Enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading! :)

Grovyle

Shiloh and Callo leapt clear of the ladder first. I got ready to climb, then shuddered suddenly. Dusknoir was in front of me, even though there was no room for him to have passed me. He glanced back, and I forced a smile, but he had already turned away. He was a ghost Pokémon, so had probably floated through me. I wished that he'd waited, but climbed the ladder, trying to put my uneasy feelings away.

"What's the matter, Chatot?" Shiloh exclaimed urgently, her face strained with anxiety. "What happened?" We joined the other Guild members and waited for Chatot to say something, but he seemed to be tongue-tied. I caught sight of Jasper standing next to Shiloh. Lysa and rushed over to him. He was wearing a kind of sling over his shoulders and I saw that Kit was nestled in the sling with his head tucked under a small wing. The little guy was apparently a heavy sleeper because even with all the loud, anxious conversation going on he wasn't stirring a bit.

"Jasper," Shiloh tapped his shoulders and the Psyduck gave her a nod of greeting. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Not yet, but I can tell it's bad," he replied, looking troubled. "Chatot was in a tizzy when I got here." I glanced back at Chatot and felt a little sad for him. The Wurmple and Swellow from Team Tasty were speaking to Wigglytuff and Chatot, and I wondered what had happened. It did seem bad. Even Wigglytuff looked upset. Eventually Chatot turned and began to speak dejectedly.

"Another Time Gear has been stolen," he sighed, lowering his head and slumping his shoulders. A collective gasp went up and I clenched my paws. That meant time was stopped in another place, though this place I had seen and realized how important it was to protect. But now the lake and the Pokémon who lived there were frozen; Uxie might even have been stuck in time as well.

"From where?" Rin asked sadly. "Not from..." He trailed off as Chatot nodded.

"I'm afraid so," he replied, looking subdued. "From…Fogbound Lake." Jasper glanced at me and looked confused.

"From where?" He questioned, tipping his head in confusion. "No one has ever…"

"Oh, no!" Lysa exclaimed in dismay, cutting Jasper off. "But how?"

"Who brought the news?" Dusknoir asked sternly, and Chatot turned to meet the Ghost-type's single red eye.

"An exploration team called Team Tasty," he answered promptly. "Some denizens of the forest around Fogbound Lake fled when an earthquake started and then passed the news onto other Pokémon." Dusknoir crossed his arms.

"Forgive me," he told Wigglytuff, sounding puzzled and even, I noticed, faintly annoyed, "but I thought that your Guild hadn't discovered anything on your expedition. Yet now you say that you knew a Time Gear was there all along." Wigglytuff seemed uncharacteristically sad; his shoulders were slumped a bit and his typical bright expression had changed to one of regret.

"Forgive us, Dusknoir," he murmured apologetically. "We made a promise to keep the lake a secret because of the Time Gear. We couldn't even tell our friends, let alone you."

"How was it found?" I spoke up, a knot of guilt in my chest. "I mean, none of us told, right?"

"You didn't tell me," Jasper muttered. "So I didn't tell."

"Jasper, we're sorry. Honest." Shiloh was looking desperately at the Psyduck. "We felt bad about leaving you out, and felt bad about not being able to tell you."

"And Gale, what do you mean, 'right'?" Ran demanded. "None of us would ever tell!"

"I didn't mean that anyone would!" I explained hastily, clenching my paws. "I just wondered how anyone got past Uxie. He would have chased them off with his Groudon illusion or erased their memories." Chatot lifted a wing and cleared his throat.

"Please, you two, calm down," he ordered, and I fell silent and bit my lip. "Apparently Uxie was found unconscious near the forest entrance by an exploration team, so luckily was able to get help quickly."

"Where is he now?" Phyllo questioned, and Wigglytuff stepped up.

"Uxie is staying with Team Magnezone for protection, and he should be fully recovered soon."

"I feel awful," Lysa murmured sadly. "Poor Uxie."

"What if he thinks we betrayed him?" Shiloh wondered unhappily, wringing her paws.

