Pokemon: Raised by Legends, Chapter 51-52

Chapter 51 - Father

"How about... we take Cubone in?" Fuyuki couldn't help but suggest.

After all, the hidden realm in their backyard had plenty of space. Never mind one Cubone, it could house a thousand more and still have room to spare.

"If that's what you want," Entei said, looking at Cubone. "But we should ask for its opinion first."

"Right!"

Fuyuki sighed, reaching out to gently stroke Cubone's little face. Then he nestled into Entei's embrace and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, when Fuyuki woke up, Cubone was already gone.

No need to guess where. It had surely run off to be by its mother's side.

Fuyuki quickly ate something, then headed out with Entei to that burial ground belonging to the Marowak.

Sure enough, Cubone was there, crying in grief.

Fuyuki walked over and tried to comfort it:

"There, there. Don't cry, Cubone. Your mom wouldn't want to see you this upset either."

"Cu..."

Cubone looked at him, its eyes swollen and red.

Fuyuki opened his arms toward the little dinosaur.

Cubone immediately threw itself into his arms, bursting into tears all over again.

Fuyuki gently patted its back and spoke: "I've heard that when Pokemon die, their spirits travel to the spirit world to start a new life there. Maybe your mom hasn't made it to the spirit world yet. Maybe she's right here, watching you right now."

"Cu-bone?" Cubone had never heard of such a thing. It lifted its head, looking up at Fuyuki through tear-filled eyes.

"Of course it's true." Fuyuki nodded.

Cubone immediately looked around, searching for any trace of its mother.

But there was nothing.

"Our eyes can't see spirits," Fuyuki said softly. "Even though your mom's body is gone, her spirit will never disappear. Right now, the most important thing is to lay her to rest."

"Cu..."

Cubone blinked, then watched as Fuyuki produced a shovel as if by magic.

A memory buried deep in its genes told Cubone what it needed to do now: dig a grave so its mother could sleep in peace.

It took the shovel and personally dug a hole for its mother. Then it lifted her body, placed her gently inside, and covered her with earth.

Before long, a small mound of earth rose from the ground.

Cubone wiped its tears.

Though it couldn't shake the grief of never seeing its mother again, Cubone knew one thing clearly.

Mother was gone. From now on, it was alone in this world. It had to be strong.

"What are you going to do now? Would you like to come live with me and Entei?" Fuyuki offered.

Cubone wept silently, tears of grief still flowing. It shook its head. "Cu-bone!"

It didn't want to leave its mother's resting place.

Not wanting to worry its friend, Cubone pushed against Fuyuki's back, trying to get him to leave.

"Cu-bone, cu-bone!" Cubone insisted that it would be fine staying here alone.

It wasn't afraid, because its mother was sleeping right here.

"Alright." Fuyuki hesitated, then left some food for Cubone. "We'll come visit you again."

Under Cubone's watchful gaze, the father and son left the burial ground.

Fuyuki's mood was heavy. He sat on Entei's back without saying a single word the entire way, letting out the occasional sigh.

"Free~eh!"

Just then, a familiar cry came from behind.

Fuyuki turned to see a familiar Pokemon flying toward them.

"Butterfree?" Fuyuki looked at it.

This Butterfree had often watched from the side as he and Cubone played in the forest. Eventually, Fuyuki had invited it to join them, and Butterfree became part of the group.

Perhaps because they'd played together so often, Butterfree and Cubone had grown quite close.

"Are you worried about Cubone too?" Fuyuki asked.

"Free~eh!" Butterfree gave a small nod.

It flew alongside Fuyuki and Entei on the way back.

Along the way, Fuyuki offered Butterfree some simple words of comfort, telling it not to worry too much. Cubone would pull through.

And perhaps when it did, that would be the moment it evolved into a Marowak.

Maybe because it had lived in this wild place for so long, Butterfree didn't find the cycle of life and death too difficult to accept.

Every life in this world had an end. It was only a matter of time.

It let out a quiet sigh for Cubone, then turned its gaze toward the peculiar father-son duo.

Back when the forest Pokemon first heard that Entei had adopted a human child, every last one of them had been stunned!

