Chapter 7 – Spelunking
Four days passed since Keith became ill, during which he made a full recovery. A day later, he acquired a jacket, as was promised by Alexa's mother, Lily. At the same time, Alexa's new uniform finally arrived, later than anticipated. Efforts to communicate with the anti-social Alakazam, Lupin, are yet to commence.
Keenan walked along the country road with Alexa and Keith, both fully clothed in their regulated Pokémon Ranger uniforms. They day was sunny and unusually warm for a winter's day; clouds were scarce and wide-spread, the sun shone on the earth and there was not a single patch of frost to be seen anywhere. The grass was bone dry, and the ground beneath their feet was hard and rough. Iara and Reese walked beside their respective partners while a new face hung from Alexa's arm. It was a Sneasel, with an unusual pair of eyes; one was red, the other was blue. He remained quiet as he hung from Alexa's arm, avoiding eye contact with everyone, bearing a neutral expression that was difficult to read. Alexa and Keenan were happy that Keith made a premature recovery, but Keith was just glad he could finally stop being a patient and get on with his assigned mission.
"I still have to take the capsules, though," Keith said with a sigh. Though smiling, Alexa looked at him with curiosity.
"Ever taken any before?" she asked.
"No," Keith replied, looking into the eyes of his colleague. "How did you cope with it? If you had any."
"I had some when I had my chest infection. It wasn't hard, just make sure you have plenty of drink when you take each pill," Alexa advised, speaking from experience. "Otherwise it might give you a nasty plastic-y after taste in the back of your throat."
"Tablets are the worst," Keenan noted. Alexa moaned loudly with revulsion as she raised her head randomly.
"Urgh, almost forgot about that!" she complained.
"Why, what happens?" Keith asked, tilting his head.
"Almost a powdery feeling..." Keenan struggled to conjure a more constructed answer. "It's hard to describe..."
"The tablet doesn't quite dissolve and the residue that breaks off of it once it gets wet stays at the back of your tongue until it's washed down properly," Alexa explained. Keenan nodded; Alexa stated exactly what he had wanted to say. "I swear, it's vile!"
"My pills are capsules, though, I won't get that," Keith said nervously.
"Doesn't mean you won't get the after taste," Keenan laughed. "Just keep drinking whatever it is you use to wash the pill down and you'll be fine."
"I'll keep that in mind," Keith chuckled. He turned his attention to the dangling Sneasel holding onto Alexa's arm, subtly rocking back and forth as she walked. "What's his story then?"
"Shade just likes hanging from stuff," Alexa said casually. "Tree branches, gates, wall decorations, my arm...if he can hang from it, he'll hang from it."
"Where did you meet him anyway?" Keith asked with intrigue. Alexa stopped and turned to face the largest mountain in the horizon. Keenan, Keith and the Pokémon faced the same direction.
"Mt Silver," Alexa finally replied. "It's a rough mountain between Johto and Kanto, though technically on Johto soil."
"How can you tell?" Keenan asked.
"It's slightly more towards Johto when compared to Tohjo Falls, which is dead on between Kanto and Johto, hence the name," Alexa replied.
"Ah. What's it like? Mt Silver," Keith asked, curious about the large mountain.
"Dangerous, for one," Alexa began. "There're many rough Pokémon living on and inside the mountain, which is why it was closed off for the most part, only allowing trainers with 16 Gym badges or more to the area."
"Was?" Keith asked.
"It's closed off indefinitely now," Alexa continued. "There's Mountain Patrol there, but that's it. No Trainers are allowed near Mt Silver, regardless of how many gym badges they possess."
"How come?" Keith asked, still showing interest in the information Alexa provided.
"Avalanches," she answered. "Mt Silver is prone to them, and it was indefinitely closed off for Trainers after an avalanche killed a group of them while exploring the area."
"Geez...what were they looking for?" Keith asked quietly.
