Chapter eight: Cinnabar Island
Outside the abandoned power plant, Artica and Thundra stretched their wings above Vermilion City. Still overjoyed at seeing each other, they circled and dove and tumbled through the air. Well, it had been over seven hundred years.
On the ground, their wingless companions were already making plans to find the next Soarer.
"Okay, Buck. What's the next hint?" Sparky asked the Mewtwo.
"Uh... 'Three, the King of Flames, in the belly of a Mountain of Liquid Fire.' "
"Moltres... in a volcano."
Sparky scratched her eyebrow thoughtfully. "Well... there's a volcano on Cinnabar Island."
*Cinnabar... why is that name familiar?* Buck thought. Aloud he asked, "So, where's that?"
"Darned if I know. Navigating on a Game Boy screen is another can of worms entirely."
"Hm."
"Hey, I know! Vermilion is a port town. I'll bet there's a ship that'll stop at Cinnabar. You stay here, Buck, I'm gonna go check the harbor."
"Okay."
Sparky sauntered to the harbor, where she was treated to a very strange sight. A colony of Seel and Dewgong had taken over the docks. She tapped a camera-wielding tourist on the shoulder and asked what the deal was.
"Well, I think it's, like, the breeding season or something, and there's a whole lot of fish this year."
"Yeah? I don't see any boats."
"Oh, with all the Seels, boats can't get in or out of the harbor. It's completely shut down!"
"Oh..."
Sparky leaned on some railing and looked out at the mayhem. The tourist snapped a few pictures, then asked, "You know what else is interesting?"
"Hm."
"A Charizard has taken up residence in Diglett's Cave."
"Really? That is kind of odd."
"Yeah, and it's the weirdest thing; he's wild, but he hasn't attacked anyone yet. He's been there about a month now... almost like he's waiting for something. I've got a few pictures..."
The tourist reached into his camera case, pulled out some photographs, and showed them to Sparky. She adjusted her glasses and looked at them. They showed a fairly relaxed-looking Charizard lying in a small depression in the ground.
"Hm. Well. Uh, thanks for the info, pal. Take care." Sparky said, handing the tourist his pictures and walking back to the old power plant. Buck was leaning up against it, and the two birds had landed.
"Well?" Buck asked.
"I couldn't get a ship, but I did find out something interesting. There's a Charizard living in Diglett's Cave. I think we should check it out."
"All right. Let's go."
The three Pokémon followed their Trainer, who evidently knew almost exactly what she was doing, for she found the cave with little incident. Inside, they found the Charizard, who introduced himself as Robert. When told of their dilemma, he said he would be happy to lead the foursome to Cinnabar Island. He would even carry Sparky on his back, for she didn't know how to swim and obviously couldn't fly. Buck said he could swim very well for long distances, but after stating this, seemed a little depressed and withdrawn. His friends let him be and made final plans. They left after a good night's sleep.
After about half a day of travel, the flyers arrived on Cinnabar Island. The only sign of previous human occupation was a whether-beaten Pokémon Center.
"Amazing," Thundra said, "A place where humans do not live."
"They used to," Robert explained. "The volcano erupted last year, and as you can see, the lava-rocks make it impossible for humans to build upon. They will be back. Just not yet."
Out of the blue, Sparky said, "I wonder where Buck is."
"He should be arriving shortly." Robert responded, "I will backtrack to check his progress."
The Charizard flew away. Sparky removed a box of Angel Food Cakes from her backpack and started stuffing her face.
"A good idea." Thundra commented, and she followed in Roberts wing beats.
"Wa fee gooin'?" Sparky asked through a mouthful.
Artica evidently understood her and responded, "Fish hunting. She's good at that. She will bring some back for us."
Sparky swallowed heavily and said, "You can have my share. I don't like sushi."
