Chapter 1 – Dangers Close To Home
It was a clear, yet mildly chilly night somewhere in Johto. The diurnal Pokémon had retired for the day and the nocturnal Pokémon were up and about. The sounds of the Hoothoot echoed throughout the land. In a clearing was a group of Stantler, sleeping blissfully under the gentle glow of the moonlight. There were foals among the adults.
A black Jeep silently drove along the dirt road and stopped near the sleeping group. One of the three figures inside the Jeep stood up and tinkered with something in the back. The driver and the front seat passenger smirked at the Stantler. While the darkness veiled their appearance, the driver was a male with long hair, and the passenger was a scrawny, yet big chested, young woman with wild hair.
"There they are," the driver smirked.
"They're ripe for the picking," the woman agreed.
"Don't be so dramatic," the third man said sternly. The cigarette in his mouth only gave enough light to reveal him to be a Caucasian male with a deep brown beard. He held up a relatively small bazooka and aimed it at the Stantler.
"Seriously, though, why are we after those things?" the woman asked.
"Because their antlers bring in a lot of money for just one pair," the driver replied.
"If you paid attention, you wouldn't have asked," the older man sighed. The woman pouted. "Rev it up, Andy." With a loud bang from the bazooka, a net was released at exactly the same moment the driver accelerated instantly, with a satisfied grin on his face.
Keenan awoke gently, yawning a little as he sat up to stretch his arms. His plush duvet fell from his bare chest. Carefully rubbing one eye, he looked out of his bedroom window. It was a bright sunny day, but, despite being half-asleep still, the condensation on the window panes hasn't escaped the boy's notice. He knew it would be a cold day.
Fully clothed in his usual red attire, he and his Vaporeon, Iara walked down the stairs. He immediately saw his father at the kitchen table, looking oddly like a typical father in the morning; dressed in a business suite and reading a newspaper with a mug of coffee next to his elbow. Before he could greet his father, Keenan was greeted by the radio.
"Pokémon Trainers and residents alike are being advised to take caution as reports of wild Pokémon randomly attacking humans is on the rise in the Kanto and Johto regions." The broadcast worried Keenan, but listened intently to the rest of the story. "In other related news, the population of wild Pokémon in Kanto and Johto, according the Pokémon Researchers, is on the decline. There is no evidence to explain this phenomenon." Hayden scoffed.
"Well, maybe if the police actually did what they're being paid to do, there would actually be some evidence," he complained, talking over the radio. It didn't matter to Keenan; the story had finished and some rock music had started playing.
"But...What if it's something that's out of their hands?" he asked. He was curious, but he couldn't escape the gut feeling he had that something might be wrong.
"Who knows? But I do know this," Hayden replied, pausing briefly to take a drink from his warm beverage. "If the Ranger Union gets involved, it either means that it IS out of the police's hands...or it means that they just can't be bothered." Keenan wanted to laugh, as he always found his father's resentment of the police's professionalism humorous, but the news he had just heard worried him. He sat down at the kitchen table, pondering about what he had just heard. His mother, Lily, returned to the kitchen, holding a small package among a couple of generic-looking envelopes. She approached her son and sat the parcel near him.
"Here, your PokéGear skin's finally arrived," Lily smiled sweetly. "I don't see what took them so long, it was paid for in advance."
"Probably another case of gross misconduct," Hayden muttered grumpily, his eyes still fixated on the newspaper. "They'd better refund the cost of the express delivery like they said they would."
"Thanks," Keenan said half-heartedly. He took his bland blue and white PokéGear from his pocket and began to take the covering off.
After breakfast, and after having put his new green and orange skin on the PokéGear now strung around his neck, Keenan and Iara began to walk down Route 36. Keenan looked around at the surroundings. The Pokémon would usually hide during the day to avoid Pokémon trainers, but Keenan knew that they'd still be around. However, the silence all around him wasn't because of hiding Pokémon; he knew that Route 36 was affected by the disappearances he had heard about, and assumed that there wasn't a single wild Pokémon on the entire route. Iara looked up at her human friend with concern; she knew the broadcast was still fresh on his young mind. He took the PokéGear from around his neck and opened it. After pressing several buttons on the device, he held it to his ear and waited.
