=Chapter 3, The Great Mystery!=

(?'s PoV)

{Need to run!} She said as she limped through the woods as fast as she could. {Need to run, have to get away; they'll do worse if I don't!}

She limped as quickly as she could, her injured paws and legs unable to do anything more for her as she limped through the night of the forest, the only sanctuary that she had found in the recent months. She looked behind her to try and see if her pursuers were still after, and sure enough, in the distance she could see small beams of light shining through the trees, still searching near where she had vanished from sight.

This only encouraged her to keep moving, trying her best to not leave a trail, and grateful that the trainers, whom she had previously watched, traveling this path had left so many to disguise her own movements. She was so tired of running, so injured from fighting, that she could have collapsed at any moment, yet fear of her pursuers and the injuries they put her through from constant battling and chasing her drove her onward.

She was tired from the running, her breath came to her in short, desperate, and painful gasps each time she took one step. Along with each step and each breath, came the bursts of pain from her legs, her shoulders, everywhere that could be in pan was screaming at her in protest, demanding that she sit down and rest. Yet her mind overpowered her muscles' protests and drove her forward, desperate to find safety anywhere she could. This wasn't the worst of her troubles either; she was starving as well, unable to find ANY peace to even eat a few berries without risking being spotted by these humans had drained her of all her stamina.

So far she had avoided the humans as best she could, but they were persistent, even more persistent than normal trainers she had heard of being. She had never met a more persistent human in her life, they just did not leave her alone, and she wasn't losing them like she had left the normal trainers she had met before. This was abnormal for her, only the stories from her mother talking about the adventures of her own mother could compare to this situation.

Her mother's mother had told her daughter of a trainer, a great trainer that had been determined to capture her, yet she had escaped their grasp with each attempt, until finally she had been captured after ages of being chased by that one trainer! Now it was happening to her, but this was different, it wasn't one trainer determined to capture her, more for pride's sake then the value of the Pokemon they were capturing. It was a huge group of humans, trainers or not, and they had been chasing her for nearly ten months.

As she limped through the woods she passed by massive clearings that she could see had been carved into small sections of the forest. There were dozens of these scattered throughout the forest that she had seen, each one full to the brim with trainers and travelers camping out for the night. None of them noticed her as she did her best to hide from sight, yet still the humans hunting her searched through the forest, looking this way and that way, flashing their lights in every direction.

{Humans… all of them… around me!} She whispered as she smelled a new human scent close by, and with all the pain she could endure, jumped into a nearby stretch of tall grass to hide.

The jump got her off the path and hid her well from a group of three humans, trainers by the looks, all of whom were wearily heading down the path toward one of the clearings. However that jump had only added more injuries to the ones she was already suffering, she could feel each of her legs all but collapse from the pain and injury they were suffering. Yet still she shakily stood up and demanded yet more from her exhausted body.

{I can't stay here… they'll capture me… I cannot let them capture me… not trainers like them!}

She watched the group that had passed her by enter the clearing, before she started moving again down the path. There were too many paths for the humans hunting her to follow along, so they couldn't know which direction she was taking. Yet this would not shake them for long, she couldn't hide in this forest forever, and eventually they'll find her or corner her. If she left then the chase would resume yet again, and in her condition she wouldn't last another battle.

{Battles… my mother's mother told me about them… she said they were things of pride and beauty… she said she was happy to have been captured… that there was no shame when it happened.} She whispered as she tried to answer, once again, why they were hunting her, and indeed they were hunting her.

Yet try as she might, she couldn't find out why these humans, so many of them, were after just her. Was it purely for her value, or was there another reason? It couldn't have been just that, because so many trainers were tracking her for long distances, beyond what a normal trainer would have gone. Plus there were too many to be after just her, they were trying too hard to work together to capture her.

As she thought that her exhaustion finally caught up with her, and her injuries demanded that she rest. Unable to continue or find the energy to even eat, she wandered into the nearest patch of tall grass, and curled up in a large set of bushes. She couldn't take anymore, it was all too much for her, the lack of rest, the lack of food, the injuries her legs and body had taken, the strain of walking, running and battling for months on end had finally gotten the best of her.

{Just… one… nap… and I'll keep going…} She whispered to herself as her eyelids shut tight and sleep forced itself upon her instantly.

