Author's notes:Agatha di Verrecchi is Agatha of the Elite 4. This chapter contains a lot of Palletshipping,but I only use it to discredit Ash and Gary,I don't support it.(see A/N of ch.7) See more about the real fighters and bombers used here on Wikipedia. Florence is the English name of Italian city Firenze.
Disclaimer:I don't own Pokemon because if I did,Ash&co. would be dead and Team Rocket would rule the world!!
Chapter 10:
The siege of Pallet Town was in full progress,as hundreds of cannons,howitzers,guns and rocket launchers fired continously throughout the night,creating flashes of bright light and fire above the town. The goal was to devastate the town,weaken its defense, and possibly force the defenders to surrender. Sirens were howling in their ominous tone,people were trying to get to 3 town shelters in a rush.
Gen. Janšetić observed the shelling with his binocular,keeping a lurid smile as he directed the fire on different targets from his command post. At 01:15,he turned to corporal Jarnskor and ordered,while grabbing a report file that just came to him:
˝Corporal,tell the firing batteries to concentrate their fire on the town's outskirts,where their first defense line is. Also,call the flying squadron ˝Abbadon˝ to take off to the same area,they need to clean it from Pokemon presence, if possible.˝
˝Yes,General.˝,he shortly replied and ran off to pass the orders through.
Within minutes,the fire rained down on the 1. def. line,located about 2 kms from the town. Sharp sound of planes followed soon,about 10 planes came above that line. Those were mostly Gripen and F-2 fighters with one Tu-160 bomber. This bomber was different from the standard model,however. It had a large cannon that was in fact, a gigantic version of the MWRR-1,now having the mark MWRC-1.
Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak were at Prof. Oak's Pokecenter,gathering their Pokemon when the loud noise alerted them. They ran out to see the enemy squadron flying above the UEPPF troops,preparing for the attack.
˝They are going to try to deliver airstrikes,huh? Spearow and Fearow are fierce,I think that plan is doomed. Only one bomber? Why even bother?˝,Ash scoffed at the sight of the small group attempting to break through.
His friend Gary took a good glance at the bomber,then blurted out in awe:
˝What the hell is that thing on the bomber? It looks like a... Oh,Christ,no! God have mercy on our troops!˝
˝Gary,what are you talking about? Looks like what?˝,his grandpa didn't understand him,he was dumbfounded.
˝Gramps,do you know what MWRR-1 is? This is a cannon version,I presume. If it fires,it'll make a bloodbath out there!˝,Gary explained,with plenty of anxiety in his voice.
˝Oh,no! We gotta notify the soldiers there or they could all get fried! I'm going to phone 'em now,you two keep an eye on that squadron!˝,he ran panickedly to the videophone and made the call.
But it was too late. The fighters broke off and went back,while the Tupolev bomber stayed there,hovering slowly. Then,a comlink message rang through the air:
˝Pilots Henrik Waldelin and Andres Evarristi here,initiating cannon rotor,will start firing in 35 seconds,over.˝
The cannon started rotating horizontally,a sharp noise began piercing through the air. Soon,a bright purple light began to shine and the cannon fired bright beams of radiation and microwaves. The bird Pokemon in the air fell first,their bodies scorched completely. A couple of Dragon Pokemon tried to knock out the bomber but as soon as they got near it,they were melted in split-second since the cannon was firing at full power.
Lt. Waldelin then pulled the analog stick towards the ground,making the cannon fire at the ground forces now. Grass was being fried instantaneously as it came in touch with the rays. Grass and Water Pokemon suffered the same fate,being among the first ones to die. Steel Pokemon lived for some time,their protection was good but the rays would get to their internal organs eventually,cooking them from inside. Humans had protective suits,and most of them survived the assault,hiding under ground. The stench of fried rotten flesh was present everywhere,the battlefield looked more like a part of Hell than a part of a town surrounding.
