Tales, chapter one
All's Quiet On The Southern FrontDaimyo was a rather quiet little island nation in the pokemon world, located southwest of hoenn and deep in the pacific ocean, home to around 12 million residents.
Or rather, it was, that number is steadily dropping day by day after recent events.
The trouble started around 35 years ago, when the largely industrialized and wealthy residents of the northern districts voiced interest in building factories in the fertile south.
See, daimyo was almost rigidly divided along what was referred to as the central mountain range running straight through the center of the region. Above the range, in the north, the land was covered in snow 10 months out of the year, barren of most wildlife or even large numbers of woodlands, on top of having extremely infertile soil. Making the action of trying to grow food a nightmare. Though on the plus side, it was very rich with heavy deposits of minerals like iron and coal, as well as a wealthy reservoir of oil. Resulting in the portion of the region becoming heavily industrialized.
Conversely, the lands south of the mountains were bountiful with rich soil, clean water, ample forests. This led to the district heavily referred to as "South daimyo" becoming the agricultural hub and breadbasket of the nation. Providing food in surplus to both districts in exchanged for industrial products from the north to serve to increase farm yields.
This arrangement of of responsibilities had seemed to work out well enough, until the north's unregulated factory emissions and industrial pollutants had compounded several issues with the region's status regarding its environment. Such to the point that when the north tried to get the southern province to allow it to build one of its factories south of the mountain line. Where it could easily spread its pollution to the remainder of the southern half of the island.. The southern legislation of course, immediately shut this idea down as fast as it could. Infuriating the northern legislation. Many of whom were wealthy factory owners and local captains of industry.
Things really started heating up around that point. As the southern legislation attempted to propose a clean emissions bill to the north. The civilians started panicking and packing arms, southern farmers stopped selling to northern industrialists. The government tried to step in, but farmers wouldn't have it. They didn't want the fertility of their land to be at risk.
It all come to a head on april 12th, 1985, When several northerners were found attempting to bribe an elected southern official. The districts south of the central mountain range established a boycott on all northern goods and ceased production of edibles for northern consumers. Both sides mobilized their militia. For several weeks both sides stood on their side of the central mountain range in dug out trenches and makeshift fortifications.
When the shooting DID break out, it started rather small. A company of souldiers from one side would run into a company of soldiers from the other side and of course they would start shooting at each other with the weapons they had available to them. Mainly bolt action or semi automatic rifles and handgun. Things didn't really start to escalate until 1986 when acute food shortages in northern cities woke up the ruling class and made them realize "Hey, if we're going to win this thing before the food runs out we need to bring our A game".
Thus brought the first mass northern offensive. Conscription was started first in the north and later in the south. Northern soldiers did their best to charge towards southern positions in the central mountain range with the intent of breaching the mountain and opening up a supply line through them to the more easily passable plains of the south. Problem was, it didn't happen. Both because southern soldiers failed to yield their ground. And because the armored vehicles and steel types brought by the north were largely ineffective against pokemon commanded by southern handlers.
The only two campaigns on either side that showed any success at all were the Air raids on southern cities and farms in which northern bomber pilots and air wings would set fire to southern fields with incendiary devices and flatten house with bombs from the same planes. And the southern starvation campaign. In which the south used its abundance of food to its advantage. By drawing out the war as long as possible in the hopes that the populations of the north would be wracked into submission by starvation. And in the end neither campaign yielded the results either side needed.
The Northern plan worked out great at first, but when fuel shortages cropped up and southerners got better at shooting down planes things took a very bad turn. As not only were the air raids less effective, but crippling fuel shortages ((crude oil reserves had largely been located off of the south's coastline)) meant they couldn't sustain their once vast fleet of combat vehicles for use in the ground campaigns.
And while the Starvation campaign worked out well enough in the beginning, too many dead farmhands, too many harvests ruined by fires, and too little industrial products with which to farm their lands meant that food shortages started cropping up on both sides.
Eventually the fighting didn't so much end as peter out. Both sides too wrought by conflict and too wrecked from the destruction of their infrastructure to continue fighting; but neither side willing to affiliate with the other. And the begrudged peace treaty that followed was not so much an agreement to end the fighting as it was a temporary cease fire. "Peace for our time" they called it.
