Luis:
I have a chapter or part in mind that does take place in Silph Town. Right now, I'm thinking of having Gary, Whitney, and Ritchie do something to support the war effort.
Gijinka Renamon:
I guess you won't like what Kanto does in this chapter very much...
AnT:
Yeah, I remembered what the Digidestined said after being digitized by Apocalymon. They implied that the Crests can also draw power from others as well as the Crest's holder.
Yeah, I heard about that RPG, and it's about time they made one! A Gamecube RPG is exactly what Pokemon fans want, not a Stadium type game. I hope in the future, that they emphasize the RPG even more, and reduce the Stadium part to be more of a mini game like those seen in other RPGs.
Kell Shock:
I was thinking of a naga or lamia in a more general sense for Misty's new body. Since she has such an affinity for the water, I made her have oceanic colours, sort of like Ranamon from Frontier.
Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon, and Nintendo owns Pokemon.
The Stones of Doom
By: RB3
Chapter 17: Weapon of Mass Destruction, part 1
In a Pokemon Centre in Celadon City, a pair of fugitive teenagers took refuge from Kanto's soldiers. The first was a boy of about thirteen years of age in a pair of orange shorts, and a red T-shirt with black bands. He fell back onto his bed, mussing up his red hair. The second was a girl of the same age with brown bangs that framed her face. She unzipped her red jacket to reveal a white T-shirt with a star symbol coloured in the same colours as the American flag. She hung her jacket on a rack and sat beside the boy.
"Kenji, why don't you check the diary now? I'd like to know why they wanted it so badly," asked the girl, Yuki.
"Sure," replied the boy, Kenji.
Indeed, Kanto was willing to go to any length to get the diary. Its soldiers pursued them relentlessly for many days. Before all of this happened, Kenji and Yuki were on a Pokemon journey, travelling the land of Kanto to capture more Pokemon and gain qualifying Badges for the Indigo League. The war began a few months afterwards, and Kanto began restricting movement within its borders. They returned to Kenji's home and found Nakamura's Diary and an accompanying letter in the mail box, but no sign of the man himself.
They had been only able to read the accompanying letter. They found out that Dr. Nakumura had been kidnapped and held hostage for many months. He was forced to create a new weapon for Kanto, but always felt guilty about it. He kept a diary on what his work in the hope that someone could make use of the information to stop Kanto. Dr. Nakamura told his son that he would certainly be dead by the time he read the letter. It saddened Kenji to hear that. He vowed to fulfill Doctor Nakamura's last request; to bring the book to those resisting Kanto.
Kenji opened the diary and read the writing out loud. "It has been a month since Kanto captured me. They forced me to work on the prototype for their new weapon. It's a large mechanical war machine that I dubbed the 'Army Ant.' The name kinda stuck with my associates."
The Army Ant was a huge robot that was shaped like an ant, hence its name. The Army Ant used Chrome Digizoid, the super metal of the Digital World, as its armour to make it nigh impervious to attack. It had a modular design, making it a highly versatile vehicle. It could be used for forward assaults like a tank, or for shelling enemies like artillery. Despite all these useful features, the Army Ant was complex and costly to produce, making mass production difficult. However, there would be more research afterwards to reduce the cost and complexity.
"A new weapon?" asked Yuki.
"Yeah," replied Kenji. He continued reading. "...I've just adjusted the servos for the Army Ant. I've always found it bizarre that this thing was powered by some black gemstone statue. It looks like two army men looking really pissed off at each other and standing on opposite sides of a gorge. I can't explain it, but I feel very uncomfortable every time I go near it."
"I'm sure there's more to it than just the Army Ant," said Yuki.
Kenji said nothing and continued reading. "A demon visited my lab today to get a progress report. He was the most evil being I've ever seen. I'll never forget his burning red eyes, or those wisps of poisonous vapour he exhaled... I've have always thought going to the new world would bring prosperity, but what was the price? What have we set loose upon our world?"
"A demon?" said Yuki. "A demon is corrupting the government into doing all of these bad things? I don't believe it!"
"Yeah it seems that way, but I actually believe dad," replied Kenji.
"I still think we're missing something," suggested Yuki. "Check the later pages."
Kenji skimmed the pages. "Today, we've installed a rail gun module on the Army Ant. Using electromagnetism, it can propel a shell or rocket over long distances at extreme speeds..." Kenji skipped the rest of the entry and found exactly what he was searching for.
"My God, what have I done? They're going to use the Army Ant to launch nuclear weapons! If that demon is Death, then I am the smith that forged his scythe! After the Nationalist War, Kanto's nuclear program had been dismantled. By creating the Army Ant, I have given Kanto a new way of launching their nukes!"
"Nuclear weapons?" asked Yuki incredulously. "How appalling!"
"Uhuh, and its gets worse!" replied Kenji. "You know those warheads? They're being loaded into stealth missiles! They're going to use it on Lilycove City! We have to get this book to someone fast!"
"Yeah, but who?" asked Yuki. "Who should we give the diary to?"
"Well, Dad said we should find someone who is resisting Kanto. Maybe we should find one of those resistance groups?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I heard those groups were very violent..."
"Maybe, but then again, it could be just government propaganda. I've heard rumours of Kanto performing genetic experiments on Pokemon. Other rumours say they've been digging up corpses for some kind of project to create better soldiers for their army. We don't really have much of a choice. We either bring the book to one of these groups, or let Kanto get us like Dad."
Yuki decided not to object any further. "Alright... Maybe we can use that computer to find one of those groups."
The two teenagers scoured the Internet for any information about resistance groups. So far, all they've been able to find were news reports on attacks against Kanto. Most of the attacks were relatively small in damage and scale. The biggest and most heavily covered attacks were perpetrated by the Liberators of Kanto. Their exploits included an attack on a summer camp near the Pallet region. The same group had bombed a TV station in Lavender Town a week ago.
