A/N: A quick Pokemon drabble done sometime last year, shortly after Riley appeared in the Diamon/Pearl anime. That must have been around...oh...April or something...

Disclaimer: don't own Pokemon.

Earth Says, "Hello!"

"Do you smell that, Cranidos?"

An ancient smell poured from the rock; to the knowing it was a delicious treat, to many others it was the kind of odor that made you plug your noses and pinch the furthest point on the bridge of the nasal cavity in disgust. A lingering smell of decay, one that had reveled in its rotten form for decades before species of Pokemon became common ground to the many lands, bodies of waters, and singular sky shared over one world. There lay a story in its stench; among many others that lay in its fossilized rock form that shriveled among the gentle hands that took it from the bowels of its grave. Tiny fragments drooped, falling off like the very smell had begun to soak in the new air rushing in from the outside and battered its elderly stasis; too much, far too quick. Gentle eyes regarded the unresponsive symbol with understanding, pride welling up as he brought his nose close to the agent, sniffing it and smelling something wonderful. Not a decrepit old whiff of an example of today's society, but an exotic aroma that drove him wild with excitement at a life that he wanted to give back. How cruel the world is---he brushed his fingertips along it and sighed softly.

Cranidos gave a affirmative cry, jaws opening up wide in delight.

It too, shared his love.

The young man continued, almost in a trance, "Do you hear that, Cranidos?"

Ears closed off to the larger face of reality, it shied away from him every time he turned the fossil over and over again. He could hear the cries it made for release; desperate wails ensued from the core of its center seeking consolation for the eons spent cooped up. It rattled in his head, like something sought to emerge without aid of a time machine to bring it forth without the needless strain on its ancient body. The atmosphere dropped pensively; growing colder and making the bits of coal and stone sparkle from the bristling ice frosted over in such a cold evening. Yet the fossil grew warmer, pulsing vibrantly with life beckoning him to touch an ear to its centerpiece. Shutting his eyes he listened, perplexed by the faint beating of a heart; and knowing he confused it for his own drumming one that thundered a rampage of emotions, stuck in turmoil the longer he sat with his new find. From the imaginary cries he heard in his head, wonderful noises that ran endlessly with a Pokemon to compare its face to, he stewed and waited, long into the night when his skin turned numb.

"Cranidos!" The fossil-revived Pokemon confirmed, jumping up and down lightly.

Again, the digger only chuckled at the Pokemon's enthusiasm. "Do you…feel that, Cranidos?"

Offering the small object of life to his Pokemon, he felt every inch like a mother. Someone who cared for her children in ways that transcended time; where years and natural birth meant nothing but provided insight to the generation it bore from. Cranidos snarled out a snort, tapping its stubby little appendages against the fossil Pokemon. Even from a natural rock type like itself, the Pokemon was every inch as gentle as the person holding it. Making another noise the small dinosaur Pokemon yanked off its scarf around its neck and held it in its teeth to the man. It mewled through the cloth and, as the Pokemon requested, he wrapped the fossil in the warm material. His touch lingered though, eyes boring into its broken exterior that reflected thousand of years of pain in its battered rough state. It was enough to bring a fresh set of tears to his eyes. Why? Why were these good souls so….wonderful? What drew him to their orbit where time took steps back, just to envision the period which they naturally bred from? Why? He knew why.

Rising up the gym leader stumbled back, blinking through his glasses when he fell back on his butt. He was stiff all over. His back ached from hunching over the gravel. The glasses had fogged in the rising breaths. Normally it never grew so cold but strangely, it did. Casting a look to Cranidos he asked, "Uh…w-what time is it Cranidos?" Another voice, human, answered him. Grabbing his arms and yanking him up wrenching a startled cry from him. Instinctively he elbowed his captor. Wincing at the impact that felt more like stone than anything conceivably human. Snapping out of the dazed trance that accompanied him he looked back and up in alarm, growing sheepish.

"Sorry dad. I just…the fossil…it…."

"Spoke to you." The man knocked on the boys helmet, finishing his sentence for him, "Yeah. I get ya."

Roark beamed at Byron.

The Earth truly did say "hello" on these occasions.