Keith and Buizel flew over the Almia region, headed towards the large building with a tree on the roof; the odd building was, undoubtedly, Almia's Ranger Union. The young Ranger smiled at what he had spotted on the roof; his fellow Ranger and love, Alexa, with a Buneary on her shoulder. The Buneary had a bell on a green ribbon around her neck and looked more well built compared to Luana's Buneary, despite the similar age. The Staraptor descended in front of the pair and Keith hopped off the raptor's back. Keith released the Staraptor from his styler's humane control and the bird was free to go. Keith and Alexa almost looked parallel to one another; both had a small Pokémon on their right shoulders.
"Hey. You all right?" Keith asked. Alexa's already cheerful smile grew a little more cheerful.
"Perfect," she responded. "I heard you were at the Hia Valley."
"Yeah, melting overgrown ice cubes," he confirmed, rolling his eyes in frustration. He faced Alexa again. "I heard you were mountain climbing again."
"Yeah, a Shieldon got stuck in the Peril Cliffs," Alexa explained. "But it didn't help that the geologists that reported the Shieldon were gawking at my backside," Alexa sighed, frowning a little. Keith moaned.
"You'd think they've never seen a girl before." Alexa gave him an awkward look.
"They WERE girls." Keith looked at her, wide-eyed. Alexa's Buneary was the only one to notice Rhythmi arriving onto the roof, looking a bit concerned.
"Guys?" The two Rangers looked back at their Operator friend in confusion. "Sorry to interrupt, but the professor wants to see you both right away."
"Thanks, Rhythmi," Keith smiled.
"C'mon, Jollie," Alexa smiled towards her Buneary.
"Buh-neary!" Jollie cheered as she hopped off of her friend's shoulder. She hopped after Rhythmi as Alexa and Keith followed. Buizel remained on Keith's shoulder, happy with where he was.
Rhythmi led Keith and Alexa to the Conference Room to meet with Professor Hastings. Alexa felt mildly nostalgic being there with Keith at her side; the last time that happened, the pair had just been promoted to Top Rangers and had met for the first time since graduation. But there was no time to reminisce, Alexa thought, noticing the serious look on the old man's face.
"I have a conundrum for you two," he began. "Alexa, your brother has brought the Pokémon attacks to my attention, suspecting a link to the declining population of wild Pokémon in Kanto and Johto."
"Oh, gosh," Alexa said quietly in shock; this was the first she had heard of the disappearances and of the attacks.
"So...Pokémon are attacking humans because they're disappearing?" Keith asked, mildly confused; if there was such a connection, Keith couldn't understand it.
"That, Keith, is what I want you and Alexa to investigate," Hastings nodded. "Find a possible connection between them and solve the mystery."
"Both of us?" Alexa questioned, having heard her name from the professor's mouth.
"Yes. You know this better than the rest of us, Alexa, but Kanto and Johto are connected, and both regions share the same problem. Two Rangers to investigate two regions...sounds appropriate, yes?"
"Sounds like it," Keith agreed.
"This is going to be your first joint mission if I'm not mistaken," Hastings continued. "You are both in charge of this mission, but you mustn't let your personal lives come between you while on duty," he warned politely. He knew sending two Rangers who were romantically involved on the same mission had its risks. However, he also knew that Alexa was well acquainted with Kanto and Johto, the latter being her home region, and that Keith was just as good a Ranger as she was.
"We'll try," Keith nodded. Alexa folded her arms and looked up at the ceiling in thought.
"There's no Ranger Base in either region, so..." She eventually looked forward again and shrugged while carrying a nervous smile on her face. "Looks like I'm going back home." Jollie hopped on the spot happily at the thought. Hastings laughed a little.
"A little unorthodox, I'll admit, but it does spare us the trouble of finding accommodation," he smiled.
"Wait a minute..." Keith looked at Alexa with one eyebrow raised. "You mean we'll be staying with your parents again?"
"Is that a problem?" Hastings asked. Keith, realising that his words could be taken to a different context than he intended, looked at the professor nervously.
"N-n-no! I didn't mean it like that, it's j-just that I stayed with them enough times as it is here in Almia, I-I just don't want to outstay my welcome."
