Chapter Twenty One - Scratching the Surface
Robbie strained as a small lime green orb of light formed in his gaping mouth. A cranky-looking Simisage stood nearby with his only arm on his hip, watching intently as the Sawsbuck raised his head slowly and lowered it sharply as smaller spheres of lime green light escaped the much larger orb; the smaller spheres crashed into a large boulder in front of Robbie, which partly broke apart as the lime orbs crashed into it. Xavier approached Robbie as the Sawsbuck stood up properly, whistling in awe.
"Very nice, Robbie, dude!" Xavier praised. "What do you say, Brent? Did he pass the test?" he asked the one-armed Simisage keenly. Brent observed the damage Robbie caused the nearby boulder before giving the Season and Illusion Fox Pokémon a definitive nod, much to Robbie's delight.
"Saws!"
"Way to go, Robmeister! So you've got Seed Bomb under your belt; I dare you to try the other one!" Xavier grinned as Perri, Michael and Troy approached the commotion; Reese walked next to Michael.
"Sawsbuck," Robbie replied cockily. He opened his mouth again as deep purple/black energy spiralled towards a small area in front of his snout, eventually building a sphere surrounded by vivid violet static. Robbie released the dark sphere at the same boulder he previously assaulted with Seed Bomb, which ended up almost completely demolished when the purple/black orb collided with it.
"Nice shot!" Troy praised. Robbie looked back at the Breeder with a grin on his face.
"Saws!"
"That was a nice Shadow Ball, Rob...but I really do prefer Mom's technique," Xavier remarked, glancing towards the female Zoroark.
"Zor-roark," Perri said modestly.
"What about you, Reese? How's your new attack coming along?" Troy asked curiously. Reese took a deep breath as he stepped forward, facing the pile of rubble and half a boulder.
"Bui..." Reese took a deep breath in and relaxed before he began to concentrate; as he began to strain, a flicker of grass green aura began to spark all around the Buizel's little body. However, the aura was quickly extinguished as the Sea Weasel Pokémon exhaled and began to pant. "Bui..."
"Still nothing, huh? Maybe you need to observe it again," Troy presumed.
"Yeah! Hey, Dad, think you can show Reese your Hidden Power?" Xavier asked. The Ninetales looked up at his son casually.
"Nine," he nodded as he took one step forward. He closed his eyes softly as his body became enveloped in a dark brown aura. As his nine tails spread apart slightly, small jagged rocks, made from the same aura enveloping the Ninetales, began to materialise all around his body; with a quick forward flick of his tails, all of the aura rocks flew across the paddock, crashing into the debris lying around and on the broken boulder. Reese watched in awe as the artificial rocks collided with the actual rocks.
"Good going there, Michael!" Troy complimented. Michael looked at the Buizel standing near him and observed his physique before looking back at Xavier.
"Ninetales."
"Whuh? You want me to showcase mine?" Xavier asked in bewilderment. Michael nodded.
"Ninetales?"
"N-no, I still know how to do it, Dad; I just rarely use it," Xavier replied nervously.
"Simi," Brent said grumpily. "Sage, Sage, Simisage." Xavier looked between his anatomy and Reese's.
"That's actually a good point...okay then, my turn!" Xavier said smugly as he stepped in front of the boulder. "Observe, my little Aqua Rodent friend."
"Bui," Reese nodded. Xavier closed his eyes and relaxed his stance slightly as an icy aquamarine blue aura consumed his entire outline; as he raised and crossed his arms, the aura began to rise up from his body, forming into what looked like a large bird of sorts as it rose. The Zoroark, in one swift movement, lowered and uncrossed his arms, sending the aura bird flying across the paddock and straight into the remaining half of the boulder, damaging most of it in the process. Perri applauded her son's attack while Michael smiled proudly.
"Ninetales."
"Thanks, Dad," Xavier smiled as he stood up straight. "Though I could've sworn my Hidden Power was a different type," he laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Bui, Bui!" Reese exclaimed keenly. Perri, Brent and Michael watched as Reese began to concentrate again, reigniting his grass green aura. Xavier walked out of Reese's way and spoke to Troy somewhat privately.
"By the way, do you reckon Piper could use some attack polishing of her own?" Xavier asked curiously.
"I don't see the need for her to train yet; legally speaking, Peggy's still too young for a Trainer Card," Troy said in polite objection.
