The next morning was very similar to the last. Loudred ended up getting them up again with his loud obnoxious voice, and the cheers were the same. However this time, Layne and Pyro weren't late. After the morning cheers, Layne gave a sigh. Pyro looked to him. "What's up, now?"

Layne chuckled at the 'now' part of that question. "Just wondering what the point of that cheer is. I don't feel anymore motivated than I usually do."

Pyro, who had memorized the cheer last night, looked at Layne and gave a small smile. "You know, it could just be Guild tradition, and just for fun, right? Give it a try sometime. You never know how it might benefit you."

Layne shrugged as Chatot came over. "Follow me, both of you, if you please, and I'll show you to your next assignment."

Chatot headed for the ladder again. Layne looked at Pyro in confusion. "You'd think he'd let us do what we want now, since we got a little idea as to how this place runs."

Pyro shrugged, "Oh well, let's go see what he wants us to do."

The pair followed Chatot up the ladder and to a bulletin board, on the opposite side of the room where they had previously taken a job. Pyro noticed this and asked, "Why aren't we on the other side, like yesterday?"

Chatot chuckled, "Well, because today, you're doing a job on this side."

Layne shrugged, "What's the difference, or is there even one?"

"There is, actually. Take a look for yourself."

Layne walked up and read, while Pyro on the other hand just said, "It looks like a collage of pokémon. Are these perhaps, famous explorers or something?"

"Pyro..." Layne said shaking his head, "You need to learn to read in situations like this."

Chatot spoke up. "These pokémon, are not explorers. They are all outlaws, wanted for committing various crimes in the world."

Pyro heard that all right, because he was about to freak out. "Outlaws?"

Chatot nodded. "Correct. They all have a bounty on their heads. The rise in criminal activity makes it everyone's problem to bring them in to justice."

"Are you telling us," Pyro asked, "That today, we're catching an outlaw? You can't be serious! I can't do that!"

Layne sighed. Pyro had just found a shoot in his shoots-and-ladders game of confidence. "We got a long way to go..." he said to himself.

Chatot sighed, and said, "Look, not every outlaw posted here is a completely wicked pokémon. Sure, some are, but some are only wanted for small crimes such as theft and the like. You can be sure we'd avoid giving you a superbad pokémon on your first bounty run."

Pyro sighed and said, "My stomach hurts..."

Chatot ignored Pyro and said, "Go ahead and look over the posters and pick out one who you think you can bring to justice."

Layne popped his neck and said, "Look, I don't mind this at all, but apparently, not all of us are on the same boat." he said, looking over to his partner, who still looked to be in freak-out mode.

Pyro looked up and said, "I'm sorry. I'm- I'm just scared of dangerous pokémon."

Chatot spoke to Pyro. "It's a part of training, that I'm sure you'll pull through. We all need to be prepared to face a tough opponent. Perhaps, a trip to Treasure Town is in order."

Layne looked up. "Treasure Town?" The name sounded so dang familiar, but once again he was pulling mismatches in memory lane. He sighed. When would he even get a clue as to who he was?

Chatot nodded, "Yes, Treasure Town. I'll have someone give you a tour of the area before you set off for an outlaw."

Layne sighed and braced himself. Across the room, was Autumn, and though she was busy with another pokémon, they locked eyes...again. Layne could have sworn that as they did that, the temperature of the room dropped about 5 degrees, but as soon as it happened, it ended, as she turned away. All Chatot had to do was say call Autumns name, and tell her to come over, and then he'd be very much aware of the tension levels between her and Layne. Chatot however, called the other pokémon speaking with Autumn over. "Bidoof! Please come here!"

The pokémon, which looked like a very furry beaver came over with a "Yup, yup! Coming, Mr. Chatot." Bidoof was a bit slow physically, but managed to get over to where they were pretty quick. Of course he was a bit winded, but, Layne barely took notice. "What did you want, Chatot?" he asked.

Chatot smiled and said, "These are the new guild recruits. I'd appreciate it if you took them and showed them around the town."

Bidoof nodded, and said, "Yes sir, Mr. Chatot! I will do just that!"

Chatot looked at Layne and Pyro, "I don't know if you've met Bidoof, but he's a fellow apprentice here, at the Guild. He'll show you around. Pay attention to him, and do as he says."

Layne and Pyro nodded, and watched Chatot leave.

Bidoof on the other hand, though his face was covered with fur, was most likely blushing up a storm. "Oh boy, I'm so overjoyed!"

Layne looked at Pyro with a bit of a confused look, and Pyro asked, "Why?"

Bidoof came clean about it. "I'm really glad to have members junior to me! I'm almost overcome right now. Sorry if I blubber with happiness." Layne looked at Pyro. Was this guy for real? Bidoof went on. "Before you both signed up, I was the Guild's most recent rookie, you see. And I've been wishing for new members to come soon, and well..." he sniffled in happiness again.