"What're you talking about? My family loves you!" Alexa said gleefully. "Besides, I'm sure they'd agree that staying with us is far better than finding accommodation at such short notice."
"Are you sure? I just don't want to get on Hayden's bad side..." Alexa laughed.
"You haven't even seen it! Besides, he only gets mad easily at misconduct! He's always getting frustrated about work and the police."
"The police?" Hastings questioned.
"The police in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh are Pokémon Trainers, like me to some extent," Alexa explained, on a slightly more serious note. "But Dad thinks the police spend far too much time battling other Trainers than doing their jobs. While the crime rate in those regions is low, it still rubs Dad up the wrong way, knowing that they're not doing what they're being paid to do."
"Hmm...that might end up becoming something the Union will look into," Hastings mused, rubbing his chin. "Especially if it turned out that there was a large scale criminal operation in place somewhere and the region's police did nothing about it..." Alexa's heart sank. What Hastings had just described was exactly how she ended up with her trauma from three years ago; she was involved with Team Galactic's activities because the Sinnoh Police Department grossly neglected their duty, so she had to take matters into her own hands. But all it got her was a three year long trauma and memories she'd very much rather see the back of. Noticing her solemn look, Jollie jumped up and held Alexa as tight as she could, giving the saddened girl as big a hug as she possibly could. Realising the little bunny's intention, Alexa cheered up and held her softly.
"Anyway, that's enough digressing," Hastings said suddenly, having paused to think about his own words; he was apparently tempted to investigate the matter himself. "If the pair of you leave for Johto immediately, you should be there by the evening at the very most. I would advise beginning the investigation tomorrow."
"Thanks, professor," Alexa smiled.
"We'll keep you posted if anything comes up," Keith added.
"All the best of luck to you. Oh, and Alexa? Give your parents my regards," Hastings smiled. Alexa smiled and nodded at her superior before exiting the room with Keith.
The sun had begun to set by the time Keenan decided to leave the Ruins of Alph; it was his favourite place to be when he felt glum. Looking at Unown hieroglyphics somehow eases his mind if he ever had something bugging him. He looked at his feet for most of his return trip home, but looked straight up as soon as a large bird-like silhouette flew over him. Two Staraptor flew overhead, headed straight for Violet City. Keenan ran after the two birds, Iara struggling to keep up.
Keenan eventually stopped near his house as he saw the two Staraptor landing near the front porch. A smile grew on his face as he saw the two individuals that rode on their backs. While he didn't fully understand why they were in Johto, but he instantly recognised them as Keith and Alexa. He called out to them and ran over to them. Iara had caught up by the time Keenan ran off again, so she moaned and ran a few more yards after her trainer. Alexa was immediately greeted by a loving hug from her little brother, which she returned.
"Hey, how're you doing, kiddo?" Alexa asked, affectionately rubbing her brother's hair.
"Great, now that you're here," Keenan replied. He looked up at the two Rangers; while he bore a smile, Alexa could still tell he was confused. "But why are you here?"
"Apparently, a little birdie told the Ranger Union that the Pokémon around here and Kanto are getting more hostile. That and they're disappearing," Keith explained. Keenan looked directly at his sister; her expression hadn't changed from the moment her brother flung himself at her.
"They sent you, sis?" he asked, sounding extremely hopeful. Alexa closed her eyes, but maintained her smile.
"I guess so. This means I'll be here for a while. Again," she chuckled. Keenan's eyes seemed to glisten with delight; his faith in his sister was almost unwavering, and he knew in his heart that if anyone could get to the bottom of the current mystery, she could.
"Sweet! And Keith's staying with us, right?"
"Uh..." Keith shied away, still nervous about the idea of staying with Alexa's family for the umpteenth time. "I suppose..."
"Awesome! That means you can experience what Johto has to offer!" Keenan smiled. Keith felt more at ease, but it didn't help the fact that the sleeping arrangements were mirrored from Alexa's period of suspension from the Ranger Union. "Come on!"
"Huh?"
"We need to explain everything to my parents," Alexa explained simply, taking hold of Keith's hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Don't worry, I'll show you around after we've explained everything," Alexa said reassuringly, winking at him.
"That's not what I meant," Keith sighed as he was almost dragged into the house.
