Chapter 2 has been edited. If you noticed any other mistakes, please notify me. Thank you, and enjoy the chapter.


When Xaira awoke the next morning, she was exhausted. She had woken up with a start several times during the night due to nightmares. Even more frustrating to her, she could barely remember what the dreams were about. She only had the faintest memory of running from something. She didn't know what exactly, but whatever it was, it was frightening enough to wake her up. She and Riolu arrived at the guild briefing on time that day. Afterwards, once again, the duo had no idea what to do.

"Oh, you two!" Chatot said when he noticed them, "Still wandering around lost, it seems…Well, come with me!" Chatot led them to the upper underground floor. This time, he showed them to a different bulletin board.

"Huh? Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side," Riolu commented.

"Correct," Chatot replied, "Today, we'll have you do a job listed on this side."

"How is it different from the board on the other side?" Riolu asked.

"Take a closer look," Chatot said with a roll of his eyes. Xaira and Riolu did so. Instead of papers filled with words, there were sketches of Pokémon hanging on the wall.

"Hey! Check it out, Xaira!" Riolu chattered excitedly," They have posters here that show a variety of Pokémon!"

"Really?" Xaira asked, "I didn't realize that." Riolu ignored her comment.

"Wow, they all look pretty cool!" he exclaimed, "Are they famous explorers?" Xaira looked closer at the sketches.

"I doubt it," she replied, "They look awfully sinister. Besides, why would pictures of famous explorers be hung here?"

"Who are these Pokémon, Chatot?" Riolu asked.

"The Pokémon posted here," Chatot replied, pausing for effect, "Are outlaws. They're all shady characters. And they're wanted for committing crimes."

"What?! They're all wanted by the law?" Riolu asked, visibly shocked.

"You know," Xaira said, "Come to think of it, they DO look pretty cool! Isn't that right, Riolu?"

"Hey!" Riolu exclaimed. Xaira merely chuckled at his reaction.

"Correct," Chatot said, rolling his eyes, attempting to ignore the arguing. "So there are bounties on their heads. There are so many aggressive Pokémon around days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem."

"Bounty?" Xaira asked, "What do you mean?" Chatot opened his mouth to answer, but Riolu interrupted him.

"Wait a second! You expect us to catch outlaws? No way! That's not possible!"

"He has a point," Xaira said, "We are just apprentices. Do you honestly think that this is a good idea?" Chatot laughed.

"Don't worry!" he said, "The bad Pokémon out there come in all shades of badness! Some of the Pokémon are completely wicked through and through. But there are also bad Pokémon who are merely petty thieves. So you've got evil to naughty and everything in between! So I'm sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a super bad Pokémon. So look over these posters, then pick a Pokémon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice!"

"You say some are weak. But they're still bad Pokémon, right?" Riolu asked. He began to tremble. "I'm scared of dangerous Pokémon!" Riolu gulped, thinking of everything that could go wrong.

"It's all a part of your training! You'll work through it, I'm sure," Chatot replied, seemingly not caring about Riolu's fears, "But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent. So I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities. Hey! Bidoof! Bidoof?!"

"Yup yup! You called?" a small, brown Pokémon with buckteeth answered. He seemed to be breathing heavily, as he had run quite the distance to get there.

"Ah, Bidoof!" Chatot greeted, "These are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town."

"Yes sirree!" the brown Pokémon answered, "By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup!"

"This is Bidoof" Chatot explained, "He's one of your fellow apprentices. I want you to pay attention to what Bidoof has to say and follow his orders. Off you go!" With that, Chatot hopped away.

"Aw shucks, I'm overjoyed!" Bidoof exclaimed.

"Why is that?" Riolu asked.

"I'm glad to have members junior to me after waiting for so long!" Bidoof exclaimed, "I'm almost overcome right now! I just might blubber with happiness! Before you all signed on, I was the most recent rookie."

"Don't get too excited," Xaira commented, "Just because you outrank us, doesn't mean you get to tell us to do whatever you want."

