Pokemon Chronicles: A Hero's Rebirth

Before I get started, I just want to mention something. This story will have links to certain pieces of music from various videogames, movies, etc... All of these belong to their creators and I do not intend to gain any profit from posting them. In fact, they are optional, and you can choose to either listen to the tracks while you read or listen to nothing. It's up to you. The tile of the song is the link that will take you to the it, and when you see the words (Stop the music), you go to the link you opened and stop the song. All of the videos are on YouTube. I hope you enjoy the story.

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Prologue — The Darkest Storm​

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The sky was pitch black. No stars, no moon, no clouds. Nothing. It felt like he was staring into an eternal void of darkness. He lowered his vision. They had decided to stay in a little forest which was in the middle of the mountains. They only had to cross over the mountain and they would be there. Or so Celebi said, because they had been walking around those mountains for... He didn't even know how long. Even if he tried, he wouldn't know either. Time didn't exist anyways. Yes, as weird as it sounded, even for someone like him, time didn't exist in that world. It was all in black and white too. It was really strange, like in an old cartoon, though he had learned to try his best and ignore the laws of certain worlds a long time ago.



And this world was no different.



He had been to many worlds which weren't populated by humans. Sometimes weird creatures like dragons or talking normal animals. Sometimes there were humans that lived peacefully with these creatures... But Pokémon? Nope. Not by a chance had he ever thought that he would see that. Pokémon were really fascinating creatures, in the sense that there were so many species of them. They ranged from dogs, to cats, and even lizards and birds. All of the with their own consciousness, their own thoughts... Hell, depending of the area, even languages and superstitions. There were so many species that maybe he would have to recompile them in a book once they got done and over with what they were doing.



But, with this amazing variety of animals and creatures also came a slight feeling of loneliness. Being the only human in a world wasn't really hot feeling at all, but he was glad that he didn't have to put up with them. They already had enough jerks in Pokémon form. His name was Eric, and he was a human. At least physically. He was about 1.85 meters tall. Because of his usual running around he was in fact pretty fit. His white skin didn't let him camouflage well with the shadows, but his clothing made up for it. His feet were cozy inside his dark blue sneakers, the sole of which was white. The design had orange lines all over it, which, in his opinion, made them look cooler.



His sea blue trousers were really flexible, though at first glance they looked like normals jeans. At that moment he was wearing a red sweatshirt, on top of which he was wearing a black jacket, which was unzipped. Though it was really cold, he liked to leave it like that, hanging loosely from his shoulders, waving with his every move. The jacket had white lines all over it, and they all ended up making the silhouette of a star on the back of the jacket. He didn't wear any other accessories at the moment. If there was sun though, he would have sunglasses on top of his black hair. If the light shone right into his brown eyes, he would use them to cover his view.



Though, what made him different from the rest was the markings he had on the backside of his right hand. He looked at it, nostalgically. It was a tattoo of the outline of a star, just like the one on his back. However, there were ten circles floating around it, inside of which he could see the outlines of shapes in different colors. A purple vortex, a red flame, a dark blue water drop, three brown spikes, a light green tornado, a light blue snowflake, a yellow thunderbolt, a dark green leaf, a violet four point star and an orange hourglass. However, only the flame was crimson colored. The other symbols were gray. He examined the tattoo in it's entirety. That very same mark was a blessing for some...



For him, it was a curse. A reminder that he would never be what he wanted... A reminder of his place in existence... A reminder of what he had lost... And a reminder of his duty. He stared at the rest of his hand nostalgically, trying to remember when that blasted thing wasn't there. Then again... did a time like that even exist, or had he been born with that thing plastered on his skin? He didn't remember, nor did he want to remember, Delving into his past was... dangerous, to say the least.



He heard the grass rustle to his left. He immediately stoop up. Suddenly, a flash of light engulfed his hands, and a golden bow appeared between his hands. There were white lines over it, decorating the weapon. A red gem was incrusted in a part of the metal where he could put arrows. He put two fingers from his right hand and pulled them back, an arrow appearing between them, his fingers stretching the string, tensing it. He was ready for anything that would pop up from the bushes... But he didn't expect Grovyle to appear.



- Lower that thing dude! It's me! - The Pokémon shouted. Eric sighed and lowered his weapon. - God damn it Grovyle... I didn't know you had gone out early today. - He smirked. - Meh. I didn't think it would bother you, but as soon as I got close you jolted up from that log. I guess this place is getting to your head, isn't it? - He asked, smirking. The grass type approached his friend and sat on the log. He was just like a normal grovyle, all of his body was green, aside from his belly which was red, with a green line across the middle of it. He had a long leaf coming out of his head, curving backwards and down to his back. This leaf kind of looked like his hear, as it waved with his movement.



There were leaves coming out from his elbows, and some coming from his backside, acting like some sort of tail. Both of his arms and legs ended in fangs. Eric laughed at his friend's observation, also sitting down. - You could say that. How long have I been here anyways? Three, four months? - He said, pulling up his fingers each time he said a number. - Doesn't that pretty clock of yours tell you? I've seen you pull that thing out of your jacket one too many times Eric. - Eric sighed. He let go of the bow, which disappeared in a flash of light too.



He then put his left hand inside of a pocket in his jacket and pulled out said clock. It was quite big, though not bigger than his hand. It was a golden pocket watch, the top of which was transparent, letting him see the clock hands through the lid, which were spinning around a lot. The base of the clock where the numbers were written had holes, and he could see the gears shifting around like crazy. The bottom of the clock had the same outlined star that was on the back of his jacket.



- I always look at this thing in hopes it ACTUALLY works correctly. No luck so far though... - He said. Grovyle looked behind them and into the cave. Eric smirked, looking at him. - Yes. Your sleeping beauty is still in there Grovs. Sleeping like a baby. - The Pokémon blushed at his remark. - Come on, you thought you were going to trick me for any longer? I can feel it in your eyes man. - The human said, smirking. Grovyle scratched the back of his head. - Well... I guess you read me like an open book. - Eric smiled. - I've seen love way too many times man. I can see the light in your eyes each time you look at her, and I also see your look of sadness because you're going to be parting ways with her soon. -



His partner's face went grim. - Not only that but... She's a legendary man... It's like impossible for her to accept me. - He said. Eric laughed. - That's all that's keeping you from telling her? Dude, she may be immortal, but you should tell her anyways, and enjoy the time you have with her. - Grovyle didn't answer, he just kept looking into the forest. Eric got up from the log, sighing. - I'm going to scout around and make way for us. You go wake her up. - The human said, walking off down the cliff and into the forest. Grovyle sighed, as he went into the cave to weak up the time controlling Pokémon, Celebi.

***​

(Balcony Theme — Resident Evil)


Eric looked around, eyes and ears peeled. He was holding his bow, with an arrow already prepared in case anything appeared. He paced around the trees for a while and came up to a group of Ratatta munching on something, though he couldn't see through the rats, he could smell something that was rotting. He wasn't really curious on who the poor guy was, so he ignored them and kept going. He always wondered to himself in the world he was in had even been peaceful. It certainly didn't look like it. All the creatures aside from a few lucky ones had been frozen in time. However, from these lucky ones not many remained. Most of them had gone insane and now were roaming around, lead by instincts alone, or a Eric liked to say, Primal.




These "primal" Pokémon now populated the world, killing anything in their way just for survival. It was survival of the fittest now, and not the society of peace that he had been told of. However, some had manged to keep their sanity, the only true survivors from the catastrophe. And many of these had sided with the bad ones. If the survivors didn't have enough with Pokémon in primal state, there were also Dusknoir and his goons, all lead by the legendary time Pokémon, Dialga. The legendary however had gone into a Primal state, and they believed that his insanity had resulted in the current situation.



Eric had come to that world just in time to help the survivors. They had all figured out that the only way to stop the time from stopping was to get some artifacts called Time Gears and bring them all to some place called the "Hidden Land". He didn't know where that was though, they would probably have to figure that out later. They needed Celebi's help to travel back in time and fix everything, erasing the future. However this would result in...




A sudden movement next to him interrupted his thoughts. He tensed up and prepared his bow, ready to launch an arrow. A rattata leaped out from the bush, hissing at him. He relaxed, but did wrong as the Pokémon jumped on him, trying to tear his neck... But he didn't even get close to doing so. Eric simply removed his right hand from his bow and grabbed the rat. It began to squeal and move in his grip, and it bit down on his finger. The rattata thought that it would make the human loosen his grip around his neck. However, Eric didn't even flinch as it's teeth sank in his flesh. He smirked at it, and the rat looked at him, confused. He tightened his grip around it's body, until he heard some of it's bones snap. He then let it go, the Pokémon falling to the floor. He heard it whimper in pain as it slowly walked away.


(Stop the music)


Eric smirked. He heard more noise coming from behind him and he sharply turned around, expecting another rattata to jump. But instead, a Sableye did. Eric immediately reacted and punched the Pokémon out of the air. The purple Pokémon got up. He was really short, but his claws really made up for it. They could cut through flesh very well, and that was something to be afraid of, and their vision made them see clearly even in the most dimly lit spots. Aside from that, the red gems on their backs and chest didn't do anything as far as he knew. He didn't hesitate to aim and shoot an arrow at it. The arrow pierced though his forehead, right in the middle of his gem like eyes. His movement completely stopped, the Pokémon dropping to the ground right on the spot, dead.



Eric stared at it for a moment, before he heard a screech from behind him. He turned around to see another Sableye, who was producing his sound, trying to call his companions. The sound died down as an arrow pierced through his neck. He made a gurgling sound as he tried to breath. It was useless though, and he dropped to the ground, also dead. Many screeches filled the forest area, revealing his position. He smeared out loud before he began running back to the campsite where his companions were.



He finally got to the cave, and he rushed in shouting. - FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKIDY FUCK FUCK! - He began shouting frantically. Grovyle came to the where he was, as the human began picking up his bags. He looked at him and threw a sack at him. - Get you things! We got to move it! They found us! - He shouted. Grovyle's eyes widened. - What?! How?! - They heard someone move hastily from inside the cave. - What happened? - Celebi asked as she came to Eric's view. She looked like a fairy, or at least one that Eric had seen in another world, though he didn't remember well. Her whole body was pink, and her head was round that curved up. She really big green eyes and two antennae coming out her head, which ended in green tips. Her feet didn't have any toes and her hands ended in three fingers. She was actually really small when compared to Eric and Grovyle, and she was flying in mid air thanks to the winds on her back.



- They found us! We gotta move it right now! - Eric shouted again. Celebi grabbed everything she could and they all ran out of the cave immediately. When they were outside Eric noticed sableye climbing up the hill. Eric grabbed his bag off him and threw it at Grovyle, who grabbed.. He made his bow appear again and aimed at the purple Pokémon. - GO! - He shouted. Both of the Pokémon continued on their way up. Eric looked down the cliff, the sableyes climbing up by scaling the cliff. He aimed his bow down at the one that was the closest and shot an arrow. The projectile pierced through his forehead, ending it's life on the spot, the body falling back. It hit another Pokémon on the way down, and they both fell to the forest below. Eric shot more arrows to those who came close enough to him. However, there soon were too many for him. He started to back up, rapidly shooting arrows at them, everysingle projectile hitting them.




Eric got far enough to see how the sableye began rushing at him. Soon, the Pokémon began grouping up, becoming a mob that was running at him. Eric smirked. He rose his bow and aimed at the center of the mob, which was rapidly approaching. He was waiting for them to get closer to eachother. - Closer... Closer... Closer... - He muttered, as the Pokémon grouped up even closer. He brought his fingers back, making an arrow appear and tensing the string. This time though, the arrow was literally on fire. The whole thing was burning brightly in front of him. He smiled, as he saw how the purple Pokémon got together. He then let go of the arrow. The arrow flew through the air, sticking in the first sableye's forehead. As soon as the arrow hit, the Pokémon combusted in fire spontaneously.



The fire quickly spread to the others, as they were all lit on fire really fast, screaming as they burned alive. The Pokémon broke formation as they all ran around crazily. Some walked off the cliff and fell down to the forest, burning and rolling down the hill. Some fell to the floor and began rolling around, trying to put out the fire. One of them though, kept charging at him, even in fire. He tried to pounce on him and light him on fire. Eric gracefully dodged to the side, the Pokémon completely missing. Eric pulled his fingers back and created an arrow on the bow. However he didn't tense the string, as he grabbed the arrow and spun around, stabbing the sableye's neck with it, the Pokémon still airbone. The sableye fell to the ground, dead, still burning to a crisp.



Eric began running after Grovyle and Celebi. He noticed how the path lead back down into the forest. Seeing as there was no other way to go, he guessed they would be down there. He guessed right, as he soon came up to the duo, fighting against a horde of Sableye's. Eric began shooting arrows like crazy, all the projectiles making impact in his enemies. Though some of the shoots failed to finish the Pokémon, his friends did the rest. He ran up to them once they had gotten rid of their pursuers. - You guys alright? - He asked. Both of them nodded. - I didn't expect the way to go back down to the forest... - She said. Eric nodded. - We should've checked that yesterday... We need to find another way out of here. Come on! -



He began running into the forest again, both of his friends after him. They all heard shouts and screeches around them as the sableyes began catching up. They kept on running though, trying to cover as much distance as they could. Eric decided to take a confusing route, as he chose a path filled with trees and bushes. He began running through the trees, ducking and jumping over everything that came in his way. He looked back to see the sableye having trouble following him, so he went back to the main path. All three came up to a clearing in the forest, which ended in the side of a mountain. The rock ascended almost vertically and it was almost impossible to climb up. They all looked behind, to see a large number of Sableye's appearing from the vegetation.



There wasn't anywhere else to run, as Sablye's appeared from behind all the trees around them. They were surrounded from every angle. Eric prepared his bow, Grovyle shook his arms, the leaves in his arms getting sharp and Celebi tensed up. They were all ready for battle. However, laughter ehcoed through the air. A laugh all three of them recognized. - Dusknoir! - Grovyle shouted. The dark type appeared from behind the sableye's. He was actually pretty big, considering the sableye's size. His body actually resembled a bipedal creature with two arms, except that his legs were missing, and instead, it looked like he left a trail of darkness, as he was floating in the air.




His whole body was black, with gray hands. He two yellow bands on the mid-sections of both of his arms, as well as two yellow dots on his chest. A yellow line that zigzagged around his body went across his torso. His neck looked like had six projections sticking upwards, gray as his head. He had one red eye, and another yellow band on top of it, with some kind of yellow antenna coming out of his head, which ended in some kind of disk. - You see how your actions were useless?! You will never be able to save this world! I, the great Dusknoir has managed to hunt you down and trap you like little... - Eric groaned in annoyance. He hated it when they did their monologue.



He looked around, looking at all their enemies. There were too many of them, and he only had his bow. His staff was missing, as he had lost it as soon as he had gotten to that world. " I can summon one, but... that means he'll be able to use it too..." He evaluated his chances by looking around again. "There's no way out of here unless I do it. But... which one? For so many guys... I think Hurricane and Tempest would do just fine... But Quake and Tremor could work nicely too..." He groaned. "Can't decide!"



