Chapter Fifty Seven – Hurricane Adelina pt VIII
Keenan made his way into Xavier's recovery room, taking care not to drop either of the items he was holding, and walked over to Xavier's bed, giving Troy and the three Pokémon a gentle smile. However, upon seeing him, Troy could only worry as he remembered what Alexa had told him not too long ago; about how Keenan was held against his will for a considerable amount of time by Adelina's Jellicent. Xavier, however, was pleased to see Keenan was alive and well.
"Hey, buddy! You doing okay?" Keenan nodded at Xavier as he placed the cake carrier on the bed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Here; Alex and I got these for you guys," he said generously. Perri opened the carrier, revealing a mouth-watering collection of Poké Puffs of all colours and toppings; the cakes were either of the mint, chocolate, vanilla, orange, strawberry or coffee flavours, while the toppings were either sugar sprinkles, sugar stars, sugar balls or chocolate flakes.
"Thanks! I am SO glad I'm not nil by mouth, whatever that means," Xavier said with delight as he took a chocolate Poké Puff with chocolate flakes on top of the icing.
"Zorr-orr," Perri said politely, despite not immediately taking any of the cakes in front of her.
"Nine," Michael nodded gratefully before carefully taking a strawberry Poké Puff topped with sugar sprinkles with his teeth. Keenan turned his attention to Troy and handed one of the cocoas over to him.
"And we got this for you, too." Troy accepted the beverage cup as he gave Keenan a nervous smile.
"Thanks, but are you sure you're okay?"
"All things considered, yeah," Keenan replied, starting to feel a little nervous himself. "I got upset, but Alex made me feel better."
"That's your big sister for you," Troy smiled. "I take it she's with Keith right now?"
"Yeah, but he's really distressed," Keenan replied, losing what smile he had on him. "I don't think talking to him is going to be easy for her; we were talking about her and Keith not long before we found him along our way..."
"Ah...that'll probably make things awkward," Troy mused. "Speaking of which, it's going to be awkward letting Peggy and the twins know about all of this; they've been out of the picture for a while now."
"Feels like forever since I last saw those three," Xavier added in agreement.
"Maybe I should let them know."
"No, don't," Keenan said in weak protest. "Aunt Hailey should do it; it'll be better coming from her and, besides, they're kind of in school right now."
"Dammit," Troy groaned as he slapped his free hand on his forehead. "I keep forgetting that they're the only ones who go to school anymore!"
"That kind of means they've missed out on all the action," Xavier smirked.
"Trust me, it was something that nobody should have been a part of," Keenan said apprehensively as Perri finally took a mint cake with sugar stars sprinkled on the icing from the Poké Puff platter. "I don't doubt Aunt Hailey would agree..." Just as Keenan had momentarily placed his cup of cocoa into the carrier he'd placed on Xavier's bed, the room's door opened and Iara merrily raced towards Keenan and leapt up at him. Keenan was alarmed to feel Iara clinging to his shirt, but soon picked up his runt of a Vaporeon and held her in his arms, euphoric to be reunited with his partner properly. "Iara! How are you feeling?"
"Poreon!" Iara replied happily as she touched Keenan's nose with her own. As she nuzzled him, a nurse walked into the room with Reese and Ava in her arms and Ryder alongside her with Jollie in his arms. Xavier was over the moon to see Ryder, despite the Lucario's look of anxiety.
"Hey, guys! Man, I'm glad to see you're all okay!" Ryder mustered a tiny smile as he looked up at his hospitalised ally.
"Yeah, we're okay..."
"Buneary!" Jollie rejoiced. The nurse looked around the room, but ended up looking at Troy and Keenan in confusion.
"Where's the boy who came in with this Buizel and Pichu?"
Elsewhere, in a different part of the Pokémon Centre, Keith and Alexa continued to sit next to one another on the bench in awkward silence, each clasping their cups of cocoa in both hands that they rested on their laps. They seemed oblivious to the numerous Pokémon Centre staff members and visiting Trainers who sometimes passed them, despite none of them acknowledging the teens in any sense. Eventually, Keith sighed quietly as he sat up and looked up at the ceiling and wall in front of him.
"...I..." Having heard Keith speaking up, Alexa glanced up at him curiously. "I know you didn't have a choice but to ask for my help...but..." Keith sighed again as he lowered his head. "I dunno..."
"You'd rather I hadn't asked for your help?" Alexa wondered.
"...kind of..." Keith glanced over at her. "Not because of anything trust related, but...I just didn't feel like the right person to ask..."
"I got that; you already explained your case."
"I-I dunno, I just...I..."
"You're not sure if you should have agreed to help me or not because you have experience of being a Trainer," Alexa deduced. Keith nodded.
