Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

A/N: So, I didn't think Tim would go over his visitors in detail to Emilia during his explanation... not right now, at least. Too many other important things going on. But I didn't want you to miss all the Pokemon that came by Tim while he was in hiding, so this chapter is dedicated to that! Next chapter goes back to the situation at hand and the planning for how to deal with it.

43. Helpful Visitors

Tim sat next to the fire, hands held over it while his mind raced. He was more than grateful to the Pokémon of Fine Park, who had taken him in and hid him without a single second of hesitation, and were even taking it in turns to stand guard outside the door to warn him if anyone came. The exception to guard duty was Litten, who was kept on fire duty; with Charizard too big to fit easily through the door, Litten was the only Fire- type that could monitor the fire to both make sure it did not go out, and that it did not get out of hand.

Tim was grateful for the fire, too; the decrepit building blocked out the wind and rain, but not the cold. Without the fire, he was sure he would be hypothermic by now, and he was cold even with it, shivering in his sweater. He was sleeping badly, as well; he was exhausted, and it had been three days since the explosion, but cold, hunger, and his distress kept him up at late hours and waking sporadically when he did try to sleep. Often he had nightmares during what little sleep he did manage.

Tim was still trying to figure out what to do from here. That was he primary focus of most of his thoughts, with a few to spare for wondering how his friends and his father were doing. There was no doubt in his mind that his father would be looking into the explosion and his disappearance, trying to find him and prove his innocence.

Tim knew who did it; he needed to figure out how to prove it. He couldn't just wait here; he was quite sure Mayor Helding would have covered his tracks well enough that no one would find them without knowing exactly what they were looking for, and maybe not even then. Tim needed to be out there with what he knew, looking for proof.

But how? Try as he might, he wasn't sure where to go. The whole city would have been told by now that he caused the explosion and was on the run; there was no doubt that his image and arrest warrant would be everywhere in that city, and maybe the surrounding ones as well. He couldn't go anywhere without risking being caught. He had spent hours trying to think of where to begin, but all of them started at basic detective work, examining the scene and talking to people... none of which he could do without being arrested.

So he was still here, sitting in an abandoned building, trying to stay warm and slowly starving with how little food fit for human consumption was around. The only thing he had going was the quiet, and it was double- edged... there were few to no distractions, so he could think uninterrupted... but, there were no distractions from the fact that he felt helpless.

"There it is! There it is!"

"Mummy, mummy, we made it! That's it!"

"We're here!"

Two voices, high pitched and childlike, pierced the quiet Tim had just been ruminating on, and he froze. Who would have come here? And... why children?

"Shettle down." Came a reply from an older female; it sounded muffled, and Tim frowned. The voice sounded... familiar, somehow, and yet Tim was sure he'd never heard the speaker before in his life.

"Hey, never seen you around here before." Buneary's voice was cheerful. "What brings you? Hey, kids, careful now! There's some dangerous stuff around here if you don't know what to watch for!"

Tim had to give Buneary credit; she didn't sound like she was trying to hide anything out of the ordinary while still questioning the arrival of whoever it was. Tim, though, worried she wouldn't be understood, if the arrivals were humans.

The children, however, did reply to her- it seemed the newcomers were Pokémon.

"We're looking for Tim!"

"Mummy said he was here and we're gonna help him!"

Tim inhaled sharply.

"Mm... who?" Buneary asked casually. She was good.

"Tim!" One of the children spoke again. "You know!"

"You're hiding him here from bad people trying to hurt him!"

"Bosh of you, hush." Came the adult's voice again, still muffled. They were all closer, though, and Tim heard a soft thump. Then the adult spoke again, this time more clearly.

"Tim Goodman. He's a kind human who understands Pokémon quite well. Smells a bit like the wind and stone and that odd fabric humans put in their wheeled carry- boxes, with a musk that's all his own. His partner, an Absol, sent us with a few things for him. We heard about what's happened and we're joining in the efforts to help. Today, that included taking this to him. Word came around that he was here."

Tim frowned, but relaxed a little at the same time. Absol had sent whoever it was? If that was true, then... maybe he would be able to get some idea what was going on now?

"An Absol? Wrong partner." Buneary scoffed.

"That's his partner now. Perhaps that part of the story hasn't come up. The Pikachu he once partnered with was able to go back to his original partner once they found him."

