All of the sudden, Liam had a lot to look forward to in the rest of the fall semester. The Winter Ball wasn't until late November, but Fall Camp was almost around the corner, and the school was buzzing with excitement. It reminded Liam of the leadup to the Village Trip last spring, with the study body eagerly anticipating the possibilities promised by a weekend camping with friends. Only a few students—most notably Mori—didn't share the popular enthusiasm.
"Two nights sleeping on rocks and grass," she said bitterly. "Have fun."
Orchid also wasn't planning to go.
"It just… doesn't sound like fun," she confided to Liam, and he didn't blame her. A highly-scheduled weekend away from her sketchbook didn't sound like Orchid's thing.
Liam was reluctant to send a reply to Cass's most recent email for a variety of reasons, not least of which was breaking to her that he had a date for the Winter Ball. But when he finally sent his long and carefully-worded reply, Cass had nothing to offer but approval. She knew Orchid—"Of course," Liam thought to himself, "Cass knows everyone"—and thoroughly approved of them going to Winter Ball together.
"I should've known someone else would make a move on you before too long," she wrote teasingly.
By the last Thursday before Fall Camp, attention spans were at an all-time low, and even Professor Werner was struggling to cope. He scowled at the excited faces of the Team Virtue novices gathered in the green tent, resigned to the fact that nothing of value would be achieved that day.
"I can see your minds are otherwise occupied," Werner griped, "So meaningful instruction is out of the question. We find ourselves at an impasse."
"Tell us about the war!" Liam shouted.
Liam knew he was being bold in bringing up the war at all. It was common knowledge that Werner had been a young man during the Second Pokemon War and had witnessed it firsthand—what wasn't common knowledge was that Jacob Werner had spent the war taking on Kantonian bombers in the skies over Nanzo.
"Come on, professor," chimed in Tim Choi. "We know you fought the Kantonians. Tell us about it. It could be inspirational."
Liam and a few other students snorted at the idea of anything Werner said being "inspirational," but Professor Werner himself seemed struck by the idea.
"Why not?" he croaked.
The students of Team Virtue exchanged excited glances.
"Jacob. Jacob, get up. The dwarf bandits are flying for Twice-Honored City. We've got to move."
Jacob Werner jerked awake. Jing, one of the Nanzonese pilots that trained with the Flying Incineroars, was shaking him awake.
"Colonel Chandler wants everyone in the squadron ready in five minutes," said Jing. "He says if we make haste, we may be able to intercept."
Jacob Werner was already scrambling to put on his uniform. He snatched his flight jacket, Apricorns, and a worn copy of The Analects off his nightstand and followed Jing out of the barrack into the cold night air. The other pilots of 2nd squadron were already mustered, and Colonel Chandler—the hawk-nosed commander of the Flying Incineroars—was giving the mission briefing.
"We're looking at 35 or 40 K-49 Dragonites, accompanied by a light A7 Fearow escort," said Chandler. "That's the Kantonian's biggest raid so far. The probable payload is firebombs. Your task is to intercept them twenty miles north of the city at the river crossing and scatter them before they reach the capital. Lucky for us, some farmers spotted them when they left the Three Cities in Dongzo. We have the edge on them—at least for now."
Colonel Chandler turned his weathered face and dark, crinkled eyes on each of the pilots in turn. Many of them—like Jacob Werner—were trembling slightly from the cold.
"Get moving," said Chandler.
The pilots saluted and sprang into action. Jacob Werner climbed into the cockpit of his fighter—a P-40 Braviary Model B painted with an Incineroar's jaws—and hastily checked his gear and instruments. It was nearly an hour's journey to Twice-Honored City, the wartime capital of the Four Regions, but intercepting a massive Kantonian raid was a rare chance. Jacob Werner shook himself.
"Let's go," he said.
The Model B's engine sputtered and the propeller began to spin. Jacob Werner adjusted his flight helmet and made a final check of his fuel gage and oil temperature. This mission would require more than the usual amount of these precious and limited resources. The Flying Incineroars, after all, were officially volunteers, and the besieged Nationalist government in Twice-Honored City could give them little. Unova was still neutral—at least for now. Colonel Chandler said that wouldn't last much longer.
