I've passed 200,000 words! AH!

And at twenty chapters in I FINALLY get to write the scene that inspired this entire story :D

I've been looking forward to this. Beware the ending authors note though, I ramble on for ages.

Torches crackling with flame flickered as a door was pushed open. A gust of cold wind breathed into the warm room and caused a few pokémon to shiver as the air kissed the backs of their necks.

Spinda smiled at the newcomer, wobbling to the bar to serve the newest customer. A shaggy furred arcanine.

Any interest in the arcanine was soon lost as the patrons of Spinda's Café returned to their individual entertainments.

A murkrow and shuppet discussed the huge quake Treasure Town had felt earlier that day, someone had braved the journey to the guild to ask why Wigglytuff had blown his top. They had returned with a frown on their face and no answers.

Vigoroth and Spoink chatted amiably, already moved through the important topics and avoiding the last one.

A passimian juggled a trio of balls for his friends while a barbaracle shared some gossip with multiple exeggcute. "Did you hear that another Time Gear went missing?" she asked, voice much louder then necessary and easily carrying to the whole room.

A trio of poochyena paused from their mutual discussion with a houndour to look up.

A charmander stopped laughing with a mr. mime to stare.

Wynaut dropped their drink and Spinda didn't trip over.

"That's right," Wobbuffet said without her usual energy and the eyes of the patrons began moving from Barbaracle to Wobbuffet.

"Another Time Gear?" Yamper barked. "Another-another? How?"

"I heard Team Ion stumbled across it," a voice grumbled, and a few eyes turned to the sableye speaker in question. "In the Northern Desert. But it's gone now."

"That's the fourth one taken!" Ursaring yelled, stomping his feet. Teddiursa tried to shush him but had to catch his drink instead. "And the third one Team Ion have lost. How do they keep losing them?"

Voices all began to speak up and individual sentences were lost in the hubbub of the crowd.

"Boulder Quarry!"

"Fogbound Lake too!"

"-rthern Desert had one? And it's already gon-?"

Spinda fell into damage control mode and began serving out free drinks. Non-alcoholic of course. But his attempts calmed few pokémon and more than a few stray paws, feet, or other body parts accidentally smacked into the unsteady pokémon, knocking him down him multiple times, prompting Wynaut to rush to the owners side.

"Spinda? Are you okay?" Wynaut pulled him up and away from some of the rowdier pokémon.

"I'm… fine…" Spinda answered, bracing against Wynaut to regain his balance. "Just got to keep at it."

"No-no." Wynaut pulled him back from the bar and towards the recycling side of Spinda's Café. "You've done enough."

"They are still arguing," Spinda replied, trying to pull himself free. Wynaut gave him a flat look and he stopped the half-hearted tugs.

"Catch your breath," Wynaut ordered, straightening their back. "I'll handle this."

Wynaut clapped their featureless head-arms together loudly before bellowing. "QUIET!"

Their sheer volume staggered the arguments and the room quickly fell quiet. "Okay, thank you." Wynaut smiled serenely. "Return to your discussions, at a calm rate however. Spinda's Café is a safe place and anyone who leaves others feeling unsafe will be asked to leave. Carry on."

They hopped back to their table with Wobbuffet and Spinda smiled gratefully at the two before wandering back to his mixing area.

As Wynaut had permitted, the crowd was still discussing the Time Gears and Team Ion, but no one was shouting. A few voices were raised, but the offenders were shushed quickly lest Wynaut descend upon them.

"Team Ion saved my daughter," a pokémon enclosed with purple feathers snarled lowly to Ursaring. "Don't you dare accuse them of something as heinous as stealing a Time Gear."

Ursaring exchanged a worried look with Teddiursa before nodding. "Right. I was even… yes. I don't know what I was thinking. Crowd hysteria, but that's no excuse."

Cherrim nodded and let Ursaring continue his drink with Teddiursa, the smaller bear-pokémon frowning up at the larger one.

Quietly, a sableye left Spinda's Café and melted into the night.

Without Rai's hyperactive behaviour waking him up well before sunrise, Sean had expected to have a nice sleep in until Corphish or Loudred came to assault either his nose, he insisted he had one, or his ears.

Instead, Sean woke up at the time Rai was usually shaking him with the feeling of something missing. He tossed and turned but couldn't get comfortable. Mane snoozed peacefully, but there was no soft speech of a smiling shinx to start Sean's day strongly.

Sean did not sleep in. He couldn't sleep. He laid there with eyes closed but mind very much awake and aware that Rai was not there until the vague sounds of movement gave him excuse to get up.

"Mane?" Sean padded over to the litleo. "Mane?" He wasn't sure if she should shake the Fire-type, or just continue repeating his name. He decided on the latter. "Mane? Mane? Mane? Mane? Mane?"

Mane growled and rolled over. Sean tried again. "Mane?"

The litleo made another sound of protest before sighing and rolling back. "What?" he demanded, cracking his eyes open blearily.

"We have to get up," Sean answered, and Mane sighed, rolled back. The meowth frowned and crossed his arms, but Mane could not see that, and he dropped the stern expression. "Come on. I let you sleep in."

"More like you're too used to getting up at that maniacs time," Mane muttered before groaning and rolling onto his feet. "Fine. Fine. You owe me for this."

Watching him blink sleep out of his eyes, Sean gave him a raised look. "More like you owe me for not receiving a corphish-claw to the nose. Trust me, not fun." He rubbed his face as Mane scoffed.

"You don't even have a nose."

"I DO TOO!"

"You are so easy to rile up," Mane laughed as they joined the morning assembly. "Shinx too. It's so cute."

Sean glared at him for using his own cute antagonism against him, but Mane just stuck his tongue out. Chatot called for attention and they put the mornings dealings behind them.

Mane zoned out what Chatot was rambling on about and Sean, although he'd never admit it, found his attention wandering as well.

His thoughts went to Dusknoir seeping up from the ground like a creeper the last night, before he was distracted by the cold, salty, breeze wafting in from the broken window. This led to Sean dwelling on Wigglytuff's episode the previous night.

"I know the Yoom-Tah is powerful but that shook the whole cliff and probably the town too."

He resolved, once more, to never get on Wigglytuff's bad side. An idea that seemed worse then ever judging by Wigglytuff's reaction to Grovyle stealing Time Gears.

