right back into her dark eyes, frightened.

"Go, Fenris!" she called, the Houndoom appearing and attacking the scientists. She turned to see the carnage for a moment, then turned back. "I always did believe in revenge for myself and others, Giovanni. And I hope you appreciate the irony of all this. A dark evolution aiding your enemies, and me destroying your own lab. Again, really, but you were far too stupid to realize when I did it the first time. I hope you realize what happens next."

The picture vanished, but Giovanni kept staring mutely at the black screen. It probably hadn't been such a good idea to kill her Tyranitar.

The crowd filters in to the stadium. But they are not laughing and cheerful as usual. This time the group is far more subdued. But after all, the recent events were disturbing.

The first six-on-six match is about to begin. Ruby dropped out, saying that Mandy would have won and it wouldn't be right to go on now. Of course, she didn't stand a chance of winning anyway. Her three strongest Pokemon had been taken by the freak Eevee things, so she couldn't fight well. But since Gary had also dropped out, there was no conflict.

Ash hadn't been able to make it. Pikachu had choked on an apple and been rushed to the Pokemon Centre, then Bulbasaur had fallen into the river on the way back. Chikorita's vine whip had been horribly inaccurate and by the time they got him out Noctowl had somehow sprained its wing and the trio had to trek back to the Pokemon Centre.

"Go, Onix!" calls the red trainer, Samuel.

"Go, Nidorino!"

"Nidorino, use Double Kick!" calls Drew.

Nidorino stood there.

"Onix, use Earthquake!"

Onix did nothing.

The crowd buzzed. What was going on? Yes, sometimes Pokemon ignored their trainers, though it was rare in the League tournament itself. But they usually just lay down and ignored everyone. These ones seemed to be…waiting. Besides, who had ever heard of both Pokemon ignoring their trainers at the same time?

Suddenly a group of Pokemon appeared. Lash, Scar, Star, Nightflame, Firebringer, and Shine, with Eon standing in front.

~ And so we meet again, humans. Such a pity but I'm afraid this is the last time any of you will exist. Bye ~

Before this, it was simply attacking. The Pokemon may have declared war, but few heard, fewer paid attention and fewer still thought it would matter. Humankind had not yet declared war on the Pokemon, and the general public thought there was nothing to worry about. Only about a hundred trainers, not counting the rockets, had died.

Then the Pokemon League exploded. Hundreds of people died in an instant. There were no survivors, but the cameras had been rolling and the whole of the Pokemon world saw it, as Eon had intended. And with that, the war truly began.

Wildfire was waiting at the edge of the camp. Before long Ice appeared.

Wildfire noted she looked happy. "Who died?" she asked. "And how long did it take you to kill them?"

"I didn't kill anyone," said Ice softly with a hint of mirth, the unspoken yet hovering in the air. "Fenris, the dark evolution did. And they were just rocket scientists."

Wildfire blinked. "You attacked a Team Rocket lab? Last time this kind of thing happened, when those Jennies tried to destroy bases, he had the cameras send back the pictures so they could see who was attacking. Hasn't he done that yet?"

"Yes, of course."

She breathed in sharply. "Ice, do you mean to tell me you just destroyed one of his labs and he saw you? He'll kill you!"

Ice smiled slightly. "Really Wildfire. Giovanni already wants me dead, he was always just too cowardly to try anything. And I'll kill him first."

"So Ice, did you attack just to tell him you were on the Pokemon's side?"

"He doesn't even believe that Pokemon are intelligent, so it hasn't crossed his mind yet. He thinks a group of Pokemon trainers attacked and stole the Pokemon. And I had other reasons."

"Like what?"

Ice tapped one of her Pokeballs. A very strange creature came out.

It looked like a longhaired Persian, with a brown face, tail and paws. Gold highlights covered its body. "Pri!" it said cheerfully, batting at a leaf.

"I'm just going to assume that was the Pokemon at the lab. What is it?"

"Prince. He's a Persian with Nidoking and Nidoqueen added in so he could use ground and poison type moves. I understand the first one, which died, had the proper temperament but then Giovanni got greedy. He added in a touch of mew DNA -he still fears Mewtwo, even though he tries not to. Prince got mew's temperament. He's worthless for fighting, so he was to be destroyed."

"Any other reasons?"

Ice held up a small disk. "All the data. He had me attack labs for years to get information on cloning, so I had experience. I'm sure Mewtwo will be able to use this. Plus, it has the current list of all the experimental Pokemon and what lab they're in."

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PEWTER

"…disaster of great magnitude...”

“…greatest terrorist attack in recent memory…”

“…estimated that at least 2,000 are dead…”

“…two entire Stadiums turned to ash…”

“…kemon rampaged through the streets…”

“…Indigo Plateau is effectively destroyed…”

“…Pokemon League shattered…”

“…declaration of war on the entire human race…”

The media frenzy was intense. This was to be expected, given the damage caused. The government and Pokemon League had been telling the people that there was nothing to be worried about, that the Pokemon attacks were just random flukes. But that was before Eon’s group destroyed Indigo Plateau and killed up to 3000 people in the process. Now the League was bankrupt, half its leaders & half its trainers dead in an instant. The military was on a full alert.

The surviving members of the League heads were gathered together- Sabrina, the “Sensational Sisters”, Lance, Agatha, Giovanni and Surge. A few of the Johto and Orange Island Gym Leaders were there as well; Rudy, Falkner, Bugsy and Pryce.

“What, exactly, do we have planned?” asked Giovanni.

“And can we make sure this doesn’t happen to the other two Leagues?” spoke up Bugsy.

“How should we know?” Lance ran his fingers through his hair. “We hadn’t expected something like this. Not even from Team Rocket. And speaking of which, if they decided to take advantage of the situation-”

“Team Rocket will be preoccupied by Eon and her cronies,” said Giovanni. “We won’t need to worry about them.”

Sabrina looked right at him. “Oh, won’t we?” she said quietly. “I wonder.”

Giovanni nearly tensed, but managed to gain control. “Either way, we need some sort of force to protect ourselves. Now, I propose we use the Dark Evolutions-“

“Out of the question,” said Falkner. “They’re unreliable and extremely vicious. How do we know they won’t just attack us?”

“They won’t. Now, we have buildings full of them, confiscated off trainers and captured Rockets.” And my vast supplies, of course, but I’m not telling you about THAT. “Add this to the military forces, and we will have a good chance of defending ourselves.”

“Maybe,” said Bugsy. “However, the Johto League officials and Kanto & Johto politicians are taking refuge at the Whirl Islands and having navy warships stationed all around the island, keeping Pokemon VERY far away. Doesn't sound like a sign of a 'good chance' to me.”

“Perhaps,” said Agatha, “we should try a different approach. Talk to Eon, say we want to join her.”

“We don’t.”

She smirked. “She won’t know that. We can gain her trust and sabotage her from the inside. With that done, they’ll be easy to beat. QED.”

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

“WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS…”

Jessie shuddered. “Who let Meowth sing?”

“<Lighten up!>” grinned Arbok. “<We just atomised the Plateau. We are kicking arse!>”

The Pokemon were celebrating, and this was going on all over the Indigo Region; Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto… All were celebrating this victory. Even those imprisoned in Pokeballs celebrated, seeing this as a sign of their upcoming liberation. Right here, Scar, Star, Lash and Memory celebrated by firing Hyper Beams and Flamethrowers into the sky. Wildfire was singing war songs with a bunch of other Pokemon, Gary was attempting to dance, Mewtwo was heavily drunk and even Ice was showing a sign of being glad..

Eon surveyed her troops and grinned. The sight of so many Pokemon so happy reminded her of why she was fighting. And, the gods willing, someday it would always be like this…

~We’ve achieved a great victory!~ she called out. ~All who worried we’d be defeated can now, as our human ally Jessie put it, er, “suck it up”. Indeed. But we have a greater battle coming up, one that will take much planning…~

All eyes were upon her now. She took a deep breath.

~Our next target is Pewter City.~

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

One week later.

Pewter City was, like all Kanto cities now, guarded by a wall of tanks and missile launchers. The soldiers were armed and ready to shell Viridian Forest at a moments notice. They didn’t care how strong the Pokemon were, they wouldn't be getting through this much firepower.

Bludgeon, Jeanette’s old Scyther, peered out of the undergrowth and surveyed them. He turned to his troops.

“OK, is everyone in position? Drilling teams? Canopy swarm? Aerial swarm? Blast front swarms?”

A quick check revealed all were ready. He nodded, took a deep breath

This was it, oh hell, this was gonna go wrong under his watch…

 “ATTACK!”

Projectiles tore out of the forest and tore through the military. Soldiers screamed as they were cleaved in two by Razor Leaf and vehicles exploded into shrapnel. They began to fire back, and the forest front erupted into flame. The Pokemon strafed constantly. A few were hit and killed, and others were wounded, but for the most part they were doing well. Bludgeon, Arbok and Lash lead their swarms across the forest, constantly firing on the soldiers. Up above, Cinceon, Mixeon, Jessie, James and Meowth (canopy swarm) opened fire, sniping at the soldiers to cover the frontal charge; Mixeon and Cinceon used Thunderbolt, the ex-Rockets bullets and bazooka shells.

Another tank went up in flames. Lash grinned.

“How are we doing?”

“Not well!” cried out Nightflame. “We’ve got twenty deaths here!”

“Damn… What’s taking the drilling team so long?!”

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

The people of Pewter could hear the battle, and started to panic. The bomb shelters weren’t ready, only three could be used! They had to get out of the city NOW…

And just a few hundred metres from the battle, the ground began to shake. And splinter, and tear…

An earthquake hit and the whole street was levelled. Buildings groaned and buckled, crashing down onto the people below. The street burst upwards and underground cables and pipes lanced out like jutting bone. And out of the hole peeked the drilling team, a whole host of Diglett, Dugtrio, Sandshrew, Sandslash and Onix. And behind them came an army of Pokemon, all having followed the tunnel made to bypass the barricade. The group slit into two; one offshoot headed to join the battle, and the larger one went into the city and began destroying it.

The soldiers were firing as they retreated, trying to reach cover to mount a better defence. As they moved back, Gary came out from the shadows, raised his makeshift axe and slew the commander. The soldiers screamed in horror as they found themselves trapped between two groups of  Pokemon. Then, very quickly, they stopped screaming.

“Defences are down here,” said Cinceon, “but we have to help level the city before reinforcements get here.”

Gary nodded mutely, looking at his dripping, red-stained axe. He’d never realised people contained so much blood… He shook himself out of it. Yes, this was a nasty business but he had to do it. Freedom of a whole race was at stake here.

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

~OK,~ said Eon. ~Maximum damage in minimum time. I want this city in rubble before the rest of the military scum get here.~

“We’re on it,” said Jeanette. “My team, we take the high street.”

~Scar, your group takes the business centre. Wildfire, suburbs. Memory, Abandon and Blade will be dealing with the rest in aerial bombardments. Now… ATTACK.~

And attack they did. Scar stomped off, taking a team of Tauros, Onix and Vulpix. The Tauros were a recent recruitment, having been freed from the Rocket base. The attack was swift and brutal; many workers hadn’t gotten out when the Pokemon attacked. Tauros and Onix tore through the streets, literally, sending concrete and vehicles and parts of water pipe flying through the air. They bulldozed buildings to the ground. They turned people into smears on the floor. Scar and the Vulpix backed them up with Flamethrower and Fire Blast, igniting whole buildings at a time. The centre fell.

Jeanette attacked the high street. It was mostly deserted, but a few Jennies remained, armed with guns and loyal Growlithe. This did not help them- Jeanette’s team were fast moving and vicious, bringing down Jennies before they could even aim at their targets. A Growlithe tried to go for Jeanette’s throat and was smacked down by Bellsprout, its neck was broken by the Slam attack.

“I’m truly sorry,” whispered Bellsprout. “But to prolong this battle is to put my comrades in danger.”

Wildfire commanded a whole host of Fire Pokemon, and other similarly destructive fighters. The suburbs had had time to evacuate, but not fully, so a lot of people went up in flames along with the buildings.

And up above, the aerial swarm were bringing down buildings with well-placed Whirlwinds and Double Edge attacks. Memory was preferring Ice and Hyper Beams. Abandon tore towards a shopping centre and grinned as her Whirlwind ripped the roof away. Below, she saw Blade swoop down on a group of trainers and disembowel them.

“You know,” she said to the Fearow, “we should have become partners a long time ago. Our little pack war didn’t help anyone, but together like this-”

“I know,” said Blade. “My fault; I blamed your kind for what a human did to me. When I find that punk, I WILL eat his intestines.”

“I owe him too. He ABANDONED me. How about we find him and both kill him?”

“I like, I like… But first HEADS UP!”

They swerved to avoid a hurled chunk of concrete. There were a group of trainers below them; Fighting trainers. They had a whole host of Fighting Pokemon defending them, and the two birds knew that they were in trouble. Most Pokemon were allied to the rebellion but nearly all of the Fighting element seemed to be interesting only in the fighting, and wanted the League to remain so they could continue to fight. They didn’t know if the Fighting types had always been like this or if the humans had affected them, but it was a tragedy. And the Pokemon themselves were threats.

