Chapter Eleven - Tears of Princes! The Icy Almia Castle
At the Union HQ…
"Well done on your first mission, you two," Hastings complimented. "That diary Alex found will be very useful, be certain of that."
"I'm glad that appears to be the case," Alexa began. "I want to get to the bottom of who Team Dim Sun really are."
"Incidentally, dears," Erma began. "Sven described your performance as flawless. And, Alexa, he even described you as the intelligent one."
"I wouldn't call it intelligence, ma'am," Alexa modestly began, blushing. "I just have an interest in Pokémon legends and the like."
"Whatever the case, dears, I shall promote the two of you to Ranger Rank 5," Erma declared.
"Bui, bui!" Buizel cheered. Alexa and Keith high-fived one another, happy about their promotions.
We're advancing in the ranks quickly, huh? Awesome! Ryder cheered.
"You must be worn out by now, dears," Erma assumed. "You may retire to your room."
"Room?" Keith asked in confusion.
"Chairperson Erma and I came to a certain agreement," Hastings began. "One of our Ranger bedrooms has two beds in it, not dissimilar to that of a hotel room. Erma and I agreed to let the two of you occupy that room."
"Come again!?" Keith and Alexa exclaimed in unified shock.
"Bui!" Buizel appeared to like the news, as he and Ryder high-fived, much like Keith and Alexa did a few seconds ago.
Yay, we're roommates! Ryder rejoiced. Erma laughed.
"Don't be so surprised, dears," she began. "Besides, this should allow you two to get to know each other better." Ryder smirked at Alexa.
About what you said at the Outdoor Class. Want to take it back? He asked cheekily. Alexa looked startled as she blushed. She quickly turned to face Ryder with embarrassment.
"Whose side are you on?!" she asked distraughtly. Ryder sniggered as Alexa buried her face in her palms out of embarrassment.
A little while later…
Alexa, Keith, Ryder and Buizel entered their new bedroom; there were two double beds close to one another; one of them had a navy blue duvet cover set on it, the other had a white duvet set cover one it. Each bed had four pillows. The room itself had been painted purple and had a purple carpet to match. Alexa and Keith were astonished, but Ryder and Buizel took a more optimistic approach; Ryder sat on the white double bed, while Buizel jumped on the blue double bed.
"Okay…so, we're in the same room," Keith commented nervously. "You okay, Alex?"
"Um…well, our Pokémon seem to like the arrangement," Alexa replied feebly, with a nervous giggle. "But, um…I'm not sure what to think…"
A few minutes later…
Keith and Buizel – on the blue bed – were both getting ready to go to sleep. Keith appeared to be wearing a plain white vest. Alexa entered the room in a different set of pyjamas; her pyjamas were red and her pyjama top was long-sleeved and were shirt-like with a placket front. Keith faced her.
"Hey, those pyjamas look a bit big for you, don't they?" he asked with curiosity.
"It's how I like them," Alexa shrugged. "I like wearing baggy clothing, if I'm honest. Particularly T-shirts and the like."
"Alex, why do I get the feeling that you're hiding something?" Keith asked, mildly with suspicion.
"It's probably your imagination," Alexa assumed nervously. She then climbed into the white bed and faced Keith once the duvet was over her body. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with wearing baggy clothes, especially if it's just casual attire."
"That's true, I guess. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Alex," Keith said, turning off his bedside light. Alexa turned away from him and prepared to go to sleep. Ryder – for some reason – was on the other end of Alex's bed, sleeping in a similar position to that of Buizel's sleeping position; curled up, much like a cat. Alexa yawned.
"Good night, Keith," she yawned. Alexa eventually closed her eyes softly. Although Keith had his back turned on Alexa – like vice versa – he squinted towards her, with a warm smile on his face.
"Alex?"
"Yeah, Keith?"
"I'm glad we both became Top Rangers…together."
Alexa appeared to be blushing as she developed a warm smile on her face. She fell asleep gently, happy to know of her friend's gratitude.
The next day…
"Alex! Alex! Wake up!" Keith exclaimed excitedly. Alexa sighed as she turned onto her back to look up at one very happy Keith.
"What's gotten you so excited?" she asked sleepily. "And when did you get up?"
