00x02 - Origins File 2: Cubone

[bunniefuu]

[***]

RED: I continued my journey after I received a Boulder Badge

from the Pewter City Gym leader, Brock.

I bought a Magikarp using some of my hard-earned prize money.

I battled a bunch of opponents,

including this one super nerd on Mt. Moon

and I took on a suspicious group called Team Rocket

and recovered a technical machine they had stolen.

Even though my Pokémon were at a disadvantage,

we were able to b*at the Water Gym

and received a Cascade Badge

from the Cerulean City Gym leader, Misty.

Charmander gradually leveled up

and evolved into Charmeleon at last.

In between battles,

I received an Old Rod from a fishing guru.

I also received Hidden Machine

from a captain who was suffering from seasickness.

The Pokémon battle

with the Vermilion Gym leader, Lt. Surge, was tough,

but I managed to defeat him and got a Thunder Badge.

Then I got a bicycle with the bike voucher I received

from the chairman of the Pokémon Fan Club,

and now I'm heading to Lavender Town through Rock Tunnel.

RED: Here at last. Lavender Town.

WOMAN: Welcome to our Pokémon Center.

[CHUCKLES]

MAN: I heard that a ghost has been appearing

in the Pokémon Tower lately.

Pokémon Tower?

Really? Yeah, that's right.

And a lot of people have said that they've seen it.

Excuse me, is that thing

you just said about the ghost really true?

Uh-huh, I haven't seen it myself

but everyone is talking about it.

And what exactly is the Pokémon Tower?

I take it it's your first time in this town?

Yep.

Have you heard that this town is known as

the grave site for Pokémon?

Actually, yeah, I've heard that before.

WOMAN: The Pokémon Tower is the grave site.

I'll show you.

RED: That's Pokemon Tower?

Yes, the tower is used for services.

The memorials that are held for Pokémon.

In fact, lots of people come from great distances

to pay their respects.

So then the ghost you were talking about earlier

is a Pokémon?

Mm-hm, seems like it but it's really just a rumor.

So then do you actually believe in ghosts?

No, no, heh, I don't think they exist.

I'm not sure, though.

Ha, ha, maybe not.

I guess that white hand that's resting on your shoulder

isn't real either then, huh?

Huh, aah, What?

Oh, come on, heh, stop kidding me like that, okay?

[GASPS]

WOMAN: Red?

Uh, yeah.

I want to thank you for waiting.

You'll be glad to know

that your Pokémon are completely fighting fit.

We hope to see you again soon.

RED: Okay, thank you.

And, uh, are you, by any chance, going to the Pokémon Tower?

Yeah.

Since I came all this way, I figured I would check it out.

Then, before you go to the Pokémon Tower,

I strongly recommend you visit the Pokémon House.

Wait, the Pokémon House?

[***]

She said go here before going to the Pokémon Tower.

I wonder why I'd need to do that?

Anyone here? GIRL: Yes.

[***]

So, what exactly is this Pokémon House, anyway?

Oh, so you mean that no one told you?

This place is where abandoned or orphaned Pokémon

are taken care of.

Abandoned Pokémon?

I'll show you. This way, please.

[***]

[POKEMONS GIBBERING]

I had no idea there were so many abandoned Pokémon.

You should talk to the founder of the Pokémon House.

His name is Mr. Fuji.

He says that lots of people around the world

think of Pokémon as nothing more than tools

or even some kind of accessories.

Did you know that this house

actually used to be Mr. Fuji's own home?

He remodeled it like this

so it would have facilities just for the Pokémon.

[SIGHS]

[GIBBERING]

This Mr. Fuji sure seems like a really kind person.

You're right, he is.

That's the reason a lot of people in town

started helping out Mr. Fuji as volunteers here at the house.

As a matter of fact, I'm one of them.

My name's Reina.

And my name's Red. Hey there.

[POKEMON GIBBERS]

All the Pokémon look very happy, ugh.

[GRUNTING]

What's with this one?

REINA: It's a baby Cubone.

It's only friendly to Mr. Fuji.

[GRUNTS]

But it's very nervous around anyone else.

And why is that?

Because of Team Rocket.

Wait, Team Rocket?

One day, Cubone was being chased by Team Rocket close to town.

[BOTH GIBBERING]

We got them. Just a little bit more!

There are more over that way. Capture them.

[PANTING]

It's a baby Cubone. They sell for a high price.

[PANTING]

You know you can't escape from us.

Give up and let us catch you, ha, ha.

[BOTH SCREAM AND GROAN]

What was that? Aah.

[GRUNTS]

[GIBBERS] [GRUNTS]

[GIBBERS]

That does it.

You dare to get in our way?

[GRUNTS]

You'll pay for that.