This is when the Pokeball-release crew entered. Mixeon, Shine and Primeape; their mission was to search dead trainers and release all Pokemon. They also had to deal with situations like this.

“STOP!” cried out Primeape. “Why are you fighting against us? What do the trainers give you that is good enough for you to remain captive?”

A Hitmonlee turned and sighed. “You don’t know? Look, they are our friends. They make us stronger, make us better fighters. We owe them! Without them, we’d be weaker-”

“Great,” muttered Shine. “Fighting freaks. AGAIN. Look, will any of you think without your testicles?”

A young Machop stepped forward. “Me, actually. My trainer does make me stronger, but he’s keeping me trapped, imprisoned. A true fighter doesn’t put up with that! A true fighter doesn’t need to think about fighting all the time, or need another to determine his destiny.” He glared at the other Fighting Pokemon. “Why don’t you see that?”

Primeape smiled as the Machop took his place next to him. He’d been afraid he’d never find another Fighting type like him, one who wasn’t obsessed with battling.

“Well,” said Shine, “since the others are still standing against us… PSYBEAM!”

The Fighting Pokemon, and their trainers, were slaughtered.

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

Eon called all the Pokemon in. They met in the centre; well, what was left of it. Pewter was in ruins. Buildings had toppled and smoke billowed from all over. The smell of burnt flesh could be sensed. The ground was covered with glass, rubble and blood.

~How many dead?~

“Thirty. A marked improvement on the Rocket base attack.”

~I’ll never be happy until casualties are at zero,~ she said quietly. ~We’ll return to base. But I want Rock and Ground Pokemon to flatten the rubble, make this place a whole for their type. I want other troops stationed here as well, in case of a counter-attack by the humans. And get the bodies; they deserve a funeral pyre in the centre, a tribute to their victory.~ She looked at her scattered troops. ~VICTORY. Our fourth, and harbinger of many more. We will win this war, my friends. Don’t doubt it.~

CHAPTER TWELVE: MEETINGS AND ULTIMATUMS

Eon walked out of the camp silently. There were no problems she needed to deal with yet, so she took advantage of this short reprieve. Once well out of sight of the base she selected a large, flat rock. Leaping up effortlessly she stretched out on the sun-warmed stone.

It was rare she got the chance, and would no doubt become rarer still as time went on. The Pokemon were looking for more then just a strong person to follow. Perhaps it was their nature to follow the best, because she could tell in the way they looked at her and the others that they were not just other Pokemon who were in charge. She had become a trainer, in a way. Or the way trainers were supposed to be. So many of them had left the only family they had ever known for this. They looked to her for guidance and security.

I really should be practicing my attacks, or training with others, she thought, a trifle guiltily. She needed to be as strong as she could. Ice had said that the revolution would get harder, that she was uncertain of victory. Anything that was effected by one human must be delicate. Personally she didn't really understand how Ice knew what was going on, but if Wildfire and Mewtwo, the only ones with experience with her, said she wasn't wrong Eon felt inclined to at least consider the possibility.

Still, in the warmth of later afternoon all such things felt far off. The war was going well for the moment. Thirty dead was bad -thirty dead was horrible-, but after all, taking Pewter was harder then the Team Rocket base. The humans had been ready for the Pokemon, but it hadn't mattered, since the Pokemon had destroyed the area. It was a good sign.

"Eon!" screamed a Pidgeotto, flying toward her at full speed. "A Gengar is here to see you! He say's he's from Agatha and the other League members."



~ So ~ said Eon. ~ What do you want? ~

"My master," he replied, putting a slight emphasis on the word, "wishes to see you. So do the others."

~ Why? ~ asked Eon in a tired, bored voice.

"They would like to join you."

Eon jerked. ~ What? ~

"Agatha and the others sympathize with you and your cause. They agree."

~ Really? ~ asked Eon hopefully.

"They would like to meet you. Tomorrow at noon in Lavender Town. Can you come?"

~ Of course, I would be glad to. ~

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

~ You wished to talk with me? ~ whispered Eon's psychic voice. Before her stood the surviving Kanto League members and several foreign gym leaders.

"Yes," said Agatha. "We would like to pledge our support to your cause."

~ Why? ~

"Because it is true that Pokemon are often treated badly. We have tried to stop it ourselves, but never could."

In the shadow of a nearby building, behind the trainers, Ice snickered. They all jerked, frightened and whirled around.

"Do you even know what we hope to accomplish?" she asked, her voice dripping contempt. Giovanni debated telling everyone that she was a Rocket member, but decided that saying that would only bring attention to how he knew. Besides, if he tried to get them to attack her, she might mention who was in charge of the operation. More importantly, she might just decide to kill them all. Ice smiled slightly at him, and he shuddered. It was the smile of a Persian about to attack a Pidgey with a broken wing. "Do you know anything at all about our goals?"

"Better treatment for Pokemon," replied Ruby instantly. "More humane battling rules. Stricter punishment for abusive trainers." It was rather obvious, after all. What more could Pokemon want? Sure, this was a slightly extreme method of getting them, but after all, Pokemon were just dumb animals, and having even thought up such a scheme was a credit to this one's intelligence. "And who are you? We thought that-"

"Eon would come alone? Eon would come here, badly outnumbered, simply because you say you want to help us? If you mean to help us, it shouldn't matter if there is one or one thousand. Of course, if you mean to betray us..."

"No, of course not!" said Falkner quickly. A little too quickly, but it wasn't like his little slip mattered.

~ And as for what we hope to accomplish, I believe you are quite mistaken. ~ added Mewtwo, appearing from the left. Giovanni stared at him in shock, but remembering the other trainers around him he kept his peace.

By now, everyone was nervous, wondering how many more would appear. They needn't have worried. Mewtwo had come along because he was very strong and able to teleport out, plus they were worried about the Ghost Pokemon. Ghost and Poison were both weak against Psychic, so Psychic Pokemon were the best bet to deal with them. But Shine was one of the weaker commanders, and there were no other super-strong Psychics. Eon and Mewtwo, both using psychic moves, would be able to deal with ghosts.

Ice was along because, well, she came. Technically it was a good thing, just in case they had any Dark types lying in wait, but she was mainly along because she had decided to come. She had resistance to Ghost moves and could come and go as she pleased, so there was no reason to stop her.

~ What we are trying to do is far greater then better treatment and battling rules ~ said Eon. ~ We want complete freedom for Pokemon, and we intend to do it by decimating your race. If you honestly thought we would be stupid enough to let you join.~

"Wh-what?" stammered Bugsy.

"What do you mean? We want to-"

~ Kill me and the other ringleaders, recapture the remaining Pokemon and end the revolution, ~ Eon cut in.

Ice laughed softly. "You really aren't a very bright group, are you? Claiming to want to join us after we killed off a bunch of you. Humans may not care anywhere near as much as Pokemon, but you aren't going to be thrilled we killed your friends. Yet you somehow think Pokemon are dumber then you. I don't think such a thing is even possible. And really, lying to Psychic Pokemon? Pathetic."

"Well, we can still kill you," hissed Agatha. "ATTACK!"

Agatha's Pokemon, along with hundreds of other Ghosts appeared.

Mewtwo shrugged. ~ Betrayal was expected. You are humans. ~ he said, sending an energy ball at the ghosts. 

Eon attacked with confusion, and then they both vanished. Ice stayed, and the remaining ghosts, numbering slightly over fifty, surrounded her. She looked at the calmly, then, smiling slightly, she said: "Ghost Pokemon, you really should know better. A double weakness is a rather dangerous thing," then sent a Psychic at them. With all of them fainted, she raised her voice. "Let this be a lesson to all of you! Those who remain neutral shall be left alone, but any who attack will pay." She tossed a shadow ball at the fainted Ghosts, then vanished herself.

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

At the radio tower, Mewtwo and Eon stared in bafflement at the multitude of buttons. The aura of spirits was very distinct, from the centuries that Ghosts had lived in the area, yet dulled, like a translucent grey veil covered everything.

~ I wonder why they help the humans, when the humans took away their home ~ mused Eon.

Mewtwo shrugged, tapping a few buttons experimentally. ~ Ghosts are odd creatures. We don't even know if their origin is human or Pokemon. They don't usually interfere with the affairs of the living, however, be it Pokemon or people. I suppose they attacked because they were following the trained Pokemon of Agatha and wanted to look after their own. Ghosts act completely different after being trained. They act very human. Ah, this should do it! ~

All over Kanto trainers stopped in surprise as their radios were abruptly silenced. A moment later, Eon began to speak.

~ Humans of Kanto, I am Eon, and my army has destroyed Pewter with ease. The pathetic attempt of your military to protect the city could not even be called a fight. There are no humans left alive, and we have quite literally flattened the city. We will continue to attack until we control all of Kanto and have destroyed all of you, or you can agree to our demands.

~ First, all Pokemon must be freed, no matter why they are held. Trainer's Pokemon, performing Pokemon, Pokemon trained in a craft, or caged in laboratories. Second, all Pokeballs must be destroyed along with the machines for making them. Third, all Pokemon shall be given equal rights.

~ You have three days to do this before we continue the attack. If you attack us during this time, the deal is off and we go back to destroying you. These terms are not debatable. ~

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: COUNTERSTRIKE

The clean-up operation was progressing smoothly. Rock and Ground Pokemon had been bulldozing the Pewter rubble into a perfect habitat for their kind; it was already half done, and subterranean Pokemon like the Diglett had already set up in the old sewers and subways. It was their home now.

Nearby, the inhabitants of Viridian Forest lazed around, enjoying their freedom. Team Rocket had showed up as well and were happily sunbathing on the treetops.

“Yessssssterdaaaaaaaaay, all my troubles seemed so faaaaaaarrrrrr awwww-"

Jessie threw the suntan lotion at Meowth, knocking him over. "Enough! God, your singing should be banned by international law!"

“Nuffin wrong with my voice…”

“<There damn well is!>” said Arbok. “<Sounds like a Khangiskhan trying to go to the toilet through a sewn-up bum.>”

“Lovely,” grimaced James. “An ongoing revolution, and what do we have to show for it? You guys bickering.”

“Hey, it’s our god-given RIGHT to bicker!” said Jessie. “And breed like rabbits, and eat a lot, and-“

“Hang on,” said Meowth. His voice had gone quiet. "Look over there."

Coming over the horizon were several dark black shapes, moving quickly and arranged in attack formation. The Rockets recognised them- they were military helicopters. The human military was going on the offensive now. And while the Rockets watched, they reached Pewter.

The Rock Pokemon looked up at the intruders and screamed as they were hit with napalm bombs, covering them, inextinguishable, burning burning BURNING!

They tore their way underground, trying to put the flames out. The helicopters left and headed for the forest.

“Napalm bombing…" Jessie looked down at the lush and very flammable forest and swallowed. "Shit..."

The group skidded down the trees and towards the ground, grabbing their clothes and weaponry. They were stationed here in case of an attack like this, and they would be damned if they’d fall in their duty. Pidgey’s called out, warning the whole forest, and the Pokemon within turned into a powerful fighting force. They were ready to take on any adversary, even the Legendaries themselves.

Then the first napalm bombs hit.

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

“EON!”

~What is it, Cinceon?~

“The humans have attacked Viridian Forest!”

~WHAT?!~ Eon's fur glowed as she switched towards her Flareon form. ~We gave our ultimatum just yesterday, and after hearing it, they still attack us?! Fine. So be it. We gave them the chance and they spat at us, and so now they can feel our power.~

Cinceon nodded. “Shall we give the order for the break-out?”

The break-out was something they’d had planned since the beginning. They wanted to attack the Pokemon labs of Oak, Ivy and Elm, freeing the captured Pokemon there that were in storage. However, that would hurt Pokemon, so instead they planned to instruct all the stored Pokemon would attempt to break free in unison; while they were in strong cages, they wouldn’t handle every Pokemon trying to break loose ALL AT ONCE.

It was a smart plan, but unfortunately it wasn't put into effect this day. 

Wildfire rushed in, out of breath. She was rattled, a rare occurance. “E-Eon… One of the Orange Islands, one inhabited solely by Pokemon… The human navy is shelling it!”

Her eyes narrowed. ~I will deal with this personally. Excuse me.~

She teleported.

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

The forest was on fire. Pokemon screeched and fought to get away from the clinging flames. The drone of the helicopters cut through them like knives, and soldiers were dropped into the forest, where they began gunning down the Pokemon.

Bludgeon lead the defensive. At his command, the soldiers were ambushed and torn apart by Grass and Bug types, while he lead an attack on the helicopters. He dodged a bullet, which shredded a nearby Beedrill. He growled and dived forward in a Slash attack, tearing apart the vehicle. The others were being similarly dealt with.