"Nobody knows," Alexa replied, turning around to walk further down the path, Keith, Keenan and the Pokémon followed, retaining interest in Alexa's story. "Most assume they were looking for rare Pokémon, because there are certain Pokémon in Johto that only live on Mt Silver, like Misdreavus."
"But Dad met Malik in the Ilex Forest," Keenan said.
"Malik's an oddball," Alexa laughed. "Anyway, I had the fortune to have gone to Mt Silver prior to the avalanche that made it inaccessible, which is where I met Shade."
"What do you think those Trainers were looking for? Y'know, before they died?" Keith asked, trying not to sound insensitive to the deceased.
"I dunno; could be anything," Alexa shrugged. "Could've been looking for Larvitar, could've been looking for Donphan, could've been looking for Moltres, who knows?"
"Wait, what? Moltres? What's that?" Keith asked in bewilderment.
"In short, one of a trio of Pokémon known as the Legendary Birds," Alexa explained, almost breathless from all of the explanation she was giving. "They roam the world, so nobody knows for sure where they actually live. But they do have several roosting spots, one of Moltres's spots being Mt Silver."
"In that case, we might need to be wary about that place," Keith said seriously. "If Jordan finds out about it, that might be one of our destinations."
"Oh geez, yeah..!" Alexa slapped a hand on her head in realisation. "A legendary Pokémon would be one hell of a catch for a poacher!"
"Legendary Pokémon are called as such because they're stronger than other Pokémon, though, right?" Keenan queried worriedly. Shade glanced up at his almost anxious Trainer.
"Yeah. Let's hope that'll be enough for Moltres to defend itself if push comes to shove," Alexa prayed. She relaxed and smiled at her brother and boyfriend. "But I doubt Jordan knows about it at the moment, so why worry about it? If we don't say anything to him, we won't have to be concerned."
The rest of the talk proved to be positive until the group arrived outisde of a cave entrance. There was an isolated Pokémon Centre to their left hand side, but a parked black vehicle caught their eyes, especially since it was a significantly distinctive one to them.
"Does anybody else recognise that?" Keenan asked quietly. Keith contained his rage as best he could.
"Totally." Looking at the cave entrance, Alexa's eyes suddenly widened in horror.
"...what day is it today?" she asked hesitantly. Keith looked at the wide-eyed girl in confusion.
"Friday, why?" Keith's answer was not what she wanted to hear; she felt her hair standing on its end and her heart plummeting to her stomach as her eyes widened even more, if it was even possible.
"...oh, NO!" Shade held on for dear life as Alexa sprinted inside the cave entrance. Caught off guard, Keith and Keenan ran after her with their Pokémon.
"What's so special about Friday?" Keith asked loudly, hoping to attract Alexa's attention.
"It's an old rumour," Keenan began, panting. "Lapras, a rare Pokémon-"
"Almost endangered, yeah, I know 'em," Keith said abuptly.
"Are supposed to appear deep in the Union Cave every Friday," Keenan finished. "I think Jordan's after the Lapras."
"If there ARE any," Keith huffed as he struggled between preserving his breath and talking. Shade swang back and forth while clinging to Alexa's arm, but he almost enjoyed the feeling.
"I KNOW there are, I met MY Lapras here!" Alexa exclaimed defensively. She stopped to catch her breath, but looked around desperately, hoping she would find Jordan and his troupe before descending further into the cave. Before Keith could apologise to her, she continued deeper into the cave. Having to save his apology for later, he and Keenan followed after her, their Pokémon closely following.
Jordan, Andy and Gabby walked slowly inside the cave. The whole area was relatively dark, but not dark enough for the need of artificial illumination. The air felt cold, but not freezing. Docile Zubats hung upside down on the cave ceiling above them, dormant Geodudes lay curled up on the sidelines of the cave floor, and the wild Rattata were going about their business casually.
"STOP!"
Turning around, the poachers spotted Keenan and the two young Top Rangers running after them. Out of all three of them, Alexa seemed the most irate, if not panicky, while Keenan was surprisingly calm.