Kenji and Yuki decided to focus on finding the Liberators' website. After browsing through the forums, the posters told a different story about the reasons and nature of the attacks. One such poster was called the "Prodigious One." He had started two key threads, one on the summer camp attack, and the other on the TV station. The summer camp was actually an internment camp where prisoners were forced into slavery to produce weapons. The Liberators attacked to shut the camp down, but Kanto covered up the truth to protect itself.
The same was true of the TV station. It was actually a propaganda centre which employed brainwashing techniques on the people to ensure their obedience. In both cases, cursed artefacts called the Stones of Doom were involved. They were originally holy stones from the Digital World which were corrupted and used by Kanto to support its war effort. There were an artist's depictions of what these artefacts might look like. The two browsed the website and learned all they could. There was much more to the war than what was visible at first glance.
"Send them an E-mail," requested Yuki.
Kenji created a dummy E-mail account, then began the message. On it, Kenji wrote about the Nakamura Diary and quoted an entry about the strange statue that powered the Army Ant. Dr. Nakamura had described the Stone of Hostility quite accurately. He also told them about the nuclear weapons that Kanto was preparing to launch at Lilycove. The two requested asylum with the Liberators, and membership to play an active role in stopping Kanto's atrocities.
****************************************
Kenji and Yuki entered the food court of the Celadon Department store. It was a noisy from all of the shoppers making small talk with their friends. Several fast food stalls, like burgers and fish and chips, lined the walls of this place. Since Kanto was a part of the Japanese Islands, there was also food from this area, as well as other ethnic food like Chinese and Greek. Kenji and Yuki had scheduled a meeting with a contact here; a boy named Matt.
"Where is he?" asked Yuki.
"I don't know. They said that he was a blond guy eating fish and chips. He's supposed to have a stuffed animal sitting near him," replied Kenji.
They looked around, but couldn't find him just yet. Eventually, Yuki noted such a person sitting in at out of the way table. True to their information, this person was a blond haired boy about the same age as Kenji and Yuki. He had a tray in front of him filled with delicious fish and chips. Each morsel of food was steaming hot and had a golden brown colour. The doll was beside him, and looked like a yellow reptile wearing a pelt of blue wolf's fur.
"That thing looks really lifelike..." commented Yuki. "Are you Matt?" asked Yuki.
"Yep, I'm Matt Ishida," replied Matt as he got up and shook the hands of Yuki and Kenji. "...And you are?"
"I'm Kenji Nakamura."
"...And I'm Yuki Katayama."
"Pleased to meet you. Would you mind letting me have a look at the diary?" asked Matt. Kenji opened the book up and Matt flipped through the pages. "Yep, looks authentic. Let's go somewhere quieter so we can talk."
Matt packed up his meal and the led the two teenagers into a black van in the store's parking lot. "Kenji, Yuki, meet our group."
The van's interior looked like those vans that police used to monitor police plants and undercover agents. Matt introduced each of his allies in turn, beginning with Surge in the driver's seat. He gave a swift thumb up as he started the van. He continued with Izzy and Tentomon, who removed the hidden bugs and cameras on Matt's body. The two had kept a close eye on the whole meeting. They maintained an open line with the other hidden Liberators in the food court, in case this was a trap. Kenji and Yuki were glad to meet a Digimon on their side for once.
"Okay Gabumon, you can move now," said Matt.
The Digimon took a deep breath. "Not soon enough!"
"You're real!" remarked Yuki in shock.
"Yep, that's right! I'm Gabumon, Matt's Digimon partner," said Gabumon.
"I'm glad you're on our side. The only Digimon I've ever seen wanted me dead!"
"Hey, not all of us are bad like those guys or Mephistomon."
"Mephistomon?"
"He's that Digimon we saw on the website, the one that was leading Kanto, remember?" asked Kenji. "I'd like to get my hands around his neck after what he did to dad!"
"Yeah, I remember," replied Yuki. "I'm amazed at how much trouble one Digimon was able to cause..."
"...And it will be much worse if this guy gets those warheads launched!" warned Surge. "Never mind what happens when one of those things blow up, I tell you. Worry more about what comes after."
Izzy nodded. "Surge's right. Mephistomon must be beginning to worry with half of his Stones of Doom gone and the others coming under fire. Now that he has nuclear weapons and a way of launching them, your world is closer to destruction than ever before. If it comes to a point where he can't win, he'll destroy the Pokemon World so that no one can claim it."
"My God, I don't even want to think about it," commented Kenji. "We have to do something!"
"Oh yeah, we'll do something all right..." said Surge. "We're going to blow up the Army Ant!"
****************************************
The van pulled up into base at Vermillion City, where Kenji and Yuki met other members of the Liberators and Team Kanto. After studying the diary, they learned much about the Army Ant. The Army Ant was essentially a mobile nuclear missile silo. It was able to perform hit and run strikes with nuclear weapons. Due to this, no place in the world was safe from Kanto's nuclear weapons. These traits were made worse by the special missiles the Army Ant used.
The missiles actually carried hydrogen bombs, the most powerful kind of nuclear weapon. The Army Ant launched them with its rail gun module, which meant they had no exhaust and were invisible to infrared. They missiles themselves were also specially designed to be invisible to radar. Time was short for the Liberators, because the warheads would be fired within four days! Fortunately, the book also had the location of the Army Ant; the base of Mt. Moon.
Mt. Moon was the home of the Clefairy and Clefable species of Pokemon. It was also the rumoured home of the Moon Stone, a special type of material that can cause certain Pokemon to evolve. Mt. Moon was situated at the edge of a lush green field. The Liberators were out here, in a bid to stop the launch a day before it happened. For Brock, it was an important place personally, as this was where he caught Zubat, who evolved later on into Golbat. Brock sent the Bat Pokemon on an aerial reconnaissance mission.