This all said and done brings us to the state of things today. As the last thirty years have done little if anything to improve relations. The northern and southern districts have essentially become separate countries who choose to be reliant on foreign aid for the resources each used to get cheaply from its neighbor. The north being dependant on foreign foodstuff thanks to its heavily polluted countryside and the south being dependant on foreign industrial goods. In fact the general gdp of both nations has fallen to less than a fourth of what it was in 1983. Which was midway in the conflict.
In fact after the war, a great many daimyo nationales left the country to other regions where they could find work in more stable economies, not to mention the severe death of population caused by the war itself (A total of over nine million casualties in all.) More than three fourths of the total population. And of which the remaining three million was lessened by a factor of one hundred thousand during the postwar years as civilians migrated to other regions.
But that's all in the future….
Because right now I'm going to tell you the story of two people who were caught up in this whole crazy conflict. Jeremiah Pavlichankov, future founder of union enterprises, And Yuri Silver, future enigma admin. And how they each got to where they are today.
((July 12th, 1984))
Jeremiah's story, part one
Dearest Mother
I don't know if you are reading these letters, but i do hope you are. It's dreadfully cold out here. General winter has set in in the central ,mountain range and shows no signs of wanting to leaving any time soon. We're moving out from camp today to try our hand at gaining a better foothold in the central mountain range. Hopefully things will go better than last time around so I don't miss christmas this year.
Your loving son
Ps): When you get the chance would you be so kind as to send a scarf and thermal undergarments, we're up to our knees in snow
Sighing, Jeremiah folded up the letter and handed it to the platoon's messenger, who would take it to correspondence. Getting up, he grabbed his standard issue M-1 Carbine and double checked the mechanism before affixing his bayonet and assembling at the mess hall where many of the other soldiers and company men of the 17th infantry battalion were gathered listening to his other servicemen talk.
Did you hear what the Colonel said, we're making another push on the southern pass.
Another, what about what happened last time, i barely got away both legs
Air divisions will be making strafing runs, we'll be fine
I heard there's a blizzard coming our way, how do you think the planes will fare
they'll be above it right, so there's nothing to worry about
He'd never actually bothered to get to know most of the others in his company, he'd only enlisted a few months ago, the recruiter had been oddly eager to push him through basic training before handing him a rifle, a uniform, and a pokeball. And telling him to get going.
"That said, i suppose it couldn't hurt to talk after i get some food in me" he muttered, slinging his rifle over his back and heading to the mess hall line. Breakfast today was hardtack and pemmican composite ration. Not exactly the most appetizing meal but it was better than having to scrounge for food in the countryside. Rationing had been taking its toll for a while now and he was fairly certain the people here were better fed than most of the workers, though that wasn't saying much.
In any case, he waited as the server set his morning ration on his tray, which he quickly scarfed down before getting nailed on the back by a much larger hand.
"So you're the new recruit eh? Hope you can at least hit what you're shooting at". the source of the voice walked away as i tried not to choke on my ration. Coughing it before finally getting it down. Sighing and finishing my meal before taking a swig of my canteen. I sat up and assembled with the rest of my platoon. Colonel Steelwall standing in front of our assembled ranks, briefing us on the mission before stepping onto his aggron and heading south, towards the front lines. Before i could march further i remembered the pokeball i'd been issued. Army doctrine required that he had to have at least one "mon" out before entering a battlefield if he'd been issued one. sighing, i enlarged and released the magneton inside. The pokemon materialized and hovered closely behind me, I noted how it seemed oddly claustraphillic, unwilling to allow more than 20 feet or so of distance to come between it and myself. Sighing again, I trudged forward, feeling the snow crunch beneath his boots. Bunkering down to get through the biting cold, he tightened the grip on his rifle stalk and trudged on, keeping his eyes on the man behind him as the wind began to pick up.
"Storms a comin' in. Keep close to your mates and bear through it, it'll clear when we're in the pass" spoke one of the others about him. He trudged on through the snow, pained from the cold. The storm picked up further and he soon found himself unable to see, then an all too familiar whistling sound came into being. Someone yelled to scatter and he dived just in time to hear a shell fly overhead, and a loud clang as it impacts behind him. Scrambling, he headed southeast, eventually coming to a peak before realizing he'd been separated from his platoon, unable to even make out the hazy shadow of the colonel's aggron in the haze of snow. However, he soon grew aware of a familiar buzz over his head, he guessed that that darn magneton had followed him. Figures that it would be able to keep track of him and not the rest of his platoon.