"Xaira," Riolu whispered, "I think that's exactly what it means."

"Well, it shouldn't. If there is one thing I won't do, it's reduce myself to an errand girl. That one job was enough of that for me!" Bidoof just chuckled.

"No no!" he said, "It's not like that! Well, I'd best show you around. Come with me, please." Bidoof showed them around the guild. Xaira thought it pointless since she and Riolu already had a basic idea of where everything was, but she had to give the little Pokémon points for enthusiasm. Eventually, the group made their way outside. "Several exploration teams gather near that watering hole to plan out there explorations," Bidoof said as they passed a well of some sort, "By golly, it's a nice place to relax while you wait for your team to assemble." The group eventually arrived in a small town. Xaira glanced around fascinated. It was a lively place. Several Pokémon walked down the dirt road. Others sat at booths. Xaira had to wonder what exactly those Pokémon were doing.

"This is the main square for the local Pokémon," Bidoof explained, "It's called Treasure Town."

"Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town, too," Riolu said, "There's Duskull Bank, where we can store our money, Electvire Link Shop, where you can do things like link moves together, Keckleon market, where you can buy and sell items, and finally, there's Kangaskan Storage, where items can be stored. That about covers it, I guess."

"You sure know a lot, yes sirree!" Bidoof said, "And that's good to know! All right then, come find me when you're all ready to go. I'll give you a helping hand with selecting the right outlaw for you.

"Thanks Bidoof!" Riolu said. Xaira nodded.

"Your help is very much appreciated, "she added with a polite nod, "Thank you."

"G-golly," Bidoof said with a blush and a wide grin. "You're embarrassing me! Aw, shucks… I'll be waiting at the guild's upper underground floor for you." Bidoof proceeded to walk away.

"All right let's go!" Riolu exclaimed, "I want to see what kinds of items are available at the Kecleon Market!" After a short walk, the two came across a stall where two Kecleon, green and violet, sat.

"Hello there, Riolu!" the green Kecleon greeted, "Who is this you have with you?"

"My…friend," Riolu explained. "Xaira, this is Kecleon and his brother, Kecleon."

"That must get interesting," Xaira commented. The Kecleon chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you!" the violet Kecleon greeted. Xaira replied with a polite nod.

"Welcome to the Kecleon Shop!" the green Kecleon said, "Feel free to examine my merchandise!" Xaira decided to allow Riolu to do the shopping, as she had no idea how to "buy items" as Riolu put it. Riolu elected to buy a couple apples.

"Thanks! Please come again!" the green Kecleon said as Riolu made his purchase.

"Misters Kecleon!" a young voice called. Xaira turned to the direction of the noise. Running towards the shop were two small, blue Pokémon.

"Ah! Little Marill and Azurill! Welcome my young friends!" the Green Kecleon greeted. Xaira and Riolu stood aside, giving the two smaller Pokémon room.

"Hello. May I buy an Apple?" the Azurill asked

"Oh, most certainly!" the green Pokémon said reaching for a decently sized bag and placing some apples in it.

"Thank you Misters Kecleon!" the Marill exclaimed, accepting the bag.

"No, thank you, my young friends!" the green Kecleon said, "You are to be admired!" The two young Pokémon skipped away. "You see," the violet Kecleon explained, "those delightful children are brothers. Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters do the shopping for her. It's quite remarkable. Though they are young, they've stepped up and taken charge."

"Misters Kecleon!" The Marill and the Azurill came rushing back, looking worried.

"Oh? What's the hurry?" the green Kecleon asked, "What makes you return in such a rush?"

"There was an extra apple!" Azurill explained.

"We didn't pay for this many." Marill added. Xaira raised an eyebrow. If she was in that position, she would have walked off with the extra apple without a second thought. Served them right for being so careless. It wasn't like they actually needed the extra apple anyway.

"Oh, yes. That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother," the green Kecleon said with a smile, "Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy."

"Really?!" Marill asked.