After surveying the area, Golbat returned to the nearby forest from his mission. "Golbat! Golbat!"
"He says he sees the Army Ant up ahead with several trucks and humvees. There are three Medusas and thirty soldiers," translated Tentomon. "There are no other troops in the area."
"Man, they have those things from the graveyard guarding the Army Ant..." muttered Surge. "If that's how they want to play, my Electric Pokemon will fry those jellyfish!"
"Golbat! (I wanna get those bastards for messing up my home!)" cried Golbat.
"Eager to fight, eh Golbat?" asked Brock rhetorically. "I'm not going to stop you. We'd better get rid of those nukes "
"We'd better be careful if we're going to attack this one," commented Izzy. "One false move, and we'll be glowing like the sun."
"Izzy's got a point kids," said Surge. "Our job is to draw some of those guards away so that our boys can get the Army Ant."
"Leave that to me," said Brock. "I'm sure Golbat can annoy them into leaving the Army Ant."
"Wonderful! Everyone, get your monsters ready to attack. Hide and wait for my signal, then get'em!" ordered Surge.
The Kanto Team hid and waited as Brock set Golbat out to annoy the guards. Golbat hovered overhead and began firing Confuse Rays at the soldiers. The crimson rays disoriented the soldiers and caused them to wobble around as though they had been overdrinking. Golbat let out a screech so shrill that the soldiers felt like their eardrums would burst. They noticed Golbat soon after and were extremely pissed off. They chased him as he fled back to the forest.
Surge heard the soldiers' gunshots and watched as they followed Golbat into the forest. "Now!" cried Surge.
Without warning, the soldiers were beset by Greymon, Garurumon, Gatomon, and Kabuterimon. The four Digimon launched an all out elemental assault upon the soldiers. They could only scream as raging fire and crackling electricity bombarded them. Gatomon leapt from soldier to soldier and cut each of them down with her claws. Onix charged into the soldiers' midst and flung them high into the air like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Smeargle turned the soldiers into artistic sculptures of ice with Ice Beam.
The others took on the tougher Medusa, but even he was outgunned with four Pokemon attacking him at the same time. The combined Thunderbolt attacks of Yuki's Electabuzz and Surge's Raichu hurt much more for a Water type like the Medusa. Two more attacks came in the form of Razor Leaf from Casey's Bayleef, and Shadow Ball from Kenji's Haunter. Medusa never stood a chance. The attacks were so fast and so furious that he couldn't even mount a counter attack. The Kanto Team had won the battle before it even started.
"You have an Electabuzz, Yuki?" asked Casey. "I've always wanted one of those! Electabuzz is the mascot of my favourite team! Wanna trade?"
"Not really, I want to keep Electabuzz," replied Yuki.
Casey was despondent and sighed. "They never want to trade the good players away..."
Surge did a head count on how many soldiers they had eliminated. "Okay, we got about half of them. Our boys should be taking care of the rest of them by now."
Sure enough, the Kanto Team could hear the sounds of explosions and gunfire coming from the direction of the Army Ant. "Surge, do you read me?" Those words came from a female voice over the radio. It was Electra's. "It's a trap! Send assistance ASAP! Some monsters burst out of the Army Ant and attacked us!"
Surge finally realized that everyone had been duped. "Shit!"
Out of anger, Tai grabbed Kenji by the collar of his shirt. "You! You did this! I should've known you were a spy! Now millions are going to die because of you!"
"I didn't know this was going to happen, honest!" cried Kenji. "I don't know why it isn't here. Kanto must have moved the Army Ant to throw us off! I swear it's the truth!"
"Let him go Tai. I believe him! It's not his fault!" cried Kari.
"Kanto murdered his father for trying to reveal the truth. If anyone hates Kanto the most, it would be him!" said Yuki.
"Right now, we need to stick together. Our boys are in trouble, and it's up to us to bail them out!" said Surge. "We can argue later!" Begrudgingly, Tai released the Pokemon trainer.
The Kanto Team rushed to the site of the decoy Army Ant to find that it had been punched open from within. It lied on the ground motionless, with its long metallic grey legs crackling with electricity from ruptured wires. The remnants of several coils laid smashed on the ground. The shattered fragments of a black stone were among the wreckage. The ambush party was a group of monsters which popped out of the black and grey Pokeballs strewn in the wreckage. The Liberators were in heated combat with these monsters, as well as the remaining soldiers and Medusas.
Two of them stood out from the rest. The first looked like a hulking humanoid that had been crossed with the boar-like Piloswine. His face was covered by a coarse coat of brown fur, and had tusks and the snout of a pig. His body was muscular and also covered by a similar coat of fur. He was clad in a leather cuirass, and carried a large studded mace. His eyes were filled with an extreme bloodlust. Izzy dubbed him the Orc, after the creature he commonly encountered in fantasy games.
The second looked like a possible evolutionary form for Magneton. This bizarre creature consisted of nine Magnemite, a Pokemon that resembled a steel eye. Eight of them were arranged in the points of an octagon. These eight didn't have the magnets their predecessors had. The central Magnemite was the only one that did have magnets. It was these magnets that connected the central eyes to the other eight. Kenji nicknamed the creature the Nine Eyes. Its eyes rolled around, searching for different targets to attack.
One of the Nine Eyes' eyes swivelled and locked onto a Dragon type Pokemon in the air. It had purple scales and orange bat-like wings. The eye emitted several beams of freezing energy, but this Pokemon, Salamence, evaded with graceful aerial loops. A second eye locked on and began to launch Shadow Balls. Though Salamence evaded the first and the second, the third eventually caught him in the wing. He spiralled into a free fall, but was lucky to have been recalled by his trainer before he hit the ground.
"Gatomon, it's really bad out there. You'd better Digivolve!" warned Kari.
