A Comprehensive History of the Modern Age



By Dusknoir



Chapter 1: The Events Surrounding the first Near Apocalypse, or a Tale of Nine Tails and Falling Stars



To write an extensive account of the world's modern events has been my goal since being blessed by a higher power with a second chance at life. I have spent decades of my life gathering first and second hand accounts of these strange, nearly apocalyptic events that seem to have plagued our world for the past twenty three years at the time of writing. As such my journeys took me around the world, from continent to continent, meeting with those who cared to recount the tales or who would dare take the time to speak with me, history's biggest traitor.



As such, my accounts are varied in both reliability and content. I ask that you, dear reader, recognize that and use them to create your own interpretation of what is truth and what is a lie. Approach this text with a critical eye. With this out of the way, let us begin with the first account. An account of falling stars.



My first goal was to learn the tales surrounding a place called Pokemon Square on the Air Continent. This is believed to be the location where two of the very first humans to visit this world took up residence. I spent most of my time speaking with a Whiscash and Alakazam of team ACT. Most of my insight was gathered from Alakazam, who seemed to have a more detailed firsthand account of the occurrences of this time as opposed to Whiscash, who merely recounted old fables. However, there was an interesting cross between the two, a story that seemed to take a hold on the events that both gave to me. The story dubbed the Ninetales legend.

The Ninetales Legend is a simple fable upon first glance. It tells the story of a bold young human who dared grab one of Ninetale's tails. Ninetales, being a vengeful Pokemon, attempted to cast a curse upon this human. However, a Gardevoir that had been the human's closest ally since birth shielded them from the curse and bore it herself. Ninetales turned to the human and gave them a chance to save Gardevoir, however it was too late. The cowardly human had already fled and abandoned their partner. In a fit of rage Ninetales made a prophecy, one that stated that said human was cursed to one day be reborn as a Pokemon, and when they did the world's balance would be thrown into disarray.



I paid little attention to this legend when it was first recounted to me. I dismissed it as nothing more than a local tale designed to scare children into behaving. However, when Alakazam mentioned the same story to me, I realized there was more to this that appeared at first glance.



Alakazam's account claimed that the first human to become known to him was a young Pokemon that nearly single handedly took down the legendary titan of thunder, Zapdos, in an effort to save a Shiftry. He guided this human to meet with a Pokemon named Xatu in an attempt to learn about their reasoning for being turned into a Pokemon. A wicked Pokemon by the name of Gengar supposedly followed them, and revealed the details of this trip to the residents of the square in an attempt to deceive them into believing that this human was the one from the legend. The human and their closest friend were chased across the continent until they scaled Mt. Freeze and met with Ninetales firsthand under Alakazam's watchful eye.

I had heard enough. I decided to meet with Ninetales myself and hear what they had to say.



It was a long, arduous journey I made alone. After a month of travel I had made it to the mountain's peak and was given the chance to speak with the Pokemon of legend. Ninetales was surprisingly amicable to my presence, and recounted their version of the story.



I shall spare you those details, because they are nearly the same. The only important revelation I received was the fact that Gardevoir had been cursed to live on as a spirit guide for eternity. I never did learn if her curse was ever properly broken.



Ninetales then expressed disgust at the apparent paranoia of the Square, how easily they turned upon their hometown hero. Strange as it seemed, they believed such sudden fear was derived from the human from their tale. I was shocked at this bold accusation, and questioned them as to what led them to that conclusion. What they said astounded me.



"Humans are weak, fearful creatures. They live with an understanding of the world in their hearts that no Pokemon could ever hope to replicate. They see the world through a different lens, one that fears and hides from the things outside their understanding, whereas Pokemon openly embrace the strange and unusual. Expose a Pokemon to a human's fear, however, and their worldview is shattered. Suddenly they are lead to believe that the world is a terrifying place filled with eldritch evils out to devour them and their families. That's all it took for that human to turn them against their friend, a simple exposure to human fear."

I took the time to ponder on that statement. Are humans simply beings driven by fear and and innate need to survive, or are they more than that? This is a theory I shall go into in more detail in the next chapter, where I detail my accounts of a human I met firsthand and the effect they had on my worldview.



Here, however, was where I parted ways with the strange being of the mountain and returned to the square. I had gathered details on this strange legend and reached the conclusion that the human that made themselves into a local hero was not the being described in it, but rather the Gengar that outed them as a human. It seemed to fit the description handed to me by Ninetales, after all. I spoke with Alakazam once more to finally get an account of this falling star.



One day, shortly after Alakazam's team was rescued from certain death by the heroic human and their Pokemon partner, Xatu contacted every Pokemon he could with a dire message. This message stated that a star, larger than we could ever hope to comprehend, was on its way towards our world and appeared destined to split it in twain. He claimed the only way we could ever hope to save our world was to venture to the heavens into a place known as Sky Tower and plead with the legendary Rayquaza for assistance. Alakazam said that it seemed strange in the moment, but the only Pokemon he could put his trust in were the children who had just saved his life from the beast of the earth. He gave them the gift of a crystal, capable of sending them to the heavens, and left them with his blessing of luck. The world watched on with bated breath in hopes that they would return alive and that the world would live.

Now, dear reader, I suppose you have already discerned how this story ends. Assuming you can read this, you know that the world did not end that day. The human and their closest friends were able to best the beast of the sky and save this world from utter devastation. This was the first time the world truly saw the power of a human's determination to save a world that wasn't even their own.



How can we claim them to be creatures motivated solely by fear when they prove capable of a feat like that?



I digress. Here ends the accounts of the falling star.