Pokémon Legends:
The Wars of Men
Author's Notes: Just a quick look into the history and mythology of the Legends universe. I wrote an outline on a napkin at work, and wrote the final product up in a couple of hours later that day. All-in-all, still happy with the finished work.
"So, it was superior numbers that allowed the enemy to keep the Coalition forces at bay for three long days." Sascha Grinko, the middle-aged history teacher, tried to hold her students' attention as she related the details of the latest armed conflicts in far away places. "It was only through tactics, perserverance, and sheer force of will that the Allied Coalition was able to take the key structures that would later lead them to victory."
Fifth-grader Billy Trevain's hand shot up, and he didn't wait to be acknowledged. "Why don't the soldiers just ride in on a swarm of Charizard and torch the bad guys out? It would be easy!"
"Because, stupid," Molly Dietz said before the teacher could answer. "The enemy would just fight back with Gyarados! Besides-"
"Molly, it's not nice to call people stupid," Mrs. Grinko scolded. "Besides, it was a very good question, Brian." Brian stuck his tongue out sharply at Molly. "So let's put today's lesson aside for now and talk about why exactly we don't see Pokémon in the wars we watch on the news."
The story starts, like most do, a very, very long time ago. Before Pokéballs, TV, cars, or even the Internet. And, as stories so often do, it starts with a man. A very important man, though his name isn't important. You've probably heard it a thousand times anyway.
Well, this man was lord and emperor over a vast land. He ruled hundreds of thousands of people and Pokémon, and they gave him loyalty, prosperity, and good fortune. But this wasn't enough - a domain miles-wide, as far as the eye can see and limitless wealth were not enough for him.
So, he amassed his armies and set to war. His goal was conquest - he was to take the lands of the kingdoms and nations neighboring his own, adding their wealth to his, and spreading his dominion over the land. One-by-one, entire nations fell to him, and those that wouldn't swear their allegiance were decimated.
Cavalry atop Ponyta, Rapidash, even Doduo and Dodrio slew men on the ground. Riders atop mighty Charizard and Gyarados and all manner of dragons razed towns and cities, big and small. It wasn't long before thousands were dead, among them soldiers and civillians, humans and Pokémon alike. Entire species of Pokémon were lost to this war - eradicated by the emporer's thirst for power.
The war raged on for years, eventually spanning the entire continent and beyond. The battles spilled over into the seas and oceans, and full-scale naval campaigns littered the waters of the world with the blood and bodies of people and Pokémon of every type.
The world was in ruin - the land abalze and the sea polluted with death. Now, what comes next is rooted and legend, and is impossible to verify with any degree of certainty, but it's said that Lugia, guardian of the sea and one of the keepers of the balance of nature, was enraged by the wanton destruction of the world it was born to protect. So itsummoned the three Legendary Birds: Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos.
Together, the four laid waste to what remained of the greedy emporer's massive army. In four days, theyripped the scourge from the earth, relieving the world of the evil that had plagued it for nearly a decade. On the fifth day, there was peace among the subjects and the enemies of the empire.
Satisfied with this, Lugia personally confronted the emporer in his palace. It claimed that he, among so many others, was proof that humanity was unfit to inherit this world, and threatened to remove every last one of us from it. The only condition under which the destruction of our species would not take place was if the emporer agreed to Lugia's on simple commandment:
"Never again shall Pokémon be used as weapons in the wars of men, lest my wrath - swift and just - be brought down upon you."
Lugia left the emporer with his final words and returned to the sea to continue its slumber. In its stead,it commanded Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres to remain, tomore closely monitor the balance of nature, and to ensure that its decree was followed closely.
"So that," Mrs. Grinko said, bringing her lecture to a close, "Is why you won't ever see soldiers atop Charizard, or anything of the sort." She smiled at the realization that the children hung on every word, all imagining the events vividly in their young minds.
It was an important lesson that she taught that day. As the old adage says, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And if this particular piece of history is repeated, well, mankind really is doomed.