AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Bury me in this story.
As the group of Grovyle, Blaze, and Victory arrived at a clearing just before Fogbound Lake, Grovyle asked, "What reeks!?"
Blaze shrugged. "I have no idea, but it aint pretty."
"How rude," came a snarl from behind. The three of them whipped around, only to see three figures. A Skuntank, a Koffing, and a Zubat. "Well well, I didn't expect to see you," Skuntank snarked at Blaze, taking a step towards him.
"Who is that?" Grovyle asked, and Victory buried herself in his bag.
"Those are Team Skeleton," Blaze told them, meeting Skuntank's gaze with the anger of a stampede of Tauros. "Nothing but a pack of idiots, they are."
"I'll make you eat those words!" Skuntank roared, lunging at Blaze with Night Slash. Blaze swiftly rolled aside, and slammed into him with Thunderpunch.
Koffing and Zubat closed in on Grovyle and Victory. Grovyle ducked from a Leech Life, but was hit with a Smog attack. He let out a cough, distracted momentarily. When he looked up, Zubat and Koffing were knocked out. However, Blaze was still fighting with Skuntank.
"Fainted from lack of energy or something," Grovyle decided, watching as Blaze knocked Skuntank onto his back with a Dig attack.
"I don't care what you were doing, nor do I care. But screw off," Blaze growled, turning away. "Come on. Let's do this."
Grovyle nodded, but a loud stomping caught their attention. A roar sliced the air. Victory let out a squeak, jumping out Grovyle's bag and clinging to his leg as a large, red beast suddenly crashed down upon the unsuspecting, suspicious three.
The two were practically knocked out on the first hit. The force of the Pokemon was incredibly, and the surprise attack didn't help. Victory cowered in Grovyle's bag as the giant Pokemon glared down at her, massive, and menacing.
"HEEELP!" was all she screeched as the V on her forehead began to glow a bright red.
Katheryn looked up with a shocked look at a cry spliced the air, echoing down Steam Cave.
"HEEELP!"
"Oh hell..." she breathed, breaking into a fast run up the last flight of stairs, leading to the clearing.
When she got up there, she didn't see a lot. But there was a huge, gray and red Pokemon, and a little, orange and cream Pokemon charging up a huge attack. All she saw a giant, V-shaped flame ram into the Pokemon before the light became blinding. When it faded, Katheryn blinked, dizzy and now having green-dyed vision as her eyes began to repair. The little Pokemon had fainted, using all it's strength to use that one move. And it was incredible. The red and gray Pokemon had a huge, V-shaped burn mark across it.
Time to finish it, Katheryn thought, and took in a deep breath. She walked towards the Pokemon, and shot out a huge, all-powerful Fire Blast on it. Needless to say, the Pokemon didn't take the hit well. It stumbled back, before collapsing on the ground. It went up in a golden light, and vanished. "What the...!?" Katheryn shouted in alarm, but lost interest. She looked around. A disgusting smell clung to the air, but only the little Pokemon and two Grovyles could be seen. Wait a minute...Katheryn poked one of the Grovyles, then yelped, "Blaze!"
Katheryn poked his face. "Blaze?" she repeated, continuing to bother him. Out cold... Whatever that Pokemon was, it sure was powerful.
She looked around her, and frowned. There's another Grovyle here... She walked up to him, and poked him to, only to get whacked in the face.
"Cut that out," he growled, sitting up.
Katheryn snapped at his hand when he did, but missed. "So I save you three and get slapped. How wonderful."
The Grovyle looked around, before standing up. He walked over to the cream and orange Pokemon, and gave her an Oran Berry. She roused a few moments later. "Gwovyle!" she smiled.
"Hi Victory..." he said with a soft sigh of relief.
Katheryn just watched curiously. So Victory is her name?
Victory looked over. "Daddy!" she squeaked, running over to Blaze. She prodded his face, much like Katheryn had done earlier.
"Give him this," Grovyle, as Victory had called him, told her, handing her a Reviver Seed.
Victory nodded, giving it to Blaze. Sure enough, he woke up soon after, letting out a groan. But Victory was distracted. She had turned around, and walked up to Katheryn, tilting her head with curiosity. "... Mommy!"
Katheryn took a step back. "Excuse me?"
"She sees you as a mother figure," came Blaze's voice as he stood up, watching the two.
"I'm aware of that," she snapped to her surprise. Why was she acting so bitter? Not even she had the answer to that.
Victory cocked her head the other way. "You OK?"
