After Summer's first Gym challenge, the Eevee Showboat arrived on Mandarin North Island. As she and Yuki explored the city, their Pokémon became controlled by OIATO and were ordered to attack them. Thanks to a Pokémon Ranger named Forrest, they were able to save Lightning and Ichigo but at the cost of injuring Yuki. As Yuki rests at the Mandarin North Hospital, Summer decides to do some training to pass the time. However, it's so unusual, her Pokémon are unsure about the results. What is it and who will she focus on training?
Chapter 6- A Pokémon City Triathlon
Lightning and I left the Mandarin North Pokémon Center after shopping all afternoon for souvenirs. There were less people in the streets, since most of the population went home or to the Eevee Showboat. Since Yuki and I had a few days off, I booked a room at the Pokémon Center.
"What should we do now?" Lightning asked with a slight flick of her tail. "Should we do some training?"
"Good idea," I replied. "But I don't know where to go."
Suddenly, a Growlithe wearing a blue headband slammed into my Pokémon, causing the two to tumble to my right. Once they stopped, the Mouse Pokémon slowly rubbed her head while the Puppy Pokémon sadly stood up.
"Are you okay?" I asked the two.
Before I could get an answer, I heard someone shout, "Streak!" It was a boy around the age of twelve with short brown hair also held back with a blue headband. The blue tank top and black shorts were drenched in sweat. He looked at us and bowed. He mumbled in a slightly deep voice, "I'm so sorry! Streak was trying to practice sprinting to the Pokémon Center. Please apologize, Streak."
The Fire type embarrassing bowed and barked, "Forgive me!"
I smiled. "That's okay. Lightning's pretty used to it now." I ignored her annoyed look and introduced myself to the stranger. "I'm Summer, by the way. What are you doing?"
"I'm Ty, and we're training for the Pokémon Triathlon," the boy replied with a grin. Noticing our confused faces, he further explained, "It's a race that involves an athlete and three Pokémon for three sections: a Water type for swimming, a Flying type for biking, and any land Pokémon for running. This year's race will be around Mandarin North Island, with the prize being 10,000 Pokédollars and a year's supply of Pokémon food."
"That sounds like fun!" I exclaimed. "So you need a lot of training?"
"Not much. This race is for beginners, so anyone can sign up. You can do it tomorrow at the Pokémon Center."
Lightning smirked and slyly hinted, "You know, Summer. We do need some training…"
"We do, don't we?" I muttered. I then looked at Ty and said, "Okay, I'll sign up."
"Great! I'll see you at the Pokémon Center tomorrow, Summer. Come on, Streak, just a few more miles to go!" The racer and his Pokémon ran inland then out of sight.
We walked back into the Pokémon Center. I spied some educational sports books on a brown shelf next to the reception desk. Time to do some research…
The next day…
"You sure about this, Dudette?" Swirls asked as we waited to sign up for the triathlon. Instead of my usual outfit, I wore a light blue T-shirt, black shorts, and my trusty tennis shoes.
"I agree with Ms. Swirls," Errol added as he flew close to us. "This method of training is quite unorthodox. Especially for us."
"You can thank Lightning for the suggestion," I teased as I tied my hair into a ponytail.
The two gave the Electric type annoyed looks, but she responded with a huff, "We do need the training."
"You're right…" they dejectedly acknowledged.
I further explained, "Besides, I read a book that was on the shelf called The Beginner's Guide to Triathlons. For some reason, the running section was "Ponyta approved", whatever that means. We just need to pace ourselves and take breaks when necessary. Plus, we can explore the island that way."
"That is true," Errol mused.
"Guess that's cool…" Swirls replied with a shrug.
Lightning beamed at the agreement, and we moved closer to the registration desk. After a quick discussion about which Pokémon I would be using, I received a navy blue drawstring bag to hold my clothes during the swimming portion and water bottles throughout the rest of the race. To obtain any updates to the race path, I finally received the Radio app for my Pokégear. Once registration was done, we left the building and saw Ty with his Growlithe, Staryu, and Pidgeotto. His other two Pokémon were also wearing light blue headbands.
