So I had this all planned out, and was working on it for a majority of September. I expected to get this out in early October, when I stopped working on the ending -- I had 6,000 words. I thought the last section wouldn't take me long, but I still ended up with nearly 10,000 words!

---

     I was in a field with the rest of PokéClan. We were resting, eating, as we travelled somewhere. It was a random job assignment from the Guild, I knew. Our bags were packed full of equipment in case we got stuck out here longer than we anticipated. Everyone was content and happy.

I noticed something in the distance, over Pika's shoulder. Kip sat next to me, and Hex sat next to Pika. But that... what was that? Something dark, far away. It took me a few moments to notice that it...

"Hey, Pearl, what are you staring at?" Pika asked cheerfully. "You're not paying attention to our conversation anymore, are you?"

I took my eyes off the dark spot in the distance. "There's something—"

With my attention off of it for just that instant, it rushed over the distance toward us. I could only flinch away as the darkness overtook us.

There was a phantom-impact. Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes hesitantly. Darkness. I only peaked at it, through barely-open eyes. Then I noticed, as I opened my eyes fully, that my friends' faces – their pale, blank faces, with their chillingly empty eye sockets – appeared gaunt, almost skull-like. An icy dread creeped in and took hold of my heart as I hesitantly reached for them. "Guys—?"

They lunged toward me with terrible growls, and I flinched away again, but like the almost-tangible darkness around us, nothing happened. They never collided with me.

I hesitantly opened my eyes again. My friends had vanished. The darkness predominated the space, but... someone was there, behind the dark fog. I could sense them. It didn't take long to clear, it gently blew away without a hint of a breeze.

It revealed the human, gasping, holding onto some solid mass of darkness, of shadow, as it held her up by her neck.

She kicked in an attempt to fight the darkness – now, I could almost recognize the shape of a Pokémon in the solidified mass of shadow – as it turned a menacing, glowing red eye in my direction. "You don't need to worry about this," the figure told me, its voice hissing and low as it effortlessly suspended the human in the air. "I'm taking care of it. It won't change anything you're doing right now."

Fear kept me rooted in place like a Vine Whip wrapping around my legs. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. Even if I could, I had a feeling it wouldn't matter. This presence had brought me here. It held me in this space.

Wait... The human was familiar to me. Similar to the girl in the pictures with the Treecko and Grovyle; though different in this living instance.

Her hair was in a messy Ponyta-tail, as if she hadn't been able to fix it for a long time. She had a medium-grey vest on and a dull yellow long-sleeve shirt on underneath it, along with nearly-knee-length shorts that had a yellow insignia of a Zapdos on them, and some black-and-white running shoes. Her eyes held a rage that no one could ever match as she glared at the Pokémon with bared teeth, her eyes almost glowing like the shadow's, even as her face turned red from the strangulation.

She managed to breathe out a small flicker of flame before part of the shadow shot up and suffocated it, covering her mouth as well. "We don't want any of that, now, dear," he told her. "We have an audience, after all. You're safer this way, aren't you?" He turned to me. "Aren't you?" he repeated, maliciously, insistently. "You won't have much more trouble. I will make sure of it. Go back to sleep, dear."

She finally stopped struggling – I didn't notice her struggles weaken. He dropped the human, and the ground gave out beneath me – she vanished into smoke on the way down, but I could see dark, glowing rock as I plunged toward ground, the forceful impact as I met the stone—

I shot up in alarm as Hex gently shook me awake. "Come on, we can't be late for roll call."

Emotions roiled through me as the dream – nightmare – released me. I blinked groggily at Hex, memories falling back into place, and remembered that Chatot would be announcing the apprentices who would attend the expedition during role call.

I bit back the instinctual, But we aren't even going on the expedition, does it even matter? Of course it did. Of course we had to attend role call. Of course I did. What I did would reflect on the team. It would reflect on Pika. Do it for Pika. Chatot doesn't matter. Pika does. Besides, we could hang around Treasure Town with Ev and not have Chatot bothering us for not doing job listings for a day or two. The thought made me smile.

Pika beamed at me as he prepared for the day. "You look happier today, Pearl," he said. "I'm glad to see you doing better."

I couldn't resist my smile widening. "Your words last night helped."

Hex smiled, relief clear on her face. "I'm glad our team morale is better than it was yesterday. Come on, let's go."

We joined the morning roll call with the rest of the Guild apprentices. We got smiles and multiple "Good morning!" greetings. Over all, the Guild felt more united this morning.

Wigglytuff and Chatot watched everyone file in, with Team Skull waiting off to the side, likewise watching. Chatot called us to attention with an unusual air of authority, even for him. "Apprentices, today is the day that we decide who will leave on the expedition, and who will stay here at the Guild."

Whispered conversations sprung up around us while Chatot pulled out a list. Team PokéClan waited quietly, with Hex and Pika in the front row. Kip, standing next to me, stole a glance in my direction. I kept my eyes on Chatot, I avoided Kip's pitying gaze, and I ignored Pika – I didn't even want to imagine his disappointment.

"Please, step forward if I call your name. First, we have Loudred."

Loudred stepped forward, a few other apprentices clapped softly.

"Corphish."

Chimecho and Sunflora whispered their congratulations.

"Bidoof."

Bidoof froze up. Sunflora encouraged him forward, but he started sniffling and stayed where he was. "I can't believe it, I made it!" he sobbed to her.

Chatot sighed, and continued on the list. "Sunflora."

Sunflora thanked Chatot, patted Bidoof, and took her place with the others.

"And finally, Chimecho."

Chimecho gracefully floated over next to Sunflora, her delicate jingling breaking the silence.

Wigglytuff whispered something to Chatot. He scowled in confusion, unfolding the paper in surprise. "Actually, there are a few more names," Chatot announced, his eyes narrowing momentarily as he read them to himself. "This list is a bit longer than past parties. Diglett, Dugtrio, and Croagunk are also part of the expedition." He announced. Chatot squinted at the list again. "Guildmaster?"

"Yes?" Wigglytuff replied cheerily.

"Am I reading this correctly? You have written that Hex, Kip, Pika, and Pearl are also accompanying us. Are all of the Guild apprentices going on the expedition?"