Keith gulped as he walked across the threshold, but he felt more at ease as he looked around; the ground floor of the house looked almost like the house in Chicole Village, only more spacious and gave off a warmer vibe. There was a flat screen television in one corner of the room, but it appeared to be seldom used. In front of the television were a set of brown faux-leather sofas; those looked well used. Tidus, Hayden's Typhlosion, was having an afternoon nap on the scarlet red rug in between the television and the three-seat sofa. Keith smiled at how content the veteran Pokémon looked. The kitchen looked slightly more modern compared to the kitchen in Chicole Village; the silver fridge-freezer had an ice cube dispenser on the door, the oven and microwave looked state of the art, and Keith also spotted an ice cream maker on the marble counter. After taking the environment in, he finally looked towards Alexa's parents; Lily was already greeting her daughter with a hug and a few kisses, but Hayden was fighting against the newspaper as it refused to fold away neatly. Hayden eventually triumphed and put on a welcoming attitude as he approached Keith and Alexa.
"Good to see you again," Hayden smiled, patting Keith on the shoulder. "What can we do for you?" Keith lost his smile.
"Have you heard about the Pokémon disappearances?" he asked. Hayden let out a frustrated groan as he looked away from his daughter's lover.
"They've been banging on about it all day, it's hard not to hear about it," he complained. Trying not to appear angry, he faced the two teens again. "I take it the Ranger Union caught wind of it then?"
"I called them," Keenan confessed. "Well...the Union, not Alex specifically," he added, carrying a nervous grin. Hayden began to ponder, and he eventually nodded.
"Okay. I guess it is better the Ranger Union found out now than if it gets totally out of control," he said with a neutral expression about his face.
"The professor wants us to find out if there's a link between the decline in Pokémon population and the Pokémon attacks on humans," Alexa explained.
"And he somehow agrees with Alexa about us staying here would be easier than us finding a hotel or something," Keith added quietly; despite feeling more comfortable being around Alexa's parents, he was still nervous about Hayden's reaction to the proposal. Hayden nodded.
"I do too," he agreed, smiling at Keith. "There aren't really that many hotels around here, and the nearest one is in Goldenrod City. But getting a reservation there is kinda complicated."
"Because it's so busy?" Keith questioned.
"No, because the entire process takes forever," Hayden sighed. "Or so I've heard anyway, we've never needed to go there, seeing as we obviously live in Johto anyway."
"So I suppose this means you'll be staying with us for a while, Keith?" Lily asked, in her usual gentle voice. Keith still felt a little uneasy about the proposal, since he had already stayed with them plenty of times back in Almia.
"Sure, I guess..."
"Chin up; my room here's bigger than it was in Almia," Alexa smiled. "Then again, so's the whole house..."
"But the village house serves its purpose," Lily said optimistically.
"I guess this means this is going to be your base of operation while you're here, huh?" Keenan questioned.
"At least it'll be somewhere I can be myself at the same time," Alexa laughed.
"Oh, this means a shopping trip!" Lily said, almost excitedly. Keith got over his discomfort as he looked at Lily in confusion.
"Excuse me?"
"If you're going to stay here, you are not having that uniform as your only attire," Hayden explained, pointing to Keith's well worn, yet clean uniform.
"But...we're supposed to wear these," Keith explained.
"I know that, Keith, but it'll need to be washed every day if that's all you'll be wearing," Hayden elaborated. "Lily and Alexa can take you to the department store in Goldenrod sometime tomorrow and help you pick some clothes for you."
"Wait...so you're not only okay with me staying here for, what, the umpteenth time, but you're also okay with giving me a new set of clothes!?" Keith asked, almost in shock.
"A set? Keith, I may be modest about my spending habits, but I'm no cheapskate." Hayden looked towards his chair in thought. "About...three or four sets might suffice..."
"What...?"
"It's all right, Keith, it's no trouble, really," Lily smiled. "Listen, I'm about to start cooking dinner; Alexa, why don't you show Keith around the house and I'll look after Buizel and Jollie?"
"Okie doke; I planned to show him around anyway," Alexa smiled. She held Keith's hand as she escorted him out of the room, showing him another, while Keenan took both Buizel and Jollie in his arms and took them over to the kitchen table.
