Chapter 4

Jose had liked the summer. He had had lots of fun and had trained a lot. More over, he had now gotten a new laptop which he quickly used to log onto the internet and download all his pokemon facts. He was amazed at how the system worked. He could see the status of all his pokemon back home. He had kept them all in their balls except for a Houndour he bought at a pet store. He let him out in the backyard to keep crooks out. He thought about how pokemon had helped to both stop crime and encourage it. They were like nature, neutral.

He was now in the car on the trip back home using the computer. This part of the trip always seemed longer and more relaxed. It could also have been that his father had lost the bet to Jose's grandpa. On the makeshift bed in backseat lay Pidgeotto breathing heavily. It seemed really tired but relieved. Jose petted him and looked at the coming dark clouds. It was August and a storm was coming. Jose read some news on the CNN website and played a video. His dad looked at him through the mirror smiling. "You can get videos on that thing? Amazing!" His dad wasn't much of a tech buff. Jose put on his headphones so as not to disturb Pidgeotto and his mom who was also sleeping.

"The president has decided to send more troops to Iraq and the questions stands. Will the draft be established again?" The thought came to Jose of having to go to Iraq and fight. He then turned his thoughts o pokemon. As if by magic the news reporter answered his question. "And with the onset of this Pokemon Revolution the president has Okayed a Pokemon program." "A pokemon program?" Jose thought to himself. "What the hell is a pokemon program?" Again the news reporter heard his thoughts through the headphones. "This program will involve investigation of pokemon behavior, battle strategies, and creation of new pokemon." "I can't believe this. They are going to send pokemon to die aimlessly!" He gritted his teeth. He didn't even want to think about it anymore. He turned off the laptop and decided it was best to sleep and forget it.

Jose opened his eyes and he was in a battlefield. Cannons could be heard in the distance and tanks rolled by. Bodies lay everywhere. There where human figures, charred by fire, sitting inside cars or laying on the ground. Jose walked by. A voice screamed "It's a bomb, a bomb!" There were women crying and kneeling. In front of Jose, stood a kid of ten who was crying as well. Jose looked in his eyes and saw himself, dressed in a uniform with a riffle in his arms. He moved away. He looked over to another place. He heard more cries. Some abysmal cries of pain. He moved around the pile of burned cars and saw a whole field. Grass grew but it was red. On the field there were thousands and thousands of dead pokemon. There was still that wailing in front of him, it seemed distant. He moved extremely quickly as if flying. He then came to a pile composed of a Machamp, a Nidorina, and an Ursaring. He tried to move the bodies. But when he stretched out his hand they just fell to the sides, and revealed his Wartortle. It was bloody and scarred. Its carapace had been blown off and it had been blinded on an eye. The pokemon shifted to look at Jose better. "Hey buddy, how are you doing?" Said Jose sobbing and gasping. "Jose, save me, save me Jose!"

Jose woke up in a cold sweat. He rolled over in the bed and put on his glasses. He was breathing hard and fast. The room looked so small and empty. He went outside and into the barn he and his dad had built. He opened the door and went towards the end, past all his sleeping pokemon until he found who he was looking for, Wartortle. He breathed a little easier now. To find his friend there unharmed was a relief. He had been having the same nightmare for some time now, ever since the president had sent the first group of pokemon to Iraq. It had been terrible news. Jose lay down beside the pokemon. He fell sleep.

The next day, he woke up earlier than usual to the sound of whispering pokemon. All of his friends had woken up already and had gathered around him. All the familiar faces were looking at him in a circular shape. He stretched his arms and said "Hey guys, what's up." They looked quizzically and he answered "Oh nothing, I just felt like sleeping here last night. They knew something was up, something big. Spearow chirped at him and he said "Alright, I'll speak. The president says that he needs more troops to send to Iraq and now Iran. He has already sent pokemon to help look for bombs and fight terrorists. Moreover Iran's government declared war on America." Jose let that sink in as he surveyed the various faces of his team. "Now, how that concerns us. He has also asked for all the trainers over eighteen to help the war cause. As you know I will turn eighteen next month, so they will be here in no time. He figures that before setting up a general draft he'll use our skills as trainers." At this point Marahute exclaimed "Tail tail taillow!" "Yes, Taillow I know but the government doesn't care if we don't know how to fight. They said that all the trainers that have two badges must go. Don't worry they will probably teach us the basics." The Taillow's motherly nature showed as she shifted from side to side. Pidgeotto moved over to comfort her. Jose watched closely and smiled. When the pokemon realized every one was watching them they blushed and separated.