"Six in the morning," Keith answered. Buizel hopped onto Alexa's bed and started to wake Ryder up by shaking him gently. "I couldn't go back to sleep after I woke up, so I've spoken to Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings." Alexa sat up; her hair appeared to be bushy, but her hair had spread out on her pillow when she turned on her back. She looked up at Keith after rubbing her eyes.
"What did they say?" she asked with curiosity.
"They started deciphering that diary you found," Keith began. "I went over to Altru Inc to find out who wrote the diary, and it turned out that Brighton Hall wrote it!"
"Brighton Hall?" Alexa questioned. Ryder woke up eventually, but he went back to sleep again. Buizel started waking him up again. "As in Blake Hall's father Brighton Hall?"
"Yeah, that's him!" Keith confirmed. "I think you and Ryder should get out of bed and get to the research room, this could be important."
A short while later…
Alexa – dressed in her Pokémon Ranger uniform – and Ryder – who still appeared to be sleepy – entered the research room with Keith and Buizel. Alexa was holding an insulated beverage cup in her left hand. Ryder yawned, politely holding his paw over his mouth.
"Morning, Alexa, Ryder," Hastings greeted. "You're just in time; Nage is about to explain what he has deciphered."
"Oh, yeah? Didn't think the diary could be deciphered," Alexa stated. She took a drink from her cup.
"With technology, it was possible," Hastings said proudly. "Anyway, Nage, would you like to begin your presentation?"
"Thank you. To put it simply," Nage began. "Brighton Hall started to find alternative energy sources when he came across small black stones. They fascinated him, so he decided to have them collected. And that's all we can decipher at the moment, I'm afraid."
"And the black stones were identical to the one found in the Gigaremo?" Alexa asked with curiosity.
"That is indeed correct," Hasting confirmed, walking over to a small pedestal; it had a black stone inside a glass dome. "But how to stop these stones from activating is still a mystery." Murph walked over to the pedestal.
"So that little stone came from the Shadow Crystal, huh?" he questioned.
FLASH!
"Aagh!" Alexa was taken slightly aback at the sudden flash of blue light. Murph's chest appeared to be glowing in the same blue light.
"What the!?" Keith also became startled at the flash.
"What's this? The power of the dark stone is plummeting!" Hastings exclaimed. "Murph, what are you hiding in your chest?!"
"I'm not hiding anything," Murph answered.
FLASH!
"Quit doing that!" Alexa complained, having been taken aback at the second flash of light.
"Oh, is it my pendant?" Murph asked. "It's a stone my Pa found in Hia Valley. I think it's called the Tears of Princes."
Professor Hastings – having heard what Murph revealed and having seen the effect on the dark stone – paced around as he pondered his next course of action. He faced Alexa and Keith soon after.
"Alexa, don't just stand there!" he exclaimed. "Go to Hia Valley and find the Tears of Princes! It's a mission! A mission!" he yelled hastily. "Sorry; but this is an interesting development."
"It's okay," Alexa said, in a forgiving tone.
"Keith, I need you to stay here and assist me," Hastings said calmly.
"Damn. Sorry, Alex. I think you're on your own for this," Keith sighed.
"Don't worry about it, Keith," Alexa laughed. "Ryder and I can look after each other."
"Alexa, I need to tell you how to get to Hia Valley," Murph began. "There's a river south of the Union. You can take a Floatzel up the river and into Crysta Cave. Go through the cave, and you're in Hia Valley."
"Thanks, Murph," Alexa thanked.
Later…
Riding on a Floatzel, Alexa and Ryder entered a dark cave. They found a wooden 'pier' and dismounted from the Floatzel. Floatzel swam away afterwards. Alexa and Ryder progressed through the cave. They soon found themselves nearly at the end, when Alexa suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Snow?! Aw, crap! I hate snow!" she complained. Regardless, she and Ryder exited the cave.
Outside…
"Brrrr! I should've brought a coat or something!" Alexa exclaimed, holding herself in an attempt to warm herself up slightly.
"No, I will not allow you to get to Empoleon!" a stern male voice fumed in the distance. Alexa and Ryder found two Dim Sun minions – with a Miniremo unit and a hypnotised Houndoom – confronting a man in a blue fleece jacket standing in front of a wounded Empoleon.