"Yay!" Azurill exclaimed, "Thank you Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"

"Oh, not to worry, my friends," Kecleon said, "Do take care on your way home." The two Pokémon skipped away, but before they could get far, the little Azurill tripped, causing him to drop an apple.

"Yowch!" he cried as the apple rolled towards Xaira. Thinking quickly, Xaira stopped the apple with her paw. Azurill rushed to retrieve it. "W-we're sorry to bother you," Azurill stammered, "Thank you so much."

"Not a-" Xaira was cut off by a sudden wave of dizziness.

(Huh? What was that? D-dizzy, or am I?) she thought as she began to lose focus. She could feel a strange pressure on her lungs, making it more difficult to breathe. Xaira became very cold, and a strange tingling sensation came over her. The world around her became blurry as it faded to black. For a few moments, all Xaira could see was an endless darkness. . The strange tingling sensation became stronger. It felt as several little things were crawling all over her. She tried to move, but her muscles wouldn't budge. At this point, Xaira wanted nothing more than to scream, however, she couldn't make a sound. Suddenly, a bright light sliced through the darkness, accompanied by a loud crashing noise and the sensation of something shattering around her. Then, she couldn't even think. A loud voice filled her ears.

"H-h-h-help!"

Then came the feeling of being violently jerked back. Xaira felt as if she was attached to a string that had just been yanked. At that moment, a white light filled Xaira's vision. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light faded, and Xaira's vision went back to normal. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to ignore the throbbing headache she now had. Slowly, the warmth returned to her body.

(What was that?) Xaira thought as she opened her eyes, frantically looking around. (I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now!)

"Is something the matter?" Azurill asked, staring at Xaira. Xaira opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Marill's call.

"Hey, Azurill! What's going on? Hurry up!"

"Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!" Azurill said as he ran back to Marril, briefly glancing over his shoulder as the two walked away.

"Ha! Those little guys are cute," Riolu said with a smile. He glanced at Xaira, taking note of the worried look on her face. "Huh? What's wrong, Xaira?"

`"Riolu," Xaira said, "Did you hear a shout for help just now?"

"Uh…no. I didn't hear anything like that," Riolu replied, "Hey Kecleon brothers. Did you strange just a moment ago?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," the green Kecleon answered.

"I didn't hear anything odd either," the violet Kecleon stated.

"See? The Kecleon brothers didn't hear anything like that either," Riolu said, "You were probably just imagining it, Xaira." Xaira sighed, deep in thought She was completely positive that she didn't imagine that shout.

(That scream…I recognized that voice. There's no doubt about it. That scream belonged to little Azurill!)

"Are you daydreaming?" Riolu asked with a light chuckle, breaking Xaira's thoughts. "Let's go already, Xaira!" Xaira nodded absentmindedly, and followed Riolu back through town. As they neared Duskull Bank, Xaira noticed Azurill and Marril talking to a large, yellow Pokémon.

" Hey! What's that about?" Riolu asked, noticing them as well. Riolu and Xaira approached the group.

"What's going on?" Riolu asked.

"Oh! Hi!" greeted Azurill.

"Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us," Marill explained, "We've been looking all over, but we haven't found it yet. Then Mr. Drowzee came along… And he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this!" Xaira stared at Drowzee. Something about that Pokémon was defiantly off.

"Really? That's great!" Riolu said.

"Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill said.

"Oh, please," Drowzee replied, "I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let's be on our way to begin our search!" Xaira simply glared at the strange Pokémon.

"Yup!" Azurill chirped. Drowzee and the brothers began to walk off together.

"Whoops!" Drowzee said as he bumped into Xaira. "Excuse me."

"He did that on purpose," Xaira grumbled.

Suddenly, the same dizzy feeling from earlier swept over her. Xaira blinked a few times in attempt to shake the feeling off, but to no avail.

"That Drowzee is sure a nice Pokémon," Riolu said cheerfully, completely unaware of what was happening, "You have to admire that! With more bad Pokémon around…it's hard to do good deeds."