[GRUNTS]

[GASPS]

REINA: Because of Team Rocket,

Cubone lost its mother, Marowak.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[***]

[POKEMON GROANING]

You poor little thing.

[CRYING]

Ever since that day,

Cubone hasn't opened up to anyone except Mr. Fuji.

[GRUNTING]

I can't believe Team Rocket. What a horrible thing to do.

[SIGHS]

I wanted to thank you for showing me around here.

It all makes a lot more sense now.

I get why the receptionist at the Pokémon Center

told me to come here before going to the Pokémon Tower.

Mr. Fuji is not just kind, you know.

He knows everything there is about Pokémon

and teaches us all kinds of things.

Right now I'm working on helping to complete the Pokédex,

so I'd really love the chance to meet him if I could

and he could spare the time.

Uh, which one of these guys is Mr. Fuji?

Well, that's just it.

RED: Huh, what's wrong?

Everyone, I found out where Mr. Fuji is.

Where? Where is he, tell us.

MAN: He's in the Pokémon Tower.

ALL: Pokémon Tower?

MAN: That's right.

Someone saw Mr. Fuji heading that way yesterday.

Then he saw him go into the Pokémon Tower.

Why would he go in there?

WOMAN: Team Rocket. That's the only reason.

He must've gone there to convince Team Rocket

to leave the Pokémon Tower

but then he was captured and...

I'm afraid those kinds of people

won't listen to anyone else.

Excuse me. Huh?

The Pokémon Tower? What happened there?

Who are you?

My name's Red, I'm on a journey.

And I was hoping to possibly learn everything I can

from Mr. Fuji.

One day Team Rocket showed up

and made the top floor of the Pokémon Tower their base.

It was completely out of the blue, with no warning.

They came by truck and before we knew it...

Worst of all, they chase away the people

who come to visit the Pokémon Tower.

This is our base.

You're not allowed to enter without permission. Go away.

I've just come here to pay my respects.

When I say go away, go away!

[GROANS]

Since that day,

not a single person has been able

to go inside the Pokémon Tower.

I don't get it. Why are they so cruel?

WOMAN: And on top of that a ghost appears.

It's the truth, believe me.

I saw it clearly with my own eyes.

The other night,

I sneaked into the Tower when Team Rocket wasn't looking.

And that's when...

[GASPS]

[GHOST GROWLS]

Get out. Leave this place.

[GASPS]

Aah, ghost!

It was unbelievably scary.

I see.

If people can't come to visit the Pokémon Tower,

this town is finished.

Hey, let's all go together and rescue Mr. Fuji.

Look, there's no way we can battle against Team Rocket.

Some people challenged them to battles

but they're really strong for a bunch of petty thugs.

And there is a ghost there. I can't go in that place again.

Then what are we supposed to do?

Mr. Fuji went to Team Rocket's base

to protect all of us.

Are you saying we should just abandon him?

No, we're not abandoning him.

I'm sure that Team Rocket will eventually let Mr. Fuji go.

We'll just have to wait and see.

That's all we can do.

I can't believe you'd act like this.

[ALL SOBBING]

RED: I'll go.

[ALL GASP]

[***]

You? But that's impossible. You're just a child.

Even the adults here

didn't have the strength to b*at Team Rocket.

That's right, it's a waste of time.

Even if you go there, nothing's gonna change.

Heh, Well, I'm pretty confident

about my skill in Pokémon battles.

[***]

Oh, he's got three badges?

Okay, now I see why you're so confident

but are you really sure that that's gonna be enough?

It doesn't matter.

I can't let Team Rocket get away with this.

There's Cubone to think of too.

I'm going to succeed in this. You'll see.

Now I see, that's what's going on.

So if I go to the Pokémon Tower

and get rid of Team Rocket before Red does,

I'll be the hero, ha, ha.

[HOWLING]

I said I would go,

but now that I'm here, it's more scary than I thought.

There's a sudden chill in here.

[GASPS]

You really don't have to worry. I'm not a ghost.

[SIGHS]

Please don't scare me like that.

I came here because I wanted to see my Nidoran.

You care about your Pokémon too, right?

Did you come to pay your respects?

Aren't you afraid? Of course not.

It seems the ghost only appears farther up.

It must hold a grudge against Team Rocket.

You said that it's farther up.

I can't believe they think there's a ghost in here.

I mean just the fact

that Team Rocket took over this place,

anyone with any brains at all would realize

they made up the story, just to scare people away.

The genius Blue will finally reveal

Team Rocket's sneaky tricks

and then kick them out of here for good.

Soon, my name will hold a special place

in the history of Lavender Town.

[CHUCKLES]

You guys heard the rumor

about a ghost that appears here in the Pokémon Tower?

