The sun's almost down, the clouds painted orange by the light. The Pokemons finally relented in their mock battle and peace was attained in the valley for the day. Morgan was still there, sitting on the ground all by his lonesome. The wind caressed his pale skin, sweeping his dark hair. That was usually what happened on the other occasions when he went hiking. There was something about an evening far away from people that just spoke to him.

Except that was not exactly correct anymore. Now a Cubone was sitting on his lap, staring up at him. When he stared back, Cubone instead played with its bone stick.

He lightly cursed inside the privacy of his own head. Morgan had a total of zero idea of what to do now after he caught a Pokemon. His plan, such as it was, only extended until that first crucial step. What's going to follow that was secondary to him. After all, he couldn't possibly plan for something that he didn't currently have. Or used to not have, more like.

But now what?

Surely getting to know it better couldn't be a wrong move. That thought pushed Morgan to ask what was on his mind, "So are you a girl or a boy Pokemon?"

The suddenness of his voice startled Cubone. Though, it did eventually answer him after a brief pantomime. It's a male Pokemon. Morgan supposed he had to start calling it a he from now on.

"Do you have a name?"

No. Duh, he's an orphan. Cubone in the wild had always been observed to exist alone, either because of abandonment or other more unpalatable reasons. Morgan should have realized something so obvious. No parents to grant him a name.

"I guess I should give you one. Would you like that?"

An enthusiastic nod and a mutter of, "Cu, bone."

"How about T-bone? Or maybe C-bone?"

Cubone answered with great hesitation. He seemed to accept it, but Morgan doubted the sincerity.

"You don't have to agree with everything I say, you know."

Cubone softly bonked the skull that he wore with the bone club. Morgan's not sure what that meant.

"How about this, tell me something that you like."

Cubone leaped from his lap, and drew a crescent shape on the ground, along with what looked like a star.

"The sky at night, huh," he muttered. "I don't want to call you Night, though. Do you?"

Cubone told him no. Morgan shot a second suggestion, "What's the boy version of the moon?"

He rightly realized that both of them didn't know that. And even if Cubone did, they had no way to communicate something like that. "Never mind, then. How about we just pick Moon? It's simple. Plus it rhymed with bone."

This time the nod seemed more genuine.

"Moon it is, then," Morgan said.

A shadow fell upon them. When he looked up, he saw a brown bird more than twice the size of him. Its head had a decorated crest that was nearly as long as its body. Its pink-colored talons seemed too sharp for his liking. "Pidgeot," it cried.

Before Morgan could contemplate the thought of running, it was already in front of him. It floats a few feet from the ground, its wing beating so fast that it sends dust flying in every direction. On its back, it was carrying a person. Its trainer, he presumed.

The trainer got off the Pokemon when it landed and approached Morgan leisurely, lifting the google strapped to his head at the same time. The red jacket that he wore was instantly recognizable to Morgan.

"You're still here," the man said.

With Moon hiding behind his legs, Morgan asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Ranger Liam. I was on my routine patrol when I spotted you hiking. I figured you'd be gone by now. But here you are, not gone."

"Here I am," Morgan said sheepishly.

"Are you lost or something?"

"No, no. I was just enjoying the sight and caught up talking with my Pokemon. He's new, you see."

"Oh, I get it. Sometimes I lost track of time when I was up in the sky with my Pokemon, too. It's understandable."

"Right," said Morgan. "I should get back now, it's getting really late. Thanks for checking on me. And… bye."

He was just taking a step back when Liam told him, "Wait,"

Shit, was he in trouble?

"You're right. Light's almost gone, and I don't see you carrying any torch. Why don't you let me give you a ride home?"

That's a very thoughtful offer, but Morgan was reluctant to take it. That Pidgeot didn't seem friendly to him.

"That's very nice of you, but I don't want to be a burden."

"It's no trouble, kid. I live to preserve and protect, that's the Ranger's motto. And trust me, Sunny can easily accommodate two passengers."

If that's the Pidgeot's name, then this man's naming sense wasn't very apt.

"I don't own a PokeBall yet, so I can't return Moon to it."

"Wait, does that mean you went into the wild without a Pokemon?"

"Uh, yes?"

Liam sighed, "What's done is done. It's just, it could've been dangerous."

"But it didn't."

"You're lucky, kid. But anyway, it's fine. We can take two passengers and the little guy too," Liam said with a smile. "Right, Sunny?"

Pidgeot gave out a harsh caw.

"That means yes," said Liam.

Morgan had no other option except to accept at that point. With Liam's help, he carefully mounted to not agitate the large bird. There was a saddle strapped to its body. He sat in the front with Moon.

"Keep a tight grip on both the saddle and your Pokemon," instructed Liam. "We'll be going very fast."

It was, indeed, very fast. It felt like they went from being on the ground to gliding in the sky in less than a minute. The distance was quickly swallowed up by their current moving speed.

Ranger Liam said, "I forgot to ask, is this your first time flying?"

"Yes," Morgan had to shout, lest his voice got snatched by the wind.