The aircraft proceeded to the hangars containing fighter jets and flying Pokemon,in attempt to gain complete aerial supremacy by destroying them. Some Pidgeot and Swellow flew out bravely but they got down,being almost totally incinerated by the rays. The Tupolev opened its belly and bombs rained down on the hangars,killing everyone who survived the cannon assault.
Then,huge amounts of paratroopers began to come out from many Mi-8 and Chinook transport helicopters and invade the ruins of the first blockade,by gen. Janšetić's orders. Lts Jessie,James and Meowth were dropped off at the far SW part of the town,at the ruins of Pokemopolis. They were accompanied with their friends Butch and Cassidy,together with Yoshizue and Jürgen.
They strode forward,clearing the path of survivors completely. Bombers and fighters buzzed above their heads,dropping their cargo on bunkers,tanks,guns,soldiers and Pokemon. Artillery of generals Korsakov and Schellerberg delivered concentrated strikes on UEPPF strongholds that were positioned along the perimeter.
They stopped to take some rest after they had broke through the forrest that separated the ancient ruins from the first town suburbs.
˝Oh! Finally we're here! The twerp's hometown! It looks nice,but it won't after we do our thing.˝,Jessie said malevolently after taking a good look at the town.
Butch nodded and after reloading his M-249,announced in his triumphant pose:
˝Yea,this town will be remembered as the spot of the largest mass murder in history! We'll infect it with devastation!˝
˝The next phase will begin now,we were told that our tank forces are about to make entrance soon. We go after them.˝,Jürgen warned them.
˝Sir,the enemy's second line has been breached in several places.˝,a courier told the news to general Janšetić. He nodded and gave him permission to leave.
He then took a glance on his watch. It showed 01:55. He smiled,took his red walkie-talkie and roared decisively:
˝All tank divisions,attack Pallet Town! The SA-177 ˝Tyrant Panzer˝ tanks will lead the strike. Infantry will not move until I order that. To tank crews:play the˝Star Wars Imperial March Medley ˝theme during the charge,it'll frighten the enemy! Shooting civilians is approved! I repeat,the ˝Tyrant Panzers˝ lead the assault,you may shoot civilians!˝
The tanks appeared,their entrance being followed by the ominous theme music. All of them were recognizable,but one. Those tanks were huge in comparison to other TR tanks;they were 10m long,5.5m wide and 9.5m tall. Most of the tanks had one or 2 cannons,but this one had four 130mm smoothbore cannons,was armed with 2 automatic 12.7mm machineguns at the front and one at the back. There was a double-barreled M-61 Vulcan machinegun on the turret,with one crewman to use it. It was hidden in a rotating cupola. The tank also had 3 missile launchers. It had wide tracks which gave it solid terrain ability.
About 600 tanks and armored vehicles moved towards the suburbs,firing at soldiers, Pokemon,common people and houses. The defenders were caught unready,panic was spreading throughout their ranks quickly. Tyrant Panzers were unstoppable,people and Pokemon who tried to destroy them were shocked by the fact that nothing they tried could penetrate its armor. The superheavy tanks had 2 hydrogen powered jet engines that enabled it to go 45 km\h maximum. The tanks crashed houses in their way with ease. Although there were only 5 of them dispatched,they were ripping the enemy's defence into pieces with little trouble.
Majors Ketchum and Oak were fighting in the southern part of their hometown,trying to stop the enemy with treir Pokemon. They were however,forced to hide from TR troopers who were leveling the town centimeter by centimeter.
˝Gary,we're in trouble! I've got reports that say that the 1. def. line has been literally pulverised,the second is in tatters. Not only that their tanks are here,TR troopers are following them now as well. Pokemon and people are running in panic,they scream about some gigantic tanks crushing our men... Is there any chance of surviving this hell?˝,Ash yelled,now desperate,tired and frightened.
˝A-Ash? Gigantic tanks? You better look down there,because that thing looks pretty gigantic to me!˝,Gary uttered,almost losing his voice out of sheer fear. He pointed his trembling finger to a scene down on the street.
