Shy walked slowly back in the direction he came. It was almost nightfall and he was yet to even get a glimpse of the desert. He knew he was lost. He had come to the realisation a while ago but decided he would walk around aimlessly in the hope that he would stumble upon the base by accident. So far he hadn't been so lucky. He wanted to keep looking through the night but his legs felt as though they were going to give way. He collapsed behind a bush, trying his best to conceal himself from both predators and the cold.

Shy wondered if the others were looking for him. He figured that they probably were not. They acted as though he were nothing more than someone who they had to put up with. Someone they would be glad to be rid of. How he wished none of this had ever happened. How his father had died, how his family were brutally murdered. How he had thrown away his last opportunity for companionship. For someone to talk to. He felt an ache in his chest as he pictured the faces of the ones he had lost. He wondered if he would be better off just staying in the woods, dying there.

A low moaning sound came from close by, alarming Shy. He kept still, his body tense, waiting to flee. When he heard the sound again his alarm subsided. The sound had come from him, his stomach. He had not eaten in a very long time, and the pangs of hunger were starting to have an effect on him. He crawled out from behind the vegetation and meekly searched for something to eat. He knew starvation was not a pleasant way to die. He scampered out into the clearing, his nose outstretched. He sniffed the air in search of any scent of food. His nose caught something that pricked his ears. Shy raced off in the direction it had come from.

"We should head back," whispered Serena. She gazed up at the sky with a worried look.

"The sun is setting, there's no way we can ring him in the dark. Besides, there is a likely possibility that he -" She was cut off by a dangerous look from Guardian, who was searching every piece of shrubbery frantically. Serena was worried she would never stop looking for him.

"You go if you want," Guardian said. "I will keep looking on my own." Her voice was shaking.

"You know I can't leave you. Cain's orders. No one goes out alone. Not with all those…things out there." Serena shivered as she said it.

"They're called sirens. And why all of a sudden are you so scared of them? It's not like they're very intelligent. They are easy to defeat." Guardian didn't even look at her as she was talking. She was too focused on finding Shy.

Sirens were another one of the Demon King's methods of controlling the region. They were essentially zombies of pokemon that were captured by the Demon King. Their memories were wiped and replaced with one objective. If they caught a pokemon they would scream. But their scream was devastating. It pierced the brain of their victim, paralysing them. They then took their victims to the removers. If they were killed they were considered lucky. However sirens had a flaw. They were utterly useless against attacks. A simple scratch would kill them, that is, if they weren't ghost pokemon. Most people try to avoid going out at night in case they run into one and can't tell if they are sirens or not.

"Well if you're scared of them then how do you think Shy is. And they are harder to recognise in the dark. He could mistake one for a normal pokemon and they could take him to the removers and then his death would be on our shoulders. Have you forgotten he is considered an outlaw with a bounty on his head." Guardian was yelling at Serena now, unable to control her anger. She let lose a powerful moonblast attack at a nearby tree, snapping it in half as if it were a small sapling. The two pokemon said nothing and kept walking.

Shy emerged from the forest at a cliff's edge. He walked over to the drop, gazing down at the ocean. It reminded him of the cliff he had stayed on on the last leg of his journey to the base. It seemed like a long time ago and not just the day before.

The sun had passed over the horizon and had almost been swallowed by the sea. The cool orange glow reflected back up into Shy's face. He looked around for what he had smelled but nothing caught he attention. At least, not at first. He noticed a small blue berry on the ground to his left. He recognised it as an oran berry, one he had eaten several times when he was hurt. His mother often mashed them up into a paste for his sister to eat when she was younger. He pawed at it for a while, wondering where it had come form. There were no oran trees in the forest so it must have belonged to some poor passer by who dropped it. Shy questioned wether he should eat it or not. His mother had always told him not to steal. But then again, he questioned wether or not it was actually stealing. For all he knew it had been laying there for a while, and its owner could have been some horrible pokemon that didn't deserve it. Eventually his stomach, combined with his wild imagination, overthrew his conscience and he decided to eat the berry.

The smooth texture of the soft plump fruit, the sweet, juicy flavour took over his entire mouth. His entire body felt warm, yet a shiver went up his spine. The sensation was overwhelming. It made Shy feel much better than he had before, the hunger pains disappearing as soon as he finished the berry. He sat down to enjoy the feeling as much as he could. The sun was almost gone, the stars creeping across the sky, the darkness consuming everything above. At first, Shy relished the fact that the day was drawing to a close. But he remembered the fact that he had nowhere to go, and the depressing feeling he had before returned.

