In Gary's eyes, the Shaymin were now like thieves hiding their ears. They had sensed someone approaching, but they had all disguised themselves as grass, making it impossible to spot their forms at all.
If Gary hadn't possessed the Eye of Insight, he never would have discovered them.
"Woof."
Arcanine came to a stop as well. It could smell the scent right here, but it couldn't see through Shaymin's disguise either.
"I know. You've found them. Don't act rashly," Gary whispered.
Arcanine nodded.
Gary jumped down from Arcanine's back and said, "Shaymin, I know you're pretending. You don't have to be afraid—I have no intention of hurting you. I just hope you can talk with me."
The Shaymin, still disguised as grass, didn't move, unwilling to easily believe Gary's words.
"You don't have to keep pretending. That disturbance just now was caused by you as well. And I've also brought the Gracidea you really want," Gary said.
The moment those words were spoken, the disguised Shaymin couldn't hold back any longer. They raised their little heads and looked at Gary. When they saw the flower basket in his hand, a look of longing immediately appeared on their faces.
Shaymin yearned for the Sky Forme, but that form could only be maintained during the day. On top of that, Gracidea only bloomed once a year, so most Shaymin around the world remained in their Land Forme.
They had endured great hardships to migrate all the way to the Gracidea Field, all for that single moment of flight.
"Human, what do you want to do?" The highest-level Shaymin stood up, and a calm, feminine voice sounded.
Gary knew it was Shaymin's telepathy.
Although Shaymin wasn't a Psychic-type, it could sense feelings of gratitude, which was a kind of spiritual energy. It was normal for a Shaymin to master telepathy.
But Gary figured there was probably more than one Shaymin in this group capable of telepathy.
"Are you the only one who can communicate telepathically with your kind?" Gary asked.
The rest of the Shaymin stayed silent. Only the highest-level Shaymin responded. "Yes, I can use telepathy. What do you want to discuss with us?"
Seeing this, Gary stopped holding back and spoke directly. "I can give the Gracidea to you, but I hope you can help me in return. It's just a small favor, and it won't harm you in the slightest."
The Shaymin were immediately moved. They dreamed of soaring through the sky, and after waiting so long, if it only required helping with something small, they felt it wasn't out of the question.
"Human, what do you want us to help you with?" Shaymin asked.
"That's right. I want to capture you. But don't worry—I'll just put one of you into a Poké Ball and then release you right back out again," Gary said.
Gary's main goal was to obtain the reward from the system. If he could capture a Shaymin, that would be ideal, but if not, achieving his primary objective would be enough.
Shaymin: (O_O)??
Shaymin wasn't stupid, either. Being able to grow to level 75 meant this Shaymin had lived for at least several decades. She had certainly seen human Trainers before and understood what Gary meant by "capture."
"What's the point of doing that? You capture us and then release us right away. Doesn't that mean you accomplish nothing?" Shaymin said, puzzled.
"Mainly, I want to take a photo as proof, to show others that I've subdued a Shaymin. I hope you can help me fulfill this dream. If you don't believe me, I can give you the Gracidea first."
Gary took a few steps forward, placed the flower basket down on the grass, then retreated to a safe enough distance before stopping.
The Shaymin had assumed Gary was scheming something, but after seeing him offer the Gracidea first, they all found it hard to believe. Still, the leading Shaymin remained more cautious.
"It's clearly not yet time for the Gracidea to bloom. How could you possibly have Gracidea?" Shaymin asked.
The Shaymin knew exactly when Gracidea bloomed, and the time for the flowers to open hadn't arrived yet.
"We humans have invented ways to preserve Gracidea. These flowers bloomed last year. The effect might not be as good as freshly bloomed Gracidea, but it should be enough to let you take on your Sky Forme," Gary said.
Shaymin was still half in doubt, but she couldn't detect anything wrong. She was the oldest among this group of Shaymin, so she naturally knew the fragrance of Gracidea well.
Indeed, the Gracidea in the flower basket didn't have a very strong scent, but it was certainly the genuine article.
The leading Shaymin approached with suspicion, moved closer to one of the Gracidea, and sniffed the fragrance of its stamens. The next moment, a golden light flashed across Shaymin's body.
Shaymin's body shifted within the light, its shape quickly transforming. When the light faded, an adorable little deer-like Pokémon appeared in its place.
"Shay!"
"Shay!!"
"Min...!!"
When the other five Shaymin saw that their leader had changed into her Sky Forme, they couldn't hold back and immediately rushed to the flower basket.
Five golden lights flashed as the remaining five Shaymin glowed, instantly transforming into their Sky Forme.
Although Shaymin couldn't maintain the Sky Forme at night, as long as there was enough pollen, they could sustain it at any time. However, the duration was very short. If they didn't continuously inhale pollen, they would revert to their original form in less than an hour.
"See? I wasn't lying to you, was I?" Gary said.
"Human, you're honest. You may leave now," said the leading Shaymin.
"About that... don't you have something to do for me? You agreed to let me capture you," Gary reminded her.
"Did I? When did I ever agree to that? You brought the Gracidea here of your own accord," Shaymin said arrogantly.
Gary's brow twitched. He hadn't expected Shaymin to pull a trick like this. So this was the so-called Gratitude Pokémon—this was how it showed its gratitude?
"You... you're cheating!"
Gary felt he'd been far too naive, getting fooled by a Pokémon. As expected, the information in the Pokédex couldn't be fully trusted.
Although Gary wanted to take action, capturing these Shaymin by force with his Pokémon would be difficult.
Two of the Shaymin alone had Champion-level strength, and the other four weren't weak either.
Among the Pokémon Gary had on hand, only Blastoise was at the Champion level. The rest were at the peak of the Elite level at best, and they might not be able to defeat this group of Shaymin.
"Fine. Since you won't honor your word, I'll leave. I'll go find other Shaymin."
"Arcanine, let's go."
Gary rode off on Arcanine, not even bothering with the flower basket.
It wasn't that Gary didn't want it back—it was that even if he tried to take it, this group of Shaymin surely wouldn't return it. These weren't Gratitude Pokémon at all; they were clearly a bunch of robbers.