Intro/Author's Note: This is a story based off of my time playing PMD: Explorers of Darkness... and Sky, to a lesser extent. If any of you read my short entry 'Final Words to My Greatest Friend', it's about those same two characters. The characters you know may not be quite the same as you remember them, nor the world identical either - no, this time things might get a bit... stormy (title pun!) for our little heroes. Now this story will not be updated particularly often, as it's more of a side project I'm doing among other things. I may or may not extend it to the post-game story, and that's to be decided later. But I hope you all enjoy, and I look forward to seeing what you have to say; be it criticism or otherwise... or to let me know if I chose the wrong genres. Please correct me on that if necessary. And finally, purely bold text - like that below - is Dialga speaking directly to 'his audience'. That is all.

Now... on with the story.

I... am Dialga, the Legendary Pokémon of Time. And for the first time in my memory, I have a story worth telling all of you. The story of how two seemingly average Pokémon accomplished something unthinkable... they stopped me from destroying their future. Sacrifices were made, friends were gained and lost... and something else was found along the way. This is their story... the story of Team Legend.

It was a calm evening in Treasure Town - the Kecleon brothers were closing up their stall, Kangaskhan had already headed in for the night, and everything was quiet in the sunset-bathed town. And finally, just like any other day, one resident Chikorita was walking past the town's entrance in defeat.

"There I go again... why can't the Guild be less scary?" she muttered sadly to herself - as she had for the past several weeks, she had tried to get into the town's main 'attraction', Wigglytuff's Explorers Guild. And just like the last few tries, she couldn't even get past the sentry that never failed to startle her.

So, also in her normal 'routine', our Chikorita walked glumly down to the beach below the cliff-side town. Along the way, she kept berating herself for 'being such a coward', or 'believing in a foolish dream of exploring' - little did she know that her dream was not quite as foolish or out of reach as she might think.

However, even a frustrated Pokémon like Chikorita couldn't stay stressed at the sight of the sun setting on the horizon of the beach. In fact, that was why she was here - the sound of the ocean, the gathered Krabby blowing bubbles over the water, and the sunlight reflecting off of them had the combined effect of just... washing away anything, leaving her calm and content.

Even still, she let out a sigh. "Maybe I shouldn't bother... if I can't even get past the door, what chance do I have at actually doing anything?" After a moment, she reached with a vine into the small pouch that hung around her neck, pulling out a stone fragment barely small enough to fit inside the pouch. At first glance it was just a rock, but there was actually a strange, complex design inscribed on its flat side. '… but then I'd never find out what this is...'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a weak, pained groan further down the beach. She looked over at where it came from, and gasped - laid out on the sand was a Chimchar, and even from where she stood it looked absolutely soaked. Taking only a second to put her stone fragment away, she ran over to the motionless fire-type. "Oh Arceus, are you okay!?"

Again the Chimchar groaned before slowly pushing himself up. 'Ugh... what happened?' It took him a second to see where he was, and more specifically, who was directly in front of him. With a brief shout of surprise he jumped back. "Wh-what are you?!" The question earned him a confused look from Chikorita.

"What, you've never seen a Chikorita before?" That made him think - he'd heard that before, but where... 'Agh... why can't I remember? Wait- I can't remember anything! Except...' For just a moment, the beach and Chikorita were gone - something, a memory, flashed through his head.

"Fl-re, h-ld on! Ju-t a li-tle lon-r!"

He tried to hold onto what little there was; to remember something more, or at least more clearly - but it was already gone. Only one word stuck in his mind: 'Fl... Flare? Is that what it said? Is that my name, Flare?'

"Hey, are you alright?" After a moment of refocusing he saw Chikorita waving a paw in his face, looking worried. "What happened to you?" The Chimchar shook his head to clear it, then finally took a look around before answering. 'Where... where even am I?'

When he asked as much, he got a shocked look from Chikorita. "Wait- you don't know? You're right outside Treasure Town - how could you not know that?!" Then something occurred to her. "What... what do you know?"

He was silent for a moment as he tried to sort out his thoughts. "… my name, I think... Flare." After saying it out loud, something clicked in his mind - that was definitely his name, but he knew what he was too. "And... I'm human?" he added uncertainly.

"Human?!" Chikorita went back to looking confused. "But... you look like a Chimchar to me... and there hasn't been a human around for... well, I've never seen one." Instantly, Flare stumbled over to the water and looked down at his reflection. '… this isn't right. I don't know how I know, but this isn't a human... she's right, I am something else.'

