We finally exited the forest into a beautiful grassy field. Mystic and Flanite was happy to finally have left the forest as they jumped out and began running around.

"Heh… Glad we're out of that damn forest." I told Ruka.

"Yeah, hated that muggy feeling, ugh… But now we have another problem. Night's coming." She said.

She was right about that. The sun was setting by the time we left.

"Well, um… We can check out that place." I said, pointing at a cabin.

"Huh… That's convenient. Looks like one of those daycare places." She said.

"Hmm. Well, how about we see if we can stay the night?" I asked.

Ruka just shrugged and agreed. Mainly because she hated sleeping on the ground.

So we walked up to the daycare style house and knocked on the door. We waited for a little bit before we heard a lock twist. Then it opened. What we saw kinda confused us. A midnight Lycanroc. His eyes glowed red and just stared at us. Everything was silent for a moment before Ruka spoke.

"Didn't expect a Lycanroc to answer the door. Hmm… Is someone there?" She asked.

The Lycanroc rolled his eyes and walked back into the house, leaving the door somewhat opened. We waited for a bit again before the door opened fully to reveal a person dressed nicely.

"Hey. Heard knocking but was kinda busy…" He said.

"Is this some kind of daycare?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. Kinda in the middle of nowhere… But we still get visitors often and loads of Pokemon. Anyways, I'm Kane. The daycare owner of this building." He said.

We spoke for a bit longer before Ruka finally spoke up.

"Does this place allow overnight visits? We were stuck in the forest for a while and it's getting dark…" She said.

"Oh, of course. We have a few guest rooms. Come in…!" He said.

Ruka walked in as I followed behind. The place looked very nice and there were quite a few Pokemon around.

"Don't worry about the Pokemon. They know not to bother visitors and all." Kane said.

Nodding slowly, he walked to the front desk.

"It's free to stay overnight. So go ahead and pick a bed." He said.

The same midnight Lycanroc walked up to us and motioned towards the room.

"Night will show you the rooms. Don't worry, he doesn't bite or anything. Once you pick your beds, come back here." He said.

We both nodded as the Lycanroc lead us towards the room. We entered the room and picked our beds quickly before returning to the front desk where Kane was. But this time with a Rockruff, dusk Lycanroc and Midday Lycanroc.

"Huh… This guy has each evolution. That's cool." I quietly spoke.

When we walked up, Kane smiled softly.

"Picked them? That's good. There are a few others who are staying, but they are currently out right now." He said.

"Okay… So, um… These Pokemon are yours?" I asked.

"The Lycanroc? Yep. I've had all of them since I was quite young. I believe when I was six. Eh, when I was eighteen, I decided to open this place since I enjoy taking care of Pokemon and all." He said.

"Huh. It must be hard taking care of four, right? Lycanroc's are quite difficult to deal with." I said.

"Not really. A lot of people have trouble… But being with all of them for so long, we just gotten used to each other. Still times where they act out, but it's easy to control them." He replied.

The midnight Lycanroc walked up behind us and returned to whatever he was doing.

"Yeah… They mainly help around here since it's just me." Kane said.

"You only work here? That… Seems like a lot of work." I said.

"Like I said, my team works here with me. It really helps out." He said.

"W- well, that's good. Well, um… I guess I'll get some sleep. Feel quite tired from traveling that forest…" I said.

Kane nodded as I walked into the room and laid in my bed. Mystic and Flanite decided to stay out there with Ruka as I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, I found myself pinned down due to Mystic, Flanite and even Silver on me.

Somewhat struggling for air, I quickly took Mystic and Flanite off as I gasped.

"D- damn. Didn't expect to wake up to that." I said, panting.

Silver wouldn't budge as she laid across my body. She was just completely out. I looked around the room and noticed Ruka asleep. I rubbed my head and got up slowly after I managed to get Silver off me.

Once I managed to get up, I slowly walked out and saw Kane. He was just doing some stuff at the main desk while his Lycanroc's were cleaning around. The Lycanroc's didn't really mind me. They just stared at me for a moment then I realized the sunset looking Lycanroc wasn't around. This didn't make me think much since you know. Maybe he could be doing some stuff most likely. I just shrugged and walked up to Kane who looked up.

"Oh, hey. Rested well?" He asked.

"Yeah… Better then sleeping on the ground." I replied.

Kane nodded and spoke.

"That's good. Now that you are awake… I think I should introduce you to my team." He said.

"Oh? That'd be nice." I told him.

He nodded and called over everyone. The Rockruff along with the two others walked up. Not the dusk Lycanroc though.

"Where is the other one?" I asked.

"Oh. He's off collecting a delivery for me. He should be back soon." He replied.

"O- oh…" I said softly.

