Bone sniffed at the air. If you didn't know him very well, you think he was just standing perfectly still. You couldn't hear anything he did, and apart from moving, he barely made a sound. He didn't make noise anymore. No quiet growl, no affectionate waggle of the tail. Lor couldn't remember the last time that his Cubone showed any emotion at all. Of course, it was hard to tell whether he was smiling or not, his skull covered most of his face, but you could see his eyes light up when he was happy.

Lor thought of why Bone wasn't happy anymore. What was there to make him happy in the first place? The answer was nothing. He had come into Lor's life full of joy, and being around Lor had brought him down to a boring old - No. Lor wasn't boring.

He had been fighting with his ego for a while. Lor was extremely self conscious, although he tried not to show it. He couldn't have made his Cubone like that. But maybe he could fix it.

He glanced across at his pet, who sat with his arms around his bent knees, under Lor's desk. He usually sat where there was a shadow, but he had grown so used to sitting there that Lor moved his pillow, blanket and basket to accompany his liking for it. He stared for a few seconds, and then turned back. What had made him so fond of him in the first place?

Lor saw his father at the dining room table as he walked down the stairs. He had a rough beard of three day's growth and wore a dark red beanie on his head, along with an old woolen jumper which read, "Silvershade Athletics Team" and had names printed on it from the team members of twenty-five years ago.

"Where you off to, son?" he said, looking up from the newspaper, which he had on the table, next to his plate of toast. Lor shrugged and walked out the door. He headed out through the front garden, which was less a treat than a punishment to the eye, and turned into the court. Down the end of the road, in the circular dead end, there were some people playing a mock sports game with a ball, but he ignored them and headed into the main street of the town, looking for something to do.

At a corner of the Main Street huddled a group of teenagers around the same age as Lor, each carrying a shovel in their hand. They were whispering to each other excitedly, pure delight lighting their faces. What were they talking about...?

One of the teenagers, a girl of around 15, perhaps, walked with a Mawile at her side. The Steel Pokemon carried a small shovel as well. The group whispered a bit more and then quietly headed down the street.

Bone stared at them expressionlessly, but maybe inside he was curious. He turned his skulled head to Lor, his eyes giving the faint sparkle of mischief.

Lor was instantly curious. He looked around for a few good places to follow them from, but without them seeing him. He didn't want to be seen following them - it might have been classified as stalking. Instead, he stuck away from the road, but close towards the buildings on the side of the street, behind various signs and walls and just around corners in alleyways. This was how he would find out about what the teenagers were doing.

The teenagers moved swiftly down the streets, clearly traveling with a purpose. The Mawile once stopped, swiveling around and squinting into the alleyway. Bone froze, but the Mawile turned around again, stalking after its trainer.

Finally, the group reached a small, shaded area, with tall, leafy trees that billowed into the sky. The girl with the Mawile whispered something, slightly louder, as if she was confident she hadn't been followed. Then, the group started to dig into the soft ground. The noise they were making was loud enough to sneak up on them without being heard.

Lor knew that he could probably sneak up on them if he wanted to, but looking ahead there weren't too many places to hide - if they decided to turn around at any point, he'd be caught. He was ready to follow them, but not ready to put his quiet life at risk of being called a stalker.

He eyed the Mawile - trying to find out how strong it was from as far back as he was hiding. He knew this wouldn't work completely - a Pokemon's strength can never be judged by its looks. Although it looked pretty tuned to the world around it, it might not be. It may just as easily be ten times as powerful as a legendary on a rampage, as unlikely as that may seem. It was best not to ponder on it. He kept looking, but he'd make sure to follow them if they decided to move at any one point.

Bone watched the group quietly, absentmindedly swiveling the bone in his hand. He looked up at Lor, a questioning glance in his eyes.

Suddenly, the group fell silent. A boy attempted to lean down into the sizable hole they had made, but the girl slapped his arm, reaching down into the hole herself. From the dirt, she pulled a small box. Opening it, she showed the group what was inside, and they started to giggle darkly. The Mawile twitched, too short to see into the box.

The girl closed the box and threw it rudely into the Mawile's arms. Then, she shouted, "Let's go!" The group sped off into the trees, the Mawile tagging along uncertainly.

The Mawile seemed to be the odd one out - the one that wasn't fully in the group. Lor thought this could play to his advantage - if Mawile was always behind and uncertain, there would still be a chance to follow them. The Mawile could just as easily be putting on an act and actually be quite attentive to any noises. Somehow Lor expected this to happen, but he still didn't know exactly where the trees led - he didn't want to walk right into a trap. Ha, that was silly. As if they were planning a trap for somebody.

Lor took a mental note of where the digging spot was, and then ran towards the trees, but on his toes, not his feet, as to make less sound. Bone seemed to be doing the same - as much as a Cubone could.

As the group of teenagers paced through the woods, the Mawile jogged to keep up, its shorter legs having to make three times as many steps for their one. It awkwardly carried the box in its arms, finally stumbling and falling to the forest floor.

The lead girl would not have noticed her Pokemon fall, save for the harsh jangling when the box hit the ground. Silver bits of metal spilled out among the blades of grass, some disappearing. She turned around, disapproval in her eyes. "Stupid!" she hissed, beginning to gather up the bits of metal. Then, she raised her eyes.

Bone jumped as the girl barked, "Hey! What are you doing there?"

Lor was smart enough not to jump out along with Bone, so far the girl may have only noticed him. But she must've known the Cubone, otherwise she wouldn't have put emphasis on the "you". Or she saw him. Bone continued staring into the distance.

He was smart - he didn't jump back down, he didn't want to draw attention to Lor. He only hoped that it would remain that way, and that he wouldn't look down at his owner and give away his position. Lor waited silently, hardly drawing a breath.

The girl advanced towards the small Cubone, who stepped back as the girl got closer. The Mawile cowered behind her leg, shaking a little as it stared at the Cubone with something like pity or fear in its eyes. She narrowed her cold, green eyes. "Oh," she said. "You're not him." Her next words weren't aimed directly at Bone. "You're not that pathetic Pokemon who couldn't do as he was told."

Swiveling, she pointed to her Mawile. "But you," she smiled, "you will do as you're told, correct?"

Mawile flinched, breathing uneven as he stared up at his owner. He tried to back away, but she barked at him, "Attack it! Now!"

The Mawile stood still, eyes locked with Bone's. Mawile's were filled with fear, and a look that said, I'm sorry. Then, Mawile leaped at Bone, knocking the smaller Pokemon to the ground. The Mawile's huge jaws swung around, preparing to close around Bone's unprotected neck.