"Don't underestimate the power of the operative's gift. Her ability to read people like an open book has been invaluable to many interrogation sessions in our hideout. Since we started using her, the need for torture has been reduced to only personal needs. She can peer right into your soul and tell you your deepest fears and nightmares. And she does it with a smile."

"So why send her on this scouting mission? Why not one of our designated recon units?"

"Because a ship is piloted by a human being. And this human is new to Kanto- we need to subdue him or her before they can inform someone of our operations. You are dismissed!"

"Sir!"

-conversation between anonymous Rocket member and Officer.

~0~

"Speech" Human speech.

"Speech" Pokemon speech to humans

"Speech" Speech between Pokemon

"SPEECH" Pokedex entries

~0~

Ralts lvl 17- significant moves: teleport, confusion and growl

Nidoran lvl 11: significant moves: peck, poison sting, double kick.

Ralts chewed on her piece of apple as she let her eyes glide over the situation. The demon had told them to stay out of sight, but the raw torrent of emotions and feelings that flooded the room were too interesting for her to simply ignore them.

"Why is trainer gone?" Nidoran asked, confusion clearly evident in his underlying tone. The kid was a bit dazzled by the recent developments.

"The city is bad. He wants to find out why…" She responded between bites. How he knew that the city was bad was beyond her. He couldn't feel anything with that weird mind of his, right? The only things that he proved susceptible to were faint psychic fields that they had encountered on their way here. Or rather, she had encountered and then deflected. She didn't know what the demon had done to shield himself.

"So why does he look so different from the rest of the humans?" The Nidoran asked. He had already finished his dinner and was very curious to what was going on.

"I think he is a demon-"

"What!"

"- but don't worry, he is a good demon. He takes care of us right?"

"Why do you even think he is a demon!?" Nidoran sounded scared and she knew that she shouldn't have shared her thoughts with the kid.

"Well… he looks different from the rest, right?" She responded, hoping that the boy wouldn't notice her own doubts. The truth was that her trainer was still completely unknown to her. Both his mind and her body had yet to be revealed to her and she doubted that it would happen- his second skin was very tough.

"But a demon? They don't exist!" The Pokemon continued. What? Everyone knew that demons existed! Silly boy. Had his parents taught him nothing?

"Well, he is!" Ralts continued. The Nidoran opened his mouth to reply, but instead he turned his ears to the door. Why would he do tha-

And then she felt it too. Someone was entering- someone with malicious intent, someone that felt like he owed this entire town. The feelings and emotions were so new to her, she couldn't understand who this could be. Every human she had encountered until now was either nice or bad- but the kind of bad that was driven by basic needs like hunger and thirst. This human was complicated bad, his feelings were an uncanny collection of twisted thoughts and senses.

"Run!" Nidoran said and pushed Ralts, trying to get her to move faster. Silly creature! Like she could run as fast as he could! Besides, she couldn't move at all now. She was frozen to the table- unable to get her body to do what she wanted it to.

The man that entered the building got noticed by the other trainers inside. They all rose and tried to order their pokemon to attack him. But he pulled out two strange metal tubes and twin thunderclaps filled the room. The humans that had tried to attack him screamed as their legs were suddenly penetrated with metal projectiles. Blood sprayed the walls behind them when they fell, clutching their bleeding limbs.

He hadn't even tried to kill them! She realized. That thought was even more frightening- that he was able to disable so many with so little effort.

He walked up to the counter and noticed her standing there. Nidoran was gone and she was alone, alone with this monster.

"My my, look at what he have here!" He said, his voice sounding like something that could haunt young Pokemon in their dreams for months. But not her! She was brave; her demon had taught her so!

If only she could move her frozen body, though. The man walked closer and she noticed how he looked bulkier than the average human- his body was covered in weird plates that looked very though. On his head he had some sort of weird leave- it looked a bit like how her mother had always said the sun looked like. Bulbous in the middle in with a thin circle around it.

Ralts couldn't help but notice a weird symbol on his chest. What did it mean? Her demon would want the information about this mean human!

She was so busy with trying to make sense of all the information that she didn't notice that the man was actually talking to hr.

"I haven't seen you before, have I?" He grinned and extended his paw to her- he was trying to catch her!

She had to move, if she didn't then she would be captured by this monster! Move, come on move!

It was no use, her body was frozen with fear and she couldn't get her muscles to contract or relax. Damnit! After coming so far with the training that her trainer put her through, she was still a scared child! That knowledge made her mad. She thought that the demon could help her; that he could make her strong. And here she was, abandoned by those that she had come to trust. There was nothing left for her to surrender and accept the path that fate had thought out for her.

She watched the human reach out for her and hoped that whatever was going to happen to her, it would be quick.

And quick it was: when the man's hand was only a few inches away from her, a purple flash appeared from the corner of her eye. The human saw it too and tried to counter the attack, but he was too slow.

Nidoran slammed into the monster's leg, bashing his horn violently against it.

