Chapter Thirty Three – Aggravation
Keith gently placed a bowl of Pokémon food, with two small white tablets placed on top of the kibble, in front of Buizel. Buizel happily munched away at his breakfast and his medicine. Keith sat on his bed and watched Buizel eating his meal, paying close attention to the bandages around the Pokémon's body. Though he tried not to, Keith recalled every attack poor Buizel suffered from Cain's blood-thirsty Pidgeot. The memories of yesterday's events stuck to his mind like a a Heracross on Sweet Honey. He glanced at his mobile phone and read the text message on the screen.
"Two's more than enough. Put them on top of his food intact; Buizel will do the rest. See you later! Xx"
Keith looked back at Buizel and smiled; he was fortunate he had someone who knew a lot about Pokémon health. He'd noticed that Buizel had eaten the two painkiller tablets that were on top of his food once Buizel stopped eating. Buizel smiled innocently at Keith, as if he was hoping for his partner to cheer up. Keith walked over to Buizel and began taking off the bandages around him.
"Hope there's nothing permanent," Keith muttered to himself as he unrolled the bandage around Buizel's torso. Keith felt Buizel licking his arm as he unravelled the bandages and looked at the little Pokémon; though he was smiling, his eyes expressed concern about Keith's emotional state. Keith gave of a little sigh as he smiled.
"I'm fine," he said quietly. Without saying another word, Keith removed the last of Buizel's bandages. At the very most, Buizel only had a few, albeit large, noticeable bruises all over him; his cuts had healed. "So are you, from the look of things."
"Bui!" Buizel nodded happily. Keith sat on the bed next to Buizel, which made the little weasel concerned again as he heard Keith sigh.
"I can't believe that happened..."
"Bui..!" Buizel tapped his foot impatiently. Keith looked towards the slightly frustrated Pokémon, who glared at him with his arms folded.
"I know I shouldn't keep going on about it! But I'm not used to seeing a Pokémon getting hurt right in front of me!" Keith said in defence. "Certainly not as much as you were..."
"Bui..." Buizel approached Keith and tapped his arm lightly, as if to comfort his partner. Keith looked away from Buizel, which confused him.
"I don't know how she did it," he sighed.
"Bui?"
"How she coped watching Pokémon getting hurt right before her eyes. I don't doubt that she had a load of battles when she was a trainer, so she must've seen her Pokémon getting hurt," Keith explained. "How do you think she knew about how I could help you?" Buizel remained silent and grew more concerned for Keith. He buried his face in his hands.
"I don't know what I would've done if Sven hadn't showed up when he did..." he said sorrowfully.
"Bui...!" Buizel squeezed through Keith's arms and nuzzled his neck. Keith, removing his hands from his face, took Buizel and cuddled him. Buizel smiled warmly as he returned the heart-felt cuddle.
"You're the closest thing I have to a Pokémon, buddy...I don't want to lose you."
"Bui...!"
KNOCK KNOCK!
"Keith?" Much to his frustration, Keith heard the mood-killing voice of Rhythmi. Keith moaned as he faced the door.
"What?!" he asked rudely.
"Uh, the professor wants to see you," Rhythmi answered nervously. Keith sighed as he stood up from the bed. Buizel quickly hopped onto Keith's shoulder before Keith even moved. He opened the door and exited the room. He closed the door behind him as he faced Rhythmi.
"Alex's coming back later today," Keith began. "Worked out an apology yet?"
"Look, I keep trying to apologise, but she won't hear me out!" Rhythmi pouted.
"I meant a GOOD one," Keith huffed as he brushed past Rhythmi. Rhythmi folded her arms and huffed.
"Come on, it's not like she was hurt or anything," she complained.
"No, but she could have been." Rhythmi yelped a little as she faced Erma, who was on her way to see Professor Hastings herself. "I pray that you don't pull something like that on her again, dear; she's been through enough as it is without being dragged into meaningless diversions."
Keith approached Professor Hastings, who, once again, had spotted him first. He waited until Keith actually approached him before speaking to him.
