Chapter 8 – Tensions

Reese and Robbie slept peacefully on Alexa's bedroom floor, huddled up together near the far corner. Xavier, Skywing and Ryder also slept together, near Robbie and Reese. Xavier slept sitting up, his back leaning against the wall behind him and his arms resting on his stomach. Ryder slept next to him, curled up in a similar manner to how a dog sleeps at night. Skywing slept roosting on Xavier's head. Shade slept on top of the oak canopy over Alexa's bed, lying on his back with one arm over his stomach. Alexa and Keith lay under the plush duvet with their backs against each other. They were on opposite sides of the bed, rather than being close together, both wide awake. Alexa looked at the digital alarm clock next to her; the display read 01:27 in a bright LED light. Neither knew the other was asleep, but they remained silent.

Lupin sat outside on Alexa's balcony. He sat cross-legged with his arms relaxed in front of him as he looked up at the full moon high up in the sky. The moon was the brightest thing in the sky, and it reflected in the Alakazam's eyes. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs as he stared at the beautifully glowing moon above. The small amulet around his neck shone in the moonlight, revealing it to contain a silver powdery substance of some kind. Lupin lowered his head and sighed, as if in mourn.

The morning was just as beautiful as the night; the sun beamed all over the land, without a single cloud in the vivid blue sky to veil its beauty. Darcy stood outside the detached house, casually grazing at the fresh green grass as Keenan gently stroked a brush over her well-groomed coat. Iara lay in Darcy's shadow, sound asleep. Keenan smiled, but, to him, it felt forced; his sister's argument with her companion yesterday caused him to worry about the potential rift in their relationship. He had to shake his head to try and exile the worry from his mind as he groomed his Rapidash.

Indoors, the concern was more obvious; Hayden, Lily and Ian sat at the kitchen table over mugs of coffee, discussing the Rangers' morale, or lack thereof, after seeing how isolated and distracted they appeared to be. The parents showed the most concern.

"Look, we could call the professor and let them know this might be too much for them to handle," Lily suggested.

"The only reaction you'll get is the professor claiming you to be an over-bearing parent," Ian said bluntly.

"Dad! Look, maybe Lily has a point; if we tell him that all this poaching malarkey has caused a rift between Keith and Alexa, he might react in a more appropriate manner apart from calling us over-bearing parents," Hayden elaborated.

"I know you're concerned – I am, too – but he obviously chose them to handle the case," Ian began. "He wouldn't have if he felt they weren't up for the task."

"Have you considered that perhaps Professor Hastings might be wrong in that decision?" Lily sighed. "I don't doubt their skills – that's the last thing I'd do – but they're kids!"

"Keith's 18, he's hardly a kid," Ian sighed.

"He's under 20, so that still counts," Lily said defensively. "Look," she sighed. "If there's going to be a rift between them, their ability to cooperate will, as a result, be jeopardised if they carry on."

"The solution's easy; one of them stays put while the other one goes out," Ian stated. "The time apart would do them good."

"They've already been apart, Dad," Hayden moaned.

"Yes, but there wasn't a breach in their trust, was there?" Ian asked rhetorically. "There's a difference."

"Do you really think that'd work?" Lily asked. Ian smiled at his daughter-in-law kindly.

"Absolutely," he confirmed. "They can use the time apart to think about what happened yesterday, and the events that transpired along the way. They'll soon realise they shouldn't blame each other for something beyond their control."

"I hope you're right...they're both getting worked up over their constant failures to arrest those poachers," Lily said worriedly. "It's seriously damaging their morale and another pair of Rangers might have to take over if things keep going like this..." Hayden nodded in agreement.

The adults heard the stairs creaking as Alexa and Keith slowly walked down them, Alexa in front of Keith, both shoddily dressed in their uniforms and rather sleep deprived. The adults could tell neither one had a good night's sleep as soon as they looked at the kids.

"Gosh, are you all right?!" Lily asked in shock.

