Sitting on a patio in early February, cracking open walnuts, and singing along to music, wasn’t something many people could say they enjoyed, but for Ethan it was quite relaxing.
Cynthia had lost herself into historical data and research after using him as a glorified translator for many pieces of Unown writing. He’d tried to explain to her how to read it as it was literally English, just a little bit wonky in the shapes, but for some reason she couldn’t fathom it. Perhaps it was some transmigration thing? Honestly, he didn’t know and he didn’t really care. History wasn’t his strong suit. Every man knew you only got into the weeds of history and wars when you were at least forty. Anytime before that and you were just a nerd.
With a smash of Tinkatuff’s—Then Tinkatink’s—baby hammer, Ethan smashed a Walnut to break it open, offering half of the delicious insides to Pachirisu and a tiny piece to Pichu, who was unsure of the food. Pichu hadn’t ever had nuts before and Ethan wasn’t quite sure if he’d like them. Pachirisu loved them, stuffing them into his cheeks like an Earth squirrel would.
Up on the roof, Ethan could hear Chatot chatting and singing. After cracking open his next Walnut, he chucked the insides up onto the roof and heard her excited little chatter. “♪ Thank you! ♪”
Litten was laying limping across his lap, kneading his paws into Ethan’s thigh. He hadn’t spent nearly as much personal time as he should have with his little fire-cat and he was trying to rectify that issue. Of course, Litten didn’t eat any of the Walnuts. They were not in his diet, but he was here for the relaxing strokes and warmth, not the food.
For fifteen minutes, Ethan sang whatever song came on through his speaker and simply relaxed with his pokemon. Eventually, Chatot had enough of his own singing and had to join in when a duet came on. Knowing ahead of time she was going to sing this song with or without his input, he simply waited for his turn.
“♪ Somewhere… out there ♪”“♫ Beneath the pale moonlight… ♫”
Somewhere Out There by Linda Ronstandt and James Ingram was a love song that was quite a fitting song for the world of pokemon. The song was a ballad about longing, hope, and the belief that love could bridge vast distances. It describes two people finding comfort in looking at the same stars and moon, believing that they will find each other. In pokemon terms, it could be about a trainer and a pokemon wanting to find each other to become partners.
When their little duet finally ended, Ethan heard tiny little claps from up above. Leaning his head back, he found Chatot peeking over the roof while gently swaying from side to side, lost in the final moments of the song. Beside her though…
His shock and surprise must have boomed across his empathetic bond, as all of his pokemon jerked and twitched, then looked directly at him. The pokemon on the roof twirled, then curtsied in greeting. Ethan quickly looked around, seeing if they were alone.
Chatot opened her wing and wrapped it around what Ethan could only guess had been her friend and spoke. “♫ Chat-tooot! Loves music! Friend! ♫”
“Yeah… I bet she does.” Ethan nodded absentmindedly, eyes locked onto Chatot’s ‘friend’. It was a pokemon that had no business being in Sinnoh at all. “Hello, Meloetta. You’re far from home.”
Ethan didn’t know too much about Meloetta as a pokemon, but he definitely knew enough to know that it was from Unova and was a powerful mythical pokemon—similar to Darkrai. It looked much more musical in person, rather than a being of pixels. One thing that stood out immediately was that her arms and hands looked exactly like quarter notes. Meanwhile, her deep, clear, green, pupil-less eyes looked like whole notes. Her long flowing cyan-green ‘hair’ was a sheet of music with dots lining the page. On the side of her head, she had a large treble clef that acted as a hair pin.
Meloetta floated down off the roof and twirled, tucking her hands to her chest as she began to sing. “♫ And even though I know how very far apart we are! It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star! ♫”
“♫ And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby. It helps to think we’re sleeping underneath the same big sky! ♫”
“♫ Somewhere out there! If love can see us through! Then we’ll be together… ♫”
Meloetta landed beside him then reached for him, lost in the song.
“♪ Somewhere out there, out where dreams come true… ♪”
Chatot fluttered down and landed on his shoulder in her rightful spot. “♫ Came for music! ♫”
Ethan felt something deep within stir at the sound of Meloetta’s voice… He felt satisfied and fulfilled. Unable to move much due to Litten laying in his lap, Ethan grabbed his phone, sent a quick text, then held it out to the musical pokemon. If Meloetta had come so far just to meet him, then it must be because of all of the new music he had coincidentally brought to the world. “Do you know how—”
Meloetta graciously took the phone and began to work it with familiarity. She began to chat with Chatot as several tracks began playing then shuffling. To Ethan, it looked like she was asking for advice on which song to play. The two friends spoke fast and with joy, warming his heart. Sometimes, although it was probably just his own intrusive thoughts, he wondered if his pokemon wanted more friends and not just family. It was… nice seeing his pokemon interact with others.
He hoped that they all weren’t mythical pokemon in the future, but he’d take what he could get.
They both eventually settled on L.A Devotee by Panic! At The Disco. As soon as music started, they both looked at him with looks of expectation…
Now, Ethan could confidently say that he was a pretty good singer nowadays… He was not Brendon Urie good though. He sang the song as best as he could, which was pushing the very limits of his vocal range, and he was doing better than he expected. Sadly, this wasn’t a song he could sing in public much, as it had way too many references to Earth. Still, it was a fantastic upbeat song that caused Meloetta to mystically shift to her other form. The shift was sudden and caught him off guard, sending brilliant sparkles and stars outwards in a burst of color.