The man growled and with a flash, he had aimed his gun at Nidoran- who was still dazed from his hit against his leg. Why hadn't his horn penetrated the human's flesh?

Ralts winced as she saw her friend come to her aid; to think that she had almost given up hope!

"Move!" The boy yelled at her all the while trying to snap to attention. She realized that the man was about to kill her friend!

"Take care of each other." The demon had told her that both she and Nidoran needed to take care of each other- that they needed to protect one-another. But here she was, frozen with fear and Nidoran about to get killed by the monster and his thunder-sticks.

It wasn't fair! They were both so young, what had they ever done to hurt this man, why did he need to hurt them! Her entire life was upside down and she couldn't believe why! First her parents had disappeared, leaving her to the mercy of the ruthless forest. Then the two vicious Pokemon had tried to maul her to death. Everyone was so mean to each other in this world…but she had just appeared in it. Her mind trembled if she even tried to think about the corruption that had permeated her existence.

She had even failed the one creature that had cared for her since her parents had left her. The demon- he had saved her multiple times, he had cared for her and protected her. He had fed her when she grew hungry and carried her when she grew tired. He had spent his valuable time in this existence by taking her under his wing and how did she return his kindness? By giving up. By allowing her friend to die in front of her without her doing anything to save him.

That wasn't how her parents had taught her! She should try to save everyone around her that she cared for, to protect those that were important!

And the demon…he had taught her how to do it. To never give up and never surrender- what was she even doing? She needed to fight!

A sudden clarity filled illuminated her soul, filled every fiber of her being as she realized that she could really do something about this situation!

First the needed to protect her friend- the Nidoran boy. She concentrated on him and how he should be safe. Then she linked that intent with the little nub of psychic power in her mind and channeled her power through her body.

Her surroundings shifted and disappeared as she became ethereal for the micro-second that it took to teleport to Nidoran and take him with her. She heard a loud bang! But she was already gone. She tore Nidoran from his plane of existence and linked him to her presence- and then she felt her power slip away. But that was ok, it was alright. Every time she teleported somewhere her sub consciousness canceled out her powers to prevent her from going astray. It was a defensive-mechanism: she and Nidoran had both reached their destination.

Safety. But where was that?

~0~

The Spartan pushed his emotions and doubts deep inside of himself and a cold, hard rationality took control over his mind. Thoughts and sensations passed through his nervous-system with incomprehensible speed and he processed what lay before him faster than humans could shift their eyeballs.

The covenant couldn't be here; he hadn't seen any ships in orbit and there weren't any reports of strange monsters burning people down- monsters that weren't Pokemon. This planet possessed strange technology that even the Covenant couldn't possibly develop and this shield didn't look like any form of shielding he had ever seen. It was square, not round and burned a bright yellow-red tint- as opposed to the blue and purple that the covenant used.

So it wasn't covenant, it had to be native to this planet. And he knew that, because he spotted several large tubes extending from the shimmering field. They were wired up at the rocks and led all the way back to Pewter city. The reason that he hadn't spotted them before was because they were so integrated with the stone walls that surrounded the town that he hadn't given the strange formations any thought.

So who placed it here? And how would she shut it down?

He walked up to the field and took a good look. It didn't look like it could burn like plasma did, but shielding normally dropped after a sustained amount of fire and pressure.

He aimed his rifle at the central point and squeezed of a long salvo. Thirty rounds went into the field and twenty rounds were deflected in random trajectories- one of them flew past his helmet so close that his shields flared.

At this rate he would have to fire a dozen mags in the field and it still wouldn't drop. He needed powerful plasma weaponry and the only weapons that utilized plasma on this entire planet were- as far as he knew- locked inside the molten hull that was his dropship.

So no plasma to take the shield down and ballistics were deflected.

No matter, he had bludgeoned many Elites to death with both his weapons, body and random objects like rocks and other covenant soldiers. Elite heads were very adapted at breaking the skulls of other elite heads.

He formed his hands into fists and- planning to deliver a lightning-fast combo at the wall- struck the energy shield.

The moment his hand touched the shimmering field a hammer-blow struck him in his midsection. He felt his body being flung back and he skidded to a halt several meters away. It took him a few seconds to recover from the dizziness and pain that filled his head and he slowly got on his feet.

His shields held steady at sixty-seven percent and slowly recharged. Whatever this thing was, it had somehow absorbed the force behind his blow and delivered it right back at him. This had to be noncovenant tech.

That left him with two options- climb over tall stone wall to his dies and see if he couldn't get around the shimmering field, or he could follow those cables back to Pewter city and find out where they were plugged in.

He needed more information and he couldn't simply leave these people in their current situation.

He recovered the assault rifle that had been torn from his grasp and he kept it at the ready while he moved back to the town .The game was on.

~0~

She was drifting in blackness. She couldn't see where she was or even who she was. Her body felt heavy and exhausted and she didn't sense Nidoran anywhere. The teleport must have gone wrong somehow- she must have messed up . Even in her pitiful attempt to save those that she cared for she still only worsened them!