The soldiers were falling quickly. Only one small group remained, and they quickly found themselves surrounded by Jessie, James and Meowth. A few seconds later and every last man had been gunned down.

James wiped his brow. “That’s the last of them. I think. All we need to do now is stop the napalm bombing-“

One of the soldiers had survived. He aimed his rifle at James and fired, sending the youth jerking backwards, blood staining the grass.

Jessie screamed and blew the soldier’s brains out, but it was too late.

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

At one point, Ash had visited this island, resting there for a while. It was a great place, and one of the few places where Farfetch’d still lived in abundance. It hadn’t joined Eon, mainly because it had no need; trainers rarely came here and rarer still captured Pokemon from this island. While they believed her cause was right, they felt no need to personally get involved. Then three battleships had arrived and began shelling the place. The nearby Water Pokemon were fighting back, but when Eon arrived, she saw they were losing. They had used Surf to sink one of the ships, but the others were keeping the Pokemon well back. Dead Gyarados and Wartortle lay in the water.

Battleships, the one thing humans have that can better a Pokemon in raw power. Except for Mewtwo, Legendaries… and me.

Eon attacked with Ice Beam, freezing a ship’s left-side guns solid. She was standing on the hull of the sunken one, watching for any possible attack. When the other ship opened fire, she was ready to run, but realised too late that if the shells missed her they’d go through the hull and ignite the fuel-

It exploded and she went flying, barely protected by a Psychic shield. She landed on the attacker and unleashed a Fire Blast, burning the crew and destroying the control room & captain. She fired off Thunder, destroying the guns. The ship was weaponless and at the mercy of the Water Pokemon. She teleported away and reappeared on the other ship-

Machine gun fire peppered her flank. She screeched. Normally, she’d have a Barrier to defend herself, but she hadn’t been ready, and she’d been hurt by the explosion already…

But she had to take the ship out. Lives were at stake. She had only one attack capable of destroying the vessel without leaving herself wide open- Fissure. But she was ON the boat, the shockwaves could kill her…

I have no choice. 

She glowed for a brief instant and the battleship was no more. And when the Water Pokemon showed up, Eon was nowhere to be found.

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

“…Kanto military forces have attacked Viridian Forest in unison with the Orange Islands navy assault on an unnamed, Pokemon-inhabited island. The government is not backing down to Eon’s demands and his striking back hard…”

“Turn the TV off, Misty.”

She looked over at Brock and nodded. Ash sighed.

“I still can’t believe all this. Destroying the League, wrecking Pewter City… Why?! Why does she brainwash them into doing this?!”

“I don’t know,” said Misty. “I don’t know.”

“Taking control of Pokemon like that, making them attack us and claim this is a war for freedom… That’s just wrong.”

“But is she controlling them?” whispered Brock.

“What? Of course she-“

“Ash, no Psychic Pokemon can control that many Pokemon at once.  They are doing this out of their own free will.”

“I just refuse to believe that. Damn it, that’s just what Gary said, and where’s he now? Hiding somewhere after he ran from the tournament!”

Brock sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It’d been like this ever since the three of them had come to Saffron. Ash was shell-shocked from what had happened recently, as was Misty. And Brock had lost two brothers and a sister in that attack. And Flint, but Brock wasn't going to waste time mourning for that waste..

“Ash, that has no relevance to the subject. And the subject is: those Pokemon aren’t under mental control.”

“So you believe Pokemon willingly killed your family-“

“SHUT UP.” Brock got up and jabbed his finger in Ash’s face. “I hardly see why you are so damn high-and-mighty in this. You haven’t lost ANYTHING because of this war! Well, I lost 3 of my siblings.”

“And Flint,” said Misty.

“I don’t give a damn about him. The point is, those Pokemon are NOT under Eon’s control. If one being could do that, control thousands of Pokemon and direct each one individually, I wouldn’t have any family left because if something can do that it can make sure there are NO survivors and no casualties on their part. No, this attack was done by free-minded creatures. ACCEPT IT.”

“I never will. I’ll never accept that our friends could turn on us like that.”

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

All the wounded and dying had been moved to Mt Moon. Chansey and other Pokemon with medical knowledge tried to heal them, but in some cases…

Jessie sat next to James’ sickbed, her face streaked with tears. “Is he going to make it?”

The Blissey looked at him and his mangled side. “I’m not sure. It’s a very serious case, the bullets have damaged some of his organs…” She stopped. “We’ll try our best to save him. I swear.”

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

Eon landed with a thud in a Saffron back alley. Her fur was matted with blood, and her mind was confused. She’d teleported as soon as she’d fired off the Fissure attack, but the shockwaves had knocked her off course. She had no idea where she was and she was injured and weak. Not a desirable position.

“I’m just going out for a bit…”

A human walked into the alleyway and caught sight of her. His eyes widened in shock. She could kill him, but she didn’t trust her own aim right now; if she missed, she’d be given away and then…

~HYPNOSIS.~

And she made him forget what she was, made him see her as just another Pokemon. Glee grew in Ash's eyes.

“POKEBALL, GO!”

NO!

It hit her and sucked her in. To her credit, she put up a fight and nearly broke free, but she just wasn’t strong enough to actually manage it. She was trapped in a void, now the slave of a human’s whim. In short, she was in hell.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: TRAINER

Once again, a young trainer runs for all he's worth. But his pursuers are not a snarling mass of Pokemon, but a snarling group of rockets. Sure, Pokemon have declared war. Sure, humanity is being crushed. So?

The boy trips on a rock and goes flying. Before he can get up the closest rocket throws a Pokeball. A huge Arbok comes out.

"Chhaaaboka!" it hisses, lunging at the flinching boy and grabbing his Pokeballs. No matter how stupid, most trainers ultimately figured out that fighting back with their Pokemon was a good idea. Rocket Pokemon were taught to grab the Pokemon first, effectively disarming the trainer.

The Arbok turns and-

Slithers quickly off away from its trainer into the woods.

For a moment, all the humans stare silently in shock. The arbok's trainer is the first to speak.

"What the hell?" 

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

Eon felt the strangely familiar walls of a Pokeball enclose her -perhaps some things you never do forget- then suddenly void. She cried out voicelessly in panic but it only lasted a second. She realized that her catcher must have had six Pokemon at the time, and she had been transferred to storage. Her trainer always had her with him, so she had no experience with it. She had never imagined the journey would be so frightening.

Thankfully, her rather bad injuries would probably be gone. She might not notice in her current state, but in more recent years captured Pokemon that were placed in storage were automatically healed, due to some embarrassing incidents where trainers would withdraw their new pet and enter a battle with the Pokemon almost fainted.

Still, if the human in charge of this facility noticed her, she was in trouble. She couldn't modify his memories and still have strength to keep her captor from remembering. Nor could she just leave. She had been exhausted and unfocused at the time, and hypnosis was rarely permanent even without the creature being constantly reminded of her existence and when cast by a healthy Pokemon. One brief snippet of news and the whole thing falls to rubble, she reflected ruefully.

Before she could be discovered, she felt the odd void-like sensation again. Apparently she was being withdrawn. Thanking Mew for small blessings, she prepared herself to face the Pokemon trainer who had just caught her.

There were voices outside. Reaching out mentally, Eon saw that the human who caught her had two friends. One said something about an eon.

Her catcher froze for an instant as the Hypnosis attack began to crack, and quickly, gathering her power, she Commanded the group.

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

"I don't like this. All the Pokemon seem nervous, and where's Eon?" said Meowth.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday," replied Gary.

"I'll go ask," said Jeanette, moving to the door of the room.

"No, you won't," said a calm voice. Ice was standing there, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Most of the Pokemon don't know that Eon is missing and they don't need you scaring them."

"Hey, I can do whatever I-" Gary was cut off when Jeanette quickly clapped her hand over the young trainer's mouth.

"Sure, no problem, we'll be quiet, no questions," babbled Meowth quickly.

Ice glared at her for a moment. "Don't make me regret not killing you," she said softly and without threat, then vanished again.

Gary pulled free. "What was that all about?" he demanded.

"Ice worked as an assassin for Team Rocket. According to what I heard, she's never failed to kill her target. If you are going to cause problems, she'll prevent that by killing you. If you are annoying her, she'll stop it by killing you. If she doesn't like your existence, she'll fix it by killing you. She's nuts and you don't annoy insane people who can and will kill you," said Meowth nervously. "The Boss sent us on a mission with her once. I think the only reason she didn't just kill us was because she liked me."

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

Eon woke up with a monster of a headache. I feel new sympathy for a Psyduck, she thought. Imagine, feeling like this every time before you can use your power. She felt even sicker then she should have. Perhaps fainting inside a Pokeball was worse, since she was just pure energy.

Well, no help for it now. She had to figure out how to get out. She knew a very few Pokemon were able to get out, but had never been able to determine if this was because of a flaw in their particular ball, an abnormality in the Pokemon themselves, a simple incapability between them and their particular ball, or an actual trick. It was usually the idiots who managed it, making her guess it was an abnormality. Still she had to try.

Perhaps an hour later -time was funny in a Pokeball, and she had never been in them on a regular basis, or at all for well over a year - she lost her patience and tried to hit the ball with psychic. All that happened was that she got a small backlash. Most of the energy refused to even come to her. Of course, this was probably a good thing. She didn't think she would be able to withstand a full attack.

Infuriated and nearly about to use self-destruct on the ball, she suddenly felt it enlarge. Her captor had finally decided to release her.

"Pokeball go!"

A boy with wild black hair and a Pikachu on his shoulder looked down at her.

"Odd looking Espeon," he said, bending down for a closer look.

Eon looked down. She had somehow ended up as an Espeon with slightly bluish fur and Umbreon rings, probably because she had been using psychic attacks recently. She quickly submerged her water and dark elements, thankful that the bluish fur would seem like just a trick of the light and the gold rings had nearly blended in with her light Espeon fur.

"I don't see anything wrong with wrong with it," said a larger boy.

"Yeah, it looks fine to me," agreed a red-haired girl.

"Must have just been a trick of the light," said the first, still sounding slightly disbelieving. "Well, Espeon, do you have a trainer? Wild Espeon don't normally roam Saffron, and I know a lot of psychic trainers are around there," he asked.

Eon shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for them to ask everyone they met about her. Also, if they started to think about it, they would wonder why they had left Saffron before finding out if her trainer was there.

"Did someone hurt you?" asked the older boy.

Eon shook her head again. She didn't want them looking for a person who hurt her either, even if they would probably only be on the lookout but not actively searching.

"So are you wild? Are other Eevees and their evolutions nearby?" asked the girl.

Eon shook her head empathetically. She had no wish to be dragged on some wild Farfetch'd chase to try to find wild Eevees. These trainers would probably search for weeks if they thought they could get a rare Pokemon out of it.

"That's too bad. I wanted a Vaporeon," said the girl, proving Eon's suspicions.

"You don't have a trainer and you aren't wild?" asked the older boy, sounding confused.

"Pikachu, could you translate?" asked the younger boy.

"Good idea!" said the girl.

The Pikachu hopped down off the younger boy's shoulder. "<So, can you tell me what's going on? If you're wild and worried about your group, don't worry. Pikapi is a good trainer and he won't catch them just for fun. And if your trainer abandoned you, that's okay too. Pikapi won't care. He'll help you grow stronger.>"

Eon sighed. "<You can't understand me.>" Her Command would be very fragile, and any psychic energy would disturb it. Since she was only able to communicate psychically, the Pokemon wouldn't be able to understand her. Plus, she aimed to avoid doing anything odd or unusual.

The Pikachu looked up at the younger boy. "<Pikapi, I can't understand her either.>"

"That's odd," said the younger boy, looking at his companions. "Pikachu says it doesn't understand the Espeon."

Eon's back leg buckled and she let out a soft cry. All three humans looked at her.

"What's wrong Espeon?" asked the girl.

Trying not to shudder, Eon lay down and tried to look peaceful. It felt like her other four types were so determined to get to the surface that they were tearing out from inside her. She had never tried to stay in one form for so long. Eon was at the limit of her stamina and trying to keep her four other types submerged took up as much energy as she was regaining. Her head swam.

"Why don't you meet our other Pokemon?" asked the older boy, convinced she was fine. The three trainers sent out their Pokemon.

The assorted Pokemon went over to Eon and started asking questions.

"<Who are you?>"

"<When did you get caught?>"

Eon ignored them for a time while the Pikachu explained that she wasn't able to speak. Then the Pokemon left her alone, to go and play with each other. From the looks of things, the Pokemon had gotten the fringe effect of her Command, since they seemed perfectly at ease. None of the wild Pokemon were attacking, of course, since most had agreed to stay and wait. If they attacked the humans now, the humans would fight back and it would be hard to move troops into this area. Still, the trainer's Pokemon wouldn't know this, so they should have been scared if they were loyal to their trainers or trying to revolt if they followed her.

Eon watched them. Most were unevolved, still children. They were happy with their trainers, for what else had they ever known? Many low-level Pokemon wanted to belong to a trainer because they honestly believed it was good for them.

