"Okay, you can see him now."

Meowth walked into the medical area and made his way to James' sickbed; Jessie, Weezing et al were hanging around it.

"Hey guys!" he called out. "Have you done something with your arm? It looks... er..." He waved his paw in the air and tried to think of a word. "Not there," he finished lamely.

"Oh really?" sniped Jessie. "Wow, we never noticed!"

James chuckled and looked down at the bandaged stump where his left arm used to be. "It had to be amputated; it'd been too mangled in the fighting to save. I think they took a kidney as well, or something."

"Good ta see yer up 'n' about, Jimmy. We were worried."

"YOU were worried? I'm the one who's been made into the Fugitive!"

They talked, and relaxed, and laughed. For the first time in weeks, everything was all right.

***

"We were being spied on," said Wildfire. "Jeanette was on guard duty and noticed it."

~Why wasn't the spy noticed before?~

"Because he was good at his job," said Jeanette. She was being serious, rather than flippant. "They now know about our defences." She frowned. "I don't know how that helps them; a pitched battle would go in our favour, even if they knew our weak points. They could be planning to send in a strike team but how would that work? The caves here are full of zubat, they'd cut down the invaders in seconds!"

~Increase our defences,~ said Eon. ~I will NOT give the humans the satisfaction of cowering us in our own base! Dismissed.~

Jeanette and Wildfire left. Eon turned to a patch of shadow and said, ~So what is it?~

Ice strode out of the darkness. She looked around casually. "Very Spartan."

And it was. While some pokemon had decorated their rooms with moss, leaves, scent, drawings and shed skin, stamping their personality on it, Eon had left hers practically bare except for a few military maps and charts.. It was a reflection of Eon herself.

~What is it that was so urgent?~

Ice clicked her fingers, and a young articuno climbed out of the shadow. ~This.~

Eon gasped in horror. ~An articuno clone? The humans have Legendary DNA?!~

"So it appears. Interesting; they couldn't have got that from the birds themselves, so it must have come from dead remains. I've never heard of dead Legendaries."

~Yes, very little is known of them,~ muttered Eon. ~But this is a severe threat. What if they create more clones? Ones brainwashed into serving them? We'd be wiped out in a manner of weeks!~

"Not so," said Ice, sounding rather bored. "They are pokemon, powerful pokemon I grant you but they can be defeated. You and Mewtwo are stronger than them. Remember, when Mewtwo had his...episode, he easily sent hypnotic messages to Zapdos and Lugia, causing them to subconsciously create a storm for him. If he can do that, he can beat them in combat. Psychic and dark always have the advantage, Eon."

~...you have a point. But just imagine a flock of moltres. Just nine, maybe. Mewtwo couldn't stand against them. I couldn't stand against them. An army might, but the losses... This is a terrible threat.~

"I destroyed the lab, and the data with it." She paused to think. "Granted, they may have back-ups somewhere else."

~I'll have Nightflame search for it; send Fenris out as well. They are good trackers, they can find the information and destroy it. They CAN'T FAIL. The means of cloning Legendaries is a weapon that eclipses nuclear arms.~ She sighed and looked over at the young clone, which was pecking at a map. ~Is it...sentient?~

"Unconfirmed," she said (for Ice could never say "I don't know"). "It's still an infant, remember."

~Hmmm. We'd better just hope Articuno doesn't find out; Legendaries, with the exception of Lugia, are warlike by nature. They don't like each other; how would they react to the news that we have a clone of them?~

"The infant will not come to any harm, yet. It has a part in-"

~In the storm... I will LYNCH you if you say that again... Dismissed.~

Ice faded out of view, taking the articuno with her.

***

~WORK! IN THE NAME OF PACHBEL, WOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRK!~

Mewtwo turned away from his computer and relieved himself by smashing a few glass figurines of Giovanni's face (created for the very purpose of relieving stress). The research on the brainwashing chips cure was not going well. The microchips were complex, and encrypted with programs he'd never seen before. He had a few captured pokemon who'd been chipped, under heavy sedation to stop them from attacking him, but he still had no idea of how to cure it. But he had to find a way. Thousands were counting on him.

