(A/n) I always thought Magikarps were misunderstood, and on 2/5/02, whilst walking home from school, I thought this story up. It's about a Magikarp. If you haven't established that fact already, I pity you deeply.
"Karp, karp, Magikarp," I called to my brothers and sisters. They continued to swim, above me, below me, in front and in back, to my left and to my right. Everywhere. I was in the middle constantly being pushed by my fellow Magikarp. We were migrating to a better place. To the other end of the Lake of Rage. It was what we did most of the time. We left our birth waters and swam to the area away from where the vicious Gyarados' lived.
We crossed paths with a group of Seaking and Goldeen. They shoved past us as if we were seaweed. "Weak Magikarp," they seemed to say. "Why can't you stay out of the way and go back to the waters where weaklings are accepted?"
Alas, this was common. Magikarp, they taunted. Weakest of all Pokemon. Good only for food.
This wasn't true all the time. Our scales protected us from being eaten by most predators, and Gyarados' never bothered with their insignificant children. I barely remember my mother. She had laid the eggs and stayed by them until we had hatched. Then she led us to waters were we would be safe to swim, and then left us to fend for ourselves.
I lost some of my siblings, but didn't notice much. Mostly they just wandered away; sometimes they went off with another group of Magikarp. It happened so often it became an almost everyday thing.
I didn't mind the taunts, or the loss of siblings, but what hurt me the most was the Gyarados'. Huge, serpentine, powerful Gyarados. They could come and go as they pleased, swim where they wanted, fight all who challenged them. They were fearless, and they made their opponents cower at their glare. I had wanted power like that, to be respected instead of looked down upon. My brothers and sisters may have; who knew?
But I had seen Magikarp who have hungered for power like that. They evolved, and the power took over them. They became ruthless Gyarados, and ended up disappearing.
There was one Gyarados; the most respected one in the Lake. The Red Gyarados. He had been through much in his life. He had seen the Pokemon above land. He had seen humans. I heard him tell of humans, the creatures that caught and fought Pokemon. They trained their Pokemon to be strong. Like I wanted to be. Most of them were no match for a trained Gyarados, but those who had gotten too power-hungry...
'What about a Magikarp?' I had wondered. Could a Magikarp have stood up to a human? But I had asked and no. No Magikarp had ever fought a human and won.
I knew. I had tried fighting a simple Shellder, and even that I could not beat. I felt powerless; exposed. I wanted to survive, to become a Gyarados, but with a weakling like me, it couldn't happen. Until one day...
I had been swimming with my brothers and sisters, trying to keep going, but my eye caught a sparkle in the water. I stopped swimming, which was stupid, because my fellow Magikarp pummeled me left and right, and I tumbled away from the school. Away from the brothers and sisters I had know all my life. "Wait!" I called. I tried swimming after them, but then the sparkle caught my eye again. I turned my head and spotted something shiny a few feet away from me. Curious, I swam towards it. It was a worm. I liked worms, and I lunged straight for the delicious morsel. But as my mouth clamped over it, I felt a tugging, and something clamped my lower lip. Before I knew what was happening, I was hoisted up... up... up...
SPLASH! I sailed out of the water, through the air, and onto the soft grass. I gasped. Air! I needed water! My eye caught a creature standing above me, looking down on me with a frown.
A human.
"Alright, Peachy, Thundershock!" the human cried. A yellow creature leapt out in front of the human. A Pikachu, I think it was called. What was it going to go? Was it going to attack me? I wasn't attacking it...
"PIKACHUUUUU!!!" The electricity hit me like a rock. "Maggggiiiii..." I moaned. The shock would have killed me had it not been for my scales. But I can only take so much pain. The world was getting fuzzy. "Okay, Pokeball, go!" My view was darkening, going black. The last thing I saw was the red and white ball streaking my way.
"Karp, karp, Magikarp," I called to my brothers and sisters. They continued to swim, above me, below me, in front and in back, to my left and to my right. Everywhere. I was in the middle constantly being pushed by my fellow Magikarp. We were migrating to a better place. To the other end of the Lake of Rage. It was what we did most of the time. We left our birth waters and swam to the area away from where the vicious Gyarados' lived.
We crossed paths with a group of Seaking and Goldeen. They shoved past us as if we were seaweed. "Weak Magikarp," they seemed to say. "Why can't you stay out of the way and go back to the waters where weaklings are accepted?"
Alas, this was common. Magikarp, they taunted. Weakest of all Pokemon. Good only for food.
This wasn't true all the time. Our scales protected us from being eaten by most predators, and Gyarados' never bothered with their insignificant children. I barely remember my mother. She had laid the eggs and stayed by them until we had hatched. Then she led us to waters were we would be safe to swim, and then left us to fend for ourselves.
I lost some of my siblings, but didn't notice much. Mostly they just wandered away; sometimes they went off with another group of Magikarp. It happened so often it became an almost everyday thing.
I didn't mind the taunts, or the loss of siblings, but what hurt me the most was the Gyarados'. Huge, serpentine, powerful Gyarados. They could come and go as they pleased, swim where they wanted, fight all who challenged them. They were fearless, and they made their opponents cower at their glare. I had wanted power like that, to be respected instead of looked down upon. My brothers and sisters may have; who knew?
But I had seen Magikarp who have hungered for power like that. They evolved, and the power took over them. They became ruthless Gyarados, and ended up disappearing.
There was one Gyarados; the most respected one in the Lake. The Red Gyarados. He had been through much in his life. He had seen the Pokemon above land. He had seen humans. I heard him tell of humans, the creatures that caught and fought Pokemon. They trained their Pokemon to be strong. Like I wanted to be. Most of them were no match for a trained Gyarados, but those who had gotten too power-hungry...
'What about a Magikarp?' I had wondered. Could a Magikarp have stood up to a human? But I had asked and no. No Magikarp had ever fought a human and won.
I knew. I had tried fighting a simple Shellder, and even that I could not beat. I felt powerless; exposed. I wanted to survive, to become a Gyarados, but with a weakling like me, it couldn't happen. Until one day...
I had been swimming with my brothers and sisters, trying to keep going, but my eye caught a sparkle in the water. I stopped swimming, which was stupid, because my fellow Magikarp pummeled me left and right, and I tumbled away from the school. Away from the brothers and sisters I had know all my life. "Wait!" I called. I tried swimming after them, but then the sparkle caught my eye again. I turned my head and spotted something shiny a few feet away from me. Curious, I swam towards it. It was a worm. I liked worms, and I lunged straight for the delicious morsel. But as my mouth clamped over it, I felt a tugging, and something clamped my lower lip. Before I knew what was happening, I was hoisted up... up... up...
SPLASH! I sailed out of the water, through the air, and onto the soft grass. I gasped. Air! I needed water! My eye caught a creature standing above me, looking down on me with a frown.
A human.
"Alright, Peachy, Thundershock!" the human cried. A yellow creature leapt out in front of the human. A Pikachu, I think it was called. What was it going to go? Was it going to attack me? I wasn't attacking it...
"PIKACHUUUUU!!!" The electricity hit me like a rock. "Maggggiiiii..." I moaned. The shock would have killed me had it not been for my scales. But I can only take so much pain. The world was getting fuzzy. "Okay, Pokeball, go!" My view was darkening, going black. The last thing I saw was the red and white ball streaking my way.