"Ralts!" A voice said. It sounded awfully familiar, but it didn't matter. That voice was dead- just like its owner.

"Ralts! Listen to me!" It said. Why did it insist on trying to contact her?

"Ralts… the lights are out!"

What? The lights are out? What did that mean?

A sudden flash of light illuminated the room and she squinted her eyes, trying to preserve her vision.

"Ralts, you teleported us to the topside of the building. We are still in the pokemon center and we are still in danger!"

Oh. So that was why it was dark! Relieve washed away every negative feeling she had and her mind was clear to think yet again. "What now?"

The familiar purple shape of Nidoran appeared next to her. His features were grim and she could feel the fear and doubts that lay underneath them. "We need to get back to our trainer!"

Get back to the demon? That was nonsense. They couldn't endanger their trainer like that! Besides, how were they going to get out of there? They didn't even know where they were and the Monster was out there somewhere, with his lightning-quick skills and deadly thunder-sticks. They couldn't hide from him.

Actually, if there was one creature out there that could defeat this Monster it had to be the demon. If they could somehow lure the monster to the demon than they could vanquish him together! But how were they going to do that? The moment they stepped out of the center, they would be caught. It would be best if they simply stayed in one place for now.

"No, the monster will catch us if we try. We have to wait for the demon to get us!"

"How are you so sure that he hasn't left us?" The Nidoran asked her softly. Now she realized what had been eating away at him that entire time; why he hadn't actually interacted with the demon more and why he was so confused all the time: he didn't trust him. He didn't know what he was but more importantly- he didn't know who he was.

"He promised me that he would keep me safe… some time ago." She said. Her words were aimed at Nidoran's doubts, but they served to ease hers as well. "He saved my life multiple times and he has cared for me- for us- from the beginning. He will eventually leave this world, yes-"

The boy shifted uneasily when she said that; obviously put off by her words.

"- but he has something that he needs to do before he leaves. The most important to him…is finding what he is looking for. Then he will leave. Until then, he will protect us."

"But he will leave!" Nidoran cried out, his voice filled with anguish and tears about to fall from his eyes. "He will leave us! Why? He took us in his care and now he will leave us?"

He was so upset, his sadness was so great that Ralts couldn't help but feel his emotions like they were her own. He had struck the blow where it hurt the most- where her doubts and fears were the greatest. The demon wasn't there forever- after he had found whatever it was he was looking for, he would leave them. He would go away and it wouldn't even matter to him.

Because only demons felt nothing.

A sudden 'clang!' echoed through the room and both Pokemon instantly froze. They had been too loud!

"What was that!" Nidoran whispered and his sensitive ears turned towards the cause of the sound. It had sounded like metal ticking against metal and it didn't inspire much confidence in them.

"I don't know…"Ralts whispered and looked around. There had to be a decent place to hide in this room!

There, in the corner to the right. A small chest lay on its die, its casket closed. "We can hide in there!" She said en gestured towards the piece of wood. "If he can't find us, maybe he'll leave!" It was a very small chance and she knew it, but they had to try something.

"You get the lights and I'll open that thing up!" Nidoran whispered to her. He ran as quietly as possible to their potential cover while she figured out a way to shut off the lights. It had been dark in here when they arrived, so it had to be dark when the Monster arrived too. He would immediately find out that something was wrong if he entered this room while it was bathing in light.

A small cobblestone lying on the ground attracted her attention. She picked it up with her psychic powers and carefully navigated it to the light-switch. When it was only a few feet away she accelerated it, slinging it at the switch with force. The piece of rock hit the switch and turned it, shutting the lights off.

Now the monster wouldn't find them!

But she couldn't find Nidoran now, too. The room was completely dark right now and there was no way that she could find her way around the room in time. The heavy 'thud thud' of the Monsters footsteps sounded right outside the door and she needed to get out of sight soon!

"Hurry!" Nidoran whispered, his voice sounding oddly muffled by the thick layer of wood between them.

Yes, like she'd be able to hurry into cover without knocking over half the room's contends. The knob of the door slowly turned, the grinding sound amplifying her fears. Her little heart pumped even faster and she slowly backed up, hoping to put as much room between her and the door.

By accident she stumbled into a hard edge- bumping her back against its edge. A small cry of pain escaped her mouth, but her legs kept going! She fell forwards and noticed that there was something above her head.

Had she backed to a cabinet? If so, then she could hide underneath it!

She fumbled her way under the piece of furniture and quickly prayed a silence thanks to whatever deity had provided her with the means to escape detection.

As soon as Ralts had hid herself underneath the cabinet, the door flung open. The complicated and malicious emotions of the Monster assailed her mind and she crawled even further back, hoping that it wouldn't find her!

Or Nidoran, for that matter.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the walls as the human walked through the room. One of his paws scratched against the wall and a second later, the lights flicked on. The room was bathing in artificial light and she closed her eyes, not wanting to be blinded. Several nerve-wracking seconds followed as the Monster ransacked the room. Chairs were slung around and drawers were opened so violently that they were torn out of their sockets.

