I - Legend of Faraway Island

PART I

LEGEND OF FARAWAY ISLAND

Morning. Late fall, early winter. A chilly breeze blows across the ocean, skimming the water’s surface, and making contact on an island that civilization had forgotten. This small island, far away from the world of any human and almost any other creature, had never been inhabited… until one day, a colony of rare Pokémon, Mew, fleeing from the likes of humans, found the island and claimed it as their own. As of now, there are only two Mew left: A male one and a female one, the sole survivors of a once-raging Mew settlement. They had lived there for years and years, and their only source of food was the rare and delicious fruit that grew there when the rains came. Lately, these two Mew have been livelier than usual, acting as if something special was going to happen. It had been years, possibly as long as they had been there, but it was worth it. An egg. An egg, with a baby Mew, still growing inside. It was their egg. The proud parents have been waiting several long months for the baby to hatch. They hoped it would… in time. The reason there were only two Mew left was because of recent attacks on the island… by a large monster of the sea. It would come onto land and wreck havoc… and it ate them. One after another, day by day, the creature would return and take another Mew, another life, one of the remaining Mew’s family. Now they were nearly extinct here, and there was nowhere else to go. The thought of the creature returning and stealing the egg frightened the two Mews’ terribly, down to the very core, but if it came to that, they would sacrifice themselves to save their young-to-come. The day passes by quickly for the young couple, and in the blink of an eye it is night. Night progresses, and nothing happens. Morning awakens sleepily the next day. It is the day of December 1st.

That morning, the father Mew left to scrounge up some food, while the mother Mew cared for her egg. It was normal for the two to do what they are doing now: The father Mew retrieves food on the island, while the mother Mew stayed with her young… just in case it hatched, or the beast of the sea returned. The day, like the previous one, comes and goes, and nightfall is here. The mother Mew cuddles next to the father Mew, both surrounding the egg. They can feel the warmth of their young one, and the mother Mew seems to smile, content with how life is going and now the monster hasn’t returned. She falls asleep, rather uneasy. There has been something bothering her for a while now, but she hasn’t been able to figure out what it is. The feeling was terrible, but she didn’t wanting it bothering her when the egg hatched, so she left it alone by either caring for her baby or by napping. Before she knows it, dusk has turned into dawn. December 2nd.

About midday, while the father Mew is searching around the island for lunch, he hears a squeak in the distance. It is his wife. The egg flashes in his mind. Is it hatching? Faster than a rocket, he finds the two and sees his wife twirling in the air gleefully. She sees her loved one and points at the egg. The father Mew looks at it… and he notices a glow. It is very faint, but it is there. It’s a sign that the egg is closer to hatching. Maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but very soon it will hatch. The father Mew joins in with his wife in celebration by circling around their egg. It is quite a commotion and sight to see, but if anyone were to actually see this, they would understand how much the egg meant to the parents and would be struck by their love.

December 3rd. The parents wait patiently for their egg to show some sign of hatching, but nothing. The father Mew is rather disappointed, but the mother Mew assures him that the egg will hatch soon.

Later that day, darkness befalls the sky, but not because it’s almost night. A large storm is rising over the horizon. The legendary Pokémon, Kyogre, is heading their way to bring the much-needed rains to their uncharted island. It strikes the father Mew as strange, for Kyogre normally doesn’t come at this time of the year, but he doesn’t think much of it as he heads down to the beach to look for some driftwood as cover for the egg.
As Kyogre charges mightily through the rough seas, he brings along with him some Remoraid, Magikarp… and a special guest. While Kyogre was racing through the sea, his storm had dragged along a small boat with a man that was fishing.
The father Mew looks out to sea and notices a white blur in the waters. It’s a boat, and his eyes widen as it slowly becomes more visible… and closer. He races back into the trees as it slams into the shoreline (along with the thundering storm), the front part totally wrecked. While doing so, it throws out a young man and a Pokémon from its insides. The man rolls down the beach and halts after he hits a rock. He doesn’t move a muscle. The Pokémon, some type of bird, rolls closer to the forest than him, and it, too, doesn’t move. Both of them have been knocked unconscious. Mew hesitantly floats out into the storm, grabs the bird and the man, and carries them into the forest with his Psychic powers.

The storm intensifies, and the mother Mew is becoming worried. Where is her loved one? He’s normally back around now… Even though the shelter of leaves covers her and the egg, she always likes to have the egg sheltered completely from the rain. She doesn’t know what would happen to it if it were to get wet. After a few agonizing minutes of waiting, she sees the father Mew. But he’s not carrying driftwood. Instead, he places before her the young man and bird. The mother Mew yelps in surprise, but the father Mew comforts her, telling her that humans are harmless, only curious creatures. The mother Mew relaxes some, but still feels tension. She worries that the man may awake and steal the egg due to “curiosity”. The father Mew rubs his cheek against hers playfully, just to stop her from being so stressed. The mother Mew stops thinking and rubs her cheek against his, trusting his every word. They smile at each other, and then float towards the man to identify who he might be.

The man is of young age. He has a black moustache that curls at the edges, and he wears a white uniform, symbolizing him as a captain. The father Mew notices on the man’s chest a small nametag. It reads, in a black background and bold white letters, “BRINEY”. The father Mew scratches his head. The name sounded funny to him. He then remembers the Pokémon that the man had brought along. It was a Wingull, a sea bird Pokémon, commonly found flying over the seas and sometimes roosting on this island, but they never stood long because of the creature.