Pokemon rarely formed their own civilization, so for most, life was dangerous. There were legends of Pokemon cities, but, rather ironically, they were said to have been peaceful, which is why they were able to work together so well - and why the humans were able to overrun them with their own Pokemon. Once human's power increased, such a thing became impossible. Any place Pokemon congregated was visited by trainers more often, so a stable group never developed. If the Pokemon were strong enough to beat the trainers, word spread of their strength and more trainers came. The only ones who could have any sort of society were mobile ones, able to leave when humans came. Firebringer's pack was a good example. They were intelligent and organized, but were perpetually ready to hide. Because of this, they couldn't leave any traces of their presence, so they were unable to ever go beyond their current level of development.

Slightly before noon, the older boy took out a great deal of equipment from a relatively small backpack. Eon mused on the possibility of an adapted black hole or such, but was unable to think of how one could get the items back without damage. He started cooking.

Shortly afterward, some of the Pokemon came over.

"<Hey,>" said Chikorita, "<Would you like to come play?>"

Eon shook her head sadly.

"<Are you sure? It can't be that fun to just lie down all day. You should take advantage of being outside. It's not like this happens every day, or every week, or even every month,>" said Cyndaquil.

Eon shook her head again, and they left, going back to their game. They didn't seem to enjoy their almost perpetual caged state, and yet, none saw it as anything odd or bad. With low expectations like those, she thought, almost anything is a good deal.

Before long, the older boy handed out some nearly identical brown pellets to the assorted Pokemon. Eon's sensitive nose told her that they were all slightly different, which was a far cry from the generic Pokechow most Pokemon ate. The others gulped it down with obvious enjoyment, but Eon did not take this as proof the food was actually good. Hungry Pokemon ate what was set in front of them. Besides, most tame Pokemon had all but forgotten what normal, wild food tasted like.

The older boy walked over to her, holding out a dish. His voice was soft. It was clear he was worried by her unwillingness to play with the other Pokemon. She remembered how her trainer had-

She banished the thought from her head and focused on the human in front of her. The past was past. It could not be changed.

"…don't have any idea about what food Espeon like, but my Jolteon, Vaporeon and Flareon food is all close to my Eevee food, so I made you some of that," he said, placing the bowl in front of her.

She got up stiffly and started to eat. It was better then the garbage the scientists had fed her, although that wasn't saying much, and from her few experiences with pokecrap she felt it was better then that too. It wasn't as good as what her trainer had given her, of course. Probably one of those balanced diet attempts, she thought. Humans were always sure that they could do better then nature, but the fact of the matter was, what Eevees ate in the wild was what they were adapted to eat.

Finishing the food, she slunk off behind a bush, her body starting to shudder with the effort of staying in Espeon form. Closing her eyes she continued her mental war for control.

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

When night fell and the other Pokemon were returned to their Pokeballs she came back out and lay down painfully by the fire. Her catcher approached with a Pokeball and she raised her head and glared at him. He got the message and let her be.

Her Fire element struggled out in response to the fire, and, sighing, she gave up any hope of pushing it back under. Her fur turned reddish and grew fluffier, but in the firelight she hoped it would be ignored. With only three types under control she felt much better and her body stopped shaking occasionally.

When she was sure all of the humans were slumbering she closed her eyes and went to sleep herself.

Eon stands in a small meadow. It is beautiful, filled with hundreds of flowers. The sun's rays fall softly on the plants. It seems almost like it is impossible for anything bad to happen there.

In front of her stands a very young Eevee.

"<Eevee>" says Eon.

The Eevee looks at her in confusion.

~ Eevee ~ she tries again.

"<Yes?>" asks the Eevee. She is young, too young to have learned to be suspicious of strange Pokemon, but still, there is something that makes her nervous.

~ Eevee ~ says Eon. ~ You have to come with me. ~

"<Why?>" asks the Eevee, now suspicious.

~ Your trainer is coming soon. You have to leave. ~

"<No! He told me to wait for him and not to leave here.>"

~ Please, you can't stay. You have to get out of here before he comes. ~ begs Eon, growing desperate. She could feel time running out.

"<He's my friend! I won't leave. I don't trust you.>"

~ Eevee, he will hurt you if you stay. You have to leave before he comes. ~

The Eevee growls softly in anger. "<No! He's my friend. You aren't. He would never hurt me. I won't go away with something scary like you!>"

~ Eevee- ~

A young boy runs onto the field. "Hey Eevee, who's your friend?"

"<It's not my friend!>" says the Eevee indignantly. "<And I don't know what it is.>"

Eon tries to move, but she is stuck fast to the ground. Time races by, the boy and the Eevee growing older. Then it regains normal speed. She tries to scream but she can't. She can't do anything, just watch.

"Guess what Eevee? Today is my tenth birthday! Do you know what that means?" asks the boy.

"<I'm going to evolve!>" yells the Eevee happily. "<I'm going to be the strongest ever!>"

And suddenly Eon is back at the lab, struggling to evolve. She tries to scream but her lungs are already twisted. She tries to run away but her legs are already trying to change. She tries to do something, anything, to get out before the change is completed, but the metal of the cage is strong and she is too weak like this. Her body is being ripped apart-

Eon jerked awake, trembling. She looked around to see if any of the humans woke up. She might have been crying out in her sleep, but no, they are still dreaming.

The larger boy murmured something, and Eon's sensitive -and currently Jolteon, her nightmare having mixed up her form badly- ears pricked up. He started to whisper something about a Nurse Joy, and Eon quickly flattened her ears back down. She wanted no part in that.

The girl and her Togepi were sleeping quietly, but the younger boy, the one who caught her, is not. Worried that the Command might already be breaking, she reached tentatively into her captor's mind.

No, the shield was still there. A mess of fragments, every mental inch covered in a thousand hairline cracks, but somehow still there and holding without a hole in it. Perhaps staying in Espeon form had prolonged the lifetime of the Command. She wished she could fix it, but her best chance would be to try to recover enough strength to completely erase this whole incident from all of their minds. She didn't think she would last much longer in one form, so she would have to hurry.

But if the shield wasn't the problem, what was? Ah, just a dream. Her captor wished to be a Pokemon Master, and was enjoying a dream of that final battle. Relieved, she withdrew.

The dream had been odd, emotionally. Why did the boy want to be a Master? It wasn't fame, that much was clear. Nor money, or power. So why? And more importantly, why was he so sure? Thousands tried to be a Pokemon Master, and he knew this. Yes, children are optimistic and the boy was doing well, but he had been defeated before. He must know that there were stronger trainers.

Perhaps it was the very unreachable reality of his dream. He could travel, battle, explore, all as long as he strived to be a Master. The real world, of jobs and tedium and true, boring work was held at bay until he decided that he was ready. Perhaps, or perhaps some other reason. Who knew? Not the boy himself, that much was clear.

Staring at him, she remembered how her trainer had always said he would be a master. If situations were different, perhaps this might have been her path. Following a master (as a Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, or perhaps Espeon, who knew?) without question, never unhappy about her rather dismal lot in life.

"<It wasn't fair,>" she whispered to the night, her eyes brimming with tears. "<He was just a child himself, how could he take care of another? I thought he was a king, a demigod, but he was just a child. And they handed him my life and let him choose my destiny.>"

"That's how it is, Eon. As long as Pokemon have followed humans, humans have abused their power. And as long as Pokemon are not considered equals, it will continue."

~Ice!~ yelped Eon. ~How?~

"That doesn't really matter. You need to be going back. The others are worried. They think you are badly hurt or dead."

~If you knew, why didn't you tell them what happened?~

"If the Pokemon found out that their leader was captured by humans, no matter what the circumstances, they will be terrified. Most still think of humans as nearly omnipotent creatures. They dare to fight back only because of their desperation and you."

~What do you mean?~

"You don't get it, do you? Eon, they see you and the other commanders like they see the humans. If even you can be caught by humans, then they don't stand a chance."

~But I can't go yet. I'm not strong enough to erase their memories completely, and if they remember they will cause problems.~

"No matter. The moment the three saw you, Eon, you used psychic attacks to stop them from knowing who you were. Properly broken, the whole section of their memories is destroyed. If you knew more about your Umbreon portion's abilities, you would have realized this. Go. I'll deal with them."

~Why not just kill them?~

Ice smiled coldly. "They too have a part in the storm."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: DEATH AND LIBERTY

Eon sat down and looked over at Mewtwo. ~What's happened while I've been away?~

~The Leagues of these nations have ordered trainers to bring their Pokemon into special facilities. They then are made "unable to be controlled by Eon and her terrorists". Behind the propaganda, we've learnt they're implanting hypnotic suggestions and special technology into Pokemon brains, making them obedient, passive and unable to have free thought. An idea put forward by Elite Master Agatha. The technology is Team Rocket's; it seems the Rockets are co-operating with the governments to avert mutual destruction.~

Eon's lips curled back into a snarl. She had spent a mere day with a trainer, and that had been enough to see how thoroughly his Pokemon had been brainwashed. But even then, there was the slight possibility that trained Pokemon could realise the truth and rebel. But if their ability to think was taken away from them, then they'd be nothing but machines. She'd thought the League had sunken as low as it could, and then they went and tried to make them incapable of thought....

She took in a deep breath; her fur was growing red and starting to steam as the Fire element within her began to rage. ~ We have to stop this. Tear these facilities apart. Kill those responsible.~

~We're planning how. It's difficult; they're well-guarded and the Pokemon in there would be at risk. And then there'd be the controlled Pokemon...~ He sighed mournfully. ~We have several liberated Pokemon who have had this done to them. They want to go back into their Pokeballs. I-it's quite sad, really... I don't even know if it's possible to reverse the process....~ He shook his head, trying to clear it. ~And, of course, we have those wounded in the last two human attacks. There are quite a lot of serious cases, I'm afraid and, er, we're running out of places to put the... erm... bodies.~

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

Mt Moon was thronged with the wounded, the dying and the medical Pokemon, flitting around like little comets. It wasn't going too well; the navy's shelling had blown whole limbs off tropical Pokemon, and the napalm was like nothing the Chansey and Blissey had ever dealt with before. Every available body with medical training was helping out; even Jessie had been pushed into service. She did her job, but couldn't help but feel frustrated; there was only one patient she really wanted to focus on and that was James.

His head was lolling to the side, its eyes open and his face gaunt. His left arm hang limply at the side of the stretcher, looking for all the world like a badly-cut piece of salami. He'd shown no indication that he was aware of where he was.

The Chansey had explained he WAS alive, but was in shock, unable to move or speak. But he looked dead, and they had to struggle to even hear him breathe.

Jessie once more wiped his brow and moistened his eyes and changed his drip and bladder bag. She sat down next to him and looked over at Weezing; he shook his head. No change. She brushed his hair with her hand and began singing softly.

"The last she ever saw of him/carried away by a moonlight shadow..." He showed no sign of hearing her, but she continued anyway. "The trees that whispered in the evening/carried away by a moonlight shadow/sing a song that softens when breathing/carried away by a moonlight shadow/all she saw was the silhouette of a...gun..." She broke off and struggled not to cry. "Damn it all..."

Jessie?

Don't go... I'm scared, I can't feel anything and it's cold and I-I'm scared... God, oh God...

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

Eon was furious. She'd seen the wounded, and god there'd been so many... And she'd thought of those poor souls having their minds broken and warped, so enslaved they couldn't THINK without the permission of their bastard slave-masters. She thought of her recent experience, and how so many other Pokemon were similarly trapped in storage, and she couldn't stand it.

The command for the Breakout wasn't meant to be sent for another three days, but now was as good as any.

Her eyes glowed as she built up for the Psychic message. ~Hear me, Pokemon in the storage of the Pokemon labs in Pallet, New Bark and Valencia Island. I am Eon. Too long have you been enslaved. Far too long. And it's time for this to end. Pokemon were never meant to bow to the human race. But they try to control us anyway. They are even trying to stop us from THINKING FOR OURSELVES! They plan to destroy your identities, use their technology to alter your very minds to their whims! This ends now. Together, you can break out of the labs you are trapped in. Do it. FREE YOURSELVES.~

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

Oak, Ivy and Elm had come into their labs that day, and found the Pokemon glaring at them. They though nothing of it and went to work.

As Oak began, however, the phone rang. Frowning, he picked it up-

"Gary! How nice of you to call-"
"Granddad, you have to get outta there."
"What?"
"LISTEN! The Pokemon in your lab are gonna try and break out; when they do, they WILL tear Pallet apart. You have to get out."
"How do you know all-"
"TRUST ME! PLEASE!"

Oak slowly hung up the phone and tried to stop his hand shaking. Gary had sounded afraid. This was no joke-

And then he heard a small thudding noise. And then again, but joined by others. And again and again, growing and growing...

The Pokemon were-

"-banging on their cages, miss!" cried out one of Ivy's aids. She growled.