"Hi, Ty!" I happily greeted. "Your Pokémon look ready to race!"
He turned around and smiled back. "Glad to see you made it! Are you ready?"
Before I could respond, a slightly muscular boy looked around with a sneer on his face. He wore a light purple tank top, white shorts, and a purple headband that held back his dark hair. A three-head bird Pokémon with dark brown and black feathers stood close to him. "So this is the competition?!" He scoffed in an arrogant tone. "This should be easy, especially with my new Dodrio."
[Dodrio, the Triple Bird Pokémon and the evolved form of Doduo. A peculiar Pokémon species with three heads. It vigorously races across grassy plains even in arid seasons with little rainfall.]
"Is that a Pokédex?" the boy sneered when he heard the device finish speaking. "What a nerd."
"How dare you say that about Ms. Summer!" Errol defended.
I whispered to the Noctowl, "He can't understand you, Errol." This made the Owl Pokémon scowl.
"That wasn't very nice," Ty reprimanded as he stepped forward.
The taller boy crossed his arms. "Why should I be? Only the strong can win events like these, Ty Harper. You're no exception."
Ty clenched his fists. "That's not the deciding factor, Jesse Bolt. After all, it also involves the bonds with our Pokémon."
All of a sudden, a reporter walked up to us. The man, who was wearing a brown suit, explained in front of a cameraman, "It looks like there's going to be fierce competition for this year's Beginner Pokémon Triathlon, especially against the two top contenders, Ty Harper and Jesse Bolt. Both come from different backgrounds but are evenly matched. Now, let's get a word with these two."
As he interviewed Jesse, who was slightly annoyed with the interruption, I whispered to Ty, "I should go. See you at the starting line."
He nodded and I crept away from the three, with my Pokémon following close behind.
An hour later…
"Welcome, everyone, to the 10th annual Beginner Pokémon Triathlon!" an announcer called out to the racers in front of the stage on Coral Beach. A small crowd gathered behind us, ready to send us off. After the cheering from everyone, the man continued, "With clear skies and calm waters, this should be a great race for all! The route has been marked out in red flags in the ocean, the hills, and the city. The first make it across the finish line at the Pokémon Center wins! Of course, this is a Pokémon based race, where racer and Pokémon must navigate together. The most important rule is that each pair must go at the same pace, in order to avoid unfair leads. Racers, to the starting line!"
Wearing my swimsuit, Swirls and I walked over to the white line on the sand. Farther to my right, Ty and Jesse glared at each other. The latter's Water type was a blue bipedal duck with a ruby on his forehead and a body built for swimming.
[Golduck, the Duck Pokémon and the evolved form of Psyduck. A Golduck is an adept swimmer. It sometimes joins competitive swimmers in training. It uses psychic powers when its forehead shimmers with light.]
"Dudette! Really?!" The Poliwhirl indignantly complained.
"What? It did give important information…"
After all fifty participants arrived at the starting line, the announcer shouted, "On your mark, get set, RACE!"
Most of the racers immediately dove into the ocean with their Pokémon, with Ty and Jesse in the lead. However, I didn't budge.
"Dudette, what's eating you?" Swirls impatiently shouted.
I then told her our strategy. "The book said we should wait until most people get in the water. That way, it'll be less choppy water and make it easier to swim."
"Can't argue with that."
Once several others entered the blue waves, we dove into the cool water and swam within the flag buffer. I alternated freestyle and backstroke to conserve the energy in my arms and legs. Swirls guided me during the latter stroke due to the lack of visibility. We passed by several boys, who were starting to get exhausted from the paddling, and volunteers hauling them into small rowboats. After half an hour, we reached the other side of Coral Beach and walked onto the wet sand. A quick water break later, I returned Swirls, put my running clothes back on, and let out Errol.
As I mounted the orange bikes lined up at the checkpoint, Errol shouted, "We have to hurry, Ms. Summer! We are desperately behind. Even a Slowpoke would be faster than us!"
