Private Youngster Joey lit a cigarette. The forest was getting to him. The noises of Bug Pokémon were the sole thing to break through the weighty silence of the Ilex Forest. Joey puffed nervously. His shift would be over soon, and then he could head back to base camp. Something about that particular night, and the way the breeze just hung in the air, as if it were expecting something, unnerved him. He clutched his AK-47 closer to his breast and loaded it. He turned to his side, where his companion, Raticate was standing, keeping a silent vigil over the forest. It gazed back up at him, its' whiskers twitching alertly, and its' eyes serious and unblinking. Joey sat down against the base of a tree, and whispered softly to Raticate.
"Hey buddy," he spoke, running his fingers through the Raticate's fur, "We're gonna be all right. In the end. You know? "
Raticate nuzzled closer to Joey, and they sat in the silent Ilex, assured that they would come out okay. Then, they heard a rumbling. Low at first, and then it grew louder and stronger, and then they heard a cacophonous screech that pierced their ears. Joey knew what this was. He could tell. He knew they stood no chance. And he started to weep.
"Raticate!" He said, through tears, "I want you to know… I think you're in the top ten percent of all Raticate!"
Raticate braced itself, and its' fangs. Joey cocked his gun, and pointed it towards the direction of the noise. They weren't just going to roll over.
Steelix or no Steelix.
And then, it came into view. Its' metallic gray skin, like Bismuth, rubbed off on the ground as it moved, its' jaws full of jagged stone teeth, and eyes like fire all glowed in the bright moonlight. Private Youngster Joey screamed. The two charged the beast. The bullets and teeth did little more than reflect off of the serpent's shell, and it shook slightly, as if it were annoyed. From atop its' head, a man dressed in red and black grinned. And he smiled. He gave one command, and Joey and Raticate were swallowed by the Earth.