Chapter Fourty – Final Clash pt 1
It was a peaceful morning, and the sun was shining brightly on the land. Lily walked alongside her Meganium through the forest. Lily's attire was more sporty, contrary to her usual style, with a white T-shirt, black leggings and white trainers. Chelsea carried a straw basket in her mouth; the basket itself was filled with berries of different shapes, colours and sizes.
"There was no need for you to carry that, Chelsea, I can carry it if you'd like," Lily offered.
"Ganium," Chelsea declined, in a somewhat muffled voice.
"Well, if you need a break, let me know."
"Ga-nium," Chelsea replied.
The stroll, for the pair, was relatively uneventful until they began to walk along the bridge. They stopped mid-way when they spotted a blue body gently flowing down the river.
"What on earth..?" Chelsea placed the basket down and watched the body as it flowed under the bridge. "Can you get that, Chelsea?"
"Ganium," Chelsea nodded as a pair of slender green vines were released from the large pink flower around her neck. The vines wrapped around the strange blue body and Chelsea lifted it out of the water.
"Oh, it's an Empoleon. What's one of those doing around here?" Lily questioned as Chelsea brought the Empoleon closer to the bridge.
Chelsea turned the Empoleon around, revealing a truly horrific sight. Empoleon's eyes were widened and almost at the back of its head, its tongue was hanging out of its beak and it even began frothing. Chelsea was freaked out, but Lily shrieked in horror, staggering backwards. Chelsea almost dropped the comatose Empoleon back into the water.
"Mrs Thorndyke?!" Crawford yelled as he ran over to her and Chelsea, Budew hopping along in hopes of keeping up with his partner. "What's the-" he stopped mid-sentence as soon as he noticed the Empoleon in Chelsea's vines. "Cripes... Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, it just took me by surprise is all," Lily replied.
"Let's get this fella back to base. Maybe there's something we can do for the poor bloke there." Lily picked up the basket of berries as she and Chelsea, carrying Empoleon in her vines, followed Crawford and Budew out of the forest.
Alexa and Ryder arrived at the Vien Town Ranger base, but they hadn't noticed Empoleon sitting in the middle of the floor, with its eyes fixated on either the floor or its feet. Alexa did, however, notice her mother.
"Hi, mum," she greeted politely. She looked towards Barlow. "Hey, Barlow, I was wondering if-" She trailed off when she finally spotted Empoleon. "What the hell is Cain's Empoleon doing here?"
"That's Cain's?!" Barlow asked in shock.
"We just found the poor thing in the river," Lily explained. Ryder moved closer to Empoleon curiously. "I've never seen anything like this, so I agreed to being him to the base."
Okay...but why's he alive? Ryder asked. I mean, you'd think Cain would've killed the penguin, given his history an' all.
"Who's to say he didn't try to?" Alexa asked rhetorically. Ryder looked up at her.
Are you saying he failed to?
"Maybe Empoleon survived by dumb luck," Alexa guessed.
"What're you doing here, Alexa?" Barlow asked. Alexa faced him.
"Oh. I was wondering if there's been any development regarding Cain's whereabouts," she replied. "Found him yet?"
"No, and you shouldn't be getting involved," Barlow cautioned. "The last thing you need right now is to let him get to you again."
"I'm fine," Alexa insisted.
"I dunno; you having asked about him tells me otherwise," Barlow said with concern.
"So you think I'm lying?!"
"No, darling, what he means is he thinks Cain's still on your mind," Lily answered calmly.
"After seeing what he's done, forgetting about him isn't a simple task," Alexa sighed. "So he's gonna be on my mind for a good while, whether I like it or not."
Damn skippy, Ryder smiled.
"Even if I knew, I'd rather not tell you," Barlow said firmly. "I don't believe you should be getting involved."
"I was just asking a question, I'm not going to start a manhunt of my own," Alexa pouted. "Y'know, you should start trusting me!"
"It's not that I don't..."
"Then what is it, Barlow?!"
"Calm down, sweetie," Lily said gently.
"The last thing I want is to be responsible for the deterioration of your mental health," Barlow replied.
"I'm not going to totally loony as soon as I look at him!" Alexa protested.
"Nobody's saying that, Alexa, but I assumed that you'd be staying away from him," Barlow said. "You'd look like a hypocrite if you went against your word."
Is there even any merit in this conversation? Ryder asked.
BOOM!
The entire base heard a large explosion, coming from somewhere in the Vien Forest. Alexa noticed the lack of desire to investigate the sound, so she, and Ryder, raced out of the base.
"Alexa!" Lily cried. Barlow and Makuhita chased after them.
"Come back!" he yelled. Lily ran over to the window and watched Barlow running after her daughter. But she and Ryder had already entered the forest before Barlow and Makuhita had left the base. Lily sighed.