"Officer Magnezone is investigating the situation now," Chatot explained, looking steadily out at everyone. "Uxie told him everything and knows that we didn't give away the Time Gear's location."

"Do they know who took the Time Gear?" Callo asked timidly, causing Wigglytuff and Chatot to nod in unison. Dusknoir floated closer and I stepped away to give him room. Sneaking a glance at his face, I noticed it was grim; he even looked a little aggravated. Chatot pointed a wing to the outlaw bulletin board and spoke loudly.

"This is what the thief looks like," he declared with a firm expression, and just about everyone crowded closer to look, but they moved away when Dusknoir drifted closer.

"The perpetrator's name is Grovyle," he stated, turning around and gesturing to the poster. I rose up on my toes and made out a Pokémon with light green skin, a dark green, slender leaf curling out from the top of its head, and fierce yellow eyes staring unseeingly out at everyone. Like me, Grovyle also had red skin starting at the chin and extending down to the stomach. I felt a huge weight and pressure on top of my head and knelt with a grimace.

"Maybe he's related to Gale," Ran snickered and I tried to shove him off me, but he was really heavy.

"Yeah, right," I grunted, and finally Ran leaned away and released me, allowing me to stand up again. Taking a closer look at the poster of Grovyle, I frowned and started tapping a foot in thought. He'd stolen one Time Gear, and it wasn't a long shot to bet that he'd stolen the others, too. Lots of Pokémon knew about Time Gears, but few seemed to know where they were. "I wonder how Grovyle knew where the Time Gear was." I glanced around and saw Shiloh, Callo, Lysa and the rest of the Guild members looking curiously at me; Callo and Lysa were nodding. "We all found it by accident, but he actually attacked Uxie and then stole it. He went there just to steal it."

"I wonder why," Shiloh muttered, looking frustrated and worried. "Even if he's a thief, it'll be bad for him if time stops everywhere."

"If only we could figure out where he's going next," Lysa stated, looking deep in thought. "We could stop him and put the Time Gears back!" Several Guild members nodded their heads, murmuring approvingly.

"Good point!" Callo burst out eagerly. "Then everything would be fine."

"Well, currently Grovyle's whereabouts are unknown," Chatot explained. "Officer Magnezone has requested that any suspicious Pokémon or behavior be reported immediately."

"We kept Uxie's secret," Lysa mumbled sadly, "but the Time Gear was taken anyway. I don't think I can show my face to him now." Callo nudged her gently and she smiled down at him.

"This really sticks in my craw!" Yabi snapped. "The lake's view is ruined now! No one can enjoy it anymore! I say we all look for Grovyle!" I glanced back at the wanted poster. Seemed like that was easier said than done; I got the feeling that Grovyle was really strong, and obviously clever and persistent. Otherwise, how would he have found Fogbound Lake and the Time Gear? It didn't seem like it'd be that easy to track him down and arrest him. I jolted in surprise when a tremor ran through the floor and heard Lysa, Shiloh and Callo yelp in alarm.

"Yoom-TAH!" Most everyone yelled or jumped when Wigglytuff gave a booming yell. "Everyone! That's what we'll do! We're going after Grovyle! I vow on the Guild that we'll find him!"

"Hey, hey! Way to go!" Yabi cheered loudly, waving his claws enthusiastically. "Stopping Grovyle is how we can make things up to Uxie!" Lysa gave a laugh and bounced up and down.

"Right! It's our responsibility!" She piped up. "We'll work together and give it our best!"

"I hate to agree with you," Ran told her with a crafty grin, "but you're right! We'll definitely find him!"

"Guildmaster, I'd like to lend my efforts as well. I know several locations where Time Gears may be located." I perked up at Dusknoir's offer and could tell that everyone else was interested as well; excited murmurs swept through the crowd while eager glances were exchanged. "It would be wise to plan out search locations before we set out."

"Thank you, Dusknoir!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, his broad smile returning.

"It's my honor to aid your Guild," Dusknoir returned with a friendly nod. Chatot cleared his throat loudly and flapped his wings.

