Chapter 10: The Subjugation
** Green's POV **
The next morning I led the squad away from Pallet Town to begin the attack on the Arboks nest. Most of the Rangers had flying mounts and the few that didn't were members of the supply unit which would bring up the rear anyway. I had Red stay back with the slower unit while Blue and I led everyone else to our staging point.
The first day was simple enough; we got to the staging point, set up camp, and checked all our gear to make sure we were ready for the next day. The plan was similar to the one I remembered from the Onix subjugation years ago with a few changes. Since we would be underground we would need lights and designated path markers and map makers, the last thing we needed was to get lost.
So to break it down we would have small scouting groups to check the branching tunnels consisting of six members. Two in front with shotguns, the light bearer and map maker in the middle, another shotgun in the back making sure they don't get ambushed, and a message courier to run back to the main group with any updates or requests for reinforcements. The main force would continue along the main tunnel exterminating any wild Pokemon they came upon.
The next day we found out that our plan, which was a good plan that could be adapted and changed as needed, needed to be changed alot. This nest was far bigger than we would have ever imagined and the nest must be much older than we initially estimated. The main tunnel was roughly twenty feet high and twenty-five feet wide, no single Arbok would need that big of a tunnel to move, and the sides and floor were perfectly smooth as if they had been rubbed smooth by thousands of snakes slithering across them for years.
As soon as we got close to the entrance of the tunnel, hundreds of Ekans poured out. Our shotguns blazed for a good thirty minutes before the tide seemed to slow, another twenty minutes passed before the last Ekans fell. A small group began to clean up the area, tallying the dead and finishing off the injured Pokemon. The final count for the first wave was one thousand, seven hundred, and thirteen Ekans and based on the size of the bodies, none of them were more than a year old. Right then everyone knew this was going to take a while.
The decision was made to leave a unit at the tunnels entrance to keep watch while everyone else fell back to base for a briefing and new battle plan.
"Everyone. I'm sure you all know this already but I'm going to say it anyway." Commandant Jenny's eyes passed over the assembled Rangers. "This mission is going to take far longer than we originally planned. The number of Ekans in that first wave suggests that there could be hundreds of thousands of Pokemon down there."
At his words a murmur broke out in the crowd and a scholarly looking man stepped up beside the Commandant.
"This is one of Professor Oaks assistants that he sent with us for 'in the field' observation. I'll let him give his current assessment of the situation."
"Thank you Sir. For those of you who haven't heard, all the Ekans that were killed today were under a year old. A single clutch of eggs from a mated pair of Ekans can have anywhere from twenty to a hundred eggs in it. So going with the minimum in a clutch of eggs we are looking at about eighty-five clutchs of eggs or one hundred and seventy Ekans of breeding age."
The Commandant seeing the looks on everyone's faces cut in.
"This may not seem like a lot until you realize that we have yet to even step foot into the nest itself."
"Exactly." The scientist continued. "Over seventeen hundred Ekans attacked just because we got too close. Now imagine how many would have come out if they knew this was an attack. Also, I brought with me a portable genetic sampler from the lab and have concluded that all of these Ekans had Ekans for parents, we have yet to see even a hint of an Arbok. From this we can hypothesize that we have only scratched the surface of this nest."
"Let's do some quick math based on the worst case scenario of one hundred eggs per clutch for an Ekans and two hundred eggs per clutch for an Arbok. The first year with just two Arbok would give two hundred eggs so 202 Pokemon, the second year would give another two hundred from the Arbok and ten thousand from the Ekans so 10,402 Pokemon, the third year would be another two hundred from the Arbok and five hundred and twenty thousand from the Ekans so 530,602 Pokemon. Then add in the fact that after three years the Ekans will begin to evolve as well. If this nest is over four years old, in the worst case scenario, we are looking at numbers in the millions."
The assembled Rangers were quiet for a moment while they processed what they just heard, then as one they all started shouting. Questions were hollered out as everyone tried to be heard over the noise. The Commandant tried to get everyone's attention, realizing that no one could hear him he pulled a Pokeball off his belt and summoned out a Pokemon. With a loud rumbling crash of stone on stone a huge Onix appeared before everyone causing all noise to stop as they all covered their ears.
"Everyone, I know this is startling news but remember this is only in a worst case scenario." Seeing everyone calm down a bit he continued speaking. "You have heard the worst case now let's hear the best case scenario." The Commandant waved to the scientist to continue his presentation before calling back his Onix.
"Yes, the best case would be that the clutches would be the minimum number possible which is one hundred for an Arbok and twenty for an Ekans. The first year would be 102 Pokemon, the Second year would be 1,202 Pokemon, the Third year would be 13,302 Pokemon, and the Fourth year would be 146,402 Pokemon. But in the best case there would also be an uneven number of males and females leading to fighting over mates that would further reduce their numbers. Based on the erosion of the tunnel and the surrounding area this nest should be no more than five years old."
The Commandant stepped forward and started talking before the crowd could get out of hand again.
"Everyone, our current estimate for the number of Pokemon in this nest sits between 500,000 and 1.5 million. This may sound like a challenge we can't overcome but let me remind you. Many of you were present for the Onix Subjugation eighteen years ago, right?" Seeing people in the crowd nod the Commandant spoke. "The final count from that subjugation was 2.1 million, and the last time I checked killing an Onix is a lot harder than killing an Ekans or Arbok."