And yet, after all this time, Butterfree had never once heard Fuyuki call Entei "Father." He always just called it by name.

This puzzled Butterfree to no end.

Pokemon were simple creatures. Curious, Butterfree simply asked outright.

"Free~eh?" (Fuyuki, why don't you ever call Entei "Father"?)

Hearing this, both Fuyuki and Entei froze.

He looked at Entei. Entei was looking back at him, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Fuyuki: "..."

Why not?

If he were truly a child, he probably would have started calling Entei "Father" long ago.

But as someone who'd lived a full adult life, Fuyuki had once had his own father. It was hard to use those two syllables for anyone else, let alone a Pokemon.

All this time, he'd been unwilling to acknowledge it, and had never called Entei that.

Entei never asked, so he never brought it up.

But everything Entei had done for him had long since transcended everything. It went beyond the relationship between a Pokemon and an ordinary human.

Now that Butterfree had pointed it out, this unspoken issue between him and Entei could no longer be avoided.

In this moment, looking at Entei's majestic gaze tinged with a flicker of expectation, Fuyuki couldn't help but open his mouth.

Entei had been so good to him. If he didn't say it, Entei would surely feel hurt, surely feel let down.

And after what happened with Cubone, Fuyuki suddenly realized that some things, if left unsaid, might never get the chance to be said at all.

What was there to hesitate about?

With that thought, something in Fuyuki's heart finally let go.

He met Entei's silent, hopeful gaze, turned to Butterfree, and said:

"Because Entei's always been my father! Right, Father?"

He turned back to Entei.

Hearing that word, Entei froze on the spot.

It stared in disbelief, murmuring: "Little One..."

Little One called it Father!

After a brief moment of shock, the old father's heart erupted with joy.

"Free~eh!"

Butterfree's eyes lit up with understanding. So Fuyuki did call Entei "Father" after all!

Chapter 52 - Another Winter

Once the first "Father" left his lips, saying it again didn't feel nearly as difficult or embarrassing.

Fuyuki looked at Entei and said: "Father, let's go home!"

Entei's voice trembled ever so slightly.

"Okay."

One word. Brief and simple, perfectly in character for this majestic, quietly devoted Pokemon.

But the quiver at the end betrayed just how overwhelmed it truly felt.

Entei picked up the pace. Fuyuki waved at Butterfree: "See you later, Butterfree!"

"Free~eh..."

Butterfree could only watch as the peculiar father-son duo vanished from sight.

...

After that, Cubone stayed at its mother's resting place.

Fuyuki visited the burial ground often, always bringing plenty of food for Cubone.

Time slowly passed.

Cubone seemed to gradually emerge from the grief of losing its mother.

One ordinary day, Cubone came down from the burial ground to the cave to find Fuyuki. It told him it was leaving.

The news caught Fuyuki completely off guard.

"Did you meet a human trainer?" he asked hurriedly.

Cubone looked confused but shook its head: "Cu-bone!"

It wasn't because of any trainer.

It was because its mother had once told it that the world was vast and wide. So it wanted to leave this mountain forest and see the world its mother had described.

"I see..." Fuyuki couldn't help but ask: "All by yourself?"

"Cu-bone." Cubone nodded.

"Will you ever come back?" Fuyuki asked.

"Cu..." Even Cubone didn't know the answer to that.

"Alright then."

Though Fuyuki felt a pang of sadness, he was willing to respect Cubone's choice.

"Maybe someday we'll meet again out there! Cubone, go on. Take care of yourself!"

"Cu..."

A shimmer of tears glistened in Cubone's eyes.

It looked at the companion it had grown up playing with, then nodded firmly.

"Cu-bone!"

In the light of the setting sun, Cubone waved goodbye to Fuyuki with all its might.

Fuyuki waved right back.

Cubone looked back at him one last time, then disappeared into the sunset.

The sunset over Mount Tensei was as beautiful as ever, as though it would never change.

With his companion gone, Fuyuki's spirits sank.

Entei didn't know how to comfort him either, so it simply stayed by his side in silence.

