Written by Farla and Charles RocketBoy

“We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the landing grounds, we shall fight them in the fields, we shall fight them in the streets and we shall fight them on the hills. We shall never surrender.”

                                                                                                            -Winston Churchill

Name: Ash Ketchum.

Age: 14.

Associates: Tracey Sketchit (deceased), Professor Oak (missing), Misty Waterflower, Brock Stone (deceased), Melody Riviera, JBC.

Updated: 27/9/2032

Record: Son of Delilah Ketchum (housewife) and Clark Ketchum (computer consultant). Clark left home when Ash was one in order to attain his childhood dream of being a Pokemon Master- current whereabouts unknown, presumed dead; last seen at Vermillion. Ash became trainer at age of 10, starting with a Pikachu (see POKEMON); has attained 8 Indigo League Badges, 4 Orange League Badges, 5 Johto League Badges; fought in Indigo League (16th Place), Orange League (Grand Master), Indigo again (tournament ended due to Eon). Involved in several events such as the battle on the St Anne, the destruction of Pokemon Land theme park (see DUMMY CORPORATIONS) and the Tentacool attack on Apocula.

Has had many encounters with Class-B Rocket team B/11/Sigma (see JESSIE MIYAMOTO , JAMES MORGAN , MEOWTH; all three agents now defected to Eon, see EON), has triumphed in all of these, mostly due to outside interference. Has also encountered Class-A Rocket team A/21/Epsillon (see BUTCH SUNDANCE, CASSIDY KIDD) three times, each one victorious; second encounter of interest as he was assisted by B/11/Sigma, after A/21/Epsillon attacked them as well (team disciplined for attacking B/11/Sigma).

Ash Ketchum was involved in the defeat of in the “Revelation Lugia” incident of 2031 (see LUGIA, LEGENDARY BIRDS, JIRARUDAN). Indicated in prophecy as the “Chosen One” who would bring harmony to a world of chaos; worth noting that his efforts in the incident were no more or less than those done by B/11/Sigma, Melody Riviera and Lugia, and that the prophecy itself is vague..

Recently formed part of the ill-fated Strike Trainers (see KANTO MILITARY), and is now a celebrity, viewed as a prophet and/or messiah by the people of Johto due to his uncanny predictions and knowledge of Eon’s army; his “Chosen One” status enhances this. Has regular spot on the JBC1 television channel, wields moderate political influence. Advocates all-out attacks on Eon.

Character is noted as moral absolute- he sees the world in black or white terms. Vocally aligned to League doctrine, forceful, absent-minded. Never backs down from his decisions or goals, always determined that he is in the right.

Domino read through the file again. She pinched the bridge of her nose and stifled a yawn; it was late, and she’d been working too hard for weeks now. Another one of the enhanced Persians had failed, another chance to kill Eon gone, another goddamn waste of time and resources. Team Rocket had been weakened as a result of the uprising and she’d been responsible for abandoning the League regions altogether- now the Rockets were crammed into bases across Europe, Africa and the Americas. Most of their brainwashed Pokemon were gone, given over to Eon to make themselves less of a target.

   Of course, attacking Eon would make them a huge target, so Domino hoped she wouldn’t connect the attacks with Team Rocket.

   Like she’s that stupid, she thought angrily.

   No, Team Rocket couldn’t completely ignore the League regions. The Pokemon may win and then come for them, or the humans might win and turn the region into a profitable place again (for empty Rocket bases still existed over there, undiscovered by the Pokemon). So Domino found herself studying the files they had on Ash Ketchum and suppressing a groan when she saw the amount of times he’d beaten a single team.

   The Chosen One. Foretold in Orange Island mythology as coming to restore the world to order in a time of great Pokemon-related chaos. Apparently young Ketchum was this Chosen One, or so his friends decided after that little poem about the Legendaries. Idly she clicked on the Legendaries file and read it:

Disturb not the harmony

Of fire, ice and lightning

Lest these titans wreck destruction

Upon the world in which they clash

The sea’s great guardian

Shall rise to quell the fighting

Alone its song shall fail

Thus the Earth shall turn to ash

Domino didn’t see it herself. “The Earth shall turn to ash”- that just meant it would be destroyed, not that a person called Ash would be turned to! Hardly much evidence to suggest he was a messiah.

   But what about his prophetic abilities? His escalating support and political clout? They all seemed geared towards a human victory over Eon, which would indeed fulfil the Chosen One prophecy… except the strategies he advocated would most likely fail, leading not to order but to a massacre. But then there would be an order of sorts, because with everyone dead how would there be any disorder caused?

   And why was she looking at this? She was responsible for the future of Team Rocket in this most tumulus of times, and she was spending her time studying archaic myths?! She had work to do, finances to inspect, deals to broker, strategies to work out, things to oversee, so many many things to ensure that the organisation didn’t quietly die. Everything was riding on her.

   She put her head in her hands and bit hard on her lip, drawing blood. She had to keep from screaming.

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

Eon was a patchwork of colour and skin, a mismatch of Eeveelution parts. Vaporeon scale jostled for space with Umbreon fur and Jolteon spikes, while Espeon beard and Flareon mane grew from her neck. A deep breath, and all this was cancelled out, returning her to her normal form. She turned to Alli, who stood bewildered in the cave entrance.

   “Er… what were you doing?”

   ~Training. Learning how to use my other four elements to their maximum potential.~

  “Why?”

   ~Because there may come a time when I might need them. If I had spent more time training and less time using my Psychic Element exclusively, Sabrina would have been defeated far quicker.~

   “And because you want the power to stand against Ice?”

   Eon glared at him furiously.. ~Was there a point to this visit?~

   The Feraligatr nodded. “Yes. It’s Rose. She’s questioning your command, showing signs of insurrection. She could be a problem to you. She’s made noises about turning on Ice, that you don’t control your troops well enough.”

  ~Hrrr. You know, I remember what she was like when she first became a general. Very eager, but quiet- idealistic.. She’s changed a lot.~

   “Well, a year of war will do that to you. She’s lost friends in combat, you know.”