"I'm fine," Alexa replied slowly. "I just..." Her sentence was cut off as a yawn crept up on her. She politely held a hand over her mouth as she yawned. "...didn't get much sleep."

"Same...apparently," Keith said groggily.

"You're not seriously letting yesterday get to you, are you?" Hayden asked worriedly.

"We let a whole pod of an endangered species fall into Jordan's hands; that's a big failure, Dad," Alexa replied tiredly.

"Which wouldn't have happened if we hadn't fought back there," Keith stated, almost glaring at Alexa, who turned to face him somewhat angrily. Her tiredness restricted her ability to show her feelings properly.

"Which you started, blaming me for the whole thing," she countered.

"I wouldn't have had to say anything if you managed to actually TRY to catch them while I was sick!" Keith exclaimed. Sensing an argument, Ian buried his eyes in his palm and shook his head.

"I've already said my piece about that..!" Alexa said spitefully.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one to adapt to new situations?!" Keith asked accusingly. Alexa somehow felt more wide awake and stared at him angrily.

"One Trainer with three Pokémon against three other Trainers and potentially eighteen Pokémon between them?! How was I supposed to adapt to THAT?!"

"That shouldn't have stopped you from picking up from where I left off!" Keith shouted. Lily looked out of the window worriedly, but felt only a little reassured when she noticed Keenan hadn't shown any reaction to the argument taking place near the kitchen. She doubted he could hear the confrontation, which set her mind at ease slightly.

"What, wrapped up in poisonous tentacles and held thirty feet underwater?! Yeah, great place to pick up from!" Alexa shouted sarcastically.

"Oh, how WAS the inside of Victreebel, by the way?!" Keith retorted with the same sarcasm. Alexa growled furiously at him.

"Hey, pack it in, the pair of you!" Hayden shouted firmly. He was frustrated, but couldn't help but worry when he saw the two Rangers who were supposed to be lovers glaring angrily at one another. His only consolation was that they had – for the present – stopped arguing. Lily felt anxious; either one of them could start again at any moment. The sight and the thought almost brought tears to her eyes. Ian sighed as he raised his head.

"Look, we thought that perhaps you shouldn't be on duty together for now," he said calmly. "It'll only make things worse at this stage."

"That's fine," Keith said, clearly trying to restrict his rage. "I'll fly solo today. Seeing as how SOMEONE couldn't get anything done on her own." Alexa scoffed.

"Are you for real?! I was getting YOUR prescription, you jerk!" she snapped.

"Could've stopped them as well, y'know," Keith said rudely. Alexa's anger only grew, but her eyes began to water, having taken great offence to the harsh words she received. She raced up the stairs, tears flying out of her eyes as she turned her head away from Keith. Lily couldn't sit there any longer and followed her distressed daughter up the stairs. Hayden and Ian were mutually unimpressed.

"Why did you have to say that?" Ian asked crossly. Keith looked at the two men, but was met with identical looks of toned down anger.

"What?"
"You know what," Hayden replied. "You could've died if Iara and Ronan hadn't dived in to save you!" he shouted. Ian held his son's arm, hoping to calm him down.

"W-well she should've tried harder to stop Jordan while I was ill!" Keith pouted. Ian sighed.

"Keith, she saw you being pulled under by a Pokémon that ordinarily kills whatever it grabs; how did you expect her to react, happily?! Quite frankly, you had a lucky escape, pal!"

"She cares about you, but you seem to blame her for you being ill in the first place," Hayden said with concern.

"What?! I do not blame her for my illness! I just think she could've done better!" Keith exclaimed.

"Could you?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow. "A Ranger with two non-battling Pokémon against three Pokémon Trainers?" Keith kept quiet; it was a prospect he hadn't considered.

Alexa stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, catching the previously sleeping Sneasel off guard. He peeked over the canopy and saw Alexa almost ripping her jacket off and flinging it at the curtains on the other side of the room. He felt worried when she held her hand over her eyes. Lily quietly entered the room and carefully approached Alexa.