"Feeling better, are we, Keith?" Jordan asked, almost mockingly.
"No thanks to you," Keith replied snidely. Jordan nodded.
"What brings you three here?"
"I'd ask you the same thing, Jordan, but I already have a hunch," Alexa said spitefully. "You're after a certain Pokémon, aren't you?" Gabby scoffed.
"Can't say I know what you're talkin' 'bout, Pixie," she taunted.
"Lapras!" Keenan exclaimed. Andy feigned ignorance.
"Huh; guess you were right after all, Jordan."
"Uh..!" Keenan recoiled.
"Relax, kid, I didn't need confirmation," Jordan said calmly. "I already knew about Lapras."
"So you wasted all this time on purpose?!" Alexa asked interrogatively. Jordan simply shrugged in response.
"No wonder you weren't up to anything!" Keith yelled.
"You were waiting for it to be Friday to come and get Lapras!" Keenan shouted accusingly.
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Captain Obvious!" Andy saluted sarcastically. The wild Pokémon nearby were beginning to stir; the argumentative exchange of words echoed throughout the cave, disturbing their slumber. They honed in on the confronting humans.
"You'd make a really good video game protagonist," Gabby said insultingly. Alexa held an arm in front of her brother. Shade waved casually at the young boy.
"Give him a break, he's 12!" she exclaimed. Jordan took a Poké Ball from his pocket and expanded it.
"Even so, I'm not going to let him – or you two – get in our way. With any luck, this place will be your tomb," he threatened.
"Now you're talking!" Andy said eagerly as he and Gabby each took a Poké Ball into their hand. Alexa saw the wild Pokémon closing in on them and motioned Shade up to her shoulder. The Sneasel climbed up her arm and keenly listened to what his Trainer had to say.
"Shade, I think Keith and I will be focused on the wild Pokémon if they try to attack," she said quietly. "Improvise, okay?"
"Sneasel," Shade replied, in high pitched gruff voice. Keith readied his styler, having noticed the wild Pokémon for himself, while Keenan took a Poké Ball from his pocket.
Almost at the exact same time, Jordan, Andy, Gabby and Keenan released their respective Pokémon; Aggron, Scrafty, Liepard and Ampharos. The Ampharos looked nervous and stroked the lilac scarf around his neck.
"Don't be nervous, Lucius, Iara's got your back!" Keenan said encouragingly. That said, Iara stepped forward, standing next to the nervous electric type. Shade hopped off of Alexa's shoulder and readily stood on the other side of Lucius, claws held in front of his face for a menacing look. Reese even stepped forward. Keith seemed reluctant at the thought of his partner Pokémon battling.
"Relax, Keith, Ryder's trained him, remember?" Alexa said gently. "Let them do their thing while we do ours." She readied her styler and almost stood back to back with her comrade. Keith nodded as both Rangers held out their arms.
"Capture ON!"
As the small spinning tops broke free from the stylers, the battle began. Liepard, eyes fixated on the runt of a Vaporeon, lashed out on Iara, upon which Iara countered with a large iron-hard tail slamming on the dark cat's neck.
Aggron's movements were sluggish, but was determined to battle against the quivering Ampharos. Lucius shook his head violently and confronted the brute looming over him. Buizel leapt towards Aggron from behind, both paws brimming in a brilliant white glow. Aggron took a deep breath, flames igniting in his mouth while Lucius's ears gathered static electricity. Aggron suddenly roared in pain as Reese slammed his paws in the back of its bulky neck. Aggron swatted Reese away, but was struck by a tremendous amount of electricity immediately afterwards. Reese skidded along the ground on his feet, relatively unharmed.
Shade and Scrafty exchanged punches at one another that always seemed to miss the target, Shade's fist frozen over, Scrafty's veiled in swirling green energy. Their punches always struck the environment around them, seldom striking each other. Scrafty occasionally blew brown bubblegum bubbles which popped almost immediately after blowing it up.
