The New War of Old
(A Pokémon Military-Action Fan Fiction)
-Inspired by the popular theory that a war ended right before the setting of Pokémon Red and Blue starts, The New War of Old takes place several decades in the future when a new, much more terrifying war breaks out between Kanto and Hoenn. In this story, the main character, Seiyo Hikari, joins an organization called The Resistance as an agent when the war starts because the Kanto government has turned on its own people, locking down cities and towns where there is report of enemy activity, and uses those areas as a battleground, leaving the citizens and Pokémon at heavy risk. The Resistance is its own military, attacking both Kanto and Hoenn checkpoints, and breaking into locked down cities and towns to try and save the citizens and Pokémon trapped within and taking them to safety. While the regions have a long-standing agreement that if a war were to start, they would only use traditional weapons, such as swords, bows, etc. as well as Pokémon, since The Resistance is technically no longer part of any region, they use traditional weapons and advanced technology. In this universe, Pokémon do die, and there is some gore. Reader discretion advised.-
Chapter One
A chilling, almost ominous, air hung about as I rode my bike to work that morning. I didn't understand why at first, it was just like every other day: I got dressed in my scrubs, said goodbye to my mother, my nine-year-old brother, Liam, and his Rattata, before leaving my Viridian City home and sailing away on my bike towards Pewter City. My favorite part of the ride to work was going through the Viridian Forest. The little peaks of light through the forest canopy, as well as the various sounds of the Pokémon, were always so enchanting. Today, however, was a little different; the forest was a lot quieter than usual, but since the sun was still shining through the trees, I dismissed it as just being too early.
About twenty-five to thirty minutes later, I reached my destination, Pewter City General Hospital. Even though it had been a little over a year since I started working there, I never grew tired of seeing that grand four-story building. I quickly locked my bike on the rack and ran in just in time for my shift to begin.
"Good morning, Seiyo!" my best friend, and fellow coworker, said cheerily as I got to my desk in the Medical Records department. I glanced down at her belt and noticed that she had all three of her Pokémon with her. Employees, who were also Pokémon trainers, were allowed to bring their Pokémon to work with them, so long as they stayed in their Pokéballs. I didn't have any, yet.
"Morning, Sasamei. How are you and your Pokémon?" I asked as I took my seat.
"We're great! I was going to go visit my aunt and uncle in Cerulean City after work today. My Aunt Leina just got a new Growlithe and wanted help training him. And what about you, Seiyo? You're twenty! When are you going to get your first Pokémon? Even your nine-year-old brother has a Rattata!"
"I know, I know, but I put off being a Pokémon trainer to help my mom take care of Liam when dad died… but I suppose you're right. Maybe I should try to get one this weekend."
"It's Tuesday! Four days is too long!"
I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, she was always so determined, so passionate, it was admirable. Our voices hushed and we returned to our work when another coworker warned us that the boss was coming.
The next few hours seemed to drag on and on until one of the supervisors stopped at my and Sasamei's desk, handed us patient charts, and told us to deliver them to Dr. Wang and Dr. Li, whose offices were in the Pulmonary Unit on the third floor. We accepted the folders and started walking on our way. As we got up the stairs and made our way down a side hallway, with little to no traffic, Sasamei stopped.
"I'm sooo tired and I know you are, too. I knew we shouldn't have volunteered for that double shift last night. Come on, let's take our break early, it starts in twenty minutes anyway."
"But Sasamei, we can rest after we deliver these."
"The Pulmonary Unit is on the opposite side of the building!" she whined as she opened and read the contents of the folders. "Look! These are just updated charts for patients that don't have appointments 'till next Monday! We have plenty of time to rest and hand these over later."
"But—"
"No one will really notice, I'm sure the others in Medical Records will just assume that we're running another errand or two for a resident or another supervisor. Besides, did our supervisor say that these charts needed to be delivered immediately?"
"Well, no—"
"Then it's settled! Let's go to our old spot!" she nearly yelled in excitement. Sasamei was three years old than me, so I usually just followed her lead. Me, the younger, timid, quiet kind of girl following the older, braver, more experienced one; it seemed right, natural. Our "spot", so to speak, was an old on-call room down a perpendicular hall, just ahead of where we were. Since the units on this floor had its hours changed, there was no longer a need for the room, so while we were in there not only would nobody bother us, but because it was an on-call room, we would be able to sleep soundly due to the soundproof walls. When we got to the door we did a quick look around to make sure we weren't being watched, but with the rest of the staff running around, as busy as a colony of Combee, no one even noticed as we slipped into the room and locked the door behind us.
"It's almost noon." Sasamei stated, looking at her watch before climbing into the top bunk. "We're only going to sleep for a half an hour, forty minutes at most."
"I know…" I replied, gently placing the charts on the floor beneath my bottom bunk. "Night, Sasamei."
"Night, Seiyo."
My eyelids became heavy almost instantly and the thought of sleep only got sweeter. I guess I really was tired, I thought to myself before drifting into a blissful slumber.
