Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter to this story. For those of you wondering why this story hasn't been updated in a month, it's because of school. College is a real drag sometimes, and the homework I'm to do can really take a lot out of me. As such, most of my stories on this site have had to take a back seat for a while. I still work on them from time to time but not as much as I would like. Oh well, school does have to come first for me. At least I should be done in another couple quarters should everything go as planned.

On a different note, there is another somewhat less important reason why this was late. Over the past month, I've found an iPod app that allows me to watch all the episodes of Pokemon from beginning to end. I was so amazed at the treasure I found, I've been going on a Pokemon binge and reliving my childhood from 1999. It was a total nostalgia bomb from when I was still in first grade. Yay! For those of you curious about the app, I'll put it on here for all you Pokemon fans and those who want to see how it all began but never got the chance to. Word of warning, though; they update their selection every week, so don't be too peeved if you finished the selection for season one and they haven't updated yet. Its called "Pokemon TV".

So yeah, I've gone and done a great public service for all you Pokemon fans who love the series but can't afford to buy cable television. And just on an off-note, who here lives in America and noticed that the Saturday morning cartoon block has now completely disappeared? Seriously, that time block for cartoons has disappeared and is now replaced with "educational shows tailored to young teenagers". I understand that it's a movement to make television stations show at least three hours worth of educational shows, but does the sacrifice of cartoons have to be necessary? It doesn't matter much to me since I'm now 22 and kind of off the cartoons, but what about the young kids who're used to watching it? Talk about an upset and sudden adjustment to a life of no morning cartoons now.

I think that's enough of my ranting now. I just had to get all that off my chest. I hope that you all like this new chapter that I posted. And sorry if the title doesn't really sound all that great. I'm in a habit to put down titles for each chapter in a way that it summarizes what it is going to be about. Even if it ends up being sucky, I still feel like the chapter title needs to be put down. So yeah, don't forget to leave a review before moving on to the next story you want to read.

Gen. Jok3r: Thanks for being my first reviewer of this story. As you already know, I've addressed your concerns through private messaging on here. For the rest of you, I'll repeat what I said. The part about Dragonite being weak to electricity was a misread on the reviewer's part; I never mentioned that last chapter.

I understand and will implicate the weaknesses of certain Pokemon types; it's just not going to be as much of a game changer here unless I make the strength level between the battlers insanely different.

I'm not going to use fairy-type Pokemon simply because it's a new concept for me and I don't know anything about them at this point despite having played through Pokemon X.

The Pokemon are going to be using moves they might not otherwise know; I'm simply letting them use moves they may be able to learn in theory. So long as it's not a Charizard suddenly using an Ice Beam attack, I'm bending the rules on what attacks Pokemon can use a bit.

And about the four moves per battle bit. This is simply a personal choice to have each Pokemon in a single battle use no more than four moves. Considering that there will be at least two Pokemon fighting, writing down eight moves can get a bit clunky. However, that's not to say that the four moves I've put down will be the only ones that Pokemon can use. For example, Pikachu in the first battle used Thunder Bolt, Discharge, Flash, and Iron Tail. In the next battle scene, it will be a different set of moves such as Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, and Slam. The moves they use will be refreshed each battle; they will not be stuck using the same four moves like the game has them, much to my annoyance. I hope that cleared up any confusion from my last author's note.

Chapter 2: A Morning of Chaos

"How are things going at your end?" a man asked. The room was dark save for the light that came from the large wall-mounted television. It was just enough to illuminate the wooden desk the man was sitting behind. He was dressed in a brown business suit and a red tie that had a gold metal pin clipped on the side to keep the tail from fluttering about. On the screen was a person who donned a scientist's coat. However, that was all that could be seen as the form was obscured by a light that brightly shown from the background.

"Everything's going according to plan, sir," the scientist said. The video feed caught some sounds from the background that sounded a lot like shouts. However, they were quickly drowned out when he spoke again. "However, I can't say that the project isn't without its share of problems. We're still on the testing phase, and we need to correct a few glitches before we can commit it to practical use."

"So long as the main system's fully operational; I could care less about your problems. As of right now, all I want is the information we can get from it. The long-term plans can wait until we've gathered everything we need. Just make sure the upkeep of the main system stays your top priority."