Until a voice broke through the somber mood.

"Hmph, looks like Little One isn't too happy being stuck with you!"

Fuyuki turned to see Raikou walking in from outside.

"Raikou, you're back!" Fuyuki's eyes immediately lit up.

Raikou grunted at him, then glanced at Entei before settling down beside Fuyuki with a deliberately casual air.

"Little One, who made you upset?"

"It's nothing really!" Fuyuki, a bit sheepishly, told Raikou about everything that had happened recently.

After listening, Raikou fell silent for a moment, then offered:

"Next time, I'll take you outside to have some fun."

Fuyuki perked up instantly: "To the human world?"

But before Raikou could answer, Entei spoke up in a low voice from the side:

"Absolutely not. Little One is still too young. Your strength alone isn't enough to keep him safe."

Hearing this, Raikou let out a cold snort. This Entei, who did it think it was looking down on?

The two beasts locked eyes, sparks practically flying between them.

Fuyuki quickly stepped in: "Alright, alright, enough! Father!"

Hearing that word, Raikou's eyes went wide. It stared at Fuyuki in disbelief.

"What did you just call it?"

Fuyuki blinked, confused: "Father?"

Raikou's pupils shook.

H-how could this be?

Entei looked at Raikou, its gaze carrying an unmistakable gleam of smugness.

"Then what about me?" Raikou turned to Fuyuki. It had been raising Little One as its own child this whole time too!

Fuyuki: "..."

A look of disapproval flickered in Entei's eyes.

"Don't pressure Little One. Who he calls 'Father' is his own choice," it said.

Raikou refused to back down: "I'm his father!"

"The one who found Little One first was me!" Entei frowned.

Fuyuki: "..."

Setting Entei aside, Raikou, the big cat with the cold exterior and warm heart, really had been good to him too.

It knew Fuyuki liked Moomoo Milk, so every time it came back from outside, it would bring some as a gift.

Whenever it found interesting little trinkets on its travels, it would bring those back for Fuyuki to play with too.

Raikou... no, it wasn't just Entei and Raikou. Marshadow, Ho-Oh, and Suicune had all treated him as their own child and raised him.

In that case, only calling one of them "Father" was bound to upset the others...

Fuyuki steeled himself and separated the two big cats.

"Alright, alright, stop fighting!"

Raikou and Entei both looked down at him.

Fuyuki came up with a brilliant idea and declared: "Entei is First Father, Marshadow is Second Father, and Raikou is Third Father!"

Back when he'd been too small to move on his own, since Entei didn't have hands, it was Marshadow who'd been changing his diapers and everything.

And all these years, Marshadow had stayed in his shadow, watching over him.

It wasn't just Entei and Raikou. Marshadow deserved to be called Father or Mother too.

Though, these Legendary Pokemon didn't seem to have genders, so it didn't really matter what he called them.

Hearing this, Entei and Raikou stopped fighting.

Though Raikou wasn't entirely happy with the arrangement, it knew full well that Fuyuki had been brought back by Entei and that Entei had spent the most time by his side. Marshadow had stayed at Mount Tensei all along, spending more time with Little One than anyone besides Entei.

"Mar-sha..."

Marshadow, quietly observing from the shadows, hadn't expected to be included.

But hearing Fuyuki's words, it froze for a moment as a warm feeling welled up inside.

In that instant, Marshadow realized with a start:

Without even noticing, it too had come to see Fuyuki as a child to care for.

*

Autumn gave way to winter. With Raikou's return, Suicune and Ho-Oh followed not long after, each making their way back to Mount Tensei.

By then the mountains were buried under heavy snow, and the weather was too cold. Fuyuki didn't ask Ho-Oh to take him to the human world. There was no rush, after all.

He and Ho-Oh's family nestled together in their warm home. Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire blazed in the fireplace, Raikou's electricity powered every appliance in the Secret Base, and Suicune's pure water fed the lake that served as their daily water source.

As for Fuyuki's new way of addressing them, whether it was Suicune or Ho-Oh, both felt nothing but warmth in their hearts.

It meant that this human child truly saw them as family.