To the east, beyond Fuchsia city, was a lush green landscape which ran along the coast. A small ridge rose along the bright meadow, where beautiful young women and campers were hunting for pokemon in the grass.

"Aur-aur-aur!" said Quenelle, stomping his hooves.

"You like it out here, Quen?" Arden asked. The tauros nodded emphatically.

A young girl approached him. "Excuse me," she said. "Would you like to battle?"

"Ah, sure," Arden said. "I mean, I guess."

The girl clapped her hands together. "Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pokeball. "Oddish! Go!"

Arden pulled a pokeball off his belt. "Go, Thief!"

His pokeball opened, releasing a sandshrew. "Shrew!"

"Gah—Bruno?" said Arden. "So that's the pokemon Dixie took? Thief? Ah, damnit. Why couldn't he have taken Fang? I mean, Fang's twice as useless!"

Further along the path, Dixie and Dexter rested on a long wharf, overlooking the open ocean. He held up the pokeball he'd taken from Arden, releasing the persian from within.

"Peeersian," said Thief, stretching his body.

"Hello, Thief," said Dixie, extending a hand to the pokemon.

"Sian?"

"We haven't met before," Dixie said. "However, it was relayed to me that you and a pokemon of mine spoke. Bruno. Do you remember him?"

Thief flattened his ears for a moment. "…per!" he said at last. "Persian."

"Ah, so you do, then?" said Dixie. "He told me you swipe pokeballs. Is that right?"

Thief flattened his ears and looked away. "Perrrsian."

"Now, please don't lie to me…"

The pokemon tilted his head and shrugged his shoulder. "Persian."

"Good, good," said Dixie. "I was wondering if you'd show me where you put them?"

"Sian? Persian!" said Thief, seeming to be taken aback. He shook his head. "Per-sian!"

"I know, I know—you were collecting them. Bruno mentioned that," said Dixie. "But, I figure… well, they're just sitting there, somewhere aren't they? I mean, you can't use them."

"Persian," said Thief, unmoveably.

"Please, Thief?" said Dixie, rubbing the pokemon behind the ears. "I mean, think of those poor pokemon, forevermore trapped inside their pokeballs. How would you feel if you were stuck in your ball forever, and never released again?"

The persian frowned as he contemplated the idea of spending the rest of his life trapped in his pokeball. "…sian."

"So," Dixie said. "Will you show me where you have them stashed? I promise they'll be in good hands."

As he considered the proposal, Thief flicked his tail back and forth slowly. Finally, he said, "Persian." And started along the wharf, pausing briefly for Dixie and Dexter to follow.

"Thank you very much, Thief," Dixie said. "You're a prince among pokemon."

Elsewhere, Arden and the girl finished their battle, with Arden victorious. The girl slumped sadly away as Arden congratulated his borrowed pokemon. "You're really strong!" said Arden.

"Sand," said Bruno, climbing up Quenelle's leg and onto his back.

"Tauros?" said Quenelle, glancing at the sandshrew, whom had situated himself on the bigger pokemon's neck, leaning against his head. Bruno clutched a strange rock that Arden hadn't noticed before to his chest.

"What's that?" asked Arden, taking it.

"Sandshrew!" said Bruno, wiggling his arms at Arden, trying to recover the stone.

"A rock?" asked Arden, tossing it back and forth between his hands. "Do you collect stones or something?"

"Shreeeew," said Bruno, shaking his head and reaching again for the stone. Arden pulled it away, out of the little pokemon's reach.

"Why do you want it back so bad?" Arden asked. "Is it valuable? Or sentimental?"

"Shrew sand, sand sand sand," said Bruno, glancing from Arden to Quenelle and back.

"Auros?" said Quenelle to the sandshrew. "Tau-auros?"

"Shrew!"

"Hey—stop that!" said Arden. "I don't like it when you guys all talk to each other. It makes me feel left out… I mean, I don't have a damn clue what you're saying."

"Aur-aur-auros," snorted Quenelle, tossing his head. He leaned his head toward the stone in Arden's hand and made to take it with his mouth, but Arden pulled it away again.

"No—get your own. I'm keeping this thing until I figure out what it does," said Arden, slipping off his back pack and shoving the stone inside it.

"Shrew," sighed Bruno.

"Auros-aur," Quenelle said, rubbing the sandshrew's head with one of his tails.

"We need to get moving," said Arden, starting up the path. Quenelle trotted after him. "After all, Vermillion's a long way off, and I want to get there soon… I guess."

A/N: There's a new link on my profile—a picture of Quen and Bruno together. Once again, I love each and every one of you for reading this—and especially those of you who take the extra time to review it. I just want to say that y'all are my favorite people ever.