"Will she get into trouble?"
"Depends on what caused that explosion," Crawford answered. "Could be two Pokémon having a scuffle, could be something else."
Hydreigon panted heavily as he returned to Cain's side. Cain himself was looking at the stone statue in the precise centre of the cave. Hydreigon took a deep breath.
BOOM!
Hydreigon released a weaker-looking beam attack on the statue. It created a small smokescreen in the cave, but it faded quickly, and the statue was unharmed. Hydreigon looked at his master worriedly, but Cain wasn't concerned about Hydreigon's failure.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought... Hydreigon, try Dragon Rush." Hydreigon smiled as he began to charge at the statue. As he flew, his main head shone bright blue. The glow enveloped Hydreigon's entire being.
BOOM!
Hydreigon's sheer force demolished the statue, and the Brutal Pokémon flew back to his master's side, satisfied with his success. Alexa and Ryder arrived just in time to witness a large rocky arm bursting from the earth. Cain smirked a little as the large stone golem climbed out of the ground.
"Perfect," Cain said quietly. He looked behind him, having noticed Alexa's presence. "It's been a while. Here to witness a momentous event?"
"The only momentous event I'm interested in is the one that involves you paying for your crimes," Alexa said angrily. Barlow and Makuhita caught up with Alexa.
"There you are! What'd you run off like that for?!"
"Stop looking at me and find out," Alexa said spitefully. Barlow noticed Cain, Hydreigon and, particularly, Regirock.
"Where'd that thing come from?!"
"Who cares? It's mine," Cain said rudely. Barlow picked up his styler from his belt.
"Not if I can help it!" he shouted.
Perfect; you handle Rock-Dude, I'll take care of No-Hands, Ryder stated.
"You do that," Barlow nodded. Cain smirked.
HWOO!
"Whoa!" A blood red aura surrounded Alexa, Barlow, Ryder and Makuhita and they soon became suspended in the air. Makuhita panicked.
What the heck is this!?
"Gen-garrr..." A smirking Gengar, eyes shining in the same aura surrounding the victims, emerged from Cain's shadow.
"I was wondering why it was colder in here," Alexa said quietly.
"Now you know," Cain said simply.
"What're you planning?!"
"Alexa, I thought you weren't getting involved," Barlow sighed.
"Too late for that now!" Alexa snapped. Cain looked at the confused Regirock as he pulled out a purple Poké Ball with two rounded pink bumps on either side on the top half of the Poké Ball. The purple half also had a small white M in between the two bumps. Alexa gasped.
"T-that's...!"
Alexa watched helplessly as the thrown Poké Ball tapped Regirock on the head. Regirock then went inside the weird Poké Ball through a red light. The Poké Ball only shook once before the button shone red briefly. Cain smirked again.
"Where did you get that Master Ball?!" Alexa demanded furiously.
"Lottery," Cain replied simply as he went to claim his prize.
"What kind of lottery gives away a Master Ball as the top prize?!" Alexa fumed.
"I didn't say I won them," Cain chuckled.
"...them...?" Alexa said quietly, in horror. Gengar swung his arms to the far end of the cave.
BANG!
Alexa, Barlow, Ryder and Makuhita crashed, head first, into the wall at the end of the cave. Their mysterious grip faded away and they all fell to the ground. Gengar and Hydreigon returned to their Poké Balls as Pidgeot emerged from his, sparkling as he appeared.
"Work it out." Cain grabbed Pidgeot's shoulder as the golden bird Pokémon flew out of the cave. Barlow recovered quickly and attempted to stop Cain, but he and his Pidgeot were already out of sight. Angry, he looked back at Alexa, who, along with Ryder and Makuhita, walked out of the cave, rubbing her head.
"Professor Hastings is going to LOVE this," he said sarcastically. "That's it, I'm taking you to the Ranger Union; you can explain what just happened here yourself." Alexa hadn't listened to a word Barlow said; she was more focused on Cain's words rather than Barlow's. She hadn't noticed Barlow informing Crawford of his decision via his styler. It wasn't until she felt Barlow grabbing her wrist that she finally paid attention to him. "Right, come on."
"Hey, let go!" Alexa complained. Ryder and Makuhita looked at one another in confusion. Makuhita shrugged, but the duo followed Barlow and Alexa.
Lily was satisfied with Empoleon's recovery, as he was happily eating some Pokémon food. Crawford sighed as he placed his styler back on his belt.
"Barlow thinks Alexa's in trouble," he said. Lily looked at him in confusion.
"Is she all right?"
"I meant with the professor," Crawford elaborated. "Cain caused that explosion, and Barlow isn't happy with her involvement in trying to stop him."
