UB-00 (Simulacra)

Original Source: SuperSonic6299 on DeviantArt
Cinnabar Island was once the most beautiful of Kanto’s islands, despite its relatively small stature. Formerly home to the Cinnabar Gym, where trainers would visit to challenge the Fire-type master, Blaine, it holds many hidden details. But what happened to it? The media would tell you that the island held a once dormant volcano at its base. As one can tell, that volcano soon “woke up” and demolished the only town that was established there. This is true…from a certain point of view. Most people know what happened to Cinnabar, but they never thought to ask…why?

Going back to the hidden details of Cinnabar Island, more and more people are learning of the now notorious Pokemon Mansion; a place where one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world was created before promptly decimating the mansion and escaping. Another detail that was somewhat unnoticed until recently was the Cinnabar Lab, founded by one Dr. Fuji and having claimed responsibility for creating the world’s first synthetic Pokemon, Porygon. Despite how important the discoveries were, very few people know the story of either of these locations. Some claim that it was due to cover-ups from a higher power, but these claims often come with caveats that sound crazy for even the most hardcore of conspiracy theorists. No. The truth is that there was a cover-up. A cover-up of something that almost no one had a solid theory about…The answer to why the Cinnabar Volcano erupted in the first place. The one hidden detail that only a certain few know is that there is another formation that Cinnabar holds. It was a cave found off the eastern coast that either contained extremely rare Pokemon, a massive deposit of the island’s namesake, or even the experiment that scientists of the Pokemon Mansion had created. Of course, any research into this topic will let one know that there is no such cave. Traveling to the ruins of the island will show that there are no indications of a cave ever having been present. However, this is what they…or rather “it” wants people to think.

It was a clouded day, dark yet fulfilling. A man stood at the coast of Cinnabar Island and gazed out to the eerily calm sea. This man, Marcus, was man who held a dark secret close to him. He was there at the mansion…he was there when scientists had conducted their experiments on the Progenitor…He oversaw the creation of one of the most powerful Pokemon in existence. For their willingness to play God, his colleagues had paid the ultimate price. Marcus could remember the sounds. Horrid yells of pain, screams of terror from men and women alike, and the ear-piercing screech that the experiment had let out before it escaped. He found it miraculous that he survived the ordeal, but also knew that he would be endlessly punished by his nightmares. Suddenly, he felt a chill run down the back of his neck along with something wet. He turned around to find his faithful Aerodactyl standing behind him, having given an affectionate lick to try and cheer up her friend. Marcus couldn’t help but slightly smile at the Fossil Pokemon before petting her, knowing that she was just trying to keep his spirits up. Just then, they both felt something cold and wet hit them. Looking up, they saw that it was getting ready to storm something fierce. Marcus looked at Aerodactyl before quickly climbing onto her back. They knew that they couldn’t take shelter in the nearby town so they would have to move on. Right as they were about to fly off however, Marcus had spotted something peculiar. There was an alcove in the eastern coast that he had never seen before. Commanding Aerodactyl to fly over to the entrance, they landed in what seemed to be a cave. Looking deeper, they found that it was nearly pitch-black.

“Use Thunder Fang”, Marcus had spoken.

Aerodactyl’s fangs soon gained a pale glow and were sparking with electricity. Marcus then pulled another Poke Ball off his belt and let loose his second most trusted companion, a Kabutops. He asked if he could cover their backs just in case anything happened, to which Kabutops responded swiftly. With Kabutops taking guard at the entrance of the cave, Marcus and Aerodactyl began to make their way into uncharted territory. With every step he took, Marcus become more confused. Why was this cave here and how did no one notice it? From what they could see, there were no other Pokemon present in this cave. If anything, the place was completely empty save for them and a few puddles of water. Marcus and Aerodactyl soon found a bigger “room” within the cave itself that was seemingly lit by a hole in the ceiling. This confused Marcus as he was certain that there were no entrances to the cave on the island itself. Even more mysterious was the burning sensation that he felt when he stepped into the light. As soon as he did, he immediately pulled his hand back and found that it was slightly red. This truly let Marcus know that this cave was an anomaly of some kind. Suddenly, they heard rapid footsteps approaching. Aerodactyl moved in front of Marcus, ready to fight to the end for her friend. But they were surprised to see that it was Kabutops, looking panicked out of his mind.

