-- By Shadow~Of~Shadows --
Long, long ago...before the time of television, telephone, even electricity...
Before, even, the time of Pokéballs...
A group of settlers moved from the haunted, desolate and barren fields of their home, and into boats, and across the waves. It was a perilous journey and many, many people and Pokemon alike perished among the waves. Some, however, managed to pull through. They arrived to an island, a very large one, filled with lush grasses, trees, fruits, all needed to sustain life. For those settlers, it was like paradise. They moved in immediately and felled trees to make houses, cleared some land, and made a good society.
One day, however, that peace was upset by something. Such a cataclysmic event should have, by all rights, wiped out the island. However, it did not harm the island in the slightest. Such a thing was phenomally rare. In fact, it was likely that such a boon was ever granted before.
And yet it was.
Overnight, a loud rumbling ensued. A river of lava, too hot for the water to cool quickly, flowed out of the ocean bed and formed a ring around the island. The locals, frightened and confused, ran for their homes.
Except for one boy.
His very nature bespoke of confidence, though his overall size was nothing to boast about. For his size, however, he was exceptionally strong, and agile as well. He watched the ring of lava encircle the isle, and blinked a few crisped leaves out of his eyes from where lava heat had singed the trees on the shoreline. It was just then that it happened.
He described it as a great flash of light, a soundless concussion, and something large flying around in a circle, or so it seemed, and as it flew around, a jagged line of mountains followed its path. He gasped, and watched, as gray rock-walls encircled the small isle.
The birds of the island, Pidgeot and Fearow and their respective underevolutions for the most part, took flight, but could not outfly the mountains. They rose with unnatural speed until they were lost in the dark nighttime sky.
The boy could only stare on in wonder, and horror, and knew already, and all too soon, what the morn would bring.
It was then he saw it shining, down by the harbor. It was roughly elliptical in shape, more ovallish maybe. He ran down, his boots smacking against the soggy, warmish earth as he ran. He bent over when he was close enough and stared.
At first he had thought that perhaps it was a coal or a clump of lava that had been jarred loose at the procession of the peaks, but he instead discovered that it was an egg of considerable size, glowing with an unearthly radience.
He bent over to pick it up, then held it against his chest. It was unnaturally warm, and he was so startled that he nearly dropped it. However, he kept a tight hold, held it out at arm's length, and observed it.
The shell must be thick, for when he tapped on it, the sound wasn't the thin hollowness of a Pidgey's egg, but a deeper clunk noise. The radience wasn't in the shell, it lay beneath. Almost like a fire.
Unsure and startled, the boy took the egg and walked towards the most thickly forested part of the island. He would hide it--if the elders saw it, it would be proclaimed witchcraft, and swiftly destroyed...
So began the Legend of the Crimson Dragonite...
---
~About 120 Years Later~
Due to being unconnected to society and having never invented electricity, the Valley entered 2001 the same as they'd entered 1901. With hand-pulled carts and an air of simplicity. Girls still wore dresses, all the time. Boys and only boys were allowed to wear pants.
The boy had grown up, had children, and died. His children in turn had had children, and it was one of his grand-daughters that inherited the most of his lively, adventurous spirit. She put it to good use--in her opinion. And practically ONLY in her opinion. Everybody else considered her a pest.
Her name was Lyra, and she wanted to have a Pokemon of her very own.
"Absurd..." her mother said. "Only working folk can have Pokemon. There are precious few now that the legendary Arcanine Bahou has died! His bloodline is the most famous and people will pay thousands to get puppies sired by him! Plus, they're too young to be of any use right now, and that's practically the only Pokemon in the valley unless you count the wild birds. Stop talking nonsense!"
However, Lyra wasn't about to give up that easily. Each day she pestered her parents again and again and again, and everybody else she could find. They finally consented, and bought a Growlithe puppy.
Lyra was entranced from the beginning. She named him Rex, and played with him everyday. He was bright-eyed, and very strong for such a small puppy, rather like Lyra and her famous grandfather.
They grew up together, and 2004 dawned bright and clear. Lyra and Rex ran out one day to see the newest 'idiot' (or so her mother called them) mounting his Pidgeot to try and get above the mountain peaks. He flew off, but Lyra and even Rex knew that he'd be back by nightfall.
