101 The Pokeflute

"Are you sure? It won't exactly be safe traveling with me." I told old man Fuji as he asked me to look after Cubone.

"I am sure. It may not exactly be the safest with you, but I still believe that is the best option." The old man said, before looking down at Cubone with warmth in his eyes.

"Cubone can only grow as they accept and move past their mother's death. I believe that won't happen if Cubone stays here with a decrepit old man like me. For him to properly grow, he needs to leave Lavender so that he doesn't have the memory of his mother always hanging over him, and so he can experience new things to help him grow. And since he's already so fond of you..."

Mr. Fuji left the rest unsaid, but I understood.

So instead of saying anything else to him, I knelt down to look Cubone directly in the eye, and asked him,

"How about it Cubone? Do you want to come with me?"

"Cue?"

"Yes, really. But I'm going to warn you, I won't take it easy on you. All of my Pokemon train every day to be strong, and the training is very tough."

"Cue Cubone!" He declared excitedly when I mentioned training, as his promise to his mother was that he'd be a great warrior like her.

"Ok then." I said with a smile, while pulling out a Pokeball and tapping it to his skull helmet.

Cubone was promptly sucked inside as the Pokeball gave a single jerk, before falling still with a soft ding.

I then stood back up and said to Mr. Fuji, "thank you for your trust, and I promise I'll take care of him."

"I believe you will." The old man said as his eyes grew watery, before he wiped them away as he continued, "there was something else as well."

As he said that, the old man pulled out an old and fragile looking ceramic flute.

"This is the Pokeflute, an item that been passed down through those who've guarded Gengar's shrine for generations. Depending on how it's played, it can have a variety of effects on Pokemon, like putting them to sleep or waking them from their slumber. I don't know where your journey will take you young Ranger, but I believe you may need this."

I blinked in surprise at suddenly being offered this item, while even the 'Spearow' on my shoulder looked at it curiously.

I recalled this item from the games of course, it was used to wake the sleeping Snorlax that was blocking the way to Fuchsia city. But this was the first I was hearing of it having a variety of different effects.

"Thank you Mr. Fuji. I'm sure this will come in handy during my travels." I told him with genuine sincerity.

If they used this thing on Gengar, then it could also work on other Legendary Pokemon that I may need to either awaken or pacify in the future. This may actually become my greatest weapon!

"..."

"I don't suppose you have a music sheet that tells how to play the right tunes with this, right?"

"I'm afraid not..." Mr. Fuji admitted with visible shame.

"I figured..." I said dryly.

Having a guide on how to make all the proper tunes right off the bat would be too easy I guess...

...

After Mr. Fuji and I finished speaking, I made my way back to the Pokemon Center with the girls and Mew riding on my shoulder. Once we reached the entrance though, I told them,

"You guys wanna go on ahead? I gotta put in a call to professor Oak."

"Don't be long."

"No promises. I plan to get some training in before bed tonight in order to burn some energy."

"Oh! Take all the time you need then!"

Saying so, the girls made their way to their room with wide smiles, probably hoping I'd tire myself out before tonight. Joke's on them, I'm the very image of fitness after Mew healed me earlier.

With them going on ahead, I went over to one of the Center's video phones to make my call.

*Ring.*

*Ring.*

*Click.*

"Hello?"

"Hey professor."

"Ace! I'm glad to see you're awake." Professor Oak stated when he saw me.

"Yeah. I guess I needed the rest." I told him with a wry smile.

"Ace!" Daisy exclaimed as she also appeared.

"Hi Daisy. You look beautiful."

"And you look.....different...?" Daisy said as she looked me up and down, trying to figure out what was different.

"I'll explain that later, it's a little hard to over the phone." I said to pacify her, but there was no way I was going to discuss Mew over the phone.

The two of them appeared curious from me dogging the topic, but I quickly changed the topic as I told them, "by the way professor, I got a Cubone just a little bit ago."

"Oh? Is that so Ace? After evolving, Marowak are usually very capable battlers. You're quite lucky."

"Oh I bet the poor dear is so adorable!" Daisy declared gleefully.

"How old is it Ace?" The professor asked curiously, to which my expression darkened.

"He's young enough that his mother was killed by the Rocket Executive in the attack the other day. We just got back from her funeral."

"Oh my!"

"The poor dear!" Daisy stated sadly.

"Yeah. But he's not a coward, and he's driven. He even came to help Lucario and I confront Proton, as well as the true alpha he released onto Lavender town."

"Well that's good. At least it doesn't have the added trauma on top of the usual loneliness Cubone tend to have."

"Yeah... I cried for a week when I learned the truth about their helmets..." Daisy admitted while wiping away a tear.

"There's something else professor..." I began slowly. There was actually quite a bit more to tell him, but like Mew, I didn't want to say it over the phone.

"Oh? And what's that Ace?" The professor asked curiously.

"During the battle against the true alpha, an Absol appeared and helped us out."