(It's happening again…Another dizzy spell.) She thought as the pressure on her lungs and the tingling sensation returned. Xaira shivered. The cold feeling had returned as well. Like before, her vision went dark, only to be pierced by a blinding light. This time however, the shattering feeling was much stronger. When the bright light disappeared, a picture came into view.

It was greyish, rocky area. Standing in the center of the place was Drowzee and Azurill. Azurill was trembling in fear.

"If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!" Drowzee exclaimed.

"H-h-HELP!" Azurill shouted.

Once again, Xaira felt as though she was being yanked back.

(What was that?!) Xaira thought as she recovered, panting.

"I sure hope those kids find their item soon," Riolu said. Xaira looked up at him. Had he seriously not noticed what was going on? Riolu glanced at her. "Huh? What's up, Xaira?" he asked, "You're looking pretty grim." Xaira took a deep breath before answering.

"I had this…dizzy spell," Xaira replied, "And I saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee! We need to catch up with them before it's too late!" Xaira ran a little ways forward, glancing behind her to see if Riolu was following. Riolu stared at Xaira for a few moments.

"What are you waiting for?" Xaira asked, walking back to Riolu. "This is an emergency!"

"Well, what you describe does sound like an emergency, but…" Riolu said, "Well, it's not like I don't trust you, Xaira, but I just can't believe it! I mean, Drowzee looked like an honestly nice Pokémon, didn't he? I watched the three of them walk off earlier. It looked like they were having a good time. You're probably just tired, Xaira. Maybe that's why you had that bad daydream." Xaira sighed. Riolu didn't believe her. She knew Riolu had a point. She had not been sleeping well, and Drowzee did seem to be friendly enough, but Xaira still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Anyway, we're only apprentices," Riolu continued, "We can't just go running off on our own. Sure, it's worrying, but we have to focus on our guild work for now. Let's get ready to explore, then meet up with Bidoof. Let's get to it, Xaira!" Xaira nodded, deep in thought. The two continued on their way. Xaira didn't speak for the rest of the way to the guild. She was too busy thinking about what had happened. Upon entering the guild, the duo made their way to the Outlaw Notice Board and met with Bidoof.

"Huh?" Bidoof said upon their arrival, "Are you folks all set and ready for exploring?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Riolu said with a weak smile.

"Don't let your nerves get the best of you," Xaira said If you think about it, this will be just like when we got your Relic Fragment back. You have nothing to worry about. So straighten up and quit your worrying. It will only cause trouble for you later."

"I guess," Riolu muttered, "You could be nicer about it, though."

"Then let's pick ourselves a lawbreaker for you to find," Bidoof said with a smile, "Well, you've got your pick of this sorry bunch of characters."

"Let's see. Which shall we pick?" Riolu said as he glanced over the posters. Xaira glanced over the posters as well, not really caring which one they fought.

"As your mentor, how about I do the choosing?" Bidoof suggested.

"Sounds fair," Xaira said, "Choose someone that you think we can handle, but not insultingly easy."

"Don't pick one that looks scary!" Riolu added. Xaira rolled her eyes.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Xaira warned, "How the opponent looks should not be what you're worried about."

"But still," Riolu replied, looking down. "It would be nice."

"Yes sirree, I hear you!" Bidoof replied, turning to examine the posters, "Let's see. Eenie meenie…"

"That's how he's choosing this?" Xaira whispered to Riolu, "We are most definitely in trouble."

"Stand clear!" A voice suddenly shouted, "Updating listings! Stand clear! Updating listings!" Riolu let out a cry of alarm. Xaira glanced around, trying to find the source of the noise.

"What's that? What's happening?" Riolu asked

"Oh, the data's getting updated." Bidoof said casually.

"It's being…updated?" Xaira asked. Suddenly, the panel flipped over, causing Riolu to jump.

"Yikes!" he exclaimed, "Did you see that?! The panel flipped over! What's going on here?"