"Alright, everyone! You know the situation. Prepare yourselves to go on searches. We're putting all other explorations on hold for now. The Guildmaster, Dusknoir and I will discuss possible Time Gear locations. Do your best. Pokémon all throughout the world are depending on us."

"Heh, no problem," Phyllo chuckled. "If anyone needs items, come and ask me."

"Thanks!" Lysa chirped happily to the Croagunk. Callo nodded quickly.

"I feel better having Dusknoir on our side. He knows so much; we're bound to find those Time Gears in no time!"

"Good one, Callo," Duthie giggled, and everyone laughed with him while Callo's face tinged a little red. Shiloh met my eyes briefly, then approached Jasper, who had been listening quietly for a while.

"Hey, Jasper...are you upset?"

"Well...no, I guess not," he answered, though his eyes looked slightly hurt. "I did want to go, and did want to hear about the trip, but..." He paused, then smiled faintly for a moment. "Can you tell me about it now?"

"Shouldn't it...be okay?" I ventured cautiously. "Dusknoir knows...and the other exploration teams will probably know soon, too."

"I'm not sure..." Shiloh lifted her paws, looking uncertain. "Come on, Jasper. Let's go get ready. You're coming with us this time."

"But what about Kit?" The Psyduck wondered as we climbed slowly up the ladders and headed towards Treasure Town. "I don't want him to get hurt."

"Could he stay with Chansey?" I asked, and watched Jasper look down at Kit. He shook his head.

"I don't think so. I tried once." Jasper gently stroked Kit's feathery head. "I left him with her the day you came back from the expedition, but he followed me."

"That would be dangerous," Shiloh said.

"I went exploring once to look for food." Jasper shrugged his shoulders. "That was before he'd hatched though."

"Once Kit grows up," I stated, "he'll be able to go on explorations, but until then..."

"Until then," Jasper said, cutting me off, "I'll stay in town with him. I don't mind. Our team isn't going anywhere."

"Hey! Guys!" Torobi's voice broke us out of our conversation, and Kit finally woke up with a loud cheep. "We heard! Wigglytuff's Guild is looking for that Pokémon named Grovyle." Sarah and Sakura quickly rushed up; their eyes were wide with interest and worry.

"Is it true he's been stealing Time Gears?" Sakura questioned, her paws on her hips.

"It's true," Jasper replied. "Everyone's getting ready to go looking for him. Dusknoir has some ideas about where the other Time Gears might be." Sarah's expression became doubtful and she frowned up at the Gardevoir.

"Dusknoir?" Sakura looked down at her with a slight nod. "He's at the Guild now?"

"Yep," Shiloh answered eagerly. "He's going to help us catch Grovyle."

"Hmm...that makes sense," Torobi murmured. "He knows a lot, right? That's what we've been hearing around town."

"I'll go get some things from Auntie Kangaskhan, Shiloh," I spoke up. "Be right back." Hurrying through town, I came upon Auntie and she looked up. Her preoccupied expression changed into a smile and she waved happily at me.

"Gale! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks! Everyone's getting ready to go look for Grovyle, so I came to get some items."

"I heard about that," Auntie murmured, nodding her head gravely. "Well, you've come to the right place. What do you need?"

"How about four quick seeds, four heal seeds, two apples..and a blue and sky Gummi." Auntie smiled and turned.

"Anything else?" She asked while searching in a chest for the items. "You have a lot of Pecha and Oran berries."

"I have some already...how about three Oran and Pecha berries, if that's alright." Kangaskhan turned and pushed the items towards me, and I put the seeds and berries into my satchel, then took the apples and Gummis in my arms. "Thanks!"

"Anytime, dear," Auntie told me. "Be careful, alright? I've heard that Grovyle is very strong." She reached out and patted me softly on the head.

"We'll be careful," I promised her, then ran off with a wave to go find Shiloh and the others again. Jasper waiting with Kit near the stairs to the Guild. Kit was flapping his wings and chirping loudly.

