On the heavily militarized border of Kanto and Johto, the Kanto side of the five mile no-mans-land was full of bored soldiers. Their barracks were filled with their chattering, with the obvious exceptions of the sentry-men. Thick layers of dust were covering the armory, which showed signs of neglect. After all, if no one could use their guns, no point in even cleaning them. All the troops stationed there assumed they were in for light skirmishing with their enemies across the border. All they got was endless drills and waiting for the other side to make a move. Thirty years was an awful long time for an army to get idle and restless, especially after the dubious means of the last one ending.
The conflict before the end was higher than any other conflict between the unfriendly nations, and the only reason it ended was the intervention by a pokemon, Mew. No one had even heard of the thing before it happened, though myths have shown that it has been around for a very long time. It disabled the automatic weapons of both sides, making them unable to wage strategically sound war on the other side. Strangely enough, machines still worked, so the world itself was not brought to a standstill. A treaty was begrudgingly signed, and a cold war set in between the two powers.
So feelings were brooded during this time, sentiments on both sides going into the gutter. Mistrust, trade deals gone wrong, and good old fashioned hate contributed to the brewing storm of war that loomed over both regions. But as both were unable to wage the war they had so viciously wanted, the cold war continued on. And for thirty years, until the sentry alarm went off at the border outpost, everything was just the calm before the storm that threatened to claim so many lives. All it needed was a catalyst.
All the soldiers immediately stood to attention, and their chattering turned into a full on conversation. It wasn't like Johto could make a move. Their weapons were all out, just like Kanto's. At least from what intelligence had last said. They were a bit iffy on what was happening inside of the country, especially since their spies had been coming back more than a little confused about the troop movements.
In the barracks, there was a averagely heighted young man, with a particularly red hair and thick rimmed glasses. He was dressed like the rest of the soldiers, though he had taken off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair. Messing with his buttoned up shirt, he looked upwards at the blaring alarm, pushing up his glasses nervously. Suddenly, a large man pushed through the crowd of soldiers, looking directly at the ginger.
"Timothy! Our squad is up to go check out the sentry alarm!" The man bellowed, easily being the tallest person in the room. The chattering stopped once the giant had finished speaking, and all eyes were upon Timothy's squad, and the duo who were so engrossed in a one-sided conversation.
"But we just got off duty, Mike!" The much smaller man protested, but it was a useless effort. Mike was their squad leader, and quite possibly the largest man Timothy had ever seen. He had been a Tauros herder before he enlisted, and his body showed the signs of the hard labor labor he endured during his youth. Fiercely loyal to Kanto and one of the most patriotic people Timothy had ever seen, he was intimidating to simply be around.
The ginger wasn't quite so built as his fellow soldier, more like lean and built for speed. Growing up in the sprawling metropolis of Saffron city left him woefully ill prepared for the rigors of military life, or the wildlife that came with it. The first time he had ever seen a pokemon was when he patrolling the border, and small caterpie had fell onto his back. The event is not spoken of much anymore, but everyone remembers his aversion to bug pokemon.
He was already being dragged off by the larger man, while the rest of the squad followed behind the two, sulking in the fact that they had to leave the cozy barracks to go into the cold mountain air. They grabbed their coats and made their way out, and Timothy shivered from the sheer cold of the night air. The snow didn't make it too much better, and the solemn group began their march through the snow towards the sentry post at least a mile off.
Timothy marched on, and so did his squad. But as they arrived, they immediately noticed that there was something very wrong at the small shack that served as the sentry post. The door was ripped off of it's hinges, and snow was pouring in the shack. from the brewing storm. The most disturbing thing about the scene was the fact that it was completely silent in the night air, save for the crunching of the soldier's boots. Not a single sound came from the shack. Not even the lights were lit. Mike stepped forward, his hulking frame blocking the doorway entirely. He stood on the verge of darkness, no light coming out from the cabin. "Hello? Anyone in there?" The man called out.
The last thing he would see before his untimely death was a pair of red eyes peering out from the darkness, and jaws clamping down on his throat, which was promptly ripped out by a houndoom. No one could say they saw that coming, and all the soldiers were simply dumbfounded as their squad leader bleed out into the snow, coloring it with his blood. The perpetrator was standing tall and triumphant, it's head reaching to to around Timothy's neck. Mike's blood was still fresh on it's lips, and it curled those back in a snarl as it charged the group. They suddenly were brought back to reality, and braced themselves for the attack.
The hound itself reminded Timothy of a vulpix, a small little fox-like creature. Though this thing was a far-cry from the cute little pup he had seen in pictures. This was a being of pure malevolence, or something close to it. It's eyes glowed blood red in the stark darkness, and it was hard to even make out it's black coat of fur. Only the bleach white markings on it's ribs gave any sign that the hound was even there, along with those haunting eyes. Twin ivory horns curved out of it's head, and it felt like looking upon the devil itself to the shivering saffronite.
However, more men began to drop, along with more shapes emerging from the cold darkness. Human shapes, along with faster things running along the ground. The frigid night air was full of the screams of men, and the howls of pokemon whom ran through the freshly fallen snow. A scyther cut the man in front of Timothy plain in two, and even in his terrible condition, the man continued to scream for mercy and in agony. He was promptly put out of his misery by a knife to the throat by a particularly vicious looking Johtoan. Timothy was rooted where he stood from a mixture of fear and astonishment.
Both the man and the Scyther advanced on the shocked man, but Timothy found himself being shoved away by a squadmate. "Run away, idiot!" He yelled, booking off in his own direction into the dark night. When they had first set out, they had been a squad of sixteen men. Now there were just three alive at most. And the body count was still going.
The ginger needed no further heed, trying to trudge away in the snow. He ran into the woods, and kept running. He ran from the monsters at their doorstep, from their masters, from the biting cold that surrounded his senses. And when he could run no more, he collapsed in the snow, feeling the darkness creep in on all sides.
(I should state that this story is based off a deviantart rp group whom goes by the name of End Run, and I reccomend you should check it out. It's an awesome art group and they've created an amazing fiction that I'm honored to use. On another side note, I'd be more than willing to accept original characters for this fanfiction. Though I'd like the applications to be through pm's, they can only have one pokemon to start from, and I'd like a detailed description of both the soldier and the pokemon. Mind you, this is a realistic enviroment, and the pokemon should be treated as such. If you can't make a description, I'll be more than happy to.)