"… you're not joking." Flare looked back to Chikorita, who had a look of realization on her face. "You... actually think you were human!"

For some reason, the comment made Flare snap. "I know I was!" he shouted, glaring at her. But an instant later, he blinked and shook his head. "S-sorry... I guess I just need something to be certain about. And... well, that's gonna be it." Surprisingly, she wasn't angry or scared like he had thought - instead, the Chikorita gave him an almost pitying smile.

"It's alright. As... weird as this is, I think I believe you." She glanced back at the sun - or what was left of it. Somehow, it had gone from just touching the horizon to being half 'gone'. "Whoa - it's getting late! Um... do you have anywhere to go?"

"… no, not really... I don't really even know where I am, remember?" Flare replied slowly, unsure where the Chikorita was going with this.

"Right, right - sorry. But... well, I guess you can stay with me? I mean, if you want that is; I think it'd be better than having nowhere to go, and it's only right that I try to help-" She stopped talking when she heard Flare laughing quietly. After a second of surprised quiet, she shouted "Hey! What's so funny!?"

The Chimchar quickly stopped laughing and shook his head. "Sorry - it's just..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, and had the sunset not been obscuring it, one might have seen a faint red tint on his face. "Well, you're kinda... well, cute when you're nervous." As soon as the words were said, he was surprised at himself. 'Wait- where did THAT come from?! Why did I go and say that; I must still be out of it...'

Perhaps fortunately for him, Chikorita was stunned into silence for a moment. But it didn't last long, as what he said caught up with her. "L-look, do you want to come along or not? Because... I'm going!" Turning around quickly, coincidentally hiding her face in the process, she started walking back to the trail leading to town.

Unfortunately, it seemed that somebody else had been at the beach as well - two Pokémon, in fact, with not so kind intentions. As she stepped onto the path, a Zubat came barreling out of the trees framing the trail, 'accidentally' clipping the pouch hanging around her neck. The contained stone fragment fell to the ground, only to be picked up by a second newcomer - a Koffing.

"Whoa-ho, what d'we have here?" the Koffing asked in a wheezing voice, chuckling mischievously. "Somethin' valuable, maybe? Sure we could get somethin' for it..." He noticed Chikorita step forward and laughed. "Oh, sorry - this little thing yours?"

"Y-yeah, it is - can I have that back?" she asked shakily - something about this one made her feel uneasy. That feeling was only supported by Koffing laughing again.

"Heh, sure... come get it." he said, with an obviously fake 'sincerity'. And of course, the moment Chikorita stepped towards him the Zubat flew into her out of nowhere, sending her to the ground. "Aw, come on - you want this back, don't ya? You doin' okay?" When she didn't get back up, he dropped the transparent 'concern' and chuckled. But it was the Zubat who spoke this time.

"C'mon, let's leave the chicken - the Chief will wanna see this!" the bat said, sneering down at Chikorita. "'Sides, she ain't gonna do nothin'." Without another word between them, the two Pokémon moved back down the beach, disappearing into the cave at its end.

As soon as they were gone, Flare dashed over to Chikorita. "A-are you alright?" he asked, helping her up. When she was standing, he quickly realized she was trying not to cry. "What'd they take from you?"

She seemed to focus long enough to answer. "T-that stone... I've had it as long as I can remember... I n-need it back, but..." Before she could say anything else, Flare muttered something angrily under his breath, then glanced over at the cave.

"… well, what're we waiting for? They said you'd have to get it yourself - so let's get it back!" he said, his determined expression making him... almost fierce. Then he smiled at the Chikorita and added, "You'll have help, of course... hey! I never got your name."

"O-oh, sorry; it's Serita. And... thanks." she replied quickly, shaking her head to clear it. "You... sure you want to help? I could-" Flare cut her off, shaking his head.

"OOH no, you're not keeping me out of this one. I'm helping, and they're gonna get a beatdown." Somewhere in the back of his mind, Flare wondered how he was dealing with this so well... but at the moment, it really didn't matter. Motioning for Serita to follow him, he ran into the cave. 'Something tells me... this is gonna be weird.'

Beach Cave - Lower Floor One

And right he was - from the moment they entered the cave, it seemed to be shifting. The walls were too... ordered to be natural, and the ground was too flat. It soon became apparent that somehow, the cave was set up like a sort of labyrinth - many twists and turns ended in dead ends, making them have to turn back. And then there were the Pokémon...