*Jacob to Arky*

*Hey Arky, it's been about a day since we left Petalburg City, and just as the sun was going down me, Harold, Sara, and Ivan reached the entrance Petalburg Woods, our first great trial as a team.*

*I don't have much time since Sara is about to wake up for breakfast, but I figured I'd tell you that we're about to enter the forest. I can only see maybe a stone's throw into the forest, and what I can see is nothing short of beautiful. Yet at the same time I'm fairly afraid, I've never been in a forest this deep, and according to what trainers have told me, this hostile.*

*Pokemon are said to attack travelers going through it almost every chance they get, I've put Sara and the other two on alert, but I still have some fear going in there. I probably won't be writing much to you in the next few days because I'll be so focused on going through these woods, so hopefully the next time I write will be me leaving the woods.*

=The Eternal Twilight Forest=

(Jacob's PoV)

"Well guys, there's the entrance to the Petalburg woods." Jacob said to his team as they prepared to enter the forest. "From here on out it's about a week before we'll get through, and that's assuming we don't get lost. I know my way around a map, but the Hoenn Map I have doesn't have anything about the Petalburg Woods. Remember, we each need to work together to get through this forest!"

"Arf!" Ivan barked.

"Tree!" Harold said.

(Yes…) Sara said in his mind.

The entrance to the forest was about ten feet wide, and the path that they were traveling on went into the forest itself for about twelve feet before it began to disappear because of the forest's vegetation. But still that didn't mean that the beautiful display of sunrays shining through the forest's treetops wasn't worth the journey.

"Well team, let's get going, stay close Harold and Ivan." Jacob said as they started walking forward.

"Arf!"

They began entering the Petalburg woods, and five minutes into their first adventure, they found the scenery to be nothing short of beautiful.

(Beautiful…) Sara whispered to Jacob as they looked around while walking.

"Aaaaarf…" Ivan barked as he looked around in amazement.

"Treeeee…" Harold said as well.

"You all can say that again!" Jacob said as he looked around them.

The scenery was amazing, brilliant beams of sunlight shone through the top of the trees above them through the small gaps in the trees, creating an unearthly scene before them. Meanwhile just to complement the scene were the wonderful trees around them, there were beautiful shrubs every few feet, and wild tall grass sprouted everywhere, making it difficult to go anywhere that looked like it had been traveled with regularity.

Now that they were inside and had a good view of their surroundings, Jacob could see what the trainers he spoke to before were talking about. There were at least a dozen paths, or at least they looked like paths, however they were really just wider corridors between the trees. Along the paths were trees of different sizes, ranging from the tall trees that were blocking out much of the sunlight, to their smaller berry bearing cousins. There were dozens of parted grass openings where previous trainers had walked through, but they each went in different directions.

"No wonder trainers get lost here, how can you find anything in this forest?" Jacob asked as he looked around. "Man… how do we find our way through?"

(Jacob… we won't… get lost… will we?) Sara asked nervously from his shoulder.

"No way Sara, not as long as we work together, if we do then I know we'll make it through this forest." Jacob said confidently, looking to Ivan and Harold now. "Okay, Ivan try your best to remember where we're going, and Harold see if you can tell which of these paths has been used the most! Whichever one has been traveled heavily is most likely the one that leads through to the other side of the forest and back onto Route 104."

(Arf!) Ivan said.

(Tree!) Harold declared, running off to the first path directly ahead of them and examining the floor carefully.

(What should… I do?) Sara asked curiously.

"You help watch our backs Sara, while the three of us are busy you help keep an eye out for wild Pokemon, in the meantime I'm going to check out some of these berry trees and see if any of them are ripe for picking as well as what type they are." Jacob said as he picked up Sara to place on the ground. "Be careful okay Sara, this place is supposed to be full of bug type Pokemon as well as Tailow, so keep an eye out wherever you can. I also want you to be careful because I don't want you getting hurt watching out for us."

(Okay!) Sara said to him.

As Jacob walked over to the first berry tree he noticed that the berries were not ripe, they were Oran berries but they would take at least another four hours before maturing. He noticed that there were a lot of Oran trees around the paths, all of them having been picked by either Pokemon or passing by trainers. This meant that food would be hard to come by unless they were on top of time here in the forest. Among the Oran trees were a few Pecha trees and even some Cheri trees, but those two tree types were rare among their more common Oran brothers.

