"This is the future?!" Pikachu yells out, taken aback by his claims.
"Hush!" Grovyle replies. They're still looking for us. Don't give us away."
"How did this happen?" I ask.
"...How much do you know about the Temporal Tower?"
"Nothing, really."
"The Temporal Tower is a structure hidden on the edge of time and space. And is the home of Dialga, the Temporal Pokemon. From this tower he manages the flow of time and ensures it's stability, using the tower to amplify his abilities. However, every thousand years the tower degrades to the point where it threatens to collapse and stop time itself. When this happens, the three lake guardians you met gather the time gears and take them to the tower. There they use the gears to 'reset' the tower and keep it together." So... is he saying they failed this time around? the tower collapsed and the world was plunged into this timeless Armageddon?
"Well, they've had to have done it hundreds of times already at this point. What could have made them mess up now?"
"Something was accelerating the rate of degradation. What it was, I can't say for sure. But by the time the guardians realized what was happening, it was too late. I... I remember it vividly... The Planetary Paralysis, we called it. A shockwave roaring across the planet... ripping apart everything in it's path, then freezing it all in time. Most of us were caught in the blast, forever locked in a moment of terror. A handful of us were lucky enough to be in places that shielded us from the blast. But the rest... they were gone.
"And this world is dying. There's no sun to grow crops. The food we have here is all we'll ever have. Many of us are starving to death. And those that aren't... have taken to despicable means to survive..."
"So... You were trying to gather those gears..."
"To prevent this. To bring back those who we lost. I worked with three others. A Pikachu named Thunder," Wait... like the Thunder I heard in the dimensional scream in the northern desert? "a shiny Celebi," Celebi. I know them. Time traveling pokemon. That must be how he got to our time in the first place. And possibly how he knows so much about what happened. "and a human. Alex Russet. And you..." he looks to me "Alex could see Dimensional Screams. Visions based around an object he touched that related to what they feel is important. And before we came back to this time, Dusknoir said you used your screams to find the gears..." Wait... could he mean...
"Are you saying... I'm..."
"I believe so. I think you're the Alex Russet I fought alongside." I take a step back, caught completely off guard. I'm... from the future? And I was trying to stop the end of the world? I just stand there. Speachless. Pikachu just stares in shock at me, clearly as taken aback as me.
"I'm... I'm friends with a time traveler? That's... That's kinds cool, actually."
"I... I still have so many questions." I start. But before I can continue, a loud yell echoes across the wasteland. Almost like a war cry."
"Frick..." Grovyle mutters. "Raiders... Unless you want to be next on their menu I suggest we leave. This spot fooled the Sableye, but it won't fool them."
"Can we trust you? I mean, we know next to nothing about you."
"Do you have much of a choice?" ...Frick he's right.
"Ok. Lead on then. You know this place better than us."
"Stay close to me. And don't make any sudden movements. Stick to the floating rocks for cover." Pikachu and I nod. Grovyle nods back, moving forward slowly and cautiously As we emerge from our spot I catch a glimpse of the raiders. A Garchomp, a Krookodile, and a Haxorus. Three brutal pokemon in their own right. But it seems they've gone a bit feral following the planetary paralysis. I can see streaks of blood on their faces and chests. Like face paint. As well as this, they've taken to wearing bones on their person. specifically skulls. If I wasn't sure before, I am now. These pokemon are insane and carnivorous. I am keeping my distance.
"You sure you saw them here?" The Garchomp asks his partners.
"I'm positive. Though I'm pretty sure Krook's battle cry scared them off." The Haxorus replies.
"It's called intimidation, Haxorus. Scared prey is easy prey."
"Scared prey is prey that runs off before we can even reach them. I'm tired of these failed hunts."
"Both of you shut up. They couldn't have gone far. Search the area. I'm dying to get some meat..." Ugh... hearing them refer to us as nothing more than food... It makes me sick to my stomach... Is this the future we have to look forward to?
"Don't stop. Keep moving." Grovyle urges. Sticking as close to him and Pikachu as I can, I keep pressing forward. Away from the deranged trio.
The raiders, meanwhile, have split up, sweeping the area. Every time one draws near my heart jumps and I have to fight to keep myself from panicking. And then it all falls apart.
I step across a slight drop in the terrain. And, just like when one stumbles after misjudging a step on a stair case, I tumble slightly, letting out an involuntary gasp. It dawns on me very quickly that this was bad.
"You hear that?" The Haxorus says.
"Yeah... Let's go take a look..." the Garchomp leader decides. Oh crap... Oh, this is not good... They're coming!
Grovyle signals us to get down low. I really hope he has a plan in mind... As we get down, I listen for the raiders as they draw closer. My heart races. I don't want it to end like this. Not is this grim future.
"Three..." Grovyle mutters under his breath. "Two..." He seems to be counting down to when they spot us. I relax an iota, seeing as he has some idea in mind. "One..."
The raiders round the corner, turning to face us. But before they can react, Grovyle yells and lunges forward. In a blindingly fast motion, his wrist blades extend, running clean through the Garchomp. He doesn't even have time to cry out in pain as he dies on the spot.
In an instant, I recall Dusknoir saving us in the Amp Plains. Threatening the Luxray's life to save us. I remember his justification. "There are times when no other option presents itself. I did what I had to do." I cant help but draw comparisons between him and Dusknoir. What have I gotten us into...
As the raiders reel from the sudden death, Grovyle scoops us up and dives into the ground, digging away to safety. Before long we surface. Well away from the bloodthirsty raiders. I finally let myself relax.
"Did you really have to kill him? Was there no other way?" I ask.
He lets himself smirk slightly. "Well, good to see you haven't changed all that much, Alex. Believe me, I don't enjoy killing. But I had very little time to come up with something. Garchomp would have prevented our escape." ...He's right. Garchomp are famous for being able to "swim" through the ground. Had Grovyle tried our dig escape tactic before dealing with him, he'd catch up with us very easily.
"But why kill? Why not just incapacitate him?" Pikachu asks.
"I didn't really have the time to worry about making sure he lived. I needed to strike fast. Focusing on non-lethal strikes would have slowed me down. Something we couldn't afford. And, look, no one's going to miss a raider. In face, people will be happier this way."
"I still don't like it," I say. "but what's done is done. Now, where do we go now?"
"There's a safehouse up north in the ruins of Treasure Town. We can work out a way to get back to the past there."
"Treasure... Town..." Pikachu mumbles. This will not be pleasant for him. Or me, for that matter. Treasure Town was our home. Seeing it in a state of ruin is not a very encouraging prospect.
"I know. But it's the closest safe place. Let's go. I'll answer more of your questions when we get there."
