Thanks for all of the support! I'm going to continue it because it's so fun to write.

Fragments of a familiar voice echoed in his dreams, but Sonic wasn't ready enough to answer his echidna friend. He was too tired, his bed was too warm, and it was too early to give up sleep now. Knuckles was going to have to wait a couple more hours.

Sonic mumbled incomprehensibly as he burrowed his head into a pillow, wrapping his arms around and appreciating the soothing heat it gave off. He relaxed against the mattress and was about to sleep the rest of the early morning away until the pillow in his grasp moved.

More confused than anything, the blue hedgehog lethargically blinked his eyes open and glanced down. He saw grassy-green fur, flower petals, and beady little eyes looking back at him.

All thoughts of sleep were shoved to the back of his mind as Sonic gasped, putting as much distance as he could between himself and whatever that was.

It turned out that he couldn't move much because Sonic's frantic legs quickly tangled up on the blanket, and he had to stop panicking before he ended up on the floor.

Sonic calmed his breathing as much as he could and rubbed his drowsy eyes. The not-pillow was unfortunately still there, blinking at him with a twitching nose.

Sonic gaped like a fish until his groggy brain allowed him to say, "Uh…hi?" He didn't know why he said anything. It was unlikely that this faux-pillow, hedgehog, bush-looking thing would actually answer.

A smile grew on its furry white face. "Shay! Shaymin!"

Oh.

Sonic pinched himself and instantly felt the pain. Okay, this wasn't a dream. Smiling unsurely, he cautiously reached toward the strange creature he had never seen before. "Hey, little guy…" The twitching nose sniffed one of his fingers. "Where'd you come from?"

He froze when he heard footsteps that surely didn't come from the living bush in front him. Sonic hastily scanned his room and gawked when something rounded the corner of his bed.

While the faux-pillow looked similar to a hedgehog, Sonic believed that this one looked closer to a weasel. But then again, this was the first time he'd seen a non-Mobian weasel with bright orange fur and…two tails?

"Bui bui!" It rasped as it waddled over to the bedside. Sonic just now noticed that it was wearing his too big shoes. "Bui-" Then the weasel tripped over its own feet, limbs flailing as it fell to the floor with a thud.

The living bush scurried over a shocked Sonic's lap and looked down at the other. It snickered – the sound similar to a wind chime – while the weasel rolled around on its back, laughing as well.

This was happening now, and Sonic was going to go with the flow. It had been so peaceful lately, so...something like this was bound to happen eventually.

Sonic managed a brief chuckle, all drowsiness gone at this point. "That was some fall! You're not hurt, are ya?" he asked, testing if they could understand him.

The weasel kicked off Sonic's signature shoes and hopped to its feet, wiping off imaginary dust. "Buizel!" it answered with a head shake.

The communication was definitely one-way, but that was better than nothing.

"Buizel, huh?" Sonic had no idea what that word meant, but he had to call it something, didn't he? "Is that your name?" Their speaking mannerisms could be similar to chao.

It grinned, tails swishing. "Zel bui!"

Sonic assumed that was a yes. He gently petted the green hedgehog in his lap, surprised at how soft it was. "And you're…Shaymin, right?"

"Min!" Shaymin chirped in response before focusing on Buizel when it attempted to climb onto the bed. The smile morphed into a smirk as Shaymin scampered right in the weasel's way. It snickered as it nudged Buizel's reaching hands away. "Shay min min!"

Buizel didn't seem upset. Instead, it wore a similar smirk before running around to the other side of the bed and attempting to climb. Shaymin met it there and headbutted the other back down, chirruping victoriously. "Shay shay!"

"Bui!"

"Shay!"

Sonic watched, both amused and awed, as they continued their impromptu game. They had a massive play drive it seemed. He blinked in surprise when Buizel suddenly jumped into the air, over Shaymin, and onto the bed beside Sonic.

It stuck its tongue out playfully at the aghast green hedgehog until Shaymin tackled the weasel, it crashing back with a yelp. Shaymin seemed proud of itself as it sat on Buizel's stomach and grinned at Sonic.