Then the big chest were Nidoran was hiding in was flung across the room. Thankfully, its remained closed and the kid remained silent.

Eventually the lights were flicked out and the monster slammed the door, locking both Pokemon in the darkness.

~0~

Someone was close, he could feel it. His feet made no sound when he stepped over rocks and avoided branches. He had spotted a large rock lying near the road and he was slowly making his way up to the piece of improvised cover, making sure to sweep both the area in front of him as the cliff-sides for every possible enemy.

No sooner had he taken cover behind the rock when he heard the faint shuffling of feet. Wishing he still had his motion-tracker the Spartan had no choice but to trust his ears and remain till until the shuffling was close enough.

Almost…almost…

After ten seconds of waiting he jumped over the rock. He saw a large-postured man slowly walking down the route nearly five meters away from him.

"Freeze!" He called and the man froze. Covering the remaining distance within a second he jammed this rifle against the back of his head.

"What's going on here!" He said. "Why is there energy shielding in this city?"

The man was scared shitless, even he could notice. He was trembling and mumbling, trying to form a coherent answer.

"I-I was o-ordered to f-follow you to t-the w-walls!"

"By who?"

"T-them! T-they control t-the city and B-Brock-"

"Who is he!"

"He is t-the g-gym-leader!"

A gym leader? Oak had told him about those. They were people that had opened a building in which a trainer could challenge them for a gym-battle. Then they could win badges, show eight of these to a place called the pokemon league and get a shot at becoming the Pokemon Champion. Whatever that was.

So this Brock had something to do with this situation?

"Where is this gym!" He barked and slammed the butt of his rifle against the man's shoulder. Very gently, but still enough to force him on his knees. Then he pushed the barrel of his gun once again against the man's head and clicked the safety on- very softly so that the man couldn't hear him.

Then he clicked it off again0 very audible this time. The man flinched and began to beg. "Please don't kill me! They forced me to follow you I swear! But I don't work for them I want to help this town! Please don't shoot, Brock knows how to fix this! See these cables? They lead all the way to his gym I swear!"

The Spartan hesitated for a second. He couldn't just put a bullet in this man's skull because he had followed him- but he couldn't allow the bastard to simply live to tell his superiors too.

In the end, he chose to compromise. He lowered his rifle and let loose a single shot- wounding the man in his foot.

He screamed and crashed to the ground, cursing and crying. The Spartan had already left, making his way back to the city. It this man had been sent by someone, then said someone would be in Pewter city at that very moment.

His Pokemon were in danger and that didn't amuse him in the slightest bit. He increased his speed and he reached the town within seconds.

It was empty. Curious. Why had everyone left? Or had they all entered their houses, hoping to avoid some kind of conflict?

With his rifle snapping back and front between the rooftops and windows, he slowly entered the village. This felt too much like an ambush and he didn't like the feeling very much. The red roof of the Pokemon Center appeared in his vision and he knew that his Pokemon had to be in there.

He knew, because the moment that he couldn't find them in there he would do whatever it took to get them back. And that almost certainly meant cleansing the village by shooting every bad guy in the head, following the trail of this Brock and slaughtering the entire organization that everyone kept talking about.

~0~

Ralts didn't know how much time had passed, only that she had been hiding underneath the cabinet for some time now. She didn't know how Nidoran fared or where the Monster had gone. She only knew that she was scared as hell.

"Please come back…" She silently prayed to the skies. "Please make him come back, please let him find us. Let him save us!"

In order for them to survive, they needed the demon. They needed his protection and awesome skills. He would know how to defeat the Monster, he would know how to-

"Ralts?" A faint whispering said. "Are you there?"

That was Nidoran! He was still alive!
"I'm here!" She whispered and slowly crouched forwards. The room was dark and she couldn't feel the Monster anywhere- the coast had to be clear. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a little bruised. You?"

At that point she had completely exited her cover to expose herself to the room. "I'm scared, where are you?"

A faint knocking sounded and she determined that the sound came from her left. "Over here, still in the chest! It's stuck!"

Damnit, that meant that she would have to find a way to free him now.

Just as she was figuring out a way to do so, the door flung open. She nearly lost her mind from the sudden sensation of fear that she felt. He was back! He was back and she was out in the open, it had been a trap! It-

The rest of her thought-process got cut off as large hard hands gently wrapped around her. She struggled and fought and tried her best to escape, but to no avail. The creature that had grabbed her could have been a mountain for all the good that her struggling did.

But then she was turned around and she saw the weird no-face face of the demon.

"Stand down!" He told her with his ever so calm voice.

~0~

The Ralts was struggling and fighting his grip- or at least trying to- and he doubted that it realized who had caught it.

"Stand down!" He said; hoping that the Pokémon's newly-trained discipline would get it to calm down.

Little did he know that discipline had nothing to do with the creature's response. It simply stopped moving the instance its gaze met his helmet; not moving as much as a muscle and its body entirely limp.