"How was she supposed to know Cain was behind the disturbance?" Lily questioned in Alexa's defence.
"I-"
"I'm calling her father," Lily insisted as she took out a small black mobile phone from her pocket. She began pressing her thumb on the keypad.
Barlow practically dragged Alexa inside the Ranger Union, where they met Professor Hastings and Erma.
"Get off me!" Alexa yelled as she forced her arm out of Barlow's grip. "I don't need an escort!"
"I don't appreciate your tone, Alexa," Hastings said, sounding as unimpressed as he looked. "What's the problem, Barlow?"
"Basically, there was an explosion in the Vien Forest and Alexa ran off to investigate," Barlow began.
That's not a crime! Ryder said angrily.
"True, but Cain was responsible for the explosion," Barlow continued. Professor Hastings looked at Alexa angrily.
"I had assumed you were to steer clear of that boy!" he shouted. "Do I have to put you under house arrest to make you comply with that?!"
"There's no time for this!" Alexa exclaimed. Assuming her words were of defiance, Professor Hastings was greatly unimpressed.
"Listen to me, young lady-"
"No, YOU listen!" Alexa shouted loudly, startling her superiors. "Cain has captured Regirock in a Master Ball, and you can't have one without the other two, so he's got to be after Regice and Registeel as well!"
"Alex!" Everyone looked towards the entrance as Hayden, Lily and even Keenan ran over to her. Hayden's attire was more simple than what he usually wore; a brown polo shirt and blue grey loose fit jeans with a navy blue belt pouch around his waist. "What's going on, sis?"
"Cain's capturing the Hoenn golems, and all Barlow and the professor care about is the fact that Cain and I were in the same room!"
"I thought you said you wouldn't face him again?" Hayden questioned.
"How was I supposed to know he caused that explosion!? Besides, Dad, nobody else was keen to find out what it was!" Alexa exclaimed angrily.
"Don't you start telling us how to do our jobs!" Barlow scolded. "Not when you're-"
"That's enough, Barlow!" the professor said abruptly. "Regirock... Alexa, could you tell us more about that?" he asked calmly. Alexa looked at him and nodded.
"When Rhythmi sent us to find a Roserade, we came across a weird statue with Regirock's Braille on the base. I think Regice and Registeel have their own statues like that somewhere in Almia."
"Hmmm...If you'll excuse me for a few moments..." Professor Hastings walked away from the conversation to make an enquiry at the front desk.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, dear, but what are the Hoenn golems?" Erma asked.
"Oh, they're a trio of large golem Pokémon," Alexa began. "Originating from the Hoenn region. They're Regirock, Regice and Registeel. Regirock was sealed away in the Vien Forest, but Cain somehow awakened it and captured it in a Master Ball. That being a Poké Ball that captures anything without failure."
"What purpose would having Regirock serve for that boy?" Erma asked.
"The golems were sealed away, like I said, so that can only mean that each golem has a lot of power going for them," Alexa guessed. Hastings returns to the meeting, with Sven and Wendy along with him.
"All right, if Cain is trying to awaken the other two golems, we need to find them before he does," he said simply.
"But that's awfully short notice; how are we supposed to find them before Cain?" Wendy asked.
"I have a theory about one of them. As its name suggests, Regice is an Ice type Pokémon. It would make sense then that its statue is somewhere in Almia Castle," Alexa explained.
"Yes, that's a very good assumption," Hastings agreed.
"But what of the other one?" Erma questioned.
"The Chroma Ruins, maybe?" Sven suggested. "I saw a statue there on our first visit, but I didn't think anything of it at the time. Could that be the other one, pet?"
"Sounds like it if it had Braille on the base," Alexa replied.
"It had a circle of dots on it if that means anything," Sven added.
"Then, yes, that's Registeel's," Alexa confirmed.
"Very well then! Sven, I want you to go to the Chroma Ruins and find that statue," Hastings instructed. "Wendy, you know your way around Almia Castle; I'd like you to find the statue there."
"Professor, I should help; Cain's a Pokémon Trainer, so my Pokémon would be able to stand up against his," Alexa insisted.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Hastings said. Alexa was about to protest, but he held his hand up. "Hear me out. I don't doubt that you're a talented trainer, but there's no telling which statue Cain will go after first, and you cannot be in two places at once."
"Oh...I forgot about that," Alexa said shyly.
"I can help," Keenan offered.
"No! No way!" Alexa objected. "I'm not going to let my little brother come CLOSE to Cain again!"
"But, Alex, if I help out, we can cover every base!" Keenan explained. "Come on, sis, have some faith in me."
"Of course I have faith in you! I'd just rather you didn't have to be involved in all of this," Alexa sighed.
"I know, but what other choice is there? Please?" Alexa eventually sighed quietly.