"Say, why don't you go scout ahead and see if you can find us a way back to the platoon" he said sarcastically. Partially surprised when the creature actually followed his orders. The last pokemon he'd met tried to get along with… a tentacool, had ended up covering him in poisonous stings as a child. He'd never quite gotten over it.
"Bet it's only a matter of time before this thing shocks me to" he muttered as he reached inside of his coat pocket, finding a small case of cigars. Checking to make sure he wasn't in sight of anyone he lit one up and drew in a long puff. The tobacco helping to calm his nerves as he drew in a breath and exhaled into the cold air, the tip of the item resonating with a dull ember glow. Finishing, he doused the cigar in the snow just before he heard the sound of snow being crunched not even 20 meters from his position. Squinting, he could just barely make out the greenish outlines of a pair of southern scouts, who spotted him in turn. Reflexively, he fired off a shot at one, nailing the man in the chest as a gout of his blood stained the white snow
No time to think, that's still a second loaded gun you have to deal with, no time to chamber another round, I'll have to go for a bayonet charge.
Ducking as the southerner fired a shot over his head. A lethal bee whizzed far too close to Jeremiah's ear as he rolled and sprinted towards his enemy. Bayonet mounted as he executed a brilliant lunge towards the center mass of his opponent. Who blocked with the stock of his own gun. The pair dueled, Jeremiah pulling back his own blade as the soldier attempted to parry, succeeding in knocking jeremiah's rifle from his hands before kicking him down into the snow, face up. From here, he could see the southerner working the action on his rifle and pointing it's sinister barrel straight at his chest.
This is it, I'm going to die here, cold and alone.
Bracing himself for a sudden end, his terror was interrupted by a sharp crackling ZAP that struck the southerner square at the base of his skull, His assigned magneton floating into view. Giving him a look that conveyed a feeling of something along the lines of satisfaction. Meanwhile, he peeked up from where he'd fallen down in the snowbank to see the smoking corpse laying before his magneton. The corpse of the man who would have surely ended his life had the magnet pokemon not intervened.
"Okay, maybe you're not so bad after all"
The automaton beeped at what it perceived to be praise. I couldn't really coordinate a response before the thunderous roars of cannon and gunfire interrupted our reunion. There was still a battle to fight, and neither of them intended to get tried for desertion.
(April 20th, 1985, Yuri's story part one)
*Yuri's pov*
I yawned as i woke up to my alarm clock, it was morning, time to get up and help with chores, not that i minded. It helped me keep my mind off of worrying about mom, dad, and Anya, my baby sister of only 3 years of age compared to my 8. I looked at my simply furnished bedroom and made my bed after getting up. Finding my skrelp in its pokeball on my desk. Which was covered in study supplies for my studies in preparation for becoming a poison type gym leader. I got properly dressed and clipped the pokeball to my belt before opening the door out of my room.
"Mom, I'm heading down to take care of my chores" I yelled as I practically ran down the stairs. My working boots clomping down the wooden steps as I stopped to find mom in the kitchen. Making scrambled eggs for breakfast. Anya was clipped into a high chair at the table, giggling as she watched the food being made. Her baby teeth had come in a few weeks ago and she was finally starting to be able to eat solid foods. I smiled as I rustled her thin, crimson head of hair, prompting her to giggle. Spittle getting all over the front of my jacket a she did so. It was at this point that mom turned to address me as I played with my baby sister.
"Well if you're already heading out. You might as well eat some breakfast" she said in a chastising tone.
"But mom, I want to get to my studies" I replied in a pleading voice, if only to be met with a hardened stare.
"No daughter of mine is going to starve herself for the sake of a dream. I know that it's important to you Yuri, and I understand the importance of a proper education. But that's no excuse to ignore your personal health. Besides, if you're going to be doing your chores anyway, you might as well be doing it on a full stomach."