   ~We’ve ALL lost friends in combat, Alli! Look at poor Lash- he had to give up his role as general because of it! Can she boast such a tragedy?~ As Eon yelled, her fur became blood red and her body temperature rose. ~If Rose has a problem with the way I lead, she should come to me and say so- otherwise, she is of no concern to me!~ She switched back to her default form, looking furious at the lapse in elemental control..

   “I just thought you might want to know.” He turned to go. “Er, hope the training is going well…”

   ~Yes, it is. I could tell you were coming in, because I could simultaneously detect your mind, your body temperature and your electrical nerve impulses. Maybe in time I can manipulate those, raise an enemy’s body temperature with a thought so their own blood boils, sort of thing.~

   She sounded pleased with the idea, and it unnerved Alli. He muttered something and left as fast as he could without breaking into an undignified run. Eon noticed this, and it both saddened her and gave her a perverse thrill.

   She went back to her training, only to be rudely distracted by the sound of a storm growing outside the mountain. Mewtwo teleported into her cave, looking pissed off.

   ~The Legendaries are having a little bitchfest again,~ he said.

   ~Oh, joy.~

   Eon and Mewtwo walked out onto the mountainside. Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres circled overhead, screaming in rage while storm clouds swirled around them. Celebi and Lugia hovered nearby, using their Psychic powers to project a feeling of intense anger. Eon concentrated her Dark power to negate this, and subtly probed the minds of the Legendary Birds. To her interest, she noted that Lugia was not angry, but was actually acting. He was up to something.

    ~What is your grievance?~

   “You dare assume ignorance?!” roared Moltres. “What have you done to Ho-oh?!”

   ~I have no idea what you are talking about.~

   “He has not been seen for five days! What did you do to him?! TALK, YOU HERETIC ABOMINATION!”

   ~No need for that,~ said Mewtwo testily. ~Eon speaks the truth. This is the first we heard that Ho-oh was missing? Are you suggesting someone in our army has killed him?~

   Moltres looked like he was about to reply but then he shut his beak and merely glared. He couldn’t answer that- if he gave away that they thought the phoenix was dead, then he’d be admitting that the Legendaries could be killed by mortal Pokemon. If that was said, in front of half the army, then people might stop believing in the pokegods as deities. They might even turn on them. But if he didn’t speak, then he’d look foolish and stupid in front of all his worshippers. Damn that clone!

   Celebi, being smarter, took a different track. ~Clone, are you suggesting that you mortals could harm one of us? You dare speak of such blasphemy?~

   ~Am I? I am merely going with what Moltres has said.~

   ~He was not inferring that!~

   ~Than what was he inferring?~

   “Ice,” said Articuno suddenly.. “We believe your pet demon has done something to Ho-oh. What, we do not know, but she has done it! This would not be the first time she has blasphemed against us, or tried to fight us!”

   ~Really?~ said Eon. ~I am afraid Ice will not be able to come here and explain herself; she’s suffering from pokerus at this time. I can call one of her Pokemon, if you wish.~ Quickly she started a private telepathic conversation with Mewtwo. ~Ice has killed him, I know it.~

   ~We should thank her for it.~

   ~Whatever our personal feelings for the Legendaries, this could seriously jeopardise the war effort! The Legendaries may declare us heretics, and then we’d be killed by our own troops! And with us gone, the humans would win easily. They may just want Ice banished, but how would we enforce that? We’d have to kill her, and I’m not sure if I can.~

   ~Oh come on! How powerful can she possibly be?~

   ~I don’t know! That’s why I’m concerned! She has power, but she’s always very careful not to openly display too much of it. Most of the time she just makes threats. She’s either the world’s greatest con-artist or one of the most powerful beings in the world who simply doesn’t want us knowing too much about her. If it’s the latter, then we simply know too little about her powers or skills.~

   ~Look, just call her Pokemon. If push comes to shove, we’ll get ask the Legendaries to kill her and then watch them make excuses & piss off.~

    A quick signal composed of Dark power, and Eclipse appeared. The Umbreon looked unconcerned by the situation.

   “Where is Ho-oh?!” screamed Moltres, hoping to recapture his stolen thunder.

   “I don’t know. Why do you assume Ice did something to him?”

   “Because we know what she is!”

   Eclipse smiled. “I doubt that.”

   Lugia raised a wing. ~This is pointless… Ho-oh has simply left to go back to his nest and sleep. Nothing more, nothing less. I saw him myself.~

   ~In that case, what is the meaning of these accusations?!~ snarled Eon.

   ~My companions were too hot-headed to listen to me. I apologise.~

   With that, the Legendaries seemed to visibly deflate. They flew off, not looking at Lugia or Eon, but they held their heads aloft anyway in order to maintain some semblance of pride. Mewtwo snickered as they went.

   Eon turned to Lugia. ~I have things to discuss with you. Head for Seafoam Island, I’ll meet you there.~

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

The sheer amount of weaponry at Goldenrod was stunning. Battleships surrounded it, backed up by anti-aircraft weaponry and submarines, watching the ocean for any sign of Pokemon movement. Tanks stood proud and firm across the island, while missile launchers jutted out of the ground like sharp rocks. Soldiers and chipped/loyal Pokemon patrol the ground constantly. In the centre of all this was a building made from the old town hall, built upon and expanded and armoured to become a grand command centre for the remaining League region politicians and generals.

   Now civilians are coming in, in small bunches, taking refuge in buildings designed as refugee centres. Offices, apartments, the Pokemon Centre- all have been gutted and given over to the incoming thousands.

   Ash was driven into Goldenrod with his aides- Misty, the director-general of the JBC, several of his most fervent followers and his remaining Pokemon (loyal Chikorita and captive Pikachu). His eyes lit up with boyish glee at the sight of humanity’s strength.

   “Soon,” he whispered.

“Ah, Mr Ketchum,” said Lance, rising up to meet the young prophet. “Greetings.”

  Ash looks around the room. Here are the political heads, the leaders secretly controlled by the Leagues, of Kanto, Johto and Orange; the surviving three members of the Kanto League; the seven surviving members of the Johto League; and the field-marshal of Johto’s army. The room itself is rather sparse- a simple table, the Johto flag, a large amount of paperwork.