~I need a beer.~

***

Surge eyed his new recruits. They'd all had their pokemon officially cured of Eon's influence; Surge hadn't needed to bother, his raichu was too arrogant and greedy to join the pokemon revolution. But now he faced a group of thirty trainers, all heroes in the various Leagues. All expressed a desire to stop the rogue pokemon, especially those whose homes had been destroyed. He recognised some of them, such as young Ketchum. Surge noticed his pikachu was gone; well, he didn't need it. All the trainers had undergone a gruelling 3-day long training. They were tested physically and mentally, put in team exercises, obstacle courses, target practise, pokemon battles... The lot. Surge felt they should be trained longer, but the Kanto government wanted the strike team, codenamed Strike Trainers, ready as soon as possible for a Mt Moon attack, before the defences were changed too quickly.

Finally, the training was over and they were ready to receive their Badges; the symbol of a pokeball, with the Kanto, Johto and Orange Island flags on it. Ash took his, looking at it in awe.

"So this is it, eh?" said Ritchie. He'd signed up as well. "Off to battle tomorrow. Mt Moon, they tell us."

"Yeah," said Ash. "Then we can show them that they can't get away with this. It's wrong. And they will never win."

"So we hope-"

"So we KNOW. Evil like that can never win!" Ash's eyes burned with the fire of a believer.

"I've got Zippo- he's a charmeleon now-, Happy and Sparky ready. You?"

"Heracross, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Cyndaquil and Chikorita. I had others, but Eon's turned them against me. The bitch." He frowned. "It's odd, but Chikorita seems a lot quieter nowadays. She used to hug me every time I released her, but now... She must realise how serious this situation is."

"Where's Misty and Brock?"

"They didn't sign up. Misty wasn't strong enough for this and Brock... I don't know." Ash shook his head. "He's just staying away, seems to feel his pokemon are a bit odd. I don't know what he's talking about. Still, we can handle this. We will WIN."

***

Pikachu clambered through bracken and nettle, heading for her ultimate goal; the forest. The one with the pikachu tribe, the one that she'd nearly joined. Surely she could stay there, free and safe. She was hungry and patches of fur were missing. But she kept going, until she finally reached the forest.

And found it had been napalmed. The pikachu there had never stood a chance. Burnt corpses littered the ground, staring up with empty eye sockets.

"...no..."

She collapsed, utterly spent.

***

The ex-Rockets were now playing poker. Arbok was winning.

"...mumblemumblecheatermumblemumble..."

"Oh shut up Meowth!" snapped Jessie. "You were the one with 6 aces hidden behind your coin!"

Lash leaned against the wall nearby, making it crack slightly, and watched. {So, Cinceon, any news on the grapevine?}

{Oh yeah. Y'know Oak? I heard he let his pokemon free, and now he's in Europe as a refugee...}

{Smart move by him. Most humans here just run away to nearby cities... If they want to escape, why don't they just go to countries WITH NO POKEMON?!}

{Coz they're dumb?}

{Well, we knew that ANYWAY...}

Jeanette was perched on a ledge, watching the nearby rocks for any sign of movement. Other than the occasional rock/ground pokemon, there was nothing.

Then beedrill flew, looking casual, and said in slow, friendly tones, {There's a group of humans sneaking up on us. Look to your left.}

She looked over, squinted and saw, amongst the dull and dusty brown of the mountain, there was a slightly lighter shade of brown, moving up the mountain.

"So there is." She casually leaned on a piece of mountainside, activating a rigged alarm that sound throughout the mountain.

Jessie whipped out her bazooka. "Oh joy, it's killing and maiming time again..."

"I'll-"

"-do NOTHING, James. You can't use your gun properly with a whole arm missing. The rest of you; ready?"

{YEAH!}

Lash and Cinceon were already at the entrance of the cave, flanked by a group of arbok, ekans, charmander and mareep; all long-ranged pokemon. The plan was simple, according to Cinceon:

{We let them get a bit nearer, so we can aim better, and then wipe `em out.}
Gary was there, axe ready and looking nervous. Arbok nodded to him.

{We can handle this.}

***

Ash was climbing up the mountain, Ritchie by his side. He had his pokeballs ready, and a Desert Eagle gun that he only just knew how to use. Their camouflaged uniforms seemed to be keeping them from being noticed so far...