Alexa and Keith kept their focus on the wild Pokémon that dared to try and attack the battling Pokémon, calming them down as their stylers took effect. Keenan kept his eye on his Ampharos and Vaporeon while Andy and Gabby were becoming irritated that their Pokémon aren't doing as much damage to their opponents as they had expected. Jordan kept calm.
The battle raged on, and nobody had the advantage over the other. The number of wild Pokémon appearing decreased over time, but Alexa and Keith felt their arms aching after a while. Iara and Liepard were both covered with superficial cuts and bruises all over, Scrafty and Shade still couldn't land a hit on each other, and Aggron was still getting outnumbered by Reese and Lucius. Alexa and Keith were forced to recall their capture discs for the sake of their arms. Jordan began to lose patience and took out a black Poké Ball with yellow stripes on top.
"Well, this has gone on for longer than it needed to," he began, sounding as frustrated as he looked. "I wish I didn't have to resort to this so soon, but the Lapras are only here on Fridays."
With a pop, Jordan unleashed a tall tusked dragon Pokémon housed inside the Poké Ball. The black dragon sparkled upon exiting its designated Poké Ball. Raising its head, Haxorus roared loudly, sending every single wild Pokémon in the vicinity scurrying. Iara, Lucius and Reese hid behind Keith, Alexa and Keenan, and even Liepard and Scrafty hid behind their respective masters. Aggron backed away a little, but not necessarily out of fright. Shade was the only one unfazed at the beastly debut and stood tall, ready to fight if needed. Alexa and Keith braced themselves, stepping slightly in front of Keenan protectively.
"I only use my Haxorus if I'm either in a hurry or if I want something done quickly," Jordan explained coldly. "Haxorus."
"What're you up to?!" Keith demanded.
"False Swipe!" Jordan commanded.
Haxorus lowered his head and slashed the air with his tusks, sending a wave of air at the Rangers. Consequently, Alexa, Keith, Keenan, Lucius, Shade, Reese and Iara were knocked all the way across the cave, ending up in an alcove at the far end of the cave floor. As the group tried to regain their composure, Jordan and his crew walked over to the alcove, blocking the only possible exit. Haxorus stood loyally by his master as he looked around inside.
"Hm. Perfect. This will do," he said with approval.
"Ow..." Alexa sat up and glared nastily at her foes. "We won't let you get away..!"
"Aw, that's a shame. You will be," Gabby said snidely, bearing a cheeky grin on her face.
"Hope none of you are claustrophobic!" Andy mocked.
"Seal it," Jordan demanded plainly.
"NO!" Keith shot up like a dart and raced towards the entrance. Alexa pulled him back as Haxorus slammed his thick tail against the cave wall. Rocks poured from above the entrance, sealing the alcove entrance. There seemed to be no way out. Alexa, Keith and Shade tried desperately to shift the rocks, but they weren't moving an inch.
Aggron exhaled a large breath of icy cold air at the blockage, freezing the outer layer of rocks over. Gabby couldn't contain her excitement, and jumped up and down with glee.
"Whee-hee! Way to go, Jordan!" she cheered.
"That'll keep 'em for a while," Andy said with absolute satisfaction.
"Indeed. Let's go; the Lapras won't be here tomorrow." The Poachers recalled all of their Pokémon back into their respective Poké Balls and proceeded deeper into the Union Cave.
Lucius sat at the far end of the make-shift tomb, attempting to enhance his calm, as his tail provided the area with a source of light. Alexa and Keith backed away from the rock slide.
"N-no..." Alexa began to panic and hyperventilate. "No, no, no, no, no! They must've sealed it from the outside too!"
"DAMNIT!" Keith shouted loudly, at the top of his lungs, with complete anger, kicking one of the rocks in frustration. "I thought we had them this time!"
"That means they'll get the Lapras!" Keenan panicked.
"N-no..." Seeing Alexa's distress, Shade tried harder to fight against the blockade, slashing rapidly with claws shining in a metallic grey colour.
