Chapter 15

The Secret of the Planet's Paralysis

Team Poképals and Grovyle were hiding from the pursuing sableye, trying to rest, while they tried to assess the situation they were in right now. Chimchar started their conversation…

"Tell us Grovyle… In the future...why did the planet's paralysis take place?"

"First of all, it dates back to your time, in your world of the past. It started with the collapse of Temporal Tower, which was governed by Dialga."

"W-who's Dialga?"

"He is a legendary pokémon who controls time. He ensured the proper flow of time within Temporal Tower itself. But when it collapsed...time gradually got out of control...leading to the eventual paralysis of the planet."

"What happened to Dialga?"

"When time went out of whack, he also lost control. Here in the future now, the planet has become fully paralyzed, and thus Dialga has lost almost all his reason...and is governed by darkness. He's now beyond recognition, and in turn, became an entirely different entity… He has transformed into Primal Dialga, a primordial presence."

"Yikes..."

"Dialga, in his primal state, feels no emotion at all. He seeks only self-preservation, to prevent history from changing. That's why he wants me eliminated, because I tried to change history, to stop the planet's paralysis, and because I traveled back in time to your world from this future here."

"What?!" Piplup and Chimchar exclaimed.

"Grovyle, you're saying that you came back to our world," Piplup said, "so you could prevent its paralysis?! But that's...completely the opposite of what we were told!"

"Dusknoir told us that you came back to our world to paralyze the planet...didn't you?!" questioned Chimchar. "Weren't you the one stealing the Time Gears?!"

"You have to be joking!" Grovyle insisted. "I was collecting them because they were needed for preventing the planet's paralysis. I needed to take them to Temporal Tower and put them in place, so that it would have reversed the collapse of Temporal Tower, which was fully under way in your time. While it is true that removing a Time Gear from a specific place causes time to stop in that area...it's only temporary. After the Time Gears are put into Temporal Tower, time would have been fully restored to normal everywhere."

"But...what about all the things Dusknoir said about you, like how he said you were a wanted outlaw in the future? Not to mention, how you escaped from the future...then fled to our world in the past. Are you claiming that it was all just a bunch of lies?"

"What else could it be? That's why Dusknoir is really...an agent sent from this future by Primal Dialga...to get rid of me."

"WHAT?!" Team Poképals exclaimed in shock.

"Dusknoir was..." began Piplup.

"...an agent sent to get rid of you?!" finished Chimchar.

"That's right," answered Grovyle. "I have said that Primal Dialga will try to thwart any attempt to alter the course of history. That's why, when he learned that I traveled through time...he sent Dusknoir after me."

"The great...Dusknoir…?" questioned Chimchar in disbelief. "It can't be!"

"I know it's hard for you to believe, but-"

"I cannot believe it at all! You're saying all of this about the great Dusknoir?! I don't understand why he's acting this way here, but...I respected...him..." Chimchar had tears in his eyes. "I can't… I can't believe you…"

"It is hard to accept," Piplup said, "but looking back over what we've been through in this future world, what you said, Grovyle, is reasonable. It makes perfect sense." He turned to Chimchar. "And Chimchar, I'm afraid you should know it, too. You should know deep down what Grovyle says here is true, but knowing that makes it that much harder to accept..."

Chimchar suddenly started to make his way back from where they came from!

"Hey!" yelled Grovyle. "Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to see Dusknoir," answered Chimchar, not turning to Grovyle.

"What?!" exclaimed both Grovyle and Piplup.

"I want to see him," the fire monkey insisted, "and to find out if what you said is true or not."

"What's the point of that?!" bellowed Grovyle. "You'll only be making it easy for them to destroy you! You don't stand a chance against them!"

"Then..." Chimchar said, turning to the wood gecko pokémon, "...what am I supposed to do?!"

"What are you supposed to do?! Didn't you wonder this earlier?! Not to mention that you decided...that you would decide for yourself! You insisted that, because you don't know what to believe...you wouldn't accept words for their face value...and you'd think for yourself!"

