A sentry from each group took a turn on watch for the night. That did mean, however, that one of Team Skull's members would be the only one to watch for any threats at one point in the night – or, at least, that was what Wigglytuff had intended when he announced the watches. However, when Zubat was awake, the rest of the Guild quietly agreed that a secondary member of their team would take the same watch – subtly, but keep watch all the same. For PokéClan, Ev took the team's assigned watch, and Hex took the one she shared with the rest of the Guild.

Sunflora and Chimecho walked over to see us before the morning roll call. "Hey Sunflora, Chimecho!" Hex greeted cheerily.

They both greeted her, and Chimecho added in a hushed voice, "How was the watch?"

"Zubat didn't do anything," Hex said quietly.

Sunflora looked down. "I think I fell asleep, so I wasn't sure..."

Hex smiled kindly to Sunflora. "No harm done. That's why we had extra Pokémon on watch."

"Apprentices!" Chatot called to us. "We're going to venture further into Foggy Forest today. Somewhere, the lake might be in the heart of it – or it might not exist. Maybe there is a cave, since we are near the highlands, and it is hidden there. Search diligently!"

Everyone fanned out, hurrying in one direction or another. Team Skull lagged behind as we headed into the forest – even Hex glanced back every so often, but no one could see far into the fog.

"Hm?" Pika stopped and peered at the ground, reaching for something. He pulled out some kind of palm-sized rock covered in dirt. "I think I found something" he said to us, scraping off the dirt.

"Oh?" Ev hopped over, curiously and intensely watching. "Oh, wow! That has to be worth something!"

"I'd rather learn its history," Pika said. "It's warm."

"What is it?" Hex asked, walking over.

We all crowded around as Pika scraped the rest of the dirt off.

The rock, some kind of gem, had a faint red glow to it, as Pika showed it to us. "It was just in the dirt, I saw a glint of red as I passed by."

"We're lucky Team Skull didn't notice it," I said. "That looks – well, that's the most valuable thing we've found so far, isn't it?"

"It'd be right up there with my relic," Pika agreed.

Hex peered at it, touching it lightly with her paw. "It is warm," she said. "That's not just me, is it?"

Pika nodded. "It's warm. Somehow, the earth warmed it, I guess?"

Kip and Ev reached out, and also confirmed that it was warm – warmer than it should have been.

I reached out tentatively. "Can I...?"

"Of course!" Pika said, holding it out for me to take. "Maybe you can tell us something about it!"

I hesitated. "I didn't think of that. I can try, especially with Grovyle popping up into my dreams, lately." I took the stone – I really was warmer than it had any right being – and stared into it. The warmth reached through my skin, into my bones.

The ground began to dip and spin a little beneath me. I reached out to Pika to steady myself, and I felt his paw grip my arm, and then my shoulder. The world, mainly fog, vanished in favor of a vision.

I couldn't hear anything, but I could see – A Treecko, a human, and a pink Celebi stood in front of a stone statue of a Pokémon – I recognized it as the legendary Groudon – that had partially tipped and sunk into the ground. The world was a colorless grey, except for those three. I noticed that the human held the same stone that I did, and the Treecko got visibly excited; he jumped and pointed to a spot on Groudon's chest.

I opened my eyes, and glanced around at the others. "It might have something to do with Groudon, though I'm not sure why."

"What did you see?" Pika asked.

"The Treecko, Celebi, and human around a Groudon statue, and the human holding something like this, or this same stone," I said, handing it back to Pika. "But I don't recognize that at all."

"Hm." Hex glanced ahead. "We'll keep an eye out for this 'Groudon,' then. Until then, we should keep an eye out for Fogbound Lake and see if we can find it." She glanced at Pika. "I'll lead today, if you don't mind...?"

"I'd lead us in circles," Pika readily agreed. "Your sense of direction will help us here more than mine."

Hex led us into the forest and dense fog, summoning her Will-o-Wisps to help guide us, and keep us together – they floated around us, the purple plumes of fire. Even partially obscured by the fog, we could see their light as we travelled.

