The Road to be a Pokemon Master: Orange Islands Arc

by FanaticLAguy06

Sequel to "The Road to be a Pokemon Master: Kanto Arc". Ash has now decided to take his training more seriously while Serena ponders over what she wants to do in her life. However, a request from Professor Oak leads them and their friends to the Orange Islands. What awaits them there?

7. The Mikan Island Races!

A/N: Well, here's my interpretation of the first of the Orange League battles. They are all different in some way. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Feedback for some type of gym battle is always appreciated!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

---

Chapter 7: The Mikan Island Races!

The Orange Crew.

They were said to be some of the toughest trainers around. While one had to meet certain qualifications to be a gym leader, they would really have to stand out to be selected for the Orange Crew. The reason was they did a lot more than just have their Pokemon battle each other. Every single one of them had a special twist to their battles which really tested the bond and friendship between trainer and Pokemon, and even Pokemon and Pokemon for a couple of them.

An ordinary trainer could never win against them. It takes a special trainer to beat all of them and qualify for the Orange League. The Orange League itself was slightly different from the ordinary tournament. Any trainer who managed to qualify in that six month period, however few, were pitted against each other in a tournament. However, the winner didn't receive any sort of trophy like in any other type of league. It means they only will receive a chance at winning the Orange League.

They still had one more challenge to face. It was the Orange League champion. If the Orange Crew was hard, this person was even harder. Some people never even manage to beat his first Pokemon, let alone make it to his last. In fact, on average, the Orange League calculates around one win every five years. Challenging the Orange Crew and Orange League champion was not for the average trainer.

Who are these incredibly strong trainers? Their names are Cissy, Danny, Rudy, Luana, and their champion: Drake. They await their next challenger. Who has the tenacity and strength to defeat them all?

XXX

"Wow. That was rather mysterious," Ash commented as he finished reading from the guidebook about the Orange Crew.

"I'll say. It read more like a narrative than a guide," Leaf agreed. She was leaning to the side so she could read along with Ash.

"I'll say one thing. The guidebook is right about there being an average of one win every five years. That really was the last time someone conquered the Orange Crew," Tracey said.

"That must have been some trainer," Ash mused.

"He was, and he was just as mysterious. They say that when he won, he simply accepted his trophy and left for a new destination without a word. No one knows where he went. They never even got his name or his picture," Tracey told them.

"Sounds like a jerk if you ask me," Misty mumbled, clearly unimpressed with the previous winner's seemingly cold attitude.

"Well, if it's been five years since the last winner, that means the Orange League is due for another one! That winner is going to be me!" Ash declared as he stood up on Lapras, but stumbled a bit as the transport Pokemon passed over a rather rough wave.

"Careful, Ash. I know this a bit better than being on a Gyarados' back, but it's still unstable," Serena told him with a small smile.

"I know Lapras would never let anything happen to me. You would catch me, wouldn't you?" Ash asked Lapras as he stroked its neck.

"Laaaaaa!" it cried in agreement.

Despite only knowing Ash for a short amount of time, Lapras had grown rather fond of him. He was so nice to it and frequently let it take breaks into between islands so it could rest from all the people it was carrying. Then he would feed it a nice treat before they moved off again. One would think that it would take a long time to reach a different island, but Lapras made up for it by moving quickly. Evening was approaching, and the group was just able to spot Mikan Island in the distance.

"There it is, guys. It's Mikan Island,and that's where I'll win my first Orange League Badge," Ash stated as he clenched his fists in excitement.

"Someone's confident," Misty smirked.

"Of course! They said in the guidebook that only trainers with great bonds with their Pokemon would be able to beat them. My Pokemon and I have done everything together! There's no way we can lose!" Ash said.

"I don't think that's exactly what it said," Misty muttered under her breath.

"I know you'll do great, Ash!" Serena told him as she began rub his shoulders to relax him. Pikachu held onto Togepi in the meantime.

As Serena did so, she noticed something rather odd. Weren't Ash's shoulders usually extremely small? Did they widen slightly since they started their journey? Did he grow a little bit of muscle since being a Pokemon trainer? Was it because of all the exercise he got now? The thought of Ash becoming strong and holding her in his arms made her blush, and she quickly let go to avoid drawing attention.

"Ah! That felt great, Serena! Thanks!" Ash smiled, not having noticed her reaction.

"You're welcome, Ash!" Serena replied as she glanced to the side to hide her burning face.

She did this unsuccessfully as Ash noticed it. Deciding not to ask as it would clearly make Serena uncomfortable, Ash took to simply looking at her. She looked so great right now with the wind going through her honey blonde hair. Her sparkling blue eyes fit well with the ocean, too. Ash continued down past her neck and…woah! Ash quickly averted his eyes and blushed furiously. Had Serena always not been…flat around a certain area? Ash mentally kicked himself for feeling like some kind of pervert. Sure, Serena was his girlfriend, but he felt so indecent. The best thing to do would be to forget it ever happened!

Leaf, Misty, Tracey, Pikachu, Togepi, and even Lapras watched the two furiously blushing preteens with amusement. Lapras and Togepi didn't quite understand and thought the two just had funny expression on their faces. The others did and smirked. They could only imagine what was going through Ash and Serena's heads right now.

"Um…well…full speed ahead to Mikan Island, Lapras!" Ash shouted, eager to get off the transport Pokemon all of the sudden.

---

Once the group made it onshore, Ash and Serena had returned to normal expressions. Thankfully, nobody was questioning them right now. Ash took out his pokeball and held it out in front of Lapras.

"Thanks for the awesome ride, Lapras. Take a good rest," Ash told it as he recalled the transport Pokemon.

The group then turned to look at the island before them. This island was nowhere near as big or lively as Tangelo Island, but there were a few businesses from what the group could see. That meant there had to be a Pokemon Center somewhere, too. The first thing on the agenda, however, was to find someplace to eat. The group hadn't had anything since leaving Tangelo Island that morning.

They figured that it wouldn't be too hard to find something here. Truthfully, they would have anything at the moment so they settled on small café along the main path they led away from the beach and into town. It had a cozy feel to it and sounded like the perfect place to relax. As the group entered, there only seemed to be two other occupants, a teenage girl and a young boy. It was a little after the normal eating time so that wasn't too surprising.

The group found a large booth on the same side as the other two occupants and sat down. It felt so relaxing to sit the right way now. Lapras was infinitely more comfortable than Gyrados, but even seated so close together for long had made them slightly restless. A waitress soon came by and took their drink orders before hastily going back to the kitchen.