Smiling all the while, Guildmaster Wigglytuff nodded. "There is no mistake! This is a great opportunity for all of our apprentices."

Chatot flapped his wings swiftly, a few times in succession, in his attempt to hide his ruffling his feathers. "This process of selecting our top apprentices was pointless! What about the Guild hall? Are we going to leave it empty for whoever stumbles inside while we're away?"

"We lock it up every night before the evening meal, we'll just do that before we set out!" Wigglytuff said, unbothered.

Chief Stench stepped forward. "I would like to pose a question to the gracious Guildmaster, as well. Is this perhaps too many Pokémon for the expedition party?"

Wigglytuff's ears drooped as he looked at Chief Stench. "Why would the number matter? That's just more friends to explore a new area. Shouldn't you be happy, as you're here to assist all of our Guild apprentices, and improve their skills by example?"

Chief Stench, calmly, pointed out, "I'm just wondering why all of your Guild is to attend. Is there a reason to include everyone, and not just the most outstanding and skilled explorer apprentices of your Guild?"

"Of course!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, with his cheery demeanor returned, "The more, the merrier! No one should be left out of the exploration fun!" As Wigglytuff turned back to us, Chief Stench rose his eyebrows and shot a glance at Koffing. "The idea of everyone coming along and sharing the memories, sharing the cheer, having fun together, made me excited for the expedition. You're all apprentices together, so you should work as a whole team on this challenge!"

Everyone cheered – I hugged Pika. "You're going on the expedition!"

"And so are you!" he exclaimed. The excited static energy zapped me, but I was too happy to care. Pika's going. He's going, and maybe we can figure out my history and his relic along the way.

Chatot cleared his throat loudly, flapping his wings almost frantically. "I would like to go over the expedition schedule, if I may?"

The celebrations quieted, though the excited energy in the room radiated off of everyone, and from Wigglytuff the most.

"First and foremost: this is a Guild-exclusive expedition. Only apprentices and the official members of Team Skull may attend this. Any non-Guild allies you have are prohibited from attending. Though they might be affiliated with us, they are not enrolled as apprentices."

Pika whispered to us, "We have to tell Ev that we're going, and that she's not allowed to come with us."

Chatot continued, "Individual groups of apprentices should prepare a few days of rations and equipment for this expedition. It will be a long journey. This will be no easy task; this is not a field trip!" He made a point to look each of us in the eye – sternly – before standing straight and officially again. "Now, go and prepare for the expedition. Gather your items. Return this afternoon and inform me when you are ready. Once we have everyone back, I will give more details about the expedition. Dismissed!"

Chatot and Wigglytuff went into the Guildmaster's chamber; Team Skull wasted no time in heading up the ladder. That left the rest of us to discuss the excitement of everyone being chosen.

Sunflora stayed by Bidoof as he cried in happiness. Hex, Kip, Pika, and I joined them and Chimecho, while the others made a second circle near us. "We should have guessed that Wigglytuff would take the entire Guild," Sunflora said. "Of course he would! He loves exploring, and he wants to teach us."

Pika tilted his head at her. "Haven't you seen a Guild expedition before?"

Chimecho and Sunflora shook their heads. "I think other expeditions were run by other, independent exploration teams," Chimecho said, "and Wigglytuff had to limit the number of apprentices. He has gone on expeditions in the past, but those were a long time ago, and he only took Chatot with him, if he took anyone at all. I guess Wigglytuff wanted the whole group, or found something that would work better with a larger number of explorers."

"Or an excuse to start full-Guild expeditions," Sunflora added. "It really was silly that any of us worried we wouldn't get picked to go! We know our own Guildmaster better than this."

"Listen up!" Loudred called from behind us. "Dugtrio has something he'd like to say."

Dugtrio nodded one of his heads at Loudred. "Thank you. Alright, I wanted to say that this expedition will be as Chatot said. Expeditions are not easy. We will be walking through numerous territories that we usually go to for our job postings. This means Pokémon may attack us as we travel. This is a test of our skill to manage long-term assignments, as well as the actual expedition itself. We will work together and succeed together. Right?" he finished, his words more of an order than a question.

"Right!" we all cheered.

Some apprentices went back to their rooms while others went up the ladder or bunched up to discuss logistical planning for the expedition.

"We need to talk to Ev before we leave," Pika said. "We can't welcome her to Team PokéClan and then just leave her the very next day."

Hex nodded. "How about you go and tell her, Pika? We can get ourselves ready in the meantime."

Pika nodded enthusiastically. "We're leaving soon!" Static sparked from his red cheeks as he left, even though he had told us it would be okay if he couldn't go, and all the reasons he listed about how he wouldn't want to go without us, it would have hurt him immensely if his name hadn't been called. Even if he got called without us, he would have found a way to have a good time on his own. He would have stayed near Sunflora, Bidoof, and Chimecho, and avoided Team Skull, there was no doubt in my mind.

I smiled as I watched him, happier than I'd ever seen him before.

Kip walked up next to me. "Now, will you stop feeling guilty?"

I looked him in surprise. "Guil— what?"

"Just because we got called to go doesn't mean I forgot you've been beating yourself up about Chatot. It's clear that, yesterday, you felt extremely guilty for ruining our chances – specifically Pika's – at going."

I glanced at Hex, who had already started toward our team's room. "I'm okay," I told Kip. "No need to focus on me, let's just pack, yeah? We only have till this afternoon."

" 'We only have till this afternoon,' that's hours away, Pearl. We only have hours till we leave?"

I turned away. "Come on, I'm not leaving Hex to do the packing while you try and act like a therapist. The clock's ticking, and I'm not about to be late for Chatot to criticize later." Without waiting for a response, I hurried after Hex.

I heard Hex talking to herself, "...go to Kangaskhan Storage."

"What about Kangaskhan's?" I asked, mostly trying to detach myself from Kip's prying and engage with a new conversation. That wasn't easy, as he caught up easily, but at least I ended the conversation. For now.