    “We know that you have been calling for an all-out assault on Kanto. We know you have the support of over 40% of the population. We know you’ve performed well in the Kanto and Orange League Championships, and therefore show tactical skill. We know you show uncanny prophetic abilities when it comes to Eon’s moves. So we have decided to bring you into the strategising sessions for the attack on Eon.”

   “This will ensure the people of Johto are reassured that we’re doing something, and also that we can work out the best plan of action. We can set you up so you can broadcast your television show live from here.”

   “Are you interested?”

   Ash nodded. Of course he was interested, this is what he’d wanted ever since God had started speaking to him! “So what have you got so far?”

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

you can’t see the pattern any more can you?

silence

what if everything’s going wrong?!

be quiet you stupid creature

she has a point

what would you have me do?

you know this is necessary

people get dead and it’s YOUR fault

you’re manipulative and selfish!

shut up already!

rion, destiny, whichever you are, be silent!

fine

now i am noir

…

you know that’s not what i meant

yes this is necessary

but the potential for error is great

and many will die and it is on your head

she will not be the one killing them

they will be killing each other

yes, a lovely loophole

but she has set it up so they will die

it is necessary!

we liked you better when you where the brat…

i am making sure the pokemon have a better chance of victory!

what more do you want?

ah, but I know why you’re doing it

noir’s right

you’re selfish!

stop doing that

stick to one facet or be quiet

and noir!

i thought you understood what we were doing

she does!

she’s not stoopid!

i understand but do you?

do you understand how badly this could go wrong?

what if the humans are driving to nuclear attack?

they won’t do that, not after last time

can you be sure?

human stupidity knows no bounds

and the pokerus stops you seeing the pattern

yes, it does, but it will go away

i know what i am doing!

good

keep it that way

are you quite finished yet?

she is but not meeeee!

oh gods

we should have killed you at birth

QUIET!

ALL OF YOU!

Ice was still weak after her battle with the Eversian, after it had twisted her genetic make-up and powers, and it took effort to cut herself this time. But after she did so, all the voices went silent and she went back into a dreamless sleep..

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

Seafoam Islands had never really been home to Pokemon. Aquatic species came there to lay their eggs, but the only indigenous Pokemon were the Slowpokes. Then the trainers had come, visiting the island for vacations and the like, and they brought with them Pokemon that they would sometimes abandon, and so Ivysaur and Magneton and Scyther and the like would find themselves living in a foreign land they could not survive in. Eon could feel their spirits, aimlessly walking Seafoam in a futile attempt to find a home. She had been here before, back when the human population here was being exterminated. She had not felt them then. But now she was beginning to embrace her Dark element more, albeit cautiously…

   She shivered and waited for Lugia.. After a while, he came, rising out of the sea.

   ~Why did you wish to meet me here?~

   ~Few Pokemon live here. It’s private.~ Ignore the ghosts.

   ~No, I mean why do you wish to meet me at all?~

   Eon sighed and sat down on her haunches. ~I have matters I wish to discuss. For one, Ho-oh; I know you’re covering something.~

   ~Yes,~ said Lugia. He stretched his wings theatrically and came down to sit near her. ~He’s dead, for all intents and purposes. Good on Ice, I say.~

   ~“Good on Ice”? Is there some form of Legendary politics going on here?~

   ~There always is. Whenever we get together I have to occasionally scream about the strength of gods and other such stuff, because I can’t seem weak. If they thought I was weak, they’d kill me because they resent my existence. You remember when, a few years back, three of the Birds waged war on each other? How the local weather got wrecked and could have lead to catastrophic damage of the environment? That was because, thanks to that foolish human collector, they each believed the others had become weaker.~

   ~I remember that. You were said in prophecy to try to calm them and fail.~

   ~Oh yes, what great prophetic ability!~ sneered Lugia. ~Me against Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres all at once- of course I’d fail alone. My function is to keep the peace between Legendaries, but doing it through physical combat with three at once is out of my league.~

   ~A human trainer helped you, I believe.~

   ~Several humans, in fact. But you’re referring to the “Chosen One”, right?~ Lugia paused for a beat. ~Do you know what the Chosen One is meant to be? A great handler of Pokemon who is meant to restore the world to order. Now, I remember that the Legendary Birds were meant to be calmed when my song was harmonised with three treasures. That was never a myth, it was a countermeasure put in place millennia ago- the treasures were created for that very purpose, my song taught to a race of islanders for that eventuality. However, it got roped in with the Chosen One legend over time, when really any human was needed during the Bird’s rampage to get the treasures.~

   ~Huh! This is why I don’t trust prophecies and myths.~

   ~Interestingly, it was never said that the Chosen One was a human. It said the Chosen One is a handler of Pokemon- this doesn’t necessarily mean a trainer, it could mean a Pokemon who leads other Pokemon.~

    Eon stiffened. ~Please don’t tell me you’re going to associate the myth with me.~

    ~Eon, of all the things you’ve done, restoring order from chaos isn’t one of them. Causing chaos, certainly…~

     ~Actually…~ Eon gritted her teeth. This was the whole purpose of the meeting and yet now she had to struggle to say it. ~That is what I wanted to talk to you about. The restoration of order… the… oh damn it, what I mean to say is that I want to talk to you about what will happen if I die.~

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

Domino drummed her pencil on the table and read through the file for the seventh time. Her mobile rang and she answered it.

   “Ma’am. We have a second Eversian ready. We believe this one will succeed in killing E-“

   “Kill it,” she snapped.

   “But ma’am-“

   “Everything we’ve sent against the Pokemon has been a complete fucking failure. This won’t be any different!”

    “But if we don’t try, there’ll be nothing to stop Eon coming for Team Rocket after Johto falls.”

    “If we don’t attract her attention by trying, she’ll never be able to find us! We’re not in bases in the League regions anymore!”

    “Ice could tell her where to look.”

    “Ice doesn’t give a fuck about us unless we’re in the League regions! And I know that because she hasn’t come here and whacked me yet!”

    “I thought you wanted us to have some presence in the League regions.”

    “I’ve wised up,” Domino hissed. “Question my decision again and you’re the next thing we send to Kanto!”

   She hung up and turned back to the screen. The poem. The legend. The situation she was in.

   Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice or Lightning

   Lest these titans wreck destruction…

   To her, this wasn’t about the Birds. This was about the Pokemon in general. You shouldn’t disturb them, for they will turn the Earth to ash. But it was too late now. The Pokemon had been well and truly fucking disturbed, and any further provocation and Team Rocket would be hunted down and wiped out in a manner of hours.

   “Damn it all.”

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

~I have… contingency plans set up in the event of my demise. Cinceon and Mixeon have agreed to take control of the army should I die. And if they die as well, then I have several of my generals prepared to take charge- Abandon, Blade, Nightflame, Wildfire. I spoke to them about it yesterday…~ Eon sighed. ~But I don’t know how well they’d hold together the army. I have worked out that 30% of the army would schism and the rest would be heavily demoralised, and that’s the best-case scenario. And… when we win, I want Pokemon to maintain their new camaraderie instead of fighting, to keep eating the synthetic meatstuffs Mewtwo has created and not to simply wander off, set up little territories and start eating each other. I don’t know if my generals could do that, in my absence.

   ~So I’m turning to you. If I fall, you are to assume my role, with a select group of generals acting as your advisors. And I want you to make sure some development comes out of this, some order. You have the intelligence, the charisma, thousands of Pokemon who see you as a god… You’re the best person I can select.~  

    Lugia was silent. He’d expected this after Ice had talked to him, but to hear Eon talk so candidly about her death was unnerving. ~I… accept. But I warn you, the other Legendaries may be angry if this happens. They might go to war with me.~

   ~You assume they’ll survive the final battles.~

   ~Some will.~

  ~Well, as I understand it, there’s more than one Lugia in the depths. If needs be you could get them to help you.~

   Lugia freaked out. ~How did you know about them?!~

   Eon chuckled and scratched her chin smugly. ~I know quite a bit about the Legendaries and how they reproduce. I know that you are the only one that does it the normal way, that actually has relatives- except for Mews, of course, but there’s only one of them left. Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno grow eggs inside themselves, pass memory genetically to the hatchlings and have their fast-growing infants hatch out inside them; Ho-oh uses a remarkable regenerative process that causes him to combust and reform his dying body into that of his infant stage; Celebi jumps about the timestream and reproduces with future/past versions of himself; and I’m not to clear on the Legendary Beasts, but I don’t have to worry about them anyway.~

    ~I would thank you to keep this under wraps. The last thing I need is the Legendaries knowing about the rest of my shoal and killing the infants, or for humans to know where to look to catch Lugia’s.~

   ~Don’t worry.~ Eon got up, looking around the island. If she concentrated, she could see the ghosts, just barely. ~So I can count on you?~

   ~Yes.~

   ~Good. Oh, and please don’t die because that would defeat the whole point of this.~

   She prepared to teleport out of reflex but then she caught sight of her shadow. She began to focus.

   What is the point of this? Teleporting is easier and quicker than going through Shadow, so why bother? Just to stick it to Ice?

   Yes. Yes, that’s exactly it.

   And she went through.

He was immense, a primordial force that had lurked in these depths for ten million years. Back then there had been only one hundred Pokemon, and thirty of these species would eventually become extinct. He had been the strongest of his kind, a race of great Dark Pokemon that ruled Kanto with tooth and claw. And one day Azazel had gone into Shadow and never came back, except occasionally to feed. Every forty-seven years he emerged to feed, reaching out from under the bed to grab his prey. A small human town was his feeding-ground for seven generations, leaving hundreds dead every time he came.

   Azazel was arrogant, assured that nobody could harm him. For he lurked near the depths of Shadow, wielding so much power that the other monsters in the abyss didn’t dare come near him. Some of them physically couldn’t, for it requires effort to go into the depths without your mind being pulped by the sheer mental emptiness of it.

    Then Ice came and began slaughtering the beasts within. She grew closer and closer to his territory. Azazel was angered by this, and he rose from the depths of Shadow, the entire realm shuddering as his gigantic form tore its way towards her. As he moved, beings across the planet awoke screaming from nightmares, the minds of Psychics exploded with pain and Dark Pokemon cowered in fear from their own shadows. His many mouths gnashed in fury, the smallest tooth three times as large as Ice’s body.

   She fell into his mouth and from there tried pulling him back down. Azazel resisted and was ripped apart from the inside.

    Ice regained consciousness several days after this. The ectoplasmic fragments of Azazel’s body floated around her.. And she found that the remaining monsters in shadow were afraid, and willing to do whatever she wanted in order to stave off death.

   She killed them all.

   She wanted no peers.

Eon emerged from Shadow into Mt. Moon. Gasping for air, she twisted her head round to see if anything was coming after her.

    ~What the hell was that?!~

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

eon went into shadow

so?

she picked up the memory of azazel’s death

no matter

aren’t you worried?!

she may have seen how to kill dark’s from it

so?

it would take years of practise to use it on me

you think she’s weak but she’s not!

she’s right, you underestimate eon

i do NOT underestimate

says you!

oh shut up

maybe we should try to distract eon again

another undead?

no

maybe if she continues trying to get into the forest

otherwise there’s no need

now be quiet

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

The people of Olivine City were getting worried. The military presence around the city had lessened, as more and more troops were called to Goldenrod. They were worried.

    And they were right to be worried, because the Pokemon had tunnelled beneath the city and were walking around beneath it, ready for their latest attack. It had been a while since the Pokemon had tried to take a city and Eon was giving them this as a chance to lose some of their stress.

    In strategic areas across the city, the Pokemon tunnelled up, causing buildings to collapse into rubble. Escape routes were destroyed, the military defences were attacked from behind and quickly forced to flee. Now it became a simple matter of blowing everything up.

    Eon breathed in and unleashed her full power in the middle of a crowded street. In literally a few seconds the street had been vapourised and stray attacks were bringing down buildings for half a mile on all sides.

   A group of Charizard and Gyarados rampaged through the city, smashing buildings to the ground and roaring in pleasure as dust and smoke rose up. Jets of flame and Dragon Rage ignited anything that looked flammable and likely to make a big explosion, and soon fires were spreading everywhere. No one could put them out, as teams of smaller Pokemon (Rattata, Sandshrew and the like) had ripped apart fire stations across the city.

