Notes:
Here's more! Lucas is determined to capture that Groundeon, so confident in fact, that he arranges another Pokemon battle!
Groundeon will make an appearance in the next chapter :)
The Mocha Cafe, Solaceon Town
"Lucas, you're nuts", said Barry. "I mean, me and Dawn always knew that you were nuts and we don't care but now, well we still don't care but I just gotta tell you that you're even more nuts than you were before".
"Thanks Barry", said Lucas. "You've really raised my confidence a few notches there".
Dawn looked up from her strawberry milkshake and sighed. "Barry's right, Sweetie", she said. "You know we always support your plans and help you when we can. But..."...
"You wanna go into Solaceon Ruins and hunt for the dangerous Groundeon cus you think you can capture it and use it in your next Pokemon battle against Cyrus to whip his ass". Barry shook his head. "Nope! Not gonna work, buddy boy".
Lucas frowned. "You don't know that it won't work".
Barry rolled his eyes.
"Lucas, it will eat you. Then it will eat us. Then, your Mom, Dawn's Mom and my Mom will kill all three of us".
"But...but it's so powerful", Lucas whined. "If only I could capture it, guys".
"You can't", said Dawn. "Terry's already got a trainer. You can't steal other people's Pokemon".
"Yeah but he's not with his trainer at the moment", said Lucas. "He probably hasn't seen him in eleven years, that's even if the kid is still alive now".
"Poor Terry", sighed Dawn. "He must be awfully lonely".
"Yeah and I'll do a really good thing by befriending him and becoming his new trainer", said Lucas.
Barry snorted into his pineapple milkshake.
"Yeah because that Groundeon is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally gonna make friends with you. Let me guess, you and you alone have some sort of mystical magnetism and while Terry would eat me and Dawn, he'll approach you, gaze at you knowingly and decide Hey, this kid's alright and boom! Friendship!"
"Barry, stop mocking me" Lucas grumbled.
"Baby, Barry is just trying to be realistic", Dawn soothed, patting Lucas' shoulder.
"Hmm", said Lucas. "Maybe you're right". He patted Dawn's hand back, then assumed a steely expression.
"Five Pokebucks says I can get Groundeon to like me if we find him".
Barry nearly knocked his milkshake over.
"Ten", he replied.
Dawn glared at both boys.
"Twenty", said Lucas. "AND, if I'm right, you gotta go to the herb shop, buy an energy root and eat it".
"And if I'm right, you've gotta wear your Mom's cocktail dress again. For your next Pokemon battle with Cyrus".
"Guys, come on", said Dawn. "This is stupid".
"DONE!" said Lucas, thrusting his hand across the table. Barry smirked and shook it.
"We have a deal and Dawn, you're our witness".
"Lucky me", said Dawn, finishing off her milkshake.
As Lucas was so confident of his success, naturally, as soon as the milkshakes were drunk, he, Dawn and Barry went along to Team Galactic's Secret Hideout, to challenge Cyrus to another Pokemon battle.
"Ha, Lucas", said Saturn, answering the door to him. "Have you come to join up with us?
"Shush!" said Lucas. "I need to speak to Cyrus please".
"He's busy".
"It's about another Pokemon battle".
"Ok, I'll go fetch him".
Saturn went back inside and returned five minutes later with Cyrus and Mars. Mars looked rather disgruntled and Cyrus was emotionless, as always.
"Cyrus, I challenge you to another Pokemon Battle", said Lucas in his most dramatic voice. "You choose the time and I'll choose the place".
"Alright", said Cyrus. "Where do you want to fight?"
"Solaceon High Street again".
"Very well. We'll battle there on Saturday, at sunset". Cyrus checked his watch. "The time now is 18:15 and 33 seconds. We will battle at 20:34 and 59 seconds. As today is Wednesday, that will be in exactly 74 hours, 19 minutes and..."...
"OK, OK, done", said Lucas. "I'll be there".
"Yes", said Cyrus. "Now you must excuse me, I have important business to attend to".
Mars beamed but Lucas shook his head frantically.
"No, wait! We haven't decided on forfeits yet".
"Of course", said Cyrus. "Pick something for me to have to do that would seem devastatingly humiliating from your perspective but won't concern me in the slightest because I don't feel the emotion of embarrassment".
"Um..." Lucas thought hard. "OK, if I beat you, you've gotta go to the shopping mall with Mars and Jupiter and go in whichever shops they want and stay there for ages".
"Alright, I accept", said Cyrus. (Mars smirked). "Now, what shall we do to you?"
"Make him wear something even worse than one of our jackets", said Saturn.
"Yeah, like his Mom's cocktail dress", Barry said eagerly.
Lucas gave Barry a death glare.
"Interesting", said Cyrus. "What is this dress like?"
"It's a black slinky little number with a low cut front and spaghetti straps", said Barry.
"Barry, you're awfully fascinated with that dress", Dawn remarked.
"Yes, that sounds a suitable garment", said Cyrus. "Very well then, if you lose, Lucas, you have to wear the dress and be chained to a lamppost in the middle of Jubilife City and with a sign around your neck that says Cyrus beat me in another Pokemon Battle because his skill at battling and his Pokemon are infinitely superior to mine".
"It won't all fit!" said Saturn.
"What? The dress?"
"No, the words on the sign".
"It's going to be a big sign", said Cyrus.
"But that'll hide his cleavage", Barry protested.
"Lucas darling, are you sure about this?" Dawn sighed.
"Yes", Lucas said firmly. He caught Cyrus' eyes and Cyrus stared back at him.
"Done", said Lucas and he held his hand out. Cyrus flinched slightly but then took Lucas' hand and shook it.
