Chapter 20 – One Last Chance
Jordan and Andy sat in the main lobby of Cinnabar's abandoned Pokémon Centre, Gabby crouching in front of Andy as she treated the wound on his thigh. Jordan touched his wounded shoulder, which had been treated recently; through the tiny hole left in his vest, a white dressing could be seen. Andy had his jeans rolled up to allow Gabby to treat it in the same manner she treated Jordan's injury. Andy looked towards Jordan, whose gaze was torn between his shoulder and the dark grey luggage bag that lay in front of him.
"So...you're not worried that they know our next move?" Andy questioned.
"Far from it," Jordan smirked. "If they want to stop me, I welcome them to try."
"I think that's it," Gabby said as she moved away from Andy, who examined the beautifully placed dressing on his thigh. "Are you gonna be okay? Keith really did a number on you two."
"Look, Gabs, when I get my hands on that motherfucker, he'll pay for what he did."
"He and Alexa both," Jordan added in agreement.
"Alexa? What did SHE do? All she did was rabbit on and on," Gabby said in bemusement.
"Exactly. If she kept her mouth shut, none of this would have happened." Andy took a few moments to recall Alexa's stalling tactic; he remembered laughing when she said please, but remembered the sharp pain in his thigh courtesy of Keith's stowed away scalpel even more.
"...I was wondering why she was being so chatty. Heh; her Chatot must have rubbed off on her," Andy sniggered. Gabby laughed, but Jordan smiled evilly.
"If she wants to play a game, I'll give her one." With that, he opened the bag and revealed its contents to his cohorts; inside was a large tranquilliser rifle, several packs of empty tranquilliser darts – each pack containing 6 darts, and numerous bottles of the same chemical, all in unbreakable plastic bottles. Gabby and Andy smirked at one another; these were the tools Jordan planned to use for capturing Moltres.
Hayden sat at his usual char in the kitchen, trying not to worry about where his daughter was after finding out she wasn't where she said she was going to be. Lily finished cleaning the kitchen worktop and returned the cleaning chemicals to the cupboard she collected them from. Skywing flew down from the stairs casually and landed gently in the middle of the kitchen table, just in time for Lily to stand up from the cupboard and spot him.
"Hello, Skywing, how have you been?" she asked politely.
"Very relaxed, thank you very much," Skywing replied courteously. "Ryder has asked me to inform the three of you that he has sensed Alexa's aura with Keith and Cassie near the vicinity of Cherrygrove City," he declared. "Oh, and young Keenan is with them."
"Thank you," Hayden sighed with relief.
"You are most welcome," Skywing nodded.
"I told you there's nothing to worry about," Ian laughed. Skywing suddenly became confused.
"Though I cannot fathom why Ryder, Layla and Xavier are so concerned," he said quietly.
"Is age a factor?" Ian suggested. Skywing remained silent to ponder his reply; he knew both Ryder and Xavier were still young Pokémon, Xavier being about a year younger than Ryder, but...
"Layla's the eldest of the group," Skywing replied, shaking his head. He took a few more moments of silence to think of other possibilities for their concern. "Maybe they know something I don't?"
The Chatot jumped up in fright as the front door opened with a sudden, albeit slight, bang as Keenan, Iara and a damp Keith and Alexa ran into the house. Skywing and the adults watched them in confusion, and instantly noticed their state of panic.
"Okay, now what?" Keith asked.
"I'll file a report to the professor and find a map of Mt Silver to work out the quickest way to-"
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! Slow down, Lex!" Alexa, Keenan and Keith faced the grown ups in momentary confusion. "You didn't just say Mt Silver?"
"Y-yeah, she did," Keenan confirmed reluctantly. Skywing noticed the messiness of Alexa's otherwise well-groomed hair, and could have sworn he smelled seawater in the air.
"Hm? Alexa, my dear, are you and Keith...wet?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Long story," Keith sighed.
"Skywing, I need a favour," Alexa said quickly. Not one to turn down a favour for a lady, Skywing nodded.
"Ask away."
"Can you survey Mt Silver in case Jordan arrives? I doubt he'll make a start today, but..." Skywing nodded once more.
"I will start at dawn tomorrow. Shall I take my PokéGear to inform you of his arrival?" he asked. Alexa slapped herself for not thinking of that herself; if her Chatot went to survey Jordan's next location without it, how would she know when he got there?
"Good idea, thank you!"
