Journey Through Johto |Discontinued|

Chapter 2.30: Raid of the Paint

Before our protagonists could reach the sunny beach filled with cool sea water, they had to pass through a dry spot with blistering heat.

"It's so hot, I can't survive in this!" Emmy cried dramatically as they trudged along. "You thrive off of sunlight, Emmy." Sky muttered, rolling her eyes. "Not this much! I feel like I am the sun." She argued.

"I just wish the river wasn't dried up." Zia whined, looking at the completely empty eroded path next to them, where a river was supposed to be. There wasn't a patch of blue or green for miles.

"Maybe we have some water left?" Sky asked hopefully, only for Zia to tip over the water canteen, nothing coming out of it. They all sighed in disappointment. They took a break, not able to walk in the blinding sun where not even a single cloud was up to block it.

Sky happened to look up just as a strange multi colored light appeared in the sky.  "What's that?" She asked, catching the other two's attention. "Is it aliens!?" Emmy exclaimed fearfully. "I doubt it. The map says it's right over Remoraid Mountain." Zia said as she wiped another bead of sweat from her face. Now was not a good time to have long hair.

"Huh? Wait, it says we're near a Pokémon Center!" She said happily, noticing the marker indicating it on the map. "Oh, thank Arceus, we can cool off and have something to drink. Let's go." Emmy seemed to regain her energy and enthusiasm as she went ahead. "Emmy, you don't even know where it's at!" Zia yelled after her.

"Wow, this place is cool." The Serperior said in awe as they came upon some old ruins. "Looks like a prehistoric city." Sky commented as they looked around. "There's all kinds of symbols and stuff on these logs here." Emmy noticed, looking at one closely.

"This is where the Ancient Colossal Tree Tribe lived. Apparently, anyway." Zia said, looking at the guidebook again. "What's that?" Sky asked her curiously. "It says they're a lost civilization. The people would cut huge trees from nearby forests and mountains to build gigantic buildings." The girl read from the book.

They all looked around. "That would explain the abundant absence of greenery and life." Emmy said distastefully. Really, what were those people thinking, taking down all of the trees? What did they think would happen?

"Hey, guys, look at this. It looks like some sort of Pokémon." Sky said to them as she looked at a wooden sculpture half buried in the dirt. "It looks like a well done carving." Zia said as she looked over it thoughtfully.

"That's not a carving. That's a fossil of a Remoraid." A female voice corrected as Nurse Joy stepped into view, holding some sort of plant.

Remoraid: The Jet Pokémon
It has superb accuracy. The water it shoots out can strike even moving prey from more than 300 feet.

"But there haven't been any Remoraid in this area for centuries, not since all the rivers and lakes dried up." Joy informed them as she looked at the dried up river bed sadly. "Before the water went away, the people that used to live here loved the Remoraid so much that they were known as the Remoraidians." She added.

Zia looked at her. "You mean the Colossal Tree People?" She inquired. "You're very knowledgeable." The older confirmed. "Not really." Zia chuckled, waving the guidebook.

"A long time ago, this land was very green and beautiful. There were lush forests everywhere. But the Remoraidians wanted to build a great city here. So they cut down tree after tree for timber and fuel. After a while, there weren't any trees left. The rivers and lakes started to dry up, and without any shade, the Earth turned to dust. They couldn't grow food, they had no water. Finally, the Remoraidians had to abandon their city and move away." Joy told them with a sad look.