We wandered, almost aimlessly, for maybe an hour, or a few – we couldn't guess the time with the sun. Hex hesitated as she stepped into a soft, damp piece of earth, getting mud on her paw. "Ugh, mud. I guess we are looking for a lake, aren't we?" She sighed as she tried shaking the mud from her paw. "And there's bound to be more mud where this came from."

Pika's ears fell as he also stepped in a puddle. "We overlooked the 'lake' part in favor of the exciting idea of finding the mysterious Fogbound Lake," he agreed. He tried kicking off the water and mud, as Hex continued forward, watching her step more carefully.

I turned to Kip as we walked. "You must feel some semblance of home, here."

Kip shrugged, as much as a Mudkip could shrug. "Not as much as you'd think. But I do feel a bit stronger with the dampness and the foggy weather, and the swampy nature does bring back happy memories."

"Sh!" Hex hissed as she halted abruptly, angling her ears forward. "Someone's up ahead," she warned in a low voice. "We should approach them carefully, in case it's Team Skull."

We crept closer, and I noticed Ev and Pika angle their ears forward, too. Kip and I brought up the rear, leaving the scouting to them.

We passed by pillars of cascading water, pooling and turning the ground swampy and muddy. I wanted to ask Kip if he could swim up the water, but even then, we didn't know where it would go, and if he would be safe without any backup.

"Oh, thank Arceus," Hex said, relaxing. "I hear Corphish and Sunflora. I'll bet that Chimecho and Bidoof are with them." She picked up the pace, and everyone followed. "Maybe they've seen something!"

Hex and Ev led the way, being the ones with the best hearing, and I nearly tripped on the damp ground when the fog revealed all of Team Beach, but Kip helped me keep my balance.

"Hey, hey!" Corphish greeted, scuttling over to Hex. "Take a look at this!"

"Arceus," I sighed, my heart racing, ready to fight Chief Stench. Instead, it was a large statue, somewhat sunken into the ground.

"We found this strange statue, with a weird inscription on it."

As we approached, I recognized it—

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "This is what I saw! This is exactly what I saw."

Sunflora tilted her head at me. "You saw this before?"

"Oh, um, well," I stammered. I didn't mean to— "Well, I guess no one in the Guild would be more trustworthy than you guys." With Pika's help, I quickly explained that I sometimes could see strange things, both into the future and into the past.

Pika brought out the warm, red stone. "She touched this, and said she saw this statue of— what'd you call it, again?"

"Groudon," Kip and I answered at the same time.

Pika shrugged to Bidoof, a confused smile on his face. "I don't know what a Groudon is, but it sure looks powerful."

"I know very little about Groudon," I said. "I don't think I ever saw him in person. I think I only ever heard stories about him."

Kip walked over to the front of the statue. "Corphish, did you say something about an inscription before?" He squinted at the statue.

The rest of us crowded around. I noticed that I could read some of the words. Unknown... the memory whispered.

"Hey, hey, can you read it?" Corphish asked.

Kip wordlessly mouthed to himself. "Yes," he said, slowly. "Reignite the life that burned within Groudon. Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat. The path to treasure will be revealed."

Static electricity spread into the air around Pika as Kip read the inscription. "It mentions treasure! That means Fogbound Lake probably exists, and there is a treasure there!" he exclaimed, his fur sparking.

"How would we reignite it?" Corphish asked. "There isn't anything to light, hey."

Pika and Ev glanced at Hex and I immediately, as did Team Beach.

"We have Pearl and Hex," Ev said.

"Or," Pika started, "maybe Pearl can try touching the statue, like with the warm stone. You saw the statue in your vision, right?"

I nodded, stepping forward. "That's true," I said. Pika walked with me, ready to steady me in case I saw anything. I took a deep breath. "Here goes." I reached out and touched the cool stone. The cold seeped into my skin, unlike how the warm stone emitted an excess of heat.

