Cinnabar Island didn't have any special meaning to me. It was an ideal spot for a vacation, but that's why it was so popular at this time of year. I somehow got a reserved room at the Cinnabar Pokémon Center all to myself, which was strange for two definite reasons. One, the entire place was packed six per room, and second, no one had already reserved this suite beforehand. In a way, I felt lucky to be alone, since I didn't want tons of attention on us. You see, I had a Mew.

Myew, as I called her, was the first Pokémon I ever caught. She quite literally came up to me so she could be captured. She acted as if we were good friends, although I had never seen a Mew before. Since then, she and I traveled around Kanto, but we weren't too interested in battling Gym Leaders. When we planned to go to Cinnabar Island, Myew became very excited for some reason. I had no idea what was in store for us.

It started after we finished unpacking when I noticed the private beach outside our room. Our suite was the only suite that faced it; none of the others had any glimpse of the beach. Myew was very interested in it, pacing back and forth by the back door. I understood that she wanted to play on the beach without attracting attention, but judging by the metal fence that isolated the untouched sands, there was no way we could go over there.

"Myew, we can't go over there," I told her, "that's trespassing."

"Mew..." she sighed, lowering her head sadly. I rubbed her head softly, hearing the faint purr she produced. We were interrupted when someone knocked at the door. Myew dashed under the bed sheets to avoid being discovered.

"Come in," I called out. Nurse Joy cracked open the door gently, holding an envelope in her hand.

"You're Jade, correct?" she asked timidly. She was a rather shy Nurse Joy.

"Yeah, is it something for me?"

She handed me the envelope, bordered with gold trimmings. The seal on the back was marked with three silver zeroes, something that seemed vaguely familiar...

I opened the envelope, preserving the seal carefully, where I found an ominous message:

Dearest guest,

You have been personally invited to the Clear Shore Resort, located behind the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Center. I, the owner, would like to meet you on the beach today at 4:30 pm. If you aren't available, leave a note on the gate. I shall be waiting for you there, Jade.

000

The nurse had already left by the time I finished, and Myew was floating around behind me. I shall be waiting for you there, Jade. This "000" seemed to know who I was, and perhaps he/she had planned for me to have this suite. It was very unnerving to think what he/she wanted with me. Myew was eager to go there, which was unlike her to ignore the possibility of danger. I myself was quite intrigued, so I dismissed my concerns and opened the back door.

Upon reaching the gate, I took into account how old and rusty it was, almost as if abandoned. It creaked when I opened it, revealing the beach before us. The sand was rather soft but it was firm enough to walk on. Myew floated ahead of me, taking in the calm breeze. I began to wonder if it really was an abandoned beach as I closed the gate behind me. It was then that I noticed the shadow beneath me; it wasn't mine.

I looked up; there was not a single cloud in the sky, or anything else for that matter. I glanced back down to find my own shadow, far smaller than what I had seen before. I shrugged it off; it was probably just my imagination. I caught up to Myew, who didn't seem to be concerned about my brief hallucination. She and I found a nice spot to sit by the ocean. She splashed about in the refreshing saltwater; it wasn't very often she and I could do this sort of stuff together. But as I placed my feet into the water, trying to unwind, the shadow appeared once again.

This time, it was in the water; I could clearly see the dark silhouette drifting in the waves. I reached over to tell Myew, when I suddenly had a vision. It was of three zeroes, the same as the owner's, but written on a clipboard in different handwriting. It was somehow similar to something I saw a long time ago, but the memory was skewed.

The vision ended, and the shadow in the water shifted around eagerly. Was it trying to get my attention? I headed out into the water, following the shadow's movements. The water was up to my neck by the time I had reached it. It drifted closer to me, just within my arm's reach. I hesitated when I realized how large it was; it was over twice my size. Nevertheless, I reached out to the shadow in the water, and to my shock, it lunged into the air with a big splash. The biggest surprise, however, was what I then faced before me.