It doesn't take all that long for us to realize why people were avoiding travelling up the mountain. The other Pokemon who live here aren't anywhere near as thrilled as the Shaymin are about having visitors, and much of the land is still unstable from the earthquake from years ago.
According to Azalea, the route up to the summit is divided into ten stations: nine resting stops and then the summit itself. Of course, no one has made it up to the summit beyond a few of the Shaymin, so I can only imagine how bad things will be farther ahead. The only saving grace of it is that there will also be fewer types of other Pokemon who would fight us the farther we go. There are a few other daredevils at the first station though, the ones like us willing to face the challenge for a bit of adventure. I don't any see many other Shaymin travelling with them, so I can't help but think that the rest of them thought it was too risky to make the journey and likely advised other Pokemon to do the same.
We just had to be the crazy bunch…
Even though it's really early in, we take a momentary break to drink a bit of water from a nearby stream and speak with some of the others who've already made a bit of the climb and have chosen instead to make their way back down rather than continue further. From what everyone knows so far, there aren't very many that have made it to the highest stations.
I end up overhearing a Heracross that lost his Oran Berry on the way up, and I decide to offer him one of ours. We've got plenty, and the wildlife is so plentiful here it wouldn't surprise me if we found even more berries on our way up. It really isn't any trouble, but I find Azalea staring at me from my hold as the Bug-type gives me an Escape Orb in turn to say thank you.
"What?" I ask, fiddling with the sphere before handing it off to Ri to store away within our bag. I just hope we won't actually need it…
She giggles, "You're really very kind, aren't you Lira?"
Kind? Well, I suppose… I like to think I'm kind, even though I know I have a bit of a temper and can be exceptionally stubborn when I feel slighted. I just did what any person should do, and it didn't cost me or my team much of anything. I don't see how it's enough to label me.
"Mountain climbing is a give and take," she continues, nestling into a more comfortable position in my arms. "We should help others when they're in trouble. Don't you think?"
I smirk, "Guess so." And soon after that we round each other up to get going again. Ri and I could get pretty far on our own—or even with Shaymin—in one sprint, but we have to consider the others. They're not made for the mountain and it's better for them to be able to rest at regular intervals if we're going to make it to the summit in good time.
The second station isn't quite as busy as the first, but is just as intriguing. It's where the survey team for Project P—Team Frontier—has set up their base of operations. For some reason, I can't help but get the strange feeling that I've seen most of them somewhere before… A Breloom that approaches us to introduce the group says that since it'd be too difficult to have rescue missions on the mountain that they made the base at this clearing to help lost and wounded travelers. There's even a Drifblim to help take travelers back to the village in a rush.
Blocking the cave-like passage that's up next is a Machoke, and he introduces himself as the team leader alongside a partner of his, Mawile. He's quick to warn us about the dangers further ahead, but also quick to encourage us when we tell him who we are. It seems that even out here our team has gotten a bit of notice for travelling to Temporal Tower…
"I just can't believe that two little guys like you went head-to-head with the Guardian of Time himself, he laughs in a strong voice, messing up our fur as he pats both Ri and I on the head—much to the amusement of the people around us.
"We still really can't believe it either," I grin awkwardly. "Anyway, thank you for all you've done with Project P. Other explorers like Ri and I wouldn't even know about this place if it weren't you all, let alone have gotten this far." Cradling Shaymin in one arm after making an appreciative bow, I accept the hand this is then held out for me to shake.
Then I shake Mawile's hand, but what happens next wipes the grin from my face and nearly sends me retreating back a step were it not for Ri placing a concerned hand on my shoulder to steady me. My Dimensional Scream ability activates, or maybe it's just a memory, because I see myself cupping a similar, but younger Mawile's hand—I think it might be her daughter—in both of my own from where I squat low to the ground as a human being in some other, distant place.
I think it's a meeting room we're in, scattered with maps and papers, and a large board dotted with notes and pinned papers of battle tactics, and interconnecting webs of information. They're blurry though, lacking all focus so that I can't make out much detail of them. If this is a memory, I imagine that I wouldn't have put so much focus into it at the time, for all of my attention is placed on the Iron-type and her team. Sadly, I don't see any of the current members among them…
"I can't thank you enough for all of the effort you've put into this," I tell them with my head humbly dipped low and Grovyle standing behind me with a solemn expression. "Out of everyone here, you've worked the hardest for our mission—finding the Passage of Time and figuring out how to use it to send us to the right moment in the past… Even with everything we know, how if we complete our mission, we… None of us will…"
My former self begins to shake, and I feel the same emotions that I felt then: Grief, fear, uncertainty… We had lost so much and I had been thrust into the highest position of leadership within the resistance with little preparation. I didn't know what I was doing, but tried so hard to pretend that I did and stay strong in front of everyone but Grovyle.
