Chapter Forty One – Final Clash pt 2
Cain watched the large stone door opening with a twisted enthusiasm while the Hoenn Regis showed little to no interest.
SLAM!
A trio of large white fingers poked through the gap and gripped one of the doors. Alexa and Hayden watched in horror as a second trio of fingers gripped the other door. Cain grinned maniacally.
BANG!
The entire room vibrated as the large white golem Pokémon forcefully pushed the doors open. The white body with black markings, the mossy feet, the Braille on its golden face, the little extra bits of moss on its head, the three coloured gems on its body, the golden shoulder blades and wrist bands; it was undoubtedly Regigigas, the very Pokémon Cain wished to encounter so badly. And it was mad.
"GROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAARRGH!"
Regigigas roared with absolute fury, having been disturbed from what could have been a peaceful slumber.
"I have longed for the day I challenged Regigigas," Cain began. "Its strength is the stuff of legend. Now I have the chance to experience that power for myself."
"You had NO right to wake it up for battle!" Alexa shouted furiously. "Legendary Pokémon should be left in peace!" Cain turned around, revealing his pale eye to her, Keith and Hayden.
"Legendary Pokémon hide because they're too scared to show their strength," he said accusingly.
"Not necessarily; they hide for different reasons," Hayden explained calmly, unhindered by Cain's pale eye. "It just depends on the Pokémon, that's all; true, it might be because they're scared of human contact, but haven't you thought that they hide to protect humans and other Pokémon from their strength?"
"Yes, and those are the pathetic ones," Cain said heartlessly. He looked back at his Pokémon. "Sick 'im."
Instantly, Keith readied his styler and he, along with Buizel, moved to a better location. Alexa took the rest of her Poké Balls from her belt pouch while Hayden took all of his Poké Balls from his pouch.
"You realise we're not going to let you get away with this, don't you?" Hayden asked.
"Go ahead; call out your Pokémon! See if they can stop mine!" Cain dared.
"That we will," Hayden confirmed, tossing his Poké Balls into the air. "You heard him! Let's go!"
"Come on, guys, we need you!" Alexa exclaimed as she tossed hers up into the air.
POP!
All eleven Pokémon appeared from their Poké Balls at conveniently the exact same time. Keith watched as the group appeared; there were a couple he recognised, but he was still impressed with the group. The group that stood before Hayden was made up of Tidus, the fine-furred Typhlosion, Tristan, the Farfetch'd with a scarred beak, Clyde, the blue-eyed Electivire, Michaela, the yellow bodied red spined Sandslash, Malik, father of Keenan's Misdreavus and Jackson, the Krookodile who cherishes his yellow scarf. Alexa's group compiled of Phoenix, the alpha male Charizard, Nando, the swimmer Nidoking, Ronan, the Golduck with a scarred tail, Layla, the glittering dancer Zangoose, Kadia, the wild-cat Persian and, of course, Ryder, the fluffy Prussian blue Lucario. Cain looked back at the groups.
"Let's see those do any better than the others I fought today," Cain said coldly. Ryder was the only Pokémon who showed remote interest in Cain's eye.
Dude, what's up with your eye? Looks creepy...
"Oh, this?" Cain asked, pointing to his pale eye. "Yeah, that Arbok didn't like my Pokémon killing off its clan. Spitting acid in my eye was its first and last mistake. Because of that, I can no longer see in that eye."
"...Exactly how long have you been on this rampage?!" Hayden asked with disgust. Cain shrugged.
"Lost count."
What happened to Arbok?
"Let me guess," Keith sighed. "You killed it?!"
"No, no...Arbok got OBLITERATED," Cain replied, with a sickening smirk across his face. Alexa, Hayden and Keith were digusted. Ryder, however, was confused.
What's obliterated mean? Cain's smirk grew with sickening delight.
"Well, in Arbok's case...the only thing left of it, when Hydreigon was finished with it...was its skull..." Phoenix growled deeply.
"RHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"
With the mighty roar, the Pokémon all complied with the Charizard's command to attack Cain's Pokémon. Hydreigon, Gengar and Pidgeot came forth from their Poké Balls and intercepted most of the small army.
"Listen up! You must stop them from hurting Regigigas! It's up to you!" Hayden called.