"Are you all right?" she asked sweetly.

"No," Alexa whimpered sadly in response. "What's gotten into us...?!"

"Oh, sweetheart...!"

"But h-he's right! That makes it worse...!"

"Right about what?" Lily asked delicately, stroking Alexa's hair.

"I-I should've tried harder, but I didn't..!" Lily pulled Alexa closer to her and held her softly. Alexa wrapped her arms around her mother and began to cry.

"You were right as well, sweetie. Three and potentially eighteen against one and three; how could anyone adapt against those odds?" She remained quiet and allowed Alexa to cry as much as she needed to in her loving arms. It didn't take long for her sobs to die into mere sniffles. "But I'm going to agree with your grandfather and say you should stay behind for a while," Lily said quietly as she looked her daughter eye to eye. "Maybe being on your own will help you two to think about yesterday's argument and what to say when you're ready to make up," she smiled as she gently wiped the remaining tears from Alexa's eyes. "Okay?"

"Y-yeah," Alexa agreed sadly. "I should try talking to Lupin anyway." Lily lost her smile and shook her head.

"No. No, I don't think that's a good idea, honey, talking about her is the last thing you should do right now," she said with concern.

"If I don't start now, I don't know when I will," Alexa said, looking away from Lily. "I won't be trying to all day if that's what you're worried about; I just want to start." Lily took a moment to think; Lupin had been lingering around the house aimlessly for almost a week and Alexa was yet to do anything with him. But she considered the potential consequences of talking about a very sensitive subject to a Pokémon who shows no respect for his trainer while already in an unstable state of mind; they wouldn't be good. She sighed.

"Okay. But if you feel even the slightest bit upset, I want you to stop. I don't want you to be even more upset because of Lupin," she cautioned kindly.

"I won't," Alexa promised. Lily smiled.

"That's my girl. Were you about to get changed?"

"No sense in wearing my uniform if I'm housebound," Alexa sighed. Lily planted a gentle kiss on Alexa's forehead.

"Don't think of it like that, sweetie. Come on, let's see what you can wear today. It's actually really nice out," she said optimistically.

"I, uh...I hadn't thought of that," Keith confessed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Ian smiled a little.

"I thought not."

"Alexa can adapt to new situations quickly, but the last thing she is when it comes to Pokémon battles is a fool," Hayden began. "She knows when a battle is either won or lost, and, quite frankly, three against possibly eighteen would most definitely result in the latter."

"You've not known any Pokémon Trainers before Alexa, have you?" Ian asked curiously. Keith looked away from the two men.

"N-no..."

"It's no easy feat," Ian continued. "Regardless of your reason for being one. It's a lot of responsibility to put on a ten year old, which is the age when one can start being a Trainer legally. You have to train your Pokémon to battle and you have to take care of them health wise, both before and after battle. Alexa has done this 38 times over, and has several other Pokémon that are yet to battle. Not to mention she has 32 regional gym badges to prove her ability as a Pokémon Trainer. Before you say you could've done better, consider what I just said."

Keith's attention turned to the stairs when he heard Lily and Alexa returning to the ground floor of the house. Alexa wore a tasteful green T-shirt and blue denim shorts with white running shoes, as well as her emerald choker necklace around her neck.

"Alexa?"

"Not now, I want to find Lupin," Alexa said, walking passed him. Keith gently grabbed her arm and stopped her. She looked at him, rather annoyed.

"No, listen. Please." Alexa noticed the look of regret on his face, but showed no reaction to it. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still sour about yesterday."

"You guess?" Alexa questioned suspiciously.

"All right, I KNOW I'm still sour about yesterday. I'm sorry I took it out on you."

"I'm sorry for what I said, too," she apologised. "I was out of order. Can you let me go now, please, so I can find my Alakazam?" Keith, still concerned about the thought of her being angry with him, even though he wouldn't blame her if she was, reluctantly released her arm, allowing her to walk outside. He ran to the front door and exited the house before the door closed behind her. Lily sighed.