"I don't know how to thank you…" I say in a much softer voice, nearly falling apart before the group. We had only a few weeks before we would go into the past—our last few weeks to see our friends, alive and well. "I just wish that I could save you all... If there was any other way, I'd do it without hesitation—"
Before I can be moved to tears, Mawile cups my cheek with her free hand and beckons me to look up at her. She cuts me off and smiles down at me in compassionate understanding. "We should be thanking you. You and Grovyle are the ones shouldering the heaviest burden," she tells me, "If I went to the past, I don't know if I could actually go through with changing the future, despite everything. I don't know if I'd be able to protect myself against the ones who are sure to try to stop you, or even if I'd go through with placing the Time Gears in Temporal Tower in the end…
"For our own sakes, for our parents' sakes and all those that came before us, we have to do at least this much. It's our duty."
"Is something wrong?" is the first thing that reaches my ears as I recover and return to the present. I blink back to reality to find Azalea and Team Frontier watching me with concern while my family watches me knowingly.
I struggle to do so as the last bit of pain from my headache leaves me, but manage a smile. "I'm alright," I answer, "I just spaced out for a moment. It's hard to believe we're actually here." My moment of relapse might have seen longer to me, but I know it only lasted a split-second in real-time. My answer is convincing enough.
Nevertheless, as we continue on our way, Ri walks close to me to whisper in my ear, "Did you get a vision?"
I nod, and am able to talk freely knowing that Azalea won't understand what we're talking about. So far, it doesn't seem like she or the other Shaymin know about the Planet's Paralysis. It's somewhat comforting, but I know it won't be like that forever. Still, she doesn't try to pry into our brief discussion with anything but a confused glance as we speak. "I think it was the next generation of Team Frontier. They were the planetary investigation team within the resistance."
Chances are that, in the future, none of them even remember that conversation. After all, for anyone besides Dialga, Grovyle, Celebi, Dusknoir, a few of the Sableye, and myself, it's as though the future of darkness was never even a possibility. Rather than their being my age or older, instead I'll be around by the time they're born. It's bittersweet, but in the very least I know that we were able to pull through for them: Both they and their families are safe from harm—even if they don't know that they were in any danger.
The intervals between the next two stations are uneventful, but it's as we make our way up to the fifth station that we run into an actual problem. Or rather, someone else has before us. We're caught off guard by an Octillary—the very Octillary that was there at Spinda's the day that we were given news of Sky Peak—running up to us, out of breath and calling for help. He quickly tells us that there is some Pokemon picking a fight with a Sneasel up farther ahead at the fifth station, and the very mention of it sends Azalea into a panic.
"Quick! We have to hurry too!" she exclaims with worried eyes. Not that she has to tell us: We're already running that way.
With Ri and I being the fastest in this sort of territory, we easily outpace the others: Grovyle tails behind us, just able to keep enough speed to follow our trail and relay to the Celebi and Dusknoir where we're going. We can't wait up for them—not if there's somebody in danger! Nevermind if it's just a petty fight: It's dangerous to even have a friendly spar in a place like this. A single slip up, a blast from a powerful enough attack rupturing the earth and shattering it beneath someone… One wrong move could send a person falling to their death! It's just stupid to fight here!
"I can see the fifth station clearing! Let's hurry!"
With our speed and Azalea's directions, we make our way there in no time. Somehow though, Team Frontier makes it there before us, and I can only imagine that Octillary went back to the second station to get their help and that they flew up here thanks to Drifblim. We find Sneasel surrounding by a gang of five Carnivine, looking worse for wear from the outslaught of attacks she's no doubt suffered. I find myself snarling in outrage: Five on one… They're despicable!
"What do you think you're doing?!" one of the Carnivine barks at us all.
"We're Team Frontier!" Mawile is just as furious as I am, and announces, "Only cowards would gang up on one Pokemon! So if you want a fight, how about facing us?!"
"Don't leave us out of the picture!" I voice, moving beside her and pausing only to place Azalea carefully on the ground. I motion for her to run toward a patch of briars several meters away from us, but as terrified as she seems to be—her mouth pulled into a frown and her brow contorted with worry—she stays at my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Grovyle, Celebi, and Dusknoir enter the scene: They don't need an explanation to take position and prepare to fight.
