A few years ago, your family lived in a place in the northwest of the Lonar region called Revoir Town. It was almost always snowing there, and surrounded by the ocean, but you didn't mind -- it was home. Dad was a researcher who explored the ocean and the surrounding areas for clues to the legendary Pokemon, Lugia, and your mother and older sister Tessa ran a tourist ferry that would take people on tours to view and occasionally capture some of the Lapras pods in the area. You were the youngest, so you spent a lot of your time exploring the area and enjoying the scenery.
One day in the off-season, a strange man came into town to go on one of your mother's tours. He seemed nice enough, but he was very quiet, and appeared to survey his surroundings carefully. That afternoon, your mother and Tessa took him and a few other tourists on the ferry. It had been a crisp, clear day, but in a matter of hours, the sky turned to storm and churned the sea into a violent uproar. The ferry disappeared into the waves.
A few days later, a search party came across the wreckage of the boat on a small, rocky island. Everyone aboard was dead, including your mother. But the body count turned up short, and Tessa and the strange man were two of the few bodies that were missing. It was assumed they'd just been washed out to sea, and so they were declared dead.
Your dad, devastated by the loss of your mother and his eldest, became depressed. He abandoned his research and moved with you as far away from Revoir as he could, to the sunny ocean town of Alira. He found a job at the local PokeMart, but never seemed happy, and almost seemed like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
After several years, someone new moves into Alira from across the region -- a kid your age with their mother, Professor Clover, who had come to set up a new lab in Alira. Since the shy kid is about your age, you decide to make nice with them and you quickly become friends. As you show them around town, you decide to visit the beach, and you hear a sorrowful cry from the far end. A baby Lapras has washed up on the beach, sunburnt and very weak. At first, you don't know what to think. How has a baby Lapras made it to the southern ocean of Lonar by itself?
You and your friend rush the Pokemon to Professor Clover, who heals the distressed Lapras while you comfort it. It only seems to like you, for whatever reason, and won't let Professor Clover get near it unless you are by its side. Professor Clover explains that the Pokemon can't be returned to the ocean on its own -- it would never survive the journey back home to the northwest. Your friend quickly suggests you take it back to Revoir, since the Pokemon seems to trust you and you could help it get stronger as you go. Reluctantly, you agree to take the Lapras, and Professor Clover hands your friend a Pokemon, too (either a Growlithe or a Vulpix -- I haven't decided), and says that it would be good for them to go and explore the region, too, so they could learn about Pokemon and come back and help her with the Lab. The Professor hands both of you Pokedexes and some Pokeballs and sends you on your way. You and your friend battle, they wish you the best of luck and to look for them around, and they dash off.
But before you leave Alira, you stop by your house to say goodbye to your father. When you show your dad the Lapras, it ignites something in him. He starts mumbling excitedly and begins to rummage through the bookshelf, looking for his notes. When you try to get his attention, he completely ignores you, so engrossed in his search you can't even say a proper goodbye. You head out the door and begin your journey to bring Lapras, and you, back home.