"Alexa, wait a moment, go back to the beginning! What's the matter?" Lily asked worriedly, failing to understand the full cause for her daughter's anxiety.
"Long story short, we know Jordan's next move," Keith said hastily.
"A-and it's on Mt Silver?!" Hayden asked in disbelief.
"Unless Moltres wants to roost elsewhere, yes!" Alexa added quickly.
"What?!" Lily gasped in shock. Skywing showed virtually no reaction; apparently, he had never heard of a Pokémon – or anything – called Moltres. Ian, however, fully understood his granddaughter's distress.
"...that explains it. Then again, I should have suspected; winter's due to end in Johto tomorrow," he said calmly. Keenan was horrified beyond words, but Keith and Alexa panicked even more.
"Tomorrow?!" they exclaimed.
"Wait, why's that so-"
"It's said that Moltres's appearance indicates the coming of spring," Ian explained to Keith. Hearing that, Keith was terrified; he and Alexa had little to no time to prepare a counter-attack.
"This is bad, this is bad...not enough time to-"
"Lexie, calm down," Hayden said gently as he approached her. "It's going to-"
"Aagh!" As Hayden touched both of her forearms, Alexa gave a small pain-filled shriek, confusing her Chatot, parents and grandfather. Hayden looked at both of his palms, spotting a smudged bloodstain on his left hand. He looked at the torn sleeve on Alexa's right arm, spotting the bleeding injury. He also noticed a bleeding laceration on her left wrist, and was gravely worried. "Y-you're hurt!?"
"I'll get the first aid kit!" Lily stated, running out of the kitchen to search for the medical box she sought.
"What happened, are you all right?!" Hayden asked worriedly.
"I-I'm fine," Alexa replied. In actuality, she wasn't; the salt water had irritated both of her injuries, and her father accidentally applied too much pressure to the wound Jordan left her with after a frenzied attack. Lily quickly returned with the green first aid kit and crouched in front of Alexa.
"Keith, are you hurt?" Skywing asked.
"No, I'm fine," Keith said, somewhat regretfully; he found it unfair that Alexa got hurt during their captivity and he got off unscathed. Ian approached as Lily began to clean Alexa's wrist with an alcohol wipe, giving her another reason to flinch.
"What the hell happened?" he asked.
"We know Jordan's next move because he told us," Keith began.
"I asked him to," Alexa added as she watched her mother wrapping a bandage around her wrist. Secured by a piece of medical tape, Lily moved to her arm and began to carefully lift the wet sleeve up her arm, trying her hardest not to hurt Alexa even more.
"And he told you? Why would he?" Skywing asked in puzzlement.
"When he told us, we weren't exactly in a good position. He caught us," Keith said hesitantly.
"So HE did this to you?!" Hayden asked angrily. Keenan and Skywing were shocked; effectively, Keith had revealed Jordan had kidnapped him and Alexa. Or so they assumed; Keith was sketchy on the details.
"Just my arm," Alexa said quietly.
"And your wrist?" Lily asked, stroking another alcohol wipe across the injury on Alexa's arm. Alexa was currently in too much pain to talk.
"I pricked her by accident, I'm sorry," Keith apologised.
"My dear boy, we know you'd never hurt Alexa on purpose!" Skywing smiled for a fleeting moment. "Jordan, however...that's another matter."
"There we go," Lily smiled as she secured the bandages around Alexa's forearm with more medical tape. She carefully unfolded Alexa's sleeve as she stood up.
"Thank you," Alexa said shyly.
"The important thing is you're both all right," Lily said kindly. "But right now, I suggest you get out of those clothes, have a shower and relax for the rest of the day. We've only just hit the afternoon, you have all of today left for any preparations you need to make." Keith and Alexa faced one another; they still felt pressurised, and weren't sure if relaxing was a good idea under the circumstances. However, they also considered the circumstances they had just escaped from, and wondered how Keenan recovered from his own moment of captivity. Submissively, they sighed.
"Okay. But the sooner the professor finds out about Jordan's next course of action, the better," Alexa said finally.
"Are you sure you don't want to clean up first?" Keith asked. Alexa looked towards him, pity written all over her face.
"I think we both know who needs it more," she said subtly. Keith nodded understandingly, recalling his efforts to momentarily defeat his captors and free Alexa. Without further word, Keith and Alexa headed up the stairs together. Skywing watched worriedly, but flew over to his PokéGear by the front door, checking how much power it had remaining.