He was about to set off when something flew over his head, too fast for him to make out a shape. His immediate reaction was to run and hide, in case it was being followed. He hid behind a fallen tree, hoping no one else had seen him. He peeked over the the trunk to see no movement. The relocation of the moon on the water was all he saw. He turned around and started to walk away but when he looked ahead of him, he was faced with the figure of a pokemon. Shy recognised the shadow of the pokemon as a palpitoad. But he noticed something different about it. It seemed to have a lifeless energy radiating form it. It's eyes were glowing a strange dark purple. His instincts were to run, but he was frozen in fear. The palpitoad walked closer, limping as it did so. Shy has no idea what to do, he was backed up into the tree trunk. He let loose his most powerful screech attack but it had no effect on the palpitoad. It got closer and closer, and Shy saw no way out.

And then it was on its side, squirming uncontrollably for a few seconds until it finally let out its last gasp. The deadly aura had vanished, and the deceased pokemon seemed to disintegrate right in front of him. Shy's eyes looked at the dark creature that stood above it's victim. One slash of it's claw and the palpitoad was no more. But Shy wasn't afraid. He was comforted to see a face he recognised. Luna looked down at him with a grin. Before she could say anything, Shy noticed Ren land on the tree trunk behind him. He turned to face her.

"What are you doing out here? Does Guardian know you're out here? Or Cain?" She looked surprised but not very alarmed. Luna let loose her infectious giggle.

"And what was that! You tried to scream at a siren? Talk about playing them at their own game! Have you never seen one before?" She laughed again, quieter than the first time.

"I panicked. I…I've never had to face one on my own before." Shy looked down at his feet, feeling weak.

"C'mon," Luna said. "Let's head back. We have stuff to do. You're lucky we saw you on our way home." Ren offered to let Shy sit on her back but he had never flown before and was scared. He tried his best to keep up with Luna on foot, and they eventually reached the desert past midnight.

Cain looked at Shy with a frown on his face. He had just been standing there for some time, considering what he should say. He had asked to speak to Shy alone, before Guardian and Serena got back.

"What you did was foolish. You put your life at risk and prevented us from performing our duties. I would lecture you but I imagine Guardian will take care of that when she returns. Besides, I have another topic in mind. Guardian seems to have some sort of infatuation with you, one I do not understand. She requested of me to allow you to stay here with us." His expression didn't change as he was talking.

"Well I don't know what to do, where I should go and-"

"I didn't say too speak. It is not my decision to allow you to stay, it is that of everyone else. Only if they all agree to allow it, then I shall as well. If not, you must leave." Cain paused for effect, allowing the words to sink in.

"However, if you do decide to stay, you must treat everyone with respect, follow their orders, do as you are told. You may even become part of the team if you can pass our examination. It was originally designed by your father. One of his few successful ideas." Shy did not like Cain diminishing his dad, but he tried his best to ignore it.

"If everyone agrees to you staying, then the rest is up to you. You may train with us, live with us, and be a fully fledged member of this team." Once he had finished talking, Cain sat in the corner of the room with his legs crossed and eyes closed. Shy had no idea what to do, so he decided to leave. HE expected Cain to stop him, to say one last word as he normally did. But he walked out without interruption.

Outside the door, Fly was waiting for Shy to come out. He was't sure wether Shy would be happy or sad when he came out, but he smiled either way. He never really stopped smiling.

"How did it go?" he questioned.

"He didn't," Shy replied. "He said if all of you guys say yes then I can stay and join the team." Shy had a puzzled look on his face, trying to comprehend what he was just told.

"Well it's a yes from me. And I'm sure the others will say yes as well. What do think Guardian will say when she finds you're back?" Fly looked down at him, waiting for the answer. Shy began to walk away, ushering Fly to come with him. He approached the door to his dad's old room and turned to Fly.

"I don't know. I'm really sorry for running away from you. I just needed to be alone for a while. And I really want to apologise to Guardian as well but I'm really tired. If you see her could you tell her I'm here?"

"Okay, I will. Is there anything else you want? I don't mind." Fly was acting surprisingly kind towards Shy after he ran off on him.

"Umm… I'm not sure if this would be too much to ask but, can you stay here? With me? I guess I had too much time alone." Shy looked up at fly with his deep brown eyes. Fly smiled and walked into the room ahead of him. Shy followed him inside and pushed two of the beds together. The two pokemon lay down, with Shy's head resting on Fly's tail. Fly smiled at him and lay his head down on the straw. He left the torches lit, waiting for the other two to come back. He hoped they wouldn't take too long. He looked at Shy again to see his eyes closed and him sound asleep. He stayed awake for some time, watching him, making sure he was okay.