The End

by That Dreadnought

It all started 20 years ago, pokemon grew tired of being enslaved by humanity and demanded their freedom and to be treated as equals. Their demands were rejected leading to a full-blown war. Humanity is losing, only six human cities remain. The end approaches.

2. Chapter 1

This is the first actual chapter although there will still be more info/world-building, although there will actually be some story this time I swear, not much else to say, I'm not perfect so sorry for any grammar issues. That's it bye and enjoy.

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The morning alarm blared meaning it was 5:00 AM, accompanied by the rustling, groaning and movement of everyone else getting up, with my groan I opened my eyes, leaning over the dye of the bunk I grabbed my PIC from the nightstand and moved myself to sit on the edge of the bed, groggily put it around my neck and pushed the clips together locking it in place. I glanced around and I saw the usual guards at the doorway and patrolling around the sleeping quarters. Sometimes I wonder if they are here to keep us safe, or are they actually here to prevent us from leaving? Movement from the bunk above me broke me from this train of thought, and then immediately afterwards Bera jumped down onto the floor next to me and began stretching.

"Morning Arc." she said, her voice straining as she stretched.

"Morning Bera." I replied. Bera was a 15-year girl with light skin and dark brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She is 170cm tall so she tends to tower over me, she also has brown eyes and minor scarring caused by debris that cut into her skin on the left side of her face on her otherwise smooth skin. She had gotten scarred because in battle her Armamentariums armour had been breached in battle however she continued fighting and she had dodged an attack from a nearby Pokemon the resulting explosion that tossed debris around the place and some got into the opening, she was lucky not to lose an eye. She is part of the 9th company assault Squadron, so while we aren't in the same squad we do on occasion fight together… Often because us scouts get into too much trouble and have to hold out till reinforcements arrive which is more often than not an assault squadron which comes to our aid.

We started getting changed into our uniforms for the day, the uniform was a dark blue shirt as well as a dark blue coat and black trousers. Each city has it's own designated colour for it's uniform. The rest of the ninth company in the barracks had also begun changing, the barracks was now bustling with conversations. Bera spoke up again, "So it's your 12th birthday today then any plans? She asks while I pull my shirt over my head. "Not really, getting a new recruit today to fill in the spot left by Acro when died, surprised we are getting one so soon, to be honest." I respond without much thought. Acro was a 17-year-old, so he was amongst our oldest members, so it was a blow to our fighting force and the morale of our squad, our sergeant was taking it the worst, the two of them were practically brothers. I do not envy our recruit's position, he or she has some big boots to fill.

As I was changing I noticed one of the guards staring at Bera as she changed, this annoyed me, so I decided to ruin his show by changing my position so that I was standing in between the two and carried on changing while staring at him, he quickly changed where he was looking after this. Bera noticed me moving and my staring and quickly pieced together what was going on and she sighed. "I still don't understand what they find so entertaining about us getting changed." She states clearly annoyed at this happening again. "At least after what happened in Shatterspire they know they will die one way or the other if they try something" I replied in a flat tone.

Shatterspire was a Metropolis much like Middlepoint that was located on the same region as Glitterflame City, however, some higher-ups had set up a sex trafficking ring forcing some of the female Armamentarium pilots against their will into sexual acts. When the rest of the pilots found out they reported it however no action was taken. So they took justice into their own hands and tortured the perpetrators to death. After this was discovered the ones who did the deed were all going to be killed, however, the rest of the pilots in the metropolis rallied in defence of the pilots. One thing led to another and it eventually erupted into a civil war which consumed the entire metropolis, amidst the chaos of the war, Pokemon forces took advantage of the situation and swamped the inhabitants taking it before the other cities could mobilize a force to aid them. To avoid another situation like this, there were almost immediately new laws and rules implemented, resulting in the death penalty if rape were to take place.

We had finished getting changed and started filling out of the barracks into a corridor heading towards the canteen for breakfast, along the way, we began passing the tenth company who were on their way to go to sleep in the barracks we had just left, I took note at how tired they all looked as well as some of them are missing, this meant we most likely had a long day ahead of us. As I walk I see Torvun a scout from the tenth. He was a 14 years old with average height with blond hair and green eyes. I call out to him as I continue walking. "Torvun, what's it like out there today?" raising my voice slightly to speak over the other conversations. "It's rough out there, more stragglers from Glitterflame are out there with mons on their heels and they are sieging the walls again." his voice grew fainter as we passed.

This was not good news most likely us scouts would be sent beyond the walls to try and rescue the survivors and try to get them back to the city while it was under siege, not only that but we would likely be without support and to top it off one of us will be stuck with the recruit, hopefully, they will end up with Sergeant Rynios, the rest of us likely do not have the necessary skills needed to keep ourselves and a newbie alive in the upcoming situation.

I entered the canteen area and proceeded to line up to get my food and a feminine voice spoke up behind me. "Sounds like it will be a fun day out there today Arc." I glance over my shoulder to see Ashley, another member of my scout team, she is 13 years old with fair skin and blonde hair that is medium length with her fringe swept to her left side revealing her blue eyes. She is about 160cm tall with a more athletic body than what is standard amongst us, due to the fact she works out in her free time. She was currently wearing her backpack for some reason.