Gatomon and the other Digimon didn't voice any complaints, seeing the two monstrosities overwhelm the Liberators' Pokemon. Metal Greymon led the charge, launching a Giga Blaster into the Orc's back. The giant Piloswine mutant tumbled face first into the dirt, which served to enrage him further. Metal Greymon blocked a swing of the mace with his Chrome Digizoid arm, and entered into a test of strength with the Orc.
The strain was visible on the faces of both Metal Greymon and the Orc. The Orc freed his mace and butt Metal Greymon in the side of the head with it. He followed with a hard blow to the chest, and then tackled the cybernetic dinosaur onto his back. For good measure, the Orc lifted him up and tossed him aside. Metal Greymon reverted back into Agumon, and Tai pulled him out to check on his condition.
"Don't worry Tai, I'm fine!" said Agumon.
The Orc stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to abruptly shake. It was a struggle for the trainers and Digidestined to stay standing. Kenji's Magmar began spraying Flamethrower at the Nine Eyes, but the shaking threw off his aim. He accidentally hit Angewomon, who was aiming a Celestial Arrow. The misfire threw off her game, allowing the Nine Eyes time to notice her. A mighty tornado, an Aeroblast attack, gushed out of the central eye and blew Angewomon onto her back.
Were Garurumon took a Hyper Beam to the chest and landed in front of Tai to revert to Gabumon. "That's it! Time to play hardball! Agumon, go Mega now!" commanded Tai.
Gabumon got off the ground and was quite miffed at the two mutants. "Yeah, no more Mr. Nice Guy! Gabumon, Warp Digivolve to... Metal Garurumon!"
"Agumon, Warp Digivolve to... War Greymon!"
Both Agumon and Gabumon became replaced by larger, more evolved forms of themselves. The two cybernetic Digimon each picked one of the creatures to take out. War Greymon took the Orc to exact some revenge for those mace strikes earlier on. The Orc charged with his mace brandished. As his swung his mace downward onto the shorter War Greymon, it stopped part of the way. War Greymon had caught the mace and was holding it back.
Try as he might, the Orc was unable to drive the mace onto War Greymon's head. Instead, War Greymon slowly pushed it back until he was able to kick the Orc's hand. The mutant Piloswine recoiled in pain, effectively allowing War Greymon to gain possession of his mace. With a mighty swing, the Digimon of Courage clocked his foe in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. He gathered ambient energy into the form of a sphere, and threw the Terra Force as an explosive finishing blow.
Metal Garurumon locked his gaze on the Nine Eyes. He launched a massive volley of missiles from compartments hidden within his Chrome Digizoid armour. Each explosion encased the outer eyes of the Nine Eyes in a shell of ice, prevented them from ever firing. The middle eye fired a Hyper Beam which Metal Garurumon evaded easily. Metal Garurumon launched his biggest attack, the Giga Missile, and blew the Nine Eyes into millions of pieces.
"So much for him," commented War Greymon.
"They won't be giving us any more trouble," said Metal Garurumon.
If the Orc and Nine Eyes had it bad, the Medusas had it worse. It was definitely not a good day for them, having their first comrade wiped out by a horde of Pokemon. The remaining two got the same treatment in the form of Mega Kabuterimon's Horn Buster and Smeargle and Raichu's Thunderbolt. Upon waving his spoon, Yuki's Kadabra glowed blue and he telekinetically yanked several soldiers into a pile on the ground. Angewomon descended with a Celestial Arrow trained on the soldiers.
"Give up!" she demanded.
The soldiers found themselves being surrounded by more and more angry Pokemon, among them Casey's Bayleef and Brock's Onix. They wisely raised their arms in surrender. The Liberators had beaten the trap but at great cost. The Liberators still had no idea where the real Army Ant was hiding. Lilycove was on the verge of doomsday, with the nukes about to be launched. Izzy picked up a fragment of the fake Stone of Doom. Apparently, the surface had been painted black, but the inside was different and was a light mottled grey instead.
"Painted granite..." he mumbled, before tossing the fragment aside.
"We did all this just for nothing?" asked Tai rhetorically.
Surge was disappointed. "I know kid, I know... The enemy got us big time. There's no hope for Lilycove anymore, but we must continue to search for the Army Ant or else more cities will be destroyed!"
****************************************
Meanwhile, the real Army Ant and its convoy stopped moving in a mountainous region somewhere in Kanto. It lowered its main body to the ground as its cannon rose into the air. Its cannon resembled a pair of metal bars held together by diamond rings placed at equally spaced intervals. Hostility itself had been tucked into a compartment within the Army Ant. The two soldier effigies of Hostility were wired to the bars like the poles of a battery. The cannon turned to the northeast, the direction of Lilycove.
Upon the commander's order, a serviceman activated the system. The eyes of the soldier effigies began to glow red with unholy life, as though Hostility could sense the death and destruction it was about to wrought. The mechanical loader slowly moved the angular missile into the barrel. Within the blurring of rapid motion, the missile shot out of the barrel with a trail of blue light. Nuclear annihilation was rapidly approaching the city of Lilycove.
Due to its unique, stealth oriented design, the Hoenn Alliance had no idea the missile was coming. In a matter of minutes, it had reached the airspace of Lilycove City without encountering any resistance. The result was disastrous. In a flash of blinding white light, the warhead exploded, instantly vaporising all within ground zero. A massive wave of force and flame swept across the helpless city.
The wave hurled everything into the air like a child throwing toys in a fit of rage. The buildings of the city shattered into pieces. A billowing, mushroom-shaped plume of fire and smoke formed in the air over ground zero. Fiery destruction rained on the capital of Hoenn twice more before it was finally over. All that remained of the once sprawling metropolis was a charred, desolate wasteland. It was the end for Hoenn, and the armies of Mephistomon rejoiced, for victory in this land was theirs.