He couldn't see how anyone else would know where he was right now, unless Gengar or one of the Fine Park Pokémon had spread the word, and all of them were friends of his. He got up and headed towards the door, pushing it wider open. He saw Buneary first, and he nodded at her when she looked at him. He had forgotten to mention that he worked with a different partner.

"Tim! Tim! Mummy, look!"

"There he is!"

"We found him!"

The two children's voices overlapped with each other, and when Tim looked past Buneary, who was now stepping out of the way, he saw two Poochyena hurtling towards him, giving yips that registered in his head as excited squeals.

"Here you are!"

"We came to help!"

"Mummy told us all about what happened- how you saved us, and how you need our help now!"

"We brought you things!"

"And we're telling all our friends that there's no way you hurt anybody!"

As the two chattered, they reached his legs, and began jumping up, pawing at him. Tim wobbled, grabbing the doorframe for what little support it was able to offer.

Looking back up, he saw that the two Poochyena from Tahnti Park had not come alone; their mother was behind them, picking a canvas bag up off the ground. She looked at him, the bag dangling from her jaws, the look in her eyes warm.

"I did forget to tell you guys anything about my new partner." Tim admitted, looking at Buneary. He'd told them about the explosion and that he was looking for somewhere that he could hide and figure out what to do next; he really hadn't gone into detail about anything else. "Sorry."

Buneary smiled. "Alright, as long as these are friends. Might be a good idea to give us the whole idea of what to expect next time?"

"Yeah... although, I wasn't expecting visitors, either." Tim told her, then bent down to offer a hand to the Poochyena still bouncing around his feet. One of them nipped playfully at his fingers; the other thrust their head under his hand, and he gave them a small pat.

"Arright, arright chilrin." Mightyena mumbled through the bag in her mouth. "Less go inside, hmm?"

"Oh, right! Tim's supposed to be hiding!"

"Oh, yeah! Come on!"

Both Poochyena dropped to their feet and raced inside the building. Mightyena fixed Tim with a look that was half fond, half exasperated. "Shorry."

Tim smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I wasn't expecting you, though."

"Hmm. May I?" Mightyena jerked her head towards the door, and Tim nodded.

"Yeah."

Tim backed up, glancing around to find that both Poochyena had scampered over to the fire and were staring at it, fascinated; Tim wondered for a moment if they had ever seen fire before, then turned his attention back to Mightyena, entering and glancing at her babies as well. Once they were both inside, Tim moved the door back to the crack it had been open at- just large enough that Litten, Buneary, Stufful and Trubbish could come and go as they pleased- and Mightyena set down the bag she carried, freeing up her mouth.

"First, a quick apology; I don't trust those Aipom to look after my children, and none of the other Pokémon that live nearby would stand a chance at being able to keep them out of trouble, so they had to come with me."

"I understand. I don't mind." Tim smiled.

He didn't really; the energy of the two children had been the brightest thing he'd seen since that apartment had blown up.

"Second, after you and Absol separated, your partner returned to your friends. He wants you to know he will keep them safe."

Tim smiled. "Thank you. You said he sent you?"

"The night he returned after separating from you, he gathered as many Pokémon that knew you as he could. A Fletchling carried the message around town. Pikachu, Plusle, and Minun also did some running around to spread the message. All Pokémon familiar with you, as well as a great deal of others who heard of your efforts and were interested to hear what was to be said, were to gather in a specified area because you needed help. As soon as I heard, there was no way that I wouldn't be there. I owe you everything."

Mightyena glanced over at the Poochyena by the fire; one of them saw her looking and cried, "mummy, come see! It's warm!"

"I see. Be careful, don't touch it."

"Why not?" The other one asked.

"Because it gets too hot if you're too close. I don't want you getting hurt by it."

"Oh. But what is it? What is it for?"

"Yeah, what can you do with it? It's so pretty!"

"Mummy, what-"

"It's called fire." Litten answered, stepping out of the shadows. Tim could see that his fur was lifting a little along his spine, but he glanced at Tim, and kept talking. "Like you said, it's warm. Tim doesn't have fur like we do. I made it and put it here to keep him warm. I can show you some other tricks with it if you'd like."

"Really? Yeah!"

"Show us, show us!"

Both Poochyena, who had looked like they were on the verge of running over to Tim and Mightyena, changed course and headed for Litten.