"Yeah, I know; I was just thinking that if Madam LeFlirt caught Peggy alone and challenged her-"
"That's highly unlikely, Xavier; even someone like Adelina knows the law," Troy huffed.
"Knowing it is one thing; following it is another," Xavier said smartly. Troy began to think carefully about Xavier's proposal.
"I think I see where you're coming from...I'll speak to Daphne about it later, see what she thinks," he said finally.
"In the meantime," Xavier began, watching as Reese pushed his arms forward, sending a wave of aura leaves from his body towards the remains of the heavily demolished boulder. "I can't wait for Alex to see how buffed up those guys are getting!"
"You just remember why they're getting buffed up, Buster," Troy laughed as the pair rejoined the group.
"Y-you don't have to swear on anyone's name, Keith," Alexa said nervously. Keith faced her directly as he began to fiddle with the wrapping his muffin came with. "Not sure your Mum would appreciate you using her name in vain anyway..."
"Yeah, I know; I just wanted to show that I'm serious about earning your full trust back, that's all," he explained as he folded it up into a small thick triangle.
"Yeah, well, I just hope earning my trust back won't involve you trying to be a hero and getting hurt in the process," Alexa said, laughing slightly. Keith chuckled to himself.
"You and me both," he agreed. "But, nah, I was thinking more along the lines of spending time with you and getting to know you better," he explained. "And, since we're both on leave of absence, we have the time for it."
"Yeah, that's true," Alexa said quietly.
"And you can get to know me better like I want to get to know you better," Keith added optimistically. "The ball's already rolling with what you said about yourself just a short while ago. I knew you were light, but underweight...?"
"I-It's got nothing to do with our fights, so don't worry about that; it mostly came down to the fact that I "exercise" more than I eat," Alexa explained.
"So you're active by nature?" Keith asked with interest.
"That's about right, yeah," Alexa replied casually. "And I don't usually eat that much to begin with; hell, I rarely have snacks anymore."
"Despite having just had a muffin," Keith laughed.
"Yeah, well...I usually drink water or another liquid when I get peckish," Alexa replied in a mumble.
"Listen, Alexa...I know this meeting didn't exactly go off to a great start, so I was wondering if you'd be up for meeting for lunch after tomorrow," Keith proposed nervously.
"Why not today? It'll be lunchtime when we return to Nimbasa City by train anyway," Alexa suggested. Keith was caught off guard as he looked at her with surprise.
"For real?" Alexa smiled nervously as she nodded at him.
"Yeah, the sooner we can sort this out, the better...for both our sakes." Keith smiled timidly.
"I agree, but we can just be benign from here on out; spend the afternoon getting to know each other like we did at Ranger School, y'know?"
"Oh..." Alexa appeared to be disappointed, much to Keith's confusion and worry. "It's just...I was thinking it would be a good opportunity to talk about our problems while neither of us are completely worked up..."
"I honestly don't think we'll be able to resolve everything today, Alexa," Keith said earnestly. "But...can we spend this lunchtime getting to know one another? If I want to earn your trust back, then spending time with you is possibly the best place to start right now." Alexa looked at him with a gentle smile.
"Okay," she said compliantly. Keith sighed silently with relief.
"Thanks, Alexa. Shall we?" The pair stood up off of their seats and approached their Pokémon; Keith scooped Ava up in his arms and Alexa lifted Jollie off of the ground while Chutney ran along her arm to cling onto her shoulder. With their Pokémon in their arms – and on Alexa's shoulder – the teens walked out of the coffee shop.
The weather above the glorious Skyarrow Bridge was tranquil; there was hardly a cloud in the sky and a very gentle breeze cooled the air around Harvey, Hayden, Lily and Cheryl as they walked steadily across the grand bridge towards Castelia City. For no significant reason, Keenan was on his father's back while Iara was on Keenan's. The adults couldn't help but look as worried as they felt, and they all looked highly bothered to begin with.
"So we know Adelina's lying...but why..?"
"No offence, Lily, but do we really need to go over this all over again?" Harvey asked, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sure everyone's fed up of the same redundant deduction by now."
"We're the only ones on this bridge, Harvey," Hayden sighed. "Though I can't see this Adelina business being something we can just ignore either."
"Actually, Dad," Keenan began shyly. "That's...that's what Alex said we should do..."