"Not exactly my definition of fun, any sign of the others yet?" It was not uncommon for scouts to not return for days especially if they are trying to escort back civilians and they are often outside communication range as a result we can do little more than wait, or check around the areas they were known to be going, as a result sometimes it may take weeks to find a downed Armamentarium. Currently, there were only 3 of us from the ninth who had returned from patrols. "Nothing yet, perhaps we'll stumble upon some of them today, so here's to hoping." she says, worried apparent in her voice.

We shuffled forwards in the line, and part of her previous statement caught up with me. "So wait, you already know we are being deployed outside the walls?" I ask slightly confused about how she already knew that. "Yep, Rynios is going to busy the new guy today so he told me to pass on the briefing to you, not exactly anything we haven't done before. Go out there, check around, rescue anyone we find, and get back home. I'll pass on the details later." She says in a more upbeat tone as we approach the front of the line.

We were served our food on a tray with water, rationed as per usual, not that I blame them, it was one city trying to support 5 others but still, it would be nice if we had a proper meal every once in a while.

Ashley and I proceeded to sit down at a table beside each other, the canteen now full of conversations, Ashley then proceeded to pull out paperwork and a map of the city and it's exterior out of her bag and handed the paperwork to me. My briefing, I would have liked to have eaten before I got this crap but oh well. I began looking over the details as Ashley pointed to a spot on the map northwest of the city.

"You are to patrol around this area, tenth company scouts reported several groups of refugees from Glitterflame City, a few have light escorts, however, most of them don't, you are to search for and provide assistance to any of these groups that you find, as well as record the location of any destroyed convoys and or downed Armamentariums for recovery at a later date, reinforcements from the city will not be available so it will just be you and anyone else left out. You will be given enough rations for 5 days of active field duty. After 5 days you will be classed as MIA until further notice, no attempts will be made to rescue you in such a scenario. You are to be in the hangar bay ready for deployment by 0800 hours, by which time an Obelisk class air transport will be ready to drop you off at your designated location. Any more details will be in the briefing paperwork." She states this in a formal and serious tone before she then relaxes and returns to her usual self and begins eating her food. I read over the paperwork with one hand and eat with the other, as she stated previously nothing out of the ordinary in this scenario, but still civilian escorts while under siege fucking sucks, and is incredibly stressful.

"So you know who the recruit is, you mentioned he was a guy?" I asked Ashley, knowing that we have several youngsters in training, I personally didn't think any of them were ready for field deployment, however, ultimately it is not my decision.

Ashley was chewing her food at the time while reading what I presumed to be her own briefing, she put down her paperwork and swallowed and turned to face me. "Yep, it's Kratri, apparently he passed the last of his tests a few days ago." she said in an upbeat tone. I thought about it for a second, surprised that Katri had passed his tests. The last time I saw him, he was lagging behind the rest of the trainees, although Acro had started giving him some advice so perhaps that was enough to give him the boost he needed to get ahead.

"Where are you deploying this yourself?" I turned to face Ashley and I see her moving her hand towards the map and extending her finger and pointed to the east of where I was deploying and at a fairly large distance away meaning we would be outside communication range with each other. When the war started porygons infected the communication networks as well as the internet making all long-range communications compromised as a result we had to create closed networks and at shorter ranges to reduce the risks of them being compromised again, most wireless communications don't extend past the city border, so while we can communicate long range it would basically be screaming I'm right here come and get me, as a result, we go radio silent while in the field to reduce risks of being detected. Communication with other cities is only done in emergencies.

I finished eating and handed the paperwork back to Ashley and grabbed my tray. "I'm going to shower if I'm going to be stuck out there for a while, see ya." I stood up and left while she continued eating with a simple wave as I walked away to drop off my tray. Then promptly left the canteen and headed for the showers, as I walked I noticed the twelfth company starting to come in, meaning it was roughly 7 now, should have enough time for a quick shower.

I enter the showers and I hear several of them already in use, I head over to an empty area to store my clothes and strip them off. I entered the shower and turned it on, feeling the water pour on me offering a soothing sensation, although I did not have the luxury of spending time to enjoy it so I began to wash myself. I finished up by turning off the shower and exited the cubicle grabbing a nearby towel to dry myself. I began drying myself walking towards my clothes and walked by a mirror and took a moment to look at myself. I am 147cm tall with finger-length short brown hair and blue eyes, with light skin and a lanky build. Moving on back to my clothes I finished drying myself and put the towel down and put my clothes back on and exited the showers and began moving towards the hanger bay. I saw the guards at the doorway and passed them as I exited the main compound and was greeted by a heavy fog so thick I could barely see in front of me, however, this will be beneficial for me at least, I'm less likely to be shot down while being transported to my scouting area however I don't envy those who are on defence duty it's going to be difficult to see the enemies. Thankfully I know the way to the hangar bay off by heart, so I proceeded to head towards where I needed to go. As I approached the hanger bay I saw the usual guards in full armour and heavily armed with 2 Armamentariums standing on either side of the entrance.