"The Chroma Highlands has become inaccessible," he said plainly.
"How so?" Keith asked.
"The Carnivine are running amok. Even more so than usual; they're attacking everything and everyone in their sight," Hastings explained.
"Cain," Keith hissed angrily, jumping to the conclusion that the heartless trainer was responsible for agitating the Carnivine even more than they needed to be.
"We don't know that for certain," Hastings said calmly.
"So what're we going to do about it?" Keith asked impatiently.
"I've informed Alexa of the situation and asked her and Ryder to take care of the situation before returning to the Ranger Union," Hastings answered.
"There's no time to wait for her!" Keith exclaimed.
"There's little choice in the matter," Hastings said firmly. "Alexa has given us her full confidence that she will resolve the problem with as little force as possible."
"It's not that I don't trust her, but I can't sit by and wait for her while that freak of nature's out there doing more harm!" Keith fumed angrily as he darted out of the room.
"Wait! Hold it right there!" Hastings exclaimed. He sighed; Keith had vanished from sight. "That boy's going to get himself hurt..."
Keith ran as fast as he could down the Chroma Road. As they ran, Buizel looked around at the numerous terrified Pokémon that originally resided in the Chroma Highlands. He then looked ahead as he continued to race alongside Keith; Buizel was determined to not let himself end up on death's doorstep again.
Keith screeched to a halt once he and Buizel arrived at the Chroma Highlands. He scarcely believed what he saw; every single Carnivine in the Highlands was seething with utter fury and seriously wounded. There was blood everywhere, and various areas of the highlands were damaged, as if a war had taken place. There was no doubt in Keith's mind; Cain had to be responsible for what had happened to the Carnivine.
CARNIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!
The mob of Carnivine all lunged at Keith and Buizel, with their large fly-trap mouths bearing their incredibly sharp teeth. Keith grabbed Buizel and leapt away from the bombardment just in time. Once the Carnivine recuperated form the near miss, they surrounded Keith; their senses seemed to be clouded by the rage resulted from the pain they were suffering from their wounds. Keith looked around hastily; Alexa was nowhere to be seen.
"Come on, babe..." he whispered to himself, panicky.
VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!
Keith held onto Buizel again and held him close as he tried to break through the Carnivine.
THWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAP!
Keith cried out in agony as the Carnivine lashed out on him with their Vine Whip attacks. Keith was already bruised and exhausted after he broke out of the Carnivine circle.
"Haven't you given up on that thing yet?" Cain's rude voice broke into the atmosphere like glass shattering on a tile floor. Keith looked up at the highest rock in sight; Cain stood arrogantly alongside his Pidgeot. "I thought it'd have died by now."
"You!" Keith bellowed angrily. "You did this to them!?"
"I told you; a Pokémon that can't fight back is weak. These Carnivine should've put up a stronger resistance against my Pokémon if they didn't want to suffer."
"You prick!" Keith cussed.
"Speaking of which..." Cain sniggered.
CHOMP!
"AAAAAGH!" One of the Carnivine bit on Keith's shoulder. Hard.
THWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPTHWAP!
Buizel looked up at Keith in devastation as he took the onslaught of Vine Whips, all because Keith refused to let Buizel suffer like he did the day before. Keith struggled to endure the excruciating pain of the whip barrage.
"Pidgeot."
"Pidgeot...!"
FWOO!
Pidgeot flew into the air and created a whirlwind with his wings, which blew all of the Carnivine away from Keith. Buizel was confused about what Cain had ordered Pidgeot to do, but Keith was too exhausted to care. He glared at Cain angrily; his lip was bleeding and his left eye was black. He had various bruises all over his person, and his left shoulder was bleeding. Tears fell rapidly down Buizel's face as he looked at his wounded partner.
"You look pathetic. Even more so than yesterday," Cain laughed.
"And y-you think you're better than me...?" Keith hissed breathlessly. He was exhausted from having taken such a beating; he could hardly talk clearly. "S-say that to my face then...!"