"Anyways. This Rockruff… Kun. The Midday Lycanroc is Claw. And the Midnight one is called Moonlight. He's not here, but the Dusk Lycanroc is simply called Dusk." He said.

I nodded and smiled softly as the three Pokemon left to continue their work. I watched them for a bit before Kane spoke to me.

"So… Are you gonna head out today?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh, y- yeah. Thanks for letting us stay." I told.

"Of course. Where were you heading?" He asked me again.

"Um, not really sure. We were kinda heading to Star City. Maybe Shard City…" I said.

"So you are trying to get to a city? Well… I can say that Union City is nearby. It's down the path from the left and should take about ten or so minutes if you drive by vehicle." He said.

"Crap… Well… We have been walking for a while now. No vehicle at all." I told him.

"Hmm. I can help you with that. I use a truck that's out front to travel and pick up deliveries for this place." He said.

"That'd be nice if you could help us. It's been quite tough walking all these miles with little rest…" I replied.

Kane nodded and grabbed some keys, placing them on the counter and looked towards the rooms.

"I don't have much to do at the moment. So I can quickly get you there. But you need to wake your friend." He told me.

"Okay. I'll get her quickly." I told him and walked into the room.

Walking into the room, I woke Ruka up and nearly received a punch in the face. She was clearly pissed but I explained that we were getting a ride to the closest city. Ruka let out a loud sigh before getting up. While she got ready, I grabbed my bag and placed Mystic and Flanite inside it who slept on the bed together.

Ruka got ready in a minute as we walked out. Kane looked up and nodded before walking to the front door and spoke to Dusk who just entered the building. Dusk simply nodded as Kane turned to face us.

"Okay, lets get you to your destination." He said.

Nodding, we walked out but I saw that Dusk entered the driving seat.

"Uh…" I turned to face Kane.

"Is… Dusk driving?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry. He may be a Pokemon, but I taught him how to drive well. He's… Kinda my delivery Pokemon who collects all that stuff." He said.

"How well? Because, err… Having a Pokemon behind the wheel makes me feel weird." I said.

Kane chuckled and reassured me that he never crashed or raced through the streets. It didn't really make me feel better since this is a Pokemon, but there was no point of complaining. So I just accepted it and slowly entered the passenger seat. Ruka got into the backseat as Dusk started the vehicle and pulled out from the parking spot.

"D- damn… I hope he's right about his driving skills…" I thought to myself.

Trying to keep calm, I just stared forward as he drove down the dirt path. Dusk stayed focus on the road before passing me a piece of paper. I was confused as I slowly took it and opened it up. It appeared to be a note from Kane.

"Since you are going to Union City… Be careful. There has been a string of crime lately with no suspects caught. They appeared to target shops and people alike and there has been a few deaths, so… Just a warning for you. Safe travels." The note said.

"Great… Criminals on the loose who have killed. At least I don't plan on staying for long." I told myself and placed the note inside my bag.

Looking at the rear view mirror, Ruka was just sitting there and looking outside the window. I let out a small sigh and slowly sat back into my seat and looked forward to see the city in the distance.

"Well… We aren't dead yet. So that's good." I told myself.

Mystic woke up and looked around. She was confused as she climbed onto the dashboard. She tilted her head and looked back at me.

"Hey… Don't be concerned. We are getting a ride to the next city." I told her.

She looked a little less confused and looked around at the trees that passed by. She wagged her tail slowly and got down. Flanite however didn't really move around. He was awake and looked up at me. He let out a gentle squeak as I smiled and rubbed his head. He let out a soft purr and his body heat increased which caused his ears to glow a faint orange.

"Heh… I hadn't really checked on you often. How are you feeling?" I asked.

Flanite squeaked gently and showed his leg which had a scar from his injury.

"Man… I do wonder what happened to you. Only if you could talk…" I told him.

He looked down and sighed before nodding.

"It is nice however that you can understand me." I said, smiling softly.

His tongue suddenly licked my face and it felt very warm.

"H- hey, heh." I gave a slight giggle.

Hugging him gently, Flanite rubbed his head against my chin and chest. I only heard his purrs of delight and continued rubbing for a bit longer. When he was finished, he just laid on my lap and gently licked his paws.

After a bit longer, we finally reached the city and when we stopped, I slowly exited and looked at Dusk. I gently smiled and spoke.

"T- thanks for the ride." I said.

Dusk nodded and gave a slight grin which I think was suppose to be a smile. After that, he turned around and went the way we came from.

Looking at Ruka, I rubbed the back of my head.

"Well, um… Union City. Ready to explore?" I asked.

Ruka simply nodded and started walking. I followed and I was excited to see the city. I wasn't so afraid of that criminal group. I just wanted to collect a new badge and move on. And that's what I plan on doing...