So this may turn out to be a one shot, but I'm not sure. But i hope that this story is okay-this is my first time posting anything on Fan fiction. Please enjoy! ^^

A pair of quick, barefoot feet raced across the darkened pavement. A figure's blue cape swooped across the dark, frozen landscape as she adjusted her bag, which was slung on her shoulder while she ran. In the background you could hear the garbles of the purple Sableye, relentless as they chased the poor figure. Panting hard from the exertion, she sprinted, feet hitting the black, cold stones, as she desperately tried to lose her pursuers.

Slipping into a forest filled with brown, unhealthy looking trees and dead leaves, she ran as fast as she could. Despite her attempt, she stumbled over the countless number of dead twigs, and fell straight into a crevice in the forest on the craggy mountain. She screamed, quietly yet desperately, as she tumbled through the rocks. Eyes closed tightly, the figure clutched her satchel tight to her chest as she fell through the dark pit. It must be kept safe, at all costs! The figure's consciousness flickered as she fell deeper and deeper, finally giving in to a faded black.

Meanwhile, a pokémon with narrow, yellow eyes stalked his prey, crouching behind a dark rock. I have to hurry and find out what those stupid Sableye are up to! Grovyle gritted his teeth with impatience. His mission had been an utter failure—He had planned to raid that evil Dusknoir's lair to find that top-secret paper (whose identity became known to Grovyle through many harsh interrogations of Sableye—those Pokémon were stupid, yet useful), and instead found a flurry of meaningless papers torn from books, a loud alarm signaling a break-in, and an open window, evidence that someone had to make a quick escape. And so, Grovyle followed the Sableye, who were too keen on following the thief to notice they themselves were being stalked. All he had to do was find the thief by following them, and then steal the paper himself and make a quick getaway.

As the Sableye made up their minds to search in the forest for the thief, Grovyle's heartbeat quickened. He would soon have to face the thief, whom, if he/she had broken into the lair of Dusknoir himself, must be pretty smart and brave. (and not to mention high leveled). Even so, Grovyle went on, jumping silently from tree to tree, keeping the Sableye in his line of sight. As the Sableye's search came to a sudden stop, for the Sableye began to argue among themselves, each insisting their different ideas of where the thief could be, something came to Grovyle's attention.

A soft blue cape lay on the ground, contrasting greatly against the rough, hard dirt of the forest. Across from the cape was a large pit consisting of walls made of rock. Maybe it was just him, but Grovyle thought he could see the faintest of….of marks against the dirt, as if someone fell into the pit and was scrabbling trying to get out. That thief….that thief must have been here! Deciding to take his chances, Grovyle decided to investigate—although he would lose time if his guess was wrong, he figured it was better than sitting around waiting for the squabbling Sableye to actually move and search.

Grovyle quietly picked up a rough black stone and threw it, the shot perfectly aimed as it hit a branch of a tree far ahead. The few leaves left on the branch trembled as the branch bobbed up and down. The Sableyes' ears shot up as they registered the sound.

"Over there!"

Grovyle couldn't help but be amused that the Sableye would fall for such an old trick. As the Sableye wandered farther and farther from the pit in question, Grovyle gracefully hopped down from his tree. He swiftly walked toward the pit, wasting no time in glancing into it.

He let out a gasp. The figure had smooth, peach colored skin and a torn white t-shirt and shorts. A mop of soft brown hair the color of chestnuts cascaded down the figure's back like a waterfall, ending at her waist. A brown satchel was clutched tightly in her arms, her slim fingers acting as barriers. She had to be no older than thirteen. But the most surprising thing to Grovyle was her face. She was angel-like, but….also….human. A human was splayed across the bottom of the pit. But…that couldn't be possible. A…human? But...didn't they….become extinct?

By this point in his harsh life, Grovyle had learned to deal with most surprises. And so his mind quickly calculated what to do with the…human. This girl had to be the thief—it was obvious from the way she held her bag as if her life depended on it. So what should he do with her? Grovyle pondered on his choices. Option A: Leave the human be, and take the map and quickly hide. But then again, the iron grip the girl had on her bag made him doubt his ability to pull the bag away. Also, she was a human…she could know something about time being paralyzed, since the rest of the human race "disappeared", (aka Dusknoir hurled them all into a time warp) prevented from having this knowledge spread. Grovyle longed to be able to see a sunrise, curious to know if they were as breathtaking as he had read in some books (stolen from Dusknoir's lair by yours truly) He would hate if Option A stole his chance. Option B: Take the bag and the girl, and tie up the human at his lair. Hm…but then again, if he tied up the girl, he probably wouldn't be able to make her talk about her knowledge of this paralyzed world they both came to live in. Option C: Take the human and the paper, and attempt to befriend the girl. Who knows? She might come in handy.