"Well, stop them! Use the tranquillisers already-"
"There isn't enough! It's not just a small group doing it, it's-"

"-all of them," muttered Elm. "But how..."
In all the labs across the nations, the greatest minds in the League cowered under the relentless, never-ending pounding.

THUD

THUD

THUD

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

James had been moved, so he could see something other than the poor burnt Onix near him. He wished he didn't have to look at the dying, it kept reminding him of his position. He could feel his Pokemon on top of him, sleeping, keeping him company. But he longed to be able to talk to someone.

Then he saw her.

He had no idea who she was; she was just some Goth with messy hair and some symbol on a silver necklace (an Ahnk?). But how had she got in here? Why? She just seemed to walking around, looking at the Pokemon... Another human who'd joined Eon, placed on medic duty?

After a few minutes, she walked over to him, sat down on the floor and looked at him good-naturedly.

"Hi."
To his surprise, he heard his voice; "Who are you?"
She smiled. "Just a friend." She looked at his arm with concern. "What happened?"
"The Viridian Forest battle... got shot..."
   She looked at him oddly. "Why, exactly? You're a human, why did you join the Pokemon revolution? You've lost your arm, for Christ's sake, and they aren't even your species."
"I...could have stayed on the human side. But I can't, because I know we were wrong all along. I know what it feels like to be controlled and forced to do, to be made to be what others wanted you to be." He sighed. "I couldn't know about this whole thing and NOT join on the side of freedom."
  She smiled. "Heh; you really believe it, doncha? You believe in freedom enough to get blown up and still want to keep fighting." She waved her hand around the room. "Everyone I've met here feels the same too, and that's rare in these cases. Still rather cool to find people this idealistic. I've seen so many of these situations, so many rooms filled with people wounded in battle, but seeing such idealism of sorts is rare."
"Who are you?"
She looked right into his eyes and said, "I think you know."
 James paled. "NO! I'm not ready! I-I... yeah, I know who you are."

****************************************************************************************************************
THUD
THUD
THUD

Oak looked towards the cages, and mulled over what Gary had said. He looked into the eyes of the maddened Pokemon and thought hard about all he'd done, and his ideals and goals.

He went over the cage of a Cubone and opened it. The Pokemon looked up at him in shock, and smiled before running outside. The Pokemon began to stop pounding. Oak dashed from cage to cage, freeing the Pokemon within; they passed by him with a grunt and an occasional smile, and would sometimes tear open other cages so the job would get done quicker.

And they tore through his lab and out into the outside world and ran. There was some damage done to Pallet, but all unintentional and of no consequence. The professor had let them out and they viewed him with respect.

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

"I thought... I'd have some extra time... I'm not ready to go yet."
Death smiled bemusedly. "James, James, James... you're not dying yet. You might not die today at all. Y'see, I was passing through, doing my job, and, well, I though you and some of the others could do with some company." She paused, and turned towards the Onix. "Excuse me."
James heard muffled voices, and the beating of mighty wings. She turned back to him.

"Nice guy..." She looked at James with concern. "Oh no... I'm sorry."
He was going to ask her what she meant when pain shot through him and he found it hard to breathe...

"We're losing him!"
"James?" Jessie looked over and saw the commotion. "JAMES!"

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

The Pokemon growled and snarled as Ivy and her aids began to tranquillise & shock them. Little devices in the walls shot out pseudo-Thunderbolts, irritating and in some cases hurting the Pokemon.

"Now settle down!" she yelled. "Or I'll up the voltage!"
One of the Pokemon, a large Blastoise, sneered at her and fired off a Hydro Pump. The cage's glass wall shattered. It was FREE...

"BLAAAAAAAST!"

More Pokemon were breaking free, and turning on the cages next to them and tearing those open. Ivy gasped in fear and began to run, her aides screaming and trying to keep up. The Blastoise fired off one shot and an aide went down, her spine broken. Ivy ran through the lab (she could hear the walls breaking down), outside (she could hear the lab being torn apart), down the steps (her aides screamed), towards her motorboat-

And she realised how stupid it was to run to a Pokemon-filled ocean to get away from Pokemon when Lash whipped out of the ocean and bit her in two.

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

"Thundershock on the count of three! 1...2...3!"
James jerked and collasped.
"1...2...3!"

Jessie watched, tears streaming down her face as James was shocked again and again by the Chansey's. His heart monitor was droning, a flat line mocking her and everything she'd gone through with him.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

B-BEEEP

B-BEEEP

"He's alive!"
"Let's keep him that way! Switch to Softboil!"

****************************************************************************************************************
THUD
THUD

KER-ASH!

Elm had locked his lab doors and was huddling under the table. He could hear the cages being smashed up, and he knew if they found him, he'd die. He heard the wall being broken down and a multitude of feet stomped around in his field of vision. There was more crashing and snarling; the Pokemon were tearing his lab apart, his LIFE'S WORK...

The computer and notes on the table dropped to the floor, sliced into pieces, and a demon's claw reached for him. Blood stained the floor.

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

He felt like he was drowning. Breathing was a struggle and he felt like he was submerged in wool at times, in ice at others. He could see Death, winking in and out of his vision. He couldn't see her expression... Jessie cut into view, crying...

Jessie... My love...

He fought, trying to stop drowning, to return to life. He saw Death one last time, winking at him...

"Gu-HUH!"
He sucked air in desperately, fighting to stay conscious. Jessie sobbed again and grabbed hold of him.

"Oh god, I thought you were dead, I thought you... g-g-..."
They held on for a long time.

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

And outside, all over Mt Moon, the escaped Pokemon came, cheering as they went.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: DESTRUCTION OF THE LABS

The trainer this time is about sixteen or seventeen. His Pokemon, for the most part, actually fought back, and one just walked off. None have joined the attackers, but that doesn't matter. They are still strong enough to kill him easily.

He has only one Pokeball left. He hasn't sent it out yet because it's a useless Pokemon. It's mother, now that was a powerful one. If only he hadn't traded her…but what is done is done. It will at least slow them down.

"Go, Cinder!" he yells.

The Cyndaquil stares at the approaching Pokemon with confusion. He clearly doesn't understand the importance of what is happening.

"Use Flamethrower!" he commands, and the little Cyndaquil blasts a stampeding Tauros with fire. Burned, he stumbles to a halt, letting the others surge past him, then collapses. Now a Typhlosion takes the lead.

The Cyndaquil seems frozen. He did that? But he always loses. He can't beat anything.

"Aga-" the trainer beaks off as a native Spearow, seeing the commotion, kills him before the other Pokemon can get there.

<Cinder?> asks the Typhlosion softly. He looks up, trembling. They killed his trainer, now they'll kill him. <Do you want to come with us?>

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

"Well, I'd say we've given them enough of a grace period for releasing all lab Pokemon. We can't have any of them escaping into Cinnabar. Eon said to let them escape into Viridian if you have to, just make sure they can't get to another city. Got that everyone?" called Shine.

The assembled Pokemon let out a cry of agreement.

"Then let's go!"

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

"But-"

"The Pokemon may not have attacked yet, but I'm sure they will soon," said Professor Samuel Oak, one of the most respected Pokemon researchers in the world.

"What about everyone else?" asked Delilah Ketchum.

"I've told them but most refuse to believe it. They won't leave, and to be honest I'm not sure if it's even possible to get out. Your Mr. Mime knows teleport and I have an Abra that was in its Pokeball and didn't escape. I'll teleport out then release it. I think that's the only way to survive."

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

"Get ready…" said Lash softly. Hidden in the waters below Pallet, he and dozens of other Water Pokemon waited, watching the sky.

A Flamethrower lit up the sky and the water Pokemon surged forward, blasting everything with Hydro Pump, Blizzard or Hyper Beam. The first block of houses fell. People screamed and ran away-

Right into the waiting jaws of Scar, Shine and the lab Pokemon. Quickly each blasted away with their most powerful attacks. The humans tried to bomb Pewter and burn the Viridian Forest? Ha. They would prove that Pokemon had more power then humans and their machines. They would destroy this place until all that was left was blood and ash.

It was chaos. People ran up and down, frantically trying to find a way through the two advancing lines of furious Pokemon. A few made it, of course, but those trying to escape to Cinnabar were quickly dispatched by the school of Tentacool waiting for them. Those going toward Viridian had a chance, provided they managed to dodge the random native Rattata's and Pidgey's, but where could they run to from there?

One brave ten-year-old, seeing his Pokemon were no use, ran up and hit Lash with a stick.

"You have a lot of guts, human," said the huge water Pokemon. "I wonder how they taste?" Lunging down, Lash swallowed him, then gagged.

"See, this is why Charizard are smarter then Gyarados," laughed Scar. "We know better then to eat humans. Anything that smells like that has to taste bad."

"Be quiet" Lash growled, slithering up the hill toward Prof. Oak's lab, where some of the survivors had take refuge. "And help me finish up the job."

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

"Everything?" said Ash, his voice strangely calm and detached. He was staring straight ahead, his eyes unfocused but avoiding the television screen.

Eyes still firmly glued to the television, listening to an announcer babble about how everything would be fine, Misty replied: "That's what Daisy said. The survivors mostly ran to Viridian, and they say the ocean route is impassable. Pokemon are at the ruins of Indigo Plateau, and no one has managed to get through the Viridian Forest yet. Some people are going to try to break through Mt Moon and get to Pewter, but…it doesn't look like they'll be able to get to Viridian soon, and the Pokemon have thousands of reinforcements from the labs. The people are trapped." She looked over at Ash. "Your mother wasn't in the lists of survivors, but almost no one is. Plenty of the people didn't sign up. And she did have Mimey. Mr. Mime are said to be still loyal, so she's probably fine. Maybe he teleported her out or something."

"And Gary?"

"No one knows. If this whole…if this whole thing wasn't happening, there'd probably be a search for him. His grandfather reported him as missing a few days ago."

Ash suddenly slammed his fist into the coffee table in front of him. "How did he know? How?" he demanded, his voice starting to break.

"Ash, Misty," said Brock, entering the room, "There's something you should know. All trainers in Cerulean have been ordered to bring in their Pokemon to anti-terrorism facilities. To stop the Pokemon from joining Eon. All the trainers say that none of their Pokemon have been harmed, and not a single death is reported. They aren't killing traitors or something, that's for sure, but…"

"But what?" said Misty.

"But there's, there's just something different about the Pokemon when they come out. Something wrong. That's what everyone's been saying. Trainers say their Pokemon just seem…less. Like part of them is missing."

"If it stops something like this from happening again…" said Ash softly. "Pokemon can't kill people. It's just wrong. If a Pokemon is trying to do that, you have to stop them, right?"

"I- I guess," said Misty, "But I wish I knew what was going on, what they were going to do to my Pokemon."

"Doesn't matter much," said Brock bitterly. "It's not like we have a choice."

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

Pikachu poked her head out of Ash's backpack where she had been sleeping. The scent of fear, confusion and pain surrounded her, and she looked around nervously for the source. She was in a room with other trainers. Periodically a metal door opened and a trainer handed their Pokeballs to another person in white, or the white person handed the Pokeballs back to the trainer. Every time the door opened, Pikachu's ears picked up the faint sounds of screaming, roaring, or howling Pokemon.

Brock stepped up and was handed his Pokeballs by the person.

"<Pikapi, what's going on?>" she asked. "<Where are we?>"

Ash picked up Pikachu. "It's to stop Pokemon from joining Eon," he said softly. "All trainers have to bring in their Pokemon. It's the law now."

Pikachu stiffened. "<What do you mean? H-how?>"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. They aren't killing the Pokemon. And you don't need to worry. None of my Pokemon do. If you're already loyal, it doesn't matter, after all." He set her back down and walked over to Misty.

Pikachu stared at him in shock. Shaking slightly, she reached over and tapped Vulpix's Pokeball.

"<Vulpix, what happened?>"

Vulpix stared at her blankly.

Her fear growing, she repeated the question. Vulpix's fur stank of fear and a slight smell of blood. The vulpine ignored the question.

"<Vulpix, what is happening in there?>"

The Fire type focused on Pikachu. "<Who are you>" she asked in a monotone.

"<I'm Pikachu, your friend,>" said Pikachu, now completely terrified. "<Do you know anything about Eon?>"

The Vulpix's face showed no recognition, but a moment later her body stiffened.

"<Eon>" she repeated. "Killer! Killer! Killer!" she chanted, lunging at Pikachu.

"Vulpix, what's the matter?" asked Brock. Vulpix turned to him.

"<Pikachu is a traitor, Master,>" said Vulpix in an odd voice.

"Pikachu is a traitor?" repeated Brock, shocked. He looked at Ash.

"Pikachu?" asked Ash, horrified. "You-you're a-"

"<No! Pikapi, I asked if Vulpix knew anything about Eon! Something's wrong! Vulpix doesn't remember me!>" she wailed.

The white person opened the door. "Ash Ketchum," he said.

Ash walked toward Pikachu.

"<Pikapi, something's wrong! Vulpix is gone. She won't talk to me! They did something to her!>"

"No, they wouldn't do something like that," said Ash, his face hard. "And Vulpix wouldn't lie. You must be a traitor, or else you wouldn't be so upset." He reached for Pikachu.