"Understood, sir! I'll get right on it." The scientist seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing on. "But what if we happen to run into unforeseen complications? I know you don't like having to be reminded, but anything outside the scope of perfection can prove dangerous. We've never done this experiment at the scale you're wanting us to do. It's a dangerously thin line we're walking on."

"Then I suggest you do everything you can to make sure we don't wander off it. Now if that's all you have to report, then get back to your post," the man dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Don't bother me unless it's to deliver results."

"But what if things don't-"

"Then make sure they don't. You're the lead scientist; it's your responsibility to be on top of everything. Now stop wasting my time and get back to work!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" With a small nod from the scientist, the feed was cut off and in its place was white static noise before reverting to a blank screen. The only light source left came from the suited man's cell phone that sat on his desk.

"This is the most ambitious project I've undertaken," he murmured. His chair creaked as he leaned back. "Then again, it doesn't seem like I've ever done something on this scale before. At least it's good to know that my goals have stayed consistent throughout. So long as I can gather together all the pieces and play them at just the right moment; I will do what my previous predecessors failed to do. I will succeed and have the world bend to my will. All it requires is a little bit of…patience and finesse." With a small chuckle, he took his phone before making his way out of the dark room.

-Meanwhile-

"That was great," Ash mumbled as he slowly woke up. He spent a few seconds with his usual stretching session before pulling the covers off and sat on the edge of his bed. "I haven't slept that great in ages."

Letting out a small yawn, he reached over towards his desk to keep his alarm from going off. He was amazed that he managed to wake up before it, especially since he had a penchant for waiting until the last possible moment to get ready for school. However, something was odd this time around.

"Where's my alarm clock? It should be around here. Did I accidentally knock it down while I was sleeping?" Seeing it nowhere on his desk, he figured it fell on the floor and began searching there. He even looked under his bed after failing to find it in the open, but it seemed to have disappear off the face of the earth.

This was when Ash noticed something else strange. Pikachu was gone. He was a bit surprised at this since the yellow mouse often acted as his shockingly effective secondary alarm clock. Then again, he was always the first to be awake and was probably doing his own thing. The fact that his bedroom door was slightly ajar lend further credit to the idea.

Seeing it as a waste of time, he gave up looking for his clock. He now had no idea what time it was, but he was not going to risk running late for school. As such, he walked over to his bathroom to get himself ready for the day.

…Something's missing, he thought as he turned on the faucet and splashed his face with cold water. Usually, he would catch the scent of fresh rain from the air freshener he put in the bathroom. This time, he smelled nothing. What happened to the air freshener? It better not be broken. I just bought a new one last week. Droplets of water fell from his bangs as he looked over towards the toilet where he put the contraption. Like it was with his alarm clock, the air freshener was missing. Okay, something's definitely not right. Why is everything of mine just suddenly disappearing?

Now awake from his groggy stupor and still searching for his freshener, Ash noticed that his bathroom was completely different. Instead of the clean tiled walls that had been refurbished a month ago, the wall was a dirty white. The paint was chipping in various spots, the wall's base exposed to the elements and rotting away. The glass shower door was completely smashed, and the bowl of the toilet was broken in half. The only thing that was still intact and somewhat clean was the sink, although he did not know if it was because he just used it or if someone else before him did.

"Wh-what in the world is this?" he stuttered as confusion and panic swept through him. The general structure and location of everything was the same, but the state of disrepair the room was in did not indicate it was his home. When he ran back into his room, he saw it in the same state as the bathroom if not worse because of the bits of broken furniture spewed about. "How is this my house? It's like an earthquake tore it apart while I was sleeping!"

"Pika pi!" he heard Pikachu frantically call from downstairs. Not wasting a moment, Ash ran out into the hallway and down the stairs. He heard his Pokémon call out again and followed the voice into the kitchen.

"What's going on, Pika-"

"Hold it right there!" a commanding voice ordered.

The teen soon found himself surrounded by a group of men. All of had had guns which were pointed at him. They were dressed like they were in a street gang with sleeve-torn shirts and ragged pants, but the hats they had on were similar to those in the military. The man who ordered Ash had the biggest gun, both literally and physically. Judging by the size of his large muscles and the smirk of arrogance on his face, he was probably the leader of this group. The gun in his hands had two long barrels, something Ash thought was a shotgun based on the ones he saw on television. Standing on the countertop behind him with one of the men's guns at him was Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" he tried to go towards his little Pokémon, but a shot fired at his feet from one of the men stopped him. The yellow mouse squeaked in concern but quieted down when he was poked by his captor.

