Chapter IV

I sat in the basement going through the first aid kit. It was all I had left of my home. The boat was wrecked, my life was wrecked, and I'd lost everything. Under the gauze I noticed a small book. It was my Pokémon manual I'd been reading on the boat. I had found it on the boat and put it in before Oscar, Jack, and I left the boat. I'd completely forgotten about it until now. I just sat flipping through it. The basement was really an empty hole with dirt floors and stone walls. Oscar had brought me some berries an hour ago and I'd ate them, they'd tasted sour. Since I'd ate no one had come to see me, so I just waited and sat until I fell asleep.

The next day was more of the same thing. I ate, I slept, and I talked to Oscar when he came to visit me. I learned that the island I was on was called Aeliar and the town I was in was called Osar. The day after was different and I knew it the second Jack and Oscar both padded down the stairs. I turned to them and Jack said, "alright it's important that you listen to me when I tell you this. Today is the Legends Fair and that means you can not under any circumstance— I don't care if the building is on fire— leave this basement. We're going to the Fair and you need to stay here." Curiously I asked, "what's the Legends Fair?"

"It's the annual celebration in honor of the legends," Oscar said.

"Like Palkia and Arceus?"

"Yes exactly! Wait. How do you know about the Legends?"

"Well… in my world we have Pokémon, but only in game form."

"That's… strange, but yes."

"Well, what's the story behind the Fair?"

"I'll tell you…," Jack said.

Long ago there was a war between humankind and the Pokémon of the world. Many fought and died to the hands of the other side. Even the Pokémon and humans that didn't fight were caught in the crossfire. The war was started by the Pokémon as a revolt against the monstrous cruelty showed by the humans, we were enslaved and used only for labor and disgusting fights. The war lasted a long time and in the midst of the war the Legends came out to fight along side us. The first to fight were the three beasts of Legends, Suicune, Entai, and Raikou. Soon the others followed and fought beside us until the humans, fearing the loss of their workforce, they erected a Machine that would holocaust our people. We sent a small army of Pokémon in a last stand to destroy the Machine that would all but wipe us out..." (flashback) "come on," Machamp yelled. "We can make it if we get to the Machine!" A human soldier cane from around a buning building and pulled the trigger on his gun. A bright flash permeated the dusk and the machamp fell. (end)

"Few made It past their defenses and those not in battle knew that almost surely the war was lost. So many Pokémon fled to a long forgotten duo of Islands. Those who were able to escape to the islands were spared most of the horror, but It was still just as so for those with family in the various regions. Almost every Pokémon in Kalos was killed and just as many everywhere else. Those close to the heart of the blast were turned to stone instantly. The only Pokémon who were spared were those farthest from the blast and those who made it to the islands."

Jack just stood there staring at me for a second then he just walked away. Oscar looked at me, "that's why there are less Pokémon in some regions than others. Because when the machine fired it hit some regions Pokémon harder than others." I just sat down and leaned against the wall, "that's terrible. I can't even comprehend how that could have happened… so the Fair is all in honor of the Legends who saved your ancestors?" Oscar nodded. "Well," I said surely. "I wouldn't want to interfere with the Fair, so I'll stay here." Jack nodded as he left, "good." Oscar smiled at me, "don't worry I'll bring you back a souvenir." I smiled back, "thanks."

It was about 20 minutes later that I heard it. The floors above my head were creaking. Then I heard a voice, "careful, they can't know we were here." The speaker was light on their feet so I figured it was a smaller Pokémon. "Your sure they had it delivered here?"

"Yeah, Galvin said ssso."

"The Machamp? Are you sure, because he's not the ripest berry on the bush."

"Yeah, he said for sure that Jack had him bring it here. He said Jack told him to take it to the basssement."

"Then let's check it out."

I gasped. I couldn't let myself be seen. Especially by someone who was snooping around in someone else's house. I'd heard through the floor the voices of every Pokémon that lived in the house, but I'd never heard this one before. I looked around for somewhere to hide. There were a couple of empty crates in the corner, but they were too small to hide behind or in. They'll come down the stairs any minute now I thought. The stairs! I remembered seeing a hole in the wall behind the stairs. I ran over to them and sure enough there it was, a small hole only about a foot by a foot wide and a few feet back, but just big enough for me to hide in. I climbed inside the hole and crawled backwards until I was a foot from the front. Just in time too, not a second later I heard someone walking down the stairs. I could barely see them through the stairs, but the first Pokémon walked on two legs, had a shell, and dark blue skin. A Wartortle I thought. I looked at the second Pokémon and was surprised to see an Ekans slither down the stairs. That explained the weird hiss I'd heard when he talked and why he'd made no noise walking, he'd just slithered across the floor.

They walked around the basement checking out the crates in the corner and even where I'd been sitting, not a minute ago. "There's nothing here," the Wartortle said. "Not even the basket." The Ekans slid out its tongue, "the air tastes ssstrange. Something else isss here." I slid slowly back into the wall until I hit the back. Then from upstairs I heard a door slam shut and someone run across the floor. "Come on Hepi, we need to go," The Wartortle said quickly. They snuck up the stairs and presumably out of the house. I sighed. Today's gonna be a day I thought.