Layne chuckled, "Lovely story, but we do have work to do. And if that silly cheer we do in the morning teaches me anything, it's that you don't ditch out on work."

"You mean shirk work?" Pyro asked.

Layne sighed. "Same thing."

Bidoof nodded. "I'd best show you around. Please follow me."

They followed Bidoof outside the guild and walked past a few other guild members. A flower-type pokémon and a crawfish pokémon were going inside the guild. Layne had seen them around before, and if he remembered their names right, they were Sunflora and Corphish. They had met, and had a few small conversations, and got along reasonably well. Now that Layne thought about it, he got along almost reasonably well with every Guild pokémon, except Autumn. He still had no idea what her beef was with him, but he didn't ask. Bidoof however, did. "I don't mean to be nosy, no sir, but I saw you and Autumn's conflict yesterday."

Layne sighed, "Did you now?"

"What was it about? I didn't think I'd ever see Autumn in such a mood."

Layne shrugged and said, "I'm surprised that you're surprised you saw that. Ever since I've come here, she's been giving me some kind of dirt. No clue why. I've even tried to make amends. I'm just trying to forget it's even a problem."

Bidoof nodded and said, "She really is a nice pokémon, once you get to know her."

"I'd love that," Layne said popping his neck, "My question is, would she?"

They dropped it at that as they entered Treasure Town. The town was full of life, explorers from the guild were seen, young pokémon ran in play, and business was even being conducted, out of small shops which mainly consisted of small stands. Layne could not say, he was not impressed. This, was a very nice place. "Welcome to Treasure Town," Bidoof said. "This is the main square for the locals."

Pyro nodded, "I know my way around this town pretty well." he said smiling.

Bidoof seemed really relieved by that. "In order to prepare for an outlaw, I think you'd both better stop by Kecleon's Market."

Pyro smiled, and said, "You've been a good help. Thanks."

The Bidoof blushed again. "Golly, you're embarrassing me!"

Layne gave a small smile at that. At least the Guild members all held variety in personality. And that much he liked.

Pyro then smiled a bit embarrassed himself and said, "Sorry."

Bidoof shook his head, "Think nothing of it, yup, yup! I'll be back at the guild, waiting for you to help you pick your outlaw! Don't be wasting too much time now!" And with that, he left for the Guild.

Layne followed Pyro to the Kecleon Market. The Market was run by two pokémon, that if Layne had to describe, he'd say they were chameleons. There were two of them, one a light green, and the other, a dark purple. They were obviously passionate about their business and were eager to accept Layne and Pyro as customers. Normally this would have made Layne suspicious as to if their service was quality or not, but it didn't cross his mind.

"Welcome to our shop!" They both said in unison.

Pyro spoke up, "We're about to go on a mission, I'd just like to see what wares you have."

As Pyro conducted business with the two, two other pokémon ran up. It was obvious that they were related, as they resembled some species, though one looked a bit more grown up. "Misters Kecleon!" they said running up.

The Kecleons were happy to see them and smiled as they ran up. "Ah! Little Marrill and Azurill. How can we help you this fine day?"

The little one, asked, "May I please buy an apple?"

"Most certainly," the green Kecleon said, tossing them an apple as they placed money on their countertop.

The older one smiled, and said, "Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" As they ran off.

Layne wouldn't say he didn't get a little warm, seeing youth so happy. He didn't know why, but he felt happy in areas he hadn't before. Perhaps it was just him. The Kecleons sighed. "What a fine pair they are. A pair to be admired, yes."

Layne looked over, and asked, "What's their story?"

The purple Kecleon spoke up. "They're brothers. Recently, their mother fell ill, and they have taken up the responsibilities of taking care of her, which includes doing her shopping, and other work. As my brother said, they are to be admired."

It was then that they ran back, almost running into Layne had he not stepped out of the way.

"Misters Kecleon!"

They seemed a bit surprised at their sudden return. "What's the rush? Something the matter?"

The little one spoke up. "You gave us an extra apple. We didn't pay for this many."

Layne was a bit surprised. They weren't just taking up responsibility, but they were also being humble and honest. It was very impressive.

The green Kecleon smiled, "Do not worry, for that apple is a gift from my brother and I. Please share it amongst yourselves, and do enjoy it."

"Really?" the older one asked.

"Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" the younger one cheered.

"Not to worry." the green Kecleon said. "Do take care of yourselves on your way home."

They began to walk away. Layne smiled and crossed his arms. "Responsible, and honest. You don't see that too often in kids." Layne said as he watched them leave.

Pyro added in. "They are cute!" he said, smiling.

It was then that the little one tripped, dropping the apple. The Apple rolled down the road in front of Layne. Layne knelt down and picked up the apple and walked over to the young pokémon he only guessed was Azurill. Layne helped him up and asked, "You okay now?"