"Don't hurt the smaller Regis!" Alexa added.
You got it, sister! Let's rock!
"Capture...ON!" Keith fired his capture disc at the gargantuan Pokémon as soon as the war between Cain's Pokémon, the Regis, and Alexa and Hayden's Pokémon had begun.
Elsewhere, Lily and Keenan were at the Ranger Union, receiving medical treatment. Their Pokémon sat around the entire room, with bandages all over their bodies, with the exception of Miles, who managed to avoid the onslaught his comrades faced. Erma was also present, concerned for the mother and son, as well for their Pokémon.
"Do you think Dad and Alex are gonna be okay?" Keenan asked worriedly.
"I'd rather not think the worst," Lily said quietly.
"Don't worry, dears, I'm certain Keith is looking after them," Erma said with a reassuring smile. "He hasn't failed Alexa yet, and I'm certain he won't start now."
"Well, I take comfort in believing that Hayden and Alexa will look out for one another. The two are very close," Lily smiled feebly.
"Besides, Alex has Phoenix with her. Cain's not gonna succeed this time!" Keenan said optimistically.
"Who, dear?" Erma asked.
"He's Alexa's Charizard," Lily explained. "He's the strongest of all her Pokémon, as well as the one who's known her the longest."
"Alex switched Ellie-May-Jan for Phoenix because Ellie-May-Jan sprained her ankle the other day," Keenan explained. "But I guess Alex had a hunch that Cain would show his true colours, which is why she chose Phoenix to take Ellie-May-Jan's place." Erma smiled.
"Well, now I'm most certainly confident that Alexa and your father will succeed. So a trainer's first Pokémon is the most faithful?"
"Not necessarily; a Pokémon's faith in their trainer depends on the trust between the two," Lily explained.
"You're more familiar with Ryder, right, ma'am?" Keenan asked.
"Yes, dear. Why do you ask?" Erma asked.
"Then he's the best example; Alexa hatched him from an egg and has raised and bonded with him ever since," Lily smiled. Erma smiled again.
"That's wonderful."
Meanwhile...
Regigigas continually swatted Pokémon after Pokémon away from him, as well as the capture disc occasionally. Jackson, with claws shining white, climbed hastily along the cave wall in an attempt to get close to the irate Pokémon. Jackson leapt from the ceiling with his large jaws wide open.
NOM!
"GROOOOAARGH!" Regigigas roared in pain as Jackson's teeth dug into the golem's arm.
"Jackson, don't aim for Regigigas!" Hayden shouted. The Krookodile looked back at his trainer and, with mild embarrassment, released his jaw from Regigigas's arm.
"Heh-heh... RAAAAAARGH!" Jackson leapt from Regigigas's arm, narrowly avoiding a potential migraine courtesy of Regigigas's large hand slamming on its arm, and took a bite out of Pidgeot's shoulder instead. Squawking in pain, the golden bird began to fall to the ground.
SLASH!
Pidgeot cawed in agony as Tristan sliced Pidgeot's belly with his leek emitting a purple aura in the shape of what appeared to be a scythe. Pidgeot's blood splattered across the Farfetch'd's face, but Gengar emerged from the shadows beneath the struggle as Tristan prepared a second strike.
SLASH!
"FAAAAAAAR!" Tristan dropped his leek as Gengar's razor-sharp claws struck his back. Some of the bird's blood spilled onto Gengar's clean teeth, but the ghost Pokémon licked the blood away, seemingly admiring the taste of Farfetch'd blood.
Ryder attempted to duel with Hydreigon from the ground, while Phoenix and Malik covered the air. Hydreigon was more intent on challenging the Charizard and saw the Mismagius and Lucario as inconveniences. Hydreigon became enveloped in a blue-white glow as he charged at Phoenix. Phoenix dodged and Ryder braced for impact, but then spotted all three sets of jaws burning with intense flames. Ryder spotted the ground in front of him rising.
SMACK!
Kadia leapt from the earth and clapped Hydreigon's main head with both paws, negating both of its attacks at once. Ryder then spotted Michaela leaping from behind the flinching dragon, with her right claws glistening in a bright glow. Ryder smirked as his dominant paw shone in the same glow.
SLAM!