Knock it off, will you? I don't like that kind of story.

It's only a Ghost-type Pokémon playing pranks, right?

That's the weird part. It seems it's actually a real ghost.

Seriously? Ah, we'll be fine.

After all, we have this.

The Silph Scope is able to identify

unidentifiable Ghost-type Pokémon.

It's gotta work on real ghosts.

Are you sure about that? Don't be such a coward.

What are you, a little kid?

Is Team Rocket even up here anyway?

Everybody talks about ghosts in this place,

but there's nothing here, ah.

What is that?

GHOST: Get out. Leave this place.

[***]

[SCREAMING]

It's the ghost.

Somebody must've snuck in again. Just relax, I'll go check.

[BLUE SCREAMING]

[GRUNTING]

Uh, Blue, what are you doing here?

I saw a ghost.

GHOST: Get out. Leave this place!

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Wait, so that means ghosts really do exist.

Come on, Red, let's run away. No. You run if you want to.

Huh! I can't.

Ah, I can't run away.

Go! Charmeleon! Huh!

[***]

[GRUNTING]

Get out. Leave this place!

Ugh. Hey, you.

What are you doing here? Ha! A human opponent.

Now that I can handle. Wartortle!

[GRUNTING AND GIBBERING]

What's the matter?

Wait! Hold on!

Use Scratch.

Get out. Leave this place!

No matter what att*ck I try, it doesn't work.

What do I do now? Red! Use this.

What is this?

BLUE: You'll know when you use it.

Wait! Don't go that way.

Marowak. Then, that means...

That means the ghost is Cubone's mother.

[***]

Get out. Leave this place. You shouldn't get close to them!

[GIBBERING]

[MOANING]

There's no need to keep on fighting it.

Come back, Charmeleon.

So it was just Marowak.

All this time it was just worried about its baby.

RED: Cubone.

[GIBBERING]

Well, no reason to get involved at this point.

I guess I'll just leave the rest to Red.

You okay? Hmm.

And where's the Silph Scope? Uh.

Uh-huh. RED: This thing here.

This what you're looking for? Who are you?

I'm the guy who came to kick you out of this place.

[***]

[GIBBERS]

You can't take on these enemies.

You'll just have to leave it to Red.

I'm counting on you, Jolteon.

You obnoxious brat. Koffing, get them.

[GROWLING]

MAN : Tackle. Quick att*ck.

Koffing, Go. Use Smog!

Ugh! Oh, no!

[***]

Cubone! What's that?

All right. Now! Use Thunderbolt!

[GROANING]

MAN : It can't be. MAN : We lost to this runt.

I'm gonna remember you for this, kid. It's not over.

[GRUNTING]

All right, we did it. Right, Cubone?

[CUBONE GIBBERING]

Mr. Fuji!

Oh, it's you. Reina. Cubone.

Oh, you came to save me.

[***]

Uh, who are you?

My name's Red, Mr. Fuji. That's right.

Red is the one who defeated Team Rocket in Pokémon battle.

Well, then I owe you my gratitude.

And I see that Marowak's restless spirit

finally found the peace it desperately sought.

And we have you to thank for that as well, Red.

I came here to pay my respects for Clefairy.

I just can't stop crying though.

Ah, my Growlithe. I miss you so. Why did you have to?

When I hold Cubone like this, it's just so warm.

Thanks to you,

everything here in our town has returned to normal.

And as you can see,

Cubone has finally opened up to being with people.

Well, heh, I just...

I heard that you're working on a project, the Pokédex.

That's right. I'm helping out Professor Oak in completing it.

I see. So you and Oak, huh?

Unfortunately, I fear your quest to complete the Pokédex

may fail without love for Pokémon.

I do believe I have something that may assist you

to help you complete that quest.

Huh?

[***]

What's this? It's a Poké Flute.

You'll learn that if you play that flute,

Pokémon that are sound asleep will wake up full of energy.

And what's in this box? Well, open it.

RED: Gems?

Are you sure you wanna give me something so valuable?

These stones don't have any value as gems.

Oh. Well, then what are they?

You'll find out soon enough, heh.

Okay, everybody, thanks again for everything.

Stay well.

If you ever find yourself in trouble,

feel free to come see me.

And come back again, okay?

Mm-hm.

[GIBBERS]

[***]

BLUE: Hey, Red!

I guess you owe me one. Huh? What are you talking about?

Thanks to me getting the Silph Scope,

you were able to unveil the true identity of the ghost.

Heh, which one of us said,

"Hey Red, let's get out of here. Come on, let's run away"?

Your ears were playing tricks on you.

I don't think so. I actually heard it loud and clear. Ha-ha.

BLUE: I never said such a thing! You hear me?

I did not say that!