It's one in the morning so let's write a story!

…

Lately I've been finding myself looking up at the stars late at night. Perhaps my recent journey to the future where time stood still and darkness filled the land helped further my appreciation for simple things like these little blips in the sky.

'No.' I corrected myself, 'It would be my present, would it not? This time we are currently in, would be the past. But if I only know life as a Riolu in this time, does that make this my present?'

I sighed. 'Time travel is confusing.'

We had only made it about halfway through the Hidden Land when Grovyle suggested we stop for the night and set up camp. Neither Piplup nor I argued; it had been a pretty exhausting journey. Wild Pokémon attacked us at every turn, as if the dungeon was testing to see if we were worthy to make the journey.

I sat up and looked around our makeshift campsite. We were in a small clearing with a perfect view of the night sky. Right next to me on my left was Piplup, her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. Grovyle was sprawled out across the sloppily made bed a few feet away. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe we thought him to be a criminal just a few of weeks ago.

'Well he put on a hell of a performance when we were fighting him…' I thought to myself.

I dropped back down on my back and stared back up at the stars.

'…It's my job to save all of this' I thought 'And it won't be easy. Knowing my luck, there will probably be some kind of final showdown with some giant boss or something…. Knock on wood.'

It was almost overwhelming to think about. Could I really save the world? It seemed like a big job for someone who wasn't even three feet tall.

'In this form at least.' I sighed, 'I wonder if I was tall as a human. Grovyle would probably know…'

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piplup shift in her sleep. I turned to look at her sleeping form. She had a smile on her face that was even more entrancing than the constellations above our heads. She looked so peaceful, like nothing bad was going to happen; like we were back at the guild, where our biggest dilemma was something as silly as apples.

'I wonder what she's dreaming about...' I thought 'What makes her smile like that? Was she on an adventure in some far off land? Was I there?'

I immediately blushed at the thought of my partner dreaming about me. I turned to look back at the stars and folded my arms behind my head.

'That's right.' I thought, 'I'm doing it for her so that she wouldn't have to live in that horrible future that I come from. She deserves to be able to watch the sun rise every morning, to see a rainbow after a heavy storm… I would do anything to keep that perfect world for her…'

I closed my eyes with that promise echoing in my head. After a while sleep came for me, and I fell into a moment of peacefulness. Momentarily cut off from the world and its promise of destruction, I dreamed about a better future.