"I've got to say, I'm really enjoying myself so far!" Leaf said to strike up a conversation.

"I know, right! The Orange Islands are…," Ash was about to reply, but stopped as he felt something hit the back of his head. He quickly glanced around for anything that could have committed the deed but found nothing.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Serena asked him.

"Uh, nothing," Ash replied before shrugging and turning around again. No sooner than ten seconds later that Ash felt something strange hit his head again. This time, he rubbed his hands around his head wildly to find out what hit him. Ash soon found his answer. Two small spitballs fell from his hair and into his hands.

"Ewwwww," Misty muttered.

Ash quickly shook his hands of the disgusting paper. Knowing it wasn't any of his friends, Ash turned around to glare at the only other people in the restaurant. It had to be one of them. Despite this, both the teenage girl and the boy appeared to not notice Ash's hostile expression and were minding their own business. So they wanted to play games, did they?

"Just try to ignore it, Ash," Serena told him gently and rubbed his hand with her own, but not the part where the spitballs were at seconds before.

"Pikachu, keep watch for me," Ash whispered to the rodent, to which it nodded.

With that, the raven-haired boy turned back around to converse with his friends while Pikachu peeked around the booth at the others without them noticing. It narrowed its eyes as it saw the boy glance up at Ash when his sister was busy paying the bill. He let out a small smirk before stuffing a small piece of paper in his mouth before chewing it up. The mischievous boy then stuffed the small piece of paper in his straw before taking aim at Ash.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried out as a warning.

Ash immediately turned his head at Pikachu's cry. However, he was now hit in the middle of his face by a spitball instead of the back of his head. He put on a disgusting look before glaring at the boy. The boy was already pretending like he hadn't done anything. Ash knew he had caught him, though.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Ash growled at the boy.

The teenage girl then turned around and stared at Ash with a surprised look. She was quite slender and had auburn hair tied up by a hair clip. The boy also got a mock look of surprise as he stared at Ash, but with a hidden smirk. He had black spiky hair not too different from Brock, but this kid's hair stood a little higher.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked in confusion.

"That kid keeps shooting spitballs at me!" Ash said angrily as he pointed an accusing finger at the boy.

"Try not to make a big scene out of this, Ash," Tracey whispered, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Sister, I didn't shoot any spitballs at this boy. Honest," the kid said in an incredibly innocent voice.

"That's a lie! My Pikachu saw you do it!" Ash stated as he pointed at the yellow rodent who nodded in agreement.

The girl and boy then glanced down at the Pikachu who smiled back at them. The girl then narrowed her eyes and glared at the boy who put on a guilty expression. He then shrugged and turned away while crossing his arms.

"Well, whatever. Who cares if I shot spitballs at this dude? He obviously sucks," he said.

"Hey! I don't exactly know what you mean by that, but I'll have you know I competed in the Indigo Pokemon League Tournament!" Ash shouted.

"Ooooh! The Indigo Pokemon League," the boy repeated in a mocking tone before continuing, "What place did you get in? Dead last?"

"I made it all the way to the Top Four!" Ash declared.

"Hey, Ash. Maybe we should just go. He's just a little kid. You don't have to prove anything to him," Serena told him as she tugged on his arm.

"Hahahaha! What's wrong?! Having to have your little girlfriend talk for you? You really do suck!" the boy laughed.

"Alright, Senta! That's enough! Quit causing trouble!" the boy's sister intervened.

"But, Cissy…," the boy began, but the girl cut him off.

"No buts! Apologize to him right now!" the girl known as Cissy told him.

Senta turned to look at Ash who had a look of triumph on his face. The boy opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind. He instead grunted and turned away. He wasn't going to apologize to this guy. He has no time for weak people who clearly aren't worthy of challenging his great big sister.

"Now!" Cissy ordered.

"Humph! Sorry," Senta mumbled in the least sincere tone.

The group could clearly tell the boy wasn't really sorry. Even so, it would be best to let bygones be bygones and move on. No need to make a mountain out of a Diglett hill. Ash sighed before staring again at the boy. Serena was right. This was just a trouble-making kid and Ash could be the better person. Normally, he would bite back and not apologize, but he was growing up and needed to act like it. He took a deep breath before smiling.

"No problem! It's all good!" Ash replied cheerfully.

"Humph," the boy grunted again.

"Great! Now that it's all better, let me introduce myself. I'm Cissy," the teenage girl introduced before giving a disapproving look at her brother. "And this is my little brother, Senta."

"Wait. You said your name was Cissy?" Ash asked as he suddenly remembered something.

"Yes. I did. Why?" Cissy asked curiously.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! I'm competing in the Orange League and want to face the Orange Crew!" Ash declared officially.

"Oh? You're a future challenger, are you," Cissy seemed to smile, changing her friendly demeanor to a more competitive one. A glint seemed to appear in her eye.

"Ha! You've gotta be kidding me! There's no way you could beat my great sister! You should just give up!" Senta sneered before Cissy bopped him on the head, silencing him.

"Just ignore him," Cissy said before continuing, "But he wasn't lying when he said I'm a great trainer. I don't accept challenges from just anyone."

"Wow. She seems confident," Leaf whispered to Serena, who nodded back.

"I wish I could have some of the power she has," Misty added to herself.

"Just so you know, the fact that you competed in the Indigo League doesn't mean a thing here in the Orange Islands. It's much tougher here," Cissy warned.

"Sounds good to me! The tougher the better!" Ash smiled.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu agreed, also enjoying a good challenge.

"Just so you know, make sure you have a strong Pokemon that can run on the ground, a large flying Pokemon, and a large Water Pokemon with you before you come tomorrow," Cissy told him.

"Okay, but why?" Ash wondered.

"You'll see what I mean," Cissy smirked.

"Um, alright," Ash replied.

"If that's how you feel, then we can battle tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Does that sound okay?" Cissy suggested and crossed her arms.

"That's fine with me!" Ash told her.

"Heh. I'll see you there in that case, squirt," Cissy taunted as she turned to leave with her brother.

"Hahaha! She called you a squirt!" Senta laughed at Ash before his sister rolled her eyes at him.

"And you need to shut up because you're an even littler squirt," Cissy told him in slight annoyance.

"Awww," the boy grumbled as they disappeared from sight.

"Hmm, so that was one of the Orange Crew members," Serena mused.

"I think I remember some people saying that girl, Cissy, was one of the toughest trainers in the Orange Crew. If there's one person they lose to, it's her," Leaf added.