After the father Mew had left and come back with leaves to cover the man and his Pokémon, the storm grew even worse. Lightning flashed, and the thunder sounded like a monster roaring in the dark. The thunderstorm brought such a heavy darkness that it was getting hard for the Mew’s to even see in front of them, but they rested that night, even with the storm thundering above. They had gotten used to storms like this and had learned to make out sounds of the thunder from… other creatures.

In the dead of the night, when everything in the world should have been sleeping, there was a growl. The father Mew, sleeping, awoke with a start. He rubbed his sleepy eyes quickly and scanned the area, but his eyes hadn’t adjusted. He waited patiently, keeping his ears open to any sounds. Then he heard it again. A growl, that’s all it was. He recognized it immediately. And then there was that smell of a sewer. Fear gripped the father Mew’s heart. The creature had returned. Still unadjusted to the dark, the father Mew felt his way in the dark, following the faint glow of the egg, and shook his loved one. She awoke just as quickly as he did and, feeling him quake all over, understood the scenario. She gently snatched up her egg and, following her instincts, found her way up one of the taller trees nearby. The father Mew followed but then remembered that he had left behind the man and his Pokémon! The growl filled the air. It was closer now. The father Mew wondered if it was in visible range. Somehow, the creature could see through the dark as easily as if it were morning. Maybe that’s why it never attacked during the day and stayed underwater, its eyes were too sensitive to the light, or maybe there were other reasons. But the father Mew couldn’t stand idle thinking this right now. He used his Psychic powers to lift the man and his Wingull up the tree. He placed them on a thick tree branch where his loved one remained motionless and huddled, her back against the tree, her arms wrapped around the egg. It was soaking wet due to the rain, and she was trying her best to keep it warm. The father Mew moved in beside her and placed his arms around the egg and her, doing his best to keep them both warm from the icy-cold raindrops.

There is one special ability of a Mew, and that is to go invisible at will when there was danger. But the creature could still see them. It had unimaginable speed and strength, and supernatural abilities such as seeing invisible objects. It couldn’t be harmed by any sort of Psychic move a Mew used against it, it could break though any barrier that a Mew made with just a swipe of its claws, and no Mew had ever gotten close to landing a physical attack on it. Never in their lives had the Mew’s encountered a creature as terrifying or as ruthless as this one. The creature reeked. It smelled like sludge only found in the dirtiest of waters. It could prowl through the trees (if they could support its weight), unheard, and strike when it pleased. It was in every way a monster. At least twelve feet in length, no Mew (let alone any creature) has lived to tell the tale of this thing that preyed on all Pokémon.

The ground was blanketed in black, and it was nearly impossible to see anything below. The father Mew listened intently, and he could hear its heavy breathing. It sounded like a death rattle, and it scared the living daylights out of him. He could see some sort of motion on the ground, the creature. It didn’t have to look up. It knew they were up a tree, but didn’t know exactly which one. It circled from one tree after another, only once around in a complete ring, paused, and moved on. And now it was right below them. It circled around the tree once. It paused. Then a deep growling. It circled again, faster, but still once. Paused. Then, without any notion or sound, it rammed its huge body into the tree’s waist. Although the tree was a strong and thick one, the strength of the creature was so incredible that it had the tree swaying violently. The man and his Wingull were nearly thrown off, but the father Mew grabbed them just in time with Psychic and pulled them back under cover. But at the same time, the mother Mew had lost her grip on her egg and it slipped from her drenched hands. It fell towards the ground below. It hit the ground, but fortunately due to the heavy rains, it had turned to mud, which cushioned the fall and kept the egg safe from harm of breaking. But the creature had somehow seen it. It crawled over on all fours and sniffed in the mud. It bared its grisly teeth. And it was then that the mother Mew had had it. She dashed out of the tree down to the ground before the father Mew could stop her. She slapped the creature on the face with her whip-like tail, leaving it stunned, and she grabbed the egg from the mud and soared back up to the treetops. But then the creature’s eye flashed. With outstanding speed, it ran under the Mew, teeth bared again, and, after crouching low to the ground, forced itself up in an incredible leap, its mouth wide open. It snatched the mother Mew in its mouth and crunched down hard on her soft body. There was a squeak, and the egg went tumbling from her arms through the air again. This time, the father got it, and immediately took shelter back in the tree branches. The monster landed on the ground with a loud thump, the mother Mew dangling lifeless in its jaws. The father Mew peered over the side. The creature looked at him from the corner of its eye. Even through the heavy rains, both could see each other. It had not two eyes, but one eye, one evil eye that gazed at the father Mew. They eye looked like a crooked rectangle. Around the middle of the rectangle, its sides went opposite ways at forty-five degree angles. And in the very center of the slanted rectangle was a single orange orb surrounded by a hellish red. The orange orb was the eye. There was a flash of lightning, and the rumble of thunder. In that flash, the father Mew was able to see more of the monster. It was huge. There were two spikes sticking from its face, a pair on both cheeks and another pair jutting from its head. It had strange, yellow markings across its body, forming patters of some sort. Its body color was a navy blue and it had a long tail with a misshapen fin at the very end. It crawled on all four massive legs, three claws on each of those legs. On its back were five spikes, similar to the ones on its face, which lead down to its tail. And then there was the face. The snout was narrow, small, rounded. The evil single eye was fixed on Mew, not looking away. In its jaws was the father Mew’s loved one, lifeless. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was still open in pain. Blood was oozing from her back and trickling down the creature’s snout, dripping onto the mud. The beast’s teeth were red, even before it got its kill. This was, indeed, the most horrific creature Mew had ever seen.