"You were right, sir," the man standing by Pikachu said with a victorious smile. "This mouse wasn't some wild Pokémon. I didn't think his owner would be stupid enough to just out himself, though."

"Wh-Who are you guys? What do you want?"

"I'll be the one asking the questions," the muscled man gruffly countered, jiggling his shotgun a bit in a threatening manner. It was more than enough to whittle away what little courage Ash had left. "Who are you, and what're you doing here?"

"I-I'm Ash. I live here."

"No shit, boy. As much as a dump this place is, it's a good place for shelter. How long have you been here, and what're your reasons for being here?"

"What do you mean 'dump'? I've lived in this house for fourteen years! I'm only here because I grew up in this place. That should be reason enough! You got a problem with that?" Ash did not know where his sudden flash of courage came from, but he instantly regretted it as the group started sending him death glares.

"Well, don't you have a fire in you?" the man laughed heartily, his action shocking both his men and the teen. "I must say, it's pretty refreshing to see someone with your kind of spirit. But spirited or not, I'm afraid you being here for fourteen years is just impossible."

"And why's that?"

"Because this part of Pallet Town was razed by the war four years ago. Hardly anyone in this area survived that surprise attack. Now that it's a barren land, nobody dares to live this far out from the main base anymore."

"Wh-What did you say?" Ash asked, his mind at a standstill from this sudden fact.

"You heard me. The only people living out here are either enemy spies or refugees from the Viridian City Prison Camp. It's a miracle that this house actually survived the razing from the fire Pokémon, but it also makes it hell to keep searching this place for stragglers."

Ash was unable to say anything to this. How could he? He never heard of any kind of war in Pallet Town. He was here four years ago, and there was no fire caused by Pokémon. And he knew there was no base in town.

"What's the matter, kid? Persian got your tongue?" The man laughed as he walked to the dirty fridge and pulled out a thin bottle. The liquid inside was brown, and the man took a quick swig of it. "What happened to that fire you had a few moments ago? I'm already starting to miss it."

"…You're not serious, are you?" the spiky haired teen asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not one for jokes, especially when it comes to this. Come on now; what's going on in that head of yours?" The man walked up to Ash and lightly bonked him in the head with the bottle. "You're acting like you don't know what's been going on."

"That's because I don't! There never was any attack four years ago. We haven't had any wars for at least twenty years. Viridian City is not some prison camp. And there is no base set up in Pallet Town. None of this makes any sense!" the teen shouted at the top of his lungs. As cautious as the group of men were, they seemed rather calm after hearing such a sudden outburst. In fact, they even allowed Pikachu to jump into Ash's arms.

"…Sir, you don't suppose that the boy's…?" one of the men asked before trailing off.

"He may well be, soldier. Either way, he clearly isn't an enemy spy. Playing the insanity card might as well be a suicide attempt."

"I'm not insane!"

"Pika pi pikaCHU!"

"I never said that, boy. Rather, I'm guessing from your behavior that you might have amnesia," the man added as he took another swig from the bottle. "But don't worry too much about it. It's pretty common with refugees who've suffered an insane amount of stress. Not that I blame them considering how the enemy's prison camps treat their war prisoners. Probably for the best that way since you won't remember the more horrid moments of the war. Believe me, I'd do anything to forget it all if I weren't the leader of this sorry band."

"Like getting plastered in the bar every time you're off duty?" one of the men suggested. This incited a bout of laughter from the entire group.

"Watch it, soldiers. I can easily confide you in barracks for disrespecting your superior." Despite making this threat, the large man laughed alongside the others. Ash and Pikachu merely looked on as they tried to sort out everything they heard.

"…Do you think I have amnesia, Pikachu?" he asked. "Is that really what's happening, or am I just having the worst nightmare ever?" After seeing the disarray his room was in and, for the first time, the mess of the kitchen, he was starting to doubt his memories. He knew things were not like this last night, but was this really how things have been? Was him having a chat with his mom and Professor Oak last night just a figment of his imagination?