""!!!""

Both the professor and Daisy gave me a sharp look as the former said, "an Absol in Kanto? That's quite unusual..."

"Right? But I'm glad it was there. Not only did it help us against Gengar, but it also gave everyone a warning about its appearance so they could evacuate. I have no doubt the reason the casualties were so minimal was because of it."

"Indeed. It sounds like the people of Lavender owe that Absol quite a bit as well. I don't suppose you know where it went afterwards, do you?"

"No, I don't. I was so exhausted that I passed out before my head even hit the pillow." I told him.

"I see... That's unfortunate. Anyways, do you intend to finally send the rest of your Pokemon back now that you're awake?"

"Ah... Well, you see..." I mumbled awkwardly.

"Ace..." Professor Oak warned with narrowed eyes.

"It's like this professor. Next I'm heading to Vermillion to deal with Surge. So I figured, while we're still in Lavender town, which is so close to Thunder Ridge, it would be a good chance to give my Pokemon group training to become accustomed to dealing with electric attacks and such."

"..."

For a moment there was only silence as the professor fixed me with a stern look, before he sighed and said,

"Very well. Make the most of this opportunity Ace."

"I will sir." I promised the professor.

The call ended shortly after that, with Daisy and I spending most of it catching up. And afterwards I hurried out back where my Pokemon were all working hard.

"Hey everyone! Gather round!" I cried out, calling them all in as Chansey stopped using Gravity.

"I want to introduce you all to a new teammate of ours, though you all already met him before. Introducing.....CUBONE!"

"Cue, Cubone!" Cubone cried out as he appeared from his Pokeball, greeting everyone as he did so.

As I said, they had all more or less met during the battle the other day. But that wasn't all.

"There's also someone else." I told them all.

"Is it that one?" Lucario asked while pointing to my shadow.

"Yep~!" I answered while looking at it pointedly.

My shadow immediately began moving and shifting around awkwardly from being found out, before Lucario used Shadow Claw to drag the Pokemon hiding within out. Though I'd known there was a ghost Pokemon hiding within my shadow, I couldn't help but to blink when I saw what it was.

"Gaaaaaaaaastly~!" The ghost Pokemon wailed in greeting.

It was a large ball of purple gas with a black sphere in the center, where a pair of large eyes with a mouth were located. And it was more than six feet wide, easily dwarfing any other Gastly in the Pokemon Tower. No wonder it had been able to muscle the rest away from my shadow.

"If you tagged along with me, can I take that to mean you're coming with us?" I asked it with a brow cocked.

"Gaaaaaaastly~!" It wailed in confirmation. Saying that I had earned the admiration of all the ghost Pokemon in town by standing up to Gengar.

"Alright then. Hear that everyone? We got two new members with us, so let's break them in!" I declared, and all of my Pokemon cried out in agreement while even Mew reverted to its original form to 'play' with us.

***

Lance sat in his own VIP room within the Pokemon Center as his mind raced with everything that happened that day.

A commotion drew his attention to the window overlooking the arena of the Pokemon Center, where he saw Ace Ketchum training with his Pokemon despite the setting sun.

Lance was surprised to see him training alongside them, and even sparring with them while helping them to grow and become stronger. Now he could tell where his Pokemon got their strength and drive. Though he also cocked his brow when he noticed the Cubone from earlier, along with an overly large Gastly, and of course the Legendary Mew.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to recruit him directly into the League." A sinister voice stated behind Lance, obviously belonging to Agatha.

"You know as well as I do there's no point to that, for a multitude of reasons." Lance stated before turning his back on the window to return to his seat.

"Why not? It gives the League a chance to build connections with the Legendary Mew, isn't it?" Morty asked from his seat.

"That's one of the reasons why we CAN'T." Lance stated irritably.

"Any missteps here, and we run the risk of turning those very same Legendary Pokemon against us. Such a thing would only bring disaster upon the entire region." Agatha explained irritably.

"Yes. That plus Ace himself would more than likely never go for such a restrictive position. He's like his father that way..." Lance said, before muttering the last part venomously under his breath.

He had still never forgiven that man for defeating him, and then promptly rejecting the position of Champion so he could continue traveling.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

"Janine." Lance commanded, and a woman wearing a skintight bodysuit appeared before him.

"Yes, sir Champion?" She answered immediately.

"I don't want Ace Ketchum harmed in the slightest, regardless of whoever aims for his life. As close as he seems to be with the Legendary Pokemon, I shudder to think of the kind of backlash his death would cause."

"Understood sir. I will guard Ace Ketchum with my very life." The female ninja, Janine, answered the League Champion, before vanishing from the room.

***

At the same time, there was a certain figure standing atop the cliffs overlooking Lavender town with a serious gaze, it's eyes focused on the human training with his Pokemon behind the Pokemon Center.

"Sol..." The Pokemon uttered as it watched the human curiously, it's horn constantly vibrating just ever so slightly due to its proximity to the human.