Grovyle opened his eyes, groaning at the pain in his stomach. He looked over to his left and saw Morrithi was sleeping against the wall. He looked around and saw that they were in cave, and when he stared out of the entrance, he knew they were in a forest, but he didn't know what forest. He sat up against the wall, grabbing his side. He looked to Morrithi but then saw a small pile of food between them; Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Apples, Reviver Seeds, and Heal Seeds made up most of them.
"Wha-how?" He picked up a Reviver Seed, looking it over when a small chuckle came from his right. He looked over and shuffled slightly; a small, pink Pokemon sat next to him and his bag that leaned against the wall. She had small wings on her back and her eyes glowed green; she kicked her tiny legs forward as she smiled happily.
"Hello! I'm Celebi!" The Pokemon squeaked out. Grovyle grinned at her, putting the seed back down.
"Celebi…you mean, the Legendary Time-Traveling Pokemon?"
"Yep, that's me!" Celebi laughed out, hugging her knees, watching Grovyle closing.
"Oh, well, hi. I'm Grovyle and this-" He looked over and pointed at Morrithi, but Celebi jumped to her feet and giggled again.
"Oh, I know who she is. Don't worry." Grovyle eyed her, a bit concerned.
"You know Morrithi? How…when did you two meet?" Celebi hopped into the air, the fluttering of her wings the only sound for awhile as she flew over to Morrithi's side. She stood by her head and put her hand on her forehead.
"I met Morrithi when she was seven. Poor little thing lost her family and was scared…lost in the wilderness. I showed her a library she could hide in and it looks like she made it alright."
Morrithi groaned in her sleep, causing Grovyle to leaned towards her and study her. "A library? Where is this library, Celebi?"
"Oh, near my home, Dust Forest. It's on the edge of it and no one actually goes there. Kind of strange actually…" Celebi talked to herself, but then Morrithi grunted, opening her eyes and smiling.
"C-Celebi? What…when did you-" Celebi laughed, touching Morrithi's lips with her fingers.
"Shush, young Morrithi. I saved you and your dear Grovyle from Dusknoir and his hounds."
"Thank you, Celebi." Grovyle finally said, handing Morrithi an Apple, which she took and happily gobbled up.
"Oh, no problem, my dear Grovyle, I'm happy to help fellow Pokémon in need!" Celebi jumped over Morrithi's legs and sat on her knees, grabbing a Heal Seed and nibbling on it. Morrithi tapped on her shoulder and smiled.
"Celebi, can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, Morrithi. What do you need from little, old me?" Morrithi looked at Grovyle, and he smiled, knowing what she was going to say. He tapped Celebi's shoulder to get her attention as he continued explaining.
"We're finding out where the Time Gears are so we-"
"Can stop the Planet's Paralize in the past?" Celebi finished. Grovyle nodded his head, somewhat surprised she already knew. Celebi finished chewing her Heal Seed and she chuckled, hopping back into the air. "I'm happy to send you two to the past so you two can stop the Planet's Paralize! I don't care if we disappear…I can't live in this world knowing that I can do something to save it and it's Pokémon and not do anything about it out of fear of not existing."
"It's better to live a short life of glory…then a long, empty one of misery." Grovyle stated, bringing Morrithi and Celebi's faces pale. But then they both smiled in agreement.
"I agree completely." Morrithi expressed, sitting up against the wall. Grovyle looked away and stared out of the cave, like he was waiting for someone to come by.
"Is someone wrong, Grovyle?" Celebi asked him, worried.
"Don't be concerned, Celebi. He does that." Morrithi explained, but she too looked at Grovyle, wondering what he was doing. "Where are we, by the way, Celebi?"
"Oh, in Bewildering Forest!" Celebi claimed, smiling. But Grovyle looked back frightened.
"Bewildering Forest!? Are you sure?!"
"Um, yeah, is something wrong?" Celebi landed next to his leg, placing her hands on his knee. Grovyle looked away, stuttering.
"It's, it's…it's just that…nothing. It's just…it's nothing." Grovyle closed his eyes, leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, taking his leg away from Celebi. She looked back to Morrithi who shrugged, unsure of Grovyle's problem. After resting for about an hour, Morrithi and Grovyle got up to leave.
"I'll see you in Dusk Forest you two!" Celebi vowed, waving as she vanished in a swarm of light and sparkles. As they fell through the cold ground, Grovyle looked away and walked out, Morrithi stumbling behind. Grovyle looked around before heading towards a large mountainous range in the distance.