As I approached I slowed down knowing what was about to happen. "HALT!" One of the guards barked, I stopped immediately, it's best not to cause any unnecessary fuss over a simple security check, they had started approaching so I raised my hand to waist height and turned so it was facing upwards to get this over and done with. One of the soldiers approaching me pulled out a small device and grabbed my hand unnecessarily roughly and placed the device on my index finger, quickly followed by a pricking feeling on the finger, the device beeped and showed a green light. The device was removed from my finger leaving a droplet of blood. "Proceed." the soldier said as he stepped aside and I started walking into the hanger. As I was walking I heard another halt come from the soldier behind me and glance over my shoulder to see him repeating the procedure again to someone else.

I entered the hangar and it was bustling with activity, some getting ready to deploy, while in other places repairs on a variety of different machines were taking place, and cargo transports were driving around the place whilst trying to avoid running over people. The hangar bay was 360 meters long and 270 meters wide and 110 meters high, so it took me a while to cross it to get to my Armamentarium. As I moved towards my Armamentarium I saw the back of a man with a welder working on it and I immediately recognized who it was and a small smile formed on my face. "Fredrick you better not have broken anything and be trying to patch it up without me knowing." I joked as I came to a stop behind him. He stopped welding and turned to face me lifting his welding mask revealing his wrinkled face, his skin was dark in colour, he had a medium-length grey beard and green eyes and while not visible at the moment he had medium-length hair in a Feathered Bangs style due to his hair fining. "Arcathos good to see you kiddo, how are you?" Fredrick has been responsible for repairing and maintaining my Armamentarium for as far back as I can remember, and is one of the few people outside of the companies who treated us as equals and not just disposable cannon fodder. "I'm doing alright, not looking forward to being chucked out there again." I respond to his question while brushing my hand against my Armamentarium's leg, Fredrick chuckled "Well I finished just in time then, try not to bang it up so much next time ey" I chuckled myself while shaking my head in response to his jest. "And leave you with nothing to do, never." I said while looking over his handy work.

My Armamentarium was the same colour as our uniform a dark blue but with silver trimmings, It's overall design is more humanoid than the Paladin variants, it's feet were in the shape of sabatons compared to it's counterparts design which is shaped in a circle at the base with 4 trapezoid extensions spread out equally around the circle allowing for greater stability when firing weapons with greater recoil, meanwhile, the feet on mine allowed for greater mobility and speed. It's armour was sleek in design offering very few sharp edges, travelling up its leg, it has knees midway up it's legs with articulated design and then travelling up to where the leg connects to the body there is a hip joint that connects to the body horizontally. The body is in the rough shape of an upside-down egg however from about a quarter of the way up the body from the legs there, where the waist would be, the armour separates to reveal the inner mechanisms which have their own layer of armour allowing the upper and lower body to twist separately from one another and allowing the body bend, rather than being rigid like their counterparts, the downside of this is that it cannot support weapons of heavier build or calibre, without risk of breaking around these joints. Travelling up to about three-quarters of the way up the body is where the head is, there is a 90-degree angle of the armour removed on the front of the armour, in it's place is the Armamentarium's head that is backed up to the armour so that there is no space behind the head and the armour. The head had 2 red optics that are forward facing, and the heads armour is similar to that of a great helm however there was not as much above the 'eyes' seeing as there is no actual head inside it so it would just make a bigger target, multiple slits were trailing down to the bottom of the head where there would usually be holes for the in-built speaker, to allow communication, the volume the speakers produce can be altered to become very loud to little more than a whisper as needed for the situation. There is a slight design flaw with the head being you can't actually look down, you are forced to bend your entire body if you want to see something beneath you. To the edges of the head area, there are 2 lights on either side these lights can be used when using the inbuilt night vision is inadvisable. The Armamentarium had two arms, the shoulders were the only part of the armour with sharp edges being isosceles trapezoid in shape, on it's left shoulder was a large number nine in white to designate what company I was in and below it in smaller writing that stretched underneath the 9 was the word scout, this was done so that in the middle of combat it would be easier to find your company and squad. Going down further on the arm would reveal one of my weapons, a massive clawed hand that can make short work of all but the toughest of foes. While on my right arm was a multi-barrel machine gun with eight barrels in total these fired high explosive rounds, the weapon was called an assault cannon and was suited for mid to close-range engagements. This loadout is often used for recruits due to it's versatility in combat, I choose to keep it rather than go into a more specialized loadout due to how convenient it was to use. The back of the Armamentarium is relatively smooth however you can see vents on the back to allow heat to be released from the miniature feature on board to keep the armour powered.