Chimchar could only shake his head in disbelief.

"It's times like this, when things are tough, that you have to be strong. Think for yourself, then act as you deem right."

Grovyle turned around to go the right way, with Chimchar following him, and stopping him for another question.

"Grovyle...what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back to the past again to stop the planet's paralysis. To do that...I need to find Celebi."

"Cel...Celebi?"

Grovyle turned back to Chimchar.

"That's right." The wood gecko turned all of Team Poképals. "Both of you can come with me or not. It's your choice. You can decide on your own course of action. I'm off."

He turned around again and headed off. Chimchar and Piplup turned to each other for a chat of their own.

"To be honest, Chimchar..." Piplup began, "...I don't know what I should believe either. But there is one thing I can say with certainty… In this future world of darkness...the planet is paralyzed, and its paralysis...happened back in our world. That's why, to stop that from happening..." He had a serious look of determination on his face. "...We have to get back to the past! We must get back to our world!"

"Yes...I know… What Grovyle said...he's right after all… Things are very tough now...we do have to be strong." Chimchar now wore an emotion of renewed hope. "I'm all right now! Let's go and catch up to Grovyle!"

"That's the Chimchar I know!"

Team Poképals turned to where Grovyle was headed to, and followed him,

Meanwhile, back at the collapsed Temporal Tower, Dusknoir visited his master, Primal Dialga, to brief him on the current situation…

"Master Dialga, the stage has been set for the capture of the traitors. When the time comes...it may be necessary for us to beg for your help..."

Dialga could only growl in response.

"...As you wish. By your leave, we shall proceed."

Dusknoir left the Temporal Tower to resume his pursuit on Team Poképals and Grovyle…

Piplup, Chimchar, and Grovyle all arrived to a path to a dungeon within the forest area. Piplup, for some reason, had a strange feeling about this place…

What was that...strange sensation? I've had it before…

Chimchar looked around the area.

"Where are we?"

"This is Dusk Forest," answered Grovyle, turning around to the determined pair. "Its name comes from the dark fog that perpetually shrouds it. Deep within this forest is where we'll find Celebi."

"Speaking of Celebi, you've mentioned that name before, but who is Celebi?"

"Celebi is the legendary time travel pokémon. She has the ability to cross time. But...she's a little odd...for me at least." Grovyle shook his head, realizing that he was going off the important topic. "Anyway, her ability enabled me to the past."

"So if we find her," Piplup said, "will we return to our world?"

"Yes," Grovyle answered, "you can go back. But...she's the pokémon that sent me to the past, meaning Celebi has lent her support to reshape history."

Piplup and Chimchar gasped.

"Are you saying that she's in trouble too?!" the penguin pokémon questioned.

"That's right," answered Grovyle. "Primal Dialga is also targeting her. There's no time to waste. Prepare yourselves for the trek inside Dusk Forest so we can find Celebi...fast!"

Team Poképals agreed and went to the nearby Kangaskhan Rock to stock up on their items once more. Once they were done that, they went up to Grovyle to tell him that they were ready.

"It looks like we're all prepared, then," he said. "Let's go inside Dusk Forest to find Celebi so we can return to the past."

The wood gecko pokémon started to make his way into the forest's dungeon, but Chimchar stopped him.

"Wait!"

Grovyle turned to the fire monkey.

"What is it?"

"If the three of us do return to our world...will you steal the Time Gears like you did before?

"Yes...I will. I have to, otherwise the planet's paralysis cannot be stopped."

"But I'm not convinced yet! I don't completely trust you yet! I'm only cooperating with you because I want to return to our world. If we do return, Grovyle...I'll investigate if you really were stealing those Time Gears to prevent the planet's paralysis. If I decide that you're wrong for stealing the Time Gears, I'm going to stop you!"