"The view's fine from up here," Cain shrugged. "Incidentally, you might want to look behind you."
"Huh?" Keith looked behind him.
BWAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Keith spotted the large Carnivine lunging at him, ready to strike him with another Vine Whip. Keith held Buizel close as he braced himself.
THWAP!
"Aaaagh!" Keith looked up in absolute astonishment and horror as he heard the agonised yelp of a familiar female voice. Though without frills sticking out of the sides of her head and a fanny pack accompanying her uniform's belt, Keith instantly recognised the girl who defended him. Cain and Pidgeot were mildly astonished at the sight. Alexa glared at the Carnivine.
"Hey, hey, there's no need to get physical!"
"A-Alex!" Alexa uncrossed her arms, knocking the Carnivine away from her. She turned her head to face Keith as she held out a hand to him just as Ryder approached her. She smiled rather sheepishly.
"Sorry I'm late; Oblivia's Staraptor aren't as fast as Almia's Staraptors." Keith gripped Alexa's hand as he strained onto his feet. Alexa faced him fully to help him further.
"So you're the Alexa I heard about yesterday," Cain said blandly. Alexa and Ryder looked up at Cain angrily as she held onto Keith gently.
"So you're the murderous beast I heard about yesterday. And I guess that's your Pidgeot, huh?" Alexa asked. While she was extremely furious at what she'd heard about Cain, her voice was absolutely calm. Cain huffed.
"There's no way you can get in my way," he boasted. "I proved that to your boyfriend by-"
"Almost killing Buizel; I heard," Alexa said abruptly. "You're not gonna be popular for that one."
When are murderers popular anyway? Ryder asked rhetorically.
"True," Alexa nodded.
BWAAAAAAAAAA!
The Carnivine all lunged towards Keith and Alexa behind their backs. Alexa sighed as she faced Ryder.
"Ryder?"
Ryder held out both paws as they and his eyes shone in a cyan light. The hoard of ravaging Carnivine shone in the same light and suddenly stopped in mid air. Cain and Pidgeot were astonished at what Ryder had accomplished.
"Wh-what the..!?" Cain stared at the levitating Carnivine in bewilderment as Alexa gently moved Keith against a nearby rock for support.
"Sorry, I'll need both hands for this," she said quietly. Keith quickly pecked a kiss on her lips before smiling at her warmly.
"I've never been happier to see you," he said quietly. "Go for it, Kitten." Alexa faced the floating Carnivine, with her right arm held in front of her.
"Capture on!" she exclaimed as she fired the capture disc from the styler. Cain watched as the capture disc circled the immobilised Carnivine. The Carnivine gradually grew less and less aggressive as the capture disc worked its magic. Eventually, Ryder released the now tranquil, albeit shaken up, Carnivine from his telekinetic grasp and gently placed them on solid ground. As Alexa recalled her capture disc, Keith spotted a red mark just below her styler.
"Alex, you're hurt!" he exclaimed.
"It's nothing serious," Alexa said calmly as she glanced at her very superficial wound.
"So your Lucario's..." Alexa sighed as she looked up at Cain.
"Not that it's any of your business, but, yes, Ryder is a battling Pokémon," she explained.
Cain took a Poké Ball from his pocket and released the scarred Medicham from within.
"Medicham, show me more of that Lucario's power!" he demanded.
"Medicham!" Medicham leapt down from the rock his master stood on and landed on his feet behind Ryder. Ryder looked behind him, looking rather unimpressed.
It's rude to attack someone when their back is turned, he sighed. Then again, I doubt you know any better, what with hanging around a blood-thirsty emo kid.
"I'm not emo," Cain huffed.
Oh. Well...then you need help. Seriously.
"Medicham!" Medicham lifted his glowing fist into the air and began to slam it down on Ryder.
BOOM!
"Cham?" Medicham looked up at Ryder in confusion; seconds before impact, Ryder had simply stepped back a pace. He looked down at Medicham, still looking unimpressed.