And back he was. In fact, he crashed into the town square at a great speed, injuring his mount and breaking his arm. He gasped from a lack of rich oxygenated air, and rubbed his eyes with his good hand.
"The air's too thin, and the peaks too high! No one can escape." Lyra's father said.
"Indeed!" her mother said.
"Hear hear!" a few townsfolk echoed.
The young man, however, looked at them belligerently. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Where there's a will, there's a way?'" he asked sourly.
The townsfolk gave him a reproving glace, as one, and a slight chuckle passed amongst them. They left the young man to be carted off by the local healer.
It was then and there that Lyra decided she would find a way to leave.
---
She studied every map she could get her hands on--only to be turned back. None showed a pathway through the peaks. If one existed, it was likely too high to reach. The mountains themselves were very tough, almost like metal rather than rock, and impossible to dig through, even with years of effort.
However, she didn't give up. She looked again and again, to be turned back, but never stopped looking. It mounted to almost an obsession. Then, one night, the dreams came.
The first one was no more wondrous than the most recent, but she could remember them all. It was like she was flying, or being propelled through the air. She looked down into the valley--INTO it...from above the tops of the mountains! It was almost a speck, enough to fit on a small coin. She gasped in awe and worried at what would happen if she dropped. But drop she did--however, it was a slow drop, but not too slow. She passed mountains on each side, and finally descended into the valley.
She flew out over the center of the forest in the middle of the island that was rarely ventured into, and saw something shining like a light. Then, a soft voice called out.
"I am waiting for you, young one! Come, help, free me! Help me, my plight is great!"
It was then that she would wake up.
---
It was one day a couple of weeks later when she decided to go into the forest during her waking hours. She packed some lunch, told her mother that she was going 'somewhere', and set out. She hacked through brush, trees and vines and bushes, pushing further and further into the forest. She became discouraged after a particularly long hike, and thought maybe it was all just a ruse. She sat down at the roots of a great tree to eat her lunch, and just as she finished her rough sandwich of brown bread, bacon, and grease, she heard a strange--singing.
She threw away the crusts of the bread and stalked towards the noise. She came upon a clearing, and inside were the two halves of a shell that glinted most curiously...and next to it was a weakened Dratini. She had heard of them only in legend, and yet here one was. There was one curious thing about it, however; it was a deep crimson color. She took a step back when she saw it, hand going over her mouth. Rex, who was with her and walking alongside, barked. The Dratini looked up and a smile crossed his face. He hopped over...slithering, sort of, slowly, in a back forth motion, then coiled his body into a spring and BOUNCED into her arms! She was shocked at first and nearly fell over, but managed to remain standing. The Dratini looked into her eyes with his great black ones, and chirped, then seemed to clear his throat and said, "Oh young one, thank you much for saving me. I would not have lasted much longer...have you anything to eat?"
Eyes wide, gaping, Lyra nodded dumbly and handed him an apple from her pack. He gobbled it down, burped slightly, and coiled around her neck, sighing with contentment. Lyra couldn't contain a giggle.
Little did she know she had awakened the Crimson Dragonite...
---
Four Years Later
Lyra looked at the long, slender Crimson colored Dragonair. He was stunning, in every aspect. Instead of the cool, icy blue color normally worn by their kind, he wore a crimson drapery. She thought it suited him just fine. Just then she noticed he'd said something.
"Hm?" She said quietly.
"Lyra, I think I'm going to evolve...again...and soon." he said. Rex, still the faithful Growlithe, barked agreement.
Lyra was instantly alarmed. Last time he'd evolved, the entire island had been thrown into a violent storm, which was rare. Not many storms formed because the atmospheric clouds didn't pass through the mountain peaks well.
"When?" she said. "Do you know when? Or just..a feeling? Like..soon?"
"Soon." he said, then coiled up, agitated. "Today."
"Today?!" she nearly exploded. She looked at the sky. "When today?"
He took a deep breath, even as his crimson skin began to glow and pulsate. "Now."
To be Continued...sorry if it was a bit short, the second chapter will be longer...much longer.