Author's Note: And now for someone completely different! It's about time I had one of these done from Grovyle's point of view, or at least half from his view, which has the added benefit of making me feel comfortable listing him as a main character on the fic's summary now. Also, for some useless trivia, the team he meets here is directly based on one of my favorite teams that I used on an actual run of Explorers of the Sky (as opposed to Team Shadow, whom I use frequently in Explorers of Darkness). There should also be far less info-dumping in the chapters from here on out, I promise.
Chapter Four: The Search
There was a persistent throbbing feeling in the back of Leaf's head as he tried to open his eyes. Feeling the thick grass beneath him was a slight relief; he hadn't landed in the middle of some town, at least. He managed to slowly force himself to sit up, grunting as he rubbed his eyes. Finally, after he shook his head a few times, the Grovyle managed to clear his vision.
The sight that welcomed him was astounding. Dozens of colors he never would have been able to identify before filtered through the sky, courtesy of the large glowing orb — the sun, Jirachi had called it — sinking below the trees and clouds in the distance. Multicolored rays peeked up from below the grassy ledge he was sitting on, giving almost every blade its own unique appearance. Leaf crawled forward for a closer look, still unable to fully stand; his eyes were unable to tear themselves away from the scene.
"Claire! Claire, look, isn't it—"
He cut himself off abruptly. Something felt very wrong; it was far too quiet. Pushing himself into a wobbly standing position, Leaf managed to whip around, and he skimmed the area with a growing sense of dread.
Claire wasn't there.
No, she had to be. How could they not be in the same place? Sure, she had let go of him there near the end… However, the way Celebi had once described the process, it was impossible for Claire to have ended up in a different time period than he had. Where was she?
No, stop panicking, the sensible part of his mind said. Leaf liked to think he was sensible, and took a few deep breaths. Claire had to be around there somewhere. There was a vast expanse of trees not too far away from him; perhaps she'd just landed in the nearby forest. She couldn't be too far.
Feeling satisfied with his rationale, Leaf gave one last look over his shoulder at the sinking sun before darting forward toward the trees. He made a few quick leaps and landed up in a tree's branches, allowing him to feel safer and giving him a wider view of the ground below. Really, a human shouldn't be too hard to spot, anyway, but Leaf preferred to be cautious.
Every slight movement in the direction of the ground made him stop in excitement. Every time, though, it was just one of the forest's Pokémon, or the leaves rustling in the wind — which he was sure would have felt fantastic if he could just stop to appreciate it — or even just the branches shaking under his own weight. The logical part of Leaf's brain was being replaced with pure fear the farther and farther he went; there was absolutely no sign of his partner anywhere.
He finally burst through the other edge of the forest, a tiny part of him still desperately hoping that Claire had also found her way through the trees and was there waiting for him. Of course she wasn't; the only thing that greeted him was an empty plateau. The sun was now set completely, causing the area to sink into the darkness he was so familiar with. It was as if nature itself was mocking him, adding insult to injury.
Leaf panted, out of breath, gulping in air that was actually not stagnant and dry as he sank to his knees. Whatever had happened back there in the Passage of Time, Claire had protected him from it, and as her reward, she was now out there alone somewhere. She was likely injured, and it was all his fault for not having faster reflexes, really — the rational part of his mind pointed out that he was being harsh on himself, but his continued panic drowned it out — and now he had no idea where she was and no way to help her continue their mission.
"Claire!"
Leaf gave one last desperate shout and was met with nothing but an echo of his own voice. Wearily, the Grovyle sank back down to the ground, pushing his face into the grass and trying to make himself just calm down. However, he subconsciously reached a claw out to his side, hoping beyond reason that maybe, possibly, he'd feel Claire's hand there as his mind shut down.
Warmth was spreading over him the next morning, and Leaf wondered if he was dreaming. As he awoke, however, his blurry vision alerted him that no, he wasn't dreaming; he was feeling the heat of the sun as it rose. A pale, slightly golden light was casting itself over the tree tops, and Leaf sat there and stared at the sun in wonder for a few seconds. He probably looked incredibly stupid, as light was so normal here, but he was so used to the darkness that he couldn't help himself.