    After ten minutes of this anarchic free-for-all the Pokemon left, leaving half the city levelled. Eon would send a second team in after a few days- she knew many Pokemon wanted to see action and she wanted to keep them happy. And so five days later the rest of Olivine fell.

    Several thousand people managed to get out before then and made their way to Goldenrod. The place was full of refugees now, and many of them were signing up to bolster the army ranks.

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

“Go away.”

 ~Why are you so hostile towards me?~

 “Because of what you perceive as your function. Because you believe yourself untouchable. Because you’re just like the rest of them but you try to act like you aren’t, that you’re better, more intelligent. And because you want to fuck with me and mine.”

   ~I can say the same about you,~ said Celebi. ~You swagger about Eon’s ranks, smug in the belief that you are invincible, and you yourself mess in the affairs of my kind.~

   “Your kind?” If Ice hadn’t been weak at the time, shadows would have begun to writhe and rise up. “Legendaries isn’t a species or genus, it’s a class. It’s an aristocracy. Your ‘kind’ would be your own species, and you don’t have one. You just have yourself, jumping across time zones, making yourself more and more inbred by self-copulation. You don’t have the right to act superior.”

   ~I have more power than you,~ he snarled. ~I can cross time and space, I-~

   “Yes, you can. And what have you done with that power?”

   ~To have great power and not use it-~

   Ice cut him off. “If you are indeed as powerful as you say, you could prevent my creation. Spare yourself all this bother. You haven’t.”

    ~How do you know I won’t?~

   “Because I don’t believe you physically can. Legend has you as a spectral figure flitting across time, while I note that despite your temporal powers the world is a very different place to how it would be should the Legendaries be able to change history. And I still exist. Despite all I’ve done to ‘your kind’, I still exist. So I must come to the conclusion you can go back in time but are unable to truly interact physically or verbally with anything besides yourself when you go time-travelling.”

   ~I am not as powerless as you think!~

   “You’re part Psychic. I’m Dark. Use only Grass attacks on me and I could still take you down with just one or two attacks. Plus, you lose your temper too quickly. A few verbal barbs by me, and you go screaming about your power. Now, does this visit have a point, or are you just going to ask me about the forest again?”

   ~We will unite and storm your forest by force. This is a promise.~

  “And who would join you in this? You don’t even know where Ho-oh is, the Legendary Beasts only care about their interests in Johto, Mew wouldn’t pay attention to anything you suggest, and the four remaining Birds might not even want to get involved.”

   ~We would be large enough to destroy you and gain access at what you protect.~

   ~I doubt that.~

    Celebi turned round, furious. ~Mewtwo.~

   ~Correct.~ The psychic was standing a few metres away, his arms folded and a smirk on his face. ~Now, you assume that Ice would stand alone in defending her interests. She has Pokemon allied with her, and I believe united they could handle a Legendary. And Eon may not take too kindly to you blasting the shit out of Kanto. You think you could stand against Eon? Against me?~ Feelings of insecurity and fear were subtly broadcasted to Celebi’s mind. ~Me, born from the DNA of Mew, augmented beyond what she ever was? Me, who was intended to have the destructive power to annihilate half a city? Me, who has seen the Legendaries glare my way but never have the balls to say anything to my face?~

   ~Do not overestimate yourself!~ screamed the time-jumper, trying to keep the note of fear from his voice.

   ~Oh, I’m not. I clearly took into account your combined power with that of Ice’s, her Pokemon, Eon’s and mine combined. You come up short.~

   Celebi stiffened and teleported away, hissing ~This is pointless~ before leaving.

   “I didn’t require your assistance.”

   ~I know, but I was heading here anyway and couldn’t resist trashing the smug bastard. What I’m really here for is to find out why you have the pokerus and no-one else.~

   “Team Rocket. Created another Persian-clone assassin, this one designed to turn Eon’s abnormal genetic code and elemental mix against itself, tearing her apart. I fought and killed it.. It managed to use its power on me beforehand, resulting in pokerus.”

    ~Team Rocket is still trying that? I thought they abandoned this whole area.~

   “They did, but they can’t resist coming back to it anyway. After all, they’ve spent generations planning to take over the League regions. The League regions, in fact, are the sole reason Team Rocket became the powerhouse it is today. I wouldn’t bother trying to go against them though- Domino will realise soon enough to stay away. And if she doesn’t, I’ll kill her and then her successor will realise it.”

   ~Hmmm. By the by, what is going on between you and the Legendaries? Anything we should be concerned about?~

   “Most unlikely.”

   ~Good. Oh, and kill Zapdos next. Ugly little git.~

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

It was a month later. Domino was not sleeping well anymore. She had severed all ties to the League nations and instead was committing Team Rocket’s might and strategic ability to becoming a major player in crime and terrorism across the world. Several nations relied on Team Rocket for their weapons and a few little assassinations had ensured Team Rocket was secretly running legitimate businesses and so had interests in construction, energy research and pharmaceuticals. She was feared and respected and worshipped as the saviour of Team Rocket.

   Didn’t help. She was constantly looking over her shoulder, worried about the Pokemon finally coming for her. She had heavily armed bodyguards with her at all times. She would flinch every time the subject of Team Rocket’s chipped Pokemon came up. And to her daughter, borne to ensure future leadership of the organisation (Team Rocket had always been steeped in nepotism), she taught respect for the power and savagery of Pokemon, and how not to upset their harmony.

   At the age of 35, she suffered a nervous breakdown and had to be placed to a mental institution for extreme paranoia.. Her daughter stopped visiting her after Domino started calling her “Ice”.

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

One month later.

   Ash took a deep breath and closed his eyes. To his left trotted Chikorita, unchipped and unrestrained, for she was a loyal Pokemon who stood by him like they were meant to. Pikachu was kept in a Pokeball clipped to his belt- until Eon’s influence could be lifted, she couldn’t be allowed free reign. The military fatigues felt odd on him, but he had decided that, since he helped create the strategy, he should be helping to implement it on the front line. He’d be on the same rank as Surge.

   After all this planning, it was finally time to move on Kanto. And he had to make a speech to the waiting army, all those tens of thousands of soldiers. He was nervous.

   Finally he went on stage, took on the assembled troops and began.