Sonic chuckled, thinking what in the world he was getting into. "Yeah, you pinned 'em all right, but Buizel still won." Shaymin stared at him in surprise. "You couldn't keep 'em off the bed!"

Buizel laughed victoriously while Shaymin pouted. The walking bush climbed onto Buizel's head when the weasel sat back up, nipping at the tuffs of fur there. Buizel was too smug to care.

Untangling his legs from the blanket, Sonic got out of the bed and stretched because it was about time to share this new…discovery with Tails. He was probably still asleep, but Sonic was sure that he wouldn't mind this early wake up call.

"Bui?"

After slipping on his trusty shoes, the blue hero glanced back to meet two curious gazes. "I'm about to go wake my friend up, so why don't you guys stay here until-" The rest of Sonic's words died when Shaymin quickly jumped from Buizel's head to his, chirping. Sonic smiled. "I guess you're comin' along! How about you, Buizel?"

"Zel zel!" The orange weasel clambered off the bed and bounded over to Sonic's side. "Bui!"

"Alright, let's go!" Sonic strolled over to his bedroom door, hearing Buizel's smaller steps behind him. He opened it and stepped into the empty hallway. Both of the creatures were curious as they looked on.

Sonic led them down the hall, toward another closed door that should be hiding his kid brother. "Tails?" The hero knocked only to be met with silence. "Tails, you in there?" When there still wasn't an answer, Sonic cracked opened the door and peeked into the room. There were small knick-knacks stung about, an empty bed, and no hint of Tails anywhere.

"Izel?" Buizel peered around the anthro to look inside.

"Guess he's not here!" Sonic closed the door back, having a good idea where the kit was. If Tails' room was empty this early, then he had either woken up to work in his workshop, or he had fallen asleep in that second home of his. Sonic didn't know how many times he had found Tails snoring on top of half-finished gadgets.

Sonic continued down the hall, beckoning for Buizel to follow. "Got a good idea where he is, though!" The home he and Tails shared was quaint and cozy, nothing too lavish. Sonic reached the living room in a few strides, heading for the front door. "He's in for a surprise, but I'm sure he'll warm up to you guys soon enough!"

Shaymin chirruped in response while Buizel was too busy looking around at the furniture to answer.

However, both of the creatures were completely entranced when Sonic flung open the door and stepped outside. He shielded his eyes from the bright morning rays, being greeted by the sight of the ever pleasant Mystic Ruins. The house rested along the edge of the ruins, surrounded by green grasses. To the right were lush trees that led deeper into the forest, and the left eventually led to a cliff that towered above glistening waves.

"Shay shay!" Shaymin swiftly jumped down from Sonic's head and happily skipped into the grass, sniffing through the blades.

Buizel ran out as well, its curious gaze shifting from the towering trees, the blue sky, and lingering on the distant water. It was clearly awed by everything, eyes wide and glistening.

They both ran around, enjoying the fresh air and new sights until Buizel tripped over a tree branch. Not hurt in the slightest, it sprung back up and looked at the brown limb in awe. Buizel picked it up and waved it around, smiling. "Bui buizel!"

Sonic never thought he'd see someone get so excited about a stick, but here he was.

"Bui!" Buizel bounded over to where Shaymin was, showing off the item. Shaymin didn't seem to care until Buizel playfully poked it with the stick, gaining the other's attention.

Shaymin cocked its head before grinning. Before the weasel could react, the small hedgehog pounced and snatched the stick. It ran away, the branch secured in its snickering mouth. Buizel cried out in surprise before giving chase.

While they enjoyed their little game of keep-away, Sonic headed in the direction of the workshop. It was the same size – if not a little bigger – as the house and was positioned closer to the cliff, next to a runway for the Tornado.

He called over his shoulder, "I'm going over there if you guys wanna follow!" Shaymin slowed down at his words, and Buizel took the opportunity grab the stick. It lifted the branch victoriously; the walking bush didn't give up, though. Shaymin let itself be lifted, refusing to let go and lose the game.

Buizel blinked before shrugging and strolling over to Sonic with a satisfied smile. Shaymin was just hanging on for the ride.