He then looked at his friends. - Hey guys... How about you don't listen to this guys' monologue and help me decide. - Both of the Pokémon looked at him, confused. They were all ignoring the dark type. - Help you with what? - They asked. He smirked. - What do you guys prefer? Two blades that can cut through everything or two hammers that can squash anything? - Both of them thought about it. - Well... I think two blades would be better... And you Celebi? - Grovyle said. Celebi looked at him and nodded. - If you could cut through these guys it would be really nice. - She said. - But... why are you asking this? - She asked.



Eric smirked. - You guys just wait and see. - Just then, Dusknoir noticed they wren't listening to him. - What are you three talking about? - He asked. Eric looked at him, smiling. - Just talking about your stupidity. You know that you gave us enough time to come with a plan right? - He said. The dark type frowned. - What? What sort of plan could you have come up with?! - Eric created another arrow and grabbed it. He looked at the back of his right hand, looking at the symbol of the tornado.



He then used the arrow to cut the flesh on it. Blood seeped out as it slowly covered the symbol fully. However, the marking start glowing light green. He smiled, as he rose his arm to the air. - VENTUS! - He shouted. Suddenly, strong gusts of wind appeared, spinning around him, ascending to the sky. The light green light on his arm got even brighter. He put his arms on top of his shoulders as he closed his eyes, as he felt the magic of the wind flow through him. Every living thing around him stared at the human in a mix of surprise, fear and confusion. He smiled, as he opened his eyes. He howled out as he stretched his arms, separating his hands from his body. A white light engulfed them as it began to form the handle of what looked like a knife. The light began to travel up in the air as it left a blade of metal behind. It disappeared as both of the blades appeared in Eric's hands. The gusts of wind stopped. He was panting heavily at this point.




Everyone was staring at him, dumbfounded. Even Grovyle and Celebi were shocked. The handles Two blades about a meter long and five centimeters wide. It wasn't really thick either, though it was kind of weird. The handle looked like a green tornado that was spiraling around. The cross-guard was born thick, and ended in a rectangle triangle, as one of the points stuck out. In the center of the piece one could see the same emblem with the green tornado. The blade was double edged, but the point was strange. It looked like the end of cross-guard, as it was a rectangle triangle, with the longest tip pointing outwards. A golden line ran through the center of the blade, ending close to the longest tip.


(We Are Finally Cowboys — No More Heroes 2)


- So... You wanted to know my plan? Here you have it. Say hi to Tempest and Hurricane! - He shouted, tensing up, raising one of the blades above his head, while the other was at the same level of his chest. Dusknoir sated at the weapons the human was holding. He looked intimating... but he smirked. - You think you're going to be able to get rid of my men with those two blades? What an idiot... You've sealed your fate! - He then rose his arm to the sky, and lowered it, pointing straight at the trio.



- GET THEM! - He shouted. All of the sableye rushed them, all at once. Eric smirked. - Bad mistake... - He muttered. One of the purple Pokémon that got the closest to him jumped. Eric turned and slashed him across the body while it was airborne. The remainings of the body flopped to the ground, leaving a puddle of blood. Eric was already slashing more sableye's already though. He ran into the sableyes and started slaughtering them. He began throwing slashes to every single purple color he saw. Soon, the sableyes reacted and began attacking him. One of the Pokémon jumped high up on top of him. Eric simply thrust his left sword upwards, impaling it. He then threw the body to more sableyes as he brought the same blade down to another one, cutting it in half. He swung his right sword horizontally, cutting many of the sableye's heads clean off.




He didn't stop there. He found a spot between their formation and ran through it, getting away from the Pokémon. He jumped forward and turned around in the air, looking at the sableye's again. He smiled, as he pulled back his left arm. He then began spinning around, getting faster and faster with each spin. He then let go of his left sword. The hurled weapon cut straight through them, flying in the air. The projectile didn't keep going, as it began curving in the air, seeking out it's victims. This left Eric only armed with one sword, but he could still use his left arm for more than holding weapons.



He turned around to face another mob of Dusknoir's goons charging at him. He rose his left arm and opened his hand. "Flamma!" He shouted in his head. A huge flame suddenly combusted in the air I front of him, burning everything in it's way. The sableye's screamed in pain because of the fire, but Eric noticed more of them still charging at him. The human pointed at them with his hand again. "Flatus!" He screamed in his mind. A strong wind suddenly appeared from behind him, blowing away all of the Pokémon that tried to get to him. He heard his sword spinning back to him. He rose his left arm as the sword almost hit him. He caught the hilt again, the weapon returning to it's owner. He looked around the area. It was pretty messed up, as there were a lot of dead Sableye's laying around.




He noticed both of his friend fighting not too far from there. Grovyle used vine whip and threw one of the sableye's at the air. Eric smirked, as he decided to take the kill. He dismissed his swords and made his bow appear. He took a quick shot at the falling Sableye, who was screaming. The arrow ended hi misery instantly, as it stuck into his head, instantly killing it. Eric made the bow disappear and jumped high in the air, landing on top of a Sableye who was about to cut Celebi, the creature being squashed under his feet. - Mind if I jump in?! - He asked her. She smiled and shook her head. She then returned to the battle as she threw a rainbow colored leaf from her arms. Eric punched a sableye who had gotten a little to close for comfort and roundhouse kicked another one with his right leg. The creature's head was crippled as it felt to the ground.




He saw a sableye jump from behind him. He turned around immedaitely and grabbed it's neck. He then noticed Dusknoir, still standing near the trees. The sableye was trying o get out of his grip, and panicked even more as it noticed that the human was pulling him backwards. It was then hurled through the air and impacted on Dusknoir's head. The dark type howled in pain as one of his goons hit him. He stared at the human, who was smiling mischievously. Eric was expecting his face to turn into hatred in any second... but instead saw how he made he widest of smiles.



(Stop the music)



A roar then filled the sky, as the sound almost blew their ears off. The sableye immediately backed away and slowly hid back in trees, one by one. Some of them were desperately trying to get away, and some that were even hurt badly where whimpering as they tried to get away or crawling on the ground. Eric noticed their behavior. Something was about to happen. They heard loud steps coming from the trees behind Dusknoir, as the trees shook violently. - Idiots! This fight has bought our lord enough time to come meet us! Come, Dialga! - He shouted.



They heard another roar as the trees began to crumble down in front of them. The legendary time Pokémon emerged from the shadows. The legendary was a four legged creature. His body was completely blue, though some gray metallic portions covered parts of it's head, legs and it's chest, in the center of which was a diamond. There were various orange striped across it's body. The legendary Pokémon's head looked like a dinosaur's, a fin like structure on it's back. It had two horns on top of it's head and another two fang like horns around his mouth. It had some kind of spines on the back of his neck, and he had really long claws, though his tail was short. Lastly, there was some kind of wing like structure on it's back, though Eric didn't know if it did something.



The creature roared yet again, and stared at the trio with it's red eyes. While Eric still stood strong, Grovyle felt like his legs started trembling, and Celebi started feeling light headed. Even for her, the power of the mighty Pokémon was even terrifying for her. - No... No... We... This... this can't end like this... It can't... - She began stuttering. Grovyle fell to his knees. It was over. They were done. Everything up to that point had been meaningless, it didn't matter anymore. All the sacrifices... All the hope... Nothing. It was all over. These thoughts filled Grovyle's head.



Eric was keeping his cool though. He felt exhaustion creeping up on him, but... If he had more energy... He looked at the mountain behind them. It wasn't that tall, though it would be quite a trip... They didn't have any other option though. It was all or nothing. A gamble. He smirked to himself. "It's time try my luck..." He thought. Dusknoir hen spoke. - Well? Lost your hopes already? What do you have to say? - He asked. Eric began coughing and wheezing. - Well... I guess we... were wrong after all... - He continued on coughing. - Man... my throat is killing me... - His voice sounded like if he was constipated. - Hold on... - He put a hand inside of the pocket in his jacket.




Dusknoir stared at him. - What the hell do you think you're doing?! - He asked. Eric pulled out a plastic bottle. - My great lord Dusknoir... My voice isn't beautiful enough for you... please... let me fix it for you... - Dusknoir stared at him, smiling. - Well... Go ahead then... - Eric nodded as he drank from the bottle. Both of his friends stared at him, dumbfounded. "Fucking cocky idiot..." He thought. Eric didn't drink too much, just a little sip. He closed the bottle and put it inside of his jacket. He stood silent for a few seconds.




He then began snickering. Dusknoir looked at him, confused. - What? - He asked. The human suddenly burst out laughing really hard. - OH MY GOD YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! - He kept on laughing, beginning to cough, putting a hand on his side. - Oh my fucking god my sides.... - He laughed again. - Oh ho ho ho... man.... I've seen cocky fuckers like you all around but... Man, you just made my day. - Dusknoir stared at the human angrily. - What?! - He shouted, clearly offended. Eric shook his head. - Now... I would like to talk with you about this but... - He looked at his friends, who had the best puzzled look he had ever seen. - I think it's time we leave guys. - Dusknoir laughed. - Leave? Where do you think you can go?! You're cornered! - He pointed out.



Eric kept smiling. - Celebi, Grovyle. - He looked at both of them. - Grab my jacket. - He said. Both of them shared a confused look with eachother. They complied though, as they grabbed to the cloth. Eric closed his eyes. He needed to focus for this one. He looked up at the top of the cliff. The tattoo at the back of his right hand began glowing with the same light green color from before. He crouched low, as wind began to twirl around his feet. - VOLITANT! - He shouted. The human then jumped into the air, both of the Pokémon that were hanging to his ejcket after him, leaving a trail of wind behind them. And they jumped. They jumped high.



They jumped really fucking high.



Grovyle and Celebi looked at the ground as they got away from it, each second closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Eric felt his strength being sucked away from him rapidly, as he started panting heavily. Grovyle noticed they weren't jumping, but instead floating upwards, or flying upwards more like! - WHAT IN THE WORLD?! - He shouted. Eric floated up to the cliff and touched the ground. Grovyle and Celebi didn't let go of him until he told them to do so. Eric looked down at the forest. He could see Dialga down there, and the gray dot next to him was probably Dusknoir. He stuck his tongue out and mocked them. He looked back at the duo, who were still extremely confused as to what had just happened.



- What... How... How did you... get us up here?! - She asked. Eric shook his head. - I'll explain later, now we gotta get moving. That potion won't last forever. - He said. Grovyle and Celebi were confused, but Eric was still right. They needed to get away from there on the double. Eric began running to the other side of the cliff, both of the Pokémon right behind him. Eric was really worried. What he had just done... He would probably know...

***​

Dusknoir was still looking up the cliff, even when dialga was gone. He was filled with anger. He had been fooled by that human... Once again... He gritted his teeth. He had called him an idiot... A cocky fucker... His eye widened in anger. - This will not stand! I will get my revenge on him! I will find him and... - He was interrupted by a voice behind him. - And probably get fooled again. - Dusknoir turned around sharply. He recognized the one who was standing in the shadows. - You... what do you want now? - The shape standing between the trees smiled. - Nothing... I just want you to give up on them... and leave this to professionals... - The one in the darkness said. His dark purple eyes shone brightly in the shadows, and they sent chills up Dusknoir's spine, though he tried to keep his calm.



- What... Professionals? You mean that... you know him? - The Pokémon asked. He then realized. - Of course... you are both... - The one in the darkness interrupted him again. - You can take all the merit... but... I take his head. How about that? - That right there, was an offer Dusknoir couldn't let down. He smiled. - Deal... But... how are you going to get rid of that human? - The dark type asked. He then saw his smile shining in the shadows, and he trembled. He had never seen such a smile... He knkew he was on their side, but... He was still afraid of him. The figure in the shadows looked at the back of his right hand. The silhouette of a gray star was shining, with ten circles orbiting around it. Only the ones with a flame and a tornado were lit, red and light green respectively. - Oh, believe me... I have my ways... -

***​

- So... everything has to do with that weird symbol on the reverse of your hand? - Celebi asked. Eric nodded. They had found a cave to stay in to rest for a while. They had started talking about Eric's abilities. - Yes... I am not going to explain how I got it... Because that's a really long story, but... This tattoo on the back of my right hand is the mark of the chosen one. This mark basically says that I was chosen from the ancients of light to banish darkness from my original world. Basically, I was a warrior. However... Shit got really fucked up and... I... - He sighed, as he remembered. - I don't really want to talk about it, so I'll get straight to the point. - He showed them the symbol.



- You see how all of them and grayed out expect the fire and the tornado? Well, that's because only those essences are awoken. - Grobyle looked at him, confused. - Essences? - He asked. Eric nodded. - They are the entities that control all of the elements in a world. Basically, gods, so to say. There are twelve of them: Shadow, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Electricity, Space, Time, Light and Darkness. The last two are the strongest of the essences, as they decide the fate of the world itself. It can either be shone on by the purest of lights, or plunged into the depths of darkness itself. Either way, the other ten are the ones that create the world, and all twelve have to exist for a world to be stable. -



- Stable? - Grovyle asked. - Yes. When I say stable is that all the powers and essences are balanced. There are rivalries between most, but the two that always bring trouble are light and darkness. They've always wanted to eliminate eachother, as they are complete opposites. However... they both have to exist in a world... and if one of them is completely eliminated then the world becomes unstable, as magic tries to fill the world, which ends up being completely destroyed. Both of the sides know this, and since nobody wanted their worlds to be destroyed, they didn't rise any conflicts for eons. But... Then he appeared. - Eric said, though he didn't continue. He looked at both of his Pokémon friends.



- Clades appeared. He... was something that no one could've ever imagined... He wasn't anything. He was... nothing. No element, neither light or darkness... I don't know how to explain it... Though I can explain you his purpose... Destroy everything. - Both of the Pokémon, who were sitting on the ground in front of him, edged closer to him. - What?! Why? - She asked. Eric's face went grim. - He's a being of the thirteenth essence... Nothing. You see... before the world were created there was absolutely nothing. - Celebi stared at him, confused. - Nothing? You mean like a void of darkness? - The human shook his head.



- No... just... nothing. Even today, if you were to travel between worlds without enough precautions you would fall into the nothing. None of the worlds are connected directly, and those who know can open pathways between them, pathways which protect those who travel. Anyways... As I said, there was nothing. Then... something appeared. This something would be called in the legend as the star. The star created the first worlds. However, the nothing wanted what had been stolen from him. The star didn't comply, and the nothing began destroying the worlds. The star then divided itself into the twelve essences I've told you about before. The essences then fought against the nothing, and won the battle, as they managed to create enough worlds to hold it. -




Eric kept explaining them — However... The nothing managed to create his own warrior. Clades is this warrior. Clades objective is to infiltrate one of the sides, either light or darkness, and mess up the stability by provoking a conflict between the two. After that, he just watches the world burn. - he said, a sarcastic smirk on his face, though none of them understood. - He basically lets the worlds destroy themselves. He doesn't do it himself because he can't wake up the essences. And this is when we come back to were he started. The essences of a world are unaware of what happens, as they are insentient beings. To use weapons like my bow or my swords I need the essence let me use that power. For that, I need to call it's attention by creating a huge amount of power, like a signal. I need fuel to do this, magic energy. Magic is flowing through my veins, so what better way to do so than getting the blood straight out of my body, the magic with it. This is how I acquire my powers. -



A question rose in grovyle's head. - Wait... that means you have even more weapons?! - He asked. Eric nodded. - Yes. One for each essence except darkness and nothing. If I need to I will have to use them, but I don't really want to do that straight away. Each time I wake an essence. Any creature that has the same marking I do can use the same abilities. Clades, unfortunately, has another mark for some reason I have yet to discover. So, when I get a power, he does too, making him even more powerful. If I can limit myself to certain abilities, I can prevent him from getting too powerful. I do have a weapon that doesn't matter, and that is my staff. But... I somehow lost it when I came into this world. When I got here, my staff was gone, and I can't find it. I will have to look for it when we save the world. -



Celebi had a question. - Wait... Does that mean that our world is like this because of Clades? - She asked. Eric nodded. - Yes. All of this is Clades' fault. He somehow managed to completely stop time. Someone must've told him about the time gears... I have a suspect, but we'll get rid of him after we fix this mess. Celebi how close are we from the Time Passage? - He asked. The legendary answered immediately. - We should be there after we get down from this mountain. From there, is smooth sailing through Dusk Forest. After that... both of you are on your own. - She said. Both of the guys looked at eachother. Eric smirked. - If that's the case then this might be the last few hours we spend here. - He laid back on the ground.


