The girls left Mauville City for the second time that morning, heading east. Daisy, however, had strongly suggested that they take something to eat along the way once she'd found out that the trip they were taking would last the better part of a week, and so the two of them made a small stop at the local Poké Mart in order to pick up some supplies before setting off.

There were two roads to Lilycove City, but only one of them was available for pedestrian traffic: the one that made its way north through the region's wetlands and into a village built amongst the trees themselves. The other choice, once a one-way path from east to west, had been closed to protect a rare variety of flower from being plucked by passerby or eaten by said passerby's Pokémon. The loss of the road was at times inconvenient for tourists, but as the extra traffic had proved to be a boon for the local nature society's awareness programs, there were few complaints that could not be solved by the application of an informational pamphlet and some rather firm reasoning. And as neither girl wanted to have to stand through a lecture from the veritable legion of forest rangers that served as the area's makeshift security force, they quickly decided to take the hassle-free path, crossing the bridge that had been erected for ease of travel over the strip of river outside of Mauville's eastern gate and turning north.

Daisy, as it turned out, had little time for sightseeing that morning, for the journalist had decided to regale her friend with a few stories of the region that the two would soon find themselves in. Tales of the world that lay just over the ocean, shining and refined, spilled from her lips as she skipped over the uneven ground, and soon enough, Shen found herself entranced by the picture that Daisy painted of the Kalos region. But as they walked, the photographer soon found her attention divided, and in the middle of one sentence, she snuck a glance behind herself, to where a pair of Pokémon trailed behind.

Daisy's Lopunny, having been released by its Trainer to enjoy the walk, was taking in the sights, looking with open eyes and gaping mouth at the sky above, then to the water behind them, then to the trees in the distance, completely spellbound by the scenery around her. Every now and then, the creature stumbled due to keeping its eyes on the sights around it instead of the road beneath its feet… but that was all right, for it was only natural for a tourist to look around.

The Gardevoir, for its part, was maintaining a distance of about four steps behind Shen herself. Unlike the Lopunny, it was focusing on the road ahead instead of the world around it, wearing the same expressionless mask that Shen had decided composed its 'normal' face. But it wasn't doing anything strange, so the girl ultimately shrugged and returned to Daisy's latest story.

"And the Restaurant Lé Wow was just great! I mean, the service was fantastic, the food was to die for, and the place is decked out in the most incredible set of Waldorf teak that I've ever seen in my life!"

Shen smiled: she hadn't been caught looking the other way, it seemed. "You didn't tell me what you ate, though."

"Oh?" Daisy looked a little bewildered, as if she'd expected her energy alone to transfer the smaller details of her subject along with all of the juicier material. "Oh! Oh, I had a Magikarp salad, with fresh cheese and dressing. You've got to try it, Shen. I'll take you over there as soon as we get into port, okay?"

"Okay."

And they went on.

-/-

The road that the photographer and journalist walked was Route 109, a path that the citizens of the continent knew very well. It was here that an almost never-ending storm front lay, constantly bathing this strip of the world in rain, wind, and the occasional flare of lightning; though it was dry enough in their first hour of walking, Shen, like all good Hoenn natives, had packed a roll of rubberized fabric in her camping bag. The fabric, when stretched out, served multiple uses: it could be used as a tablecloth, a blanket, or even a cloak for those that wandered into sandstorms or cloudbursts. But since there was more than one traveler on the road with her, it wasn't long before the girls were standing a little closer to one another, holding the rubber sheet over their heads in order to ward off the torrent of falling water that enveloped them as soon as they left the first field behind.

Though Daisy swiftly recalled her Lopunny to its Love Ball in order to keep it from experiencing the storm, the Gardevoir behind them could not enjoy such comfort. But before it could get too wet, the Psychic moved to the side of the road and ripped an oversized leaf from one of the plants that lay scattered around the area. The piece of foliage was then taken by its still-attached stalk and held up like an umbrella, letting the rain fall harmlessly away from the Pokémon and her backpack as they progressed.

Well, Shen thought, I suppose that's one way to stay dry.

"Is it like this all the time?" Daisy asked, huddling a little more under the fabric. "I've never seen this much rain in one place before."

"Almost all the time," Shen replied. "There's a few dry days, but the rain's a constant. That's why people bring these sheets with them if they go up this way."

"Wow, and here I nearly went this way without one! You're really prepared, Shen."

The unexpected compliment took the photographer by surprise, but she quickly shrugged it off, returning her eyes to the road. "It's nothing special, really. It's just how we live around here."

"Well, next time, I'm bringing a rain shawl with me!"

Shen smiled at that.