Guess that ended in a tie. Sonic chuckled as he trotted over to the entrance of the workshop, waiting until his new friends caught up to open the door.

When he did, he was met with a desperate plead. "Rufflet, please put down the welding laser!"

Those were the last words Sonic expected to hear upon entering. With both concern and curiosity swirling within him, Sonic ignored all the workbenches, tools, and scrap metal laying around in favor of searching for Tails. He didn't have to look for long, and his jaw nearly dropped at what he saw.

Tails was standing at the far end of the workshop, staring up at a bird that was holding a welding laser that was blowing out hot flames. Its white feathered head was tilted down at the kit, showing confusion.

"Vul?"

Sonic's attention drifted downwards at the unfamiliar sound to find a red fox with many tails sitting at Tails' feet, glancing back at them.

It was safe to say that Sonic hadn't been the only one to meet new friends today.

"Huh? Vulpix, what is it?" Tails had turned around at this point, following the small kit's line of sight. Tails brightened at the sight of the blue blur. "Son…oh." Then his eyes widened when he zeroed in on Shaymin and Buizel.

Sonic waved halfheartedly, still stunned about what was happening. "Uh, hey bud. What's-" He was interrupted by a loud clatter. The welding laser had fallen to the floor, shutting off, and the small bird was flying right for him. "Whoa!"

He unconsciously stepped back when it stopped right in front of his face, wings flapping. There was an inquisitive frown on its beak. "Ruff?" Then it swooped down through the air to where Buizel was standing, cocking its head. "Ruff rufflet?"

Buizel stared back up at it before smiling, holding its unoccupied paw up in a wave. "Bui buizel!" Shaymin gave a peppy greeting as well, but the sound was muffled by the stick still secured in its mouth.

The flying creature blinked, its frown soon morphing into bright smile. "Ruff ruff!" It maneuvered around them and flew outside. Buizel and Shaymin glanced at each other before forgetting about their competition, running back out after the flying one.

"Follow them out!" Tails ordered a speechless Sonic while he hovered over. Sonic didn't hesitate, sensing how frantic the kid was. Tails exited a second after he did. He got ready to close the door, but the red fox hadn't followed. It was sniffing the forgotten welding laser.

"'Vulpix!" Tails called out. When the fox glimpsed up, Tails beckoned it over. "Come on! Let's play outside!"

"Pix!" The fox trotted to them, and Tails shut the door to the workshop as soon as he could. Vulpix wasn't fazed by the slam. It calmly sniffed Sonic before going along its merry way, approaching the other three. Rufflet was circling in the air, cooing happily, while Buizel and Shaymin watched it in awe.

At Tails' relieved sigh, Sonic incredulously watched the creatures interact, asking, "So, you got 'em too, huh?"

"Yeah…" Tails was equally as awed. He shook his head in disbelief. "It's crazy! I woke up in the workshop to find those two staring at me! I don't know how they got in without waking me up, but…"

Sonic nodded, putting a hand on his hip. "Same thing happened to me." Although Tails was a much lighter sleeper than he was. "They woke me out of my sleep!"

"So, you have no idea where they came from?"

"Nope! I'm as blind about this as you are." Sonic rose a brow when Rufflet grounded itself on Vulpix's head, making the fox wobble a bit. "Uh…why did Rufflet have a welding laser?"

Tails deeply exhaled, running a hand through his bangs. "I guess it had been pecking around my stuff when I wasn't looking and turned it on. I tried to take it, but apparently Rufflet thought it was a toy and started flying around with it. I almost got my bangs burned off!"

Sonic couldn't help but to laugh. Tails huffed at him, but he couldn't help it. He always turned to jokes in unfamiliar situations like these. Helps to ease the atmosphere. "Well, now we know to not let these guys around all of the high-tech stuff you got in there. No one wants a bad hair day."

"If only I can convince Rufflet that…" the kit muttered.

Sonic grinned at him before watching the critters once more. Buizel and Shaymin had found another stick to play with, the weasel now running away from its scampering pursuer. Rufflet had taken to the skies, flying around and interestingly not going too far from them. Vulpix was simply basking in the warm sunlight.