You're not very good at this, are you? he taunted. Medicham snarled under his breath as he tried many times to strike Ryder with his glowing fist. But every hit was a miss; Ryder beautifully, yet simply, dodged each attack.
Yawn, I'm getting bored here, Ryder taunted again. Cain grew frustrated at how Medicham's attacks keep being evaded by such simplistic dodging; Ryder swayed left and right to avoid the attack. Cain didn't notice that Ryder's eyes subtly shone in a turquoise light; Ryder was using Detect to protect himself from Medicham's attacks.
"Then fight back, you goose!" Alexa laughed. Ryder smiled as his ears perked up.
Ah, I never thought of that!
SLASH!
Medicham cried out in agony as Ryder swiped across his body with a set of claws created from devilish purple aura emitting from the spike at the back of his paw. Cain watched in horror as he witnessed Medicham's defeat.
Oh, wait...yes I did, Ryder joked as he relaxed in his stance. He glared up at Cain angrily, snarling, exposing his wolf-like fangs. The only pathetic one I see is you! Making your Pokémon attack those who aren't a threat to anyone! You're nothing but a spineless coward!
"Oh please," Cain sighed as he recalled his fainted Medicham back to his Poké Ball. "I'm not the one sobbing over a Pokémon."
That proves to me that you shouldn't be a trainer, Ryder growled.
"It's not about having an army of Pokémon at your disposal! Being a Pokémon trainer means that you have a responsibility over the Pokémon on your team!" Alexa added.
"I heard you gave up the trade; who are you to preach to me when you're not actively battling any more?" Cain asked rudely.
"I know what I'm talking about; I spent four years travelling with Pokémon," Alexa replied quietly. "And I know an appalling excuse of a Pokémon trainer when I see one!" Cain, without saying a word, turned around and jumped off of the rock he stood on, leaving the area. Pidgeot followed.
Hey! Don't you walk away from her! Ryder roared furiously. Get your tush back here!
"Ignore him, Ryder," Alexa sighed as she twisted the fanny pack around to rummage through it. "There're bigger concerns right now. Look after Keith for me, will you?"
S-sure, Ryder nodded as he walked over to Keith. They and Buizel watched as Alexa, one by one, applied some spray medicine to the Carnivine. She appeared to be talking to them and vice versa as she gently treated their wounds.
She got those medicinal supplies from Oblivia, Ryder explained to Keith. She bought them this morning, given what you told us last night.
"Ryder, why did Alex change her hair?" Keith asked in confusion.
She fancied a change of style, Ryder shrugged. So she just combed her frills out. Why, did you think those frills were natural or something?
"N-no, I just noticed she looked different."
That's not a problem, is it? Ryder asked teasingly. Keith smiled warmly as he watched Alexa being friendly to the Carnivine.
"No...I'm just happy to see her back. What was Oblivia like anyway?"
Fairly tropical, albeit a little bit on the yawn-side, Ryder replied. Our mission was to stop all of the Pokémon living on the Wireless Tower from brawling.
"How many were fighting?" Keith questioned as he faced Ryder again.
All of them. Literally, all of them. That's why Rand asked for us to help him; one man can't handle that many Pokémon at once, Ryder answered.
Keith and Ryder faced Alexa as she approached them. The Carnivine, happy, healed and content, scattered across the highlands, off to rest.
"I told them to rest for the remainder of the day, so they should be fine by tomorrow," she said. "Let's get back to the Union; you need medical aid next, Keith."
"Y-yeah..." Ryder gently took Buizel in his arms as Alexa pulled Keith over her shoulders; she held his right hand with hers and held onto his waist with her left arm. The foursome gently walked out of the highlands, which was peaceful once again.
"Alex? Y-you didn't have to help me like that," Keith said nervously. Alexa smiled sweetly at him.
"People give help and are helped. That goes for Pokémon too. Everyone lives by helping each other. Don't think of it as what you owe others or what you are owed. Sound familiar?"
"...yeah..."