"Y-yes." the pokémon said. "Sorry to bother you."

"Don't worry about it." Layne said and gave the apple to Azurill.

"Thank you!" the pokémon said, and ran off to catch up with his brother. Layne chuckled and was about to say for him to slow down or he'd trip again, but he suddenly felt an oncoming head-rush. Layne felt very dizzy and had to lean against a nearby tree for support. Layne shut his eyes, as his world around him disappeared, and he suddenly heard Azurill scream, "H-h-h-help!"

Layne was then back in Treasure Town and suddenly lost balance. "What...was that...?" he asked himself out loud. He swore that he heard someone...no not someone. He heard Azurill scream for help. Pyro came over after seeing Layne lose balance and asked, "You okay, Layne?" Layne didn't reply. He was a bit shaken by what had just happened. "Layne? Layne, you okay?"

Layne looked at Pyro finally and said, "Pyro, tell me you heard that."

"Tell you I heard what?"

"A shout!" Layne said, a bit frantic. "A call, shout for help! Just now!"

Pyro slowly shook his head, "Uhhh no. I didn't hear anything like that."

Layne shook his head. "I could have sworn, I just heard something like that."

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" Pyro asked.

"No, I didn't. I heard a call for help. A rather panicked voice. And if I had to guess on who it was, I'd say it sounded a lot like Azurill."

Pyro smiled, "Listen to yourself."

Layne was a bit annoyed, "Pyro look, I-" He sighed, and breathed. "Forget it. Perhaps the heat is getting to me."

Pyro looked at Layne, and then said, "Okay. We better get back to the Guild."

Layne nodded. "Bounty hunting time."

Pyro shuddered a bit, "Please don't say that."

Layne chuckled a bit and they began to head back for the guild. As they started out, they again ran into the brothers they had just met, only with another pokémon. They both seemed very happy and very excited, and that got their attention. Pyro smiled as they walked by them and stopped, "Hey boys! What's going on?"

The older brother looked over and smiled. "Mr. Drowzee here said he spotted an item that we lost a while back, and said he'd help us find it! Thank you Mr. Drowzee!"

The Drowzee was a bit, shady, but said, "Please. It's nothing."

Pyro smiled and said, "That's great news for you!"

Layne shrugged and smiled. "Good on you...Drowzee."

"It's cold to ignore kids in need." he simply said, giving a not-so-comfortable look at Layne. He then looked at the brothers, "Shall we begin our search?"

They both said, "Yup!" and walked by Layne and Pyro. Drowzee was in slow following, and bumped into Layne on his way out. Layne shook his head, and was about to say something when the sudden head-rush returned again. "Again? What's going on?" he thought to himself.

Pyro was talking about how nice the Drowzee pokémon was, but Layne wasn't listening. His vision blurred, Layne got on all fours. He no longer saw the ground. His eyes glazed in a light blue.

Layne was no longer standing in Treasure Town's square, but instead, he stood on a mountain path. He looked around, and suddenly spotted Drowzee, and Azurill. Where was Marill, and why did Azurill look so frightened, simply looking at Drowzee?

"If you keep making this trouble, it will just mean big trouble for you!" Drowzee said in a rather threatening voice.

It was then that Azurill gave the familiar call, "H-h-h-help!"

Layne then saw the ground again. He was on all fours. Pyro was at his side. "Layne? Come on, man, speak to me!" Pyro spoke up.

Layne sat down, and just looked as if he'd seen a ghost. What was happening with him? He never had this happen to him before!

Pyro saw Layne's expression, and asked, "Layne...this is the second time you've gone out like that today. Perhaps you should drink some water." Pyro said, offering some that he had gotten at the Kecleon Marketplace.

Layne took a sip and said, "Pyro, we need to stop those boys from going with Drowzee."

"What? Why?"

"A gut feeling...I don't know." Layne said, recalling the vision. "I don't think letting them go with that Drowzee guy was a wise thing to do."

Pyro shook his head, "No, Layne you're not hearing me. You're acting paranoid! Why should we go stop them?"

Layne sighed. "Do you remember when I asked you if you heard a scream?"

Pyro nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

Layne looked up after drinking again. "I heard a scream. From Azurill, not five minutes ago. I don't know why no one else heard it, but I heard it. And just now, when I just went into another...whatever it was, I saw Drowzee standing in front of Azurill, threatening him. Pyro...I can't remember this ever happening to me before!"

Pyro was listening. "Perhaps this is a clue to your past, Layne."

Layne shook his head, "Forget about my past for five minutes, I just saw something very disturbing! What are we going to do about it?"

"What do you say we do, Layne?" Pyro asked, crossing his arms.

Layne knew he was getting no where with this. "This could be an emergency! I say we go see if my vision meant anything!"

