As children and as historians, you would have heard of the legends surrounding certain Pokemon; in tales to frighten you into behaving, in epic mysteries about how the three great beasts came into being, and other stories of places near your hometown. I do not want to speak of the small-time legends, or ones that are not connected to our subject; instead, let us delve into the actions of the Pokemon that saw fit to guide humankind to evolution beyond all other animals, and into their intentions towards us. I will not discuss Arceus in this book; if you want to learn about the 'creation' of the universe by a Pokemon, please read a sinnohian text relating to the matter.
~Ho-oh~
An enormous phoenix whose origins are unclear, and whose power rivals that of Lugia, Ho-oh is widely considered to be one of the 'origins of life'. Ho-oh is an individual bird Pokemon that is rumoured to dwell in space, due to its immensely developed ability to hide from pursuers. Ho-oh was continually spoken of in historic volumes, as the bird was active in a god-like role for primitive humans. His most dazzling attack was, of course, Sacred Fire. This fire was so hot and bright that it was considered the highest privilege to see it in action, and anything touched by the fire was revered as holy. Ho-oh's intentions are unclear; he may either have been attempting to guide humans to fruition, or simply wanted a slave race that was capable enough to do his bidding. Either way, Ho-oh was disgusted by certain criminals that attempted to capture it, and used his sacred fire to destroy the monument to him; his tower. This killed three Pokemon at the tower's base, but Ho-oh was told to feel guilty about causing their deaths, and he used some mystical power unknown to us to make them rise from the dead. There are rumours that Ho-oh is not in fact a real Pokemon, instead being Mew in the middle of a Transform attack.
~Mew~
Mew is a pink, cat-like Pokemon that levitates to fly and is considered to be the first Pokemon to have ever existed. This theory was supported by evidence discovered of Mew being capable of every attack known to man, and its genetic code containing that of every Pokemon in existence. Because of amazing abilities to change its shape, Mew can become any Pokemon in existence, which is what fuels the rumours surrounding Ho-oh's nonexistence. Mew is extremely rare; it was thought extinct until recently, after certain political events that cannot be recorded in this book. Because of its beauty and rarity, if the Pokemon existed today it would certainly have died out again anyway. To ancient man, Mew was a goddess; capable of reviving the dead, immortality and healing the sick or wounded. However, Mew did not influence the lives of ancient man except for one occasion upon which it halted the armies of the world in a medieval world war.
~Lugia~
Lugia is an enormous bird, sporting blue spikes of bone on its head, back and tail. The back of its head juts out into a sharp point, but the simple silver of its feathers doesn't make it possible to see where the bone begins to move from the base of the skull. Lugia can fly, with great wings that look nearly like fingers, and can dive to the very bottom of the ocean in order to race around the world, apparently without needing to breathe. Its psychic powers are immense; one enraged Lugia was recorded to have caused a global disaster with a pulse of its mental energy, destroying ancient Pokemon populations such as Aerodactyl and Kabutops. Lugia represents the wind and the ocean, along with the awesome power of the elements. To ancient humans it seemed to be the ultimate guardian against death, and for this it was crowned 'The Guardian of the Sea'. Drowning sailors have been rescued from certain death by this Pokemon before, and Lugia's existence has been confirmed. Lugia did not seem to like how Ho-oh influenced the humans of the land, and would often cause his three wards (Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos) to fly over the land and disrupt whatever dealings Ho-oh had made with the humans. Lugia's song is sung at ceremonies and rituals about the legendary Pokemon, often symbolising peace or hope.
~The Three Birds~
The three birds. The famous representations of ice, fire, and electricity. Each bird has their own tale to tell, but for this book I will only speak of the legends about all three of them. The first bird is Articuno, called as such because of its ice heritage and because it was the first named bird. It is a beautiful light blue songbird with a gloriously long and shimmering tail that is said to wave and crack like a flag while in flight. The next is Zapdos; the bird of lightning, often seen in storms. It is hard to describe to one that has never seen it before, but it's basically a yellow bird with a long, orange beak in the shape of a spear, and its wings have feathers in jagged zig-zags. The last one is Moltres, another phoenix Pokemon but with a twist; its wings, head and tail are actually on fire. Moltres is thought to appear just before the coming of spring, and has a very nasty rivalry with Articuno. The three birds always obey Lugia if calmed and not in the middle of a bad fight, and only a blast of combined elemental attacks could defeat their lord, which helps to keep them in line. The birds symbolized unity to primitive people, but also dissent; there is never a time when the birds were completely at peace with each other, being warring in nature and fiercely proud of themselves. The mere sight of all three birds was usually enough to scare entire tribes into submission; their fights became legendary themselves over many thousands of years.
~The Three Beasts~
The three legendary beasts are known by so many names, that I have decided to simply call them 'beasts' in this book. They are all quadrupeds, and represent the subtler forms of the elements as they race over their native homeland, Johto. The first is Suicune; a blue leopard/dog with a large crystal on its head that is the centre of its mystical power. Suicune is incredibly fast, and prefers to flee than to fight. It can purify water with its presence, and is called the North Wind because of its speed and the cool breezes that follow it. The next is Entei, the lion/dog of volcanoes. Entei is rumoured to come into being whenever a volcano is born, but this is not true; baby Entei have been discovered in the wild recently. Entei's roar is powerful enough to cause earthquakes, if used with enough effort. The last is Raikou, a sabertooth lion/canine with literally lightning-fast reflexes and huge fangs that are powerful enough to crush a Tyranitar's armour. It is always followed by a fierce thunderstorm, and can travel within the lightning bolts themselves. These three Pokemon were reborn into their bodies by use of Ho-oh's celestial power, and because of this, follow his every whim. They never really communicated with ancient tribes of humans, but their pictures have been avidly painted and celebrated due to their raw power and beauty.
These are the legendary Pokemon of Kanto and Johto; please take notes on these Pokemon's origins and their preference towards humans before we continue in the next chapter.