"I've heard of another Time Gear there, but I haven't been there yet. It's somewhere near Dark Hill though." Grovyle explained not taking his eyes off of the mountains.
"Grovyle, I'm-" Morrithi tried to apologize; she wasn't sure why she had to, but she felt like she needed to say it.
"Quiet." Grovyle's harsh tone made her mouth close up. She looked at the ground and silently cried to herself. She watched her own tears fall to the ground, thinking about why she's in the position. What did she do to deserve this? After a couple of minutes, Morrithi nearly ran into Grovyle again, but saw his feet and stopped. She looked up and saw him gazing to the side; she gasped. There was a small, burnt down village that reminded her of her home. It had the same impact, the same burning sensation, and the same ashen trails around it. There were four houses though, and as she looked longer, her tears become fewer as she couldn't believe her eyes. There were three corpses of Sceptiles; two were normal while one was a shiny blue. Then it hit her…Grovyle's home.
Grovyle let his bag slide off of his shoulder and he slowly walked to the houses. Morrithi picked up his bag and followed him closely. Grovyle looked around at the burnt wood, never stopping. Then he came closer to the shiny Sceptile. He froze in front of it…he fell to his knees, putting his hand onto the limp, Sceptile's arm. Grovyle stared for at half-a minute before he bursted out into tears, Morrithi choking over seeing him cry. "Mother…why…?" Grovyle whispered under his swollen breath. Morrithi kneeled next to him…she wanted to try and comfort him, but he has rejected her all the time. So she nearly fell to the side when Grovyle put his head on her shoulder, freely crying, putting his arms around her neck and on her shoulder, indicating he didn't want her to leave.
"I'm sorry…" Morrithi cried out, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I was six…" Grovyle pointed out, his voice breaking a few times.
"You don't have to tell me…" Morrithi indicated, but Grovyle put one of his hands on her hand and smiled.
"I have to tell someone." As Morrithi didn't say anything, Grovyle continued, taking in a breath and calming down a bit. "I can't quite remember actually…but, when I was six, Primal Dialga came." Morrithi gasped…Primal Dialga came to kill his family? "He burnt the houses down, tearing the other Sceptiles apart. My father picked me up and my mother…she gave me these two necklaces." Grovyle leaned back, showing Morrithi the stones around his neck. Carved on one side read, Love, Peace, and Freedom for the World, and on the other side read, Do Anything to Protect the World from a Life of Pain and Suffering. "She said for me to give the other one to a friend if I met one. Then she forced my father to take me as she distracted Primal Dialga. He ran up the hill…he turned and I know he regretted it, because I regret watching. Primal Dialga came up to her and…and…" Grovyle hesitated, looking away ashamed, tears slowly from his eyes.
"No…right in front of you?" Morrithi asked, knowing what he was trying to say. He nodded, and looked back at her.
"My father ran down the other side of the hill, but Primal Dialga's roar rang, and it was close. He knew he was following, so he released me and told me to run. I did. And Primal Dialga killed him as well…" Grovyle grabbed his bag and held it gently. Morrithi knew it was his father's. "Primal Dialga saw where I hid and jumped to me and right before he shot Hyper Beam or whatever he was going to shot…someone stopped him."
"Who?"
"Ironically…Dusknoir." Grovyle smiled, chuckling to himself. Morrithi's jaw dropped in surprise.
"You're kidding, right? That heartless monster that's trying to kill us?"
"Yep…he wasn't trained fully on killing children at that time is my guess. But he stopped Primal Dialga killing me by saying that if I grew up to be one of them, he'd hunt me down and murder me."
"I say Primal Dialga should spank him. Because Dusknoir was right…you did." Morrithi shoved Grovyle friendly, but Grovyle looked away with pity. He stared past Morrithi for a few seconds before he took off one of his necklaces and held it in front of Morrithi.
"I want you to have this."
"Wha-why?" Morrithi stuttered, both confused and shocked. Grovyle smiled, putting the necklace over Morrithi's head.
"You've been a good friend to me, even though I haven't to you. I'm sorry." Grovyle held Morrithi's shoulder, waiting for a response, but Morrithi teared up and fell into Grovyle's arms, hugging him tightly. Grovyle grunted with pain but ignored it for long enough to hug Morrithi back, avoiding her scratches still healing on her back.
"We're partners then?" Morrithi whispered, smiling, crying happily.
"Partners." Grovyle patted her back with joy…he had a friend.