"The Outlaw Notice Board and Job Bulletin Board are set up on revolving panels," Bidoof explained, "While the panel is flipped over…A Pokémon named Dugtrio swaps out the old jobs with the new ones. His job doesn't get noticed much, but it's an important one. That's why Dugtrio takes so much pride in his work, yup yup!"

"Update completed!" Dugtrio shouted, "Stand clear!"

"Oh, looks like he's done." Riolu commented. The panel flipped over, displaying new posters.

"Yes sirree! The data's updated!" Bidoof said, "The list of outlaws has been refreshed, so let's pick one." Out of the corner of her eye, Xaira noticed that Riolu had begun to tremble, not taking his eyes of the notice board. Bidoof took notice as well.

Huh? What's ailing you?" he asked, "Why are you shivering all of a sudden? It's not cold in here after all."

"Riolu," Xaira whispered, "What is it now? I told you that worrying would only-"

"T-t-take a look at this, Xaira!" Riolu said as he raised a shaky finger at the Notice Board, "Up top, on the left! " Xaira looked at the poster that Riolu was referring to. To her shock and horror, the Pokémon pictured was Drowzee!

"We have to get moving!" Xaira exclaimed, "Azurill will be in serious trouble!" Riolu nodded in agreement, and the two took off running.

"Now what's going on?" Bidoof asked, "Where are you all off to?" Neither answered. They rushed out of the guild and down the stairs towards the crossroads.

"The Azurill and Marill that I saw were in a mountainous place," Xaira said as they ran, "Do you know of a place like that?" Before Riolu could answer, he noticed someone pacing around the crossroads. Standing at the crossroads was little Marill, looking very distressed.

"Hey! There's Marill!" Riolu exclaimed as the two came to a stop.

"Marill!" Xaira called, "Where are Azurill and Drowzee?"

"Yes…About them!" Marill said, panic clear in his voice, "After we all left, we went looking for our lost item together…But I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill. I called and called! But they didn't come back. I was scared." Tears began to form in his eyes.

"So which way did they go?" Xaira asked, growing impatient.

"Th-that way!" Marill said, leading Xaira and Riolu down a path.

"You're sure that Drowzee and Azurill went off in this direction?" Riolu asked when they arrived at the foot of a rocky mountain.

"Yes…" Marill replied with a nod.

"Xaira!" Riolu exclaimed, The Drowzee and Azurill you saw in your dream…You said you saw them in a mountainous place, right?" Xaira nodded. "I think the two of them are up ahead here. Let's roll, Xaira, quick!" Xaira nodded.

"Marill! Go get help!" she said, rushing up the mountain. Mount Bristle wasn't a difficult climb, although, the sharp, grey rocks could be a hazard to some. Xaira and Riolu navigated it fairly easily, only stopping to fight a few enemies. Eventually, the duo reached the peak of the mountain. Several feet ahead stood Drowzee and Azurill. They appeared to be talking.

"I want my big brother!" Azurill shouted suddenly. He attempted to run away, but Drowzee caught up to him.

"H-hey! Stop that! Sheesh!" Drowzee exclaimed, "I said that I'll take you home when you're done! If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!"

"H-h-h….HELP!" Azurill shouted.

"That's exactly what happened in my dream," Xaira whispered.

"Really?" Riolu asked, eyes wide. Xaira nodded, not taking her eyes off of Drowzee.

Xaira quickly ducked behind a rock, Riolu following her.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

"Alright," she said, "What we have to do is wait for the right moment. When that moment comes, we unleash a surprise attack." Silence. "Riolu, are you listening to me?" Xaira looked to the side. Riolu wasn't there.

"You have got to be kidding me," Xaira muttered, bringing her paw to her face as she watched Riolu rush over to where Drowzee was standing.

"Stop right there!" Riolu shouted. Drowzee spun around, facing Riolu.

"So much for the element of surprise," Xaira muttered as she stepped out of her hiding space and stood alongside Riolu.

"We won't let you do that! Drowzee you bully!" Riolu exclaimed.

"H-how did you find this place?!" Drowzee asked.