Meloetta’s dance… It caused a swell in his chest that wasn’t unwelcome. She danced like she was in a club, hopping up and down and waving her head side to side. Her now bright pinkish purple layered hair swayed as she lost herself in the music. She grabbed Chatot and spun her around as a dance partner, which Chatot laughed at in her own voice. Himself, and all the pokemon around, all were entranced by—Wait… Is this what his empathy thing felt like?
The realization made him blink and stumble with his words for a second—Then, the enraptured feeling faded. It was still there deep in his chest, just dulled to a manageable level. Meloetta locked her crinkled eyes at him as she spun Chatot around in a wild but flawless dance move.
The sounds of footsteps from the front of his house announced the arrival of Joyce, who he’d sent the quick text message to. She walked up the patio stairs and smiled at all the surrounding pokemon and Ethan, then a flash of confusion crossed her face when they landed on the—now returned to normal—Meloetta. “Did you catch another pokemon, Ethan?” She asked in mild exasperation.
Ethan noted that Meloetta wasn’t immediately recognized… which wasn’t surprising. Joyce wasn’t a walking encyclopedia of pokemon, especially Mythical ones. “Nope. I just thought you’d like to hang out with us. This is a special moment.” He half-lied.
At first, Ethan texted Joyce to come over to have her meet the mythical pokemon. Now? Now he was going to see if she connected the dots when Meloetta sang or danced. She knew about his empathy thing, even if she couldn’t feel it like the pokemon could. Plus, he liked to hang out with Joyce. “Walnut?” He asked, holding the tink-hammer and nut in each hand.
“Sure.” Joyce smiled brightly then sat next to him, dangling her legs off the side of his patio. Her eyes met his, then slid to the Meloetta. “By the way, do you know what—”
Before she could finish, Meloetta, Chatot, and even Pachirisu had picked the next song. Only Wanna Be With You, by Hootie & The Blowfish. One of them had cranked up the volume to max. The sudden boom of music cut off Joyce’s sentence.
Chatot flew off to the roof before the singing began, returning with her maracas. Meloetta took them and instantly shook them in accordance to the song, perfectly in tune and rhythm. Chatot took over singing this time, not using her own voice and copying instead. Pachirisu did a wiggle dance, Chatot belted her heart out, Meloetta swayed and played… and Joyce’s jaw dropped, hand coming up to rest on her heart.
When the chorus came, Chatot, Meloetta, and Ethan all sang out loud together. “♫ I only wanna be with yoooouuuu! ♫”
Ethan missed it with his eyes closed and singing, but Joyce caught Meloetta clearly looking at Ethan. In her chest, emotions flowed like water. Joy, happiness, satisfaction, and longing. When the song ended, Joyce leaned in and whispered. “Ethan, what is that pokemon?”
“Meloetta. A musical pokemon, like Chatot.” Ethan answered back, voice low not to be overheard. “Did you feel it too?”
Joyce nodded, hand still raised to her chest. “Yes…”
“Do you think it’s like what I do to pokemon?” He asked.
Joyce took a moment to register the question properly, then slowly nodded with a smile. “Maybe? If so, you might have a clue as to what you actually have. You mentioned Lucian of the Elite Four offering help before, maybe this pokemon felt you and wanted to help? I’ve never heard of Meloetta, so it must be extremely rare and reclusive.”
“Meloetta is from Unova… and yeah, they’re very rare.” Ethan added, “It feels… nice though? Right?” He asked, hopefully.
Joyce could see the answer he wanted from his eyes. He needed the answer to be yes. She’d known that he often had bad thoughts and knew that his pokemon could feel the negativity. He didn’t mention it, but she knew it ate at him. Now that he had a semblance of what his own empathy could feel like, he wanted it to feel like what they were feeling when Meloetta sang—The powerful feeling of Joy and… goodness. Thankfully, she didn’t need to lie. She gave his hand a squeeze. “It feels wonderful, Ethan.”
Ethan nodded, as if telling himself that it must be true. “Maybe you should catch this pokemon? It came to you, right?”
The confliction that came across his face wasn’t hard to miss, but before he could properly answer, Meloetta began singing the song that had played right after the last. Her voice was bright and—And filled with intent..
“♫ It’s hard to say what it is I see in you ♫” “♫ Wonder if I’ll always be with you ♫”“♫ Words can’t say and I can’t do ♫”“♫ Enough to prove it’s all for you! ♫”
Joyce smacked Ethan’s shoulder, jolting him out of the trance of emotion that had been blasted at them. “Catch the damn pokemon, Ethan.”
“♪ Catch! Catch! Chat-toooot! ♪”
Overhearing, Chatot immediately rushed to agree with Joyce. Ethan faced the now serene and calm Meloetta, who stared at him with a smile. “You want me to catch you?”
A gentle dip of the head as the answer.
Ethan plucked Litten off his lap, who meowed in protest, then plunked him down onto Joyce’s lap. “Lemme grab a pokeball. Be right back.”
Ethan walked into the house, unlocked his locked cabinet, withdrew a pokeball, then returned to the patio. He knelt in front of Meloetta then offered the pokeball outwards. It rested gently in his palm. Meloetta gave a curtsy, then tapped the ball with her hand. With a surge of red energy, she was sucked inside.
Ding!