"Don't worry, Errol. I wasn't planning to win this race," I said as I finished putting on the provided orange helmet. "The book said to take extra time up hills to take advantage of the increase in speed down them."
The Noctowl sighed, slightly disappointed with my lack of competitiveness. "All right... If that is what that 'manual' advises…"
I lightly shook my head and pedaled towards the Citrus Peel Hills, a small mountain range with three hills covered in poppies and orange trees. Errol scanned the competition ahead and alerted me of any potential traffic. Some of the racers began to tire out at the second hill and were forced to quit. As several volunteers aided the tired kids, Errol slowly understood why I was following the book. I then listened to the radio.
{And in the lead are Ty Harper with his Pidgeotto, Glide, and Jesse Bolt with his Beedrill! Both teams are reaching the last stop before the running segment of the triathlon.}
That was quick…! But they are the favorites after all…
After cruising down the last hill, we arrived at the final rest stop. I placed my bike into an empty bike rack and returned Errol. As I took off the helmet, Lightning burst out of her Pokéball, anxious about the current events of the race.
"Come on, Summer!" she shouted, angry with my complacency. "We need to catch up and win!"
I drank some water I got from a volunteer. "It's okay, Lightning. Like I told Errol earlier, I wasn't planning to win. Besides, the book said-"
"SCREW THE BOOK!"
She grabbed me with her tail and I was forced to run at a faster pace than I would like. After ten minutes, we were forced to stop at the edge of the city limits and take several deep breaths.
"I...I told...you…" I heaved as the Raichu woefully nodded. "W-We need...to...pace...ourselves...then...sprint...to the finish..."
"F-Fine!" she gasped. "We'll...do...what...the book...says..."
I stretched my legs and arms to regain some motion, then we continued into the downtown area. To my surprise, there were only four teams ahead of us, including Ty and Streak and Jesse and Dodrio. Despite the latter being ahead in first place, the Triple Bird Pokémon began to tire, forcing his Trainer to slow down as well.
"That's strange," I muttered to myself. "Dodrio have good endurance. I wonder if something happened to him."
Lightning looked at the Flying type's legs. "Summer! Something's caught on Dodrio's right leg."
I then scanned where she saw the object. "You're right! That's really dangerous, especially since Jesse's not slowing down to figure out what's wrong. Let's catch up and tell him."
The Raichu agreed with a determined nod. We then sprinted forward to the now third-place runners. The three-headed bird began to limp from the strain of a small rock wedged into his foot.
"Jesse!" I shouted. "You need to stop and help your Dodrio! Can't you see he's in pain?"
"I don't need help from a newbie athlete!" he scoffed, making me very upset.
Dodrio immediately came to a stop and panted. His Trainer, enraged at the hindrance, ran towards the finish line without his partner. The Flying type was appalled by his Trainer's actions, and the sad and angry heads cried in grief and rage.
That arrogant, selfish…! Lightning saw my upset face and knew what we had to do. We stopped and slowly approached the injured Pokémon.
"Get away!" the middle head squawked.
"Please...leave us alone…" the right one moaned. The left head was silent.
"Hey," I calmly replied. "I just want to help you. Let me see your right foot."
He sensed the truthfulness in my voice and willingly showed me his injury. Ignoring the other racers passing us, I carefully twisted the rock lodged in the center. Once it was freed, the joyful head affectionately nudged me. I happily petted him and stood up.
"Come on!" I waved. "Let's finish this race together!"
"Yeah!" the two Pokémon cheered.
On Citrus Peel Hills, a large yellow Pokémon with black pointed stripes watched the end of the race on the hill closest to the city. His face had a black and light blue mask that highlighted his jagged light blue tail. He chuckled when he saw a girl and her Raichu stop to help an injured Dodrio who was deserted by his Trainer.
"I can see why Kazan is so interested in her. She is just like our Guardian..." he muttered to himself. But before he could continue his observation, he heard more bikers approaching. Not wanting to be seen, he dashed away, his purple mane flowing behind him.
