A Cubone's Heart
Chapter 1
The Beginning
It was early the morning of February 13th. The sun had barely risen and Emmett was already out of bed and headed into the forest. He couldn't go very far on his own... but today that would change. Today was the day he turned 10 years old. Today he could get his very first Pokemon!
He had been thinking about it for weeks. Months, really. At noon today he would meet with Professor Ash and choose his very own Pokemon. The traditional starter Pokemon for the region where he lived were Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. He could only choose one and it was a decision he did no take lightly.
Squirtle was a water-type Pokemon. A tiny turtle that could learn a variety of attacks including water gun and surf. It would be nice to have a water-type – you could use them to cross large bodies of water.
Bulbasaur was a grass type. His aunt, Kaye, had a Bulbasaur. Ideally they were supposed to evolve into Venosaur, an enormous dinosaur with a flower on its back. But Kaye's never evolved, despite being a high enough level. Kaye said it was because Bulbasaur did not want to. Emmett thought it might be interesting to see if he could raise one to its full potential.
In the end, however, he was certain that he wanted to try and get a Charmander. The little fire lizard Pokemon would eventually evolve into Charizard, a giant fire-breathing dragon, that could fly.
Feeling confident in his decision, Emmett strolled into the forest, too excited to sleep. He headed for one of his favorite spots, a large oak tree. A pidgeotto had build a nest there several months ago and laid eggs. The baby pidgeys had hatched and he had been spying on them nearly every day from a nearby tree. He liked watching the mother feed her babies.
This morning the Pidgeotto was gone, off hunting for worms, no doubt. He could see two of the little pidgeys sleeping peacefully. The third was awake and chirping hungrily. Emmett watched and after a few minutes, the little pidgey stepped to the edge of its nest, flapped its little wings, and took flight.
He'd watched them several days ago when they first started learning to fly. This pidgey was the only one who had the stamina to fly more than a few feet. It flew around the nest, squawking angrily. The other two pidgeys woke up and began to chirp as well.
The mother Pidgeotto soon returned and Emmett watched as she fed her babies and settled them down. Eventually he climbed down from his own tree and headed for home. He could at least eat a good brunch before going to see Professor Ash.
Emmett and his aunt Kaye lived in Pallet Town on the outskirts of the city, in a cabin just inside the forest. IT was just the two of them, as well as Kaye' Pokemon. They lived on the edge of the forest so Kaye could gather plants and herbs to make herbal remedies to heal others' Pokemon.
There was no Pokemon Center in Pallet Town, so the town's Pokemon, as well as any trainers passing through, were pretty dependent on her herbal remedies.
As Emmett approached the cabin, he saw his aunt's Treecko leaning against the door frame, chewing on a twig.
"There you are. Your aunt's been wondering where you were," Treecko said.
Most Pokemon could not talk, but Kaye's Treecko was special.
"I was just out for a walk. Where is she?" Emmett asked.
"In the garden."
Emmett walked out back to see his aunt digging in a flower bed, preparing to plant some new herbs. Bulbasaur was nearby, carrying a watering pail with its vines and watering some mint plants.
"Saur," Bulbasaur said in greeting.
"Hey Bulbasaur, hey Kaye," Emmett said. "What are you doing?"
"Hey kid! Where have you been?" Kaye asked.
"Just out for a walk. What are you planting?"
"Catnip. It's a type of mint. You can make a tea from it that has a calming effect. Works on people and rowdy Pokemon. Have you gotten your Pokemon yet?"
"No, not until noon."
"Oh. Well in that case, let me go fix us some brunch."
Kaye stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans. Emmett followed her into the house. Kaye washed her hands at the sink, then set about making a meal for them all.
Emmett sat on the couch in the living room next to his aunt's sleeping Vulpix.
"So, have you decided which Pokemon you want?" Kaye asked as she cracked eggs into a frying pan.
"I'm thinking Charmander," he replied, petting Vulpix. "I've always liked fire type Pokemon..."
Vulpix yawned sleepily and crawled into his lap.
"Vulpix, Vul," the Vulpix said sleepily.
