Diglett is quickly becoming one of my favourite characters. I don't know what it is. Maybe I just like characters that are totally psycho. There need to be more of those in this world.

Anywho, enjoy and review! Thanks for reading!

"So, Diglett, have you met the great Dusknoir yet?"

Julia and Diglett were sitting – well, Julia at least was sitting; who knew what Diglett's lower half was doing – under the drooping branches of a willow for a lunch break. Neither had made much conversation while they traversed the mystery dungeon known as the Sheltered Marsh, due to the fact that Diglett tunnelled underneath the surface of the swampy mud instead of through it with his head poking up. He claimed that he was following the vibrations of Julia's footsteps, but he seemed unable to sense when there were wild Pokémon because he never came up to fight. While Julia didn't mind fighting the mostly water type Pokémon alone, she knew that she might have trouble if she ventured into a monster house.

Why can't he just walk through the marsh like I'm doing? she wondered, not for the first time. In fact, what does his lower half look like, anyways? I've only ever seen his head.

"No, not yet," replied Diglett between mouthfuls of a pecha berry. "Well, I have, from below when he came to the guild, so ignore what I said before. Unless you're asking if I've seen him personally? Well, define personal. Wait, don't – I've never talked to him. That's pretty impersonal. Wait, yes I have, briefly, when he came to the grate. Does that count?"

"Um..." What could be said to that, really? "I mean, if you've... Ah, never mind."

"I wonder why people always say 'never mind' to me," Diglett said, looking thoughtful. "Especially Loudred. Nice guy; bad listening skills. I've heard from Flame that you're a good listener, though. What if we just took you and made lots of copies of you? That might be a good idea. Unless there's too many of them, because that would be just way too many Pikachus and electricity. But us ground types wouldn't mind. Maybe I'd just put all your clones underground. But what if they see what the rest of my body looks like? Then I'd have to kill them all. And that would be too much trouble for what it's worth."

It didn't take very long for Julia to be glad that Diglett stayed underground for the majority of the time.

Standing up and stretching, she suggested, "Why don't we get moving again? We want to catch Team Skull before they leave with that gummi, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Diglett agreed cheerfully. "In the name of the Wigglytuff Guild, we will punish them! And we can achieve that by slowly dismembering them, limb-by-limb and gouging out their brains!" Then Diglett vanished underground.

Julia wondered if it would be better if she said nothing to him for the rest of the trip.

The Sheltered Marsh was one of the calmer mystery dungeons, with more plants than Pokémon. As Julia had heard, it was one of the oldest mystery dungeons in the region, so the wild Pokémon had settled down and were less aggressive. The ground was soft beneath her paws and shallow ponds ringed with cattails littered the dungeon. There was also an abundance of weeping willow trees, which sheltered the marsh from harsh light, giving it its name. All in all, it was actually a nice location despite being incredibly difficult to traverse, what with all its ponds and trees. Apparently, some sane water and ground type Pokémon even lived within the marsh; it was the home of Team Glee's Politoed's family.

Still, Julia felt uneasy as she wove between water pools, attacking Pokémon from a distance with sharp blasts of electricity. There were just a few too many ground types for her to be comfortable, and Team Skull could be hiding behind the next jutting rock or in a thick group of reeds. There was a constant sense of danger for her and something just felt...off. What it was, she couldn't tell.

Maybe it's because Flame isn't here with me, she thought. Even if he's weak to both water and ground, even just his presence is reassuring.

Julia pricked an ear up and looked around. There had been a soft, faraway sound that she had just missed.

"Why are we stopped?" Diglett asked, popping up from the mud.

"Um, did you hear something just now?"

"I can't say I did. It's kind of hard to hear things when I'm tunnelling through wet mud."

"Right."

"Although..." He paused and looked at Julia curiously. "I did feel a vibration. A very far away one, I can assure you. The Sheltered Marsh is a really small dungeon, even if it is very maze-y. I'd say our chances of being brutally murdered by a large and particularly dangerous Pokémon today are very low. Let's keep going, shall we?"

"Is that so? The Sheltered Marsh, huh?"

A bit past noon, Flame returned to the guild from his hunting trip, hoping in vain that Julia would still be there. He shouldn't have been surprised that she was gone, but what did surprise him was when he was at the crossroads and about to leave, Corphish came over and told him exactly where it was that Julia had gone.

"That's right! She went off with Diglett on an outlaw mission not a few hours ago, hey hey!"

