Cradily

Once upon a time, when fossil Pokemon were as common as Tentacools, there was a Cradily that believed that he was supposed to be a Flying Pokemon.

"Where did you get such a ridiculous idea, Cray?" another Cradily asked him. "It makes no sense."

"It does so make sense," Cray insisted. "Every night, I have dreams of flying in the wide open skies, far above these waters that we live in. If it wasn't every night, I wouldn't think it meant anything. But I am having that dream every single night. Therefore, I must be destined to one day fly above the ocean."

"We're Rock Pokemon. And Grass Pokemon. Both of the ground, not the sky."

"Careful about saying that so loud," a shy Lileep piped up. "Some folks might say you're betraying Kyogre by saying that."

The other Cradily, named Lily, sighed and shook her short tentacles. "Fine, we're Rock and Grass Pokemon that are definitely dwellers of the waters, not the skies. And we don't have any loyalty to that stinking Groudon and the ground dwellers. But the point still stands. You're not supposed to be in the sky."

"Well I think I'm meant to live in the sky," Cray insisted.

"And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" Lily asked. "You have no wings… and we don't even swim. We walk along the seabed and come out at low tide. And even then, it's hard to hold these rocky heads up when we're out in the air. There is no way that you can fly."

"I'll find a way. You just wait and see. I'll be flying one way or another."

"Idiot. Come on, child." Lily nudged the Lileep. "It's low tide; let's go find on shore and dig for food."

Cray would not give up his dream, though. He trudged all the way south to a point called Sapphire Beach. In this quiet cove, there lived the oldest Cradily known along the Hoenn coastline. The Old Guy supposedly knew much of the wisdom of the sea, despite living in the shallow waters like every other Cradily. If anyone could help Cray live out his dreams, it was The Old Guy.

The Old Guy lived on the side of a large yellow-tan rock. His small but tough green body hooked onto the side, letting his large flower head drift back and forth with the tides. Some of his tentacles were cut short or shriveled. According to rumor, he hung onto the side of this rock in a stubborn effort to prove that, although he was The Old Guy, he wasn't too old.

After twisting his head in a show of respect, Cray said, "I want to ask you about something."

"Do you? Hmmm." He remained like that for a minute. "There is no way to create an acid that will instantly dissolve the armor of a shellfish Pokemon."

"What?" He shook his head. "No, that's not it, although that really stinks. I have constant dreams of flying in the sky, so I feel that I am destined to grow wings and fly above the ocean. Do you know of any way I can do that?"

"Fly? Above the waters? That's ridiculous. We're Rock and Grass Pokemon, tied to the ground and loyal to Her Majesty of the Seas, Kyogre."

Cray leaned forward. "Uh-huh, yeah. Loyal to Kyogre."

"And we Cradilies are not meant for the skies," The Old Guy stated.

"But I'm sure that I'm meant to fly. I dream about it every night."

"That might not mean anything. No one under the ocean's waters…" The Old Guy paused. "Well, all but one of us under the ocean's waters will never fly."

Cray straightened his stem up. "And I could be that one!"

The Old Guy sneered. "No! That one is Lugia, Master of Storms. He is said to be great of the mind, a Psychic type, and he flies equally well above and below water."

"Is he a Water Psychic then?"

"No, you doofus. Master Lugia is a Psychic Flying Pokemon."

"And he lives underwater and abovewater? Uh-huh, makes as much sense as our loyalty to Kyogre."

"Because we are loyal to her," The Old Guy agreed, missing or ignoring the sarcasm. "Lugia is the only one underwater who can fly above the water, period. Now go do some sensible things like digging up some food for me in exchange for listening to your dumb idea."

But even the lack of support from The Old Guy Cradily did not deter Cray. As he trudged away, he muttered to himself, "Well if Lugia is the one I need to ask, then I'll find a way to ask him. I was meant to fly, I know it."

As Lugia was the Master of Storms, Cray figured that he should wait until a storm came before trying. He had to wait many days for this to happen. In the meantime, he walked along the Hoenn coast, never backing down on his claims that he would one day fly. The other sea Pokemon teased him, called him names, or outright ignored him. But he would persevere.

And then came the storm. The black clouds began building as the sun was setting. As it was calm, Cray acted on his plan. He came to a tall rock that stood out of the water and stuck his suction cup feet to the side. Slowly, he climbed to the top of the rock. It was a difficult task: once he was out of the water, he had to support his entire weight in the weaker air. And it took a lot of time, as each repositioning of his suction cups only moved him by the inch. Overhead, the sky grew darker and darker.

As he was nearing the top, the winds came in, rushing past him and stirring up the ocean's surface into a white froth. Raindrops came, cold and harsh. There was a clap of thunder. Other Pokemon were already hiding, as this looked to be one of the worst storms of the year. But not Cray the Cradily. He kept climbing the rock. No matter what it tried, the wind could not knock him loose.

Triumphantly, Cray made it to the top of the rock. He basked for a moment in the wildness of the growing storm. It was this power that was going to help him achieve his dreams. Stretching his stem up to the heavens, Cray called out in the loudest voice he could manage. "Lugia, Master of Storms, please hear me! It is my dream to fly like you do, both under and over the water! This dream is how I'm meant to be! Help me to soar above the ocean waves with you!"

He released his suction cups and jumped off the top of the tall rock.

Cray felt odd. Nothing was holding onto him, not the water, not the rocks, nothing. It was just him in the air, nearly weightless. The stormy winds blew around him, the raindrops spattered all over his body, and the lightning lit up the sky. He felt like he could fly forever, feeling like this.

A second later, he crashed back into the ocean like the rock he was.

"Hey, watch it!" A Magikarp blubbered at him in annoyance. "You nearly fell on my hiding spot."

"I didn't expect to fall," Cray said, bewildered and disappointed. "I was trying to call on Lugia."

The Magikarp blinked. "Lugia? Doesn't he live in Johto?"

Moral of the story: Before you go calling on a legendary Pokemon, make sure it lives in your area.

...

Emerald entry: It drags its heavy body along the seafloor. It makes its nests in the shallows of warm seas. Cradily can be seen on beaches when the tide goes out.

Cradily's entries don't make for a good story, unless you're looking to gross your readers out. So I went silly with it. The whole 'loyal to Kyogre' joke popped in unexpectedly, but I find it funny.