"We're team Vatonage!" Riolu declared, "An exploration team! No criminal can escape us!" Xaira raised an eyebrow. This was completely different from the timid Riolu she knew.

"Surrender now Drowzee," Xaira said, keeping her usual soft tone and looking quite bored. "I don't feel like wasting too much time today. If you refuse we will have to take you down. And believe me, it will be painful. If there is one thing I will not tolerate, it's the harming of children."

"An exploration team?!" Drowzee exclaimed. Riolu began to tremble. "You came to apprehend…" Drowzee trailed off, taking notice of Riolu's nervous state. "Huh Are you trembling?" Drowzee smirked. " A-ha! I've figured it out! You say you're on an exploration team, but you're total rookies! That's right, I'm a wanted Pokémon with a bounty on my head. But can you two do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?"

"Y-yes," Riolu stuttered, gulping. He shook his head, calming himself down. "We can! We'd never lose to a bad guy like you!" Drowzee just laughed.

"I've been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day," he said, "But never a sorrier looking bunch than-" Before Drowzee could finish speaking, Xaira charged at him in an attempt to attack. Quickly, Drowzee dodged and unleashed a powerful Confusion move on Xaira, causing her to collapse.

"That hurts," Xaira grumbled, trying to stand up.

"Nice try," Drowzee said as he slowly approached her.

"Xaira!" Riolu shouted in concern. Thinking quickly, Riolu ran towards Drowzee and used Bite, dealing sufficient damage. He followed the move up with Quick Attack, which Drowzee dodged. Xaira took this opportunity to get back on her feet. She rushed back into battle, using Tackle and promptly getting hit by a counterattack. Riolu got knocked back as well.

"He's tough," Riolu remarked as he got back on his feet.

"No kidding," Xaira replied, standing up. "Do we have any Stun Seeds left?"

"Yes," Riolu replied, "Why?"

"Throw them!" Xaira ordered. Riolu nodded, pulling a Stun Seed out of the bag. Riolu threw the seed at Drowzee. Upon impact, the seed exploded, and Drowzee was frozen in pace. Not wasting a second, Xaira rushed forward, using Flail and proceeded to kick dirt into Drowzee's eyes before he had a chance to recover. Enraged, Drowzee swung his arm, this time, Xaira dodged the attack before unleashing Flail once more. Riolu rushed forward, using Quick Attack. Drowzee fell to the ground, and began to struggle to stand. Failing, he fell back to his knees.

"Well that takes care of-" Riolu stopped talking when Xaira used Tackle once more, causing Drowzee to fall unconscious.

"What was that?!" Riolu cried, "He was down! That was completely unnecessary!" Xaira whirled around, facing Riolu.

"He still could have done something!" Xaira argued, "Just because one can't stand doesn't mean that they are entirely helpless. Besides that, he has psychic powers! He still could have attacked!" Riolu shook his head.

"Never mind that," Riolu replied, "What's done is done. We need to take care of Azurill."

The duo proceeded to walk over to where Azurill was standing.

"We came to rescue you," Riolu said, "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm okay" Azurill answered. He was still trembling from the frightening experience. Although she didn't show it, Xaira felt nothing but sympathy for him. He was just a child after all. Children shouldn't have to go through things like that.

"Awesome!" Riolu said giving Azurill a bright smile. "That's a big relief! Your big brother's waiting. Let's get you home!"

"Okay!" Azurill chirped.

"Wait!" Xaira cried, "What do we do about Drowzee?"

"I don't know," Riolu answered, "What do you suggest?"

"We could just kill him," Xaira said with a shrug.

"Xaira!" Riolu exclaimed, horrified that Xaira would suggest such a thing, especially in front of a child.

"Relax," Xaira replied, "It was just a little joke." She paused before mumbling to herself. "Mostly."

"Well it wasn't funny," Riolu replied. Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise cut through the air. Approaching the trio of Pokemon was a Magnezone and two Magnemite, led by Marill. The Magnemite and the Magnezone floated over to Drowzee, examining him.