"This is more than just another job," Hex said. "I think we'll have to take from our stores at Kangaskhan's. I'd rather be over-prepared than under. We'll want at least three reviver seeds, each, just in case... You know what? Pearl, Kip, will you two go to Kangaskhan's? We'll need rations, oran berries, some pecha berries, and also some reviver and heal seeds. Maybe I can trade a little with Croagunk for some special items. It'd be good for each of us to have." She reached for her neck, and I noticed a ribbon with the shiny fire stone hanging from it. "I'd like an Afire Collar, personally, but those are a bit tricky to get ahold of."

"What does that do?" I asked.

"It's like a generic Fiery Globe, but it's specific to the Ninetales and Vulpix evolutionary line. Instead of just being completely resistant to water-type attacks, I would actually heal a little from the attack."

"Let's not waste any time, then," Kip said. "Pearl wants to make sure we're ready as soon as we can be." He gave me a pointed look. I inwardly sighed. Turning my words against me.

Hex had already started pulling things out of her bag and re-organizing it. "Good idea. Go and check what we left with Kangaskhan, and then see if the Kecleons have anything we might otherwise need. I'll see about getting us some decent special items."

"Alright," Kip said. "Let's go, Pearl."

"Right behind you," I said. I really don't want to talk about it, Kip. I'm fine.

We went up and out of the Guild in silence. Once we got outside, however, Kip said, "You can't not talk about it, you know. You can't bury your guilt and pretend it's not there anymore."

"Who said I was burying it?"

"What are you doing about it, then, if you won't talk to anyone about it?" he returned. "Are you sharing with Pika?"

"I've got my journal," I said. "That's as good as talking."

"Only if you're afraid of judgement. Do you think we'll judge you?"

"It's just not worth talking in circles about. Not when it changed nothing, anyway. If we succeeded or failed in getting Perfect Apples, we still would be chosen for the expedition. So does it really even matter anymore?"

Kip said nothing for a long moment.

"I'm fine. I got what I wanted, and that's Pika and you and Hex going on the expedition."

"Alright," he said at last. "Just let me know if you want to talk about it, okay? You don't have to do it all yourself."

"If I need help, I promise to let you know, alright?"

"Okay."

We reached Kangaskhan's, and we actually had a lot of what Hex wanted. We got a small pouch of ten oran berries, twelve reviver seeds, four heal seeds, and four pecha berries along with rations for the expedition. Anything else that we might need, we decided, could be foraged in the surrounding area.

Pika joined us, along with Ev, as we counted out the rations, berries, and seeds.

"Hey!" Ev greeted us cheerily. "I heard that you all got chosen for the expedition after all?"

"We did," Kip said. "Pika told you that it's Guild members only, right?"

She nudged Pika playfully. "And I told him I might track you guys to the expedition anyway!"

I laughed, while Kip just barely held back his laughter. "Are you sure?" I asked. "You don't want Chatot to catch you, he might flail his wings and talk your ears off."

Ev rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I can go wherever I want, and if that just so happens to be where the expedition is, well – where is it, anyway?"

Pika answered, "We don't actually know, yet. Though Chatot is going to hold another meeting this afternoon for further details. Right now, we're just situating ourselves and getting our equipment ready to go."

"Is there anything I can help you with, in the meantime?" Ev asked. "That's still hours away."

"Tell that to Pearl." Kip shot me a joking glance. "She wanted to be ready right away."

"Alright," I started, "tell me that we wouldn't have been late if we wasted time. Chatot would chew us out if we were late to the briefing!"

Pika glanced at us with a confused-but-amused expression. "Did I miss something?"

Kip smiled and shook his head. "Just Pearl hurrying us to pack and prepare our stuff."

"Oh, hi, Hex!" Ev called, waving a paw. We all looked where she looked, and noticed Hex approaching.

She trotted up to us with a lot of cloth – and a glowing ribbon tied into a bow on one of her tails. "Hey, I got us some special items," she said proudly. "I had Xatu unlock a lot of our boxes and traded what I could to Croagunk. Here," she handed Pika a light grey shoulder cape with a pale yellow lightning bolt on it.

Pika took it and donned it immediately. "Oh, a Shocker Cape! Great!"

"Oh, good, you know what it is." Hex passed me an orange leather band. "This goes on your arm, it's a Heat Armlet. It's a Charmander-specific item, and Croagunk said it helps fortify the wearer so you can take a bit extra damage." She gave Kip a sea-blue scarf. "And this is a Speed Scarf, so you can dodge a bit better." She turned to Ev with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, I was focused on things that would be useful on the expedition. If you want, we can go and get you something from Croagunk once we finish getting ready."

"Oh, that's alright!" Ev said. "I've already got a pretty good Eevee-exclusive item for myself." She pointed on her bandana, and I noticed a little rainbow-colored charm. "This helps me get more out of battles. It's part of the reason why I'm so capable on my own!"

"After we're all set, we should go to Spinda's to relax while we wait," Hex suggested. She turned to Kip. "Did you guys find everything we'll need? I think Dugtrio is right, we need to prep for a few days away from Treasure Town."

Kip nodded. "We have enough for five days, plus healing items." He handed her what we grabbed.

Hex nodded to herself, taking a few minutes to mentally count and calculate what we had gotten. "Alright, looks good. Is there anything else we might need?"

The question wasn't directed to anyone in particular, but we all glanced at Ev. "What?" she asked.

"You have the most experience of continually travelling," Hex eventually said. "Do you have any advice?"

Ev shook her head, leading us toward Spinda's Café, and picked a table. "You should be confident in the fact that you are being trained in this line of work, so trust yourself on knowing what to do."

"I already do."

Ev smiled at Hex. "Then you'll do well as an explorer. Being the team leader suits you, you know."

We hung out in the café for a few hours before we decided to report in to Chatot that we were ready.

"It's only noon, but we might as well," Hex said. "That's one less thing for him and us to worry about."

Ev stood up and put her paws on the table. "But, what if I decided to follow you guys?"

Hex shook her head. "You can't come – Pika, you told her, right?"

"I did!" Pika said, semi-defensively. "She likes the idea of following us, though."

Ev put a paw up. "You have to get there first, right? What if I just go with you until then?"

Hex sighed. "If we go as a whole group, you won't be able to get away with that."