"She said that?" Hayden questioned, glancing back at Keenan.
"Yeah, she said that we should shift all of the focus onto helping Aunt Hailey," Keenan explained. "She said that after hearing about Vergil. Which reminds me, is he okay, Uncle Harvey?"
"Nah, he's still being treated for his burns," Harvey said fretfully. "I had to backtrack to Driftveil; it was the closest Pokémon Centre from where I was on the bridge."
"Thank Arceus he got seen to so promptly," Lily said kindly. "And, after hearing about him, I can understand Alexa's conclusion."
"Me, too, but ignoring it altogether? I know we have more important things to concern ourselves with, but I seriously think we should nip this in the bud whenever the opportunity swings by."
"Speaking of opportunities, Hayden, have you had a chance to-"
"Don't even start," Hayden said grumpily.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Keenan asked nervously.
"It's nothing major, kiddo," Hayden replied half-heartedly. "Harvey came up with the idea that your sister should consider travelling again."
"Like when she travelled through Sinnoh?" Keenan questioned.
"Yeah, but, hopefully, with a better outcome," Harvey replied diffidently. "I was just asking your Dad if he found the chance to tell Lexie about it."
"No," Hayden replied bluntly. "Look, I haven't forgotten about it entirely; it's just not a good time right now. Besides, Alexa's meeting with Keith by now, so it's far too soon to bring your proposal to her attention right now."
"Then there's meeting Gulliver later this week," Lily added quietly.
"There is that as well, yes," Hayden laughed. "But, seriously, I don't think now's the time to raise your idea to her in light of everything else that's going on."
"That's fair enough," Harvey said understandingly. "But it makes me wonder if I should bring Naomi up to speed with everything..."
"It's probably best if you don't," Hayden advised. "She doesn't exactly see eye to eye with the rest of us anyway..."
"Outside work, she's an introvert; it's nothing personal. I don't think. But I dunno..."
"It's ultimately your decision, Harvey," Lily said nicely. "You do what you feel is right."
Striaton Academy's playing field was bustling with a variety of characters and activities; most of the students were running around and chasing one another, though there were several groups that simply stood around or sat on the grass either having a conversation or studying. Adelina and Huey walked away from the woodlands near the fenced off playing field and soon spotted Peggy standing around a tiny group of girls her age; they appeared to be having a very light-hearted conversation, but Adelina's eyes were glued to the auburn haired girl.
"By the way, Peggy, how was the movie?" asked the red haired girl curiously.
"It was bad," Peggy replied truthfully. "Nobody in the crowd liked it."
"Nobody?" questioned the blonde girl. "Was it really that bad?"
"Yep."
"Why would your Mom wanna see it if it was bad?" inquired the ash brown haired girl.
"We thought it would be good; my cousin Troy's Pokémon was in it and we had my other cousins with us as well," Peggy explained.
"That's too bad, Peggy," said the silver haired girl sympathetically. "I hope their visit wasn't totally a waste."
"No, it wasn't; they're all still here," Peggy replied coyly.
"So they're still here despite you being in school? I hope they'll be okay with that," the red haired girl said with worry.
"They're all busy with their own stuff, so I'm not worried," Peggy said cheerfully. She suddenly spotted Adelina through the corner of her eye and subtly looked at her; the bronze haired woman leaned against the nearby tree with her arms folded.
"It's just as well; family visiting while you're in school is never fun," the silver haired girl stated.
"Yeah, no kidding, Ivory; my Grandma and Grandpa visited while I was in school once, and it wasn't as fun as I wanted it to be," the ash brown haired girl moaned.
"That's too bad, Michelle," Ivory said sadly. The red haired girl looked at Peggy in bemusement.
"Peggy? What's the matter?" she asked.
"I-I need to go," Peggy said skittishly as she began to flee deeper into the playing field. Ivory, Michelle and the other two girls watched her in confusion.
Daniel and Daphne were sitting in front of the school's cherry blossom tree, away from the other students; Daniel was contentedly reading his novel, "Night of the Clefairy Dance", while Daphne was tuned into her MP3 player, with a rock style melody playing faintly through the Poké Ball headphones around her head, accompanied by a somewhat monotonous female voice singing the main vocals. Daniel secretively shifted his gaze from his book to watch his twin sister embracing the music pouring into her ears.