Alexa was very thorough in her tour of the Thorndyke residence; she introduced Keith to the laundry room, where his uniform and other clothes would be washed, she lounge, where she and Keenan spent a good five years, each, of home study, the utility room near the back door, where Keenan usually kept his berry planting supplies, among other useful household items. Alexa finally showed Keith around upstairs. She was brief at first, pointing him to the attic hatch and identifying whose bedroom was whose. She showed him the main bathroom near Keenan's bedroom at the end of the hallway before finally stopping in front of her own bedroom door, in between Keenan's and her parents' bedrooms.
"And last, but not least, where you'll be staying; in my bedroom," Alexa smiled as she opened the door. Keith admired the tidiness of the room, but also took note of the décor. The walls were painted amethyst with a teal carpet that looked soft to touch. There was a beautifully crafted oak desk with a large oval mirror in front, with a pair of drawers on either side, and a deep ruby red stool, which had Ryder sat upon it, in front with a matching footrest. Ryder gave Keith a big smile and waved as Keith looked in his direction. He spotted some of the items laid out on the desk; different coloured deodorant spray bottles, a hair brush, the same headband he saw Alexa wear at Ollie and Elaine's wedding and, especially, the emerald necklace Alexa always wore whenever she was out of uniform. He noticed the balcony doors right in front of the room and took note of how clean they looked. He skimmed passed the velvet blue canopy bed and spotted the wardrobe on the wall on the same side as the bedroom door; he couldn't see it too well at his current angle.
"What do you think?" Alexa asked.
"I don't get why you changed your bedclothes when you left," came a voice unfamiliar to Keith. The mature yet playful voice came from the bed. Keith looked mildly disgruntled when he saw the shirtless male lying on the bed, looking somewhat seductive towards Alexa. The blue-eyed stranger had long red and black hair, dominantly black, tied with a green band near the bottom of the ponytail, a silver X pendant around his neck, blue jeans and black boots, as well as a small beard.
"Xavier! What're you doing looking seductive on my bed?" Alexa sighed in frustration.
"Yeah, that's my job!" Keith added. Alexa and Ryder both gave Keith an awkward look, as if to question why he said what he did. Keith looked between Ryder and Alexa. "What?"
"You're Keith, right?" Xavier asked, intrigued at the spiky haired teen. "Ryder's been telling me about you." Ryder smiled at his friends.
"S'up?" he greeted telepathically, waving a paw. Alexa smiled and waved back, but Keith, slightly growing suspicious of the stranger on Alexa's bed, faced Xavier.
"And you are..?"
"Xavier's the name. Nice to meet you."
"No, I mean in relation to Alexa?" Keith asked, his voice clearly showing his suspicion.
"I'm one of her Pokémon," Xavier shrugged.
"What?! Y-you look nothing like-" Keith stopped. As Xavier climbed off of the bed, a bright magenta wave of energy moved from his head down to his feet, gradually revealing his true identity; a Zoroark with a primarily black mane and jade green bangle near the bottom of his ponytail. "...ah." Xavier laughed.
"Did you really think she'd cheat on ya? I don't think so!" Keith blinked.
"But how're you talking?"
"Skywing taught him," Ryder explained. "He speaks fluent English too."
"He would do, he's a Chatot," Xavier laughed.
"...this will take some getting used to," Keith sighed.
"Why, you staying for a while?" Xavier asked.
"Yeah, it's about the disappearances and attacks," Alexa explained.
"So they got you on the case? Cool," Xavier smiled. "You gonna need any help with that?"
"All the help we can get, Xavier," Alexa replied. "We don't even know who's behind either predicament yet."
"Ouch." Xavier smiled again as he approached Keith, resting an arm over his shoulders. "Well, make yourself at home, boyo."
"I think I've done that too much as it is," Keith said nervously. Ryder chuckled as he rolled his eyes; he felt Keith had no need to be so anxious.
The remainder of the evening was peaceful. Despite Keith's anxiousness over dinner, he had settled in nicely, while Alexa merely adapted to the fact that she'd be spending her newest assignment in the comfort of her own home. It felt strange to her, but she had more important things to focus on.
