Eevee was screaming. Jak was howling. Ren was flipping around in tight circles, unable to steady himself. Grovyle was too shocked to do much of anything. As he spun through the time tunnel, his mind was focused on other things.

What would happen to Celebi? When they had left her on the plateau, she had been in no condition to fight. Grovyle doubted she'd even be able to teleport again, not with those injuries and Dialga's looming presence. Had Grovyle found one friend only to lose another?

Sol... It was hard for Grovyle to believe that the Riolu had been his lost human friend all along. But looking back, there were so many clues and hints he should have picked up on, the Dimensional Scream ability one of them. The way the Riolu had acted, the things she'd say, her inability to stay serious, the ridiculous things she'd say in even the most dire of situations. And what about when they had fought for the Time Gears? What

Pokémon would carry a weapon, especially fighting types who specialized in hand to hand? What Riolu would never even have heard of the aura?

It would all be better now that Grovyle had finally found Sol. They could now complete their mission, together, as it should be. No one would separate them again.

Grovyle was thrown out of the Time Tunnel and he landed with a thump on a soft, warm sand. The sound of lapping waves greeted his ears. He looked up and saw they were on a beach, the glorious sight of a sunset over the horizon confirming that they were indeed back in the past.

Grovyle pushed himself to his feet. Around him, spread out across the sand were the various members of Team Wanderers. Jak had already gotten up and scanned the area with a critical eye, as if she expected this to be a trick and were still in the future. The Cubone Dhiren was sitting up while Eevee was still laying down and looking like he was going to be sick.

"Somehow, that was both fun and terrifying," Sol said, propping herself up with her hands. "Can we do it again?"

"Only if you fancy getting caught by Dusknoir again," Grovyle said with a small smile. Yes, this was definitely Sol, even if she took a different form. He offered a hand to help her to her feet.

Instead of taking it, Sol narrowed her eyes and glared at him. She pointedly got up without aid, turned her back on him and went to see if Eevee was all right. Not understanding, Grovyle followed close behind.

"I am glad you're all right, Sol. I cannot even begin to describe how I felt thinking you were dead. But now that we're reunited, we can finish what we started-"

"Ok, let's get one thing straight," Sol growled, spinning to face him. "I am not your friend. I am not your lost partner."

"But you are Sol-"

"So?"

"So?! We were best friends! We would have done anything for each other, and you say 'so'?!"

"Best friends don't act like total dicks to each other."

"I didn't realize who you were!"

"And that excuses it?!" Sol snarled. "The whole time I've known you, you've done nothing but look down on me. You didn't even see me as important enough to learn my name! Not to mention you almost killed me at Crystal Lake! Do you know I can't swim? I almost drowned! And I would have thought that being such a close friend of mine, you would have had some sort of suspicion as to who I am, even if it seemed impossible! You've been nothing but an all around jackass, and that doesn't just magically unhappen because you want it to!"

"Sol, didn't you always wish you knew something about your past?" Eevee interrupted. "Now that you found something, you can't just throw it away!"

"I wouldn't care if it had turned out he was my twin brother. If Skuntank turned out to be your long lost friend you didn't even remember having, would you just forget everything he did to us?"

Eevee hesitated before answering. "It's not the same thing."

"Sol, please just calm down," Grovyle said. "Whenever you get worked up, you would lash out just like this."

"No!" Sol growled. "You're not allowed to do that! You're not allowed to act like nothing has changed, like this in nothing more then me being in a bad mood, like I'm the exact same Sol you knew before. This isn't some tantrum on my part that will simply blow over. I don't like you, Grovyle, and I doubt I ever will. You are a selfish, arrogant, self absorbed prick who has his head stuck too far up his own ass to see what's going on around him."

Sol's words stung Grovyle, and he found himself physically flinching back. Why was she doing this? Sol and Grovyle had been close friends, repeatedly throwing themselves in the face of danger to protect the other. Had the memory loss truly changed all that? But in every other way, Sol was exactly the same...

