Trek Through Union Cave::A Secret for Rei

Dratini was following by Rei's side having told it's family to protect them in the midst of the battle Dratini fired off Dragonbreath attacks at all of the Poachers who had attempted to get Rei Dratini then rolled forwards using a final Dragonbreath attack on all of the Poachers who were left over trying to finish them off which directed straight at them and went within inches of Max's head as Max ran forwards the attack knocking into the Poachers behind awaiting Max, Paprika and Rei to get to safety whilst he stayed in front protecting them.

Rei was running about, knocking one poacher in the jaw, and kicking the next in the groin, throwing an ice beam now and then when she could manage one. However, all the use of her power was starting to weaken her. Once she saw Max running into the room with Paprika, she turned tail. She scooped up the Dratini, something in her refusing to leave it out on the front lines as she rushed past the wall of protecting Pokemon and into the room.

Her heart was pounding, and she felt a bit faint but would manage just fine. She had just used her powers a few too many times in such a short period that it took the bite out of her. She slowed down, coming to a halt within a circle next to Jenny and Max as her chest rose and fell deeply. She looked back to the chaos, and over to the two there.

"The Pokemon are protecting us. They didn't have a chance to fight back before, so they're taking their chancce now. We should hopefully have a clear path soon," she said panting. She might not have had to take such deep breaths, but with all the dust in the air, not too much was actual oxygen. It was certainly taking a toll on them, and she hoped to get out soon. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about the cool, crisp air in Ice Cave. Sneasel tugged at her leg, to which she opened her eyes again, and looked over to the door where the Pokemon and Poachers were having their one-sided battle.

Carefully scanning the battlefield before her, Jenny kept her fingers crossed as she awaited the return of her Eevee. She hoped little Paprika would be able to locate the boy Trainer among the poachers without getting injured herself.

When Max came jogging up with Rika in his arms, relief washed over Jenny and she let out a sigh. "Y-yes, thank you." She was still a bit shaken due to the commotion going on around them.

"Ee, Eevee!" Rika barked happily as she leaped onto her Trainer's shoulders, proudly declaring that she'd done her job in finding Max.

Jenny patted the Eevee's head, whispering a few praises before her attention was turned towards Rei. The girl looked exhausted, having a terrible time catching her breath. It seemed her Sneasel was also a bit worried about her. Though Jennifer wasn't entirely sure what to think of this other Trainer yet, she couldn't help but feel concern for her. She crouched down nearby and asked in as quiet a tone as she could manage while still being heard over the battle, "Are you okay?" She hoped her question wouldn't have any hurtful effect on the girl's pride.

As Rei talked about the situation, Max scanned the scene infront of the trio. He wanted desperately to find his Growlithe, if he was here, and get him out of this horrible place. While Growlithe was strong, the fighting was getting out of control and Max was concerned a lot of the weaker pokemon would get hurt. Max then noticed the white haired girls breathing was all over the place. She'd obviously inhaled a lot of dust and it wasn't doing her any favors.

'I think you should rest for a bit, then when the poachers smarten up and realize they have to get out of here we'll do the same.' Max suggested. While Max didn't like waiting around doing nothing while a battle took place infront of him, he didn't want to risk any of his pokemon getting hurt and he was sure the two girls would feel the same. Max continued to look at the battle with hope his Growlithe would turn up soon.

'Hey I know this isn't the best time, but did you two happen across a Growlithe while you were freeing the pokemon?' Max inquired. While the two probably were probably more focused on just releasing the pokemon, no the species of the pokemon, there is a chance one of them saw a Growlithe. And odds are it's his Growlithe if they did.

Dratini was surprised as he was picked up looking to Rei before back to the Poachers and firing off one final Dragonbreath attack at them this hitting quite a few. Once they were back behind the other pokemon Dratini looked to Rei worryingly and nuzzled the side of her face before having an idea.

Dratini weaved through other pokemon eventually returning with another Ice Type at his side a Glalie who used Icy Wind going past Rei with just enough strength to rejuvenate her energy and strength but not enough to injure her. Dratini then looked to Rei to see if she'd be ok, When Glalie had finished it returned to the other pokemon and began the final attack to defeat roughly the last 300 poachers.