- Man... can't wait to see the sun again... - He looked at Grovyle. - You're going to love it man. It's something amazing. - He smiled and looked at his friend, who, to his surprise, had a grim face on his face. Eric remembered what the Pokémon had told him a few hours ago. The smile faded from his face, as he sighed. - Alright... let's just get some rest... And hope for the best. - Eric said. He closed his eyes and tried to rest for a while. He didn't sleep though, he just had his eyes closed, his ears open and listening for anything that could enter the cave. After a few hours of resting, he was feeling fine, though he was still tired, probably the effects from the potion.



He did hear Grovyle moving around a lot in his sleep. However, he did hear Celebi's inconsistent breathing. - Celebi... Why are you still awake? - He whispered. The Pokémon seemed to be surprised, as she gasped. Wha..? I thought you... - Eric opened his eyes and rose from the ground. - Was sleeping? I don't usually sleep, only in safe places and after I've drunk a lot of the potion. - He said. Celebi seemed to remember something. - Oh! Now I remember... I wantedt o ask you what kind of potion that was, the one you drunk before, and also why you hadn't told us about it. - Eric frowned. - It's not what you think it is Celebi. You see, what I drunk before is what I call a stamina potion, as it's actually pretty peculiar. - He said. Celebi noded. - I'm listening. -



Eric continued. - The potion that I drank before was a strange potion that seems to return stamina depending on the quantity one drinks. However, the effects only last for so long. It isn't a recovery potion, and it only gives the impression you have your energy back. Depending on how much you drink, the longer the effect lasts. When the effect wears off, exhaustion comes back. Because of the potion though, you become more exhausted than before. It basically serves as an extension to one's strength. However, if one was to drink way too much of the potion, the effect would last for way too long, and when the effects wore off, your body would be way too tired to function normally. You would instantly faint and if the dose was too high, you wouldn't have enough energy to drink, and would die from oxygen deprivation. - He explained.



The Pokémon gulped. - Sounds really dangerous... aren't you afraid of drinking too much and just dropping to the ground? - She asked. He shook his head however. I've used it a lot of times, and I know how much I have to drink. It's still dangerous for anyone else though. I do remember someone who was an annoying mother fucker. He killed many innocents just to force me to give him the potion, so he could become as powerful as I was. He drank the whole thing. - He pulled the bottle out from his jacket. It wasn't a big bottle, maybe about 500ml. - Look at this thing. Full. In just one chug. - Celebi tiled her head. - What happened to him? - She asked? - Oh, he became powerful alright. He was so powerful that he lasted for about ten hours of fighting. After that. The guy just dropped. No one missed him though. -



Celebi stared at him. The world they lived in didn't really leave any room for compassion or innocence, but death kind of still left a mark on it's inhabitants. Unless they were primal that is. Eric looked at her. - Now, can you now answer my question? And don't change the topic. - Celebi sighed. - I can't sleep. I have a... problem. - Eric rose an eyebrow. - What problem? - He asked. She blushed. - Eric... what do you know about love? And I mean the love that you feel... not the other one. - She said, embarrassed. Eric smirked and rose a thumb. - Gotcha. I know as much as everyone does. Nothing. Love is unpredictable, so I don't really know anything. You can ask me anyways, maybe I can say something wise for once. - He said. Celebi giggled.



- Alright... What would you do... If you loved someone that is... much different than you? - She asked. Eric rose an eyebrow. - Explain. - He answered. She sighed. - We aren't really that different either... we've known eachother for not too long and... I am someone really... important... but he... he won't live enough... I don't know what to do... - Eric smirked. - Is it Grovyle? - He asked, interrupting her. She looked at him, really shocked. - How did you... - She began asking. He shrugged. - Intuition. - He said. In his mind though, he sweared. "For fuck sake... why is it always like this..." He thought.



- Alright... Yeah. You and him are pretty different, and you are scared he won't accept you because he won't live as long as you will... - She nodded. - You read me like an open book. - She said. Eric hummed. - Well... just tell him and wait for the result. - She just stared at him, dumbfounded. - What?! - She almost shouted. Eric looked at Grovyle. His breathing was still consistent. He sighed in relief. - Well... Both of you are never going to see eachother again if things go right. You only have one chance you know. You can know if he loves you or not, or you can sit for the rest of your existence with the question lingering in your heart. Your choice. - He said coldly. They didn't say anything after that. - Go rest some more. Today this ends... Whether it's good or not. - Celebi heard him mutter before she drifted off to sleep.

***​

Two shadows were walking across a forest. The forest itself looked in bloom, but it was in black and white, just like the rest of that world. It was also covered in some kind of thick smog or mist. The tallest figure was the one in front, followed by another figure which floated in the air right behind him. - So... you are sure that they will come this way? - The floating one asked. The taller one nodded. -Yes... This is the only way they can go back to the past... Unless he decides to awake the essence of time. If that's the case though... there won't be anywhere to hide from us. - The tall one said, smiling afterwards, his purple eyes shining in the darkness.

***​

- Is this really... your forest? - Eric asked. The forest itself looked .. messed up. Each time he looked at it he couldn't help feel uneasy. When he ever got that feeling he was sure something was wrong in there. Celebi looked at him. - What did you think? That everything was going to be alive? This pains me even more than it does to you... - She looked at the trees she had watched grow, frozen in time, dead. - You must fix this... Please... - The legendary said. A tear came down her cheek. Grovyle placed his right hand on her shoulder. - Don't worry... We'll do it... whatever the cost. - He said. She looked at him, smiling.



Eric walked forward. He inspected one of the trees closely. It looked like it was alive... And somehow, he could feel it was dead. No one knew what happened to the living things that were frozen in time. Some thought they would revive after time was resumed. Others though... Thought they were dead for good. If that was the case... More than half of the species of Pokémon were dead. He placed his right hand on the dead tree... He then heard various high pitched screams. He quickly removed his hand from the log, panting heavily. - Fuck! - He looked at his friends, who had a worried look on their faces. - Grovs... you gotta check this out... This is... worrying. - He said.



Grovyle walked up to his human friend and put a hand on the log, removing it from the tree. - Crap... What the hell was that... It felt like something was screeching inside my head! - He put a hand on his head. - My head hurts so much... - He muttered. Celebi came up to them. - I am the voice of the forest... and I know what my forest feels. Right now, I feel nauseated and sick... And I don't even need to touch the wood... I don't want to know what would happen if I put a hand on it... - She wondered. Eric shook his head.. - Let's not find out. - He began walking into the forest. - Come on, let's get this over with! - He shouted, waving his way. Both of the Pokémon followed him, determined to get this over with.



The forest looked empty while they walked inside. There wasn't any Pokémon running around or anything, and nothing could be heard either. They walked for a while, and they came up an opening, where multiple paths branched out. They looked around for a while, and both of the guys looked at Celebi. - Where to Celebi? - Eric asked. Celebi looked around. - Left. - She said. They went that way and came up to what looked like the exact same clearing. - Forward. - She said. Grovyle was really confused, but Eric smiled to himself. - A maze huh? You really took your precautions with this place celebi. - He said. She smiled at him as they came up to another opening. - Yes. Not everyone is allowed to make it to the Time Passage. If anyone could do so... Then we would certainly be in trouble. Right. - She said.



They went the direction she said a few times. - Backwards. - Both Eric and Grovyle looked at her, really confused. - But... we just came from there. - The green Pokémon said. The legendary looked at him. - Grovyle, just go that way. You'll be surprised. - She said. The other one complied, going back the same way they came. Or so he thought. They didn't come up another clearing. They were in another path altogether! - Wha... Where are we now? - He asked. Celebi smiled. - We are really close to the time passage. Come on! - She said. All three of them began making their way to the center of the forest.



The deeper and closer the group got to the time passage, the more worried Grovyle got. - Celebi. Do you think that Dusknoir and his troops could get here? - He asked. She nodded. - They could, yeah. But it would them so long to get through that maze that we would already be ahead of them by the time they got to us. - She answered, smiling. Just then, they both noticed Eric, who was standing still, looking to their right. - And... What are the chances of them just breaking through? - He asked. Celebi smiled. - Impossible. They could never... - She looked the way he was looking. Her face went pale, and so did Grovyle's when they saw the trees that had been torn up and broken, making a path straight from the outside to the deepest part of the forest. - What the hell?! But.... How?! You can't burn those trees, or break them! How did... - Eric felt a chill go up his spine.



- Whoever got here wasn't normal... Keep your eyes peeled guys. - He looked around. - I've got a really bad feeling about this... - He said. All three continued on their way deeper into the forest, Celebi now scared of anything that could appear. Grovyle was also paying attention around him, but he still couldn't keep his thoughts away from the female Pokémon. He slowly tried to edge closer to her without the Pokémon noticing it. Eric however notice them, and couldn't help but chuckled at Grovyle's attempt. He had one of his swords ready for anything that could jump on them.



They kept on walking for a few minutes until they came up to another open area, in the middle of which was a huge rock. He saw something glowing on the side of the rock which they could see from the entrance. It looked like the frame of a gate. - is that... Is that seriously it? The time passage? - He asked. Celebi rose an eyebrow. - Did you expect anything else? - She asked. He shook his head. - No. In fact, I expected less. For being such a powerful thing, it's actually pretty obvious to what it is. Of course, it's already hard enough to get here... come on! It's like having a neopn sign over it, with huge arrows pointing, screaming "TIME PASSAGE" - Eric went into a rambling which made both of his friends stare at him, in a mix of confusion, amusement and general worry over their friend's sanity.




Yet again, he was the kind of guy to quite literally assault a prison by the front door, so they couldn't really discuss that theme with him. The answer was pretty obvious. Eric looked back at both of them. - What? - He asked, shrugging. - It's true. It's way too obvious. - The legendary Pokémon looked at him, a bit annoyed. - Alright, then what do you suggest I do? Oh right, I can't do nothing about it. It's a time rift which for some reason appeared on this rock with this shape way too long ago, even before I can travel back to. I know how to travel in time, but this stuff is just way too out of my league. - She said. Both of the remaining members of the group stood silent. Grovyle didn't know what the hell they were talking about, and Eric seemed to not know either.



- I... - He suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence. He looked around for a while, smiling after a few seconds. - I am not too swift with time travel myself. I can travel in time, but it's only in a few specific instances. - Grovyle and Celebi stared at him, really confused. - But didn't you say yesterday that you could travel in time too? - The grass type asked. Eric looked around nervously. - Anyways. Celebi it's about time you open this thing right? - He said, changing the topic of the conversation. Both of his friends wanted to ask him, but they knew they wouldn't get any information from him. She sighed. - Alright... I'll open it, give me a sec. - Celebi said. The legendary turned to the gate of light and placed her hands on it. She began concentrating on opening the way to the past.




Meanwhile, Eric and Grovyle were revising their plan of action once they were there. Eric put his ahnd inside of the secret pocket of his jacket, pullign out a map. It wasn't any ordinary map though. It was what they called a "Wonder Map". Wonder Maps were kind of special. The wonder maps were something that "Exploration Teams" owned. From what Eric had been told, Exploration Teams were daily heroes. Their jobs consisted of helping those in need when they were in trouble. However, after the temporal freeze, all trace of these exploration teams had disappeared. The maps were owned by these teams, and each time the team explored a new location, it was immediately registered on the map. This helped the teams orientate themselves and indicate them where they had been to and where they hadn't been.



However these maps only showed these locations to the teams that originally owned the maps. This meant that when many of the maps were recovered, most of them were blank. However, something really weird happened, and it was related to Eric. When they were looking through some maps which everyone thought were blank, Eric somehow saw one of them printed. No one knows which team owned the map, or why the hell a human who had come from an entire world altogether could read a specific map. They had ignored that fact anyways, and focused on the fact that they finally had a map. The human had written the map down so everyone could see it. Afterwards, others had also written the map, but they kept the first copy.



- Ok... so after we land here after we travel back in time, we go west, to Fogbound Lake. We pick up the time gear there and then make our way to the east part of region, past the mountains. - He pointed at the map, his finger tracing the way they were going to go. - We got south and pick up the one here... -He pointed at the south pat of the region, were a peninsula stuck out. - Then we go north and we grab the one in this forest... - He pointed at a forest which the map said was called "Treeshroud Forest". - And then the one inside the crystal caves and then finally in the desert. After that we need to find a way to the Hidden Land and then fix time once and for all. - Eric explained. Grovyle was focusing on the map, but he couldn't keep his thoughts away from Celebi. This meant he would never see her again.



Eric looked up at the legendary. - Remember, we have to go back about twenty years back in time, that way, we'll have more than enough time. - He remembered her. She looked at him and nodded. She was focusing really hard on the Passage, but her thoughts were slowly deviating to the grass type Pokémon that was sitting next to the human. She would never see him again... Should she try? It was risky but... it was worth it if... if he liked her back... She kept focusing on the time rift. It was almost ready for them anyways. She finished opening the portal. - Done. - She said. She flew backwards while looking at the light gate.




It suddenly faded, though it began shining even brighter. Lines appeared from the bottom of the arc, as they traced across the ground. Thin gates of light started forming on the lines, making some kind of path into the rock. A pure white crack appeared on the area of the rock that was surrounded by the light. That area then exploded, the shards floating everywhere, but just stopping in mid air, floating, a white aura surrounding the shards. The place where the stone had been had been replaced by some kind of white vortex. Eric walked up the the path and whistled. - Wow... - He muttered. Celebi looked back at him. - What did you say about being too obvious? - She said. He frowned. - Now this... this just needs a bigger neon sign. - He said, smirking. She groaned in annoyance.



Grovyle walked up to them and looked at the passage. - So this is what's sending us to the past? - He asked. Celebi looked at him with sadness. - Yeah... This is... going to take you to the past... - She said. Eric noticed her sad tone. He looked at his pal, who also had a sad face. Eric thought for something, and smiled to himself. He looked around. - Hey... you guys heard that? - He said. Both of them looked around. - No... what was it? - Eric made his swords appear. - I think it may be those who broke into the forest... I'll go check it out. - He said, instantly running off into the forest. - Eric! Wait! I'll go with you! - Grovyle shouted. They heard his voice from far away. - No! Stay there! Nd if something happens scream! You scream loudly! - They heard him say.