His eyes started to burn and water after too long, but Leaf was reluctant to look away. As he cast his eyes to the ground, he couldn't help thinking 'Claire would love this,' and he clenched his claws together as he closed his eyes for a moment.
His reasoning was slowly returning now that he'd rested, and the Grovyle knew from listening to Jirachi's stories that humans were just barely more common in the past than they were in the future. Surely he'd end up hearing if Claire was anywhere nearby.
Furthermore, she knew as well as he did where the six Time Gears they knew about were located. If he just looked for them on his own, not only would they have to meet up eventually, but gathering Time Gears would be productive anyway. Once they met up — if they met up occurred to him, but he pushed that thought away — they could just combine the Time Gears he found with any that she had, and if he came across any areas without a Time Gear, he'd know that Claire had already been there.
Leaf would still much rather know for sure that Claire was all right, but given the circumstances, there was really little else he could do.
It then suddenly dawned on him that while his plan was fairly sound, he still had no idea where he was at the moment. That was just a slight hindrance. If Leaf could just find his way to the Treasure Town that Celebi had meant to send him to, he could find his bearings from there, but until then…
There was a rustling in a bush nearby, disrupting Leaf's thoughts and causing him to whip around with an instinctive, paranoid glare on his face. He relaxed slightly but still kept his guard up when he saw a somewhat small Skorupi stumbling towards him. The Bug-Type looked up at him nervously and scuttled backwards.
"Y-You're not... going to attack me, are you?" she asked, her voice quivering.
Leaf hadn't noticed that he'd been raising the sharp leaves on his wrists somewhat threateningly until he heard how scared the Skorupi sounded. Guiltily, he lowered his arms and shook his head, and Skorupi sighed in relief. As she turned back around, Leaf realized he had his chance for directions.
"Wait!" he called, and Skorupi paused dutifully. "I, ah, I didn't bring a map. Would you mind helping me get to Treasure Town?"
There, that didn't sound too strange, he thought… It at least didn't give away the fact that he had no idea where he was, or the fact that he was from a different time period entirely. Skorupi mulled over his words for a moment before smiling.
"Sure! As long as you promise to help me a little… I'm not very strong, you see…"
Leaf nodded. "It's the least I could do."
It was quite strange, he thought, as Skorupi eagerly darted up to him to show him the way. While Leaf had always been able to rely on other members of the Planetary Investigation Team, trusting random wild Pokémon was something he'd never been able to do before. True, he certainly needed to find his way around, but Leaf's mind had jumped to Missy for a moment when the Skorupi had been considering his request…
"So what's your business in Treasure Town? Are you in an exploration team or something?" Skorupi asked casually.
"No, I'm trying to meet up with someone," Leaf answered. While Skorupi didn't seem too threatening, he still didn't want to give away too much, but his statement had at least been true. "Also, this may be a strange question, but you wouldn't have happened to see any—"
Before Leaf could finish his sentence, a rather large Staravia fluttered out of a tree near them. He squawked loudly as he narrowed his eyes at the two Pokémon below him.
"What do you think you're doing here near my flock's nest? I won't let you pass—"
Skorupi stared up at the Flying-Type in fear, quivering as she curled herself up into a ball. Remembering his end of the bargain, Leaf merely gave Staravia a cool glare and darted up the tree with a Quick Attack. He rammed into the panicked Pokémon, and Staravia shrieked as he tumbled through the air slightly. Leaf managed to leap onto Staravia's back, slashing at him with a Leaf Blade. The attack combined with the fact that Leaf was still sitting on his back caused Staravia to slam down to the ground, panting.
Leaf jumped away from Staravia, and Skorupi gave him an awed look. As she dashed ahead of him again to lead the way, Leaf looked over his shoulder at the injured bird.