I have a chapter or part in mind that does take place in Silph Town. Right now, I'm thinking of having Gary, Whitney, and Ritchie do something to support the war effort.
Gijinka Renamon:
I guess you won't like what Kanto does in this chapter very much...
AnT:
Yeah, I remembered what the Digidestined said after being digitized by Apocalymon. They implied that the Crests can also draw power from others as well as the Crest's holder.
Yeah, I heard about that RPG, and it's about time they made one! A Gamecube RPG is exactly what Pokemon fans want, not a Stadium type game. I hope in the future, that they emphasize the RPG even more, and reduce the Stadium part to be more of a mini game like those seen in other RPGs.
Kell Shock:
I was thinking of a naga or lamia in a more general sense for Misty's new body. Since she has such an affinity for the water, I made her have oceanic colours, sort of like Ranamon from Frontier.
Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon, and Nintendo owns Pokemon.
The Stones of Doom
By: RB3
Chapter 17: Weapon of Mass Destruction, part 1
In a Pokemon Centre in Celadon City, a pair of fugitive teenagers took refuge from Kanto's soldiers. The first was a boy of about thirteen years of age in a pair of orange shorts, and a red T-shirt with black bands. He fell back onto his bed, mussing up his red hair. The second was a girl of the same age with brown bangs that framed her face. She unzipped her red jacket to reveal a white T-shirt with a star symbol coloured in the same colours as the American flag. She hung her jacket on a rack and sat beside the boy.
"Kenji, why don't you check the diary now? I'd like to know why they wanted it so badly," asked the girl, Yuki.
"Sure," replied the boy, Kenji.
Indeed, Kanto was willing to go to any length to get the diary. Its soldiers pursued them relentlessly for many days. Before all of this happened, Kenji and Yuki were on a Pokemon journey, travelling the land of Kanto to capture more Pokemon and gain qualifying Badges for the Indigo League. The war began a few months afterwards, and Kanto began restricting movement within its borders. They returned to Kenji's home and found Nakamura's Diary and an accompanying letter in the mail box, but no sign of the man himself.
They had been only able to read the accompanying letter. They found out that Dr. Nakumura had been kidnapped and held hostage for many months. He was forced to create a new weapon for Kanto, but always felt guilty about it. He kept a diary on what his work in the hope that someone could make use of the information to stop Kanto. Dr. Nakamura told his son that he would certainly be dead by the time he read the letter. It saddened Kenji to hear that. He vowed to fulfill Doctor Nakamura's last request; to bring the book to those resisting Kanto.
Kenji opened the diary and read the writing out loud. "It has been a month since Kanto captured me. They forced me to work on the prototype for their new weapon. It's a large mechanical war machine that I dubbed the 'Army Ant.' The name kinda stuck with my associates."
The Army Ant was a huge robot that was shaped like an ant, hence its name. The Army Ant used Chrome Digizoid, the super metal of the Digital World, as its armour to make it nigh impervious to attack. It had a modular design, making it a highly versatile vehicle. It could be used for forward assaults like a tank, or for shelling enemies like artillery. Despite all these useful features, the Army Ant was complex and costly to produce, making mass production difficult. However, there would be more research afterwards to reduce the cost and complexity.
"A new weapon?" asked Yuki.
"Yeah," replied Kenji. He continued reading. "...I've just adjusted the servos for the Army Ant. I've always found it bizarre that this thing was powered by some black gemstone statue. It looks like two army men looking really pissed off at each other and standing on opposite sides of a gorge. I can't explain it, but I feel very uncomfortable every time I go near it."
"I'm sure there's more to it than just the Army Ant," said Yuki.
Kenji said nothing and continued reading. "A demon visited my lab today to get a progress report. He was the most evil being I've ever seen. I'll never forget his burning red eyes, or those wisps of poisonous vapour he exhaled... I've have always thought going to the new world would bring prosperity, but what was the price? What have we set loose upon our world?"
"A demon?" said Yuki. "A demon is corrupting the government into doing all of these bad things? I don't believe it!"
"Yeah it seems that way, but I actually believe dad," replied Kenji.
"I still think we're missing something," suggested Yuki. "Check the later pages."
Kenji skimmed the pages. "Today, we've installed a rail gun module on the Army Ant. Using electromagnetism, it can propel a shell or rocket over long distances at extreme speeds..." Kenji skipped the rest of the entry and found exactly what he was searching for.
"My God, what have I done? They're going to use the Army Ant to launch nuclear weapons! If that demon is Death, then I am the smith that forged his scythe! After the Nationalist War, Kanto's nuclear program had been dismantled. By creating the Army Ant, I have given Kanto a new way of launching their nukes!"
"Nuclear weapons?" asked Yuki incredulously. "How appalling!"
"Uhuh, and its gets worse!" replied Kenji. "You know those warheads? They're being loaded into stealth missiles! They're going to use it on Lilycove City! We have to get this book to someone fast!"
"Yeah, but who?" asked Yuki. "Who should we give the diary to?"
"Well, Dad said we should find someone who is resisting Kanto. Maybe we should find one of those resistance groups?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I heard those groups were very violent..."
"Maybe, but then again, it could be just government propaganda. I've heard rumours of Kanto performing genetic experiments on Pokemon. Other rumours say they've been digging up corpses for some kind of project to create better soldiers for their army. We don't really have much of a choice. We either bring the book to one of these groups, or let Kanto get us like Dad."
Yuki decided not to object any further. "Alright... Maybe we can use that computer to find one of those groups."
The two teenagers scoured the Internet for any information about resistance groups. So far, all they've been able to find were news reports on attacks against Kanto. Most of the attacks were relatively small in damage and scale. The biggest and most heavily covered attacks were perpetrated by the Liberators of Kanto. Their exploits included an attack on a summer camp near the Pallet region. The same group had bombed a TV station in Lavender Town a week ago.
