Chapter 3: Primeval

Note: a couple others others who have seen this chapter have commented that it's the most boring one - either because it's too much like Earth history or because it's too textbook-esqe. If you too find it boring, feel free to skip it, as it mostly serves to explain things and doesn't have too much impact on the rest of the plot.

At first, these simple lifeforms weren't much to look at. Worm and jellyfish-like creatures, along with a few sponges and such, were the largest, most complex creatures around.

But after a while (a couple billion years, to be precise) Mew decided it was time for a change.

It used its ability to alter its own molecular structure to change into a form that could alter the genes of other creatures; it is thought that this form was bright blue, as opposed to Mew's normal pink. It "seeded" the primitive organisms with this new power, changing the makeup of their DNA.

The result was nothing short of spectacular.

An explosion of new life occurred in a relatively short amount of time. A host of new animals appeared and thrived, in a variety of shapes and sizes. These new creatures were the first true nonlegendary Pokémon, and they were different from their ancestors in many ways.

In addition to being far more complex than earlier life, these prehistoric Pokémon had the signature elemental powers they're so famous for today. Additionally, perhaps as a holdover from Mew's ability to transform, they were capable of a metamorphosis-like process we now refer to as "evolution." (Confusingly, both this process and evolution by natural selection are referred to as evolution; for the purposes of this account the latter will be referred to as "development".)

One of the top predators of the era was Anorith, a vaguely-crustacean-esqe Pokémon with eight fins and claw-like mouthparts. It fed on other Pokémon by snatching them with its claws and eating at them with its other mouthparts. One Pokémon that was particularly delicious to the Anorith species was Kabuto – another crustacean-esqe Pokémon whose body was covered by a brown shell on all but the bottom, where its legs and two of its four eyes were.

Eventually, plants started coming up onto land, starting with mats of algae and eventually developing into the first stalked plants. These were quickly followed by arthropod Pokémon. To take advantage of this new habitat, both Anorith and Kabuto developed the ability to change into new forms – Armaldo and Kabutops, respectively. Both of them were predators, and so their rivalry changed from a typical predator-prey relationship to one between competing hunters. After a few million years the Kabutops won out, and Anorith and Armaldo faded into extinction.

But the reign of Kabutops as the apex predator wouldn't last long either, as a new family of Pokémon came into play. These swimming Pokémon had spines, which eventually formed into backbones, and their skeletons were on the inside rather than out. These were the first fish Pokémon, and they would take the oceans by storm.

They started as jawless creatures, but gradually gained jaws over time. This allowed them to move into predatory roles, crunching their prey with either extensions of their armored plates or true teeth. Their numbers grew until they were some of the sea's dominant lifeforms. For predators like Kabutops it was a mixed bag: new prey was plentiful, but so were new predators. In addition, cephalopod Pokémon appeared which gladly fed on both Kabuto and Kabutops.

For a while, land was the domain of the arthropods, some of which grew to enormous sizes. Plants altered by the vigilant Mew – the first Grass-type Pokémon – thrived as well. However, after a few million years, fish Pokémon with lobelike fins – distant relatives of the modern Relicanth – began crawling up onto land. Over the course of millennia they developed lungs and toes, and their fins atrophied, until they had become the first amphibian Pokémon. But they still had a long way to go from there.

For a long period of time bugs were still dominant on land. Even today's biggest Bug-types were dwarfed by these monsters. The amphibian Pokémon had a hard time surviving, but slowly but surely they adapted. They became faster, sleeker; they became less dependent on the water from which they came, and soon enough started preying on the smaller bugs. Eventually, the oxygen-heavy forests gave way to scrubland as the climate dried out. By then, the land-dwelling descendants of the amphibian Pokémon had diverged into two groups – reptile Pokémon, and proto-mammal Pokémon (which still looked much like their distant reptile cousins.)

The proto-mammal Pokémon soon became dominant, starting with various sail-backed forms that eventually gave way to lumbering herbivores and saber-toothed carnivores. The reptiles and amphibians diversified as well, but the largest of those were crocodile-like species in the case of the amphibians and enormous bulky creatures similar to shell-less turtles in the case of the reptiles. Aside from those exceptions, they remained small and inconspicuous while the mammal precursors reigned. The giant bugs declined as well, with one notable exception: Genesect, a vicious Pokémon that was able to survive and thrive as an apex predator during the era.

But the kingdom of the proto-mammals was about to meet a bloody end.

To this day, nobody knows how it happened. Not even the Zatu, which see into the past, were able to yield anything. Some say the collision of the continents into one supercontinent angered Heatran, causing an unnatural upsurge in volcanic activity. Others say that the changing climate got out of control. Whatever the reason, life was devastated.

Nine out of every ten species were wiped out. Kabuto, Kabutops, Genesect, the vast majority of the protomammals, the giant turtle-esqe reptiles – all were obliterated in the mass extinction. What was remarkable was not so much that so many things died out, but that some managed to survive.

A few small Pokémon species - most of them burrowers – weathered out the cataclysmic event. These lucky survivors were able to eke out a living in what remained of their old world, and due to the newly-fused continents, a few were able to spread around the globe. But their numbers remained low.

But Mew, ever-vigilant, was undaunted. It began to mutate creatures again, and this, combined with the plethora of unfilled ecological niches, meant that life slowly began to reclaim its diversity.

For a few million years, reptile Pokémon and protomammal Pokémon existed in relatively equal numbers. The herbivorous protomammals developed into lumbering creatures with beaks and tusks, while the carnivorous ones became more and more mammal-like. The reptiles developed into primitive gliders, swimmers, and even a few large land-dwelling predators.