"I wonder exactly what they are…" Tails was observing as well, tapping his chin. "I mean, they're similar to regular animals, but I've never seen a bird like Rufflet before or anything like Vulpix."

"Ditto for Buizel and Shaymin." Sonic clicked his tongue in thought. "But maybe Knuckles knows something that we don't?"

"Knuckles?"

"Yeah, I think he was tryin' to contact me on the communicator before I got up."

Tails' face lit up. "That can't be a coincidence! Call him back and see what he wanted!"

The blue blur motioned over back at the house. "I left the communicator in there. I'll be right-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, because there was a sneeze from Vulpix, and there was suddenly fire blazing the grass in front of it.

While Tails and Sonic were shocked speechless, Vulpix was unbothered. It simply rubbed its nose with its paw. Rufflet was circling the small fire in curiosity, and Shaymin took a hesitant step toward the heat but didn't get any closer.

Buizel trotted past Shaymin and eyed the fire. Then, it sprinkled water from its mouth to put out the flames.

The weasel grinned victoriously when Shaymin cheered. Rufflet landed to peck at the charred grass, and Vulpix almost looked disappointed that it couldn't enjoy the heat for longer.

Tails stared for a long moment before saying, "Sonic, go call Knuckles."

"On it." Sonic sped back into the home, his mind whirling. Not only did these little creatures come out of nowhere, but they had powers too? Well, granted, only Vulpix and Buizel showed off, but he wouldn't be surprised at this point if Shaymin could grow flowers or something similar.

He was back in his room in record time, picking up the communicator and speaking into it. "Knuckles? You there?"

It only took a moment for him to get a response. "Yeah. I tried contacting you a while ago, but I guess you were still dead to the world."

"Sure was!" Sonic left his bedroom. "I think I heard you calling me too."

"Then why didn't you respond?!"

"Uh, well, funny story-"

"Nevermind that! Look, I need you and Tails to get up here because these strange creatures-"

Sonic froze midstride when he left the home, eyes wide. "Creatures? You have some too?!" What was going on here?

Knuckles sounded as appalled as he felt. "Wait, too?"

"Yeah!" He zoomed over to Tails and told the kit, "Turns out that we're not the only ones with these guys."

Tails gasped. "Seriously?" He leaned closer to the communicator and asked the echidna on the other side, "How many, Knuckles?"

"Two! A thing called a Celebi delivered its eggs to me last night and just left! Then they hatched this morning and-"

"Whoa, hold on." Sonic and Tails shared a confused glance before the hedgehog continued, "A Celebi? Eggs? We didn't see any of those!"

"I guess that makes sense. Celebi could apparently teleport, so it could've just dropped off the eggs and took off. And they probably hatched before you woke up."

Sonic was a little worried about this Celebi guy. A strange thing teleporting in and out of homes wasn't normal.

Tails must've felt the same way. "Did uh…Celebi tell you anything? Do you know anything about it?"

"Nope. It's most likely a different species or breed of these things. Looked kinda beat up though. It delivered the eggs for a reason, but it disappeared before I could get any understandable answer."

Sonic couldn't wrap his mind around all of this. Fortunately for them, the appearance of the creatures hadn't caused some kind of apocalypse, yet, so they had time to figure things out.

Tails' brow furrowed. "Just…what are these things? Do yours have any powers, Knuckles?"

"What are you talking about? What powers?"

The duo took that as a no.

Sonic filled him in. "Well, Tails has one that sneezed fire, and I have one that spat water to put it out."

"…You two still at Mystic Ruins?"

"Yep!"

"I'm coming over there. Give me twenty minutes."

Knuckles hung up.

Sonic slipped the communicator in his glove, grinning. Even though this was out of the blue, these types of surprises always spiced up his life a little bit. "Today's gonna be an interesting day for sure."

"Tell me about it!" Tails scratched the side of his head. "I need to start some research to see if there were any other records of these guys! And maybe even run some tests…" He trailed off when Vulpix strolled over to them. It stopped in front of Tails and pointedly met his gaze. Curious, Tails squatted and asked, "Do you need anything?"