   “The plan is simple. We take all our forces to Kanto and blast our way to Mt Moon before sunset. Of course, it will be hard, and bloody, and despite all of that we are going to go in and we are going to WIN.

   “Why? Because we are the good guys. We lived happily with Pokemon, our friends, until Eon used her power to turn them against us, make them think we were enemies and that we were abusing them. But it doesn’t matter what she thinks. She is WRONG, and we shouldn’t let her opinion of us matter. Many Pokemon will die, but by the end of it Eon’s mind control will be lifted and they will be ours again. And we can put this goddamn war behind us and go back to living how we used to. This is my promise to you all, and the prophecy said to me by God Himself.

   “We will never give in. For we are the good guys and good guys never quit. They succeed.”

    There was applause, and Ash finally relaxed. That had been scary.

   “ALL RIGHT!” barked one of the generals, taking the stage. “We leave for Kanto in ten minutes!”

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

~Rose.~ Eon’s voice was clipped. ~Please spare me the formalities and get right down to what you want to say.~

   “Fine,” said the Bellossom. “I believe you aren’t exercising enough control over the army. For example, Ice wanders in and does whatever she feels like, and you haven’t stopped her.”

   ~Ice has only gotten over her pokerus three days ago, and she hasn’t come here in that time. So I have to wonder why you use her as an excuse now instead of when she was disobeying me more often? I know this game you’re playing, Rose. You want the army to be run in a certain way, so you’re going to push me into it by pointing out all my previous errors. Don’t bother.~

   “My point is valid! Without proper troop control, we are doomed to failure!”

   Eon frowned. ~And what do you see as improper control?~

   “We are spread about our territory with no order and design. Pokemon are allowed to do whatever they like until battle, when they could be doing other things to ensure our victory! You’ve never taken a hard enough stance of Ice. And you even let Nightflame bring a human child into the heart of Mt Moon!”

   ~The child is now dead. And the very flaws in order you suggested are the things I thought we were fighting for. Be warned Rose, you’re starting to think like a trainer.~

   Rose nearly struck her. “How dare you?” she snarled. “You accuse me of acting like a human, after all I’ve seen them and their ways do-”

   ~What I said is supported by your actions. You advocate a more totalitarian style of command, which goes against the entire point of this war. And you also take until now to tell me these things to my face, when I have on good authority that you’ve felt like this for over a month now. I did not hire you for cowardice. Or so I could be told to treat Pokemon like the trainers did.~

   “I could take to the Legendaries about this.”

   ~You do that.~

   “They’d agree, and then they’d call for your removal and my replacement of you.”

   Eon stiffened and Fire attributes crept up her form and mingling with Dark, turning her hue to that of dried blood. ~Really?~ The venom in her voice was overpowering. She took a step towards Rose.

   The Bellossom matched her stare. “Yes. If that is what it takes to save this revolution from your loss of focus, I will do it.”

   ~I still have focus. More now so than a mere six weeks ago. And maybe that is what you don’t like. The fact that I have emerged from my apathy and despair unscathed, and I am settling back into the role I had at the beginning. Because of that, you’ve lost some of your power.~

   “If you’ve gained new focus, why do cities remain on Johto? We haven’t moved on one since Olivine.”

   ~I’m laying siege. Once they’ve been starved out, we can move in and bring them down. Why, would you prefer we all ran towards the guns?~

   “No, I’d prefer proper control of the army and using them to succeed, instead of letting them laze around!”

   ~“Proper control” as you define it would result in a Pokemon counter-revolution and the fall of our freedom.~

   “So you say.”

   ~Go ahead then. Talk to the Legendaries. Try to get them to remove me. Watch me go down fighting, dragging several of them with me. Witness how demoralised the army be, and how they’d then be so hostile to your authoritarian stance that they’d rip you apart, and how the humans would move in and easily win.~ Eon grinned. ~Go ahead and ruin us all.~

   Rose pursed her lips and left.

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

The waters between Kanto and Johto. Thousands of creatures swam these depths, and they were home to many a Pokemon, who spent their days lazily swimming around, detached from the war.

   Slicing through the depths was a Seadra, panicked out of his mind. It took them a while to figure out what he was screaming.

   “They’re coming! THEY’RE ALL COMING!”

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

 The Pokemon mobilised. Alli and hundreds of strong Water & Flying Pokemon were teleported out to support the Pokemon already there. They weren’t sure how large the human force was, but they had to take out as many ships as possible before it reached Kanto.

   As soon as they were teleported in, they started falling from gunfire. The battle had started early, and Pokemon blood stained the water.

   Alli snarled. “Flying Pokemon, draw their fire and try to board them! The rest of you, take out all battleships and submarines! Full power attacks, make sure you have a clear shot before firing and keep moving!”

“Sir! We have four objects moving towards us-“

 “Fire torpedoes!” barked the submarine commander.

  He clasped his hands together as his crew fired upon the attackers. He was worried. He knew how powerful the Pokemon were, they’d need every man and weapon to take Kanto back from the bastards. It would be too easy for the submarine to be hit, and when you got down to it, the craft was merely a metal coffin submerged in water. No chance of escape. None.

   “Direct hit, sir! None have been left holy shit one’s coming up behind-“

   The Gyarados struck hard and fast.

Shells pounded the air, causing blood and feathers to shower down. Apex, an adolescent and frightened Pidgeotto, could do nothing but try to avoid the attacks and hope she was giving her comrades a chance.

   To the side of her, another one of her friends was blasted.

   She could see a human below, wearing the rank of a commander. Apex narrowed her eyes and dived, ducking under the gun’s range, stretching talons out and swooping down to rip and render-

    The Thunderbolt attack blew her across the ship.

   Surge grinned and gave his Raichu the thumbs up. “Nice shooting!”

   “<Like I do anything less?>”

The water rose up into a great tidal wave and struck another ship, dragging it down to the ocean floor. That was the fourth combined Surf attack the Pokemon had done, and it was tiring them.

   Alli swam to the surface, nudging Seaking corpses aside as he went. The thunder of guns and the roars of the dying deafened him. As he watched, a group of Wartortle were climbing up the side of a battleship whose guns had been frozen by Ice Beam; as soon as they reached the top, they were gunned down.

