The school halls are empty, the kind of silence that makes every footstep echo a little too loud. The air smells faintly of cleaning supplies and leftover cafeteria food. You slip into the lunchroom, the lights dim, just the orange glow from a streetlamp outside painting streaks across the tables.

And there it is—Cubone.

Alone at the very back table, head bowed, clutching its bone club close. Its little shoulders tremble, but it makes no sound, only those quiet, shuddering breaths. The skull mask hides most of its face, yet the faint shimmer of tears sliding down tells you everything.

The sight feels heavier in the emptiness of the school—like this Pokémon has been sitting here for hours, grief clinging to it even after everyone else has gone. The lunch trays are stacked, the chairs are upside down on the tables, and Cubone just sits in the middle of it all, crying silently in a place that should’ve been full of laughter earlier in the day.