"I apologize that I had to do that, but you attacked us first. We had no idea you'd made a nest here."
"You are as strong as I thought you were," Skorupi complimented. "It's no wonder that you managed to get all the way out here by yourself. I just got lost…"
"I'm just keeping up my end of the deal."
The Bug-Type looked dismayed at Leaf's somewhat curt remark, but he was genuinely baffled. Defending himself had been a basic necessity before, and he didn't see why it required praise.
The rest of the trip passed mostly in silence. It didn't bother Leaf at all, but it did seem to bother Skorupi. She occasionally tried to engage him in conversation, and Leaf answered in as short of sentences as possible. He did feel a bit guilty every time Skorupi got a downcast look on her face, but it was surprisingly difficult to answer without saying something that would sound incredibly out of place. Leaf was somewhat grateful that the Staravia had interrupted them when he did, as he now realized he would have sounded extremely foolish asking Skorupi if she'd seen any humans around lately.
When they arrived in Treasure Town, Leaf had to stop and look around in awe again. The central plaza was just as alive with activity as Jirachi had said it was, with dozens of Pokémon taking care of business and exchanging greetings with each other. Skorupi giggled slightly when she saw Leaf's expression.
"You really are new around here, aren't you?"
Leaf simply nodded in reply. He'd never seen so many Pokémon gathered together so casually before, after all. Even the Planetary Investigation Team meetings had had an extreme undercurrent of tension, despite the fact that they were far preferable to running into groups of unfamiliar wild Pokémon.
It took him a few moments to realize that Skorupi was speaking again.
"Hey, my big brother's in an exploration team, so I can give you this Wonder Map he gave me. If you want it, I mean."
She'd been wearing a small bag around her neck, and she fished around in it with her tail. Her pincers clamped onto a rolled up sheet of paper, and she pulled it out and handed it to him. Leaf's eyes widened in surprise as he unrolled the map; Treasure Town took up a large portion of it, but every location of the past world was included in a fair amount of detail. As one of his claws accidentally brushed over a portion of the top-right corner, the map somehow presented him with a bigger presentation of the area's information, as opposed to Treasure Town's previous focus.
"This looks incredibly valuable. Why would you give this to me?"
"W-well, if you don't want it, you don't have to take it," Skorupi mumbled, blushing slightly for some reason. "It's just, you know, you helped me get back here safely… And you said you didn't have a map, and I can just ask my brother to give me another one…"
"No, no, I'm grateful!" Leaf corrected himself defensively; such generosity would take some getting used to, although he doubted every Pokémon of the past would be as helpful as Skorupi. "I'm just surprised."
"Oh, all right, then! Well, I hope you find who you're looking for!"
With that, Skorupi cheerfully scuttled away from him and called out to a Spoink in the crowd who seemed to recognize her. With a brief smile, Leaf looked back down at the map — a Wonder Map, Skorupi had called it — and looked back down at the area he'd selected. There was a forested area near it, and after he tapped the forest, the text 'Treeshroud Forest' appeared on the map, along with another detailed presentation. That had been one of the Time Gear locations that Michelle had found, he remembered; in fact, she and Claire had gotten visions of him specifically finding the gear there.
"Might as well start with that one, then," Leaf murmured.
With that, he rolled up the map and started walking back towards the edge of the plaza. Leaf stopped himself, however; he should have known better than to go out without supplies. Scanning Treasure Town again revealed a particularly long line in front of a stall that seemed to be selling various exploration tools. It wasn't much, but he and Skorupi had picked up a few coins while walking, and he should have had enough for some basics… Leaf eagerly darted into the line, wanting to get started on his trip as soon as possible.
In the depths of Treeshroud Forest, an exploration team consisting of a Sceptile and a Lucario calmly shoved through some of the thick underbrush. The Sceptile walked slightly ahead of the Lucario, her observant eyes scanning the area ahead of them. They were currently on a rescue mission, and they'd gone quite far without finding their charge, a lost Mudkip.