"Ralts?" It asked him with its sweet little voice. The Spartan didn't know what was being asked and he didn't care. The almost-struggle that the Pokemon had put up when he grabbed it had been indicative of a foreign encounter. Someone else had tried to grab it and for a few moments the Ralts had thought that he was that someone.

That and the fact that it was currently on the attic, one floor higher than were he had left it.

But where was Nidoran…?

The sound of muffled pounding against wood answered that question. He walked over to a fallen chest and confirmed that the noise came from in there. With his fingers he tore of the two hinges that closed the chest as easily as if he tore a piece of paper in half and then he ripped off the lid.

"Nido nido!" The pokemon inside yelled. How had he gotten in there? Had someone locked him up? Then why was Ralts still there? It didn't make sense. Unless…

"What happened?" he asked the Pokemon. He might as well have asked a brick wall what had happened, because neither of them responded.

Odd. He had walked in the Pokemon Center to find the two Nurses doing overtime to treat several trainers with very distinctive wounds on the legs: shot by a gun. He had examined the nearest trainer and frowned when he did not recognize the caliber as UNSC standard. So no UNSC weapon had done this. Then he had taken a closer look on the discarded rounds and concluded that a pistol had made these wounds. Not a classic pistol; a really old model. The empty piece of metal was reminiscent of a revolver-class weapon; a classic six-shooter used by the old cowboys in western movies.

So someone had entered the hospital and simply started shooting? Not entirely. The wounds on the legs of the trainers were to symmetrical- the shooter had been deliberately aiming at these people without intending to kill them- but why? Why disable the trainers and allow the nurse's to continue their jobs? Very weird.

Ralts had undoubtedly teleported away when it realized that it was in danger. But how had Nidoran found his way to the attic room? Had it simply scurried away to cover as soon as the unknown shooter had started blazing guns? Possible.

But now he was reunited with his Pokemon and it was time to face this 'Brock' person that he had heard so much about.

"We're moving out!" He said and withdraw the Nidoran in its Poke-ball. With an unknown revolver-marksman running about the place he had no intention of putting his Pokemon in harms place. Nidoran might be able to hear the gunner and Ralts might be able to sense him; but in the meantime they might get killed while doing so.

No, he would not get them killed when he was perfectly capable of spotting assailants himself. The Ralts would simply need to stay covered underneath his weapons on his back- and he would simply need to trust his own tracking skills. He would protect the creature from incoming fire and together they would make their way to the gym.

Which didn't take very long to do. The trip from the attacked Pokemon Center to the Pokemon Gym where Brock was supposed to reside had taken him only ten seconds. Even when he had stealthed his way past the buildings and taken time to search the area for the marksman everytime he moved on, they still found the gym within no-time.

He stood before the glass doors and was annoyed to find that he couldn't see through them. He swept the rooftops behind him one more time to see if his six was secure and then released his Pokemon. He checked the Pokedex one more time to check the moves that Nidoran and Ralts possessed at that moment memorized them.

"Stay behind me!" he instructed them and took position next to the set of doors. With one movement he turned towards the entrance and slammed his body against the doors; his bulky mass smashing through them with the greatest of ease. They didn't shatter into pieces though- for which he was thankful seeing as his Pokemon weren't wearing powered assault armor- and the Spartan stepped inside the gym.

The instance he did, several strong lights flashed on and his visor instantly polarized to protect him from the sudden intensity. His Pokemon weren't that lucky and they fell to the ground, their vision temporarily impaired. It was an amusing sight to see them trying to get to their feet and bump into each other, but he had no time to continue watching. The attempt at blinding him was a clear form of attack and he planned on retaliating. He aimed his assault rifle carefully down the room and took in its details within micro-seconds.

The room was very large; easily twenty metes high. It had room for three scorpion tanks to ride side-by-side and at the very back, the silhouette of a man was visible.

The Spartan needed answers and he wasn't planning on letting this target slip. Still holding his weapon at the ready he took a few advancing strides, as did the man in front of him. He noticed a weird pattern on the ground; similar to the stripped-down blueprint of a poke ball. A small square where he was currently standing- a large circle in the middle and another square where the man stopped.

"Brock?" He called, hoping that he didn't have to shoot the guy in the head too soon. As much as he needed information his desire to shoot his way out of the town was almost too much for him.

"I am afraid that you won't be going any further than this…" The man spoke. While he was talking, the Spartan reviewed the situation. Big energy-shielding blocking his progress, weird man telling him to talk to Brock because he ordered him to stalk. Cables leading from the energy-shield to the gym and an unknown shooter trying to get his Pokemon.

So considering the current situation he needed to leave some people alive for them to share their information with him.

"Energy shielding. Explain. Now." The Spartan spoke with a low, threatening tone. It didn't matter who the shields belonged to- they didn't belong on this planet. None of these forms of technology did and he still had no clue on how these people got here. He couldn't simply murder his way through the villages; he might accidently kill someone that had valuable information.