"Very smooth." Mightyena murmured, voice low. "One has to wonder if perhaps he is used to working with children."

Tim thought of the past of this park, before R, and nodded. "Perhaps he is. But really, you don't owe me anything. I'm just glad I was able to help."

Mightyena looked back at him. "And that is precisely why I owe you so much. You don't do it for return favours. You don't do it for attention. You do it simply because it's the right thing in your heart. And now, someone is trying to destroy that for you. Absol told everything about what had happened. As soon as I heard, I knew there was no way I was just going to wait things out in Tahnti Park. Absol organized some things... had a few Pokémon gathering things, and I volunteered to bring them. Here, you must be hungry. There's food and other things here."

Mightyena picked up the bag again and held it in Tim's direction, obviously indicating for him to take it. Tim did so, having trouble finding his words. As Litten spat a few small flames into the air over the heads of the Poochyena, keeping them entertained, he opened the bag to find a small variety of things; the recorder he had used at school so that he hadn't missed things with his now- slow note taking, a pack of batteries for it, a brand- new notebook, a pack of pens, his locket camera, a snap- lock container full of berries and a couple other fruits, a hand- operated can opener, a couple cans of meat or beans, and a package of crackers. It wasn't a lot, but it was a lot more than he had now, and the delivered equipment actually gave him a place to start working.

Tim swallowed. "Thank you." He managed.

"You don't need to mention it. All Pokemon are on the alert and looking out for anything unusual. If we find anything that could be strange, we've been told to report it to the detective that now works with the Pikachu who was once your partner. We were told to bringing to his attention in whatever way we need to. Sadly, there is not likely a lot we as Pokémon will be able to do, as many of us do not even know what to look for, but rest assured that if we do find something, we will get it to the right hands. We have made arrangements for another Pokemon you know to come down in another couple days with more food- we can't come too often, and we need to rotate who comes to avoid drawing suspicion to this place, but we will continue to bring more when we can. And the humans you know are working to clear your name as well. Absol wanted me to tell you that your father, an "Inspector Holiday," a "Mr. Baker," and an "Amanda" are all looking into the explosion and examining everything to do with it. It is their top priority. And he wanted me to tell you that your friends at GNN are also working to clear your name. They have been told to stay away from the explosion site, but they are talking to everyone willing to listen or say anything. The people and the Pokémon that know you are all doing their best to uncover the truth and help in any way that they can. You never gave up on us, so we are not giving up on you."

Heat pressed behind Tim's eyes; it was embarrassingly difficult not to cry.

Mightyena and her Poochyena stayed the night, Mightyena curling up around Tim's back while the Poochyena both claimed his lap. Tim carefully separated the food into rations so that he would have a few days' worth, and began writing the notes for what he knew in his new notebook. He also planned on transferring notes from his old notebook, at some point; it had dried out, but the pages were wrinkled and brittle, and the writing done in it had leaked. Trying to transfer what had written might be a difficult task, but he made sure to leave enough space at the front of his notebook to move them over before starting his new notes; it would give him something to do while he waited. The recording device, he would need to see if he could arrange for it to be placed in the mayor's office, hidden. Anything it recorded wouldn't be admissible in court, he knew, but if he heard the right thing, maybe it could lead him to something that was.

And that night, he slept a little better than he had since the explosion. The family of Bite Pokémon were going to have to leave in the morning, but for now, their piling up around him kept him warm enough.

"Tim? Hey... I'm looking for Tim. He's here, right? I was told he was here."

"That may depend on what you're here for." Charizard's rumbling voice was easily distinguishable.

Tim looked up, surprised; the first voice was familiar, but it wasn't until Litten peered out the crack of the slightly open door and looked back at Tim before hissing, "it's a Meowth" that Tim placed it.

He blinked, astonished that Mrs. Pouvelle's Meowth would come all the way here. It was a significant trip for a Pokémon that small that was used to city surroundings. It was a little under an hour by car; it must have taken Meowth a few hours, and that was assuming it didn't get lost on the way. Mrs. Pouvelle was probably beside herself by now.

"I know about what happened! I wanted to help. I brought some things... they chose me to come this time."

"Is the Meowth a friend?" Stufful asked. Loudred and Litten both looked at him, waiting for his answer.

"I recognize that voice. Yeah, that Meowth is a friend." Tim nodded.

Litten peered back out of the door. "It's good- Meowth can come in."

"Very well- inside, then." Came Charizard's voice.

Tim kept his eyes on the door; sure enough, after a moment of waiting and a few panting sounds, Meowth walked in through the door, which Litten pushed a little wider for her. Even more surprising than her presence was a small canvas bag that she was dragging behind her. The bag looked rather worn; Tim suspected she must have dragged it here from Rhyme City.

"Whew!" Meowth panted, but when her eyes landed on Tim, she dragged up a smile. "Hey! Long time, no see, huh?"

"Meowth! How did... you came all the way here?"

"Yeah, it was... that was... this is the furthest I've ever gone from home on my own, for sure." Meowth tried to grin, though her ears drooped from exhaustion.

Guilt settled in Tim's stomach. "I'm sorry… are you sure you should be here? I'm happy to see you, but your owner must be worried."

"She probably is." Meowth admitted. "But I'm going back right after, and I wanted to help you. You're my friend- I have tons of fun when you come looking for me! So I wanted to help you so that this can be fixed and we can go back to having fun, like we did before that horrible man in the office tried to hurt you!"

Guilt spread through Tim even more strongly.

"I'm really sorry, Meowth… when I asked you to go into the room. I should have known he would still be in there. That was stupid of me… I put you in danger!"

Meowth stuck out her tongue. "Don't be silly! I had a blast in there! My owner never plays anything remotely rough with me like a game of keep- away like that! I only wish it hadn't happened because everything is going bad for you, now. So I wanted to bring you some help! There's more food in here, and Absol said there are some batteries for your recording thing, and that in a few more days someone else will bring more."

"Is… is Absol doing okay? And… and my friends? My father? Do… do you know?"

"Far as I've heard, everyone is fine. They all want you home, though. And speaking of home, I better get going." Meowth's ears drooped. "I'd love to talk more, but like you said, my owner will be really worried."

"I understand. Thank you, Meowth. Thank you very much."

Tim smiled at Meowth; she smiled back, then headed out the door, bound for home.

Despite her assurances, Tim could only feel guilty. He'd put a lot of people in danger, this time… and it was surely his fault for not thinking.

"State your business!"

Loudred's booming voice had Tim jerking upright; if he hadn't been sitting down, he'd have jumped.

"I have brought more supplies for Tim." A somewhat groaning, creaky voice spoke. Tim frowned, trying to place it. "His partner Absol sent me."

"It's a Trevenant." Trubbish announced. "He's got a bag like the last two."

Tim nodded. "If Absol sent him, then he can come in."

"Trubb. Right then. In here." Trubbish called.

Trubbish then backed out of the way. Trevenant had to duck quite low, but managed to get his tall body inside. He held the bag Trubbish had mentioned easily in one hand.

Trevenant smiled at him, or at least that was how Tim hoped he could interpret the expression; it was a little hard to tell. He held up the bag.

"Here you are. Not much, but I hope it helps. I volunteered to come down this time because I wanted to thank you for helping with that mess at my home, back when I was dosed with that R stuff. The others told me about what happened. I'm sorry about that, too."

Tim smiled; this Trevenant, he realized, must be the one from PCL. "That wasn't your fault." He told him. Standing, Tim accepted the bag from him.

"I have some news for you, as well. Your partner came to PCL along with those friends of yours that had been doing the filming, and Phantump gave them your two things, as promised. She was able to let them know it came from you."

Tim felt a little heaviness in his chest lift. "She did? Great! Thank you! Um… do you know how they are?"

"They looked fine to me. Maybe a little tired? But they seemed okay."

Tim sighed with some relief; as long as they were doing okay, he could keep doing okay. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I hate to just run, but I really should get back before my absence is missed too much."

"Of course! Tell Phantump thank you for me!"

"I will."

"What the-? Hey! Wagh!"

Tim's head jerked up when Stufful cried out.

"Oops! Sorry!" Cried a familiar voice. "Didn't mean to startle you! I was bringing things for Tim! Absol said to mention his name!"

"Let Dustin- let the Sandshrew in." Tim called, correcting himself; his Fine Park friends weren't likely to recognize the nickname.

"Oh, Tim!" The voice squeaked excitedly.