"Pika pi, pi pikachu," the yellow mouse replied before giving Ash a light Thunder Shock. He was not happy hearing his friend talk like that and wanted to jolt some sense back into him.

"Thanks, Pikachu; I really needed that. There's no way I have amnesia; you remember the same things I do. But if all this is just a dream, then why does this look and feel so real?" He allowed his eyes to wander as he tried to make sense of everything. "This place looks like home, but it can't possibly be the same. I mean, mom would die before she let things fall apart like this. I don't understand it! …Give me a stronger shock, Pikachu," he said as he braced himself for the familiar feel of electricity.

Pikachu immediately complied without hesitation. His cheeks started to crackle with the electrical buildup before he released it. However, it was a bit stronger than he intended it to be. Besides shocking Ash, a few stray bolts managed to strike the kitchen walls and even a couple of unfortunate men who were in the way. By the time the shock was over, part of the kitchen was destroyed and a couple men knocked unconscious.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" the leader shouted. He had managed to dodge the bolts, but one still manage to shatter his bottle. The brown liquid had spilled onto the floor, the jagged bottle neck in his hands the only evidence he had been holding it. The remaining men that escaped harm immediately pointed their guns at the duo. "You better control that rat before I blow it full of holes!"

"H-He's just nervous!" Ash quickly lied. "You can't blame him for that. I mean, how would you feel if you're being ganged up on by a bunch of guys with guns?" He unconsciously tightened his hold on Pikachu.

The man's attitude soften when he saw this. He stared at Ash as though he were trying to figure something out; his lips curled into a knowing smile seconds later. Whatever anger he had from the minor incident was quelled as he walked back to the fridge and took out another bottle. The others were still on edge and were less willing to drop their guard.

"Stand down everybody," he said before taking a drink. The arrogant look he had been sporting the entire time was mostly gone. Most of the guys looked at their leader uncertainly before doing what they were told. "This kid isn't a threat. With the kind of spunk he has, the enemy would be crazy to use him as a spy.

"Come on; you're probably better off coming with us," he added as he walked up to Ash. Pikachu growled in warning before being calmed by the teen with a pat on the head. "You seem pretty convinced that this war isn't happening. Amnesiac or not, that kind of naïve thinking can get you killed. You should stay with us until you've regained your senses."

"Pika pi…," the Pokémon mumbled as he shot the man a skeptical look.

"…How do I know you can be trusted? You just came into my house like you owned the place and pointed guns at me. I wouldn't exactly call that being friendly."

"Well, you could always try taking your chances being on your own out here. It's your choice on whatever you want to do. Just let me give you a warning, though," the man added as he signaled to his men to leave the house. "This place is the part of Pallet Town that people left abandoned. It makes it pretty easy to be occupied by the enemy. I doubt you two would be able to handle things by yourselves if that happened."

"Y-You're not saying it's happened before, are you?" The man ignored Ash as he made his way to the door. "I mean, you'd come back to help if it did, would you?" The panic in his voice was slowly rising. He still did not get a response. "Come on; answer me!" The man was almost out the door before Ash's panic got the better of him. "Alright; I'll go with you! Just don't leave me and Pikachu behind!"

"Humph, I figured that'd get you to change your mind. Should I take it then that you're starting to warm up to me?"

"I'm only coming along because you know what's going on. I still don't trust you. I'm making a run for it if you try to hurt me or Pikachu." Pikachu let loose a few sparks from his cheeks as they both approached the man's side.

"Fair enough, boy!" the man laughed as he stopped short of the front door. "I just hope our hospitality will change your mind about us. Just don't give me or my men a reason to shoot you and we'll all be good. We're all a bit wound up now, and that pressure's made a few of us a bit trigger happy.

"By the way, I think we should be introducing ourselves since we're going to be together for a bit. The name's Surge; I'm a lieutenant and former gym leader of Vermillion City," he said with a smile.

"You were a gym leader?" Ash asked in mild disbelief.

"I know, it's kind of hard to believe. I got that a lot even before this war happened. How about you? You remember your name?"

"…It's Ash. I'm just some regular guy living here with Pikachu, but I have a feeling you aren't buying it."