"This town wasn't always like this…" The man said and the lights behind him dimmed a bit at the same time. He was able to make out brown spiky hair and a Japanese-like face. "We were a peaceful community…until they came."

"They?"

"Team Rocket…" Brock continued, his voice intertwined with a bitter tone. "They are a terrorist-organization, bend on controlling Pokemon for their own goals. They simply appeared some time ago and struck this region a powerful blow. Our cities are…disconnected from each other and we haven't heard anything from each other."

The Spartan allowed the man to continue; he had revealed much about the current affairs and he now had a clear vision on political affairs. But when Brock remained silent, he had to sate another factor of his curiosity. "Local law-enforcement? The army?"

A bitter laugh escaped the gym-leader's throat and he crossed his arms. "We never had a need for the army here in Kanto since the war ended and our Jenny's aren't numerous enough to stop team Rocket. They have guns- we have not. Simple."

The super-soldier mentally face-palmed. Because the war was over, there was no more need for soldiers? What a stupid mentality. War always returned and soldiers were always needed- the current situation was a perfect example of that.

"So…Route 3?" He asked, still not satisfied with the explanation.

"I can't tell you too much…they…" Brock said but quickly cut himself off. "Team Rocket set that up…we don't know how."

Really? Come one, he had to try better than that. "The cables lead to here…"

Brock swallowed and looked over his shoulder, as if he was looking at someone. "Please…just surrender to them and no one gets harmed.

Now they were getting somewhere. His trigger finger itched and he needed to shoot SOMETHING.

"The trainers in the Pokemon center…did they surrender?"

"Who?" The man replied, obviously confused. In the corner of his eye the Spartan noticed Ralts slowly shaking its head. What did that mean? Not lying or not speaking truthfully?

"And if I don't?" He continued, feeling that the conversation was nearing its end.

"Then I will have no choice but to take you out. I am so sorry trainer…but they have my family. And I value them greater than anything in the world. If it means saving them…I would do anything."

The soldier understood that. To protect that which you cared for, you had to be willing to destroy that which you cared for. Brock had followed this team Rocket's orders to keep the city under control and in doing so, had saved his family. Hostages.

So a terrorist organization that held a family hostage to get what they wanted? That sounded familiar…

No matter; Brock had declared hostility and the Spartan didn't care for him or his family. He would beat the information that he had so desperately tried to keep hidden out of him and then he would tear down the Energy-shielding blocking his way.

The gym-leader pulled out three Poke balls and threw them in the air. "Geodude, Onix, go!"

The three objects spilled their contents and the ground shook as they hit the ground. There were two floating creatures- stone heads with muscled arms attached to them- and one giant…thing.

It looked like a stone snake; its body was elongated and it had no limbs. But its body was segmented into rocks and on its head stood a large, pointy cone.

"His horn is bigger than yours…" The Spartan said with some amusement as he beheld the sight before him. Life that evolved in such a way…it was rather weird.

And troublesome; as he had encountered one such creature before and bullets didn't kill it fast enough.

"Ralts, Nidoran, you're up. Take care of those floating things."

No matter; he'd improvise. While his pokemon would engage these head-things, he'd neutralize that big snake.

~0~

Why was it that everytime that the demon showed up, trouble would instantly arise? It didn't make sense!

The giant creature that was towering over her looked like it ate young Pokemon for breakfast. The demon had ordered her to fight the two floating rocks but how was she going to do that when the big one could just smack them once and be done with it?

"Let's go!" The Nidoran male yelled and charged at the first enemy. Was that kid insane! How were they going to-

The demon charged forwards and with incredible inhuman speed, slammed against the giant snake.

Oh, so that was how they were going to fight. Clever trainer!

She took a small step forwards and then decided that she would sue her psychic abilities to cover Nidoran. His combat prowess was still higher than hers, after all.

"Nidoran, double-kick. Ralts keep clear of the other hostile!" The demon ordered them. It was a commendable action- she decided- for the demon to simultaneously ride the giant snake and order both her and Nidoran around.

Her innocent mind didn't realize how wrong that sounded. She had no time to keep dwelling on that, however. The first Geodude might be busy with Nidoran but she had her own troubles. The second one flew towards her with a large grin on its ugly head.

Keep clear? What did that mean again…the demon said clear when there weren't any mean people around…she would need to keep away from mean people! But how?

"Geodude, use tackle!" The brown-haired man yelled and the floating Pokemon charged at her- and she doubted that her frail body could withstand such a powerful hit.

What to do what to do?

"Teleport!" The demon said. Oh, so that was what she needed to do. She closed her eyes and concentrated on moving away from that place. She felt the familiar surge of power through her mind and she felt her body disassemble itself.

The Geodude smacked to the ground a second later.

Nidoran was very busy fighting the first one; his double-kick had landed only one hit and even though his attack was very effective against the rock-type, its skin was still rock-hard. The Pokemon surged backwards with the hit and groaned in frustration.