Having its kill already, the creature looked away from the father Mew and headed back into the forest as silently as it had come. The rain was deafening, but was slowly beginning to calm. The father Mew stood looking off the branch at nothing for a while, the shock of losing his loved one still lingered. And when he had realized his loss, his eyes welled up with tears and he cried. He cried for the loss of his family. Cried for the loss of his only loved one. And he cried for the loss of his child, a child that would never see its mother. The tears flowed hard from the Mew’s eyes, but through the rain, it would have been impossible to see him crying. The morning came at last, but it was hidden behind the storm. December 4th.

After almost a day of being in a coma, Captain Briney awoke. He focused his blurred eyes for a moment and stretched his tired limbs. He felt greatly fatigued and very beat up. He looked about and noticed he was on dry land, in an open place somewhere in a forest. Briney stood, almost collapsing, due to his legs still being so weak, but he caught himself. As he walked around, he noticed his Wingull perched on a tree pecking at chutes for bugs for some breakfast. Briney smiled, stood under the tree, and called the Pokémon.

“Peeko!” he cried. The Pokémon, Peeko, looked below and, seeing it was her trainer, glided down towards him. She landed on his head and pecked at his hair happily. Briney laughed heartily and pet his beloved Peeko from up top his head. Briney was happy, and thankful, that they were still alive. Alive. Just then, Briney heard a noise from behind him. He turned around quickly and just caught a glimpse of a pink tail disappearing into a bush. He walked cautiously towards the bush and spread it apart. The pink tail slapped him in the face and he stood there for a moment, surprised. He looked back in and saw what the pink tail was attached to: A Mew. Briney gasped in shock. ‘A Mew? Incredible!’ he thought to himself. Briney had heard about the elusive Mew, how it was extremely rare and thought only to be legend, as well as extinct. But here one was, right before him, and it was… guarding an egg of some sort. Briney assumed it was the Mew’s egg. It was beginning to glow a bit brighter as the father Mew stood over it, protecting it.

“I won’t hurt you…” Briney murmured. The Mew glared at him. Its eyes flashed a light blue as it protected its egg, a warning to stay away. Although the Mew did know the man meant no harm, it wasn’t totally sure now because the attack of the monster messed with its mind. Briney smiled. He knew the Mew was only protecting its egg. So, after closing the bush back gently, he left the area and went a little deeper into the forest to search for some fruit. He managed to find some and, with the help of Peeko, got them down and munched on them. It was very sweet, delicious. He hadn’t tasted anything like it. He offered some to Peeko, but she refused with a look of disgust and returned to pecking at bugs. Briney laughed at this and nearly choked as he swallowed some fruit.

While Briney was here, he noticed there was nothing else living here. Was this forest uninhabited? Maybe this was an island of some kind? His questions were answered when he made it out of the forest and reached the shore. There, he saw his dear boat, washed ashore, totally wrecked. It looked like half of it had been smashed with a huge hammer. Briney sighed to himself and looked at Peeko.

“Looks like we’re going to be here a while,” he said. He went back into the forest, pretty upset… and was taken aback when he saw the Mew before him. It looked back at him sadly, floating in the air at eye level. Never had Briney seen such sad eyes.

“What’s wrong, little one?” Briney asked quietly. The Mew only replied “Mew” as the answer. Of course, Briney had no idea what it meant, but Peeko seemed to understand as she pecked at Briney’s head.

“Hey now, what is it, girl?” Briney hadn’t expected Peeko to peck at him during a time like this. The bird replied by looking at the boat, looking at the Mew. Looking at the boat, looking back at Mew.

“Ahhh, I see…” Briney said. This type of body language Briney understood, and understood well. He had gotten used to his Wingull “speaking” to him like this.
“So… You’re saying you want to dance!”

Peeko and the Mew collapsed cartoonishly, both with a thud.

“I’m sorry, girl, but now’s not the time for dancing…”

The Mew got back to its floating position and hovered past Briney. It went behind the half of the ship that was still intact… and started pushing it further up the beach. And it was then that Briney understood: The Mew wanted to help them. Briney and Peeko grabbed some nearby vines and, after going around the boat once, heaved the rest of the broken boat on the soft, sandy beach. Mew did not hesitate. It went down the shoreline and found a chunk of the broken ship. The Mew hauled it to Briney and left it. Briney nodded at the Mew, and it went down the shore again, looking for more pieces of the boat. Before Briney got to work, however, he went into the wreckage.

It was damp and slimy. The smell was terrible, and Briney had to cover his nose with his worn out shirt.

“Looks like we’re in for a long haul now, girl…” Peeko, back on Briney’s head, groaned. But then, just when Briney opened up a door further down the boat (and a Krabby crawled out and surprised him), he found what he was looking for: A box of matches, a small red gasoline-filled tank, and a toolbox. The tools were spilt out all over the floor, but they were all there. Briney stuffed the tools back in the metallic toolbox and rushed outside, immediately getting to work.