"A match with one of the toughest trainers in the Orange Crew, huh? I can hardly wait!" Ash stated.

"I wonder why she asked you to have such specific Pokemon, though," Misty said thoughtfully.

"Who knows, but I think I have an answer to all of those requirements so I'll be fine," Ash reassured.

The group then turned to Tracey to see if he had any input. The Pokemon Watcher had been oddly quiet since they met Cissy and Senta. He had his sketchbook out and was diligently drawing away. That was weird. What on Earth would he be drawing at a time like this?

The group peaked over his shoulder and could see he wasn't drawing a picture of a Pokemon. He wasn't even drawing a picture of a good scene. It was one of Cissy, and it was really good, too. Tracey seemed to have a goofy smile on his face the whole time.

"Hey. What exactly is it that you're observing?" Serena muttered to him.

"We don't need another Brock on our hands," Misty added.

"Hmm? What?" Tracey asked as he looked up from his picture, clearly not getting it.

"It's an inside joke, Tracey. Sorry about that," Ash said sheepishly.

---

The group was now back at the Mikan Island Pokemon Center. They were going to make sure to get a good night's sleep tonight. Their past few nights had been less than restful with the bad dreams that Ash and Serena had, to sleeping on a boat, and then staying up with Lapras. It was starting to take their toll so they were really looking forward to it tonight. There was still one thing Ash needed to do before he went to bed.

Ash and the others made their way over to the video phone while Ash sat down on the stool. It would be best for Ash to go ahead and make a couple of Pokemon rotations before his battle. That way, the swapped Pokemon would be prepared and not be roped in so suddenly due to the early time of the battle. As Ash dialed the number for Professor Oak's lab, nobody seemed to notice Tracey trembling in excitement.

After a couple of rings, Professor Oak's face appeared on the screen. He gave a small yawn before smiling upon seeing who it was.

"Ah! Hello there, everyone! How are you all doing?" he asked.

"I'm happy to say we're on Mikan Island, Professor Oak! It's the place where I'll have my first Orange League battle!" Ash told him excitedly.

"I see. Mikan Island, eh? Make sure to do your best. The Orange Crew isn't easy," Professor Oak reminded.

"Thanks, professor! That's actually why I called. Do you think I could make some Pokemon swaps for my battle tomorrow?" Ash asked.

"I'd be happy to do that for you, Ash, but what Pokemon are you going to send to me in exchange?" Professor Oak wondered.

Ash scrunched up his face as he thought about it. Who would he swap out? Well, it would have to be a Pokemon he wouldn't need anytime soon. Besides Pikachu, his current team was Wartortle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeot, Charizard, and Lapras. Cissy told him he would need water and flying Pokemon so based on that, it seemed Bulbasaur would sadly have to go this time.

"I think I'll switch Bulbasaur out this time," Ash told Professor Oak.

"Alright. So which one would you like?" Professor Oak asked him.

"How about Tauros?" Ash suggested.

"You're going with Tauros?" Serena inquired as she rocked Togepi. Due to the late hour, she was trying to get it to settle down.

"I think that's the best Pokemon that is really strong. It's also really fast. I bet it will be perfect for whatever Cissy has in store for us!" Ash told her confidently.

About a minute later, Ash had transported Bulbasaur and received Tauros in return. He smiled at the pokeball that contained the wild bull Pokemon and nodded to Professor Oak. In return, the elderly professor showed Ash Bulbasaur's pokeball to prove it had reached safely over there, too. Knowing this, Ash was getting excited. He couldn't wait to test out his Tauros' strength tomorrow. It had been a while since he's used it in battle.

"Well, I guess that will about wrap it up. It's good to see you're all doing well," Professor Oak said.

"Your GS ball is doing well, too!" Leaf assured with a smile.

"I'm doing well, too!" Tracey suddenly shouted as he appeared in front of Ash and got as close to the screen as he could.

The group let out a surprised gasp at Tracey's outburst. Unfortunately, this caused Togepi to become wide awake as it began to cry. Serena and Ash grimaced as Serena slowly tried rocking it back and forth to calm it down again, but it was rather difficult now. The group then gave an annoyed look at Tracey, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too preoccupied with who was on the screen. Tracey couldn't believe it. He was face to face with the one and only Professor Oak!

"Oh, hello. Who might you be?" Professor Oak questioned with raised eyebrows.

"My name is Tracey Sketchit! I'm a Pokemon Watcher!" Tracey said in excitement.

"Ah. A Pokemon Watcher, eh?" Professor Oak nodded.

"Yes! I've admired your work for so long, Professor! It would be a great honor if you could review my sketches sometime!" Tracey almost pleaded.

"Okay. I would see no trouble with that. I guess you're a new friend for them," Professor Oak deduced as he gestured to the other four behind Tracey, who still looked rather annoyed.

"Yeah! They're really great!" Tracey agreed, still not noticing their looks at him.

It was then Tracey and the others gasped as a huge purple blob came up from behind Professor Oak. It then tackled the Professor in a sloppy hug before laughing. The offending Pokemon was none other than Ash's Muk.

"Muuuuuuuuk!" it cried as it continued to smother the professor.

"Oh! It's nice to see you, Muk! It's getting late, though! I thought you would be asleep!" Professor Oak said in exasperation.

"Hey, Muk! How's it going?" Ash asked, glad to see his sludge Pokemon was still its same old self. Still, poor Professor Oak.

"Muuuuuuuk!" it replied happily.

"I'll have to cut this conversation short so I can deal with Muk! I'll talk to you all later. It was nice meeting you, too, Tracey! Bye!" Professor Oak hurriedly said before ending the call.

Tracey then gave a contented sigh. It wasn't in person, but he actually go to talk to his idol. This had to be the greatest day of his life so far! He then turned and saw the group still giving him an annoyed look. He then saw the crying Togepi and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I guess I got carried away. It's just meeting Professor Oak is a dream for me," he explained.

"We know. We know," Misty muttered.

"Who knew Professor Oak could be so famous like that? I had no idea some people's dream was to see him," Serena stated thoughtfully.

"I know! We should get his autograph the next time we see him!" Leaf giggled, causing the others except Tracey to laugh.

---

The group was standing in front what was supposed to be the Mikan Island gym at ten o'clock sharp. In all honesty, it wasn't what the group was expecting. It wasn't big at all, and it looked just like a regular house. It didn't even seem big enough to host a proper Pokemon battle. It would be quite a tight fit. Not to mention, there wasn't a clear entrance. Just a normal door at the front with a doorbell.

