`` A Man Chooses , A Pokemon Obeys ''

The lights flickered as they came to life. The man slumped down into the chair beside him. Muffled shouts and noises could be heard outside, the last moments of the men and women still out there. 
 
 Blood began to soak through his jacket. His entire left side a hot sticky mess. He did n't know how much he had lost but he needed to stop it soon or he would be joining the people who got stuck out there. 
 
 The room he was in looked like it had n't been used in years, with all the fighting going on he was n't surprised. A thick layer of dust covered everything. Plates still on their table. Whoever lived here before left in a hurry. 
 
 The man dragged himself over to the sink and turned the tap praying for water. The old pipes clanked, spluttered and nothing more. With a sharp intake of breath he peeled the jacket from his body. The cuts on his side were not as deep as he thought but clean enough that they should heal well, they looked as though he had been flayed with razor blades. He grabbed an old towel and dusted it off as best he could. Using his belt he fastened it around his body, keeping pressure on the wounds. 
 
 The noises outside had stopped. Whatever fighting had ended, there was no way of telling who had won. The man walked over to a mirror and wiped it clean. The blood on his hands made his reflection look like it had red hair instead of the blonde he really had. He was pale, probably from blood loss but he was still alive. His years of training his body had allowed him to survive. 
 
 The lights in the room flickered again, a soft hum now filled the room from a nearby generator. There was no telling how long he would have any power here. 
 
 `` He's in here! He has to be I saw him run this way!'' 
 
 The man held his breath. They found him. He was trapped, unarmed. there's no telling what horrors they would have at their disposal for finding him, for killing him. 
 
 He could hear footsteps coming up the hallway, he flung himself into another room and pushed the door over slowly. 
 
 A quick glance about showed he was in a child's room. A young boy it seems. He left in a hurry too, clothes strewn all over the floor, drawers spilling their belongings out here and there.The voices were close now. 
 
 `` The lights are on. Where did he go?'' One asked 
 `` I found his jacket, he's injured! He wo n't be far'' Came the reply 
 
 The man held his breath. His heart skipped a beat as he looked down and saw a trail of blood from his ribs to the door. 
 
 `` In there'' 
 
 The man flung himself at the door, using what strength he had left to try and hold them off. 
 
 `` Take the door down!'' 
 
 
 The man was flung across the room, his body sparked with new pain. A powerful jet of water had destroyed the door and had soaked the rooms.The man was caught behind the bed, his leg pinned down by an old wardrobe. The room in complete disarray. 
 
 His enemies stood in the other room just before him, their weapons pointed his way. The man did n't have long left. 
 
 HIs eyes dropped toward the ground. No fight left in him. He saw it there. A ball. They had left in such a hurry the boy who lived here left his most prized possession. He was out of options, this was his only hope. 
 
 He pushed the button on the ball. His enemies jumped back at the flash of red light, they thought he was unarmed, they had taken his weapon from him in the battle outside. 
 
 It appeared before them, as confused as they were. This was not what it knew. The man on the ground looked at it and it looked back at him. In that moment it knew what it had to do. 
 
 `` Thunderbolt!'' The man choked on his own blood. 
 
 With a flash the room erupted into nothing but light. The enemies and their weapons now lay on the ground still. The soaked rooms only made it easier. It's a horrible thing to take a life but sometimes it's kill or be killed. 
 
 The man dragged himself across the ground toward his new ally. he owed it so much and more. It went over to his bloodied jacket and brought it to him. 
 
 Scorched, soaked and covered with blood his jacket had seen better days. The display of rank on it still visible he pulled it around his shoulders. Lieutenant. His new ally walked alongside him as they left the destruction behind them. 
 
 He did n't know if it felt regret for what it had done, however he knew in the moment their eyes locked it wanted to protect him, perhaps as it was supposed to do for the boy who had once been it's owner, it's friend. 
 
 As they walked to their next warzone the soldier reflected on how his world works. It's not perfect but it's perfectly suited for the world they live in. 
 
 A government commands; a soldier obeys. 
 
 A man chooses; a Pokemon obeys.