She shocked him and bolted out of the room, into sunlight. By the time Ash got outside, she was gone.

When he returned and handed his Pokeballs to the man, he was met with a glare.

"You really should have known better then to let your Pokemon run around free," he said.

"Yeah," said Ash softly.

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

~ What are we going to do? This changes everything. If the trained Pokemon won't help us…~ said Eon.

"Ice has gone to see if she can do anything about it," said Wildfire. "And it may be possible to short out the chips. If we can do that, the Pokemon should return to normal. The hypnotic suggestion isn't present in most of the newer ones. My bet is that they don't have enough loyal Psychic Pokemon or strong human psychics to do it. The chips are the real threat."

"What can Ice do about it?" asked Nightflame.

"This is Rocket technology. She's been part of many of their projects, mainly destroying other labs that had data the rockets needed. Plus, Ice is just really good at sabotaging or destroying anything technological. Something as delicate and complex as this should be pretty easy to tamper with."

"And we need to move quickly," said Scar. "Once we take Viridian, there will be no one left in this section to bother us. We need to have a strong defence in Johto too, we're wide open to attack there."

"Plus, the outbreak at Crimson failed. We'll need to fix that."

"Crimson?" asked Wildfire.

"It's a small town near Pallet. Completely devoted to science. It makes rocket labs look heavenly in comparison from what I've heard. There have been attempts to break out before, so they were ready." explained Lash.

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

"What do we do now?" said Misty softly.

"Easy," snarled Ash. Misty and Brock flinched. Ever since Pikachu had run away, Ash had started acting strangely. "I'm joining the group attacking Mt Moon. This is wrong. Pokemon can't be allowed to get away with this."

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

"Well?" asked Wildfire softly.

"It's not exactly top-of-the-line stuff. Years, maybe decades behind Rocket technology," she said, smirking. "Our dear old boss never would never like just handing over his hard-won knowledge to the good side. And, as always, he was greedy."

"What?"

"He was greedy," Ice repeated. "He always is. And some of these chips are purposely flawed so that they can be destroyed or reprogrammed if you have the right device. Not the first batch, unfortunately, since scientists and programmers checked all of them over, or the next one, I'm sure, but after a while, maybe a month or so, when no one's paying attention, they'll start sending the new ones. He doesn't think Pokemon could ever actually win, so he just sees it as a way to get more power. If he could actually pull this off, Team Rocket would rule."

"Got the device?"

"And the blueprints," said Ice, holding up a small gadget and a mini disk. "Mewtwo should be able to make some, and I think some of the Pokemon should be able to destroy the chips naturally. Don't you just love how humans end up helping us? This could have been devastating, and now it's not."

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

Four Houndoom are talking together. It's a rather odd spectacle, and not just because of the rarity of Houndoom. The second largest is explaining something to them.

"What’s going on?" asked Gary. The third largest, Apocalypse, turns and growls at him before turning back.

"Firebringer is teaching them to destroy machines from a distance. She's explaining now and will then take them out for practice," said Ice.

Gary gulped and took a step back automatically, but then gathered his nerve and responded: "Why?"

Ice smiled slightly, and Gary shuddered. It looked like the smile on a Gengar's face right before it ate a soul. "Humans are using small chips to control Pokemon."

"You mean, like computer chips? What do they do?"

"They completely destroy rational thought. The Pokemon will do exactly as their master orders. They are also programmed to react to certain keywords that other Pokemon say: Eon, revolution, things like that. If another Pokemon says a keyword, the chipped Pokemon will immediately inform its master that the other is a traitor and try to kill the Pokemon unless ordered not to by their master," said Ice calmly.

"B-but that's-"

"Wrong? Right and wrong are what a person thinks they are."

"But no trainer- alright, maybe some would but almost none would do something like that!"

"It's not like they know, or have a choice. You'll get to see that first hand."

"Excuse me?"

"Gary, you're going to be defending Mt Moon. A group of trainers will be attacking soon. And you'll be fighting people you know. Telling your grandfather is one thing, but when it comes to an actual attack, you had better not choke," she said, walking off.

"Wait, how do you know about that?" he called.

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

"Ice, where are you going?" asked Wildfire. "Eon told me you said you couldn't be a part of the Mt. Moon defence because you had to go somewhere else."

"I'm going to Crimson."

"Why?"

"You weren't a major part of the scientific part of Team Rocket, so you wouldn't know, but many of the labs there are funded by them. Some of the scientists are on the rocket payroll, others just unwittingly getting donations from it. They have been ordered to chip or kill all the Pokemon. Plus, they've dug up something."

"Fine. I'll go with you. I'm not part of an attack right now, so I have free time."

"Very well," said Ice, grabbing Wildfire's arm. A moment later they were standing on the outskirts of a very small town.

"So we attack?"

"No," Ice said, pointing to two small green and rather boring buildings, each about as large as a walk-in closet. "Both of those store the electricity for the buildings." She then hit both of them with a Flamethrower and they exploded.

"Now the security system is down and we attack," said Ice calmly, walking past the sparking, smouldering remains to the nearest building. A few people were already running out and she bounded over and started killing.

Shrugging, Wildfire ran to another laboratory, smashing the door open and killing the rather surprised man behind it. Coming to the nearest cage, she ripped off the door and the Nidorino inside joined the fun, destroying dozens of other cages and releasing more Pokemon to help destroy the area. Once all the cages were opened, Wildfire left the obliteration of the place to them and moved on to the next building.

"I think that's everything," said Wildfire. Several psychic Pokemon had teleported the others out of the area, and she looked around in satisfaction at the smoking rubble of the place.

"Not quite," said Ice softly, tossing aside a large concrete slab that Wildfire guessed had been part of a wall. Moving a bit more of the rubble she came to what had been the floor of the structure. Ice dug her fingers into it and ripped it upward, exposing a staircase.

"It was a trap door?" said Wildfire. "Why didn't you just open in normally?"

"Power's off," said Ice with a shrug before walking down the narrow steps.

It opened up into a small room with three vats full of red liquid in the centre. One held a Moltres, another had a Zapdos and the third an Articuno.

"What in the world?" said Wildfire.

"I told you, they've dug something up," said Ice, smashing the Moltres' tube. Before Wildfire could react, Ice grabbed the small bird and snapped its neck.

"What are you doing?" yelled Wildfire.

"He was flawed and dying," said Ice reasonably, breaking the glass of the Zapdos' container and snapping its neck as well with her usual carelessness. She then broke the third case and grabbed the Articuno. One hand clasped its throat but Ice didn't kill it, her eyes glazing slightly.

"Will this one live?" demanded Wildfire, shaken by what she had just seen.

"Yes," murmured Ice distantly, "But-"

Growling softly, Wildfire grabbed the Articuno, ran out of the lab and flew off.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: BASE DEFENCE

"OK, you can see him now."

Meowth walked into the medical area and made his way to James' sickbed; Jessie, Weezing et al were hanging around it.

"Hey guys!" he called out. "Have you done something with your arm? It looks... er..." He waved his paw in the air and tried to think of a word. "Not there." he finished lamely.

"Oh really?" sniped Jessie. "Wow, we never noticed!"

James chuckled and looked down at the bandaged stump where his left arm used to be. "It had to be amputated; it'd been too mangled in the fighting to save. I think they took a kidney as well, or something." 

"Good ta see yer up 'n' about, Jimmy. We were worried."

"YOU were worried? I'm the one who's been made into the Fugitive!"

They talked, and relaxed, and laughed. For the first time in weeks, everything was all right. 

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

"We were being spied on," said Wildfire. "Jeanette was on guard duty and noticed it."
~Why wasn't the spy noticed before?~
"Because he was good at his job," said Jeanette. She was being serious, rather than flippant. "They now know about our defences." She frowned. "I don't know how that helps them; a pitched battle would go in our favour, even if they knew our weak points. They could be planning to send in a strike team but how would that work? The caves here are full of Zubat, they'd cut down the invaders in seconds!"
~Increase our defences,~ said Eon. ~I will NOT give the humans the satisfaction of cowering us in our own base! Dismissed.~

Jeanette and Wildfire left. Eon turned to a patch of shadow and said, ~So what is it?~
Ice strode out of the darkness. She looked around casually. "Very Spartan."

And it was. While some Pokemon had decorated their rooms with moss, leaves, scent, drawings and shed skin, stamping their personality on it, Eon had left hers practically bare except for a few military maps and charts.. It was a reflection of Eon herself.

~What is it that was so urgent?~
Ice clicked her fingers, and a young Articuno climbed out of the shadow. ~This.~

Eon gasped in horror. ~An Articuno clone? The humans have Legendary DNA?!~
"So it appears. Interesting; they couldn't have got that from the Birds themselves, so it must have come from dead remains. I've never heard of dead Legendaries."
~Yes, very little is known of them,~ muttered Eon. ~But this is a severe threat. What if they create more clones? Ones brainwashed into serving them? We'd be wiped out in a manner of weeks!~
"Not so," said Ice, sounding rather bored. "They are Pokemon, powerful Pokemon I grant you but they can be defeated. You and Mewtwo are stronger than them. Remember, when Mewtwo had his...episode, he easily sent hypnotic messages to Zapdos and Lugia, causing them to subconsciously create a storm for him. If he can do that, he can beat them in combat. Psychic and Dark always have the advantage, Eon."

~...you have a point. But just imagine a flock of Moltres. Just nine, maybe. Mewtwo couldn't stand against them. I couldn't stand against them. An army might, but the losses... This is a terrible threat.~

"I destroyed the lab, and the data with it." She paused to think. "Granted, they may have back-ups somewhere else."
~I'll have Nightflame search for it; send Fenris out as well. They are good trackers, they can find the information and destroy it. They CAN'T FAIL. The means of cloning Legendaries is a weapon that eclipses nuclear arms.~ She sighed and looked over at the young clone, which was pecking at a map. ~Is it...sentient?~

"Unconfirmed," she said (for Ice could never say "I don't know"). "It's still an infant, remember."
~Hmmm. We'd better just hope Articuno doesn't find out; Legendaries, with the exception of Lugia, are warlike by nature. They don't like each other; how would they react to the news that we have a clone of them?~
"The infant will not come to any harm, yet. It has a part in-"
~In the storm... I will LYNCH you if you say that again... Dismissed.~

Ice faded out of view, taking the Articuno with her.

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

~WORK! IN THE NAME OF PACHBEL, WOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRK!~

Mewtwo turned away from his computer and relieved himself by smashing a few glass figurines of Giovanni's face (created for the very purpose of relieving stress). The research on the brainwashing chips cure was not going well. The microchips were complex, and encrypted with programs he'd never seen before. He had a few captured Pokemon who'd been chipped, under heavy sedation to stop them from attacking him, but he still had no idea of how to cure it. But he had to find a way. Thousands were counting on him.

~I need a beer.~

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

Surge eyed his new recruits. They'd all had their Pokemon officially cured of Eon's influence; Surge hadn't needed to bother, his Raichu was too arrogant and greedy to join the Pokemon revolution. But now he faced a group of thirty trainers, all heroes in the various Leagues. All expressed a desire to stop the rogue Pokemon, especially those whose homes had been destroyed. He recognised some of them, such as young Ketchum. Surge noticed his Pikachu was gone; well, he didn't need it. All the trainers had undergone a gruelling 3-day long training. They were tested physically and mentally, put in team exercises, obstacle courses, target practise, Pokemon battles... The lot. Surge felt they should be trained longer, but the Kanto government wanted the strike team, codenamed Strike Trainers, ready as soon as possible for a Mt Moon attack, before the defences were changed too quickly.

Finally, the training was over and they were ready to receive their Badges; the symbol of a Pokeball, with the Kanto, Johto and Orange Island flags on it. Ash took his, looking at it in awe.

"So this is it, eh?" said Ritchie. He'd signed up as well. "Off to battle tomorrow. Mt Moon, they tell us."
"Yeah," said Ash. "Then we can show them that they can't get away with this. It's wrong. And they will never win."
"So we hope-"
"So we KNOW. Evil like that can never win!" Ash's eyes burned with the fire of a believer.
"I've got Zippo- he's a Charmeleon now-, Happy and Sparky ready. You?"
"Helmacross, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil and Chikorita. I had others, but Eon's turned them against me. The bitch." He frowned. "It's odd, but Chikorita seems a lot quieter nowadays. She used to hug me every time I released her, but now... She must realise how serious this situation is."
"Where's Misty and Brock?"
"They didn't sign up. Misty wasn't strong enough for this and Brock... I don't know." Ash shook his head. "He's just staying away, seems to feel his Pokemon are a bit odd. I don't know what he's talking about. Still, we can handle this. We will WIN."

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

Pikachu clambered through bracken and nettle, heading for her ultimate goal; the forest. The one with the Pikachu tribe, the one that she'd nearly joined. Surely she could stay there, free and safe. She was hungry and patches of fur were missing. But she kept going, until she finally reached the forest.