"Uh…this IS the Mikan Island gym, right?" Ash asked Tracey, who had the guidebook at the moment.

"It appears so. We followed the directions exactly as it said," Tracey replied, though he was rather confused, too.

"And this map matches the location of the gym with where we are," Leaf added as she turned the map around in different directions to see if she could see some other angle.

"Maybe this is why Cissy is one of the toughest trainers in the Orange Crew. It'll be too hard to have a Pokemon battle in there!" Ash joked.

"Hah! Hardly," a voice spoke up from the side of the group, causing them to turn.

Cissy and Senta were coming around the side of the house, and both had smirks on their faces. The group had noticed she had changed out of the normal clothes she wore yesterday. She was now wearing a sleeveless black shirt that exposed her naval and a very short pair of shorts. Any perverted guy who saw a pretty girl wearing something that revealing would probably get a nosebleed.

"You arrived here on time. I'm impressed. Most people I face like to arrive here late because they think it's cool," Cissy said with a hint of disdain.

"Yeah. That's really annoying. At least promptness is something you're good at," Senta sneered.

Ash ignored Senta's comment and instead focused on Cissy. He then noticed her clothing, but not in the perverted way. Did she always dress like this when she was doing a challenge? More importantly, why did she dress with so little clothes? There had to be a reason. It couldn't have been to show off her looks because Cissy didn't seem like that type of person.

"Hmmm…she looks great today," Tracey muttered as he began sketching another drawing of Cissy in her new clothes.

"Oh, please," Misty mumbled as she and the other girls rolled their eyes.

"To answer your question from earlier, this is the Mikan Island gym, but it isn't that building. That's just our house," Cissy told the group.

"Oh? Where's the gym match take place then?" Ash asked in confusion.

"It's all around you. This whole side of the island is the Mikan gym," Cissy replied with a slight smirk.

The group looked around in amazement. All of this was her property?!

"This is a really large battling arena for a Pokemon match," Ash commented.

"Oh? You think we're going to battle our Pokemon?" Cissy asked with an arrogant smile.

"Well, yeah. Isn't that what you do in Pokemon battles," Ash inquired while the rest of the group raised their eyebrows, also.

"That isn't how it works here. In the Orange League, we do a lot more than have our Pokemon battle each other," Cissy answered.

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered.

"You'll see what I mean," Cissy replied as she and Senta turned to walk where the match's starting point would be. "You coming?"

"You bet I am! Come on, guys!" Ash declared as he and Pikachu began marching forward after Cissy and Senta.

"What on Earth could somebody else do for a gym match except battle their Pokemon?" Serena asked to no one in particular as they followed Ash and Pikachu.

"I don't know, but I'm worried for Ash because he seems really unprepared for this," Leaf replied, but not loud enough for Ash to hear.

"What?" Serena inquired, looking at her friend in surprise.

"This whole time, he apparently thought he was going to be battling her Pokemon like a normal gym match. Cissy just threw a curve ball, however, and said that wasn't the case. None of us have any idea what to expect now," Leaf explained.

"Ash can still win, though, right? Do you think he can do it?" Serena asked in slight hurt.

"Serena, of course you know I think Ash can do it, and I want him to win just as much as you do. I just don't want him to rush into this and wind up getting hurt because of it," Leaf sighed.

"I don't think like that, either," Serena said meekly as she twiddled her thumbs.

At that, Leaf raised a questioning eyebrow at Serena. Serena turned away in embarrassment and thought about what her friend had said. It's true. No matter what, Serena was always treating Ash like he as invincible and could do no wrong. She truly idolized him ever since she met him. Now that she was his girlfriend, she has never been happier. She still had a tendency to be extremely rash when Ash was involved, too. Heh.

"I'm still going to root for Ash, Serena. That will never change. I just want him to realize this hasn't been like anything he's done yet. I don't think it's clicked yet for him," Leaf said as she gestured forward to Ash strutting along with a confident look.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't hurt if Ash studied his opponents more. That is one of the things he said he would start doing," Serena said with shrug.

"Exactly," Leaf nodded.

"Alright! Here we are!" Cissy finally announced after another few minutes of walking.

The group stared around for any defining feature of where they were at. It looked just like another part of the island. Upon seeing their expressions, Cissy and Senta rolled their eyes and pointed downward towards the ground.

"Look there. It's a starting line and a finish line. Does that tell you anything?" she asked.

"Wait. Are we racing?" Ash inquired, finally putting the pieces together.

"Heh. Maybe you aren't as dumb as you look, after all," Senta smirked before he was bopped on the head by Cissy.

"That's right. Here at the Mikan Island Gym, our Pokemon don't just battle. They race each other three different ways. First, they have a footrace around the island. Second, we have contest of flying types, and lastly, we have a Pokemon wave ride," Cissy said.

"So that's why you told me to get these types of Pokemon," Ash muttered.

"Yeah. Of the three races, best two out of three wins," Cissy stated simply.

"I think I might be able to do this. I have some pretty fast Pokemon like Pikachu! It will be perfect for the footrace with its Agility," Ash said with a nod down to his partner who nodded back. Piece of cake.

"Hope your Pikachu can hold your weight," Cissy smirked.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as Pikachu looked on in question, too.

"You have to ride on top of all the Pokemon you race with!" Cissy elaborated.

"Ride on top of my Pokemon?" Ash echoed as he looked back down at Pikachu who sweatdropped. Yeah. That certainly wasn't going to happen.

"That's right. I believe that this really tests the communication and trust between a Pokemon and its trainer. Any Pokemon and trainer can win a race by themselves, but it takes true teamwork to be able to win together," Cissy stated.

"Oh," Ash muttered lamely. Of all the possibilities of how the Mikan Island Gym was different, this wasn't one of the things Ash was thinking of.

"You're not getting scared of facing me now, are you? Surely you have a great bond with your Pokemon if you made it to the Top Four in the Indigo League," Cissy mocked.

"No way! I can't turn down a challenge like that! You're on, Cissy!" Ash yelled, getting fired up.

"That's more like it! We'll have the footrace first!" Cissy stated before withdrawing a pokeball. "I'll show you my first Pokemon. Go Rapidash!"

The fire horse Pokemon appeared from the pokeball and let out a powerful neigh. It then stomped the ground and snorted. Cissy then went over and stroked its mane which it seemed to like.

Ash gave a huge sigh at the Pokemon choice for Cissy. Rapidash were some of the fastest running Pokemon in existence, hence its name. This would be an incredibly hard opponent to beat, but Ash believed he had the solution. He made the right call last night by getting this Pokemon.

