A short chapter. Just a bit on Grovyle and Alex's past. Next chapter will also be on Grovyle, but it will be a matter that isn't addressed in the game.

As always: enjoy.

PMD 2: A Novelization

Chatper 6: For a Friend

It had been a few days now and Grovyle was racing through the storm that was attacking the night.

It went without saying, he was concerned for his human partner.

"Where could he be anyways?" the grass-type muttered to himself "A human in a world of pokemon after all? How long could a human be in this world without being found? News of a human appearing would be immediately spread faster than a wildfire."

Grovyle shook himself, discarding the issue.

"No, we both came here to do this job… he must be out here somewhere, just trying to get to the Time Gears too."

However, other thoughts would not be kept from his mind.

What if he was lost in the passage, because of whatever hit him?

What if he was erased in the passage because of that? Rather than dying, ceasing to exist?

Grovyle had to stop and climbed up a tree, where he perched himself on a branch to organize his rebellious mind.

Back in the future, it had been rebellious to begin with: he wasn't going to put up with that future if he could do something make it better, even if it was purely for everyone else.

But now, it was rebellious in an entirely different way. It didn't seem to want to stay focused on the task at-hand.

I need to stop worrying about Alex… he can take care of himself. He did it for who-knows-how-long before we met after all.

Grovyle snorted, admitting to himself that to say Alex "took care of himself" back in the future without him, was a bit of a stretch. He had been trying to stave off the Sableye with a twig, failing spectacularly, when Grovyle had found him and saved him from capture.

After spending a few days with Grovyle, Alex had opened up and shared how he had ended up in this world in the first place. At first, Grovyle had been too focused on trying to figure out a way to fix the time-problem to pay much attention.

But after the human had shielded him from one of Dusknoir's ambushes and helped him escape, Grovyle had started getting attached to the boy.

Of course, any conversation was necessarily one-sided, being that the boy couldn't understand a word Grovyle might've tried speaking. Alex hadn't had any complaints about that…

Then again, he probably did but didn't mention them. He never did complain under even the hardest of circumstances.

Alex had apparently just been traveling when the… ship he had been on-board had an incident. It had sunk and Alex had tried swimming to the nearest shore he came across. He had passed out though and through some miracle, ended up on the Hidden Land, unconscious at first. He hadn't been sure why he hadn't drowned.

Grovyle had no ideas on the matter either. He wasn't even sure what a "ship" was.

All he was sure of was that the boy had come from some distant land and he had proved to be Grovyle's only constant friend throughout all his travels. Celebi was another pokemon to talk to but she was… strange for lack of a better word and she was gone far too often for Grovyle to become as attached to. Anyone else was either an enemy, or someone who was corrupted from the darkness in the future and wanted nothing to do with Grovyle.

Then there was the matter of Alex's strange, unique ability. According to Alex himself, he hadn't had such an ability until after he ended up in the Hidden Land. Then again, they had deduced that it only worked around Time Gear locations…

Grovyle didn't waste his time reflecting on if Time Gears existed where Alex came from.

Lightning cracked the sky, drawing Grovyle out of his thoughts.

Wherever he is, I hope he's alive… and safe. At least in this world, he's not as liable to be attacked… though Dusknoir and his underlings will be a concern once they come to the past as well.

Grovyle leapt from the tree and landed smoothly on the ground. He was sure he was close to the Time Gear now. It wasn't long before he saw a… an unearthly glow and went to investigate.

"Is that… a Time Gear?" he murmured as he looked at the object… "Yes! It is!" he was sure.

It's only the first of many but I must get all of them… I can't give up now. He grabbed the Gear and time immediately reacted. The rain stopped and things slowed down… until the area was gray and still.

Grovyle felt an uneasy shiver run through him… it reminded him uncomfortably of where he had come from.

Easy… it's only until we fix this mess by getting these to the Tower.

Easing himself with these words, Grovyle turned and headed out for the next Time Gear.