A/N: Alright, everyone. This is my second fanfic, my first two-shot, and my first songfic. I'm generally opposed to songfics, but I heard this song on the radio and couldn't help but go with it. BTW, I'm not telling the song until I post the second part, just to add to the "I-want-to-read-more-of-this" factor. (Then again, if you can guess the song without me telling, that kinda defeats the purpose.)

Thanks to everyone who read my first fanfic, and thanks in particular to "Wyla" and "LAM or DE REAPER EEHH" for leaving a comment. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, the characters mentioned, or Google. (Cuz if I did, I'd be rich and wouldn't be here right now.)

"Hey, Kate."

"Oh, hey, Keith! What's up?"

Keith reclined back in his easy chair and put his cellphone on speaker-phone. "Nothing much. Just got back from helping some old dude clean up his yard. A bunch of Snorlax tore it up and he needed help."

"Sounds fun," Kate said sarcastically. "That all?"

"Yep, pretty much. So, how's Hoenn?"

"Oh, it's amazing! They have so many different types of Pokemon here that aren't in Almia. I'll see if I can capture one and bring it with me."

Keith chuckled. "Nah, just take a few photos. That'll suffice." Keith paused. "So, when do you plan on coming home? I miss you, Katie."

"Aw, Keith, you're gonna make me cry!" Kate said with a chuckle. "But really, I think maybe it'll be a week or so. And I miss you too, but these people need me here to do these lectures. They've never had a Pokemon Ranger before, y'know."

"Never!?"

"Never."

"Wow," Keith said. "That's weird. What do they do to protect themselves, then?"

Kate sounded surprised. "You've never heard of Pokemon Trainers? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well, maybe I can get one of them to come with me. You can actually learn something about inter-regional culture." She giggled. "At least, more than you did in Ms. April's Culture class."

"Hey, I passed that class!"

"Yeah, with a D+."

"Hey, those teachers give out fewer D-pluses than D-minuses. It's-"

"Not a grade they like to give out," Kate recited. "I've heard it before."

"Well, it's true!" There was a short pause over the phone. Kate spoke after a few seconds.

"So, everything alright with you?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine, I guess." Keith sounded unconvincing.

"You guess?"

"Well, I just... I don't know, I guess I haven't had much to do recently. Ever since you went out to Hoenn, things have gotten really boring here in Almia. All I have to keep me company are my partner Pokemon, and as much as I love 'em, it's still..."

"Not the same?" Kate finished.

"Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's cool hanging out with them, but there's nobody else – like, people-wise – to hang out with. Sven's always out with Wendy doing their thing, and Rhythmi can't ever leave the Union. And Murph... well, I think you can finish that thought."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, I get what you mean." Another long pause.

"So... I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, I have to go anyway, some guy named Birch needs me at his lab. I'll talk to ya later, Keith!"

"Okay, Kate. Bye."

"Bye!" *Click.*

Keith closed his phone and sighed. "Love ya," he whispered to himself. He stood up from his chair, and picked up the acoustic guitar in the corner of his room. I wonder why I never learned to play this thing... He sat back with the guitar in his lap, and thought back to the day he got the guitar.

It was a bright day in Altru Park. The sun was shining, the Taillow were singing, and people were enjoying one of the last warm-weather days of the year. There were children running around, playing Tag, Follow-the-Leader, and other childhood games. A young couple was sharing an ice cream sundae next to a decorative fountain. It was generally a normal day.

However, one corner of the park, complete with a picnic bench and a grill, had been taped off, reserved for a special event. Professor Hastings and Chairperson Erma were waiting there, as well as Rhythmi, Sven, and Wendy. They were waiting impatiently for someone – a couple of someones, actually.

"My goodness! How much longer must we wait for them?"

"Calm down, professor. They'll be here any minute."

"Yeah, Rhythmi's right. I just got a Voicemail from Kate saying they wouldn't be much longer. Maybe in, like, five minutes."

"That was five minutes ago, Sven."

"It was?"

"Yeah. Y'know, maybe I should get you a watch for your birthday."

"Shh! Not now, Wendy, here they come!"

Just as Sven had said, Kate was approaching, with a blindfolded Keith following. She was silently holding a finger to her mouth, trying to shush her friends. Keith, on the other hand, was loud enough to alert everyone in the park that they were there.

"Kate," he whined, "how much further is it? I'm tired of walking."

"Then you shouldn't have released our Doduo. Besides, I'm tired too, and you don't hear me complaining about it."

"Okay, but you still haven't answered my question. How much further?"