"Keenan? Did Alexa and Keith fall off of Cassie after you found them?" Ian asked. Keenan turned towards him.
"No, they were already soaking when we found them," he explained. "I have no idea what happened to them beforehand." Ian sighed.
"I see."
The conversation between Ryder, Layla and Xavier halted as soon as Alexa's bedroom door opened. They and Lupin, who sat in the very middle of the large canopy bed, watched as Keith and Alexa entered the room. Keith took a random assortment of his clothes and left the room and Alexa immediately proceeded to turn her laptop on. Lupin used his gentle orange telekinetic powers to close the bedroom door behind Keith. Ryder tried not to laugh at the messy state Alexa was in.
"Did you fall off of Cassie or something?"
"I don't have time to explain right now, I need to tell the professor Jordan's going after Moltres," Alexa snapped as she logged into her email account. Xavier and Ryder looked at one another in confusion.
"Mol...tres?" Ryder asked.
"What's a Moltres?" Xavier questioned.
"An unbelievably rare Pokémon, probably the only one in existence right now," Alexa explained quickly as she began typing on her laptop's keyboard. Layla gasped in horror.
"Wow. If Jordan manages to snag that thing, he can sell it for, like, ten times what Hayden's worth!" Ryder exclaimed.
"And believe me, honey, Hayden's not cheap," Xavier added. Lupin glared at the young Pokémon; now was not the time to bring up Hayden's successful business or his wealth. Alexa wasn't impressed either, but ignored it.
"Yeah, well, I'd rather Moltres be free as the bird it is," she sighed, sending her email off to Professor Hastings.
"True," Xavier laughed nervously.
"If Hastings is sane, he'll send Sven and Wendy as backup," Ryder grumbled.
"Hey, didn't you tell me they were pretty much useless during the whole Cain malarkey?" Xavier asked. Ryder blinked; he had forgotten Sven and Wendy's failure to prevent the murderous Pokémon Trainer from acquiring the golems Regice and Registeel. In the end, Keith, Alexa and Hayden combined their efforts to prevent Cain from slaughtering the titanic golem Regigigas like he slaughtered a wild Salamence and even his own Medicham beforehand.
"...hey, yeah! They WERE useless! Keenan and Lily did most of the work!" Ryder snarled. A small chime rang on Alexa's computer, indicating a new email in her inbox. The Pokémon watched as Alexa read the new email. Alexa was baffled at the words in front of her.
"Nyah?"
"H-he's already replied..."
"What'd he say?" Xavier asked.
"...he said...to carry on with our mission as normal," Alexa said quietly. Ryder saw red, and began to snarl intensely, unintentionally intimidating Layla and even Xavier.
"WHAT?! No backup?!"
"He says he'll be on his way here with some officers from the International Police tomorrow. Keith and I are to try and defeat Jordan and apprehend him, ready for the IP to pick them up," Alexa added.
"Um, better idea; WHY DOESN'T HE GET HIS ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW?!" Ryder roared furiously.
"Ryder, Jordan will be at Mt Silver sometime very soon; one false move and we'll need Mountain Rescue." Ryder's temper faded as quickly as it flared up
"...oh." Alexa was still unsatisfied with the advice she received, but proceeded to shut down her laptop. She looked towards Lupin.
"Lupin, can you go and get Phoenix, please?" Lupin nodded.
"Alakazam?" he asked, holding up two Poké Balls.
"Oh, yes, please. Can you take Cassie back as well?" Alexa asked, holding up the Net Ball she had placed in the front pocket on her top.
"Kazam," Lupin smiled. Alexa tossed the Net Ball to Lupin, who caught it with his telekinetic powers. All three Poké Balls glistened in Lupin's Psychic energy and disappeared along with Lupin himself. At the exact same time, Keith returned to the room, fully dressed in a random pair of grey jeans, purple t-shirt and the random orange towel flopped on his head.
"My turn, I guess," Alexa sighed as she rummaged through her wardrobe for some dry clothes.
"I heard Ryder from the other room; what did Hastings say?" Keith asked. Ryder laughed nervously.
"Basically, carry on as normal, he's coming here with IP officers," Alexa explained quickly.
"IP?"
"International Police."
"...I agree with Ryder," Keith stated.
"We'll be on an avalanche-prone mountain, Keith; as little fuss as possible."
"Oh."
