Radic had caught several Pokémon, but none so far had given him the Feeling like Poe had. He wondered what the next Pokémon would be that would become one of his friends, and he loved to think of the possibilities. An electric type? A fighting type? Maybe a normal, or a water...

Unfortunately, as it was, Radic and Dmoxinil didn't seem to be getting along as well as they should have. Dmoxinil felt jealous of the obvious preference that Radic showed for Poe, and began to resent the two of them quite openly. Radic had tried to explain how he felt, but that only helped make the situation worse. He feared that his starter would begin to hate him as time went on, and he struggled to avoid that from happening. He hated having one of his Pokémon hate him...it made him feel guilty.

The day was warm and bright and the terrain was welcome and inviting. Radic decided to take a break from the dusty, beaten path and venture out among the sloping, rambling hills nearby. Bushes sporadically dotted them, but the majority of the land around him was covered with long, waving grass. He felt very at peace as he walked along, the day silent except for the occasional rush of a breeze through grass, the Hoothoot's one claw resting on his shoulder, the sound of grass brushing against his knees, and Poe's constant reminders that there was nothing around to be worried about.

He wandered for a while, he wasn't sure how long, when Poe finally decided to alert him, although not in a pleasant way. The claws dug sharply into his shoulder, and the Hoothoot took off sharply, flapping in circles around Radic's head and hooting madly.

"What's wrong, Poe? What is it?"

He could hear a slight sound, very soft, along with some ringing noises. It was a lowing noise, along the lines of "Maaa...". He didn't find it threatening in the least, and he didn't understand why Poe was having a fit like this. He knew that the bird was inclined to panic when faced against types he was weak against (why is it that he always ran into hysterical birds?), but he didn't feel any danger nearby.

"Poe! Calm down!"

The Hoothoot hooted at him hysterically, still flying around his head in circles. "Mareeps! A whole herd of Mareeps!"

"Are they electric types? Is that why you're freaking out? Could you please at least give me a picture, Poe?" Radic sighed in exasperation.

The Hoothoot finally obliged. What appeared in Radic's head was what appeared to be a giant ball of fluff, white with small nubs appearing from the bottom as legs. A little striped tail tipped with an orb came from behind, while its small blue face had a blank, trusting look on it, large eyes between two striped ears.

The Feeling rushed over of him all at once, so much so that he felt slightly dizzy and he stumbled for a moment.

"I'm not going over there! No way!" Poe shrieked, flapping a way off from Radic, the image in his mind gradually fading. He walked forward, rolling his eyes at his Hoothoot's behavior. He tended to overreact.

He walked until the soft maa-ing became louder, and he could hear the sound of grass rustling around him, the sounds of dozens of tiny footsteps.

"Maaa?"

"Maaaa!"

The sound of several of the little sheep around him came to him, and it filled him with a sense of calm. He sat down, smiling to himself. He had always loved sheep, although he never told anyone that.

"Hello. I'm Radic."

"Maa, maaaa..." The sheep around him responded to his statement, but none of them came near him. He didn't want to battle them...he would hate to hurt such cute and innocent looking creatures...but he had to, one of them...

He could feel something nudging his elbow, and he turned, reaching out slowly with his hands. He could feel the soft fluffiness underneath his fingers, the little ears nearby. The Mareep brushed against him happily.

"You're a friendly one. My name is Radic."

The Mareep brushed against his arm again, and he rested his hand against the pile of fluff on its forehead. He felt a slight buzz of electricity through his hand, although it was nothing he wasn't used to, considering he had raised a particularly temperamental electric type not too long ago. The little jolt reminded him of when he had first been training Nova, as a small Pikachu. They had long ago lost their element of surprise or any amount of pain.

He paused for a moment, the little buzzes becoming frequent and regular. The Mareep must want to tell him something to keep doing this so many times...

He waited for a while, letting the small electric charges jump into his nerves, before he finally recognized the pattern. It was morse code...how did the Mareep know morse code?

"...M...mute?" Radic felt the Mareep nod under his hand. "You're mute?"

The Mareep nodded again. Radic felt a wave of sympathy and understanding for the Mareep, having such a disability among so many healthy, supposedly normal members of its species. The Mareep readily climbed into his arms as he reached out to give it a hug. "Don't worry...I understand..."

The buzzing continued through his arms and into his chest. "I know."

"Would you mind if I asked you your name?"

"Don't have one."

"Hmm..." He let the Mareep fall back into the grass, where he could hear it turn around again, its nose brushing against his knee. He tried to think of a name for a sheep, but all he could think of was one movie he had seen with his cousin Atelli...

"I'll call you Chirin, okay? You want to come with me?"

There was a buzz through him, and he already knew the answer.

"What is she doing?" He could hear the Hoothoot from somewhere above him. Apparently he hadn't wanted to be alone as much as he had thought or as frightened as he had stated. "You aren't going to catch that Mareep, are you? She's dangerous! Particularly to me!"

Radic rolled his eyes again and dug into his bag, pulling out a Pokéball. "So you're female...say hello to your teammate, Chirin."

He could feel the soft buzzings from her again, accompanied with a panicked shout from the Hoothoot. "Agh! Why is her tail blinking!? She's going to attack me! I knew it!"

He heard more frantic flapping above him as he was sure Poe was continuing to go in circles, or perhaps even more complex geometrical forms, like a figure-eight.

"Here, Chirin. You can come with me. I promise I'll take care of you."

The Mareep gave him one more soft buzz before he could hear the sound of a Pokéball opening and closing.