Author's Note: Well, here I am. This would be my second fanfiction, and my first about Pokemon. Sure, it's probably really short and crappy, but hey, I'm just glad I wrote it. I was inspired to do this after playing my old Blue version. I sure was upset at Team Rocket for killing Cubone's mother. Anyway, reviews would be appreciated, I could use them.

Disclaimer: I in no way own Pokemon. Well, I do own a few of the games, but I don't make any money.

"G-give it back!"

"Hm?" As he was wandering around aimlessly in the forest, hopeful about finding a rookie trainer to scare, he heard the high-pitched cry that was followed with a sob. Carefully, he floated towards the source, and upon finding it, hid behind a tree, gazing silently in bewilderment.

"Give it back! Please!" It was the same voice as before. The child the voice belonged to was crying, jumping desperately to reach what was stolen from him, but to no avail. He continued his short jumps, but he could never reach it. Whenever he did, his tormentor would only raise the object higher and snicker in delight at the boy's futile attempts.

The child eventually gave up, and started sobbing hysterically. The bone that was always in his left hand was throne to the floor as he sobbed, his arms up to his eyes, like he was trying to hide the tears from the bully. Normally, the sobbing of his kind sounded hollow and almost frightening because of their masks, though usually ended up becoming sad little melodies. Of course, that's what was stolen from him, so his sobbing merely sounded needy and childish. His small, light orange body shook as he sobbed, though the middle of his stomach was a circle, pale-like color.

"Aww, is the baby crying? Not man enough to take what's yours, huh kid? How pathetic, ha ha!" The bully grinned, tossing the skull mask in his hand up and down lazily. His grin made his fangs even more intimidating, though because they were huge and set on his lower jaw, he had to stare down, which was easy, considering the poor Cubone was much smaller, and wasn't standing upright. His skin was a deep shade of purple, slightly blending in with the dark of night even though the forest was usually covered in its various shades of green. The black around his neck and the small, cuff-like black rings around his wrists blended in much better, and his flat ears were flapping, in a sense, as he laughed.

Granbull only continued to laugh. While most Granbull were in fact very timid, this one had just evolved, and loved the fact that most of the younger Pokemon were afraid of him. He especially loved picking on crybabies, so he was extremely pleased when this newcomer Cubone had wandered in on his territory.

Haunter was displeased with the cocky Granbull. While he himself is a trickster, he is no bully, especially to the younger Pokemon of the forest. His normally grinning mouth was now closed with a look of displeasure, and his body was a deeper shade of purple compared to Granbull's almost lavender-like tone. Determined to help the small child, he gave a grin as his detached, three claw-like hands disappeared from sight.

"Heh, what a little baby you are! You should've known better than to wander into my territory, squirt!" Granbull continued taunting. He then felt a tap on his shoulder, and when he turned, he saw nothing. He felt a chill go down his body, getting the feeling he was being watched. Another tap on his other shoulder, and he turned again, starting to panic.

"Wh-who's there?! Show yourself! You think you can take me on?" He dropped the skull to the ground, now forgotten. A devilish laugh full of malice sent another chill down the dog's body, and he started trembling when he heard the sadistic tone in the voice that seemed to come from nowhere.

"So, you like picking on the children, eh? Hehe, I like you! Why don't you join me...in the afterlife!!" Haunter then popped out in front on Granbull, right into his face, giving the petrified Pokemon a simple Lick. He then shook, paralyzed, whether it was from fear or from the Lick, he didn't know. As fast as he could in his given state, he ran off whimpering, his timid nature kicking in. The ghost gave a delighted laugh, still scary as usual. He picked the skull up, looking at the Cubone, who was crying even harder, scared.

He examined the snow-white skull, relieved to find no cracks in it. He floated over to the sobbing child, handing him his skull. "Here."

Cubone, for a moment, was afraid the Haunter was going to Lick him as well, or do something worse. He had heard that Haunters were capable of using Hypnosis and Dream Eater, and tried his best to stay away from them. He already had frequent nightmares of his mother, and did not need any help with that particular area. Seeing that the ghost had indeed helped him, he hiccuped a small, "Thanks..." and placed his skull back firmly on his head. Though, because he was still small, the skull was very loose on him, but he didn't care. He was just happy he had got it back.

"You're new to this forest, aren't you?" Haunter asked. When he was given a hesitant nod, he gave a smile, doing his best to make it seem friendly instead of its usual devious appearance. "I'm Haunter. Pleased to meet you."

"C-cubone," the baby answered, standing up and grabbing his bone, "Um, thanks for saving me, Mr. Haunter."

"No need for the Mr. part, it makes me seem old." The ghost gave a laugh, much gentler than the other one, a chuckle from an old soul rather than the snicker of a prankster. Sure, he loved pranks, but was very kind at heart.

"Hmm... You must be new around here, am I right? We don't get much Cubone in the forest," Haunter noted, making the child in question flush.

"Y-yeah, I'm new. Some humans came by my old home, and started doing construction. I couldn't handle the noise, so here I am..." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, keeping his gaze low on the ground.

"Do you have a place to stay yet?"

"What?"

"You know, any territory that works well for you? There's a small cave by my home, if you like. The Ursaring that used to live there was caught about two days ago," Haunting started, "So, if you want it, I doubt anybody would mind. Besides, like I said, it's near my home. I could come around a little to help get used to everything. Well, there's a Golbat there, with her two Zubat, but I'm sure she'd enjoy the company. She's pretty nice."

Cubone looked away again, nervous about asking his question. "Um... Mr.- I mean, Haunter, do you think you could... Could protect me from the bullies for a while?" Slowly, he looked up, expecting to see irritation in the ghost's face. Instead, he saw the ghost smiling, pleased.

"Of course! I'd like to help. After all, I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve that I'd like to try..." He got a devious glint in his eye, before using one of his hands to grab onto Cubone's. "Come on then, Cubone. I think you're going to like it here. There are nice Pokemon here, not like Granbull. If he ever bothers you again, just let me know, and I'll haunt him so badly, he'll be scared right into the afterlife!"

Haunter led the way to the child's new home. As he did, Cubone was staring at the sky. 'Wow... He sure is nice, even for a ghost Pokemon. Maybe..maybe I won't be so lonely anymore...'

They both continued on their way, the crybaby and the prankster becoming close friends as the years passed by.