Chatot eventually stopped fluffing around and reluctantly got to the point. "I am afraid that, as of this time, we do not have a plan to catch Grovyle."

He braced for a wave of complaints, and the guild didn't deliver.

"It SUCKS!" Loudred said. "But we ONLY learned last night."

"He's right," Sunflora agreed, giving Chatot a thankful smile. "You both, and Dusknoir too, have been working so hard. We don't expect all the answers to happen in one night. You deserve a chance to breathe too."

"Yup-yup, it's thanks to your leadership that we got this far in the first place."

"Everyone." Wigglytuff beamed as Chatot had to turn around to compose himself. He smiled at the silly bird thinking he had to hide emotion and gave him a hug. Chatot squawked in protest but didn't struggle. "Thank you for still believing in us!" he said through the feathers on his face. "We will find that no-gooder Grovyle and learn why he's doing this. I decree it by the name of the Wigglytuff Guild. Yoom-TAH!"

The guild jumped, but only a little, before giving a small cheer.

Once Chatot had collected himself, and Wigglytuff stopped hugging him, he turned back to finish speaking. "As of right now we still have work as a guild to do, so we simply ask you to resume your daily work. There will be new strategies planned soon, but the work of the guild remains important. Help your fellow pokémon. That is all."

Wigglytuff coaxed another cheer out of the guild and everyone went their separate ways in order to start their days.

"Team Ion?" Chatot called as Sean and Mane began eying the path to the medical wing. "A moment. Please."

Sean dutifully trotted up to Chatot, but Mane took some time by dragging his feet. "With the various jobs the guild has been going on, plus the matter of payment towards those assisting us, we haven't had anyone to take a look at the larder in some time. Would one of you be able to take a quick look before heading off?"

"No problem," Sean said, and Mane gave him a look. "I've done it before," he explained, and Mane shrugged.

"Whatever." The litleo glanced to the entrance to the upper floor. "You want me to go into town then?"

"The two of you still have a job to do," Chatot said, sternly. "With your third member still in care, it would likely be wise to take a simple job today. But even simple jobs require some preparation."

"I'll meet you at Spinda's Café," Sean said, and Mane nodded.

"Sure. I'll just give a word to Shinx."

With that, the litleo departed. He poked his head into the medical wing and roused Rai from his sleep, before going off with Rai's directions on what to buy.

Chatot nodded to Sean and let him go off to do his thing.

The bird had only asked for a quick look, but Sean was loathed to leave a job shoddily done and he took a few minutes longer then he had planned. Once everything had been scratched down, he trotted off to the medical wing.

"Good morning, Rai," Sean said brightly, poking his head in first before following through with the rest of his body.

The shinx was sitting around, looking put out and rather bored, but he lit up and beamed upon seeing Sean. "Morning Sean!"

The door clicked behind him as Sean took another look around the room he was getting to know to a distressing degree. Chimecho had put up sheets to dry, that was nice.

He briefly looked around, but his eyes were quickly trained on Rai. Bandaged again, the sight was something he didn't like. "I thought I'd check in and see how you were going," Sean said, taking a seat on the bed beside Rai.

"My back's itchy," Rai said, and Sean immediately reached over. Rai smirked at him but leaned into his touch. "And the cut's not fantastic. Luckily, Chimecho doesn't think it's anything too bad. Fur might be a bit thinner there though."

Sean's smile dropped and he leaned in closer to admire the bandages. Chimecho had already replaced the previous ones, he had heard her grumbling about running low on bandages this morning, and thankfully there was no sign of blood coming through.

"Well good," he said, leaning back to find Rai very quiet. "What about… how it happened?"

Rai's expression twisted into a frown and he roughly shook his head. "I'm angry. But…" he sighed. "I kinda feel… numb to it. I'm mad, but mostly just shocked that it was Grovyle all along. He seemed so nice, but I guess you can't really judge that so quickly, huh?"

Not really wanting to reinforce that, Sean just listened until Rai expected a response. "We'll find out exactly why he's doing this," the meowth said, nodding firmly.

Rai frowned slightly, and Sean wanted to call it cute to annoy him, but Rai spoke before he could decide. "You said Grovyle claimed he knew you, right?"

Sean's heart gave a jump and he thought wildly for a second before simply nodding. "Y-yeah. But he probably was mistaken." He shrugged. "I don't know him anymore then I know Mane."

Nodding slightly, Rai asked. "But what exactly did he say that night? I mean… he wanted to see you alone, I could tell he was trying to make me leave. If he thought he knew you, why couldn't he say that to both of us?"

Sean swallowed and tossed a dismissive paw. "Well he clearly didn't want you to figure… something out." Sean withheld the urge to cringe, this was sounding very bad. Trying to pull things back on track without digging himself into another hole, Sean said. "He just said that he thought he recognised me from somewhere. Asked me a couple questions, about what I like and stuff. I dunno, of course, so I just told him that I-"

"Have amnesia?" Rai said seriously, and Sean nodded. It wasn't really a lie after all. "So, he probably could have been trying to use you. Make you think he's your friend."

Sean nodded. "That makes sense." He gave Rai a puzzled look. "What's with the insistence? I don't think he's in the right here. I'm on your side Rai, not his."

Rai smiled and Sean noticed his shoulders relaxing a bit. "I'm just being silly," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Getting into my own head. Sorry."

Relaxing himself, Sean waved him off. "Don't stress yourself. You're in bed. Relax and take a calm day for once."

Rai giggled softly and gave him a fond look. "Relax? Me?"

Shaking his head affectionately, Sean stood up. "I probably shouldn't keep Mane waiting," he sighed, looking back to the door.

"This'll be your first time with just him, huh?" Rai said quietly. "L-look, uh… before you go, I have a couple of things I'd like to say."

Sean looked back from the door to find Rai fidgeting. "What's up?" he asked when it became clear Rai wasn't going to speak until given a prompt.

Fluttering between a mix of guilt and nerves, Rai began to speak quickly. "Last night I was talking to Dusknoir and we got to talking and he was really nice, and he cheered me up about Grovyle and had some advice for me and he said he knows you AND Grovyle and he offered to help, and he told me about you, and he asked me for your name, and I might have told him."