A Tyrant Panzer fired its two front MGs at some UEPPF soldiers,killing them instantly. Then,a Charizard landed down in front of it. He roared furiously and let out a strong Fire Blast at it. The survivors cheered,thinking the tank has been destroyed. But,their happiness lasted only a moment,the tank passed unscathed through the flames and 4 cannons thundered,as a short burst of fire came out,killing the Charizard and 2-3 soldiers in a deafening blast of fire. Others began to run for their lives without any direction,their fear being amplified with the music being played from the tank's loudspeakers.
2 majors bolted in exasperation combined with shock and screamed,frightened by this very appaling scene that played before their very eyes:
˝Dear God,help us!! I-It can't be! It survived a Fire Blast and wasted a Charizard?!˝
˝Ash,we gotta get to your mom before this thing does! Let's go!˝,Gary shouted. Ash nodded and they ran in a quest to save her.
Meanwhile,in that very same Tyrant,7 people were riding through the town. Stjepan Krvavec as driver,Josh Barnes as communication officer,Andrey Berezin as MG man and Jens Kierkegaard,Julian Rovington,Daniel Riera and Markko Jarmonnen as 4 gunners. The tank had a system ˝Separate Barrel Control System(SBCS)˝ which enabled firing at 4 different targets at the same time,hence 4 gunners were needed.
˝Ah! What a great choice of music! The˝Imperial March Medley ˝will boost our troops' moral and will frighten our foes. General Janšetić really has a good taste in choosing war music.˝,major Kierkegaard commented the music with much praise of the general.
˝I have targeted a group of soldiers hiding in a house,1670m ahead of us. They are with a Squirtle.˝,Lt. Rovington reported.
Major Kierkegaard responded swiftly:˝Use Termic Explosive shells and fire in Burst Mode.˝
The British officer pressed a sequence of buttons and the tank's cannons fired at the building rapidly,destroying it and killing the hiders as well.
˝That has been taken care of. Let's go now to the SW part,there are homes of some high ranked UEPPF officers. Colonel Krvavec,check on the map where the Ketchum and Oak residences are and head there.˝,the major ordered,looking at his radar screen carefully.
˝Ok. I'm searching the shortest route. We'll be there in 8 minutes,Major.˝,colonel Krvavec replied in his strong Croatian accent,slowly drinking a glass of juice.
Jessie,James,Butch,Cassidy,Jürgen,Yoshizue and Meowth slowly walked down the streets of southern Pallet,spraying everyone with bullets no matter what they were: soldiers,Pokemon,civilians,even children.
˝Enjoy your last moments!˝,Cassidy shouted to a group of Pokemon trainers before she fired the grenade launcher attached to her M-249. A few seconds later,blood and entrails were spattered on the floor and walls of nearby houses. They moved forward, rampaging and destroying houses. But when they headed west,they ran into tough resistance. There was a barricade with machineguns and a cannon blocking the way.
˝We can't go dere,dey have a freakin' cannon!˝,Meowth warned them just in time. They took cover behind a house,trying to find a way past the blockade. Suddenly, James spoke,taking one of his Pokeballs:
˝I know! My Weezing will use Smog as a distraction and we will kill those men there.˝
Others agreed and cocked their rifles,Weezing came out and on James' queue,flew close to the barricade and released a thick brown gas which prevented the soldiers from seeing anything and irritated their lungs. 7 TR troopers took the chance and killed them. Meowth and James manned the MGs instantly,killing off some men who ran at them. Jessie asked,hoping for a positive answer:
˝Does anyone know how to use the cannon? I haven't been trained on this kind of weaponry.˝
Jürgen and Butch nodded and took a close view of it,it was a 90mm field cannon with laser sights. They yelled to Jessie:
˝We need someone to load the shells in the barrel. Could you do it?˝
She nodded,though not looking too keen to do it. They began to fire across the street ,battering the houses with shells that created plenty of smoke around them. Debris was falling around,soldiers flew in the air as a consequence of shell impact.