Grovyle blushed. - What?! Eric! Eric! - Celebi giggled at his reaction. He looked at her, blushing even deeper. - Heh... He... he can be an idiot sometimes... - The Pokémon said. She giggled again. - Why not say always? - They could've sworn they heard someone grumbled, but they ignored it. They stayed silent for a few seconds. - Well... I think this is... the goodbye then... - He said nervously. She nodded. - Yeah... - An awkward silence rose between them. - You know... I've been thinking... - She began. She sighed deeply. "Should I..?" She thought. She remembered Eric's words from before.




- Do you have your eye on anyone special? - She asked, stuttering between every word. He looked at her, a bit shocked. - Well... I... Yes, yes I... I do. - He answered. Her eyes widened. - Oh, you do? Well... who's the lucky female? - She asked. He looked around, really nervous. "Eric... where the hell are you?" He was getting really anxious. - I... I... It's... it's... uh.... - Grovyle looked at her. He then looked at the time passage. He closed his eyes and sighed. He muttered something which Celebi couldn't understand. - What? - She asked. He looked at her, straight into her eyes. - It's you. I... like you Celebi. I started feeling something for you while we were staying in the resistance's base. Though... you will never love me, I know it. - Celebi stared at him, dumbfounded. Tears appeared on her face. - Grovyle... You... are an idiot. - I know... I am an idiot for even feeling something for a legendary. You will live almost forever and I... -



Celebi silenced him with a kiss, their lips sealing together. Grovyle's eyes widened as she kissed him furiously. He ended up melting into the kiss, hugging her and kissing back. They kept at it for a few seconds before braking away. - Did you seriously think it would matter to me? I like you... no, I love you Grovyle. - His eyes widened, and kissed her again. They melted into eachother's embrace. They were panting heavily after they broke apart. - I love you too Celebi. - He said. They heard something approaching them. They saw Eric clapping, slowly approaching them, a smirk on his face. - About time. I don't know how you guys couldn't figure out that you loved eachother earlier. - Both of the Pokémon stared at him. - So you knew?! - They said simultaneously. They then understood why he left. They couldn't help feel angry at him, but he has still helped them. Though the question was still in order. - Why didn't you tell us?! - Grovyle asked.



The human smiled again, shrugging. - The whole situation was just kind of unbelievable. Seriously, something out from a bad romance. Remember to never let this happen to me. - Grovyle and Celebi were glaring daggers at him, still hugged together. The smirk disappeared from his face. - However, I think you were the ones that had to figure it out. I do want to say though, my congratulations. - Both of the lovers faces soothened. - Thanks man... - Eric smiled. - Hey, we're friends right? Anyways... now you know what happens, right? - He told both of them. Their faces went grim. - Yeah... - They looked at eachother, sad looks on their faces. - Well... so much for romance... - Eric said. Both of the Pokémon ignored him. She leaned to Grovyle's right ear.



- I'll be waiting for you Grovyle... Even if something happens... I will find you my love... I'll be there with you for as long as I can. - She whispered, tears on her face. He was also crying. - I will miss you Celebi... - He said. They kissed again. They both looked at Eric, whose faces didn't show any clear emotion, though he had a faint smile on his face. - You sure you want to leave pal? I can do this by myself you know. It won't be too hard. - He said. Grovyle shook his head. -After all of what we've been together and then I chicken out in the end? No. - He looked at her, who smiled. - Go get them sweetie. - He blushed hard, flinching. - Sweetie?! - He shouted. Eric laughed while Celebi giggled at the Pokémon's reaction.



Eric approached the duo. - Well then, I guess it's time I say goodbye to you Celebi. - He said, looking at the legendary. She smirked. - Yep... It's been a pleasure having you around, world traveler. - She said. He smiled at her. - I will come back some other time you know, so this isn't really a goodbye. - The human said. He looked at the time passage. - Twenty years... Alright then... Let's do this. - Eric ran in, dashing under the arcs of light and jumping into the vortex. Grovyle looked at Celebi one last time and waved off, before running after Eric and traveling back in time.

***​

Eric and Grovyle were both sliding down what looked like cyclone that was sucking them. To the green creature this was a new experience, though for the world traveling human, it kind of fell like a slide for him. Through the Pokémon was lying on his back while he slid down, Eric was standing on his feet, like he was skiing. He howled out in enjoyment, as he felt like they were going at an incredible speed. He had traveled back in time before, not only using his powers, but also other ways that other worlds had provided him. This was by far the most fun one.



The fun didn't last long however, as the cyclone suddenly disappeared. Eric and Grovyle began sliding across the ground, which they couldn't see,a s it was completely black. They were literally standing on nothing. Eric managed to stop himself while Grovyle moved further away. He finally got up and looked at his partner. - What the hell happened? - He asked. Eric looked around. - This isn't the past... Something's fishy here... - He muttered. They heard a voice laugh in the distance. "Oh great... now the villain that stopped the time will reveal himself and give us a monologue of how we are meddling with him..." Eric thought. He made his bow appear and tensed an arrow., ready for the jerkface to appear from the blackness.



He heard his laughter stop. - Now... Let's not be too hasty Eric. I have just come to talk. - The voice said. Eric humphed. - Yeah? Well my arrow wants to tell your face something. Don't make me wait. - Eric mocked. The voice chuckled. He heard something behind him. He spun around immeidately and shot an arrow, but realized that there was nothing that way, the arrow completely missing. He heard the same sound behind him again, and he turned around, this time without an arrow on his bow. He saw the Pokémon that had been taunting them, and had probably told Clades about the Time Gears: Darkrai.


(Lord Ghirahim — Skyward Sword)


- There... now we can talk. I am afraid you already know who I am right? - He asked. Darkrai was often refered to as the nightmare Pokémon, and his shape couldn't match even better to such description. He had a small head, with some kind of fog-like plume that waved like it was a ghost, covering his right eye. The only eyes that Eric could see was bright blue. There was a red spiky growth around his neck. He had really skinny arms and legs, with long black tatters coming out his shoulders and black claw like hands.



Eric smirked. - Yeah. The cliche villain that conquers the world because he feels like it, and now wants to tell us about how great he is and stuff. - This seemed to amuse Darkrai instead of anger him however, as he laughed. - Well... seems like he was right after all, you are more of a fool than I thought, as well as arrogant and down right insulting. - The dark type said. The human smirked. - Coming from you? Come on, why'd you do it Darkrai? How did he convince you? Power? The whole world for yourself? The only thing he wants to do is destroy everything! - The human shouted. The legendary nightmare Pokémon smirked. - Do you think I'm an idiot? - Eric's eyes widened. - Yes! You read my mind! Are You a psychic or something?! - Eric mocked, yet again. This one seemed to annoy him.



- You will not confuse with your words! I was promised the whole world covered in darkness, and I got what I wanted eventually! You can see it with your own eyes fool! Now you are the ones that stand in my way! I will destroy you! Both of you! - He shouted, anger in his eyes. Eric leaned to Grovyle. - He mad bro. - He said, smirking. The green Pokémon stared a him. - You are seriously joking in a time like this?! - He shouted, amazed at his partner's ability to make someone angry. Darkrai was about to charge at them, when another voice was heard, this one more deep and serene.


(Stop the music)


- You fall to his mockery Darkrai... you are truly an idiot. - The voice said. Eric recognized the voice instantly. - Clades! Show yourself you fucker! - Eric shouted. He made both of his swords appear. He looked around. Clades had to be somewhere around there. Grovyle was also looking around, but also keeping an eye on the nightmare Pokémon. He saw some movement suddenly rising into the air in his direction, quickly descending to where they were. He looked at Eric. - Watch out! - He shouted. Eric looked up at put both of his swords on top of his head, just in time to block another pair of swords. These ones were normal straight swords, which seemed to be a bit transparent.



He pushed upwards, launching his attacker upwards. He began spinning around in the air, as Eric shot arrows at him, the projectiles barely missing him. The other one landed on his feet and looked at Eric, his purple eyes shining brightly somehow. - So... about time you appeared, Clades. - Eric said, regaining his composture. He looked at Clades. He was a human, just like him, maybe a bit short than he was, but not too much. His hair was gray, his eyes, as stated before, were purple. He was wearing a cape that left a trail of shadows behind, which looked like mist. The cape covered all of his back and sides, though Eric couldn't distinct his clothes. The trail of mist covered his legs, making Eric unable to see either his legs or feet.


(Disappeared — Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD)


Clades rose his right arm, pointing at Eric with the tip of the sword. - I think you and I have something to sort out Eric. - He said. Eric smiled, tensing up. - Yeah, you're right... - He rose his swords. - We have something to settle... - A wicked smile appeared on Clades' face, and Eric's faded out. He moved his feet and started walking towards his foe. The other took the initiative, and charged into Eric. Their swords clashed as they jumped away from eachother. Eric began running around Clades as he kept his eyes on him. He threw his left sword at the other human, but he merely ducked under it, the hurling blade missing completely. Right after throwing the spinning blade Eric had jumped into him, raising his sword over him, but it met with one of Clades´blades. The other one was about to strike Eric, but the human threw a gust of wind from his hand, blowing him away.



Clades heard the sword spinning behind him, and crouched in time to dodge it. Eric was already in fornt of him though, as he jumped in their, grabbing the sword while spinning and plumeting down on Clades with both of his swords together. The purple eyes human blocked them, the impact however making him flinch. -You're hitting hard this time around Eric... - He heard the human panting. - Let's see how long that lasts! - He pushed his enemy backwards into the air, while he spun around. He dismissed his swords and used his bow. He tensed up an arrow and waited for his body to be aiming right at Clades. Time seemed to slow down as his arrow lined up with his face. Eric smiled as he let the arrow go. The other one deflected the projectile with his sword, and saw Eric out of the corner of his eye preparing more.



He turned to him as the human began shooting arrows at a tremendous speed, all of them headed straight for Clades' body. He started spinning his swords around, slashing the arrows out of the air while walking towards Eric, as the other walked closer to him, each time getting closer and closer. When they were close enough, Clades threw a slash with his left sword, but Eric dodged to the right and tried to stab Clades neck with an arrow. The other however, spun around, his swords almost slashing Eric in half. He jumped backwards and prepared to use an fire imbued arrow. Clades was faster than him however, as he dismissed his swords. He made a circle in the air around the area Eric was, and then snapped his fingers. The area around Eric suddenly burst into flames, trapping him in a ring of fire.




Arrows began flying through the walls of fire as temperature rose quickly. Eric noticed that they were coming counter clock-wise. He calculated how much time each arrow took to be thrown, and how far away they were from eahcother and the speed they were being thrown at. He aimed on of his arrows and pointed straight to where he thought Clades was. The projectile was a hit, as he heard him growl. The wall of fire died down to reveal Eric's foe with a crossbow, aiming straight at him. The hero had barely enough time to roll out of the way of the arrow as it swizzled right next to him. Clades charged another bolt and shot. Eric shot an arrow, clashing with the bolt in midair, both projectiles bouncing off and falling to the ground. Eric's arm proved to be faster than Clades', as he had been hit by the arrow from before. Eric shot an arrow at his chest. He saw it coming and moved out of the way, but it ended up hitting his shoulder.



Just then, he heard Grovyle call him. - Eric! Need a little help over here! - He shouted. Eric turned that way to look at him. He saw both Darkrai and him fighting. Eric used his bow and aimed for Darkrai. The legendary looked at him before his legs somehow retracted into his body and began flying around at a high speed, making it almost impossible for Eric to hit him. His movements were erratic and all around impossible to predict. He didn't attack them though. He noticed how, in fact, each second that passed he got further away into the blackness of the the time passage...


(Stop the music)


Now Eric understood. They weren't fighting them. Clades and Darkrai just wanted them to lose time! They were now stuck inside of the time passage, which meant that the more time that passed, the less time they would have to save the world! - Grovyle! Ignore them we need to go! - Eric shouted. Grovyle looked at him. - But how?! - He asked. Eric pulled out the watch from his jacket. Clades was looking at Eric, breaking the arrow from his shoulder. - A pocket watch? What are you going to do with that?! - He asked. Eric looked at him, smiling. - Well... I found this while I was exploring down in the mines. Back at the resistance's secret base. I didn't know what it was... Until I found out that it is capable of controlling time itself... And I don't even need to wake up the essence. - Eric said, smiling. Clades' face went blank. - What?! How?! - He asked. Eric rose the watch. - Well... You are about to find out! - He shouted. He clicked a button on the side, and the watch lid opened. Suddenly, what looked like the hands of a clock appeared on midair. They were made out of pure light. They started spinning around, the minute hand going faster than the hours. Both of them froze when pointing upwards, at twelve-o-clock. A circle formed around the hands, and it flew away into the darkness, away from everyone. There, the circle was filed with light, and another vortex appeared. Eric looked at Grovyle. - Run for it! Go! - He shouted.



Both of them ran to the vortex, covering a lot of ground really fast. - No! - Clades shouted. He seemed to completely rise form the ground and fly straight for them. Eric didn't notice him, as Clades got right behind him. He grabbed his right hand, making him fully stop. This confused Eric a lot, before he started feeling an intense pain come from the hand. He felt all of his power being sucked away in a moment. Eric punched him right on the face with his left hand, making him let go of his right hand. However the harm was already done. The pain didn't subside. Eric kicked Clades and launched him backwards, though he did see his evil smirk on his face. Eric looked at his hand, and watched, in both awe and horror as the tattoo at the back of his hand started disappearing slowly.



Each circle began to slowly fade, leaving Eric with a strange empty feeling. He looked at his foe. - What the fuck did you do?! - He asked, now really scared. He had never dreamed that could happen. He then saw how a white and black ball surged from his hand. He instantly knew what it was. - NO! - He shotued. Clades rose form the ground. - Yes! Yes! - He rushed to Eric, a crazy smile on his face. - Give me the star!!! - He shouted. Eric then made a decission. He knew what he had rigt in front of him. An inmense amount of power. What he had on his left hand, was an artifact with an unknown amount of power. He didn't think twice.



Time slowed down for everyone, as Eric threw the watch at the ball. Both of them collided together, sparks of pure energy surging all over the place. A screeching noise was heard, that made their ears hurt. Everything around them shook violently, as the darkness itself began crumbling appart, white cracks appearing. The ball seemed to become gray... Before exploding. A wave power flowed everywhere, as they all felt something disappear, not only from them, but form around them. Eric saw the pieces of the clock flying around in different colors. He saw ten of them, glowing in strange colors before completely disappearing.



Clades, who was really close to him grabbed Eric and placed his right hand right on Eric's chest. He felt something surge from it and into his body, as he screamed in pain. He only saw something green move swiftly before he felt the grip on his neck soften. Something grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the darkness... and into light. His vision was fading, though he knew he had been rescued by Grovyle's Vine Whip. He then felt like he didn't touch anything with his feet... or arms... Nothing. They were falling in some light. Eric looked at Grovyle. Who was calling out his name, though Eric could only read his lips, the pain in his chest way too much for him to handle. He saw him say, "Give me your hand!". Eric complied and met up with his.



