DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own Pokemon.

All I have to say is, yes, Amarante finally gets a "starring role!"

Thirteen: Not as it Seems

"Tide?"

Amarante peered into the pool, flinching slightly as her muzzle touched the cool liquid. Hurriedly, she shook the moisture off. Ouch…

The little fox was extremely nervous. She had fallen asleep knowing that Tide was in his pool, but had woken up not seeing him at all. She didn't even know if he was swimming in the atrocious liquid called water that he loved for some strange reason.

She blinked. Perhaps he's with Grovyle… But why wouldn't they bring me? Though she had known Grovyle for a short amount of time, she knew that she could trust him unconditionally, like she knew she could with Tide. They wouldn't leave her out of anything, she knew.

But she was still young and didn't know the complications of the universe, much less the complications of her own world. But, being young, this thought did not cross her mind.

She began to pace the room in agitation. Where was everyone? Why was she alone? Where was Tide?!

She was about to curl up in a nervous ball when there was a knock at the door. Sighing in relief, she hurried to the door and balanced on her hind paws to open the door. She cocked her head in confused disappointment when she saw Conteur standing there, the anxiety returning to her.

"Where's Tide?!" she asked, not realizing that this was the loudest she had spoken in her short life.

The Glaceon gazed sadly at her, a mixture of pity and something unknown in his eyes. He stepped inside the room and nosed the door closed before motioning for her to sit.

"What's going on?" she asked, her fear absolutely apparent in her voice.

The Ice-Type gazed at her for another moment. Instead of answering her question, he asked his own. "Little one, do you know of the concept of death?"

The fox tensed. Of course she knew. Every mortal creature knew, in her opinion, from the moment they existed, though the seriousness of the knowledge varied from being to being. To herself, she knew it was something quite somber, and that it meant not being able to see the person who death had happened to. In fact, she felt an extreme sudden pang of sadness and loneliness in her heart, something she had never felt before, but yet didn't feel unfamiliar. She didn't know why it was there, or how it came to be.

She nodded slowly, and Conteur continued. "Do not worry, little flower. Death has not come to Tide. But it came to a friend of his, a long time ago. He has never told you the story, has he?"

Relieved of the fact that her precious protector was okay, but yet still understandably uncertain, she nodded her head.

Conteur nodded, surprised. "I didn't quite expect that, but I suppose that Tide would have to talk to you about Olivia sooner or later. You see, there has been much arguing lately throughout the entire world that Olivia could have, in fact, survived, seeing as everyone else was saved by Arceus… or something else, if you have lack of belief. But, it has been a year in your's and Tide's time since then, and if she was still alive, there is probably no chance of her returning. But Tide… Tide has made it apparent that he cannot accept that."

Ranta blinked in confusion. Something inside her was stirring at these words, the words about this stranger. But the bigger question on her mind was, of course, on the Piplup. "Where is he?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Conteur sighed. "He's gone to look for her."

Ranta's world seemed to shift underneath her even though it took a moment for the words to sink in. Tide left? He was gone? For how long? Why didn't he take her with him?

Suddenly, Conteur leaned in closer to her face. "I do not mean to seem like I am forcing this on you, and I understand if you ignore my plea, but please listen. You must not let his departure affect you negatively. And you must find whoyou are without him. Trust me, little one, please. Things may change very drastically, and you must be prepared for it."

Amarante stared at him, more confused and scared and anxious than she had ever been before. Tide had left her to look for a person she had never even met. She was alone. And here Conteur was, begging her to ignore the fact that Tide was gone and to find who she was.

Who I am? What does he mean? And how can he ask such a question at this point and time?!

But she knew that Conteur would not ask of anything unless it was serious. Completely serious.

She hesitated, uneasy. "I'll remember what you said."

The Glaceon visibly relaxed. "Good. Today, you're going to be accompanying Alessandra and me down to the meeting room. It's going to be a lot like the last time you were there but it might get… serious. More serious than the last time."