Grovyle was reminded of when he and Sol had first started working together. It was Celebi who had kept them together then, acting as a barrier between two people who wanted nothing to do with each other. But the key difference was that back then Sol had disliked Grovyle. Now, there was such a strong feeling of hate emanating from her.

"Sol, please don't do this," Grovyle said softly.

"If one wishes to know a man's true character, ask anyone but his friends," Ren said, looking at Grovyle with disapproval.

"You were friends with Grovyle once before, can't you at least give him a chance?" Eevee asked.

"Jak thinks we should leave here before we are spotted."

Sol glared at Grovyle with angry eyes. Grovyle silently pleaded that she would understand why he had acted as he had. Grovyle was so happy to have found Sol alive and well, but now she was set to cast him aside.

"I am not your friend," Sol finally said. Grovyle felt like he had been punched in the stomach. "At best I am an ally. But when all of this is over and the Temporal Tower is restored, we go our separate ways."

She didn't know. Sol didn't remember what would happen once they stopped the planet's paralysis and so drastically changed history.

"We're back in the past, but what do we do now?" Sol asked, looking at Eevee.

"We should go back to the guild. Everyone must be so worried after seeing us get pulled into the portal!"

"Jak does not believe that to be a good idea. If we were to suddenly return, it would cause an uproar. Dusknoir no doubt be coming back to look for us, so we do not want that much attention."

"Not to mention walking in the front door with the most notorious criminal since, well, ever, wouldn't be the best way to go about things."

"...Oh. What to do... What, I know a place we could go! But... it involves going through Treasure Town..."

"This one knows a path through the town where no one will see us."

"I am not even the least surprised that you would know something like that," Sol said. "Let's go!"

Grovyle lagged behind at the back of the group. He watched Sol as she walked between Eevee and Ren, no doubt purposely ignoring him. Grovyle hadn't let himself imagine what would happen if he found Sol while he thought her dead, thinking that it would only bring false hope and more pain, but he never would have guessed that it would be like this. Sol hated him, and it pained Grovyle to admit he could see why. He had been rotten to her, and no amount of excuses would change that.

He didn't want to add to that by being the one to tell Sol that there would be no after Temporal Tower is restored, at least for them. With such a drastic change to history, they would never even be born. Somewhere down the long line of their ancestors, at least two of them never would have met if the planet's paralysis never occurred. They would be erased from existence.

Sol hated Grovyle enough as it was. Being the bearer of such bad news would only worsen the matter. It didn't feel right, not telling her, but learning that she was a human from the future was enough earth shattering news for one day.

True to her word, Jak knew the best way to go through the town without being seen. The only time Grovyle had been in the town was when Dusknoir had paraded him through it, showing him off like a trophy before dragging him back to the future. Grovyle would forever associate Treasure Town with that bad experience, and he was eager to get out of there and to where ever Eevee was taking them.

"We must run across the street here and into the alley beside the Xatu building. Jak will go first."

The Charmander dashed across the darkening street to the shadowed ally. The sun was setting rapidly over the horizon, the fading of the sunlight aiding them in remaining unseen. Ren went next, diving under a sign the said 'Xatu Appraisal' as a small group of Pokémon unexpectantly rounded a corner. They held their collected breaths until the group passed, at which point Ren edged out from his hiding place and darted into the alley with Jak. Grovyle ran across without incident, and then it was Sol's turn.

"Is this what you've been doing all those times you've disappeared from the guild?" Sol whispered to Jak when she made it across. "Perfecting your stalking abilities?"

"Jak doesn't like people watching where ever she goes. Jak likes privacy."

"After all this is done, we really need to get you some help."

It hurt Grovyle to hear the banter between Sol and her new friends. Not only had she cut him out, she had effectively replaced him as well.

"Eevee, where exactly is this place of yours?" Sol asked once the small, furred Pokémon had made it across.

"Just outside of town. It never attracted notice before, so it should be safe-"

"Sol! Eevee! It really is you!"