"So I asked Lupin to get Phoenix," Alexa smiled as she picked up her chosen change of clothes. Keith remembered Phoenix; he was Alexa's very first Pokémon, and arguably the strongest of all her Pokémon. He witnessed his strength as he fought Cain's Hydreigon for Regigigas's safety. That Charizard put up one hell of a fight, Keith thought to himself. He smiled; with a powerful Pokémon like Phoenix on their side, surely even Jordan's Haxorus would have a tough time fighting him.
Keenan returned to his bedroom and placed Iara onto his bed. Iara lay down as Keenan began wandering around his room aimlessly, walking all over the round snowflake print rug in the middle of his bedroom floor, sick with worry.
"What do we do..?"
"Por?"
"Do we help Alex, giving her all the help she can get? Or do I sit out because of...this?" Keenan sighed, lifting his shirt up a little; Iara saw the healing surgical scar near his hip. Keenan dropped his shirt and sighed. "If I don't help Alex, she and Keith might struggle, but if I do, she might get distracted by making sure I don't get hurt again!"
"Por..." Keenan sat on his bed, burying his face in his hands. Worried, Iara approached him and rubbed her head against his arm. Keenan moved his hands from his face and looked at his companion as she moved over to and sat on his lap. She soon smiled at him and licked his nose gently. Keenan smiled at his little Vaporeon and stroked her gently with only two fingers.
"You think I should help, don't you?" he asked softly. Iara nodded. "I guess we can. But I don't want either of us – or anyone else – to go through what we went through." Iara nodded in agreement and happily rubbed her head against Keenan's neck.
Alexa returned from her shower, clad in a random pair of black trousers and her blue vest, which had been laundered since Robbie's evolution, and a white towel wrapped around her hair like a turban. She arrived just in time to greet Lupin and her oldest friend, Phoenix, who looked as strong and healthy as ever. Keith, Ryder, Layla and Xavier had moved locations and were all on Alexa's bed, watching Phoenix and Alexa. Lupin wasn't as cheerful as he was when he left, Alexa noticed. Phoenix growled deeply.
"Phoenix, I asked him to get you, don't blame him. I need your help," Alexa replied. Phoenix looked at her in confusion; he was under the impression the reason for being disturbed was an unimportant one. He nodded and listened to Alexa intently. "Keith and I are dealing with some Pokémon Poachers who are due to appear sometime on Mt Silver starting tomorrow. We haven't made any progress in apprehending them since we were given the mission almost a month ago, and Professor Hastings is going to make his way over to Johto tomorrow; this might be our last chance to stop Jordan and his troupe. If we're to succeed tomorrow, we'll need all the fire power we can get, no pun intended." Phoenix nodded along with Alexa's story, expressing his understanding. "I don't know if Keenan will want to help as well, and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't, but...I know I need your help. So...will you help us? Please?" Alexa and Keith were shocked when the Charizard nodded immediately after she asked for his help.
"Rhhrrgh."
"Phoenix, thank you!" Alexa said joyfully, holding her Charizard in a gentle hug, which he returned happily.
"Need our help, too, Alex?" Ryder asked.
"Sadly, no; having too many Pokémon battling on Mt Silver will more than likely cause an avalanche. I don't want that to happen," Alexa said regretfully. "But I appreciate the offer, Ryder. Thank you." Ryder, despite not having any, felt tears in his eyes as he smiled at Alexa.
"N-no worries." Ryder's smile was a façade; deep inside, he still couldn't shake off the horrible feeling something bad was going to happen.
After lunch, Keith and Alexa discussed their plan of action. Alexa pointed out that until she was informed of Jordan's arrival on Mt Silver, there was very little they could do to prepare unless they decided to camp on the deadly mountain. Overall, planning a counter-attack only took half an hour at the most; the pair spent the rest of the day trying to relax, in spite of their anxiousness. Keenan offered his assistance; at first, Alexa refused right off the bat, but realised he would be safe staying on his Fearow's back the entire time. Keenan had no objections helping from the sidelines. Naturally, Xavier, Layla and Ryder wished they, too, could help, but they understood the dangers a large battle on a mountain prone to avalanches would bring; all they could do was remain at home and pray for Alexa and Keith's safety and success. Throughout the day, Phoenix was witnessed snacking on some strange looking yellow berries. Nobody understood why Phoenix chose to snack on the strange berries, only having been informed that "he knows what he's doing" by Ryder and/or Xavier. Eventually, Keith, Alexa and Keenan went to bed, knowing that tomorrow would be their one last chance to protect a Pokémon from the cruel poacher known as Jordan.
