Hello, everyone! It's been awhile, and you can blame Christmas for that. Anyways, I predict there to be about three more chapters before the end of the main story line. Then comes the post game events, which I'm going to have a lot of fun with...

Sol watched the ocean waves gently lap against the sandy shore. It was odd that Sol always found the beach so relaxing, given her intense fear of water. She laid back on the sand with her head resting on her crossed arms. The sky was such a clear shade of blue, untouched by clouds.

Waking up on the beach was her earliest memory, at least the one she remembered clearly. Why had Sol ended up there while Grovyle landed so far away? What if they had both ended up in the same place? What would have happened?

That was a question Sol had no answer to. Grovyle could have told Sol her past and she would have joined him in his mission. It could have all been over by now, since it was Sol's efforts that got him caught. Or maybe Grovyle wouldn't have known who she was and left her. Or perhaps she wouldn't have believed him and ran off.

But this was a pointless train of thought. Speculation would get her nowhere and there were important things to be done. Sol tilted her head to look down the beach where Eevee, Jak and Grovyle were deep in discussion. They were trying to figure out where the Hidden Land would be located, and so far no one had any ideas. Grovyle had thought that it might be somewhere across the sea, so they had come to the beach to think of ways that they could do that.

This was just an assumption, of course. Sol really hoped it didn't turn out to be anything more than that. She didn't relish the thought of having to travel any distance over water. She'd much rather run through an active volcano than voyage across the ocean.

Sol heard footsteps approach and tilted her head back to look up at Ren standing over her.

"Any luck?"

"The bucket is thrown down the well but comes up empty."

"Nothing's been easy so far. No reason why this should be any different."

"Cynicism has always been your companion, but such bitterness is a new arrival."

"I've had a bad week."

"Hmmm..."

Ren sat down in the sand beside Sol. He ran a hand through the fine grains before finding a seashell, which he held up to the sunlight and examined.

"Once entrusted to protect, now discarded to the side."

"I get the feeling that you're alluding to something, but I have no idea what."

Ren looked over at the group of Pokémon down the beach, then back at Sol.

"There is a time for independence, and there is a time for the pooling of resources. It is clear what this situation calls for, yet you embark on a self-imposed exile."

"I am not in the mood for this," Sol said and crossed her arms across her face to block the sun from her eyes.

"If you prefer, I can speak 'normally', as you put it, though I believe normal to be a relative term that changes from place to place."

Sol moved her arm and cracked open an eye to look at the Cubone.

"So after all this time of sounding like a fortune cookie, you're finally going to speak in a way that doesn't make me want to punch you?"

"I believe this is an important matter that must be addressed."

"And what is that?" Sol asked and sat up.

"You have not been the same since we escaped the infinite darkness of the future. You have been avoiding your friends when you need them most, putting up walls to keep everyone out."

"What are you talking about?"

"You barely talk to us and go off on your own with great regularity. The only one I've seen you truly talk to us Chatot. While I do believe in second chances and fresh starts, I find it odd that you would prefer the company of your once enemy to that of your friends."

Sol didn't respond.

"Why are you setting yourself apart from those who would gladly stand by you in times of hardship?"

"Did you just come over here to criticise me?" Sol snapped.

"Is it because, with this revelation about your past, you find it easier to be around those you had little communication with before? It is understandable. With them you have no basis on which you usually acted, which means no need to redefine yourself based on a change in your identity. But with those you are closer to, you do not know how to act, how this changes things between you and them."

Sol couldn't look at him and instead stared off over the ocean waves.

"It changes nothing," Ren declared. "As far as I, and the rest of your team, am concerned, you are still the same Sol. There is no need for you to believe that we think any differently of you."

Sol was silent for a moment.

"That's not it," she finally said.

"Pardon?"

"You say that I've been acting odd, but that's not the reason. At least, it's not the full reason. Honestly, I don't really care what everyone at the guild thinks of me. I stopped caring the moment they turned on us. What I'm stuck on, though, is how I keep messing everything up."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it? I'm the one who got us dragged to the future. I'm the one who got Grovyle caught. I'm the one who trusted Dusknoir."