"Tsk," Rei said, standing up when Jenny and Max gave their input. She didn't need, and definitely didn't want their sympathy. "There just isn't much water in the air to draw from is all," she said cooly, dismissing them. She turned to where Dratini had been only a moment earlier, and looked around in a slightly panicked state. She'd grown rather attached to it, and certainly didn't want anything to happen to it now.

She let out a small sigh of relief as she saw Dratini approaching them once more, this time with a Glalie following. She felt the icy blast against her skin, rejuvenating her powers enough to not feel so exhausted. She inhaled the cool air, letting it take her back for a moment to Ice Cave and her childhood. However, the moment was over quickly and she was brought back to reality.

She gave a small nod to Glalie before it rejoined the mass, as a small "thank you" of sorts. She then kneeled beside Dratini, lifting it into her arms. She held it close to her face in a sort of embrace and whispered a thank you to it, waiting for the chaos to end.

The Pokemon were doing an excellent job picking off the poachers, bit by bit. Jenny couldn't help but admire how easily all the different types of Pokemon were able to band together to defeat this evil that had tried to enslave them. She quite enjoyed watching them help one another so passionately, though that could've been fueled by nothing more than a bitterness for the poachers, but it didn't really matter.

Jenny turned back to Max as he spoke up, asking about his Growlithe. "Oh, that's right! You came here to find your Growlithe." She raised her head in realization, then thought back to when she, Rei and the Pokemon were breaking open the cages. "I think I might have seen one, but I'm not entirely sure... There were so many different kinds, I wasn't paying too much attention. I'm sorry." She sheepishly took a step back, ashamed that she wasn't much help to him. She couldn't imagine how horrible it must have been to lose one of your Pokemon.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Rei holding the little Dratini close, almost as if to give it a hug of sorts. Jenny couldn't help but smile, though she kept her mouth shut and turned her attention elsewhere, it was still nice to know that the icy Trainer had a heart. Taking a deep breath, she looked on as the Pokemon continued their battle, taking out the last handful of poachers.

Max decided to keep his mouth shut about Rei shunning him yet again. While he was only trying to help, he had come to realize this girl didn't take a liking to anyone too quickly and there was no point in having a screaming match with her. And now was definitly not the time for pointless arguing.

Maxs' ears pricked up as the other girl mentioned she may have seen the Growlithe. Even though she said she didn't remember there was still a chance he was in here somewhere. Max smiled as the girl apologized. It was unneeded and Max guessed the girl was either shy or just a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation.

'Don't worry.' Max said smiling. 'If he's here we'll find him.' Max looked down at Rei who was holding the Dratini in her arms tightly. Max thought about adding something cheeky like; 'Dragons and Ice don't mix!' but it seemed insensitive. While the girl had given him a fair bit of grief since their first encounter, she seemed quite emotional and he didn't want to make her lash out at him.

'Alright so what's our next move?' Max asked the two girls. 'Unless you want to go it alone?' He directed this next question at Rei as she clearly didn't want Maxs' help before and something told him she didn't want it now either.

Dratini hugged Rei back as his tail darted up into her eye sight so she could see, then down pointing at one of Rei's pokeball's to signal that once this was all over and they were outside he wished to go with her. Dratini smiled to Rei as he heard the last poachers fall and turned his head when they finished the hug. Dratini loved the feeling he helped liberate his family and others so he moved to the other pokemon as they celebrated joining in for a few seconds before remembering now was no time to celebrate so he called for them all to escape before the reinforcement's arrive. Dratini went over to Rei before pulling her up and getting them all to escape aswell going beside them all.

Once they were outside the pokemon all escaped, Dratini watching them before turning to Rei and going over awaiting the pokeball as he was willing to go with Rei after all of this and even better they had made a connection in his eyes a duo not to be broken up for a long time.

Suddenly out of nowhere a Growlithe ran out escaping and it should have captured Max's attention as Growlithe didn't see Max whilst running out into the nearby forest to get away happy with the result.