"Use rock throw!" The enemy-human yelled and Nidoran readied himself to avoid the big boulders that the Geodude would throw at him.

While he was jumping back and forth, trying to not get squished by the flying rocks that his enemy was pulling from the ground and throwing at his head, he noticed that the air began to shimmer with a weird green light.

A split-second later, Ralts appeared. "Hello!" She said and blasted the Geodude with a powerful confusion-attack. The rock-type got smacked into the ground and lifted in the air again- before Ralts increased the pressure on its body. The raw psychic power itself was strong enough to harm the Pokemon- she didn't even need to smack it into the walls and ground to defeat it.

While Ralts was holding the Geodude in the air, Nidoran took the opportunity to take it out with another double-kick. His powerful legs smacked the creature in his face and it yelled with pain. Sensing that she didn't need to hold the power-flow any longer Ralts released him. The rock fell to the ground- no longer having enough energy to keep itself afloat.

~0~

So Brock wanted his Onix to kill him? Fair enough. If a big piece of rock could harm him, that is.

The moment that the gym-leader had sent out his Pokemon, he had moved. He knew that his own Pokemon could hold their own against those of Brock and in the meantime, he would strike. The Onix was big enough to completely smash the squishy Ralts and Nidoran, so he would have to remove that threat first. While he gave a few small orders to his Pokemon, he charged at the big snake. He fired a small burst and the some of the rounds managed to pierce the Onix's tough skin, causing it to scream with pain. Or rage, that was a possibility too.

The remainder of the rounds either ricochet off of the creature or flattened themselves against it. But not sooner had he fired his salvo when Brock's slow reaction time started to kick in.

"Onix, use tail whip!" He yelled. The Spartan could guess at what that was supposed to mean and wasn't disappointed with himself when the giant Pokemon lifted its long tail and tried to smash him with it.

Too slow. He rolled to his side and the strike completely missed him. And now he was presented with an opportunity; the Onix' weapon was no out in the open and it hadn't covered itself thoroughly. While he jumped at the animal, he noticed Ralts in the corner of his eye. The creature was standing still while one of the so-called 'Geodudes' was flying straight at it.

"Teleport!" He snapped and the Pokemon obeyed his order immediately. How amusing it was that these creatures blindly obeyed the humans that caught them. Ralts disappeared in a green flash and appeared right behind the one that was trying to attack Nidoran.

Go teamwork.

He returned his attention to the task at hand and dug his hands between the ridges of the segmented snake.

"Onix, shake him off!" Brock yelled and the Pokemon instantly started to shake itself like a wet dog would- his segmented rocks rolling and twisting as it tried to shake the Spartan off.

But his grip was like iron and his weight prevented the giant Pokemon from actively moving too much. Half a ton of armor, thank you very much.

Like bird making use of air currents, the Spartan used each presented lull in the movements of his prey to climb higher and higher. The whole process of working his way up to the Onix' head took him only a minute.

"Onix, use dig!" Brock yelled and the snake roared his acknowledgment. Without a clear way to actually do it, the creature launched itself upwards and surged towards the ground, head first.

Clever thing. The Spartan had no desire to get caught in the ground and quickly jumped off, his momentum dissipated by a quick roll.

Now the Onix was underground and the entire gym shook. The vibrations were so intense that the he had no clear way of determining where the creature currently was. How could it even find its way underground? It had to be too dark for the creature to see and it had no visible hearing organs. So it had to be feeling its way around; sensing the tremors of potential prey when underground.

And right now Ralts and Nidoran were causing a lot of vibrations with their fight against the Geodudes.

"Onix can sense you wherever you go!" Brock yelled, a hint of desperation audible to those that could hear it. "You won't escape!"

That concluded his theory. Thanks Brock.

The super-soldier lifted his boot off the ground and violently kicked it back. He repeated that move twice and a scowl appeared at the gym-leader's face.

"What are you…" He started but then a sudden movement cut off the rest of his sentence. Onix sprang from the ground- sensing the Spartan's movements- and struck with full force, head first.

Or at least it tried to. The Spartan was facing the creature and had actually waited for that exact moment. He drew back his fist and smacked the Onix right in his maw- cracking the rock-hard skin and completely diverting the Pokémon's path.

And now it was time to finish this. He noticed that his Pokemon were busy fighting the first of the two floating rock-heads and that the second one was flying right at them. Damnit!

He twisted his upper body and fired his assault rifle with one hand, not wanting to turn his back completely on his foe. He fired two short bursts and many rounds caught the charging Geodude, some penetrating its skin and others flattening against it. All of the bullets that hit it- however- transferred their force to the floating Pokemon and knocked it off course. That was what the Spartan had aimed at. His Pokemon would have to finish it.

"Onix, use bind!" Brock yelled.

"Nidoran, use double-kick on the remaining hostile. Ralts, fling some rocks to prevent it from moving too much!" The Spartan snapped, deciding in that brief moment that the safety of Ralts and Nidoran was more important than his own at the moment.

