A Forgotten Dream

Chapter 1: Secrets on Cinnabar

Secrets on Cinnabar

For years I had searched the globe, looking for rare and exotic Pokémon to document and study.

Being a Pokémon researcher had always been my dream, ever since I literally ran into Kate Williams, one of the top Pokémon researchers in the world.

I had only been eight years old at the time, but right at that moment when she told me who she was, I knew that was what I wanted to do once I grew up.

Now, fifteen years after that fateful day, my travels had brought me to the abandoned island of Cinnabar, home to the forgotten Team Rocket base that had been hidden here for many years.

No one knew why the nefarious thieves chose to abandon the place, but not too long after that the satellite jammer that had prevented the complex from being spotted from orbit had gone offline.

Many news reports and inspections of the place had been done in an effort to find out what had been going on there, but nothing was ever found.

I stepped off of my private boat, taking a look around me as I got my first look at Cinnabar Island.

My black trench coat blew around my legs in the steady sea breeze and my lean frame shifted slightly in the frequent gusts.

The dock that had once been used to offload supplies now lay in rotting ruins, the wood so aged and moldy that only the parts below the waterline still remained.

I had run my boat up and onto the beach a few dozen feet to the right of the dock, hoping to avoid clogging up the engine in the floating debris.

I tied off the fast little skipper to a pile of boulders farther up the shore, not wanting to find it gone after high tide.

Once that was done I walked back to the white vessel and pulled out my orange backpack, wanting to make sure that I had everything in case I found something useful.

Leading up from the dock was a worn stone stairway, more like a twisting path up the slope than anything else.

The shoreline quickly grew into stone cliffs that rose almost vertical from the sand.

The only way to and from the massive complex that lay nestled in the rock was to climb the path that I was currently having difficulty traversing.

The path may have seemed none too steep at first, but after the three hundredth step it was starting to get to me.

It must have taken me an hour to climb the steps, and by that time my short black hair had become edged with a white rim of sea salt, my hazel eyes red and sore from the constant wind out of the north that carried the itching feel of sea spray.

I fell to my knees, catching my breath as I sat back on my feet to look up at the gigantic building that took up almost all of the available space between the rising cliffs.

The old stone had crumbled in places, leaving massive holes in the six story structure's walls, though much of the building remained intact even after eighteen years of neglect.

I stood up stiffly and walked up to the front door, my spine tingling in a feeling not unlike those created by Ghost Pokémon auras.

I had a feeling this place would have several Haunters and Ghastly roaming around, they love to hang around places like this where people seldom come.

I pushed open the rotting oak double doors with a loud creak, wincing as the sound echoed into the interior of the building.

I slowly stepped in and closed the door behind me, shutting off the light for a moment before I pulled out my flashlight.