As Grovyle thought more and more about his choice menu, he suddenly heard the Sableye.

"Told you the thief wasn't over there! Let's search this way!"

"The thief is obviously not here! We should turn around!"

The Sableye squabbled among themselves.

"Oh, be quiet, all of you! You're being so loud that the thief is going to hear you! Let's just go here for now just in case—Master Dusknoir would be very displeased to hear that we failed our capture!"

The mob of Sableye were getting closer. Grovyle needed to make a decision, fast. He quickly used the move Strength to enhance his energy. Then he jumped into the hole, swept the girl and her bag up into his arms, and leaped out of the pit with the assistance of Quick Attack. Grovyle swooped across the forest, using Quick Attack every once in a while to get an additional burst of speed. He sprinted across the stone path that the girl had raced on just minutes before. He passed by a frozen waterfall—an effect of the dark world whose time had stopped.

Grovyle continued to run, not even breaking a sweat as he raced through the corridors of a brown cave. The girl swung in his arms, lifeless. And then….a flicker of the eyelids. The girl's eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times to reveal warm, brown eyes. Who….Who is carrying me? Although her eyes were open, the girl's vision was still a blur. She tried to move, and almost cried out from the sudden pain in her arm. She began to feel faint again, although her mind fought against the wave of black rising in her mind. What happened? Why am I… here?...ah, yes…. That pit….She thought as she remembered that painful fall. But…everything…seems okay now. Someone was cradling her in his or her arms. This embrace…feels so…gentle…The girl passed out again, although this time, there was a slight, soft smile on her lips, and instead of anguish for the fate of her bag, she felt calm, reassured by her rescuer.

Grovyle, too intent on finding his lair, failed to notice the girl's brief rise to consciousness. He did, however, realize that the human's grip on the bag had loosened. Although Grovyle continued running at a steady pace, Grovyle's mind faltered. Wait a second. Maybe he could get the bag away from the girl now and leave the human…Maybe it was better not to take chances of bringing the girl to his home…Maybe—Grovyle looked down at the girl. She seemed so innocent, breathing peacefully as she held onto her bag. So…trusting.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her all alone. He just couldn't. It wasn't moralistic. I'm not getting soft….it's just that this way I have a better chance of finding out about the paralyzed world. Yes, that's it. That's the only reason.

Grovyle was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost rushed past his house, deep within the cave. He stopped himself, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. It was a modest little house, with a little straw bed and small wooden table. He laid down the girl on the straw bed, and then walked to the table and sat down. He stayed there for a moment or two, lost in thought. Then he suddenly realized something. He had forgotten—the girl was injured. He quickly studied her. Her arm especially looked battered up. It was hard to tell if it was serious or not, but to be on the safe side, Grovyle started rummaging around his house. Soon after, he found one of his last Oran berries. He quickly mashed it up into a bowl he managed to find, and then forced it down the girl's throat. He waited, pondering on what he should ask the girl when she woke up. With his adrenaline from the run calming back down, he reverted back to his normal self. He wondered what she was like. Rude, ignorant? Annoying, whiny? Everyone else in this cold world was the same—selfish and shallow. Why would she be any different?

As if answering his thoughts, there was a sparkle. The girl's body began to twinkle brightly with white, healing light as the Oran berry worked its magic. Grovyle let out a faint sigh of relief—he needed her as his information pool and it would be bad if she was incapable of speech or movement…..Okay, fine. He didn't want the girl to be injured also. Although he may seem cold and calculating on the outside, like the ogre in Shrek, Grovyle had multiple layers like an onion, each revealing another bit of kindness. Not that he would admit it.

The healed girl began to stir. She blinked open her soft eyes, and then slowly sat up. Feeling Grovyle's presence, she turned.

"Did you….save me?" the girl questioned, her eyes friendly.

"….I guess so," replied Grovyle uncertainly. Did taking a girl out of a pit to gain knowledge count as saving someone? He couldn't tell.

"Well, either way, thank you for bring me here. My name is Haru." The girl warmly said, a gentle smile on her face.

"Sure…"

There was an awkward pause of silence due to Grovyle's un-confident response. He didn't know what to make of her—she didn't seem like the self-centered type of creature he had become accustomed to. Plus, she was a human, an unknown being. What were humans supposed to be like, anyways? Grovyle didn't have anything against them—it's just that they were so foreign that he didn't know what to do.