Kenji and Yuki decided to focus on finding the Liberators' website. After browsing through the forums, the posters told a different story about the reasons and nature of the attacks. One such poster was called the "Prodigious One." He had started two key threads, one on the summer camp attack, and the other on the TV station. The summer camp was actually an internment camp where prisoners were forced into slavery to produce weapons. The Liberators attacked to shut the camp down, but Kanto covered up the truth to protect itself.
The same was true of the TV station. It was actually a propaganda centre which employed brainwashing techniques on the people to ensure their obedience. In both cases, cursed artefacts called the Stones of Doom were involved. They were originally holy stones from the Digital World which were corrupted and used by Kanto to support its war effort. There were an artist's depictions of what these artefacts might look like. The two browsed the website and learned all they could. There was much more to the war than what was visible at first glance.
"Send them an E-mail," requested Yuki.
Kenji created a dummy E-mail account, then began the message. On it, Kenji wrote about the Nakamura Diary and quoted an entry about the strange statue that powered the Army Ant. Dr. Nakamura had described the Stone of Hostility quite accurately. He also told them about the nuclear weapons that Kanto was preparing to launch at Lilycove. The two requested asylum with the Liberators, and membership to play an active role in stopping Kanto's atrocities.
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Kenji and Yuki entered the food court of the Celadon Department store. It was a noisy from all of the shoppers making small talk with their friends. Several fast food stalls, like burgers and fish and chips, lined the walls of this place. Since Kanto was a part of the Japanese Islands, there was also food from this area, as well as other ethnic food like Chinese and Greek. Kenji and Yuki had scheduled a meeting with a contact here; a boy named Matt.
"Where is he?" asked Yuki.
"I don't know. They said that he was a blond guy eating fish and chips. He's supposed to have a stuffed animal sitting near him," replied Kenji.
They looked around, but couldn't find him just yet. Eventually, Yuki noted such a person sitting in at out of the way table. True to their information, this person was a blond haired boy about the same age as Kenji and Yuki. He had a tray in front of him filled with delicious fish and chips. Each morsel of food was steaming hot and had a golden brown colour. The doll was beside him, and looked like a yellow reptile wearing a pelt of blue wolf's fur.
"That thing looks really lifelike..." commented Yuki. "Are you Matt?" asked Yuki.
"Yep, I'm Matt Ishida," replied Matt as he got up and shook the hands of Yuki and Kenji. "...And you are?"
"I'm Kenji Nakamura."
"...And I'm Yuki Katayama."
"Pleased to meet you. Would you mind letting me have a look at the diary?" asked Matt. Kenji opened the book up and Matt flipped through the pages. "Yep, looks authentic. Let's go somewhere quieter so we can talk."
Matt packed up his meal and the led the two teenagers into a black van in the store's parking lot. "Kenji, Yuki, meet our group."
The van's interior looked like those vans that police used to monitor police plants and undercover agents. Matt introduced each of his allies in turn, beginning with Surge in the driver's seat. He gave a swift thumb up as he started the van. He continued with Izzy and Tentomon, who removed the hidden bugs and cameras on Matt's body. The two had kept a close eye on the whole meeting. They maintained an open line with the other hidden Liberators in the food court, in case this was a trap. Kenji and Yuki were glad to meet a Digimon on their side for once.
"Okay Gabumon, you can move now," said Matt.
The Digimon took a deep breath. "Not soon enough!"
"You're real!" remarked Yuki in shock.
"Yep, that's right! I'm Gabumon, Matt's Digimon partner," said Gabumon.
"I'm glad you're on our side. The only Digimon I've ever seen wanted me dead!"
"Hey, not all of us are bad like those guys or Mephistomon."
"Mephistomon?"
"He's that Digimon we saw on the website, the one that was leading Kanto, remember?" asked Kenji. "I'd like to get my hands around his neck after what he did to dad!"
"Yeah, I remember," replied Yuki. "I'm amazed at how much trouble one Digimon was able to cause..."
"...And it will be much worse if this guy gets those warheads launched!" warned Surge. "Never mind what happens when one of those things blow up, I tell you. Worry more about what comes after."
Izzy nodded. "Surge's right. Mephistomon must be beginning to worry with half of his Stones of Doom gone and the others coming under fire. Now that he has nuclear weapons and a way of launching them, your world is closer to destruction than ever before. If it comes to a point where he can't win, he'll destroy the Pokemon World so that no one can claim it."
"My God, I don't even want to think about it," commented Kenji. "We have to do something!"
"Oh yeah, we'll do something all right..." said Surge. "We're going to blow up the Army Ant!"
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The van pulled up into base at Vermillion City, where Kenji and Yuki met other members of the Liberators and Team Kanto. After studying the diary, they learned much about the Army Ant. The Army Ant was essentially a mobile nuclear missile silo. It was able to perform hit and run strikes with nuclear weapons. Due to this, no place in the world was safe from Kanto's nuclear weapons. These traits were made worse by the special missiles the Army Ant used.
The missiles actually carried hydrogen bombs, the most powerful kind of nuclear weapon. The Army Ant launched them with its rail gun module, which meant they had no exhaust and were invisible to infrared. They missiles themselves were also specially designed to be invisible to radar. Time was short for the Liberators, because the warheads would be fired within four days! Fortunately, the book also had the location of the Army Ant; the base of Mt. Moon.
Mt. Moon was the home of the Clefairy and Clefable species of Pokemon. It was also the rumoured home of the Moon Stone, a special type of material that can cause certain Pokemon to evolve. Mt. Moon was situated at the edge of a lush green field. The Liberators were out here, in a bid to stop the launch a day before it happened. For Brock, it was an important place personally, as this was where he caught Zubat, who evolved later on into Golbat. Brock sent the Bat Pokemon on an aerial reconnaissance mission.