"Daphne! Danny!" Peggy cried. Both twins watched as their little sister ran over to them, looking fairly disturbed. Daniel lowered his book and Daphne pulled her headphones down to her neck; the rock music became slightly more audible.
"What's the matter, Peggy?" Daphne asked with concern.
"If someone's bullying you, just ignore them; I wouldn't trust any of the teachers with a bully problem if my life depended on it," Daniel said mean-spiritedly.
"No, it's not that," Peggy panted. "It's Adelina; she's over there," she explained, looking towards the rather distant figure of Adelina. The twins looked towards the stranger just outside the fence; the bronze hair and large hoop earrings were unmistakable, while the black tube top and lace blouse were very familiar to Peggy.
"What's she doing here?" Daphne asked in bewilderment.
"It doesn't matter; it's best we ignore her, like Alexa said," Daniel shrugged.
"Um, since when do you listen to Alexa?" Daphne asked teasingly.
"Since she reached a conclusion I agree with," Daniel said as he rolled his eyes. "Listen, Peggy, we spoke to Troy and Alexa about her and we agreed it's best to ignore her."
"Lexa said that?" Peggy asked curiously.
"Yeah, she did," Daniel confirmed. "Remember when we talked about Adelina's battling skills?"
"Uh huh," Peggy nodded.
"That's why we should ignore her; she's dangerous, so just...ignore her, okay?" Hearing Daniel's advice cheered Peggy up.
"Okay!" she nodded compliantly. "Thanks!"
Adelina continued to watch Peggy conversing with her older siblings from afar. Eventually, she sighed bitterly as she stormed away from the playing field, Huey hurriedly following after her. The walk through the woodlands was slow and silent, which unnerved the Delcatty.
"Blu...Blu..." Adelina and Huey stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the gentle cooing of a snoozing Swablu; sure enough, Piper was roosting in one of the nearby trees, with her cotton-like wings wrapped around her like a heavenly blanket.
"Hmm..." Adelina observed the sleeping Piper in thought.
"BUI!" Reese pushed his arms forward once more as his aura leaves sped across the paddock, demolishing the very last remains of the boulder that once stood in front of him.
"That was excellent, Reese!" Troy praised.
"Kinda surprised you haven't evolved already, dude," Xavier said casually, lightly scratching the top of his snout.
"Bui?" Reese looked up at the male Zoroark in confusion.
"I'm sure he'll evolve whenever the time's right," Troy said as he raised his arm and fiddled with his black and ruby red Xtransceiver. Xavier noticed his actions.
"Watcha doing?"
"Getting hold of Alexa," Troy explained as he began to initiate the contact. Seconds later, Alexa's video feed appeared on Troy's main screen.
"What's up?" Alexa asked quickly.
"Hey, girl! Listen, think you can get hold of Keith somehow? Or pass a message on to him?" Troy asked curiously.
"Uh, I'm right here," Keith said in bemusement as he appeared on the video feed over Alexa's shoulder. "What's going on?" Troy's smile grew larger.
"Hey, dude! Glad you're around, it saves me having to use Alexa as a Pidove!" he laughed. Annoyed with Troy's remark, Alexa huffed silently in frustration. "Listen, just wanted to let you know your guys have made some great progress this morning!"
"Progress?" Keith questioned.
"Troy, this wouldn't have anything to do with Adelina, would it?" Alexa asked crabbily.
"Yeah, it does," Troy replied bashfully. "I wanted to make sure Robbie and Reese were equipped to defend themselves – and Keith – against Adelina in case he crossed paths with her." Alexa appeared to be slightly more annoyed.
"I understand your intentions, but, honestly, Adelina has no reason to cross paths with Keith," she said in light protest. "Furthermore, I did say we should ignore her."
"Yeah, well," Troy began nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "I wasn't sure if Keith was around when he heard that, so..."
"It's okay, I appreciate it; they had a pretty rough time against Jordan and Andy's Pokémon," Keith said gratifyingly. "Even after Reese's training with Ryder."
"Robbie handled that Haxorus decently in Viridian Forest, though, and he was a newly evolved Pokémon to boot," Alexa said praisingly. "Though this whole thing seems to be a bit of a contradiction; I advise we all stay away from Adelina and you train two of Keith's Partner Pokémon in case they end up battling against her."
"Yeah, well, personally, can any of us truly say we trust Adelina will let us ignore her? We're already questioning her credibility as it is," Troy explained rationally.