-/-

While they made good time through the shift in weather, the rain and the need for constant breaks in order to rest hands that grew tired from holding the rubber sheet soon proved that Route 109 was not easily conquered. In fact, the zig-zagging nature of the road itself made any travel to Fortree City a long and daunting task, often slowing those who made the trip, and so it was that despite their determination, the two girls had to end their day at a point a few miles from their first goal. But shelter did not need to be found amongst the shrubbery, for a place existed that was only too happy to bring them in for the night.

Nearly three-quarters of the way to Fortree City lay a location that was, above all things, dedicated to the study of weather patterns and developments. Many a meteorologist seen on the news had spent a few years working in what many simply called 'The Institute' due to the fact that the entire route that the building stood in was a veritable cauldron of shifting storms, thus making its true title of 'Weather Institute' a tad redundant. But it was open to the public, and as an addition in the years since it had opened, a small hostel was maintained on the site for those travelers unfortunate enough to get caught in the rain. Granted, nearly anyone that walked through Route 109 was bound to get soaked, but details like that were of small consequence where humanitarian gestures were concerned.

It didn't take long for the travelers to secure a pair of rooms for the night, but after entering said room and setting Shen's backpack next to the bed, the Gardevoir stepped towards the doorway, obviously intent on doing something on its own.

What's it…

Shen, understandably, was curious as to what could fuel such an action, for the creature was still something of an enigma to her. But since she really didn't think that she would be able to stop it from doing what it wanted, she took up the sheet that she'd draped herself and Daisy with during the day and held it out, her movement drawing the Pokémon's gaze.

"Hey," she said. "If you're going to go out there, would you at least take the sheet with you? You'll get sick in that kind of storm."

The Psychic's eye flicked to the sheet, then to her, and their gazes locked… but only for a moment. Then its arm stretched out, and it took the rubber sheet from her hand, draping the length of brown fabric over itself; thus cloaked, it stepped out into the world beyond the Institute's doors and back into the downpour they'd just escaped from.

Well, she thought as it was enveloped by the rain, I suppose that I did tell it that it would have to pull its own weight. It's probably going to scavenge for food out there – there's enough Berries for it.

Despite the musing, though, she wasn't particularly worried about the Psychic running away from her. It, like all its type, was obviously intelligent, and after going to all the trouble of joining her on her trip, she couldn't quite imagine the possibility of its removing itself from her company. It was far more likely that it would return of its own accord, and knowing this, Shen took her camera and set forth to join Daisy in attempting to locate an individual to interview amongst the Institute's staff members. This was a bit difficult to accomplish given the fact that only the ground floor was open to the general public, but in the end, they staked out the building's cafeteria, reasoning that everyone, including the scientists, needed to eat at some point. This theory was confirmed when they happened across a budding meteorologist on his break, and while the man ate, Daisy asked him a few questions about his profession and his workplace, taking a tape recorder out of her bag to record the conversation.

During the interview, Shen remained quiet, for, among other reasons, she wanted to see how her partner went about her work. She, too, would eventually be required to conduct her own interviews, and though she was not new to public relations, Daisy's energy provided a unique approach to forging a connection with another person.

And it really is unique, she thought, watching the journalist's body language as she spoke. Daisy was animated, her expression at once open and curious about what the man in front of her had to say. She seemed genuinely interested in the topic that they were discussing, and as Shen observed the interview, she filed the information away for later use. Sadly, though, she was not able to observe for long, for the discussion was restricted by the length of the meteorologist's break period. But before the man could leave, Shen was able – at Daisy's request – to take a picture of him for the purpose of possibly adding the snapshot to the article that would be drafted when the girls could find the time and resources to turn the recording that Daisy had taken into a proper literary composition. And with that promise, the man went back to work with a spring in his step, leaving the pair to chat amongst themselves.

"So when do you think that we'll be able to do something with this?" Shen asked, placing her camera back into its bag. "We won't be finding an office anytime soon."

"We should be able to make a story out of this for the Kalos team when we get to a better area," the journalist replied. "The good hotels usually have a small office with a computer for businessmen to make conference calls and write reports with. We can use the computer to type up the article, and then I can show you how we upload all the data to the region server. It'll be great, I promise!"

Once more, Shen felt herself smiling, infected by Daisy's enthusiasm, and that infection soon led to a chuckle, followed by a shake of her head. "You're really something, Daisy."

"Aww, thanks! You're doing great, too!"

-/-

Eventually, time caught up with them, and Shen left Daisy in order to return to her room. Sleep wasn't easily forthcoming, however, for as she opened the door to that room, she noticed that the Gardevoir had returned from its trip. The sheet that she'd lent it had been neatly folded and left upon a table beside her bed, but the Psychic itself was sitting in a chair, a paperback book held in one green hand.