Pyro held his hands up. "Listen to yourself for a minute, Layne. Just listen. Take another drink and breath. Look, you're full of surprises, but...look it's not that I don't trust you or anything Layne, but-"

"But you don't trust me, I know." Layne said drinking some more water. "I understand."

"Well, it's just...Drowzee seemed like a rather nice pokémon, didn't he? They seemed happy to be doing what they were doing. Just having a good time." Layne sighed, and gave the water to Pyro. Pyro continued, "Plus, we're just Guild Apprentices. We can't just do whatever we want. This is a thing, that just can't be helped right now. Let's not keep Bidoof waiting."

Layne nodded, and they continued to the Guild. Layne could not keep his mind off the visions he had just had. Something at the back of his mind was screaming at him, but for reasons unknown to him. Why did he see what he saw?

Upon finding Bidoof at the Guild again, Bidoof lightened up. "This should be exciting for you both! You are both ready, yes?"

Pyro nodded, and Bidoof, said, "All righty! Let's set you up with an outlaw for booking!"

Pyro looked a bit uneasy again with the outlaw booking idea, but straightened up. Bidoof looked at the bulletin board, "Well out of this sorry bunch of lawbreakers, I'd pick..."

Pyro stepped in, "Please, don't pick someone too scary!"

Layne almost rolled his eyes, but then thought that an easier one would probably be the best choice for Pyro, and him. He was new to the whole thing after all. Bidoof nodded, and said, "I hear you on that, yup yup!"

As he turned back to the board, but as he did that, a voice said, "Stand clear!"

And with that, the board swung around, narrowly missing Layne and Pyro. When Layne looked back up, the board was completely empty.

Layne at first looked at Pyro and then to Bidoof, "Um, what just happened?"

Bidoof, said, "Oh, you haven't seen this yet? That's just the job listing getting updated. Both the job listing panel and outlaw notice boards are set on revolving panels. While flipped over, a pokémon who works here, named Dugtrio swaps old jobs out with newer ones. You've seen Dugtrio, correct?"

Layne thought for a second. "Isn't he the weird...Mushroom Kingdom guy?"

Pyro and Bidoof both looked at Layne? "Uhhh...Mushroom Kingdom?"

Layne shook his head, "Sorry, I don't know what's going on in my head...I just look at him and I see something weird..."

Pyro and Bidoof looked at each other and shrugged. Bidoof leaned in on Pyro and asked, "Uh...he always like this?"

Pyro shook his head, "He gets even weirder sometimes."

Bidoof spoke louder, "Well anyway, Dugtrio's job here is updating the job boards. He tunnels through the Guild and flips the panels over and updates the job listings. It's not noticed much, but without him, the Guild could not function. Yup yup! In fact, I think Dugtrio takes pretty big pride in his job."

Layne shrugged. "Whatever floats his boat."

Dugtrio's voice then called out, "Updating complete. Stand clear!"

The group turned back in time for the board to be flipped around, filled with new listings. Layne looked at Bidoof's eyes. Then looked at Pyro. Pyro looked a bit uneasy, and he was even trembling. Layne cocked his head. "Uh, Pyro? I know you're a bit uneasy with this, but try to relax. It's all a part of-"

Pyro interrupted. "Layne...upper right-hand corner."

Layne followed Pyro's gaze until he hit the poster. The poster with a bounty for...Drowzee.

Layne blinked. "Drowzee?"

Pyro's mood went to a tone of almost fear and anger. "He-he's a wanted criminal!"

Layne looked at Pyro, and popped his neck.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Pyro responded, "Nothing."

Bidoof interjected. "Uhh, what's going on?"

Layne turned around. "It's a very long story. Fill you in later, but Pyro and I need to run. Someone could be in serious danger."

"Let's go!" Pyro said, and they ran for the Guild entrance, leaving Bidoof in a bit of a shock as to what had just happened. They ran for the hatch, and who would Layne bump into yet again, but Autumn, who was returning from Treasure Town.

Autumn was obviously not too happy about this. "You got a real fond hobby of bumping into me-"

Layne climbed up the ladder after Pyro. "Not now, Autumn!" was all he said as he left her standing there.

As they ran out of the guild, Layne spoke up as they ran, "I hate to be the one who said, 'I told you so,' but-"

"Not now, Layne!" Pyro said. Layne was a bit surprised at that. He never heard such tone from Pyro before. Perhaps his confidence had found a speed boost suddenly.

They came to the bottom of he hill, and stopped to get a sense of direction. "Did you hear where they were going?" Pyro asked in worry.

Layne cursed, and said, "No such luck."

But luck had not completely left them. Because they heard a cry for help. It wasn't Azurill, but Marill. They started for him. Marill, upon seeing them, ran to them and said, "Thank Heavens! I need help!"

