CHAPTER 7

Cubone woke up one morning with a horrible back ache. He had been sleeping on smooth rocks the past couple nights and slept in the wrong position. As always, there was a pile of apples right next to him when he woke up. Before he took a bite out of one of them, he thought for a moment about where the apples could have come from.

Cubone has grown up much since first being on his own. He was now more mature than other Pokémon his age and has learned so much about life in a short amount of time.

As Cubone prepared himself for the long day, he had a bizarre feeling that he was being watched. He looked behind himself to see if anyone was there. But there wasn't. That is, until he turned back around to see a marowak standing in front of him.

The marowak was carrying a bone that he held like a staff. He had a heartwarming smile and stood straight as if he only knew how to stand that way.

"Hello there." He said to Cubone.

Cubone grabbed his bone and jumped to his feet in a hurry. He had never seen a marowak before and although he always wanted to be a member, he didn't know what to expect from this one.

"I mean you no harm stranger." chuckled the marowak. "My name is Bone Crush. And yours?"

Cubone hesitated at first before saying his name.

"Cubone," he said lowering his bone.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Cubone." Bone Crush said. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but why do you look like a marowak?"

Cubone sat down on a rock and stared at the ground. He didn't want to say why, but didn't want to seem rude by not answering either.

Instead of telling Bone Crush, Cubone decided to show him his true face. Bone Crush's eyes were wide opened and his jaw dropped in astonishment when he saw that Cubone was really a kangaskan child with scars on his face.

"My God," he said softly, "you're just a kid. Where are your parents?"

Cubone lowered his head again and stared at the eye holes of the skull. Bone Crush noticed this and wondered.

"You do still have parents, don't you?" he asked.

Cubone shook his head.

Bone Crush continued to ask questions to Cubone.

"But how? What happened?"

Cubone cleared his throat before he answered the question. "My mother was murdered by someone, and then she was … eaten by a pack of wild Pokémon that I have never seen before. The skull and bone was from her skeleton."

"And your father?" Bone Crush added.

"Never had one." Cubone said shaking his head.

"And you have been living on your own ever since?" Bone Crush asked.

Cubone nodded slowly.

"For how long exactly?"

Cubone thought about what to say before answering Bone Crush's question. "Eighteen." he said.

Bone Crush was a bit surprised. "Eighteen weeks. That's about four and a half months, somewhat impressive for someone your age."

Cubone then looked back up at Bone Crush with a saddened look on his face.

"Not weeks." He said before lowering his head once again.

Bone Crush was speechless for a moment. Cubone was not alone for eighteen weeks, but rather eighteen months.

"Cubone," he said "you haven't really been living on your own for a year and a half, have you? That's nearly impossible."

"It's the truth." Cubone stated.

"But what do you do for food?" Bone Crush questioned.

Cubone therefore pointed to the pile of apples that he always woke up next to. "I find these next to me when I wake up in the morning, if I'm lucky. I thought for a moment that you were the one that was giving me these apples, that is until you started asking me questions."

Bone was at a loss for words. He was still interested about Cubone's past, but he didn't want to seem rude by asking more questions. Then he had an idea.

"Cubone, do you have a place to reside?" he asked.

Cubone looked back at Bone Crush and laugh quietly. "I never stay in one place, so no."

Bone Crush then smiled. "Then why don't you come with me? I can take you to where I and the other marowaks live. After all, it's better than sleeping on rocks."

Cubone was surprised to hear the marowak's offer. He remembered a time when it was his life dream to be a member of the marowaks. He thought for a moment before giving an answer to Bone Crush.

"Funny, I always wanted to be a marowak." Cubone said while putting on the skull.

Bone Crush chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes then. Come with me."

The two then headed west towards the farthest edge of the desert. While on their way, the two talked to one another to past the time.

"So how did you find me anyway?" Cubone asked. "I've haven't really seen any Pokémon in this desert."

"I was just on my daily stroll through the desert and then, ta da, there you were." Bone Crush explained.

"Say, aren't marowaks supposed to save the world from danger and villainy?" Cubone asked.

Bone Crush then explained, "Actually we prevent wars and stop terrorism. But from what you're saying, it makes us sound like we're comic book super heroes." The two giggled from Bone Crush's statement. "By the way, those Pokémon you spoke of before, the ones that ate your mother, what did they look like?"

Cubone paused for a moment. "Well, there were two different Pokémon, both canine like. Some were about my size and the others were twice as big. Both however, were black and grey colored."

"Interesting." Bone Crush stated, "It sounds like you encountered poochyenas and mightyenas. But they don't live in the desert, they live in safari areas."

About an hour later, the two had reached Graveyard Temple, the home of the marowaks. Cubone's dream, was now about to be a reality.