"Come on, Mr Researcher, we need that Empoleon to get to Almia Castle," one of the minions stated simply.
"But it's wounded!" the researcher protested angrily.
"Put a little spit on it! And a bandage and it'll be fine!" the second minion said insensitively. "But if you won't hand it over, we'll take it by force," he sighed, typing in something into the Miniremo. The Houndoom walked over to the researcher and Empoleon, who took steps back.
"W-what's wrong Houndoom?" the researcher asked nervously.
"Hey!" Alexa and Ryder immediately raced onto the scene and stepped in front of the researcher. "Leave them alone, they haven't done anything to you!"
"A Ranger!? Just our luck," the first minion complained. "Oh well; Houndoom, get the Ranger first!"
"You'd like to think that's going to work, wouldn't you?" Alexa asked teasingly, readying her styler. "Capture on!" she exclaimed, releasing her capture disc. Oddly, it wasn't long before the Houndoom was captured and freed, once the Miniremo exploded. Fearful, the minions ran away.
"Thank you, Ranger," the man sighed gratefully. Alex and Ryder faced him and Empoleon.
"Is Empoleon going to be alright?" Alexa asked.
"Yes, it'll be fine. By the way, my name's Pamur," the man introduced. "I lead the research team in the Shiver Camp."
"I'm Alexa," Alexa said, in a friendly voice. "This is my partner Pokémon, Ryder."
Yo, Ryder greeted.
"You're from the Ranger Union, aren't you?" Pamur asked. "Do you know if my son, Murph, is doing well?"
"Actually, he's why I'm here," Alexa laughed. "We're here about the… Tears of Princes, I believe they're called?"
Legend has it that long ago, even before it was filled with snow, Almia Castle was ruled by a king with three sons. The king wanted peace for Almia but his vigorous sons changed all this. He banished all three of his sons. One in red went to a volcano. One in yellow went to a desert. The youngest prince, one in blue, was allowed to stay.
The next day…
Alexa and Ryder – on Empoleon back – arrived outside a large castle. Alexa and Ryder dismounted from Empoleon's back and it swam away. Alex and Ryder then proceeded to enter the castle.
Inside the castle, a little later on…
Alex and Ryder came across an area of the castle, where a path of thick ice was the only way to get across the gap in the floor.
"Oh…crap…" Alexa looks as thought she's seen a ghost.
What's the matter, scared? Ryder asked playfully.
"I'm not scared of the ice breaking, Ryder, I just can't skate!" Ryder faced Alexa with a teasing look on his face.
No way, you're not, are you? He asked teasingly
"Alright then, I'll show you!" Alexa sighed as she stepped onto the ice. She appeared to be sliding along the ice slowly and attempted to skate. However…
"Wh-wh-whooaa! Aagh!" Alexa lost her footing and fell on her backside. "I'm okay!" Ryder looked towards Alexa in shock and blinked twice.
A little while later…
After having cleared through the ice room, Alexa and Ryder managed to find themselves in a room with two Riolu statues at the other end of the room. The statues seemed to be emitting a force field in between them, prohibiting access to the room ahead. A blue haired man dressed in blue and white stood in front of the force field, pondering.
"I heard someone come in," he said to himself. He turned around and found Alexa and Ryder approaching him. "Let me guess; you're a kid pretending to be an ice-skating Pokémon Ranger. Bingo, eh?"
"No-go," Alexa huffed. "I'm 17 years old and I can't ice-skate to save my life. Who are you to make that judgement towards me?" The man laughed.
"Sorry, sorry. Chill, all right? Don't get angry. My name's Ice," he said calmly. "I'm just joking, I know you're a Top Ranger."
"Chill? That's easily done in a place like this," Alexa said sarcastically. "And Ice? Sounds appropriate if you consider where we are."
"So, do you have a name? Everyone has one, so I'm sure you have one," Ice said calmly.
"Not that it's any business of yours," Alexa began. "My name is Alexa."
"Alexa-noob?" Ice asked teasingly.
"I am not a noob!" Alexa shouted furiously.
I think he's been on the Internet for too long, Ryder sighed.
"Need I remind you, Ryder, that you yourself have been on the Internet one time too many?" Alexa asked playfully.