"Go away," she said in a flat tone.
Victory frowned, but hopped back over to Blaze and Grovyle. She tugged on one of Blaze's tail. "Why is mommy grumpy?"
"I'm not your mother," Katheryn growled. Blaze ignored Victory's question, and picked her up. Katheryn took a step forward. "Blaze," she addressed in a hateful tone.
He met her challenging gaze. "So we're on opposite sides of the law now," he said in a confident tone, giving a quick glance to Grovyle as Victory crawled into his bag.
"And as an Explorer, it is my duty to catch you," she said bluntly before shooting a Flamethrower his way.
Blaze ducked. "That one was actually close for once," he laughed.
Katheryn let out another growl, embers crawling out of her mouth as she held a Fire Blast in. She then raised her head, and let it loose. Blaze and Grovyle jumped out of the way. Grovyle set Victory aside, and jumped next to Blaze to help him.
"This won't work," Blaze said in a rushed, quiet voice as he dodged a Dark Pulse, then raised his claws and shot a dark purple Energy Ball at Katheryn in a hurry.
Grovyle nodded. "We're losing daylight. I have an idea... You should know it."
Blaze thought for a moment as he charged at her with Leaf Blade. Katheryn hooked to the left, but he wanted her to do that. He slammed into her left side, switching quickly to Thunderpunch. He shot underground, using Dig, and Katheryn tried an Extrasensory. He came up, ramming into her. She let out a yelp, landing on her side. She rolled to her feet as Blaze jumped back to Grovyle. Then he remembered. "Right... It might just be enough time to get to the lake."
"We'll have to deal with Uxie, the guardian of the lake," Grovyle warned. "But he won't be too rough."
Blaze gave a nod. "Just hurry!" He rushed as he ducked from a Flamethower again.
Grovyle shot in with Absorb. Katheryn fired a Fire Blast his way, but he easily dodged it. He swept inward again, avoiding another one of her attacks. Blaze decided to help. He charged at Katheryn, distracting her while Grovyle closed the gap between them. Blaze jumped away, and Grovyle grabbed Katheryn, kissing her with Attract.
Katheryn kicked him away.
"You are disgusting!" she yelped, her tails fluffing out. Yet as she stared into Grovyle's eyes, she felt her heart sway.
Blaze glanced to Grovyle. They exchanged a look she couldn't tell, and Blaze swiped up Victory and bolted. She was about to chase, when Grovyle cut her off with a Leaf Blade. She was about to fire a Flamethrower, but her mind was too painted with loved images of him. She couldn't bare to hurt him... No! It's an Attract! she screamed in her mind, but it didn't budge. So she attempted to skirt around him. Grovyle quickly caught on, and charged at her, knocking her aside. Or he would have liked to, but a Pikachu fell from the sky onto his back, knocking him over.
"... Whoops," the Pikachu frowned.
"GET OFF ME!" Grovyle snapped as he bucked her off.
Katheryn watched with a weird look.
"I didn't try to, I just kinda fell from the sky," the Pikachu explained.
"So where am I?"
"... Outside of Fogbound Lake," Grovyle sighed.
Katheryn started to slip away.
"Woaah, I came all the way here? I thought I was still at Pokemon Square!" she frowned.
"Who exactly are you?" Grovyle frowned.
"I'm Flufy! ...Wait what's Fogbound Lake?"
Grovyle faceclawed. "Nevermind, I have a Vulpix to distract."
Another Pikachu suddenly fell on Grovyle.
"I teleported!" she yelped, flailing. Grovyle shoved her off as well. "That was rude!" she snapped.
Flufy just watched.
"I don't care, I need to go stop that Vulpix!"
The Pikachu grabbed his bag. "Say you're sorry first!"
Grovyle tried to snatch it back, but she didn't let him. "Look miss-"
"My name is Luna, and I am the leader of rescue team Swiftblade."
"I. Don't. Care. I'm. Trying. To. Save. The. World."
"Ooo, how so?" Luna smiled.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER JUST GIVE ME MY BAG!"
"You haven't said sorryyy "
Grovyle let out an exasperated sigh. "Sorry now give it back!"
"OK fine." Luna threw it back.
Grovyle ran off, after Katheryn.
Meanwhile, Luna turned to Flufy. "Another Pikachu! Wanna go get milkshakes?"
"YES."
The two skipped away joyously.
