OOUGHHH been thinking about Grovyle lately and how much I just *clenches fists* love him. Listen to me. Listen,
He is the character of all time. Heβs introduced as a wanted criminal stealing something SO forbidden that even the worst Pokemon criminals wonβt even touch. That immediately shoots his coolness factor through the ROOF. And the fact that nobody is able to catch him;; AND we see that heβs ridiculously clever and smart and can worm his way out of just about any situation with a bit of quick thinking. And heβs always surrounded in this air of mystery and intrigue and youβre set up to think well yeah heβs stealing Time Gears and stopping time everywhere OBVIOUSLY he has to be an asshole. Except during your first encounter with him heβs very calm and collected and shockingly polite, and even apologizes when he attacks you?? Basically just the opposite of what youβd expect from a criminal. And then to top it off you find out heβs from the FUTURE?? Which is SO sick. And heβs got some secret history with Dusknoir. And when heβs finally captured and being brought into Treasure Town all tied up he doesnβt even act out UNTIL Dusknoir mentions the planetβs paralysis. Which is the first hint you get that things are a leetle sus.
And when you get taken to the future and are about to be executedβ¦he helps you? He has literally zero obligation to do so, esp since youβve attacked him before. And thereβs another subtle hint that maybe deep down heβs got a soft side, that heβs actually not a bad person. And itβs heartbreaking bc he finally knows someone else who is a common enemy of Dusknoir, and he clearly wants to team up with you, bc all this time heβd been by himself in the past and having people he can trust would make things so much easier (and itβs startling how easy he trusts others, too, especially considering everything heβs been through). But your partner isnβt having it and you can FEEL the disappointment he feels that heβs not able to convince you, that you arenβt going to work together, that he canβt have someone else to rely on besides himself. But that little spark, that glimmer of hope comes back when you catch up to him and youβre like yeah weβre going to decide for ourselves what we think about all this. And you find out from Celebi that Grovyleβs always been hasty, always hurrying ahead to try and achieve his goals, and itβs admirable but also regrettable bc he doesnβt ever have time for anything else.
And THEN you discover the truthβ¦that heβs been your partner all alongβ¦and he speaks of you so fondly and has such faith in you that heβs totally fine leaving things to you and letting himself get captured because he trusts you SO much. And the despair right after when he finds out youβve been traveling alongside him the entire time. His precious partner is also going to get captured and executed and the world is doomed to fall into disrepair. But then your partner ignites that spark of hope again and itβs enough, and you make it back to the past, and suddenly things are different but in a good way because Grovyle suddenly has someone to rely on again, even without a memory to go with it. But he can also tell that because of your amnesia heβs no longer important to you, not by choice of course, but youβve found someone else, a partner suited for you that brings out the best in you. And thatβs fucking heartbreaking because everything the two of you shared is gone now, and youβve moved on, and even though youβre THERE youβre also so far away and so different from the person he once knew. But he knows he has to let you go, had to from the start anyway, because of the sacrifice you were prepared to make. That BOTH of you were prepared to make. And despite the fact that you have no memory he still. Trusts you. Completely. Enough to sacrifice himself to take Dusknoir back to the future. And believe that youβll follow through with the vow you made and prevent the planetβs paralysis. And he KNOWS you will so he doesnβt know how much time he has left but it doesnβt matter because heβs been prepared to disappear, to die knowing that heβs saved the future, that he made his mark and was able to shine in his finest moments. He can leave this world knowing he did what he set out to do and he made a difference and things will be better for everyone heβs leaving behind. Shut up. Shut UP. I care about him so much I am GOING to explode. THE character ever. You donβt understand,