"Oh, you don't go as a group," Ev said, as if this were common knowledge. Well, to her, it might be. "That'd take too long. If a big group's exploring somewhere on a big assignment, usually they meet at the place. It's everyone else's responsibility to get themselves to wherever everyone is setting up camp. That's how it goes on other continents when I attended a few expeditions, anyway."

"If that's the case, then sure," Hex relented. "But we'll be able to figure it out when we hear how we're getting there. Now let's go and report in."

Ev agreed to stay at Spinda's Café while we went and told Chatot that we were ready to go.

"Wonderful!" he said. "Now, this is just a reminder to every apprentice, but this is a Guild-only expedition. No outside Pokémon are allowed to attend."

Hex nodded. "We understand, Chatot."

Chatot nodded. "When the rest of the apprentices are ready, we will do an expedition briefing and then set out."

"We'll be at Spinda's until then," Hex said.

"As will a number of apprentices, I'd imagine," Chatot said. "Double checking your equipment never hurts, with the extra time you have."

"A third check won't hurt, either," Hex said. "Thank you, Chatot."

We left the Guild and went back to Spinda's Café to wait out our extra time. Ev never wavered in her determination – or the appearance in her determination, at least – to follow along after the expedition party. Part of me hoped that she would come; it would get us all more familiar with each other. The other part of me, however, didn't quite trust that Chatot wouldn't send us back at the first sign of trouble – or, in his eyes, insubordination. Then again, an extra member would be good to have while Team Skull is travelling with us. Safety in numbers.

Kip nudged me. "What're you thinking about?"

"Just the expedition, and Ev," I said, dismissively.

He gave me a small smile. "I'm glad to hear it."

We decided that Ev would wait in Spinda's, like earlier, while we attended the expedition briefing. Hex hadn't made an official decision, or said it aloud, but everyone else seemed to be working under the same impression as I was. Namely, that Ev would accompany us. How far, I couldn't guess, though I personally doubted that she would just turn back once we got there and started exploring.

Once the entirety of the Guild had assembled in the hall, Chatot announced the groups. The first group would be Sunflora, Chimecho, Bidoof, and Corphish – "Team Beach!" The second would be Diglett, Dugtrio, Croagunk, and Loudred – "Team Ground Pound!" The third would be Team Skull, the fourth one would be us.

"Finally," Chatot said, "The Guildmaster and I will travel as a pair."

"I have to travel with Chatot?" the Guildmaster asked, not unlike a child. "But that's so boring!"

Chatot shot Wigglytuff a startled glance, "Guildmaster!" with his feathers ruffling in agitation.

A few apprentices chuckled at the comical display, and Chatot turned a scathing glare to silence them.

Chatot flapped his wings to settle his feathers back down. He cleared his throat before going on, "Our initial destination will be Foggy Forest, in the southeast of the continent." I saw Sunflora take out her Wonder Map at the mention of directions. "Our goal is to determine if the rumored Fogbound Lake is truly within the forest, as its existence is only rumored and unconfirmed, and, of course, a secondary goal would be to bring back any treasure that we may find along the way." A few apprentices stood up straighter at the mention of treasure. "We will meet at the foot of the highlands, travelling in the groups I have announced, and that will be our base camp for the duration of the expedition. Expect the travel to take about two-and-a-half days."

"Chatot?" Sunflora pipped up. "Will you show us where Foggy Forest is supposed to be on the map?"

"Ah, yes," he said as she laid her map down. "Here – this foggy area. There is an exit out of the highlands that you can't miss. That is where all of you will meet us. Any questions?"

Everyone replied negative.

"In that case, my last announcement is that we should all be at the base camp in no more than three days' time. Dismissed!"

We joined the flood of apprentices as we all hurried to leave the Guild, excited to leave as soon as we could. Most of the apprentices hurried out from the Crossroads; I saw Sunflora rush into Treasure Town, with Bidoof and Chimecho following at a slower pace. Corphish waited by the well, and watched us as we went into Spinda's. "Grabbing a smoothie for the road?" he asked.

Pika and I shared a glance, Hex and Kip watched silently. "Uh, yeah. Since we'll be away for a while," I answered.

"Mind if I join you? Sunflora's got some last-minute things she wanted to pick up."

"Sure," Pika said hesitantly.

As I expected, Ev was still sat at the table we left her at, now sipping a smoothie. She waved at us, then noticed Corphish, and walked over. "Hi! You must be a Guild apprentice."

Corphish nodded. "Hey, hey! I am!" he glanced at us. "Is she a friend of yours?"

Pika nodded. "This is Ev, she's part of our team through Chimecho Assembly," Pika introduced. "Ev, this is Corphish."

"I heard about the expedition," Ev said. "Do you know where you'll be going?"

"It's somewhere called Foggy Forest, to find a Fogbound Lake," Corphish said. "It's in the southeast part of the continent."

"That sounds like quite the trek," Ev said. "I haven't been over there yet."

Corphish looked away. "Ah, hey, hey, only apprentices can go on this expedition."

"Oh, I know! ♪ These guys told me. I want to hear about it so I can plan a trip out that way."

She's lying through her teeth, but can we trust Corphish and the others if they find out that she's tagging along?

"That sounds like a good plan to me, hey, hey!"

Sunflora came down into the café. "Corphish, come on! We're waiting on you!"

"Hey, hey, on my way!" he called. "See ya there!" he said to us as he hurried after Sunflora.

Pika let out a sigh of relief. "It could have been worse," he said to himself. "Well? What's the plan?" he asked Hex.

Hex glanced at Ev. "There isn't a way to convince you to stay? We could get in trouble if anyone snitches on us."

Ev shook her head with a mischievous grin on her face.

Hex sighed. "Alright. We should get moving then. We have three days to get there, but I don't want to use all that time to travel. I want us set up at the base camp before three days are up, and make it there closer to two days, if possible."

We checked our equipment for the fourth time as we heeded Corphish's unintended advice to get a few smoothies for the road, then we headed out, heading southeast and toward the foggy spot on the Wonder Map.

The first destination we ended our day of travel at was just a little bit north of Craggy Coast, since we only had until dark, and that led us to the continent's southeastern mountain range. We planned out that Mt. Horn would likely be our next destination, and we should be able to make that by the end of the day tomorrow. Then we would get through Mt. Horn and to the foggy area surrounding the rumored Fogbound Lake the day after tomorrow.