Both Michaela and Ryder landed their Brick Break attacks directly on Hydreigon's back. Hydreigon flew back into the air, knocking the Lucario and Sandslash to the ground. Ryder laughed.
This is easy!
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Ryder, Kadia and Michaela watched as Clyde, Ronan and Nando were pushed back as a result of Regice, Registeel and Regirock's collective attacks.
...oh, right. Forgot about them.
SMACK!
Ow! Ryder rubbed the back of his head as Michaela smacked him lightly with her claws. She and Kadia returned underground. Ryder shook himself off and proceeded to tackle Gengar.
Each and every time Regigigas takes a step, it emits shockwaves from its feet. The vibration from the waves causes the rocks hanging from the ceilings to shake and eventually fall. The Pokémon were forced to dodge the rocks as they fall, as did Alexa, Hayden and Keith from time to time. The humans, minus Cain for some weirdly miraculous reason, received minor damage from the environment alone.
"If this keeps up, we'll be buried alive here!" Hayden exclaimed after he and his daughter avoided yet another rock that fell from above their heads.
"I doubt Cain's bothered about the lack of space we're all battling in!" Alexa stressed.
"I shouldn't think he cares at all, given what he's done! No human with even half a conscience would even think of following his example!"
Regigigas slammed his foot down in a fit of rage, causing rocks to fly up from the ground. Clyde, Ronan, Nando and Ryder were affected the most, but Kadia, Layla and Michaela were pushed up from underground as a result of the attack. Alexa and Hayden tried to dodge, but neither one anticipated the fissure's path.
A rock shot up from the ground underneath Hayden's knee, knocking him into the air and slamming down hard on his back. Malik and Tidus were horrified at what had happened to their trainer, but Alexa was horrified the most.
"DAD!" she cried as she made her way over the rocks to her father's aid. Malik and Phoenix used projectile attacks to demolish the rocks Regigigas had created. Tidus was furious; his neck flames burned with further intensity as he roared in absolute anger. Somewhat ignoring Hayden's earlier instruction to Jackson, Tidus sprinted, on all fours, towards Regigigas, engulfed in his own fire.
BANG!
Tidus roared in pain as a simple kick from the large golem sent him flying all the way to the other side of the room. Jackson slid in front of Tidus's path and caught the flying Typhlosion.
"Dad! Are you okay?!" Alexa cried anxiously. Hayden groaned as he struggled to sit himself up. He inspected the damage to his leg; there was a large bleeding cut on his thigh, and was fortunate to get away from the impact without a broken bone.
"I'll be fine, sweetheart," he said with a weak smile.
SLAM!
"Whaaaaaaa!" Alexa looked at Keith in horror as she heard his agonised cries; Regigigas had emitted a shockwave that struck the young Top Ranger. Buizel, who clung to his patner's shoulder, escaped the attack unharmed.
"KEITH!"
"I-I'm okay!" Keith called to the highly distressed Alexa. Tears in her eyes, Alexa turned her attention to the disgustingly amused Cain.
"Cain, please, you have to stop this!" she pleaded.
"NO! Not until Regigigas falls before me!"
"If you don't stop, everyone's going to get hurt, which will include you!" Alexa yelled.
"I doubt that very much," Cain said snidely.
Keith looked back at Alexa, concerned about her; he was beginning to understand what Barlow meant. He suddenly noticed a rock above Alexa's head beginning to break.
"LOOK OUT!" he shouted. Phoenix, however, had spotted the rock before Keith had and already had an idea. As the rock began to fall, he flew over to it and swatted it with his tail. Alexa watched as the rock struck Hydreigon's main head, halting his potential attack on the wounded Nidoking and Electivire.
"Rhhrrrrrgh!" Phoenix's roar caught Malik and Tristan's attention as they flew up to the Charizard. The three communicated with one another and eventually nodded in mutual agreement.
Hayden looked around the area; blood stained the sand and stone all around them, most of the Pokémon, including Phoenix himself, were bleeding and most were panting, some more heavily than others.
"Everyone's getting tired. Except the four Regis, it seems," he noted. Alexa was horrified at the sight before them.
"And Regigigas is getting more agitated. I don't think Keith and the Pokémon can last much longer!" she panicked.