After a few moments of nothing, I took my talon off the statue.

"Nothing," I said. "Maybe we can try using Flamethrower and Fire Spin on it?" I suggested to Hex.

"Or maybe I could..." Hex's voice started fading out, and I lost the rest of what she said.

I shook my head. "Sorry, Hex, could you—" My voice, also, started sounding far away. I blinked—

"We need to place the stone in Groudon's chest. There's a slot for it, right here." I recognized the voice, belonging to Grovyle when he was still a Treecko.

I opened my eyes and saw everyone staring at me. I turned to Pika. "The stone," I said. "We have to place the stone into the statue. There's a slot for it."

Kip, from behind me, said, "There's a hole in Groudon's chest, here."

Ev came over to stand near me while Pika climbed up to place the stone in the statue.

The fog began to thin out – and then it blew away in the wind, revealing Foggy Forest's impressive, hidden sight: a pillar of rock holding up a massive piece of earth, with numerous of the small waterfalls cascading over the edge and into the ponds we've been walking around. It towered into the sky, casting a shadow beneath it. There was a cave at the base, just beyond the Groudon statue, with fog rolling out from it. We stared at the landmass in awe – it was, no doubt, a natural beauty of the world. And we were the ones to find it.

"Hey, hey!" Corphish said. "It's not safe to go alone with Team Skull skulking about."

Bidoof nodded. "We should go and get the rest of the Guild, then we can all meet you! Golly," he added, gazing up at it all. "Let's go, I can't wait to explore it and see if this is the real Fogbound Lake!"

Corphish led the way as Sunflora and Bidoof hurried after him. Chimecho stayed with us for another moment.

"We'll be back, but don't wait for us," Chimecho told us, smiling. "Go on ahead, since you solved the statue's puzzle. With Pearl's visions and Hex's instincts, you all are better equipped for this place than we are." She floated after the rest of her team at a much more casual pace.

Hex peered into one of the pools around the statue – almost like she could see something in them.

"Is there something in there?" Kip asked, walking over.

"I can't see anything," Hex said, "though it looks deep to me. What about you?"

Kip peered into the water, squinting, then slid into the water in one smooth motion. The rest of us gathered around the pool, and I could see the darkness that alluded to its depth. I couldn't see Kip, either by ripples or through the dark water.

It could have been five minutes or half an hour, we waited as time lengthened out. We didn't see fin nor flipper of Kip.

"Should we do something?" I asked. "Maybe I could try becoming a water-type?"

Hex shook her head, though I could see the rigidity in her stance. "Kip's capable. He can take care of himself," she said shortly.

I shared a glance with Pika and Ev, and they shrugged. Uneasily, I sat down, and waited – I couldn't keep straining my eyes for every lap of the small pool's waves with the breeze.

"More interested in these puddles than the cave ahead?" a nasty voice taunted.

Team Skull approached us, but kept their distance. I hurriedly stood up, with Pika moving to stand next to me.

Hex said, "We're looking at all of our options, as proper explorers would. But we're not letting you find Fogbound Lake first." She sent her Will-o-Wisps to flank Pika and I. I glanced back, and while Hex hadn't moved away from the pool, Ev stood beside her.

"And do you really think you could stop us?" Chief Stench said. "How cute. Didn't you learn anything from Apple Woods?"

"Do we even get a peaceful option?" Ev called.

"Oh? Picked up a new pipsqueak, did we?" Chief Stench glanced around us, his gaze landing on Ev. "As if one more of you would be any more of a challenge than that four of you were." He glanced around, scanning the area. "You're even missing the Mudkip! Did you really go and replace your little friend?"

"Maybe he couldn't stand our combo!" Koffing floated toward us, about a foot. "Speaking of our combo, I"ll let you in on our little secret. We don't need to follow you anymore. You solved the puzzle for us – that's what Chimecho said as she left, isn't it?"