"Pix," it answered, and the hero didn't know how to interpret that until the red fox's stomach growled. Vulpix sat, yipping. "Vul vul."

Comprehension flooded Tails. "Oh! Are you hungry?" Vulpix nodded, and Tails looked at Sonic for help. "Have any guesses on what they eat?"

Sonic had no clue. "Maybe…they're like chao? Pretty sure they can eat almost anything."

"So…bagels?"

The speedster nodded with a snicker. "Bagels." It was the only thing they had that would feed these many mouths anyway. Sonic then called to the ones still in the yard, "Hey! Any of you hungry?"

Buizel and Shaymin ran over as soon as he finished the question. The weasel hopped around at his feet in excitement while Shaymin took residence on his head again, chirruping in affirmation.

Rufflet chirped at it flew over, and Tails held out an arm for it to land. "I think that's a yes." The kit giggled. "But do you think it's a good idea to take them all inside?"

Sonic scoffed, reaching up and scratching the top of Shaymin's head. "I should be asking you that! I don't have to worry about fire foxes and birds destroyin' stuff."

"Right…um." Tails glanced between Vulpix and Rufflet. "Can you two be good for me in there? No fire and breaking things, okay?" The bird twittered, and the small fox silently nodded.

"There you have it!" Sonic wasn't sure how smoothly it would go, but if there was a fire, Buizel could take care of it, and he was fast enough to save whatever Rufflet got its little claws on. Sonic ambled back to the front door. "Let's get to fixin'! I'm getting hungry myself!"

"Bui bui!" Buizel skipped after them, and Tails followed with Vulpix at his heels.

Once inside, the creatures separated from the heroes. Shaymin was sniffing around the floor and furniture, Vulpix eyed the couch before jumping up and laying down on it, Rufflet landed on the arm of the sofa to look around the room, and Buizel somehow found a way to wiggle under the large carpet there. The lump shuffled back and forth until the weasel's head popped back out. It yapped happily.

Sonic chuckled. "It's safe to say that they can entertain themselves." They couldn't keep them unsupervised though. A mess was the last thing they need. "I'll stay out here to watch over 'em."

"Good idea." Tails was about to go to the kitchen. "What kind of spreads should I do?"

Sonic shrugged, plopping down on the couch opposite to Vulpix. "Just do half of them cream cheese and the other half jam." He smiled when Shaymin pounced on the moving lump, earning a surprised yelp. "Don't think they'll mind."

Tails nodded and left for the kitchen.

"Ruff?" Rufflet saw him leave and spread its wings for flight.

Sonic held up a hand. The kitchen was definitely a no-no for now. "Don't worry, little guy! Tails is comin' back with food! Just wait a bit, 'kay?"

Rufflet tilted its head and tweeted before hopping off the arm and settling beside Vulpix. It leaned into the other, and the fox allowed it. Maybe the bird didn't seek out destruction like they had previously thought.

"Shay shaymin!" The little bush jumped into Sonic's lap and spun around a few times, smiling up at him.

Sonic smiled back, scratching under its chin. "You got a bunch of energy, don't ya?" Shaymin laughed before playfully nipping at his fingers. "If only I could ask you what you guys are…" Sonic muttered as he entertained the critter. He did this for a while until he realized this his other friend had been too quiet lately.

"Buizel?" Sonic called out, looking around the living room. There was no sign of it. "Where are-" His ears perked when he heard a running faucet in the hallway. "Oh no." Scooping Shaymin up, Sonic zipped into the bathroom down the hall. He sighed when he found Buizel splashing the slowly filling bathtub.

Sonic couldn't stay mad, though. The weasel was having the time of its life rolling around in the shallow water. "Guess it makes sense that you love the stuff." Buizel noticed him but was too busy basically soaking itself to respond. Thinking that he would never have that much fun in water, Sonic went over and reached for the running faucet. "But sorry, bud! I can let you splash around later, but I think Tails is almost done – whoa!"