Of course, it had to be raining at the moment, and it was quite late in the evening as well. It already would have been dark enough in the forest as it was, and the thick clouds certainly didn't help matters. They really needed to find Mudkip as soon as possible before the conditions got any worse.
"Kerry," the Lucario called. "Wait. I think I feel something."
The aura-sensing Pokémon paused and closed his eyes, and his partner waited for him to continue. His eyes then snapped open, and he whipped around and pointed towards the path they'd just been walking on.
"Maryn? What is it?" Kerry asked warily; they hadn't seen many Pokémon on the way there, after all…
A blur suddenly rushed past them, and Maryn's eyes narrowed; the passing Pokémon was clearly the one he'd just sensed. Instinctively, he formed an Aura Sphere between his paws and hurled it forward. There was a low, startled grunt as the Pokémon tumbled to the wet ground.
Kerry and Maryn watched apprehensively as the Grovyle rose back to his feet, sputtering and trying to wipe some of the mud off his body. The tattered bag he'd been wearing, something he must have gotten second-hand from one of the Treasure Town merchants, had fallen to the ground and spilled some of its meager contents. He then shot the pair a glower, looking just as guarded as they felt.
"Pardon me. I just need to pass through here," he said curtly, though he seemed to have no malice in his voice.
"Whatever for? It's quite late, and I'm sure you've noticed the weather isn't exactly ideal," Maryn replied, a hint of sarcasm forming in his voice at the end of his sentence.
"Please, Maryn, he doesn't seem to mean any harm," Kerry interrupted gently. She then reached into her treasure bag, pulled out an Oran Berry, and handed it to Grovyle. "We apologize. We're just out late on a rescue mission, and everything is making us a bit jumpy."
The other Grass-Type took her gift, but he seemed strangely confused as he ate the berry. As the light bruises on his body began to heal, he gave them another odd look that Kerry couldn't quite decipher. Maryn seemed to be having trouble reading Grovyle's emotions as well, as he currently had one arm folded over his chest and was resting his head in his other paw; the gesture was completed by the Lucario's slightly-narrowed eyes.
"Thank you. I'm… also looking for someone," Grovyle responded after a pause, and he gave them a grateful nod as he turned forward again. "Good luck on your mission."
With that, he bounded away again, and the pair watched him for several seconds. Maryn shook his head as his arms dropped back to his sides, and Kerry gave him a questioning look.
"There was something incredibly strange about him, wasn't there? I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all."
"Well, yes, you're right, but this kind of distrust is still unlike you, dear," Kerry sighed. "It would be so much easier if we could just — wait! There's something in that bush over there!"
The very slight movement of the branches didn't go unnoticed with the Sceptile's affinity for the plants. She carefully stepped towards the bush and parted the branches, only to be greeted by yet another blurry shadow. However, this Pokémon stopped without having to be attacked, and moments later, a trembling Mudkip was sitting on the swamped path.
"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'll leave you alone, just please don't hurt me."
"Maryn!" Kerry cried. "Look, we're not going to attack everyone we come across—"
"You won't let me live this down, will you?" the Lucario muttered.
"Oh, we happen to be looking for a Mudkip," Kerry continued as if she hadn't heard her partner. "Would you happen to be the one who got separated from a Nuzleaf earlier?"
Mudkip nodded timidly but gave no other immediate response. Kerry sighed in relief and crouched down in front of the smaller Pokémon, offering out her claw in a sign of trust.
"We're Team Aura Blade, and we're here to help you. We saw Nuzleaf's request posted down at the Wigglytuff Guild this morning, and she's worried sick about you."
"Oh… okay," Mudkip whispered, although her voice still had a slight quiver to it. "I'm sorry. I was just so scared…"
"It's all right. We'll get you back to your friend in no time."
Before any of them could say anything else, a loud shriek pierced the air. Mudkip instantly curled into a ball again as Kerry and Maryn both looked around wildly. The cause of the shriek revealed itself shortly. A panicked Vespiquen was flying by them so quickly that her wings almost looked invisible. She was followed by a horde of the forest's inhabitants, all of whom looked equally terrified.