Jordan, Andy and Gabby finally reached the very bottom of the Union Cave. What they saw was a breathtaking sight to behold; a whole pod of Lapras were swimming in the crystal clear lake, happy and content, communicating with one another through hums. Nobody noticed the lone Rattata with short whiskers approaching the waters edge for a drink. Gabby struggled to contain her excitement.
"Wha-ha-ha! It's so beautiful!" she exclaimed delightfully.
"Keep your panties on, Gabs, you'll make a trophy out of one soon," Jordan sighed. Gabby moaned out of pleasure, almost seduction.
"Uhh..! Can't wait..!" Andy gave Gabby a concerned glance.
"Your lust for gore worries me. Are you sure you're not insane?" Gabby winked at her red-headed ally.
"I'm perfectly content," she replied. Jordan released his Aggron from his Poké Ball and gave the Iron Armour Pokémon a nod. Aggron nodded back and dipped his tail into the cold water, sending a weak electrical current along with it. The Lapras felt the electricity coursing through their bodies as the paralysis got to them, including the bystander Rattata, who was merely drinking the water in the first place. She backed away as Jordan took the large rucksack off of his back and opened it in front of his crew.
"Leave none behind."
Shade flopped onto the rock out of sheer exhaustion, panting heavily with his little tongue sticking out. Alexa gently picked up the Sharp Claw Pokémon and held him in her arms as she moved further towards the back of the cave.
"There's got to be something we can do!" Keenan exclaimed.
"Have you got Mason or Logan with you?" Alexa asked. "Or even Kyle?" Keenan searched his Poké Ball collection, but only counted four out of six. He sighed.
"N-no...sorry, sis; must've forgotten them." Alexa tried to smile.
"How were you supposed to know this would happen?" she asked rhetorically, in as nice a tone as she could muster. Keith huffed.
"And it wouldn't have if they were caught sooner," he complained. Keenan and Alexa looked towards him in shock.
"Where did that come from?" Alexa asked.
"I'm just saying, you had nearly a week to stop them before today," Keith explained. Alexa was silent for a few moments before she scoffed.
"Are you seriously blaming ME for this?!" she asked, having taken offence to his words. Keith looked at her.
"I didn't say that," he said plainly.
"You didn't have to, it was the way you said it!" Alexa exclaimed. Keenan began to worry.
"Guys..."
"I'm saying that maybe if you tried harder when you bumped into them while you were picking up my pills, we wouldn't have needed to get into this mess!" Keith shouted angrily, quickly standing up. Alexa shot up onto her feet and confronted Keith angrily, taking care not to choke her exhausted Sneasel.
"I was outnumbered, what the hell do you want from me!?" she questioned demandingly. Keenan became increasingly distressed, while Lucius struggled to keep calm.
"Guys..!"
"It's not about what I want, it's about what's expected of you as a top ranking Top Ranger!" Keith shouted furiously. Alexa shook her head and pointed at him.
"Don't you start banging on about professionalism when you were the one who let his anger cause him to almost drown!" she snapped viciously.
"Says the girl driven by her own feelings!" Keith roared in retaliation.
"STOP FIGHTING!" Keenan cried desperately. Both Rangers faced the tearful boy in confusion, which immediately turned into guilt; they realised their dispute had upset him. "It's not fair for you to blame each other for this! Y-you're Top Rangers, but you're not grown ups! Please...! Stop fighting about it...!" As Keenan began sobbing, Alexa's heart sank. She sighed remorsefully as she approached her younger brother. She sat next to him and gently pulled him closer to her, his head ending up on her shoulder.
"Keenan... I'm sorry," she apologised quietly. "I didn't mean to upset you." Keith felt just as guilty and sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Me neither. I'm sorry, mate," he said softly. Keenan's sobs died and turned into small sniffles as he felt the comfort from both Keith and, in particular, Alexa. Keith and Alexa faced one another over Keenan. "Alexa? I'm sorry for what I said."
"No...you were right," Alexa sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said to you, though." Keith shook his head.