"Humph! Do as you will, but keep this in mind… What's important now is getting ourselves safely back to your world. So for the time being...focus on getting back home." Grovyle turned back to the entrance of the forest. "Now hurry! We're wasting time!"

He and Team Poképals started making their way, but Piplup stopped for a moment.

Now I can feel it. I'm sensing something strange here…

Chimchar turned to him.

"What's wrong, Piplup?"

"I've felt something strange like this before, I just know it!" The penguin pokémon gave it a quick thought. "That's it! It was when we were at the base camp near Foggy Forest during our expedition!"

The two were interrupted by Grovyle.

"What are both of you doing back there?! Pick up the pace already!"

"This is no time to think about that now, Piplup!" demanded Chimchar. "We need to hurry!"

The penguin pokémon followed his pal into the forest. What they did not know, was that a sableye had been following them all along...

The dungeon of Dusk Forest was very much straightforward. It had eight floors of pokémon with no main type associated with it. That meant that Piplup, Chimchar, and Grovyle all had different advantages and disadvantages, both offensively and defensively. They all had to help out one another in order to get through the gloomy forest.

When they got through the midway part of the forest, Team Poképals and Grovyle started to look for Celebi. The wood gecko pokémon worried that if Primal Dialga and the others knew of the place, Celebi would have fled a long time ago. The three pokémon would have to hope that that was not the case.

Grovyle started to call out for Celebi.

"Celebi, are you here still? It's me, Grovyle! Reveal yourself if you're here!"

They waited for a few moments…

"She's...not coming out..." Chimchar said with a somber look on his face. "Did she get scared off by Primal Dialga?" He realized something else that alarmed him! "What if she's been captured by him?!"

"Captured?" an adorable voice called out.

"Wah!" The voice scared Chimchar! "Where'd that voice come from?!"

Everyone looked around for the source of the voice. Team Poképals turned to each other.

"But...I don't hear anything now!" Piplup insisted. "Was I just hearing things?"

"Tee-hee!" the voice laughed. "You didn't imagine it!"

Team Poképals jumped up in surprise.

"Me? Captured?! How insulting! It's impossible, that's for sure! Tee-hee!"

Everyone turned in front to see a magical ball of light form to reveal...Celebi! She was not only a celebi, but rather, a shiny version of the time travel pokémon! Instead of her body being colored green as usual, it was pink.

"It's been too long, my dear Grovyle!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, it has been a while, Celebi."

"What?! This tiny thing here is Celebi?!" questioned Chimchar, seemingly surprised by the pokémon's appearance. She got a little annoyed by the comment.

"Now that is downright rude!" She turned to Chimchar. "How inappropriate of you to poke fun at my petite proportions!"

"Oops! I'm sorry! I h-heard that you have the ability to cross time, thus I expected you to be some awe-inspiring pokémon..."

"How uncouth! Never judge someone by their appearance!" She had a smile on her face. "But...I forgive you. After all...you must find me cuter and more special than you imagined~! Tee-hee~!"

Team Poképals sweat-dropped at this, but they also had red cheeks on their faces.

"Uh...y-yes."

"Celebi," Grovyle said, "I need your help again."

She turned to him.

"I know. Seeing you back here, my dear Grovyle, tells me everything I need to know. You're back because you failed your mission in the past?"

"Unfortunately...that's the case."

"Well, I hope you manage to complete it this time. I've had quite enough of living in this dark and dreary world."

"Sorry to cut the chatter, but the sableye are after us. If we don't leave soon, we'll have brought trouble to you."

"That's quite fine! There's no need to be worried. Let 'em come, they're no concern to me. Besides, if you would be so kind as to prevent the planet's paralysis...we'll finally be spared the agony from this world of darkness. My dear Grovyle, I will devote my whole life to achieve that goal!"

"All right then...where is the Passage of Time?"

"It is nearby and ready!" Celebi turned around. "It's on a plateau above this forest."