"Okay...if that's what you want," she reluctantly agreed.
"Perhaps I can help somehow?" Lily queried. "Hayden and I are trainers as well."
"Is that so? Fascinating," Hastings smiled. "If you're offering, Mrs Thorndyke, then your help would be most appreciated."
"Hang on a second here, are you sure that's a good idea?" Hayden questioned. "Accepting help from outsiders now? Are you sure?"
"Alexa has made a valid point about Cain; he's a Pokémon Trainer, albeit one without morals," Erma explained. "Pokémon Rangers do not use Pokémon trained for battle. Well...with Alexa being the only exception thus far, at least."
"If we are to have any chance of stopping that boy's shenanigans, we will need all the help we can get," Hastings continued. Hayden sighed.
"All right," he said reluctantly.
"So who's going with who?" Alexa asked hesitantly.
"That's up to your brother and your mother," Hastings answered. Keenan approached Wendy and Lily walked over to Sven. "All right, seems like you've decided already. Best of luck to all of you." Hayden stopped Sven on his way out.
"You'd better look after her," he warned.
"I'll look out for her, don't you worry none," Sven smiled. Hayden turned his attention to Wendy.
"And you. You'd better look after him."
"I'll do my best," Wendy said reassuringly. Both teams left the building. Hayden sighed as he placed a hand on his head.
"I never thought it would come to this," he said quietly. Ryder held onto Alexa's arm, and she looked down at him.
Don't worry, they're gonna be okay, he smiled.
"I hope you're right," Alexa replied.
"In the meantime, I believe it's best to bring Keith up to speed," Hastings suggested. "If Sven and Wendy fail, Keith will need to step forward."
Keenan and Wendy, riding on their bird Pokémon, Fearow and Staraptor respectively, flew over the freezing cold Hia Valley. The birds were searching for any signs of a certain golden Pidgeot.
"How does your sister know about these golem Pokémon?" Wendy asked.
"She studied Pokémon legends when Grandpa was homeschooling her," Keenan replied. "She loves indulging in them."
"FEEEAAR!" Colin, the Fearow, squawked loudly to attract his rider's attention. Keenan and Wendy spotted Pidgeot flying through the doors of Almia Castle, with Cain upon his back.
"Looks like Alex was right. Okay, Staraptor, we're going in!" Wendy stated.
"Let's go, Miles!"
"FEEEEEEEAAR!"
"STAAAAAARR!"
The birds dived towards the castle doors and beautifully flew inside before the doors closed behind them. Miles and Staraptor pursued Pidgeot as he flew around the castle. Eventally, after nearly destroying any furniture in their path, Miles and Staraptor caught up with Pidgeot, and that was when Keenan and Wendy spotted an icy statue in the corner of the room, with what appeared to be a plus sign in yellow Braille on the base. Cain jumped off of his Pidgeot and faced his pursuers.
"You again? I would've thought you'd learned your lesson from when your Riolu had its near-death experience," Cain said coldly.
"Hang on...you know him, Keenan?" Wendy asked in confusion.
"It wasn't under the best of circumstances," Keenan replied.
"So, what, you filling in for your sister now or something?"
"There's only one of her, I'm just helping!" Keenan exclaimed as he and Wendy hopped off of their birds.
"Listen up! You're not going to touch that statue if we can help it!" Wendy declared. Cain raised an eyebrow at Wendy.
"Who're you?"
"Top Ranger Wendy, if you must know," Wendy replied. Cain laughed.
"A Top Ranger teaming up with a little kid?"
"If I came here alone, it'd pretty much be suicide!" Wendy yelled. Cain laughed again as he unleashed his Hydreigon from his Poké Ball.
"Say what you will; this Regice is going to be mine when I'm done with it," he said heartlessly.
"I don't understand why you're after the trio," Keenan said in confusion.
"That's none of your business and you can't stop me," Cain said sternly as his Gengar emerged from his shadow. Pidgeot also stepped forward, preparing to battle. Keenan looked down at the green pouch on his belt.
"Guys, I need all of you here," he said reluctantly.
POP-POP-POP-POP-POP!
Five streams of white light escaped from the pouch and landed in front of Keenan and Wendy. Wendy was impressed at the Pokémon she saw; Iara, Keenan's short Vaporeon, Darcy, the amber-eyed Rapidash with an attitude to match her fire, Ruby, the violet Misdreavus with a big voice, Logan, the Beartic without the icicle beard and Mason, the Hitmontop with a meaningless bandage around his tail. Cain huffed.
"I guess I can give you credit for not dressing like you're matching a Pokémon colour scheme," he said nastily, hinting Keenan's attire; a red T-shirt with a brown long-sleeved shirt underneath and blue jeans.