Moments later, Dustin waddled in, holding a bag up over his head. Both Dustin and the bag were dirty; Tim suspected he'd dug his way here rather than walking. It was almost a shock, seeing the Mouse Pokemon here, so far from school, and even more so that Dustin appeared to be as cheerful as ever. Still, the Sandshrew's grin pulled a smile out of Tim.

"Hiya! I took a turn bringing things for you! Don't worry, I didn't tell Tyler." Dustin added.

Tim chuckled. "I don't imagine he would have let you come here if you had. You got away from him?"

Dustin joined him around the fire. Tim took the bag from him.

"No school today, so I just started a tunnel in the yard. Tyler is used to me doing that and disappearing for a long time, I've made lots of fun tunnels at home!" Dustin beamed. "But when I heard what happened, I wanted to help! You brought me food! And everyone else is trying to return favours that you did them, so I decided it was time for me to bring you food!"

The cheerfulness Tim had initially caught from Dustin faded, though he did his best to keep smiling. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Super happy to help! They've been talking about you lots on TV. Some channels aren't being very nice to you."

"I assume Tyler likes those ones?" Tim tried to chuckle.

"Actually, that's the funny part. He skips those. He's been watching the channels of all the people talking about good things you've done."

"Really?" Tim knew his shock was showing on his face; if tiny little Dustin gave him a poke, he'd fall over.

"Yeah. He went out after they started talking about the blown- up building on TV. He was gone for a while. When he came back, he seemed less angry than in a long time. And he changed the channel to GNN. He hasn't watched that channel since his dad never came home."

"Huh. Strange." Tim frowned.

"I thought so, too. But it's been nice that he's not so mad all the time. He's bringing me food to school, now! But I can't stay long. He's used to me disappearing for long times, but it took a while to get here, and it will take a while getting back, so…"

"I understand." Tim nodded. "You better go home before you're missed."

"Yeah. I hope to see you again soon!"

Tim heard stomping footsteps well before any voices; he was relieved Charizard was on duty. Whatever approached was large.

"Goodness, we haven't seen many like you around. What brings you here?" Charizard asked casually.

"Tim Goodman. His partner Absol sent me, and I owe him a favour. So I brought him some things."

Tim frowned. He didn't recognize that voice at all.

"No one quite so large has come making such claims before. Did you come alone?"

"I made sure I wasn't followed, if that's what you're asking. I know I'm not exactly inconspicuous in a place like this, but I was careful. His partner sent food, and I want to thank him for saving me from R."

Tim still couldn't place the voice, but when Litten looked at him, he nodded after just a moment's hesitation. "As long as it doesn't look like he has any cameras or anything attached to him." He whispered.

Litten got up and dashed to the door, peering out.

"None that I can see. Alright, he can… um. Actually. Will you fit through the door?"

"I can try." The Pokemon rumbled. Tim sighed, not wanting to leave the fire- it was pretty cold away from it- but got up anyway.

"I'll come to the door, but I'm not stepping outside it."

"Ah, okay. Come to the door and wait, then. Put the bag on the ground and I'll grab it." Litten gave the door a shove, opening it wider; a bag was indeed dropped on the ground, and Litten dragged it inside, then pulled it open, sticking his head into it as Tim walked over. "I don't see anything abnormal in here, either." Litten informed him, his voice a little muffled. "It's all food… and a pack of those batteries, like we've been getting in every bag people have brought."

"Thank you, Litten." Tim stood in the doorway, and was so shocked he nearly didn't hear Litten's reply that it was no problem. A Feraligatr hunched over, staring at him. Seeing Tim, it gave a very large grin that showed off a great deal of huge teeth.

"There you are. Good to see you. It took a while to put things together after what happened, but I believe you are the one that got that dreadfully painful stone off my head. I wanted to thank you for that, and give my help somehow. I'm sorry for the mess and the injuries I caused that day, but that thing hurt so badly I couldn't see straight and couldn't stop rampaging."

"Ah… not a problem." Tim said, finally realizing what the Feraligatr was talking about. "I'm glad you're feeling a lot better. I heard that it had a really bad effect on you."

"Couldn't move for weeks. The pain was slow to go." Feraligatr said sadly. "Felt so weak I couldn't even stand. But I am better now, thanks to you. Now, since I'm not from around here and I'm bright blue, I'm sure I'll stick out like a flower growing in a crack in rock. I don't want to draw attention to you, so I won't stay long. But I'd first like to ask if there's anything else you need help with? I'd be glad to lend a claw. Anything at all?"