Suddenly, some powerful force seemed to pull from the human and the Pokémon from different directions, as even holding eahcother's hands was painful. He saw his green friend say something again, though he couldn't made it out. His vision was too blurry. He knew he wasn't going to make it, and all things considered, he was only going to be a drag. He put his free hand inside of his jacket, and slowly pulled out an old piece of paper. He couldn't hear his own words, though he was sure he said this:



- Find the time gears. Save the world... pal... - And with that, he let go. He heard Grovyle's scream as he was pulled away. He closed his eyes, though he could still see the light through the skin. It was because of this, that he knew when the light died.

***​

It was a dark and stormy night, and the town was being hit by a violent storm. The trees were about to be blown off, let alone the bushes. However, one of these bushes didn't fly off. It was the one located on top of a bluff. Under the bush, there were some stairs, which led to a cave on the side of the rock. There, one could see a bed, and on top of it, someone was trying to sleep. Another lightning struck, and the creature jumped up from the bed. It hated lightning. It was scary. Another one struck, and wind seemed to get stronger, as the creature curled up on it's bed, shaking like a leave. It opened it's eyes, clear and blue and the sky, though not at that moment. And then, the creature saw it. Outlines by yet another lighting bolt, it saw something plummeting down to the water, right in front of the opening. She closed it's eyes, rally scared and what or who, could've fallen down.

***​

He was falling really fast. He couldn't hear anyhting, and he felt really weak. But he could feel cold around him, and the wind around him getting faster and faster. He was free falling, with no way of stopping him. His powers were most likely done. He was done for. After what seemed like hours of falling and pain, he hit something hard. Something really hard, that then turned soft, and swallowed him. It was really cold. He began sinking in a liquid, that he didn't know what it was. He opened his eyes, and screamed at the temperature. He opened his eyes, though he could only see blackness. He had to close them again though, as they began to scorch, like somehting was burning them. The pain in his chest was unbearable, and he had to breath. He opened his mouth in desperation, trying to breath in air... But the only thing that came into his mouth was a salty liquid, which almost made him puke.


The liquid flowed into his body, filling his lungs and stomach. He opened his eyes again. He started feeling numb, his mind slipping away. He saw something sparkle up in the sky, before his whole world slowly turned black. Without being able to breath, the pain and oppression in his chest, and the scorching in his eyes, he felt himself slowly drifting into sleep. And then, when the world was completely black, he stopped feeling everything, and gave in to an eternal sleep...

***​

You are offering me... A second chance... A rebirth... But... why?


I don't have any choice.


But... how can I trust you?


You can't. Do you accept?


...


...


I accept.

 

Chapter 1 — Rude Awakening​

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- You don't understand... Her destiny isn't pure! We must end this! For the good of our lord! - She heard him say... His voice still prevailed in her dreams... even after all that time...



- Elly! Run! - She was on top of a pink Pokémon, which was running really fast. Behind them, in the darkness, she heard a shout. - SKYEEE! -


She came back to that place she once called home... And she found her there. - MOOOOOOM! - A pair of red eyes flashed in front of her, before she screamed louder.

***​

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​

She woke up abruptly, a cold sweat over her brown fur. Her crystal blue eyes were wide open, as she was terrified from the nightmare. She didn't know what was better. Staying up through a storm like the one last night... Or falling asleep to have those nightmares... She blinked a few times before she stood up on her four legs, stretching. After yawning again she looked around the cave that she called home for almost ten years. It was on the side of the Sharpedo Bluff, which was called like this because the opening on one of the sides resembled the shape of Sharpedo's face.


This opening was a cave, which is where she lived. It was a small cave, though big enough for two Pokémon to live in. There was a nice sprout of water which filled a small pond, where water stayed in. She slowly walked up to it, stumbling around, still half asleep. She leaned over it, put her paws together, picking up some water and washing her furry face. The water dropped back to the pond. After the waves cleared away, her face appeared as a reflection on the water. She was brown furred eevee, with crystal blue eyes. Though most of her fur was brown, a part of it on her neck was a creamy color, as well as in the end of her tail. Her name... she didn't want to remember. She liked her name, since it was given to her by the only person that had truly loved her: her mother. However, it brought back horrible memories, and throughout the years she had learned to keep them out of her head.



She also didn't want... him, to find her. Because of this, she told everyone her name was Eevee. Still, nightmares like the one she had just experienced came back to her once in a while. She walked over to the bag lying next to her bed. She opened it and grabbed a pendant inside of it. It was a piece of stone, which had been perforated and had a string, so as to be able to hang it from her neck. She put it on and grabbed the bag. She walked over to some stairs which lead up and started rising. A few steps and she pushed out a bush which was blocking the entrance which lead to the surface. Once out, she put the bush back on the hole, camouflaging the entrance. She looked up to the sky. The sun was high, probably mid day. She sighed deeply and looked in front of her. Not too far away, she could see a town. She began walking towards it, towards Treasure Town.

***​

He slowly came back to consciousness... He slowly started feeling something cold washing around his head... He could smell something, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they only twitched slightly, responding to brain's impulses. His head hurt like hell, and there was a ringing noise that didn't let him hear anything. It seemed to come from inside of his brain, and he couldn't think straight. He groaned... Big mistake, as the sound seemed to echo inside of his head, like there were a pair of drums in his head. He tried to open his eyes, which he eventually manged to do, only to find the sun shining straight into his eyes, blinding him. The ringing noise started fading, and he could hear the soothing sound of the waves that were crashing against the rocks. He moved his head to look up.


He found himself staring into the large blue sea. He was probably lying on a beach. Another wave crashed on the sand, making the water arrive to his forehead, almost getting in his eyes. He tried to move his arms and legs again, to try and get away from the water. He could end up being washed up by the water if he blacked out again. He got on his belly, his eyes half open, half closed, his consciousness slowly slipping away again. He looked in front of him and began moving away from the water, dragging across the warm sand. He could feel the small grains rub against his...



Fur?



For a second, the thought was strange to him... What was he? Where was he? Who was he? He didn't remember... But he did sure as hell feel sleepy. He moved a few more inches before he blacked out on the sand again, the sun still shining high up in the air. Once he closed his eyes however, he did hear... a voice. It said... "Eric", and an image of a two legged creature wearing strange clothes appeared in the darkness, before it slowly faded. And with it, his consciousness.

***​

(Pokemon Mystery Dungeon — Treasure Town Remix)


Treasure Town was a town located to the west of the region. It didn't hold as many inhabitants as the bigger cities, but there were many species of Pokémon that passed through that town daily. Because of this, businesses were usually filled, and they prospered really well. Eevee walked inside of town, just to be met by the usual Pokémon filled main street, were the most visited shops were. She walked by between the many creatures going about their usual routine. Buying, selling and exchanging goods. Her routine was fairly simple. After mid day she headed over to the Kecleon Market, where both of the Kecleon markets sold their goods for explorers and the likes. Both of them noticed her as she came up to the stand.



- Good morning Eevee! - They both said at the same time. She smiled. - Good morning! - She answered. She walked around and went into the shop. One of the Kecleon brothers, the purple one, came in right after her. Kecleons resembled chameleons in both form and abilities. Their bodies were usually green, with a red zig-zag aline going across their belly, with some yellow lines outlining their ears, eyes and their mouths. The one that came into the tent however, was purple, which was a really weird variant, which wasn't seen very often. For Eevee though, he was more than normal, since she saw him almost every day.



Eevee decided to strike a conversation before him. - I see the business is coming up nicely as usual. - She said. The chameleon nodded. - Yeah. It's a really busy day. I hope you are wide awake, because we have a lot of clients today. Don't doze off today Eevee! - He said. She nodded, smiling. When have I dozed off while work? - She asked. Kecleon stared intensely at her, as he brought his hand up. He started rising his fingers one by one. She sighed. - Alright alright... I won't screw this up... - She said. He nodded. - Alright then... Now let's do it! - He shouted before heading back outside, Eevee right after him.



She loved that job, just because of the fact that she sold things to Exploration Team Members. The Kecleon Market was a shop which sold unique items to the teams so as to help them in their missions. She liked the fact that she more or less helped exploration teams, but for her, the best part was that, sometimes, some of the members would stay around and would tell her their adventures. And these would fuel her dreams of becoming a famous explorer. She kept on working, hoping of someone to just tell her their adventures. No one did however.



(Stop the music)



She finally finished her turn about four hours later. It was almost five o'clock by then, and the shops were already closing. She sighed in disappointment as she went back into the shop. The green Kecleon gave her the share of the day: 700 poke, a few apples and berries. He noticed she looked sad. - Eevee, is there something wrong? - He asked her. She shook her head. - Nah... It's ok... It's just... - Kecleon read her face. - No stories today I guess. - He said. She nodded. - Eevee... why don't you go to the guild and try to join? You'll get a home, a good job and you will finally fulfill your dream of becoming an explorer! - He suggested her. She shook her head.



- No, I... I can't... - He stared at her confused. - Why? - She didn't answer however. He sighed. - Alright then... see you tomorrow Eevee... - He told her. She nodded and walked out of the shop. The purple Kecleon waved her off on her way out. She didn't look at him however, she looked really depressed. Though she wasn't part of their family, both brothers were worried about her. The green one came out with his brother. - She's a good girl... She isn't truly happy, yet she looks cheerful and helps a lot. - The green Kecleon said. His brother looked at him. - She deserves something else... I just hope she finds someone special... Or else I don't think she'll keep going like this. - He said, worry in his voice.



Eevee walked away to the way her "house" was. However, when she was halfway there, she stopped. She was thinking about what the green Kecleon brother had told her. Should she really try? She didn't have anything else to do, and didn't have anything to lose really... She looked at her pendant. Directly at her stone relic. She looked at it and smiled. She rushed to her cave, once there, she removed the bush, she went inside and left the bag in there. She came back out running, remembering to put the bush back in it's place and began running trough town. Both of the kecleon brothers saw her, and she could see the smiles on their faces. "This is it!" She thought. "Today, I am joining the explorer's guild!"

***​

Wigglytuff's Guild was pretty unique. It was located to the east of town, going up the stairs in the crossroad. It was a strange tent atop the hill, which had the shape of a Wigglytuff's head. There was a path which lead up to a strange wooden grate in the ground, which covered a hole. There sticks on top which there were wooden heads of Pokémon. She could recognize some of them as famous explorers who had trained there, and had succeeded in becoming some of the best. However, alone all of these things sounded cool, the combination really didn't build much confidence in her. She didn't know what the grate on the floor was for, and sometimes in her dreams she would dream that it opened and she fell down into an endless black hole. She always woke up after a few seconds, but any of this didn't help at all when it came to giving her more confidence to enter the guild. To make manners worse, the sun was beginning to fall.



She breathed in deeply, really nervous. She then slowly began walking towards the door, stepping over the grate on the ground. Just as she was going over it, a voice shouted from deep down the hole, scaring the living daylights out of her. - Pokémon DETECTED! Pokémon DETECTED! - Then, another voice shouted, this one louder than the other. - Whose footprint is it?! WHOSE FOOTPRINT IS IT?! - There was a three second silence, during the which a million images of her falling down an endless hole flooded her mind, shaking like a leaf. The first voice shouted again. - THE FOOTPRINT IS EEVEE'S! THE FOOTPRINT IS EEVEE'S! - That was it for her. She jumped backwards with a shout. How did they know it was her? She didn't know. She didn't want t know. She just wanted to get out of there, too scared to think.



She began walking backwards hastily, though tripping on her feet and rolling down the stairs. During five whole seconds, she saw her world spinning around, somersaulting down the stairs, a part of her body hitting the stone steps. After what felt like an eternity, she stopped rolling down the steps, as she had reached the bottom. She managed to land of her feet, but fell flat on her face, feeling really dizzy because of all her movement. She quickly got on her paws and shook her head, focusing. She got up and shook the dust off her fur. While tapping her neck however, she noticed that her stone relic was missing. She frantically looked around, and saw it not too far away from her, to her left. She rushed to it and picked it up, looking around to see if someone saw her.



This could sound weird, since it was just a piece of rock. However, it wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to steal it from her. Some Pokémon were really that stupid to think it was valuable, which it was, for her at least. She looked up the stairs, and started running away from them without hesitation, small tears on her face. Because of her haste, she didn't realize two shapes staring at her from the bushes. - Zubat... did you see that? - One of them asked. The other, some kind of blue bat, which didn't seem to have eyes. - Of course I didn't you jackass! Though I did hear all of that. What ever it was... it sounded valuable didn't it? - He asked. Koffing, which was some kind of purple rock which was floating in the air thanks to some foul smelling gas, which you didn't really notice until you got really close to him. -



- Yeah, it did... And the way she hid it... we might be able to sell it for a good chunk somewhere.... And there's also that nice piece that carried it around... I think you know where I am going with this... - He said, a wicked smile on his face. Zubat smiled as well, his mouth making a smile that could send shivers up anyone spine, not because of how wicked it was, but of how horribly shaped his teeth were. - Oh yeah... I know where you are going with this Koffing... Let's go after her and have some fun... - He said, chuckling as they both got out of the bushes and slowly floating towards the beach.

***​

- Hey Diglett! What happened?! - A voice asked from the hole. - I don't know! I think someone might've happened to whoever wanted to come in! - Diglett answered. He was a really small, brown Pokémon, whose head popped up from the ground, since he was always inside of it. He had a large pink nose and tiny, beady black eyes. - Maybe you guys should go out and check if something's wrong! - He shouted again. - Hold on! I'll tell the others! - The other voice answered.



Diglett heard some steps that faded. A few seconds later he could hear a lot of Pokémon talking and arguing. After a few minutes, another voice came to the hole. - Diglett, we are going out and see who was at the door. - Before the the voice disappeared, Diglett shouted. - It was an Eevee! Look for an Eevee! - He said. Right after that the other voice was gone, and he was left alone... again. His father wasn't there either, so he was the only in the guild again. He sighed. He offered to stay, but he knew that in the end he was the one to always stay in the guild. It saddened him, but as his father said, he wasn't ready yet for adventuring out in the world, but he would be ready soon. This gave him hopes of being able to go with his father and friends sooner or later.



He decided to just bury under the earth and rest. No one was going to come into the guild anyways, and he was pretty sure that the guildmaster had the keys for the stairs. Just outside the guild, inside of the tent, there was an open shaft with a set of stairs popping out.

***​

Eevee stopped running once she got to the beach. She looked back to see if anyone had been following her, but it didn't seem like it. She sighed in disappointment. She thought she could do it... After almost two years of looking at the guild... and trying to learn how to get in... And she had screwed everything up. They knew who she was, and they probably would mock her the next day... It was going to be a long week. She'd get over it though... alone... with no one to help her... She shrugged. It wouldn't be much different from the rest of her life really. Sleepless nights? Alone. Puberty? Alone. Emotional crisis? Also alone. She didn't need anyone. She was fine by herself. Always was, always will.


