_X_ TIME SKIP
'Thoughts'
"Telepathy"
Ash watched as smoke rose from the recent battle of Eterna City. He sighed as the sound of gunfire and Pokémon moves were heard. John walked up to him with Bonnie and placed a hand on Ash's Shoulder. He then said, "They refused to surrender Ash, we had to use force." Ash nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I know." Suddenly, Chili ran up to them and said, "GUYS! Roark's town got overrun! His forces are on their way here." John and Ash looked at each other before Ash looked back at Chili and said, "Get the medical staff ready!"
Later, the Oreburgh City Resistance Cell limped into the Alliance's camp and the medical staff got to work tending to the injured people and Pokémon. Ash and John looked and saw Roark being tended to, his arm had been cut off. Ash walked over to Roark and asked, "Roark, are you ok?!" Roark saw them, saluted with the hand he still had and said, "Commanders. Don't mind the missing hand, enemy Scyther cut it off during the evacuation… but Oreburgh is burning."
"We'll get you patched up and then we'll retake the city… who led the attack?" Ash asked Roark and he told them, "My dad… he led the attack. He said he was there to reclaim Oreburgh City for the Comet Empire. We fought for as long as we could… but we got overrunned. He shot my second in command in front of me. He said that he was taking back the city… then the rest of Sinnoh." Ash and John looked at each other before hearing explosions from the cycling road. Ash shouted into the radio, "REPORT!" a soldier came back and said, "COMET EMPIRE FORCES ARE PUSHING HARD FROM OREBURGH AND ROUTE 206!" Then there was another explosion from Eterna Forest.
"COMMAND! COMET IMPERIAL FORCES PUSHING THROUGH ETERNA FOREST!" Shouted another Soldier. John looked at Ash and said, "They're trying to get us in a Pincer maneuver. I'll coordinate the defense at Eterna Forest, you handle the other area?" Ash nodded his head and ran to the cycling Road. The alliance Soldiers kept up the fire on the Comet Empire forces as Ash joined them at the front lines. An Alliance Tank fired a round at a Comet Empire tank as it got dropped off by a helicopter. Ash called out his Pokémon and told them, "Keep the Enemy back until they retreat!" His Pokémon team; Pikachu, Sceptile, Infernape, Charizard, Zapdos, and Azelf, all nodded their heads and used Thunderbolt, Bullet seed, Flamethrowers, Thunder, and Psybeam. The Comet Empire forces were being held back by them as Ash radioed John.
"How's Eterna Forest?!" Ash shouted over the noise of the attacks. John replied, "they're pushing hard! But we're holding on!" Then there was an explosion from John's defense line. Ash shouted John's name when John said in Telepathy, "I'm good Ash, they launched a missile and I was able to use my Aura to strike it before it struck the line." Ash breathed a sigh of Relief before he shot Aura spheres at the Enemy soldiers. After their push got held down by the Alliance, both Comet Empire forces that tried to take Eterna City were forced to retreat.
"I want a head count of all our wounded and dead." Ash said as John walked up to him with Chili and he was carrying Trip. Ash saw it and said, "No…" John nodded and he said, "Yeah… Trip saved my life at the cost of his own." Ash sighed and put a hand on Trip's chest as he said, "Thank you for your continued support my friend." Chili then laid Trip on a gurney and covered him with a white cloth.
Afterwards, they sent Trip's Body back to the Unova Region and Ash was in his quarters crying. John heard his friend crying and sat next to him as he had a hand on his back. Ash looked at him and hugged his best friend. John patted his back when Mewtwo teleported in with May, Aubrey and Collin. Aubrey and Collin hugged their dad as Aubrey got on her daddy's lap and May sat on the other side of Ash. John stood up and walked out to give the family space. John sighed before taking a swig from his flask and checked on the lines. John saw some Soldiers mourning for Trip. He let them be as he saw Trip's Pokémon mourning as well. He comforted them all the best he could.
Back with Ash and his family, Aubrey held her daddy's hand as May rubbed his shoulders. Collin was petting Pikachu as Ash sighed. He then said, "Trip was a good man, I wish the traitors would give up already." May kissed his cheek and said, "We both know they won't." Ash nodded and leaned on him more. The next day, the alliance pushed out towards Floramora Town and Oreburgh City. John led the attack on Eterna Forest, it was slow going but they were able to push the Comet Empire forces out of it while Ash led forces down the Cycling Path to take Oreburgh City. on the Outskirts, Alliance Mortars bombard the Comet Empire soldiers in the town while Ash had his Charizard use Flamethrower to melt Comet Empire Machine Guns and pillboxes. Soon the Comet Empire forces retreated into the Oreburgh Mine.