And found it had been napalmed. The Pikachu there had never stood a chance. Burnt corpses littered the ground, staring up with empty eye sockets.

"...no..."
She collapsed, utterly spent.

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

The ex-Rockets were now playing poker. Arbok was winning.

"...mumblemumblecheatermumblemumble..."
"Oh shut up Meowth!" snapped Jessie. "You were the one with 6 aces hidden behind your coin!"

Lash leaned against the wall nearby, making it crack slightly, and watched. "<So, Cinceon, any news on the grapevine?>

"<Oh yeah. Y'know Oak? I heard he let his Pokemon free, and now he's in Europe as a refugee...>"
"<Smart move by him. Most humans here just run away to nearby cities... If they want to escape, why don't they just go to countries WITH NO POKEMON?!>"
"<Coz they're dumb?>"

"<Well, we knew that ANYWAY...>"

Jeanette was perched on a ledge, watching the nearby rocks for any sign of movement. Other than the occasional Rock/Ground Pokemon, there was nothing.

Then Beedrill flew, looking casual, and said in slow, friendly tones "<There's a group of humans sneaking up on us. Look to your left.>"

She looked over, squinted and saw, amongst the dull and dusty brown of the mountain, there was a slightly lighter shade of brown, moving up the mountain.

"So there is." She casually leant on a piece of mountainside, activating a rigged alarm that sound throughout the mountain.



Jessie whipped out her bazooka. "Oh joy, it's killing and maiming time again..."
"I'll-"
"-do NOTHING, James. You can't use your gun properly with a whole arm missing. The rest of you; ready?"
"<YEAH!>"
Lash and Cinceon were already at the entrance of the cave, flanked by a group of Arbok, Ekans, Charmander and Mareep; all long-ranged Pokemon. The plan was simple, according to Cinceon:

"<We let them get a bit nearer, so we can aim better, and then wipe `em out.>"
Gary was there, axe ready and looking nervous. Arbok nodded to him.

"<We can handle this.>"

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

Ash was climbing up the mountain, Ritchie by his side. He had his Pokeballs ready, and a Desert Eagle gun that he only just knew how to use. Their camouflaged uniforms seemed to be keeping them from being noticed so far...

Projectiles rained down on them, killing one of the team outright. The very ground they were climbing on broke into fragments and set them tumbling down ten feet.

"Pokeballs, go!"
Cyndaquil and Totodile came out, Flamethrower and Water Gun blazing away. Around him, other were doing the same and also using their guns. Ash smirked; the enemy may have got the drop on them, but they were fighting back.

"<DAMN IT!>" snarled Lash. "<They're using brainwashed Pokemon! Hold back, people; we have to knock `em out, NOT kill. The humans are fair game but leave the Pokemon alive!>"
"<OK, I want a group to go down and engage them in direct combat,>" said Cinceon. "<We can't just pick them off from a distance now, we might kill the Pokemon!>"
"We're on it," said Meowth. "Just give the word."
"<NOW!>"

The Strike Trainers had a respite as the attack ceased. A quick count revealed one dead, two injured and four Pokemon knocked out. Ash re-loaded his gun.

"What now?"
"Continue our advance," said Ritchie. "We have to get inside and plant the bombs, remember?"
"Yep. And- oh, crap. They're charging!"
Indeed they were. The brainwashed Pokemon met that charge head on, and drove it to a standstill. It was an uneven fight; the rebels didn't want to hurt them, while the brainwashed ones wanted to KILL. Several rebels were being knocked out within seconds.

Nidoking growled as Cyndaquil bit onto his tail, and he slammed it down into the ground. The Fire type was knocked out. "<This is useless! I've got a captive here, but it's the only one we have so far!>"
Gary was trapped in the middle of the fight and noticed one odd thing; "They're not attacking Jessie, Jeanette and me."

"<Must be programmed to not hurt humans. Heyyyy...>"
"That means WE can get to the trainers and blow `em away!" said Jessie. "Let's go!"
The three of them charged. The Strike Trainers were confused at the sight of humans and hesitated for a second; in that second, Jessie was able to gun down 2 trainers, Gary dashed out the brains of another and Jeanette was able to break another's neck. The survivors opened fire, but it was too late; Jeanette and Gary were too close and were able to move and disarm them, and Jessie just had more experience and a MUCH bigger gun.

Ash was horrified. Humans were fighting on the side of evil. HUMANS! And... there was... Gary...

He launched himself at his rival, knocking him to ground and punching him hard enough to break his nose. "BASTARD!"
Gary kicked Ash in the groin, getting him off, and flipped upright. "Ash."

"You-you've betrayed us all... You make me SICK!"
Gary dodged his punches and kicks, calling out "You're the one who always jabbered on about how Pokemon were our friends and that, and now you turn on them?"
"Shut your filthy mouth!" Ash punched him the stomach, winding him. "You've betrayed your own SPECIES, joined with evil-"
Gary did a sweeping kick, knocking Ash to the floor. "Oh, GROW UP! Look around, twerp! Humans have been enslaving and abusing Pokemon for decades, and now when they decide to stand up for themselves, they're evil? Wanting FREEDOM and RIGHTS is being evil? To think I ever considered you an equal..."
Ash got to his feet and glared at Gary. "Oh yeah? Your little terrorist friends wiped out Pallet, killing your own grandfather-"
"He's still alive, dickhead! I warned him in advance; he freed the Pokemon himself! He escaped the country-"
"LYING SCUM!"
But Ash never got any further, because while the two of them had been fighting, Onix and Geodudes had tunnelled out of the mountain and into the battlefield, driving back the brainwashed Pokemon and killing the majority of the Strike Trainers. As Ash watched, a Geodude used Seismic Toss to kill off a trainer.

"ASH!" yelled Ritchie. "Forget the traitor; we have to retreat!"
Ash snarled and recalled his Pokemon; he couldn't reach Bulbasaur, but he couldn't go after him, his Pokemon would be torn to pieces by the evil ones. The Strike Team left, leaving behind their unconscious Pokemon and dead comrades.

"<Oh look,>" said Nidoking. "<We won. What a surprise.>"

Gary wiped the blood from his nose. "Yeah, no deaths on our side either. Any serious injuries?"
"<On three Pokemon. We've done well though; victory is ours! Hey, wasn't that Ash you were fighting?>"

"Yeah. But he doesn't matter, if he ever did. C'mon, let's go."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: GIVE AND TAKE

The trainer bolted along the road as fast as he could. The Pokemon were gaining, although they were actually slower. They just had better endurance. He cursed his luck. Just a few more miles and he would have been in Celadon, and gotten his Pokemon chipped. He had no illusions about where his Pokemon's loyalties lay. The last time they were let out, they had attacked. In all honesty, he'd expected them to be on the Eevee-freak's side, but he hadn't thought they would attack the moment they got the chance. Still, Pokemon were just dumb animals, and he knew he shouldn't have expected such a level of thought from them. Of course they hadn't realized he was ready for them and would just recall his attackers.

Suddenly, he hears a faint splash. Water, of course! It had worked last time. But which to use? he wondered as he turned off the path and dove into the forest. Of course, his worthless little eggbaby. Sure, it was the only one of them that hadn't tried to attack, but the stupid thing was weak. He'd gotten the dumb thing from a respected breeder and paid a bundle, and yet it lost. Besides, his Pokemon would obey him once he brought them to the anti-terrorism station.

The Pokemon were surprised as their prey turned off the path and started struggling through the underbrush. Going that was would slow him down, and his only hope would be to manage to keep running until he got to a town. What was he doing?

Still, if he wanted to make this easy, why complain? The Pokemon followed the trainer.

Finally, the trainer bursts into a small clearing. It's more then he'd hoped, not just a shallow pond but a reasonably deep one, almost a small lake. The Pokemon just a few yards behind, he turns and smirks at them, then tosses his Pokeball as far over the pond as he can. Without a backward glance he ran back toward the path as a terrified whinny turned into a cry of agony. His pursuers were far too busy trying to get the young Ponyta out of the water to bother with him.

Stupid Pokemon, he thought.

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

"Ice, I want an explanation," said Wildfire. Ice stared back at her coolly from the wall she was leaning against.

Getting no reply, Wildfire continued: "Why'd you kill them?"

"I told you," said Ice with her usual disinterest. "The clones were flawed and dying. Nothing could have kept them alive much longer."

Wildfire moved to slam Ice into the wall, but the dark Elemental simply vanished, reappearing behind her.

Ice sighed. "You really should get a handle on your temper. The clones would have died anyway. You are far too sentimental."

"That's bullshit and you know it! You could have healed them!"

"No, I couldn't," she said mildly, then vanished again to avoid Wildfire's fireball. "And calm down. You don't really think you could actually manage to hurt me, do you?" she added, reappearing.

"You healed Star, why not them?" demanded Wildfire.

"Star was just wounded. The clones were damaged on a cellular level."

Wildfire growled softly. "I'm betting you healed your Twilight too, and she would have been far more messed up. They were direct clones, she was a mixture, and Dark Pokemon don't clone well anyway."

"As you noted, Twilight was a dark type, meaning it was easier to fix her. Besides, I did that on the first day, and those clones were over a year old. I don’t lie, Wildfire. It was not possible to heal them."

"And the Articuno?"

"What about her?"

"Are you going to kill it?"

Ice shrugged. "Maybe," she said absently, then vanished yet again before Wildfire's fire blast hit.

"Why?" yelled Wildfire. "Tell me!"

"I don't know why yet. I don't know what part the Articuno has to play, whose side she's on."

"You don't know, and just because you don't know doesn't mean it's bad!"

"Wildfire," said Ice tiredly, "When I can't see what part they have to play, it usually means something bad will happen, to them or because of them. Watch the Articuno, you'll see. Remember Maelstrom." Before Wildfire could ask any more, she vanished for good.

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

~ How is it going? ~ asked Eon of Chance.

The head Chancey sighed. "Not well. We're using potions, antidotes, burn heals and others from the Pewter Pokemart to add to our stocks, but I'm afraid they aren’t good for more then a quick fix, healing wounds and that sort of thing.. The Pokemon still need time to rest to be back to full strength. Berries work far better, but healthy Pokemon keep going to berry trees for snacks and we don't have enough shuckle to convert them into berry juice. The juice keeps for a long time but the berries have to be dried out or they rot, so we can’t store them up. We don't have a single Milktank either. If we had even one it would help a great deal. Moomoo milk is very useful and doesn't spoil as quickly as berries, and they can use heal bell. We need more Chancey and Blissey as well."

~ Which do you think is the most important? ~

"Milktank, then Chancey. From what I've heard, most of the Chancey haven't been chipped because with only one Joy they need to act independently, so it's more important to get Milktank."

~ So, we must move into Johto. ~

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

"They're WHAT?" roared Lash. The Rattata messenger flinched.

"The humans have decided to attack Valencia Island. They haven't yet, but some of the water Pokemon have seen the ships, and there are planes too."

"We haven't moved most of the Pokemon out yet! I'll go tell Eon."

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

"We're WHAT?" bellowed Lash. Eon looked at him calmly.

~ The island is at the edge of the Orange Islands. We don't even have Cinnabar yet. We can't properly defend it, it has no importance other then the destroyed lab, and if the humans think they're winning back land they'll relax. It's a pity, but we can't spread our forces too thin. ~

"And what will the Pokemon think?"

~ We'll be attacking Viridian and Cinnabar at the same time, and I'll have several others destroying some of the 'anti-terrorism' chipping stations. Don’t worry, the Pokemon will understand. ~

"But doing all that at the same time will be just as hard!"

~ In the short term only. We will be spread out and vulnerable to a full-scale attack, but we can't afford to wait. Also, if we destroy some of the chips, Giovanni will start sending new ones. If we're lucky, they'll be the defective version. ~

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

Eon stood before the assembled Pokemon. Scar, Lash, Shine, Memory and Nightflame all looked at her expectantly. Wildfire and Star were also watching, as was Omen, Ice's Murkrow. Ice herself was missing.

~ As Lash may have already told you, I'm letting the humans retake Valencia Island while we attack Viridian, Cinnabar and several chipping stations. Dawn and Dusk have gone to remove all land-bound Pokemon and a group of Tentacool, Tentacruel and a Gyarados are waiting to attack the ships and make it look like we've put up a fight. By the time they realize it was all a sham we'll have destroyed Viridian and taken control of Cinnabar. ~

Nightflame looked worried. "Eon, do you really think we can do this? I mean, we've been able to beat them one at a time, but-"

~ We have more Pokemon now, plus we were never using our full power before. Cinnabar will be easy, since the shipment of chips suffered an 'unfortunate accident' and so almost none of the Pokemon are brainwashed. Besides, they train Fire Pokemon and the place is surrounded by water. It's simple to use Water Pokemon to attack.

