Running.

That was about all Grovyle could really do at this point in the proceedings. It was supposed to have been a slick and easy break-in. The original plan had been to raid Dusknoir's base (whose identity had been revealed to him by the numerous interrogations of the Sableye; these guys were dumb yet useful), retrieve some sort of special paper, then lure any pursuers into a trap he laid out in case he'd run into trouble. Instead, all he'd found were several meaningless papers that had been haphazardly torn from books, a loud alarm signaling a break-in, and an open window, implying that someone had beaten him to the punch and had already made an escape. Luckily, he'd managed to catch sight of a tall, blue robed figure making his way down the same path he was on now. Yet he didn't have the time to really worry about that now as the Sableye were right on his heels.

Grovyle made his way through the forest of brown, unhealthy looking trees, trying to get the Sableye to continue to follow him. In fact, he was counting on them to stay right on his trail. If he played his cards right, then he would be able to get them off his backs long enough for him to search for the mysterious thief that had reached the prize he had been searching for. However, the problem was that the Sableye, while not exactly the brightest bulbs you would find anywhere, were insufferably tenacious in a group. This meant that, if he'd so much as take them on by himself, he'd be facing an uphill battle just trying to defeat all of them. To make matters worse, that strategy also ran the risk of attracting Dusknoir or, God forbid, Primal Dialga. No, it was best to just trap them and escape so that any of the ladder foes were none the wiser as to what had happened.

The figure had to be a fool to think that his good luck would continue like this. He was now hanging, satchels in tow, from a rather large net on one of the larger trees in the area he was in. Why anyone would have put such an annoying trap in the middle of a forest trail was beyond what he could comprehend. Fortunately, the trap seemed to have been designed to hold more than one occupant (in which the figure had a pretty good idea as to who this trap was for), so it only took him a matter of seconds to slip a hand through one of the holes and cut through the knot with the pocket knife he always carried with him. He then scaled to the nearest branch and started placing the remains of the net in one of the satchels he was carrying.

Why he had to carry two satchels with him at all times was well beyond anyone's guess, even his own. Yet it had always felt natural to him for some bizarre reason so he never bothered to contemplate on the matter further. One satchel had been deemed as his every day satchel, as it was carrying a rather messy assortment of orbs and other strange items that he'd either picked up on his travels or had been given to him by Pokémon that he had helped out at some point in time. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep this world's darkness from breaking his spirit. The other one was a lot more organized and contained a vast array of papers he had compiled in order for him to complete his mission… like the one he had recently confiscated from Dusknoir's little base.

Despite the trap he had the misfortune of stumbling onto, this was by far the easiest data heist he had ever pulled. The Sableye that had been patrolling the stone building that the fat ghost used as a lair were so annoyingly stupid that the fact that they managed to work for him was nothing short of a miracle. Add in the fact that he had been scoping out that place for almost a full two weeks, learning how to override the various security feeds that made up the place, and it had been a crying shame that he didn't run into any sort of problems up until now.

His musings were quickly extinguished by a rather loud rustling on the forest floor underneath him. Looking down, he saw that several Pokémon had converged underneath him, completely oblivious to the fact that there was someone directly above them. He immediately recognized several of them as the Sableye that had been at Dusknoir's lair, which made sense because they were pretty much the only credible ghost types that haven't fully lost their minds yet (well except for Spiritomb, but at this stage, one could only classify the guy as a what). The other was relatively new to him, and the only real characteristics he could make out from his vantage point were that it was green and that it had, what if by all indications, a large leaf on top of its head. The group immediately got into a fight that was pretty much a one sided mugging from his angle.

Immediately, the experience the figure had received from dealing with most surprises came into effect, and he began calculating what was going on. This Pokémon had to have been the one that had set the trap he had the misfortune of stumbling upon. There was no way they could've have gotten this far and not be here for something else. So what was he supposed to do now? The figure pondered his choices carefully.

Option A: Leave the group be and just proceed through the trees and back to his hideout.

No that isn't right, he thought bitterly. I've never liked turning my back on people who needed my help. Plus it would draw too much attention to myself if I moved around up here. The last thing I want to do is give myself away and ruin my one wish.

Option B: rescue the Pokémon, and tie him up back at his lair.

That'll just make me as bad as Dusknoir. Besides, this guy might know something about this paralyzed world and he definitely won't be in a talkative mood if I did that to him.

Option C: rescue the Pokémon and try to become friends with whoever it is.

Who knows? This guy might come in handy.

Without bothering to think of the matter anymore, the figure pulled out a pair of cracked goggles and immediately strapped them on. He then pulled out three of the orbs he carried and dropped them right in the center of the group. The moment they hit the ground, they immediately transformed some of the nearby Sableye into one of the dummies he'd seen when an ally of his used Substitute. He wasn't sure how long the orbs would last, but it bought him enough time to jump down from the tree, sling the now unconscious Pokémon onto his back, and get away with the assistance of low hanging vines before the effects wore off.

The figure continued to travel by this method for a while now, gaining altitude with each swing while trying not to drop his unknowing companion. Once they'd gotten to a safer distance, he slid down off the vine, shifted the Pokémon into his arms and began making his way down the trail on foot. At several random intervals, the Pokémon stirred but remained unconscious, making him look down at it. While he continues to run at a steady pace, his mind began to falter. Wait a minute… wouldn't it be better to just leave him somewhere? I don't really need him to carry out my mission. He looked down at the Pokémon and noticed there was now a smile on its face. While he couldn't put his finger on it, the Pokémon just seemed so… trusting.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave him 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.

The figure was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost rushed past his house: a cave at the other side of the forest. He managed to stop himself in time, and after taking a few breaths to get his lungs to catch up with him, he went inside. It was a modest little house. The only real things that were in it were a straw bed and a wooden table. After setting the Pokémon down on the bed, he dug into one of his satchels and pulled out one of the last Oran berries he had left. After mashing it up in a bowl he managed to find somewhere, he forced it down the Pokémon's throat. Now that the adrenaline from running was leveling out, he sat down on one of the chairs and asked himself what the Pokémon would be like. Rude, arrogant? Annoying, whiny? Most of the Pokémon he knew in this cold world (save a small pink Pokémon that can travel through time) was the same—selfish and shallow. Why would it be any different?