"Oh, no noob at the end then? That's true, I suppose," Ice began. "From what I've heard, there wouldn't be."
"What do you mean by that?" Alexa asked. "Have you heard about what happened in the hidden harbour?"
"And I must admit, you're a sneaky one," Ice replied. "You and your partner are after something blue, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah…doesn't look like we can get through, given the barrier," Alexa muttered. "How do you know?"
"One of my guys overheard your ridiculously loud voicemail in Shiver Camp," Ice replied. "Anyway, what do you say we team up? You use your styler to distract the guardian and I'll swipe the gem. Come on. I'll buy you an ice cream soda for afterwards."
"Do you think I'd fall for that?" Alexa asked. Ryder looked between the two Riolu statues. He had an idea and ran off. Alexa turned to him in astonishment. "Ryder, get back here!"
"Doesn't seem like your partner's interested," Ice commented. Alexa turned to face him again, only to find a Miniremo out in front of him. "I suppose this is all I can do for now," he added, typing something on the Miniremo. A hypnotised Froslass appeared and ambushed Alex from behind.
Elsewhere…
Ryder entered a small room. A lone Riolu was about to attack Ryder, but Ryder grunted at Riolu, stopping the little Pokémon in its tracks. Ryder communicated with the Riolu and vice versa. The two eventually reached an agreement and shook paws. The two Pokémon left the room.
Meanwhile…
"Whoa!" Alexa leapt away from the sprouting icicle whilst maintaining her control over her capture disc. The Froslass was fighting back viciously. Ice watched her, looking surprisingly impressed.
Back with Ryder…
Ryder and the Riolu encountered a second Riolu in a different room. The two Riolu communicated with one another, presumably discussing Ryder's purpose for speaking with them. Eventually, the second Riolu decided to help the first Riolu help Ryder out with whatever he asked of them.
Back with Alexa…
BOOM!
The Miniremo unit Ice had was destroyed upon Froslass's successful capture. The Froslass then left the area.
"Yeah…you're much better than I expected," Ice commented. "Next time we meet, I won't be so careless."
"Next time?" Alexa questioned. Ice started to casually walk out of the room. He stopped when he's right next to Alexa.
"Oh, and that blue thing you wanted? I don't need to bother getting it," he said softly into Alexa's ear. "The Pokémon guarding it is probably too much for you anyway."
"I won't know that until I see for myself," Alexa stated sternly. Ice chuckled.
"I won't blame you for trying, though," he told her. "I'll see you around, Alexa." He then left the room. Ryder returned to the room, accompanied by the two Riolu.
"Ryder? Why are the Riolu here?" Alexa asked in confusion. She and Ryder watched as the two Riolu approached the force field.
Holding out their paws in front of the barrier, they caused the entire room to shine in a bright light. Once the flash faded, the barrier was non-existent. The Riolu then started to leave, communicating with Ryder along the way. Alexa faced Ryder in confusion.
"Ryder, you knew how to deactivate that thing?" she queried. Ryder smiled and nodded once in confirmation. He and Alexa pressed on.
In the next room…
"Wh-whoa!" Alexa quickly took hold of the wall nearest to her; the floor underneath her and Ryder is icy and slippery. "I really hate ice…"
Which one, the substance or the bloke? Ryder asked playfully with a smirk on his face. Alexa faced him in confusion, but then laughed.
"Yeah, and the person!" she laughed. Her styler received a voicemail transmission. She answered the communication.
"Voicemail, it's me, Rhythmi," Rhythmi stated. "We're getting indications of a strong Pokémon up ahead. Are you ready for it?"
"I'll have to be if we want that blue gem," Alexa replied. "By the way, just to check in, how're things at the union?"
"Alexa, Hastings here," Hastings declared. "We haven't gotten any further with the diary's deciphering, but we'll keep going."
"Alex, this is Keith," Keith began. "Are you okay over there? Is it too cold for you?" he asked, showing his concern.
"To put it simply, I hate ice," Alexa sighed in response. "I'm also feeling some mild frostbite, but other than that, I'm fine."
"Remember, you can always ask if you need help," Keith reminded. "In the meantime, I'll be waiting for you to return."
"And it won't be empty handed either," Alexa promised, ending the transmission. She and Ryder entered the next room.