"Everyone went back to the Guild," he told me quickly. "Seems like they're ready."

"Thanks, Jasper!" Glancing around I suddenly remembered Team Finders. "Where are Torobi, Sakura and Sarah?"

"They left just now," Jasper answered with a shrug. "They said they had something important to do."

"Are you coming back to the Guild too?" I asked, but the Psyduck shook his head.

"I'm going to go home and have lunch. I think Kit's hungry again."

"Alright. We'll be back soon." I shifted the apples my left arm so I could hand Jasper the Gummis. "Here. We were saving these, but you should have them."

"Really? Thanks." Jasper put the Gummis into his satchel and smiled. "See you later." He waved before setting off towards town, and I quickly rushed up the steps and into the Guild just in time to hear Chatot giving a speech. Wigglytuff and Dusknoir were standing off to the side, listening.

"Hurry, Gale," Shiloh whispered to me, and I hurried over to take a spot behind her. Callo nudged me in the side and I glanced down at him.

"He's announcing the search teams," he explained furtively.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Dusknoir has narrowed down several locations for us," he declared loudly. "It would take too long to explore them together, so I'm splitting you into teams. We'll mark the locations on your maps after the teams have been announced. Also, please wait until the end to ask questions." I nodded quietly, feeling a little sensation of unease, but didn't say anything. Dusknoir still had an odd expression on his face that I couldn't place. "The first team is Yabi and Ran. You're exploring the eastern forest."

"Got it!" Ran said, and Yabi clicked his pincers.

"Hey, hey! Leave it to us!"

"Next is Callo, Lysa and Simeon," Chatot announced. "You three will be exploring crystal cave."

"Ooh...that sounds pretty," Lysa murmured, and Callo nodded eagerly.

"The last location is for Shiloh and Gale. You two will be exploring the northern desert." Chatot gestured for the teams to come forward, and he marked spots on their map with a charcoal pencil. Shiloh pulled out her map and offered it to me; I held one side of it and scanned the map, looking for the desert.

"I haven't heard of the northern desert before," she remarked, "but it sounds interesting."

"And dry," I added. "We should take some water."

"I don't think we have room for bottles in our satchels," Shiloh told me. "Oran berries have a lot of water in them. We'll have to make do with those."

"Team Seekers, come forward please," Chatot announced, and I glanced up. The other teams were already heading off. "Here is the northern desert." The bird Pokémon circled a spot northwest of Treasure Town and looked up at us. "Understand? It's past the waterfall cave a ways."

"Thanks, Chatot," Shiloh told him while folding up the map carefully and stowing it away in her satchel. "We'll be back before you know it!"

"That's the spirit," Chatot exclaimed cheerfully. "Off you go!"

Shiloh and I stared out at the vast desert in dismay. Sand pits and endless desert stretched out in front of us. The horizon shimmered with heat and Shiloh and I both agreed that going further wouldn't be a smart idea. "Is this...really all that's here?" She glanced backward. "How could a Time Gear be here?" She kicked at the sand in frustration. "Unless it's buried."

"I wonder if it is." I moved forward, my knees sinking into the warm sand as I crouched and brushed a paw against the sifting sand pit. "We didn't see anywhere else a Time Gear could be, after all."

"That's true," Shiloh agreed. "But I'm not good at digging and I don't want to go down there." I stared at the sand for a while and frowned.

"I had a feeling back at the foggy forest that something was familiar...and I'm getting that feeling again." I stood up and turned towards Shiloh. Her expression was puzzled and a little anxious.

"So, what does that mean? There was a Time Gear at the lake...maybe there's one here, too."

"It could be under these pits," I murmured.

"Oh, no," Shiloh said furiously while shaking her head. "I'm not going down there."

"Hmm...too bad Duthie stayed behind," I said. "It would be easy for him to go underground here."

"I wouldn't want him to go down there, either," Shiloh sighed. "Who knows if there's something under there? It's too dangerous." A quick burst of light caught me by surprise and I gripped my head as dizziness struck me; an image of a green Pokémon jumping into the sand pit, rapidly vanishing as the quicksand sucked their body down. Another image showed the Pokémon landing on the ground and looking up as sand trickled down in small streams. Suddenly I recognized the Pokémon's profile.