"But we escaped so everything was made right again."

"I doubt everything's right with Celebi. I led the Sableye right to her. The condition she was in, there is no way she was able to escape. She's probably dead by now, and that's all on me. All I've done so far is screw things up for everyone. Grovyle may regret what he said, but he was right about almost everything."

Ren's eyes hardened as he looked at Sol. It was the most emotion Sol had ever seen the Cubone show.

"Look over there," he said, pointing over to where Grovyle, Eevee and Jak stood together.

"What?"

"A small Eevee, with more heart and courage than any I've seen but lacking the confidence to unleash his potential. A Charmander, wild and untrusting, but as loyal and steadfast a

Pokémon as one could hope to find. A Cubone," Ren said, pointing to himself, "beaten down by the world to the point where he has to hide behind metaphors and the like, focusing on philosophical ideals to distract himself from the downward spiral this world is on. Yet here I am, part of an exploration team, actively fighting to make a real difference rather than just standing on the sidelines to watch, as I have done in the past."

Sol was struck speechless. She hadn't expected such an outburst, especially not from Ren.

"That is what you are responsible for. You brought us together, and you are the glue that keeps us here. We would have continued to be nothing had you not intervened. Without you there would be no team Wanderers, everyone that this team has helped would have been forced to fend for themselves. That is something to be proud of. Your intentions have always been good, but sometimes there is nothing we can do to stop bad things from happening. That doesn't make you a bad person. But if you allow yourself to become discouraged, then just stand by and let bad things continue to happen and do nothing to stop, well that's a different story.

'You can't change the past, but you can shape the future. Remember you mistakes and learn from them, but take care to remember your accomplishes as well and they will give you strength."

"Could you go back to speaking in riddles? This is making me feel really bad."

Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Ok, I get it. Self pity is bad. Positive outlook is good."

Sol sighed and got to her feet.

"I can't sit around talking any longer. I oddly feel like punching something right now, but I'll settle for some actual progress in the search."

Sol trotted over to the group down the beach.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

"Not really, but we could-", Grovyle began, but Sol cut him off.

"As I expected. How about instead of waiting for a map to fall from the sky, we try, I don't know, asking around? Someone's bound to have heard something about the Hidden Land."

"I... hadn't thought of that," Eevee said.

"Men. They never think to ask for directions. You did the exact same thing when looking for the Time Gear. So let's go! Oh, but not you, Grovyle. The guild may have explained everything to the townfolk, but I'd bet there's still some die hard Dusknoir fans about that'll cause some problems if they catch sight of you. If I ever get chased by an angry mob, I want it to be over something I've done, not because of the person I'm with."

"...Very well," Grovyle said uneasily. "Just be careful."

"I'm going into town, not swimming with Sharpedo. Now let's go."

Ren, Jak, Eevee and Sol made their way to Treasure Town while Grovyle waited at the crossroads. Sol wasn't in a patient mood and felt no need for subtlety. So she marched right into the main square, jumped on to the bank's counter (much to Duskull's displeasure), cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled for everyone's attention.

"Hello! To all of those who don't know who I am, then you're pretty far out of the loop and will probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so you can move along. Everyone else, listen up! We're looking for a place called the Hidden Land. Have any of you heard of such a place? Anything? I don't care if it's a piece of half forgotten lore. It'll still be more than we have now. Come on, now. Someone must have heard of the Hidden Land. Temporal Tower, Dialga... I'm trying to stop the end of the world! We need to bring magical clockwork there before time breaks!"

No one stepped forwards. They just stared at the apparent raving madwomen.

"All right. Now I feel like an idiot. Let's move on."

Sol got down from the counter and moved to another area of Treasure Town and repeated the notice. No one had ever heard of the Hidden Land. All she got was more stares and worried glances.

It seemed as if no one in Treasure Town would be able to help them. But then, of all people, it was the young Marill and Azurill brothers who gave them a lead, however slim the chances of leading to anything were.