By the time Katheryn and Grovyle got to the lake, Blaze was in a fight with a weird, light blue and yellow Pokemon. He was winning by far. The Pokemon had collapsed to the ground as soon as Grovyle ran up.
Blaze looked back. "Get it, Grovyle!" he shouted. Grovyle nodded, running forward.
"What!?" Katheryn screeched, not sure on what they meant. She shot a huge Flamethrower at Grovyle. But when it faded, Blaze was on the ground, burned badly. Grovyle had vanished.
Victory bolted up to Blaze. "Daddy!" she squeaked.
Katheryn growled, but went up to the blue and yellow Pokemon. "You OK?"
"I think..." The Pokemon groaned, struggling to get up. "Just stop... the thief..."
"You're hurt though."
The Pokemon glared at her. "We'll have more to worry about than my injuries if he gets the Time Gear!" he snapped, pushing himself up.
"Wha...?" There's a Time Gear here!? Suddenly, a bad headache blasted the both of them.
"HOW DARE YOU!?" screeched Victory from behind them.
Katheryn whipped around, cringing some. The "v" on Victory's head was glowing a bright pink.
"It's a Psychic attack." The Pokemon growled, before shooting a Swift. It was easily dodged. Katheryn let out a howl as the pain intensified.
"Deal with the Pokemon!" The yellow Pokemon shouted before suddenly flying off to the lake. He was a bit too late as the land shook, and the ground started to dye gray. It took Katheryn a second to realize.
A Time Gear...? And... a thief...
Wait a minute...! Grovyle is stealing a Time Gear! That means... OH CRAP! TIME IS STOPPING!
Katheryn stepped slowly back. Behind her, a voice spoke."Wh-what's happening!?"She didn't need to turn around to know it was Wigglytuff. She whipped behind her, and nudged her Guildmaster. "No time to explain just RUN RIGHT NOW BEFORE YOU DIE!"
-
Victory watched with a frown as 'mommy' and the newcomer ran away. She didn't get what was happening, but it was bad. She poked Blaze. "Daddy, geddup..."He slowly stirred. "Wha...?""Sometin's happening!" she yelped.Blaze pushed himself up, and muttered a word she had never heard him use before. He grabbed her. "We need to go.""What about Gwovyle?""He'll be fine," Blaze assured, before throwing an Escape Orb at the ground. The two vanished in a white light.
-
Grovyle watched with concerned eyes as the flow of time began to slow down to a halt around him. The Time Gear was clenched in his claws, an iron grip holding it in place. Only for a bit, Fogbound Lake.
He was perched on a small island in the middle of the lake, just barely enough for him to stand on."You," snapped a voice.He looked over, to see a light blue and yellow Pokemon. "... And you are... an Uxie, correct?""How dare you take the Time Gear!?" The Uxie bellowed. "I am Memory the Uxie, guardian of Fogbound Lake. And you shall turn the Time Gear over to me."Grovyle closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I'm afraid I can't do that.""Then I'll have to take it by force," Memory threatened.He tried to come in with a Swift attack, but Grovyle easily knocked him down with a Leaf Blade."Don't push yourself. That fight you had earlier did a toll on you," He precautioned. Memory got back up, but Grovyle had left by then. The Uxie wobbled some, before slumping over on the island.
From outside of Foggy Forest, Blaze and Victory were laying on the ground, watching as the forest came to a standstill. Soon after, Grovyle landed next to them from it. "Hey," Blaze greeted. Grovyle gave a nod. "Ello." Blaze sat up, and looked to him expectantly. "Did you get it?" Grovyle pulled the Time Gear from his bag. "Just two more to go." "I t'ought it was bwoken," Victory frowned. Grovyle looked at her, confused. "Broken? Why would it be broken?" "Well that's how we found it at first," She pointed out. "It was in half." "In... half." Grovyle echoed. Why does that seem familiar? "Anyways..." Blaze intercepted. "I need to talk to you about something, Grovyle." "What is it?" Blaze glanced to Victory. She seemed to get the hint. "I'll go... see what it's wike in the fowest now," she said quickly, hopping away to leave them be. Grovyle watched, then looked back to Blaze. "Yes?" "We need to give Victory to the Guild," he said bluntly. "What we're doing is too dangerous for her to be around. Katheryn is there, so it's not like she'll be alone, either. And she's old enough to walk and talk, old enough to explore I'm sure." Or at least be a second Walter. He closed his eyes. "I figured you would say that eventually. To be honest... I agree with you. Though I would miss her." Blaze nodded. I'll come back for her, though! When time is saved... Grovyle will probably want to return to the future, but he could at least see her one last time. "So we've agreed then?" "... Yeah," Grovyle agreed with a heavy heart. He had grown quite fond of little Victory's cheery self. "I'll hand her to Katheryn," Blaze offered. "She'd probably try to have your head anyways." He laughed the slightest. "Yeah, probably." Blaze stood up, and left to go find Victory.
