The peak of the east tower was my preferred spot in the east bunker of Viridian as the vision towards the forest ahead was simply terrific. I will never not like to do night duty here.

The silence was also great. The south and north towers were not so far away from Viridian as to completely shut down the sound of the city which, even as it slept, still produced some urban sounds. The sound that reached the east tower was a blend of peacefully snoring pokemon, Rattata, Caterpie, and Spearow all sleeping together and the wind hitting the foliage and trees of the forest.

Ah, a relaxing sound with a great view.

It’s such a shame that it didn’t even last one hour into the night.

“Did you guys watch the Championship battle?” Asked Trainee Brian.

Despite him cutting off the good silence I smiled. Three months ago when I was first informed by the Territorial Department that a sixteen years old teenager was going to be sent to my company I was not happy, prodigy or not, history has proven time and again that putting kids or teenagers in the military most times didn’t end well, and no Officer wanted to be the one responsible for making sure that the Region didn’t get another crazy wandering master causing problems.

Thankfully for my company High Command might have done a good job on the screening this time around. The kid was not too immature even for an adult dark-type trainer. Hoenn knows that with that Sidney fellow.

Sergeant Roger, now dressed in his new sergeant attire, which I must admit had been a long time coming, responded. “Everyone watched it, kid.” He was trying to be serious and own his new position as a sergeant but was just as much a battle fanatic as everyone else and probably would not resist talking about it.

Some minutes of silence passed and the trainee spoke again. “Do you think Drake can come back in the next cycle?”

Roger frowned and didn’t waste any time biting back. “Did you even watch the match? Of course, he can’t, fucking Stone’s brat is a menace, winning is one thing but the way he did it… Not even Blackthorn did Champion Larry that dirt.”

I, unfortunately, was obligated to interrupt their conversation. “Decorum. Sergeant Roger.”

“Sorry, Captain, Champion Lance.” He corrected.

Trainee Brian didn’t look convinced, Drake was Drake of course, The Dragon Master, but I knew Sergeant Roger was right. Metagross as a line was already powerful enough as it was but what that teenager… No, what Champion Steven had done with weaving, mixing, cutting, and all these new fancy terms trainers used these days, surpassed anyone’s imagination.

A frown involuntary appeared on my face, it was a shame, Drake always looked like he was going to die on the seat, and if someone told me he was going to be defeated like that… If I hadn’t seen it myself I wouldn’t have believed it.

Even if Drake now knew about the bait, the next cycle Stone would have something new prepared. That Metagross will probably be even smarter and will have even more tricks up on his sleeve, he had info on Aggron and Skarmory but he would have to worry about Claydol and those new fossils, Armaldo and Cradily...

I shook my head to clear my mind. I had to stop thinking about it if I didn’t intend to unexpectedly look up at the sun tomorrow. I could still spend hours upon hours thinking about matches and battles, a habit developed since my younger days in the Gym Challenge, before the League even.

I chuckled a little, my body may be old but my mind was still sharp which proved how it really was a great hobby for a trainer to have.

When not on night duty of course.

The conversation between Trainee Brian and Sergeant Roger came to a stop. I turned to check on them at the place where the three-man squad was, just to the side, and saw a nervous expression on Brian’s face.

I silently hummed. Spending a life playing charades with our teams made us, trainers, develop the ability to read body language very well.

Brian shook his head and gave up on the question that was on the tip of his tongue. I knew what he wanted to ask. What every kid and teenager trainer both in Kanto and Johto, and even people who just accompanied the pokemon battle world, had been asking for days now.

Who, between Champion Lance and Champion Steven, would win in a six versus six match? Unfortunately for Trainee Brian, he was not a civilian to be able to consider these kinds of questions, fortunately for him, however, he was just smart enough to know not to ask out loud questions like that while in the Indigo military.

Especially not with his squad’s present company, myself for one, the captain of the company who would need to write a report about a subordinate asking questions that some in the army would call treasonous but also in front of one of the most patriotic officers in the army, vice-captain Giovanni who, knowing him for years as I did, would push for Brian’s expulsion from the army the second the question left his mouth.

