Thanks for the reviews, Colt-a-Cola. Much appreciated. I know I'm not very good describing fight scenes. Give me some feedback from this one? Hopefully I can get better with some input.

Sol's vision turned black once more before returning to normal. She looked around, but Azurill was running after his brother, apples in hand, while Eevee chatted with the Kecleon brothers. No one acted as if they had heard anything unusual.

"Is everything all right, Sol?" Eevee asked, noticing his distressed partner. "You look rather… pained."

"I don't know… I thought I… never mind. Let's finish up here and get back to Bidoof."

Eevee looked like he wanted to say something, but let the matter drop. They bid farewell to the Kecleons and started back to the guild.

What was that? Sol wondered. Did I imagine that sound? Or is something wrong with me? Other than the whole Riolu and amnesia thing, I mean.

They passed through the main square of Treasure Town, and there they saw the two brothers, Marill and Azurill, talking excitedly with a Drowzee.

"Yaaay!" Azurill cried.

"Thank you!" Marill exclaimed.

"Please! It's nothing," Drowzee said.

"What's happening?" Eevee asked, joining the group.

"Oh, hi!" Azurill said at Eevee's approach.

"Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us," Marill explained. "We've been looking all over, but we haven't found it yet. Then Mr. Drowzee came along, and he says he may have seen our lost item! He even offered to help us look for it!"

What is with this place and lost items? At least it won't be me who has to go find it this time…

"Oh, please. I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need," Drowzee said humbly. "I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search."

The three started off down the square.

"Whoops! Excuse me!" Drowzee apologized after bumping into Sol.

They continued on towards the crossroads, Marill and Azurill gushing out thank yous.

"Let's go, then. We need to get back to-"

Sol was cut off by a rushing wave of dizziness.

Oh, not again…

"Sol! What's wrong!"

"I don't-"

Another dizzy spell, turning everything hazy and undefined. It was worse than the last time and she fell on her hands and knees.

"Sol!"

Eevee's voice sounded as if it was coming from somewhere far away. He said something else in a panicked tone, but it was distorted and uncomprhensable.

There was a blinding flash if light and her vision turned black before:

A mountainous area, somewhere high up. Large rocks and boulders littered the ground of a flat plateau. A sheer cliff face formed a barrier on one side, steep drop-offs on the others, leaving only a winding narrow path as the only entrance or exit.

Drowzee stood in the center, his humble and kind facade stripped away to be replaced by menace and hostility as he confronted a terrified Azurill.

"If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!" he threatened.

"HELP!" Azurill screamed.

Another flash of light, and Sol blinked as her vision cleared to see Eevee standing over her, looking frightened.

"Sol! What happened? Are you all right?"

Sol shot to her feet.

"We have to go! Azurill's in trouble!"

"Wait, what?"

"I just saw it! Drowzee is going to get Azurill all alone and corner him, and we have to go and stop it, before it's too late!" Sol yelled hysterically, drawing stares from nearby Pokémon.

"Sol, just take a moment and calm down. Now, tell me exactly what you saw."

Sol hurriedly relayed her… whatever it was to Eevee, impatient to get going. But as the story came out and she had time to actually think about it, she had to admit that it sounded crazy and ridiculous.

"Let's see if I understand this. You had a dizzy spell, and then you saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee? But… Drowzee seemed to be a sincerely nice Pokémon. It's not like I don't trust you, but I saw the three of them go off together earlier, and they looked like they were having a good time."

"I know, but its just… never mind. You know what? Maybe I'm just crazy. The whole 'I used to be human' thing could just be a grand delusion on my part too."

"A lot has been going on lately. You're probably just tired, Sol."

"'You're probably just tired' is code for 'you're delusional but I'm giving you an exit'," Sol muttered. "Look, I think I just need something to focus on right now. How about we head back to Bidoof and we can talk about this and my degrading mental state later."

"You're not crazy, Sol. There has to be another explanation," Eevee said with such conviction and confidence that Sol almost believed it was true.

…

"You folks all set and ready for some exploring?" Bidoof asked Eevee and Sol when they returned to the guild. "Dugtrio just updated the boards, so you have a fresh bunch of lawbreakers to pick from."

The board was cluttered with overlapping papers. The footprint runes meant nothing to Sol, but her eyes flicked from picture to picture.

"Which should we pick?" Eevee asked, a bit of his earlier apprehension creeping back into his voice.

"Ahem. As your mentor, how about I do the choosing?" Bidoof said, clearly enjoying the responsibility of having rookies to show the ropes to. "Now, let's see… eenie, meenie…"

Sol tensed as her eyes landed on a paper bearing a familiar looking Pokémon. Eevee bristled beside her, finding the poster at the same moment. He stepped forward and pulled it off the board, much to Bidoof's surprise.

"It's Drowzee!" Eevee exclaimed. "You were right, Sol! He's a wanted criminal! We have to hurry. Azurill will be in trouble!"