In front of the Armamentarium was a platform with ladders to the left and right to allow the pilots to enter. I grabbed the rations set nearby and I began to climb. I reached the and crossed the platform to stand in front of the open cockpit on the front of the Armamentarium. Here we go again I think to myself, not looking forward to more of this hell as I enter the Armamentarium. I turn my body as I enter to sit in the pilot's seat, as I sat down I began the start-up routine and close the hatch, watching the light from outside be cut off, and then I was left in darkness. After a few seconds screens and control panels light up allowing me to continue, as I was finishing up I felt a jolt as the armour was rotated on it's platform so I would be facing the opposite when I took control, I finished setting everything up, so I buckled myself in to not be thrown around inside my armour and waited for what happens next. The transition when the pilot takes control of their Armamentarium is an odd experience one moment you are looking at screens and buttons the next it is like you are suddenly standing in the outside environment but now towering over everything, you wouldn't even notice the sudden transition if it was for the change in scenery. I was now in control of the Armamentarium and flex my left-hand opening and closing it before stepping forwards my metal feet clanging on the hanger bay floor. Fredrick called out from behind me "Good luck out there!" practically shouting, I turn my body so that he could see half my head, and raised my head and brought it back down to nod before turning back to carry on walking towards the exit of the hanger along the way I could see Ashley's Armamentarium also coming out of it's bay and began walking alongside me. Ashley's Armamentarium is equipped with two adapted Tricon drills as melee weapons in favour of any ranged weapons.

As we were walking a thought occurred " Ashley you never mentioned where my transport was waiting…" I say out loud my voice significantly deeper now I am in my Armamentarium. Silence followed as we continued walking, and then Ashley suddenly stopped, I came to a much slower stop turning to look at her, and I could see her eyes had turned off meaning she was desynced with her Armamentarium and waited for a few seconds. Her eyes turned back on and began moving again " Bay C8." she said in a deeper voice like mine and I nodded in response. We reached the exit of the hanger and were once again greeted by the thick fog.

" Good luck finding your ride." I said as we parted ways, I was tilting my body so it was facing at an angle so I could see the floor easier and turning on my lights to try and find my way through the fog. It took me some time to find my transport, I had encountered several transports but none of them were mine, learned at one point I had passed my destination from another pilot and had to backtrack. When I had finally reached my destination I approached the transport to see if the pilot was present. The Obelisk was a transport designed to carry Armamentariums, they had 2 large propellers on rotors connected to rotating shafts. On the underside, some cables would be connected to an Armamentarium that could easily be detached by the Obelisk pilot by hitting a button and dropping the Armamentarium without any hassle allowing it to leave immediately.

I leant down further so my head was next to the cockpit and saw a pilot inside, he noticed me immediately and gave him a wave with my left hand. Although I could not see his face due to his helmet his body language communicated he was not overly happy. I saw him turn his head to probably say something however I could not hear what it was, next two men ran out of the back where the cargo would be stored and grabbed the cables and started heading towards me. I turned and knelt down on one knee and felt them climbing on me, it didn't feel like much but I could still them. They connected the cables to my body and then they climbed off.

I rose to my full height as I heard the propellers starting to spin up behind me, so I stood stiff and waited. The obelisk took off and rose behind and felt the cables go taut as it rises. I felt my feet leave the ground as the obelisk passes over my head. Due to how the cables were connected my body was tilted towards so I was looking down, I watched the floor disappear into the fog as we rose higher, it should be noted I'm not overly fond of heights so I hate being deployed in this manner. Now completely unable to see anything around me apart from the faint outline of the obelisk above me, we spend some time in the air with no changes, just the sounds of the obelisks' propellers spinning. Slowly but steadily the sounds of battle grew louder, it was then I noticed a change in the clouds. It suddenly filled with black smoke meaning we were passing over the walls which were still under siege. I knew the others in my company were down there fighting and wished them luck internally as we passed the thickest part of the smoke. After we passed the wall there was still smoke however significantly less than there was before most likely from the battlefield beyond the walls but before long it too passed and again we were left in the white clouds and once again it returned to the status quo.

This went on for a long time maintaining radio silence and with nothing to see, I was left to my thoughts to keep me occupied, something I rarely get the chance to have. I did not like this, my thoughts always head in the same direction about how fucked up the world is, how hopeless my life is, and remembering all those close to me who have died. I try to quiet my mind, the last thing I need before entering a life-and-death situation is to become depressed. It was then I noticed in my body position it was no longer as tilted meaning we'd slown down, I look around to see if I can see anything through the fog but I can not make out anything meaning either we are still too high or the fog has not relented at all. We had come to a stop and now slowly descending, I looked around again and still could not see anything. This will be great. I can't see anything while I'm supposed to be looking for stuff. Well, a silver lining it will be a lot harder to see me as well.

The cables holding me suddenly released and I braced myself for the landing. I landed with a thud feeling the damp mud underneath my splash at my landing and feeling the shock of the landing travel up my body. Looking around from what little I could see I was surrounded by grass, most likely a field.

Although I spent no time looking around and started moving into a sprint immediately, in case my landing attracted unwanted attention. As I moved I could hear the obelisk moving away and brought up the inbuilt compass and set a course for the north-west.