Trainee Brian then, smartly, came up with another thing to say. “Sergeant Dylan says that Drake can come back though.”

There it was. A dark-type trainer’s natural inclination towards provoking others, Brian was new in the company but already famous for this habit.

Sergeant Roger’s face became red. Everyone knew of the rivalry between the two new sergeants that was carried over to the army from their Circuit and Conference days. That took me back to my time in a three-man squad, although if I had jested with my squad leader as a trainee like Brian did I would have cleaned toilets for a month back in the day.

Luckily for Brian, I, and by extension my company, were a lot more forgiving with jokes than those old old farts, even Giovanni had a sense of humor that sometimes caught me off guard, even if it was a small one.

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Sergeant Roger, who seemed like he was going to blow up, controlled himself just in time and scoffed. “At least the civilians have the excuse of not being able to see the match. Dylan is just being stupid as always. No way Drake can come back.”

That seemed to end the discussion and my sweet, sweet silence came back.

I did the mandatory hourly check on the pokemon, Aria’s Noctown, and Brian’s Murkrow, and both seemed relaxed and calm, I did not see my newest pokemon but since he didn’t chime in I just returned to face the forest.

“What do you guys think his moniker will be?” Brian came again.

Private Aria ultimately couldn’t hold back and joined the conversation. “I thought his moniker was the Metal Head?”

“That is his Circuit moniker, when you enter the ranks you have to take on a new one. I’m keen on something like the Steel or Stone Claw, you know because most of his pokemon have claws.” Brian’s responded and joined his fingers to imitate a claw.

I almost scoffed out loud, of all the new trends that I tolerated from this new generation of trainers this moniker thing was the most foolish.

The fact that it all started because new trainers liked the old callsigns of the Great War left a bad taste in my mouth, the army hadn't called Blaine “Inferno” or Pelton “Sky Scar” because they were “cool”, they called them that because they hadn't known their names yet. Elite Four Agatha never had a moniker because Johto knew who she was, when Agatha appeared everyone just called her Agatha, not a stupid moniker.

The softness of the League had really done us all a disservice.

The squad talked for five more minutes about the technicalities of the new Champion’s stomp, many captains would have shut down the talk because of night duty, but I allowed it, after all, young Brian was just really enthusiastic that someone his age became Champion and needed to vent a little.

The chatter even made the city guard duty a little more bearable. I could feel, however, that my… Right-hand man finally had enough.

“Enough you two. “Said the vice-captain. “You can speculate about matches and battles tomorrow when you are out of night duty.”

“Yes, sir.” Echoed between the three and I chuckled.

That was enough to silence the squad’s discussion and the silence of the Viridian forest, the forest wind, and the snores of pokemon returned.

After some minutes Giovanni, a bit hypocritical I must declare, whispered to me. “Are you feeling alright, Captain?”

I smiled at him and raised my right arm. “Well, I could use a hand.”

The vice-captain didn’t look amused, but the others snorted especially Brian who, because I was hospitalized when he was introduced to the company, didn’t know that I was a bit of a jokester myself.

“It is good to know that your lack of hand did not affect your sense of humor,” Giovanni said with a raised eyebrow.

“What? That old thing?” I acted surprised. “Eh, it was slowing me down anyway.”

The squad was smiling, even the pokemon, but my vice-captain stubbornly remained too serious for his own good.

I put my left hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry for me, my friend. Worry for the man who did this for when I get my hands on him he is going to wish I was a Gengar.”

He finally smiled, even if a little. I knew from experience that acting angry sometimes convinced people that you were fine, people thought that expressing your emotions was good. I never got that one. The truth was that at my age things like losing a hand were just a more advanced form of living with my back pain. To some extent I hadn’t lied before, to an already declining body losing a hand was not much, I was just glad that my hand was there for most of my life.

Two hoots sounded from the Murkrow and we all snapped our heads in his direction.