   Over to the side, a battleship went up in flames as it was hit by Hyper Beam.

   Floating towards him were the corpses of Pokemon he had known personally.

   “Damn this to hell! We should be causing more damage to them than this, we should be, should b-“ He broke off and breathed in deeply. He had to remain focused.

   With a snarl, he used Surf to flip him onto the deck of a battleship. If he could damage the guns, he’d give the fliers some-

   The bullet struck him in the temple.

   His face blew outwards, spreading blood and grey matter. Slowly, the shot not even registering on his face, he tipped over the side and sank to the bottom. To join his comrades-in-arms, in the dank and the dark.

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

~Six hundred dead?~ Eon’s voice was distant, shocked. ~For a mere seven battleships?~

  “Yes.” The messenger, an Pidgey, looked away, and Eon could feel the grief emanating from its mind. “I… I had friends who died over there.”

   ~We all have dead friends,~ she said bitterly. ~So, Alli is dead and the humans are coming in force. You are dismissed.~ She waited for the bird to leave, then turned to the generals. ~Well? What do we do now?~

   “Pray,” said Nightflame..

   ~Ha! Like the gods give a shit about us.~

   “We should, er, place defences around Mt Moon,” said Rose. “Koffings and such placed under the ground, ready to use Explosion.”

   “You think the humans will get this far?!”

   “It’s possible, Fang. This is, what, their entire army?” She winced as the full implications sunk in. “Damn. The whole army.”

   “I fought in the last human invasion, a month ago,” said Abandon. “We can’t have any defences placed on the coast, the humans will just shell it. They’ll land at Pallet, so we should be ready to repulse them at Viridian.”

    ~And we’ll need to call Pokemon from Johto and Orange in order to fully build up the defences.~

   ~We also need to consider medical treatment,~ said Mewtwo. ~I’ve experimented on TMs in my lab- they should be able to grant Teleport to the Chancey and Blissey, allowing them to take the injured off the battlefield. We also need all the Abra we can ready to help teleport the wounded & the retreating and to relay communications. We need the hospital and nursery to be moved from here, of course.~

   “There’s an abandoned underground Team Rocket base,” spoke up Wildfire. “I found it two weeks ago.”

   ~Oh?~

  “I was… exploring for them! We need to know if the Rockets have a way to get in and out of Kanto, y’know.”

   ~Fine,~ said Eon. ~We’ll have the nursery and hospital moved there. We also need someone to replace Alli. We should reinstate Lash as a general.~

   “What the hell?!” snarled Rose. “He had to be pulled from that position because of severe trauma, Eon! We can’t expect him to be battle-ready just a few months after that!”

   ~I concur,~ said Mewtwo. ~Isn’t there someone else?~

   ~NO! There isn’t! There is no one with his experience, and right now we can’t afford a new, inexperienced general, because that will cost lives! This calls for drastic methods!~

   “We could let Lugia have the position.”

   “No,” said Wildfire. “We can’t have him fighting in Kanto, he should go to organise a naval force to hit the battleships from behind to prevent them from going to shell other areas and the humans from having somewhere to retreat to.”

   Rose sighed. “Fine. But I’ll feel more comfortable if he’s in Cerulean fortifying it and not the immediate front line.”

   ~Agreed. And before anyone asks, I don’t think Ice will be joining us in this final battle. Now, we need to work out a more specific strategy.~

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

The sky was darkened by the wings of many.

   The ground appeared to move as the legions stalked forwards.

   Thousands of Pokemon were coming to Mt Moon, thousands were already there. The generals were trying to organise them all into groups.

   One thought went through the mind of all: This is it, the final battle, and I’m going to die.

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

Jeanette grasped the sword in her hand and admired it. It was a wicked curved thing that, with enough force behind it, could cleave through bone. To her side, Gary was muttering to himself vehemently and sorting through his meagre supply of arrows and crossbow.

   She knew that he was scared, that he felt he was too weak to make a difference. She tried to keep her mind clean of such things. They wouldn’t help her.

   She settled down on the floor and closed her eyes. She wouldn’t be needed in battle for many more hours, so it would be best to ensure she wasn’t going to suffer from fatigue in the middle of combat.

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

Ca-click.

  Team Rocket were a walking arsenal, guns of all shapes and sizes attached to their clothing; Meowth had put a trenchcoat on to hold the weapons he felt he needed, though out of stubborn pride he refused to wear any form of armour.

   Jessie slotted bullets into her machine-gun. “So this is it then.”

   “Yeah. Da big showdown.”

    “You guys… you ever think about death? What comes after?”

   “No,” said James abruptly. “I’m not scared of death or what comes after. Not after… you know.” He tapped his prosthetic. “I remember someone standing next to my bedside. Someone that seemed… comforting, though they shouldn’t have. And for some reason I just can’t get afraid anymore.”

   “Goody for you. I’m shitting myself.”

   “Actually, I’m lying. I am afraid. Afraid you or Meowth or Weezing or Growlie or any of us is going to die while I live, and I’ll be left a-“ He turned away. “I’m OK. Just something in my eye. That’s all.”

   “Yeah. Sure.”

   Ca-click.

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

Lash wanted out.

 Now.

 He was back in Cerulean, having received orders and his old post from Eon. Now, looking at the Pokemon allayed around him, he wanted to scream and run away before he led them into death. Just like Scar.

   The plan was sound. Cerulean had been mostly aquaformed by Pokemon beforehand- the city had been mostly bulldozed and the lakes & streams lengthened, deepened and joined up, turning it into a large wetland. His troops would hide here, letting the humans pass through on the narrow paths and wade through the shallows, slowing them down. Then they’d strike, quickly and neatly, wearing the enemy down. The Goldeen and Seaking were weak Pokemon usually, but a fast Horn Attack could easily kill a human..

  The plan was sound. But somehow they’d all die anyway. He’d screw up.

   But he hid in the depths waiting to make his move anyway. Because he had no choice in the matter. Because he was the one all these Water Pokemon were looking up to. Because he wanted revenge on the bastards for killing Scar.

   So he fought the urge to run, and waited.

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

“The heretic has yet to talk to us about the battle!” snarled Moltres.