"Another one, behind you Flare!"

The Chimchar whirled around to scratch at the sneaky Kabuto's shell, making it collapse to the ground like many others. He spared a glance at Serita and nodded once. "Thanks. But how long does this go on-" Almost as if to answer his question, he saw a... strangely out of place set of stairs leading down. They were made of the same rocky material as the ground, but they were just as strange as the rest of the cave. "… well, we haven't found them yet - maybe they're down a level?"

With nothing else to do, they descended the stairway. It brought them to another, similar 'room' lower in the cave... but the stairs behind them were gone. "W-what? What is this place? It's not normal..." Flare muttered, shaking his head - even with what little he knew, this didn't make any sense. "Ugh... thinking about this makes my head hurt- Serita, watch out!" And just like that, they were back to fighting their way through the caves.

Beach Cave - Lower Floor Four

"This can't go on much further..." Serita sighed, glancing around. By now, they were getting tired - the endless, strangely aggressive Pokémon were taking their toll on the duo, and the caves themselves seemed determined to throw them off.

Flare let out an irritated sigh of his own. "Where are they..." As soon as he said it, a faint voice echoed through the cave.

"Where's the Chief? He said he'd be here..."

Instantly Flare figured out where the voice was coming from. "Follow me! They're close." Without another word, he bolted down the nearest 'corridor' and smirked as he saw the now-familiar stairs. "Yep - let's see how they are when someone actually stands up to 'em."

Beach Cave Pit

The much larger 'room' they found themselves in was a natural-looking cave, sand coating the ground and the ocean flowing in through the cave's opening. And looking around, confused, were Koffing and Zubat, the latter now holding the stone fragment. It didn't take the two long to notice Flare and Serita, and their reaction was expected - a sneer and a laugh.

"Well, now - the wimps decided to come apologize! Whoa-ho-ho..." Koffing taunted, bobbing up and down in the air. Then he seemed to notice the determined glare on the duo's faces. "...or did you grow a spine, and think you can take this back?"

The gas-spewing Pokémon's question made Zubat laugh even harder. "Heh-heh... look at the Chikorita - shakin' like the leaf on 'er head!" It was true - Serita was shaking, whether from fear or anticipation however none could tell. "This is gonna be easy!"

"Will ya shut up already?!" Flare shouted, small embers drifting out his mouth. "Are you going to give it back or what?" The Chimchar's outburst seemed to surprise everyone - lost memories or not, he hated a bully and a thief... and these two were both.

"Whoa-ho, someone's got a fiery temper-" Koffing was cut off by a small stream of fire, scorching his face. He blinked twice, then glared at Flare, who just had an expression somewhere between infuriated and disbelief.

"Skip the puns, gasbag. That was horrible. Now let's get this over with." Glancing over at Serita, who seemed to be holding back a laugh - probably due to the Koffing's comical look - he added, "You handle the bat - gasbag's mine." She nodded once and fixed the Zubat with a glare - they were all waiting to see who would start things off.

Ultimately, Koffing made the first move; he belched forth a cloud of smoke at Flare, the fumes quickly making his vision blurry. "Gah - dirty trick, ya coward..." he snapped, trying to see through the smoke. But blinded as he was, Koffing's follow-up charge sent him sprawling to the ground.

Zubat wasn't playing any fairer - with a loud screech he set Serita's ears ringing, making it even harder for her to concentrate. "Heh-heh... Ya really think you were gonna beat us? Can't even get a hit-" A swarm of razor sharp leaves cut across his wings, literally cutting him off.

Dizzy, stumbling but now angry, Serita glared at the bat-like Pokémon. "I- we are going to beat you!" she said, shaking her head to clear it. "R-right Flare?" The Chikorita's only response was a coughing fit as Flare jumped to his feet.

Koffing surged forwards, not giving the Chimchar a chance to recover before tackling him back to the ground. "Nah, how 'bout you just stay down. Make things easier on yourself." he said, laughing as Flare tried and failed to get back up.

'Ugh... for cowards... they're tougher than they look...' he thought, wincing even as he tried to block out the pain. 'Just gonna... wait a minute. Get 'em when... they think I'm out of it...' With that thought, he let himself go limp on the sandy ground.

At this point, it was obvious who would win the remaining fight. Two against one, with the disadvantage lying with one naturally wishing to shy away from conflict. However, what happened next, even I could not have predicted.