“Kabutops? What’s wrong?”

The Shellfish Pokemon had pointed a claw towards the way out. Looking at the spot he had pointed, Marcus’s stomach had dropped. The entrance to the cave had vanished. It didn’t even appear that they were caved in; the entrance had just completely disappeared. He slowly backed up into the larger room and gulped. He knew that if he tried to fly out through the hole in the ceiling, something bad would happen. What happened next would be the last thing that all three ever saw. Suddenly, a crack of thunder was heard as lightning had struck the cave floor through the hole. As soon as all three turned around, they saw a blindingly white light beginning to spread open. Eventually, the light had dimmed and what they saw was almost indescribable. It seemed to be some kind of portal…a gate to somewhere else. Marcus carefully moved closer to the portal and peered down. There was nothing on the other side; nothing but an endless void. He looked back at his Pokemon who were slightly shaking and ready to defend him. As he was about to walk back over to them however, a slight rumbling was heard. Marcus didn’t even have time to look back as he felt himself being pulled closer to the hole. He yelled in pain as he was slowly pulled into the light, feeling his skin beginning to flake and peel. Aerodactyl and Kabutops immediately came to his aid, trying desperately to pull their friend from the burning light of the portal. Just then, the floor beneath them had been swallowed by the hole, grasping at all three figures, and pulling them in. All three had screamed as they fell into the hole before it had slowly closed, silencing the cacophony. Sometime after this terror, the portal had flashed open once more. This time though, nothing had gone in. But slowly…something came out.

Soon, the residents of Cinnabar Island had noticed that several strange phenomena were occurring. Sometimes people would report seeing other residents of the island in multiple places at once, even if said residents were not in the area. Other times, people would report finding several items such as potions, Poke Balls and even Rare Candies splitting into multiple copies. The strangest phenomena that only occurred at the east coast of the island is that people would claim to see three figures. Descriptions would vary, but most often they were reported as an Aerodactyl, a Kabutops, and a human male. All three would be standing at the coastline and staring out into the sea. When approached from any angle, the figures would then suddenly vanish with absolutely no trace of their existence being left behind. For a while, these occurrences were quite rare and when it was reported, the reports were shrugged off as some kind of prank. Over time though, the phenomena began happening at a much more frequent rate and eventually, had reached the ears of the International Police. Sending two of their finest agents to the island, the agency had no idea that what would occur that day would go down as one of the most tragic events in Kanto’s history.

The agents codenamed Fox and Falcon, had arrived at Cinnabar Island in a short matter of time. Instantly, they went to work asking questions of anyone and everyone who was currently on the island. From what they gathered, the residents and tourists had found that the phenomena had begun sometime after a particularly stormy day. Alongside that, the anomalies mostly appeared near or on the eastern coast of the island. Hopping in their boat, the agents investigated the east coast of Cinnabar for any sign of anomalous activities. Instead they found a cave. A lone cave that was seemingly unexplored. Looking at each other, Fox and Falcon knew that the source of the incidents had to be in that cave. After parking, the agents began their venture into the cave. Upon entering, Fox instantly stopped and listened carefully. He heard what sounded like light static echoing from within the cave. Looking back at Falcon, they both nodded and grabbed their Poke Balls just in case. Moving further in, the agents had encountered even more anomalous activities. Light sources coming from the ceiling despite there being no major holes on the island; said light having almost acidic properties if anything were to step into it; they even found a strange stockpile of Rare Candies having been melted by the light. Jotting down notes in her mind, Falcon suddenly felt a surge of fear swim through her body as she saw something swiftly speed past her. Looking back, Fox found his partner looking slightly pale. When asked what she saw Falcon said that she didn’t know, claiming that some kind of entity had flew past her. Fox’s face had scowled. He now knew that whatever was causing this would be in this cave for sure. Moving onward, the duo soon found themselves in a larger portion of the cave, seeing that there was a larger hole in the ceiling letting in much more light. As soon as they had stepped into the area, Fox had heard it again. The light static sound from before. But this time it was getting closer. When he looked back, it was time for him to turn pale as he saw that the entrance to the room they found had disappeared. He ran over and touched the wall, feeling that it was completely solid. Just then, he heard the static once more…and Falcon screaming behind him and when he turned around, he knew exactly why.