"Don't be. You had a point." Keenan lifted his head from Alexa's shoulders and rubbed his eyes as he tried to calm down. Alexa smiled sweetly at him.
"You okay?" she asked. Keenan smiled at her and nodded. Alexa's smile grew as she stroked his hair a little before pecking a kiss on his head. "I think we should try to get out of here, don't you?" she asked as she looked at Keith.
"Yeah, definitely," he agreed as all three of them stood up onto their feet. Noticing the light in the room was fading, Alexa and Keenan turned their attention to Lucius; his hands were on his head and he had a faint red aura around him. He struggled even further to contain his rage.
"Lucius?" Keenan asked worriedly. The Ampharos opened his glowing red eyes quickly and bounced onto his feet.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" he bellowed as he ran towards the blockage, thrashing his arms and tail about as he ran. The randomly placed attacks all struck the blockage, eventually smashing them to smithereens. As soon as the bodily glow faded, Lucius staggered about, fatigued and confused. Keith was confused, but the siblings were dumbfounded.
"Wow. Lucius learned Outrage," Keenan observed.
"Who'd have thought that?" Alexa questioned.
"Not me."
"Let's go!" Keith exclaimed, racing out to freedom. Iara, Reese and Alexa chased after him, as did Keenan after returning Lucius to the safety of his Poké Ball.
Alexa led the boys, and Iara, to the deepest part of the cave, but upon discovering a distinct lack of even a lone Lapras, they felt disappointed.
"D-do you think they got away?" Keenan asked, wishing they had.
"I can't tell," Keith replied. He, too, wished they escaped, but, as he stated, there was no obvious way to tell whether or not they escaped. Alexa heard moaning and straining as a paralysed Rattata made her way onto the scene. Pitying the little rat, Alexa took out a round green berry from her pocket, crouched down and held the berry in her palm and out towards the little Pokémon. Keith and Keenan both saw her in the act.
"What're you doing?" Keith asked.
"Trying to help this Rattata," Alexa replied quietly, as to not scare off the paralysed Pokémon. Everyone remained silent as Rattata approached Alexa's hand and sniffed the healing berry placed upon her palm. She took the berry in her mouth and backed a little from Alexa's hand as she sat down and took the berry in her front paws. While she ate the berry, Alexa looked up at Keith and Keenan.
"She's paralysed. There aren't any Pokémon here capable of paralysing others, so I'm assuming she saw Jordan here," she explained.
"Interesting bit of deduction," Keith complimented. Rattata finished her berry, which healed her paralysis completely. Alexa looked at the cheerful Pokémon, dreading the question she had to ask.
"Do you know what happened here?" she asked politely. Rattata considered walking back to where she came from, but given Alexa took the time to help her when she could've ignored her, she decided to help Alexa in return.
As Rattata regaled her version of events to Alexa, Keenan and Alexa both felt horrified and gutted. Keith, however, couldn't understand a word that was being said; all he heard was "Rattata". But, judging from Keenan's reaction, Keith assumed Rattata's tale wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Alexa sighed as soon as the story was over.
"What happened?" Keith asked.
"The Lapras were stolen," Keenan translated, turning a long story short.
"Damn," Keith whispered spitefully. Alexa petted Rattata on the head and smiled feebly at her.
"Thanks, Rattata, you were a big help," she said kindly.
"Rattata!" Rattata smiled in return, thanking the girl for the berry. Alexa stood up and faced the boys as Rattata ran off, returning to her business.
"What do we do now?" Keenan asked worriedly. Alexa looked towards the empty lake with disappointment.
"There's nothing we can do for now," she sighed. "Let's just get out of here." Without question, everyone vacated from the lake.
Throughout the journey out of the Union Cave, nobody dared to speak up; everyone was far too disappointed in their failure to save a pod of an endangered species of Pokémon from poachers. Everyone even avoided eye contact with one another. Alexa still held her Sneasel in her arms and Iara rubbed her head against Keenan's leg. Keenan petted her in return, but felt ashamed of himself, as did Alexa and Keith.