"Treecko!" Harold declared after a good hour of checking out the paths and examining the fauna.

"What did you find Harold?" Jacob asked as he headed over to where Harold was. "You're saying this is the path we should take?"

"Tree!" Harold said, giving a confident nod.

"Alright then, let's get going." Jacob said, picking up Sara and placing her on his shoulder again. "Remember Sara to watch our backs while we travel through, but everyone of us should stay alert, I've heard this place is full of wild Pokemon that are more than eager to attack travelers and trainers wandering through."

(Alright.) Sara said to him as they started walking.

"Arf!" Ivan barked behind Jacob.

"Treecko!" Harold said.

For a few minutes they walked, before Jacob's foot kicked something hard on the ground. He looked down seeing something clearly manmade sitting on the ground, covered in grass and leaves and other bits of foliage. Bending down and picking it up, he found that his foot had kicked a small potion bottle.

By the looks of it, it was still fresh and perfectly useable, despite being left on the ground for several days. The only question he really had was what it was doing in the woods on the ground.

"Hey there!" A voice called out.

Jacob looked up to see what appeared to be a trainer, about ten years older than him walking down the path toward him. He was wearing what appeared to be some kind of ranger getup, and in his company was a Pokemon, a Wurmple by the looks of it.

"Hello there, is this potion yours?" Jacob asked, holding it up to show him.

"If it was mine it's yours now." He said. "I'm a Pokemon Ranger, I'm just patrolling these woods to make sure nobody is lost and in case anyone needs medical help."

"Okay but, why would this potion be mine now if it was originally yours?" Jacob asked curiously.

"You must be a new trainer if you don't know why that is." The ranger said with a smile. "You see, it's been commonly known that the Petalburg Woods in Hoenn, the Viridian Forest in Kanto, and other such dense forests in different regions are where trainers lost and find items in them. It's an unspoken rule and agreement between all trainers that if you drop an item in the forest, it becomes anyone's and everybody's."

"Really?" Jacob asked. "So nobody will complain if I find any item here and decide to keep it?"

"Pretty much, of course the same goes for them if they find anything of yours here, finders keepers as they say." The ranger said as the Wurmple next to him climbing up his leg out of boredom. "The reason why so many items get lost here is because of the wild Pokemon at night, they sometimes sneak into trainer's packs to steal food and sometimes steal other things by mistake. Also some trainers just forget about certain items and tend to drop them without realizing it. So here's a word of warning, keep an eye out for your stuff at night, unless you want a Wurmple or another wild Pokemon to go through it for food."

As he spoke the Wurmple climbed up his leg, and up to the top of his head. "Uh… is that your Wurmple?" Jacob asked, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"Oh this little guy, no he's not mine!" The Ranger said. "This little guy and I have been working together for a few months, I give him food and he shows me the way through the forest. You can say he's a guide for the guide. Best way to get through the Petalburg Woods is with an insect Pokemon, they know the terrain best from down below."

"Wurmple Wurm!" The Wurmple said to Jacob and his team.

(He's asking… if we… have food.) Sara said.

"Yea we do Wurmple, enough to last three weeks." Jacob said with a smile.

"Wurmple Wurm, Wurm Wurmple Wurm!" The Wurmple said, smiling as it did a little dance on the ranger's head.

"Grrrrr, Arf!" Ivan growled.

"Treecko!" Harold declared.

"Is something wrong you guys?" Jacob asked his team, noticing them snapping at the Wurmple.

(He says… if we have… that much food… we'll lose it… faster than a… Snorlax can eat.) Sara said to him.

"Well in any case, I wish you guys luck in your travel through the forest, I'm off to Petalburg City to rest up and restock on supplies before I go back through the woods for my shift." The Ranger said, giving Jacob and his team one final grin before leaving in the direction they had come from.

"Well team let's keep going." Jacob said, getting them all back on track. "We've used up most of our morning just entering the forest, let's get going."

"Arf!" Ivan declared.

"Tree!" Harold piped up.