Sean blinked as Rai took a needy breath. "Huh?"

"And, uh…" Rai's nose began to go pink as the yellow in his ears began to go orange. "W-we've known each other f-for a long time, and we've been amazing friends since then." His blush deepened. "But I was wondering i-if you-"

"You told Dusknoir?" Rai's earlier words clicked with him and the shinx snapped his mouth shut. "You… you… told him." Sean blinked several times, but things weren't clearing up. "About me. Is that… is that right?"

It was strange. He couldn't feel his toes. He didn't have toes. His claws were itchy. Rai was saying something.

"Y-yes." The shinx was grimacing and fidgeting more. A paw rubbed against his bandage. "But he explained everything to me," he insisted. "You and he were close friends before you lost your memory, but the last time you saw each other you left on an argument, so he said that might be why you have a lingering dislike or distrust of him and-"

"You promised," Sean cut in and Rai fell silent, staring at Sean. The meowth was blinking a lot and shaking his head slightly. "You promised me you wouldn't say anything to him. Just a few days ago you promised me that! And you broke that promise? Already!?"

Rai flinched back as Sean's voice rose. "L-look, I'm sorry but Dusknoir-"

"I don't CARE what Dusknoir had to say to you in order to make you tell him that!" Sean snapped, beginning to pace. "I asked you to keep ONE secret from ONE person and you go straight to that person and tell them! What the hell Rai? I've only trusted YOU with this secret and you break it just like that?"

He pointed a claw at a stunned Rai. "I trusted you Rai! Why would you tell him?" Rai's expression began to change. "What could he possibly say that would mean more then 'Let me tell who I want in time'? Couldn't you have at least-"

"Trusted me?" Rai cut through Sean's tirade with a sharpness unusual for him. He had stopped flinching and a storm of anger was crossing his face. "You trust me," he repeated, meeting Sean's eyes. "You say that. You've said that before. But that's a lie."

Sean gaped for a moment, mind stuttering as he tried to form a response. "Excuse me?" Was all he managed.

Rai bent his head, taking a few heavy breaths before glaring up at Sean. "You say you trust me, but you don't tell me anything. If you trusted me, you'd tell me why about Dusknoir. If you trusted me, you wouldn't lie to my face all the time!"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Sean demanded angrily. Rai stood in bed and jumped off, coming face to face with him.

"Drowzee," he said softly, and Sean's breath hitched. "You knew he was a bad guy, but you lied to me when I asked. There was no wanted poster until AFTER we left the guild. How did you know that he was an outlaw?"

"Th-the vibe of the guy. He was obviously some sort of pred-"

"If THAT'S the reason, why couldn't you just say that then?"

"We barely knew each other back then," Sean snarled back, forcing some space between them and ignoring the heavy feeling in his chest. "I had to be sure Azurill would be alright. It didn't matter what I said, even if I was wrong, as long as they were okay."

"Fine." Rai spun around and began pacing himself. "What about Boulder Quarry? You just figured out the right path as soon as we'd tried the other two, and THEN you just knew Ditto was the chest."

"I have intuition," Sean defended. "Did you even see Bellossom and the other not-shinx's face?"

"Well WHY didn't YOU just SAY that EARLIER!" Rai shouted, angry tears beginning to prick his eyes. "How hard is it to say what you mean rather than hiding everything?"

Sean grabbed his own head in frustration. "How hard is it to NOT go and tell someone a secret you were asked to keep?" he demanded, and Rai snarled.

"This isn't about me." He stomped a foot. "What about Mane and the Perfect Apple?" Rai demanded, angry tears beginning to grow visible. "He just happened to have a Perfect Apple just lying around? No." Rai shook his head violently, sparks popping off his fur. "I asked him the other day about that, and he told me that you specifically sent him to get one the day BEFORE we were sent to Apple Woods. BEFORE Team Skull ate the other ones."

"Stop changing the subject, Rai." Sean's voice reached a decibel just below yelling. "You've never asked about this and I don't have to tell you anything. I. ASKED. YOU. To keep a promise. Not implied, not suggested, but I asked for your word to keep it and you gave it. Then you broke it."

"What about Fogbound Lake?" Rai asked, ignoring Sean's rebuttal completely. "You found the way to Steam Cave. But even ignoring that, you knew the Groudon wasn't real even though it kicked you away. How is that even possible? It knocked you flying, and you just knew it was an illusion. HOW?"

"We knew there was a powerful Psychic-type around," Sean shot back. "And you're doing it again. Stop ranting at me and explain why you thought telling Dusknoir was a good idea after YOU PROMISED TO KEEP IT!"

"At least he was willing to tell me SOMETHING," Rai yelled back, sparks getting dangerously close to hitting Sean's fur. "Without covering everything up and pretending like he isn't."

Sean snorted bitterly at that, ignoring the angry tears in his own eyes. "You think he's telling you anything that wasn't just to use you?"

"WELL HOW DO I KNOW?" Rai screamed. "NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING. IF YOU'RE TRYING TO PROTECT ME THEN I DON'T WANT TO BE PROTECTED."

"You are NOT entitled to hearing everything you want." Sean turned away from Rai to catch his breath without having to look at him. He turned around once he was ready, rubbing his face. "Rai it's not like I…"

"What about the fact that I had to talk you into telling me what Grovyle said?" Rai growled, stomping back into Sean's space and butting his head right into Sean's face. "Do you really think I can't tell when you have something more to say but you don't say it? I can tell Sean. I always can tell but I don't ask what it is because I trust you. But you don't trust me. You don't. You don't. You don't."

Rai finally stopped, backed away, and refusing to face Sean; instead busied himself by burying his face into the side of the bed to take some very rough breaths. Sean stared at the heavy-breathing shinx in a mixture of horror and overwhelming, crushing, guilt. But he was still upset himself. "You promised me you wouldn't tell Dusknoir."

"Why?" Rai asked, voice muffled by the bed. "Why can't you just tell me why?"

"I asked for your trust," Sean said, already so tired of this day. Tears were burning his eyes and he rubbed his face with the back of his paw. "You never asked me about those other things."

"Would you have even told me if I'd brought all this up then?"

Sean sighed and Rai gave a weak snort.