Hastings, Sven and Wendy approached Erma, who, along with Keenan and Lily, were growing more concerned; almost two hours had passed since Alexa, Keith and Hayden left to challenge Cain, but no word had arrived regarding their status.
"What's taking them so long...?" Wendy asked quietly.
"Let's not forget that they're most likely battling against Regigigas," Hastings began. "I highly doubt they'd be able to triumph over such a powerful Pokémon so easily, regardless of how well trained Alexa and Mr Thorndyke's Pokémon are."
"But if we got hurt from facing Cain, don't you think that they...might also be...?" Sven trailed off, not wanting to finish his own question.
"I'd much rather believe that all three of them will come back alive," Lily said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Three? Does that include Keith?" Hastings asked.
"No, I meant Cain," Lily sighed sarcastically. "Of course I meant Keith!" she exclaimed. Keenan looked at his mother with concern; while he found her sarcasm amusing, he knew she only uses sarcasm when she was extremely anxious and or worried about something or someone.
Pidgeot flew into Jackson and Tidus with shining wings. His wings struck the two Pokémon just below their throats, causing the pair to cough up blood.
Nando, Ronan, Michaela and Clyde tried and tried to attack Gengar, but the ghost hopped between their shadows, attacking each one on every turn, sometimes from the back, sometimes from the front. Each Pokémon, however, all experienced the pain of a Gengar slash for themselves. The Pokémon fumbled each and every time they failed to attack Gengar.
Hydreigon was battling in the sky, attempting to fight off Phoenix, Malik and Tristan. Ryder kept focusing on Hydreigon from the ground, while Kadia and Layla tried their hardest to fight off Cain's Pidgeot, but kept getting hit by Regice, Registeel and Regirock's projectile attacks. Even Pidgeot, Gengar and Hydreigon had to be wary of the Regis; they were under Regigigas's control, despite being bound by Cain's Master Balls.
Keith struggled to prevent his capture disc getting damaged by Regigigas's attacks, but his attempts were proving fruitless; he was exhausted from constantly dodging the shockwaves and the falling rocks from above. Even Buizel's Pokémon Assist power wasn't helping; the little Pokémon was out of energy to produce more Water based attacks.
Alexa and Hayden had to keep avoiding the falling rocks, but they found it harder to do so each time; their clothes were torn and had received further damage from the environment and Regigigas's fissure attack. Hayden counted himself lucky he was still able to walk, but Alexa was becoming emotionally unstable; she had assumed her battling days were behind her and she resorted to battling in hopes of stopping Cain from achieving his goals.
Oddly enough, Cain was completely unscathed. He was well out of the way of the battle, amused at the disadvantage his foes were in.
"GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!" Regigigas roared with tremendous might as it flexed its muscles; it seemed to have gotten stronger.
BOOM!
Regigigas stomped its foot down hard on the ground, creating another fissure and causing more rocks to fall from the ceiling. Every single Pokémon, excluding the smaller Regis, were affected by the attack; the rocks knocked the flying Pokémon out of the sky, the fissure caused the burrowing Pokémon to burst from the ground and the rest of the Pokémon were knocked down by either the fissure or from the rocks they weren't able to dodge in time. Keith was hit by the shockwave Regigigas's stomp emitted and crashed into the wall, leaving him barely conscious. Alexa and Hayden had a hard time struggling to avoid the rocks above them, but one had struck Alexa's back while she avoided another. Ryder, barely conscious himself, used a weak Aura Sphere to destroy the rock on Alexa's back as she fell to the ground. Horrified, Hayden helped Alexa back up as carefully as he could. "Are you all right?!"
"I-I guess so..." Alexa replied weakly. She looked around at the battleground; even more blood stained the once beautiful temple sand and stone and even Cain's Pokémon were at their wits end. Alexa was getting more and more panicky very quickly; it was hard enough for her to see so many Pokémon in near critical conditions, but seeing Keith barely conscious made her dangerously close to losing her already fragile state of mind.
Hayden was astonished to find that all of the Pokémon, despite their wounds, were still keen to keep fighting. Even Keith was eager to keep trying to capture Regigigas with his capture disc before Cain captured it with a probable fourth Master Ball or, worse still, kill the titan. Keith struggled to his feet and regained control of his capture disc, with his determination to defeat Cain still fresh on his mind.
