One of the greatest tragedies of the pokemon world is the story of Lapras. In ancient times, they were a common pokemon, friendly to humans and larger than other water-types which carried riders, so were commonly used as a method of water transportation. Their lives were long and carefree, and they were as friendly to people as a Skitty or Growlithe.
Humans, however, were not so kind. The invention of the boat made them largely obsolete as a transportation device, and many Lapras were damaged in collisions with this new craft. They became seen as a pest, were hunted at times to cull the population, and their numbers began to dwindle. Still, they treated humans with kindness and friendship, offering rides to any who sought them.
A few centuries ago, it was discovered that Lapras shells could be used as an excellent building material for fortifications, and fleets took to the seas, effortlessly hunting them most of the way to extinction, for they had lost their fear of man. Modern Lapras are extinct in the islands south of Sinnoh, but rumors persist of holdouts in areas such as Union Cave, where Lapras are said to have learned their lesson, avoid trainers, and only surface when explorers are few in number. No reputable scientists consider these reports to be any more than local legends, for lakes are too small to sustain a breeding population of Lapras, and Lapras are a saltwater pokemon, not a freshwater one.