Rai could tell. Of course he could tell. Sean wanted to pull his own fur out or scratch himself or something to distract from this leaden pit that had sunken into his stomach. He had agonised over the guilt of lying for so long that he hadn't even considered the possibility that the one he was lying to could tell.

All Sean wanted to do was hug Rai and apologise again and again. Seeing his brave and feisty partner muffle his cries was heartbreaking and he couldn't help but think. "Why did I do this?"

"Well are you going to tell me anything?" Rai asked, pulling himself out of bed and facing Sean.

Sean stared at him in a mixture of sadness and apprehension. "I'm going," he said, turning around. "I need to think."

Rai scoffed, voice growing bitter again. "Fine."

"Rai."

"No," he snapped, looking away from Sean. "Just go. I don't want to talk to you anymore if you aren't going to tell me anything."

Sean set his jaw and physically pulled the words he wanted to say back. Instead of saying that Rai did not deserve to know just because he wanted to, he instead said. "I'll see you when I get back. Rai… I-"

"Excuse me?" Chimecho asked, popping her head into the room from the door she had just opened.

Sean nearly bit his tongue when they were interrupted. Chimecho shot a guilty look in as both Sean and Rai met her intrusion with furious expressions. "I am really sorry to interrupt your… uh... This." Chimecho refused to look either one of them in the face. "But we got word ten minutes ago and I've held off telling you because you both probably needed… this. But… are you done with the yelling?"

Rai nodded while Sean still fumed over the interruption. "We are kind of still talking," Sean said as politely as he could. He had one last thing he wanted to add. Not polite enough, clearly, as Chimecho gave him a warning look.

"Be that as it may, a town meeting has been announced. It's got the highest priority I've seen, and absolutely everyone has to come unless they physically can't." She looked to Rai. "I'm going to exercise healer rights, and have you remain here Shinx. Meowth, you have to come."

"Understood," Sean said quietly. He walked out the door, pausing in the hall when he noticed Chimecho didn't follow immediately.

Chimecho's expression softened slightly. "It won't take too long. But I think it'll do the two of you good to take a few breaths. Get some fresh air, Meowth. Shinx, you have to get back into bed. You'll be able to continue this lo… discussion later."

Sean huffed when Chimecho gave Rai a few quiet words that he couldn't make out. He could see Rai nodding and Chimecho finally floating out.

"Get some rest," she ordered, closing the door behind her. "Meowth, come. The two of us were supposed to be gone five minutes ago, but I've given you all the time I could. We have to go now."

Sean walked after her, stiff-backed and quietly fuming. He knew he shouldn't be quite so angry. Rai had good points that were going to torment him through the day. However, it didn't change the fact that he had broken his promise.

Right now he was too mad to plan around how he was going to deal with this. He wanted to fight some dungeon pokémon.

With Chimecho just as silent, the two made it into town with seconds to spare.

Dusknoir floated impatiently.

He had called the town meeting with the priority of Alpha. Everyone was coming, even Torkoal had been fetched from the Hot Springs.

Yet, the one creature he wanted remained absent.

His fingers twitched as thoughts ran through his mind. They all carried a similar theme. "Has he figured it out and fled?"

He had a pair of sableye go off covertly to take a look around for any hide or hair of meowth fur. The faceless masses of this town were getting nervous as they chatted and gossiped like a herd of brainless ferals.

Dusknoir's fingers twitched as he eyed a few pokémon.

"Great Dusknoir?" a laborious voice wheezed and Dusknoir's eye flickered in contempt. He couldn't well ignore the town elder completely, however, so Dusknoir restrained himself and turned to Torkoal.

"Yes, wise elder?" he asked softly.

"The people are getting concerned with the silence," Torkoal managed, taking his time with each word. "What is it that you have us here for?"

Dusknoir stared at the feeble old pokémon and wondered about Torkoal's bones.

He glanced to the crowd of pokémon, well over a hundred of the creatures all clambering over each other in a desperate attempt for information, comfort, or whatever craven needs these creatures wanted.

Dusknoir paused and took a breath. "I'm getting frustrated," he repeated to himself and calmed down. Treasure Town was lovely, peaceful, and it's pokémon didn't deserve such contempt.

He looked out to them again and made up his mind. Even without his target present, he could still turn them against him. Perhaps all the more?

"ZZZT! Everyone is here," Officer Magnezone said, from Dusknoir's right. "So, I'd like to get this meeting started. ZZZT!"

Dusknoir nodded his assent and began. "Citizens of Treasure Town," Dusknoir began grandly, as it showed confidence, yet gravely. "I am afraid I bring some divisive news to you all today."

He waited for the crowd to murmur. A few pokémon shouted questions, but he ignored them for now. Once they were settled, Magnezone was happy to assist, Dusknoir continued.

"Another Time Gear has been stolen, and the perpetrator has been identified. The wicked Grovyle is our enemy." This was information the town already knew, Dusknoir was familiar with the way gossip travelled.

Especially here.

"However, the final Time Gear has also been located and currently it remains protected. I will not divulge where it is, to minimise the risk. For Grovyle remains at large." Dusknoir nodded and spread his hands. "But I'm afraid I have another, extremely important, matter that I must share with you."

Dusknoir paused again to reorganise his thoughts and looked out through the crowd. Just a cursory scan, beedrill, Ursaring, teddiursa, riolu, magmar, marowak. He almost missed it, but upon noting a certain litleo and meowth he blinked and looked back. There he was, staring up at him in a mixture of emotions Dusknoir couldn't quite pinpoint.

He withheld the fond chuckle and flicked his fingers, sending a signal to the sableye that were still here.

"What I am about to tell you may be difficult to believe," Dusknoir admitted, eye trained on the meowth for a moment longer then he should have. "But it also happens to be the truth. A truth I have kept to myself and one I feel true shame of having to keep for as long as I have."

Pokémon were looking nervous now, good. Nervous pokémon were easier to lead.

"Furthermore, if what I'm about to reveal isn't stopped, calamity is certain!" Nerves needed to be stoked into fear. "Countless lives will be erased and will never exist in the first place if our enemies succeed." He was on their side.

Dusknoir paused again. It was going well. Pokémon were looking scared now, looking to their neighbours. But he couldn't push that too far or they may begin to panic and fail to listen. "Thankfully, we have the tools to save us all right here!"