(Hopes and Dreams — Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)


It sounded sad, and.... it was in fact. Everyday, she would walk around Treasure Town, and she could see all these couples that would be walking around, enjoying eachother's company. She had sometimes dreamed of how it could feel to... to share your life with someone. Share your problems... Your thoughts... To love someone... She didn't think too much about it though, and tried to focus on her daily life. It all boiled down to waking up, going to work, and then walk around town, sometimes wandering off from there, though not too far, since she could get lost. Sometimes she would go down to the beach in the afternoon. No one was there at that time. And she could just stare at the setting sun. It was beautiful and... romantic. She didn't think anyone knew that such a view existed. Except for the Krabby that lived there of course. They didn't talk much however, not even to her, who usually came there every two or three days. The only thing they did was create bubbles, which floated around the beach.



The combination of the peaceful waves crashing against the rocks and sand, the small bubbles which floated around, which reflected the light of setting, making a beautiful scenery. She always came down there and walked alone the shore, the water flowing upwards gently, caressing her paws. It was wonderful. She always came there when she was really depressed, and it always raised her spirits. She sat on the sand and looked at the sun. She could stare at it for days... Thinking about the adventures that laid beyond the sea... The unknown lands... The amazing treasures... Every time she thought about them, her heart pumped a thousand miles per hour. She had always dreamed of being an explorer, and she had found many problems through her life... But now that she looked at the sun, she knew... She would make it!



She rose from the sand with determination. She was set on going back up those stairs, and finally joining that guild, and making her dreams come true! She's be strong from now on, and not the chicken she had used to be! Never again she would stutter in front of anyone, or be afraid of a situation! She would always shine in the end and triumph over the adversities! - I will make it! - She shouted, her voice sounding over the bubbles, and immediately going into an unconscious Pokémon's ears, who groaned in pain as her voice made it's head hurt like hell once again, snapping it out of it's consciousness.


(Stop the music)


Eevee immediately snapped out of it, staring at the Pokémon. And she immediately freaked out. - OH MY GOD ARE YOU OK?! - She shouted hysterically, running up to it. She looked at the Pokémon. It was a blue Riolu, which was laying on the sand. It's legs were wet and covered in sand, and there markings near it, which probably meant it had dragged itself across the sand. It had two small blue ears which popped up from it's head. She had heard about Riolus before, and she was amazed at it's face, as it seemed to have some kind of mask which surrounded it's eyes. This "mask" seemed to grow out of it's head, an ended in some dangling extremities, which looked like ears. The upper part of it's torso was black, while the lower part was blue. It had two arms which didn't have the normal bumps on the back of his forepaws for some reason. It's legs were black and it had a blue tail.



She didn't know if it was a male or a female, and she sure as hell wasn't going to find out. She poked it with her paw, and, to her horror, it didn't move. Her face went pale, as she rose from the ground and started running around, really scared. - OH MY GOD IT'S DEAD! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! - The riolu groaned again, as it slowly opened it's eyes. It's head hurt a lot, probably from all the screaming she had done. She stopped running and slowly edged closer to it. The riolu closed it's eyes again, breathing heavily. It opened them once more and was shocked to find Eevee's face looking straight at his. His headache seemed to clear instantly, as it suddenly incorporated itself, sitting on the sand and shouted, obviously startled to find the Pokémon's face right in front of him.



- Whoa! - It shouted. It got on it's feet and jumped backwards. Just as he landed, he flinched in pain, as his whole body seemed to complain from his sudden movement. - Step back! - It shouted. From the sound of it's voice, it was male. She looked at him. - Calm down! - She shouted, obviously scared of anything he could do. He stared at her, dumbfounded. - Did... did you just speak?! - He shouted. She looked at him, really confused. - Um... Yeah? I told you to calm down. - he was still freaking out however. - Calm down?! You're a talking fox! How do you want me to calm down?! - He shouted. Eevee just looked at him, really confused now. - What did you call me?! I'm an Eevee! Not a Vulpix! Are you blind? - She was a bit offended, though she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.



- No, I am not blind. I have really good view, and I can clearly see that you are a talking fox who is screaming way too much. Who or what are you anyways? - He asked. Now she was getting a bit offended at the riolu. - I'm an Eevee and my name is El... - She put her paws on her mouth before she pronounced the rest of her name. - Eevee! My name is Eevee! - The riolu tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. - Wait, so your name is Eevee, and you are an Eevee? - He asked. She nodded, feeling a bit uneasy. - Yeah... - He was st ill looking at her. - Eevee the Eevee? - She felt even more uneasy. - Y..yes... - Now she felt ashamed. "I should've picked another different name..." The riolu just shrugged however. - Whatever, I won't question your name choice. My name is Eric, and... I am... - He looked at himself.



- I am... - She looked at him. He was spinning around himself, trying to make out his own body. - I am... - He stopped spinning around. - I have no idea of what I am. - Eevee felt like her body grow weak and she almost collapsed on the sand. - What? What do you mean you don't know? - She said, regaining her composture. Eric shrugged. - I have no idea of what I am seriously... - Eevee sighed. - Alright... where do you live? - Eric brought a paw up to his chin, trying to think. After a few minutes his face went blank. - I... don't know. - She stared at him. - Ok, you are starting to scare me. Where are we. - She asked again, this time really worried for the Riolu.



Eric's face went into one of pure horror. - I don't know! - He shouted, really desperate. - I don't.... I don't remember anything other than my name! - He shouted. Eevee stared at him. . Wait, you mean that you've lost your memory?! How?! - She asked. - I... I don't know! - He answered. He felt confused and scared at the same time. Where was he? What was he? How did he get there and what was he doing there? And how in the world did he lose his memory?



Just when he was going to ask Eevee where he was, he noticed two creatures fly up behind Eevee in a moment and pushing her into him. She fell right on top of him, pushing both of them to the ground. In the time it took him to blink he was on the ground, laying on his back and Eevee right on top of him, their faces mere inches away from eachother, her big sky blue eyes staring at him. He was looking back at her with his red eyes. They both tried to get away from eachother, their closeness growing uncomfortable for both of them. They both heard laughter from behind Eevee. She rolled off from Eric's body, and just then, he noticed how heavy she actually was. However, what called his attention the most were the two creatures that were staring at them. One of them was some kind of purple rock and the other was a blue bat.



They were both laughing at them apparently. - Oh why don't you look at that! Looks like our little friend here has found a partner! - The purple rock said. The bat laughed as well. - Well, it was us who wanted to have fun with her, but I guess she's occupied now. - Eevee looked at both of them, really mad. - Hey! What the hell is wrong with you! And who might you be anyways?! - She asked. Both of them laughed again. - I am Zubat, and this is Koffing! We were both watching you trying to enter the guild, and we couldn't help but notice you had a really interesting piece hanging from your neck. - The bat said. - Yeah. - The purple rock laughed. - And we couldn't help but borrow it from you! I hope you don't mind if we have it for a while! - He shouted. Eevee rubbed her neck, looking for her necklace. However, she didn't find it hanging from her neck. - Oh no.. Oh no... Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?! - She shouted, looking around frantically. And then she saw it, hanging from Zubat's neck. - You looking for this? - He asked.



She stared at him, and her face showed pure anger. - You mother fucker! Give it back! - She shouted, jumping into him. Zubat simply flew higher and Eevee missed. Koffing charged into her while airborne, pushing her into the sand with force. She slid for a few feet, really weak to even get up. She moved her head and looked at her attackers, who were still laughing at her. Eric was watching the whole thing from very close, though he had decided to let it play out. He didn't know who those guys were. Eevee got back up from the sand. - Give it back! - She shouted. Both of them flew over to a cave in the rocks. - Come get it chicken! - They shouted, as they both disappeared into the darkness. Not even looking at Eric, she charged into the cave. He tried to go after her, but evaluated his options. He didn't know who she was, and he was pretty sure that the name she had told him was fake. Also, she looked quite set on getting that stone back, so she would probably do it alone.



Eric hoped she was all right by herself and thought about what to do next. He looked around the beach, and he saw some bubbles floating around. He looked for the source, but couldn't find it. He saw some steps at the other side of the beach. He walked up to the steps and climbed up. He got up to a crossroad, where a sign stood with three arrows pointing to the north, east and south. He read out loud the signs from top to bottom. - To north.... "Wigglytuff's Guild", to the east ... "Treasure Town", to the south "Beach". - He looked around. There were three arrows, but there were four paths. He looked at the other path, and saw that it lead to really big plains. The path probably lead outside the borders and out into the world. However, he wasn't very keen on that idea, he wanted to ask around town and check out that guild.



Just then, he saw a bird float over to where he was. - Hey! Have you seen an Eevee around here? - The bird asked. It looked more like a parrot, with it's head shaped like a music note, a pink beak, blue wings, a green body with a yellow part near it's neck, which was surrounded by white feathers. - An eevee? Umm... - Eric froze on the spot. "Maybe he's looking for her? Wait... maybe he's in with one of those guys!" - I am gonna guess you haven't. If you do, then inform us, we are in the guild up those stairs. - The bird pointed up the stairs north of them. - We think she might be in great danger. - And with that, the bird flew off again.



Eric was sweating. "In great danger?! What if those guys are..." His head was filled with thought s of what those two could do to her. He remembered her panicking when she thought he was dead, and also how they had sent her into the sand with just one hit. They were also two against one! Eric hit his head. "You god damn idiot! She's at a disadvantage and you leave her alone?! You selfish bastard!" He shouted to himself. And then he noticed that she had saved his life as well. If it hadn't been by her, she wouldn't have woken up, and would've drowned in the sea. He turned on a dime and ran back down the stairs, charging into the beach cave.





As soon as he got in, the smell of salt and water filled his nostrils. I wasn't a pleasant smell, though it wasn't something that was disgusting either. This smell was probably caused by the huge puddles of sea water that was stuck between the rocks. No one knew how long that water had been stuck in there, so it was only natural that it smelled like that. Come to think of it, it could smell worse, much worse. He ignored the smell, as he focused on the path that laid in front of him. The cave was really strange. There a couple of rocky paths which lead onwards and downwards, which was natural of any cave, but the strange thing was that to the left, the cave ended a few feet away in a wall of rocks, but to his right, it ended in sharps rocks which made as a barrier from the waves from the sea, as that part was open to the outside. Because of this, some light came inside, allowing him to see clearly.


Because the floor was completely covered in sand, and thanks to the light, he could notice paw prints that lead inwards. They were probably Eevee's, since the other two Pokémon could float over the ground, and didn't leave any marks. He ran down the path for a couple of minutes, before he came up to some shells laying around around the ground. They were purple oyster shells. And they were big. Really big. Way too big for a normal oyster. And they weren't oysters. They were Shelldos, as he soon discovered when they rose from the ground and started crawling towards him. The shells opened, revealing a long red tongue and a pair of googly eyes. He stared at the creatures. There were four of them. They didn't seem much of a threat and they did move pretty slowly, so Eric continued on his way, careful to not step close to any of them.



After a minute of hastily walking, the oyster Pokémon were out of view behind the rocks, though he knew they'd probably be waiting for him on the way back. He looked at the sand and noticed that the trail was gone. "I must've missed it when those things appeared..." He looked around and decided to go back a few feet. It wasn't long before he found the path again, this time leading to the open side of the cave, near the spiky rocks. And it was there where he saw some movement.



He crouched down and began approaching the area, hiding behind the rocks that he found in his way. Once he got close to the area where he had seen movement, he peeled his eyes. And just then he saw Eevee fall to the ground, her fur completely messed up and eyes closed. She was unconscious. Or at least that's what Eric thought, as he saw her slowly open her eyes. She was at the verge of exhaustion in fact, and couldn't really move anymore. She could feel the poison that Koffing had used on her slowly sapping her strength away. It wasn't going to kill her, but it would leave her completely defenseless to any of their desires. And that's why she was so terrified. She knew what they were going to do to her, and she was crying.



Koffing and Zubat noticed this and started laughing. - Oh don't worry, you'll like it as much as we will. Just relax and you'll have a good time. - Eric understood what the both meant. "They are going to..." He made his head pop out from his hiding place to look at them. They were both next to her. "Mother fuckers..." Koffing looked at his partner. - So, who was the first go? - He asked. Zubat turned his head to him. - I will of course, I was the one that did the most work. - The bat replied. The purple ball however had something to say to that. - Bullshit! I poisoned her! Your attacks almost didn't do shit! She wouldn't be like this if I hadn't done anything! -



They were both arguing. Eric smiled to himself, as he still had enough time to think a strategy... He just then looked at Eevee's face. He saw her tears stream down her face, staining her brown fur and making the sand around her head wet. She was lying on the ground, completely defenseless, in a humiliating position as her attackers were deciding who was going to use her first. She was in torture. That was it for Eric. He didn't have any time to think. He had to act right then. And he was going to act at that very instant.


(Multiplayer Battle Theme — Pokemon X Gale of Darkness)


- Fine then! Why don't we share her?! You get the mouth and I'll go with her... - A rock soared through the air at an amazing speed and hit Zubat straight in his mouth, the rock getting stuck in his mouth, muffling him and making him unable to say anything. Koffing cursed in surprise, and Eevee turned her head to look at the direction the stone had come from. She saw the riolu she had helped on the beach running straight towards the poison Pokémon. She saw how he jumped into the air and pulled his legs back into his body. Just as he was at the same height the other Pokémon was, he shot them forward, hitting the purple rock with full force, sending him flying straight into Zubat, who spit out the rock from the blow.



Eric landed on his back, but jumped up from the ground and onto his feet, looking at Eevee and running towards her. - Are you ok? - He asked. She tried her hardest to nod, but it only came as a simple movement. He nodded and turned his view to the other two Pokémon. Zubat was trying to get Koffing off him, who appeared to be knocked out. Eric moved to her side and grabbed the front legs, putting her eight paw on his right should and holding all her weight with his left arm as he wrapped it around her waist, effectively carrying her out. - Come on, I'm going to get you out of here! - He shouted.



Just then, Zubat got his companion off him and looked straight at them. He flew up from the ground and charged straight for the duo. He opened his mouth and let out a really high-pitched screech. The sound waves seemed to move across the air, and both Eevee's and Eric's ears began to hurt. He immediately dropped to the floor as his headache came back to him, this time only stronger. He got on his knees and covered his ears, trying to soften the sound. He looked around and saw the bat Pokémon straight in his face. Without hesitation, the riolu threw a right punch into Zubat's face, lading in his mouth again, making him shut up.


However, the bat closed his maw and bit down on his arm. Eric howled in pain and bashed Zubat's head with his left arm, the fist hitting his maw, making the bat let go of his another arm. Not letting up, Eric profited from the sudden confusion of the attack and put his paws together, spinning to his left and bashing Zubat yet again, this time with both of his fists together, the power of the hit sending the Pokémon flying straight in a rock. Some white seemed to fly off from his mouth, followed by a tiny spark of blood. With Zubat out of the way, Eric could see how Koffing was floating his way, and was almost in front of him.



Eric put his paws up and braced for the impact, which came seconds later. His feet slid across the sand, but managed to stay put. He got a good hold of the Pokémon that was in front of him. However, their proximity served to his advantage, as he let go a chunk of poisonous, which Eric unfortunately breathed in. He immediately coughed at the smell, but didn't let go of the other Pokémon. He flexed his knees and got impulse. And seconds later, he jumped up into the air. His hold of Koffing however made him spin in mid-air, making him flip around on top of him. Koffing tried to follow him with his eyes, which he didn't manage to do. However, Eevee, who laying next to them saw how the riolu turned upside down in mid-air, still grabbing her attacker Once he got completely over him, he used the force of the movement to move Koffing. The result was Koffing being lifted further off the ground, following Eric as they both arched in the air.