Halfway during the day, when Briney was taking a break and eating his lunch (fruit, of course), he noticed that the Mew had been gone for quite a while. Briney was beginning to wonder where it run off to, until it finally came back, carrying its egg on a bundle of fresh leaves. The Mew laid the egg down with such loving care that it struck Briney that the egg meant much more to the Mew than he thought.
The trio worked the rest of the day on Briney’s boat till nightfall. Briney gathered some wood and, with his box of matches (and with a little help of the gasoline), managed to cook up a small campfire around the shore where the boat was. Mew was worried for a little while, thinking that the fire might attract the creature to it, but he let Briney be. The ship was nearly done.

In the middle of the night, Mew heard a low moan. He woke up slowly, thinking that it was Briney snoring. But Briney wasn’t doing anything, just lying on his side, his face glaringly red from the fire. Then all of Mew’s senses kicked in at once. No. It can’t be. It never made another trip so early to the island. Mew started thinking that it heard things, because he didn’t hear anything several minutes after that, so he laid his restless body back around the egg, edging closer to Briney and Peeko’s company… when he heard it again. It was a snarl this time, and it was definitely not from Briney or Peeko. And it had gotten closer. Mew clutched his egg as he shook Briney awake. When he did awake, his eyes didn’t meet Mew’s fear-stricken eyes. Instead, they met something behind him. Briney was looking directly into the eye of the creature. The creature looked back at him hungrily. Its red teeth gleamed with the fire. It was clearly visible by the fire. It really was a monster, something you would only see in the darkest of nightmares. Then, with a screech that broke Briney’s plastic nametag, it leaped. It soared over the fire and over the trio, but for some reason it never attacked. All it did was leap over them and the fire, again and again, for about a minute. And then, after crouching down for a second, it stood up on its back legs and loomed over Peeko, Briney, Mew and the egg for a moment. Its eye seemed to twitch in anger and it let out another roar. Briney covered his ears, Peeko squawked and Mew covered the egg in a barrier to prevent it from cracking by the noise. Mew knew why it was here. It wanted him… but not for food. For energy. Pure energy. He understood that a long time ago. His wife was possibly low on energy because she would sleep so often and be so tired when she woke up, and tending to the egg had placed much stress on her, draining her of much of her energy as well.

Mew glared back at the beast, his eyes a light blue, but the creature didn’t move, nor did it return the look. It just stood there, looking at the fire. It grumbled furiously as it hunched back down on all fours and headed back into the forest. Briney waited until the creature left, then let out a large sigh of relief. But just then, it occurred to both Mew and Briney a possible reason why the creature didn’t attack them: The fire! The monster was sensitive to heat! It all made sense to Mew now. Why it never attacked by day. Why it came during storms. Mew felt so stupid for not figuring this out sooner, and now it was too late. But now he knew he could get revenge if he could make some sort of big fire to burn the creature and get rid of it forever… The Mew looked back at Briney (who was as pale as a ghost) and smiled victoriously. But Briney was thinking of something else at the time, something that had been reported on the news…

Briney recalled hearing a report of a company created by a man named Evice, an ex-criminal-turned-businessman. There were rumors going around, saying that Evice was up to something sinister. The company he opened sold merchandise for trainers: Potions, Poké Balls, Repels, and even dolls of all kinds. The store was an exclusive one to Orre, and it became hugely popular by Pokémon Trainers from around the globe: Kanto, Johto, even Hoenn and the Orange Islands. But the thing about it was that with that money, some people were saying that Evice was making a secret organization to manufacture hybrid Pokémon. Evice, in the past, used to be one of the head bosses for the making of creatures called “Shadow Pokémon”, that is, Pokémon that have had their hearts closed off to any trainer that had them. It was an illegal making, and his plans were stopped thanks to the help a young, white-haired trainer (an ex-Team Snagem member) and his red-haired girl friend. Recently, Evice’s boss, Greevil, was also captured and tried, and he is now stuck in jail. Quite recently, Evice had gone to Kanto to speak with a man named “Giovanni,” the Gym Leader of Viridian City. It was said that he went there to talk with Giovanni about a cloned Pokémon named “Mewtwo.” The rest of their conversation has been classified, and Evice left Kanto the very next morning. Ever since Evice was released from prison, some say that he is once again plotting to take over the world with these “Hybrids.” Unfortunately for the rumors, there has been no evidence to prove it… until now. Now Briney had seen it for himself, a mutant Pokémon made by fusing the cells of totally different Pokémon to create the ultimate killing machines. Evice had to be stopped and Briney had to get back to Hoenn, with the creature, to get that evil man back behind bars. That night, Briney attempted to communicate with Mew (with much success) and they formulated a plan to stop the hybrid monster once and for all.

After they had talked, Mew and Briney went back to sleep. Morning came shortly after. December 5th.

All morning, Mew, Briney and Peeko got to work on their plan: It was going to be a trap, a deep pit to contain the creature. Around the opening of the pit was going to be a ring of bark, branches and other flammable substances. Briney would use a match to light a ring of fire around the trap, and use gasoline to quicken the spread of the fire. Since the creature was so sensitive to the heat, it wouldn’t dare go near the intense flames at the top of the pit. Mew and Peeko would be the bait to get the beast to the pit. The hole would be covered with leaves and branches, and the creature would fall through, and the fire started.