"Go, Tauros!" Ash hollered as he let out the wild bull Pokemon.

The rest of the group nodded their heads at Ash's choice. It was true. Tauros had a lot of strength and was also very fast. It was definitely the best choice for Ash to go with right here. The only problem seemed to be that Tauros was one of Ash's newer Pokemon. He's had plenty of battles with it, but he's never actually tried to ride it. This might be a bumpy ride, literally.

"Hey, Tauros. Ready to win a race?" Ash asked it, earning a loud moo in confirmation. He didn't seem to be as worried as the others. It's true he had thought about learning to ride Tauros when he saw it letting kids ride on top of it at his party. Maybe this was as good a time as any to try.

Seeing all the large Pokemon here suddenly made Serena think of something. Cissy said trainers had to ride their Pokemon for each of the races. That eliminated a lot of Pokemon right off the bat, especially because one needed a Pokemon for each type of race. Feeling compelled to ask what she and the rest of the group were probably thinking, Serena spoke up.

"Hey, Cissy. What happens if a trainer doesn't own all the types of Pokemon required for the races? It can be a little rare for a trainer to have all three kinds," she pointed out.

"Only serious Pokemon trainers should be in the Orange League. That means they should also have a variety of Pokemon. If they don't have the types of Pokemon I require, then I don't consider them worth going against in the first place," Cissy said rather harshly.

The group grimaced at that. Wow. That was pretty brutal.

"Well, that explains why you didn't fully say you accepted my challenge until you knew I had those types of Pokemon last night," Ash remembered.

"That's right," Cissy affirmed.

"Ugh! Can we cut the chit-chat already? I wanna see my sister kick this guy's butt!" Senta whined.

"Alright. Fine. We can start," Cissy said in aggravation before turning to Ash. "You ready?"

"I sure am!" Ash confirmed as he got on to his Tauros.

The first thing Ash noticed was this was unlike anything he's ridden before. He had ridden Charizard and his Pidgeot, but this felt a lot more uneven. He then saw Cissy board her Rapidash, and the difference in skill was extremely apparent. The Mikan Island Gym leader appeared totally relaxed and natural on her Rapidash while Ash almost looked unsure. It was a stark contrast to how he felt just seconds ago. He put on a slight grimace which didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

"Are you going to be okay on there, Ash?" Leaf asked him in worry.

"Sure! No problem!" Ash smiled in confidence again, but this time there was noticeable hesitation.

"Don't be nervous, Ash. If you're worried, then Tauros will be worried, too!" Tracey warned.

It wasn't the part about riding Tauros that was making Ash nervous. It was the part where he had never done this before and didn't know the first thing about Pokemon racing. Tracey wasn't lying when he said Cissy would be one of the toughest Orange Crew trainers. He could imagine her smoking everybody she went up against.

Serena sighed in worry. She was highly reminded of when her mother would force her to do Rhyhorn racing when she was younger. She was always so nervous and hated doing it. Rhyhorn was just too wild for her, and she would always be biting her tongue because of it bucking quite often. This probably wouldn't be too different for Ash. She clasped her hands and said a slight prayer that Ash would at least be okay after this.

"Alright, Ash. Listen up. The course is simple. We each run one lap around this half of the island. There are arrows clearly marked that will show you the way to go, and the course itself is obvious. I'll go ahead and warn you that it isn't all just running, however. There is a water crossing, a section of many boulders in your way, and several uphill and downhill climbs," Cissy told him.

"Got it," Ash nodded, but the reality was that did nothing to help his unease.

Tauros seemed to sense Ash's hesitation, too, as it looked up at Ash and tilted its head. Ash sighed. If Tauros didn't think they could do it, there was no way they could work together. He had to get out of this sudden bout of weariness. They could do this. Ash lost his frown and patted Tauros on the head.

"Alright, Tauros. You ready?" Ash asked, earning a moo of agreement.

"Okay. You'll start when I blow this whistle," Senta said as he brushed it off on his shirt before putting in his mouth.

Cissy crouched down and grabbed onto Rapidash's fiery mane while Ash grabbed onto Tauros' horns. It was about to happen. Ash's first Orange League battle was underway. He had to do well in this match or else it would be a bad sign of things to come. He shook his head of the negative thoughts and finally put on his famous look of determination. Here it comes.

The sound of the whistle sounded throughout the area. Senta apparently blew it louder than necessary as Serena, Misty, Leaf, Tracey, and Pikachu had to cover their ears. They then glared at the bratty boy who smirked back. Despite the assault on their ears, that didn't deter the two racers and their Pokemon. They each took off at the same time and began to make their way around the course.

It didn't take long for Ash to get extremely uncomfortable. He was bouncing up and down continuously due to Tauros's super rough handling. It was painful on his behind and Ash let out a grimace with each landing. Despite this, he was keeping an even speed with Cissy who appeared no worse from the wear. It was as if her Rapidash was made to be ridden. She was a small margin ahead of him, but nothing to worry about yet.

As the two humans and Pokemon rounded the corner, Ash could already see a whole lot of boulders ahead. This was going to be really tough to navigate. Ash crouched lower and braced himself for what was coming.

"Get ready, Tauros," Ash said to it.

Cissy was first as she and Rapidash effortlessly steered around the boulders. Ash was next, and in stark contrast, was being thrown around as Tauros tried to maneuver around the obstacles. By now, Ash was just hoping he didn't have whiplash by the end of the race. Due to not being used to this, the wild bull Pokemon had to slow down tremendously to avoid hitting anything. This caused Cissy to gain a good bit of ground between her and Ash.

"Heh. What did I tell you? This idiot doesn't stand a chance against Cissy," Senta sneered as he and the rest watched a small TV monitor so they could see the racers' progress.

Serena was really getting sick of this brat's attitude. He had done nothing but insult Ash ever since they met him, and he was always carrying on about how great his sister was. Her catty side was beginning to show. If he wasn't just a young kid, Serena swore she would have slapped him upside the head by now. She gave a huff of annoyance and silently prayed again for Ash to win. This time it wasn't just so Ash could get his badge, but it was also because it would shut this kid up.

Cissy, by now, had really gained a substantial lead. That boulder area had been a huge delay, and now it looked like they were coming up to the water crossing. Ash squinted his eyes and could make out small stones used to get across. This wasn't going to be easy. The raven haired boy frowned as he saw Cissy and Rapidash began leaping across the stones at quite a fast pace. He took a brief glance at the way Tauros was running and grimaced again. This wouldn't end well if Ash didn't do something.