The human and Articuno exchanged idle chit chat while they waited for their companions. After a rather tedious half hour, Buck and Thundra came aground within minutes of each other. The foursome waited for their Charizard guide, but he never came. It didn't really matter; both the birds had strong backs; but still... why would Robert lead them all the way to Cinnabar and abandon them there?
As they settled down for the night, Buck had an announcement to make:
"If I'm not around when you guys wake up, don't worry. I prolly just couldn't sleep and wandered off."
"Insomnia, huh?" Sparky asked.
"Im... son-eea?"
"Insomnia. Chronic sleeplessness. G' night."
"Good nights" and "Sleep wells" were exchanged all around, and they settled into slumber.
Buck's warning had nothing to do with insomnia. He suspected anther vision was coming, and his suspicions were confirmed late that night.
Stomp... stomp... stomp...
Buck awoke, but made no move. He suspected this encounter would be on a much larger scale.
Stomp... stomp... STOMP...
Buck was still frozen, his prey-animal instincts allowing him no move but to tense up.
STOMP... STOMP... STOMP!
"Turn around, little brother..."
Buck tilted his head just enough to catch his visitor in the corner of his eye, then scrambled to his feet.
He was enormous! Gargantuan! Buck backed up and snapped his head violently from side to side, trying to take this monster in.
"Do not be alarmed, little brother. I won't eat you."
Buck didn't respond, but stopped snapping his head so much and held his position. Now that he had established that the dragon was very big, his mind stated handling specifics.
The visitor looked more like a predatory dinosaur of the T. Rex family than anything else. The two-legged stance, the ridiculously small arms, the huge head; it was all there. However, it was clear this was a fire-dino, a Pyrosaurus. He had flaming hair on his head, ignited eyebrows, a moustache of fire that hung limp from his muzzle, scales that seemed to flicker by their own light, even a Charizard-like tail. When he spoke, he bared very strange teeth: they looked like pearly white volcanoes!
"You've met two of my brethren, correct?" he asked.
"Uhhhhhhh... uh... yeah. You're here to help us find the King of Flames, right?"
"That is correct. Come to where I'm standing, little brother."
This was easier said than done, for the dragon was a fair ways up the mountain. Grumbling a little, Buck clambered up to the prehistoric's position. When the Mewtwo finally reached him, the giant lowered his head to Buck's level. Buck noticed with some alarm that the head was as big as he was.
"When morning comes, you will see that a small part of the cliff face here is darker than the rest. It will slide inward with a little pressure."
Buck nodded and looked up at the volcano's summit. A look of puzzlement formed on his face and he asked, "Wait... couldn't Thundra just fly in through the crater?"
"No. The crater will not lead to the King. It is dangerous inside the volcano, even for one with wings."
"What do you mean?"
"You will know soon enough, little lost Mew. Soon enough."
The dinosaurian raised his head and stomp-stomp-stomped down the mountain.
"Hey! HEY! Where you goin'?! Why are you guys helping us?! WHO THE BLAZES ARE YOU?!?" Buck shouted after him.
"Soon enough... soon enough... soon enough..."
The fire-dragon plodded into the sea and vanished. Buck stood completely flabbergasted, and let out a frustrated roar. After pacing for a while, he wore himself out and went to sleep.
After far too little time, he was awakened by a rather rude "SQUAWK!" right in his ear. It was Thundra.
"Found you!" she said, "Time to find the King of Flames! We have it all planned out: me and Sparky will go in through the cra-"
"NO!" Buck yelled, a little more violently than he had intended.
Thundra startled and asked, "Why not?"
"Trust me... ek... won't work. Just go get Sparks and bring her up here."
Thundra cocked her head at him, but did as she was told. While she fetched their Trainer, Buck searched along the dark brown cliff face. Sure enough, he found a section a bit taller than him that was Umbreon-black, and it slid easily inward. The first thing Buck noticed was that is was very hot. The second thing was some faint distress calls form some bird or another.
"The King!" Thundra cried as she arrived with Sparky on her back, "He needs help!"