"Umm... Miss Sol?" Azurill said and approached nervously. The crowd, drawn in to stare at the raving Riolu, turned their attention to him. It was making the young child extremely uncomfortable and only the presence of his older brother gave him the nerve to speak up. Perhaps Sol should've found a better way to go about this than to cause a big scene, but it was too late now. "I've never heard of the Hidden Land, but it sounds like something out of an old story. We used to go up to the Hot Springs, back when Mama wasn't sick, and Mister Torkoal would always tell us stories there. He might know something."

"Yeah," Marill chimed in. "He's the oldest

Pokémon ever, and he knows everything!"

"Where is this Hotspring?" Sol asked.

"We've been there before," Eevee said. "Don't you remember? We got swept there by the underground river. We went through Waterfall Cave to get there then, so we could go that way again."

"Are you high? The only reason I would ever go back there again would be to give that Tangs a beat down."

"Jak does not know what you speak of. You must tell this one at a later time."

"Must I? At any rate, we're taking the long way. Less of a chance of drowning."

"Wait, Miss Sol?" Azurill said. "The apprentices came and told everyone what was going on... Are you really going to stop the planet's paralysis? Can you really save us all?"

Sol hesitated. "I've seen the future... The only thing that would ever stop us would be death itself."

Azurill didn't look very reassured. If anything he seemed even more worried. Sol supposed that the idea that they could potentially die never entered his innocent mind. Sol couldn't think of anything she could say to those young children, so she just left. She went directly back to the crossroads, keeping her eyes pointed straight ahead.

It was a real possibility. Sol could end up dead before this was over. Was she willing to sacrifice her life for this cause? She would like to think that yes, she would, but such a thing was impossible to know for sure until the moment came. Anyone who said for sure that they would, without ever being in that position, was lying, most of all to themselves.

So wrapped up in these thoughts was Sol that she took no notice of the flapping of wings or the sinister 'Heh-heh-heh!' that came from somewhere behind her.

Grovyle was waiting where they had left him. He was leaning against the sign post, tying miniscule knots in tiny blades of grass. He looked up as they approached and stowed the grass pieces in the small pouch at his side.

"Find out anything?"

"Maybe. We were pointed to the Hotsprings to speak with Torkoal. Apparently he's big on old stories and might know something."

Grovyle looked up at the sky with squinted eyes for a moment. "All right, but before we go I have something I want, need, to give you."

Grovyle took the vine and leaf wrapped object from where he kept it strapped on his back and held it out for Sol. She stared at it but didn't take it.

"What happened to 'don't touch it, ever'?" she asked.

"I was keeping it safe until I could give it to its owner. As it turns out, that would be you."

Sol hesitated then took the object.

"What is it?" she asked, but was already certain of what lay hidden beneath the leaves and vines.

Grovyle just gestured at the covering and Sol tore it off. Underneath, the white wood holding a bright gleam as if freshly polished, was a plain but masterfully crafted staff without a single blemish. There was a section of metal in the center that, when turned, released a thin metal blade from either end with a soft 'snick'.

"I intended to wait for the ascension, for when you became a full member of the Wanderer order, but given what has happened..." the man, grey filling his hair and face wrinkled by age, presented the gift to a much younger Sol, barely more than a child. She wiped her eyes clear of the persisting tears with her sleeve before accepting the gift from her adopted father.

"I know swords are the more customary weapons, but I thought this more appropriate."

"Did you make it yourself?" Sol asked, running a hand along its length.

He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He gestured to the white robes he wore. "Tis the nature of my order to craft, as it is the nature of yours to defend. Always remember what the black signifies."

Sol shook herself free of the memory. It was so much clearer than most, the emotions it brought so much more intense. But it also left Sol confused. From what she had heard from Grovyle and Dusknoir, Sol had grown up in the future, but that scene looked to take place somewhere else. It wasn't nearly as dark, the colours still bright and vibrant. It was odd, but not of pressing concern at the moment. She would focus on finding the Hidden Land for now, and there would be time for questions after Temporal Tower was restored.

"Thanks," Sol said, meeting Grovyle's eyes. "This... this was, is, very important to me."

Grovyle nodded at her but didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

"Now, I think it's past time we got a move on. The Hidden Land won't find itself."