The Long and Winding Road
By: BetterButterBuddha
Chapter 3: The Port of New Hope

June 18th, 2000 Valencia Island

The boat sounded a foghorn so loud that it could make your ears pop. It was leaving, going back to Kanto. The voyage had been fast, but still nice. I got my own private cabin, and the food wasn’t half-bad. Still, it was nice to be on land again.

I looked around me. “The Port of New Hope. Welcome to Valencia Island,” the sign said. So this was the port of New Hope. It wasn’t a bustling city, but it wasn’t a provincial hamlet. Few cars dotted the streets, but there were many more pedestrians than you’d expect to see in a city this size. You could see the ocean clearly from this part of the island. “Things are gonna change,” I said out loud.

Valencia Island itself was a medium sized island, surrounded by forests. On the boat I had read what the Pokedex had to say about it to get a head start. “Valencia Island is the most well-known island of the Orange Archipelago. The ecosystems are diverse, and there are approximately 34 families of pokemon living on it natively. Valencia Island is home to the famous Professor Ivy, a pioneer in the area of pokemon genetic diversity,” it had informed me. The port of New Hope was nice, and I would have liked to stay a few days, but I had work to do.

There was a bench, visible yet secluded, on the seaside, and it looked like a good place to get a little privacy. I sat down, and got to work. My pokegear was black, and it bore the insignia of the Viridian City gym. I called Blue’s number on the videophone.

His appearance was crystal-clear in the LCD screen of my new pokegear. “Vincent,” he said, “I’m disappointed. You said you’d call me on the boat.” He did look disappointed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Blue,” I said, “It just totally slipped my mind. I guess that I just got caught up in the moment. I’ll try to be more diligent. Anyway, I’m at Valencia Island right now, specifically in the Port of New Hope. No luck on finding a first pokemon yet,”

“You’re really excited about that, aren’t you?” he said. “I can’t blame you. I was too at your age. Three years ago. I chose my squirtle, and Red chose…But there’s no point in thinking about the past,” he said. He got kind of angry when he said the name Red, so I decided not to ask him about it.

“You may already know this, but there’s a colleague of mine who owns a lab here; her name is Professor Ivy,” he informed me. “She can fill you in on what’s been happening in the Orange Archipelago, and she’ll probably give you a lecture on the mythos surrounding Lugia as well,” he said. “She’s a good person, and I’m sure that she will like you. Tell her to give me a call as soon as you’re ready to get on your way. And, good luck on getting your first pokemon!”

I turned the telephone off. The pokegear also had an interactive map of Valencia Island, as well as the entire archipelago, and Kanto and Jhoto. Professor Ivy’s lab was supposedly on a hill at the top of Valencia Island. I turned the pokegear off, and began my trek.

As soon as I exited the city, things began to get quiet. There was still a trail for me to walk on, thankfully, but trees enclosed it. My legs grew tired from the walk uphill, but I persisted. Occasionally I saw a pokemon, but nothing to get excited about. Mostly just pidgey and rattata, with a few mankeys thrown in.

Soon the forest grew thin. There was a rather flat area on top of the hill, and in the distance I could see a fence protecting a large building, presumably Ivy Pokemon Laboratory. I ran the rest of the way.

When I got to the fence, I pressed the intercom. “Hello,” it said, “Please state your name.” It was spoken by a very nasal female voice.

“Umm, Hi! I’m Vincent Castaneda. Blue sent me here to talk with Professor Ivy,” I stated proudly.

“Vincent!” the voice exclaimed, “Come in! I’ve been expecting you. The front door is open.” As she said this, the gates to the building opened electronically.

I walked through the open doors. The pokemon laboratory was a very big place, with several wings visible. The estate that enveloped it was even bigger. It had to be at least seven hundred square acres. It was an ideal place for a pokemon reserve. I soon neared the door.

I turned the doorknob. “Hello!” Three short, pudgy girls with obnoxious voices and pigtails stood right in front of me. They looked completely identical. “You’re here to see the Professor?” one of them said. I got an eerie wizard of oz feeling.

“Yes,” I replied. “My name is Vincent. Do any of you know where she can be found? It’s rather important.”

“She’s in the library. It’s the third door on the left. You can’t miss it,” another spouted out. Then without warning, a loud exploding sound came from behind them. They shrieked, and just as soon as they came, they vanished.

The library was easy to find. I opened the door to see a woman with a lab coat and brown hair waiting for me, reading a book entitled, “The Extinction of Omanyte.”

“Professor Ivy, I assume?” I said, walking in.

She looked up from her book. “You must be Vincent. Hello, I am Professor Ivy. Blue’s told me a lot about you. Come in, sit down,” she said. She had the same dulled down yet interesting voice that answered the intercom. Her gaze met mine.

“You’ve probably already seen something about Lugia’s disappearance on the news. Blue probably told you a little about Lugia. I can tell you more,” she said.