Regice, Registeel and Regirock continued to protect Regigigas, despite the clear fact that none of the Pokémon, including Cain's, were going to attack the Colossal Pokémon; Cain's Pokémon were far too preoccupied with Alexa and Hayden's Pokémon, who had attracted their attention and were preventing the bloodthirsty Pokémon from even looking at the giant.
On the verge of being in a state of total panic, Alexa frantically searched her belt pouch; all she found was empty spray bottles and the six Poké Balls belonging to her Pokémon. Alexa hyperventilated as she looked at the battle once again.
"I-It's no use...we're out of healing items!" she panicked. "N-nobody's going to last much longer at this rate!"
"Stay calm, Lexie," Hayden advised softly.
"How?! Look around, Dad, even Cain's Pokémon are at their last ounce of energy! We can't give our Pokémon the energy they need to keep going, and it's not over yet!"
"Precisely," Hayden smiled. "Everyone wants to keep fighting because Cain hasn't won yet. And they're determined to keep him from winning."
"B-but..."
The Pokémon were out of energy to use their proper attacks, so the battle turned into a grudge match, with fists, fangs, claws, wings and anything else they could use as mêlée weapons. All of the Pokémon struck one another, causing blood to fly across the room, further staining the arena.
Keith's capture disc was losing its power as his styler was low on energy. Regardless, Keith was extremely persistent and strived to continue his attempts to capture the gargantuan Regi, even if his styler broke trying.
Despite their low battling energy, Cain's Pokémon were still tough to take down. Hydreigon was still ruthless and unfair in his attacks, Pidgeot was merciless and Gengar was still conniving. The eleven opposing Pokémon had to pull together all of what energy they had left merely to dodge an attack.
"...I-I don't know how long we'll last..." Alexa said sadly. "They can't keep dodging forever...and Regigigas's power is at its peak..."
"Don't panic, sweetheart," Hayden smiled. He looked towards his Electivire, who had only just managed to dodge Gengar's shadowy slash. "Say, Clyde! How about giving Keith a boost?"
"Lec?" Clyde looked back at Hayden before looking towards Keith. Clyde smiled at Hayden, instantly understanding what he was asking. The antennae on his head began to spark. "LEC!"
"Huh?" Keith looked towards Clyde in confusion, but saw that the Electivire had already released a small bolt of electricity from his antennae. The lightning bolt struck Keith's styler, charging it to full power. As the styler recharged, Keith noticed the change in the capture disc's energy. Puzzled, Keith looked towards Hayden, who gave Keith a very serious look.
"It's down to you, Keith! Capture Regigigas and it's all over!" he shouted. Keith nodded.
"Not in this lifetime," Cain whispered spitefully. "I will NOT lose! Hydreigon! Get him!" he shouted, pointing to Keith.
"NO!" Alexa cried. Hydreigon and Phoenix, having heard to absurd command, raced towards Keith, who tried to pay his full attention on Regigigas. Eventually, Phoenix managed to get ahead of Hydreigon and intercepted the brutal hydra. A brief scuffle ensued as a result of Phoenix's attempt to protect Keith. Cain was less than amused.
"Pidgeot, Gengar, GET HIM!" he shouted furiously. Pidgeot and Gengar flew towards Keith, and Phoenix was ready to burn them.
"There!" Keith exclaimed joyously; the capture disc served its purpose. Cain watched in horror as the white ring around Regigigas shrunk and engulfed the giant Pokémon, instantly calming it down.
"NO!"
Alexa and Hayden were ecstatic about Keith's success, while all of the Pokémon, including Cain's, were all just glad they no longer had to fight.
Whew. Best. Exercise. Ever! Ryder rejoiced.
SMACK!
Ow..! Ronan slapped Ryder on the back of the head. Ryder rubbed his head and glared at Ronan, who raised an eyebrow at the cocky Lucario. Okay, see your point...
Keith recalled his capture disc and instantly ran over to the slightly wounded Hayden and Alexa.
"Are you okay?"
"We'll be fine," Hayden smiled. "Won't we, Lexie?"