"That said, and I'll sound like a hypocrite for saying this, but...I felt obligated to help you."
"Why's that, Alex?"
"It didn't feel right that you helped me so many times and I never got to help you out in return for it," Alexa answered as she lost her smile.
"...yeah, you do sound like a hypocrite," Keith said nervously.
Depression doesn't suit you, Alex, Ryder smiled. Lighten up; we're back in our own territory now. Don't make me tell your parents you've been grouchy.
"You're right," Alexa chuckled. "Sorry."
"Hey, don't be. I'm the one that's sorry," Keith said sheepishly.
"Why?"
"I didn't listen to Professor Hastings," Keith answered hesitantly. "He's gonna give me a right earful when we get back..."
Later...
"You should have listened to me!" Hastings fumed. He stood in front of Keith, who sat on one of the union's hospital beds. Keith looked away from Hastings, with his emotions conflicting with one another. Alexa sat next to him for moral support. Ryder and Buizel were nowhere to be seen. "Why didn't you wait for Alexa to resolve the problem?!"
"There wasn't time!" Keith exclaimed.
"According to whom?!"
"Professor, he was doing what he thought was right!" Alexa said in Keith's defence. Hastings faced her.
"By risking his life for no reason?! After I told him to wait?!"
"I know what Keith did was dumb, but we all do dumb things from time to time!" Alexa exclaimed. "I mean, take me! I fought someone, like, four times my size for goodness' sake! And I wasn't in tiptop shape beforehand either!"
"That scenario is irrelevant to the situation at hand, Alexa!" Hastings snapped.
"Maybe so, but we've both done stupid things because we were driven by emotion!" Alexa counter-argued.
"Incidentally, I still believe your analogy was more foolhardy than Keith's actions today," Hastings said sternly.
"What?" Alexa asked in shock.
"You intentionally fought with that oversized hooligan; Keith, however, didn't raise his fist like you did."
"He was against Pokémon! Fighting them with his bare hands would be immoral!" Alexa cried. Keith stood up quickly.
"Cut her some slack, Professor," Keith said calmly. "How long are you going to hold that against her?"
"Don't think this means you're off the hook!" Hastings fumed. "You should have listened to my instruction! If you had, you wouldn't be in this foul state! Sometimes I don't know what to do with you two..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith asked anxiously.
"You're both dismissed," Hastings sighed. "Go back to your room. I'll speak to you two again tomorrow morning," he said as he left the room.
Ryder and Buizel sat on the white bed, playing with a small rubber ball; the Pokémon were throwing it to one another merrily.
SLAM!
Ryder and Buizel looked up at Keith and Alexa; Alexa looked worried and remorseful while Keith was on the verge of losing his temper, as hinted by him having slammed the door shut.
"That was uncalled for!" he said angrily. "There was no need to bring Heath up again!"
"H-he was right, though," Alexa said sadly as she flopped herself onto her side of Keith's bed. Her head fell into the pillow and she was facing the ceiling. "I intentionally raised my fist at Heath..."
Uh, hey, Buizel, I think the en suite would make for a better playing area than the bed! Ryder said nervously.
"Bui," Buizel nodded in agreement as he and Ryder hurried into the en suite, closing the door behind them.
"Alex, you were furious at him for kidnapping me; I would've done the same thing if our positions were reversed," Keith said with concern as he sat next to Alexa.
"Exactly; I was driven by emotion and rushed into things rather than thinking about the situation at hand...and what the consequences of what actions I'd have planned would be..."
"You wanted to compromise. I mean, let's face it, you couldn't make Ryder attack Heath, given his morals and everything."
"It didn't do me any favours, though, wanting to make that compromise..." Alexa sat up and held her knees. "If Ryder hadn't given him that gem, I would've been crippled, or worse...Professor Hastings was right..."
"Never mind him, Alex."
"How can I not, we're meeting with him tomorrow!" Alexa panicked. Keith sighed.
"Alex, it doesn't take a psychiatrist to see you're still holding onto the guilt about Heath kidnapping me," he said sensitively.
