The Master Six

Chapter Four

So I played the flute.

I was pretty good actually.  I was impressed with myself.

As, apparently, were the pokemon.

I heard a call when I first started to play.  The song wasn't much.  I played this song from when I was a child.  Aunt Janet would sing it to me to put me to sleep.  I can't remember the words anymore, but I made sure to learn to play it on my flute in school.  It was a lovely tune.

I stopped playing when I heard the call, it didn't sound like any pokemon I had ever heard, but then again, I hadn't heard many pokemon.  After about thirty seconds of not playing, only listening to the forest, a pokemon dropped down from the trees.

A Rattata!

A wild pokemon!

"Oh jeez," I said drawing back, "Max, wake up."

But Max was still out of it.  He wasn't going to be any help.  But I couldn't run, all my stuff was here.  And it was just a Rattata!  I could handle it.

Couldn't I?

"Alright little buddy," I coaxed, "just scamper off now.  I don't want no trouble."  I held out my hands.  "See, no food."

Please go away.

But it didn't move, it just looked at me.  Actually, it was looking at my flute.  The flute!  The strange call!  Maybe it was the Rattata?  Did it like my music?  Could I actually have fans?

So I sat back down, the Rattata watching intently.  And I began to play.

At first, nothing happened.  The Rattata just seemed to stand there.  Its eyes seemed to glaze over, and it just stared.  Actually, it appeared to be in a trance.

Really, it was in a trance!  The Rattata started swaying back and forth, until it finally fell over!  It just fell onto its side, it was petrified!  I...I...I was just playing.

"Rattata?" I called to it, "um...Mr. Rattata.  Are you okay?"

I stood up, and walked over to it.  I kneeled down next to it, and took a closer look.  It still appeared to be breathing.  It appeared to still be alive.  I don't really know.

Then, I got an idea.

I could catch it.  Yeah, use one of my pokeballs.  It wasn't moving; it was stiff as a board.  It wasn't going to put up any resistance.

So I walked back to the tree, and grabbed a pokeball off my belt.

Wait, this was Max's ball.

"What?" I questioned, "oh, duh."

 I could simply return Max to his pokeball.  Then I wouldn't have to carry him.

"Max!  Return!"

The pokeball opened, and Max was zapped inside.  Alright then, Max would be fine.  Now, on to my Rattata.

Wait a minute.  He was moving now.  Sure enough, the Rattata was no longer stiff, he started shaking, and his legs fell to the ground like they should.  Instead of hanging out straight like they were.  It was waking up.

Then, as if answering me, it jumped right up all alive and well.  As if nothing happened at all.  I even snarled at me.  I guess it didn't like being frozen in a trance.

The flute!  Where's the flute?

It snarled even louder, and started towards me.  It was small, but it could bite, hard.

The flute?  Duh, it's in my hand.

I put it to my lips, and began playing the song.  And just as I had hoped, the Rattata's eyes glazed over.  He started rocking back and forth.  And then he fell over, petrified all over again.

"I got you this time."

I grabbed a new pokeball off my belt, and tossed it at the Rattata.  Sure enough, when it made contact, the Rattata was zapped into the pokeball.

I caught my first pokemon!

Yes!

I can't believe it!  That must be the magic of the flute.  It was a tranquilizing flute.  Oh my god.  Of course!  It was all starting to make sense.  The flute lessons in school, the secrecy of the flute.  The song Aunt Janet sang to me.  It was all in preparation for this, my pokemon journey.  This was my destiny.  I could beat anybody know, I could catch any pokemon with just a little ditty from my flute.

This had to be my calling.

I was going to be a great pokemon trainer.

But why all the secrecy?  This was a great tool.

Whatever.

Now I had to get Max to a PokeCenter.

This was great; I was going to be great.

My future was now laid out before me.

This was great.