Some time after midday, they had finished. The trap was set and ready to be sprung into action. The pit itself was at least thirty feet deep (Briney, after digging it, needed help getting out by Mew and Peeko), and it was definitely deep enough to keep the beast contained if it tried crawling up the sides, and deep enough to give Briney enough time to start the fire around the hole. After the trio had finished, they reluctantly went back to work on the nearly completed ship.

Before they all knew it, it was night again, and they were exhausted. But the work was done. The trap was ready, and the ship was completed. Briney made a fire and Mew moved the egg and himself closer to the man and his Pokémon. The egg’s glow was growing, and heat could be felt if you touched it. Mew looked at his egg and smiled. He felt a sharp pain in his heart. It was sadness, because he knew that his wife wasn’t going to see their newborn. Mew looked at Briney. As he did, his smile faded.
Just as Briney had lain down next to his fire (Peeko on his belly), he heard a faint noise. It sounded like “Mew”. He sat up (startling Peeko) and saw Mew carefully cuddling next to him, the egg at the Mew’s chest. Briney smiled softly and pet the Mew on the head. Then he laid back down and fell fast asleep. The creature didn’t come that night, and for once in a very long time, Mew felt safe.

Mew awoke as the sunlight crept over the horizon, blinding him for a moment. It was the morning of December 6th. Mew looked around, but Briney and the Wingull weren’t here. It was a partly cloudy morning, but the sun was still visible in the sky… for the time being. The clouds far in the distance were beginning to cluster. It seemed Kyogre was on its way back here again. Mew noticed that there were footprints in the sand, leading into the forest. The fire had gone out already. Mew picked up his egg, and was surprised to see it glowing brighter than before. It was going to hatch today. Mew could feel it. Mew carried the egg with him as he went into the jungle to search for Briney and Peeko.
It didn’t take long before Mew spotted the persistent Briney climbing up one of the trees, going after some fruit for breakfast. He heard Briney say to Peeko (who was higher up the tree), “You just can’t get enough of these tropical fruit, girl!” Mew hovered over to Briney and accidentally startled him by appearing so quickly.

“Woah!” Briney yelled. He lost his grip for a second, but managed to cling on and regained his balance.

“Whew, you startled me!”

Briney noticed the egg and he talked as he plucked fruit from the branches.

“Ah, so… It looks like it’s going to hatch today, aye? Well, congratulations!”

Mew squeaked and spun around Briney blissfully. Briney laughed, and Peeko moaned in jealousy.

After Briney and Mew had had their breakfast, Mew noticed that Peeko was missing. He tugged at Briney’s shirt in concern. Briney, who was sitting, noticed.

“Hmm? What’s the matter?” he asked. Mew replied by a sequence of “Mew!”, and by waving his arms, imitating flapping.

“I see… A bird?”

Mew nodded. Mew then floated in the air and spread his arms, swaying with the wind.

“Ah, a bird on air! No, that’s not quite right… Ah, my Wingull?”

Mew nodded again and stopped the impersonation of Peeko.

“My girl is out on lookout, keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals.” Briney winked. Mew understood what he meant.

“Hmm, now, I think that’s enough.”

Briney shimmied down the tree, carrying in one arm about five fruits. He sat, Indian-style, and began eating one of them merrily.

“This is… too good!” he said between his munching. He offered one to Mew and he ate it happily as well.

After they had finished, Briney wiped his mouth and stood up, looking content.

“Hmm, now that I think of it, why don’t we go on a ride on my boat? The beast wouldn’t possibly come out with the sun in the sky.”

Before Mew could answer, he called out Peeko’s name. Peeko floated down and landed on Briney’s shoulder, nuzzling him.

“Come on, Mew, let’s go for a ride on my boat!” he said cheerfully. Mew wasn’t sure. If he brought his egg, what would happen if it fell off the boat, and if he didn’t, would anything happen to it? Briney noticed the look of confusion on Mew’s face and saw it looking at the egg.

“Hmm, I see that you’re wondering about your egg, eh? Well, you shouldn’t worry, my girl, Peeko, can carry it for you! She’s great at handling objects in her beak.”

Mew looked up at Briney. He wasn’t sure if to act relieved or even more anxious! Briney knelt down beside Mew.

“Don’t worry. I promise nothing will happen to your egg. Right, girl?”

Peeko squawked assuringly to Mew. Mew took a deep breath and handed the egg over to Peeko. Peeko held the egg in her mouth very gently, but she definitely had a firm grip on it so it wouldn’t fall.

“Okay, then!”

Briney stands.

“Let’s get to the boat and have ourselves a little excitement!”

Briney rushed over to the boat, climbed right in, and started it up. Miraculously, it still worked, the engine, the controls, everything still worked, even after going through the vicious storm. The engine whirred to life and it let out a deep rumble. Peeko hovered in the air, wings spread wide.

“Ha ha, now this is more like it! Get on, Mew!”

Mew, still on the shore, stood hovering for a second. Then, without thinking twice, he floated into the boat beside Briney.

“You’ll enjoy this. Hang on!”

Before he knew it, Mew was clinging to Briney’s shirt for dear life as the boat zoomed off into the ocean, Peeko trailing above them. Mew grabbed tightly to Briney, and Briney slowed. Mew’s heart was pumping what felt like a hundred times a second as he held onto Briney. That experience seemed even scarier than facing the creature!