˝Look! We cornered some UEPPF scumbags behind that house,I can hear them talking. They will try to cross the street. Be careful!˝,Jürgen alerted them.
˝Gary,that barricade has been taken over. However,we must pass it. I'll try to crawl through and see how many soldiers are there. Pikachu,are you ready?˝,Ash asked his favourite Pokemon. Pikachu nodded with a decisive look in his eyes. But then,Gary put his arm on Ash and pleaded with tears coming out of his eyes:
˝Don't go,it's dangerous. You might get killed,Ashy. I would be crushed if you die.˝
˝All's gonna be fine. Give me and Pika cover fire,OK?˝,Ash reassured him with a warm look. Gary nodded and took his M-4 carbine and peered around the corner. Ash began to crawl,Pikachu began to run in the barricade direction,his cheeks sparkling intensively.
˝Look out! Someone is trying to cross the street! Quick,Butch,aim the boy!˝,Jürgen shouted,not seeing the electric mouse running towards them.
˝Take cover,a Pikachu is comin'! Die,ya hyperactive rat!!˝,Meowth screeched and let out a long burst of fire from his M-240 machinegun. Pikachu however,dodged and a strong Thunderwave flashed,nearly frying the gunners. Then,Gary lunged out and fired a string of shots. Sharp sound of bullets bouncing off the metal was heard. In the firefight,Butch managed to fire the cannon at Ash who leapt away in the last moment. The shrapnels could have severed his head off. Cassidy squeezed the trigger madly, forcing the 2 UEPPF majors to go back behind the house in a wild run. She spat out,while still squeezing the trigger from time to time:
˝I know who those 2 are. The twerps. This is the part of Pallet where they live. We must be very close to their homes.˝
˝Yeah,I recognized his Pikachu. We'll have to watch ourselves here,they will try to cross the street again. Ash probably wants to save his mother. His boyfriend Gary is helping him.˝,James said,while wiping sweat off of his head.
˝This will be a very long battle. But I want revenge,and nothing will stop me from exacting it upon those 2!˝,Jessie shrieked loudly,her face exploding red in anger.
They thought that the battle would last for hours until they kill them. But after some time,a melody mixed with a loud engine sound began to screech through the air. 7 Rockets turned around to see a huge tank painted in black. It was a Tyrant Panzer. They cheered,realizing that it was a TR tank. A voice boomed from the tank:
˝Jessie,James,Meowth,do you recognize me?˝
They looked each other and cried out in happiness:˝Jens! We're delighted to see you again! Where have you been?˝
˝It's good to see you too. I'll explain everything when the battle finishes. We've picked up a firefight here,is everything OK?˝,he asked them.
James responded,pointing his finger towards a big 2-story house and chuckling madly:
˝Actually,there are 2 UEPPF officers behind that house. It's those ˝twerps˝ that we had mentioned long ago. Why don't you introduce them with this lovely behemoth?˝
˝We will. Take cover while we fire the cannons,it's going to be rough.˝,Jens warned them. They moved away to a safe distance to watch the Tyrant in action.
˝What was that noise? I'll go check it out... Holy shit! Ash,it's one of those gigantic tanks! Let's get the hell outta here!˝,Gary swore in shock and yanked Ash's arm. They started running away from the house frantically.
The tank turret rotated towards the house while the tank was stil moving,and the cannons began to launch continous bursts of fire. The ground shook violently as 4 130mm beasts leveled the house to the ground.
˝Those 2 soldiers are running away to the west!˝,Colonel Jarmonnen shouted.
The driver instantly put his foot hard on the throttle and began to pursue them. The Rockets were following them from distance.