"They're apologising to each other, but they're not forgiving each other," she noted worriedly.

"They will when they realise neither of them is at fault," Ian said reassuringly.

"I think we should help them realise that," Hayden suggested.

"Nah, leave them to it," Ian smiled. "It's for them to work out."

Keenan was still brushing Darcy's coat by the time Alexa approached him. Nearby, most of the Pokémon were enjoying the sunshine. Ryder crouched in front of Reese, with his paws held out in front of him. Reese was busy punching at Ryder's paws while Robbie watched with intrigue. Skywing was engaged in a delightful conversation with Xavier, Jonah and Clarice. Keith caught up with Alexa.

"Keenan, you haven't seen Lupin anywhere by any chance, have you?" she asked.

"On the roof," Keenan said bluntly. Alexa looked up on the red-tiled roof and spotted the very Pokémon she sought lying contentedly on his back, with his hands rested against the back of his head. The amulet around his neck sparkled in the sunlight.

"Oh."

"You and Keith argued again, didn't you?" Keenan asked hesitantly. Alexa looked at her brother awkwardly.

"Y-yeah...our failures are really getting to us," she said feebly. Keenan lowered his brush and faced the two teens; he was as concerned as he was anxious.

"But why blame each other?!" he asked. "You're trying your best!"

"Heat of the moment, I guess," Keith assumed. Keenan looked puzzled.

"He means that we don't think there's anyone else to blame for our failures," Alexa explained. Keith nodded. Keenan looked sad. Darcy raised her head and looked back at her young master with concern.

"Please don't fight... I don't want you to hate each other..." Keith and Alexa were mildly shocked.

"Hate each other?!" Keith asked.

"What?! We're not going to hate each other!" Alexa exclaimed. Keenan wasn't entirely convinced.

"I hope not..." Oblivious to the young humans, the Pokémon stopped their enjoyment and looked between each other, exchanging mutual glances of worry. Ryder was especially worried for the couple. The awkward silence lasted for what felt like an hour, and, during that time, Xavier kept an evil eye on Keith, who was the first to break the silence.

"I-I'll just go and patrol now," he said nervously.

"Mind if I come along?" Keenan asked.

"I dunno," Alexa said hesitantly.

"I'll look out for him," Keith offered. Xavier raised an eyebrow at the offer, but Ryder was curious about Alexa's shaky trust for the boy who supposedly had won her heart months ago. Alexa looked away from Keith, considering whether or not to allow Keith his support. She ultimately sighed, as if she would regret her decision later.

"Okay," she said. "Don't let anything happen to him. Even with his Pokémon, Keith, you'd still be outnumbered, so don't jump the gun," she cautioned.

"I promise," Keith said. Alexa nodded, but was secretly unsure if she could hold his words for what they were worth. Keenan climbed up onto Darcy's back as Iara lifted herself off of the grass, stretching herself as she moved. She jumped up onto Darcy's back, just behind Keenan, before she began to stroll away with Keith. Reese and Robbie looked at one another in confusion. Reese pointed to Keith, but Robbie shook his head. Reese nodded and tapped the Deerling's neck before running to his partner. Robbie lay back down on the grass as Xavier sprinted passed him, running after Keith and Darcy along with Reese.

"Guys, wait up!" Xavier called. Keith and Darcy had just left the city when the Zoroark caught up to them. Reese kept up brilliantly.

"You coming too?" Keenan asked curiously. Xavier glared at Keith angrily.

"Yeah, I wanna have a word with my gal's supposed soul-mate," he said rudely.

"Oh, good grief...!" Keith complained.

Alexa took a deep breath and turned to face the sunbathing Lupin on the roof. The Pokémon nearby watched with anticipation. Ryder and Skywing were concerned.

"Lupin! Can you come down here, please, I need to talk to you!" Alexa called. Lupin sighed, but remained in his position. "It's important!"