“Lugia is one of the most documented legendary pokemon in history,” she began. “The first and oldest documentation of Lugia began 16,400 years ago. Several stone tablets depicting Lugia with many hieroglyphics written on them were discovered in the Orange Archipelago, in a formerly undiscovered island. However, most of the writing had worn off, and because they are so old, scientists have had trouble deciphering them. They are currently on display in the Moro Island Museum of Art. Lugia has also been depicted in the arts of the ancient Sumerian culture. The Sumerians were a very scholarly people. They kept records on nearly every important event in history. They believed that Lugia was a kind of Stormcrow, a bearer of weather. This is a kind of interesting passage from history, because of the recent Lugia-Oceanic current duality theory. The origin of the Sumerians’s belief system is unknown, but several specialists are looking into it. The last notable mention of Lugia came from the writings of the great ancient poet, Nephalces. He said that Lugia was the most important pokemon in the world. He too theorized that Lugia controlled the world’s weather. The strange thing is, all of these historical events had something to do with the orange islands! The Sumerians’s civilization was founded on Trovita Island, and Nephacles was fond of Mandarin Island as a vacation spot. Due to this correlation, vague as they may be, we think that Lugia has a special connection with the Orange Archipelago.” She was obviously very knowledgeable about not only pokemon, but ancient cultures as well.

“Lugia is physically very large,” she said, “It is seventeen feet and one inch from head to toe. However, for its height, it should weigh more. It weighs four hundred and seventy six pounds. It probably has an air sack inside it, but this is only speculation, because we have not had a chance to biopsy Lugia. We would never dream of doing so, because the Lugia that we had been tracking is the only one in existence. There have been no fossils found. This data has led to the conclusion that the Lugia that we had been watching is, and always was the only one. It is as old as the weather itself.” So Lugia is most likely immortal. I’d never think that anything could live as long as Lugia apparently can. That means that it can’t be dead, so that’s a good thing.

“Professor, what is Lugia capable of doing? It’s a legendary pokemon, so it’s bound to have some sort of power,” I asked. “Also, I’m curious about where Lugia can live. And what type is it?”

“I’m glad you asked,” she began, “Lugia is capable of quite a lot. Its Aeroblast attack could most likely destroy a land mass as large as Mount Silver. Not that it ever would. Lugia seems to be quite peaceful. It has only made itself known in three separate occasions in history, and it only attacks when provoked. Lugia is a psychic and flying type pokemon. It has the greatest defense and special defense of all the pokemon. We know this because it took about 5 of those elemental blasts that the birds hit it with to take it down the first time. It’s capable of healing itself with recover. Lugia would be quite a powerful battler if a corrupt trainer could ever manage to capture it. As for its habitat, we assume that it can live everywhere but outer space. It’s known to live traditionally under the sea, about three miles down. The pressure that far down is enough to crush a submersible like a tin can, so it’s obvious why it needs that kind of defense. It can also fly quite well.”

“Alright, professor. I have one more question. Blue said that Lugia controlled the weather, and that now that it was gone, weather would stop unless it got back. So, my question is, how long do we have until that happens?” I asked. She was quite taken back.

“You’re obviously no longer a child, Vincent,” she began. “You’ve accepted the reality of this situation quite quickly. So I’ll tell you the truth: We’ve got about eleven and a half months until the weather stops. After that, it’s all downhill. If the weather stops, all of Earth’s life, pokemon and human alike, will perish within two weeks. Nothing save some types of microorganism will survive. It’s quite possible that this will be the end of the world.”

“Vincent,” she said, “Blue will have no choice but to help you with this in about six months. A façade of normalcy is not an adequate reason to ignore the end of the world. But I can understand his decision to stay in Viridian City by now. But until he does come, you should try to assemble all the information that you can about this. Remember that we’re just as ignorant as you are, so we can’t really help you. You’ll be on your own. I suggest that you start to train some pokemon; they’ll help you in your exploits. Who have you captured so far?”

“Umm…,” I started, “none so far. I just got here. I was supposed to get one in Kanto, but I had an accident which kept me from doing so.” I could feel myself blushing. It was kind of embarrassing that the fate of the biosphere rested on my shoulders, and I hadn’t even caught my first pokemon yet!

“Don’t feel bad Vincent,” she said. Her face was full of sympathy. “There are plenty of pokemon in the forests of Valencia. I’m sure you’ll be able to catch one. Blue told me about the masterball. Just remember, you’re here to help us with our investigation, not to train pokemon. While it’s true that they can help in your journey, don’t rely too much on them. Watch out that you don’t become caught up in you training.”

“Now, about your research,” she said. “A good place to begin is Calset Island. An expert on legendary pokemon lives there. He can tell you infinitely more about Lugia than I could. From there, it’s up to you. Do your best, Vincent. We’re counting on you. You should start now. Goodbye.” So I left.

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I stared out at the sea. I was back on the Port of Good Hope. It was late in the day, so late that the sun began to set. It was a beautiful site, the sun setting over the horizon, its light reflecting onto the sea. This place, Earth, it had so much to offer.

“The end of the world…” I said to myself. It’s gonna take a lot of effort to solve this one. Blue had faith in me, as did Dr. Ivy, but was their faith well placed? Could I find Lugia in time? Only time will tell.

I fingered the masterball in my pocket and smiled. It was time to get started.