His pokemon had made short work of the first Geodude and now they could completely focus on the remaining one. He had actually managed to work in a good team-cohesion with the two; working like a unit to dispatch an enemy force. The Spartan briefly wondered if this was what teamwork felt like before the stone creature struck. Its tail snapped forwards like a snake and about as fast as one too. The Spartan had been too focused on ordering his Pokemon and he could not completely dodge the attack. The tail wrapped around his legs and lower torso and tightened its grip.

"Please just surrender!" Brock yelled as the Onix grabbed the soldier. "Just save yourself, I don't want this!"
Was this man pleading for his own life, or for that of him? It didn't matter, he had the creature exactly where he wanted it. The Onix brought his head close and roared at its captured prey- and that was when the Spartan struck too. His fists were as quick as lightning and as fluid as water when they hit the creature. It flinched and reared backwards, but the moment he did the soldier grabbed it by the rock that had to cover its throat and dug his fingers underneath the edges. He started to pull.

The pokemon roared and its tail released the Spartan, but he had no mercy. He increased his pressure and the creature started to convulse- trashing around in its futile attempts to free itself.

"Ralts ral ralts!" His own pokemon yelled but he didn't listen. He needed something dead and he needed it now- this man and his Pokemon had attacked them and they would pay-

"Return, Onix!" Brock yelled and a red laser hit the writhing creature, reducing it to a small red cloud before its shape was pulled inside the ball.

The Spartan instantly reacted and pulled out his combat knife. He took the brief time to aim at Brock's leg and threw it. The stainless blade flew straight and true and impaled the trainer in his right leg. Brock screamed and fell, clutching his bleeding leg.

Area secure.

He moved towards the fallen man and grabbed him by his neck. Then he lifted the wounded man off the ground and stared him in his eyes.

The sight of his large visor staring at the man made him forget about his leg and his wounded Pokemon.

"Energy shielding." The Spartan said. "Brock tried to pull at his hands a few times but he couldn't get free. In the end, he responded with a defeated tone.

"In the back…is the plug. But please…he keeps my family there. Don't let them get hurt- they had nothing to do with this!
Ä sob escaped his throat and the Spartan released him- not bothering to finish him off. With his poke ball he called Nidoran back and gestured at Ralts to follow him.

The creature took one last look at the fallen Geodudes and the bleeding form of Brock and shuddered. Then it walked towards the Spartan and followed him inside of the next room.

The room behind the main gym-area was small. It led into a long hallway with barely any lighting, but he didn't need any light to guide him. He thundered down the hall with his rifle at the ready kicked the door wide open- revealing a brightly lit room.

In the brief moment before opening fire he noticed five individuals: a female adult, a female teenager and a male child. Both females were being held as human shields by two adult males garbed in dark clothes, with weird black hats on their heads. The kid was scrambling away from the scene, desperately trying to flee the aggressive males.

"Get back here!" One of the males yelled and then the two of them noticed that the door had been busted open.

The Spartan fired his rifle twice and both males fell to the ground, a bullet-hole visible in both their heads.

The women screamed and the adult woman- who had to be the mother- ducked towards her child, sobbing and crying.

Brock's family.

His finger left the trigger and his mind eased up, the steel-hard grip of his training that had taken over his being slowly released him and his vision regained some of the darker colors.

Now that his combat instincts had eased up he was able think about the more abstract matters of his situation. He had saved the family that was being held captive here- and now that they had stopped screaming they were only sobbing now.

"Who are you?" The mother asked from her crouching position, still holding her son in a tight embrace. Why was she holding him like that? The room was clear and they were safe.

"Just a passerby. Who were these people?" He responded in what he hoped was a kind and warm voice.

The teenager flinched when she heard his voice but otherwise did not respond. The mother took a few breaths and replied.

"Rocket…team Rocket…"

Team Rocket? What criminal organization called themselves 'team'? Or rocket, for that matter.

He crouched near one of the corpses and noticed the big R on the front of its shirt.

Black attire, hostage-keeping and attacking civilians…stealing pokemon and attempting murder?

It looked like this world had their own Insurrection. Great.

"Your husband…Brock… he is wounded. Get to the Pokemon Center and wait until further notice." He continued, his tone flat and devoid of emotion as he was thinking about the events of the day.

Only one of these members had a gun…and it hadn't been a revolver but a normal magazine-fed pistol. The other one wielded a knife.

So who had shot the trainers in the Pokemon Center?

~0~

The augmentation process turns soldiers into unstoppable killing machines. Or at least that is what ONI had hoped. Their drugs caused a huge increase in reflexes…muscle growth and caused the bones to become infused with titanium-implants- enough to make them indestructible. But ONI has also added something else…something that they won't let me know about. This morning I witnessed Medical personnel strap Spartan zero-one-one in a chair. One of them held a large injection needle and the other one quickly closed the door. I wonder what it is that they do not want me to know…"

-Logbook entry by mental health specialist Jennifer Sunfield

~0~