Projectiles rained down on them, killing one of the team outright. The very ground they were climbing on broke into fragments and set them tumbling down ten feet.

"Pokeballs, go!"

Cyndaquil and Totodile came out, Flamethrower and Water Gun blazing away. Around him, other were doing the same and also using their guns. Ash smirked; the enemy may have got the drop on them, but they were fighting back.

{DAMN IT!} snarled Lash. {They're using brainwashed pokemon! Hold back, people; we have to knock `em out, NOT kill. The humans are fair game but leave the pokemon alive!}

{OK, I want a group to go down and engage them in direct combat,} said Cinceon. {We can't just pick them off from a distance now, we might kill the pokemon!}

"We're on it," said Meowth. "Just give the word."

{NOW!}

The Strike Trainers had a respite as the attack ceased. A quick count revealed one dead, two injured and four pokemon knocked out. Ash re-loaded his gun.

"What now?"

"Continue our advance," said Ritchie. "We have to get inside and plant the bombs, remember?"

"Yep. And- oh, crap. They're charging!"

Indeed they were. The brainwashed pokemon met that charge head on, and drove it to a standstill. It was an uneven fight; the rebels didn't want to hurt them, while the brainwashed ones wanted to KILL. Several rebels were being knocked out within seconds.

Nidoking growled as Cyndaquil bit onto his tail, and he slammed it down into the ground. The fire type was knocked out. {This is useless! I've got a captive here, but it's the only one we have so far!}

Gary was trapped in the middle of the fight and noticed one odd thing; "They're not attacking Jessie, Jeanette and me."

{Must be programmed to not hurt humans. Heyyyy...}

"That means WE can get to the trainers and blow `em away!" said Jessie. "Let's go!"

The three of them charged. The Strike Trainers were confused at the sight of humans and hesitated for a second; in that second, Jessie was able to gun down 2 trainers, Gary dashed out the brains of another and Jeanette was able to break another's neck. The survivors opened fire, but it was too late; Jeanette and Gary were too close and were able to move and disarm them, and Jessie just had more experience and a MUCH bigger gun.

Ash was horrified. Humans were fighting on the side of evil. HUMANS! And... there was... Gary...

He launched himself at his rival, knocking him to ground and punching him hard enough to break his nose. "BASTARD!"

Gary kicked Ash in the groin, getting him off, and flipped upright. "Ash."

"You-you've betrayed us all... You make me SICK!"

Gary dodged his punches and kicks, calling out "You're the one who always jabbered on about how pokemon were our friends and that, and now you turn on them?"

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Ash punched him the stomach, winding him. "You've betrayed your own SPECIES, joined with evil-"

Gary did a sweeping kick, knocking Ash to the floor. "Oh, GROW UP! Look around, twerp! Humans have been enslaving and abusing pokemon for decades, and now when they decide to stand up for themselves, they're evil? Wanting FREEDOM and RIGHTS is being evil? To think I ever considered you an equal..."

Ash got to his feet and glared at Gary. "Oh yeah? Your little terrorist friends wiped out Pallet, killing your own grandfather-"

"He's still alive, dickhead! I warned him in advance; he freed the pokemon himself! He escaped the country-"

"LYING SCUM!"

But Ash never got any further, because while the two of them had been fighting, onix and geodudes had tunnelled out of the mountain and into the battlefield, driving back the brainwashed pokemon and killing the majority of the Strike Trainers. As Ash watched, a geodude used Seismic Toss to kill off a trainer.

"ASH!" yelled Ritchie. "Forget the traitor; we have to retreat!"
Ash snarled and recalled his pokemon; he couldn't reach Bulbasaur, but he couldn't go after him, his pokemon would be torn to pieces by the evil ones. The Strike Team left, leaving behind their unconscious pokemon and dead comrades.

{Oh look,} said Nidoking. {We won. What a surprise.}

Gary wiped the blood from his nose. "Yeah, no deaths on our side either. Any serious injuries?"

{On three pokemon. We've done well though; victory is ours! Hey, wasn't that Ash you were fighting?}

"Yeah. But he doesn't matter, if he ever did. C'mon, let's go."