The group finally exited the Union Cave, and saw that the sun was setting over the horizon, giving the sky a beautiful orange glow. Everyone noticed Jordan's Jeep was no longer parked outside the Pokémon Centre. Keith finally sighed.
"I-If we hadn't fought back there, we'd have done something about this sooner," he said regretfully.
"Don't start that again..!" Keenan pleaded.
"No. He's right," Alexa admitted, placing a hand on her brother's head. "We should've known better...I'm sorry, Keith..."
"I'm sorry, too, Alexa," Keith apologised in return. The Pokémon looked at one another with worry during the awkward silence between the three humans.
"...now what?" Keenan piped up quietly.
"L-let's just go home..." Alexa said quietly, almost in a whisper. The group silently walked away from the Union Cave, destined for Violet City.
Andy drove the Jeep along a forest path, extremely happy with the day's outcome. Jordan lay in the back of the Jeep, with a cigarette hanging in the corner of his mouth. Gabby stood up in the passenger's seat and held her arms up, euphoric of their achievements.
"Whoo-hoo!" she rejoiced. She sighed contentedly as she sat back down. "That was exciting!"
"Not to mention satisfying!" Andy agreed. Jordan opened one eye.
"You DO realise those kids WILL break out, right?" he asked grumpily.
"We know," Andy shrugged. Gabby turned around and looked at Jordan with a grin.
"But seeing as we haven't seen them since Haxorus and Aggron sealed them in the alcove, I don't think it matters," she added, looking towards the rucksack in the far corner of the Jeep.
"No. It doesn't," Jordan agreed. He took his cigarette from his mouth and blew out smoke as he scoffed. "Top Rangers, my ass. They're both amateurs..."
"Any new targets in mind, Jordan?" Andy asked curiously. Despite his question, he didn't appear to be eager to find a new catch so soon after the prize they claimed in the Union Cave.
"Nah, not right now," Jordan said casually. Andy nodded.
"Are we gonna need some more Poach Balls, Jordan?" Gabby asked with curiosity. Jordan looked at the rucksack for a moment.
"I'll need to check the leaflet for how many times each Poach Ball can be used, but another crate of 'em can't hurt," he answered. "And, yes, Gabby, you can make a trophy out of one of the Lapras." Gabby moaned seductively.
"Uhh, yes...!"
Keith, Alexa and Keenan finally arrived at the Thorndyke residence, where Hayden, Ian and Lily sat at the kitchen table having their own conversation. There were no Pokémon to be seen in the sitting room, however. Keith and Alexa said nothing to the adults and walked up the stairs, without so much as a glance. Keenan stayed behind and faced his parents and grandfather worriedly as Iara lay down on the sitting room carpet.
"What happened, are you all okay?" Lily asked worriedly. Keenan shook his head.
"No. We found Jordan in the Union Cave, but we couldn't save the Lapras in time," he explained bluntly, sitting himself down on one of the armchairs.
"Of course! It's Friday, why didn't I think of that?" Ian questioned, smacking himself on the forehead. "I should know this..!"
"What do you mean, couldn't save the Lapras in time?" Hayden asked with concern.
"We were trapped in an alcove," Keenan sighed. "We were sealed in. Lucius broke us out, but when we got to the lake, the Lapras were gone...before we broke out, Alex and Keith had a fight over it, blaming each other for not catching Jordan sooner..."
"Oh, this is getting out of hand..!" Lily stressed.
"They'll cope," Ian said calmly.
"Dad, they blamed each other! How can you say they'll cope?" Hayden asked, baffled at Ian's calm temperament.
"They'll realise neither is to blame for the Lapras," Ian smiled.
"But all this is getting to them real bad!" Keenan exclaimed with concern. "I really hope they don't break up because of it..."
"They won't, it's hardly grounds for terminating a relationship," Ian said reassuringly. Lily looked up the flight of stairs.
"I hope you're right," she said worriedly.
To be continued...