"Stop making fun of my clothes!" Keenan yelled. "And how're you not cold?! You're not wearing anything underneath that coat!"
"Your concern should be for your Pokémon and whether or not they'll survive mine, not about what I choose to wear," Cain warned.
SNAP!
With a snap from Cain's fingers, Pidgeot and Gengar flew into battle. Keenan's Pokémon, minus Miles, who stayed as far back as he could, moved in to intercept Cain's Pokémon. Wendy's attention was drawn to Hydreigon, as she and Staraptor moved in to counter the beastly dragon. Cain had noticed Wendy's course of action, but paid it little to no concern; his main interest was the brawl before him.
Keenan was panicking; he had little experience in giving instructions to more than two Pokémon at once, and, thus, was struggling to give his Pokémon proper guidance. Ultimately, Keenan resorted to letting his Pokémon decide their attacks for themselves. Despite Cain being outnumbered, Keenan was the one at the disadvantage; Pidgeot and Gengar were merciless as they attacked Keenan's Pokémon, both fairly and unfairly. Logan kept concentrating on Pidgeot whilst Iara and Ruby's main focus was Gengar, but all of them were getting swamped by their devious manoeuvres. Blood was spilled everywhere, as all of Keenan's Pokémon sustained horrific injuries; it was a miracle they could still stand.
Wendy, too, struggled against Hydreigon; Staraptor tried his hardest to divert the dragon's attention from the statue while Wendy tried her luck at using her styler on him. She wasn't sure how a Capture Styler would affect Pokémon bound by the Poké Ball, as it were, but she hoped for the best. That was, however, provided that Hydreigon would stop attacking the capture disc. Even Staraptor was getting attacked left, right and centre.
While Cain thought the onslaught was amusing, he was losing his patience. He took out his Master Ball and unleashed the rocky golem from within; he had called forth Regirock. Keenan was taken aback.
"Well, all of this has been extremely entertaining, but I must end this whole thing right here and now. Regirock..." Pidgeot flew down towards his master as Cain smirked. "Explosion."
BOOOOOOOM!
The entire room around Regirock was hit by a massive explosion. Pidgeot had wrapped his wings around Cain protectively, Hydreigon flew near the statue surrounded by a green sphere of translucent force field. Gengar and Ruby, being ghost type Pokémon, were immune to the blast. Keenan's Pokémon and Staraptor were all hit by the blast, as were, much to Miles and Ruby's horror, Keenan and Wendy themselves. Both humans hit their heads on the wall behind them, rendering them unconscious. The explosion gave both of them many superficial cuts and enourmous bruises. As the smoke faded from the room, all of the affected Pokémon were brutally hurt and knocked out. Cain looked back at Hydreigon.
"Okay, you can do it now," he said. Hydreigon nodded and focused his attention on the icy statue. Hydreigon melted the statue with a large burst of fire. Regice mysteriously formed from the melted remains of the statue. Cain took out a second Master Ball from his coat pocket. Ruby flew towards Cain, furious and upset over what he had commanded from his Regirock.
GRIP!
"MISSSD!" Ruby shrieked as Gengar grabbed the little Pokémon in his hand, stopping her from stopping his master. Miles flew into the room in hopes of saving Ruby, but Gengar had released the frightened Misdreavus; Cain had already succeeded in capturing Regice. Regirock, Gengar and Hydreigon returned to their Poké Balls. Cain climbed onto Pidgeot's back and flew out of the demolished room, ignoring the Fearow and Misdreavus.
Inside the Chroma Ruins, meanwhile, Sven and Lily ran along a cave tunnel with many gleaming purple gems sticking out of the walls. Luxray ran at Sven's side whilst Chelsea was struggling to keep up with the group.
"So Alexa was with you when you first came this way?" Lily asked, panting.
"And Keith, yes ma'am," Sven nodded. "Who would've thought I'd be coming through here again?"
"I just hope we're not too late," Lily panted.
"Ga...nium," Chelsea replied breathlessly.
The group stopped as soon as they came across the silver statue Sven had described. A smile crept across Sven's face.
"That's it!" he said. "So this is a Pokémon, huh? Doesn't look special."
"Actually, I think Registeel's supposed to appear if the statue isn't there anymore," Lily assumed.
"I guess all we can do now is wait," Sven sighed. "Say, Mrs Thorndyke, are you sure your Pokémon are ready for this?"
"Chelsea might have to catch her breath first, but I'm sure they are, yes," Lily laughed. Chelsea sat down on the ground to rest briefly.