They began walking through the forest again; stopping to make sure they were on the right track every so often. The Ranger did not lie about items being littered around the ground throughout the forest, every time they turned a corner or paused to check their surroundings they found another item just lying around. However unlike their first find, they didn't find anything else as valuable or useful.

"Another empty bag of chips, this makes six bags plus fourteen cans of food, and five small empty bottles of soda." Jacob whispered as he picked up yet another piece of trash and placed it in his bag. "Arky… I'm not sure teaching me to not leave garbage lying on the ground, was a good idea."

(Why are… we taking… trash with us?) Sara asked as Ivan and Harold watched him put the latest piece of trash into the bag.

"I was always taught to keep things clean wherever I go Sara." Jacob said as he lifted his bag back onto his back. "So naturally I want to keep the forest clean and keep all the garbage out as much as I can. I can get rid of it later when we reach the next city. It's not the smartest thing I've ever done team, but it's something I just have to do. A wild Pokemon might accidentally eat an entire bag of chips, bag and all, and it might get sick and injured because of it."

(I see.) Sara whispered.

Once he was finished he continued walking, albeit with a more curious Ralts on his shoulder.

=Kora and Roran=

A few hours of walking had gotten them not too far into the woods, but they had definitely made progress toward Rustboro City. That was however, until Ivan decided to prove how tough he was by picking a fight with a roaming Tailow. The Tailow had been following them for a few minutes, and was spotted by Sara almost instantly. This made Ivan jealous and, wanting to prove he was strong, picked a fight with the Tailow.

This was why Jacob was now giving instructions to Ivan about fighting a flying type.

"Ivan use Leer!" Jacob shouted.

"Arf!" Ivan barked, and a second later his eyes glowed red.

"Tailooow!" The Tailow shouted, not intimidated by the leer as it boldly charged Ivan from the sky with its Peck attack.

"Watch out Ivan!" Jacob tried to call out, but the Tailow was too fast, and just as Ivan tried to dodge he was met with the Peck attack. "Ivan are you okay?"

"Arrrrrf… Arf…" Ivan growled as he slowly stood up to face the Tailow again, which was spinning around to attack again with its beak.

"Tailow!" The Tailow shouted, as it surprised Jacob and Ivan by landing in front of them. "Tailoooooooooow."

Ivan stood his ground for a moment before the Tailow's growl actually caused Ivan's courage to waiver slightly, making him take a step back. Then it took to the air and came in for another Peck attack.

"Ivan try to counter with your Tackle!"

"Arf!" Ivan barked as he charged head first at the incoming Tailow.

They're attacks connected at the same time and Ivan's tackled knocked the Tailow out of the air and sent it tumbling toward the ground. Ivan quickly recovered and turned to face the Tailow again as it slowly stood back up. The Tailow glared at Ivan before it charged once more, trying to peck him again.

"Ivan, one more time Tackle!" Jacob shouted.

(Jacob… are you going… to catch it?) Sara asked him.

"Depends, can you tell if it's going to keep following us?" Jacob asked as he tried to divert his attention between the Tailow and Ivan and talking to Sara.

(Yes… he will keep… following us.) Sara said nervously as Ivan and the Tailow started rolling around, Ivan trying to kick the Tailow off and the Tailow trying to peck Ivan's face. (He won't… let us be.)

"Yea I know, Tailow never give up on a fight." Jacob said just as Ivan finally pushed the Tailow off of him. "Alright then, Pokeball go!"

He took an empty Pokeball from his belt and tossed it at the Tailow. The ball hit the Tailow, opened up and pulled the bird inside with a flash of light. It fell to the ground and started shaking for several minutes. Finally it stopped shaking and gave a resounding *Ping*, indicating that the capture was successful.

Jacob was now the proud trainer of a Tailow.

"Okay… I think we all deserve a short rest and a meal after that!" Jacob said to his team, to which Ivan barked tiredly in agreement.

It took them a good fifteen minutes of walking before they found a small clearing in the dense trees along their path. Then while Harold gathered sticks to start a fire, Jacob took the new Tailow's Pokeball and released it.

"Tailow!" The bird declared tiredly as it was released.