After travelling for 30 minutes at this pace I slowed back to a walk, once again checking my surroundings the fog has let up a little granting me a slightly increased line of sight however that does not make my job any easier but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. I continue walking looking for any signs of a trail while remaining on alert for any Pokemon. This process continued for an hour with no progress however the fog was slowly receding finally allowing me to properly see my surroundings but as the fog let up, my alertness also rose. I had not encountered any Pokemon yet which is somewhat disturbing. I would have usually seen at least one by now and I was now becoming agitated and began to worry if I had unwittingly wandered into a trap. I stopped and scanned my surroundings for a sign of anything out of the ordinary. Nothing, just more grass and the occasional tree, the only footprints I see were my own which has churned up the mud behind me.

Staying here would do me no good so I moved again, still uneasy from the quiet. I spent some time moving constantly scanning my environment until I noticed something off to my right and altered my course to get a better view. I approached what I saw from a distance and knelt down on one knee to get a better view, it was tire tracks several of them and relatively fresh, they were wide meaning they are most likely from trucks of some kind, however, I could see no other types of tracks meaning they were likely without any real escorts maybe a few infantrymen on board the trucks.

I stood back up and began following the tracks southeast, breaking into a sprint to catch up with them as quickly as possible. I travelled like this for two hours still checking my surroundings for any sign of hostiles. Still nothing, this isn't right, my mind began to wonder however as I searched I noticed smoke in front of me in the distance breaking me from my line of thought and focused on what was ahead of me.

I approached the location of the smoke and saw three trucks, one of which had been flipped onto it's flank, while another had been set alight being the source of the smoke. I could not see anything wrong with the third however I could only see it from the rear and did not have a clear view.

I slowed as I got close to the trucks, seeing obvious signs of a struggle, a few human bodies were scattered around the place, their blood soaking the mud, some in several pieces. However, nowhere near enough for 3 trucks worth, I continue walking around the battlefield seeing a few guns scattered around the floor, noting the lack of Pokemon bodies suggesting a large force enough to quickly overwhelm the defenders as well as to capture the survivors and take back their fallen. I approached the third truck front and noticed it had been caved in, blood splattered on what was left of the windshield and it's dashboard, suggesting either a large or powerful Pokemon had struck it.

I looked to the outskirts of the battle and saw a large trail of footprints heading west, following the trail that led to a forest in the distance. I could try and rescue the survivors but I know better there was likely an even larger force inside the forest and I alone had nowhere near enough firepower to rescue them let alone escort them back.

With a sigh, I desynced from my Armamentarium and pulled out a notebook from one of my storage behind my seat and marked down the coordinates and the direction of the forest quickly to not leave myself exposed for long.

I put the notebook back, Immediately resyncing and checking my surroundings, although I now know why I haven't seen any Pokemon, they are likely having fun with their new playthings. "I'm sorry." I say in little more than a whisper glancing back to the forest feeling regret at not being able to save them, before heading back the way I came to continue searching. Once I returned to where I started I continued my search pattern for a few hours unimpeded until I spotted a small patrol of Pokemon in the distance which hadn't noticed me yet. 2 Arcanine, a Luxray, a Flygon and a Bisharp who was likely leading the group. We were still in the open fields, so it was only a matter of time before they spotted me, especially if the Flygon was to take flight. They were outside of my effective weapon range so I couldn't take them out yet, and it would be unlikely for them to engage me in a fight, while it was likely they would have inflicted some damage they would have all been killed themselves. While I watched them debating how to deal with them a very sudden and worrying thought quickly occurred, where is the psychic usually attached to their teams?

It was then I felt a sharp pain erupt from my back left side accompanied by an explosion sound and saw shards of my armour fly past me. The explosion had knocked me so I had begun spinning clockwise, I decided to use this to my advantage, allowing the momentum of the spin to allow me to turn faster and I raised my assault cannon and began firing it before I even saw my target. As I spun I saw my attacker, it was Alakazam. Just before my cannon lit it up, the bastard teleported out of the way. I heard the sound of it reappearing from it's teleport further to the right so I continued spinning around, I saw the Alakazam readying another attack but he wasn't going to be fast enough as my aim was almost on him, only for another blow to hit me where the fucker shot me in the back.

Pain struck my already open wound and my aim was thrown off by the blow and knocked me off balance, allowing the Alakazam to get off his psychic attack and knocking me down due to already being unbalanced. Quickly looking up to see where the extra attack came from I saw no attacker meaning the Alakazam must have used future sight on me, turning my head to the right as I attempted I saw the rest of the enemy scouts charging towards me with the Flygon in the lead only to feel my weight drastically increase, although I couldn't see him I could tell the Alakazam was using gravity on me. Metal groaned as I pushed against the increased gravity to raise my assault cannon, with a tremendous effort I managed to raise my arm and opened fire spraying the area to try and hit the Alakazam. "KAZAM!" I heard him yell and the gravity instantly returning to normal, wasting no time, I immediately sat up and saw my handy work. I had managed to take off his left arm, he was on the ground kneeling his right arm covering his open wound, eyes shut in pain. I did not hesitate and unleashed another volley, killing him instantly.

Immediately turning my attention towards the advancing forces as I stood up, I turned just in time to see the Flygon firing a hyperbeam, I took a step backwards just barely dodging the hyperbeam singing the front of my armour. An explosion occurred behind me as I watched the flygon decelerate recoiling from using that attack allowing the two Arcanines and Luxray to overtake.

