Since this is likely the first thing you'll see on checking out this collection, welcome to POS! This is something I'm well known for on another website. About two years ago, I decided to make a writing exercise out of taking the Pokedex entry flavor texts and making a story out of that. I posted them as I went along; now I'm over halfway through the current count of Pokemon (curse you fifth gen!). I decided to transfer them over here as a backup, and to share them with a wider audience than one website. So this will likely update at a high rate of speed until I catch up.

Oh, and the genre listed? Not accurate. This covers just about every genre out there (I think). Some are short like this one. Others got quite lengthy. Only a handful are connected, so you can pick and choose which ones to read as you please. Aside from here, my author notes will be at the end. I hope you like this!

Magikarp

It was a tranquil summer afternoon in the country. Nincadas and Kricketots hummed and chirped, while at least five different birds from Pidgey to Taillow sang in the trees. The home was well off the main route, so few people came out here. A woman hummed half-songs to herself as she hung out laundry to dry. So lovely and quiet, it was a good place to raise a family.

"Momma!"

She stopped at the frightened cry. Her seven-year-old daughter ran up in tears. Forgetting the laundry, she knelt down and hugged her. She was shaking. "What's wrong, dear?"

"Muh, my..." she gulped, her brown eyes wide. "My Tuna got ate by a big scary d-dragon!"

"How terrible." She hugged her daughter tightly and let her cry for a minute.

Tuna had been one of the family pets, but especially little Lisa's. It had all started three years ago when Lisa's father and older brothers had taken her out fishing, to catch some Magikarps for dinner. Nearly anything that ate meat would eat a Magikarp, and still they were so common that nobody paid much mind to them. Certainly they had never heard of someone training the red fish.

But then one of the boys pulled up a strange yellow Magikarp. It was beautiful, a glistening golden scaled fish with slightly curled whiskers. Lisa had fallen in love with it at first sight, begging her father not to kill it, but to let her keep it as a pet. After hardly any thought, he said yes. One of her brothers lent her a Pokeball to catch the fish with and from then on, Tuna was part of the family.

As expected, Tuna was no trouble to take care of. They lived near a river and a small lake, so Tuna could play in the waters a bit each day. He was a playful fish, splashing anyone who came near. He liked to swim deep, then rush up to the surface, leap out as high as he could, then crash back down in a huge explosion of water. At least, as huge as he could make them, mostly about a foot high.

And he would laugh too, a "Gweh heh heh," that was hoarse and hilarious just by itself. Guests would see Lisa and Tuna sitting in chairs next to each other; although a fish, he did not mind dry land so long as Lisa was near. The guests would ask if they seriously were keeping a Magikarp instead of, say, a Horsea or a Barboach. Then Tuna would go, "Gweh heh heh," making the guests laugh as well.

There had been some problems. They didn't show up until Lisa started school. When her classmates would talk proudly of their Pokemon, Lisa would happily tell them about her beloved Tuna. Then they'd laugh at her, teasing her for having a pet that most anybody else would have eaten. She got upset and frustrated by this. Nobody would make fun of Billy and his Tauros, and several kids kept a Miltank for a pet. But they all made fun of Tuna.

Despite the teasing, she never once thought about letting him go. She loved Tuna, no matter what anybody else thought of him. With encouragement from her family and teachers, she endured the teasing. Eventually, she made some friends that saw just how funny Tuna could be.

There was still a risk of something else eating Tuna. Tame Pokemon would refrain from such behaviors, so there were no worries about one of her brothers having a Fearow. But wild Pokemon wouldn't care if the Magikarp was a pet. They would see Tuna as a potential meal. Still, a dragon? Lisa's mother couldn't think of any dragons that lived in this area.

"What kind of dragon was it?" she asked.

"Big scary dragon," Lisa murmured.

"We can't have a dragon hanging around. It'll scare all the other fish away. We'd better drive it off."

"But momma, what if it eats us too?"

"We'll be fine. Sparkler, come here." She clapped her hands.

The Manectric bounded over to them, holding her mane high. "Hzzzkizzk?"

"We may have to do battle. Come." She went to the lake, Sparkler trotting beside her. After a moment, Lisa followed, holding her mother's hand.

The lake was quiet of even Pokemon noises. Whatever this dragon was, it was scaring off everything. The myriad of trees were still, perhaps not moving a leaf to attract the enemy's attention. The lake surface was smooth, occasionally betraying the dragon's presence with a long ripple. Sparkler sniffed the air, then whined. She had her head down with anxiety. But with her family there, she would stay and make sure that they were okay.

The open Pokeball was still on the dock where Lisa had dropped it. "See, I was playing with Tuna," she whispered. "Then he dove down and there was a bunch of thrashing underwater, and then it showed up."

Her mother picked up the Pokeball, noting the status display. There was a green light. "Funny. This says that he's alive."

"Is he?" Lisa asked in a puzzled and nervous voice. "Tuna! Where are you? Come back!"

The water's surface rippled close to them, then exploded upwards as the serpentine dragon burst out of the lake in front of them. It had cinnamon red scales, long winding whiskers, and a mouth full of sharp white teeth. "GWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!" it called in a deep booming voice that echoed through the woods. Numerous alarmed calls answered from the local wildlife.

Lisa shrieked and clung to her mother's waist. Sparkler growled, determined to protect her family. But then she stopped and sniffed the air. The Manectric walked to the edge of the dock, tail held high in curiosity.

The red dragon swam forward and sniffed back. It appeared to grin, a dangerous looking smile. "Hah hah."

"Hzzzou," Sparkler replied, in a glad sound she used to greet her friends.

"What's going on?" Lisa asked, looking puzzled at Sparkler.

Her mother patted her head. "Sweetie, I think this is Tuna. He seems to have evolved."

"T-Tuna?" She took a step forward, then hesitated. "But you're so big."

"I've heard of a pseudo-dragon called Gyarados," she added. "Maybe this is it? I certainly never heard of a Magikarp evolving."

"Hah hah," Tuna said again. He leaned forward and nosed Lisa. "Gyooo." He appeared to be apologizing for scaring her.

Lisa gave a short laugh. "Hey, that tickles. Are you really Tuna?"

"Gweh-heh." He came closer to the dock so that he was sitting sideways to it. He looked back at her and growled contentedly.

The mother smiled and nudged her daughter. "I think he's offering a ride around the lake."

"Really?" She ran forward to hug Tuna's head and squealed, best friends with him again.

…

Magikarp Fire Red entry: It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic POKéMON in the world.