After his words the tension in the crowd visibly eased, people started elbowing each other and chuckling.
"I expect this mission to be done in about a week, get some rest and be ready to get to work in the morning."
As I glanced around I saw the Commandant looking at me, when he saw me look his way he nodded toward the command tent and I knew he wanted to talk. I followed him and the scientist in and closed the tent behind me. He pulled out another Pokeball and called out an Alakazam and gave it an order.
"Put up a soundproof barrier and keep an eye on the surroundings make sure nobody overhears our discussion."
The Alakazam nodded and closed his eyes before the tent began to shimmer with a faint light.
"I'm going to guess that the situation is much worse than you described if your being this secretive."
"You got that right Green. We are in deep shit and it's going to take a lot of shoveling to get us out of it." He waved to the scientist. "You tell him."
"We were not completely truthful with everyone just now, in fact everything we said was bullshit, the nest is at least ten years old and even in the best case scenario we are facing a minimum number of Pokemon ranging in the billions."
"Are you serious!? In the billions!? If they all attacked at once we would be completely overrun, and not just us Pallet Town and even Veridian City would be wiped out."
"We know Green, that's why I called you in here. We have an idea that should work, we need someone to sneak all the way in, to the deepest part of the nest, and plant a few poison gas bombs with remote detonators while everyone else attacks from the front as a distraction."
"The bombs are almost ready, they are being made with highly concentrated poison from several different species of Pokemon including Vileploom, Venomoth, Victreebel, Weezing, and Muk. The combination of these five different poisons should be able to overcome the natural poison resistance of all but the strongest Pokemon in the nest."
"Will the bombs be powerful enough to spread the poison throughout the whole nest? With billions of Pokemon needing living space I'm sure there are going to be thousands of branches, caverns, and tunnels. If you are sure this will work I'll volunteer to deliver the bombs, my Gengar knows Shadow Sneak and will be able to take me in unnoticed."
"Yes and no, if all the bombs are placed together they will not be strong enough. If you do this, you will need to get all the way to the bottom and then use your best judgment on where to place them on your way back. And we don't need to poison all of them, after the bombs go off and the poison gas disperses we can wear masks and proceed with the attack as if it is a normal subjugation."
"Your plan sounds like it will work, I'll volunteer to deliver the bombs. It will take a lot of time to travel all the way into the nest so as soon as the bombs are ready I'll go. I want to get a ways in before you start the attack in the morning so I don't get swarmed at the entrance."
"Thank you Green, I'll send for you when the bombs are ready. It shouldn't be more than a few hours so get some sleep while you can."
I went back to my assigned tent and found Red and Blue waiting for me.
"Hey boss, what's the word?"
"Yeah, we saw you go into the command tent. Anything we should know?"
"I won't lie to the two of you but I also can't say much. The situation is a lot worse than anyone could have predicted. The two of you will be assisting the main unit while I have been assigned a different objective. I am to plant some poison gas bombs deep in the nest to cut down on the number of Pokemon the main unit has to kill."
"That sounds really dangerous. Do you need any help boss?"
"No, this is a job best done by only one person. The more people there are the higher the chances of being discovered. I need to set out in a few hours so I need to catch an hour or two of shut eye."
"Alright Green we'll let you get some sleep. Good luck."
The two of them left my tent and I laid down on my cot.
'Allister, do you have any suggestions for my next mission.'
'Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir. I have just what you need. Several items in the shop would serve you well in this task. Seeing as your current chances of survival without preparation are only about fifteen percent I highly recommend that you buy them.'
'OK, show me the shop.'
With that my System shop opened and a few highlighted items appeared at the top of the list.
[Night vision goggles.....100,000 SC]
[Scent Blocker......20,000 SC]
[Temp. Reducer.......30,000 SC]
'Allister I can understand the first two but what's the third one for?'
'I thought it would be obvious but I'll explain. Snakes can see your body heat so if you don't reduce the temperature of your skins surface to match the surrounding air you will never be able to sneak by them.'
'Oh yeah, forgot about that, thanks.'
'I have said it before you have to think of everything and have constant vigilance.'
'Yeah yeah yeah, constant vigilance. I remember. What are my odds if I purchase all three items?'
'Taking into account that we don't know everything I put you at a ninety-seven percent chance of success and survival.'
'Good enough, purchase all three.'
[Ding.....Purchase successful items are available in your Item Box.]
'I'm going to get some sleep. Talk to you later Allister.'
Drifting off to sleep I wondered just how long this mission was going to take.
*****
I woke up three hours later to someone calling my name from outside my tent. When I responded that I was awake I was told that the Commandant was calling for me. I told the messenger that I would be on my way shortly and he left. I stood up and stretched before making my way to the command tent where I found the Commandant and the scientist waiting for me.
"Good, you're here. The bombs are ready and packed inside the latest bag made by Silph Co." The Commandant pointed towards a large bag beside the table. "There are one hundred bombs inside, that should be more than enough to get the job done."
"I hope so, the more I can take out with these the better."
"I agree. Good luck Green. I'll see you when you're done."
I picked up the bag, left the tent, and made my way to the mouth of the tunnel. Before I walked in I applied the scent blocker and temp. reducer and put on the goggles. Not knowing what else I could do to prepare I called out Gengar from one of my Pokeballs and had him use Shadow Sneak on both of us before we headed into the cave.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone