The night I met a Shaymin
This story took place during my second exploration of Sinnoh, days after I had accomplished what I set out to do after my training in Kalos, Unova, Galar, and other regions. With no real greater goal in mind, I instead took time reflecting on then and now, and what I've learned and gained from those experiences, and how they've changed my life.
One very particular night turned out to be a lot warmer than I expected, especially since it is late February. Spring usually begins rolling in sometime at around early to mid March, but this may well just be a sign that Spring could come early this year, and even if not that, at least I got to enjoy a nice soft breeze and a lack of snowfall.
To keep up with my routine training exercises with my Pokémon, we took a visit to Route 224, a cape that stretches beyond the path from Victory Road past the Pokémon League. It is one of the few hotspots for hot shot Trainers trying to build their teams' strength so they'll face the league. But of course, my Pokémon and I didn't have that much trouble handling however many stopped us in our tracks.
As I reached the dead end, looking out into the sea, I find this unusual looking rock with a very cleanly polished surface, you could see yourself staring back if you looked intently at it. Upon further examination, messages, mainly of names followed by words of love and gratitude, are etched onto the flat surface, immortalizing their bonds in stone. Seeing the heartfelt messages got me to thinking about my own experiences, and the people and Pokémon I befriended on my journeys who helped me go past my originally perceived limits as a Trainer of Pokémon. With that, I decided to take a nearby edged pebble to carve out my feelings of gratitude.
"To all my friends, my family, and my dear Pokémon who support me, I give you all my thanks. - Evan"
Writing this and flashing through all the best moments made me grow teary eyed for a moment, my vision blurring, I wiped my eyes so I could see everything. Part of me was sorta glad no one else was around to watch me become emotional there.
To my surprise though, when I regained my full vision, I noticed a very long flowery path stretching on from the original dead end with the rock, all the way to... someplace.. I couldn't see far enough where the final destination was but I was more focused on, 'was this path always here? I swear this was where I had to stop.'
Compelled to keep going, I readjusted my bag strap and continue walking, on my way down the flowery path that divided the sea. As I walked, I kept turning behind me to see Route 224 just becoming farther and farther away, the commotion of trainers battling slowly growing silent, now overpowered by the ever-present sounds of small waves crashing against the sides of the path. Just how long is this path?...
The loneliness that accompanied where I was going temporarily set in this natural fear of straying too far from civilization. However, the lovely starry night sky and the way the flowers glistened in the moonlight brought on a feeling of serenity which replaced that fear. I felt more relaxed than I was afraid of being far from other people.
When I had finally reached the end, I was met with a scene that looked like it came straight out of a painting, a somewhat expansive field boasting a colorful arrangement of flowers, much like that of the ones seen behind Floaroma Town. Yet beyond that, it seemed like there was nothing else to find, not even a wild Pokémon as far as I could see or hear. This little island of flowers was as remote as you could get in Sinnoh, and it's a certain beauty that's hard to find anywhere else.
Quite comfortable and relaxed, I decided to lay down in the flower fields and look up into the night sky, enjoying the natural light show of the moon and the stars.
It was during that meditative rest that a certain rare Pokémon revealed itself among the flowers, a small, round four-legged Grass-type that had foliage all on its back like the quills of a hedgehog, and at the sides of its face, a familiar yet extremely rare breed of flower, much like the Pokémon itself. There I realized, a Shaymin approached me.
I looked over to see why it seemed curious of me, and just by looking at me, it somehow knew that I meant no ill towards it. It even behaved as though it expected me to pay visit to the flower paradise, as it chose to settle beside me while watching the sky together.
I tried to make conversation with the Shaymin, pointing to specific stars in the sky and calling out the constellations that we humans had made of the star alignments so long ago. I also told this Shaymin about all that I've been through on my travels, and how grateful I felt for each and every one of the people I knew personally.
Listening intently, the Shaymin looked to be truly moved by my genuine words and feelings. The way it looked at me somehow made me believe it was trying to tell me:
"I would love to see these wonderful experiences with you!"
This Shaymin definitely seemed to be rather fond of my company, so I asked the Shaymin if it wanted to come with me on my adventures. It stopped for a moment to think it over, and then nodded its head with a gleeful expression. Looking through my bag I search for a particular ball that might suit Shaymin perfectly, a Friend Ball, once gifted to me by a friend who came from Johto. Delighted by the similar coloration between Shaymin and the Friend Ball, it voluntarily entered the capsule, and with the chime of the final click, the deed was done. I now have the Mythical Shaymin on my team!
As one more act of kindness for my newest companion, I gave Shaymin the nickname of Glory, after that of my mother's favorite kind of flower, an act in itself a token of gratitude for my mother for giving me the chance to live this amazing life.