Tim smiled. "Not now, thanks. Just… keep an eye out around wherever it is you live, make sure no trouble's going on."

"You got it!" Feraligatr thumped his tail on the ground. "I am on the lookout!"

Tim was starting to wonder if he was due for another visitor when he heard the voice. His "suppliers" had been coming every three to four days so far, and it had been four days since Feraligatr had come, so it wasn't a surprise when Alakazam's voice sounded in the run- down building.

"There is a Glalie coming this way holding a bag in his teeth. I do not believe he will fit through the door. He is too round."

Tim chuckled a little at the phrasing. Each visit had sparked a bit of warmth in his chest, though it faded as each visitor left. He wasn't lonely, exactly, since he had Fine Park's Pokemon around to talk to and was able to understand them, but he really missed everyone else. His friends. His father. His partner. Greeting people he passed on the street, even. He was among friends, here, but they weren't really quite enough to fill the hollow in his chest where the rest of them normally were.

Again, he didn't really want to leave the fire, but got up to head to the door. "Do you know where it's from?"

"It has not said yet. Remain hidden just in case."

"Right."

Tim waited just out of sight, until a "thump" sounded. Some clanging and clacking happened with it; Tim suspected cans of food in the bag hitting each other.

"I have brought this for Tim Goodman." Announced a voice he didn't recognize very well, but it sounded like it could have been familiar. If it was a Glalie, Tim suspected the one from Litwick Cave. "His partner Absol sent me."

The magic words; Tim stepped into the doorway.

"Ah! There you are." Glalie gave what Tim could only describe as a happy roll. "Good! I hoped I had the right place. I don't usually leave the cave too much, it's too hot for me unless it's the dead of winter. Even this is a little warm, but I wanted to lend my help after the help you gave me."

Tim smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome! I'd like to go back, if you don't mind, but if there's any trouble you can definitely call me, okay?"

"Sure thing. Thank you, Glalie."

Tim was woken out of a doze when Buneary called out.

"Hey! You look like you've been traveling a while! What brings you here?"

"A delivery for Tim. I know his partner, Absol." The voice that replied was quite melodious.

"Ah. How does a Kricketune like yourself know Tim?"

"He's acquainted with my partner, Carina."

Tim's eyes widened. "You can come in!"

A minute later, Kricketune walked in, a bag over one bowlike arm.

"Ah, Tim. Good to see you again. I can't stay long, but I wanted to give you my thanks for the help you gave Carina those months ago, and this seemed like the best way to do it."

"Thank you. And I'm glad I was able to help. Um… do you know if… if everyone that I know is okay? It's been a while since someone has come who might know something about more than just Absol." He added, crossing his fingers. Each time a Pokemon came, he was glad for it; as long as Absol was sending friends, it meant he was alright. But he couldn't know about the others just from that.

"I do not know of everyone you might wish to, but as far as I have heard, your friends at GNN are running nonstop trying to find out how to help you. They are worried, and I overheard some talk about a few strange things happening, but they are well aside from perhaps not taking as much time to rest as they should."

The knot in his chest eased a little bit upon hearing Kricketune's words, but not entirely. He was happy, in some way, to know that they were trying so hard for him… but he worried, still, for their safety, and for the fact that it sounded like they maybe weren't taking care of themselves as much as they should be.

Though, to be fair, he was the last person who could give them that lecture…

"Ruff! Herdier, reporting for supply duty!"

"I'm sorry?" Stufful sounded baffled.

"Gr- ruff! Absol sent me! I had the day off guard duty today, so I've come with supplies for Tim so he can keep fighting the good fight!"

Tim blinked. The voice was familiar, but as had happened several times with his visitors, he couldn't place it. Did he know a Herdier?

Wait. Yes, he did. Herdier was the partner of the security guard at GNN.

"He's alright." Tim called. Stufful poked her head in, then looked back.

"Alright then. You can come in."

"R-ruff! Understood!"

Stufful backed up out of the way, to let Herdier enter. The Loyal Dog Pokemon walked in, holding its head high to try to avoid dragging the bag he carried in his mouth. He wasn't quite tall enough to be completely successful, but it was a valiant effort.

Herdier dropped the bag and turned to face Tim squarely.

"Gar- ruff! Supply delivery complete! I must get back to my post before my next turn on guard! Keep up the good work, officer Tim!"