They ran from the guild, leaving a confused Bidoof to call after them.

…

They found Marill at the crossroads looking distraught and scared.

"Marill! What happened! Where's Azurill?" Sol asked.

"I don't know!" Marill cried, tears streaking down his face. "After we all left, we went looking for our lost item together… But I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill! I called and called! But they didn't come back… I got scared…"

"Which way did they go?!" Eevee asked with a fierce determination. He was all fear earlier at the prospect of facing an outlaw, but now, when someone was in danger, he was more than willing to step up to the plate.

"Th-that way!"

Marill led them down the path to the east. Sol could see that he was close to a breakdown with worry for his brother, but he was able to push it aside and help in any way he could. The Kecleons were right: they were remarkable children to be able to push past hardship.

The ground turned rocky and the path grew steep as they reached the base of a small mountain.

"This is Mt. Bristle. We were searching around here when…" Marill trembled slightly and fresh tears threatened to fall.

"It'll be ok. We'll find him," Eevee consoled the small Pokémon. "Head back to Treasure Town and wait at the guild. We'll be back soon with Azurill."

Marill nodded and started back down the path, casting worried glances back at the mountain.

"Sol, the Drowzee and Azurill you saw in your… um…. dream, you said they were in a mountainous place, didn't you?"

"Yes, I think…"

Sol looked around for anything familiar.

"This way."

She ran up her chosen path, Eevee close behind her. They didn't have time for any mistakes. They could wander around this mountain all day and not find them, so she had to get it right the first time. The knowledge weighed heavily on her mind as she quickly picked out their route, not stopping for even a moment.

The path they were currently on wound up the side of the mountain. It narrowed considerably and they had to hug the wall to keep from falling over the edge. Were they going the right way, or was she leading them farther away from Azurill?

Sol was beginning to doubt herself when she heard a familiar voice from somewhere above her.

"Uh-oh. It's a dead end. Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where it is now?"

The two exploration team members started to sprint.

"Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."

"Huh? My… big brother. My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon?"

Sol stopped in her tracks, horrified. They had reached a dead end, their path blocked by a wall of stone. Sol had taken the wrong route! They needed to find a way up higher, but by the time they backtracked it'd be too late.

"Nope. Your big brother's not coming. I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you. But let's not dwell on that. There's a little favour I need to ask."

"Give me a boast," Sol told Eevee. He instantly understood.

"See that hole behind you? Well there's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole. And that's where you come in."

Claws dug into rock, finding small cracks and crevices to climb her way up. Sol growled softly and her fur bristled as she heard Azurill crying out for his brother.

"Go on, get going! Go into that hole and don't forget to bring back the treasure! If you keep being difficult, it will mean mean big trouble for you!"

Sol hauled herself onto the plateau just as Azurill started screaming for help. With a snarl she ran forward and launched herself off a boulder to soar through the air. Drowzee saw her coming and managed to scramble back out of the way. She landed in a crouch between Drowzee and the frightened Azurill.

"Run," Sol growled over her shoulder to the little blue Pokémon, not taking her eyes off Drowzee.

"Who… who are you?" Drowzee asked, taking a step back.

Sol regarded him silently for a moment before bearing her teeth fiercely in a feral snarl and darted forward.

Drowzee clumsily blocked Sol's first attack, claws leaving deep furrows in his arm. Sol made a quick jab to his exposed stomach, causing him to double over before bringing up her knee to smash into his head.

Drowzee stumbled back and Sol pressed the attack. The Drowzee lifted his head to stare directly into Sol's eyes. She experienced a moment of intense vertigo, the world seemed to spin and the ground tilted beneath her feet. Hit with Drowzee's confusion attack, she wasn't able to continue her offensive and was unable to block Drowzee's incoming attacks.

Blow after blow she was forced to give ground, not given enough time to recover and defend before the next hit came.

Sol my have had the body of a Riolu, but she was not a true Pokémon. Moves didn't come easily to her, and when they did they weren't very strong or effective. With no other options available however, she was able, just for a moment, to use the move counter in a peak of desperation.

Drowzee's own attack backfired, not doing much damage but surprising him enough for Sol to jump forward, tackling him to the ground. He managed to kick her off and they both scrambled to their feet. Not wasting any time, Sol rushed forwards once again with a series of light punches, not much on their own but together enough to hurt her opponent. Drowzee lashed out to hit Sol in the chest, sending her back a few steps. Then he pressed his palms together as if to pray with a look of immense concentration on his face.

Sol's limbs suddenly felt heavy. Her eyelids drooped as her will to fight was eroded away and her thoughts became muddled and slow in coming.

She was supposed to be doing something, right? Something important… what was it again?

She fell to her knees. All she wanted to do was sleep. That wasn't so bad, was it? Whatever she was supposed to do could wait.

She fell on her side, eyes closing.