"ZZZT! What is it that you mean by all this? ZZZT!"

"I apologise for keeping this from you all this time," Dusknoir said, bowing in visible shame. "But the mission was too important. But now it is time, I can finally tell you everything." Dusknoir straightened up and avoided looking to Team Ion, minus Shinx at least. "The pokémon known as Grovyle is a pokémon from a time past this one. A pokémon… from the future."

"What?"

"IS SOMETHING LIKE THAT POSSIBLE?"

"That's madness."

"A pokémon coming from the future?"

Dusknoir shushed them after a moment, letting the words die out quickly and painlessly. "Yes. I speak the unquestionable truth. Grovyle… in the world of the future is a notorious criminal. He has a grand bounty on his head for his obscene crimes."

Dusknoir withheld a smile.

"The question of why? Even I can hardly say. The truth is… unpleasant, so I will do my best to speak of this without turning your stomachs." Dusknoir took a breath. "Grovyle is… pitiful in a way. To have suffered how he suffered, to have been through so much pain. It's tragic to see what he has become. He is scarcely even a pokémon anymore, simply a force of destruction now. There is no hope for him, and he must be stopped. For you see…"

Dusknoir paused to build tension.

"Grovyle came to this time, this past or present, not only to escape retribution for his crimes, but to commence a plot of the most fiendish proportions. He seeks to alter history by taking the Time Gears and causing the planets paralysis."

"P-planets paralysis?" some brave fool asked.

"Yes." Dusknoir nodded, looking up and gesturing to the sky. "Imagine a world where the wind doesn't blow, and the sun never rises or sets. Where spring, nor summer, ever arrives. A world of unrelenting night, unrelating day, unrelenting cold, and unrelenting heat. It would be no exaggeration to call it the complete ruin of the world."

"Why would ANYONE want that?" That was Loudred again, very useful to getting a message across.

Dusknoir shook his head. "Why do bad pokémon do bad things? Do not take it the wrong way when I say I pity Grovyle. There is no excuse for his heinous crimes, there is no hope for his hollow heart." Doubt could not exist in the hearts of these pokémon. "But I can say for certain, if the last of the Time Gears is taken, this world will end in ruin."

"W-we've got to do something!"

"This is bad!"

The crowd began to chatter in a panic and Dusknoir required Magnezone to quell them again before speaking up. "Pokémon of Treasure Town, please listen to me! Hope is not yet lost. The last Time Gear is protected and Grovyle cannot run from me forever."

"How do you know all this?" Someone shouted.

"How?"

"Why do you know this?"

"Great Dusknoir?"

"How do you know so much Dusknoir sir?" Corphish asked, voice steady and overcoming the chattering of the rest. "I know you are great and wise, and I certainly respect you greatly, but how would you know the future, no matter how knowledgeable and wise you are?"

Dusknoir nodded solemnly. "That is the source of my shame. The secret I have held to myself. What Corphish says is true. Under normal circumstances, there is no way I could know these things. So how do I know?" This was the moment. The knife's edge. He could only hope his next words were not a mistake. "The truth of the matter is… that I too am a pokémon from the future."

There was a moment of silence where everyone stared at Dusknoir.

"WHAT?"

Ears were ringing after the mass-bellow of shock. Even Dusknoir was affected by it. A hundred voices began to meld together in a cacophony of confusion, and nothing was able to simply snap everyone out of it.

Dusknoir waited patiently for the crowd to calm. It took some time. But eventually they fell silent once more, needing the information he held.

"My objective," Dusknoir began. "Is to capture Grovyle and take him back to the future to await trial for his crimes. I needed to know as much as possible to maximise my chances. I studied as much of the past as I could, which is why I appear as knowledgeable as I am."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ursaring growled. Dusknoir bowed again.

"I… I am truly sorry. I have felt terrible not saying anything. I am sincerely sorry I have not revealed my identity until now. I am full of contrition," he sighed. "But. Let me ask you all this one question? What if I had been open with my identity from the start? Who would have taken me seriously?"

A few pokémon glanced away from Dusknoir's gaze, and he nodded. "I also needed to avoid alerting Grovyle to my presence for as long as I can. But… such an angle is no longer open to me. Yet, the matter remains that I have still been deceiving you all. For such an insult, I humbly beg your forgiveness."

No one was about to cry foul against him here. Dusknoir only received support and he smiled, eye twinkling for a moment. "Everyone… I thank you all for your unwavering support. It has lessened the burden I carry slightly."

"ZZZT! You are not to blame!" Magnezone buzzed. "Dusknoir sir, we will focus our anger on Grovyle! ZZZT!"

"EXACTLY!" Loudred boomed. "GROVYLE'S THE STINKING DECEIVER! NOT YOU DUSKNOIR!"

"We need to catch Grovyle before he ruins our world!" Swellow yelled.

"I-I'll help too," Wurmple added.

With that, everyone began adding their support and Dusknoir appeared overwhelmed for a moment, looking back and forth.

"Everyone…" Dusknoir said softly before girding himself. "Thank you so much. We, as pokémon, must all work as one to capture Grovyle and put an end to this calamitous plot!

The whole town yelled. "YEAH!"

Dusknoir beamed at them before looking over to where the sableye lurked and nodded. "However," he added, tone almost dark, "in the interest for full disclosure, there is more to say."

The brawny Ghost-type looked back and forth for a long moment, eye settling on a meowth a few moments. He saw the expression the meowth wore, but the sableye were ready. "Grovyle did not come alone."

The whole town stilled. "Grovyle, despite his heinous behaviour, is not alone in his plotting. He had companions. And two individuals have come to the past with him."

Back in the crowd, Sean's eyes widened, and his heart bounced. "What?" he gasped, Mane frowned and glanced at him questioningly.

Dusknoir looked to the guild sadly. "Two individuals, but not two pokémon. Grovyle came to the past with another pokémon… and also a human."

Chatot squawked in shock, and Croagunk's breath hitched.

Dusknoir gave the baffled Wigglytuff a mournful look and sighed. "And the pokémon was a meowth."

Immediately one thought flew into the minds of so many residents of Treasure Town. "Team Ion has lost three Time Gears…"

Sean began backing away.

"Let me ask you, Treasure Town?" Dusknoir stared straight at Sean. "Does the name Sean mean anything to you?"