"I trust you, of course I do, but...would it have mattered if I hadn't helped you? Like we've established, I'm not a Trainer and I've never had the experience of being one before..." Alexa felt sorry for him again.
"Even those with the most experience started with none," she said philosophically. Keith's eyes widened as he looked at her in bafflement. He sighed as his demeanour softened to a small frown.
"Y-Yeah, I guess..." Keith's uncertainty made Alexa feel awkward again as they looked away from one another. During yet another awkward silence, Keith and Alexa unknowingly drank from their cups at precisely the same time; despite the cocoas not being as warm as they were when they were brewed, Alexa ended up taking another sip when Keith looked at her sadly. "...how do you do it?"
"Hm?" Through the corners of her eyes, Alexa looked at Keith in confusion.
"How do you cope whenever a Pokémon of yours got so badly hurt that they needed surgery to get better?" Alexa frowned as she lowered her cup from her lips.
"You already know the answer to that..." Keith felt even more distressed as he suddenly remembered Xavier; he remembered seeing Alexa in such a panic that he had to actually slap her across the face to get her to calm down even for a fleeting moment. He sighed as he buried his face in one hand.
"Oh, God, I am so sorry...!"
"...but..." Keith glanced at her in confusion. "Xavier wasn't the first to need surgery...there was Phoenix after his battle against Cynthia, but...the other three cases weren't life-threatening, much like Robbie's..." Alexa removed the plastic top of her cocoa cup to inspect how much of her beverage was left; just under half of her cocoa remained. "Shade broke his arm once, Kayla had a Poison Sting needle stuck in her shoulder – like, it was healed over stuck inside her shoulder – and Chaser had nerve damage in one wing after a battle with another Trainer's Skarmory went pear-shaped..."
"How did you cope with those?" Keith asked carefully.
"My family and other Pokémon were there for me," Alexa replied. "I was apprehensive during all three cases, but...they were especially invaluable during Phoenix's surgery...I was...petrified...like I was with Xavier's..."
"Because of losing Lydia...?" Keith asked gently. Alexa nodded.
"I was scared of losing Phoenix and Xavier like I lost her... ...I guess her death is why I only have two Bug type Pokémon in my entire roster..." Alexa felt a smile creeping onto her face. "But...having that circle of support made me feel like things were going to be okay...even if it took me a while to get over my anxiety..."
"Your family was there for you..." Alexa nodded as she turned her head slightly to face him; Keith finally noticed her smile and looked at her in wonderment.
"You were there for me after Xavier was sent to surgery...and...just now, you were there for me against Adelina..."
"I didn't do all that-"
"No, I mean...when you held me after Adelina threatened me, I...I felt so secure...it...it felt like it used to feel, y'know?" Keith looked at her seriously.
"I meant what I said to her; if she laid a finger on you, I'd take the arm it belonged to."
"Morbid, but...I knew you meant it..." Alexa's smile grew as she looked up at Keith. "Thank you for being there for me..." Keith finally managed to smile warmly at her.
"Thank you for everything you've done for Ava..." Alexa smiled sweetly at him.
"Of course; I know how training her was important to you..."
"I named her after my Mom," Keith said spontaneously. "Her name was the only one I could think of, but...now I wouldn't change it for anything...does that sound weird?"
"Not at all; I think it's endearing." Alexa looked away from him coyly, though she still wore her loving smile. "...Keith?"
"Hm?"
"...I-I know this is far from the best time, but... ...I-I think I'm finally ready to answer my own question..." Keith blinked at her in bewilderment.
Carter roared in frustration as he constantly attempted to strike Josh with a fury of Night Slash attacks from both of his arm-tentacles, but each attack was always deflected by an Ice Punch delivered by both of the Swampert's massive fists. Naomi, Lily and Colin watched the struggle with intrigue, Harvey and Hayden watched fairly anxiously, Hailey was intensely focused on Josh's remaining health and Adelina was livid that Carter wasn't landing a single hit on Josh.
"Wow, they're evenly matched," Naomi remarked.
"They're not at equal strength, remember?" Colin said as he observed the battle. "Those cuts on Carter's face and chest have been there since we got here."
"Seems like Lexie's Pokémon have been more tenacious than usual," Lily said with concern.
"I guess they had to be," Naomi said worriedly.
"Hang in there, Joshie!" Hailey called encouragingly. Josh nodded in response as he matched his Ice Punches with Carter's Night Slashes.
"Carter, stop using Night Slash and do something USEFUL for a change!" Adelina commanded, stomping her foot in frustration. "Flamethrower!"