When the morning dawned over Johto, Keith was reintroduced to the usual "hotel-like" breakfast the Thorndykes usually had; a variety of cereals, yoghurts and other usual knick-knacks one would probably have for breakfast. His anxiety had died completely by then.
After breakfast, Keith and Alexa returned to her bedroom to plot their next course of action. Keith sat on the bed with Buizel on his lap while Alexa lay on the bed, facing him from behind.
"Okay...Professor Hastings has put us in charge...but where the hell do we even start?" Keith moaned.
"It it were a case of poaching, which it might be, probably a good place to look is where they were last spotted," Alexa suggested.
"That brings us to the point about us not having a single clue about these alleged poachers are," Keith sighed. "I just wish there was more concrete evidence to suggest who or what is behind this whole thing."
"I'd say we need to work with what we've got, but that can't be applied if there's nothing to work from," Alexa said, starting to feel discouraged herself, despite the investigation having only just started.
"Starting an investigation with no evidence to work from; GREAT idea to send us on the job, Hastings!" Keith complained sarcastically. "Who does he think we are, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Moriarty?!"
"Watson," Alexa corrected. "Moriarty is Holmes' enemy."
"...oh."
"Look, don't throw in the towel before the match has even begun, there's got to be a place we can start," Alexa said, sounding hopeful.
"What about the Cliff Preserve?" Keenan suggested. Keith and Alexa faced the doorway and saw Keenan poking his head through. "Sorry, couldn't help overhearing."
"No, it's fine, don't worry about it," Alexa smiled.
"Need any help? Two heads are better than one, but three's even better," Keenan offered. Keith looked at Alexa with concern, remembering the last time Keenan offered his services and her reaction. Alexa sighed and smiled at her brother.
"Yeah, I think we'll need all the help we can get," she said, sounding somewhat submissive. "But the Cliff Preserve? It's worth a try, I guess..."
"If it is poachers, it'd be a good place, I suppose," Ryder agreed, who sat in the same place as yesterday evening, with a bag of unsalted peanuts in one paw.
"Alrighty then, let's get to it!" Xavier said eagerly, climbing out from under the bed. He then made his way to the balcony and opened the doors widely. He closed his eyes as his usual magenta energy wave moved down from his face to his feet, morphing his normal Zoroark body into that of a large red and navy blue eagle Pokémon. "All aboard!" Keith looked confused.
"Um..okay..?" Alexa took Xavier's Poké Ball from the desk near her bed and placed it in her pocket as she scrambled out of the bed. Keith got up and approached her as Keenan released Colin from his Poké Ball.
"Ryder, can you close the doors behind us, please?" Alexa asked.
"Sure," Ryder nodded. Keith and Alexa mounted onto Xavier's back while Keenan climbed onto Colin's. The two birds flew out of the room. Iara sat comfortably in front of Keenan while Buizel held onto Keith's shoulders for dear life. With a cyan glowing paw, Ryder psychically closed the balcony doors, as per Alexa's request.
Colin and Xavier soared into the air, but kept a relatively steady pace, to avoid losing their riders to death by falling.
"So, what Pokémon did you just become, Xavier?" Keith asked.
"Braviary," Xavier replied. "Dunno why, though, it was the first bird to come into my head. It's funny; I'm not overly keen on them, yet here we are."
"Hm. Hey, Alexa? What's the Cliff Preserve?" Keith asked, having forgotten about his lack of knowledge of the destination whilst preparing for departure. Alexa glanced back at Keith, as she sat in front of him.
"It was going to be the new Safari Zone when Fuchsia City's was failing," she began. "The Safari Warden refused to move, so a fund raising campaign started to keep it where it is. In the end, that saved the Safari Zone from closure, but the council didn't know what to do with the new site. So they made it into an actual preserve instead."
"What's the difference between the two anyway?" Keith questioned.
"The Safari Zone allows trainers to catch the residing Pokémon," Keenan explained. "But the preserve doesn't. The Safari Zone is where trainers have 30 special Poké Balls to capture as many Pokémon as they can or want under a certain time limit. The Cliff Preserve doesn't allow anybody to capture the Pokémon there, and is a place where either endangered and/or abandoned Pokémon go to live."
