Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the premise of "Explorers of Time." I merely own the specifications of my OC and the particular plot of this fanfic.
Chapter Two: The Journey Begins
"Are you sure this is it?"
"I'm positive. The fog is unmistakable. This is definitely Fogbound Forest."
"And this is where you saw a vision of a time gear?"
"Yes. Inside the forest should be a statue of Groudon. If we can find it, maybe I can trigger the vision again so I can be sure it was as I remember it from all those years ago."
"Alright, then let's go." The two ventured into the misty forest, the trees and fog motionless which made the air feel uncomfortably thick and heavy as they pushed through the suspended fog. "Is this still a mystery dungeon?" Grovyle asked.
"I don't know, I haven't been here for years. Just keep going, we'll find our way through eventually." Grovyle frowned but didn't argue with her as she continued through the trees.
It took some time, but they finally escaped the forest and looked around to see waterfalls around them, frozen in the fog.
"There it is!" Kaya said, running towards a partially buried statue of Groudon. She ran up to it and ran her hands along it as Grovyle followed her.
"Well? Do you see anything?"
"Just give me a minute…" she said. Her hand rested on the head of the statue and she closed her eyes for a moment. She suddenly fell to her knees, placing a hand on her head as she swayed dizzily.
"Kaya?!"
"I…I see it…place the drought stone in Groudon's heart…that will lift the fog."
"The drought stone?"
"It's a large, red stone…it almost looks like a giant ruby."
"Where can we find such a stone?"
"I do not know…it should not be too far from the statue, but I did not see its location. I only saw the fog lifts and reveals a place called Fogbound Lake where a time gear is hidden."
"So…place the drought stone in Groudon's heart to lift the fog. Very well." Kaya sighed, rubbing her head a bit. "That ability of yours is impressive."
"Thank you…but the problem is it's limited to only areas connected directly to time gears. So unless you have some idea where the remaining four are, this is going to be exceedingly difficult." Grovyle rested a hand on his chin and looked thoughtful.
"Well…I've been researching time gears all my life, and I do know that three of them were guarded by three pokemon; Uxie, Azelf, and Mespirit. And these three pokemon lived by hidden lakes."
"Ok. Well, we found the first lake," Kaya said. "But do you know where the other lakes are?"
"I don't know any locations for certain…but I know a pokemon who may have an idea."
"Who?"
"Come on; let's get to the Dusk Forest." Kay furrowed her brows but nodded and followed Grovyle back through Fogbound Forest.
-0-
"So…what pokemon are we seeing, exactly?" Kaya asked after a few hours of hiking through the mystery dungeon together. Grovyle stopped and looked around cautiously.
"I suppose we're deep enough to be free of curious ears." They sat down in a patch of frozen clover and ate some apples to fill their grumbling bellies. "We're going to see Celebi."
"Celebi?" Grovyle nodded.
"Yes. I met her years ago when I was exploring this forest and she revealed to me she knew a way to reverse the planet's paralysis, but was unable to do it on her own. She is the one who told me about the time gears and the collapse of temporal tower. You see, Dialga is not the only pokemon with power over time."
"So Celebi has control over time?"
"Well, not exactly. But she does have some powers and can make short trips through time on her own. She also has power to use the passage of time in the deepest parts of this forest. Though Primal Dialga has power of all of time, Celebi has been able to evade him and guards the passage of time from him and his minions."
"Impressive. But why hasn't she tried to go back and replace the time gears?"
"Celebi is a strong pokemon, but she is exceptionally wary of battle. If she were to use the passage of time alone, Dialga and Dusknoir would destroy her. And, right now, if the only other pokemon with any power over time were destroyed, the world would be forever doomed. But I have no special abilities that are necessary to this world. Even if I fail, there is always hope that another may step up and finish what Celebi and I started."
"That sounds terribly sad, though. You can't make yourself sound so disposable, Grovyle."
"I am, Kaya. I really am disposable in this world, because this world should not even exist." She frowned a little.
"That may be true…but that doesn't mean its ok for you to simply be obliterated. Celebi plays a crucial role in this plan of yours, but so do you. How many other pokemon have your drive? Most are either dark and vicious or terrified and cowardly. The chance of finding another pokemon who is willing to go against Dusknoir and Dialga is slim to none."
"Well…hopefully we'll be able to succeed and not have to worry about getting any other pokemon involved. The fewer involved in this, the better." Grovyle stood up and began moving again. "Come on; let's not waste any more time."
"Alright," Kaya sighed, standing up and following him. They continued through the forest and eventually came to a large clearing at the base of some rocky cliffs and Grovyle looked around.
"Celebi, are you here?" he called out and Kaya's silver eyes scanned the still, empty clearing. There was no sign of life anywhere in the area and she frowned slightly. "That's strange…I wonder where she could be hiding…" Grovyle mumbled, moving forward and looking around.
A golden light suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him and a bubbly, feminine voice suddenly emanated from the light.