The next morning, Skywing, brown and blue PokéGear hanging from his neck, flew towards the towering terror of Mt Silver, carefully scanning the area from a birds' eye view for even a trace of Jordan, Gabby and Andy. The weather was cloudy and chilly; the grey clouds blocked off the sun's warming rays and veiled the beautiful blue sky. Skywing endured the low temperature and continued his surveying, keeping an eye on his PokéGear in case it fell from his neck.
Alexa, Keith, both dressed in their proper Pokémon Ranger uniforms, and Keenan stood outside the house anxiously, awaiting the signal that would set them into motion. Phoenix lay on the grass on his belly, Keith and Alexa already sitting on his back, while Colin roosted on the ground with Keenan and Iara sitting on his back. Robbie stood next to Keith with Reese on his head, both paws on Robbie's antlers. Floating next to Keenan and Colin was the violet Misdreavus, Ruby, who looked nervous about the endeavour she was to assist with. Keith looked at his two partner Pokémon with worry. Alexa looked over a him.
"What's the matter? Cold feet?"
"No. I don't know who to take with me; Robbie or Reese," Keith sighed. "Both of them are pretty helpful."
"Hmm." Alexa looked over at Keenan. "Keenan, how many Pokémon do you have with you?"
"Just these three," Keenan replied. "Why?"
"Fancy taking Reese with you?" Alexa asked. The proposal surprised Keith.
"Sure, no problem," Keenan smiled.
"Bui!" Reese jumped down from Robbie's head and ran over to Keenan and Iara, sitting comfortably in front of the pair, near Colin's long neck.
"What was that for?" Keith asked.
"Come on, as if I was going to let Reese miss out on this," Alexa smiled. "You can take Robbie as your partner Pokémon while Reese tags along under Keenan's care. That way, they can both come along without breaching the 'one partner Pokémon at a time' rule. I guess it's a shame you're not a Trainer; then you could take them both yourself."
"I doubt I'd be able to hack it as a Trainer," Keith laughed nervously.
"Keenan and I managed just fine," Alexa smiled.
"But you're from a FAMILY of Trainers; it's in your blood, pretty much," Keith sighed.
"Anybody can be a Pokémon Trainer if they wanted to," Keenan said reassuringly.
"What is this, a recruitment drive?" Keith laughed.
"No, what he means is even someone who knows next to nothing about Pokémon can become Trainers with the right support," Alexa explained. "But only if you want to, nobody's forcing your hand either way."
"I'll give it a miss, thanks," Keith said nervously. "No offence."
"No worries here," Alexa winked.
"No offence taken," Keenan added.
Skywing circled Mt Silver for the umpteenth time and suddenly stopped mid-flight, hovering in place. From afar, he finally spotted the miniature figures of Jordan, Andy and Gabby making their way up the mountain on foot. Panicking, Skywing used his talons to establish a contact with another PokéGear device.
Alexa's PokéGear suddenly began to ring with a default ringtone. She picked it out from her pocket and picked up the incoming transmission.
"Alexa, t-they're here!" Skywing panicked over the PokéGear.
"Did they see you?" Alexa asked.
"Definitely not, they arrived on foot!" Skywing exclaimed.
"On foot? But they'd need to get through the guards that stop anyone getting to Mt Silver!" Keenan cried.
"Gabby has a Roserade; I wouldn't put it passed her to know Sleep Powder," Alexa sighed.
"Whatever the reason for the phenomenon, it's imperative that you move now!" Skywing squawked.
"Great, thanks, Skywing!" Alexa hung up her PokéGear and returned it to her pocket. "Okay, let's go!"
With a mighty roar from Phoenix and a squawk from Colin, both Pokémon flapped their wings and took flight. Hayden, Lily and Ian approached the windows in time to see them off. Phoenix flew over Robbie and lifted the Sawsbuck off of his four hooves as he flew alongside Colin and Ruby. Both Hayden and his Mismagius worried for their daughters. From the rooftop, Lupin, Ryder, Layla and Xavier watched as Colin and Phoenix disappeared from sight. Lupin lowered his head and clasped his amulet, silently praying for a dear friend to watch over them all.