***Several Hours Later***
"Seiyo! Wake up! We overslept!"
I jolted awake at the sound of her voice, scrambled to gather the folders, and ran out of the room after her. We ran down the small hall we were in, turned the corner, and just stared down the main hallway.
"W-What's going on…?" I softly asked, in shock.
"I don't know…"
The halls, the rooms, this building that was always so busy, so full of life, was completely empty, quiet, a ghost town of a hospital. We walked about twenty-twenty-five feet down the main hallway to a large window to see if we could make sense of what was going on. The buildings looked the same and the city untouched, but there were no people in the streets, save for a few off in the distance that seemed to be running away.
"I-I don't understand what's going—", all went black before I could finish my thought.
A few minutes later, my eyelids struggled to open as I began to regain consciousness, however, a sharp pain shot across the back of my head when I tried to get up. After taking a deep breath I was able to lift my head, feeling my own warm blood trickle down my neck as I did, but I opened my eyes anyway. That's when I saw it, the horrific sight. My coworker, partner, best friend, Sasamei, lying lifeless on her back in a pool of her own blood, her neck cut so deep that it nearly separated her head from her shoulders. Her eyes, still wide in terror, stared directly at me and a sob was caught in my throat as my eyes shifted to the bloody corpses of Flareon and Vaporeon, two or her three beloved Pokémon. Wait… two? Where was the third? Where was Jolteon? Then, almost as if on cue, the sound of a Pokéball releasing a Pokémon. Turning my head to the left, I saw a large man in a Hoenn military uniform lowering his hand to his sword as the light started to form the silhouette of Jolteon. I moved my arms to get up when my right hand bumped against something. I looked down. A crowbar… that was probably what the man thought he killed me with. It's my turn now, I thought as my fingers tightened around it. It was fight or flight, and I chose fight. Ignoring the pain, I quickly and quietly got to my feet, struck him in the back of the left knee with the side of my foot, and when his leg buckled, I swung hard with the crowbar. The rage took over as I got on him and kept hitting and hitting until the man was unrecognizable, but when I came back to reality, I dropped the blood-splattered crowbar and rose to my feet again. Jolteon was staring at me in shock and shook with fear, electricity sparking and crackling on his bristly fur, when I faced him.
"Jolteon, it's me, Seiyo."
He calmed down once he realized who I was. We both turned to Sasamei, but I kept my eyes closed, I didn't want to remember her like this.
"I don't know what a Hoenn soldier was doing here, they're Kanto's ally…Sasamei…Thank you for always being there for me, you were an irreplaceable friend… please rest now, and don't worry about Jolteon." I turned my head in his direction as he was mourning his trainer's death, but also avoiding his gaze as I added, "I'll take care of him."
Jolteon looked up at me with a bittersweet expression on his face and I tried, and failed, to give an encouraging smile.
Step. Step. Step. The sound of footsteps echoed down the empty halls and it was hard to tell how many there were. Five? Ten? Either way, I was not going to wait around and find out; it was fight or flight again, but this time, I chose flight.
"Let's go, Jolteon!" I whispered as I picked the crowbar back up before setting off down the hall to the stairwell I had used earlier that day. The stairs, though actually few in number, felt like hundreds with no end and I stumbled on a few as my mind raced with an immeasurable number of thoughts, but luckily within moments, we were back on the ground floor. I slowly crept to the doors of the stairwell and looked in both directions. Nothing.
"Jolteon, do you hear anything?"
He pressed his ear to the door in response to my question and then shook his head.
"Nothing, huh? Alright, stay close to me, we have to move fast. We're headed for the breakroom. Don't worry, it's just a few doors down." Jolteon nodded. "Okay, let's do this."
I slowly push the door open so it doesn't make a sound and I look down both sides of the hall before cautiously stepping out and making a beeline for the breakroom. Yanking the door open, we could hear more footsteps echoing in the emptiness and we closed the door behind us. The breakroom was simple with a kitchen area, medium table, six chairs, a couch, wall-mounted TV, and a medium 4x3 foot window. Thinking fast, I grabbed the table and slid it up to the door.
"This should be able to buy us a few moments if need be. Jolteon, please stay by the door and listen for anyone while I work on the window."
He nodded once in understanding and crawled under the table with his ear against the door as I tried to break the thick, soundproof window with the crowbar I held on to. Several swings later, the glass was beginning to crack and a strange, muffled noise from outside began to seep in, one I did not think I had heard before. I kept going until the window gave way and glass rained to the ground, inside and out, and with it came the unmistakable sound of a war siren.
"Let's go, and keep your ears open for people." I commanded as I dropped the crowbar.
The remaining shards of glass on the sill and in the frame cut and tore at my arms and legs as I climbed outside, but my body was pumping so much adrenaline through my veins that I could hardly feel any pain. After helping Jolteon out, we warily made our way around the building, looking carefully around every corner before making a move. Finally, we made it to the bike rack on a small side of the hospital adjacent to the front doors.