Laughter bubbled in Tim's chest; he wasn't entirely sure why. He was able, however, to nod at Herdier with a straight face, and keep that composure until Herdier was out the door, before he leaned over and muffled his laughter in his arm.

Despite the situation, the laughter felt good. It felt like the first time he'd laughed in a long time.

The high note his last visitor had left on was well and truly gone by the time his next visitor came. Hunger headaches, which he'd been getting for at least a couple weeks now, had worsened; between that and how much the temperature had dropped, Tim wasn't getting very good sleep. When he did sleep, it wasn't restful. But when the voice came, he recognized it as familiar. It took him a moment to place who it was, though.

"State your business!" Called Loudred.

"Absol sent me to bring food for Tim! I ran all the way here in record time!"

"And I suppose you know each other?"

"Yeah, yeah! He helped my owner, once! I stopped my owner from driving away so he could talk to her, and Absol said I did good! I did good this time, too! I got away real sneaky, and came super fast!" Tiffany's Stantler replied.

Tim smiled wearily. "He can come in."

"Oh, goodie!"

A moment later, Hoofie pranced in through the door, a bag in his mouth. He bounded over to Tim and carefully set the bag down.

Once the bag was settled, Hoofie did not settle. The young Stantler all but danced around Tim.

"There's the stuff I brought! Absol sent it! I did good, didn't I? I volunteered to bring it this time, because I wanted to help! Everyone was so happy after everything got returned, and I know it was all 'cause of you! Didn't I do good?" The flood of words nearly overwhelmed Tim, and he tried to dredge up as much energy as he could- he really didn't have much of it, anymore.

"You did great. Thank you, this is wonderful."

Tim stared into the fire, shivering. He felt like he could barely even think, at this point. He hadn't heard or found anything that could be of use. He'd honestly gotten used to the hunger at this point; the cold, though, felt like it ate him, the fire not nearly enough anymore. Some of the other Fine Park Pokemon had taken it in turns to curl up with him, trying to help, and he still went through all his notes and recordings, trying to focus, but he was starting to feel like it was hopeless. On top of the hunger and cold, constant worry sat in his chest like a lead weight, his eyes hurt from lack of sleep and good lighting, and he hurt from somewhere inside his heart. He missed his friends. His family. He'd learned from his father's disappearance how much he hated being separated from them, and a poisonous fear that he was never going to get out of this, never going to see any of the people he loved ever again at this rate, clawed at his very soul like some kind of monster.

When voices started up outside, he barely noticed, until Litten poked his knee with a paw.

"Huh?"

Litten looked up at him, eyes soft but serious.

"Tim? Do you know a Skarmory? Your partner sent one… she arrived with a bag of stuff and, uh, five babies on her back."

Tim blinked, then his words registered. "Oh… uh, yes! Yes… she can come in."

"He said they can come!" Litten called.

The large Skarmory was the one that came first, holding a bag just like all the ones before it in her steel beak; right behind her came her five hatchlings, all jumping around and fluttering wings. Skarmory beamed at Tim and waddled over, setting the bag down.

"News of your predicament reached us." She told Tim gently. "I needed to wait a little before I took my turn coming to see you, to make sure that my children could at least glide if they fell off my back on the way here, but I wanted to lend my aid. And since you are not currently able to come to us, I thought why not come to you? Five out of six eggs hatched, and I owe such a large, wonderful family to you, Tim. There were many times that I had to chase off predators, and was only home to do so because I had food from you and did not have to go looking for it."

The smile Tim gave her was weak, at best; somehow, she seemed to understand, and took a step closer to him. A squeak behind them had her turning her head, though.

"Careful, now, this is not our home. We are guests here, stay out of trouble." She admonished her children, then looked back at Tim.

"I wish I could bring you your family as easily as I brought mine." She told him next.

Tim gave a shaky breath, and she very gently lowered her sharp beak until it rested against his face, careful not to hurt him.

"I have faith that you will see them again soon, Tim. Do not give up. If you are running out of faith that you can do this, then you may borrow mine. I have it in spades. I know that you can hold on to the end."

Her words did feel as though the bolstered his strength, even if they couldn't ease his pain much. He could do this; he had to, to keep the people he loved safe. He would do this.

A/N: "You never gave up on us, so we are not giving up on you."