After surveying the area, Golbat returned to the nearby forest from his mission. "Golbat! Golbat!"
"He says he sees the Army Ant up ahead with several trucks and humvees. There are three Medusas and thirty soldiers," translated Tentomon. "There are no other troops in the area."
"Man, they have those things from the graveyard guarding the Army Ant..." muttered Surge. "If that's how they want to play, my Electric Pokemon will fry those jellyfish!"
"Golbat! (I wanna get those bastards for messing up my home!)" cried Golbat.
"Eager to fight, eh Golbat?" asked Brock rhetorically. "I'm not going to stop you. We'd better get rid of those nukes "
"We'd better be careful if we're going to attack this one," commented Izzy. "One false move, and we'll be glowing like the sun."
"Izzy's got a point kids," said Surge. "Our job is to draw some of those guards away so that our boys can get the Army Ant."
"Leave that to me," said Brock. "I'm sure Golbat can annoy them into leaving the Army Ant."
"Wonderful! Everyone, get your monsters ready to attack. Hide and wait for my signal, then get'em!" ordered Surge.
The Kanto Team hid and waited as Brock set Golbat out to annoy the guards. Golbat hovered overhead and began firing Confuse Rays at the soldiers. The crimson rays disoriented the soldiers and caused them to wobble around as though they had been overdrinking. Golbat let out a screech so shrill that the soldiers felt like their eardrums would burst. They noticed Golbat soon after and were extremely pissed off. They chased him as he fled back to the forest.
Surge heard the soldiers' gunshots and watched as they followed Golbat into the forest. "Now!" cried Surge.
Without warning, the soldiers were beset by Greymon, Garurumon, Gatomon, and Kabuterimon. The four Digimon launched an all out elemental assault upon the soldiers. They could only scream as raging fire and crackling electricity bombarded them. Gatomon leapt from soldier to soldier and cut each of them down with her claws. Onix charged into the soldiers' midst and flung them high into the air like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Smeargle turned the soldiers into artistic sculptures of ice with Ice Beam.
The others took on the tougher Medusa, but even he was outgunned with four Pokemon attacking him at the same time. The combined Thunderbolt attacks of Yuki's Electabuzz and Surge's Raichu hurt much more for a Water type like the Medusa. Two more attacks came in the form of Razor Leaf from Casey's Bayleef, and Shadow Ball from Kenji's Haunter. Medusa never stood a chance. The attacks were so fast and so furious that he couldn't even mount a counter attack. The Kanto Team had won the battle before it even started.
"You have an Electabuzz, Yuki?" asked Casey. "I've always wanted one of those! Electabuzz is the mascot of my favourite team! Wanna trade?"
"Not really, I want to keep Electabuzz," replied Yuki.
Casey was despondent and sighed. "They never want to trade the good players away..."
Surge did a head count on how many soldiers they had eliminated. "Okay, we got about half of them. Our boys should be taking care of the rest of them by now."
Sure enough, the Kanto Team could hear the sounds of explosions and gunfire coming from the direction of the Army Ant. "Surge, do you read me?" Those words came from a female voice over the radio. It was Electra's. "It's a trap! Send assistance ASAP! Some monsters burst out of the Army Ant and attacked us!"
Surge finally realized that everyone had been duped. "Shit!"
Out of anger, Tai grabbed Kenji by the collar of his shirt. "You! You did this! I should've known you were a spy! Now millions are going to die because of you!"
"I didn't know this was going to happen, honest!" cried Kenji. "I don't know why it isn't here. Kanto must have moved the Army Ant to throw us off! I swear it's the truth!"
"Let him go Tai. I believe him! It's not his fault!" cried Kari.
"Kanto murdered his father for trying to reveal the truth. If anyone hates Kanto the most, it would be him!" said Yuki.
"Right now, we need to stick together. Our boys are in trouble, and it's up to us to bail them out!" said Surge. "We can argue later!" Begrudgingly, Tai released the Pokemon trainer.
The Kanto Team rushed to the site of the decoy Army Ant to find that it had been punched open from within. It lied on the ground motionless, with its long metallic grey legs crackling with electricity from ruptured wires. The remnants of several coils laid smashed on the ground. The shattered fragments of a black stone were among the wreckage. The ambush party was a group of monsters which popped out of the black and grey Pokeballs strewn in the wreckage. The Liberators were in heated combat with these monsters, as well as the remaining soldiers and Medusas.
Two of them stood out from the rest. The first looked like a hulking humanoid that had been crossed with the boar-like Piloswine. His face was covered by a coarse coat of brown fur, and had tusks and the snout of a pig. His body was muscular and also covered by a similar coat of fur. He was clad in a leather cuirass, and carried a large studded mace. His eyes were filled with an extreme bloodlust. Izzy dubbed him the Orc, after the creature he commonly encountered in fantasy games.
The second looked like a possible evolutionary form for Magneton. This bizarre creature consisted of nine Magnemite, a Pokemon that resembled a steel eye. Eight of them were arranged in the points of an octagon. These eight didn't have the magnets their predecessors had. The central Magnemite was the only one that did have magnets. It was these magnets that connected the central eyes to the other eight. Kenji nicknamed the creature the Nine Eyes. Its eyes rolled around, searching for different targets to attack.
One of the Nine Eyes' eyes swivelled and locked onto a Dragon type Pokemon in the air. It had purple scales and orange bat-like wings. The eye emitted several beams of freezing energy, but this Pokemon, Salamence, evaded with graceful aerial loops. A second eye locked on and began to launch Shadow Balls. Though Salamence evaded the first and the second, the third eventually caught him in the wing. He spiralled into a free fall, but was lucky to have been recalled by his trainer before he hit the ground.
"Gatomon, it's really bad out there. You'd better Digivolve!" warned Kari.