"Can you blame me? We were supposed to go straight to the Haruba Desert to help you," Alexa said sadly as she faced Keith with watery eyes. "We stopped to listen to Wyatt's speech about Altru Inc and to help Sven at the Oil Field Hideout. If we went straight to the desert like we were told to, then-"
"Alex. I need to tell you my side of the story," Keith said reluctantly.
"Huh?" Keith climbed over Alexa and sat next to her on the bed. He held onto her nearest hand with his. He looked at her as if he was going to regret everything he was going to say.
"I think it'll stop you feeling guilty. But it's going to be hard to hear."
"Keith?"
"First thing you need to know is...it wouldn't have mattered when you arrived at the desert or how many stops you took along the way. Heath kidnapped me after my first failed attempt to capture Cresselia."
"B-but that was...that wasn't long after I gave Professor Hastings the Red Gem!" Alexa said quietly in horror.
"The message Rhythmi relayed to you was genuinely from me, hand on heart," Keith continued. "Heath ambushed me shortly after I ended the communication. Every voicemail from my styler after that was actually Heath imitating me. Poorly."
"...I-if I wasn't so abrupt, I could've heard it for myself!"
"Even if you did, I wouldn't have been able to speak for myself," Keith sighed. "He had me gagged. I couldn't warn you about the deceit."
"You were there when he imitated you?!" Alexa asked in horror.
"He did it to taunt me," Keith said sadly. "He really wanted to rub the fact that I was being used to lure you into a trap right into my face. I-in a way, I'm glad you didn't let Heath get a word in edgeways."
"W-why..?"
"I don't know. I just was." Keith sighed. "If anyone should feel guilty about losing the Yellow Gem...it's me. I'm the sole reason it was lost to Team Dim Sun in the first place. If I'd succeeded in capturing Cresselia in the first place...none of it would've happened."
"You don't know that..."
"You're right..." Keith faced her solemnly. "I'm sorry I told you this, Alex...you shouldn't feel guilty for my mistakes..."
FWP!
Keith looked at Alexa in astonishment; she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. Keith gently held Alexa in return. Behind his back, a tear ran down one of Alexa's eyes, despite her calm demeanour.
"You didn't need to explain yourself...it was just as hard on you as it was on me...or maybe even harder..."
"You were just as much of a victim in all of it as I was," Keith said softly. He gently released the cuddle and looked at Alexa directly into her eyes. He wiped away her tear with his thumb. "But I was responsible for the Yellow Gem being lost. And I stand by that. Please...don't feel guilty about it any more."
"..I-I'll try," Alexa nodded. She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Almost forgot about this!" Keith watched her in confusion as she searched her pockets. She gently took Keith's wrist, put something in his palm and carefully pushed his fingers over the object. "I saw this and thought of you."
"Huh?" Keith opened his hand and looked at the item Alexa handed to him; it was a pair of metal dog-tags on a small sterling silver chain. The tag facing him had his name engraved on it in familiar-looking handwriting. He faced Alexa in bewilderment.
"I-it wasn't personalised originally; Rand's daughter had an engraving pen, and I borrowed it," Alexa explained nervously. "I-it's not as good as what I usually write, since it's my first time using an engraving pen..." Keith looked at the dog tags again before looking at Alexa with a warm smile.
"I love it."
"Really?" Alexa watched Keith as he placed the dog-tags around his neck without hesitation. He faced her again.
"Thanks. I'll take care of them."
"I-it's nothing, really," Alexa said nervously. "I-I saw them while I was getting the medicine this morning and-" Keith gently pressed his lips against hers, interrupting her speech. He stroked her hair softly as he gradually freed her lips from his and he smiled at her.
"There's something else I want to talk to you about," he said tenderly.
"What's that?"
"When Cain talked about you and I told him not to...I referred to you by your proper name," Keith explained. "Alexa."
"So?" Alexa giggled.
"...you don't mind if I call you Alexa from now on...do you?"
"Not at all."
To be continued...