Several minutes passed, but there was no sign of Cain. Chelsea was getting bored and Luxray was sitting patiently next to Sven, who was leaning against the wall, close to the statue. Sven had assumed that Cain had gone for Regice's statue first, but, since Keenan was headed for Almia Castle, he said nothing about it at the risk of worrying Lily. Sven kept his eye on Lily as she was talking with the rest of her Pokémon; Cheryl, the Gardevoir with the sapphire bangle on her wrist, Julia, the Miltank with a blue ribbon around her neck and Theo, the Houndoom with a red collar around his neck. Sven had several questions about Alexa he'd like to ask Lily, but decided against asking, not wanting to talk about a colleague behind her back. Luxray spotted a shadow headed their way and began to growl.
"Hey-up, I think this is it," Sven said suddenly. Lily and her Pokémon stood up and looked at the shadow Luxray spotted. The Pokémon braced for battle while Sven signalled Lily to move over to him. Lily walked over to Sven just in time for Cain to come into plain sight. Cain laughed.
"My I'm popular today. First an aerial chase and now a welcoming committee. How thoughtful," he said sarcastically.
"This is anything but a party, kiddo. You may as well turn around right now," Sven warned.
"That wouldn't be nice of me," Cain sighed as he took out one of his Master Balls and looked at it. "It'd be wrong of me to deprive Regice a little rehearsal." Sven's eyes widened.
"Regice..? Wait, s-so you...?!"
"They were pushovers," Cain huffed. "Especially that Top Ranger. I mean, teaming up with a kid? Come on, I doubt that'd help her credibility."
"What have you done to them!?" Lily demanded furiously.
"I didn't do anything. But I didn't see the damage being dealt," Cain shrugged as he pocketed the Master Ball in favour of two normal Poké Balls. "So excuse me if I can't divulge the answer to your question."
POP-POP!
Hydreigon and Pidgeot emerged from their Poké Balls, Pidgeot glittering as he appeared. Cain became serious.
"But if you don't want to find out for yourselves, I suggest standing aside right now."
"I don't think so. I'll fight tooth and nail to stop you from waking Registeel from its nap!" Sven declared.
"So be it. Hydreigon, Pidgeot, attack."
Hydreigon and Pidgeot flew into action, but were immediately countered; Chelsea's vines choked Hydreigon's main head while a pink ball crashed into Pidgeot's head. Cain was less than amused; it was evident to him that Lily's Pokémon were stronger than Keenan's.
HRRR!
THUMP!
Theo leapt on top of Pidgeot and pinned him down. Theo dug his claws into Pidgeot's belly, causing small amounts of blood to seep from the pinned bird Pokémon. Gengar leapt from Cain's shadow and attempted to strike Theo. But another shadow appeared behind Gengar.
WHACK!
The Gardevoir shadow smacked Gengar in the back of the head, knocking the ghost down. Gengar looked up at the Gardevoir looming over him, looking down at him angrily. Gengar stood up and extended three claws made of pure dark aura. Cheryl wasn't worried; Julia had already leapt into the air.
"MIIII-MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL!"
SLAM!
"Gen...gar...! Gengar was crushed under the weight of a fully grown Miltank. Julia rolled off of the flattened Gengar and laughed; Gengar was defeated in one hit. Sven whistled.
"I would've thought you'd be better than that, Cain," he laughed. Cain begrudgingly recalled his defeated Gengar back into his Poké Ball.
"Don't think you've won because ONE of my Pokémon couldn't handle a fat cow," Cain said nastily, picking out both of his Master Balls. "Let's see you handle these two!"
POP-POP!
Cain released Regirock and Regice from their respective Master Balls. Chelsea and Theo looked concerned; their main objective was to restrain Pidgeot and Hydreigon, they were worried about Cheryl and Julia.
"Let's try. Julia, Rock Smash on Regice, Cheryl, Focus Blast on Regirock!" Lily exclaimed. Julia pulled her arm back, with her fist shining bright yellow, and Cheryl cupped her hands together as a ball of light blue energy began to form in between her palms.
BANG! BOOM!
Julia smacked Regice's body, just below the yellow Braille near the top of its...head? While Cheryl's energy sphere struck Regirock on one shoulder.
HRRRRR!
Theo took it upon himself to exhale a large pillar of blue fire from his mouth, which struck Regice's entire structre.
"GANIUM!" Chelsea unleashed a barrage of multicoloured leaves from the flower around her neck, all of which struck Regirock's whole body. Sven looked optimistic.
"So much for your precious golems helping you out!" Cain growled.
"Regirock, Explosion!" he yelled angrily. Sven and Lily were horrified, but Regirock did as it was told.
BOOOOOOOM!
The whole cave was struck with a giant explosion, which sent Lily, Sven and the Pokémon flying further back into the cave. Miraculously, the entire cave remained intact, but Lily, Sven and the Pokémon, including Cain's, and even Cain himself, didn't get out of the explosion unscathed.
