Yoshi slowly opened his eyes, getting up and stretching his arms. He rubbed the back of his head, and noticed that Sluggy the Slugma was looking at him. "Ahhh!" Yoshi fell back on the magma-hardened chair. "Sluggy! What are you doing here?"
Sluggy laughed, slugging over to Yoshi. "Why, I rescued you from those two Cobrats earlier? Is this a way to thank your friend?" He asked, frowning a bit.
Yoshi let out a sigh and got up to his feet. "Well...you make a good point." He then remembered about his special orb. "Oh! My orb!" He took it out from his small red pad and looked at it, his eyes gleaming at the light-blue orb shining.
Sluggy gasped in awe. "Wow... where did you get that shining orb?" He eagerly asked.
Yoshi shook his head and turned to Sluggy. "Well, I happened to notice this before, and I had to fight in the arena in the town to have enough Fire Coins to buy this from the Torkoal shopkeeper." He glanced at it carefully. "It looks really peculiar..."
Sluggy nodded, and he let out a sigh. "Yoshi, can you follow me into my room?" He asked quietly, slugging to the right.
Yoshi watched Sluggy enter into his room, and placing the orb away in his small red pad, the green Yoshisaurus followed his Slugma friend. He then titled his head rightwards in confusion as he saw Sluggy sobbing. "Sluggy, what's wrong?"
Sluggy sniffled, and he turned his focus to Yoshi. "Well, it's just the fact that today marks the seventh anniversary of when we Fire Pokemon went up against the Water Pokemon. Fire Island was nearly destroyed. Half of the Fire Pokemon perished...and my parents..." He sniffled, his eyes filled with tears of sorrow. "They were among the Fire Pokemon who were terminated..." He slugged onto his small, red bed.
Yoshi frowned, and he sat on the bed, comforting Sluggy and patting the young Slugma on the back. "There there, Sluggy...tell me what happened."
Sluggy looked at Yoshi, sniffling. "Well...sniff...I guess it wouldn't be bad if I told you." He cleared his throat, and started, "Today, seven years ago exactly, at seven o' clock in the morning..." He closed his eyes, as did Yoshi, as Sluggy set the mood for his tragic tale...
The Charmeleons and Magmars were doing their guard duties as usual, while the Slugmas and Magcargos were peacefully minding their own business. As we went on with the day...it was then that...they came along. The Water Pokemon.
A horde of Wartortle, Blastoise, Gyarados... you name it. They raved the entire fiery island with their water attacks. All of the Fire Pokemon decided to take a stand against them, but this proved to be useless as more of them came across.
Powerful fireballs and bubbles collided into each other, burning and soaking both of the Pokemon on different sides. Eventually, the Water Pokemon were bested, and were forced away from the Lethal Lava Volcano, a magma barrier standing between the fiery perimeter and the blue ocean itself. The victory was for us, but sadly, it came with a cost. The island was damaged heavily, and half of the Fire Pokemon were killed in battle, many of them injured greatly, even the innocent. I was left alone in my crib, wailing at the sight of my two dead parents. I have ever since did the best I could to help rebuild Fire Island, but even so, we always had fear that the Water Pokemon could break through the barrier and strike again...
Sluggy let out a depressed sigh, shaking his head. "Now I'm even more concerned, with those two Cobrats on your tail..." He looked at Yoshi suspiciously. "Why are you here, anyway?"
Yoshi looked at his feet, a frown marked on his face. "My best friend has been taken by an evil overlord, and I'm determined to go through all of Dinosaur Land to get him back." He looked at Sluggy. "But I can't do that alone. In order to get to the volcano, I'm gong to need help."
Sluggy's depressed frown then turned into a confidential smile. "Hey, that just reminded me. You know the Torkoal shopkeeper?"
Yoshi gave Sluggy a strange look. "Yes... what about him?" He asked with caution, not certain of what Sluggy was planning.
Sluggy got off of his bed and slugged in front of Yoshi. "How about," Sluggy started, stating cleverly, "We both go to his shop, tell him about your adventure, and then he'll be able to allow us to go to the volcano!"
Yoshi gasped. "You mean the Torkoal shopkeeper is the keeper of the Lethal Lava Volcano!?" The green Yoshisaurus asked in dismay.
Sluggy murmured a bit, saying after a few seconds, "Well, most of his kind lives there. Fact is, he's the only one of his kind to live on Fire Island. He once told me in secret that it was his dream to have a successful shop..." He giggled, "And by his success, I think it's coming true."
Yoshi smiled, getting off the bed and standing on his two feet. "Well, shall we go on and tell him? I'm sure he'll agree."
Sluggy nodded. "Yes! Let's go see him and then, off to the Lethal Lava Volcano!" And with that, he and Yoshi both exited the red, magma-hardened, dome-shaped house and headed to the town, to see the Torkoal shopkeeper.
Nearby from the two friends were the two Cobrats from before, who were watching Yoshi closely.
"So, the Torkoal shopkeeper is the bearer of the key to the Lethal Lava Volcano, eh?" The first, younger Cobrat said, smirking. "Delightful news."
The second, older Cobrat chuckled. "Hmmhmmhmm... let those two do all the work for us...then, after they get permission, we strike!" He laughed evilly, joined in by his brother as they disappeared into the dark shadows of a red, magma-hardened, dome-shaped house.