"Hey, Tauros. There are some really small stones ahead. I'm going to need you to spread out your legs a little bit. These are some wide gaps between the rocks. We'll never make it at the pace we're going now," Ash told it.

Tauros gave a loud moo to signal that it heard what Ash had said. It then did as told and began to go across the small river. Despite being even bumpier due to the leaps, Ash was rather impressed with his Pokemon. It didn't lose much speed at all. Tauros was going across the river almost flawlessly. It wasn't long before it was back on the track and rounded another corner.

"That was excellent, Tauros!" Ash praised despite his stuttering.

"Heh. That was okay. I guess. The river is where most people usually get far behind by falling in," Senta shrugged.

"Well, Ash isn't like most people," Serena smirked this time, causing Senta to stick his tongue out at her.

Ash smiled as he realized Tauros was starting to do quite well after such a rough start. He was nowhere close to a professional Pokemon racer, but Ash was starting to hold his own. At least Cissy hadn't gotten any further ahead of him during this time. She didn't mention any more surprises on this course except for a few hills, and he doubted she didn't tell him about everything. It would be a dirty trick for a gym leader to purposely leave out something like that.

The hilly section approached rather quickly, and Tauros barreled up the steep hill with little trouble. Ash had lean forward a little to avoid falling off. He would end up with more than a few broken bones if that happened. He was already sore enough. Despite this, as Ash saw Tauros trying its hardest to catch up, Ash realized that maybe he was going about this the wrong the way. Sure, he and Tauros were both new to this, but that still didn't mean they couldn't win. This was all about teamwork, and Ash had vowed to start really knuckling down at the end of the Indigo League. This was just one of those tests.

"Alright, Tauros! Time to put it into high gear! Let's finish this race! Hiyah!" Ash yelled.

Tauros gave a loud moo at the encouragement and began to push forward even faster. The two reached the top of the hill at this, and began going down it at breakneck speed. Rapidash still had large lead, but it wasn't getting any farther ahead. That was good enough. Ash wasn't about to look like some idiot who didn't know what he was doing. He was determined to prove that he was a worthy challenger for the Orange League.

The second large hill came up and Tauros didn't lose any speed while going up it. Ash leaned forward once again, and put on a look of confusion that Tauros was riding a little smoother this time. It was still quite wobbly, but at least it didn't make Ash want to throw up. He was slowly getting used to this.

Tauros gave another loud cry as it began to go down the second hill. They could see Cissy ahead who had just made it down. Up ahead would be the final turn. Then they would be on the home stretch. It was going to be a long shot with that Rapidash's speed, but they could still catch up at the speed they were going at. They were getting closer and closer! Yes!

That's when both their eyes widened when they saw a blaze seemed to appear around Rapidash. It grew larger and larger until Rapidash was covered in what looked like a giant fireball. Ash gritted his teeth as he saw the lightning fast horse was easily matching the speed his Tauros was going at. He then shook his head and looked down at the wild bull Pokemon.

"Come on, Tauros! Let's go!" Ash encouraged despite this.

"Look! Here they come!" Leaf shouted excitedly as she and the others saw them round the last corner.

"That Rapidash is incredible," Misty murmured in shock as she saw the state it was in.

"Yeah. My sister has been training it since it was a Ponyta. They must have done this course a hundred times by now," Senta bragged, but the group ignored him.

Ash's heart sank as he saw the Rapidash cross the finish line far ahead. So that was it then. He lost the first race by a good bit. Ash could feel his Tauros slowing down now that it saw it had already lost, and Ash realized he couldn't go out like this. He would still finish the race. It was the sportsman like thing to do. He crossed the finish line with Tauros just as Cissy was getting off the Rapidash. He then pulled slightly on Tauros's horns to get it to slow down, which it did. The raven-haired boy and his Pokemon then began to take deep breaths.

"You did…great, Tauros. I'm proud of you," Ash panted before turning to Cissy. "That Rapidash is really fast."

"It is," Cissy agreed as she patted its snout. "I guess I should go ahead and tell you the point of that race wasn't to beat me. I didn't think you would anyway. There isn't anybody in a long time who's beaten Rapidash."

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Then what was the purpose of this for?!" Ash cried in an exasperated tone.

"It was to prove to me of the connection you have with your Pokemon. If you weren't able to make it through the course, there would be no point in going further. That race is more or less the preliminaries of what's to come. The only thing I required of you was to keep up," Cissy explained.

"So…Ash passed?" Serena guessed.

"He did. I've got to say, at first, it didn't look like you were going to make it, but you and your Tauros pulled through in the end and really made a comeback," Cissy smiled.

"That's Tauros for you!" Ash agreed as he got off Tauros…and promptly fell over.

"Ash!" Serena exclaimed as she and the others rushed to help him to his feet.

"Woah. I feel like I fell out of a tree and hit every branch on the way down," Ash groaned.

It was true. Though he kept up with Cissy as required, that rough ride on Tauros really took its toll on Ash. He was sore all over, and his legs felt like jello from sitting like that. His friends attempted to pull Ash to his feet, but he groaned in pain again every time they tried.

"Just give me a few minutes. I'll be okay. I think," Ash muttered before looking up at Tauros. "I guess we got a ways to go, huh, Tauros?"

Tauros gave a moo of sadness at Ash's condition. Of course it didn't mean to hurt him like that. It was just a rowdy and wild Pokemon by nature. It just didn't have a drop of smoothness in it.

"Don't worry. We'll work on it Tauros. I bet we'll be pros before long," Ash tried to encourage.

"Don't rest too long, Ash. We'll need to start the next event in five minutes. Now that you passed the preliminaries, we can really start our battle. Of course, since you lost the race, you have to beat me in at least one of the other two events. Tying won't do," Cissy told him.

"I'm glad a trainer is only required to keep up on that course. I don't see how anyone could beat your Rapidash," Leaf commented.

"They can't. Rapidash and I have done this course so many times that we know all of the shortcuts and tricks. It would be really unfair to require a trainer to win. If they can at least keep up on a course like this, it's good enough for me. Only one person has ever beaten me," Cissy shrugged.

"Hold on. Someone actually won against Rapidash? Who was it?" Misty asked in surprise.

"It was trainer who came here about five years ago. I didn't get his name, but he was really good. I was still really young at the time and had only been a gym leader for a couple of years. Even so, no one had beaten Rapidash up until that point," Cissy said thoughtfully.

"A trainer from five years ago. I think I remember you saying that was the last winner of the Orange League. So it was the same guy," Ash mused as he looked at Tracey.