"I don't think we've ever been there before," Flame commented, pulling out his map, "but I've heard of it. It's just south of Treasure Town, right? I hope she's okay with him there."

"Hey hey hey! Diglett may not seem like much, but he's tough in battle! I'm certain the two of them will be just fine!" He glanced from side to side, then came closer. "I may have misheard, but apparently the crooks in question are none other than Team Skull! Seems like they made it back from Foggy Forest in time to cause more trouble!"

Flame jumped in shock, then shook his head. "Those guys again? But they already screwed up our expedition to gather perfect apples! What more do they want?!"

"I don't know, hey hey! But I'm almost certain they're up to something! Sheltered Marsh is a really placid place, if you know what I mean. They must have a really nasty surprise planned!"

Before Flame could mention the 'noxious gas combo' that had knocked him and Julia out before, a new voice spoke, "I apologize for intruding, but I couldn't help but overhear that you were talking about the Sheltered Marsh?"

Coming up from behind Flame was none other than the great Dusknoir himself, with an expression of intrigue on his face. Flame's eyes widened but he just nodded, feeling giddy. The great Dusknoir was actually talking to them!

"Yep. That's where my partner went, after some criminals. Why?"

Dusknoir frowned, stroking his chin with a hand. "I have been there myself numerous times, but at this time of the year..." He closed his eye, grimacing. "May I ask what Pokémon your partner is?"

"S-sure. She's a Pikachu." Dusknoir's expression was causing the fur on the back of Flame's neck to rise.

"...she is in danger. Very great danger."

Julia is in danger? But I thought there were mostly water types in there... "What do you mean, Dusknoir, sir?"

The Pokémon flew past them to the signpost that led to the rest of the region, then stopped and turned his head slightly back. "In the autumn, Palpitoads gather in the marsh before going into hibernation. The last time I encountered them, I was viciously attacked."

"What?!" Flame gasped, exchanging a glance with Corphish. "Then I have to go after her and warn her!"

"No," Dusknoir responded, lowering his head, "it is far too risky. You are a fire type – you would fare no better than an electric type. I do not wish to endanger you, as well. I alone must pursue her." With that, he floated away and disappeared.

"Hey hey hey," Corphish said softly, frowning after him, "don't you think he's really putting himself in danger to help her out?"

"You're not kidding." Flame felt terror for his partner, but a slight warmth knowing that there was still a Pokémon in the world who acted selflessly. "I hope that someday, I'll be like that!" Corphish rolled his eyes at Flame, then beckoned with a pincer.

"Come on, fangirl," he teased, scuttling in the direction of the guild, "let's see if we can get Bidoof to join us on an expedition." Giving one last look down the path, Flame followed Corphish back to the guild.

It had grown quiet in the marsh. The deeper in Julia and Diglett went, the fewer Pokémon there were who attacked them. Here, there were more fallen trees that Julia had to climb over and flatter ground, as if the ground wasn't flat enough as it was throughout the rest of the marsh. Sunlight was able to pour in, but it still felt eerie. There were so few Pokémon that Julia could almost forget that they were in a mystery dungeon.

We've been walking for hours, but there's still no sign of Team Skull. Could they have just led us on a wild goose chase to pay us back somehow?

Then Diglett popped out from the ground, shaking mud off his head, and burst out, "I felt it again! Well, it may be something different this time, but I felt more tremors regardless! And closer, too!"

"Tremors?" Julia couldn't help but groan. Tremors usually meant, from some experiences that she had not too long ago, ground types. And the last time she faced off against a ground type...well, it didn't exactly turn out well for her. "Don't tell me that means there's a ground type approaching."

"If you don't want me to, then I won't, but it certainly isn't an ice type." Diglett paused, then continued, "Unless it's a Mamoswine. But those don't live here. I mean, it's way too warm. And even if they did live here, they wouldn't live in the marsh. Unless it was winter, which is coming, so maybe it is a Mamoswine. But it's not winter yet, so – "

Instead of standing around dumbly while Diglett rambled on, Julia began walking, which forced the other Pokémon to duck underground to follow. At the very least, he seemed to know that what he was saying wasn't crucial for anyone to hear. Perhaps this was why Loudred always got so upset with him.

It wasn't long before Julia could feel the shaking, but unlike the tremors that Groudon caused, this felt more like constant, uneven rumbling. While that meant whatever was causing them was weaker, there were more of them. Julia decided not to think about that too much and just continued on.