"Kazam," Lupin huffed, waving a hand away from her.

"Ouch...!" Ryder said quietly.

"At least Keenan wasn't around," Skywing whispered. Ryder nodded in agreement.

"Lupin, you can't ignore me forever!" Alexa yelled, brushing off Lupin's remark entirely. "We need to talk about this!"

"Kazam," Lupin scoffed. Alexa looked up at him angrily as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I see how it is. You want to risk sunburn if it means you can ignore me? Sounds like a stupid idea for a Pokémon with an IQ of 5000," she grumbled.

At the corner of her eye, she spotted a large round boulder nearly placed further up the garden. There was a blue plastic flower graciously placed on the very top of the boulder. She looked between the flower and Lupin, and developed an idea. Lupin watched her as she approached the rock casually and took the flower in her hand. Lupin reacted quickly and disappeared in a flash. He reappeared next to Alexa and rudely snatched the flower off of her. Alexa watched angrily as Lupin carefully replaced the flower back to its original position.

"How else was I supposed to get your down from there?! You just LOVE making things complicated, don't you?!" she snapped. Lupin faced her furiously.

"Kazam! Alakazam!"

"I'm being immature?! You're the one that's been in denial for the past seven years!" Alexa yelled.

"Ala-KAZAM!" Lupin retaliated. "Alakazam!"

"I'm trying to talk to you about it, but you keep trying to ignore me or run away from me!" Alexa shouted. Noticing her tone to be shaky, Ryder and Skywing rushed over to her. Ryder grabbed her arm gently.

"Hey, take it easy, Alex, it's too soon for this," he said softly. Alexa nodded, beginning to agree with him. Skywing fluttered in front of Lupin and faced him furiously.

"You're making her worse, now move along, Lupin!" he demanded.

"Kazam...!"

"NOW!" Skywing squawked. Lupin eventually complied and walked away from Alexa and away from the boulder. Clarice, Jonah and Robbie approached worriedly as Skywing faced her. Alexa tried not to cry, but tears threatened to escape her already sore eyes.

"Thanks, Ryder, Skywing. Mum was right," she admitted. "Talking to Lupin would make me feel worse..."

"Alexa, my dear, we couldn't help by overhear your earlier conversation," Skywing said solemnly as Alexa noticed Robbie, Jonah and Clarice approaching from behind her. "Is what the young master said true?"

"That you and Keith are fighting?" Ryder asked worriedly, ears flopped down on either side of his head. Alexa sighed.

"We were," she confessed. "We were blaming each other for yesterday's failure..." Skywing nodded.

"Shade informed us all," he sighed.

"Except for Mr Smiles over there," Ryder added, looking slightly towards Lupin, who had returned to his original position on the roof of the Thorndyke residence. "Xavier's pretty mad, though; he assumed Keith was a nice guy."

"He IS!" Alexa exclaimed. She recoiled quickly, as if to reconsider her answer. "W-well...was...I dunno, this whole thing with Jordan is screwing us over..." Skywing smiled reassuringly as he sat on top of Ryder's head.

"We're all ears, Alexa. You can talk to us."

"But I don't want to talk to you!" Keith exclaimed furiously. Xavier kept an eye on the irate Ranger, while Keenan watched him with worry. Darcy snorted; she seemed to be the only one concentrating on the path ahead. By now, they were well away from Violet City – or any other city, in fact – with nothing but trees, bushes and timid wild Pokémon hiding within all around them. Reese was trying to focus on his path, but Keith's attitude worried him. He counted Robbie fortunate he didn't have to hear Keith arguing with a Pokémon.

"You don't know me well, but I can be a real pain in the patooie if you push the right buttons," Xavier growled. "Now I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me why you're being such an arrogant Piplup and blaming Alex for-"

"If I tell you, will you shut your muzzle long enough for me to tell you?!" Keith asked rudely.

"Keith..."

"It's okay, little dude," Xavier said reassuringly to Keenan. "Hit me, bro." Keith sighed.