We then sprinted to the finish line, and after five minutes, we passed the Pokémon Center and the white line marked on the road. Happy that we finished the grueling race, we looked at the leader board to see our results. To my surprise, we were still in the Top 5. Not surprisingly, Jesse was disqualified, despite coming in first.
"But I made it to the line first!" the disqualified runner complained to an official in a blue suit.
The man disappointedly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jesse, but you broke the number one rule: racers and their Pokémon must be together at all times. You abandoned your Dodrio to win. I hope you learn from this."
As the official walked away, Jesse's head whipped around, his eyes angrily boring into his Pokémon. "This all your fault!" he roared. "I could've won!"
Before any of us could retort, Ty ran over. "That's enough, Jesse! You should've stopped and helped Dodrio. This is all your fault."
"Why you…!" Before Jesse could approach his rival, Dodrio formed a triangle with his heads and shot a white triangle at his Trainer. As the boy was thrown back by the ice, lightning, and fire, a Pokéball fell from his belt and smashed onto the floor. A blue sparkling light surrounded the Flying type, then it disappeared.
"I don't belong to you anymore!" the three heads shouted. Defeated, Jesse angrily stood up and stomped away, trying to ignore the pesky reporter from earlier.
"Are you okay?" Ty asked us. "I heard what happened on the radio."
"I'm fine," I replied. "Dodrio's injury wasn't too bad."
"Just in case, I should take him to the Pokémon Center." He stroked the bird's neck. "You've been through a lot, haven't you, Dodrio? In that case, why don't you join my team? You and Streak can alternate the running portion during my races." The happy head shrieked with joy, and Streak excitedly jumped up and down.
I laughed at the sight. "You'll do great in the next race, Ty!"
"Thanks, Summer!"
As the remaining racers finished at the Pokémon Center, they ushered us to a small three-tiered podium for the announcement of the top three racers. Ty, a boy with a yellow lightweight shirt and black shorts, and a girl with a pink tank top and gray skirt stood in the respective spots."
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer started the awards ceremony. "It's time for our winners to mount the podium! In third place, Clarice Jones!" Polite clapping interrupted the announcements. "In second place, Bobby Wright! And finally, in first place, Ty Harper!"
I loudly clapped for my friend, who gladly accepted a large gold trophy from the official. After ceremonial pictures and more socialization with other participants, the rest of us received special pins for participating in the triathlon. As I admired the design, an orange behind a green, white, and blue background, Ty approached us with his trophy clutched towards his chest.
"What are you going to do now, Ty?" I asked the winner.
He grinned and replied, "Training again, but I'm sending the money and food back to my family. They run a Pokémon nursery and crystal shop on Sunburst Island. You should visit; there's a crystal festival in a few days. You'll see some amazing figurines and sculptures!"
"Thanks for the suggestion, Ty! Congrats and good luck with your training!"
He laughed and we shook hands. "Good luck with your journey, Summer! I hope we meet again."
We waved goodbye and went our separate ways. Lightning and I walked to the hospital to see how Yuki was doing.
"How do you feel, Lightning?" I asked my partner.
Her tail slightly drooped from tiredness. "I'm fine, Summer. What about you?"
"I feel really good! Maybe we should do another race in the future!"
We laughed as we entered the building. But when we entered the elevator, my legs started to feel jiggly. Oh no! The race made my muscles sore!
The doors opened and I tried to walk out, only for my body to fall forward and slam onto the white tiled floor. After Lightning followed suit, the nurse at the reception desk shouted with concern, "Summer! Are you okay?"
I weakly replied, "Yeah...just overexerted myself today. Can you help me get to Yuki's room?"
"O-Of course!"
I groaned as she left to get a wheelchair and decided the next time I do a race, I should take pain relievers after I run.
Pokémon: Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick, Sky Uppercut
Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Psychic, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck
Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Ice Punch
Lightning (Raichu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch
Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder
Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Crunch, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail
Questions for the Chapter:
What did you think of the triathlon?
Who was the Pokémon watching Summer?