Outside the abandoned power plant, Artica and Thundra stretched their wings above Vermilion City. Still overjoyed at seeing each other, they circled and dove and tumbled through the air. Well, it had been over seven hundred years.
On the ground, their wingless companions were already making plans to find the next Soarer.
"Okay, Buck. What's the next hint?" Sparky asked the Mewtwo.
"Uh... 'Three, the King of Flames, in the belly of a Mountain of Liquid Fire.' "
"Moltres... in a volcano."
Sparky scratched her eyebrow thoughtfully. "Well... there's a volcano on Cinnabar Island."
*Cinnabar... why is that name familiar?* Buck thought. Aloud he asked, "So, where's that?"
"Darned if I know. Navigating on a Game Boy screen is another can of worms entirely."
"Hm."
"Hey, I know! Vermilion is a port town. I'll bet there's a ship that'll stop at Cinnabar. You stay here, Buck, I'm gonna go check the harbor."
"Okay."
Sparky sauntered to the harbor, where she was treated to a very strange sight. A colony of Seel and Dewgong had taken over the docks. She tapped a camera-wielding tourist on the shoulder and asked what the deal was.
"Well, I think it's, like, the breeding season or something, and there's a whole lot of fish this year."
"Yeah? I don't see any boats."
"Oh, with all the Seels, boats can't get in or out of the harbor. It's completely shut down!"
"Oh..."
Sparky leaned on some railing and looked out at the mayhem. The tourist snapped a few pictures, then asked, "You know what else is interesting?"
"Hm."
"A Charizard has taken up residence in Diglett's Cave."
"Really? That is kind of odd."
"Yeah, and it's the weirdest thing; he's wild, but he hasn't attacked anyone yet. He's been there about a month now... almost like he's waiting for something. I've got a few pictures..."
The tourist reached into his camera case, pulled out some photographs, and showed them to Sparky. She adjusted her glasses and looked at them. They showed a fairly relaxed-looking Charizard lying in a small depression in the ground.
"Hm. Well. Uh, thanks for the info, pal. Take care." Sparky said, handing the tourist his pictures and walking back to the old power plant. Buck was leaning up against it, and the two birds had landed.
"Well?" Buck asked.
"I couldn't get a ship, but I did find out something interesting. There's a Charizard living in Diglett's Cave. I think we should check it out."
"All right. Let's go."
The three Pokémon followed their Trainer, who evidently knew almost exactly what she was doing, for she found the cave with little incident. Inside, they found the Charizard, who introduced himself as Robert. When told of their dilemma, he said he would be happy to lead the foursome to Cinnabar Island. He would even carry Sparky on his back, for she didn't know how to swim and obviously couldn't fly. Buck said he could swim very well for long distances, but after stating this, seemed a little depressed and withdrawn. His friends let him be and made final plans. They left after a good night's sleep.
After about half a day of travel, the flyers arrived on Cinnabar Island. The only sign of previous human occupation was a whether-beaten Pokémon Center.
"Amazing," Thundra said, "A place where humans do not live."
"They used to," Robert explained. "The volcano erupted last year, and as you can see, the lava-rocks make it impossible for humans to build upon. They will be back. Just not yet."
Out of the blue, Sparky said, "I wonder where Buck is."
"He should be arriving shortly." Robert responded, "I will backtrack to check his progress."
The Charizard flew away. Sparky removed a box of Angel Food Cakes from her backpack and started stuffing her face.
"A good idea." Thundra commented, and she followed in Roberts wing beats.
"Wa fee gooin'?" Sparky asked through a mouthful.
Artica evidently understood her and responded, "Fish hunting. She's good at that. She will bring some back for us."
Sparky swallowed heavily and said, "You can have my share. I don't like sushi."
