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Not far away, a large pokemon tromped through the thick grass at a leisurely pace. The Tropius wasn't going anywhere in particular, though he had headed for the Seatence Valley at the suggestion of his trainer. Said trainer was currently reclined on the Tropius's back, letting the leafy wings shade his face from the sun. Shaun held a digital camera in his hands, flipping through the photos contained on it.

As usual, it was the pokemon that first noticed anything of interest. When he spotted some moving figures off in the distance, he slowed to a stop and turned his head to look at Shaun. "Trop," he said.

The young man looked up. "What's up, Salvo? Spot something?" he asked. In response, Salvo nodded and turned his gaze back to where he'd seen the figures. So Shaun sat up and squinted in that direction as well. There were certainly things moving, but he couldn't make out details at that distance.

At least, not with the naked eye. He put away the digital camera and pulled out a film one that had a strong zoom lens, then trained that on the figures. Once he focused it, it worked as well as a pair of binoculars to sharpen the view. "Yup, that's several pokemon!" he confirmed to Salvo. "A Kangaskhan, a Sawsbuck, a Delcatty, a few smaller ones...odd assortment, which probably means..." he looked around until he spotted a human looking on. "Yup, there's a trainer too. Let's go over and see if they mind me taking some photos."

"Piaaaas," Salvo acknowledged, then started heading in that direction. There didn't seem to be any rush, so his pace was still unhurried, giving the trainer and pokemon plenty of time to see them coming.

By the time the pokemon noticed Shaun, he was close enough to make them out unaided. Ho noted that the Sawsbuck and Kangaskhan seemed rather alert, quickly coming to attention to watch him. That made sense for the Parent pokemon in particular, since most often they were protective. He hoped the adult Kangaskhan wasn't too wary of him to let him get a few shots of its baby outside of the pouch. It tended to be hard to get full-body shots of the juveniles.

When the trainer stepped up to her pokemon and waved at him, Shaun sat up higher and waved back, sweeping his arm in wide movements so it would be easier to pick out among Salvo's swaying leaves. "Hello there!" he called to her. "Pardon the intrusion." In a more normal tone he added to Salvo, "It's kind of awkward carrying out a conversation at the top of our lungs, could you speed up a bit?" Salvo grunted, but picked up the pace.

Now that the distance was being closed more quickly, Shaun shouted out again to the other trainer. "I'm Shaun, a Watcher traveling around to see the pokemon of the region. Would you mind if I took a few photographs of your pokemon?"

By the time the young woman turned back to address Shaun, Salvo had gotten close enough that he didn't have to raise his voice too much. "Great, glad to hear it!" he responded. He was close enough now to see that that the smaller pokemon were a Meowth, a Glameow, a Buneary (though he caught little more than a glimpse of that one before it hid) and the young Kangaskhan. It was cute to see the juvenile cheered at the prospect of photographs. Shaun looked at the adult to make sure she really didn't mind a stranger approaching her baby...was she primping? How sweet!

"You've got quite an assortment of pokemon here," Shaun commented cheerily as Salvo approached the young woman, then stopped. The Watcher slipped off his pokemon, camera in hand. "Thanks for letting me get some pictures of them. This is Salvo, by the way," he added, pointing a thumb at the Tropius, who agreed, "Trooop."

Shaun turned a smile on the pokemon who were gathered nearest. "So, who'd like to go first?"

"Little brother?" Shaun asked, his eyebrows arching in surprise. He hung the camera's strap around his neck and pulled out a pocket notebook to jot down the pokemon's names and familial relationship. "Interesting, usually the juvenile Kangaskhan is the offspring of the adult it accompanies." He tucked the notebook back in one of the pockets and picked up his camera again. As an aside to the young woman he added, "I'd be interested to hear how that particular arrangement came about." Then he turned a smile on the Kangaskhan. "Feel free to either pose, or go about whatever you were doing before I got here." He lifted the camera to his eye, took a few steps back and to the right to frame a better shot, and started snapping photos.

Salvo, now that he was free to do as he wished, dropped his head to the grass to join the Sawsbuck in looking for food. He tended to prefer fruit or foliage to grasses, but there were a few plants dotted around with a good flavor. He started picking along the ground, looking for tasty plants that were big enough to make a decent mouthful for him.

Shaun paused his work to let Theta tidy herself and her brother up, lowering his camera to look over at their trainer. "Now you have me even more curious," he told her. "I'd be happy to hear it, if they're willing." He glanced over at the Kangaskhans for approval, noticed they were ready, and smiled. "What a sweet pose! You look great," he told them, then resumed photographing.

Salvo stopped browsing to look up at the other grass-type. He swallowed a mouthful of leafy stems and responded, <"Yup! Ever since we left Hoenn, we've been out traveling. Shaun likes to go to different places and see what pokemon are there.">

Shaun was delighted to take photos of the happy baby Kangaskhan, but the scene didn't last long. The mood was clearly spoiled by the story and the memories it brought on. Shaun lowered his camera again, now regretting that he had asked and upset the pokemon. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said solemnly to Theta. Then he smiled and added, "But it looks like you're in a good place now, thankfully."

But it seemed he ought to leave her alone for a while, if only to let her compose herself. So Shaun looked around at the other pokemon, wondering who to photograph next. The Sawsbuck made a sound of alarm, which made Shaun glance over, but since Salvo was calm seemed to be conversing with him, it seemed the surprise must have been at something the Tropius had said. Still, the shocked look was rather interesting, so Shaun stealthily snapped a photo. Then he looked around at the other pokemon. "Let's see, who would like to go next..." he mused, half to himself. "The sleeping cat pokemon?" he suggested, indicating the Glameow and Delcatty curled up on a blanket, napping. "I doubt they'd object, as long as I was quiet."

Salvo tilted his head, puzzled as to why the Sawsbuck was surprised. <"It hasn't been that long since we got here. Maybe a couple of years, I think. We don't keep track of time too well."> He bobbed his head and wings in an approximation of a shrug. <"And we didn't travel all of Hoenn, or at least I didn't. Shaun was working with a pokemon Professor, so he probably got around more, but I've only been a couple places. The Prof. captured me at some point and gave me to Shaun just before he left for Zatao. He's nice though, and never in a hurry to get anywhere, so I can go at whatever pace I want.">

Shaun shrugged at the young woman's question. "If you like. A shot of them sleeping curled up like that is cute, and certainly easy to photograph. But I'll never say no to more poses. As long as the pokemon isn't attacking me," he added with a grin. He circled around the blanket to frame the shot better, crouched a bit, then started taking more photographs.

Salvo glanced over at his own wings. <"I actually don't fly too often. Shaun prefers to travel by land, and I don't care either way. I mostly fly if we need to get over a stretch of land that can't be crossed by foot."> He looked back at Delta, his head tilted curiously. <"So you've traveled a lot too? What kinds of places have you been, then?">