"Azurill!" Marill cried, rushing forward to hug his brother.

"Marril! Marill! It was so scary!" Azurill cried into Marill's shoulder.

"Are you okay, Azurill? Are you hurt?" Marill asked as tears filled his eyes.

"He's fine. The little guy's not hurt at all." Riolu said with a smile.

"Really? That's a relief!" Marill exclaimed, still hugging his brother, "Oh, Azurill…Azurill…" The two children seemed close to sobbing.

"I'm really glad for you guys." Riolu said.

"You did this all for us, Riolu and Xaira," Marill said, "We won't forget what you did for us. Thank you so much! Come on Azurill. You too."

"Thank you very much!" Azurill chirped, "Thank you for rescuing me!"

"Really. Thank you!" Marill said. Xaira couldn't help but smile. Seeing the look of relief in the two young Pokémon's eyes brought a warm feeling to her heart. After saying goodbye and thanking the duo once again, the two young Pokémon scampered off. As soon as they did, Drowzee began to stir. Xaira promptly prepared for another fight, but the Magnemite grabbed his arms before he could do anything. How? Xaira had no idea.

"I am officer Magnezone," the Magnezone said, buzzing as he spoke, "I am the primary officer in this region. Thanks to you, we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! We owe you a great thanks for your cooperation! We Will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again!" With that Magnezone and the Magnemite hauled a very frustrated and humiliated Drowzee away. Xaira couldn't help but crack a small smile at the defeated look on Drowzee's face.

"You know," Xaira said as she watched, "If more jobs were like this, I might not mind working at the guild. I must say, beating up that criminal was sort of satisfying." Riolu just stared at her for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh.

"We should get back to the guild," Riolu said, "Chatot will be waiting for us." Xaira nodded.

"After what we went through, I wouldn't be surprised if we got a much larger reward this time," Xaira said with a nod as the duo headed back to the guild.

"Huh?! We get only this much?!" Riolu exclaimed staring at the measly 300 Poké in his hand, "After all that hard work!"

"Do you have any idea what I went through to get that reward?" Xaira asked, "It's going to take me forever to get this Spinarak web out of my hair! Not to mention all the times I got poisoned! On top of that, Drowzee was tough! And you dare hand out a portion of reward that small?"

"But of course!" Chatot said with a roll of his eyes, "It's all part of the training! And we expect just as much effort tomorrow!" With that, Chatot hopped off. Xaira just stared, seething.

"You know, it would make me happy if our share was just a little bigger," Riolu said with a sigh. Xaira had to agree with him. Although, she would have preferred to get something useful rather than something that had to be traded for something useful. Riolu soon brightened up. "But that's OK. We managed to rescue Azurill, and that's the important thing. It's all thanks to you, Xaira! Because you had that dream, we knew about Azurill's trouble in advance." Calming down, Xaira nodded.

"I can't really explain it," Xaira said, "All I know is that the first shout I heard from Azurill and that dream I had both took place in the future. Why was I able to see something like that?" Xaira trailed off, deep in thought. Her thoughts were broken by a low growl.

"Whoops! My stomach growled!" Riolu said with a bright smile. As if on cue, and much to her embarrassment, Xaira's own stomach growled. That was when Xaira noticed how hungry she was. Riolu laughed. "Your stomach growled too, Xaira! I guess we must be starved! We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that I didn't notice at all! But now, I'm even hungrier! Let's go get dinner, Xaira!" That evening, at dinner, Xaira ate a bit more than the day before. She watched as Riolu happily chatted with other guild members. Xaira, however, made no effort to interact with the others, only speaking when spoken to. None of them seemed too interested in her anyway.

"It looks like it's really stormy tonight," Riolu said as he stared out the window of his and Xaira's room. Xaira glanced out the window as well, watching the torrents of rain and the flashes of lightning in fascination. "Wait a second!" Riolu suddenly spoke up. " You know the night before we met, Xaira? It was storming then, too! I found you out cold on the beach the day after, Xaira. Do you remember why? Can you remember anything at all?" Xaira focused trying to remember, for the briefest moment, she could remember the sound of screams, flashes of light, and intense pain. She couldn't remember anything else. Xaira shook her head in frustration.