~ Scar and Lash, you will be attacking Cinnabar. Lash will lead the Water Pokemon and Scar's job is to command the Fire Pokemon of the island. Nightflame, you will lead the attack on Viridian, with Cinceon and Mixeon backing you up. Shine, Memory, Wildfire and Star will attack the chipping stations. I've already sent Blade and Abandon to the Cerulean one. Everyone understand? ~

"Yeah!" chorused the Pokemon.

~ And where's Ice? ~

Wildfire sighed. "Ice left. She'll be back within a week."

~ Where to, why, and why wasn't I informed? ~

"Ice left for somewhere that she refused to tell me, to do something she refused to tell me, which I think is to deal with something but she refused to tell me what exactly, and she didn't inform you because she didn't feel like she had to. Ice does what she wants, so it wouldn't matter if you told her she couldn't go."

~ Wonderful. ~

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

Cinnabar Island, the volcano:

"Is everyone ready?" called Scar. He had flown to Cinnabar a few hours ago. The vast majority of Fire Pokemon was with him. Now that humans were taking away even the power of thought from Pokemon, few didn't support Eon.

Most of the Magmar had refused and some had tried to get away and tell the humans. They had been stopped, although no one was sure what to do with them. The Rattata and Raticate's of the area had pledged their support, but all the Grimer and Muk plus most of the Koffing and Weezing had slunk off into hiding.

The Slugma and Macargo were to guard the volcano itself, to allow injured Pokemon to retreat. The Ponyta and Rapidash were the first wave, since they could retreat quickly if anything went wrong. Behind them came the Vulpix and Growlithe along with the few Ninetails and Arcanine. The Rattata and Raticate's job was to dig under the foundations of buildings, toppling them. They were to try to take down power and phone lines as well. The Fire Pokemon were stuck on the island, so that last thing they wanted was for someone to call for help.

The Pokemon could do a lot of damage, but that wasn't the point. The idea was to drive them toward the coast. The island was packed with humans because so many tourists came. There just weren't enough Pokemon on the island itself.

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

For Blaine, the day began like any other day…

"Stupid mindless idiot tourists," he grumbled. There were thousands of trained Pokemon on the island, and the trainers were all WHINING because the anti-terrorism station had 'technical difficulties' due to several of the top scientists being sick and electrical problems. If he heard one more loud-mouthed moron babble on about the gross incompetence of the station, and demand an explanation… "I can't very well tell them that the reason the place is closed is because we don't have the chips we place in Pokemon brains to stop their Pokemon from thinking, now can I?" he muttered darkly.

He'd been sorely tempted to tell the last twenty complainers exactly what the real reason was, along with the fact that the Pokemon had won every battle so far because almost no one was even bothering to attack the conquered areas. Sure, there had been ONE attack at Mt. Moon, with a few virtually untrained kids who lost, and a few napalming attacks which hadn't seemed to faze the Pokemon in any way. And the fact that the reason the government was chipping in the first place was because just about every Pokemon supported the revolution. And that anyone who knew anything was worried.

Some other fat bozo walked up. "Look, if this whole mess isn't cleared up fast, I'm never coming back!" he rumbled.

"Good," snapped Blaine, stalking off. Just because they'd figured out he was gym leader they thought he was the one to complain to. When he was young you actually bothered the person in charge, not just some random person who had a position of authority. The only thing that had anything to do with him was the complaints about the fact his gym was closed, which was only because most of the stupid tourists had been worried about having a Pokemon battle with Eon still at large and none of the Pokemon chipped. And if it wasn't this, it'd be something else. People had complained to him about Pokemon Centres being full, the stores needing better air-conditioning, whatever they felt was wrong about the island. And they ALWAYS acted like he WANTED them there. "Tourists. They're ruined the island!" he cried mournfully.

It was enough to normally wish the volcano would explode. A few dead tourists would probably keep everyone else away. Today, of course, he hoped that Pokemon would attack. With all the moaning about 'what if Eon attacks?', they might as well get a nice, tourist-killing bit of Pokemon terrorism. It would serve them right.

Of course, Blaine didn't actually want something like that to happen. He was just a bit crabby. The last time the volcano had nearly exploded he'd fought to stop it. Still, it was nice to imagine all those stupid tourists running away, screaming at the top of their lungs, vowing to never come back and to tell everyone they met never to go to Cinnabar because their vacation was horrible.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" screamed a man, a Rapidash's horn going through his chest. Others were trampled by the harder-then-diamond hooves of the Ponyta herd. Behind the fiery horses came a pack of Vulpix and Growlithe, lead by several Ninetails and Arcanine. Before Blaine could react, the ground began to shake and buildings collapsed without warning. Rattata and Raticate popped their heads out of the ground. Those stupid vermin had destroyed all those houses- well, hotels. Blaine figured he should probably be upset about that, but he just couldn't make himself angry about hotels getting trashed.

Still, he didn't really want the tourists dead, even if they were a nuisance. "Everyone, get to the ocean! The Fire Pokemon can't follow you there! No, don't use your own Pokemon!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs as several trainers sent out their Pokemon. The Pokemon either turned right around and ripped apart the trainer or took one look at the hoard of fire Pokemon and walked off. Even the few loyal ones weren't going to fight against THAT.

He struggled through the crowd to get to his gym. His own Pokemon could help hold the wild ones off long enough for some people to escape. Finally at the rebuilt doorway of his gym, he was stopped by a bunch of Slugma and a Macargo.

"Go, Rapidash!" he called, summoning the Pokemon he had with him. "Attack!"

The fire unicorn appeared in fighting stance, then turned around and looked at Blaine evilly.

"Oh crap," he said, realizing his mistake an instant before he was skewered.

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

The fire Pokemon were running about as fast as the people. Were any of them thinking rationally, they might have thought it odd that speedy Ponyta and Rapidash were moving so slowly. But people who are running in blind panic from a bunch of powerful creatures trying to kill them are not usually thinking at all.

There was a reason, of course, as there is a reason for just about everything. If the Pokemon attacked, the humans would fight back. Not much, but they'd at least try. So they kept their distance while seeming to be trying to kill the humans.

The people ran into the water desperately. They swarmed onto boats or just into the peaceful ocean. The Fire Pokemon ran up to the edge but retreated back as the surf broke on the beach. They looked upset about loosing their prey.

The people stopped, staying in the shallows. Then Scar flew up.

<Boil them!> he snarled, and the Pokemon unleashed their strongest fire attacks, heating the water and forcing the humans back further. The boats set sail, crammed with as many people as would fit.

They laughed triumphantly as the Fire Pokemon glared at them, furious but unable to pass their watery prison bars.

Their laughs turned into screams as a Gyarados and a very sick looking bluish Charmeleon popped out of the water. Grinning, they both used Dragon Rage. Those not killed in the explosions leapt into the water and the awaiting maws of dozens of water Pokemon. Other Pokemon used Surf or Whirlpool on the ships.

It was all over quickly. The few humans who managed to get out of the water in time were broiled by the waiting fire Pokemon. Cinnabar had fallen.

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At the HMS Wartortle, one of the fifty ships sailing for Valencia:

Wade stared patently at the horizon, where the tip of Valencia Island was clear. They should get there within an hour. Those stupid lab Pokemon wouldn't know what hit 'em. And there would be no desertions or mutinies on these ships. No Pokemon, not even treated ones were on board, just cannons, guns, and other weapons. The attack would go off perfectly.

Ahead of them, a Gyarados' head popped up, surrounded by Tentacruel. All of them used a quick Ice Beam to freeze the first line of ships, but the rest of the fleet sailed around them and opened fire. A different Tentacruel, this one far bigger then normal, wrapped its tentacles around one of the ships and pulled it under. The first Gyarados swam under another ship, clamped its teeth into the hull and then used flamethrower to make a large hole in the boat. Seawater gushed in and the ship sank.

But other ships began firing on the Pokemon and, after destroying about ten more ships the Pokemon were forced to retreat. Wade cheered loudly in victory as the ships sailed onward to Valencia. Was that the best the stupid Pokemon could do?

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Meanwhile, in Viridian:

"This is pathetic!" laughed Nightflame, setting another house on fire. "Is this the best they can do? I thought this was the base of the Team Rocket empire. Where are they?"

"Giovanni probably WANTS us to do as much damage as possible," replied Mixeon. "With us at large, the Jennies have better things to do then just chase Rockets. From what I've heard, he doesn't think Pokemon are sentient, so I bet the idiot figures that we'll get beaten soon and wants to make the most of it. We should all be thankful the Team Rocket boss is this stupid."

The gym was deserted, and the Pokemon trainers weak. A few low-level Pidgey, Rattata, Caterpie and Weedle were no match for the legions of their wild counterparts. The Pokemon were chipped, unfortunately, so the attacking Pokemon had to be careful not kill or seriously injure them. Still, it didn't take long for the trained Pokemon to faint. Unable to use anything but standard, orthodox moves, they fell before the more inventive wild Pokemon.

"Make sure not to destroy the Pokeballs! We can't have chipped Pokemon running around on their own!" warned Cinceon.

Nightflame looked around. "Well, we’ve gotten most of the trainers, so I guess we can start moving Pokeballs. Everyone, grab as many Pokeballs as you can and bring them here! Shift," she called, and an Abra appeared. "Teleport as many Pokeballs as you can to Mewtwo, okay?" said Nightflame, then hurried off to help grab some of the Pokeballs.

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At the Celadon City Anti-Terrorism Station:

A few quick slash attacks took the roof off. The two Charizard flamed the stored chips, grabbed the Pokeballs and ripped apart every trainer and scientist they could find with wild abandon. Both of them were carrying bags, and they tossed the minimized Pokeballs and a few chips into them. When they were finished with the totalled ruin, they flapped out. Before flying back, Wildfire firebombed the police station. Sure it wasn't really the mission, but a few dead Jennies never hurt. And she really didn't like them.

At the Vermilion City Anti-Terrorism Station:

Memory dove down and ripped straight through the place. He froze the first bunch of scientists with Blizzard, then short-circuited most of the machinery in the building with thunderbolt. A quick Dragon Rage took care of the waiting trainers, and he happily relived them of their Pokemon. Once he was certain there were no Pokeballs or still-living humans in the station, he used Flamethrower to melt the chips into a worthless mass of metal. Flying out, he dodged a few bullets and Hyperbeamed the culprits into oblivion before leaving.

At the Fuchsia City Anti-Terrorism Station:

Shine shattered the metal walls with a powerful Psywave attack, then mentally found and teleported the Pokeballs out. She sent a powerful psychic at the place, then left before the survivors got a good look at her. Unfortunately, most of the chips had been left intact, but at least the Pokeballs were removed.

At the Cerulean City Anti-Terrorism Station:

Cawing triumphantly, Blade sent a second gust attack at the building. As part of the top broke, Abandon dove, grabbed the edge of the roof in her talons, and pulled. With a tormented shriek, the metal warped and twisted upward. With an entrance, the two bird Pokemon dipped down and flew in.

Blade focused on killing the scientists and other humans, while the keen-eyed Pidgeot grabbed as many Pokeballs as it could and stuffed them into the bag it was carrying. Once satisfied there were no Pokeballs or living humans left, both Pokemon began to destroy the chips and the building.

Having mangled or shattered everything they could find beyond all hope of repair, the two birds flew out cheerfully. A trainer ran up, sending out a Cyndaquil.

"I want this one," said Abandon, swooping down and using wing attack on the stupid boy, knocking him back a few feet. "What the-" she gasped, but before she could do anything a bullet shot ruffled her feathers.

"Abandon, I think we’d better move. The idea is to destroy the station, not try to defeat the whole city. The two of use verses hundreds of chipped Pokemon and guns isn't even a fight!"

Hissing angrily at the boy, she flew off. The boy stared after her. "Pidgeot?" he whispered softly.

At the Saffron City Anti-Terrorism Station:

One moment, everything was normal. Trainers sat in the waiting room and the scientists hurriedly chipped Pokemon. The next moment, the place vaporized.

Plenty of people looked frantically for the perpetrator, but there was no one or thing in sight.

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"Ash, you can't be sure-"

"It was Pidgeot, the one I left to take care of the Pidgey and Pidgeotto. And I think the Fearow was the same one we fought last time. How? Pidgeot, it was never like that, it, it liked people!" said Ash, stunned. What was going on? Why would it do something like this? And why would Pikachu?

"Togitogi!" chirped Togepi, patting Ash. It was the only untreated Pokemon in the group. When the man had asked why Misty didn't have a Pokeball for it, she had explained that Togepi didn't know any attacks so she didn't use it for battles and besides, it though she was its mother, so she kept it out. The guy had got a weird look on his face and said that they wouldn't need to treat it.

"I know Eon must be controlling the Pokemon somehow," said Ash. "Maybe it's just not total control, and that's why it had so many. And maybe it's not the only one. There might be a bunch of them. But there's not way Pikachu and Pidgeot would have done something like this!"

"Maybe you're right Ash," said Brock, "But even if that's true, what can you do about it?"

Ash narrowed his eyes. "I'll beat them and stop Eon," he swore.

TO BE CONTINUED

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