"Ugh... Not much further, Keith." Jeez, baby, she thought to herself. "Alright," she said after a few more steps, "open your eyes."

"They are open, Kate. But the blindfold's in the way," Keith joked.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

He chuckled as he removed the blindfold.

"SURPRISE! Happy birthday, Keith!"

"Wha-! You guys did all this for me!?"

"Of course!" Kate chimed. "We wouldn't forget about our best Top Ranger, would we?"

Rhythmi ran over to Keith and gave him a big hug. "Keith! I missed you!"

"Ack- I missed you too, Rhythmi," Keith gasped. "Now, let go of me!"

"Oh! Sorry!" she giggled. "So, how was your trip to Fiore? You have fun hanging out with your dad?"

"Yeah, it was awesome! We went camping, and he taught me how to use a bow and arrow, and we went fishing, and-"

Chairperson Erma cut him off, laughing lightly. "Now, Keith, there'll be plenty of time for that later, don't you think? We've many things planned for today, and if we're to continue as planned, we have to start now." She smiled. "Do you accept this mission, Keith?"

Keith flashed his signature wide grin. "I don't know, guys," he said sarcastically, "sounds pretty dangerous." Everyone laughed. After a comical, dramatic pause, Keith said, "Alright, Erma, I accept! Let's do it!"

Keith recalled wonderful, happy memories from that day – of swimming at Nabiki Beach; of having a capture race with Kate, Wendy and Sven (Kate won, of course, but just barely); and of trying to teach Rhythmi how to use his new bow-and-arrow set (but stopping after she nearly hit a passing-by Spearow), but the one memory stuck out in his mind.

… "And now, here's Kate's gift, Keith!"

Kate turned a little red. "I hope you like it," she said with a smile.

"You better, Keith," Sven interjected. "It's the last one."

"Whatever it is," Keith interjected with a grunt, "it's pretty big." He hefted the big box onto the picnic table and laid it down. It was about three feet tall, wrapped in bright green Aipom-print paper, in a big rectangular box. Kate smiled even more when he attacked the wrapping paper with vigorous excitement.

He lifted the lid to the box to reveal a beautiful polished two-tone orange acoustic guitar. It was in pristine condition, and the reflection from the sun cast a gleam over the smooth body. It almost shimmered, fading from black on the border to red and to a warm orange in the middle. The neck had shining gold inlays that caught Keith's stunned eyes. He was speechless. It was absolutely perfect, every inch of it.

Kate walked over to his side and leaned in towards him. "So...?"

"It's... amazing, Kate."

She smiled and her face turned even redder. "I knew you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it, Kate. Thank you so much." He turned to her and gave her a hug.

"You're so welcome," she said playfully, returning the hug.

Keith leaned out of their embrace and turned to the others. "And thank you all for probably one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time. You guys are awesome!"

"Aww..." Rhythmi started walking towards Keith. "Group hug!" she said as she threw her arms around Keith's shoulders and squeezed him even tighter. The others joined in until a massive 7-person hug resulted.

Keith smiled to himself. Good times, he thought to himself. He pulled the guitar pick out of the strings, and started fiddling around, making up some very discordant chords on the spot. Then, after Rhythmi called in to him ("Keith, would you cut that out? I can't hear what Sven's trying to say to me"), he thought to himself, Maybe I should look up an actual song to play for Kate when she gets back. I can tell she'd love it, he thought.

Only one problem, though, he added.

What song? He thought for a moment. ...Nope, I've got nothing. Maybe I can turn on the radio and find something.

He looked down to his Styler, and turned on the built-in FM tuner. After a few seconds of station-searching, he found a song that sounded familiar to him, though he couldn't remember where he'd heard it before. He sat on his bed for about 3 minutes, just listening. The song was absolutely sad, and all acoustic guitars and vocals, but Keith loved it. He managed to pull a few lyrics from it by the time it was over, but nothing else other than the name.

So, he went over to the computer on his desk, and Googled it. After a few pages of searching, he found the song. He played it from the beginning this time, and realized where he'd heard it before. The opening melody, whistled by the lead singer, was the same as a lullaby his mom used to hum to him when he was younger.

He looked up the lyrics, and found out they hit home pretty accurately.

Yep, he thought. This is the one.

So, whaddya guys think? I personally like it, but as I've said, I'll leave that up to you guys to judge. Please leave comments and criticism, and even if you didn't like it, say so.

And also, spot the movie quote! (Hint: It's a comedy from the 90s.)

Peace out,

-G3