An interesting night's sleep within the mountain

Trying to sleep in a cave is a lot diffrent from sleeping outside, Vali quickly discovered that it was far colder at night inside of caves and that the Zubat were more than willing to tempt fate if it meant being able to drink from humans. It was also strangely quiet save for the Zubat and Golbat squeaks. She managed it after Steven had Claydol and Metagross watch over the cave they managed to find. She released everyone though Pidgey was quick to return to her pokeball after eating since being in caves was not something bird pokemon enjoyed. Steven avoided releasing Aggron or Lileep. Aggron was too large for their cave and Lileep wasn't something Steven wanted to reveal to their guide. As it currently stood, Vali ended up sleeping beside Steven due to how cold it was which was embarrassing despite her traveling partner not minding it.

When Vali woke up, it was to a slightly cold nose that didn't belong to any of her pokemon nudging her face. Forcing down how startled she was, she slowly opened her eyes and came face to face with a Sandshrew. It was smaller than any of the ones that Professor Oak had at the lab and its claws were far smaller than they should be not to mention dull while its eyes were a bright blue color rather than the dark almost blackish blue of its species. Its coloring was also a little off though she had a hard time telling due to the low lights in the cave. It reached out with one of its paws and gently poked her skin letting out a soft chittering sound. Slowly, she got up and the Sandshrew backed away a bit looking a little panicked. She began humming softly and it slowly moved closer. By the time everyone else had woken up, she was holding the Sandshrew that she was fairly sure was baby in her arms. Steven stared at her with an amused look, "Have an interesting morning?"

"Mhmm," Sandshrew squeaked softly and burrowed its face into her stomach, "Easy there, Little one. No one is going to hurt you. Steven's my friend,"

It took some coaxing, but Sandshrew allowed Steven to hold it though it soon decided that it liked her better. They all found it a bit odd that a Sandshrew, specifically a baby one, was here alone since the species was a denning one much like Raticate. Steven turned to Metagross and asked, "Can you see what's going on with this little one?"

Metagross made an odd humming sound and focused on Sandshrew for a few moments before speaking in their minds causing Marko to jerk, "The Little Digger's Dame disappeared two days ago while its Sire was killed by a Sandslash a day after its birth in an attempt to take it's dame as a mate as well as kill the little one. It is the eldest of three kits with them disappearing as well once they got hungry enough to look for food on their own. It is currently a week old."

Vali wasn't the only one to wince at that story especially since it's likely the mother of this baby was captured by a trainer. Either some other Sandshrew had decided to take the other two kits, a trainer captured them, or they were killed for food. She spoke to Steven, "Could you mash up one of my Oran Berries? I'm not sure if Sandshrew can eat solid foods after a week or not since Professor Oak never went over it."

Steven nodded and did as she asked using the mortar and pestle that she kept for when she grind up berries to add to her pokemon's food. When he handed the mortar to her, she stuck a finger into the mush and before bringing it to the Sandshrew's mouth. Sandshrew sniffed her finger curiously before licking away the mush covering her finger with a rough tongue. When it got everything, it whined at her and she let it eat from the mortar. It ended up eating two more mushed up Oran berries before becoming full and curling up in her lap for a nap. Steven asked her, "Are you going to catch it?"

Vali nodded not even having to think about it, "It doesn't have anyone else and it'll die if I don't. Besides, I wanted a Sandshrew even if this isn't how I wanted it to happen."

With that said, Vali took out a one of her great balls. It might be considered a waste by most people, but great balls were apparently far more comfortable than regular pokeballs according to various psychic-type pokemon. She had Balto explain it to Sandshrew once the little one woke up though she didn't think it really understood the concept. The little one tapped the release button with a claw and was sucked into the ball in a burst of crimson light. The ball shook a few times before a click sounded. She immediately released Sandshrew and hugged the scared little one. Sandshrew ended up playing a small game of returning into the ball and being released once it calmed down. Vali took out her Pokedex and scanned Sandshrew.

Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. Sandshrew's body is configured to absorb water without waste, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. This Pokémon curls up to protect itself from its enemies. It has a very dry hide that is extremely tough. The Pokemon can roll into a ball that repels any attack. At night, it burrows into the desert sand to sleep. It lives in areas of limited rainfall. When danger approaches, it curls up into a ball to protect its soft stomach. It digs holes to catch Bug-type Pokémon. When its skin gets wrinkled from moisture, it heads for a volcano. It lies flat on a spot with a lot of geothermal heat and dries itself out.

This Sandshrew is female and has the ability Sand Veil. This Sandshrew knows the moves Defense Curl, Scratch, and Night Slash.

Warning: Shiny.

Vali gaped at her pokedex as Steven stared at Sandshrew alongside Marko. Holy mother of Mew, she had just caught an Arceus be damned shiny pokemon. Shiny pokemon were up their with King sized pokemon when it came to how rare they were. The fact that she had not only unknowingly found one, a young one it maybe, but also caught one was startling. Steven promptly shook his head with a soft laugh, "I suppose that makes two of us with a shiny pokemon."

Laughing in agreement as she let Sandshrew play with her fingers, Vali leaned back against the wall carefully, "Yeah, I suppose so."