"Sol!" she heard someone yell.

Was that… Eevee? Yes, that's right. We were doing… something. There was someone in danger, or something like that. I climbed up and he was to find another route. Why was that again?

The lure of sleep was strong but Sol fought against it.

We were… We were… Drowzee!

Sol's eyes shot open in time to see Eevee charging Drowzee. Just before he reached the outlaw he skidded to a stop, throwing up a cloud of dirt and rocks in Drowzee's face.

The Pokémon cried out and tried to cover his eyes with his hands, momentarily blinded. Eevee tackled him to the ground, hitting him again and againin a relentless attack.

"WE ARE TEAM WANDERERS AND NO OUTLAW CAN ESCAPE US!" Eevee screamed in a dazed Drowzee's face.

Sol had never seen him so… enraged. In truth, it was kind of scrary.

Note to self: never piss off cute little balls of fluff.

"Um, Eevee?"

"What?" he spat, his anger at Drowzee colouring his voice. Or maybe had was just annoyed at being interrupted.

"Don't you think he's had enough?"

Drowzee was covered in all ready forming bruises and one of his eyes was swollen shut. He was only semiconscious by that point, thoroughly beaten from Eevee's sudden and anger fueled onslaught.

"That was a little extreme," Sol remarked as she tied Drowzee's hands behind his back with a length of twine.

"Maybe," Eevee said, lost in thought and not paying full attention.

It was then that Sol realized that she wasn't the only one who had problems in this group. For outlaws to bring out such debilitating fear in Eevee and then such all-consuming rage, something bad must have happened in his past.

With that thought in Sol's mind, they led the defeated Drowzee down the mountain.

…

Officer Magnezone gave them the bounty for capturing Drowzee and Marill was overjoyed to have his little brother back safe and unharmed. Chatot was waiting for them when they got back to the guild, a lecture on following orders and how they should be expelled from the guild for running off like that all prepared and ready for them. Upon hearing what had happened he didn't even try to hide his shock. Not only had they rescued Azurill, they had taken down an outlaw in the process.

After another one against all contest everyone referred to as dinner, they all headed off to their rooms.

A storm had picked up, lashing against the guild with torrents of rain. Eevee lifted up the mat of woven leaves that covered the window against the deluge, watching the streaks of lightening beyond.

"It's really coming down tonight," he mused. "It's a good thing it didn't start earlier."

He continued to stare out into the night.

"That reminds me," he said, turning to Sol. "It was storming the night before we met, and then I found you out cold on the beach the next day. So do you remember anything, anything at all?"

Sol joined him at the window.

"… No, nothing right now. But there was something earlier, at the market when I picked up that staff. I would have mentioned it earlier, but with that whole mess with Drowzee…"

"So what did you remember?" Eevee asked, curious.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said, pushing away from the window. "I was in a field somewhere, holding a bladed staff. There were these… figures, I couldn't quite make out what they were, but we were about to fight. Not sure over what. And that was it."

"That's good, though. Every little bit will bring you closer to your past and figuring out what happened to you."

Eevee walked over to his bed and settled down.

"You know, I've been thinking about that dream you had earlier."

"Less like a dream and more like a vision," Sol said, going to her own bed. "But whatever it was, it freaked me right out. It just sort of whammed into me and I had no control over it at all."

"Still, it could be really useful. With all the bad Pokémon cropping up, seeing the future could be invaluable."

"About that… what did you mean when you said that time was getting messed up? How is that even possible?"

"No one seems to know why, but its causing many Pokémon to turn bad. They just can't handle it, so they lash out. Everyone believes that the Time Gears are somehow involved. They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world, and serve a very important function. Each one protects time and keeps it flowing properly in its region."

Something niggled in the back of Sol's mind, but she couldn't quite pin it down.

"What would happen if a Time Gear was damaged, or stolen?"

"I don't really know, but my guess would be that the flow of time in that region would stop. Everyone knows not to disturb Time Gears. Even the most hardened criminals avoid messing with them."

All of this just raised more questions than it answered. Sol wanted to know more, but she got the impression that Eevee didn't know that much about the problems with time, and what he did know was mostly speculation. She'd ask around later and see if she could learn more.

"We best get to sleep, Sol. We'll be woken up early again tomorrow."

"That reminds me. I'll be right back."

Sol got up from her bed and left the room. She returned a few minutes later carrying a bucket of water, some rope and nails.

"Did you know that Chatot sleeps perched on the stairs out there?" She said as she began setting up her materials around the doorway, suspending the bucket over the door and making a makeshift tripwire near the floor. "It's kind of creepy, especially since he sleeps with his eyes open."

"What are you doing?" Eevee asked quizzically.

Sol flashed him a smile.

"Leaving a little surprise for our morning alarm."

The next day Sol awoke to the sound of splashing water and a surprised yelp. It was a welcome change and she got up with a smile.