Ash and Gary ran like mad,draining their last reserve of strength,trying to reach the Ketchum residence. But,about 200m away from there,the Tyrant burst through from one of the houses nearby and charged at them. They lunged into some bushes,but the worst thing then happened:the cannons fired at the residence,creating a large fireball that swallowed it. Ash shrieked out,totally maddened:
˝Nooooooo! You killed my mother,you criminal sons of bitches! I'll make you pay,so help me God!˝
˝No,you won't! Die in misery,you 2 abominations! Evil shall rule the world forever!˝, Jessie and James ran at them like raging bulls,impaling their lungs with bayonetes attached to their rifles. Pikachu and Eevee tried to protect their trainers but the Rocket duo stomped on their heads before they did anything,causing instant death.
In their last,very painful moments,Gary was lying on Ash,both soaked in blood. They looked each other. Ash said first:
˝Gary...our love is eternal,unbound to these earthly bodies. I know how wonderful it'll be. Imagine it...˝
˝Yes. You and me together. Forever.˝,Gary smiled and their lips met in a passionate kiss. They squeezed each other tightly in their last embrace. Pain slowly went away. Closing of their eyes meant death.
The Tyrant,and the Rockets with it,left before they died. They butchered the leftover resistance. The battle was already over at 06:10 when corporal Gorbeas notified general Janšetić,holding some papers:
˝Sir,the battle of Pallet is over. The reports say 50 killed TR soldiers,158 wounded. One Leopard tank and one F-2 fighter were lost. The UEPPF commander Agatha di Verrecchi and her right hand,Prof. Samuel Oak were found dead in the city hall. Most likely,they commited suicide. Enemy victims count 28678 soldiers and civilians. 8173 Pokemon were killed also.˝
˝I'm impressed. Corporal,thanks for reporting. You may go now.˝,The Croat general sounded very satisfied and calm.
He chuckled evilly under his voice:˝Osveta je izvršena,Tim Raketa je zavladao!! (Revenge has been exacted,Team Rocket has begun to reign!!)˝
Later,the general informed the boss on the success. Team Rocket has conquered the last town of Kanto. The main victory celebration was held in Viridian,where main TRHQ was. All soldiers got vacations and rewards in money,and many of them got promotions.
Soon,the rest of the world fell down. Only the neutral countries were spared. The meritorious generals became governors of regions. Gen. Crohnfeldt got the area of Goldenrod,Newbark and Celadon,that 3 belonging to the ˝Swedish sector˝. General Ravanzoni got Olivine,Cianwood and Ecruteak,this being the ˝Italian sector˝. After 3 months,he retired and returned to his home in Florence,he was replaced by general Gianbattista Matteassi. General Helmer got Saffron,Cerulean and Lavender,what was the ˝German sector˝. General Tamazaka got the area of former Pewter (now a TR base called Petres),Cherrygrove City and Littleroot Town,designated as the ˝Japanese sector˝. General Janšetić was given Pallet,Orange Islands and Ever Grande City,now called the ˝Croatian sector˝. Gen. O'Hara was in charge of Petalburg City,Mahogany Town and Oldale Town,as the ˝American sector˝. General Korsakov governed Fuchsia Town,Azalea Town and Lilycove City,named the ˝Russian sector˝.
Jessie,James,Meowth,Cassidy,Butch,Jürgen and Yoshizue got promoted to majors and were assigned to train younger agents. They were given a hefty salary and a nice job which suited them well. Jens Kierkegaard fared even better,being promoted to general and living comfortably,raising Max Combes as his own child,together with general Tamazaka. Max was the youngest TR member to have received the rank of lieutenant, he was one of 3 top young TR agents,killing opponents of the organization by the Boss' orders.
All the high-ranking UEPPF officers' bodies that were found were displayed in the TR Museum's trophy room together with their biographies. There were the bodies of Ash Ketchum,Misty Waterflower,Brock Hudson and Gary Oak,under the nickname:˝Best friends quartet˝.
Giovanni has fulfilled his wish:he defeated the forces of law. He now reigns the world,now only the universe is left.
Is everything over? Has TR completely beaten its foes?