Summary: Grovyle had just started to lose hope when he is reunited with none other then his once-human partner and best friend, though on not so good terms. But what really hurts is that she doesn't remember a thing about their time together. Can he somehow manage to salvage their lost partnership, all the while hiding his true feelings?
Prologue: "Meeting Team Luminary."
Grovyle couldn't believe his eyes. There, right in front of him, was the Time Gear of Crystal Cave. It couldn't possibly be that easy, right...? 'I mean, I did have to go through a nasty fight with the guardian of Mistrise Forest's Gear and not to mention that damn sand pit,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe this is a lucky break?'
Apparently so... Or not. His heart thudded within his chest, a cold feeling washing over him like a wave. He could feel it in his bones, something very bad was about to happen. Something that would also happen to be quite rewarding at the same time. That was something he didn't quite get. His 'gift,' as Ahri had insisted upon it being, was something he hardly understood, if that. But he rarely ever questioned the feelings he got. They never steered him wrong before.
And then, just like that, the cold feeling was gone, then back again at full force. Understanding the message, Grovyle twisted out of the way of a multicolored beam just as it was about to strike him. With a growl, he spun around, coming face to face with another beam- Psybeam, he recognized the attack- and lunged forward, knocking his assailant to the stony floor with a single hard strike. Without giving the Pokémon a chance to recover, Grovyle was on it, shooting a Stun Spore technique he had learned from an Ivysaur on his travels. It was then that he allowed himself to examine his attacker.
It was a blue fairy like Pokémon. Probably the lakes guardian, Grovyle realized. No wonder he attacked. Too bad nobody cared to listen to his story, otherwise things would have been much easier. Now for the Time Gear...
"I-I was expecting... You..." the guardian forced out through paralyzed lips. Grovyle paused in his advance towards his prize and looked over his shoulder. "Oh?" Please don't let this be another one of those poorly made traps to catch him. He had had enough of them.
The guardian chuckled. "Yes... Uxie... told me. You'll never get... The Time Gear!" and then, as if on cue, massive, sharp crystals sprang from the ground, completely surrounding the lake. Grovyle eyes widened and with a shout of alarm he rushed forth, for once being too late and stopping just shirt of a large crystal.
"Oh shit. No, you've got to let me through," he swore, rounding on the fairy and glaringangrily. "I need that Time Gear!"
"Not while we're around, you don't!" a new voice exclaimed, causing the grass type to snap his head in the direction of the voice. A Shinx, with a red and white bandana around his neck, bounded into the cave. A nonchalant looking vulpix trotted at his heel. Despite there being two new intruders, Grovyle found himself paying more attention to the vulpix. She was obviously female if the subtle yet graceful curves and contours of her body had anything to say about it. Her head was down, but not in a defeated way, more of an i-dont-care-at-the-moment-but-i'll-still-fight-you way. He was suddenly painfully interested in the fire type female that had undoubtedly come to stop him.
It was then he realized the shinx was speaking, so he frowned and took a step back. "I don't want any trouble, and I'm sure you don't either. I just came for one thing and one thing only."
"Yeah well, if you get what you came for then everybody else will suffer and we can't have that. Ain't that right, partner?"
Then the vulpix looked up and he was stuck on her eyes. They were a vibrant, smoldering green color with flecks of gold. They held something fierce and cautious and went wonderfully with her coat, which was the color of glowing hot embers.
"Mhm." Then she tilted her head to the side and simply... Stared. It was a heated and uncomfortable feeling glare that made the cold feeling wash over his body again, which was ironic considering it was a fire type that triggered it.
He finally seemed to snap himself out of whatever trance the fox had put him into and form a proper returning glare. He then met the shinx's aggressive stance with a challenging look. Might as well fight his way out and come back later, if he couldn't get the Gear now.
"One last chance, kid. This doesn't concern you and you know it," he growled. And still the two persisted with the glares. Grovyle stretched his limbs.
"Well, I normally hate to do this, but..." He started. Maybe he could intimidate these kids into scramming so he could find a way around the crystals. It usually worked. Ahri had always said he could be a real scary asshole when he really put his mind to it.
The shinx took a step back, not out of fear, Grovyle noted, but in a purely strategic way. The vulpix looked at him and nodded, as if they were reading each other's mind, and suddenly the room felt so much hotter. And not just because he was a grass type and vulnerable to heat, it was so hot that even the guardian was visibly sweating buckets. The shinx, admittedly, was taking the heat like a champ, as if he had practiced and built a resistance. The vulpix was, surprise surprise, completely unaffected. Daresay she even looked a little pleased. Grovyle Steeled his cold glare. Looks like this situation got a whole lot hotter.