"We have to go through the forest and to Viridian to warn my family. It's not safe here anymore…" I whispered to him as I got the lock off the bike.
Jolteon ran right alongside me as I pedaled toward and into Viridian Forest. We were met by a deafening silence with the only sounds being our frantic breath, his paws against the ground, and the twigs and leaves snapping and crunching beneath my tires. These woods, which were so familiar to me, were now strange and haunting with no more light shining through the canopy and a darkness that seemed to thicken the closer we got to my home city. It was nearing nightfall, but this darkness had a more sinister feel to it than the mere start of dusk, but I tried to remain focused on my task and not let my imagination wander.
"My neighborhood is on the outskirts of the city, right by the entrance of this forest." I told him.
As the minutes dragged onward, exhaustion, physically, mentally, and emotionally, started to kick in and I began to slow.
"I know you're tired, too, Jolteon, but we're almost there… we're almost—" I stopped pedaling as I noticed an eerie glow coming from the gaps in the trees ahead of us and the smell of charred wood and smoke that accompanied it.
"B-But that's in the direction of… no… No!" I screamed in desperation as I biked toward the glow with newfound vigor, my second wind. Emerging from the forest at last, I gained an unobstructed view of the landscape. Viridian City… was ablaze. Dense, suffocating smoke blacked out the sky and the contrasting spectrum of vivid white, reds, yellows, and oranges filled my vision. A single sign that read, "The threat has been eradicated" stood in front of the burning scenery and without wasting another second, I was off and running in the direction of my house.
My neighborhood had already stopped burning with all the houses on my street, including my own, reduced to nothing more than ash and rubble.
"Mom! Liam! Rattata!" But the only answer was the popping and crackling of the still-smoldering houses on the surrounding roads. Even with nightfall, the intense flames in the city and the nearby fires illuminated my and all the other nearby streets with everything bathed in a shimmering, copper light. The smell of death hung strongly in the air as I dug through the remains of my house, when I found something, a small, purple tail.
"Rattata! I'm so glad you're—" When I tried to pull him out, I found out that it was only a disembodied tail and I could not hold in the bile as I dropped it.
"They… they're gone… all of them…" I whispered in realization as I wiped my mouth, and Jolteon, who had been watching silently up until now, let out a low cry as he nuzzled against my arm, as if trying to comfort me.
"At least we have each other." I said softly as I pet him, then I stood and made my way to the main road as if being compelled to do so. As we got closer, we saw a military vehicle, a truck used for transporting people, and a few soldiers in a uniform I did not recognize. As Jolteon and I continued walking, we could make out their conversation.
"Dammit!" one man yelled as he hit the side of the truck, "We're too late… all these poor people… Damn the government! They really don't care who they kill as long as they win this war!"
One of the three men turned and saw me standing there with Jolteon.
"Holy shit. Captain Lu! We have a survivor!"
At the sound of his call, a man, who looked to be in his early thirties, climbed out of the covered truck accompanied by a Lucario. They both made their way toward us and Jolteon instinctively moved forward to protect me.
"Jolteon, it's okay, let's see what they want first." I said in the most reassuring tone I could muster and he slowly moved back to my side. The "captain" and his Pokémon stopped right in front of us.
"I am Agent Lu, agent and medical technician of The Resistance. We're trying to stop this war while rescuing any people and Pokémon affected by it that we can."
"I overheard one of your men mention our government. What exactly is going on here?"
"I'm sorry, but only agents are told—"
"It's been one day and this "war" has already taken everything from me! My family, my friend, my home… I have a right to know what the hell is going on!" I protested and he was silent for a long moment before sighing and answering me.
"The Kanto government has been planning this war in secret for a while. Our leader was a Senior Officer in the Kanto military and when he heard of the impending war, that couldn't be stopped, he and a group of soldiers that followed and supported him left and formed The Resistance in the Sevii Islands. Whenever the government hears of enemy troops in a town or city, they do a "lockdown", which means they block it off and use it as a battlefield. Unfortunately, this was just the first city and you see what happened. Our "leaders" betrayed us and now it's our job to protect our people. You were one of only two survivors found here."
"Two? Who's the other?"
"Seiyo?! Seiyo!" A familiar voice called out to me and I looked in the direction of the truck to see the sixteen-year-old girl that I knew so well running my way.
"L-Leeda…?" My voice trembled with all the emotion I had buried throughout the day. I took a few brisk steps forward and caught her in my arms. Even as my legs collapsed from under me, I held her tightly, as if she were my last lifeline connecting me to this world and tears of relief and joy streamed down my face like a flood. Our mothers were great friends in life, because of that, I knew Leeda since she was born. I loved her like a younger sister and she looked up to me as such. Minutes passed as we held each other and then after a long pause of speechlessness, I looked up at the agent and his Lucario with a newly realized determination.
"Agent Lu," I said calmly, yet full of resolve, "I'd like to join The Resistance."