"That's good," Grovyle replied. "Can you guide us?"

Celebi turned back to him again.

"Yes! It looks like all three of you are taking the Passage of Time, then!"

"That's correct," answered Grovyle.

The shiny time travel pokémon turned to Piplup.

"Oh?! What's...this? Your friend?"

She looked at him oddly for some reason.

What the...why is she looking at me like that?

After a few moments, Celebi shook her head.

"No...that can't be..."

Grovyle turned to Piplup, then turned to Celebi.

"Is something the matter, Celebi?"

"No...it's nothing. We should just get going to the Passage of Time."

She turned around and the three pokémon followed her.

Team Poképals, Grovyle and Celebi all had a chat along the way.

"Hey, Grovyle," Piplup said. "what's the Passage of Time?"

"It's a portal that Celebi used to travel through time, and a secret corridor that spans dimensions."

"For short trips," Celebi inserted, "I can travel through time all by myself. However, big trips that span many generations require the use of the Passage of Time."

"So if we were to go through it-" Chimchar said.

"Yes," interrupted Grovyle. "You will be able to return to your time."

"Oh! I see the entrance to another dungeon!" Celebi exclaimed.

All four pokémon arrived near the entrance to another dungeon within Dusk Forest. This entrance, as Celebi explained it, would lead to the plateau that held the Passage of Time at the end of the dungeon. Like with almost every other stop in the future so far, Team Poképals prepared once again for the trip inside this dungeon by restocking their item supply. Once prepared, everybody made their way in.

This was the deep section of the Dusk Forest. The dungeon itself was loaded with big ground-type pokémon. Like with all other dungeons, they would have to be wary with who was at their weakest when it came to type match-ups, and that their teammates would have to protect them.

After getting through the dungeon, Team Poképals, Grovyle and Celebi reached the top of the plateau to find the Passage of Time intact but closed, where Grovyle went through to travel to the past. He told the team that Celebi could only open it. Just as she was about to, however…

"Stop there!" the voice bellowed. "That will be far enough!"

Celebi stopped, and her teammates around her were stunned as well.

"It couldn't be..." Chimchar said in disbelief.

"Hello to you all," greeted the voice. "It's been a while."

The four pokémon turned to where the Passage of Time was to see that Dusknoir was blocking their escape to the past!

"It's him!" exclaimed Piplup and Chimchar.

"Your scurrying carried you far," Dusknoir began as he approached the group, "but it's all over now, unfortunately."

A sableye laughed, as six of them surrounded the foursome!

"Very crafty of you, Dusknoir," Grovyle said with sarcasm in his voice. "You allowed us to roam free, but you kept your eye on us the whole time...just so you could capture Celebi as well as us."

"What?!" exclaimed Chimchar in shock. "So you mean we were followed the whole time?!"

"That, I could not see coming. This is all my fault, Celebi."

"Apologies don't suit your style, my dear Grovyle!" she insisted. "One more thing, do you honestly think that I can be caught?"

The sableye got close to the group.

"Is everyone here ready to fight?!" questioned Grovyle.

"Of course!" answered Piplup and Chimchar.

"We'll have to force our way through! We'll push them aside...and then we can dive into the Passage of Time!"

"Got it!"

"So, all of you are resisting, then," insisted Dusknoir. "Spare yourself the effort. You have no chance of succeeding."

The sableye got close again.

"We won't know for certain," Grovyle insisted, "until we try! Dusknoir, both of you will settle our score...now!"

"Are you really such a fool to think that I'd come alone, Grovyle?"

The wood gecko pokémon was alarmed, as he turned to Dusknoir.

"Wh-what?!"

"Master Dialga, now!"

The environment around them got dark!

"Ahhh! It turned pitch black!" shrieked Chimchar.

All of a sudden, Dialga's loud roar shook the place! His eyes glowed red, and the light returned, The primal temporal pokémon revealed himself, as he was standing atop a rock over the Passage of Time! He roared again!