"Now, Regice, Rock Slide!" Cain shouted. The Iceberg Pokémon complied willingly and slammed its chunky arms into the wall.
RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE!
Rocks fell from the ceiling, which blocked the path, stopping Sven, Lily and their Pokémon from accessing the statue.
"Pidgeot, let's get this over with!" Cain said angrily. Pidgeot stood up and complied, despite its wounds. Hydreigon, Regice and Regirock were also injured.
"Ow..." Sven was the first to sit up. He looked around and spotted the landslide that blocked him from Cain. Lily also sat up, rubbing her head; both she and Sven were covered in superficial cuts and bruises, and their clothes were torn in various places. The Pokémon had also suffered similar injuries. Sven soon spotted Lily.
"Lily! Are you okay?!"
"I think so," Lily replied. She soon spotted the landslide. "Oh no..." Chelsea stood up and absorbed what sunlight she could absorb into the flower around her neck. She opened her mouth as a ball of yellow energy formed in the gap.
BOOM!
Chelsea's Solarbeam broke through the blockage, but it was too late; Registeel was already caught up in the Master Ball's red light and absorbed into the purple Poké Ball. The Master Ball, with Registeel inside, bounced back to Cain's hand. Sven was gutted, but Cain glared at him and Lily furiously.
"Well this was a lot more trouble than it was worth! I think it's high time you paid the price," he said furiously as he unleashed his newly caught Registeel from its Master Ball. Chelsea and Cheryl stood in front of Lily and Sven; despite the condition they were in, they still had to fight.
"Why're you doing this?!" Lily asked in horror.
"As I said to the kid; it's none of your business. Regirock, Hyper Beam!" Cain shouted. The Braille pattern on Registeel's face shone in a bright light as a tremendous beam of orange light at the Pokémon.
BOOOOOM!
"So, wait, you think Cain's going about finding these golem thingies and making them fight his corner?" Keith questioned. He was meeting with Professor Hastings and Erma, but Alexa and Hayden were also present.
"That's what Alexa assumed, dear," Erma nodded.
"Sven and Wendy are out right now attempting to stop Cain's quest," Hastings added.
"With Keenan and Lily?!"
"They offered their services, yes," Hastings confirmed. "Cain's a Pokémon Trainer, it would be a suicide mission if I sent Sven and Wendy to confront the boy on their own."
"I-It's not that...it just doesn't feel right that Keenan and Lily are involved in all of this now," Keith sighed.
"Our thoughts exactly," Hayden agreed, wrapping an arm around his equally worried daughter. "But if push comes to shove, I'll fight him myself."
"Let's just wait and see what Sven and Wendy have to report first, eh? I'd rather not go so far as to ask Alexa to confront that...Trainer, if that's what he calls himself," Hastings suggested.
"With all due respect, in comparison to Cain's goals, and the consequences of them if he succeeds, my mental health shouldn't be high on the priority list."
Wait just a second here! You worked hard to get your mentality where it is now! Are you sure you want to compromise that if Cain does succeed? Ryder asked in shock.
"Duh... But maybe by confronting Cain, I can finally put what he's done behind me."
...huh. Never thought of that.
"That's all well and good, dear, but, like the professor said, let's wait for Sven and Wendy to report in first," Erma said. Ryder folded his arms.
Hey, Alex, what happens if all three of these golem guys wake up anyway? he asked. Alexa looked towards him.
"If that happens, then-"
FWSSH!
The main doors of the Ranger Union opened and, to everyone's horror, Sven, Wendy, Keenan and Lily walked into the building slowly. All four of them were wounded; Sven held Lily over his shoulder, Miles had Keenan on his back and Ruby helped Wendy walk painlessly with Telekinesis, as her eyes shone in the same bright pink aura that enveloped Wendy's entire being. Horrified, Alexa and Hayden ran towards Keenan and Lily.
"What happened?! Is everyone all right!?" Hastings asked in horror.
"I-I guess so," Keenan replied quietly. Alexa helped her brother off of Miles's back and lifted him in her arms, though not without effort. Hayden took Lily from Sven and supported her over his shoulder. Hayden was furious with the two Top Rangers.
"I thought you were looking after them!" he fumed.
"We tried..." Wendy coughed.
"But he was merciless...if it weren't for the Pokémon, he'd have done more damage than he did," Sven added, somewhat breathlessly.
"W-we barely made it back here in one piece," Wendy said weakly.
"N-now he has all three," Sven coughed. Alexa was almost in tears at the sight of her brother and her mother in pain. She held Keenan a little tighter.
"This is my fault...I'm so sorry...!"
"It's not your fault, sweetheart," Lily said kindly.
"If only that were true," Alexa said sadly.