Rei's glance was caught by Dratini's tail, as it motioned to her then the pokeball. A slight smile creeped at the edge of her lips, though barely noticeable at all. "Of course you can join us, Dratini," she said calmly, before looking back to Max and Jenny. "We wait for a path to clear, then we get out of here. All the Pokemon have been released from their cages, so once everyone is out we should be able to have a clear shot. We need to get out before any reinforcements show up," she said, feeling Dratini slink out of her arms and over to the others.

Glancing over that way, she noticed a short victory cheer as the last of the current lot of poachers fell to the might of the angered Pokemon. Sneasel took a few steps in front of Rei and the group, looking back as Dratini came back to fetch them. "It seems now is our chance, we can figure out what to do once we're clear and out of here," Rei said coldly, the ice seeming to return to her voice as she and Sneasel followed Dratini through the wreckage and out of the cave.

Once out of the cave, she took a deep breath of fresh air, and exhaled softly, closing her eyes for a moment. When they weren't glaring at you, Rei almost looked like a decent human being. Even for a moment when they opened, staring up to the sky they seemed soft. The moment, however was short lived, and the harsh look returned as she glanced back into the cave. It seemed like ages though the whole ordeal had lasted mere hours. She walked a few paces out of the way, to a nearby bush that way she would be well out of the way of the escaping Pokemon.

"Did you find your family and tell them, then?" Rei asked quietly, kneeling beside Dratini as she unhooked one of her empty Pokeballs. Pressing the small button on its face, the ball expanded from its marble size to the more recognizable fist sized red and white object. With an open palm, she held out the ball with the button facing Dratini, allowing it to tap the ball willingly before being absorbed and joining Rei's family. Standing, Rei looked down to the ball for a few moments before tossing it up to the sky, "Come on out, Dratini!" she called, the ball opening in a flash of light, Dratini reforming before her. "You're part of my family now, and will only travel in the ball when you want, or when it's necessary," she said, turning to Sneasel. "Dratini is now with us, understand?"

Sneasel was actually glad that Dratini had joined them, though he wouldn't show it. He nodded instead, arms crossed as usual as he let out a short "Snee" of recognition. He looked to the Dratini sharply, then let a slight smile cross his face before he turned around, waiting for the others as he was almost sure they would likely follow as well. Rei allowed Dratini to crawl up onto her shoulders as she too turned and waited.

It didn't seem to take long for the Pokemon to finish their job, defeating the last of the poachers. Afterwards, the cave was filled with the sound of several Pokemon's cries as they all let out a triumphant cheer. It was so loud Jenny couldn't help but cover her ears, though she knew it was a joyous moment. The Pokemon then led the way out of the cave, rushing into the clear air before disappearing into the bushes.

It was an understatement to say that Jennifer was happy to be out of the cave. She disliked dark, chilly places and preferred the warmth of the sun and the fresh air of a country field. Taking a moment to savor the feeling of the wind against her face, Jenny let herself slip away into a daydream, thinking back on her childhood spent on the countryside.

Paprika snapped her Trainer back to reality by letting out an excited bark, leaping about happily and running in wide circles around the three Trainers. The Eevee had come to like the strangers, Max and Rei. Though she hadn't known them for long, she saw them as nice people. Even Rei, as cold-hearted as she seemed, had easily earned Rika's approval.

Jenny could only smile as she watched her Pokemon celebrate. The cheerful mood carried on as Rei welcomed the little Dratini onto her team, and for a few precious seconds Jenny found herself admiring the icy white-haired girl. Rei had proven herself as a strong person and a kind Trainer, and that was enough to gain Jennifer's respect.

She smiled towards the two Trainers, feeling privileged to have been able to see them work so hard to free the captured Pokemon. "You guys did great back there." she said, though not so loud that she came across as a flatterer. "I'm Jenny, by the way."

Max was happy to be finally leaving this place. While he hadn't helped with the release of the pokemon directly, he thought his work in destroying the growth hormones and no doubt costing the poachers thousands of dollars was nearly as good. As the pokemon ran as fast as they could to freedom, Max found himself doing the same as he was just as eager to get outside to breath in fresh air and bask in the sunlight.