"Y-yeah," Alexa nodded. "But, wow...it's over...I can't believe it's finally over!"
"About damn time too," Keith agreed.
"See, Lexie? I told you not to panic," Hayden said. Alexa looked up at her father.
"Yeah. Thanks, Dad."
Cain reluctantly recalled his three main Pokémon back to their Poké Balls, leaving the Regis out, and glared furiously at Hayden, Alexa and Keith.
"You..." The three looked towards the irate Cain. "You took away my chance to challenge Regigigas...I'LL KILL YOU!" he yelled, running mainly towards Alexa. Hayden held onto her, but Keith stepped in front of them both.
THUMP!
"G'uh...!" Cain's eyes widened and his breathing was momentarily cut off as Keith kneed the half-blind boy in his private area. Hard.
"That was for all of the hell you've put my girlfriend through. Bastard," Keith whispered threateningly. Keith lowered his knee as Cain fell to the sand. As Keith released Regigigas from the styler's metaphorical grip, Ryder staggered towards the fallen Cain and pickpocketed the three Master Balls.
You won't be needing these anymore, Ryder smirked. He began walking towards Regigigas, passing the smaller Regis along the way. Pardon me, fellas. He then placed the three Master Balls in front of Regigigas and looked up at it. Say, Big Guy, think you can crush these for me? They had your triplets in 'em.
SMASH!
Regigigas, granting Ryder's wish, stomped on the Master Balls. Even a light stomp was enough to demolish the three Poké Balls. Ryder smiled at the large docile Regi.
Thanks, Dude. You look after yourself now. Regigigas nodded towards the Lucario and began to slowly make its way back to its room.
Regice, Registeel and Regirock, now free from the murderous Pokémon Trainer, left the chamber freely. The Pokémon waved them farewell as they left, even though the golems paid no attention to the send-off. Alexa walked over to Keith.
"Keith?" Keith turned around.
"Yeah?" Alexa embraced the young Ranger, planting a gentle, but brief, kiss on his lips. She smiled at him.
"I don't know how to thank you."
"Well, Cain deserved it after-"
"Not that. You single-handedly ceased all of this chaos. Thank you...!" Almost bursting into tears, Alexa tightened her grip on Keith slightly; while the occasion was one to celebrate, Alexa had mixed feelings about the entire experience. Keith held onto her gently and lightly rubbed his head against hers.
Hayden noticed Michaela, Kadia, Layla and Ronan moving over to Cain. He laughed when the four Pokémon sat on his back.
"That's very good!"
"Sand-slash!" Michaela saluted towards Hayden. Keith and Alexa carefully broke their embrace. Hayden limped over to Alexa and gently took her from Keith as he established a communication with his styler.
"Keith here. It's over. Cain's finally at our mercy."
Upon hearing the words they longed to hear, Sven, Wendy, Lily and Keenan rejoiced. Erma was delighted and Hastings was proud.
"Oh that is such wonderful news, dear!" Erma said happily, through Hastings' communicator. "Is everyone all right?"
"The Pokémon fought hard, and have the scars to prove it," Keith began. "Dunno why Cain was the only one unharmed until after Regigigas's capture. But nothing too serious, I don't think."
"That's fantastic news. Now, Keith, bring Cain, Alexa, Mr Thorndyke and yourself to the Ranger Base in Haruba Village. While you await our arrival, use the time to rest. You've earned it."
"Acknowledged," Keith said before ending his communication. Keenan looked puzzled.
"Hang on...'our' arrival?" Hastings smiled at Keenan.
"I'll be asking Barlow to accompany me in collecting Cain. Meanwhile, a family reunion is in order."
At the Haruba Ranger Base, after a relatively slow flight, Hayden, Alexa and Keith are all getting their injuries seen to by the medical staff. Alexa was the only one not in the room. Cain sat in one corner, rope tied around his torso and arms, highly disgruntled.
"I could've had that Regigigas...the lower Regis were mine!" he complained. Hayden looked at him through the corner of his eye. "That Regigigas was going to die by my hand! Why did you stop me?!"
"Do you seriously need me to answer that?" Hayden sighed as he looked away from Cain. "You've already killed Arceus knows how many Pokémon during your rampage, threatened my daughter and have caused harm to my family. Did you seriously think the Ranger Union was going to let your tantrum continue?"