"We'll have to keep watch," Hex declared as we set our stuff down. "We'll take turns – and with Ev here, we each will have a bit less than we have to do. We'll sleep for ten hours, so we can each get enough sleep, so that's two hours of watch each." She glanced around at us. "Anyone want to claim a shift?"

Ev took first watch, Pika took second, I took third, Kip took fourth, and Hex took fifth. "I'm not going to be packing on my shift," she told us, only half joking. "I'll need to still keep an eye out for trouble. Dugtrio had a point, that we'd have to watch ourselves out here. We're lucky we didn't have any trouble so far."

We shared a modest dinner together, foraging what we could from the nearby Apple Woods, and its neighbor of a forest rich with oran berries.

As we settled in, and Ev prepared her first watch, I noticed Hex walk over to her. She said quietly, "I don't think you should turn back, it'll be too dangerous for you to travel all the way back alone."

Ev smiled, mischievously, and gave Hex a friendly nudge. "You already forgot that I travelled alone this whole time?"

Hex sighed, but I saw the smile that she tried stifling. "Then you should go back once we hit the fog," she returned, turning away and taking a step toward her makeshift bed. "Since you're so capable."

Ev rolled her eyes. "As you say, captain."

"Just let us know if you notice anything strange," Hex said.

"Aye, aye."

My dreams didn't take me to the horrible, dark shadowscape. This time, I stood in a cave, pulsing with faint cyan light. The light reflected off of the still water, revealing the stalagmites and stalactites, and even some pillars of natural stone, which almost framed the stone platform I stood on. For a long moment, I only heard the slow drip, drip of water from the cave ceiling. as I admired the colors on the stone and water.

Then I heard footsteps. Light, careful footsteps.

A figure entered, walking along the stone. He didn't notice me. I moved out of his way, anyway.

He? I wondered to myself. Why do I feel so certain?

The faint light revealed him to me, like it revealed the cave. He was a Grovyle, and he reached for the source of light—

The gear! I thought, recognizing it. I've seen it before! A gear, blue with cyan accents, sat suspended in the air. Perhaps the stone pillars framed that; I didn't know.

The Grovyle hesitated. "Hello?" he asked, cautiously. He turned his back on the gear and searched the pulsing darkness.

I looked around, too. I didn't notice anyone, I didn't hear anything amiss.

"Pearl?" he asked, breathless. "Is that really you?"

I turned around at my name. I could see the pleading in his eyes; he wanted "Pearl" to be there. I only could recognize him as the Grovyle from my pictures. "Grovyle, what's happened so far?" I heard myself ask. "I can't stay long; he knows. He wants to stop us. "

"Where did you go?" he asked, ignoring the question. "No one I ask ever knows of a human."

I shook my head. "I'm not in my human form. I'm... locked away."

Grovyle just asked, "Where are you?"

"I don't know, nowhere physical, but I'm working on—"

Pika shook me awake. "Pearl, it's your watch."

"What?" I asked groggily. Grovyle? I wanted to reach out, to find out more, to find him, but the connection dissolved. I could barely recall where we even had been.

"Your shift," Pika repeated, tilting his head at me. "Did you have another dream with a memory?"

I blinked. Words swirled in my head, like Grovyle was taking another Gear, and I contacted the Grovyle in my journal, and Who was talking through me? "I don't know," I managed. "I'll tell you in the morning, okay?"

Pika reached for and squeezed my talon. "We'll find out what happened to you," he promised.

I squeezed his paw. "Thank you."

Pika went back to sleep. I quickly wrote down the details of my dream, then settled in for my watch.

The occasional Pokémon flew overhead, but other than that and the nocturnal noises, I didn't hear anything to be concerned about. All I could think about, however, were the dreams I had had – the one in the dark abyss, and this one in a cave. Grovyle knew a human, I must have appeared human to him, for him to recognize me. Maybe part of my memories were breaking through the amnesia, and that's who was talking? Maybe the memories are coming back. Whatever it was seemed to be holding them back, but I still saw the human, and now Grovyle saw her, too.

I kept catching myself not paying attention, and had to focus on anything except the dreams. Like I told Pika, it could wait until morning. I had a job to do, and that was more important.

The two hours went by at a crawl. The quiet night left us in peace, but my thoughts didn't.

I woke up Kip. "Your turn," I told him.

He wordlessly nodded, and I went to lay down. I closed my eyes, but I didn't think that I would get to sleep anytime soon – I wanted to get back to Grovyle, figure out what I meant with those weird, involuntary answers, and find out what I'm missing. My memories are just below the surface, I can feel it. Part of me was tempted to talk to Kip about it.

After an extended, eternity of silence, I heard Kip quietly wake Hex for her shift.

Time passed as I swam through thoughts. I saw the shadowy Pokémon again, silhouetted against a glowing, swirling cyan passageway. This is the Passage of Time, I thought, involuntarily, as if telling someone. I was more curious about the figure in front of the portal – somehow, I knew it was a portal – but somewhere inside of me only answered the unasked question. The secondary question. Who cares about a portal when that Pokémon is restricting me?

I felt Hex wake me, so I must have started dozing. Once everyone woke up, we gathered our things and had a quick breakfast.

"We made good time yesterday," Hex said. "I expect that we'll make it to the fog before noon tomorrow, and reach camp soon after that."

Ev was the first one ready to keep moving, she and Pika had an unmistakable excitement that only grew as we got closer to our destination. "Come on, Slowpokes, if we actually want to make good time, we have to leave eventually!"

Ev's contagious excitement seemed to infect everyone but me – my dreams were cultivating a growing unease that something had a hand over me, my memories, but I didn't know what. Maybe I never knew in the first place.

We got moving on the road, heading toward the looming mountains in the distance. That reminds me of—

The memory vanished as soon as it had appeared. I had known mountains. I had traversed mountains. It wasn't just one mountain range in my memories.

Pika's voice startled me out of my thoughts. "Hey Pearl, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just... a lot of half-memories have been showing up, lately. "

"Oh!" Pika's eyed widened in recognition. "You had a weird dream last night, too, didn't you?"