Sean bumped into something and recoiled, spinning around as a Night Slash formed on his claws. A sableye fell back, covering his face fearfully. "Don't strike again!" he cried, and Sean froze. He hadn't hit him even once.

The town turned. Sean was using a move inside the confines of Treasure Town as a sableye cowered below him.

It was forbidden to attack someone in town.

"Why would you run if you aren't guilty?" Dusknoir demanded and Sean completely froze up. Someone grabbed him roughly and he yowled, but his arms were grabbed tightly. Something struck him in the throat, and something seemed to clamp down on his vocal chords. He couldn't so much as yell out afterwards.

A pair of magnemite fluttered nervously until Magnezone gave them the go-ahead. They flew through the crowd and moved the pokémon out of the way, binding Sean in a magnetic array of electricity. He struggled against it, but there was nothing he could do.

Slowly he was carried to Dusknoir, under the gaze of Treasure Town. Sean looked up and into the baleful eye of Dusknoir. He stopped struggling.

He was almost within grasping range when the guild finally reacted.

"DUSKNOIR SIR!" Chatot flapped up and then the whole guild ran forward. "What are you doing? This is madness! Sean is innocent!"

"So you know him as Sean then?" Dusknoir asked smoothly and Chatot stuttered.

"Great Dusknoir." Wigglytuff stepped forward, frowning deeply. "You must explain this. You cannot simply take Meowth without explanation."

Dusknoir's fingers twitched. He looked to the Wigglytuff Guild staring at him in a mixture of confusion and a whole slew of rapidly sifting emotions. The town was furious, at the meowth thankfully, but not everyone seemed to be in support of this. He dropped his hands and nodded. "Understandable."

Dusknoir stared at Sean for a moment. "This is not a decision I made lightly. I have spent part of my time here carefully observing him. He felt familiar and I have chased Grovyle and his compatriots for a long time. I know them all very well. But even then, I was not willing to act rashly, in case I was wrong. I would not wish to damage an innocent pokémon's reputation without being absolutely certain."

"And what makes you so certain?" Mane demanded, after forcing his way through the crowd.

Dusknoir looked down at the angry Fire-type and reached for the bound captive. He squirmed and Mane growled, but he only moved some fur. "These scars," Dusknoir said, showing a pokémon's scars to everyone. "I know these scars." He dropped his hand and floated back as Mane looked ready to try something drastic. "His voice. His behaviour. His confirmed contact with Grovyle."

"Pardon?" Sunflora gasped.

"I spoke with Shinx and he confirmed that Grovyle came to speak to him privately after the guild returned from their expedition. Grovyle said he knew him but didn't say how."

"Well that's the thing!" Chatot said, flapping wildly. "He has amnesia! Even if Sean is who you think he is, he doesn't remember! How can you condemn him for a crime he himself didn't make? In a time that's yet to happen? Whatever it is, he hasn't done anything wrong yet!"

The rest of the guild nodded to Chatot's words, Dusknoir's fingers twitched again and he took a moment to force his control. He gave a warning glance to Mane, who was creeping closer, before nodding to Chatot. "Yes. I have heard he has amnesia."

Chatot stopped fluttering in place as even Mane stared at him. "But I ask you this? What if, sometime later, he remembers everything? Look at him!" He pointed and everyone looked to Sean trying to speak, but something still seemed to be pressing down on his throat. "What about his name?"

Dusknoir gave the guild a pointed look. "How many pokémon take a name with no meaning? How many pokémon take a human's name?" He looked to Sean and shook his head. "That, more than anything else, helps me accept he doesn't fully remember, but also leaves me with the fear that the memories yet remain. His name is not Sean. That name belongs to his human partner."

Sean felt everything coming apart, and he could do absolutely nothing. Not even speak.

"His name is Scout. For that was his role. The one who scouted ahead for danger, or the one who scouted ahead for reconnaissance. To learn the weaknesses of their enemies. This pokémon is Scout."

Mane looked up and met the meowth's eyes. Widened eyes with pupils dilated in confusion and terror.

"He doesn't deny it," Dusknoir pointed out. "He doesn't speak in his defence." The meowth tried to speak again, defend himself, the same result. He couldn't speak, something had happened to his throat. "He attacked a pokémon in an attempt to run. Perhaps he had amnesia when you first met him. Perhaps he still does. But you cannot claim he doesn't remember anything, nor can you say for sure that he will never remember why he's come here."

Dusknoir looked to Sean, then to Magnezone. "I respectfully request that he be put into firm detention until we have Grovyle and the human." Dusknoir turned back to the guild in an attempt to reason with them. "Nothing will happen until everyone is captured. If, by some unusual turn of events, I am wrong, then there will be time to prove it. But with a suspect in custody there is no risk of them trying to flee. You must at least accept that?"

Chatot and Wigglytuff both held expressions bordering on refusal, but Dusknoir did have a point. Chatot looked to Wigglytuff who nodded miserably. He closed his eyes and took a breath before facing Dusknoir. "Very well. We'll see him be absolved."

He gave Sean, or really Scout, the most comforting look he could as the magnemite carried him away. Mane began to shout something but was restrained by the rest of the guild.

The meowth tried to struggle free again. He was being taken away, and he knew Dusknoir would send someone extra after him. However, the magnemite were used to shackling powerful outlaws. One small meowth couldn't do anything.

Scout bent his head as the reality of the situation began to hit him. He stopped struggling.

Black furred feet smacked into the ground as Sean ran along the path.

He had watched Dusknoir and did nothing as Dusknoir had Scout carted away to the building the police used as a base of operations.

He had done nothing as Dusknoir hit the final nail in the coffin of any hope that he and Striker may be able to convince residents of Treasure Town to help them.

Right now, Sean didn't know what to do. But he did know who might. Once Dusknoir was gone, he quickly made his way out of town and withheld the urge to run. Sableye were about after all and he didn't need any suspicion or anyone following him.

Once he felt safe enough, and still earlier than he knew Striker would be happy with, he ran.

There was only the two tiny slivers of good news he could hold firm to. The first, Striker was safe. That clever grovyle was still free, even if he had been discovered in the process of obtaining the fourth gear.

The second, Dusknoir didn't seem to know that Sean himself was no longer so easily discoverable. A riolu didn't stick out nearly as much as a full-blooded human would.