All things that went up, had to go down, and Eric knew this. Wen they began to fall, he leaned forward, making his body spin the same direction. Using all of this momentum, he aimed Koffing down into the earth and threw his arms downwards into the sand, letting go of his enemy afterwards. Koffing was thrown downwards into the ground, crashing into the sand with great force, raising what felt like a wall of sand, making a crater in the which he was half buried. Eric spun around a few more times before he fell on his knees. He rose his head and looked in front of him. Both of his enemies were knocked out. The battle was over.


(Stop the music)


He turned around to look at Eevee, who was lying on the ground, her belly up, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the cave. He saw Zubat lying a few feet away from her, his wings twitching every so often. Koffing, who was closer to them, was even worse. He was half buried in sand, about four to five inches inside. Eric was up on his feet, looking at her. His fur wasn't even messed up, apart from his right arm, which seemed to be bleeding a bit. He came closer to her and got on his knees. - You feeling better? - She nodded. She was in fact feeling much better, as the poison had started loosing it's effect. - Your arm though... - She said. He looked at it and shrugged. - Nah. It's just a scratch. Come on, I'll help you up. - He offered her his left paw, which she gladly took.



Once she was up on her four legs, they both walked up to Zubat. Thankfully, he was still wearing Eevee's necklace. Eric grabbed it from him and handed it over to the fox-like Pokémon, who hung it around her neck again. Once all of that was over with, they both began making their way back to the entrance. The way out was easier than the way in, as the just had to walk towards the entrance, which was visible from they were at. The Pokémon that had popped up around Eric before were lying around. He was worried that they might surround them again. However, none of them got up. They had probably followed him to the fight and after seeing what he could do, they decided to let him go. He was too big of a fish for them.



Once out, they both noticed the sun was almost down. There were, once again, bubbles floating around the beach. They hadn't spoken to eachother on the way out. When they were at the beach however, she looked at him. - Umm... Eric was it? - She asked. He turned and looked at her, nodding. - Yeah. What is it? - He asked, though trying to not sound blunt about it. She flinched a bit, obviously caught off by his response. - I wanted to say... thank you for saving me... and.... helping me recover my... stone relic. - She was stuttering a lot. Not because he was intimidating, which... he kind of was in fact. It was also the fact that he had helped her. And he hadn't asked anything in return. Yet.



- Is... that how you call it? - he asked, obviously referring to her necklace. - Why? It's just a stone. Right? - He asked. She shook he head. - Well... Yes and no. - She grabbed the rock hanging from her neck and handed it out, showing it to Eric. - You see... I found this about five years ago, in a cave not too far from here. At normal sight it just looks like a normal stone, but... if you look closer to it... - She said. Eric inched closer to her, showing a bit of interest, which, to be honest, at first was faked, but after inspecting the stone from close, he noticed something interesting. There were white lines on the stone, which made strange patterns on the surface.


(On the Beach at Dusk - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)


- What... What is that? - He asked, looking at her. She looked back at him with her sky blue eyes, which were lit right now. - I don't know! And that's why it's so important to me. This thing could easily be just a kid's drawing on a rock, or someone's prank on me... but... - She turned her head away from the riolu and looked at the sea. - It could also be the key to a great treasure that sleeps somewhere in this land... Or the map needed to find a lost land... It could also be that! - She shouted. Eric looked at her. - Because of this, I decided to keep it. I used to have a lot of imagination when I was younger... And this little rock fueled it for almost a third of my life. Each time I would look at it, I would fly away into my imagination, where I was one f the greatest explorers of all time... where I discovered an ancient land... or a great treasure... And in all of those... - She stared at him once again.



- This stone relic appeared! I knew from the very moment I saw it, that I wanted to unveil it's mysteries! Where did it come from? What did it do? Why was it there? I wanted to know so bad! And... after so much time of imagining... I decided it was time to make my dreams come true, and my idea of joining the Explorer's Guild began to grow. I observed for months how they worked, how they related with eachother. Hell, I even got a work at a market where many explorers came by to buy or sell their stuff! And every now and then... One or two would stay, and they would narrate them their adventures... Running through evil Pokémon infested caves... Rescuing those in need... And discovering treasures and new places... It was a dream! -



Her happy look died down though, as she suddenly looked depressed. - However... There's one big problem. You need at least tow Pokémon to form a team and... I don't really have any friends here... and I didn't really want to make them either. Also... As you may have heard before... I am the biggest chicken in the world. I got freaked out just from the sight of you being unconscious. I don't really qualify for being a good explorer at all. - Her ears fell down to the sides of her head. She looked really depressed as she had closed her eyes. Eric breathed in deeply. - Yep. You're a big chicken. You really are a coward. But... You are a big chicken with a huge dream. A dream which, quite honestly, I didn't even think you had at first glance. -



Eevee felt offended, sad, flattered and surprised at the same time, though she decided to listen at what Eric wanted to say. - When you said you weren't a good explorer at all, I need to remind you that you ran straight into that cave right after those who had stolen what was yours. You didn't even ask for help, and, unfortunately, I thought you were ok alone. Even if at the end you failed, it was the intention that mattered in the end. Also, you quite literally saved my life a few hours ago. - She looked at him, surprised. - I did? - She asked. He looked at her, smiling. - Yeah, you did. If it hadn't been by you and your screaming, I wouldn't have probably woken up, and I would have probably been washed away by the water and ended up drowning in the sea. It was only fair I repaid you really. Thank you. -



Eevee was now really confused. - Umm... No problem I guess... I guess we are even now? - She asked. He nodded. - Yeah. We are... - He looked down at the sand. "Should I ask her to help me? I mean... She knows the area, so maybe she knows where to go..." He thought. At the same time, she was also evaluating her options. "He's strong... He's brave and... he actually helped for a change... Maybe he could help me get over my cowardice problem and..." She thought of it. She looked at Eric. She gulped down and bit the bullet, as she looked at him. - Eric... Would you... would you form an exploration team with me? - She asked bluntly. A long, awkward silence rose between the two. - Form.... an exploration team... with you? - He asked. She nodded. - Yes! I... I know I've just met you but... I don't know why... you give me confidence Eric... You are much braver and stronger than I am... So please... Join a team with me! - She pleaded.



He stared at her. - I... I don't even know what an exploration team is... - He said. For some reason, Eevee's legs lost all their strength and she fell to the sand. - What? Haven't you been listening to all I've told you?! - She asked, a bit confused and angry. Eric rose both of his paws a bit and shook them, moving his head sideways. - No no no no! I've been listening to all you've said! The thing is... I don't really have it clear... And I don't really know if it's a good idea... I mean, I've lost memory and... Come to think of it, maybe I could in some trouble... I mean, there's got to be a good reason I was lying on a beach, unconscious, and when I wake up I find out that I've lost all my memories. - He explained.



What he said made sense. And this is what made Eevee sad. He was right. She had just asked something really important to someone she had both met recently and that had lost all of his memories, so he couldn't even remember who was, or what he had to do and where he came from. And she only thought of getting him into something else that wasn't related to him in any way whatsoever. — However... From what I've understood... These exploration teams seem to wander off quite a lot and discover many things, right? - Eevee looked at him and nodded, the look on her face slowly changing.



- Not only that but... You seem to be the only one I can trust around here. You could show me around, and try to help me recover my memories and... I help you achieve your dreams. How's that sound? - He asked. Her face lit up . -So... you're saying yes? - She asked. He nodded, smiling. - Yes. I think it may be a good idea to make a team with you Eevee. - She jumped up from the ground from the glee, as she let out a loud squeal. - Yes! Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! - She shouted, grabbing Eric's left arm and shaking it up and down.


(Stop the music)


After calming down, Eevee explained Eric what they had to do. She guided him to the guild's entrance, which was located atop of the hill, which could be climbed up by simply walking up them. The guild wasn't really welcoming at first glance though. It was... strange to say the least. The tent and the wooden heads on sticks just sent shivers up both their spines, and Eric couldn't help but notice the barricades. What was up with those? His attention had been drawn however, by the open gate. The pink tent had a gate, which was lifted. The great in the middle of the way didn't really bother him too much though. It looked solid enough to hold their weight if they walked over it. Then again, they didn't even have to walk over it, since they could just go around it. They did this, since Eevee seemed to get really nervous when they got close to it. Once they got to the gate, they had a peek inside of the tent, and they could see some kind of hole, from which some stairs seemed to pop up. - What's that? - Eric asked.



Deep below, Diglett suddenly woke up. He could've sworn he had felt someone walk up in front of the entrance. - I don't know. - Said Eevee. - But it looks like an open hole with some stairs leading down. - Diglett freaked out. There was someone out there. He didn't even know who they were, and the worst part was that he was completely alone. He dug himself under the ground and started digging towards town. He popped up from the ground around the main plaza. Luckily, just in front of the rest of the guildmembers. - GUYS! THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE GUILD AND THEY ARE TRYING TO GET IN! - He shouted, clearly scared. Everyone looked at the multicolored bird that Eric had met before. - Chatot... Did you close the door? - Diglett asked.




Eric and Eevee were deciding if they should go down or not. They had shouted for anyone that could come out and welcome them. After a while of responses, Eric sighed. - You know what. Let's go in, see what's going on. Maybe there's someone, and if there's not, it's not like we are going to do anything bad right? - He said. Oddly, that sounded reasonable. Eric decided to go down the stairs first. He began climbing down the ladder, and just when only his head was seen, he saw little the little pebbles around him begin shaking. It looked liked it was an earthquake first, but then they heard them.


Behind Eevee, what looked like an stampede of many types of Pokémon appeared out of nowhere, all of them charging at the duo, screaming. - INTRUDERS!!! - They both freaked out. Eevee jumped straight into the hole, and didn't remember that Eric was, in fact, still climbing down. Because of this, she bumped into him, making the riolu loose his balance and they both fell to the ground below. Eric hit the ground first. After the fall, which wasn't really that long, he had expected to be a little hurt, but he was surprised to see he was just fine. That was until Eevee fell on top of him. She wasn't even remotely close to fat, or at least she looked like it, but he felt like a 100-pound rock had fallen on him.



He howled in pain, as his friend had fallen on his back, as he had face planted on the ground. He felt all the air leave his lungs. He called her out. - Eevee! Get off! You're crushing me! - He shouted. She had landed on something soft, which had prevented her from getting hurt from the fall. When she looked down and saw her new friend, she yelped in surprise. - Sorry! Sorry! - She shouted, quickly getting of him. He breathed in heavily as he desperately needed air. He instantly got up ad shook the dust off him. He looked around. They seemed to be in a cavern in the ground, with some windows which led outside, where the sun was almost set already. He saw two bulletin boards, and there was some kind of reception near the window to their right. There were some vines that came out of some parts of the walls, and some moss seemed to cover some parts of it. - Eevee... How much do you weight? You almost killed me there! - He asked.



Eevee instantly glared daggers at him. - What did you say? - She asked. He looked at her, and instantly regretted ever mentioning her weight. - Umm... Nothing. I must weight a lot, since I fell like a stone, but... you're just as lightweight as a feather! - He shouted, slowly walking backwards and away from her. She started walking towards him menacingly. - Oh... I heard what you said pretty well... Get over here! - She shouted. Just when she was about to pounce on him again, they both heard someone shout from the top of the stairs. - Both of you criminals! Get out here right now or we'll have to go in ourselves! - They both froze.



Eric sighed. - Oh great... Now we've done it... - He said, blaming both of them. However, Eevee was still mad about before. - What do you mean we?! It was you who had the great idea of coming down here, and you didn't even know if someone was in! - She shouted at him. He looked at her. - Oh, you're blaming me?! You were the one that had the idea of making an exploration team! - He shouted back. - And you said yes! - She replied, almost equally as angry.



While this was all happening, the Pokémon outside of the hole were listening to their whole conversation, which didn't seem to reach and end after a few seconds. Chatot sighed. - Umm... Diglett? - The digging Pokémon looked at him. - Yeah? - He asked. - I don't think they are criminals. They might be just Pokémon who wanted to check out something in the guild. - Diglett frowned. - Well... I don't really now... I didn't really ask them, I just jolted to Treasure Town. - He said. All of the Pokémon around here sighed at the same time. - Well... Guess we'll have to sort this out... - Chatot said as he began flying down the stairs. Once down, he saw a Riolu and an Eevee, the eevee on top of the riolu, her right paw holding his face against the ground while the riolu was pushing her head back with his right paw, trying to keep away from him.



He coughed. Both of them immediately stopped "fighting" and stared at him. - You are the duo that got into the guild right? Well... I am sorry but there was a little misunderstanding and we thought you were some criminals. We deeply apologize. - He said, staring at both of them. He blinked for one second, and the next both of them were standing upright and looking at him. - So... care to tell me why you came here? Publicity? Travelers looking for a place to stay. I don't really know any of you... - He looked at Eric. - Wait, you're the riolu from before! What are you doing here, weren't you supposed to be looking for the... - And then he looked at Eevee, who was standing next to him. There was a long silence between all of them. - Well... looks like you found it alright... - Chatot said.



After a few minutes of talking and convincing Chatot they weren't trying to sell them anything, they finally got to present themselves. - I am Eevee, and this is Eric. - She said, pointing at the riolu while she said his name. Chatot looked at him. - Eric eh? Guess you didn't want to go with a fake name. - He said. Eric stared at him. - What? What do you mean? - Chatot tilted his head, a bit confused. - What? Haven't you heard about those identity thieves? There's some Dittos running around... - He began, however, Eric interrupted him. - What's a Ditto? - He asked.



Chatot looked at him, dumbfounded. - What do you mean what's a Ditto?! Where did you learn? I have never seen you around here, where are you from anyways?! - He asked, now a little bit mad. He thought the riolu was mocking him. Eevee intervened in the conversation. - He's lost all of his memory, he doesn't remember anything. She explained. The bird's face went into one of shock. - What?! You mean he's got amnesia?! Oh dear Arceus! - He started flying around, really nervous. He suddenly stopped, his face showing pure anger. - You should've informed me of this earlier! - He shouted. Eric and Eevee sighed. - It's not like we had an opportunity. - She said. - Yeah, you've been the only one who's really been talking in this conversation, and we didn't even get close to that topic... - He said.



Chatot seemed to go all depressed for a second, but regained his composture. - Well, let's skip all of that... So you say you wanted to be form an Exploration Team? - He asked. Both Eric and Eevee nodded at the same time. - Very well then. Unfortunately, I can't do that right away, since I do need some information from you. However, we can't talk this right here. Come with me. - he said. Chatot walked away to the stairs. It was then when Eric noticed there were another set of stairs right next to the one they had just fell down, and it seemed to go even deeper. - Follow me! - The bird said, as he flew down the stairs. Eric and Eevee walked up to the new set and climbed down. Just up the other set of stairs, the rest of the guildmembers were waiting in front of the tent.