"Out! Get out!" she cried. "There's something happening!"
"What is it?" Kerry asked, a sense of dread growing in her stomach. The sheer panic of the group seemed unnatural, and there was a sudden tension in the air.
"The air's going bad — the rain is frozen back there — just need to get out!"
The Vespiquen's horrified fragments were barely comprehensible, and she took off abruptly. Team Aura Blade gazed out at the horizon, having to squint to make out any details through the dark clouds. However, there was an odd, slightly-grayish tint in the sky that was visible even in the darkness, and, even more bizarrely, the rain did indeed seem to have stopped moving further back in the forest. There was also a strange, tense feeling spreading over the area, and the fleeing Pokémon were constantly looking back over their shoulders with fearful looks.
"W-what should we do?" Mudkip asked nervously.
"Just come with us, dear, and hurry! We need to get you out of here anyway!"
Kerry bent down to scoop up the Water-Type, holding her in one arm as she and Maryn joined the constantly-growing crowd. It was difficult to move down the forest's already narrow paths with the swarm of Pokémon around them, but as the tension spread, at least the group's speed picked up. It seemed like an eternity before they finally reached the edge of the forest, and they kept running for several yards before they finally stopped to rest.
There was a buzz of noise as the group looked back at Treeshroud Forest, which was still visible on the horizon. The entire sky over the forest now had that unnatural gray shade to it, and while rain was still visible in the forest, the current rain seemed to be sliding around the forest somehow. It was as if the frozen weather in the forest was blocking out the rest of the rain.
"What was that just now?"
"I don't know. I'm not going back to check!"
"How are we going to find out what happened otherwise?"
"Hey, don't look at me!"
Kerry hadn't realized that she'd stopped breathing until Maryn shook her arm. Mudkip looked up at the two after glancing over at all the chattering Pokémon around them. After closing her eyes for a moment, Kerry tried to keep her voice steady.
"What do you think we should do, Maryn?"
"For now, all we can do is take Mudkip back to the guild to meet up with Nuzleaf," the Lucario replied coolly. "And while we're there, we should tell them that something happened here. Wigglytuff is acquainted well enough with Magnezone's police force that he can ask them to send an investigation squad over here for more details."
Kerry nodded. "That's perfect. Let's get going."
"I… I'm lucky you found me when you did," Mudkip said shakily.
"Don't worry about it, dear," Kerry answered, although she was just about as nervous as the smaller Pokémon was. "You're all right now."
Kerry and Maryn managed to weave their way through the crowd of Pokémon with a bit of effort. After they managed to get past the group, they saw a rather familiar Pokémon darting away. The Grovyle they'd seen earlier was a bit further ahead of them on the path, and he didn't seem to have noticed them yet.
"Oh! Did you find who you were looking for?" Kerry called.
Grovyle stopped abruptly, skidding slightly as he turned around, which caused his bag to crash into his side; it seemed slightly heavier than before, as there was a slight thump as it collided with his body. He recognized them as well, and he shook his head. There was a rather rushed feeling about him this time that Kerry hadn't sensed earlier.
"She wasn't there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to keep looking…"
He hurried away without giving either of them a chance to answer. Maryn narrowed his eyes again as he glanced over at Kerry.
"Don't you think he's a bit odd now?"
"What's odd about him?"
Kerry was trying to deflect the question, but Maryn obviously knew she understood what he meant.
"We saw him right before that incident happened, and now he's acting incredibly suspicious."
"Well, until we have more information, I'm not going to be so hasty in judging him," Kerry answered, her calm tone hiding the fact that she was starting to wonder if the Lucario was right. "Come on, we shouldn't keep Nuzleaf waiting any longer."
With that, Kerry let Mudkip jump back down to the ground, and the trio started walking away from the forest. They traveled in utter silence, as the relief they would have felt was eclipsed by an undercurrent of dread that none of them really wanted to discuss…