"He must have really deserved that title. I wonder who he was," Misty muttered.

---

After Ash had his break, the group was now standing in the middle of an open field. According to Cissy, this is where their flying types would compete against each other. Ash had thought hard about choosing either Charizard or Pidgeot for this event. Both flying types were very good at what they did, and Ash had experience riding on both of them. He ultimately decided on Pidgeot since it needed to get more experience upon recently evolving.

The bird Pokemon spread its wings and stood next to Ash loyally. This would be its first real match as a Pidgeot so it needed to do well for its trainer. This was going to be a great teamwork exercise that would be sure to help them both. It and Ash were getting pumped up.

"Alright, Ash. This next event won't be a race, but a target contest," Cissy told him as she stood next to a Golbat.

"Oh. Okay. How does it work?" Ash asked.

"Senta will be shooting a series of moving discs, ten in all. The Pokemon's job is to break as many discs as they can before it passes them. They can use any attack to break it. The trainer with the most broken discs out of the ten will be the winner of the event, and of course, the trainer must ride their Pokemon the entire time," Cissy explained.

"Sounds good to me! Pidgeot has awesome eyesight!" Ash said with determination.

"But how good will it be when it's trying keep you from falling off?" Senta smirked.

"Anyway, I'll go first," Cissy said as she hopped on her Golbat.

Despite feeling better about this event than the footrace, Ash was rather glad Cissy was going first. It would give him and Pidgeot a good idea of what to expect. He and the bird Pokemon stood back with rest to give Cissy some space before she took off.

"Okay. Ready, and go!" Senta yelled and blew his whistle again, but this time nowhere near as loud as the first time.

Golbat shot off the ground and into the air, almost startling the group with its speed. That thing could match the agility of Crobat judging from that takeoff! It was only a couple of seconds before Senta crouched down next to a disc launcher and shot a disc high into the air. The disc was going nowhere near Cissy or Golbat, but nevertheless, she ordered her Pokemon forward, and it shot an Air Cutter. The blades of air soared across and struck the disc, completely shattering it. It hadn't even come close to making it up past Golbat despite being so far away.

"Wow," Misty muttered.

"That was flawless. I've got to sketch this. If I could get the moment when Golbat is using…," Tracey muttered to himself as he began to sketch.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Misty asked him in slight annoyance.

"Ash's, of course, but I know a good Pokemon and trainer when I see one," Tracey replied without missing a beat.

"Thanks, Misty, but I know Tracey needs these for his sketches," Ash told her with a smile before turning back up to watch Golbat smash the next target effortlessly. He couldn't help but think to himself how Pidgeot would fare, though. The Pokemon had amazing eyesight and could no doubt do it alone, but the problem would be him on top of it.

"Pidgoooo," Pidgeot hooted softly before rubbing its head against Ash's in an attempt to cheer him up.

The group then saw Senta launch two at the same time, each going a different direction. Cissy and Golbat saw this and took action immediately. Golbat shot an Air Slash in the direction of one before going into a spiral dive after the other. Despite the erratic movements Golbat was making, Cissy held on strong. It then crashed into the disc, completely shattering it. It wasn't long before the Air Slash shot through the other disc.

"Ash, this looks kind of dangerous. Please be careful up there," Serena said worriedly after seeing Cissy's last stunt.

"Pidgooooo," Pidgeot said again, this time to Serena.

"I will, Serena, but I know Pidgeot won't let anything happen to me while I'm up there," Ash smiled and rubbed the bird Pokemon's head.

"Don't worry. No one's died doing this," Senta actually reassured the group before adding as an afterthought, "But there have been some broken bones."

It wasn't too much longer before Cissy was done with her target breaking. The group didn't think it was too big of a surprise that she got a perfect score. That, however, meant Ash had to get a perfect score, also. If he didn't tie with Cissy, he would lose the match.

"Alright, Ash. Your turn," Cissy told him as she got off Golbat.

"Okay!" Ash replied before turning to Togepi in Serena's arms. "You ready to watch me fly, Togepi?"

"Togeprriii!" it laughed.

"Alright, Pidgeot. We've got this. There's no target that you won't be able to see and miss," Ash Ash encouraged as he got on its back.

"Pidgeooo!" it cried.

Serena stared worriedly as the two prepared for takeoff. Despite Ash and Pidgeot's reassuring words, she still feared for Ash's safety. One wrong move could mean Ash would take a plummet. She forced herself to think of times when Ash had ridden on top of flying type Pokemon. There was the time when he fought Aerodactyl, and there was the time when he battled Fearow. Those were the two instances that stuck out the most to her. Okay. He would be fine.

"Serena, despite what I said earlier, I don't think you have anything to worry about right here. His Pidgeot is fearlessly loyal. It won't let him fall," Leaf reassured as she placed a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder.

"Togeprrriii!" Togepi tried to encourage, also, despite not fully comprehending the situation.

"Chu!" Pikachu gave Ash a thumb's up, mimicking his signature gesture.

"Alright. You'll start at the sound of my whistle? You ready?" Senta asked Ash.

"Bring it on!" Ash hollered.

"Heh. Try not to fall!" Senta sneered before counting down. "Three, two, one, go!"

Senta blew the whistle, and Pidgeot immediately took off. It soared high in the sky to stretch its wings before lowering itself slightly to be prepared for the discs. The bird Pokemon let out a cry to signal that it was ready for anything that was thrown at it.

"Here they come, Pidgeot," Ash warned.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the first disc came into sight. It wasn't too far away from the two, and they would be able to reach it easily. A simple Air Slash should take care of it.

"Alright, Pidgeot! You know what to do!" Ash told it.

Pidgeot let out a cry and shot two large blades of air from its wings. The disc wasn't even close to reaching Pidgeot and Ash before it was blasted into small bits. That was one down, and nine to go.

"Alright! Way to go, Ash and Pidgeot!" Leaf screamed.

"Pidgeot's just as good!" Misty smiled.

"You think so, huh? Let's see how they do against a tough one," Senta smirked as he turned the disc launcher a different direction before firing.

Serena took her eyes off Ash and Pidgeot before glaring at Senta. The little brat had the nerve to try something like that? Did he want Ash to get hurt while doing this event?

Ash and Pidgeot, meanwhile, widened their eyes as they saw how far away the disc was. They would really need to increase their speed to do this. Pidgeot understood what Ash wanted it to do as it didn't even wait for Ash's command before using Agility. It tore through the air at incredible speed as it attempted to catch up to the disc.