- Should we go down there? Maybe he's in trouble? - Someone from the group said. - Are you serious?! This is Chatot we are talking about here! He's probably just beating those no good outlaws right now! - Another one said. Diglett turned around. - I don't even think they are outlaws guys. - Another voice, this one the loudest rose above the rest. - What do you mean! Those guys are serious criminals! They just broke into the guild without asking permission! That's some serious law breaking right there! - Just when he finished another voice, this time female shouted back. - Oh my gosh Loudred! Why are you loud, you almost blew by ears off! - Another voice shouted, this one female. The one known as Loudred spoke back.



- Sorry Sunflora! - However, since his voice was naturally loud, it didn't really help much that he answered. - Loudred don't shout! - Sunflora shouted again. Yet again, Loudred began speaking. - You know I can't help I... - this time though, he was cut off by everyone around him, as they all shouted in unison. - SHUT UP! - Loudred felt like a small tear appeared out of corner of his eye. - You guys are jerks you know... - He said, this time whispering, but, since his voice was so loud, everyone heard it., though they didn't reply. Diglett just sighed. - I just hope he's ok and gets over with it... - He said to everyone. A cold burst of wind blew, sending chills up their spines. - And fast... - Someone followed.




Eric and Eevee followed Chatot to the lowest level of the guild, or at least that's what Eric thought, since there were no more stairs leading down. He saw some kind of stall to their right, and to their left there was a tunnel that, from what Chatot told them, lead to the apprentices bedrooms, while the ones that were in front of the stairs lead to the individual bedrooms of each of the guilds 's inhabitants, such as him, the Guildmaster, Croagunk and Diglett and his father. However, he didn't go into any of these, but actually went to the left, where, hidden by the perspective, was a door with a pink pattern on it. Eric recognized the pattern, as it had the same shape as the tent outside. - Chatot, what is this door? - Eric asked. The bird didn't bother to look back at him.



- This is the guildmaster's room. We are going to ask him to make your team. Under no circumstance and I REPEAT no circumstances talk back to the guildmaster without his permission or speak to him rudely. The consequences might be beyond my reach. - He knocked at the door with his right wing. Meanwhile, Eric and Eevee looked at eachother, both of their faces showing an uneasy expression. They heard someone from the inside say something. - It's me Guildmaster! Chatot! I am coming in! - With that, Chatot opened the door, which revealed another room. Eric and Eevee walked in, as they looked around, inspecting the room. The room wasn't really big, as the space where someone could walk was even smaller. There were two huge chest on the left and on the right of the room, which were semi open and showed many goods. Eevee could see money, jewels, orbs and some... apples? Actually, more than half of the stuff in the chests were apples!



She wanted to comment this to Eric, but he seemed to notice this before she did. - Look at all those apples... - He said. She nodded, as she kept looking at the room. Two tall torches stood at the sides of a carpet that was extended on the middle of the stone floor. There was a smaller chest on this one, and some medium sized chests at the bottom of the room, right below a circle shaped window. Right in front of the carpet, and looking away from the newcomers, was a pink creature. It had big bunny ears, and seemed to be doing something... There was a faint munching sound coming from it. Was it eating? Chatot seemed to notice this. - Umm... Guildmaster... - He called again. The "guildmaster" stopped eating, and it's ears perked up. Chatot looked at him, confused. - Guildmaster? - Chatot asked again.



Suddenly, the creature turned around in a dime, looking straight at them with it's big green eyes. Eric could see that the belly part of his body was white, and seemed to be covered in little bits of apples, and some fluids, which could probably be apple juice. It didn't disappoint him, since he was said half-munched apple in it's left paw. - Hiya! - It suddenly shouted. It's voice sounded male, so Eric thought it was male, though his body made it hard to believe. - Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild! Welcome! Welcome! - He shouted again, making a reverence. Both Eric and Eevee were really confused. He was... weird, to say the least, she thought. Wasn't he supposed to be the guildmaster? This pink... fluff ball... was Wigglytuff? The Wigglytuff she had heard so much about? One of the greatest explorers of it's time?! - Guess you can't trust a book by it's cover... - She muttered to herself, soft enough for no one to hear.



- Yeah, that's what they say! - The pink puff ball said. The fox like Pokémon looked at him, blushing deeply. - Anyways! I think you two want to make an exploration team right? - He asked. Eric looked at him, surprised. - How did you know? - He asked. Wigglytuff snickered. - Well, to be honest, that's the only reason someone other than Chatot comes in here. They don't even drop by to say hello sometimes. It's either making a team, or promoting something when they give Chatot the slip. - Chatot frowned. - Guildmaster! Don't say those kind of things! I think we should focus on the matter at hand here, not how I watch for every single Pokémon that wants to sell us something! - Eric couldn't help but smirk, and Eevee had to hold in a laugh. - Well... I guess Chatot is right after all... So let's get down right to business shall we? First of all, we need a name for your team. Which one do you say? - He asked.



Eric was caught off guard by the question. - Umm... - He looked at Eevee nervously. - Do you have an idea? - He whispered to her. She leaned closer to him. - I've got a name I've been thinking for a long time... but promise you won't laugh ok? - He nodded. She leaned closer and whispered something. Eric listened and once she finished he looked at her, his face showing confusion. - You serious? - He asked. She nodded, blushing. - You guys have a name? - Chatot asked. Eric turned to look at him and nodded slowly. - Yeah... Our team name is... - He breathed in deeply. "This is gonna be weird..." He thought. - Our team name is Team Pokepals. - He said awkwardly. He could've sworn he had heard Chatot snickering. He looked at him, his eyes showing a "I'm going to murder you if you laugh" look. Chatot's face went plain again.



- Team Pokepals? Is that your answer? Decide wisely, since you won't be able to change it until you pass your guild training. - Both Eric and Eevee looked at eachother and then looked at the guildmaster. They both nodded. - Alright then... It's set! - He rose from the ground and held his arms up — YOOOOOOOOM-TA — He shouted all of a sudden. For a second, it felt like he rose a gust of wind, since they both felt some kind of force coming from him. - From now on, I declare you members of Team Pokepals! - He went to one of chests in the back and grabbed a small golden box. - You may now open this box and look at it's contents! - He shouted.



Eric and Eevee walked up to the box and opened it. Inside, they found a pair of badges, shockingly with the name of their team already engraved on the back of them! - What?! But... how?! - Eric asked, really surprised. Wigglytuff winked at him. - You thought those were just normal words? It's a secret that only guildmasters know, so don't try to break your heads over it. - The guildmaster answered. Eric was about to ask him when he was interrupted by one of the loudest squeals he had ever heard, which came from Eevee, who had been registering the box. - Oh my god a Wonder Map! And there's also a Treasure Bag! - She shouted, pulling out what seemed to be a sheet of paper and a bag. The bag seemed to contain something, and Eevee opened it. - Oh! Scarfs? - She said, pulling them out. They were black. - Uh... I don't really like the color... - She said. She didn't like the color black at all... It reminded her of... Things. Eric looked at them. - Well... for a scarf it doesn't really suit... Guess we'll dye them. - He looked at the bag and also found two spheres.


- What are these? - He asked. Chatot approached him. - Oh, these are really important. You see... these are Light Orbs. They are little magical spheres which give out a source of light once activated. You will see that they are attached to a golden base right? - Eric looked at it closely and noticed that Chatot was right. The spheres were blue, and they were mounted on a golden base, which seemed to have a pin so they could attach it to cloth. - If you out into the night or explore a cave and it's way too dark, the you grab these and turn them to the right... - The bird said, doing so with his right wing. The sphere suddenly lit up, like a light bulb. - It will start emitting light, and you'll be able to see in the darkness. Beware however, that they may also make you a walking target. If you need to shut them off to hide, you just turn them to the left... - He turned the sphere to the left, and the light died down as it appeared. - The longer you use them, the weaker the light gets until it dies. It recharges with other sources of light. This is cataloged as being one of the most, if not, the most useful item a explorer can have. Take good care of these, as they are really expensive! -



After all this explanation, they put everything inside the Treasure Bag. Chatot coughed, calling their attention. He looked at Eric. - Alright... now... since you don't remember if you even have a home and... - He looked at Eevee. - I don't even know where you live, I am pretty sure it would be best for both of you to stay in the guild. Is this ok? - They both nodded. - Good. However... - He gulped. - Since we are really short on space, we only have one bedroom empty. Usually we would divide the guildmembers in female and male bedrooms. However, since there's only one, as I've stated before... - He looked at both of them. - You'll have to share the room. - It felt like a bucket of cold water washed over both their heads. - Excuse me?! - Eevee shouted suddenly. - I am going to have to share a bedroom with him?! - Eric looked at her, a bit angry.


- What? Something wrong with it?! - Eevee stared at him, showing her teeth to him and blushing at the same time. - Well I just met you today you dumbass! It's kind of awkward to sleep in the same bedroom with a complete stranger don't you think?! - Eric walked closer to her. - A complete stranger which saved you and helped you! - Eevee inched closer to him. - Yet he didn't even hesitate to blame me for breaking into the guild! - Their faces got closer and closer the louder they shouted. - You seconded that motion! - he shouted. - But it was your idea! - She shouted. They foreheads connected, as they seemed to struggle to push the other back.



- STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! — Chatot shouted. They both immediately stopped arguing to look at the other Pokémon in the room. Wigglytuff and Chatot were staring at them, both really confused. - What was that about meeting just today and saving lives?! What the hell happened to you two?! Explain, NOW! - Eric and Eevee looked at eachother and regained their compostures. After this, they proceeded to explain how they had met, what had happened on the beach, and how they had gotten to the guild. - And all that happened today? - Chatot asked once they both finished explaining.



They nodded. Wigglytuff huffed. - Wow... you two had a really busy day... I think you deserve a good dinner and some well earned rest. - He looked out the window. - However, it's gotten pretty late... So you'll have to do with some apples and berries. Your room is the one at the end of the hall to the left of here. - He looked at Chatot. - Call Chimecho and tell her to take out some supplies for a quick dinner. Also, tell the other members. - Chatot nodded, as he turned around and opened the door, heading out. - GUILDMEMBERS! ASSEMBLE! -



He didn't get any answer however, just silence. He called everyone again, but got no result. - Umm... Chatot... Where are the guildmembers? - Eric asked. Chatot closed his eyes, trying to remember. - Well... Diglett came to warn us in treasure town and right afterwards we came to the guild running. A few minutes later I went down the stairs and the others... - He opened his eyes in pure shock. - The others... - His face turned into one of horror. - They are outside! - He shouted. He zipped away, while at the same time Wigglytuff had been saying something related to apples and how good they were, and he was right now dancing with an apple on top of his head. Just outside the guild, Chatot found the starving and freezing guildmembers. From the bottom floor f the guild, the duo could hear them shouting angrily and the bird.



Eric stared at Wigglytuff, and then looked at the stairs, where the shouts were coming from. He sighed. - This is going to be one hell of a ride isn't it... - He said. Eevee felt the same way he did, sighing as well. - Yeah... - She answered.

***​

After all of what happened on the day, Eric and Eevee finally got to their bedroom. It wasn't really big, which only made matters worst. It was a round chamber, which was blocked from the rest of the hallway by a wooden door. There was a bucket of water, a window on the wall where they could the moon shining on the sky, and, fortunately, two straw beds, which were in fact, pretty close together. This was easily fixed, as they both immediately grabbed their respective beds and pulled them away into the opposite sides of the room. The both dropped to the beds and closed their eyes, really mad at eachother. After a few minutes of moving around uncomfortably in their beds however, they began calming down, and soon realizing they had both been idiots. Eevee turned around to look at Eric, just to notice he was staring at her too. From the other side of them room of course, but still, staring at her.


(Goodnight — Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)


- Hey... um... I wanted to say... I'm sorry for getting mad with you earlier. It was true yeah... It was my idea to come down here without knowing, so we could've ended up in a lot of trouble. I didn't really think that one trough... - He remained silent after that, and because of this he heard her chuckle. - Yeah. You weren't too clever back there. Though... If you hadn't done that we wouldn't have ended up here... And I have to owe it to you... Only good stuff has happened to me since I met you. - He smiled. - Yeah. That's why they call me "Mr. Walking Good Luck Charm". I have so much good luck I loose my memory and wake up in a beach. - They both laughed at that. Though it wasn't really really funny, it was ironic that although he had probably had a really bad day, it still felt like a dream for Eevee.



- I still can't believe it though.... Finally! I'm part of an exploration team! And... it's all thanks to you really. I kind of think I was ungrateful. - He shook his head. - Nah. We were just being idiots. - They laid there silent for a few minutes. - You know... I am kind of surprised that you even agreed to... you know. Make a team. I had expected you would refuse, since I thought you would probably try and find more answers to your past. But... - She smiled warmly at him. - I am glad you decided to stay with me. As cheesy as that sounds, it's true. - He smiled. - Well... me staying here doesn't mean I don't want answers. It's bugging me a lot you know. Who was I? Where did I come from? How did I end up in that beach and why did I loose my memories? There's so many questions... - He said.



She chuckled. - Well, lying on your bed wondering about isn't going to solve anything at all. Let's just go to sleep and we'll figure it out some other day. Tomorrow... Tomorrow's the big day! Goodnight Eric. - She said. - Goodnight Eevee. - He answered. Eevee curled up in a ball position, with her tail on top of her body, while Eric laid on his bed. He put his arms under his head, like they were a cushion and closed his eyes. Slowly, they both drifted off to sleep, a smile on both of their faces.



(Stop the music)


And it was that fateful day... That day when it all began. The beach at dusk where they met, that shake of hands where they became friends, and that "goodnight" filled with kindness started it all. On that fateful day, two young Pokémon sealed their fates, and begun the greatest adventure to have ever been told in that world. It was, on that fateful day, when they first met. And it was a day, that neither of them would forget.

***​

(Zant's Theme — Twilight Princess)


This was it. After so long... This was it. He wasn't nervous, or anxious, or happy or any of the likes. He had learned to leave those emotions behind. He would finally fulfill his destiny, and would join the darkness. The doors in front of him opened, letting him inside of a huge circular room. At the far end, a throne stood, where a creature was sitting. He slowly inched closer and closer to it. - So... After all that you have gone through... Are you ready to become one of us? - The creature on the throne said. Next to him, three more creatures stood in the darkness. He nodded. - Yes my lord... - He crouched down on his knee, making a reverence. - What is your name? - The creature of the throne asked. - My name is Petrae. - He answered. - What is your duty? - The creature asked again. - To revive our lord. - Petrae said. - And how will you do it? - The creature asked for the last time. Petrae rose his head. - By plunging this world into darkness. - He answered, a wicked smile on his face.



The creature showed his snow white teeth to him. - Very well then... You are ready... - Thunder struck just outside, as purple light came into the room, revealing only the shapes of those standing in it. - I welcome you... Petrae the Golem... To Team Uncario! - The creature from the couch announced. Petrae rose and shouted. - Nam claritas tenebris! - The other three creatures near the throne followed his shout. - Nam claritas tenebris! - They shouted again, as the one on the throne smiled again. They were ready... To finally put an end to their lords imprisonment. Lightning struck again, light coming from his red eyes, and the giant wooden doors of the room closing with a loud noise, sealing them from the chaos that was the world.


(Stop the music)