It wasn't long before Phoenix and Colin met up with Skywing, who flapped his wings wildly as he hovered in front of them.
"Thank Arceus! But are you absolutely sure about this?! I-I think I've figured out why they were on foot!"
"So have I, Skywing; they're saving their Pokémon's energy for Moltres," Alexa assumed.
"My sentiments precisely! But I've no idea what Moltres looks like, so-"
"Did you see a big yellow bird with fire on its wings and head?" Alexa asked quickly.
"No," Skywing replied.
"So Moltres hasn't arrived yet. Either that or it's already there. Anyway, you can go home now, Skywing, we can take it from here," Alexa said reassuringly. Skywing seemed hesitant at first.
"...very well. Take heart!" Skywing shouted boldly as the Charizard, Fearow and Misdreavus sped passed him. Skywing then flew away before the temptation to help Alexa against her wishes took control over him.
"Hold it!" Jordan, Gabby and Andy heard Keith's demanding shout, and watched as the three Pokémon flew towards them. Ruby stayed close to Keenan and hid behind him when she saw Jordan. Robbie began to hyperventilate somewhat, the humans responsible for his father's demise standing before him.
"This is as far as you go!" Alexa shouted angrily.
"Until I get rid of you three, yes," Jordan agreed.
"Is Moltres really worth risking your lives for?!" Keith asked interrogatively.
"Huh?" Gabby tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Andy asked casually.
"Mt Silver's prone to avalanches!" Keenan cried. "People have died while climbing it, why do you think Keith asked you that?!" Gabby and Andy looked at one another. Andy merely shrugged while Gabby scoffed.
"Pfft, we already know that," she stated.
"We're not stupid," Jordan added. To Alexa, just seeing the three of them standing on the mountain itself was reason enough for her to suggest otherwise.
"What?!" Keith was dumbfounded.
"But why risk your lives for something like Moltres?" Keenan asked in confusion.
"Heh-heh-heh...humans are greedy, generally speaking," Jordan began. "If there's money involved, they'll do anything. And a Pokémon like Moltres is worth at least a million bucks. At least, it's got to be. I plan on capturing it, and you three can't stop me," he stated, looking back at the large grey rucksack on his back.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Alexa scowled. "We're going to stop you, even if it takes us a whole month!" Jordan glared at her.
"...it's been almost a month since we met, Alexa."
"I know that, you know what I mean!" Alexa snapped.
"Yes." Jordan, Andy and Gabby each took out a Poké Ball. "Now, enough talk; it all ends today!" Jordan declared angrily. As soon as Haxorus, Roserade and Scrafty made themselves known, the battle was on.
Phoenix set Keith, Alexa and Robbie down on the same area of Mt Silver Jordan, Andy and Gabby were on, which was surprisingly spacious, albeit rugged and uneven. Phoenix flew away from the mountain, deciding to fight from afar, along with Ruby, Iara, Colin and Reese. Colin and Phoenix were far enough to avoid an avalanche, but close enough to cover Keith and Alexa's backs as they unleashed their capture stylers at the three rogue Pokémon. Haxorus, Scrafty and Roserade were brutal; not only attempting to attack the Pokémon attacking from a distance, not only trying to attack the two capture discs that spun around all over the place, but also trying to attack Keith and Alexa themselves. Avoiding the onslaught was rough on the pair; the surface they were on was extremely rough – completely unsuitable for hikers – and dodging Pokémon attacks often resulted in superficial injuries, such as bruising. It wasn't long before the bandage around Alexa's arm became bloodied a little.
Colin, Phoenix, Iara, Ruby and Reese all took turns in attacking the enemy Pokémon; Colin attacked with translucent blue blades of compressed air released from his wings, Phoenix attacked with his trademark stream of tremendously hot fire, Iara, playing it safe, attacked with multiple pieces beautiful golden star-shaped energy released from her mouth, Ruby attacked with a chilling wind that carried small blue sparkled along with it and Reese attacked with a stream of water fired forcefully from his mouth.
Robbie contributed in attacking and weakening the enemy Pokémon, sometimes bucking them with his two back hooves, sometimes with his antlers shining in an orange glow, and sometimes with an unbelievably brutal tackle attack, which strangely seemed to be more effective when Robbie used it to protect Keith from Scrafty as it tried to attack him sneakily.