But one group of reptiles began to outstrip the rest. Instead of a sprawling, four-legged stance, they walked on two legs placed right beneath their bodies. This allowed them to run faster, dodge quicker, and use their claws and teeth to great effect. We now know these Pokémon by one collective name.

Dinosaurs.

The dinosaurs didn't have it too easy at first. Giant Pokémon distantly related to the modern Totodile and Sandile lines were their main competitors, and the dinosaurs compensated by getting larger and larger - particularly in the case of the herbivores. But it would be another natural disaster that cinched the situation for the dinosaur Pokémon.

A large meteorite impacted the planet a few hundred miles from what is now the Unova region. This event wiped out most of the protomammals and croc-like reptiles, but the dinosaurs came out fairly well. With various ecological niches unoccupied yet again, it didn't take long for them to diversify even more.

The age of dinosaurs had begun.

But what of the protomammals, the former rulers of the planet? A few small forms survived the meteor strike – in fact, these small Pokémon had gone beyond being protomammals and were actually true mammals. Though one day they would have their chance at ruling the planet again, their small size meant that for now they stood no hope of taking the world back from the dinosaurs.

Said dinosaurs continued to thrive. The large herbivores grew even larger, until they became the largest Pokémon ever to walk on land. The predators grew bigger in response, becoming massive meat-eaters that sometimes hunted in packs. Regardless, small herbivores and carnivores proliferated as well.

In the sky, the gliding Pokémon from before the meteor impact had become true flyers. They were mostly small fish and insect eaters, but a few grew to enormous sizes – the biggest of them all being Areodactyl, a predator that swooped down to rip apart its prey – which was practically anything it could catch and kill.

But soon Areodactyl and its relatives would have to share the skies. A group of small carnivorous dinosaurs eventually developed a new body covering to keep themselves warm – feathers. These feathers were son adapted for other uses – one in particular being gliding. It wasn't too long before the gliders developed into true flyers – the first of which were Archen and its evolved form Archeops, both of which are considered to be the first ever bird Pokémon. For now, they were relatively poor flyers, but over millions of years their descendants would improve on their craft, beginning to overtake even Areodactyl's relatives.

In the seas, reptiles other than dinosaurs flourished as well. Sea serpents, long-necked fish eaters and fish-shaped reptile Pokémon stalked the seas for prey. Turtles did well too – Tirtouga and Carracosta swan the seas, hunting prey which included the cephalopods Omanyte and Omastar, whose shells they crunched with thick beaks.

Back on land, the giant herbivores gave way to smaller - but still massive – competitors, at least in the northern continents. Instead of relying on size, they had armor plates, thick hooves and various natural weapons to assist them in defending themselves from predators. Of note are Sheildon and Bastiodon – whose faces were armored and, in the case of the latter, were covered in spikes – and Cranidos and Rampardos, whose thick skulls allowed them to headbutt enemies. Flowering plants appeared around this time too - which led to new breeds of Grass and Bug-type Pokémon.

For a while, life was good for the dinosaurs and other reptiles of the era. However, after 150 million years, that all came to an end.

A second impact occurred, this one much larger than the first. It was big enough that it could have been caused by an asteroid or comet. The impact sent seismic waves through the planet's crust, causing earthquakes and tidal waves across the globe. Clouds of dust catapulted into the sky, blotting out the sun.

The cataclysm wiped out the dinosaur Pokémon, as well as the reptilian flyers and many of the sea-dwelling giants. The rest of the planet's life didn't get off easy either – even those that survived had their numbers seriously reduced. When they sky finally cleared, a wasteland remained.

Once again, Mew mutated the surviving life, and they expanded into the now-empty niches. This time, however, it was the mammals – which had remained small and weak throughout the entire dinosaur era – who exploded into a variety of new forms. Their turn to be the dominant lifeforms had come again.

They stayed small, for a while. Then, as the forests that sprung up immediately after the extinction faded away, they began getting larger, and larger – until some of them rivaled even the dinosaurs in size. There were many of these new mammalian Pokémon – from massive beasts distantly related to modern Rhyperior to feline and canine-like carnivores. The ancestors of Zubat and Woobat took to the air, while the ancestors of Wailmer and Wailord took to the seas. There were mammals everywhere – but the older groups had not completely faded away.

The dinosaurs, for example, had not been completely wiped out – the flying forms, the birds, still remained. Over time, their numbers grew until they almost completely ruled the skies, and had as great a diversity of forms as both their dinosaur ancestors and the mammals that ruled the land. The reptile Pokémon had certain groups thrive even more than they did in the dinosaur era, and some re-learned how to fly - becoming the first flying Dragon-types. Amphibians still lived in the swamps, and fish and crustaceans and such still roamed the rivers and seas. Bugs were still plentiful, and throwbacks to the giant bugs of old appeared. Overall, it was not so much an age of mammals as an age of all Pokémon; then again, that could be said for most of the previous eras, to boot.

All these Pokémon lived well for the next few million years, going about their lives. Some species thrived, many others died out, and over time they began to resemble the Pokémon of today.

Eventually the Ice Ages hit, and many Pokémon had to adapt to the cold. Mamoswine appeared and thrived during this era. The ice-ages became a cycle, coming and going for a few thousand years before finally stopping.

As the reader, you're probably expecting to hear mention of humans. However, there were no humans at this point – their ancestors hadn't even appeared yet. For now, this planet was the sole domain of Pokémon.

However, after the ice ages finally ended, two Pokémon species began to stand above the rest.