"Grovyle was here!" I burst out in alarm. "He jumped in the sand! There's a cavern underneath this place!" Shiloh gave me a long look.

"You got a vision?" She asked, and I nodded. "We could have just left, but you had to...ugh...I don't want to go. A waterfall is one thing. I can handle that."

"I can go first," I told her. "If Grovyle's here, a Time Gear is definitely here. He might be stealing it right now!"

"You're right...we'll jump together." With a nod I approached the edge of the largest sand pit and waited until Shiloh was beside me. "One...two...three...jump!" I sprang off the edge and leapt over the pit, landed in the shifting sand and felt it quickly sucking me down. I panicked for an instant, but felt myself falling. A second later I landed on soft ground and saw a puff of sand fly into the air. "Ouch!" Shiloh rose to her feet with a wince, rubbing her curled tail, and I jumped up and approached her. "I'll live," she told me with a half-grin. "Look behind you. There's a path." Turning I saw a trail stretch away around a bend to the right. "Off we go, I guess!" Shiloh rushed forward, and I followed, but she halted abruptly and glanced around with a sharp glance. "Thought I heard something...but it was probably the sand falling down here." She nodded at me. "Sorry about that." The sandy path led us right, then left and changed halfway to a wider path. I followed the rest of the path with my eyes and saw that it swung around a midnight blue lake to a sandy platform that led to the water's edge.

"I never would have guessed this was under here," I said. "It's pretty." I jolted when Shiloh grabbed my paw and pointed out at the lake.

"Look! See that? It's a light, just like at Fogbound Lake!"

"That has to be the Time Gear," I exclaimed in awe. My feeling had been right after all.

"Let's get closer! That way we can protect it when Grovyle shows up!" Shiloh took off and I sprinted after her. By the time we reached the platform we were both out of breath, but hurried to the edge of the platform and stared out into the water. A small, turquoise blue shape could be seen and I heard Shiloh draw in a breath. "It's really still here. That's great."

"Should one of us go back and tell Chatot we found it?" I asked, and Shiloh crossed her arms in thought. I heard a sharp splashing noise and glanced quickly at the lake just in time to see a small form burst from the water. Before I knew what had happened something had pushed me back and I rolled over and landed in a heap. I heard Shiloh grunt loudly and pushed myself up in time to see her lying on her stomach, groaning.

"Why have you come here?" A furious voice demanded. "How do you know about the Time Gear?" I leapt to my feet and helped Shiloh up.

"We had to come and find it!" She told the Pokémon urgently, which looked a bit similar to Uxie because of the red gems on the forehead and tentacle-like appendages. This Pokémon's body was a soft blue, but the head was pink instead of yellow, and astute yellow eyes, ringed by blue skin, glared at us defensively. Similar to Lileep, four pink tentacles extended down from the Pokémon's head. "It's in danger of being stolen!"

"How do you know that? No one but me knows of the Time Gear!"

"But someone named Grovyle does!" I added quickly, and the Pokémon's angry gaze switched to me. She crossed her thin blue arms. "He's been stealing lots of the Time Gears lately!"

"Uxie told me everything," the pink-and-blue Pokémon spoke harshly, fixing her yellow glare on us both. "The Time Gear at Fogbound Lake was stolen, and time is frozen there. Now the underground lake is in danger of facing the same fate."

"How'd you know Fogbound Lake's Time Gear got stolen?" I asked, watching the Pokémon uneasily, and she gave me a fierce glare.

"Uxie told me with telepathy! He warned me there was a thief stealing them. You're the ones, aren't you?!"

"No!" Shiloh answered desperately, and I nodded swiftly in agreement. "We're trying to protect the Time Gears!"

"Then who stole them?" The Pokémon demanded fiercely.

"That would probably be me, Mesprit." I whipped around and saw Grovyle standing a few feet away.