Jacob's plane lurched off the runway and took to the air. Ahead of him, he could see the silhouettes of the other P-40s of the 2nd squadron falling into formation. Jacob raised his landing gear, adjusted the throttle, and climbed up to meet them.
It was still an hour or two before sunrise, but Jacob would still catch an occasional glimpse of the deep valleys and steep hills terraced with rice fields below. The Second Pokemon War hadn't been kind to Nanzo—even this far south, the Kantonian invasion had sowed misery, hunger, and death. Yet while the regions to the north and east had faced the full wrath of the Kanto Imperial Military, Nanzo had mostly been shielded. Jacob had heard the stories of the rapes and massacres. There were even rumors that the invading Kantonian soldiers had revived the cruel and ancient practices of burying Pokemon alive—rumors that Jacob Werner could easily believe from all he had seen in the past three years. So while the scattered villages and farms below gave Jacob comfort, they also reminded him of what was at stake.
The sun was just beginning to crack the eastern horizon when Jacob spotted the fork in the Long River where the crumbling remnant of Twice-Honored City slept. The K-49s of Imperial Kanto had pounded the city for months, trying to bury the Nationalist leadership of the Four Regions under bombs and broken stones. The Kantonian military revelled in the impunity with which it rained fire and death on the wartime capital, but their triumphalist propaganda belied an uncomfortable truth: the war for the Four Regions was at a stalemate. Nanzo, like Galar, was waiting for Unova to wake up.
"Last sighting was 60 miles to the northeast," came Lt. Barton's voice over the squadron radio. "We're right on schedule. Let's get some altitude."
The squadron of Braviary Model Bs rose steadily. Jacob tried to keep his breathing even, but he could feel his heart beginning to race. He wasn't afraid of combat, but it produced a transformation in him—focusing his thoughts and tightening his reflexes. He was, as the other pilots said, a "cool hand." His eyes scanned the horizon, searching out the enemy planes. Just seconds after he spotted the swarm of black shapes several miles ahead, Lt. Barton's voice came over the radio.
"Pokemon out," said Lt. Barton. "Focus on those Kanny bombers."
Werner reached for the Apricorn on his belt and pulled the lever that opened the canopy. Turning the metal knob on the polished wooden sphere, he released Skarmory into the air beside his plane. Skarmory served a vital role in battle, acting as a second pair of eyes for the pilot—guarding his back and covering him on attack runs. Just as importantly—in Jacob's mind, at least—Skarmory could engage enemy Pokemon directly. Although his P-40 was equipped with machine guns in each wing, Jacob Werner never directed them at enemy Pokemon. They, after all, hadn't chosen this war. The Kantonian pilots, by contrast, were fair game.
Jacob began his first dive on a K-49 Dragonite at the edge of the enemy formation. With Skarmory following close behind him, Jacob sent a spray of bullets at the enemy fuselage before jerking his controls back and regaining his lost altitude. From the corner of his eye, Jacob saw that the damage from his machine guns was superficial, but Skarmory had dived directly into its rear turret, shattering the glass that protected the gunner and disabling the bomber's main means of self-defense.
"Good bird," said Jacob.
But as Skarmory reappeared at his side, the Pokemon gave a cry that he understood too well.
"Fearows," he growled.
Several of the bombers' fighter escorts had broken away from the main formation to hunt down the Incineroars. Attempting to dogfight an A7 Fearow was a pointless exercise, as Colonel Chandler had drilled into Jacob and the other pilots since their first day in Everspring City. The Kantonian fighters were more maneuverable, at least at lower speeds, so Model Bs relied on a different strategy—swooping down on Fearows from above and then using the momentum of the attack to regain altitude and wheel around for another strike. It was an effective strategy, and gave the Flying Incineroars the impressive kill numbers that were widely-reported—so Jacob's relatives told him—in Unovan newspapers.
"Don't let those fighters distract you," said Lt. Barton's voice. "We've got eight minutes before those bombers reach the city."
Jacob whirled his fighter back around and performed a second dive on the enemy bomber. This time, his bullets shredded the engines, penetrated the canopy, and sent the K-49 plummeting towards the river below. Skarmory gave another cry, and Jacob heard the whirring of bullets passing him on the left. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the A7 Fearow that was stalking him.