Chief Stench nodded to Koffing, then added, addressing Ev. "There is no peaceful option, here. If only things had been different. If only you all had been cooperative." But I could see it in his eyes – he couldn't see another timeline where we had been useful to them, instead of obstacles. Zubat retreated a few feet back, to give Chief Stench and Koffing space. "You know what comes next," Chief Stench said, stepping forward next to Koffing.

Kip burst out of the pool. "I saw—" he started, snapping his mouth shut as he noticed the situation. He hurriedly climbed out of the water and got into a defensive position by Pika and I.

"So he joins us! Sneaky," Chief Stench mocked. "They didn't throw you away after all. But you are still no match for our noxious gas combo, I'm sorry to say."

We prepared for the toxic cloud – I heard Hex quickly explaining it to Ev, not that the explanation would do much good against something so devastating.

"Catch my apple!!" a voice called out loudly. It even caught Team Skull off-guard as they turned to the source of the voice.

We all watched as, rushing after a large apple – it somehow and determinedly rolling head of him – we saw Guildmaster Wigglytuff himself run in our direction. If we weren't about to fight, the scene would have been almost comical. As it was, the scene left everyone dumbstruck.

The apple rolled into Chief Stench, and Wigglytuff slowed to a jog and then a walk, panting as he approached us. "Thank you!! Thank you!!" Wigglytuff sang. "My Perfect Apple went rolling when I dropped it on one of the small hills! Thankfully, the fog lifted, so I could find it again!!"

No one made a move, though Hex's wisps blinked out. Not that Wigglytuff noticed.

"Oh, Skuntank, I'm glad you and your team are helping out our apprentices!! This is what makes expeditions fun as well as educational!!"

"Uh, yes," Chief Stench managed, trying to regain his composure. "Of course."

"Well!!" Wigglytuff said, regarding us, "Continue on! I did see Team Beach on my way, and they told me about the cave!! Go along, we'll wait for the rest of the Guild and follow soon!!"

We all hesitated, glancing at each other. It felt like we all had the same thought, Do we want to leave Wigglytuff with Team Skull?

"Shoo!! Go on!!" Wigglytuff encouraged. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!"

PokéClan shared a glance, but reluctantly we started toward the cave, glancing back every so often, but Wigglytuff just smiled at us and waved as he happily ate his Perfect Apple.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Pika asked, voicing our thoughts.

"He's Guildmaster for a reason," Hex said. "Though..." she trailed off, glancing over her shoulder nervously. "They are strong."

We travelled in silence and unease for a while, not seeing much. The strange thing about this place, with steam – not fog – coming from small holes and tunnels in the rock, was that there were no branching paths, no forks in the cave. And, strangest of all, no Pokémon.

"Kip," Hex said, her voice echoing loudly in the tunnel, "what did you see?"

"Oh, something strange," he started. "It was pretty dark, but there was a current that went up, after a bit a swimming downward. I didn't want to get caught in it, it felt strong, but there was a light up in it. I couldn't see what it was, but I saw a cyan light."

Hex made a, "Hm," sound, as she took in Kip's find. "Maybe, if we don"t find anything in here, you and Pearl can try exploring the pools a bit more. Maybe there's something more than just the usual idea of treasure here."

"I hope so," Pika said eagerly. "Even if we don't come back with anything. What do you think, Ev?"

Ev glanced at Pika. "I've followed rumors that were just stories before," she said. "But so far, the legend of Fogbound Lake has seemed true. I'm thinking more about what Chimecho said at the fire, last night. If what we've heard so far is true, then what about it's guardian?" She turned to me. "Are you excited to see Uxie, and maybe get answers, or are you afraid you'll lose all of your memories again?"

I faltered, but kept up with Pika. "I never thought of that," I said, a cold dread settling into my stomach. "Is there a way we can, I don't know... Can we fight Uxie's memory-erasing power?"

Ev didn't look at me, but I watched her ears fall. One of Hex's tails twitched, but she kept up her determined pace. Kip slowed to fall in step with Pika and I, walking beside me.