There was a sudden yank on his outstretched arm, and the unexpected move made Sonic lose his balance. With a yelp, he tumbled into the bathtub, causing a massive splash. Buizel's laugh rung out, and Shaymin squealed before wiggling out of Sonic's arms and headbutting the weasel's chest in retaliation. Buizel splashed in response, Shaymin splashed back, and it was a warzone with Sonic sulking in the middle of it.

"Sonic? The food's ready! Where are you?"

Tails' voice emitted from up front, and Sonic barely had time to process it before Buizel and Shaymin were scrambling out of the tub and out of the bathroom. They left a wet trail behind them.

"Wait!" Sonic turned off the faucet and got out as well, grabbing the nearest towels. "I gotta dry you off!" he exclaimed as he ran after them, ignoring how he too was dripping on the floor.

However, when he reentered the living room, he was hit with a gust of wind that stopped him in his tracks. He had to squint his eyes, but he could clearly see Rufflet forcefully flapping its wings in front of him and the two wet troublemakers. After a moment or so, the bird stopped the onslaught and chirped in satisfaction at its job.

Slowly blinking, Sonic looked down to see Buizel and Shaymin nearly dry before examining himself. He knew that some of his quills were in disarray, but he wasn't wet and that was all that mattered.

Tails was standing to the side with a gaping jaw. "Wow…"

"You can say that again." A bird that could produce crazy wind…who would've thought? Sonic smoothed out his quills after tossing the towels onto the couch. "Thanks, Rufflet!" Shaymin chimed in with its own appreciation while Buizel was slightly upset.

It was soon smiling again however when it sniffed the air, running into the kitchen. Sonic opened his mouth to stop Buizel, but Tails cut him off. "It's okay! Vulpix is already in there, and I think they can behave themselves…or at least I did before you took a swim."

Sonic released a breathy chuckle. "Just keep Buizel away from water, and everything should be fine." He entered the kitchen after Rufflet and Shaymin followed the weasel.

Inside, Tails had made a specific eating spot for them. By the kitchen table were paper plates with a bagel on each. Vulpix was already nibbling on a jelly one. Buizel hadn't decided on which one it wanted yet, but the decision was out of its hands when Shaymin claimed the other jelly. Rufflet was happy enough with the cream cheese, pecking at it.

Sonic watched as they all chowed down, everything about their situation sinking in. "Hey, Tails?"

The kit was standing by his side. "Yeah?"

"We haven't both gone crazy, right?"

"I really hope not."

There weren't many people on the train to Mystic Ruins, but even so, Amy was sure that all eyes were on her.

She couldn't blame the people, really. If she saw a small bud-like plant creature and a child-like one with a green bowl cut riding on a train, she would've been stunned as well.

Amy was just glad that no one asked her about it. The green bud one, Budew, was asleep in her arms, and she didn't want to wake him up until they got to their destination. Another reason was that the childish one, Ralts, was a bit…introverted. Yeah, that was it.

Ralts was sitting in the seat next to her, staring down at the floor. At least, Amy assumed she was because she couldn't see her eyes from this angle.

Ralts wasn't glaring anyone down, which was a relief. Amy had seen enough of that getting to the station.

Ralts was nice enough to her – as in, didn't glare in her direction – but strangers were a different story. She hadn't been mean to Budew either, so maybe she was just protective? Amy was hoping to get the answer to that question, along with many others, when she got to Sonic's house.

"Excuse me?" Amy glanced up to see a boy walking towards her, using poles to keep balance on the train. His eyes were wide with curiosity. "What are those things?"

Amy wished that she could properly answer. "Oh! This is Budew," she whispered to not wake the sleeping plant. "And this is…" Amy trailed off at the heated gaze aimed at the boy. Ralts was just a baby, but those red eyes were fierce.

Fierce enough to make the boy back away. "O-Okay! Cool!" He hastily returned to his parents on the far end of the train, whispering to each other.

"Ralts! You have to be nice to people, okay?" Amy quietly admonished.

Ralts frowned before training her gaze on the ground once more.

Today was going to be a long one.

I know that you technically can't breed a shaymin in the main games, but in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, there was a whole village of them, and more than one was present during the Sky Warrior movie as well. So…I'm just gonna roll with it.

And again, I appreciate all of the support!