But this was for the better. She would be safe this way.
Katheryn was quiet as she listened to Blaze explain why he was handing Victory off to her. No duh it's too dangerous, you're stealing Time Gears! But she refused to say those words. Victory wasn't happy about being passed off to her. She could understand, Victory clearly wanted to stay with Blaze. "I'll take her," Katheryn agreed. "Won't be too hard to get her past the Chatot radar now." "Thank you..." Blaze breathed, getting Victory down. "I won't wanna go, daddy," Victory protested. He patted the top of her head. "It's for the better, I promise. I'll come see you, OK?" Katheryn could hear the sadness he was trying to hide. She walked up to Victory, picking her up and setting her on her back. "Good bye!" Blaze called, watching as Katheryn walked off. "Daddy!" Victory cried out as Katheryn vanished into Foggy Forest.
Blaze looked up at the sky as the day fell away, leaving night behind. He shifted himself, his gaze not breaking as the branch of the tree he was sitting in lurched a bit as he moved. "Today went so fast..." he muttered. "I agree with that statement." He jumped at Grovyle's voice next to him. "Oh, I didn't see you." "Must be hard when you're staring at the sky," Grovyle teased. Blaze laughed. "Yeah, I guess so..." He leaned back. "So what do we do now?" he asked. "Just keep getting the Time Gears, I suppose..." Grovyle frowned. "Next we should probably head to the Underground Lake." "Where's that?" Blaze asked. "You know where Northern Desert is, yes?" "No. I know where Shimmer Desert is!" Grovyle laughed. "OK, well it's a desert, and it's to the north." "I assumed that," Blaze grinned. "Yeah... Past that is a bunch of quicksand pits... Jump inside them-" "SAY WHAT!?" Grovyle frowned. "If you'd let me finish..." "Sorry..." Blaze murmured. "Right." Grovyle sighed. "Jump in them, and you'll arrive at an underground cave. In the heart of it is the Underground Lake... Another Time Gear will be there." "Oh, OK..." Blaze said with a slow nod. Grovyle leaned on Blaze a bit. "... This is all too crazy." He looked down. "Hm?" "Just... everything that's happened since we met each other," Grovyle explained. "I don't mean by Brine Cave, either." Blaze nodded a bit. Their encounter at Oran Forest, of course, was what Grovyle meant. "That day, I was on an exploration with Katheryn." "I was headed to Limestone Cavern." Grovyle told him. "Why, was there a Time Gear there?" Grovyle nodded. "Yeah... Never thought I'd be meeting you though." "It was... ah... a unique meeting." Blaze chuckled. "If you call it that," Grovyle smirked. "I don't think I would've acted like that if I knew who you were." "Knew who I was?" Blaze echoed. "About you being David," Grovyle explained. "I don't know how... But somehow, you lost your memory of it all, and were turned into a Pokemon. You aren't a human anymore... but you're still you. You don't know how worried I was..." Blaze closed his eyes. It's kind of hard to grasp, still. I mean, I was a human...? But I hate them! And, more importantly, I was Grovyle's best friend. And what we're doing now, is what I will decide so far into the future... Grovyle's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Blaze?" He blinked. "Hm?" "I was just wondering if you were asleep or something. You grew quiet." "Sorry... I was thinking," Blaze admitted. Grovle smiled a bit. "You always did do that." It took Blaze a moment to realize that he was referring to David. "Err... I guess so. I don't really remember!" Blaze said with a bit of a laugh. Grovyle just closed his eyes, shook his head, and stared out. But he was smiling. "Yeah. You two really are alike." They got a quiet, just looking out at their surroundings. Blaze finally broke the stillness. He gently nudged Grovyle's head towards him. The two looked at each other for a moment. Blaze shook slightly under Grovyle's gaze. He leaned forward, and kissed him. He blushed madly, and pulled away, looking away shyly. Grovyle hesitated, then grabbed Blaze, and kissed him back. Blaze put his arms around Grovyle, and leaned forward, pulling Grovye closer to him.
What's the future like, even? He described it before, but...