"Hey there little Tailow, I'm sorry about Ivan wanting to pick a fight with you." Jacob said as he scratched Ivan's ears, causing him to growl contently. "He just wanted to prove how strong he was, I don't know why but that's just how he is."

"Tailow!" The Tailow replied in understanding.

(He says… it's okay… he likes to… challenge strong… opponents.) Sara translated.

"Well in any case since I captured you I need to name you, that is if you want a name." Jacob said.

"Tailow."

(He says yes… he would like… a name.)

"Alright let me think…" Jacob said as he tried to come up with a good name for a male Tailow. "How do you feel about the name Roran?"

"Tailow Tail!" The Tailow chirped happily.

(He says… he likes it.) Sara translated cheerfully.

"Treecko!" Harold called to them, indicating that he had found enough sticks to start a fire.

"Alright let's get lunch started quickly." Jacob said as he went to his bag and pulled out one of the canned meals for them to eat. "We don't have a lot of time to prepare an elaborate meal, so today it's just canned food. Now let me just open this up and we can start cooking."

He had to move some of his stuff around to make room for the trash he was picking up to toss in Rustboro. So the spare Pokeballs he had were currently lying on the ground behind the backpack until after lunch. He was confident that with Sara keeping a lookout for dangerous Pokemon with her psychic powers, Ivan's nose, and now Roran's looking around constantly, that no wild Pokemon would sneak up on them. However because they were all hungry and tired from trudging through the woods and now battling Roran, they weren't all focused on looking for wild Pokemon.

While Jacob went to work cooking the food over the small fire they had lit, all of his Pokemon were watching with interest as he explained how the food was cooked. He showed them that he had learned to cook over a fire if he was in the woods, and even taught them how he knew the fire was ready to cook. Since he was busy explaining to his hungry team, none of his Pokemon noticed the shadowy figure creeping up behind them, inching ever closer to the backpack which Jacob had left open.

At least not until the shadowy figure started rattling the spare cooking tools in the bag.

"What the…" Jacob whispered as he looked up to see a pink Wurmple digging around in his bag. "Hey what are you doing in there?"

The Wurmple stopped digging and pulled its head out of the bag. "Wurm…" It said quietly, with Oran berry juice smeared across its face.

At once all of his Pokemon, with the exception of Sara, shouted angrily at the Wurmple. "Wu-ur-ur-ur-mple!" It sputtered, trying to back away from them and falling behind the backpack and out of sight.

Then a flash of light appeared, followed by a resounding *Ping*.

"Tree?" Harold said, looking at Jacob in confusion.

"Uh… I'm guessing I just captured a Wurmple?" He asked.

He stood up and walked over to the backpack to see the three spare Pokeballs he had. He took two of them and opened them up to see they were empty, and then the third one he picked up and opened released his new Wurmple in a flash of red light.

"Wurmple!" It called out, before looking around at him with curious eyes.

"You didn't even try to resist getting caught did you?" Jacob asked it.

"Wurm!" It chirped out happily.

"Uh, Sara?" He asked.

(She says… no.) Sara said.

"How do you know what gender a Pokemon is just by hearing it talk?" Jacob asked Sara.

(It's just… how I can tell…) She said sheepishly. (Even I don't… know how it… works.)

"Well in any case… why did you not try to resist being captured?" He asked the Wurmple this time.

"Wurmple Wurm Wurmple!" It replied.

(She says… you have food… lots of food.) Sara relayed.

"Alright… well let's see what my Pokedex has to say about you." Jacob said, taking his Pokedex out and having it look up the Wurmple.

[Wurmple, the Worm Pokemon, It sticks to tree branches and eats leaves. The thread it spits from its mouth, which becomes gooey when it touches air, slows the movement of its foes.] It declared.

"Wurmple huh, if I'm correct you eat quite a bit of food." Jacob said, looking down at his Wurmple. "Well since I 'captured' you, I guess you will need a new name. So how do you feel about the name Kora?"

"Wuuuuurm!" She said happily.

"Geez… if we keep adding new team members at this rate the food I have won't even last us a week." Jacob said as Kora started climbing up his leg. "Well in any case, let's have lunch and resume walking… and no snacking on the food in my backpack. We need to make it last until we reach Rustboro."

"Wurmple Wurm?" Kora asked him.