After a short while, Diglett came up in front of Julia so suddenly she almost fell back into the mud.

"Hold it, Julia! Whatever was causing those tremors is right up ahead!" He gave her a serious look but there was fear in his eyes. "It's probably safer to go back. Well, for you, anyways. The Pokémon living around here might be in danger. Then again, they all fled already. Unless – " He broke off and shook his head. "No, no going off-topic. Julia, come on. We need to turn back."

"But..." Frowning, Julia looked past him. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, and the shaking had stopped. "But what if Team Skull caused this? Shouldn't we try to help out?"

"If it's too dangerous, it's too dangerous!" Diglett protested. "I know you like to play hero all the time, but you could be horribly disfigured and mashed into a yellow and red Pikachu pulp! And be eaten by Murkrows within a few days! Doesn't that sound unpleasant?"

With a sigh, Julia nodded. "I guess you're right. We'd better turn back now." Before she could move, the ground trembled, then shook violently, sending her stumbling off her paws. In an instant, a horde of Palpitoads leapt up from the mud, surrounding them both completely.

"What's this? A couple of little kids?" Julia backed up until she felt Diglett behind her. Terror was building up within her and she wanted to run.

"Um, misters Palpitoads," Diglett began nervously, "we were just passing through here, but if you'd like, we'll leave right away and never ever bother or even see you again! Right, Julia?"

Julia quickly nodded her agreement.

The Palpitoad who had spoken, supposedly their leader, stepped forwards and gave them a mocking smile. "You'll leave and never see us again, eh? I thought it was common knowledge that we come here every autumn and claim this territory as ours!" He narrowed his eyes, chuckling darkly. "Seems like we'll have to give the good townspeople a reminder, eh?" He looked around at his troupe and asked, "Waddaya say? Want to give them a beating they'll remember?"

The other Palpitoads jumped about in excitement, sending seismic waves through the ground that knocked Julia off her paws.

"Julia, if we don't want them to scramble us like eggs, we'll have to fight back!" Diglett warned.

"Are you kidding me? They're water and ground types! There's no way we can fight against them!"

The Palpitoads kept jumping about while the leader leapt in and attacked fiercely with blasts of mud and filthy water. Julia could taste mud in her mouth but every time she went to spit it out, she was hit again with more dirt. Slowly, she was losing her energy, and in the presence of so much earth, she couldn't even release electricity – not that it would have any effect on the Palpitoads, anyways.

"Julia, just so you know," Diglett began, cringing against a blast of water, "I've always loved you."

Julia couldn't reply but settled for a bewildered stare instead.

"Isn't that what you say when you're about to die?" Diglett asked speculatively. "Dad's always taking me to see plays – overly dramatic and mushy love stories, but plays nonetheless – and they always say something really disgusting if someone's going to die. Like, 'I never realized this, but I love you!' I kind of think it's cute, but it's also very gross. Unless they say it very softly as someone is dying in their arms, or paws, whatever. Still, wouldn't the other person be too dead to hear them? But what if – hey, are you even listening?"

The whole time while he had been talking, Julia had been tossed around by the attacks like a leaf in a hurricane and she was struggling to even stay conscious. She was thrown against the ground and she coughed up muddy water, panting hard.

"Diglett, just tunnel out of here!" she managed, before whimpering when one of the Palpitoads hit her with a Mud Shot. Diglett's eyes widened as if he had never even considered the idea before, but he shook his head.

"It's my fault we're here, so I'm not leaving you. Well, it was kind of your fault, too – but that's besides the point. We're getting through this together, okay?"

But for how much longer will we manage to hold out? Julia wondered, closing her eyes against another forceful blast.

"Stop!"

The attacks halted the moment the new voice spoke. Rubbing dirt from her eyes, Julia looked up blearily, then blinked in surprise. The newcomer was none other than the great Dusknoir.

"Who the hell are you?" snapped the leader of the Palpitoads, taking an aggressive step towards him.

"My name is Dusknoir," he introduced, his gaze passive. "I apologize for these two. They are but children who knew nothing of your annual migration here. It was an honest mistake.

"Like hell it was!" Palpitoad clenched his fists in rage. "We've had to turn out more than five members of our group! They were corrupted by the distortions in time! I can tell a weak-minded Pokémon when I see one, thank you very much!" He jabbed his tail accusingly in their direction. "If they aren't corrupt already, they will be when time goes completely to hell! We don't need them here to mess everything up!"