"Blow the entrance. Seal them in." Ash said. The Engineering corp nodded and rigged explosives to the Mine entrance before a soldier shouted, "WAIT! WE GIVE UP! WE SURRENDER!" and the Comet Empire Forces walked out of the cave with their hands up. Ash had them sent to the prison camp while Chili had the men set up a defensive perimeter at the old defense lines. Ash then set up a mind link with John and Bonnie and he said, "Report, how did it go at Eterna Forest?" John came back with a reply, "Eterna Forest, Route 205, the Valley Windworks, Fuego Ironworks, and Floaroma Town are all taken. We can begin the push towards Route 204 and Jubilife City on your go Ash."
"Bonnie here, the AA guns around Canclave City were giving our Airborne divisions a hard time, but with the destroyer Pichu's guns taking them out, we can take the city better. Also got sights on Roark's dad, he's heading to Jubilife City." John and Ash both smiled as Byron was a gym Leader who joined the Comet Empire and they were more than happy to get him so Roark can have his revenge. Ash then told them all the plan, that they'd be attacking Jubilife City from all three routes protruding from it. (A.N.: I say the three routes protruding from it cause they'd march down Route 202 towards Sandgem Town then Twinleaf Town.)
"That's a good plan Ash, my forces will be ready in a few days. The battles took a toll." John told his friend. Ash nodded his head and replied, "Same, build up your defense lines in case the Comet Empire tries something." John nodded his head and looked at his men and said, "Get the defense lines in town built. We want to make sure to repel any Comet Empire attacks." The men under his command nodded and went off while one soldier asked to speak to John in private. Going into the Local Flower Shop, John looked at the soldier and asked, "what is it soldier?" The soldier made sure that no one was there before he pulled out a communications device and pressed it. On the screen was a traitor and John recognized her.
"Dawn…" John said in anger and gritting his teeth. Dawn simply said, "Hello John, and it's Commander Dwarf Star. I got a proposition for you from our great emperor." John crossed his arms and said, "Oh? And praytell what is this proposition from your "Great Emperor"?" Dawn smiled and said, "We both know you and Ash see differently in your battles. So how about you do the right thing and join the right side." John stared at her when Lucario said, "Master, I have her location." John smiled and said to Lucario, "grab her and bring her to me Lucario" Dawn saw John smiling and she foolishly smiled and said, "Do you accept my Emperor's offer?" John leaned forward and said, "No." That was when he saw his Lucario teleport in behind Dawn, grab her, and teleport out.
The next thing the soldier knew he saw his commanding officer standing in front of him being held by a Lucario and Alliance Soldiers aimed their rifles at him. John looked at Dawn and said, "Ash and I knew you would plant spies in our army from the main regions. Our intelligence team has pinpointed all the spies and we knew this man was one such spy." Dawn's jaw dropped and said, "How? The spies of the Comet Empire are the best of the best!" John then sent her a message through Telepathy, "Aura powers and telepathy bitch." John then contacted Ash with his own Comms and showed Dawn to him. Ash smiled and said, "Hello Dawn." Dawn growled and that was when she realized something.
"That disagreement you two had… it was staged. YOU KNEW WE HAD SPIES WATCHING YOU!" Dawn said with shock, horror, anger, and defeat. Ash nodded his head and said, "Yup, we knew you were watching, and wait until you hear this, I just got word that the Comet Empire forces left over in Sinnoh already heard of your capture and surrendered swiftly. Even Byron surrendered." Dawn was speechless and cried at the fall of her region to the alliance forces. The next day, in Hearthome City, the alliance held a little parade with the Sinnoh Resistance and people showed their support of their fight. At the end of the Parade, the traitors who survived were pelted with rotten food and curse words.
"Is that too much John?" Ash asked his friend. John looked back and said in a telepathic message, "No Ash, they deserved this. You and I both agreed to that." Ash nodded his head and sighed at how the battle for Sinnoh was a long and grueling one. Ash then felt a hand on his back patting it, it was his friend John reminding him that Ash had him and his support. Ash smiled and nodded his head. Ash was then invited onto a platform for a speech.
"People of Sinnoh. We freed your homes. But the war is far from over. Emperor Tracy and the Kanto Region are still fighting, along with his loyal followers in Johto and Hoenn. But we will not rest until all of the Pokémon world is free from Tyranny. Those who sided with the COmet Empire will all face trials. They will not win, the comet Empire has always been on the backfoot. They can't beat us as long as we stand united!" Ash said at the beginning of his speech. The crowd roared in excitement.
In Kanto, Emperor Tracy watched Ash's speech and growled as his list of allies had been slowly dwindling more and more through being killed, captured, or defected. He stood up and screamed, "I WANT KETCHUM DEAD! YOU HEAR ME! DEAD!" The Comet Empire soldiers there nodded their heads and ran out in a panic. Tracy had slowly been losing his mind and wanted to throw his men into the meat grinder, many of them didn't want to die for no reason other than Tracy's personal grudge against Ash.