"Grovyle! What in the world is that thing?!" questioned Chimchar in fear.

"That's...Primal...Dialga..."

"What?! That's him?!" Piplup and Chimchar both exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's Primal Dialga?!"

"What's wrong Grovyle?" questioned Dusknoir. "Where's your bravado now?"

Grovyle could only grunt in frustration.

"My dear Grovyle..." Celebi said, turning to him.

"This...is hopeless for us now..."

"What?! Why?!" demanded Piplup and Chimchar in panic.

"Aren't we going to fight?!" continued Chimchar.

"I told you! It's hopeless!" insisted Grovyle furiously. "Dusknoir on his own is one thing, but we don't even stand a chance against Dialga! Both of you have kept up so well...so I'm sorry to let you down. This, however, is where it ends."

"But..."

Grovyle stepped forward…

"I surrender, Dusknoir. Do away with me...as you will."

"My d-d-dear Grovyle!" Celebi exclaimed in utter shock.

"What's gotten into you, Grovyle?" Dusknoir questioned, mocking his enemy. "It's not like you to give up so easily."

"Yes. It is true that I am giving up now...but hope is still alive." He turned to the shiny time travel pokémon. "Celebi, do you remember the last time..." He turned back to where Dusknoir was blocking the Passage of Time. "...When I traveled back in time to prevent the planet's paralysis? I wasn't alone then. There was another one beside me."

"What?!" Team Poképals exclaimed.

"Grovyle, is it true that you didn't come to our world alone?!" questioned Chimchar.

The wood gecko turned to them.

"Yes. I had a partner. We headed to the past together, but when we were going through the Passage of Time, we encountered trouble...and became separated as a result. My partner should still be back in the world of the past. Even if I am eliminated...he will see our mission through to the end. He will prevent the planet's paralysis."

Dusknoir could only laugh in bewilderment as Grovyle turned back to him.

"What's...so funny?" the wood gecko pokémon questioned.

"So you claim that someone went to the past with you… Incidentally, what was the name of your partner? Go on, say it!"

"Why do you ask such a thing?"

"Can you not tell me?"

"No, that's not true… My partner's name is...Leon. My best friend..."

Piplup could only wonder about that name…

What?! W-who's Leon?!

"Grovyle, who is Leon exactly?!" demanded Chimchar.

Grovyle could only turn around slowly to Piplup…

"No, it can't be… It isn't true!"

The wood gecko thought about the time when Celebi first saw the penguin pokémon. She wondered about him for a moment then, so Grovyle found it to be strange that time. But now...his worst fear may have been realized, as he turned back to Dusknoir...

"Dusknoir, that human, Leon, that I knew then, wasn't a pokémon...right?!"

"Yes, but when I saw that piplup there in the past, I could recognize his voice. That, without a doubt...is your partner..." He turned and pointed to Piplup. "...Leon!"

"WHAT?!" Team Poképals, Grovyle and Celebi all said.

The four pokémon were in utter shock and disbelief at discovering Piplup's real name. They all turned to him.

"Grovyle, is...is my name really...Leon?" Piplup slowly questioned.

"I...am afraid so..."

The wood gecko reluctantly confirmed the piplup's real name. That very same piplup that he tried so hard to get back to the past, along with himself and Chimchar, was indeed Leon...the former human boy who was turned into a pokémon.

