In the early morning, when the air still carried the fresh, just evaporated dew and the sun was still light, they woke. Haru, drowsily, fixed himself some apple slices and gave the Pokémon their food. Maybe I should learn how to make my own Pokéfood. Haru wondered, before his still sleepy mind forced his attention back to his nutritious apples. He didn't even notice that the same eyes from yesterday were now watching him. If he had noticed them, he'd see that the eyes were a little less timid, as if bolstered by his and his Pokémon's good moods.
Shirou, however, perked up at the slight rustling sound that came from the bushes behind them, his ears more attuned than Haru's. Curiously, he watches the bushes, waiting for a glimpse. For a few minutes, nothing came. He nudges Shiyu and silently gestures to the bushes. They both wait for something to happen and slightly disappointed, they return to their breakfast. Suddenly, a thought comes to Shiyu's mind.
Haru perks up when Shiyu suddenly trots over to the bushes, the second Poké block held carefully in his mouth. The little Pokémon sat down in front of a bush, placed the Poké block down, and started to speak. Haru turned his head a little over his shoulder, but thought better of making his listening apparent. Whatever was too shy to come out, would not feel better seeing him so engrossed in their conversation.
A Pokémon's hand came out tentatively to try and grab the Poké block, but Shiyu plucked it up again and danced back a few steps with a mischievous cry. Slowly, unsurely, the other Pokémon came out.
Haru's eyebrows rose. "A Ralts?"
The cute little white and green Pokémon looked nervously at him, before looking back at Shiyu. The Eevee carefully gave the Ralts the tasty block, and spoke a little bit more. Haru wasn't quite sure how serious the conversation was, or what Shiyu was talking about that necessitated the need for bribery, but he couldn't get much from...
"Vee! Eevee, vee, vee!"
"R-Ralts... ralts!"
Yeah... Haru shrugs and takes a slice of apple from his breakfast. Whatever.
Shiyu leads the little Ralts back to his bowl, and his tail wags happily as he gestures for the Ralts to try out some food.
Ralts looks timidly up at Haru, though Haru cannot see its eyes. Nonetheless, Haru smiles invitingly and looks back to his own food with an air of nonchalance. From the corner of his eye he can see the Ralts hesitate a few seconds more, before shyly picking up a piece of kibble and eating it. Finding the taste to its liking, Ralts takes some more, as Shiyu cheerily eats the rest. Haru cannot resist the grin that splits his face when he catches the wide-eyed expression of the Ralts after eating the Poké block given to him. Vaguely, it reminds him of that shy girl who was scared to so much as make a peep—Hinata Hyuuga, he thinks it was.
They finish breakfast, and Haru leaves the two Pokémon out to explore and get some training in with the other wild Pokémon. Haru turns to them and grins. "Alright! Let's keep going guys! There's a gym in the city we're heading to, and I'd like to challenge the gym. Ooh, but there's a coordinator competition going on in Rustboro City, and I should see about entering that." Continuing his mumbling, Haru packs up quickly and walks into the forest with the others following.
"Now Shiyu, I'm not sure how exactly to teach you Reflect, but maybe by working on defense you can learn it. And I'd like to work on your Skull Bash too, make it more effective... and stop you from getting dizzy afterwards. Now as for you Shirou... well, what moves do you know?" Haru, on that thought, stopped their group. Pulling out his Pokédex Haru pointed it to Shirou and read the information.
"So you know Tackle, Howl—I bet I can use that for some points in a competition if we practice it just right—and... Odor Sleuth and Bite. Not too shabby there Shirou, you're pretty awesome!" Haru grinned as the Poochyena straightened up a little and lifted his muzzle with pride. "Hmm... let's see if we can't learn Dig huh? And Shadow Ball can probably be managed within the next few months."
"Ralts?" Haru turned to the tag-along Pokémon, blinking in surprise.
"Whoa, you were following us?" Haru asked in surprise, the Pokémon sweat dropping.
"Well, you want to check out your stats with the Pokédex?" Haru could see the Ralts was still confused, and so he smiled cheerily as he pointed the Pokédex at the Ralts. "It doesn't hurt one bit—just point, scan, and... voila!"
Haru read through the information of the dex. The information about the little Ralts being timid came as no surprise, though he was glad the positive emotions of him and his Pokémon attracted the shy creature. "Hmm... figured you were a girl, and you know... Teleport? Cool. Confusion, Lucky Chant, and Heal Pulse. Well that last one can definitely be awesome in a competition... ah," Haru shook his head—no need to make the Ralts feel pressured or intimidated. "Well you're pretty cool too Ralts, and if you learned Magical Leaf I bet you would be badass."
The Ralts ducked its head, but Haru noticed the little smile on its face. Grinning, Haru got back up and resumed walking. "For now, we'll train our attack, and solidify the defense! After all the best defense is an offense right?"
Seeing his Pokémon raring to go made Haru even more excited. "Great! So let's get in some battle experience, then around lunch we'll stop in a clearing and get some training in. Shirou we'll work on your agility and Shiyu we'll work on learning Skull Bash."
Shiyu and Shirou leapt forward with eagerness, running ahead into the forest with enthusiasm as Haru called out to them.
"Hey, not too far guys, wait up!" Haru yelled, but he had to chuckle at their zeal. Looking down at the psychic Pokémon next to him, Haru felt he had to do something or he might just burst in anticipation of the Ralt's next move.
"Now Ralts..." Haru crouched again to be nearer to the little Pokémon, even though she ducked her head. "What do you want to do? Maybe I can give you some things to do to at lunch? Or do you want to continue on your way?"
Ralts poked her little hands together, seemingly thinking about her decision. Haru waited patiently, not too worried about Shiyu or Shirou, as the former would watch out for the Poochyena and steer it clear of trouble. After a minute of silence, with the little Pokémon fidgeting, it appeared she had come to a decision.
"Ralts..." She placed her little hand on his knee, ducking her head.
"You... want to come with me?" Haru clarified, eyebrows raised in surprise.
Ralts nodded, her head still lowered. Haru nodded in surprise, swinging his backpack around and rummaging for a Poké Ball. Gripping one, he pulls it out and just before catching the Ralts he gives her a name.
"Welcome to the team... Shizu." He tapped her helmet with the Poké Ball, and she was sucked in, resting peacefully inside. He smiled at the ball, before securing it on his belt. "I'll let you have a break from fighting today... some training beforehand will definitely do you good."
Haru stood straight and walked forward into the forest, knowing he'd either find the others or they'd find him after having enough fun. Haru's grin blossomed into a dazzling smile. He had three Pokémon now! Looks like he'd be able to go for his first badge at Petalburg City after all...
And now, with Ralts, he might be in good shape for a Coordinator Competition in Rustboro City too!
"Heh," he laughed aloud, swiping under his nose in a cocky manner. "The others sure are slow! Looks like I'll be able to boast about a fair few things by the time I meet them along the roads." He laughed even louder now, the happy sounds echoing among the trees and startling a fair few Pokémon.