"Mrrrrrrr!" At the earliest opportunity, Carter exhaled a breath of flames that struck Josh's face; the Swampert recoiled and attempted to fight against the flames with his large hands, only for Carter to successfully land a Night Slash attack on him – Josh was knocked down to the ground with a shallow laceration starting from near his left shoulder down to his right hip. Carter panted heavily and almost toppled onto his knee as Josh recovered fairly quickly from the assault. Hailey shook her head disapprovingly.
"Carter can't take much more strain, Adelina!"
"He will do as I say and I say he can keep fighting!" Adelina snapped nastily. "I am going to be the better Trainer, Hailey, and that is all there is to it!"
"A better Trainer would know when their Pokémon has no energy left," Harvey began. "And Carter just doesn't have any energy to continue, plain and simple."
"Then why is he able to continue his attacks?!" Adelina asked boastfully.
"You're making him run on an energy deficiency!" Hayden answered angrily. "If you don't stop this atrocity of a battle right now, he'll most likely end up with health problems if he doesn't get his energy back!"
"Carter is going to keep going until that Swampert is kissing the dirt beneath us, that is that!" Hailey raised an eyebrow.
"Josh is part Ground type; he doesn't have a problem with dirt – he's the MUD Fish Pokémon, for crying out loud!"
"In any case, Carter, use Superpower RIGHT NOW!" Adelina screamed. Carter hesitantly glared at Josh as his body burned in his blue aura. He darted towards the fatigued Swampert.
"Endure!" Hailey exclaimed quickly. Josh glared at the oncoming Malamar and managed to grab hold of both of his shoulders; the two Pokémon looked at each other's eyes before Josh mustered up the strength he needed to toss Carter away from him. Josh panted as he recovered from the strain, while Carter struggled even more to regain his footing.
"HA! It landed, it landed!" Adelina rejoiced proudly. "Now Carter's stronger AND bulkier! Your precious Joshie's not going to take another hit from Carter NOW!"
"I still don't understand; why do you want to defeat me so badly?" Hailey asked apprehensively as she noticed Carter's suffering during his attempt to stand up; she felt even more anxious when she saw Josh walking over to the Malamar and offering his arm again.
"Because you keep defeating ME!" Adelina shrieked viciously in response.
"Eh?"
"You...you really don't get it, do you, Hailey?" Adelina asked in horror. "You haven't noticed how you ALWAYS defeated me in the Contest Battles?! No matter how are Pokémon were matched up, YOU ALWAYS WON!" Hailey faced Adelina in shock.
"Adelina, I-I-"
"And I'm SICK OF IT! Why do you think I've not been in touch for six years?! I've been TRAINING!"
"With the Super Training regimens," Harvey muttered under his breath in disgust.
"Now, I FINALLY have the chance to prove that MY Pokémon are superior to YOURS!" Hailey began to feel sorry for Adelina, despite feeling such a thing towards the woman who'd committed so many atrocities against her family being the last thing she expected.
"T-Then why didn't you just-"
"CARTER! Superpower once again!" Adelina commanded violently. Carter, using Josh's arm for support, struggled back onto his feet and looked back at Adelina with concern; the pause allowed Josh to get some distance between him and Carter. "CARTER!"
"He doesn't want to keep going, you idiotic whore!" Hailey screamed, losing what little pity she briefly had. "Let's end this right now, walk away and have a proper battle when both of our parties are well-rested and fully healed!"
"NO! Carter can keep going!"
"Whether or not he can is irrelevant if he doesn't WANT to keep going," Harvey yelled in frustration.
"He's GOING to keep going and he's not going to stop until he DEFEATS THAT STUPID SWAMPERT!" Hailey took a deep breath to calm herself down before she spoke to Adelina again.
"Adelina, we've been at this for..." Hailey paused briefly to look at her Xtransceiver for the time; the digital clock displayed on the screen showed the time of 10:56. "Over an hour!" Hailey faced Adelina with a mild look of desperation on her face; Adelina felt an eye twitch as she saw her rival's demeanour. "Please, stop this! It's not healthy to push our Pokémon beyond their limits, and I think your Malamar's already pushed his! Please! Don't make him suffer for something like this!"
"Well, I'm glad you're not actively trying to surrender like SHE did...but I don't care for that look of yours..."
"Adelina, just stop and take a look around you!" Hailey exclaimed as she held both of her arms out. Adelina looked around at the abnormally large patch of singed grass between her and Hailey. "Is the damage you've already caused REALLY worth defeating me ONCE?!"
"ONCE IS ALL I NEED TO PROVE I'M BETTER THAN YOU!" Adelina yelled angrily at the top of her voice; she was so loud Harvey recoiled and clasped both hands over his ears.
"Ow..."
"CARTER! SUPERPOWER AT ONCE!"