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mew, I forgot that this might be your first time on a boat. I’ll slow down a little more so you can get your sea bearings!”

Briney pushed a pedal, and the boat slowed almost to a complete stop. Mew hovered down to the floorboards and laid there, still in shock. Briney laughed.

“I should’ve known better, silly me! Well, when you’re ready, we can go a little faster.”

Having never gone any farther than the coast of the island, Mew sucked in a deep breath of fresh, salty air. Despite having always been around it, the actual open waters... it tasted weird, it smelled weird, but it felt almost… natural. There was something about the sea here that gave Mew strength to get back and ready another go at the sea.
Mew stood and, levitating up and gripping back on to Briney’s shoulder, gave a nod. Briney smiled and pushed on another pedal. Instantly, the boat began to pick up speed, but Mew was prepared for this go. He looked up and spotted Peeko, high in the sky, the egg still in her mouth. Peeko lowered until she was at eye level with Mew and Briney. She seemed to be smiling as wide as Briney. These two really loved the sea. After seeing their smiles, Mew thought of joining them, and he grinned, enjoying the breeze blowing past his ears, filling his senses with something new.
Out to sea they went, the island going farther and farther in the distance… and behind the island, the mighty Kyogre was nearing. But here, the sun was shining brightly and beautifully. Mew didn’t have another care in the world. If he could leave the island with the creature and the rains and just take his egg and follow Briney and Peeko back, he wouldn’t have to worry again. He could leave his dreadful past behind him and be free of all things, be free of the terrors of dying, of fighting to stay alive, of staying up at night, fearing that creatures would jump out and get you.

“Hold on, we’re in for a sharp turn!” Briney yelled aloud. The boat swung rapidly to the side, and before Mew knew it, they were heading back to the island. But not before Briney picked up a little more speed. Mew was smiling, but the sadness was returning. He had to return and face his fears once and for all. He had to avenge his family’s death and his loved one’s. There was no turning back now. Feeling empowered, Mew tugged at Briney’s shirt, wanting him to go faster. Briney’s grin was as bright as the sun when he saw that.

“I’ve been wanting you to say that! All right, Mew, get ready for the ride of your life! Hahaha!”

Briney pushed down all the way on one pedal, and the boat seemed to soar across the ocean’s surface. For a moment, Mew thought that the boat would fly into the air and join Peeko! The salty air stung Mew’s eyes, but for some reason, it all felt good. The world was gone for a brief second and all Mew felt was happiness. All his stress, all his worries were gone with the wind. And Mew loved it.
As they neared the island (the storm behind it closer than ever), Briney slowed almost to a complete stop as he hit shore. He turned off the engine and, just like that, it was over. Mew groaned, wanting to go back out. Briney noticed Mew’s whimper and chuckled.

“I see you are fond of the sea now, aye? Well, maybe some other time. Maybe after your baby has arrived!”

Mew cheered. It sounded like a good idea. And when the creature was gone and the egg had hatched, Mew could finally race the seas, not having to worry about anything again.

Later that day, right after Briney and Mew had finished their lunch, Kyogre made his passing of the island, sending a torrent of rain down from the heavens and lightning crashing in the sky. This worried both Briney and Mew. If the creature came, how would they start a fire to trap it? Around that time, Briney had decided to take a nap. He laid his head down, got as comfortable as he could, and fell asleep to the sound of the rain beating on the leaves. He had a dream of riding on his boat on a bright, sunny morning with Peeko on an endless, vast ocean, and he sped up to sound barrier-breaking speeds…

Briney felt something pecking at his head. He waved his hand at the annoyance and rolled on his side. The pecking continued on the side of his head, more rapidly this time. Briney jolted up. He was always grumpy when he had to wake up from a nap, and now was no different. He looked at the ground and saw Peeko fluttering there. It was chirping at him hysterically. Briney’s grumpiness left him when he saw Peeko’s frightened actions.

“What is it, girl?” he asked.

The Wingull looked into the trees and squawked some more.

“Bah, girl, now’s not the time for eating!”

But just then, Mew bursted out of the treetops. There was a rumble of the ground, as if something very heavy had been dropped. Mew whooshed past Briney, looking just as nervous and hysterical as Peeko. It was then that Briney understood.

“…Oh.”

Briney jerked up and rocketed off so quick that he nearly fell on himself! He went running deeper into the forest, following his instincts. He could feel the thing following his trail. It was feeding time. Briney, after running for what felt like hours, tripped over a log, and he rolled himself into the nearest bush and went into hiding. He was gasping for breath and was sweating all over. The thunderstorm above was just as strong as ever, sending down rain just as badly as the one he was in just days ago. Although Briney had no calendar, he was excellent at keeping days in his head and knew exactly what day it was now.

As Briney caught his breath, he felt something creep up his leg. He jolted around… and there was Mew and Peeko. They were looking directly at him, awaiting orders. They knew what they had to do. They just needed commands on exactly how to pull off this plan. Mew was holding his egg. It was a bright white. Soon.

“Whew, you two…” Briney gasped between breaths. “You two… scared the—!”