Upon entering the room for the first time, before she'd left to support Daisy, Shen had noticed that the hostel's staff had been kind enough to leave some reading material for its clientele. But given that the vast majority of said clientele was made up of Trainers, the reading material was mostly composed of the magazines and handbooks designed to guide one on the path to understanding such concepts as battles, type matchups, and general strengths. The book that the Gardevoir held was no different: titled How to Make Friends with Ghosts, the back cover bore a legend that promised to accustom a new Trainer to the quirks of the ethereal in order to better handle the creatures in combat. It was a little odd, though, to see a Pokémon reading a book meant for a being that controlled Pokémon. Perhaps it was trying to get some insight on how humans thought?

Regardless of its motive, though, and in light of the fact that Psychic-Types were far more than intelligent enough to read, Shen didn't really need to wonder about why the Gardevoir had taken the book for itself. So instead of spending time with such a development, she started a different tack.

"Oh, hi," she said. "I didn't think you'd be back already. Did you have fun out there?"

One red eye flicked from the book to her face, and the Gardevoir shrugged, its attention quite obviously taken with what it was reading. Seeing this, Shen left it alone, setting her camera bag on the table alongside her sheet and settling down on the bed with the device to review the photographs she'd taken of the meteorologist. As usual, she'd taken far more than she'd possibly have any use for, but the act of sifting through the bundle of nearly fifty shots in order to find the two or three that would best fit the story was relaxing, in its own way. The process was fairly simple for her, for she already had an idea of what she wanted for the article. But some of the pictures were blurry or shaken due to movement and the camera's auto-stabilizers, and so she had to delve into the pile in order to weed these out. Other pictures failed to have the ideal lighting or angle that she'd been aiming for, and so these were thrown out, as well.

It was when she'd cut her captured shots down to about ten that she noticed a tiny rectangle sticking out from underneath her camera bag. Curious, she reached out, taking it in her fingers, and looked it over.

What's this?

The rectangle turned out to be a business card. It had been painted with a gradient of crimson and black, the embossed design on its face all sharp edges and jagged angles. But as she turned the card in her hand, trying to make sense of the image, she reached an angle where the card, viewed at a certain degree of tilt, revealed a word amongst all the edges and angles: Tattler.

What? the photographer thought, stunned. What's one of the Tattler's cards doing here? Didn't I leave their team behind in Slateport?

That, however, was a somewhat silly train of thought, and Shen calmed her growing stress, forcing herself to approach the situation logically. After all, newspapers and magazines alike had more than one team of reporters at their beck and call, so it was entirely possible that the crew that had been carrying the card that she now held was not the one that she'd met in Slateport City, or that there even was a crew to carry the card in the first place. A tourist, for example, could have picked up the card from another town, but if that were true, why would it be on a table in a room that only she had the key to?

Well, me and this Gardevoir, she corrected herself. She'd given the Psychic one of the two keys she'd been trusted with in order to give it some freedom, so it was also possible that the Pokémon had picked up the card itself and left it there. And since that particular theory was far more plausible than that of someone breaking into her room to drop their business card, she decided to test her theory.

"Hey," she said, getting the Psychic's attention. "Can I ask you something?" Its eye flicked back to her, and she continued. "Was this here when you got back, or did you find it outside?"

One green thumb was jerked in the direction of the window, and Shen frowned.

Well, then, I suppose it's time to play 'twenty questions'.

"So it was outside. Was it on the ground?" she asked first, earning a shake of its head for her trouble. "Did someone give it to you, then?"

In reply, it made a swiping motion with one hand. Shen stared at this, pairing together the action with words.

"You took it from someone."

Nod.

"Was that person one of those people that tried to take your picture at the ocean?"

The Gardevoir thought for a moment, most likely dredging up the memory of the Tattler crew for itself, and then nodded once more.

"Is that person in this building?"

Nod.

"Are they in this building right now?"

One more nod, this time paired with the expression of a creature that was trying very hard to be patient with her.

"Oh, great."

It was the team she'd met in Slateport, after all. And they had the same goal that she did: to reach Lilycove City and steal her opportunity to make an article for her newspaper. But she'd be damned if she'd let that happen, and so she stood, still holding the card, and sighed.

"I'm going to find them. Would you stay here, please? They'll probably do something crazy if they see you again, and I'd like to avoid that."

The Gardevoir's eyebrow rose, as if to ask her just why she thought it could possibly want to leave the room, and she placed the card into her pocket before returning the way she had come.

And now, we try some reconnaissance.