"I can see what you mean..."
"Who needs a lie detector when you have the likes of Keenan and Alexa around?" Keith laughed.
"Exactly," Troy nodded. Xavier looked at the Xtransceiver from over Troy's shoulder.
"Yo, Alex! How're you doing?"
"Hi, Xavier! No, we're...we're okay," Alexa replied nervously, glancing towards Keith slightly. "We're on our way to lunch; it's about that time."
"I take it you're talking to each other now?" Xavier asked, losing his smile slightly.
"Yeah, but we're still working on things at the moment; early days and all that," Alexa replied, her own smile fading away. "Crap...there's just so much going on, it's hard to focus..."
"Try to stay calm, you heard what the doctor said," Troy advised dotingly. "Maybe you should just focus on you and Keith for the time being." Keith merely looked at Troy in confusion.
"I know...but I can't help worrying about Aunt Hailey..."
"You aren't going to be able to help with her worries if you're carrying some of your own," Troy said wisely. "Concentrate on your own problems for now, okay? The rest of us can offer a penny for Aunt Hailey's thoughts."
"You sure?" Alexa asked apprehensively.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Troy smiled kindly. "Oh, and Keith?"
"Yup?"
"Swing by whenever you're ready to pick your boys up," Troy said with a wink.
"Thanks a lot, man."
"Keith? Sorry I was rude to you before," Xavier apologised.
"It's okay, I don't blame you," Keith said reservedly.
"Anyway, we should get going before the restaurant gets too busy," Alexa said quickly.
"Alex, is it okay for me to come back to ya when my visit's over?" Xavier asked eagerly.
"Yeah, of course," Alexa smiled kindly. "Say hi to Perri and Michael for me!"
"Will do," Xavier winked.
"Have fun, you two!" Troy said teasingly as he cut off his communication. "Well...good for them!"
"They're only getting to know one another? I thought Keith knew Alex inside and out," Xavier said counfoundedly.
"Nah, that's Phoenix," Troy said simply. "He's like a bloody encyclopedia when it comes to things about Alexa; he knows everything there is to know about her."
"Even her...?" Xavier began to ask, holding his claws over his bust area. Troy looked rather disgruntled with what the youthful Zoroark was attempting to ask.
"...somehow I wouldn't be surprised if he did know her-" Before Troy could finish his sentence, a loud echoing shriek broke the tranquil atmosphere in the Daycare Centre's paddock, with a distant flock of Pidove fleeing from the trees in a far-off woodland area. Troy and Xavier drew their attention to the fleeing birds, as did the rest of the Pokémon in the paddock.
"That came from Striaton! How did we hear it from here?" Xavier asked in stupefaction.
"Xavier, Striaton is less than a minute's walk from here, it wouldn't be impossible for a scream to reach this area," Troy said cautiously. "But that sounded forced for some reason..."
"Worth investigating?" Xavier asked.
"Frankly, it shouldn't be any of our business, but, judging by where the Pidove came from, the scream came from near the academy...Perri, Michael, you're in charge until I get back!" Troy suddenly exclaimed as he leapt over the fence. Caught off guard, Xavier pursued Troy, a magenta wave quickly turning his true Zoroark form into the black-haired human persona he utilised previously.
"Wait up!" he yelled. Robbie, Reese, Perri and Michael watched Xavier chasing after Troy as the two headed towards Striaton City.
"Saws, Sawsbuck?" Robbie asked, tilting his head in marvel. Perri shrugged as she chuckled.
"Ninetales," Michael sniggered.
"Help! I-I need help!" Adelina cried as she ran towards the fence surrounding the Striaton Academy playing field. Several students and staff members gathered around the spectacle, but, as Adelina was the centre of the attention, Peggy and the twins were cautious in their approach, as it seemed that Adelina was holding something charred in her lace blouse.
"What's the problem, miss?" asked the most senior looking staff member.
"I-It's this poor Swablu!" Adelina cried with forced despair. "It got attacked by a foul-tempered Zebstrika and-"
"Adelina?" Daphne, Daniel and Peggy pushed their way through the crowd and carefully confronted the seemingly distressed woman.
"Peggy! You have a Swablu, do you not? Is this yours?" Adelina asked as she worriedly showed the little girl the injured Swablu in her blouse; the Swablu's eyes were ruby red and filled with agony.