"It is," Hastings said in corroboration. "It was out of your hands." Rhythmi ran down the escalator, in a frantic state.
"Professor! We're picking up strange activity from the Hippowdon Temple!" she exclaimed. The professor turned to her.
"What kind of strange activity?" he asked.
"I dunno, all we know is that some kind of whirlpool appeared somewhere in there!" Rhythmi replied. It didn't take long for Alexa to react in horror.
"...Regigigas." Keith faced her in confusion.
"Eh?"
"When all three Hoenn golems are awake...so is Regigigas, the Colossal Pokémon said to have created the Hoenn golems. This is bad...Cain's after Regigigas!"
That's what you were going to say, right?
"Somewhat! It was an assumption until now!" Alexa cried.
"Okay, that's it, I'm going to the Hippowdon Temple!" Keith insisted. "Cain's going too far!"
"I'm going too, and I'm not taking no for an answer!"
"Neither am I!" Hayden said firmly. Alexa looked towards her father in shock.
"Dad..?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Mr Thorndyke," Hastings said with concern.
"You thought it was a good idea for my wife to try and stop him, and look how that turned out!" Hayden yelled angrily. "This time, I'm going. I'd very much rather Alexa stay behind, but I'm afraid we'll need all of the help we can get."
"Hayden...are you sure?" Lily asked worriedly. Hayden looked back at her.
"Positive."
"You do bring up a good point. Not to mention you and Alexa are the only trainers we have left." Hastings sighed. "What choice do we have? At this stage, we're desperate."
"I'll keep an eye on him and Alexa," Keith offered.
"You'll do no such thing," Hayden declined. Keith looked at him in astonishment. "If Regigigas is out before we get there, you'll need to focus on it, and it alone; let me keep an eye on Alexa while our Pokémon fight off Cain's."
"Uh..there IS one thing I feel I should mention," Alexa said nervously. "Even though the Hoenn golems are bound by Cain's Master Balls, Regigigas can still control them. We'll need to be extra careful about that."
"But once Regigigas is captured with the capture styler, that won't be a problem, right?"
"Assuming we can save it before that happens," Alexa said quietly.
"What, is Cain gonna capture it too?" Keith asked.
"...something tells me Cain's not interested in capturing Regigigas..."
"Then we have to leave now! There's so little time as it is!" Hayden stated.
"Dad..." Hayden looked towards his wounded son. "Be careful."
"We will," Hayden smiled.
"Rhythmi?"
"Yeah?" Rhythmi questioned as she ran over to Alexa. "What's up?"
"Can you look after Keenan for me?"
"What? Are you serious? E-even after-"
"Yes, yes, whatever, there's no time for debates, Rhythmi, will you look after him or not?"
"Y-yes, of course," Rhythmi agreed as she gently took Keenan from Alexa. "If it helps, take your aggression out on Cain."
"Rhythmi, I'm not about to condone what I did," Alexa said, raising an eyebrow.
"Come on!" Hayden exclaimed. He, Alexa, Ryder and Keith ran out of the Ranger Union. Professor Hastings looked concerned.
"Best of luck to all of you."
Cain jumped down from a swirling pit of sand from the ceiling and landed feet first onto the ground. He looked ahead at the large stone door before him. He spotted three distinct pedestals in front of the door...and smirked.
A wild Staraptor and a Charizard sped across the desert and into the gaping mouth of the stone Hippowdon at the entrance of the temple. Hayden and Alexa rode on the Charizard's back while Keith rode on the Staraptor's back as they sped through the temple.
"Urgh, this place brings back horrible memories," Keith shuddered.
"Same, but there's no time to dwell on that," Alexa said. "We need to find Cain and stop him once and for all. Right, Phoenix?"
"Rhhrrgh," the Charizard nodded in agreement. Keith soon spotted an almost eerie-looking pit of sand in the corner of his eye.
"There!"
"Keep your heads down; we're going in!" Hayden stated clearly.
PFFFF!
Staraptor and Phoenix penetrated the pit and flew onto the scene as quick as they could. Keith, Alexa and Hayden jumped off of their respective Pokémon and looked towards Cain. Staraptor flew away as everyone noticed that Regice and Regirock were already on their pedestals.
"NO!" Alexa cried, but Registeel had already stepped onto its designated pedestal. All three pedestals began to shine, much to Cain's delight.
"Finally..."
FWOOOO!
A huge gust of wind began blowing out from the room behind the gradually opening door. Phoenix held a claw over his eyes to watch the door opening, much like Keith did with his hand. Hayden used one arm to protect his eyes as he watched the door slowly opening and the other to hold Alexa, who was looking away from the door in mild fear, close to him. The wind blew Cain's hair back, revealing his other...and pale eye.
To be continued...