The girl suddenly realized something.

"Ah! My bag! Where did it go!", Haru exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "I have to find it!" She suddenly started looking around, a desperate look on her face.

"You mean that dirty satchel? It's over here on the table."

"Oh…thank you.." Haru said, ignoring his comment, her voice clearly showing her relief. She slowly walked towards the table and sat down, her face a slight pink from her realization that her outburst was unnecessary. Grovyle sat across from her, gazing at her, guarded yet curious. Haru noticed this and turned towards him, her wide eyes looking at him quizzically.

"What is it?" Haru tentatively asked.

"How…How are you human?" Grovyle couldn't help asking. The question had been bothering him for a while.

"Oh…Well, I had a human mother and a human father, and so I was born the same spe—"

"No, that's not what I meant! I mean, I thought all humans were extinct?"

"Oh, sorry! Well…my village's people were all very close friends, so we knew each other very well. When the humans were being sent into the time warp, a-all of them distracted Dusknoir and his Sableye while I…escaped…." There was a sad tinge in Haru's eyes as she remembered her lost parents and friends. Her face was still red—this time because she was ashamed of leaving her people. Haru started talking faster, as if to defend herself. "I really didn't want to leave them—but they insisted and pushed me towards the forest to escape because I, well…" She stopped talking for a moment, and then asked a question.

"Can you keep a secret, _?" Haru paused. "Oh yeah…um…what is your name by the way?"

"Grovyle."

"Ah, that's a nice name," Haru said brightly. "So as I was saying earlier…Can you keep a secret, Grovyle?"

Grovyle thought for a while. He wanted to, but what if it was a secret that just couldn't be kept no matter what? But seeing Haru waiting for a response, he tried to muster an answer quickly.

"Hopefully…"

Haru looked at Grovyle for a second, and then smiled.

"It turns out that I have this ability called the Dimensional Scream. I am able to see visions of the past or future when I touch an object. Usually these objects are connected to something called a "Time Gear". It is an object that helps control the flow of time. There should be five of them somewhere in this paralyzed world. My people w—are hoping that my ability will be useful in starting time flowing again, although I'm not sure how…But I'll still try! That's why I took this paper…" Haru explained, holding her bag and drawing out a fragile-looking piece of paper.

Grovyle was stunned. They….they had the same goal? The same goal to have time flow again? He could hardly believe it. After all, most Pokémon (and he had assumed humans too, although now he realized that they put the world's well being above their own by letting Haru escape) were affected by this dark, paralyzed state of the world—their hearts would become mean and wild. (plus a little stupid at times). Haru seemed to be the opposite, with her kind smiles and gentle actions. …Although maybe she was a little stupid—too trusting. But still. He could hardly believe they had the same goal…

Haru continued.

"I will try and fulfill their wish, but afterwards, I am going to try my hardest to get them back safely!"

Haru glanced out Grovyle, who still looked like he had just won a trip to see a sunrise for a whole day.

"Oh sorry…that was probably a lot to think about, wasn't it," apologized Haru sheepishly, mistaking his look of awe for confusion.

Grovyle snapped out of it.

"I'm just surprised that you are spilling things so easily…Actually…" Grovyle paused. Should he tell? Should he lie? "I….am also looking for a way to get time in motion again.", he managed to say. I guess I'll tell the truth…

"Really? Then maybe we could work together! What's that saying…two heads are better than one? Besides, I owe you for saving and healing me!" Haru exclaimed.

Grovyle's mind raced. This was a much better deal than he had hoped for—getting a new ally didn't sound too bad. But this girl…she might slow him down. It was a hard decision. Grovyle made the mistake of glancing at the girl's hopeful face.

"I…guess…" Grovyle responded, slightly reluctant.

"Yay! Thank you! I'll enjoy working with you!" Haru said energetically (and obliviously) with a bright smile.

Grovyle unintentionally returned it with a slight, barely visible soft smile.

"Oh yeah! Maybe we should look at that paper now!" suggested Haru, pumped up from their new alliance. "Do you know about this paper?"

"Yes. That's the paper that possibly has vital information on how to restore time again, right?"

Haru giggled. "Yup! You make it sound so businesslike!" Then, following his suit, she calmed down and gently set the worn piece of paper on the wooden table. She slowly rolled it out.

Thank you for reading! I would really appreciate it if you reviewed! :3