After their defeat in the Battle for Verdanturf, there were too few survivors to mount a sufficient defense at the base in Mauville so the remaining soldiers retreated to the nearest encampment, Mt. Chimney. The Pokemon Commander, Reuniclus, recognized this weakness and decided to strike while the iron was hot. If the Pokemon forces are able to take Mt. Chimney from the humans, it would cut off their supply line north, allowing that territory to fall into the hands of the Pokemon giving them a firm foothold from which to launch their attacks in Hoenn.
"OK. We've almost arrived at the foot of Mt. Chimney. Shoten, Bruiser, let's review the battle plan."
"Sure thing Flamerunner." Shoten replied.
"Sounds good boss." Bruiser said.
"In this battle we must stick to the traditional battle strategies especially since we're not all at 100%. The enemy has the upper ground and therefore the advantage in the fight." Flamerunner explained. " If we can break the line and get sufficient forces behind enemy lines, the battle will be ours."
"OK but how do we break the enemy lines?" Bruiser asked.
"That's where our traditional battle strategies are going to shine. Scouts from various squads positioned around the mountain will isolate and separate units from their frontlines and bring them to the leaders and tanks of the squad where they can be taken out quickly and easily. Once a weak point in the line can be identified, Reuniclus will contact all the troops to organize one final push through their line."
"Sounds like they've been planning this for a while." Shoten said.
"It's been fairly obvious that we need a staging area for our troops if we want any chance of running the humans out of Hoenn, and a successful attack on Mt. Chimney would accomplish that." Flamerunner said. "Shoten, you should get going. It's time for the operation to being."
"OK." Shoten replied and was off. Within minutes, a squad was found.
"Flamerunner, I have an enemy squad of 2 Knights and 4 tanks. Do I have permission to engage?"
"Yes you do Shoten but bring them back to us quickly. In your weakened state you won't last long against them even if you are running away."
"I know Flamerunner. I'll have them back to you in a couple of minutes. Shadow Ball!"
Shoten threw a Shadow Ball at one of the unaware tanks in order to gain the squads attention and maybe eliminate a target. While it did succeed in the first objective, the Shadow Ball failed to destroy the tank and just exploded harmlessly on the hull, a scorch mark being the only indication that an attack was made in the first place.
Recognizing the aggressive action against them, the squad turned its attention to taking out Shoten, who by this point was using Agility to make a hasty retreat to Flamerunner and Bruiser.
Dang it, that Shadow Ball should have destroyed the tank; I'm still nowhere near full strength. I'm going to have to keep my speed and evasiveness up during the battle or be out of commission before any of the real action starts.
While both were not at the level they had been during the Battle of Verdanturf, Shoten's speed and evasiveness was more than enough to lure the entire squad to where Bruiser and Flamerunner were lying in wait.
"Here I come! The entire squad is still intact and a little agitated."
"Thanks for the heads up Shoten." Flamerunner replied. As soon as Flamerunners reply was complete, Shoteneko came bursting through the trees with all 6 enemies in tow.
"Now Bruiser! Flamethrower!"
"Dragon Pulse!"
These powerful attacks were enough to destroy 1 of the Knights and 3 of the tanks Shoten had lured their way. The final two enemies had been too close to their squad mate in order to launch an attack without harming Shoten.
"You guys want to take care of the others while you're at it. My attacks aren't doing jack against them right now." Shoten said as he used Double Team to avoid attacks from the other enemies.
"No prob, Shoten. Superpower!" Bruiser yelled.
His attack destroyed the rest of the attacking force leaving only one tank still standing, but too damaged to move.
"Good job guys." Flamerunner said. "Let's get ready to do it again."
This process was repeated for another 2 hours with all of the squads using their scouts to lure small groups of enemies to the rest of the squad. As the enemies front line was wore down, reinforcements were sent from the top of the mountain, weakening the resistance to be faced later in the battle.
All troops this is Commander Reuniclus speaking to you directly through a telepathic link. A sufficiently large gap in the enemy line has been found on the east side of the mountain. All available troops are to position themselves there and infiltrate the enemy's line. Once behind their lines, you will receive further instructions.
Over the course of the battle, Shoten's squad had received relatively little damage. Shoten received a slew of bruises on his claws from attempting, and failing, to damage the enemy machines and from shots grazing his body. Bruiser and Flamerunner fared far better than Shoten, since they were not actively aggravating the enemy. Both were growing tired from repeated exertion of powerful moves but had very little damage otherwise.
"Most of our forces have climbed behind enemy lines, where are our orders?" Shoten wondered.
"Reuniclus is a good tactician but has very little battlefield experience." Flamerunner explained. "Due to this he often miscalculates the capabilities of his troops, such as their speed causing a delay in orders, or miscalculating strength such as in the last battle."
This is your Commander again. All squads with Pokemon capable of using earthquake are to line the mountain and on my signal unleash your attacks at once. This will eliminate the remaining troops below us. The rest of our forces will advance up the mountain and overwhelm the base with numbers. Thank you all for your service. Victory is in our sights!
"Not a bad plan." mused Flamerunner as he Shoten and Bruiser began to move to their position in the Northwest of Mt. Chimney. "Rather than expending more of our strength on individual units, we can take out nearly all of the remaining resistance by using the mountain to our advantage."