I turned my body so I would be facing them at an angle, keeping my damaged part facing away from them and raised my assault cannon to fire, only to feel an impact knocking me back forcing me to shift my position to stop myself from falling, throwing off my aim. I immediately swung my clawed hand around the area I had just been hit, "ARRRRC!" I saw the one who delivered the blow, one of the Arcanines must have used extreme speed to close the distance before I even noticed. My blow had left deep wounds on it's right side, however it still looked like it had some fight in it.

Rather than pressing the assault, I stepped back avoiding an electric attack from the Luxray only for the other Arcanine to have closed the distance, opening it's jaw it's teeth covered in flames, fire fang, I raised my left arm to shield my body. It's teeth sunk only a little into the armour, nothing I can't deal with, a large wall of fire approached from in front of me, the injured Arcanine must of have used flamethrower. I swung the Arcanine on my arm in front of me to use it as a shield, the flames hit the Arcanine on my arm absorbing most of the blow, only the flames to be absorbed into it's body. Flash fire, I messed up, the pressure on my arm drastically increased, feeling sharp pain as the armour broke and I yelled out in pain as sparks started flying out. Fighting through the pain I raised my cannon arm and opened fire. My attack tore the Arcanine in two, I did not stop firing and hit the other Arcanine that was in front of me killing it.

I began looking to my left to see where the Luxray was, only to feel an impact and a discharge of electricity on my left leg before I even finished turning. The blow made me fall to the right and as I impacted the ground it gave way underneath me falling into a small trench pinning my cannon arm underneath me. I heard the Flygon exit the ground above me somewhere, the bastard must have used dig, who knows how many tunnels it made while I was distracted.

As I struggled to get out of the trench I looked up and the Flygon turned to face me and let loose a dragons breath and I used my left arm to shield my head. I closed my hand as far as I could without damaging in front the claws and made my knuckles hit the ground and tried pushing, only for the arm to feel sluggish and numb, the repeated blows must have damaged something important. Then something metal landed on my side, only then for me to feel repeated blows that felt like I was being cut, at the area where the Alakazam had hit me previously, most likely the Bisharp.

With all the effort I could manage through the pain I attempted to push on the ground again with everything I had using my left arm and rose just enough for me to prop myself up with my freed right arm. The Bisharp had started losing it's balance as I rose and hopped off me.

As I angled my leg as I rose due to the narrowness of the trench a blow hit the back of my knee forcing me to kneel and for my weakened left arm to shift position and fall limply to my side exposing my head to the weakening dragons breath due to the fact it had been maintained for so long, however it was still blinding me to my surroundings, so I had no choice but to fire blindly in the general direction. The attack abruptly stopped meaning my bullets had found their mark but before I had a chance to see the Flygons condition the Bisharp clambered onto my body so it's head was equal to mine and slammed it's head so hard into my own it left me momentarily dazed, I recovered in time see just to see another headbutt about to make contact accompanied by the sound of something breaking, then another blow to the head along with an additional blow to back most likely from the Luxray and then a blow came from beneath me, likely the Flygon had recovered enough to continue fighting.

The pain and situation was beginning to overwhelm me, with little alternative I decided to take a gamble, I simply desynced with my armour. My Armamentarium then fell forward crashing lifelessly into the ground and with it, the assaults ceased. My breathing was heavy and my head pounded as I recoiled from the abuse I just took. Then I waited in silence, straining my ears to listen to the muffled outside world. From the outside I could hear the Flygon and the Bisharp conversing in their tongue, however it sounded like gibberish to me. This continued for some time until my armour rocked a little. I was hoping they would try this. After the fall of Shatterspire, the Pokemon had taken a particular interest in capturing Armamentarium pilots for some reason, it became common for scouts to find armours where the cockpit had been pried open and the pilots missing, this is most likely what they are trying to do right now as I felt my armour rock again, trying to flip me over onto my back to pry me out, however this gambit will only work once, they won't make the same mistake twice and will see my armour thoroughly disabled next time they try this.

My armour rocked again however it returned to it's previous position, it appears they had dug their trap a little too well, and my breathing slowed back to normal as I waited. They spoke again and then I heard them suddenly attack something extremely close to my right, and then just as suddenly as they started they stopped. Then they rocked my armour again however this time I rolled over onto my back and I was thrown around in my seat. I wanted to immediately resync with armour but I knew I had to wait for the right moment. Metal clanged against my hull as what was probably the Bisharp climbed up as the sound grew closer to the centre of the outside of my cockpit. Still, I waited to see if I could lure any of the others into my trap. My breathing sped up again despite my attempts to remain calm. A loud metal sound reverberated throughout the armour, they had begun trying to open my armour.

It was now or never, I resynced with my armour and before I could properly process my surroundings, I immediately pointed my cannon so the barrel was aimed in front of my chest and opened fire. "BISHARP!!!" It yelled out in surprise and pain as it was blown off my chest. As I checked my surroundings for the other two I noticed 2 things immediately one being something was wrong, I could only see out of my left side, that must have been what broke earlier. Two, the part of the trench I was in previously had been expanded to allow me to be flipped granting me a much larger area to get up.