Floating in the light was a dark, purple entity with two detached, human-like claws, white voids for eyes and a grin that could destroy the bravest of souls. It almost looked like a Haunter, but they knew that this was no Pokemon. The entity had floated towards Falcon and stared deep into her soul, almost as if it were trying to snatch it from her. Falcon and Fox were completely frozen with paranoia, watching as the creature floated around the room and studied them carefully. Suddenly, the entity was engulfed in a bright light that when dissipated showed two horrifying visages. It had transformed into what seemed to be the fossilized remains of an Aerodactyl and Kabutops, both being animate. Falcon slowly backed away toward Fox, who was sitting on the ground with a look of pure shock on his face. No one could have predicted what happened next. A sudden crack of lightning had struck the fossils, which sent them hurdling into each other. As soon as they collided, the fossils began to melt into a chaotic mess of what seemed to be grey and tan blocks. The figure grew larger and the static sound began to grow even louder. Eventually, a bright light had appeared beneath the figure and expanded before being sucked away into a dark hole that took its place. All sound had stopped. Suddenly, the entity released a soul-rending scream that was layered with heavy static. The two agents’ skin were nearly chalk white from the display before them, their eyes never leaving the entity’s sight. Before they knew it, the entity had floated down into the dark hole with the static sound following it. Both agents slowly rose from the ground and looked into the pit. They were suddenly greeted with rumbling and something jumping over them. Turning around, the agents were once more frozen with fear as they saw that the creature had morphed yet again. This time, it had taken the form of the Kabutops fossil, but with the wings of the Aerodactyl and the face of the purple entity. Grey and tan blocks whirled around the creature as it let out the last thing that the agents heard. Another scream comprised of the wails of a Kabutops, Aerodactyl, and a man; all of them sounding as if they were being burned alive. The rumbling that came with the creature grew stronger, causing Fox and Falcon to stumble before falling into the hole that this nightmare came from. Looking down, they screamed even louder as they saw a jet of magma heading towards them. They didn’t have time to do anything as the molten rock claimed both their bodies and their lives…

From this point, it’s obvious what had occurred next. The residents and tourists of Cinnabar Island heard and felt the rumbling and knew that something terrible was about to happen. Soon, the Cinnabar Volcano had exploded, releasing a massive jet of ash and lava. Several people had lost their lives, with only a fortunate few being able to evacuate thanks to the help of Gym Leader Blaine. Today, the ruins of Cinnabar Island stand as a memorial to those who lost their lives in that great tragedy. Visitors flock from many regions to pay respects to those who passed and leave gifts behind for them. Strangely, these gifts will sometimes be mysteriously duplicated or even vanish entirely. Even stranger is that visitors claim that they, rarely, will hear some kind of static-like noise when on the island. The International Police sent several more agents to the island after hearing of an unknown cave off the eastern coast. As you can guess, they were unable to locate any sign of a burrow or alcove in the island. Still, some agents claim to have seen a black, painted text on the coast that read, “There was a cave here. It’s gone now”. Perhaps strangest of all is how many claim to find symbols scratched into various sites on the island. Several have been documented, but there was always one that confused people the most…an apostrophe that would followed by a capital M.