For the time being, they still had one small advantage.

With that and more on his mind, Sean ran. He had but one destination in mind. With a nearby grove Striker had pointed out as a meeting destination.

The Grass-type had hoped to come back to Treasure Town after obtaining the gear from underground, or even after acquiring the gear where the crystals lay.

But since that was definitely not an option, Sean pointed his feet towards the entrance of the dungeon – Brine Cave.

Fighting-types had excellent stamina and Sean found himself stopping for only a short break before continuing. His paw pads were stinging, and his legs began to protest from the effort, the pain caused him to slow down slightly and calm down.

He walked the rest of the way. He ignored the path to the entrance of the dungeon and instead walked up into a grove of trees.

As Sean went, he tapped trees with the metal bumps on the backs of his paws. Once he had tapped enough, he felt something appear behind him.

Sean spun, senses honed by the future, to meet Striker's arm with his own. The two pressed against the other for a moment, staring into the others face, before Striker smiled. "It's good to see you," he said, and Sean couldn't help but smile back.

It was comforting, hearing the grovyle's voice again. "Good to see you too," Sean replied and together they lowered their arms.

"I thought you might come around once news reached Treasure Town," Striker said, stepping back to lead Sean to his camp. "I couldn't be sure though, I was going to leave tomorrow and leave something behind for you."

"Well I'm here now," Sean replied. "So gimme-gimme-gimme." He grinned as Striker laughed.

"I've got something better," he said enigmatically, and Sean rolled his eyes at the dramatics. "A Time Gear."

"I couldn't have guessed," Sean said, laughing slightly. "But seriously, what were you going to leave?"

Rolling his eyes back, Striker beckoned him into the grove where he had been staying. Sean looked around and nodded, very spartan and very much the kind of camp the grovyle would set up.

"Just a note, but you're here so nothing special," he answered, and Sean pouted for a moment. "So," Striker began, sitting down. "What exactly drew you out here? I'd like to think you came because you have the key or have its location." Sean frowned and Striker sighed. "Or maybe you just came to check up on me?" Sean shook his head and Striker gave him a wary look. "Then something has happened?"

"First." Sean raised a paw, walked over to the confused grovyle, and smacked him across the face. "That's for the injury you inflicted on Team Ion."

Striker rubbed his jaw but made no movement back. "Fair," he admitted. "Also, ow. I see you're getting stronger. In my defence, I tried to just get them out of the way but the shinx came at me from behind and I just… reacted."

Sean nodded, understanding. "Yeah I'd have probably done the same thing. Still not nice, that's really going to throw Scout off." Striker nodded, looking just a little guilty. Sean could tell the nuances on Striker's face. "I did want to ask what you learned about Scout, but I think I can guess."

Striker's expression became grave. "What happened?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"Dusknoir's worked out who he is and got him arrested in front of the whole town," he explained, Striker immediately hissing. "THAT'S the reason why I came. Dusknoir has Scout and… yeah," he finished. Striker had already gotten up and was pacing back and forth.

Sean almost laughed at that. Scout had learned the art of pacing anxiously from Striker, but in turn Striker began to do it with more flourish, building off each other. It would have been a cute reminder had it not been caused by such terrible news.

"I told him to stay away from Dusknoir," Striker said after a moment. He paused his pacing long enough to repeat that to Sean, before he was back at it. Already digging a hole in the ground. "When I spoke with him, I learned that he has memory, or at least comprehension, of the future and why we are here. He said himself, however, that he doesn't remember so much as just… know it."

"How?" Sean asked, frowning in confusion. He bit his lip before his sharp teeth reminded him that was an error. "That's bizarre," he added, rubbing a spot of blood off his lip.

"I don't particularly understand it myself," Striker admitted, pausing his pacing. "Something must have rattled him during that incident when we were travelling back in time. More so because he definitely believes he's you. He said he remembers his name is Sean and that he was a human."

Sean barked a laugh, shaking his head. He considered that somewhat uncomfortable revelation for a moment before rubbing his head. "You don't think? When his head hit mine during the time-travelling that there was some kind of…?"

Striker shook his head, to Sean's relief. "I'd imagine his delusions are more based on the fact that he looked up to you so much." Sean blushed behind the fur, to Striker's disappointment. It was much more enjoyable when he could see how flustered Sean could get. That fur got in the way. "That even through his amnesia he remembers: Sean and human and simply thought he's you. The two of you don't act much alike, although there were a couple similarities easily reasoned away."

Sean accepted that, so Striker asked the next question. "What exactly happened? Recount it for me please."

"Sure." Sean nodded. "Dusknoir called some very important town meeting, bringing in pretty much everyone. Even the town elder Torkoal was called from the Hot Springs. Once everyone was there, he revealed the future to everyone." Striker hissed at that. "And painted you as some grief-filled apocalyptic madman or something."

"He would," Striker growled, but let Sean go on.

"He then went on to say that you brought a human and a meowth with you," Sean explained. "The meowth obviously being used to implicit Scout. Human too it seems, since a few members of the guild reacted in less of a shocked manner to hear it and more shocked that it was further incriminating him."

Striker rubbed his jaw, incidentally the same place Sean had hit him earlier, in thought. "And what of Shinx's reaction to all this? The two seemed rather… close."

"I didn't see him there," Sean said, frowning. "Everyone was supposed to be there… except those with medical reasons not to." His tone became slightly accusing and Striker winced.

"I didn't mean to slash him like that."

"You SLASHED him?" Sean demanded and Striker stepped back. "Of all the-no wonder he-ugh, fine." He shook his head and moved past it. "Whatever, it's in the past." He rubbed an aura tassel in annoyance, one of them had hit him in the nose when he shook his head.

"So he wasn't there?"

"Not that I could see," Sean said, moving past his anger. "Dusknoir did claim he had received some information from Shinx though, so I can't say for certain. The litleo was there though, I'm sure that was a surprise for you? He protested strongly to Scout's guilt as did the guild once they were able to react."

"So the guild is on his side?" Striker asked, leaning in interested. He totally ignored the accurate claim of his surprise at Team Ion having a third member, he didn't want the reminder of the near-miss with that Fire Blast.