"Charmander's cute," his aunt said with an approving nod.
"Aw Kaye, I'm not getting it cuz it's cute – I'm getting it because it's strong!" he declared.
"All Pokemon have their own strengths, Andrew Joseph," Kaye said, welding a spatula at him. "Haven't I taught you anything?"
"Yes ma'am," he said, suppressing an eye roll.
After a good brunch of bacon, eggs, and pancakes, Emmett left the cabin and started towards Professor Ash's lab.
"Good luck! Be sure to come back and show me your new Charmander!" Kaye called from the door of the cabin, waving goodbye.
"Good luck!" Treecko repeated, hopping onto Kaye's shoulder.
Emmett arrived at Ash's lab in high spirits. He was right on time. He knocked on the door and was led in by an assistant in a white lab coat.
Professor Ash was sitting at a desk, frowning at something under a microscope when Emmett entered.
"Professor Ash?"
The gray-haired old man looked up from his microscope.
"Huh? Oh hello Emmett. What brings you here?"
"I'm here for my charmander! Today's the day I turned 10," Emmett said excitedly.
"Oh so you want a charmander do you? Well I'm afraid I don't have any left at the moment..."
"Oh no!" Emmett cried as his dreams of flying through the skies atop a flaming Charizard disappearing before his eyes.
"Don't worry Emmett. I have a special Pokemon set aside for you..."
"A special Pokemon? What is it?" Emmett asked curiously. Professor Ash stood and walked over to a table. A single pokeball sat on top of it.
"I think this is the right Pokemon for you," Ash said, handing him the Pokeball. Curious, Emmett pressed the button on the pokeball. A beam of red light shot out and a Pokemon appeared.
It was small – barely a foot tall – and orange. It's head was covered by a skull, hiding its face, and it carried a bone in one hand.
"This is Cubone," Ash announced.
"Cubone...it's not very big," Emmett said doubtfully. The Pokemon moved in a flash and hit Emmett in the shin with its bone weapon. He cried out in pain and the Pokemon turned its back on him.
"Cubone may not look like much Emmett, but it has great potential. It is young. It needs a good trainer to help raise it and care for it. Its mother died, you see, when Cubone was just a baby. That's why I thought it would make a good Pokemon for you."
"Oh," Emmett said stiffly. He did not like talking about his mother.
"So you'll take him?" Ash asked.
"I guess," Emmett said. It didn't seem like he really had any other choice.
"Alright! Now, you'll also need a Pokedex – it's got information about every known Pokemon and it's also your ID since it's registered to you. And here are 5 pokeballs to get you started. You can buy more at the market in Viridian City. Try to catch as many Pokemon as you can."
"I will. Thank you Professor. Come on, Cubone, back in your pokeball," Emmett said.
The Pokemon scoffed and shook its head. Emmett knew that not all Pokemon liked being in pokeballs. Ash's Pikachu and Kaye's Treecko both hated being confined.
"Hm, well, that's alright too I guess. Come on, then."
Emmett was halfway out the door before he realized Cubone wasn't following him. He walked back over to it.
"What's the matter? You're my Pokemon now, that means you are supposed to follow me."
Cubone lifted its arms, like a toddler wanting to be picked up.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Emmett exclaimed, looking at Ash. Ash just shrugged.
"Grr...fine. Come on then, you big baby," Emmett said, picking up the Pokemon. It was surprisingly light. Cubone conked him on the head with its bone and he almost dropped it.
"Cut it out!" he said, annoyed.
Emmett headed back home, carrying Cubone on his hip like a toddler. He wondered what his aunt would think of Ash's choice for him.
"Well look who it is!" a voice said. He looked up to see a girl blocking his path. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a skirt and tank top, with a belt around the skirt where two pokeballs hung. It was Klaudia Ketchum, Professor Ash's niece. Emmett and Klaudia used to play together when they were kids, before Emmett started school. Klaudia was home schooled.
"What're you doing hauling that thing around – it's almost as big as you are! Which I guess isn't saying much," Klaudia teased.