"Ahhh...I see that both of you have finally reunited at last! How touching!" Dusknoir said with sarcasm apparent in his voice. Everyone turned back to him, as he turned serious once more and continued…

"Now as I was saying… Master Dialga had given me a mission to eliminate you, Grovyle and Leon, because both of you fled to the past. I traveled in time to pursue you both. In the past, I gathered intelligence that might help me find you. It took several days to do so, but eventually, I met Team Poképals. At first, I suspected nothing of them, but when they mentioned the Dimensional Scream, I was skeptical at first...then an idea began to take shape in my mind… A former human, with no memories, even of his own name, and one who possessed the Dimensional Scream, is what made me convinced to believe that that same piplup I saw back then had to be Leon, the very same boy that I'd been seeking! Leon developed amnesia when he and you, Grovyle, were in that time travel accident! Leon even lost all memories of his name and transformed into a pokémon as a result of that accident alone! Despite that, his memory loss was really a lucky stroke for me! He failed to recognize who I was, and thus, in turn, made it very easy to win over his trust. It was also easy to drag him and Chimchar to the future when the time came!"

"Y-you were really lying, Dusknoir…!" Chimchar replied with tears in his eyes.

"Which left you, Grovyle...the last part of the job to finish."

The wood gecko stayed quiet. Leon the piplup had a thought to himself.

I...was a human from the future…? And I was Grovyle's partner on a mission to prevent the planet's paralysis...and ended up in Chimchar's world?

"With the both of you here, Grovyle and Leon," Dusknoir said, "everything will end when we finally dispose of you. This will finally put an end to your glimmer of hope, Grovyle! Everything ends, for all of you here!"

He evilly laughed.

"D-Dusknoir...why..." Chimchar replied sadly. He wiped his tears away and was furious at the gripper pokémon. "Dusknoir, you monster!"

"Ha! Have you finally come to terms with your fate?"

The fire monkey turned to the rest of his foursome group.

"G-Grovyle! Pip- uh, Leon! Don't give up!"

"We shall be rid of you forever!" Dusknoir announced. "This is the end...for all of you!"

The sableye laughed as they approached the four again, readying their claws!

"P-please Pip- uh, Leon and Grovyle!" urged Chimchar. "Don't give up! You just can't give in now!"

"You're saying not to give up…?" Grovyle replied. "What can we possibly do in this bleak situation?"

"We just have to think!"

The sableye got even closer…

"I know!" Chimchar finally got an idea as he turned to Celebi. "Celebi, can your time travel ability transport us just the short distance into the Passage of Time?"

She turned to the fire monkey.

"Yes, but it won't be easy with Dialga here! He's the temporal pokémon that controls time itself, and even if I can make us travel in time, he'll have no trouble exposing it!"

The sableye got closer again…!

"It just has to work for an instant!" Chimchar said. "Please, do it!"

"Enough! Attack them at once!" Dusknoir ordered the sableye.

They laughed in approval.

"OK, then, time to travel!" Celebi announced.

She emitted a bright light, as suddenly, the foursome vanished from sight!

"Wheh-heh?" a sableye said.

They looked around for them…

"They v-v-vanished?" Dusknoir was also in disbelief. He turned to Primal Dialga. "Master Dialga, don't let them escape!"

Dialga roared as loud as he could! His tail went up, emitting energy from there. His gem on his stomach also glowed red, as he roared again to break up Celebi's attempted time travel! She and the other three pokémon appeared again, but closer to the Passage of Time as the looked at the portal itself!

"Ahhh!" Chimchar shrieked. "Our time-traveling path's been shattered!"

"There they are!" Dusknoir said to his sableye henchmen.

"We almost made it to the Passage of Time!" Chimchar announced.

Celebi turned to the three.

"Dive in now! You can make it! Get into the Passage of Time, now!"

"What about you?!" questioned Leon.

"Don't worry about me! I've told you I can't be caught! Go and stop the planet's paralysis...and change history!"

"Thanks!" Grovyle said.

"Thank you, Celebi!" Team Poképals said.

"You're not getting away!" Dusknoir announced.

Leon, Chimchar, and Grovyle made their way into the Passage of Time, while Celebi unleashed a blinding light on Dusknoir and the sableye, blinding them again! Once the blinding light vanished, she disappeared from sight once more, as the portal to the past closed up!

Dusknoir and the sableye could only watch in disappointment, as they let their escapees get away.