Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Keepers of Time

Chapter 3

"This is bad, very, very bad!" Chatot paced in circles.

"Do we know who the thief is?" Jet asked, worry clouding his gaze.

"Well, no one was there at the time. All we know is that... it's stolen. And soon, this thief is going to go for the one in Fogbound Lake!" Pidgeotto said.

"Not Fogbound Lake!" A Pokémon cried.

"That's where one of the guardians are, though. I'm sure she would never let that thief get to the precious Time Gear!" Another Pokémon said, defiantly.

"Maybe, and even if he does, we can get a full on description of this Thief! And when we do that, we'll send out an Exploration Team to take him down!" Chatot said, "I'm sure of it."

"I want us to be that Team!" Jet said to Rose, "No one has stolen a Time Gear before! We must stop him, Rose!"

"Yeah, but... I must talk to you once we are in our room again," Rose said quietly.

...

That night, the two were restless. Rose finally cleared her throat, "I... want to know what a Time Gear is." She blushed, "That was kind of unexpected, and I don't even know what they are! They sound important, though."

"Well, let me start. Time Gears are these artifacts in these special places. They control the time there, and if one is ever stolen... Time stops in that area." Jet let that sink in.

"Permanently?"

"We think so. And, well, this might even be the first. We're not entirely sure, though."

"That doesn't sound good. And you don't know who the thief is?" Rose asked, nervous.

"Not yet," Jet said, looking out the window, "But I know we will soon. If he gets to one of the lakes with a guardian inside. And even if that Time Gear is stolen, we might be able to figure out who he is and maybe track him down to the next Time Gear."

Rose nodded, and sat back in her nest. She wondered if they would ever find this thief. Not to mention she still needs to find her partner from when she was human...

The words pounded in her head, and Rose sighed, with a shiver. She nodded off.

...

It has been a while since the first Time Gear was stolen. Another one got stolen, and then another. Three more Time Gears were left until they all had been stolen by this thief.

Rose cheered on with the rest of the guild, "AND THREE, SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

"Now, Guildmaster Wigglytuff has an announcement for all of you," Chatot said, and moved to the side to give the Guildmaster room.

"Well," He began, "We are all going on an Expedition!"

"Yaay!" The Guild cheered.

"Now, we will give you a day to prepare, and then we will set off!" Wigglytuff continued.

"I can't wait!" Jet whispered excitedly.

"Well, off you go then!" Chatot said, and the Exploration Teams scattered.

"Hey, uh, guys?" A voice called.

Rose and Jet turned to see a Treeko run towards them. He waved, "I'm Vine, and I want to join your exploration team. I know, it's getting a little hectic with all this mess, and what all is going on, but I really, really want to be on an Exploration Team with you guys! You seem really nice. So... can I?"

"Sure!" Jet exclaimed, "The more, the merrier!"

"Thanks!" Vine cheered.

"Vine, this is supposed to be gossip time, I guess, so... what Pokémon do you think the thief is?" Jet whispered.

The Treeko thought for a moment, "Nah, I don't want to jinx myself... Nope... Uh, could it be...? Nah, never... Oh! I know! It could be a...a... a Hypno? No, never mind...uh... let's see... a Weaville?"

"A Weaville? Good choice!" Jet said, "They sure do look shady. What was your first guess?"

Vine seemed to sweat, and he fidgeted, "A-A-A Grovyle... But I didn't want to jinx myself..."

"Aw, poor Vine," Rose laughed.

Vine blushed, "A Sceptile seems shadier..."

"But, Sceptile also is in your evolution chain, isn't it?" Jet shrugged.

Vine froze. "Oh Arceus. I forgot!"

"Don't worry, it might be a Weaville," Rose said, "You never know."

 Vine nodded.

...

The third nest was moved in due to Vine's acceptance to Team SteelSpark. With a sigh, Vine plopped into his nest, and stretched. "I can't wait for the expedition tomorrow," He said.

"Yeah, I know," Jet said, looking out the window again, "I bet it's going to be a place with a Time Gear! I mean, what if we're going to a place that is on the thief's path?"

"That'd be pretty awesome," Rose admitted, "Then, one of us might get to see him for ourselves. Then we could find out his path, and, you know, stop him."

"Yeah. That would be pretty cool... Except for the fact that we have no clue what Pokémon he is," Vine shivered.

"Are you still worried it's a Grovyle?" Rose teased.

"Yeah..." Vine said shakily, "Or a Sceptile... Or another Treeko!"

"Nah, another Treeko is unlikely," Jet shrugged, "I mean, why would another Treeko be stealing Time Gears?"

"WHAT IF IT'S ME!" Vine suddenly shrieked.

"Shhh," Rose and Jet hushed him at the same time, "You might wake the others up!"

"Sorry," The Treeko murmured, "But still."

"Well, here is how we answer the question. Why, Vine, would you go around stealing Time Gears?" Jet questioned.

"Well... Yeah you're right. Absolutely no reason why it'd be me," Vine said.

"So... I guess we go to sleep now?" Jet asked the rest.

"Until Loudred yells at us for waking him up and wakes us up," Rose shrugged.

"Alright, let's go to sleep then," Jet leaned back in his nest.

...

The moon showed over the small forest. It went down the pathway to the Fogbound Forest, which led to Fogbound Lake, which held the next Time Gear.

The pattering came again.

The figure came to a halt, sending up a cloud of dush. He coughed, and shook his head. He looked at the satchel slung over his shoulder. He looked back at the path ahead of him.

"Fogbound Lake, here I come," He whispered, and sprinted off again.

A/N Imagine Vine when he realizes what Pokémon it is. I know exactly how he's going to react. I'm just going to say that. So, yeah! I'll see you guys later! Buh bye!