"So, since we are probably going to be dragged over by the boys in green to fight anyways, we have a month to train. We have to be at our best. Believe me it is a matter of life or death." Jose joked with them. Fear was so far away from him. He saw himself with all of his friends and pokemon riding into battle.

The last weeks of summer Jose spent training hard. He met with fighting clubs created to shape up the trainers. He did pretty good but some trainers were just better. In the final competition he came out third of about twenty. He ran daily and ate little to try and adapt himself to "camp life". He even took hot showers and stood in the Sun to adapt to the heat. Towards the end of the month he decided to just rest his pokemon and choose the final team. One day he set them all up in a line and examined them. His Marahute had now grown into a beautiful Swellow and his Shellder had evolved as well. He picked out Wartortle and kept walking. Moving past the younger ones and analyzing data on his Pokedex at the same time. He moved past Marahute and got Pidgeot. He kept walking and Marahute looked insulted. It was about to screech something but Jose just glanced over his shoulder and it returned to its place. He decided to take Sandslash as well. He remembered when Sandslash was young and squeamish. Now he stood up to Jose's shoulder and had a calm and decided look on his face. Jose selected his Ponyta that he had spent all his allowance on. He chose Stantler. He had gone hunting and when he found the deer had chosen to capture it and not kill it. And finally He moved up to a green lizard. The pokemon was standing against the wall and had a twig in its mouth. Jose looked down at him and said. "Come on Treecko."

Jose let all the pokemon say bye to each other and played one last game with all that day. He knew that he wouldn't be seeing them for a while, other than in his Pokedex. At night he led all the pokemon that were staying to the barn and took the other six to the house. He bathed them all except for Sandslash who fainted at the sight of water. Ponyta on the other hand let him wash her. The water fizzled and evaporated when it touched her mane. Jose then brushed her and without thinking burned the brush. He polished Sandslash's quills and sharpened them. Shone Wartortle's shell and cropped Pidgeot's bad feathers. Stantler didn't need much since he liked to stay clean and proud. Treecko however was impossible. He ran around the house with the soap and hid from Jose, laughing all the time. Jose finally caught him and took away his twig. Treecko's eyes watered and it said it was sorry. Jose then gave the twig back.

The next day Jose woke up like usual. His mom and dad however weren't as calm. His dad hugged him and his eyes watered and his mom cried. He said "Mom it's OK. I got my team with me. We are unbeatable. Don't you two worry, we'll be fine." Jose polished all the pokeballs and pocketed his pokedex. He had already packed everything he wanted or needed. He sat for the longest time just watching TV. The day was ending quickly and he thought he had gotten lucky or something, but then there was a knock. He got up uneasily and opened the door. His parents were behind him watching. When he opened the door. A tall young soldier in full uniform came in. He greeted everyone and then led Jose to a bus. Jose got on the first step of the bus and turned his head. He saw his mom and dad there standing by the door. Then he saw all of his pokemon jump over the fence or come running through the house. His Eevee jumped into his mother's arms and Tauros picked up his father on its back. Jose was glad to see his parents interact so happily with his pokemon. He waved goodbye and got on the bus. As he walked towards the back trying to find a seat he recognized many of his friends. He finally sat beside his enemy Alex who looked awestruck. "How many pokemon do you have?" Jose answered "Uh…about fifty or so." This of course was a lie. He only had twenty at most. The guy in front of him turned around and asked. "How did you get them to do that?" "I didn't." answered Jose. "I guess they just want to say goodbye to me."

The bus then started to move. Jose turned to look at his house where the mass of pokemon stood outside still. Then, as the bus got ever farther. Marahute came flying. It flew beside the bus and Jose smiled. How it had grown. From a silly little girl to a grown bird. "Marahute go home. We will be fine." The bird could not object, it was a direct order and it was no use to try and stop the bus. It finally soared and let out a screech that sounded like "Good luck."