Layne knelt down, and said, "We know the story. Where did they go?"

"We went to look for our lost item together...but..."

"Where?" Layne said a bit more sharp, not to induce fear, but more to get an answer. If Azurill was in any danger, they had to act fast.

"F-follow me..." Marill said. With that, they broke into a run after Marill.

They followed Marill to a mountain, which wasn't that big, but, resembled what Layne saw in his vision. Pyro looked at Marill, and said, "You think they ran in this direction?"

Layne nodded, "They're here."

Pyro looked over, "Are you sure Layne? Mt. Bristle?"

Layne nodded, "Whatever the name, this is the place. It's that gut feeling."

Marill seemed confused by Layne, but said, "Please, find him! I'm counting on you!"

Layne nodded, and said, "We will not return until we find Azurill, safe and sound. You can count on us."

Pyro nodded, and said, "Let's get going, Layne!"

They ran on ahead, leaving Marill behind.

As they ran, Pyro looked at Layne. "I don't understand. How did you know this?" he asked.

Layne looked at him, and said, "I told you once, I simply saw it. Some vision or something."

"Vision? Those don't just come out of the blue, Layne. There's something missing here." he said as they stopped to get a sense of where they were going.

Layne looked over, "Yeah, you think? I'm not too knowing of it all here myself, Pyro. I have no clue why I even had these visions."

Pyro stopped to think for a moment. "Well, what were you doing when you saw the first vision?"

"The scream thing?" Layne asked, "Azurill had just tripped, and dropped his apple, and I went to help him up and gave his apple back to him. Then it happened."

Pyro said, "And what about the second one?"

"We were just talking with the brothers, nothing special."

Pyro was brainstorming like a supercomputer, when he said, "Drowzee! He bumped into you!"

Layne shrugged, "What's your point?"

Pyro said as they walked on, "Layne, don't you see? You've been in contact with items and pokémon!"

"So?" Layne shrugged. "I've been in contact with pokémon and items since I've been here. Nothing like this happened then. Something's not quite in the picture."

Pyro said, "Well, I think it's safe to assume that what you've been having, only happens if you come in contact with an item or pokémon. But we'll look more into this mystery later. Right now we have to find Azurill!"

The climb of Mt. Bristle was not so hard as it could have been. They soon came across a cave, and heard voices. They looked at each other and Pyro said, "Think they're in here?"

Layne sighed. "Only one way to find out."

They entered the cave, and as they entered, they became swallowed in darkness. The only light was the flame on Pyro's tail, and it wasn't much.

Layne tripped on something, and said, "Okay...Pyro is there anyway you can light up the cave maybe a bit more?" A sudden noise made Layne uneasy. "Like...now?"

Pyro heard it and before he could reply, the cave lit up and they were facing four other pokémon. One spider-like pokémon hung from the ceiling, while two rock pokémon came up from the ground. One simply stood in a very angry stance. Layne simply said, "I guess they're not in here..."

One of the rock pokémon charged Layne, and he jumped up, dodging it's attack. Pyro on the other hand, went after the spider, attacking with ember, defeating it almost instantly. Layne was getting attacked by both rock pokémon now. Pyro looked at him as he was using Sonicboom, which didn't seem to be helping him any. "Layne! Those pokémon are weak to-" It was then that Pyro got punched by the other pokémon, to the ground.

"Pyro! Hold on!" Layne said, and without thinking, he threw a punch at one of the rock pokémon.

There was a moment, before Layne withdrew his hand and shook it in pain. "What am I thinking? It's a rock!"

Layne tried to think of how else he could fight these pokémon. They had rock bodies! Physical attacks weren't going to do jack against them. Layne hadn't really used Water Gun since learning it. But how did he even access that power that time? It was almost like each move he knew had a different way of activating. He remembered Pyro's situation, and thought of water gun and aimed it at the nearest rock pokémon.

The rock pokémon cringed in pain and retreated out of the cave almost instantly. Layne smiled, "Have a thing for water, do they?" He looked at the other rock pokémon which gave a rather fearful look, and unleashed a massive water gun into the rock pokémon, knocking it into the wall out out for the count.

Pyro got up, rubbing his jaw. Layne came over and kept his eye on the pokémon. "You okay?"

"Yeah, careful. That Machop doesn't look too happy."

Layne breathed in and aimed a watergun at Machop, who simply blocked it with one of his arms. Layne sighed as he and Pyro stepped back, "Figures you don't have a thing with water." Layne said. Pyro looked around, and saw something. "Layne! Use sonicboom at the wall over there!"

Layne looked at him, "What will that do?"

"Just do it!"

Layne popped his neck, and did as Pyro told him. Doing so, shook the cavern wall, which made loose rock fall from the ceiling. Layne and Pyro ran out of the cave, as the cave collapsed. As they caught their breath, Layne saw something below.