"...Blu..."
"Piper!" Peggy cried as she took her wounded companion out of Adelina's unnecessarily thin garment. "Piper, what happened!?" Daphne also showed her devastation towads Piper's ill health, but Daniel's suspicious eyes and mind were focused on Adelina.
"I-It was a Zebstrika! Huey was able to scare it off, but not before..." Huey sadly walked closer to Adelina's side. "Oh, darling, I am so sorry! And to think I would choose today to forget my supplies..!"
"Mr Walker, I need to take my sister to the Pokémon Centre!" Daphne pleaded as she looked up at the senior. The man looked down at the girls with concern.
"Just go," he said approvingly. "I'll let Mr Everett know what's going on."
"Thank you, Sir!" Daphne said gratefully as she began to hurriedly escort Peggy off of the school grounds. Adelina, in consternation, noticed that Daniel hadn't budged.
"Are you not worried for your sister's Swablu?" she asked innocently. Daniel scowled at her before leaving the pursue his sisters. As the students and teaching staff talked amongst themselves, Adelina sighed and secretly revealed the tiniest of smirks, Huey sharing the same smile.
Daniel soon caught up with his two sisters near the Pokémon Centre, but Troy and Xavier arrived moments before the three made their way inside the Pokémon Centre.
"Daphne!" Troy cried. Peggy and the twins watched their eldest cousin and Alexa's disguised Zoroark speedily approaching them. "Is every-" Troy suddenly noticed Piper in Peggy's quivering arms. "Piper?! What happened!?"
"Alleged Zebstrika attack," Daniel explained, somewhat rudely as everyone headed inside the Pokémon Centre. "I say alleged because of the Trainer who found her; Adelina."
"Adelina found Piper?!" Xavier asked in disbelief. Troy lifted his Xtransceiver as a panicky Peggy handed Piper over to the nurse. Daniel spotted Troy searching through his contact list.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Letting your parents know about this," Troy replied simply, initiating a communication with Colin.
The Nimbasa City restaurant was moderately busy, but Alexa and Keith managed to find a quiet two-person booth table away from most of the other customers. The pair sat opposite one another with a tall glass of cola on either side of them as Jollie, Ava and Chutney were all curled up underneath the table, all resting peacefully.
"So you were homeschooled?" Keith asked with interest. "Huh; there was me thinking you went to school like everyone else..."
"My Grandpa's qualified to teach, since he has a doctorate degree," Alexa explained, smiling shyly. "As a matter of fact, his official title is Dr Thorndyke."
"He's a Doctor?"
"Not the kind of Doctor you're thinking of; he was a researcher in his prime," Alexa elaborated. "He still is, but he's more of a freelance researcher now."
"Hence his little jaunts during our mission to stop Jordan, I suppose," Keith guessed.
"Yep. While he's already learned pretty much everything there is to know about Pokémon, which he passed onto me during our lessons, he still enjoys observing Pokémon in their natural environments."
"So apart from what you'd consider to be the basics, did he teach you anything else?" Keith asked curiously.
"Yes, he was the one who taught me everything I know about the Legendary Pokémon," Alexa replied with slight hesitation.
"So when you told Jordan you were familiar with all of the Legendary Pokémon...that was true?"
"From Arceus to Zygarde," Alexa confirmed. Keith whistled in awe.
"Gotta admit; that's pretty impressive stuff," he complimented. "Y'know...I'm really glad we're doing this..."
"Socialising?" Alexa guessed.
"Yeah. While we were both on duty, we never really had the time to have these conversations without the need to sort out some kind of problem," Keith said appreciatively. "Even when we had the time off, we spent more of it in enjoying each other's company instead of getting to know it."
"That's true," Alexa said quietly.
"So, is Keenan in school or does he get the same treatment you did?" Keith asked with further interest. "More to the point, has your schooling finished?"
"He's also being homeschooled and my schooling ended before I enrolled at Ranger School," Alexa explained.
"Damn! You two are lucky to have a qualified tutor in the family," Keith said admiringly as he spontaneously began to fiddle with the nearby vinegar bottle.
"Technically, Keenan has two tutors; my Grandpa and my Mum," Alexa explained. "Mum tutors him for the most part, but Grandpa still provides him with the Pokémon side of the home academics. My Grandpa tutored me all by himself because my Mum was—uh..." Keith looked up at Alexa in confusion.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Alexa was looking at the vinegar bottle under Keith's finger.