"Then don't look down, I don't want a repeat of another vomiting accident. It happened one time too many."

"Right," he said, actually enjoying this. "I'll make sure not to do that."

On the opposite reaction, Moon didn't have the best times of his life. "Bo, bone," it said nervously.

"One more thing, where do you live, kid? I'll drop you off there."

Morgan told him that he lived at the orphanage, and it's called the House of Gems. Near the old Pokemon Center.

"I know that place," Liam said. "We're heading there straight away."

The silence after that granted Morgan a moment to savor the experience. This feeling of being weightless, like there was nothing to worry about. Like all his concern was for when he was down there. Still existed, but he's able to almost forget about it. It also gave him a funny sensation in his stomach.

It ended all too soon, though. They touched down in front of the orphanage. A few bystanders noticed the landing, but it was just business as usual. They kept walking.

The old woman knitting on the porch, on the other hand, looking at Morgan with disapproval. She rose from the chair when Liam escorted Morgan closer, hand on his shoulder as if guiding him. Instantly she changed her expression to a smile.

Liam was the first to offer a greeting, "Good evening, ma'am. I found this one wandering where he wasn't supposed to be, on his own. Luckily it's in the area where Rangers routinely patrolled. He said he is one of your charges?"

"That's right, officer. Thank you so much for returning him to us. He's been a handful, I hope he didn't trouble you too much?"

"Oh, no. He is a perfectly polite kid. I'm happy to help."

"Where did you say you found him again?"

"In the northeastern hill's valley. He was catching a Pokemon."

"I see."

The matron shifted her attention to Morgan, then to Moon who was being quiet. She didn't give any comments on it, though. There was a beat of silence, before she said to Liam, "Would you like to come in for tea?"

"Maybe some other time," Liam said. Then as if he just remembered something. "You should take him to register his Cubone as soon as possible. The man upstairs wouldn't like an unregistered trainer with a previously wild Pokemon in his city."

"We'll make sure to follow your advice," she said.

Done saying his piece, Ranger Liam took his leave. He and his Pidgeot were gone with a small gust of wind as a parting gift.

And now it's Morgan's turn to answer questions.

"What did I say about your hiking?"

Morgan didn't meet her eyes, "To inform you of it beforehand."

He didn't say he was sorry, or that he wouldn't do it again, though. He knew the matron disliked obvious lies.

"Now tell me exactly how you meet that man."

"Ranger Liam offered to fly me back after I caught him," Morgan said, indicating to Moon. "But I'm pretty sure that he claimed to have seen me when I was on my way to the valley."

"The valley where you catch your Pokemon," she said, contemplating something.

"Yes. What about it?"

"Nothing, yet."

Morgan didn't want to know. He decided to voice what was on the forefront of his mind to change the topic of their conversation, "Um, actually. Shouldn't we go to the Pokemon Center to register me and my Pokemon?"

"No, we'll do it later. I have something else to do right now."

"What is it?"

"To report a case of negligence of duty. Possibly."

"Oh," Morgan realized.

"You, on the other hand, should clean yourself up. You and your," she stared down at Cubone. "Have you named it yet?"

"His name is Moon," answered Morgan.

That elicited an amused snort from the matron, "It rhymes with bone."

"Yes," Morgan confirmed with a smile.

"Well, go wash the mud off. Both of you are dirty. I'm going now."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And bring my knitting equipment back to my office, if you'll be so kind."

"Yes, ma'am."

After he and Moon had a shower, where Morgan found out that the Cubone had an aversion to soap of all things, they headed to the kitchen to eat with all the other children at the orphanage. Morgan wasn't particularly close to any of them, but the appearance of his newly caught Pokemon encouraged them to approach.

They're asking all sorts of questions, like, "What Pokemon is it?"

"Where did you find it?"

"What's its name?"

Or begging Morgan to demonstrate his Pokemon's move. He didn't even know what move Moon was able to do yet. So he refused, to the disappointment of the others.

When Moon– who was standing on his chair with padding to be able to reach the table– got overwhelmed by the attention, Morgan was forced to abandon his dinner.

Morgan took them to his room, where he had to bunk with three other children. He said, "This is where I sleep. And now where you are going to sleep, too. Well, just while we stay at the orphanage."

Moon uttered his species name with an inflection in the end, which Morgan assumed was his way to ask questions. "Did I forget to tell you? I'm going on a journey to challenge the Gym Leaders."

"Cubone?"

"They are a bunch of very awesome trainers who have many powerful Pokemon. They are based in different cities, so we have to travel to reach them."

Moon asked another question.

"We are going to battle them to test our strength. And to get money, of course."

Another question.

If it's about what money was, Morgan wasn't sure how to answer that. "It's the stuff that we need to buy food and other things."

Now, it's Morgan who asked a question. "Anyway, you'll fight with me, right? You agreed with me before on that valley."

Cubone lifted his stick of bone as far as it could go and yelled.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Morgan.

That night, he found out one more fact, Moon liked the softness of the bed. They sleep soundly together, with Moon hugging Morgan's arm.