Max once out of the cave noticed that the wto girls were also taking their time to enjoy their first moments out of the cave in hours. Max realized it must of been about ten times better for the pokemon when they first got out. Then Jennie properly intorduced herself.

'I'm Max' Max said smiling. He was happy that they all became friends from this ordeal. Then Max then remembered why he came in the first place when he saw a small puppy pokemon running past him. Max's eyes widened as he shouted the words he'd longed to for years.

'Growlithe?!' Max yelled.

The Growlithe was in the nearby forest pausing as it heard a voice and turned looking Max straight in the eyes it sat down waiting near the forest entrance for Max to approach not knowing whether or not it was his trainer who he was once separated from.

Rei silently watched the other two introduce themselves, Dratini curling around her neck. Sneasel walked along beside her as she returned to the small group just in time for Max to become distracted by the fleeing Growlithe. Rei's eyes naturally trailed over to see the Pokémon. It seemed to recognize him at least partially, since it halted and sat waiting for him.

"It wants you to go to it," Rei said flatly, turning back to Jenny. "Normally I scare people off easily. I know you were too until your Eevee insisted on following me," she said, looking down to Paprika. "Anyway, my name is Kristine. People usually just call me Rei, though." 

"Snee," Sneasel said, as though introducing himself as he crossed his arms in an attempt to look impressive. Dratini merely stared at them all, feeling like it would be silly to introduce itself at this point.

Rei turned back to look at the Growlithe and Max. "Well at least it was in there after all," she said, turning back once more. She felt there were only awkward silences to follow, so she faced a nearby river and walked off toward it. She waved her hand non-challanty, "Have fun," she said, going to allow her Pokémon a drink.

When Rei had mentioned that she noticed Jenny's fear the first time they'd encountered each other, Jennifer couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. She'd obviously judged the other Trainer at a glance, if only subconsciously, and she was so very wrong in her first thoughts of Rei. She nodded sheepishly and gave an awkward nod. "Y-yeah, I guess I was a little intimidated by you... But Paprika knows good people when she sees them. She's a good judge of character." she said, smiling down at the Eevee.

The Pokemon in question simply puffed out her chest in pride, enjoying her Trainer's praise.

The Growlithe sitting near the bushes caught Jenny's eye, and she almost instantly recognized it as one of the Pokemon that had been trapped in the cages in the cave. Perhaps it really was the one that Max was looking for..? She glanced over at the boy, hoping he would say that it was indeed his long lost Growlithe. It'd be the perfect way to end this entire ordeal.

Max wasn't listening to anything the girls were saying, all of his focus was on the Growlithe. Max slowly started walking towards it, the pokemons appearance becoming clearer and clearer. It was skinny and it's fur was ungroomed. It had a small scar on its left cheek and had the big brown eyes Max first saw when he was 8 years old.

'Grow-Growlithe!' Max stuttered happily. He felt tears come to his eyes as he knelt down and hugged his Growlithe tightly. It had been five years sice he'd seen him and it had put Max through all kinds of grief. He remembered how he almost gave up being a trainer entirely after he was stolen. Now that they were reunited, Max was thankful he changed his mind.

'I'm never-' Max choked, he was practically speechless. 'I'll never let anything happen to you again Growlithe' Max said as he picked Growlithe up. He stood up and wiped the tears from his face. Part of him was embarrassed that he started crying, but another part didn't care about anything except the fact he had his Growlithe back.

Max slowly began walking back towards where Rei Jennifer were. But Growlithe licked Max's cheek happily. Growlithe was happier than he had been in a long time, he was reunited with his best friend. Max noticed Rei had left to go to the river while Jennifer watched Max carry his Growlithe back. Max's eyes were still watery and he hoped he wouldn't cry infront of a Jennifer and Rei.

'This, this is my Growlithe' Max declared happily. 'We've been separated for over five years' Max had an ear-to-ear grin now. This was one of the happiest days of his life.

