A long long time ago...

Nah, let's try this again.

Have you ever heard of ore? It's a material that is used to make many different metals.

Years ago, an island off the coast of Sinnoh was found to be full of it. Workers flocked to the area to carve out the island and excavate it; the island became one giant mine, dedicated to the ore.

But somehow that all has to end, doesn't it?

Which it did. Ore dried up. Cave-ins happened frequently. The hype wore off. People got bored.

The island--which had been dubbed Iron Island--became deserted as quickly as it became populated.

Nothing was left on the island besides a run-down house and a giant network of tunnels. A deserted run-down house and a deserted giant network of tunnels.

If people don't live in places, guess what does?

Did you guess Pokemon?

You're right.

Rock, ground, steel--the mine became inhabited with a variety of different Pokemon. It wasn't inhabited by people, but it worked. Years pass, and people remembered Iron Island--not for its mine, but for its Pokemon.

A training ground.

Yeah, that's the word to call it.

People showed up. Trainers. Gym Leaders. People who thought they could handle it.

Some people completed their training successfully; but of course, some couldn't.

The mine is still threatened by cave-ins and lost trainers, after all.

So what's needed?

Someone to watch over the mine?

Of course.

The person was specially chosen. A young trainer moved into the old run-down house, fixed it up a bit. Explored the mine with his Pokemon. Welcomed trainers into his home and helped them down in the mines.

A Guardian of Iron Island?

That wasn't the exact words he'd put it in, but it worked. It made sense, didn't it?

Trainers still showed up every once in a while, and he still came to their assistance. He wasn't cut off from the world, of course--he had friends he spoke to, sometimes visited, mostly communicated with through mail.

Iron Island.

Of course, this is where our story will begin...