----------

Grovyle tapped his talons on the table. The meeting wasn't supposed to start for another half hour, and he was alone in the meeting room. But he was restless, too restless to stay in his room (where he would have stared at the cracked door for hours) and he had too much on his mind to be around other Pokemon. If he had his way, he wouldn't be there; he would be outside in the forest, where his mind would be clearest, instead of waiting for a meeting which was sure to set him off track completely.

The minutes ticked by slowly, and Grovyle didn't know whether to praise Dialga for giving him extra time with his thoughts or to curse the time deity for lengthening his mind's suffering. The Wood Gecko sighed, suddenly just wanting to leave. He stood, but at the same moment, the elevator door opened, and Saif emerged into the room.

The scarred Gallade seemed to hesitate, then said, "Grovyle, if you do not wish to stay, you may leave. I'll cover for you're absence."

Grovyle closed his eyes and put his hand up to his forehead, weighting his options. He could stay and risk an almost-certain breakdown, or he could leave and be alone with his thoughts, neither of which sounded very appealing.

"…I'll stay," he said at last with a silent but heavy sigh. He looked up at Saif from across the table. "I said some things to him that I shouldn't have said. And the things that I left unsaid were the things that I should have said." He looked back down. "I can't believe that I let myself lose to my emotions."

It didn't surprise Saif to hear these words. Grovyle would only open himself up like this to Celebi and Olivia (if the latter were there), but the unspoken respect between the Blade Pokemon and the Wood Gecko Pokemon allowed for the discussion.

"There's nothing you can do to change what you said," Saif said, keeping his voice in a calm coolness. He knew that these probably weren't the words that Grovyle wanted to hear, but they were the ones he had to. "Tide left, but we can't focus on him in this meeting. If you want to save him, right now we can only focus on our mission to stop the Freeze. But until then, I'll allow you to bounce your thoughts off of me. Sound fair?"

Grovyle let out a snort of pessimistic laughter. "You're talking to me like I'm the child and you're the adult."

"We're both adults," Saif retorted defensively, obviously perturbed that he was only five years while Grovyle had lost count of his age, as it mattered little in the Pokemon world.

"Of course we are." Suddenly losing his desire to laugh, Grovyle turned somber. "Tide said that he was leaving with some shaman of sorts. An Umbreon. I assume it's from the tribe of Umbreon, but you can never be too sure with the Eevee clans."

Saif opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted when the elevator behind him opened and a male Umbreon stepped out.

They both blinked at the Umbreon. The Umbreon held itself with the dignity of a leader. "I guess I'm early?" he asked, his deep voice nearly uncaring of the question.

Before Grovyle could stop himself, he spoke. "This is unrelated to the meeting, but does your tribe rely on the practice of shaman?"

The Umbreon blinked in confusion. "Why you ask such a question, I do not want to know. But to answer your question, no, we do not. The Eevee clans have not practiced shamanism in decades."

----------

"How much farther is it, Lune?"

"Just a day, maybe less if we keep up a good pace."

Tide panted as the sun beat down on his back. They had been walking for hours, and he was incredibly tired, having not had any sleep the previous night. But just the thought of the sun brought the word 'fire' to his mind, and it reminded him of the tail of his friend, and reignited the determination within him. With these thoughts in mind, he couldn't help letting out an involuntary growl as he remembered his argument with Grovyle the night before.

Lune looked sideways at Tide. "What is on your mind?"

"Grovyle," Tide spat out, his eyes narrowing to slits. "He refused for me to come; I told you. He doesn't have faith that she's alive. That I can find her. He never cared about her."

"Not like you do," Lune added calmly. "This is why you are going to find her, and not him."

Tide paused and looked at the scenery around them. They were in a forest (thankfully not a mystery dungeon), and the trees were gorgeous and green. The occasional rock would protrude from the ground, hinting at their destination of Craggy Coast.

"You're right," he agreed. He was the one who cared about Olivia, not Grovyle. He was the one who was going to find her. He was the one who loved her.

Lune smiled. "We'll find her, Tide, don't worry."