"Well maybe those Pokémon wouldn't have died if they were stronger," Cain growled.
"Come on, the strength of your victims has nothing to do with it! You were the one pitting all of your Pokémon against one wild Pokémon to kill it!" Keith exclaimed as a nurse proceeded to wrap a bandage around Keith's shin.
"Fuck you!" Cain shouted angrily. "My reasons for what I've done have nothing to do with you!"
"So what ARE your reasons then?" Hayden asked. "How do you justify stealing the lives of the Pokémon yours have killed?"
"Fuck you too!" Cain yelled. "Fuck your fucking daughter as well!"
"Why I oughta-!"
"Easy, Keith; anyone who resorts to using profanity clearly doesn't have good vocabulary," Hayden said calmly.
"Fuck you..." Cain said snidely.
Alexa and another nurse entered the main foyer from another room; Alexa had a few plasters on her face and arms, but her bandages were underneath her orange T-shirt. Her trousers were torn near her ankles and her grey body warmer had become torn during the struggle as well. She smiled at Hayden and Keith, who, in turn, were smiling at her.
"You okay?" Hayden asked. Alexa nodded.
"I think so," she replied. Despite her smile, she sounded fairly uncertain. Keith knew her emotions were conflicting, but he was just happy to see her on the mend.
The base doors opened. Keith, Alexa and Hayden watched as Hastings, Barlow, Lily and Keenan walked in. Lily and Hayden immediately ran over to Hayden and Alexa, and formed a famliy hug. Alexa was almost in tears, and she bore a shaky smile; she was trying to be happy to see her mother and little brother, but couldn't help feeling guilty about them having been hurt by Cain's hand. Keith approached Barlow and Hastings.
"Good to see you're all okay," Barlow smiled. Keith lost his smile as he looked back at Alexa.
"Not all of us are." He looked back at Barlow, who was looking at him in puzzlement. "I think you're right about the sick leave thing."
"I see..."
"Let her be with her family for the moment," Hastings smiled. He lost his smile as he looked towards the tied up boy in the corner of the base and approached him, as did Keith and Barlow.
"So, you're the one killing innocent Pokémon, eh? Are you satisfied with the blood you've spilled?" Hastings asked angrily.
"Regigigas would have contributed if it weren't for the blonde bleeding heart and her stupid father," Cain said nastily.
"Hey, I was in on it too! Jerk," Keith pouted.
"And that "bleeding heart" happens to be one of the finest young Top Rangers the Ranger Union has ever had. You, on the other hand, cannot call yourself a Pokémon Trainer," Hastings said.
"Hah! And you would know?!" Cain laughed.
"It's true the concept of Pokémon Trainers is new to me, but I know enough about them to know that good trainers treat their Pokémon like friends, not minions," Hastings stated. "And they certainly don't murder other Pokémon, least of all their own. I have Alexa and her family to thank for making that clear to me."
"Professor, should I take this clown to the boat?" Barlow asked. "I think it'd be best if he settled down in there before the rest of us get aboard."
"Indeed. Get this boy out of my sight," Hastings insisted. Barlow pulled Cain up by his coat and practically dragged him out of the base. Hastings and Keith approached Alexa and her family. "Is everyone all right?" he asked.
"Nothing's broken," Hayden replied.
"How were you in there?" Lily asked with concern. Hayden let out a sigh.
"Touch and go. The area was far too small for a proper battle, and with the number of Pokémon around...Alexa and I had to avoid the room crashing down on us."
"Alexa looks fine to me?" Hastings said in confusion.
"A rock landed on my back," Alexa said quietly. "Like Dad said, we had to avoid the room crashing on us."
"And Regigigas didn't make that a simple task," Hayden added, looking at his leg; he could see the bandage behind the large cut in his trouser leg.
"Nor did the smaller Regis," Alexa added. "Cain had no control over them, Regigigas controlled them for protection; they attacked almost any Pokémon that tried to attack Regigigas."
"Except Jackson; he struck Regigigas from above, thinking it was the one he needed to fight," Hayden continued.
"How many Pokémon did you have between you?" Hastings asked.
"Twelve," Hayden answered. "My six and Alexa's six."