"Pyro...follow me..."

Azurill and Drowzee walked up the path, and they came to a mountain wall. Azurill cocked his head and said, "Mr. Drowzee, it's a dead-end."

Drowzee nodded, and said, "I know, but it really isn't."

Azurill looked confused and asked, "Where is my lost item? You said it was up here."

Drowzee chuckled, and said, "Sorry, kiddo. Your item is far away from here."

Azurill looked even more confused. "Wait, what do you mean? Why are we here? And why is my big brother not yet with us? You said he would be with us soon!"

Drowzee shook his head. "Nope. He's not coming either. You don't get it. This whole thing, is a set-up. I tricked you into coming here."

Azurill was now showing fear. "What? Why?"

"Let's not dwell on that." Drowzee said. "There's a reason I brought you here. See that hole behind you?" Azurill looked at the hole, which looked rather small, but with a tight fit, he would fit in. "It is rumored, that inside that hole is a hidden trove of treasure. But as you can see, I'm far too big to fit in such a small hole. You on the other hand..."

Azurill looked a bit terrified.

Drowzee held up a hand, "Don't worry. Just do as I say, and I will make sure you leave this mountain, safe. Now go into that hole."

"But-"

"Do it!" Drowzee commanded. "And you start bringing out treasure!"

Azurill tried to break for it, but Drowzee caught him.

"Let go of me!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Drowzee said. "I said I'd take you out of here, when we're finished. If you keep making this trouble, it will just mean bigger trouble for you!"

Azurill, trembled and called out in a loud voice, "H-h-h-help!"

A voice called out then, "Your game's over, Drowzee!"

Drowzee turned around to see Layne and Pyro standing there. Layne popped his neck and said, "Stop harassing him, Drowzee. You're coming with us."

Drowzee was a bit shocked to see them here. "How did you find this place?"

Pyro simply said, "We're Team Hydro Pyro, and we're placing you under arrest!"

You're an exploration team?" Drowzee said, showing some fear.

Layne looked over. He was vastly improving his confidence...or was he?

Pyro as he spoke showed signs of trembling. Another drop in confidence for Pyro, which Layne could only do so much about. And Drowzee saw this too. "Wait. You're shaking. I already see what's going on." he said smugly. "You claim to be an exploration team, but look at you. You're novices. Rookies. You really had me going for a second there." Layne sighed. Another proud moment for Team Hydro Pyro. Drowzee continued. "I'm wanted. Yes. But what are you two gonna do about it?"

Layne gave a sharp look to Pyro. Pyro stopped and said, "We will bring you in! I won't let you talk us down like that!"

Layne smiled as Pyro regained at least some confidence. It was then Layne said, "You can just come quietly. You don't have to do this."

"There's no way I'm going anywhere with you." Drowzee said, his eyes beginning to glow. "Now show me what you've got."

WIth that, he launched an attack at the pair, involving a psychic blast of some sort, but Layne and Pyro jumped out of the way, Layne managed to fire a sonicboom attack at Drowzee, but it didn't do much. Drowzee just shook it off with a grin, and said, "Fun."

He went after Layne offering punch after punch. Layne who had experience in hand-to-hand combat blocked a good majority, and even threw a few of his own. Pyro was running in for an attack of his own, but as he launched an ember attack, he accidentally got Layne instead of Drowzee, as Drowzee jumped out of the way.

Layne danced on his feet for a few seconds, before Drowzee knocked him straight in the head, delivering a blow that knocked Layne out for the count, leaving just him Pyro and him. Drowzee chuckled. "Your buddy put up more a fight than I expected. I doubt you'll do any better."

Pyro shook his head. "I won't let you insult me, or the team!"

"Commendable, but foolish." Drowzee said. "You barely know-"

It was then that Azurill unexpectedly joined the fight, and jumped on Drowzee's face. "Take this, you big bully!" he screamed, bashing his head again and again into Drowzee's face, before being thrown off in anger.

"You little pipsqueak!"

Pyro had seized that opportunity to charge up a powerful ember attack, which distracted Drowzee, and while he was distracted, Pyro jumped and spun around, using his tail as a whip, which got Drowzee in the side of the head. Drowzee flew straight into a boulder and went down for the count. Pyro did not believe he just did that. Azurill saw it and said, "Wow! Where did you learn to do that?"

Pyro shrugged and smiled, "I look to my partner for most of those moves, I guess." Then he remembered, "Oh my gosh! Layne!"

He ran over to Layne who was still down, and poured some water into his mouth. Layne sat up, coughing a little of the water out, and said, "Pyro...your fire attacks are hot...literally."

Pyro sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Sorry about that."

Layne looked around and spotted Drowzee. "How'd that happen?"

Azurill came over and said, "Pyro knocked him flat! Ka-boom!"

Layne gave a surprising look to Pyro, "'Ka-boom,' really?"