(She asked… if we're going… to Rustboro.) Sara said as Jacob picked up his backpack and put the Pokeballs back into it.

"Yea, why do you know the way?" Jacob asked Kora.

"Wurm!" She said happily.

(She says yes… she does know.)

"Wurmple Wurm Wurm Wurmple!"

(She also says… she'll lead us… as fast as… she can… if you feed her… first.)

"Ugh… I should've known…" Jacob said as Kora smiled at him from behind his back. "Forget what I said about adding new teammates, if I get another Wurmple we won't have enough food to last us half a week."

*Six Hours Later*

"How much daylight do we have Roran?" Jacob asked as Roran flew back down to him and the rest of his team.

"Tail… Tailow." Roran replied sadly.

(He says… we have… no more time.) Sara said nervously on his shoulder. (Jacob… where are we… sleeping tonight?)

"I don't know, we can't go back to that campsite because that will take us about two hours." He said as he looked ahead and kept walking. "We definitely can't sleep on the path, even if we haven't seen another wild Pokemon for a while."

Despite the fact that he was worried about going to sleep in the Petalburg Woods with no protection besides his Pokemon, he wasn't as worried now that they had Roran and Kora to help. However earlier on Kora told him something that had gotten him worried as well as sparking his curiosity.

-Earlier-

"What do you mean there aren't as many wild Pokemon as there used to be in these woods?" Jacob asked.

"Wurmple Wurm… Wurmple." Kora said nervously after they finished eating dinner. "Wurmple Wurm Wurm Wurm Wurmple Wuuuurm…"

(She said… she doesn't know… but over… the last few… seasons… there have been… fewer and fewer… wild Pokemon here.) Sara translated.

"Are they leaving or something?" Jacob asked.

"Wuuurm…" Kora said sadly. "Wurmple Wurm… Wurm Wurmple."

(She says… she doesn't know… but she says… that lots of… trainers have been… capturing Pokemon here… more than usual.)

"Did you see them doing it?" Jacob asked now, wondering why trainers are capturing so many Pokemon.

"Wurm…" Kora replied, shaking her head sadly. "Wurmple Wurm Wurmple Wurm… Wurmple Wurm…"

(She says she… doesn't know… she never sees… trainers capturing… but she's noticed… fewer and fewer… Pokemon here… even her… nest sisters and… brothers are gone.)

"How do you know its trainers capturing them?" Jacob asked. "I mean sure trainers capture Pokemon, but we never capture to this extent!"

"Wurmple Wurm?" Kora replied. "Wurmple Wurm Wurmple?"

(Who else… but trainers would… capture us?) Sara said quietly. (We're just weak… little Wurmples… and Tailows… and Shroomish… who else but… trainers would… capture us?)

-Present Time-

"Why would trainers want to capture so many Pokemon, if they deplete the woods of all the Pokemon won't that hurt the balance of the forest?" Jacob asked himself.

(Jacob… will someone… try and capture… me?) Sara asked nervously again.

"What's wrong Sara?"

(Because… I'm still… wild… and I don't… want to leave… you!) Sara said nervously, hugging his neck tightly as the mere thought of leaving him frightened her.

"Don't worry Sara; I'll make sure nobody tries to steal you." Jacob said calmly. "Besides if anyone does try anything, we have Harold and Ivan to keep us safe, right guys?"

"Arf!" Ivan barked tiredly but confidently.

"Treecko!" Harold repeated.

They continued to walk until finally they found a small open path running along the one they were on. It looked like it had just been made recently, as the path in the grass was still freshly pressed.

"Alright guys, let's turn down this path, we'll make camp here." Jacob called to everyone, turning left and walking down the side path. "We'll sleep here and continue in the morning."

"Wurm!" Kora squealed.

"Tree…" Harold sighed.

"Arf!" Ivan barked.

"Tailow…" Roran chirped.

(Goody…) Sara said tiredly.

Jacob walked through the small path with his Pokemon behind him, already imagining how well he and his team were going to sleep.

At least he imagined that until he broke through the grass and entered into the small clearing and saw a Pokemon lying in a clump of bushes.

"What the…" Jacob stared, wide eyed at the beautiful Pokemon lying there in the bushes, covered head to foot in bruises, scratched, and other injuries.