"My word...that's quite a lot of Pokémon for such a small space," Hastings said in awe. "I'm surprised you and Alexa didn't get hurt any worse than you did."
"My thoughts exactly," Hayden agreed. "Regardless, I think Keith gets the credit for putting a successful end to the whole mess."
"No doubt," Alexa smiled. "The Pokémon were all down to their last ounce of strength by the time Keith captured Regigigas, and its strength was at its peak at that point."
"I certainly recognise Keith's effort in this, as much as I recognise your efforts, Alexa. Yours and that of your father...no...that of your family," Hastings smiled.
"What did we do? We failed," Keenan sighed.
"Not necessarily," Hastings smiled. "Your efforts weakened Cain's Pokémon."
"Provided we even put up a fight," Keenan pouted.
"My Pokémon put up a fairly strong resistance prior to Regirock's Explosion attack," Lily said.
"Hey, that's how he defeated me and Wendy too!" Keenan said suddenly.
"Well, the important thing is Cain's in our custody until we get back to Puel Docks." Barlow arrived at the base.
"Boat's ready," he said.
"Excellent. Shall we?"
The boat travelled steadily across the ocean. Hastings, Keith, Alexa, Keenan, Hayden and Lily all sat above deck, admiring the beautiful oceanic scenery. Keenan's attention was focused on the ocean itself, as Iara, somewhat recovered from her wounds, swam merrily alongside the boat. Barlow arrived from the lower deck.
"Cain's below deck, but he ain't going anywhere," he said. Iara dived underwater and Keenan watched in amusement.
"Excellent," Hastings smiled.
"By the way, what became of Cain's Empoleon?" Alexa asked suddenly.
"Cain released him, so he's free to do as he pleases," Lily explained happily.
"Released?" Alexa asked. Iara surfaced, but on the back of a wild Mantyke. Keenan laughed happily at the sight.
"He said Cain wanted to test Gengar's power. But it wasn't enough to kill him, so Cain just abandoned him. Hence the state he was in when Chelsea and I found him in the forest," Lily explained. Keenan looked back at his mother.
"I guess Cain didn't know that Steel type Pokémon resist Ghost type attacks," he guessed before watching his Vaporeon again.
"Whatever the reason, I'm just glad Cain won't do any more harm," Keith said with relief. Hayden nodded in agreement.
"Regigigas is alive, Ryder released the Hoenn golems...all in all, a highly satisfying end."
"Indeed," Hastings agreed. "A mission cleared with flying colours, I must say," he said proudly. Iara jumped off of Mantyke's back and began to dolphin jump across the water.
"No arguments from me! Hey, Alex, sorry I treated ya like a disobedient preschooler," Barlow apologised.
"I understand why you did, though; you were worried that I was going to go after Cain after he caught Regirock," Alexa guessed.
"Yeah, and if I knew you were going to confront him anyway, I wouldn't have treated you like that. I'm sorry," Barlow said regretfully.
"It's okay. I should be the one apologising for being so out of line," Alexa said.
"We needed to look at the bigger picture, Alexa, and I, for one, wish to apologise for being so blind," Hastings apologised.
"Don't worry about it. The main thing is it's all over. And now I can put my sanity back together in peace," Alexa smiled nervously. Keith placed an arm around her.
"I'm happy for you, babe." Keenan looked back at the conversation again.
"What's going to happen when we moor at the docks?" he asked.
"Ah, the International Police will take him off our hands," Hastings explained. "I presume then he'll be charged in accordance to the crimes he's committed."
"So we won't see him again?" Barlow questioned.
"Not unless he somehow decides to become a Pokémon Ranger, which will be highly unlikely, given how he's treated some of them, no, we will not," Hastings replied.
"YES!" Keith rejoiced.
The sun was setting by the time Puel Town was even remotely in sight. Keenan watched his Vaporeon swimming merrily in the ocean, but she soon climbed aboard. She and Keenan looked around at the other wild Pokémon in the area, including the flock of Wingull flying above them. In the distance, Keenan could've sworn he saw a Dragonair leaping gracefully out of the ocean. He certainly recognised the serpentine silhouette, and there was no physical way he could mistake it for a Milotic. Keenan smiled.
To be continued...