"It's better for abandoned Pokémon to be re-homed there," Alexa smiled. "It cuts the euthanasia rates significantly."
"Sounds like a good place to begin investigating after all."
"Alex, look!" Keenan exclaimed. Keith and Alexa looked down and saw what Keenan saw; a black Jeep driving along the road headed for the preserve.
"Kick it up a notch, Xavier."
"You got it, Alex. Colin, keep up!" Xavier stated.
"Fear," Colin nodded as the two birds flew faster.
Soon enough, Xavier and Colin flew over the preserve's gate and fences and landed in a clearing not too far from the entrance. Upon landing on the grass, Keith and Alexa hopped off quickly to allow Xavier to revert back to his former self. Colin flew back into the air.
"Wait, are you sure we won't get attacked here?" Keith asked.
"The Pokémon here are used to human company, we'll be fine," Keenan smiled.
"FEAR!" Colin squawked. From where they stood, Keenan, Keith and Alexa could spot the Jeep and a rugged-looking Skarmory heading for the gates.
"Something tells me they aren't the Preserve Wardens," Keenan gulped.
"They don't look it," Keith agreed.
"You three go hide; I gots me an idea," Xavier smirked. "Keenan, let out all of your Pokémon on my signal, okay?"
"Okay..?"
SNAP!
Skarmory's large talons broke through the once sturdy lock. The metal bird pushed the gates open a little, but the Jeep did the rest as the red-haired driver drove the vehicle through them.
The Jeep stopped in front of a group of resting Blitzle. In the sunlight, the three figures could be fully distinguished; the older man had deep brown hair, much like his beard, and he wore a dirty white shirt, grey shorts and brown leather boots. The driver had red hair, a blue headband and wore a green T-shirt and dark grey jeans. He also appeared to have a guitar bag on his back. The woman passenger's attire, however, left a lot to be desired; she had extremely wild blue and red hair, with an unrealistically large fringe covering half of her face, a tight and small pink shirt – if indeed it could be called a piece of clothing at all, shorts – which were so ridiculously short they could almost be mistaken for underwear if it weren't for the two thin straps around her waist.
"Huh; didn't expect to find those here," the driver said in confusion. The older man stood up with a small pistol in hand.
"Who cares? They're fair game," he said.
BANG!
He fired a single tranquillizer dart at one of the Blitzle, but, to his surprise, the dart went through the target and disappeared.
"What the-?"
"Jordan, I smell a trap!" the driver exclaimed. Jordan sighed.
"Thanks, Sherlock," he sighed.
"His name's Andy," the woman said quietly.
"Honestly, Gabby, do you not know sarcasm when you hear it?" Jordan's attention returned to the Blitzle when he saw one of them waking up. As it stood up, the rest of them disappeared. The lone Blitzle stepped on the dart stuck in the ground, breaking it with a single stomp from its hoof. Jordan smirked.
"Well now...I didn't think Blitzle could pull off a stunt like that." Blitzle smirked.
"They can't," Xavier replied. While the three Jeep-riders were in shock, Xavier held a hoof to his mouth and whistled.
POP!
Six Pokémon burst forth from the nearby bush and surrounded the Jeep and its occupants. Iara, Colin, Darcy and Ruby were among them, but the other two Pokémon were Mason, the Hitmontop with the needless bandage on his tail, and Lucius, the Ampharos who can be highly protective of his scarf. Xavier morphed back into his Zoroark self as Alexa, Keith and Keenan came out of hiding.
"But I can," Xavier smirked, satisfied at his accomplishment.
"This is as far as you go! You're the ones snatching all the Pokémon, aren't you?!" Keith asked demandingly.
"Great sentence structure," Alexa sighed sarcastically.
"Well we have to know if they are," Keith said quietly to Alexa. "Does grammar really matter at this point?"
"Hold on...those uniforms...you're not Rangers?" Jordan questioned, almost in disbelief.
"Top Rangers," Alexa elaborated.
"Dear Lord...they're accepting KIDS now," Jordan sighed as he chucked his pistol in the back of the Jeep. Keith and Alexa were left confused.
"You got guts, but, heh, you're a bit too young to be playing cops." Andy, the driver, looked towards Keenan. "Especially shorty there." Jordan looked at Keenan, failing to notice Alexa subtly moving closer to him.