The Luxray was to my right, it leapt towards me roaring as it dove into the trench, due to lack of time I swung my assault cannon using it as a club smashing into the side of it's face, the sound of bones breaking accompanied it. The Luxray was sent flying from my blow.

With finally a second to catch my breath I sat up, the machinery inside my armour groaned in reaction likely suffering from the damages from the fight and looked for the Flygon but saw no sight of it, I also didn't see any new holes in the ground so it was unlikely to be underground. But what I did see was the Bisharp laying on it's back on the ground clenching it's wounds. My attack had bit their mark however steel and dragon types are resistant buggers and takes some effort to finish them off. I attempted to get up by twisting my torso to lean on my right arm to push me up, however, my body refused to twist, the cause being the repeated blows to my back had finally taken it's toll. I sighed " Great something else is broken." I thought to myself. I began to push on the ground with my legs to manoeuvre myself against the trench's wall and hooked my right arm over the top to pull myself up instead. After several failed attempts I eventually got to my feet and checked on my foes. The Bisharp must have heard my movement and was attempting to get up itself however the most it could do was slightly raise it's back before falling back down, the Luxray still hasn't moved after I had struck it's head. Using my left arm I limply threw it against the side of the trench to create a step to make it easier to get out.

After doing this for a bit I made my step and climbed out of the trench and I approached the Luxray, my blow had caved in the Luxray's head so even if it didn't die instantly, it didn't suffer for long. I turned and walked towards the Bisharp who was still alive and stopped just short of it, I'm not foolish enough to approach a Pokemon that specializes in close-range combat even if it is heavily injured. I debated what to do, I'm not fond of killing those who are no longer a threat, especially when I'm not in the middle of fighting. While I thought about this I decided to see if I could find out what happened to the Flygon I took a few steps around the area I had last seen it while I kept glancing back to keep an eye on the Bisharp and when I noticed blood on the grass and followed it's trail, it went into a hole most likely the one it had dug to hit me from below, so I travelled back to the edge of the trench and true enough the blood trail continued, by the looks of it after I had played dead it had landed for a bit, likely around the time I heard them talk. The blood trail then left the area, most likely the conversation was the Bisharp telling the Flygon to leave and get it's injury tended to believe the battle to be over, I would likely have some time before it returned and saw the true results of the battle. Speaking of the outcome of the battle I had prolonged the decision long enough and walked back to the Bisharp who had recovered enough to at least raise it's head enough to see me approaching and I could see the fear in it's eyes and started to scramble weakly on the floor while slipping on the damp mud, as if I wasn't already troubled trying to come to a decision.

I weighed the pros and cons of killing it. It's injuries were severe however I don't know if it was a fatal wound. If it was a fatal wound all I would be doing is leaving it to die a slow painful death, assuming even if the Flygon did return it would take a while for it to retrieve medical assistance. If the wounds were not fatal it could report my last known direction when I left and I was in no condition for another fight, although this could be negated if I changed course, even then I tend to leave a trail wherever I go so it wouldn't matter much. The Bisharp could also report what state I'm in but then again so could the Flygon. But what if the Flygon didn't return for some time and just rested when it got treated as far as I know it has no reason to return, I would have plenty of time to escape. This back-and-forth in my mind went on in my mind for some time, all the while the Bisharp was still trying to get away from me, it's constant struggling had left it covered in mud.

Eventually, my mind reached the moral side of this conundrum, it's pathetic attempt to escape me made it clear the Bisharp was in no condition to fight back, meaning I would being killing a defenceless individual even if it was a Pokemon however if it had captured me it probably would not have treated me well. We were at war killing each other is to be expected and I can't take it prisoner…

My internal conflict eventually fell silent and took another look at the Bisharp and after careful inspection, I realized it was young and couldn't have been much older than myself, due to the fact what blades were not covered in mud, were very reflective and not worn down very much and a lack of damage.

"I hate this world" I turned and walked away, I'm not going to compromise who I am just to survive. But regardless I needed to inspect the full extent of my damage and it would be foolish to do it in the open with no backup, there were no friendly positions outside the walls at this time as far as I am aware meaning I would have to try and find a sheltered area to do my inspection.

I travelled west then altered course to then traveled southeast for some time and was being extremely careful to avoid any possible engagements. In my current state, it would be foolish to try and continue my mission so I had begun the long trip home. The sun had begun to set, which was worrisome while I do have night vision built-in, it has limited range and the quality isn't exactly the best two things that would be extremely dangerous for me seeing I'm nowhere near 100% fighting capacity. There are also my lights but that would act as a beacon so that's not an option either. The problem is, the closer I get to the city the more likely I would encounter another patrol or an even larger force.

I eventually came across a grove and with it growing dark quickly now I was left with little choice but to choose it as my resting place for the night.

As I entered the forest I kept my eye peeled for any sign of recent activity, the process taking longer than I would like due to my limited perception and could not afford to miss anything. After a while of walking and checking, I deemed it safe enough to stop. I kneeled down onto one knee and desynced from my Armamentarium.