Azurill nodded, "Knocked him flat!"

Layne looked at Pyro, "Didn't know you had it in you."

"I didn't either." Pyro said.

Layne then looked at Azurill. "Are you okay? Your brother's been very worried."

Azurill nodded, and said, "I'm okay."

Pyro smiled and said, "That's quite a relief. Shall we get you home?"

Azurill seemed only too fond of that idea.

Layne frowned and then said, "What about him?" beckoning over to Drowzee.

It was then that three pokémon appeared, all which resembled strong magnets. Two of them came and apprehended Drowzee who was starting to come to, while the one in charge came over to Layne and Pyro. "I am Officer Magnezone, primary officer of this region. We were alerted by Marill that his brother was in danger here. I assume you are the two explorers he talked about."

Layne and Pyro nodded. "We're Team Hydro Pyro." Pyro said.

"You are to be commended for apprehending this outlaw." Magnezone said. "He has been on the run for weeks now. We owe you a great deal of thanks for your cooperation. Return to your guild, and we will personally see to it, you are rewarded for this capture."

Layne nodded, and beckoned to Azurill. "We'll drop Azurill off with his brother while we head back."

Magnezone nodded and said, "Travel safely."

The other magnet officers then said, "Let's get going," to Drowzee, who couldn't bear to look at Layne or Pyro in the face.

As Layne and Pyro finally caught a glimpse of the Guild on the hill in the setting sun, they saw Marill, who was running to them, almost in tears. Azurill saw this, and ran to him as well.

Layne stopped and just watched. His heart suddenly felt warm by the whole thing. Azurill burst out into tears, "Oh Marill! I was so scared!"

"Are you okay, Azurill?" Marill said in worry.

Layne approached with Pyro and said, "He wasn't hurt, he's probably just shaken. In fact, if his story is true, he took one bold leap of faith today."

Marill looked at Azurill, then back at Layne, "Really?"

Pyro nodded, "He was really a good help. It's so nice to see you happy to be together again!"

Marill looked at Layne and Pyro and said, "You did this for us. We won't easily forget what you did."

Layne shrugged and said, "As long as you're both safe, that's all that matters to me. You both...remind me of something I've been looking for..."

"What's that?" Marill asked.

Layne shook his head, "I don't know if I'll be able to think of it off the top of my head, but simply looking at you, warms me up."

Marill nodded, and said, "Thank you again, Pyro and Layne."

Pyro nodded and said, "Travel home, safe!"

As they walked home, Layne crossed his arms. "Well...we're certainly going to get chewed at by Chatot."

Pyro looked at him as they continued walking. Layne said, "Well we kinda just ran out of the guild, blindly. Bidoof was supposed to choose an outlaw for us."

Pyro sighed, "Well, we certainly got ourselves an outlaw, didn't we? He should at least credit us for that."

"And I'll most likely get chewed out by Autumn again," Layne said, stopping to get a look at the ocean.

Pyro walked over to him. "You like the sight, don't you."

Layne shrugged, "There's something about the ocean that just relaxes me. Helps me wind down. Gives me hope that a better day is coming." Off in the distance, thunder roared and lightning flashed. "Think that storm will hit us?" Layne asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did." Pyro said, "But before that happens, could we get to the guild? I hate rain."

Layne chuckled, and said, "That's understandable. Plus I'd rather not miss another dinner."

Upon entering the guild, Chatot flew over to them. "We just received message of your success at capturing Drowzee! I must say, well done, Team! Well done!"

Layne gave a little open eyes look and said, "Oh yeah. One less outlaw to worry about."

Chatot chirped, "Officer Magnezone dropped by and gave the guild the reward. Here is your share!"

Chatot dropped a little more money in Layne's bag, which was around Layne's shoulder. Pyro once again seemed a bit upset at such a small share, but Layne gave him that look of "please don't start that again."

Chatot disappeared downstairs, and Layne sighed. "Well at least he didn't chew us out. I guess Bidoof said we just went after Drowzee. Always a good thing, I guess."

Bidoof, on the other side of the room came over and said, "We all heard of your success! Your team is to be admired, accomplishing something like that, almost just like that!"

Layne looked a bit surprised. Everyone knew? He guessed Chatot would talk about that.

Pyro smiled. "We managed to rescue Azurill." He then looked at Layne, "And it was all because of you Layne. Your vision forewarned of of Drowzee."

Bidoof looked confused and asked, "Vision?"

Layne was a bit on the spot here, and said, "Nothing Bidoof."

He then pulled Pyro aside, "Could we lay off on the vision thing? I don't feel comfortable with it, and I most certainly won't feel comfortable if others know of it. I don't want to become an oracle."

"Sorry." Pyro said, chuckling. "But it is all thanks to you, Layne, that Azurill is safe. I'm sorry I held doubt in you Layne."