Phoenix flew towards the mountain from time to time, fiercely attacking any Pokémon who tried to ambush Alexa while she was hard at work. It was always either Roserade or Scrafty who tried to attack Alexa, and Phoenix constantly swatted them away with either a fiery punch attack or with a quick slap from his large thick tail.
Keith and Alexa were growing tired really quickly; their control over their respective capture discs had to be precise in order to protect them from breaking. Their arms ached, and were losing their control over their capture discs, which were already dangerously close to breaking. Ultimately, Keith and Alexa were forced to recall their capture discs, in case they ended up breaking entirely. Concerned, Colin, Phoenix, Robbie and Ruby approached the tired Rangers.
"Are you all right?" Keenan asked.
"Can't...can't keep...going," Alexa panted.
"Our stylers a-aren't even working..." Keith coughed. Since the battle started, the clouds had faded away and revealed some of the hidden blue sky and sunshine, and the temperature had risen slightly; about an hour or two had passed since the confrontation began. Jordan, Gabby and Andy conversed with one another before facing the exhausted teens.
"Finally. Do you understand now? You won't be able to defeat us," Jordan smirked. Keith and Alexa could only glare at their foes, too exhausted for backtalk. "Now then, Haxorus, you know what to do!"
"What?" Keenan was puzzled as he watched Haxorus walking over to the rocky wall nearby. Scrafty followed and breathed in deeply.
"W-what are you-"
"No! Please, Jordan, don't!" Alexa exclaimed. "You'll get hurt, too!"
"What is it?" Keith asked.
"He's going to cause an avalanche himself!" Alexa cried.
"No, I'm not. Haxorus and Scrafty are," Jordan replied casually. "GO! Rock Slide!" Robbie tried to stop them, but Haxorus and Scrafty, with brute force, slammed into the side of the mountain.
For a few moments, nothing happened. However, the ground underneath everyone stood on the mountain began to rumble uncontrollably. Gabby almost tripped up, but Andy soon caught her. Jordan was confused about the delay in the commanded attack. Everyone soon looked up and instantly panicked, Jordan included; a huge wave of snow and boulders started to fall. Phoenix quickly flew down and grabbed Keith and Alexa as Colin and Ruby fled from the mountain. Robbie began running down the mountain, hoping to outrun the impending avalanche. The rocks fell quicker than the snow, and one of them struck Phoenix on his back, directly between both of his wings. He roared in agony and began to plummet, making sure to protect Keith and Alexa regardless, closing his wings around him, and them, to make sure they were as protected as possible.
Jordan, Andy and Gabby failed to release their flying Pokémon in time and fell down the mountain after the ground beneath them crumbled. One boulder, a relatively small one, struck Jordan's already wounded shoulder, conveniently bouncing him towards Haxorus, who grabbed and shielded his master from as much of the backfired attack as possible. Roserade and Gabby weren't so lucky; Roserade, like Andy, was caught in the falling wave of snow, whereas another somewhat small boulder slammed straight into her forehead, causing her to lose consciousness straight away. Scrafty fell towards the mountain and bounced the rest of the way down.
Robbie, however, was doing surprisingly well in avoiding the avalanche, jumping from place to place to avoid the larger boulders and falling poachers and Pokémon along the way. However, one of his ankles gave way and ended up rolling down the mountain in spite of his efforts. Robbie crashed into the ground, as did Phoenix, Jordan, Haxorus, Scrafty and Gabby, all of whom were then buried under a surprisingly thin layer of snow, with an unconscious Andy and Roserade lying on top.
Colin and Ruby panicked as they tried to avoid the falling rocks while moving away from the mountain. They succeeded in evading the avalanche and flew to the foot of the mountain. Keenan and the only remaining conscious Pokémon were calm and content until they saw the horrific aftermath of the avalanche; the only ones they saw were Andy and Gabby's Roserade. The flame on Phoenix's tail melted a tiny portion of the snow away, but only the area around his tail. Even then, Phoenix's flame was burning more feebly than it should be, which worried Keenan to the core. The Pokémon were all frozen in fear, both shaken up because of the avalanche they narrowly avoided and because of the possibility that Mt Silver had just taken 10 more lives. Keenan couldn't move; his body wouldn't let him, fear had paralysed him. He began to hyperventilate, tears streaming down his face.
"Alex! Keith!" he cried. There was no response, which made him even more upset. His tears fell from his eyes more quickly as he grew more desperate from any sign of life from his cherished sister. "A-Alex! ALEX!"
To be continued...