The monster jumped down from the trees, thundering the earth beneath and around it. None of them even heard it approaching. It screeched as it shot forward to bite off Briney’s head, but, without warning or without command, Peeko used a Water Gun and sprayed it into the monster’s mouth. The creature stepped back a few paces in surprise and hacked out the water. Briney didn’t wait for it to recover. He knew what he had to do, just like Mew and Peeko. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him… towards the pit.
The monster noticed Briney running off, but Mew used Psychic and halted the creature dead in its tracks. The beast was outlined in sky blue, as were Mew’s hands and the entire of Mew’s eyes. Mew lifted the creature up into the air with one hand weakly (the other was holding the egg), but the beast somehow broke loose. It dashed back into the forest, Mew and Peeko giving chase.
It was closed, covered with leaves, twigs, and various other things, but Briney saw the trap because of the ring of logs around it. Briney instantly opened a nearby bush and pulled out the box of matches (which were covered by leaves to prevent them from getting wet) and the small tank of gasoline. He opened the end of the tank and pulled out a nozzle. He tilted the nozzle over the wood and went around the entire pit, drenching every bit of wood in gasoline. After he had nearly emptied the tank, he put it aside and, from the box of matches, pulled out a match and stood before the trap, ready for the beast. Briney wasn’t exactly sure if the plan would work now. The rain could have dampened the wood so it wouldn’t light. He prayed that the wood would light and the beast would fall into the trap and that he wouldn’t die and that Peeko and Mew were all right. Briney was huffing and puffing in anticipation. He didn’t know what to expect. Before long, he could hear the thumping of the beast. It was approaching as planned.

“HEY! HERE I AM! HERE I AM!” Briney screamed at the top of his lungs. It was working. It seemed his calling was luring the beast, just as planned. But something happened. The creature, instead of getting closer, was starting to run away. This was totally unexpected and it had Briney’s thoughts running. Where had it gone? Were Mew and Peeko in more trouble than expected? Dread hit Briney like a brick. Maybe it had.

“PEEKO! PEEKO! MEW! HEY!” Briney called out anxiously. Just then, as if to respond, the running of the beast could be heard again from the distance. But there was something different about it. Briney’s eyes widened when he realized what the creature did. It wasn’t coming from the front as planned. It was…! Briney snapped around and saw the creature leap into the air. It had outsmarted him! It had gone behind! Briney screamed as he jumped out of the monster’s way. The claws (and teeth) of the hybrid beast barely missed Briney. It crashed through the trap and it crumbled down into the pit, moaning in pain and surprise. Briney was in shock but realized that he must start the fire! Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled. The match Briney had ready was lost, but he still had the box… with only one match left. The others were scattered on the ground somewhere in the darkness when he dodged the hybrid’s attack. Briney lifted himself from out of the mud and struck the match against the box. But it didn’t light. He tried again. Nothing.

“No…” Briney’s shaky voice murmured. He tried it once more. There was a crack, and it lit. Briney dropped the box and, like a baseball player trying to catch a falling ball, leaped at the logs, the lit match at hand. But just as the match made contact with one of the gasoline-drenched logs and the fire had erupted around the pit, the creature had leaped from out of the abyss! It screamed as it saw the glowing fire. But through the fire it also saw Briney. Briney, too, saw the creature in all its glory. It looked like an ancient demon from Hell as the fire’s glow beat against it. The beast snarled threateningly and opened its mouth. This was it. The trap had failed, Mew and Peeko were missing, and Briney was a goner. The creature pounded like a cat at Briney, mouth drooling and teeth gnashing. A lightning flash! The thunder rumbled. Just at that moment, Mew appeared from out of the treetops and dashed between the lunging hybrid and the fallen Briney. There was another flash, but it wasn’t followed by thunder. Mew used its psychokinetic powers to make a pink barrier. The creature propelled off the barrier like a rock skipping on the ocean and it fell right back into the pit. As it did, it landed on its neck. The neck snapped, killing it instantly. It rolled the rest of the way down, its eye opened in shock.

The fire was beginning to die down, as well as the thunderstorm. Mew let down its shield, and Briney stood up straight.

“Thank you—” But before Briney could finish, he noticed from the light of the fire that Mew was bleeding! It collapsed and Briney rushed to its side. He picked it up. There were three large gashes on its belly. Briney had a brief flashback of when Mew had appeared just seconds ago and then there was the flash. The flash wasn’t the lightning, it was the creature! It was so quick, as fast as lightning, that it had created its own flash. Mew wasn’t able to put up its barrier in time to protect itself from the creature’s speedy swipe.

So that's what happened.

The weak Mew lifted one of its hands and pointed at something in the air. Briney looked up and saw Peeko. In its beak was the egg, unharmed. Peeko was ruffled up some, but fine. She landed beside the two and set down the egg. It had stopped glowing. Mew was beginning to close his eyes, death befalling him. Briney didn’t know what to do.

“No, no, don’t die… Please, don’t… Wait for your child… You have to take care of it! It’s going to need you! You’re going to be a parent!”