Sean frowned and shrugged. "Eh… sort of? Chatot especially tried to talk them down but they were running off the idea that Scout is either innocent, or he's completely amnesiac. Something that might not work, Scout was clearly rattled from everything going on. Someone hit him with a Throat Chop too, preventing him from speaking while Dusknoir threw accusations at him."

Striker nodded. "Dusknoir hasn't completely turned them against Scout yet. With enough time though…"

"I think we're ignoring something bigger here," Sean pointed out. "Dusknoir has Scout and you know he'll use him against us."

"Dusknoir won't hurt Scout," Striker countered, and Sean rolled his eyes.

"Yes I KNOW that he won't hurt him under normal circumstances. But who knows how he may act if things get desperate? Maybe he won't kill him, but you can't claim he wouldn't hurt Scout if he thought it would save them both in the end?"

Striker had nothing to counter that with. Nothing good at least.

He took an uncomfortable breath. "If it comes down to it, we can rescue him."

"If it comes down to it?" Sean repeated, frown deepening. "I think we should go rescue him now."

"The risk-"

"Dusknoir has our friend!" Sean snapped and Striker paused. "He's come back to save you before and you're just going to leave him there?"

"Your emotions are interfering with your logic," Striker argued back. "We know Dusknoir won't hurt him too much, nothing irreversible. But going to save him puts everything at risk. Myself, you, the entire world. Scout will understand." Striker and Sean stared each other down before Striker looked away and began pacing again.

Sean stared angrily at the grovyle for a moment before groaning and burying his face in his paws, muzzle poking out. "Well what if Dusknoir is able to do… something to turn Scout to his side then?"

Striker's pacing became more aggressive.

"YOU can't say it's not a possibility," Sean stated, Striker didn't respond. "Especially after YOU slashed his friend. He has amnesia, he probably doesn't know what the hell is really going on right now and is scared and alone. Except for Dusknoir. You KNOW Dusknoir will try and turn him to his side."

"After turning an entire town against him, I feel like Scout won't want to listen."

"Yeah." Sean nodded. "For now. The longer he's alone, the more likely he's going to get desperate. Dusknoir knows how to get to Scout, YOU. Can't. Deny. That."

Sean was able to see this rare side of Striker. The one who didn't know what to do and was too anxious to hide it. He rubbed a clawed hand along his head as the other one hung limply by his side.

"Well then, what do we do?" Striker asked, turning to Sean. "YOU are the leader of our whole little team. You're the one that gets us places. What do you think we should do then?"

Sean looked up at the sky, marvelling how the sun still shone and the wind ruffled his fur.

"We're going to have to act," he said, looking down. "Look I… I know you're right." Saying that left a bitter taste in his mouth, it wasn't right to leave Scout to Dusknoir's mercy. But Striker was still right. "We can't just charge in and get Scout. Either you'll get captured, or you'll be running with an entire town and guild AND Dusknoir on your tail and we can't have that. You're going to have to get the last Time Gear and I'M going to have to find the key to the Hidden Land."

He looked back to where he had walked from, to where the entrance of Brine Cave lay. "But I have no idea where to start. The only, terrifying, guess I have is that Dusknoir has it." He turned to Striker who looked a mixture of scared and angry that he hadn't mentioned that. "Apparently Litleo had it. But his hous̛e was ransacked and that was all that was taken. I took a look myself but couldn't find anything concrete. Just a sheet." He smiled slightly. "Been years since I've had one of those..."

"If Dusknoir has the key," Striker began, but didn't finish the thought.

"He'll either have destroyed it." Both of them winced at the thought. "Or, if he can't, he's probably got it on him somewhere."

The two remained in silence for a bit. Striker looked to Sean. "What do we do then?"

Sean didn't respond for a long moment, choosing instead to stare ahead. "I… you have to get the Time Gear. Dusknoir mentioned he has it guarded, but he's not there at the moment. This is probably your best chance of getting it. When the alert inevitably comes that you're trying to take the gear and Dusknoir leaves I'm going to see if I can sneak into where he's been staying and look for anything that might point us in the direction of the key."

Striker nodded and Sean added. "I'm sorry, this is the best I can really think of. The situation is screwed up, we've got to take what chances we can get.

Striker gave him a long, searching, glance. "You," he said heavily. "Have to be careful. Dusknoir is still unlikely to do anything until he has all three of us. He doesn't know who you are, that's our last trump card here. You have to get in and out without being seen."

Sean smirked and gave a stretch. "Even as a human I was good at going unnoticed," he bragged. "Now I'm two feet tall, less then half the size I was before. I can do this Striker. I have to be able to do this."

The grovyle nodded and gave his closest friend a smile. "I'll be seeing you soon then," he said, glancing back to his belongings. "We'll meet back here in seven days. Alright?"

"Seven days." Sean nodded. They shared a fist bump and then parted ways.

The time for sneaking around was finished.

The real Sean would now stand up.

Heh. Anyone expect it to go like this? Anyone feel the hypocrisy of Rai telling Dusknoir his secrets were his and then demanding Scout tell him his?

Late 2018 was when I first began to think to myself. "Hey? What if I made a PMD Sky story?" And the very first scene I ever thought of it was Dusknoir getting the protagonist arrested in the town meeting. That was the scene that made me think. "Hey? Maybe I COULD write a PMD Sky story." There have been many, many, maaanny changed and ideas and all that to the story since then. But that was the first idea, the bedrock I've built everything from. And it's only going up from here!

I'd also like to give thanks to everyone. Again. I know, I'm an endless thanker. But this story probably wouldn't have even gotten to this point without you all. Absolutely gobsmacked I've made it so far with as much attention as I have for this story! I love each and every one of you and every view makes me smile.

I'll also bring up this two (possibly one if it's the same person) guests and Miner7356 on Fanfiction. You two guessed that Sean was Scout! Go you two! I'm sure others had an idea, but the two of you were the only ones I found to have actually guessed it!

Lastly, I'd like to give a shoutout to another story I recently finished reading, although is not done yet and I'm dying because I NEED to know more. It's called 'A Home Far Away' by 'MadderJacker'. It's a fantastic PMD story that spins a tale of intrigue and excitement; quite long too, so there's a lot to take in and enjoy. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in a more original PMD setting, it plays a bit more into fantasy elements than some and makes them work really well!