Hunter and Umbreon walked through a forest, both quiet except for the sounds of their feet scuffing the ground. The noon sun was high in the air, and Hunter wiped his sweating brow as he looked at Umbreon. "You hungry?"

A loud growl came from Umbreon's stomach, making the shadow fox blush. Hunter smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

They walked over to the shade of a nearby tree. Hunter opened his backpack and took out six bowls and a small bag of Pokémon food. After filling each bowl, he took five Poké Balls from his belt and tossed them high in the air. In five bright flashes of light, a Scyther, a Typhlosion, a Charizard, a Raichu, and a Swellow appeared. Stretching and making noises of relief after being released from their Poké Balls, they all soon spotted the food and dove in.

Hunter smiled as he watched his team eat. Over the course of the six months he'd been away from Veilstone and the family he had there, he had caught them and raised them as best as he could. Sitting down and pulling out some human food, he began eating, watching them each finish their meal. It was quiet except for the sounds of chewing.

Then the bushes rustled. The others noticed nothing, but Hunter's eyes slowly moved to his left, where the noise had come from. Closing his eyes he could see a small form, no longer than his foot, inching through the bushes. Getting up and keeping his eyes closed, Hunter walked over to the bushes and reached in.

He immediately retracted the hand along with a curse as tiny, yet sharp, teeth bit one of his fingers. Reaching in with the other hand he felt something soft and pulled, coming up with a Pokémon that looked like a cross between a snow-white hedgehog and a small patch of grass. Two flowers graced the sides of its head like a pair of earrings.

Hunter's eyebrows rose in surprise. A Shaymin?

A female voice suddenly filled his head. Long accustomed to telekinetic Pokémon, Hunter only listened. Could you put me down, please?

Hunter obliged, then knelt down. Reaching down with his thumb he turned the Shaymin's head upwards towards him. "If you wanted food, you could have come out and asked. Were you planning to steal some?"

Shaymin nodded ashamedly. Hunter scratched its head. "It's okay. Come on." Picking Shaymin up, he carried it over to the group's campsite. Shaking a small amount of food into his hands, he lay down on the ground and held it out to Shaymin. It came closer and began to eat. Hunter nodded. Good. It trusts me.

After Shaymin finished eating, it climbed into Hunter's hands and curled up. Hunter sat back down, looking at it curiously. "So, why are you out here all by yourself?"

I got separated from the others. I have to get to where we're going to be planting the flower garden.

Hunter recalled his conversation with Reggie and Maylene, recalling that he'd wanted to see it. To see it actually planted would make it even better. Cocking his head to one side, he smiled. "Well, you won't make it walking as you are. I could help you get there."

Shaymin looked at him in surprise. Really?

Hunter nodded. "Of course. I've always wanted to see a Gracidea flower garden."

Shaymin smiled. Thank you! Can we go now?

Hunter looked up. All of the others had finished eating, and were watching him. He nodded. "Well, since we're all done eating, I guess so."

He returned all of his Pokémon except Umbreon to their Poké Balls and got up, placing Shaymin on his shoulder. It looked around before pointing into the forest. It's that way! Let's go!

Hunter started walking in the direction Shaymin had pointed, Umbreon calmly walking beside him. He looked at Shaymin. "So, can you give me anything more specific than 'that way'?"

Um…really far that way?

"How far is really far?"

I don't know! It's just really far!

Hunter sighed. "All right, I can see that I'm not going to get a straight answer out of you. We'll go to the nearest Pokémon center, and we can look at a map." He took Umbreon's Poké Ball off of his belt and pointed it at Umbreon. The black fox didn't protest as it disappeared inside the ball with a flash of red light. Hunter stopped and assumed the position that one would associate with starting a marathon. He looked at Shaymin. "Hold on tight. For someone as small as you, this probably won't be fun."

He started running, laughing in exhilaration at the familiar sensation of wind rippling across his face. He could feel Shaymin digging more and more into the strap on his backpack. It was like a limpet, almost.

Can we slow down, please? it asked. Hunter rolled his eyes and slowed down to a jog, though they were still making good progress. As he ran down the path, Hunter looked at Shaymin again. "So, why are you all by yourself?"

I got separated from the others. They didn't wait for me!

"Well, where were you?"

Um…in the town we were close to.

"And why did you go there?"

I was curious, was the reply.

"Curiousity killed the Persian, Shaymin. Don't worry, though. I'll get you there as fast as I can. Do you know where they might be going? Do they give you all a description of what it looked like in case any of you got lost?"

They don't think we're curious enough to get lost.

"Of course," Hunter muttered. "Well, we should be getting close to a Pokémon center soon. We'll stop there, spend the night, then keep going tomorrow. That all right with you?"

Shaymin nodded. Uh-huh!

Hunter smiled. "Good. Everyone's happy then."

Took me a while to write this. I started it months ago, but ran into a case of writer's block. I finished it a few weeks ago, so you won't have to wait for updates. Read and Review!