"Until sunset on Saturday night", he said.
Solaceon Ruins, Thursday morning
"This won't work", Barry said, shaking his head. "Lucas, just give up now, we're going to be in serious danger and all that cool stuff, you know".
"Barry, shush", said Lucas. "It's a fail proof plan".
Lucas, Dawn and Barry stood on the outskirts of the Ruins, trying to see into the distance. This was quite difficult, as it was a misty morning and fog swirled around, blotting out everything more than two feet away. The air was chill and dewdrops coated the tall blades of grass and tree leaves.
"Us three against one Pokemon", said Lucas confidently. "You fight first, Barry and if Terry knocks out your Torterra, then you go next Dawn. After a battle with your Infernape and then perhaps one with Pip, hopefully by then Terry should be weak enough for me to capture in an Ultra Ball".
"It sounds like it could work", said Dawn.
"As long as Terry doesn't jump us", said Barry, as they picked their way through the Ruins. "This thick fog is making me nervous".
"Ah, it's just early morning fog, it'll dissipate once the sun gets hot enough to burn it away", said Lucas. "Then we'll see clearly and..."...
Lucas stopped dead. Barry bumped into him and Dawn swerved in time.
"What is it Baby?" she whispered.
"Look", Lucas whispered back, pointing ahead. "What's that?"
There, sitting on a fallen column, was an eerie, shadowy figure.
"Wow!" breathed Barry. "You reckon that's Terry?"
"No, it's a human", said Dawn. "That's not shaped at all like a Pokemon".
Suddenly, the figure rose from the column. Silently, without a single word, it glided towards the three teenagers.
A thought suddenly struck Dawn. She nudged Lucas in excitement.
"Sweetie, maybe it's Terry's trainer, come in search of him!"
"I hope not", Lucas muttered.
The figure materialised out of the mist and was revealed to be an old man. He was stooped over, leaning upon a staff. His beard was long and grey and reached nearly to the grass beneath his feet.
"Good morning, youngsters", he said in a croaky voice.
"Blimey", said Barry. "He's older than I thought".
"That's not him, you plonker", Dawn said, nudging Barry. She smiled at the old man. "Good morning, Sir", she said. "Pleased to meet you".
"And I you", the old man said. He shook hands with Dawn and the boys. "Now, you must tell me your names".
"I'm Dawn", said Dawn. "And this is my boyfriend Lucas and our best mate, Barry".
"Aha, splendid", the old man said. "I am Lord Montague the 17th but you can call me Monty the Hobo. I became weary of the high life, so I retired here to be at one with nature".
"Um, hello Monty", said Lucas, nonplussed.
"Say, have you seen any Groundeons around here lately?" Barry said eagerly.
"Groundeons?" said Monty, frowning as he thought. "Hmm. Nope, sorry, young man. Haven't seen one o' them in donkeys' years".
"Oh", said Barry disappointed. "And you haven't ever owned one, have you?"
Dawn gazed up at the sky, as if she hoped Arceus would do something painful to Barry soonly.
"No, no, never young sir", said Monty.
Lucas sighed in relief. Barry shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Uh, Monty? Do you know anything about Groundeons?" Lucas asked. "Like, how to make friends with them?"
"Hm, not really lad", said Monty. "I know they can dig like crazy if they're frightened. They have shovel shaped tails for digging. They are partial to a drink of root beer and have an excellent sense of smell. But as for befriending them, nope. Sorry boy, can't help you there".
"Oh dear", Lucas sighed. "Well, thank you anyway".
"No problem, young man", said Monty. "Now, would you and your friends like to join me for breakfast? I have some fine herrings in the pot. Lovely, juicy crimson flesh when they are cooked, they have".
"Ohh, no thank you Monty", said Lucas. "We really must get going; we're looking for a Groundeon".
Lucas, Dawn and Barry said goodbye to Monty and set off deeper into the Ruins. "Humph", Lucas muttered. "As if we want any MORE red herrings!"
A few hours later, Lucas and his pals had explored the Solaceon Ruins from top to bottom but neither hide nor hair of a Groundeon did they see. They stopped for dinner; eating their sandwiches on the southern side of the Ruins. Lucas seemed a bit discouraged but Dawn and Barry tried to cheer him up.
"Come on Lucas, maybe Groundeons aren't morning Pokemon", Barry said. "Maybe they like to sleep in and only wake up after dinnertime".
"Or maybe they don't like the mist much", said Dawn. "But see now..."...she waved her hand towards the Ruins. "It's cleared and it's a fine sunny day. Maybe we'll have more luck this afternoon".
"Yeah, I bet we will", said Lucas, perking up. He swallowed the last mouthful of his cheese sandwich. "OK guys, shall we have another look?"
By the end of the day, Lucas, Dawn and Barry stood together, just outside the Ruins. The air was still and warm and the stars sparkled above them in a deep blue sky. Lucas' Ultra Ball was, however, Groundeon-less.
"Oh well, we tried", said Barry. "That was that and now Cyrus is going to hand you your arse on a plate on Saturday".
"We are not giving up yet", Lucas said indignantly. "There's still Friday and Saturday morning and afternoon to keep looking".
"But we've been all over the Ruins about five times", said Dawn. "We haven't even seen a Groundeon footprint".
"Maybe they don't leave footprints", said Lucas. "Or maybe it's hiding underground. Monty did say they liked to dig. Or maybe they are nocturnal".
He looked so desperate that Dawn and Barry relented.
"Alright then, Cupcake", said Dawn, kissing Lucas' cheek. "We'll keep looking, don't worry".
"Yeah", Barry agreed. "Never give up, huh, buddy boy!"
"No way!" Lucas said happily and he high fived his pals.