Dusknoir closed his eye, then opened it and replied, "I am well aware that times are far from easy right now; however, these two are not corrupt but naive. They are but children, trainees of the Wigglytuff Guild. They mean no harm to you or your territory."

"The Wigglytuff Guild, eh?" Palpitoad looked thoughtful, then sighed. "I have heard that's a prestigious guild that's turned out some of the finest explorers in the region... Fine. They can go, but just this once." He looked at Julia and Diglett menacingly and told them, "I ever see you in our territory this time of year again, you won't come out of the experience in one piece, got it?"

Julia and Diglett weakly nodded in response.

"Come on, you two," Dusknoir said to them. "Let's make haste and leave immediately." The two were more than happy to oblige.

"Are you alright?!"

When Dusknoir arrived with the two at the crossroads, Flame had returned to the crossroads to wait anxiously for them. He rushed to Julia and hugged her tightly, a little too tight for her at the moment.

"I'm so glad you're safe! Thank you so much, Dusknoir!"

"You are very welcome," the Pokémon replied. "I am only glad I could be of assistance."

Letting go of Julia, Flame said to Dusknoir, "It's so awesome that you're always helping people out! I hope that some day, I can be like you and be able to save Pokémon in trouble!"

Dusknoir chuckled. "You are too kind. Are you not on an exploration team? You already help Pokémon with many things, I'm certain."

"But we only ever do jobs. You help people without asking for payment!"

"That's not true!" Diglett piped up, giving Flame a warm look. "Remember that time you rescued Azurill from Drowzee? You guys left right away when you saw that note, even though there wasn't any reward for capturing him!"

Julia felt a little awkward under Diglett's praise. "That's because it was Azurill," she pointed out. "We know him, so we couldn't just leave him there with a criminal. And...I also saw a vision before I saw the note. That's why we ran off right – "

"I apologize for interrupting," Dusknoir began, "but did you just say that you had a vision?"

"Um, yeah," she replied, then remembered something. "Oh, that's right! We wanted to ask you about something, Dusknoir, sir. From time to time, I'll get dizzy and get these visions of the past or the future after touching something! Would you know anything about that?"

"Woah, that actually happens?!" Diglett exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly. "That's awesome! I could use that to find victims for the ritual of the sea!"

Dusknoir paid him no attention, though Julia and Flame gave him a startled look. Looking at Julia incredulously, Dusknoir stammered, "Why, th-that...that's the Dimensional Scream!"

"The Dimensional Scream?" echoed Flame and Julia at the same time, exchanging a glance. Flame then gave her a pressing look.

"Should we ask if he knows about...?"

About...what? Julia wondered. Does he mean about my past? I guess there's no harm in telling him, though someone like Diglett probably shouldn't know...

"Yeah, there's something else we wanted to ask you about," Julia began. "Um, Diglett, would you mind if we just spoke to Dusknoir privately?"

"Nope. Go on ahead," Diglett replied nonchalantly. "I'll just head up to the guild. Hey, we never did get to pulverize Team Skull! Darn, that makes me mad!" Grumbling to himself about inhumane revenge tactics, he vanished underground. Flame gave Julia a questioning look, but Julia just shook her head.

Julia motioned with a paw and led them down the path to the beach. "Come with me and I'll tell you." Soon, they were at the beach. Flame ran ahead and came over to a spot near the edge of the water.

"Right here is where I found her unconscious," he told Dusknoir, who looked a bit confused.

"I beg your – ?"

"When Flame and I first met, I think I'd washed up on shore or something," Julia explained, "because I was right there. I couldn't remember anything but my name, and..." She hesitated, then went on, "...the fact that I was a human before."

"What?! A...human?!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not lying – "

Shaking his head, Dusknoir interrupted, "No, I believe you. What point would there be for you to make something like that up?" He frowned, folding his arms in thought. "A human with the Dimensional Scream ability... And you said you remembered your name, at least?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Julia said. "Well, my name's Julia. It's a bit of an uncommon name here, I guess...but have you heard of it before?"

Dusknoir blinked at her, then his expression changed slightly as he replied, "I apologize. That name means nothing to me."

That was kind of...odd. It looked like he hid a smile there for a second...

"That bites," Flame sighed, coming back over to Julia, "but I guess the great Dusknoir can't know everything."