"I guess it won't be that easy," Riolu said sympathetically, "But that's all right. Just try remembering a little at a time. We have to get up early again tomorrow. Let's get some sleep." Xaira attempted to settled, but once again, she found it difficult. Eventually, she closed her eyes, trying her best to relax. Slowly, she began to drift off.

"Hey, Xaira," Riolu whispered suddenly, "Are you still awake? I've been thinking about this since it happened. That weird dream you had, Xaira…Maybe it has to do with you personally, Xaira."

"Huh?" Xaira mumbled. She had no clue what Riolu was going on about. In all honesty, she just wanted to get to sleep.

"It's just the feeling that I get," Riolu explained, "I sure don't know any other Eevee that dreams about the future. And I've certainly never heard of any other human suddenly turning into a Pokémon, either That's why I think those two events are connected. I just can't shake that feeling."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Xaira replied with a yawn, mentally pleading with Riolu to stop talking.

"Maybe. I don't know what you were like as a human, Xaira, but I feel like you were a good person," Riolu said, "Sure, you're a bit mean at times. And you are a tad violent. But, it was your dream that helped us save Azurill and catch that bad Pokémon. And you did drop everything to help save the kid."

"Bad Pokémon, huh?" Xaira mumbled, not really payng attention to a word Riolu was saying. Riolu narrowed his eyes, realizing that Xaira just didn't care about what he had to say. Riolu took a deep breath.

"You know," Riolu continued, "Time is getting messed up bit by bit, all over the world. No one seems to know why. But everyone believes that the Time Gears are involved." At the mention of Time Gears, Xaira's heart skipped a beat, confusing her. Something about those words felt very important, but Xaira couldn't place why.

"Time Gears?" Xaira asked, rolling over to face Riolu.

"They say that Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world," Riolu explained, "Like in a forest…Or at a lake in an underground cavern. I've heard that there's even one hidden inside a volcano. At the center of such places is what's known as a Time Gear. Time Gears serve a very important function. Each one protects time and keeps time flowing properly in its region."

"But what happens if a region loses its Time Gear?" Xaira asked.

"I don't really know the answer to that question," Riolu replied, "But my guess is that if a Time Gear is removed from a region, the flow of time in that region will probably stop too. That's why everyone makes sure never to disturb the Time Gears. Everyone has long been certain that some kind of disaster would strike. Even the most hardened criminal Pokémon know to avoid messing with them."

"So what could possibly be happening with the Time Gears?" Xaira asked, "If no one tampers with them, how could they be involved? If what you say is true, do you think that someone would be crazy or dumb enough to steal one?"

"I don't know," Riolu replied, "I sure hope not." He paused, yawning. "Anyway, worrying about it won't do anything. For now, we should work on out guild work. Good night, Xaira."

In the Northeast, deep in a forest, a shadowy figure sprinted through the trees, having nothing but the lightning to light their way. Eventually, they came across a small clearing that was illuminated by a mystical blue-green light. There floating above a tree stump was a small, blue gear.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Could it be…?" the figure muttered as they approached the gear. "Yes, it is! I've finally found it! A Time Gear!" the figure grabbed the small gear and ran off into the night. "But…this is only the first of many."

Xaira's eyes snapped open. Breathing heavily, she stood up, shaking her head. Something, although she had no idea what, had awoken her. She couldn't recall any odd or frightening dreams, nor was there a noise louder than the pouring rain and thunder outside. She glanced over to Riolu, who was fast asleep. Silently, Xaira crept to the window, and watched the storm. She couldn't place it, but she had the feeling that something had gone very, very wrong.


This chapter was a long one. Should I split up larger chapters from now on, or is it fine as-is? Anyway, please review. Constructive criticism is very helpful to me. If I made any mistakes, please tell me. Thank you for reading.