My body felt tired despite it not being used all day, but I knew I still had things to do, so I stretched as much as I could inside the cockpit. Afterwards, I reached inside my rations and grabbed one of the water bottles and then an MRE and opened it, this one being rice and beans, although taste is not a priority with these things, so it tastes more like cardboard. I finished my meal and put away the wrapper for disposal at a later time and leant into my storage to grab a handgun this time and placed it on my lap then grabbed a flashlight from the storage also placing it on my lap.

I resynced with my armour temporarily to check my outside surroundings, I examined the immediate vicinity and it was still clear so I desynced with my armour again and unbuckled my harness and prepared to open my cockpit with my gun and flashlight in hand. I turned on my flashlight and with a flip of a switch, the cockpit opened, and I immediately raised my gun and flashlight to search the area in front of me. Still clear, so I leapt from my armour, my feet hitting the ground and rustling the undergrowth. Checking to my left and right before turning to my Armamentarium to see just how bad the damage is. Aside from it being covered in mud, the legs looked mostly fine, just some minor scorching.

The front of the body armour had begun to crumple from the Alakazam and Arcanine blows however it still looked like it could take a few more blows before failing the was a minor bit of damage on the edge of the cockpit from where the Bisharp had started trying to pry me out, however still within acceptable limits.

Looking at it's head the reason for the loss of sight became apparent, there were three deep in the head one of which landed cleanly into the right eye. Frankly, I'm surprised the damage didn't cause a feedback surge. Some of the armour had started to melt from the dragons breath attack from the Flygon. The damage doesn't look repairable in the field, and I'm going to have to be careful to avoid any more blows to the head. Also, the light on the left side had been destroyed although the second one looks like it could still be usable.

I moved to look at the armour's right arm, it was also covered in mud and some blood on the barrel from hitting the Luxray but otherwise looks in good condition.

I now moved to one of the worse damaged parts, the left arm. While the upper part looked fine just some scorching, however as my view lowered the extent of the damage became clear, the middle of the forearms armour and the internal mechanisms had been melted and fused almost all the way to the middle, I'm stunned it worked at all in that condition. The rest of the forearm was also heavily damaged although not as much as the middle. Moving to the hand the armour had partially melted from where I shielded my head from the dragons breath, worse than the damage to the head but less than the rest of the arm, overall acceptable.

I travelled around the back of the Armamentarium and braced myself knowing the worst was yet to come. While I was not at the best angle to see it, just from the ground I could see the damage was extensive. A hole large enough for me to curl up into, metal at the edge bent and cut into sharp edges. It was too deep for me to see the extent of the damage inside, however that alone was troubling, meaning that much of the internal machinery was destroyed.

However, I had to see, so I climbed on the leg that was laying on the ground and then turned to the back of the Armamentarium and jumped onto it, scrambling to get a grip on anything. I managed to get a grip on the armour and pulled myself up, and carefully maneuvered myself to get closer to the hole and came to a stop so I did not cut myself on the edges and leant backwards extended my arm as far as it could go to get a better view inside.

The damage was as bad as I feared the internal mechanisms were all mangled and cut up, if it had gone any deeper the cockpit would have been breached and I would have been a goner, I also noticed another problem the area around the left vent on the back had also been damaged possibly meaning it was no longer operational I would have to run a check once I was back inside. If it was damaged I would have to take breaks more regularly to prevent overheating, which would also mean I can't put my Armamentarium under strain for too long.

I jumped down back onto the ground and walked back around the front and I entered the cockpit. I shut the cockpit and buckled myself in so I wouldn't constantly be sliding forward. I put away my gun as well as my flashlight and pulled out my notebook to record to make a written report of my day as well as my status although I left out the part where I sparred the Bisharp, I don't need them on my ass over something like that, I make these reports just in case they get me in the future as well as to help with my debriefings.

I put away the notebook and closed my eyes for a second feeling tired although I remembered I had to test the vents. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes and I started running the tests and monitoring the heat levels and noticed an abnormal heat rise. "Damn." I say aloud as I stop the tests. As I suspected one of the vents was damaged meaning I would probably have to take breaks every 5 hours probably or so to avoid further damage. I signed and pushed my head against the headrest on my seat and rubbed my face, another bloody problem to deal with.

I resynced with my armour so I was standing and checked the area again revealing it to be all clear. I desynced with my armour. The change in the armour posture was so that I wouldn't be constantly straining against my harness. While I always hate doing this I needed to get some sleep even if I was in the middle of enemy territory. It was a bloody risky endeavour, who knows what could sneak up on you while you slept but I would need to be 100% alert when I'm on the move so I didn't have much choice.

I closed my eyes and attempted to quiet my nerves, as I did this my mind began to wonder, first to the rest of the team, hoping Ashley at least had a better day than me, wondering how much fun Rynios had looking after Kratri today, wondering where the rest of the team were hoping they were safe. Wondering how much of an earful I'm going to get from Fredrick when I get back because of how beat up my Armamentarium was. Hoping not many of the ninth would be killed fighting at the walls. I didn't notice but at some point, I drifted off to sleep. Hell of a twelfth birthday.