"Be sure to stay sharp guys." Shoten said. "If we get attacked from above while you guys are launching your attack, I'm still too weak to do any real damage to them."
"Don't worry 'bout it Shoten. Stand right near us as we launch the attack and if any enemies appear, let us know."
"OK Bruiser, I'll do that." Shoten replied.
After Shoten's squad reached their position, they once again waited on the orders from Reuniclus to launch the final attack.
Everyone should be in position at this point. We will launch the attack on the count of three. One
Flamerunner and Bruiser began to gather the power necessary to launch the earthquake.
Two
Shoten positioned himself between his two squadmates and looked up the mountain trying to keep a sharp eye out for any incoming enemies.
Three! Launch the attack NOW!
"Earthquake!" Both Flamerunner and Bruiser yelled as they poured their remaining energy into the attacks. The simultaneous use of Earthquake around the mountain began to cause a massive landslide, sending debris and rocks flying down at the remaining troops at the bottom of the mountain.
So far so good no enemies yeeeet.
Shoten, tired from his exertions earlier in the battle, didn't realize that the Earthquake attack was going to be the strongest right between Bruiser and Flamerunner and positioned himself their anyway. As the mountain crumbled, the rocks beneath Shoten broke and he went tumbling down the hill and directly into the path of even more debris.
"Shoten are you all right?!" Flamerunner yelled over the roar of the landslide. "Look out for that rock!"
The indicated rock was a good three times larger than Shoten and barreling straight for him. With Flamerunner and Bruiser channeling their energy into the Earthquake, they didn't have enough energy to launch an attack to save their friend.
"Oh God I hope this works. Shadow Ball Shield!" Shoten yelled. Little did he know that as soon as he launched his defensive technique, a look of recognition shot through Flamerunner's face.
Flamerunner POV
That's it. That's where I know that technique from. It's a forbidden technique of the heretic the Slash. All soldiers are taught in basic training that using his techniques can be considered high treason. Why does Shoten know this technique?
"Everything OK boss?" Bruiser asked, seeing the look of shock plastered on his squad leader's face.
"Bruiser, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Shoten is using a forbidden technique of the heretic Slash. This as you know constitutes high treason against our cause-
"Because anyone who uses his techniques may share his human sympathizing tendencies, I know. So what can we do about it?"
"I hate to say this but after the landslide ends and Shoten has put all his power into the Shadow Ball Shield, we are going to have to eliminate him. If it is found that we were aware of Shoten's use of forbidden techniques, we too could be labeled as traitors."
"OK Flamerunner. With him low on power and still suffering from the effects of his attack in the Battle of Verdanturf, it should be an easy fight." Bruiser commented.
Soon after Bruiser made his final statement, the landslide began to calm enough so that Shoten could climb to safety.
"Phew, that was close. I almost got swept away by the land- What are you doing" Shoten exclaimed as Flamerunner launched a Fire Punch at his squad member.
Shoteneko POV
"Shoten, the technique you just used was a signature technique of the Slash. How did you learn it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shoten lied. "I just used my Shadow Ball in such a way so that I would be able to survive the landslide."
"You LIE!" Flamerunner exclaimed tearfully. "You even used the proper name of the technique. I'm sorry but you are now a traitor to the cause of Pokemon and must be eliminated."
After Flamerunner's tearful statement declaring Shoten an enemy to the cause, both Bruiser and Flamerunner began launching attack after attack at Shoten.
"Don't you guys see the good that these techniques can do for our cause?" Shoten pleaded while being pummeled by Blaze Kicks and Dragon Claws. "They helped us to win the Battle of Verdanturf and saved my life here today. Just because the attacks were once used by someone whos views differ from ours doesn't mean we can't use them to bring peace and equality to everyone!"
"To everyone?!" Flamerunner exclaimed as he grabbed Shoten by the throat and carried him to a nearby cliff. "We aren't trying to bring equality to everyone Shoten. We are trying to defeat the enemies who dared to destroy the peace we had shared for so many years and finally declare our superiority just as the humans are trying to do to us."
"Both sides of this war… are evil." Shoten croaked.
"Yes but this is a cruel world Shoten. Both sides have their ideals they are trying to protect. Cohabitation is impossible, so you better look out for number 1." Flamerunner said. "Now if you're not with us, you are against us. Good-bye Shoten."
With that final statement, Flamerunner tossed Shoten off the cliff and to the rocks below.
"Are you sure that was enough to take him out sir?" Bruiser asked.
"We beat him within an inch of his life and then threw him off a huge cliff. If he isn't gone, he's bleeding out at the bottom of the cliff, now come on, we have a battle to finish."
As Flamerunner and Bruiser ran off to rejoin the battle, no one noticed a single claw poke out of the rocks clutching a piece of paper in his hands.
AN: Hello everyone. This ends the first story arc of Pokemon New Age. Starting next chapter, some huge changes will be coming as the story of Shoteneko does not just end here. New setting, new battles, and new characters(Sorry to those who liked Flamerunner and Bruiser) are coming your way next time.
PS: Feel free to leave a review to both tell me how to improve my storytelling and to show your support for the series.