Gatomon and the other Digimon didn't voice any complaints, seeing the two monstrosities overwhelm the Liberators' Pokemon. Metal Greymon led the charge, launching a Giga Blaster into the Orc's back. The giant Piloswine mutant tumbled face first into the dirt, which served to enrage him further. Metal Greymon blocked a swing of the mace with his Chrome Digizoid arm, and entered into a test of strength with the Orc.
The strain was visible on the faces of both Metal Greymon and the Orc. The Orc freed his mace and butt Metal Greymon in the side of the head with it. He followed with a hard blow to the chest, and then tackled the cybernetic dinosaur onto his back. For good measure, the Orc lifted him up and tossed him aside. Metal Greymon reverted back into Agumon, and Tai pulled him out to check on his condition.
"Don't worry Tai, I'm fine!" said Agumon.
The Orc stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to abruptly shake. It was a struggle for the trainers and Digidestined to stay standing. Kenji's Magmar began spraying Flamethrower at the Nine Eyes, but the shaking threw off his aim. He accidentally hit Angewomon, who was aiming a Celestial Arrow. The misfire threw off her game, allowing the Nine Eyes time to notice her. A mighty tornado, an Aeroblast attack, gushed out of the central eye and blew Angewomon onto her back.
Were Garurumon took a Hyper Beam to the chest and landed in front of Tai to revert to Gabumon. "That's it! Time to play hardball! Agumon, go Mega now!" commanded Tai.
Gabumon got off the ground and was quite miffed at the two mutants. "Yeah, no more Mr. Nice Guy! Gabumon, Warp Digivolve to... Metal Garurumon!"
"Agumon, Warp Digivolve to... War Greymon!"
Both Agumon and Gabumon became replaced by larger, more evolved forms of themselves. The two cybernetic Digimon each picked one of the creatures to take out. War Greymon took the Orc to exact some revenge for those mace strikes earlier on. The Orc charged with his mace brandished. As his swung his mace downward onto the shorter War Greymon, it stopped part of the way. War Greymon had caught the mace and was holding it back.
Try as he might, the Orc was unable to drive the mace onto War Greymon's head. Instead, War Greymon slowly pushed it back until he was able to kick the Orc's hand. The mutant Piloswine recoiled in pain, effectively allowing War Greymon to gain possession of his mace. With a mighty swing, the Digimon of Courage clocked his foe in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. He gathered ambient energy into the form of a sphere, and threw the Terra Force as an explosive finishing blow.
Metal Garurumon locked his gaze on the Nine Eyes. He launched a massive volley of missiles from compartments hidden within his Chrome Digizoid armour. Each explosion encased the outer eyes of the Nine Eyes in a shell of ice, prevented them from ever firing. The middle eye fired a Hyper Beam which Metal Garurumon evaded easily. Metal Garurumon launched his biggest attack, the Giga Missile, and blew the Nine Eyes into millions of pieces.
"So much for him," commented War Greymon.
"They won't be giving us any more trouble," said Metal Garurumon.
If the Orc and Nine Eyes had it bad, the Medusas had it worse. It was definitely not a good day for them, having their first comrade wiped out by a horde of Pokemon. The remaining two got the same treatment in the form of Mega Kabuterimon's Horn Buster and Smeargle and Raichu's Thunderbolt. Upon waving his spoon, Yuki's Kadabra glowed blue and he telekinetically yanked several soldiers into a pile on the ground. Angewomon descended with a Celestial Arrow trained on the soldiers.
"Give up!" she demanded.
The soldiers found themselves being surrounded by more and more angry Pokemon, among them Casey's Bayleef and Brock's Onix. They wisely raised their arms in surrender. The Liberators had beaten the trap but at great cost. The Liberators still had no idea where the real Army Ant was hiding. Lilycove was on the verge of doomsday, with the nukes about to be launched. Izzy picked up a fragment of the fake Stone of Doom. Apparently, the surface had been painted black, but the inside was different and was a light mottled grey instead.
"Painted granite..." he mumbled, before tossing the fragment aside.
"We did all this just for nothing?" asked Tai rhetorically.
Surge was disappointed. "I know kid, I know... The enemy got us big time. There's no hope for Lilycove anymore, but we must continue to search for the Army Ant or else more cities will be destroyed!"
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Meanwhile, the real Army Ant and its convoy stopped moving in a mountainous region somewhere in Kanto. It lowered its main body to the ground as its cannon rose into the air. Its cannon resembled a pair of metal bars held together by diamond rings placed at equally spaced intervals. Hostility itself had been tucked into a compartment within the Army Ant. The two soldier effigies of Hostility were wired to the bars like the poles of a battery. The cannon turned to the northeast, the direction of Lilycove.
Upon the commander's order, a serviceman activated the system. The eyes of the soldier effigies began to glow red with unholy life, as though Hostility could sense the death and destruction it was about to wrought. The mechanical loader slowly moved the angular missile into the barrel. Within the blurring of rapid motion, the missile shot out of the barrel with a trail of blue light. Nuclear annihilation was rapidly approaching the city of Lilycove.
Due to its unique, stealth oriented design, the Hoenn Alliance had no idea the missile was coming. In a matter of minutes, it had reached the airspace of Lilycove City without encountering any resistance. The result was disastrous. In a flash of blinding white light, the warhead exploded, instantly vaporising all within ground zero. A massive wave of force and flame swept across the helpless city.
The wave hurled everything into the air like a child throwing toys in a fit of rage. The buildings of the city shattered into pieces. A billowing, mushroom-shaped plume of fire and smoke formed in the air over ground zero. Fiery destruction rained on the capital of Hoenn twice more before it was finally over. All that remained of the once sprawling metropolis was a charred, desolate wasteland. It was the end for Hoenn, and the armies of Mephistomon rejoiced, for victory in this land was theirs.