They saw six unlit lanterns – three on either side – lined along the pathway leading to a shining blue teardrop shaped gemstone. Alexa and Ryder slowly moved closer to the gem.
FOO!
Alexa and Ryder turned around in astonishment; two of the lanterns just lit on fire.
FOO! FOO!
The other four lanterns were set alight, much to the mutual astonishment of Alexa and Ryder.
GYAAROO!
Alexa and Ryder looked around before facing the gem in confusion. They instantly become startled as they beheld the gem's guardian; a Lucario.
"Wow…a Lucario…that kind of explains the Riolu statues outside," Alexa said nervously to Ryder.
Suddenly it feels like I'm seeing myself, Ryder began. Only his fur is lighter and he has red eyes.
GYAAROO!
The guardian Lucario ran towards Alexa and Ryder and ran rapidly around them. Alexa and Ryder looked around as Lucario ran around them, but they became mildly dizzy as a result. The duo soon recovered from the dizziness and they prepared to challenge the Lucario.
"Capture on!" Alexa yelled, firing her capture disc from her styler. She let the disc spin on the spot while it charged up. Alexa then started spinning it around the Lucario.
GYAAROO!
The Lucario fired a small barrage of Aura Spheres at the capture disc. However, it missed the capture disc and missed the capture line. The disc continued to circle around the guardian Lucario. Regardless of how much it jumped around, the capture disc managed to keep up with Lucario.
GYAAROO!
Lucario fired two balls of aura, which landed on the ground. The balls became two lumps of damaging aura. The capture disc accidentally made its capture line make contact with the aura lump and the capture line was negated.
"Perfect timing," Alexa smirked. "Okay, Ryder, you can do your stuff!" she exclaimed. Ryder fired an Aura Sphere from his paws and it collided with the capture disc. Absorbing the Aura Sphere's power, the capture line turned red as a result of the extra power. The capture disc circled around the guardian Lucario.
GYAAROO!
Much to Alexa and Ryder's unified horror, the guardian Lucario surrounded itself with blue aura, allowing it to fire a larger barrage of Aura Spheres – all of which missed the capture disc in total – and to created more lumps of aura on the ground – which the capture disc dodged narrowly. Alexa looked exhausted.
"This guy's really hurting my arm," she complained. "I'm not sure how long I need to keep this up…" Ryder moved in front of Alexa and got a hold of her right arm with his right arm; Ryder was assisting Alexa with her capturing in a whole new way. The guardian Lucario noticed Ryder's action and a smile crept onto its face.
GYAAROO!
Its cloak of aura faded away, returning the guardian Lucario back to its normal strength. However, the capture disc had done its job as the white ring formation of light ensnared Lucario and, with a flash of white light, was befriended. Alexa and Ryder relaxed.
"And that's capture complete," Alexa sighed. "Thanks for the extra help, Ryder," she thanked gratefully. Ryder nodded at her with a friendly smile on his face.
Sure, it's never a problem, he responded.
GYAAROO!
The guardian Lucario held its paw in front of it, causing the blue gem to lose its extra flash of light, which apparently served protective purposes. Lucario then faced Alexa and Ryder as it approached them. Ryder approached the Lucario with curiosity as to what it wanted from them. Lucario held out its left paw to Ryder. Curious, yet cautious, Ryder rested his right paw on the Lucario's left paw.
ZZZZZTT!
GYAAROO!
Ryder feels a sudden electric shock as he became surrounded with bodily aura – presumed to be his own – whilst he kept his paw on Lucario's. Lucario also had its bodily aura surrounding it, but it failed to inflict pain on it. After a while, Ryder's bodily aura stopped giving him pain as it calmed down. Both bodily auras faded away. Alexa was left confused about the whole thing, but the guardian Lucario ran off.
"Ryder…what did that Lucario do to you?" she asked. Ryder squinted back at her.
I can only assume that he gave me the extra power to use the ability we witnessed, he shrugged.
"Extra power? So, wait, Lucario gave you the ability to make yourself temporarily stronger by surrounding yourself with your own aura?" Ryder nodded at Alexa.
Presumably. Now, let's get the gem, he suggested. Alexa and Ryder approached the blue teardrop shaped gem and collected it. The two of them – with their mission cleared – exited the area.
To be continued…