"Unfortunately, no," Dusknoir replied, "but I do know about the ability Julia possesses. It is known as the Dimensional Scream and it is exceedingly rare. It is uncertain how an individual gains this ability, but it allows them to see or hear brief glimpses of the future or the past. That is really all that is known about this ability, but I would say, Julia, that you are very lucky to have it."

"It has come in handy," Flame agreed. "That's amazing that you have such a great ability, isn't it?"

"I guess so," Julia sighed. She should have expected that there was no real answer to how she had such an ability, but she was grateful for the information Dusknoir was able to provide her with. At least she knew what it was now.

"However," Dusknoir continued, "the subject of how Julia transformed into a Pokémon fascinates me. That is certainly not an everyday occurrence. Perhaps this is why we met – so we could unravel the mystery of how this happened. Honestly, I cannot bear to not know about something like this, so I offer you my full cooperation."

"That's great!" Flame exclaimed, turning to look at Julia with a beam. "We're glad to have your help, Dusknoir, sir!"

A shadow fell over Flame then moved on. Julia glanced up and did a double-take. There were at least twenty Pelippers circling abovehead.

"Flame, are there usually this many Pelippers here?" she asked, feeling the fur on the back of her neck prick up.

"Erm, well, not this many," Flame replied, frowning up at them. Then Julia noticed something brown out of the corner of her eye and looked back at the beach. Bidoof was barrelling down the path, breathing hard.

"Guys! I found you – wah!" He tripped on a rock and faceplanted in the sand. Jumping in alarm, Flame rushed over to help him. "Oof, that was embarrassing," Bidoof mumbled, cringing. "Anyways, the call's been put out! All apprentices are to return to the guild immediately!"

Flame glanced at Julia worriedly. "This has gotta be something big!"

"I will come, too," Dusknoir said, looking equally concerned.

"Then let's go quickly!" Bidoof cried out, and led the way back to the guild with the others in tow.

"Oh, wow, a meeting! Do you think it's gonna be a special mission?"

"No, Lucky, I'm certain it's something more important than that."

"What's more important than a special mission?"

"A lot."

"Like what?"

The apprentices were all talking anxiously with each other within the guild, some looking worried and others nonchalant. Julia and Flame joined the crowd; Dusknoir hung back a little. Some of the apprentices – including, but not limited to, Lucky – came over to him to ask if he knew what was going on and if he knew what a Frism was and why it was a bad idea to talk to hooded figures, though he knew none of the answers.

Then Chatot appeared at the top of the ladder, followed by Wigglytuff, who looked significantly less joyful than usual. An uneasy hush fell over the apprentices as Chatot and Wigglytuff made their way over to the front of the room. It was Chatot who began to speak.

"We have called you all here because...well...another Time Gear has been taken."

At this point, nobody should have been surprised, but everyone still gasped and began talking urgently to each other in terror. Chatot didn't even bother silence them. He looked too worn down to even care anymore.

"And, as you all may have guessed and dreaded, it is the Time Gear from Fogbound Lake."

"Pardon me for interrupting," Dusknoir began, "but there was a Time Gear at Fogbound Lake? I was unaware of that. Was that what you had found on your expedition to Foggy Forest?"

"Yes," Wigglytuff replied, smiling faintly. "That's why we couldn't tell you that we found anything. Sorry about that, but we made a promise with Uxie."

"No, I understand. You can never be too cautious."

"We weren't cautious enough, it seems," Flame sighed. "But how did the thief find out? Did one of us...?"

Sunflora put her hands on her hips and snapped, "Don't even say something like that! You honestly think one of us would tell anyone?!"

"That's RUDE! Don't you DARE think that LITTLE of us!"

Cringing, Flame replied, "Sorry, you're right. None of us would break our promise."

"Anyways," Chatot continued, shooting everyone a look to silence them, "Uxie has been put in Magnezone's care for now – Loudred, don't make that face, please – and has identified the thief."

"Finally, we'll know who it is!" Diglett called out enthusiastically.

"Hey hey hey, whodunnit, Chatot?"

Sighing, Chatot gestured to the outlaw notice board with a wing. "Come see for yourself." Instantly, everyone crowded around the notice board to see who it was. When Julia caught sight of the large poster, her heart stopped and her ears drooped.

This is all my fault, she realized in horror. What have I done?!

The sketch of the thief on the poster was of a Grovyle, the same Grovyle that Julia had met in Foggy Forest. The same Grovyle who she insisted wasn't the thief.