"It''ll be okay," he promised. "I've heard a lot of the myths about legendary Pokémon, and I don't think that Uxie has ever had a cruel reputation. I'm sure he has his reasons."

"I'm not sure it was Uxie," I admitted quietly to those two. "The shadow – I'm familiar with what Uxie is, physically. The shadow was much bigger, and more threatening. Maybe Uxie will be able to let us know what it could be."

Pika lightly nudged me. "We'll get your memories back. We'll find them, and then we can look for the origin of my relic."

"We'll learn where you came from," Hex added. "And if you— hey!" she blurted, looking into one of the steaming holes. "Did you see that?" she asked Ev.

"Was that real?" Ev asked. "It looked like, what— a Magcargo?"

"Yes, that's what I saw, too."

Kip walked up to the hole and peered in himself – or as close as he could without steaming off his skin. "What do you mean?"

Hex and Ev shared a glance. "There was the shape, a very distinct shape – in the steam. It looked like Magcargo," Ev said. "It must have been a coincidence that it looked like that," she went on, more to Hex. "Steam likes to swirl, so it taking the shape of a Magcargo's shell..."

Hex conjured her Will-o-Wisps. "Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not psychic-type, but there is something unsettling about this place."

Kip glanced between the two of them. "We'll keep an eye out from now on," he decided. Hex and Ev nodded. Pika mouthed Strange, to me, and I shrugged. We all continued on.

We didn't talk, with everyone on-edge and on-guard. Then I heard some music, playing softly, as if far away...

"Does anyone hear the music?" I asked in a hushed voice.

Hex stopped, and she listened around. After a long moment, she slowly said, "No."

"I hear something," Kip said. "It might— do you hear a Kricketune's melody, Pearl?"

I shook my head. "It's more – some kind of light bells. I think." I tried straining my ears. "It's definitely not a Kricketune, or at least not only a Kricketune."

A roar echoed through the caves. A loud roar.

"I wasn't hearing that," I said hastily.

Ev's ears flattened again. "We might need to think about if Uxie isn't here, something else is and could be just as powerful, if not more. And it could be big enough to have a roar like that."

"It's okay," Hex said. "If that's the only thing here, it makes sense that no other Pokémon would be here. I doubt it could wander these tunnels, either."

We continued on, with Hex and Ev leading. Eventually, we came upon a larger space in the tunnel. It continued on, straight ahead, but there was a cavern. Hex sent her Will-o-Wisps to light up the area.

"Looks clear," Hex reported.

The rest of us followed them into the cavern, the shadows almost forming shapes, but they quickly turned back into flickers and shadows when I looked. Is that anything? Is that... the Shadow? Or am I paranoid?

"I don't like this," Pika said quietly, his cheeks sparking.

We all glanced around, the steam strangely absent.

You are not welcome here.

I whirled around, and saw the others react likewise. Then I saw, charging in from where we had come from, a Magmar—

"Magmar ahead!" Ev called from up front. I looked over my shoulder, and sure enough – a second Magmar came rushing through the other tunnel.

"One coming up from behind!" Pika called back.

One old piece of memory or knowledge surfaced. "Don't touch them! Their skin is hot enough to cause burns!"

Immediately, both Magmar shot off a burst of Flamethrower. On one side, Kip met it with Water Gun and turned it into steam, hissing violently and heating up the space even more. On the other, Hex took the hit, and almost seemed like she absorbed the fire. Ev used Swift on the one Kip was fighting, and Pika and I left them to it to help out Hex.

Pika's sparks intensified, and he sent a Thundershock at Hex's Magmar. Knowing fire wouldn't do much, I still sent a Flamethrower back at the Magmar, while Hex started to glow with a dark energy – then she sent it at the Magmar. It stopped its Flamethrower, glaring and growling at us. Then it took a breath, and let out a purple mist—

"This one's using Smog!" Ev called out.

"Ours is, too!" Hex replied. "We need to end this before they smoke us out!"