"I just said that if she tried harder to stop Jordan than she did while I was ill, yesterday wouldn't have happened!" he explained.

"And that's HER fault, is it?" Xavier asked interrogatively, folding his arms.

"Well, I suppose," Keith shrugged. Keenan almost gasped in horror.

"I can't believe you just said that!" he cried. Iara shook her head with disappointment. Xavier took a more casual approach.

"Especially considering that nobody told you to run onto that pier," he stated. Keith's eyes widened, but retained his fury.

"So you're saying yesterday was MY fault?!"

"Not yesterday, just your cold," Keenan said quietly. Keith groaned loudly.

"I already told Hayden I wouldn't blame Alexa for my illness!" Xavier moaned and began to knock his fist on the top of Keith's head.

"For crying out loud, use your noggin!" he roared. Keith rubbed his head as he glared at the Illusion Fox Pokémon. "If you hadn't run out onto the pier, you wouldn't have nearly drowned and you wouldn't have been ill! Consequently, you would've been able to HELP Alex with Jordan days ago! Yesterday probably woud've happened anyway!"

"Yeah, Jordan said he already knew about the Lapras, so we would've probably had our encounter yesterday, illness or no illness," Keenan added, agreeing with Xavier completely.

"Yeah...I can see what you mean, Skywing," Alexa mused. She and the Pokémon sat in a circle, with Robbie partly on her lap, Skywing in the middle of the circle and Ryder next to her right hand side. Jonah was directly in front of her with Clarice just behind Robbie.

"But you're still worried that he's going to blame you?" Ryder questioned. Alexa sighed as she continued to stroke the Winter Form Deerling's head. Despite looking depressed, Robbie seemed to enjoy her touch.

"Keith seemed convinced of it," she said sadly.

"I don't believe you should worry; the situation was beyond your control," Skywing smiled. "Neither of you is to blame, my dear."

"Yeah, if he loves you like he says he does, he'll come to that conclusion, too!" Ryder added optimistically, his tail wagging wildly behind him.

"I hope he will...I..." Alexa looked up at the sun in the sky, taking care to not look directly into the sun itself. "I don't want to lose him..."

"And I'm certain Keith feels the same way about you," Skywing said, moving from the grass to her knee. He kept his smile as Alexa looked down at him again. "It's merely because of those poachers that you're going through this rough patch."

"Yeah, you two are really good at this romance stuff," Ryder complimented cheerfully.

"Nobody says it's easy either," Skywing added. Alexa blushed slightly.

"It's not, but if you can accept and appreciate each other's differences, things should be fine," she said modestly. Skywing nodded.

"Intriguing."

"I think you and Keith are gonna be just fine," Ryder grinned.

"I hope you're right, Xavier," Keith sighed, hanging his head in shame. Xavier's anger faded and he carried a cheerful smile on his face, which seemed out of place on a Dark type Pokémon.

"Hey, from what Ryder told me, the two of you are closer than anything," he said happily. "If the love you feel for her is real, you two will get over this."

"Of course it's real!" Keith exclaimed defensively.

"There you go then!" Xavier said simply. Hope reignited in Keenan's heart as he smiled.

"Does this mean you'll stop blaming her for yesterday?" he asked wishfully. Keith smiled nervously at the young rider.

"Yeah. I have a lot to apologise for," he replied. "I just hope she hears me out..."

"She will," Keenan nodded. He suddenly felt Darcy randomly stopping in her tracks, her gaze fixated straight ahead of her. Keenan, Keith and Xavier looked at the Fire Horse in confusion. "Darce?"

"What's gotten into you?" Xavier asked. Darcy lowered her head, as if to point straight ahead of her. What everyone saw left them with mixed feelings; they saw none other than Jordan, Andy, Gabby and what looked like a Conkeldurr gathered around something in the distant clearing in front of them. Their Jeep was parked nearby.

"Right...!" Keith sprinted towards the clearing, Darcy, Xavier and Reese running just as fast to keep up with him.