They had been spotted. Grovyle whirled around to face the voices, intent on silencing them, but paused when he saw two, small children, a Marill and an Azurill, standing in the alley's entrance.

"We thought we saw someone one across the street, so we- Grovyle!" Marill cried out in fright. "He escaped from Dusknoir?! I'll go tell the guild!"

The two made to run away, but Sol darted forwards to stop them.

"No! I mean, this isn't really Grovyle..."

"What do you mean?" Azurill asked, casting nervous glances at the Time Gear thief and looking more than a little scared.

"You see, Team Wanderers is on an... investigation, sent by Dusknoir... He thinks Grovyle may have had a partner, so we're trying to root them out," Sol said, thinking quickly. "This is really a Ditto transformed to look like Grovyle, bait to lure out any accomplices. Oh, and it's a female Ditto and she gets really touchy about it, so be sure to call her a 'she'."

"Oh... But everyone thinks you disappeared into the past!" Marill said. "Everyone's really worried about you!"

"We know, but this has to remain a secret. The partner will be suspicious and extra careful now that Grovyle's been captured, but they will also believe that no one knows about them. We have to make sure they don't realize we're hunting them down, and the only way to ensure that is to make everyone think we're in the future, so no one can get suspicious about what we're doing with our time."

"I suppose that makes sense," Azurill said, then looked over at Grovyle. "What's your name, Ditto?"

"She's Nancy, but you don't want to talk to her. She's a huge bi-, jerk, and I wouldn't be working with her if it wasn't strictly necessary."

Grovyle winced at Sol's words, but no one else noticed.

"So, can you help keep the secret?"

"Of course we can!" Marill exclaimed.

"Is there anything else we can do to help?" Azurill asked with wide eyes, excited at the prospect of helping an exploration team.

"Well... How would you like to be super secret agents?"

The two Pokémon nodded eagerly.

"Then we need you to learn all the recent news since the day Grovyle was sent back to the future, then bring it to us tomorrow morning outside of town. We can't do it ourselves, since we need to stay hidden and out of sight."

"Ok!"

"Just try not to draw attention to yourselves, and do not, do not, mention us in any way, shape or form."

"Of course! Come on, Azurill!"

The two children ran off, and Eevee turned to Sol.

"I don't think I like lying to them..."

"What else was I supposed to do? If they told anyone about Grovyle, soon the whole town would be sharpening their pitchforks. The fewer angry mobs we encounter, the greater our chances of success."

"For every good reason to tell a lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth."

"Ren, we all know that philosopher thing is an act, so cut it out. You already let that slip."

"A moment of lying destroys a life time of integrity," was the Cubone's calm response before he started moving through the town once more.

"Lies are sometimes necessary," Grovyle said.

"No amount of agreeing with me is going to change things," Sol snapped at him.

Grovyle sighed and shook his head. That hadn't been his intention, but there was no use in trying to tell Sol that. Once she had decided something, it was extremely difficult to change her perspective.

"Here we are!" Eevee said when they made it out of the town. It was just about dark by that time and the cold wind bit at Grovyles skin. They stood atop a high cliff overlooking the ocean, and Grovyle couldn't see any hint of a good place to hide out. Did Eevee expect them to camp out here in the open? "This cliff is known as Sharpedo Bluff, hence the shape of the cliff."

Eevee walked over to a nearby bush, grabbed on to its branches and pulled the whole thing aside. Much to Grovyle's surprise, a wide hole was revealed with stone stairs leading underground.

"It's down here. I lived here before I joined the guild."

"You lived in a hole in the ground? No wonder you were so eager to join the guild," Sol said.

"It's not like that," Eevee said. "It's a good place. Assuming nobody trashed the place since I moved out..."

Jak went down the steps first, the fire from her tail casting enough light to push the shadows back. They led down into a large, hollow chamber in the face of the cliff, inside of the Sharpedo's mouth. Old torches were set into small hollows along the rough rock wall, which Jak lit with a burst of flames.