[We can continue, or end topic depending on what you want to do now.]

Rei allowed Dratini off her neck, who slithered into the cool river water happily, swimming in circles. Sneasel carefully leaned over the edge, scooping some water up to its mouth with his claws for a drink. Rei did the same, needing to wash the taste of blood and dust from her mouth as well as rehydrate. She splashed a bit on her face, rubbing it back through her hair, then rubbing her hands together as she turned to face the others. It seemed the Growlithe truly had belonged to Max. "Well, that settles that then," Rei said quietly, sitting down and laying in the grass. She would enjoy it for a few minutes for now, deciding to put off heading over to the next town for a few more hours at least.

(OOC: My sincerest apologies. I didn't realize you were waiting on a response from me. Personally, I think this would be the perfect place to end the topic, unless someone states otherwise. Either way, I shall write another post so Max may post afterwards.)


Jenny smiled bright as she watched Max reunite with his long-lost Pokemon. It was one of the happiest sights she'd seen all day... Well, that and when the captive Pokemon were set free. It certainly warmed her heart after the tiring trek through Union Cave.

She bowed her head towards the Fire type. "Nice to meet you, Growlithe!" she said. Paprika also gave a few excited yips in greeting.

Jennifer looked over to Rei, who was giving the newest member of her family a little break in a nearby river. It seemed everyone was winding down now after all the excitement. Jenny figured she could use a bit of a break too before marching off to Violet City, her next destination. She took another deep breath and sat down in the grass as Paprika crawled onto her shoulders, curling up around the Trainer's face and getting comfortable.

Growlithe barked happily when Jenny introduced herself and then licked Max's face affectionately. Max laughed and patted Growlithe on his head. He was thrilled to have him back. Max looked at Jenny with her Eevee crawling over her when Max thought he may as well let his Eevee and Heracross out as well so they can meet everyone, especially Growlithe.

'Come on out, Eevee and Heracross' Max said happily as he released their pokeballs. The two pokemon stretched their bodies and looked happy to get some fresh air. The new people and pokemon startled Eevee and her basic instinct was to run to Max and hide. But when she saw another Eevee, it caused her to stay and look curiously.

'You guys this is Jennifer and her Eevee' Max said. 'And this is Growlithe one of my best friends. He's gonna be traveling with us from now on.' Heracross smiled happily at Growlithe while Eevee seemed more interested in Jennifer's Eevee. She ran over to her and gave a happy cry to get the other Paprika's attention

While Eevee tried making herself the centre of attention, Max had started getting pokemon food out of his bag. He had food specially for Heracross as he had a bitter taste, but since Eevee ate most things he decided that Growlithe should be fine having some of her food. Max looked up at Jennifer as he grabbed a chocolate bar for himself.

'Do you and Paprika want something to eat?' Max asked. He quickly looked down at Rei who was sitting with her pokemon and wondered if he should asked. While his brain said no after how mean she'd been to him but he couldn't in his heart just leave her. It must of been his mother rubbing off on him.

'Hey do you want something to eat as well?!' Max yelled down at Rei. He figured he'd either get the cold shoulder or a yelling at. Hopefully she'd be nicer than she was in the cave.

Rei heard the two talking, though couldn't make out all of the words clearly as she was some distance away. This didn't really bother her though, since she could care less. Dratini swam up to her, squirting water in her face and wetting the tips of her hair down. Rei sighed a bit, the water freezing over and weighing her hair down. Dratini was just happy and carefree, seeming to be quite the opposite of Rei for sure.

Sneasel stood up, looking at the others as more Pokémon were released from their balls. Rei turned to look over her shoulder as well, hearing the boy yell out. She simply turned back to the water, seeming to ignore him as she picked up her Dratini out of the river. She then slowly began to walk toward them, seeming to accept his proposal at first. 

"I'm headed to Violet City. You'd be smart to do the same, the Pokémon deserve a rest too," Rei said flatly as she walked right on by the two and their Pokémon. Sneasel bounded along just behind her.