"HEY!" Keith shouted furiously as he sped into the clearing, closely followed by the Pokémon. The clearing around them was relatively quiet and well-preserved, with the small exception of tyre tracks that ruined the otherwise untouched area of land. Jordan, Andy and Gabby turned to face their foes, revealing to have been standing around an open crate of compacted Poach Balls. Its lid was just left there on the grass a few metres away. The Conkeldurr stood idly behind the box.

"Hello to you, too, Keith," Jordan said sarcastically.

"I have a bone to pick with you about yesterday!" Keith stated.

"And I haven't forgiven you for that Rock Tomb stunt from Day One either!" Xavier added. Gabby recognised the Zoroark.

"Aw, hey, Foxy's back!"
"Big whoop," Andy said blandly, keeping his eye on the piece of paper in his hands. Gabby looked around, and only spotted two out of three meddling kids.

"Hey, where's Pixie?"

"Leave her alone, she's having the day off!" Keenan exclaimed protectively. Andy glanced up at the boy riding the Rapidash.

"Too scared to face us?" he asked mockingly.

"Distressed after yesterday, more like!" Xavier roared, subtly brimming in a dark aura. "Thanks to you, her morale's low!"

"Oh, well. If she's given up, that's up to her," Jordan shrugged. "But it won't look good for a so-called "Top Ranger" to throw in the towel so quickly."

"You'll regret those words!" Keenan yelled angrily.

Darcy reared back and neighed loudly before galloping towards Conkeldurr. Andy pulled Gabby away from Darcy's path while Jordan stayed perfectly still, showing no concern for the impending danger racing towards him. Andy and Gabby watched in awe as the Rapidash elegantly leapt over Jordan, the box of Poach Balls and even Conkeldurr. Darcy galloped around and faced them all from a different angle, scraping her hoof against the already tarnished grass. She snorted angrily. Iara was merely amazed she hadn't fallen off during the whole stunt. Andy and Gabby released their Arbok and Swanna respectively, causing Xavier and Reese to react immediately. Xavier's target was Arbok while Reese confronted the Swanna.

Keith stood there, bewildered; what was he supposed to do? Even Keenan was doing more than he was, and he's not even a Pokémon Ranger! Noticing how Andy, Jordan and Gabby were distracted with the battles that took place, Keith clenched his fist and ran straight for Jordan. As Keith held his fist back, ready for the punch, Jordan spotted him from the corner of his eye and faced him properly, catching the fist in his hand. Keith tried to pull his fist back, but Jordan's grip was too tight for him.

"Steady on. You don't want to be doing that," he said snidely. Keith glared at Jordan furiously.

"Yes, I do! Very, very badly!" Keith shouted. He soon felt his back hitting the ground below him and Jordan's arm pressed against his throat. Gabby's attention was drawn to her superior.

"Believe me. You don't," Jordan warned quietly. Reese tried to help Keith, but Swanna's long beak poked the little Buizel in the back, smacking him into the ground.

"Come on, Arbok, is that the best you can do?!" Andy exclaimed angrily as his Arbok constantly failed to land a hit on what appeared to be his doppelgänger. He was up against an Arbok with a darker purple skin and a chest marking completely different to his own; the darker skinned Arbok's crest had yellow and orange spiked eyes with a black pupil and a large grin in black and red, which was contrary to Arbok's crest, which had tear-drop shapes outlined in black, multiple fangs and a forked tongue. Arbok lunged at the fake Arbok, but was greeted with a pulse of dark rings fired from its gaping mouth.

Conkeldurr punched Darcy's neck with a giant fist, knocking her down and Keenan and Iara off of her back. Keenan and Iara composed themselves and realised how distracted everyone was. Keenan soon spotted the unguarded crate of Poach Balls; it looked big enough for him to fit in, with enough room to spare for Iara. The pair looked at one another and then back at the crate with intent; they had an idea.

To be continued...