"You can say whatever you want, Ash. It's your past; you don't have to tell me anything about it. Just don't go repeating that story when we get to the base. We're a pretty small group who knows everyone. I promise that nobody's ever seen you around here. So unless you want trouble, be careful of what you say. By the way," he added before taking a swig from the bottle and offering it to Ash. "You want a drink? Looks like you could use some."

"What is it?" Pikachu cautiously sniffed at the contents before recoiling and mewling in disgust.

"It's not poison if that's what you're thinking," Surge laughed as he watched the yellow Pokémon situate itself on his owner's shoulders. "It's just some whiskey we keep lying around for whenever we come through here. It's got a bit of a kick to it, but it's great at loosening up your nerves. Just don't get too loosened up or you'll risk standing at attention all night, if you get what I mean," he added with an even more obnoxious laugh.

"I'm fourteen, Surge," Ash deadpanned, completely missing the true meaning of the last sentence. "Alcohol's the last thing you should be offering me. You'd get us both in trouble if somebody found out."

"Jeez, you're a pretty uptight kid. In this day and age, it's rare to see a guy your age not trying to drown his sorrows out with a stiff drink. With how brutal the war's been, especially to all the children, the police don't care much about underage drinking anymore. Oh well, to each his own I suppose."

Ash wanted to be confused about this, but the morning's events left him drained. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and accepted the drinking explanation as normal. Pikachu sensed this and comfortingly rubbed one of his paws on the back of his head.

"Anyway, we better get a move on," the man said as he exited the house. "If we're going to make it back to the base, then its best we go while the sun's still up. Ever since the enemy got their hands on that crazy legendary Pokémon, we sometimes get nights colder than you can ever imagine. I don't think that'll happen tonight since today wasn't scorching hot like a Charizard's Flamethrower, but I don't want to chance it."

Once again, the teen did not feel like questioning Surge about this. He merely followed him outside and was greeted with the cool, late afternoon air along with the most unfamiliar sight ever. The front yard was overrun with tall uncut grass, the flower garden taken over by weeds. The walls had seen better days, black smudges covering a good portion of the once white paint. Probably a few hundred yards away was the familiar wide expanse of land now charred black beyond belief. It was all empty of any kind of life, the remnants of a fire having blazed through evident. The men that were in the house earlier could be seen in the distance scouting the area with their guns at the ready.

"You believe me now that there was a war?" Surge asked. He placed a hand on Ash's free shoulder when he took note of his shock. Even Pikachu was too entranced with the sight to care about the sudden closeness. "Trust me; you're not the first person I've seen who thinks this is their first time seeing this. War can do crazy things to people; memory loss is one of the lesser things to happen. If it makes you feel better, there are a couple others back at the base just like you. Maybe you'll remember them or something else if you met."

"…Can you tell me what happened?" Ash's voice was barely above a whisper thanks in part of the shock.

"You can ask the other guys like you for details. I'll be busy when I get back, so they're your best bet for an explanation. Now come on; we better get going." With that, the man led Ash down the worn path towards the main part of Pallet Town. All the while, Ash and Pikachu took in the view that was their home yet at the same time was not.

"…Just what is going on here, Pikachu?" The yellow Pokémon simply hugged himself tighter against Ash's neck.

Well, that's it for this chapter. I hoped you liked it. Now I understand if some of you are confused as to where this is going. Don't worry; I have a reason for my randomness. I'm just not going to say it yet since I will honestly risk ruining part of the plot. However, I will leave it to your imagination as to why I've suddenly shifted from a normal way of living to a world that's seemingly went through a devastating war.

On a random note, I've recently found myself reviewing and correcting a fellow fanfiction writer's work. His account is BannanGodis, and he's a pretty good writer. However, he's from Sweden and relies on the use of Google Translate to translate his stories into English. I'm sure you don't need any more explanation as to why he/she needed someone to review his stuff. Needless to say, don't be too put off by the terrible grammar the translation machine did as it's not his fault. Once you've gotten past all that, the plot points he has in his story are actually pretty good. In my opinion, a clear plot point is more important than the smaller details in order to understand the story. For his story "The Truth Hurts", I started reviewing his work on chapter 16; his other story, "Pikachu's New Life" shows on chapter 3. Just letting you all know of this great writer for those who like Pokemon stories.

That's it for my shameless advertising of another writer on here. I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move on to the next story you want to read. Until the next update on this or any of my other stories everybody!