"Can you please...leave that alone..?" Alexa requested, hinting the vinegar bottle. Keith was even more baffled, but removed his finger from the bottle nonetheless.
"How come?" Alexa recoiled.
"I...hate vinegar," she replied inaudibly. Keith stifled a laugh.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"I hate vinegar," Alexa said clearly. "It...it tastes as vile as it smells and it's sickening! It's just...urgh, just keep it away from me," she said with complete disgust. Keith sniggered, frustrating Alexa. "I-It's not funny!"
"Sorry. No, it's just..." Keith calmed down as his laughter died. "It's a nice change of pace to hear about what you don't like. Though, if you ask me, you hate vinegar because you're far too sweet for it." Alexa felt herself blushing, though she appeared unimpressed.
"That was so corny," she said bluntly.
"It got you, though, didn't it?" Keith laughed. Alexa merely looked at him begrudgingly, despite her blushing as Keith laughed nervously.
An anxious Hailey and Colin burst into the Pokémon Centre and hastily approached Peggy, Daniel and Daphne, who were waiting in the main lobby with Troy and Xavier. Peggy sat between her brother and sister, tensely clutching her skirt as she awaited news on Piper's condition. The Striaton Pokémon Centre lobby was spacious, yet quiet at the same time, with the very few Trainers inside the building only requiring extremely basic services for their Pokémon's health and well-being. Troy spotted the parents approaching them.
"Troy! Is there any news?" Colin asked breathlessly.
"Not yet," Troy answered, shaking his head. "She's still with the nurse."
"They brought in a doctor as well, though," Daniel said delicately. "But, if anything, that means Piper's in good hands." Daphne moved from her seat to allow Hailey to take her place, carefully taking her youngest daughter into a warming embrace.
"Oh, sweetie...she'll be okay...!"
"But...I don't get why she got hurt..!" Peggy fretted.
"Me neither; Adelina said a Zebstrika attacked her, which raises more questions than it answers," Daphne mused. Daniel looked up at Troy.
"Has Lucy been out of the Daycare Centre at all?" Troy glared at the suspicious cousin.
"No, she hasn't," he replied nastily. "Lucy has no reason to hurt Piper anyway, why are you accusing her?"
"Settle down, fellas, there's no need to start a fight," Xavier said peacefully, stepping in between the conflicting boys.
"Lucy does have a pretty bad attitude, though, Troy," Daniel said accusingly.
"I already said Lucy has no reason to hurt Piper," Troy retorted. "And, besides, there are wild Zebstrika between Striaton and Nacrene; don't point the finger at Lucy just because she's the only Zebstrika you know!"
"That's enough, both of you," Colin cautioned calmly. "I'm more concerned about Adelina's involvement."
"How's that?" Hailey asked.
"Adelina was the one who found Piper," Daniel replied. "Tch! Like I'm going to take her word for it?" A nurse suddenly approached Peggy and her family; she cleared her throat lightly to attract their attention.
"Miss Peggy? Your Swablu's going to be just fine," she stated with a warming smile on her face.
"Thank Arceus," Colin sighed with relief.
"Thank you!" Peggy said with delight.
"How bad were her injuries?" Daniel asked curiously.
"She was suffering from paralysis, but she's mostly bruised," the nurse replied carefully. "In my professional opinion, the pattern of the bruising suggests to me that the assailant was either a Zebstrika or another equine Pokémon that can use an Electric attack." Daniel was stunned; Adelina was telling the truth?
"I think that's all we need to know," Colin said nervously. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," the nurse said courteously. "I'll check to see if she's ready to be discharged."
"Can I come? I want to see her," Peggy said persuasively.
"Of course," the nurse said kindly as she escorted the little girl to her beloved companion. Daniel blinked in perplexity.
"Adelina was telling the truth? I don't understand this..."
"I'm going to bring Harvey up to speed with this," Colin said as he looked at and fiddled with his Xtransceiver. Daniel mimicked his father.
"Alexa should know about this."
"Is there a reason for why they should know?" Xavier asked.
"We don't keep secrets in this family," Colin explained.
"It's purely transparency, Xavier," Daniel added in corroboration. Xavier sighed.
"So much for a peaceful lunch date..."
To be continued...