"Oh, my dear Grovyle, it's been a while," the voice chirped and the light grew and a small, pink pokemon floated a few feet away from Grovyle. She had large, green eyes, a pair of antennas and tiny, gossamer wings on her back. "And you've brought someone with you?"
"Yes, Celebi. This is Kaya. She has agreed to help us try to find the time gears." Celebi clapped her small hands together, beaming.
"Wonderful!" She flew over to Kaya and looked her up and down. "So you're Kaya. I'm Celebi!"
"Nice to meet you, Celebi," Kaya said slowly with a small smile. "I certainly wasn't expecting such a…cute pokemon." Celebi giggled and blushed a bit.
"Well, I certainly have charming petite features, don't I? But don't think that makes me a pushover!"
"So, Celebi, we've been able to pinpoint the location of one of the time gears at Fogbound Lake."
"Really? How did you manage to do that?" Celebi gasped, her eyes widening excitedly.
"Kaya has a special gift that allows her to learn the locations of time gears." Celebi gasped in wonder and turned to look at Kaya.
"It's called the Dimensional Scream. Every time I touch something related to a time gear, I get a vision about the time gear and how to get to it. But because I can only use this when I touch something related to a time gear, I need to have a basic idea where the gears may be located."
"Well, I know for a fact that three time gears are hidden in lakes that are placed in particularly strange locations, and these three particular time gears are guarded by the three ancient pokemon of knowledge.; Mespirit, Azelf, and Uxie. I do not know where the lakes actually are, but I know small clues that were passed down to me from other pokemon. The first lake is hidden in a shroud. I'm guessing that's Fogbound Lake."
"Right," Kaya said with a nod.
"The second lake should be hidden near shifting earth. And the third lake should be somewhere of exquisite beauty."
"Those are rather vague…" Kaya said, pursing her lips. "I was hoping for something more specific."
"The time gears had to be hidden safely to nobody would tamper with them. It would be moronic to simply spout their locations willy nilly," Celebi scoffed.
"You're right, Celebi. Still, I wish we had a bit more information…and those are only two more time gears. We have a total of four more to find, right Grovyle?" He nodded.
"Yes. Temporal Tower needs five team gears in order to reverse the destruction of time."
"Well, those are the three that are guarded by the three beings of knowledge. The remaining two time gears are hidden, but not guarded by ancient pokemon. If I'm right…one time gear is hidden in some sort of cavern, while the other is hidden in a forest. However, caverns and forests are fairly common, so I'm not certain if that's helpful."
"The time gears are hidden in mystery dungeons I'm assuming, so that's a start," Kaya said and Grovyle nodded.
"We'll have to get a map from a few decades ago so we can have a better idea of what the areas in this region looked like before the paralysis. Some places hardly resemble the forests and fields anymore…" Grovyle murmured bitterly.
"Well then, let's try to find the two guarded by the ancient pokemon. Perhaps we can find a clue to the other time gears while we're there." Grovyle nodded.
"Right. We can go to the old markets near the sea and look for a map. It'll be a long journey, but well worth it."
"I did not realize there were old markets by the sea."
"Yes. It is hidden underground near a place once called Treasure Town. A few outlaw pokemon hide there from Dialga and his minions and barter goods they happen upon. Sometimes you can find just what you need there."
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Celebi, are you coming with us?"
"I wish I could, but I must continue guarding the Passage of Time. Though I hope you both will come and see me again soon!" she chirped, smiling at them.
"Thank you, Celebi. Come on, Kaya." Kaya nodded and followed Grovyle back through the forest and journeyed with him to the east toward the sea. They camped out in caverns until they arrived to a barren village and climbed up to the top of a large hill where a fallen structure hid a ladder that lead to a small gathering of pokemon.
"Wow…I never would have guessed this would be here."
"Come on. Let's see if we can find someone with a map." Kaya followed Grovyle through the stands and they found a Noctowl selling various tomes. "This looks promising…excuse me, but would you happen to have map of this world? Preferably one from before the…incident."
"Mmm…perhaps. But what would you be willing to give me in return for such an item?"
"Name your price."
"Very well, I require an energy root."
"What?! Why not some oran berries?"
"I've tried them and they haven't worked. My friend, Fearow, requires an energy root. If you want that map, you must bring me an energy root. Otherwise, no deal." Grovyle growled and stepped back, leering to the side.
"I doubt we'll be able to find an energy root! We'll have to find someone else with a map."
"Now hold on, Grovyle, I'm sure there are energy roots hidden in some of the forests."
"By now they've all been mined, I'm sure. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we don't have the time to dig around so many forests anyway. It'd be faster to find someone else with a map."
"Come on, Grovyle, let's just try one place. And if we don't find it, we'll look somewhere else."
"Kaya…"
"Just trust me." He sighed but found himself following her out of the market and out to the dark forests surrounding the ruined town.
Hooray, finally posted a new chapter. Please make sure you don't flame, but I do appreciate constructive criticism.