Mew heard Briney and understood, but it was no use. His power was drained and he had none left to stay awake any longer. Suddenly, the egg exploded in a white light. It was so bright that Briney had to cover his eyes. As his eyes focused, he could see something moving in the egg. It cracked at the shell slowly, like any newborn must to escape its inner prison. Finally, a hand plucked out of the shell. Then another. And finally a head. The light disappeared, and the dark returned. But, amidst the darkness, sitting alone on the ground, the baby was there. It let out a faint and weak “Mew” to a parent to accompany it. Briney smiled brightly and looked at the father Mew… but his eyes were closed. He had died silently in Briney’s arms. He had never seen his baby hatch from the egg. The smile on Briney’s face disappeared completely and sadness slowly followed. Never in his life had Briney seen a Pokémon die. This Mew… He had gotten close to it, even for the short time they had known each other. He could remember how happy the Mew was when they sailed the seas just hours before, and how it had helped them with the building of the trap and the reconstruction of the ship. The smiling, happy face of the Mew was gone forever. It was then that the pain of loss bared down on Briney. He tried to hold it back, to hold back the pain, but it was useless. Briney wept in the inky blackness, his tears hitting the Mew. In some way, some farfetched way, he wished that his tears would somehow revive the brave Mew. But it wasn’t so. The baby Mew nearby, since it was sensitive to the feelings of others at birth, began to cry also, even though it didn’t know what it had lost. The baby Mew, searching through the darkness, found Briney’s pants and clung to them, sobbing into them. Briney dropped to his knees after feeling the tiny hand, and he held the baby and its fallen father. Peeko, too, perched on Briney’s head, began to weep along with them. The fire had died. It was a little past noon. It was still December 6th.

As the clouds broke apart and the storm ceased, the sun was shining again… but not on this island.

Briney made a small grave for the father Mew. The baby knew it was alone. Now its instincts kicked in and it could fend for itself, even if it was still young. Later that day, Briney had managed to get the creature from out of the pit with Peeko’s help, and they put the massive thing on their boat. They would take it to Hoenn and show it to the authorities. They would show what Evice was doing. Before they left the island to the baby Mew (Briney had decided to not take the Mew, since it was so rare that he feared someone would try to steal it from him or it would cause a stir among the people), Briney built a small sign. He chose the words carefully, making sure that whomever landed on this island, whether by accident or on purpose, would take in the sign’s message. He built it on the strongest wood he could find and stuck it in the ground at one edge of the island where the sea or the sky couldn’t get it. And, when all was done and Briney had said his farewell wishes to the place, he departed.

As he returned to his home in Hoenn, Briney had made himself a sea map to the place. He called the island “Faraway Island,” and it fit it well. Shortly after, he hid the map. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever pull it out again.

The creature that Briney brought back (it was found to be a hybrid mix of a Swampert and a Rayquaza) was just the evidence needed to lock up Evice for good. Evice’s factory had been found, thanks to an anonymous phone call, and all the workers there were arrested. It was destroyed a day later, along with it the mutant Pokémon, and after that had all been done, it was then that Briney felt justice had been done for the island… and to the Mew.

Many years have passed since then. Briney is now an old, retired captain, but somehow became a captain again for a new ship in Hoenn called the S.S. Libra, decked in either Slateport or Lilycove. On one, fine day, a young trainer with white hair whom traveled from the small town of Littleroot had gotten himself a special ticket to ride the gorgeous S.S. Libra. He was immediately introduced to Captain Briney and his Pokémon, Peeko, and Captain Briney welcomed the young trainer onto the ship, hoping he would enjoy the grand voyage.
As the trainer went into his cabin, Cabin NO. 2, he opened a drawer in a large, wooden dresser in his cabin to put away his Poké Gear… when he found something peculiar. It was a map, but not just any old map. It was an old sea map that lead to some uncharted island far out at sea. The trainer showed it to Briney, who gasped and asked how the boy found it. The trainer answered that it was in his cabin, and Briney scowled at himself for forgetting to take it out of there when he used the cabin the other night. The young trainer demanded that Captain Briney take him to the island. Briney became agitated, hoping to change the trainer’s mind, but it did not. Giving in to his demands, Briney set sail to the island: Faraway Island.
While in his cabin, the trainer is greeted by one of the sailors onboard. The buff-looking sailor apologizes for Captain Briney’s actions.

“Captain Briney can be so maddeningly fickle…” the sailor muttered under his breath. And with that, he leaves.

The ship arrived at the place hours later. The young man with white hair, followed by the old Captain Briney and his old Wingull, Peeko, step out. Ahead of them was a stretch of rock where a beach should have been. Beyond that was an old forest, but the trees close to the shore were naked and dying. At the corner of his eye, the young trainer caught sight of a small sign. He found a way towards it and inspected it. It was very old and worn out. The trainer could see something on the rectangular sign, what seemed to be writing. The writing is fading as if it were written a long time ago… Only bits and pieces could the trainer make out of it. It went something like this:

“…ber, 6th day

If any human sets foot here… again…et it be a kindhearted pers… …ith that hope, I depar…”

The words confuse the trainer, but also excite him. This island must have something special on it if someone were to write that. His excitement building, the trainer leaves the lonely sign to itself and enters the forest, Captain Briney following and saying nothing. After going through a maze of trees, the young trainer stumbles upon a clearing in the middle of the forest. In the middle of the clearing is some tall grass, taller than he is, but floating before the grass, gazing at the boy and Captain Briney… a small, pink creature with a long tail and baby blue eyes. It heard a sound and saw them and is now looking at not the trainer, but at Captain Briney in surprise. The two of them lock eyes, Peeko on Briney’s head. Captain Briney responds softly to the pink creature in a voice that the creature recognizes immediately:

“Hello… Mew.”

END OF PART 1