Somewhere in the Howling Forest, a stream was seeing an unusual amount of activity. Anise’s little party had come across the stream not long ago, and since such places tended to have a number of the medicinal plants the healer used, she stopped to hunt for them. While not all of them knew the plants, each helped in their own way. Felix Knew a few things and could help dug up roots. Okikurumi stood guard at a high point on the bank of the stream. Leonardo found his metal wings were a bit unwieldy in the grasses and plantlife by the stream, but when he fanned them out them provided a convenient place for Anise to spread out herbs to dry. Halcyon…well, just kind of flew off and did her own thing, as usual.

Meanwhile, Gypsy ambled along a stream, occasionally stopping to nose a plant here or there. Aside from Anise, she knew medicinal plants and their uses best out of the party. Usually she’d spend a while hunting for things, then come back and alter her trainer of what she found later. The young woman, with her fingers and cutting tools of various sorts, was more efficient at harvesting exactly what she needed without harming the plants more than necessary. There was only so much a hooved creature could do on her own, after all. But this time…

She glanced over her shoulder to look at the Combusken who trotted along beside her, watching her as much as the plants. Kwatoko had chosen to come along with her instead of stay near Anise. She was glad to have him along, and not just because his clawed hands were useful for harvesting plants. They were always together now, and always would be.

Kwatoko knew some of the useful healing plants, since his old trainer was a healer too, but many of the plants in this area were new to him. Every now and then he’d see something that looked sort of familiar, so he’d point it out to Gypsy to see if it had a similar use to what he knew. As they walked, he saw a plant like this and brought his mate’s attention to it. She turned to examine it, then nodded.

“Yes, the root of that one is good for stomachaches and settling nausea,” she confirmed.

Kwatoko nodded, then knelt to dig it up. His long claws easily scooped away the soil, exposing the thick, knobby roots that radiated out from the stem. He examined the plant, then used his claws to pinch off just a couple lobes of the root before replanting it so it could continue to grow. He’d learned not to take too much of any one plant so there would be more for later. He saw Gypsy nodding her approval at his actions, and a thought occurred to him. “How did you harvest roots before you met Anise?” he asked her. “You must have known some of these before you met her, especially the common ones.” As he spoke, he tucked it in a small cloth pouch Anise had made for him, along with a long strap so he could hang it over his shoulder.

Gypsy flicked an ear, the closest she came to a shrug. “I can dig a little, if the roots are shallow,” she responded, and demonstrated by pushing the tip of her hoof into the ground to scrape a shallow furrow. “And sometimes I could ask other pokemon for help, either whoever I was treating or someone who was nearby. But usually I had to settle for whatever I could bite.”

She demonstrated by turning towards a patch of mint and carefully nipping off a stalk at the base. As gently as possible, she picked up the fragrant plant and held it out to Kwatoko. When he took it, he found that some of the leaves were crushed, and would not preserve well. “You probably had to use most of them immediately,” he observed.

Gypsy nodded. “Most often I gave pokemon plants to eat, or chewed them into a paste to spread on a wound.” She gave a whicker of laughter and added, “The first time Anise saw me do that, she was noticeably shocked. Then she told me she understood that’s all I had before, but explained it wasn’t the cleanest way to treat a wound. That’s why she washes the ingredients off and mashes them in a bowl.”

Kwatoko considered this as they strolled along. “Still, you could have done worse,” he reflected. “Like mashing the medicines on a rock with your hoof, for example. That would have been much dirtier, and likely done as much harm as good.”

Gypsy nickered her agreement, then added, “Still, it’s useful to have a better way of doing things.”

“Well,” Kwatoko responded, “that’s while people and pokemon with different skills work together. We can share our talents, and compensate for our limitations.”

Gypsy nodded again, and then the pair were silent for a while as they reflected on the thought. Neither had any more to add to the point until they heard Anise calling everyone together. Then they headed back to show her what they gathered.