I glanced over to see how Kip and Ev were doing, and Kip had just sent a Water Pulse at their Magmar.

It dissolved into the air.

"They're not real," I said to Hex. "Some kind of illusion!"

"They still hit like they're real," Hex replied. She used the dark power again, and this time I recognized Payback.

I followed up her attack with Iron Tail. It landed, and then blindingly bright spinning stars shot by— the second Magmar dissipated into thin air.

Hex glanced around, searching for any other Pokémon hidings. "I hope the rest of the Guild is ready for some weird stuff," she said, an edge to her voice. She seemed frazzled. "If we're all okay, let's keep going, and keep an eye out for any strange shadows."

Hex had her Will-o-Wisp flames go ahead of us, so we could better prepare for any ambushes. however, despite seeing numerous Pokémon shapes in the steam and shadows, nothing else outright attacked us.

Hex halted. "Hold on." She stepped forward, her ears twitching. "This place is strange. There's... am I the only one who can sense the... something's off."

"I feel it, too," Ev said hesitantly. "There's something here. Maybe it—"

The ground began to quake, with a repetitive thud, thud following it, like footsteps.

We heard another roar, similar to the one we heard before, but this one was much closer.

"—it's what we heard," Ev finished.

The massive form of Groudon, larger than the statue, lumbered out from behind one of the large stone stalagmites toward us. His eyes glared at each of us, methodically, pinning us in place, warning us from continuing on.

"Groudon...!" I exhaled breathlessly. Awe and terror mixed within me at the sight. He was massive. He would dwarf a Tyranitar.

"Why have you come here?" Groudon demanded in a low, threatening tone. "This is a sacred place! Leave!"

No one moved a muscle. Groudon froze us all in place with a heated glare.

"But..." Pika started. I stared at him, how could he speak? He took a step forward, his ears hanging down and his tail low. "We want to see Fogbound Lake! We found your statue, and lifted the fog!"

"You want to see Fogbound Lake?" Groudon growled out, almost bending toward Pika. "I am its guardian!"

"I thought Uxie was its guardian?" Ev ventured.

Groudon stood straight up, bringing himself up to his full height. "If you will not heed my warning, then you will learn my threat!"

Groudon slowly lumbered toward us, and we backed up. Of all of the things that could have happened, a powerful legendary Pokémon was not what any of us had thought we'd see, much less battle.

"Pearl, you said you knew what Groudon was!" Hex called out. "How do we fight him?"

"I-I don't know! I don't think I ever saw him before!"

"I know," Kip said. "He's fire-ground-type. Legend has it, he made the land masses."

"I'd like something about defeating him!" Hex said, her voice turning shrill. "I have Flash Fire, but that won't help against an Earthquake! And it won't help any of you at all!"

Kip didn't say anything, he just used Water Pulse.

Ev used Swift.

Pika and I shared a glance – we shared our alarm.

"Let's discover Fogbound Lake," Pika said, his determination returning, and rushed toward Groudon with Quick Attack.

I took a step just as the ground rumbled, and I looked back just in time to watch as rocks shot up to block our retreat.

We can only go through, now.

I picked a move, then, taking inspiration from Pika's courage, rushed forward and slashed toward Groudon with Iron Tail.

✿ May 3, 2023 ✿
*4,729 words*

Hey, look at that! An update on the third. When was the last time I managed that?
I'd like to start this with a small one time taglist of people who seemed really interested in some part Crystal's story back before my year and a half hiatus in 2019-2021. I won't do a taglist again, unless someone actively wants me to tag them when I post a new chapter (as I've seen done on Tumblr). I just want people to have the option to re-engage with a story that I like writing and that they (once) enjoyed reading.

Crowhisper (I know you still follow Crystal's story, Ev, but it felt rude to exclude you)
gofishstories
TK-421Magikarp
chicken_elvis
UserBREAK88
Ebonisa
LuwunarFox
jibanyan1994
GreasedLightning25
lesliemashburn26