 ~I wouldn’t be worried,~ said Lugia.. ~We are gods. What does it matter what she wants us to do? The question is, what do we want to do?~

   “Time-walker! What have you seen?”

   ~Death. Destruction. It was hard to make sense of it.~ Celebi shrugged. ~Our survival is ensured, of course. It always is.~

   “And where do we stand when it comes to the humans?” asked Zapdos.

   “Against them, of course! They stand opposed to our will and worshippers! They ignore us! US! We shall engage them in battle and destroy them!”

   ~We should smite them on the beaches before they can take a step inland!” yelled Lugia. ~One of us should go out there to meet them when they get to Kanto and cause as much havoc among their number as possible!~

   “I will go,” said Articuno. “I will land the first blow on the heretics!” He rounded on Lugia, a steely glint in his eye. “And you? Will you follow your words with actions?”

   ~Of course! You dare suggest otherwise? I will go and rally aquatic Pokemon on the fringes of Eon’s control, and lead them to cut off the humans should they try to retreat!~

   The Legendaries continued to talk, and Lugia resisted the urge to grin when he thought about how easily he’d manipulated Articuno into certain death.

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

 “Are we going to die?”

 “Hell, I dunno,” said Shockslash. “I hope not. Not after all the crap I’ve gone through. After killing my trainer, after fighting all these battles, to see it all end now… It’s all in the hands of the gods, I guess.”

   “That’s supposed to comfort me?” asked Lectric nee ElectricAngel bitterly. “This is going to be my first real experience in combat, you know. And it’s at the front line. I’m going to die.”

   “Look, the generals aren’t stupid. If we have to, we can retreat.”

   “What if we never get the chance?”

   “Don’t talk like that! You’re not going to die, Lectric! I’ll watch your back personally.”

   The Pikachu smiled. “Thank you.”

   “Well, that’s what we’re meant to do, right? Watch each other’s backs? Otherwise, what’s the point of rebelling?”

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

Koffings were carefully rolled into place under tunnels by Mt Moon. Thirty of them, all spaced out to cause maximum damage to the enemy.

   Before the Koffings were five giant pit traps, lined with spikes covered in Toxic.

   To the far side of Mt Moon, seven hundred Pokemon waited to launch an attack on the invader’s side should they be needed.

   And in the trees nearby were sacs full of Sleep Powder, Stun Spore and Spore, with small Hoothoot ready to pop them when the human’s marched underneath.

    Rose had thought of everything when it came to defences, but she still felt like it was too weak.

   Of course, I have no idea how many humans will make it this far, if any. This may be completely unnecessary. And god, I don’t even convince myself when I say that. Damn it Eon, if we don’t pull through this, I will personally hunt you down and kill you before the humans do.

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

She’d already instructed her team at Pewter, they knew what to do and could manage without her for a while. However, Wildfire knew how likely it was she would die in this fight and so she wanted to tie up loose ends. Find this out once and for all.

   It occurred to her Ice might kill her if she indeed knew the truth.

   Fuck that. Even if she does, I don’t care. I just have to know!

   Ice had been busy- as Wildfire came upon her, a Tyranitar was fading away in Ice’s unique form of teleportation. The Elemental didn’t even look up at her.

   “Hello.”

   “Where’d you send that Tyranitar? Your town?”

   “Of course.”

   “It’s not the only one, is it?”

   “You sound surprisingly bitter.” Ice turned round, a look of concern (faked, of course, it always was) on her face. “What is this about?”

   Wildfire narrowed her eyes. She would have been willing to be more tactful about this, to avoid potentially being killed outright. But that smugness in Ice’s voice, that phoney look on concern… she’d had enough. She cut to the chase.

   “I know who Noir is.”

   Ice folded her arms, her face impassive. “Go on.”

   “I searched an abandoned Team Rocket base when you were sick with pokerus. I knew that would be the only chance I’d have. I managed to jumpstart the back-up generator and use their computers, and looked up all the files Team Rocket had on you. Most of the really important stuff had been deleted, of course, but there were several records showing absences taken by you. Something about that grabbed me.

   “Then I started to really think about what I’d seen and heard in that little town of yours, and that visit by Rion Eci.” Wildfire was becoming hysterical, as Ice’s impassiveness and the significance of her knowledge began to wear down her resolve. “I-I know that Rion is Noir, that she has multiple personalities-“

  “No she doesn’t. She has severe mood swings and likes to call herself by different names when this happens, but she’s not mad. If she was, I would have killed her long ago.”

  “And that she’s your daughter.”

  Silence, broken only by Ice’s smile.

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

Who watches the watchman? Me. And who watches me? Who’s making sure I don’t screw up? I can’t. If I do, then everything I’ve done, the revolution, the conquest of Kanto and most of Johto, all the humans I’ve killed, all the Pokemon I’ve inspired… it means nothing. If we lose, then none of it matters.

   Eon turned away from her thoughts and over to Mixeon, the only general to remain in Mt Moon. ~Report.~

   Mixeon frowned. Eon sounded tired.. She never sounded tired. She was Eon. “All Pokemon are in place. Lugia has left to rally the aquatic Pokemon in the Orange Islands, and defences are in place for Mt Moon. Nursery and hospital have been successfully moved. I’ve also got twenty Psychics with me here, in case we need a quick psychic shield around the mountain to defend from missile bombardment.”

  ~Are our forces able to retreat back here?~

  “If they need to, yes.”

   ~Good.~ Eon walked over to the map of Kanto that lay in her cave, and sighed. ~I shouldn’t be here. I should be in the front line, like I was at the beginning. Remember when I first attacked Indigo Plateau? I had passion and drive then, and I didn’t skulk around while others did the dirty work.~

  “You’re needed here. You know that. You have to co-ordinate the entire operation, and if we’re forced back to Mt Moon we’ll need your power.”

   ~I know. But I hate it.~

   From the front line, broadcasted from mind to mind, came Mewtwo’s voice: ~Eon! Is everyone in place?~

   ~Yes.~

   ~Good. Because the humans are nearly here. ETA is three minutes.~

   Eon narrowed her eyes. She breathed in deeply, and her skin became a mismatch of colours and skin material as she focused her power.

   And so it ends.