Chuckling, a cruel smile lining his sharp fangs, the same Carnivine abandons his place from where he and the other surround Sneasel and approaches us. When the rest follow suit, the Ice-type takes his opportunity to scramble away to safety. Good. Just like with Azalea, I wouldn't want him to stick around and risk being used as a hostage. "Oh, this should be fun!"
"E-everyone, please what a second!" a tiny voice beckons.
"Azalea, wait—!" I try to catch her, but she evades me and races to the front of our group—and right in front of the mass of Carnivine. I move to go after her, but feel something snag my arm back to stop me. Looking over my shoulder, I find Ri giving me a reassuring grin.
It takes me a minute to realize why until I see that the Carnivines' expressions greatly change at the sight of her, morphing from sadistic grins to friendly smiles. "Oh!" the first one exclaims, getting down low to greet her face to face. It's frightening as it is awkward to watch such a large, intimidating Pokemon bend for someone so small… "A Shaymin from the village! It's been a while!"
"You…" I begin, still somewhat confused at the turn of events. My pointed finger moves from one of the pair to the other. "You know each other then…"
"You…" Azalea mutters, her face quickly turns to one of anger as she shouts at the Bug-Catcher Pokemon. "You haven't changed a bit, Carnivine! We've asked you before to stop bothering the explorers, haven't we?!"
He backs off a bit, his expression turning sheepish, "Y-yeah, but—that Sneasel started it! We found some treasure earlier, and he snatched it right out from under our noses!" Finally he and they others of his kind begin to take notice that the Ice-type has already run off somewhere, and their faces grow dark with outrage. "He ran off during the confusion!"
"We all thought you were the bad guys…" Mawile says, shame in her voice. I tense up as well, glad things didn't turn out as badly as they could've been.
"Well, you can't exactly say that they're good guys, either…" Azalea mumbles with a small pout.
Overhearing this, the leader of the Carnivine balks, "Hey! We haven't seen you Shaymin in so long and this is how you treat us?!" But he then sighs, scratching the back of his head after taking a deep breath. "Meh, it's fine. Since it's Shaymin, we'll let you go. The decision to climb the mountain is your own, but I don't like to let Pokemon just do as they please."
Making my way to the front, I bow low to them apologetically. Stubborn as I am, I could've hurt someone that didn't actually deserve it. "If we see Sneasel again, I promise you we'll get back your treasure!" I declare, and Ri nods along. There's a change we won't run into him again—though we mine and Ri's combined abilities, I say we have a fair chance of sniffing his out—but I feel like we have to do something to make it up to them even if we never actually got around to fighting. I just can't be lax about a thing like this.
"If you can manage it, that would be much appreciated," he says, then turns away from us. "Well, see ya."
And with that, he and the other Carnivine depart somewhere along a separate route.
"Excuse me," says Azalea after watching them go, an apologetic look of her own written on her features. "The Carnivine have marked this as their territory. They're really nice, but they can be a little rough when they speak…"
"We're also to blame here," Mawile says, her eyes downcast as she folds her arms over her chest, "Rather than listening to them, we just jumped straight into a fight…"
"That's why you shouldn't just judge by appearances…" adds Breloom.
"Sorry!" exclaims Machoke, and the rest of us join in until finally Azalea's smile returns to her.
"It's alright!" she replies, climbing back into my arms, "As long as you understand. So, let's put this behind us and get back to climbing. We're halfway to the summit!"
As Team Frontier returns to Drifblim to head back to their base and we see them off, Dusknoir moves to my side. "You shouldn't make such promises so readily," he reprimands in an even tone. "They'll come a time when you won't be able to fulfill them."
"But I can do everything in my power to do so," I counter readily. Finding Sneasel won't be the real problem anyway. Besides the fact that Ri and I can sense aura, it's not like there are many places on the mountain for him to have gone. He's looking for Sky Peak's treasure too, and we're all heading to the summit.
"You're unbearably hopeful as ever…" he murmurs. "Just remember that after we cross the sixth station, there will be nothing but snow for the remainder of the climb. Even if you find that Pokemon, you'll be in his element, and while you and Ri might have a type advantage over him Grovyle and Shaymin do not. Not only are you stepping in on somebody else's problem, but it may be more of a problem than you realize. Or can handle."
"We kicked your boss's butt," I remind him without reserve, "I think we'll be fine."
"Getting cocky won't do you any good either…"