I nodded. Hex and Kip stopped and turned at that; Ev halted, though impatiently. "Why are we stopping?"

"I can talk on the way," I said. "We should keep moving."

I told them what I learned – starting with the dream with the shadow Pokémon holding the human by the throat – Holding me, I corrected, though I wasn't sure why I was so certain – and ended with the half-dream memories that surfaced, and only a passing mention of the mountains giving me a form of déjà vu.

"Do you think another Gear was stolen?" Hex asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe. I think my memories were talking through me? I'm not really sure if it was real, or if somehow I reached out."

"What if he's the reason that Treeshroud Forest is paralyzed?" Hex asked, an edge in her voice.

Green forest trees and shrubs, thunder and lightning, a leafy, green Pokémon dashing away in the rain—

"Wait," I said, realization hitting me. "I had a weird dream about another Time Gear around the time that Treeshroud Forest became paralyzed. Did I write it down?" I started rifling through my bag, searching for my journal.

"We can look when we make camp," Hex said. "But maybe that's something we should figure out before too long. If your past deals with the paralysis that's spreading like a wildfire..."

But we didn't want to cause paralysis, I thought to myself. We wanted to prevent it. At least, according to the journal. So how did Grovyle get on the wrong side? Did he become corrupt, like some of the other Pokémon? Did time-travelling do something to him, like it did to me?

Is Grovyle still a friend – or has he become a foe?

No one spoke much until we entered the highlands – we approached the mountains that separated us from Foggy Forest, and the rumored Fogbound Lake.

"Pika," Hex said, "why don't you come up here and lead for a while? It'll be good experience for you."

"Really?" Pika asked. "That sounds great, Hex!" He caught up with her, and she asked him if he had any ideas on how to traverse the mountains, then started telling him some of the ways how she would go through the mountain.

Despite the worrying thoughts, I smiled. Pika's excitement was too infectious not to, his joy so earnest. I caught Ev smiling, too. We were all proud of Pika.

Pika led us up a path well travelled, and it wasn't long before we entered a mystery dungeon. "This must be a deeper entrance to Craggy Coast," Hex said, pausing to check her Wonder Map. "Pika, do you know where this can lead us?"

Pika peered at the map and thought for a moment. "Mt. Horn isn't too bad, if I remember right from what I've heard," he said. "It even looks like it might take us more-or-less in the direction of Foggy Forest. Deep Craggy Coast, then Mt. Horn?" he asked Hex.

She smiled encouragingly at him. "Sounds good to me."

We prepared ourselves for any encounters we might face along the way, then entered Craggy Coast, a damp cave system that led up into the mountains.

"Keep in mind our type-disadvantage," Hex advised Pika. "As a leader, you would have to find a way to keep your other team members safe or prepared in situations like this."

Pika nodded determinedly. "Got it. Maybe we should pair up, Hex with Ev, and Pearl with me?" He looked at us, mostly Hex, waiting for a confirmation.

"Good idea," she said. "Do you want Kip to do anything?"

"Oh! Uh," Pika glanced at Kip. "Do you want to do anything?"

"I'll keep an eye with Ev," he suggested. "Since you have type-advantage here, you can work with Pearl. Ev and I don't have disadvantage or advantage, so the two of us will make it easier for covering Hex if we need to."

Pika nodded enthusiastically. "Alright!"

Hex indicated the cave ahead with her head. "Lead on, Pika. I'll let you know if we're going off-course."

Craggy Coast didn't take very long for us to traverse, since we have been travelling parallel to it, and very few Pokémon wanted to take us five on alone, though we did see numerous shadows in the dark and eyes that reflected the light of my tail. I kept looking for something in the moving shadows, but I wasn't even sure what.

The trek did have an air of familiarity, though – I wasn't sure if I remembered this place, or if I was still affected by the dreams and memories from earlier in the day. The words Forgotten Coast haunted the wind, though no one else seemed to notice it.

Along the mountains, I thought I saw a blur of a Pokémon as it swiftly dashed through the mountainous terrain, but I quickly lost sight of it behind pillars of rock. No Pokémon have wanted to bother us so far, I told myself. Even if that was someone, they probably won't want to fight us.

"Pearl?" Pika asked. "Did you see something?"

I shook my head – partly to refocus myself. "No, my eyes are playing tricks on me. It's those weird dreams. Never mind it."

Pika gave me a curious look, but led on, and didn't press further.

Navigating the mountains would have taken longer without Hex and her sense of direction – even so, it still took us until the evening to arrive at Mt. Horn proper. There was even a dilapidated wooden sign that denoted the entrance to the mountain region, with a strange Kangaskhan statue that contrasted in its pristine appearance.

"Oh, thank Arceus, a Kangaskhan rock," Hex said. "Do we need anything from Kangaskhan's, guys? Are we good on rations?"

"Kangaskhan rock?" Kip and I asked at the same time. We exchanged a quick glance, and for a moment I saw surprise on his face – or was it alarm?

"Oh," Hex began, "it's just a way for Kangaskhan to help adventurers out in the field without being in the field. We can access our storage with her from here. Kip, haven't you encountered one of these before?"

"It's just my first time seeing one," he said quickly, as I noticed Ev approach the statue almost nostalgically. "I didn't think they were real."

"They seem helpful," I said. "Why don't they have them anywhere else?"

Hex thought a moment. "I think most of the dungeons you've been to are closer to Treasure Town, so it doesn't really make sense to place one only about half a day's journey away," she guessed. "I don't know. We can ask her when we get back."

Ev put a paw on the statue. "This has to be the only thing that all the continents share. I can almost forget that I'm abroad when I see these, but it's always less and less, the longer I'm away."

Pika turned his attention to Ev. "When were you last home?"

Ev sighed, but she had a bittersweet smile – it wasn't all bad. "A few years. There's so much to see, and it all keeps calling my name, you know? I wouldn't trade any of it – but I still miss home, sometimes."