"I ain't worried about him," Jordan shrugged as he took out a packet of Koffing brand cigarettes from his pocket. Keenan was left offended; more than anything, he disliked being underestimated.
"Hey!" Having spotted Alexa, the woman passenger, Gabby stood up and glared at her. Upon seeing her entire figure, the most distinguishing thing about her was her abnormally large bra size. If she indeed wore said item. She scoffed.
"And just, like, who are YOU, Blondie?" she asked rudely. Being the only blonde person in the vicinity, Alexa assumed Gabby was talking to her.
"Do you care?" she asked.
"I don't even care who YOU are, but you're all under arrest under suspicion of-" Jordan's abrupt laughter interrupted Keith's sentence.
"Listen, kids, this is an adult matter. Get caught up and there will be consequences," he warned.
"We're not scared," Alexa said simply. She was truthful in her word; neither she, Keith nor Keenan appeared intimidated by the three adults.
"No?" Jordan sighed. "Okay, sweetheart, I'll give you this; yes, we are stealing Pokémon left, right and centre."
"You're also why the remaining Pokémon are getting more and more hostile!?" Keenan exclaimed accusingly.
"Hey, we're not responsible for how the ones we leave behind feel about losing their buddies to us," Andy shrugged, retaining a weird satisfied grin on his face.
"But what do you do with the Pokémon you poach?" Alexa asked, mainly out of confusion.
"Yeah, I mean, you'd need to steal a lot of them to make the population decline," Keith agreed.
"HELL of a lot," Xavier added.
"We're not telling," Gabby smirked. No matter what her tone of voice may be, she retained a mildly childish kind of voice. "You've had your lot."
"Wait...why did we even tell 'em in the first place?" Andy asked in bewilderment.
"They're kids," Jordan replied bluntly. "They can't do any harm." Keith clenched his fists tightly.
"Wanna bet!?" Gabby scoffed.
"They're not kids. All I see is a wannabe, a shrimp and a tart," she said rudely. Keith wasn't sure which he was addressed as, but he instantly recognised what she was referring Alexa as.
"Hey, don't call her a tart!" he fumed.
"Keith...she can't even speak for herself," Alexa said, sounding playfully bored. Gabby leaned forward in disgust.
"What did you just say?!"
"Easy, Gabs. Look, boss, can't we just shut 'em up right now?" Andy asked.
"Hmm..can't hurt," Jordan shrugged as he finally took a cigarette out of the packet. "What're your names?" he asked as he pocketed the pack. Keith, Alexa and Keenan looked at one another in total confusion; why would an enemy ask for their names? And in such a polite manner, no less!
"Uh...Keith," Keith said finally, looking back at Jordan.
"Alexa."
"Keenan."
"Well then...Been nice knowing you," Jordan said simply, putting the cigarette in his mouth.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!"
To their surprise, all seven Pokémon were forcefully recalled back into their Poké Balls. Keith and Alexa looked around, but Keenan spotted the Skarmory flying overhead and hovering above the Jeep, mainly near Jordan. Skarmory's eyes shone bright yellow.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!"
Large, sharp rocks suddenly burst out of the ground around Keith, Alexa and Keenan, trapping them in place. Alexa quickly grabbed Keenan and held him close for protection, but Keith held onto them both for the same purpose as more rocks fell on top of them, burying them where they stood. The commotion ceased, and all that remained was a pile of large rocks; Alexa, Keith and Keenan couldn't be seen anywhere.
"Well, that was fun," Andy smiled. Taking out a lighter from his pocket, Jordan lit up his cigarette and inhaled.
"Andy, get us out of here," he said, blowing out the deadly smoke from his mouth.
"What? Without a catch?"
"That's not like you, Jordan," Gabby said as she looked up at her superior, attempting to look enticing to the man.
"Just floor it, Andy," Jordan said quietly, ignoring the seductive woman completely.
"You're the boss," Andy complied as he started the engine again.
"I need to reload anyway; used up most of the nets on the Stantler and Heracross." The Jeep drove out of the preserve, with the Skarmory following overhead, potentially leaving Keith, Alexa and Keenan...for dead.
To be continued...