Emmett set Cubone down and the Pokemon immediately hid behind his legs.
"I just got it from Professor Ash. He wants me to raise it.." Emmett muttered, wishing the Cubone would stop acting like a scaredy cat.
"Your first Pokemon, eh? I got mine weeks ago. I even caught my first Pokemon already – it's only a Rattata but still."
"What did you get for your first Pokemon?' he asked curiously.
"See for yourself. Come on out, Manda," Klaudia said, tossing a pokeball into the air. A flash of red light and there appeared -
"A charmander!" Emmett exclaimed enviously. "No fair..."
"Let me guess, you wanted a charmander? Of course you did. Manda is the greatest!"
"Yeah..."
"Well, them's the breaks kid. Guess that makes us rivals. You better get a move on, because I'm already way ahead of you! I'd challenge you to a battle, but your Cubone looks like it might wet itself!" Klaudia said. She walked away, laughing, her charmander following obediently.
"Hmph," Emmett said to himself. He hoisted Cubone back on his hip and continued towards home.
"I wish she wouldn't make fun of me for being small. We're the same age, for crying out loud! Course it doesn't help that she's almost a foot taller than me," Emmett grumbled as he walked. He glanced at Cubone, but it didn't say anything, merely regarded him silently from the darkness of it's skull.
His aunt was back in the garden again when Emmett returned. She stopped digging and stood when he approached.
"A Cubone!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Well that's certainly different."
Emmett set the Pokemon down and it immediately hid behind him again.
"Aww, aren't you a cutie!" his aunt crooned, crouching down in front of him to talk to the Cubone. "Come on out now. I'm not gonna hurt you..."
"It's kind of..." Emmett began but stopped because he wasn't sure how to finish the sentence without being mean.
"Oh it's just a little timid in nature, like my seel. It just takes a little coaxing..."
Kaye reached into her pocket and pulled out several berries. She offered pine to Cubone and it peeked around his legs warily. It sniffed the berry, then took it and shoved it under its skull to its hidden mouth to eat.
"Bone!" the Pokemon cried, seeming to enjoy the berries. Kaye sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Come have some more," she said gently and Cubone tottered over to her.
"Cubone is a really good Pokemon," Kaye said, looking up at him.
"I don't know much about it," Emmett admitted. He pulled out his new pokedex to see what it had to tell him about his Pokemon.
"Cubone, a ground-type Pokemon," said the pokedex in a mechanical voice. "Cubone is known as the lonely Pokemon. It wears the skull of its deceased mother. Because it never removes its skull helmet, no one has ever seen this Pokemon's face."
"It wears the skull of its dead mother? That's morbid," Emmett said, wrinkling his nose.
"How sad!" Kaye exclaimed, kissing Cubone on top of its head while it ate berries from her hand. Emmett rolled his eyes and scrolled through the pokedex, reading about Cubone's moves.
"So are you going to leave today or wait until morning?" Kaye asked.
"Today. I figure I can try and make it to Viridian City before dark."
"Seems feasible," she said, nodding. "I packed your backpack. There's some clean clothes, food, a sleeping bag and a first aid kit."
"Thanks."
"I have something else for you as well. Come inside."
Emmett and Cubone followed Kaye back into the living room. She handed him his backpack, which was sitting on the table.
"Thanks," he said, slinging it over his shoulder.
"One more thing," she said, pulling something out of her pocket. "This is for you."
"A necklace?" he said skeptically.
"Yes. The stone is tiger's eye. It's for protection. I have one for Cubone, too."
Emmett fastened his own necklace around his neck while Kaye knelt and fastened an identical one around Cubone's neck. The Pokemon examined the small stone, then put it under its skull and gnawed it before letting it fall.
"Well...thanks," Emmett said. Kaye stepped over to hug him.
"You be careful out there. And call me every time you reach a Pokemon Center. If I don't hear from you, I will come find you," she said.
"Okay, okay! Jeez. I'll call you as soon as I get to Viridian City," he promised.
"Good," she said. "Have fun and be safe. I love you."
"Love you too, Kaye. Bye."