The evening passed with us reminiscing on our past – mostly those of Hex, Pika, and Ev. Hex shared that she has four older sisters, and reminded us of the one shiny, the eldest, named Aurora, who usually travelled alone, searching for old secrets of the continent. Pika told us about the day he found his relic fragment, how it had caught his eye, almost glowing in the orange hue of the setting sun, at the edge of the beach cave, as the water lazily lapped at it in the sand. Ev, of the many stories she could have told us, told us about the day she got the opportunity to join an exploration guild, and further, the opportunity to go to other continents with other explorers, like a guild-exchange program, and that the experience encouraged her to keep exploring the world on her own once she graduated.

That night, I ended up as the last one to keep watch – so I got an uninterrupted sleep. Hex and Pika hoped that this would let me finish the dream from last night, or at least get something from my subconscious.

They were right.

This time, there was no cave, though the rocky terrain remained. It looked similar to the mountainous region that we had already traversed. No one moved, or dashed; no Time Gear shed light on the surrounding in a pulsing, cyan glow. The moon, only a crescent, gave the area an almost ghostly-look, with black on darkness on shadows.

I recognized a still shadow, curled up in sleep.

"Grovyle!" my voice hissed, out of my command. A shadow jumped up. "There's no time. I'm being locked away, you won't recognize me and I won't recognize you. But I am still using the name 'Pearl.' I'm okay, I'm safe. I'm trying to return, but he—"

"Is there a way to remind you?" he asked. "There has to be a way."

"I'm working on it, but I've made very little progress," my voice said. "He's stronger than I am, with the jump on my memories. I've had some flashbacks, to my time before you, and my time with you, but those are confusing. The current me doesn't know how to feel about you."

"Do what you can, then," Grovyle said. "Do you know where you're going, at least?"

"We're going to Black Swamp – Fogbound Lake. Though I don't know how long we'll linger, or even find the heart and Uxie. He might take our memories of the place."

Grovyle didn't speak for a long moment. "I'm on my way there. I can't be more than a day out. If I hurry, I might be able to meet you there."

I shook my head. "I won't know you, and you won't know me. I don't think he will let me identify myself, it might call his attention to this connection. I don't know if I'll be able to do this again. Keep on track. If I remember, I'll follow our planned route. I'll at least meet you at the last one, and I'll wait for as long as I have to."

Grovyle only stared – I could see the reflected moon in his eyes. "Alright. If you think it's best for the mission."

"I promise, it is," my voice said, as my hand reached for his. My hand squeezed his – in reassurance, in promise, in good luck. "Be careful."

"You, too."

Ev touched a gentle paw to my shoulder. "Pearl, your watch," she said.

I sat up, disoriented. My memories, I had them, if only for a moment, the force hiding them from me slackened for just that heartbeat—

"I have to write it down," I mumbled, with my body slower to rouse than my mind, as I fumbled for my journal.

Ev watched me curiously. "Another dream?" she asked hesitantly – it was easy to forget that she was new to my odd amnesia situation.

"Yeah," I said absently. "The Grovyle was there again. Hold on." I hurriedly scribbled down details as I remembered them, the words we exchanged.

Ev didn't respond, she just sat there, maybe waiting.

Who are you? Who was I? And who is the "he" who is keeping me away from my memories? Something inside of me knew that the "he" was the Shadow from before. But why is he doing this? And how?

"Do you want to talk about it, or anything?" Ev asked slowly.

I shook my head. "I don't even know what I've been seeing – I think my past, non-amnesia-self is pushing back, trying to reach out, and only can reach out to this Grovyle. I see flashes of memory, but I don't know anything about them."

"Is there any kind of continuity between them?" she asked.

"Just Grovyle... and, occasionally, a shiny Celebi. But she doesn't appear often, I've mainly seen Grovyle."

"What is the story you know of the Grovyle?" Ev said.

I furrowed my brow, pulling the memories forward. "Something about the Time Gears," I said. "I keep seeing the Time Gears, and a shadow stealing them. I've seen two, so far. We were searching for them, before." I held up my journal. "The other one told me that much. But it— I didn't go into many details. I don't know why he's looking for Time Gears – or why the past me is helping him when she can."

Ev didn't say anything for a long moment. Her eyes, staring, flickered in the light of my tail-flame. "Do you think you'll ever see a Time Gear, exploring with the Guild?" she asked, at last.

I shrugged. "I don't know. That would be quite a sight, if my dreams are anything to go by. I'd like to learn more about them."

"Would you take one?"

The question caught me off-guard. Would I do it, even if I didn't know why? Would I cause paralysis? "I don't think so," I said. "Hex is personally affected. Treeshroud Forest is paralyzed. I'd feel like I'm betraying her, if no one else."

Ev continued to stare at me for a long moment. "What about if that was the key to your memories?"

What if the Time Gears had the answer? I didn't answer. The journal only tells me so much. No one else has any answers for me.

Ev nodded, as if she could see my thoughts. "It might be worth considering," she said, standing. "If that's the price you have to pay, would you do it? Would you trade your past to keep everyone's future? Or is it worth more than that to you?" She moved away, to sleep near the others. It wouldn't be long until the sun rose, but I still had most of my watch ahead of me.

I don't belong here. But everyone else does.

The sun rose, but the tall mountain peaks kept us in the shade until mid-morning. It didn't take long for us to gather our equipment, and with Hex in the lead, we made quick work of Mt. Horn. As Hex predicted, we found the fog just before noon.

The place, Foggy Forest, felt familiar. Despite us wandering in around noon, the words Dusk Forest came to mind – another wrong name. Didn't the journal mention a Dusk Forest, in the beginning? I wondered. I'll check once we get to the base camp.

Hex led us through the fog without any problems – we didn't even see another Pokémon. Hex has navigation down to a science.

At the foot of the highlands, we heard noises in the fog. The sound of metal on metal, like tent lines being secured with anchors and mallets. Hex halted for a moment, her ears perked forward. "I think that's the Guild," she said, barely restrained eagerness in her voice. "Let's go!"

We rushed into the base camp. It turned out that we were the second group to arrive, aside from Wigglytuff and Chatot themselves. Loudred, Croagunk, Digglett, and Dugtrio all assisted in setting up a couple large tents, nearly finished.

Hex hurried up to Dugtrio. "Can we help at all?"