"Hey, Jing," said Jacob. "Do you see that—?"
"Got it," came the Nanzonese pilot's distorted voice.
There was a bright flash and the sound of a fighter violently disintegrating. Jacob caught a glimpse of Jing's Dragonair doing a triumphant somersault through the air. He felt pity for the Kantonian pilot—getting fried by a Thunderbolt sounded like a terrible way to die.
"Thanks, Jing," said Jacob.
"Damn it," came Morris' voice over the squadron radio. "I've got Impidimps in my left gun. It's jammed. I'm following the lead bombers. I need—."
"Werner, Jing, take over for Morris," said Lt. Barton. "Break their formation and break it now."
It took Jacob Werner just a quick glance around the aerial battle to spot their target. He made a sharp turn then climbed again, preparing to dive right into the midst of the enemy formation.
"Jacob," came Jing's voice on the radio. "We'll take them head-on. Are you ready?"
Jacob shot a glance at the Pokemon flying beside him.
"Ready when you are," he replied.
Professor Werner gave a wry smile at the rapt faces of the Team Virtue initiates.
"Oh, come on," said Tim Choi. "Professor, you can't stop there."
"What happened to the city?" put in Liam. "The raid? Did they make it?"
Professor Werner a slight cough and leaned on his cane.
"The Flying Incineroars destroyed 30 enemy planes that morning, including 22 enemy bombers," said Werner simply. "The Kantonian raid succeeded in dropping about half of its intended payload of firebombs of Twice-Honored City, killing over 2000 people. The city burned for three days afterwards, leaving a cloud of smoke so tall it was sighted in as far south as Azurite Town. It was the single-deadliest raid in that year of the war."
"Wait," said Liam. "Then it was… just for nothing? You came all that way and they still bombed the city? What was the point of that story?"
"The point, Mr. Holbrook," growled Werner. "Is that sometimes we don't have the power to do what we wish, but we still do what we must."
Werner's watery blue eyes studied Liam carefully.
"Last year, some of you fought off an attack by Team Power on the Pokemon Orphanage in Azurite Town. Despite your best efforts, the Orphanage sustained serious damage, and the Pokemon had to be relocated. Was your resistance for nothing, even if you didn't succeed?"
"I… no," said Liam.
"The idea that all things in the world have a right and proper order is central to the teachings of Team Virtue," Werner continued. "That through submitting to the wisdom of Heaven, all things—and especially the relationship between people and Pokemon—can be put right. To believe that is to believe that you can never resist evil in vain."
"Professor," said Chelsea, raising her hand. "Were the Kantonians… evil?"
It was a dangerous question—not the kind of question people usually dared to ask in a school with students from around the world. But Professor Werner took it seriously. He stroked his chin.
"No," he said at last. "They fought for evil, and did evil things—very evil things. There are older Nanzonese who can still remember seeing their mothers raped, their brothers beheaded, their Pokemon killed and eaten by Kantonian soldiers—for sport!"
Werner exhaled through his nose, and Liam saw a fire burning in his eyes that would have made any foe recoil. Chelsea gripped the table in front of her.
"You have a soft heart, Miss Whitaker," said Werner. "But I know you know evil. I wondered, at first, if... "
Werner coughed again. Liam thought he looked distracted, or confused.
"We'll end here today," said Werner abruptly. "Enjoy your Fall Camp."
There was an uncomfortable shuffling as the students of Team Virtue slowly picked up their things and left the tent. Chelsea Whitaker, however, didn't leave her seat. Liam thought she looked deeply troubled, as if someone Werner had said was still nagging at her.
"You okay, Chez?"
Chelsea pushed her red curls out of her face.
"I don't know," she said. "It's just… I've heard that story before. Like, exactly like that. I just don't know… where."
Liam's eyes moved to Professor Werner, who was still leaning silently on his cane. He looked weary, and his face was just as troubled as Chelsea's.
"That's weird," said Liam. "But you've got a knack for knowing stuff, Chez. Let's give him some space."
Chelsea nodded, and after collecting their Pokeballs and bags, the two friends left their master to his thoughts.