With Flare seemingly incapable of fighting, both Koffing and Zubat turned on Serita. "Heh-heh... well now, you're friend's right out, ain't he? Looks like we win, don't ya say?" The bat Pokémon flew a bit closer, starting to circle the frightened Chikorita.

"Yep, I'd say so..." Koffing replied with a dark chuckle. "'course, we've been around this town a long time... can't have ya lettin' everyone know just what 'horrible Pokémon' we are, can we? That'd just ruin everythin' we got planned." That statement made Serita take a step back, even more afraid than she already had been.

"W-what are you... g-going to do?" she asked unsteadily, fearing whatever the answer would be. When the response came from Zubat, behind her, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"We're gonna have ta shut ya up, ain't we? Heh-heh..." He flew right past her head to stop next to Koffing, both of them with a more than unfriendly smirk. "Nighty-night, little chicken..."

Before Serita had the chance to react, Koffing spewed out a dark green cloud of poisonous gas - its effect was almost immediate. The Chikorita couldn't stop herself from gasping in surprise, and accidently inhaled the gas. Seconds later she started shaking, not out of fear this time but pain as the poison took effect, and fell to the ground with a cry.

After waiting for a few moments to make sure she wasn't going anywhere, the two poison types snickered to themselves and started moving to the cave's exit. But just as they reached the opening, a searing hot stream of fire shot through the air in front of them, and the cave's temperature shot up faster than they could blink. When they turned around, they saw Flare standing between them and Serita with a glare that somehow fixed them in place.

"You two... aren't quite done!" he shouted, his normally small flame 'tail' now wrapped around him like a cloak of fire. "You disgust me... you're cowards, bullies, and worse... you tried to kill her!" the furious Chimchar continued, stalking towards the nervous duo. He came to a halt merely a foot away, the intense heat from his flames making them both sweat. Then, very slowly and quietly, he said "Give... me... the stone."

When they hesitated to move he shot another, white-hot stream of fire at the ground beneath them. "I said give it to me!" Immediately the stone fragment was dropped to the now-glassy ground by a shaking Zubat. After picking it up, the flames surrounding him somehow bending away from the rock, he looked back to the two with the same vicious glare. "Now get out... before I lose my temper." At the tone of his voice, the poison types left so fast that a dust cloud lingered in their wake.

As soon as Flare was sure they were gone, the flames died down and he ran over to the downed and shivering Chikorita. Her eyes were closed, and her normally greenish skin had paled to a sickly yellow. 'Not much time...' he thought, mind racing. 'She mentioned a town earlier... might be her only shot.' With no other option, he managed to pick her up and started making his way to the cave's exit - but not before carefully putting the stone into its pouch around her neck.

Despite the Chimchar's utterly lacking knowledge of the area, it took little time for him to make it to Treasure Town. But it seemed that luck simply wasn't with him - looking to his left, into the town itself, he noticed that everyone seemed to be asleep. 'Great... didn't think of that...' he thought, glancing up at the night sky. '… how long was I down there?' The thought left his mind quickly when he noticed Serita was turning strangely cold.

"No, you hang on..." he muttered, glancing around franticly before seeing a set of stairs carved into the cliffside in front of him, though where they led to he couldn't see. "… gonna have to try." he sighed, already climbing up the rocky steps. 'Hold on now... just a little longer...'

Meanwhile, there was one Pokémon still awake, late as it was - the ever-watchful sentry of the Wigglytuff Guild, Diglett. Chosen for his surprising ability to identify nearly any Pokémon merely but footprint, as well as his obvious sensitivity to the ground. And perhaps it was lucky that Diglett was awake - for if he had not been, nobody would have noticed the Chimchar staggering up the steps to the guild with a Chikorita in his arms, or seen him collapse to the ground out of sheer exhaustion.

Fortunately this was not the case. Diglett did notice, and within minutes the two unconscious Pokémon were carried down into the guild's cliffside base. It didn't take long for them to realize what was wrong with the Chikorita, and after force-feeding her a Pecha berry it seemed her only problem would be exhaustion - and that merely took rest to cure. So as there happened to be an unclaimed room in the base, the two were set down in the nest-like beds.

As the group was shooed out by Chimecho, who doubled as the guild's cook, team organizer, and sometimes 'healer', nobody noticed Serita half-consciously drag herself over to the sleeping Flare and curl up beside him before falling asleep herself.