"We've got this pretty well taken care of, just need to—" Dugtrio pushed a sturdy-looking, almost log-like pole into a hole. "There. Loudred!" he called. "You can get this side secured when you're done over there."

"GOT IT!" Loudred's voice bellowed, causing everyone within thirty feet of him to recoil.

Pika walked over to me, rubbing his ears. "I've been wondering, is the air a bit warmer?" he asked. "It's like... steam. If this was steam, and not fog."

"Steam?" I asked. "Could we be looking for a huge geyser, then?"

"Hello! ♪" Chimecho sang, leading Sunflora, Bidoof, and Corphish into the camp. "Are we the last ones?"

Wigglytuff stepped forward to greet them. "We're still missing Team Skull, yet! But we're getting set-up in the meantime. I'm sure they'll arrive safely, soon! ♪"

Many apprentices shared a look, expressing our hopes that they had gotten lost somewhere, but no one wanted to voice it in front of the Guildmaster.

"Wait," Chatot's sharp voice said, his eyes narrowing in our direction. "Who," he enunciated deliberately, "is that." He found Ev. "Hex?"

Hex took a step forward and a breath to respond, but Ev stepped forward with more professional bravery than I would have expected from her – her carefree, fun air dropped immediately to match Chatot at his own game. "I'm Ev, from the Exploration Society on the Air Continent. I met some of your apprentices on my tour of the Grass Continent," she said, indicating in our direction with her head. "I thought I'd tag along for such a large and ambitious expedition! Hex warned me against coming, of course," she added as Chatot opened his beak. "She's a very responsible team leader. But whose sense of curiosity and adventure wouldn't be piqued by the rumored Fogbound Lake?"

Wigglytuff stepped forward, his eyes shining. "Oh! A well-experienced explorer from other continents. Which ones have you been to? Which is your favorite?"

Ev had fallen into her element. "They have their unique qualities and charm! Though I am biased toward my home. Have you gone abroad?"

Wigglytuff shook his head. "There always has been enough mystery here for me, though I would like to see another continent or two."

Chatot cleared his throat. "Guildmaster, this expedition is only for the Guild apprentices and our accompanying Team Skull," he reminded.

"That's right, Chatot," the Guildmaster said, and turned back to Ev. "Would you like to officially join our expedition?"

Chatot squawked in surprised, his feathers ruffling up. "Guildmaster!"

Wigglytuff shrugged to Chatot. "She will be helpful here – between what we're looking for, and what the mission of the Guild is, I don't see a downside to her being allowed to explore alongside Team PokéClan."

Chatot began flattening his feathers, taking a deep breath. "As you say, Guildmaster." He shot us a look that clearly said, Do not start trouble! I shivered at the piercing glance.

The afternoon passed with everyone pitching in to set up the base camp. Croagunk and Loudred collected firewood, Sunflora and Chimecho foraged the local flora, and the rest of us made sure the tents were secure and stable. Hex and I lit a few torches that helped light up the surrounding area as the sun dipped behind the western mountains. Ev talked more with Wigglytuff and Team Skull, though mostly she and Wigglytuff did the talking. It occurred to me that we might have to catch her up on the trouble with Team Skull later tonight.

When the Guild had finally settled in to our temporary camp, it was mid-evening, and everyone was around the few fires we set up – enjoying the warmth, enjoying the new scenery, enjoying each other's company. Team Skull finally sauntered into camp and looking no worse for wear than as they left the guild hall two days ago. The conversations stopped as everyone noticed them, and Wigglytuff eagerly greeted them with the same enthusiasm he greeted Sunflora, Bidoof, Chimecho, and Corphish. I deliberately watched them without interest, refusing to give them any satisfaction in a reaction.

"Now that everyone is here," Chatot said, claiming everyone's attention, "I would like to start exploring the area at first light tomorrow morning. Rumors say that Fogbound Lake is hidden somewhere within Foggy Forest. Many exploration teams have made the same attempt that we are in discovering Fogbound Lake, but all have come out empty-handed with nothing to show for their work. We are not the first, but I would hope that we can find something." Chatot glanced at Wigglytuff, as if inviting him to add anything else.

Chimecho floated forward. "Chatot, I heard a legend about Fogbound Lake on the way here, may I share it with the Guild?"

Without waiting for Chatot's permission, many of the other apprentices excitedly asked about the legend and wanted to hear it. Chatot did, however, nod his head to her. He indicated with his wing to her, "By all means, Chimecho."

"Legend has it," she started, adding a dramatic edge to her voice, with the firelight flickering, "Fogbound Lake is home to a Pokémon that calls themself Uxie. If you lock eyes with them, they might wipe your memories!"

Hex, Kip, Pika, and Ev shared a look with me.

Chimecho went on, "That's why no one has been able to confirm Fogbound Lake's existence! Countless adventurers could have found it by now, but they don't remember!"

Everyone's imaginations started going wild – how would that work, what if it happened to us? How much would be gone?"

Loudred was, naturally, the loudest of the discussion, with his, "I hope my memory isn't wiped!"

"Would there be any difference if it were?" Sunflora asked into the following silence.

"You'd still be able to be louder than everyone, yup!" Bidoof added.

"HEY!" Loudred said.

Sunflora and Bidoof just laughed – all in good humor, and soon the rest of us were, too, even Loudred.

Chatot's voice rose above the cacophony, "Do keep in mind that it is just a myth. Take it with a grain of salt, and keep your wits about you. Uxie or not, we still have to make it there in one piece, and find it in the first place. Our first task should be lifting this odd fog, if possible."

Pika whispered in my ear, "I'm telling you, I think it's steam. Can't you feel it?"

"You might want to ask Kip, he might know better," I said.

"But you're a fire-type! Shouldn't you feel, I don't know— weaker? Like your fire is less?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I don't feel like that at all, sorry."

"I'm sure everyone will do wonderfully! ♪" sang Wigglytuff. "As long as we find something, this will be a successful expedition!"

The apprentices started challenging each other, claiming who would find it first.

"All that matters," I told Pika, smiling, "is that we find it."

And maybe we're get some answers. If not for me, then hopefully for you. If none of us... then maybe Grovyle.

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Word Count: 9,928 words

Posted: Dec. 19, 2022