The human and Articuno exchanged idle chit chat while they waited for their companions. After a rather tedious half hour, Buck and Thundra came aground within minutes of each other. The foursome waited for their Charizard guide, but he never came. It didn't really matter; both the birds had strong backs; but still... why would Robert lead them all the way to Cinnabar and abandon them there?
As they settled down for the night, Buck had an announcement to make:
"If I'm not around when you guys wake up, don't worry. I prolly just couldn't sleep and wandered off."
"Insomnia, huh?" Sparky asked.
"Im... son-eea?"
"Insomnia. Chronic sleeplessness. G' night."
"Good nights" and "Sleep wells" were exchanged all around, and they settled into slumber.
Buck's warning had nothing to do with insomnia. He suspected anther vision was coming, and his suspicions were confirmed late that night.
Stomp... stomp... stomp...
Buck awoke, but made no move. He suspected this encounter would be on a much larger scale.
Stomp... stomp... STOMP...
Buck was still frozen, his prey-animal instincts allowing him no move but to tense up.
STOMP... STOMP... STOMP!
"Turn around, little brother..."
Buck tilted his head just enough to catch his visitor in the corner of his eye, then scrambled to his feet.
He was enormous! Gargantuan! Buck backed up and snapped his head violently from side to side, trying to take this monster in.
"Do not be alarmed, little brother. I won't eat you."
Buck didn't respond, but stopped snapping his head so much and held his position. Now that he had established that the dragon was very big, his mind stated handling specifics.
The visitor looked more like a predatory dinosaur of the T. Rex family than anything else. The two-legged stance, the ridiculously small arms, the huge head; it was all there. However, it was clear this was a fire-dino, a Pyrosaurus. He had flaming hair on his head, ignited eyebrows, a moustache of fire that hung limp from his muzzle, scales that seemed to flicker by their own light, even a Charizard-like tail. When he spoke, he bared very strange teeth: they looked like pearly white volcanoes!
"You've met two of my brethren, correct?" he asked.
"Uhhhhhhh... uh... yeah. You're here to help us find the King of Flames, right?"
"That is correct. Come to where I'm standing, little brother."
This was easier said than done, for the dragon was a fair ways up the mountain. Grumbling a little, Buck clambered up to the prehistoric's position. When the Mewtwo finally reached him, the giant lowered his head to Buck's level. Buck noticed with some alarm that the head was as big as he was.
"When morning comes, you will see that a small part of the cliff face here is darker than the rest. It will slide inward with a little pressure."
Buck nodded and looked up at the volcano's summit. A look of puzzlement formed on his face and he asked, "Wait... couldn't Thundra just fly in through the crater?"
"No. The crater will not lead to the King. It is dangerous inside the volcano, even for one with wings."
"What do you mean?"
"You will know soon enough, little lost Mew. Soon enough."
The dinosaurian raised his head and stomp-stomp-stomped down the mountain.
"Hey! HEY! Where you goin'?! Why are you guys helping us?! WHO THE BLAZES ARE YOU?!?" Buck shouted after him.
"Soon enough... soon enough... soon enough..."
The fire-dragon plodded into the sea and vanished. Buck stood completely flabbergasted, and let out a frustrated roar. After pacing for a while, he wore himself out and went to sleep.
After far too little time, he was awakened by a rather rude "SQUAWK!" right in his ear. It was Thundra.
"Found you!" she said, "Time to find the King of Flames! We have it all planned out: me and Sparky will go in through the cra-"
"NO!" Buck yelled, a little more violently than he had intended.
Thundra startled and asked, "Why not?"
"Trust me... ek... won't work. Just go get Sparks and bring her up here."
Thundra cocked her head at him, but did as she was told. While she fetched their Trainer, Buck searched along the dark brown cliff face. Sure enough, he found a section a bit taller than him that was Umbreon-black, and it slid easily inward. The first thing Buck noticed was that is was very hot. The second thing was some faint distress calls form some bird or another.
"The King!" Thundra cried as she arrived with Sparky on her back, "He needs help!"