Layne shook his head and smiled, "Think nothing of it, Pyro. I still can't explain it, all but, I guess those answers will come in time." Pyro's stomach then growled. Layne smiled and said, "I can see, someone's hungry."

As he said that, his stomach, also let out a small growl. Pyro smiled and said, "Why don't we hit the mess hall?"

Layne smiled as thunder roared outside. "I couldn't agree more."

It was then that Autumn entered the room. She always had a thing of entering the room at the best moments. She walked over, and did not look at all happy to see him in the room. "You gonna bump into me again?"

Layne looked at Pyro. "Why don't you go to the mess hall? I'll be there shortly."

Pyro looked at Layne and said, "Don't do anything stupid, Layne, please."

"Pyro, I won't. It's just another attempt to make amends." Layne said, sighing.

Pyro looked unsure, but went downstairs. Layne crossed his arms as Autumn walked over. "Look, Autumn...I still fail to see why we're at each other's throats. I'm sorry about this afternoon. Pyro and I were in a hurry to-"

"Catch Drowzee, the outlaw. I know." she said annoyed.

Layne said, "Look, I need to ask you something." Thunder roared outside. "What is it about me exactly that irritates you so much? I don't see what the big deal is."

"It's none of your business." she said.

"No, it is." Layne said, perhaps growing a bit angry. "I need to know what I can do, to get you to at least say, 'I have no beef with you, Layne.' So what is the big deal?"

Autumn sighed and said, "Look, I have had a long day, and you demanding explanations isn't going to make it any shorter. So please...shove off."

Autumn then left for her crew room. Layne was about to say something, but just sighed. "Sleep well." he said and went down to the mess hall.

The storm outside was indeed hitting Treasure Town and the guild hard. Pyro could barely sleep with the constant flashes of lightning, Pyro watched it from their crew window, and said, "Man that lightning is intense tonight!"

Layne, who was trying to sleep, said, "Tell me about it..." in a very tired voice.

Pyro came over to his bed, and said, "It's gonna be a long storm night for us."

Layne nodded and said, "Mhmmm..."

Pyro then lit up. "Wait a minute! The night before we met, Layne."

"What about it?"

"There was a big storm that night too!" Layne listened, and tried to remember anything of that night, but couldn't remember anything. "I found you out cold the next day on the beach. Do you possibly remember anything?"

"Layne looked at the ceiling of the room, and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I think...I think I recall the storm...but...No. I can't remember anything."

Pyro looked a little dismayed, but smiled and said, "We'll find out about something soon enough. We can't expect this to be easy. But we'll take baby steps, Layne. We'll figure it all out soon."

Layne sighed and shuddered. "I just hope the guild holds up. I got a bad feeling about it all."

"How so?"

Layne held his goggles, remembering what the Guildmaster said they did. "I'm starting to think these things, really work. I just have a very uncomfortable feeling right now about somewhere in this guild."

"Try not to dwell on it, Layne. The storm will pass soon."

"Hmm."

"I've also been thinking of your vision. The whole thing, Layne it has to connect somehow. I don't know of any other pokémon who dreams the future, and I've never heard of a human turning into a pokémon before, either. Do you think there's a connection?"

"Possibly..." Layne said.

"What was it like, as a human, Layne?"

"If I had any memory of recalling it, Pyro, I'd love to talk about it."

"You must have been good. That dream helped us catch an outlaw."

"I don't see how that relates to anything," Layne said, "But that reminds me. Chatot said something about time going out of whack. What's this all about?"

"Oh that?" Pyro asked, then said, "Time is getting messed up, bit by bit, all over the world, and no one knows why. There are several theories, but most seem to revolve around the Time Gears."

"Time Gears...I felt like I've heard that somewhere before..."

"Really?"

Layne focused but once again came up empty. "You were saying?"

"Time Gears, they say, are hidden around the world. In various places, forests, lakes, deserts...I've heard of one possibly being in a volcano. Time Gears serve a very important function. They protect time, and keep time flowing properly in their region. I don't know what happens if one stops working or something, but...who really does know? One can only wonder what happens..."

Layne sighed, and closed his eyes. He heard Pyro drift to sleep, and he felt he needed to do the same as well...

The rain was pouring. Lightning flashed overhead. Not a pokémon was active in this weather, say for one. A pokémon in shadow was running. He was very near his goal. He could feel it in his bones! He jumped a river and landed in a small pond. At the center of that pond...was what he came here for.

"I finally found it..." he said, in awe. "I finally found the first Time Gear. The first...of many."

He bent down, and grabbed the Time Gear. The area around him began to turn gray and dark at a frightful speed. He looked around painfully as if stuck by memory, and said. "Time's stopped. I must hurry..."

With that, he leaped out of the pond and broke into a run. He needed to continue on...