The peace and quiet of Jennifer's deep thoughts was short-lived, as she heard other Pokemon being released from their Pokeballs. She glanced over and saw Max speaking with a Heracross and an Eevee of his own, the latter of which seemed to perk up when it took notice of Paprika. Jenny stood back up and walked a bit closer, keeping her distance from the Pokemon so as not to scare them. "This is quite a team you've got here." She smiled towards Max.

It didn't take long for Paprika to grow curious of the other Eevee, who was yipping happily as if to gain attention. Paprika quickly jumped down from Jenny's shoulders and went bounding towards Max's Eevee, giving a few barks in greeting before dancing about.

A big grin spread across Jenny's face. Paprika hadn't been able to play with any other small Pokemon since they'd left home, so it was quite a treat to see the two Eevees playing together. When Max began offering food around, even to Rei, Jenny easily forgot her manners and nodded anxiously. "Oh, yes! I'm starving!" she said, then caught herself. "I-I mean, if it's not too much trouble, Rika and I would like something to eat."

Max smiled as he handed over a chocolate bar to Jennifer. She was very polite and Max didn't understand why she felt she had to be to someone the same age as herself. Max then went on to pour a large bowl of pokemon food for Growlithe, Eevee and Paprika. Growlithe tucked in almost immediately. He was clearly starving and the food the poachers had been giving him wasn't nearly enough to sustain him.

Then Max noticed that Rei was walking towards him. He was surprised to say the least but wasn't nearly as surprised when she did her typical thing of brushing him off like what he said meant nothing. Max was growing increasingly annoyed by the way the girl treated gim like a baby and talked to him like he was an idiot when in reality Max was the same age as her. But Max didn't want to start anything, especially with this girl.

'Yeah I'm heading to Violet City as well' Max replied. 'Going there to get my second gym badge' Max said proudly. He displayed his Hive Badge he received from Bugsy to the two girls. He didn't want it to sound like he was showing off, but it was an acheivement that he felt was worth some recognition. He was sure Rei wouldn't care but Jennifer may show some interest.

Max was right, Rei could care less. She continued walking, headed for the city. She felt she'd likely run into them again, regardless. {Rei exits Topic}

For a few moments after Max handed Jenny the chocolate bar, the girl was completely oblivious to what was going on around her. She was far too busy enjoying the taste of milk chocolate melting on her tongue. When she did glance up, she realized Rei was heading off to the city now, and Max was saying something about going in that direction, too.

"Oh, you're going to Violet City, too?" Jenny smiled, then took notice of the Hive Badge that Max was proudly displaying. "Wow! You've got one gym badge already? Paprika and I are on our way to challenge Falkner to our first gym battle. Right, Rika?" she said, glancing towards her Eevee before quickly realizing how greedy Paprika was being with the food Max had put out.

Jennifer pulled her Pokemon back, quietly scolding it before looking towards the other Pokemon apologetically. "I'm sorry. Rika would eat as much as a Munchlax if I let her."

Paprika only smacked her lips in response, obviously pleased to have something in her stomach. Jenny let out an exasperated sigh, though she couldn't help but smile. "She apparently likes your Pokemon food a lot." she said to Max.

Max looked as Rei left on her own, not caring about the two trainers she had just met. There was something off about her. Well apart from the ice powers. Max then turned his attention back to Jenny as she mentioned she was going to challenge Falkner also and that she was impressed by his badge. Max didn't realize she was after gym badges also and was impressed. As Jennifer apologized for Paprika, Max had an idea.

'Don't worry about it I can always get more' Max said, as he grabbed the empty bowls and put them back in his bag. 'Well if you're heading to Azalea town how about we travel together? It would be a lot more fun having someone to talk to on the way' Max suggested. While his pokemon were good company, it would be nice to talk to someone the same age, who could actually speak english.

Heracross and Growlithe seemed pretty tired after such a long day and Max decided to put them back in their pokeballs for a good rest until they get to the next pokemon centre where they can heal up properly. While he was able to return Heracross immediately, Growlithe's pokeball was at the bottom of his bag. He started searching through it while he waited for Jenny to answer.