He looked worried. Seconds later a voice manifested into my head.

There is an army incoming, at least fifty trainers and two hundred pokemon, poison and dark mainly, some ghost and psychic too, they are taking their time, ten minutes until engagement… Our scouts were dispatched. A voice whispered in our heads.

“Ring all the alarms in the bunker, wake up the Gym, and then come back.” I felt the Psychic get far enough away to snap the bond.

Brian released his Sneasel, Houndoom, and Mightyena. Arya released her Ledian and Gligar. Roger’s Rhydon, Rhyhorn, and two Onyx smashed in front of the great bunker. Giovanni released his Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Rhydon. And I released my Persian, Dodrio, and Kangaskhan, just this mass release must have woken at least half of the company that slept inside the bunker.

Just as we finished, the alarms of the bunker activated and the city-wide alerts of Viridian soon followed. Lights all over the city began to illuminate the night sky. Civilians should be moving toward the shelters soon.

After two minutes all the fifty-three trainers of the company were now awake and taking various positions outside the bunker, the pokemon began to be released and formed preliminary lines on the ground and sky.

A massive purple figure exploded from the thick tree line.

Thunderbolts, beams made of ice, projectiles of water, and big rocks were launched by the fastest pokemon as they tried to intercept the target, none of them came close as it flew straight into the sky frontline and horribly slammed, slashed, or kicked at least six pokemon.

Three Pidgeot, two Fearow, and a Skarmory screamed and were immediately recalled by their trainers. Three pokeballs didn’t activate.

It didn’t stop to attack us again and just soared towards the city, more specifically its Gym. It went unconcerned that someone might follow but some did try, like Brian’s Murkrow and David’s Altaria. However, as much as it pained me to not give it its due justice I had a job to do, and going after that just to lose more combatants was not part of the plan.

Decades of battles gave me the skill to immediately know which pokemon I can take and what the cost will be. I knew just from the speed and the force of those moves, an Aerial Ace and Air Slash, that that Crobat was at least Elite level. The only one who could defeat that with minimal loses was Marco.

“Do not pursue the Crobat! Leave that one to the Gym Leader! There are more coming.” We did have time to optimize. “Form six platoons, three heavies, main and flanks, two lights behind the flanks and one behind the bunker as reserve. cover all the positions on the template!”

Some shouted more than others, but everyone responded. “Yes, captain!”

The lieutenants started to move around, as a standard company only had four platoons, two veteran sergeants had to be promoted temporarily to lieutenants. The newly divided pokemon began to reform the battle lines, and Roger’s squad moved to one of the light platoons.

Giovanni and I didn’t move. We would be on the main body as it should be.

I felt Hypno return and our connection snapped into place.

I asked him what the contact time was, Two minutes.

Every trainer and pokemon froze as a screech of defiance echoed all over the Viridian hills. A screech that awoke the instincts of flight or fight in every human that heard it. It soon passed and the accustomed platoon began to move again.

I turned to catch the shape of Spirit, the ace of Gym Leader Marco, against the now bright night of Viridian. Its wings flapped so hard that even we could feel the wind. It ascended to the skies to assault its new enemy just before a sandstorm engulfed the massive Flygon and then began to expand to cover the Crobat, the entire Gym, and then the skyscrapers that sat around.

I turned and looked at my team. At one time we were thirty-one, now reduced to ten, of which just seven could fight at this level, all of them were outside the bunker or in my belt, both groups ready to throw their lives away one more time in the protection of our Region and I could not have been more proud.

“Let’s show how out of the depth those terrorists are, right, old friends,” I whispered. I didn’t need to shout, they listened anyway.

“So, Charles.” My vice-captain screamed above the sound of pokemon moving. “The first day you come back, you just suddenly decide to catch up on night watch today and this happens?!”

I laughed as dozens of shadows began to appear from the deep forest. Then the dozens became hundreds and a storm of pokemon, mostly Beedrill, Arbok, and Golbat, flew towards our position.

“It's almost as if I have the worst luck, right, Giovanni?”