Unable to find fault in her argument, I smiled and opened up the cabinet. Getting out plates and silverware as she finished up breakfast and put out the plates of food. The clatter of ceramic hitting hardwood signaling that it was time to begin eating.
Breakfast was a solemn affair as usual. I sat down after finishing my own eggs and turning to feed Anya for mom. I couldn't help but smile as she beamed at the taste of the food. Scrambled eggs were the best. Before the hour was up, I was finished eating ,out the door and into the fields. Pulling weeds from the fields and gathering what crops we could spare from the week's harvest to the war effort. As one of the many families with facilities to produce food for the soldiers fighting the north. We were "obligated" to donate what would normally be cash crops to the government. From their the grain, vegetables, and fruits would be shipped north by truck and horseback (petrol was in short supply and had been since the war had started) as well as across the county to help feed the remainder of the populace. Of course, the actual irrigation systems were semiautomated. A series of pipes and nozzles drawing water and pumping it through the sprinkler system at the turn of a valve. A small mercy in more ways than one.
"Alright, that's all of today's chores taken care of" I remarked as I turned to head back inside. Partially wondering if we might be able to find time in the week to go out to the lake as a family. Remembering the last time I'd been able to play in the water with Kelpsy (my skrelp) and anya at the same time with overwhelming fondness.
It was this train of thought that brought me to shut myself up in my room for the remainder of the day. Sending out Kelpsy into the little aquarium we'd saved up for last year whilst I sat down at my desk and worked diligently on my schoolwork. Answering various statistical questions and some practical ones as well.
If faced against a steel type, how could one go about poisoning it
Answer; give the foe a ring target or toxic orb, either through means of trick, switcheroo, or bestow.
It was tests and lessons like these that kept me busy for quite some time. Well into the afternoon as I was nearing the end of my work for today when I became aware of an acute blaring from outside. Taking that moment to recall Kelpsy and clip his pokeball to my belt, purely out of habit. It was an air raid siren of course, probably on their way to the southern capital and port cities not even worth losing sleep over. At least, that was what'd been happening for the last six months or so. As it turned out I was deadly deadly wrong.
Not much later the droning sound of propeller aircraft could be heard over the village followed by an explosion that rocked the building to its core and a resounding crackle. The illusion was finally broken and it was then that all hell seemed to break loose.
The next sound was another explosion, one of the neighboring homes had just been struck by a direct blast. Frantically I put my boots back on and unlocked my door. Hearing mother yelling at me to get to the cellar, Anya crying and wailing in the background as I ran down the stairs and…..
Well, that was where my luck ran out. My vision turned white as another explosion occurred meters away from me. Followed by a rush of heat and the crackle of flames as I ducked into the storage closet under the stairwell. Near the houses cistern before the whole home collapsed and a plank of wood knocked me upside the head. Knocking me out instantly.
The first thing I woke up to was frantic, shouting voices and a distinct pain in my chest.
"Come on hon, we've got yah"
I recognized the voice as one of our neighbors, Mister Stepford. And I managed to open my soot choked eyes and see the familiar grey bearded man holding a canteen of water and helping me to get into a position to drink it, which I did eagerly. The cold liquid helping to sooth my throat and help me talk. I was wracked with pain all over and having difficulty coming to terms with what had just happened. But there was one crucial detail I needed to know, because the more I thought about it. The more it ate at the back of my mind.
"Where are mom and anya, did they make it out"?
It came out as a rasp, and I ended up having to speak again, louder, before the elderly man could make out what I was saying. And when he did, his face told me the truth before he spoke.
"We, dug through the wreckage of the house, some government types even helped us look. But we only managed to find you. The police said that the basement probably collapsed under the weight of all that debris. We're still digging now, but it's unlikely that either of them are in one piece, or recognizable, much less alive."
I started crying then, or maybe I'd already been crying and couldn't bring myself to admit it. Either way, tears flew freely from my eyes as I bawled In mourning, after a while, when i had run out of tears to expel, I sat back down quietly as tried to comfort me. When he left, I started thinking about my dad, Rubbing Kelpsy's pokeball absentmindedly as I thought about where I should go next, Eventually I made a decision.
I would head north to the best of my ability, and maybe enlist or at least try to find some way to get a chance to talk with dad.
AN): so that's an introduction to Daimyo and the earliest two participants in our story.