"This place is so cool!" Sol exclaimed. "Why did we ever apprentice at the guild! We could have set up shop here and freelanced!" The Riolu grabbed one of the torches and ran down a hall at the back of the chamber.

"Nobody trusts a freelance team nearly as much as one that's part of a guild," Eevee said.

"Who cares?" Sol called out from deeper inside the cliff. "Here, I could of had my own room! How big is this place?!"

"It goes down pretty deep, but everything starts to get damp and covered in moss it you go down far enough, so it's no good for living in. I think there might be an underground river down there somewhere, but I've never gone far enough down to check."

"Underground river, eh?" Sol said, remerging in the main chamber. "Perhaps it would be better for me to stick to the upper levels, then."

"You never were comfortable with water," Grovyle said.

"What did I say about bringing up how I used to be?"

"Sol, like it or not you were once Grovyle's partner," Eevee said, then paused for a moment. "Grovyle, could you tell us a little more about that?"

"I can, though it is something of a long story."

"That's fine."

They made a small fire in the center of the hollow chamber, the smoke drifting out of the Sharpedo's mouth to blend in against the night sky. Grovyle, Eevee, Ren and Jak sat down around it while Sol hung about in the background, pretending not to listen as she inspected what little supplies and items Eevee had left behind upon moving to the guild.

"It all started with Celebi and I," Grovyle began. "We believed that there had to be a way to reverse the planet's paralysis, but all of our leads turned up nothing we could use. We knew the collapse of Temporal Tower caused it to happen, and we managed to discover that if the Time Gears had been recovered and taken to the tower it could have been prevented, but that was hardly useful information to have after it was too late to act on it. Celebi believed she could send someone back in time, but that would be of no use without having any idea where the Time Gears could be found."

"And that was where Sol came in," Eevee said.

"Yes. Celebi found her, and then it was her and I who tracked down the location of the Time Gears in the past."

"A Pokémon and a human... paired together?"

"It was an odd combination, to be sure. I had never met a human before Sol, my only source of information rumors and tall tales. We had a rocky start, but we eventually became close friends."

Sol muttered something in the background, too low for Grovyle to make out clearly but he could tell from her tone it was nothing positive.

"Sol's Dimensional Scream ability was vital in our mission. We never would have made it as far as we did if not for her. But something happened in the Time Tunnel, I couldn't see what, and when I emerged in the Eastern Forest Sol wasn't there."

"The Eastern Forest? I found Sol on the beach."

"I see. We must have come out of the tunnel in different places."

"Ya think?" Sol snorted.

"What made you think she was dead?"

"I searched-"

"Not hard enough."

"- but there was no sign of her. We had a plan to wait outside of Treeshroud if we became separated, but she never showed up. As I collected the Time Gears and never ran into her-"

"Actually, you did. Twice."

"- I could only assume the worst. Sol, it was horrible believing you were dead."

"Really? 'Cause you never seemed all that thrilled to have me along before you learned my name, which you never bothered to learn yourself. How did you put it, again? 'Selfish and cowardly, a disgrace and unworthy of the gift I possess'?"

"Actually, he called you a disgrace of a Pokémon, but since your actually a human and not a Pokémon, couldn't that be a good thing?"

"Eevee, I know you mean well, but please shut up."

Eevee's ears drooped down and he stared at the floor.

"This solves nothing," Jak interjected.

"Arguing over the past only harms the present," Ren said.

"Whatever," Sol said. "I'm going to sleep."

"Wouldn't you be warmer by the fire?" Grovyle asked as Sol walked towards the hallway at the back of the chamber.

"I'll be fine on my own."

Grovyle sighed and watched her leave. What could he do? If she didn't want him around, there wasn't much he could do. If he tried to push, she'd only resist more. His only option was to let her work everything out on her own, and hope she chose to let go of her anger.

Grovyle's eyes landed on the leaf and vined wrapped object he had carried with him from the future and suppressed another sigh.

This was not the reunion he would have ever imagined.