"Grovyle!" Shiloh burst out in dismay.

"Mesprit?" I asked in a daze, and she gave me a swift look of dismissal before sweeping past me. "You're Mesprit?"

"Never mind." She faced Grovyle and fixed him with a sharp glare. "You're here to steal the Time Gear?" Grovyle smiled faintly.

"That's right," he said briskly with a toss of his head. "I'm sorry, but I'll be taking it." Shiloh rushed forward and held up her arms. I followed her and stood in front of Mesprit.

"No way!" Shiloh growled. "We won't let you do that!"

"You were telling the truth," Mesprit murmured.

"I can't afford to stop now," Grovyle said, leaning forward threateningly and raising his arms. I saw the leaves on his right wrist glowing and elongating into a bright green blade. I glanced at Shiloh and took a little step towards her. She was weak to Grass-types. I couldn't let her be hit. "Move aside," Grovyle commanded sternly.

"No!" Shiloh yelled fiercely, and I heard Grovyle chuckle.

"So be it." Grovyle shot forward towards Shiloh, and I heard her yelp in pain, but before I could go to her a blur of green slammed into me. I felt a burning pain over my right eye and grabbed the area; my paws came away bloody. I felt a powerful shove at my back and fell forward. A cry echoed across the lake and I rolled over to see Mesprit crumple to the ground. Small splashes of red surrounded her body. Beyond Mesprit I saw Shiloh with a line of red across her chest. Rolling over gingerly, I began dragging myself towards them.

"That was a warning," I heard Grovyle say from somewhere nearby. Glancing up painfully, I saw him looking down at me with watchful yellow eyes. I froze. "Don't try to stop me again." I lowered my head with a faint groan. "I suggest you run." I glanced up sharply in time to see Grovyle dive into the lake with a splash.

"Mesprit? Shiloh?" I asked weakly, dragging myself closer to them. "Can you hear me?" Shiloh didn't respond but a bit of movement from Mesprit caught my eye. Her yellow eyes opened halfway and focused on me.

"Forgive me…you weren't the...thieves Uxie mentioned...after all." I shook my head quickly and felt something dripping down my face; I raised my left paw to wipe at it, then lowered it and saw that my whole forearm was slick with red. A bright light flashed throughout the cavern and I squeezed my eyes against it, then gingerly looked around the cavern. I made out splashes on the far end of the lake heading towards the stone path Shiloh and I had come from minutes earlier. A figure was suddenly rushing off down the path with a shining object. "He's taken the Time Gear..." Mesprit was stumbling over her words, and I fumbled in my pouch for an Oran berry.

"Eat this," I told her insistently, pushing the berry towards her mouth, and she slowly bit into it.

"Thank you," Mesprit sighed, and I started crawling towards Shiloh, ignoring the stinging over my eye. I Reaching her, I put an arm around her and tried to sit her up. "Can you hear me?" Shiloh stirred a bit and I smiled in relief. "Take this." I held the berry towards her mouth as she opened her eyes halfway. She bit the berry and chewed it slowly.

"My head...what happened?" She grunted, wincing as she sat up. "Where's Grovyle?"

"He's gone," I told her quietly. The ground suddenly began shaking and I turned quickly when I felt a touch on my shoulders.

"We need to run," Mesprit said. "This place will be frozen in time soon."

"Okay." As quickly as I could I unpinned my badge and held it up while pressing the blue orb on the front. "This will get us out of here." Usually Shiloh and I walked back to Treasure Town after an exploration, but this was an emergency. It would take too long to run back along the path if what Mesprit said was true.

"Come on, come on!" I yelled desperately. Nothing happened for a moment, and I was starting to panic, but a light shone from the badge, making me close my eyes tightly. I hugged Mesprit and Shiloh closer to me as the light washed over us.

As you notice I didn't make Shiloh and Gale go back after they didn't find anything in the desert the first time. I figured Shiloh would listen more to Gale and try harder to find a way to the Time Gear even if she didn't want to jump in the quicksand.