"Mrr..." Once more, Carter's body burned in his blue aura as he sluggishly charged towards Josh, who could only watch sympathetically as Carter complied with his master's command against his better judgement. Hailey heaved a shaky sigh submissively as she looked at Josh sadly.
"Josh, dodge and Earth Power," she said half-heartedly. Josh didn't even need to leap away from Carter's attack; it was so slow that Josh simply walked out of Carter's trajectory. While Carter struggled to keep his balance, Josh's entire body shone in a bright yellow light and stomped his foot on the ground, causing the earth to rumble underneath the Malamar as the same light that enveloped Josh erupted from the ground, attacking Carter with its full force. Josh hadn't even put his full energy into executing the Earth Power attack, yet it was enough to leave Carter writhing in agony on the ground.
"CARTER! You get back up RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Adelina commanded spitefully. Carter grunted as he tried to comply, but he found it exceedingly harder to move, let alone carry out his harshly delivered command. Seeing the Malamar in such pain began to bother Naomi as she buried her eyes in Harvey's chest.
"I-I can't watch anymore!" she cried. Harvey drew her into a cuddle and held her securely.
"Then don't," he said gently. Hayden, Colin and Lily were also starting to feel disturbed by how poorly Adelina was treating her Pokémon.
"Adelina, stop it! He-" Hayden held his arm in front of Lily, stopping her from attempting to reason with Adelina. As Lily looked at Hayden in confusion, he gave her a look of sincerity as he shook his head at her.
"Hailey, just end this." Hailey looked back at Colin sadly.
"Colin...!"
"Please, Honeybee; it has to end. Now."
"It WILL, Colin," Adelina said through gritted teeth as she glared at Carter; he'd only managed to roll onto his belly and very little else. "All right, Carter...if you can't use Superpower...you're going to use Dark Pulse and it had BETTER defeat Josh or you'll regret it for months!" Sweating profusely, Carter raised his head to face Josh as a tiny ball of dark purple energy formed in his gaping beak; he managed to release a fairly weak string of dark rings towards Josh.
"Mirror Coat!" Hailey exclaimed quickly as her attention was swiftly redirected back to the battle. Josh's entire body became coated in his mirror-like shield just as the Dark Pulse attack struck his chest, but Josh made certain the rebounded attack missed Carter by redirecting it to a random clearing to his left. Colin shook his head.
"Hailey, stop dragging things out! For everyone's sake, just finish this!" Hailey looked over at Adelina again; she was glaring savagely at Carter as he tried again to get back onto his feet, but his attempt to do so only caused the lacerations he received during his battle with Alexa's Pokémon to bleed once more. Seeing the immense agony riddling Carter's face finally got to Lily as she buried her face in Hayden's shoulder. Hayden held onto her softly, stroking her hair to settle her anxiety.
"...Adelina, please...don't make me do this...! ...not in his condition...!"
"Hurry UP, Carter!" Adelina yelled impatiently. "Do as I say and get that Swampert!" Hailey felt hurt; Adelina had allegedly stopped paying attention to her quite some time ago and was intent on making Carter suffer far more than he already had. Overwhelmed with pity towards Carter, Hailey felt a sob in the back of her throat and tears irritating her lavender eyes as she finally realised...that Adelina was no longer the person she remembered...which hurt her even further. Seeing Hailey shivering violently where she stood concerned her brothers and husband deeply, but they understood her despair; she was forcing herself to do something she absolutely did not want to do, but, deep down, she knew she had no choice. As much as it pained her to do so, she delivered her final command to Josh...with sorrow riddling her voice.
"...H-Hydro Cannon...!" Josh, too, became tearful as he opened his mouth to allow an orb of bright blue energy to form in front of it.
"HA! If you think that'll stop Carter, then you're mistaken! Carter, see that Hydro Cannon with Superpower!" Adelina exclaimed with a psychotic smirk. However, when she saw that Carter wasn't even twitching, she looked at him in horror. "Carter?!"
"SWAAAAAH!" Josh fired the incredibly thick and extremely powerful burst of water from his mouth, which was headed straight for Carter, tears escaping the Swampert's eyes as he released his strongest attack with every ounce of strength he had left.
"CARTER!?" Carter watched the Hydro Cannon steadily approaching him. He lowered his head, closed his eyes...and smiled.
"Mal-mar..."
"CARTER?!" Adelina tried again to make her Malamar react to the oncoming threat against him, but could only watch...as the Hydro Cannon swamped the submissive Overturning Pokémon. As soon as the water touched Carter, Hailey and Josh averted their eyes; knowing that Carter would be in far more pain than he could handle during the attack, neither Hailey nor Josh had the heart nor the stomach to see his suffering...despite it being impossible to see Carter during the Hydro Cannon's execution. "CARTER!"
To be continued...