"Wooaaah!" Ash cried as he almost lost his grip. He truly underestimated the speed of Pidgeot when it was using Agility. He stumbled slightly but regained his grip just as Pidgeot used its beak to break the target.

"Oh! Ash almost fell off!" Serena cried as she and the rest of the group looked on in worry. Who knew a Pokemon match could be so dangerous?! They prayed that the rest of the Orange Crew gym matches weren't like this.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried

"That…was close," Ash panted as he put one hand over his chest to control his breathing. That had scared him quite a bit.

"Pidgo?" Pidgeot questioned as it turned to look at Ash.

"I'm fine, Pidgeot. Really. Don't slow down for me. I'll just hold on tighter. This isn't too different from our battle with Fearow," Ash reassured.

Pidgeot looked unsurely at Ash. This actually was quite a bit different from its battle with Fearow. When it was fighting the bird Pokemon, all it had to do was dodge and attack. Here, however, it had to do tricks and fly at high speeds in order to get all of the targets. Still, it would make sure to keep Ash safe. Despite it and Ash really needing to win, keeping its trainer safe would still be its top priority.

The third and fourth disc came out at the same time just like with Cissy's. Rather than attack one with a long ranged attack and go after another, Ash decided to try something different. It was little risky, but it should work.

"Alright, Pidgeot. Use Hurricane and pull those discs closer to you!" Ash shouted.

Pidgeot let out a cry and began flapping its wings extremely fast which created a gale. The high speed wind began whipping around all across the sky above the group watching. It wasn't long before the discs were caught up in the gale, too. The force of wind caused their trajectories to go way off and instead fly towards Ash and Pidgeot. That's when the two made their move.

"Now use Twister to suck them in closer!" Ash yelled.

Pidgeot then began spinning around really fast in order whip up the cyclone. Ash was getting extremely dizzy doing this, but he still held on tight. It wasn't long before the vortex was created and spread out around them. Due to being high in the air, the group below wasn't affected. The vacuum force of the vortex continued pulling this dics closer until Ash and Pidgeot attacked.

"Alright, Pidgeot! Now use Wing Attack on both of those discs!" Ash pointed.

Pidgeot gave a cry before spreading its wings out and slapping at each of the discs as they went over to it. Its strong wings cut through the discs easily. So far. So good.

"Way to go, Pidgeot!" Ash praised.

"Chuuuuu!" Pikachu cheered as it jumped up and down.

"That was good of Ash to use Pidgeot's Hurricane and Twister like that. Totally worth a sketch," Tracey smiled as he began to draw.

"See, despite being unprepared, Ash still thinks like nobody else. He'll find a way to lessen the danger," Leaf told Serena reassuringly.

Serena breathed a huge sigh. As long as Ash continued to use strategies like this, he would be just fine. That was one of his strengths. Despite not knowing what to expect, he was able to adapt just fine on his Pidgeot just like he had with Tauros. He could become a pro at this in no time.

"Heh. I've got to admit, that wasn't bad," Cissy said in surprise.

Pidgeot had done an amazing job at breaking the discs after a few more. It had destroyed nine of them so far and only one remained before it and Ash could tie with Cissy. Senta must have noticed this, too. The young boy figured that if he threw one extra hard and far away, there would be no way they could get to it in time. He made it way too easy for this guy anyway. He purposely turned the disc shooter in the opposite direction and fired away from Ash and Pidgeot.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Serena shouted, seeing what the boy was doing.

"Who cares? Someone has to lose this event," Senta replied with shrug.

The group looked to Cissy to see if she could have some kind of say in something. However, all the teenage girl did was sigh and shake her head.

"It's out of my hands. I can't have another disc shot because there are only twenty discs. It also wouldn't be fair to make Ash redo this all over again after doing so well," she said.

The group frowned and turned their heads back in Ash's direction. It appeared he had noticed the situation, also. Pidgeot was flying at a blinding speed towards the disc as fast as it could before it reached past it. They hoped it could make it in time.

Ash, meanwhile, was clinging on Pidgeot's back for dear life. It was using its Agility to try to catch up with the disc. Unlike the short burst it needed to reach the other discs, this one was rather extended. Ash knew he couldn't let go, however. If he did, Pidgeot would be forced to save him which would cause them both to lose, and then the match would be over.

The disc was approaching Pidgeot's height quickly. Ash couldn't speak because of the wind in his face, but he knew no amount of encouragement could work for this. It was all going to be on Pidgeot. The bird Pokemon appeared to be straining itself to push even faster. It was getting near the disc. It was just a few yards below it. Here it comes. Pidgeot thrust its beak as hard as it could, and then…

…the disc shattered.

"Alright, Ash!" Leaf cheered as she jumped up and down.

"Way to go!" Misty yelled, as well.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted up at Ash and Pidgeot. Its trainer must have had some grip to hold onto Pidgeot like that. It remembered when they had battled Fearow. Its tiny hands could barely hold on even then.

"I wonder if I could get a sketch of Pidgeot when it's using Agility," Tracey murmured before adding, "Oh! That was fantastic, too!"

"Meh. He did okay," Senta shrugged before he was bopped on the head by Cissy.

"Maybe I should just give you double chores when this match is over. This gym has no room to be unfair," Cissy scolded. "Still, that was quite a feat."

"Aw! Come on!" Senta whined, but ended up just being ignored.

Serena smiled as she watched. Only her Ash could pull off something like that. They were just as good as Cissy! That only left one question, now. Since they had both tied, what do they do for the tie-breaker?

Pidgeot swooped back down and landed on the ground. Ash carefully got off of his Pidgeot before falling on his hands and knees. Just like with the race he did earlier. This one left him out of breath, but it was more of this time because of nervousness. That had been way too close.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Serena asked as she went over and helped him up.

"Yeah. I'll be fine," Ash said, accepting Serena's help. He then turned to his Pidgeot. "That was amazing Pidgeot! Thank you!"

"Pidgoooo!" Pidgeot cried. Ever since it learned its lesson when it battled Fearow, it would do anything for its trainer.

Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms and smiled at the trainer. Ash grinned back and scratched his little buddy behind the ears in response. Togepi was outstretching its tiny arms from Serena in an effort to get to its daddy, wanting affection, too.

"Of course. I can't forget you, Togepi!" Ash told it.

"You sure are celebrating rather hard considering you just tied with me. The only way to break this tie is with one more race, a Pokemon wave ride," Cissy told them.

"What's a Pokemon wave ride?" Ash wondered as he turned away from Serena and Togepi to Cissy.

"It's what I requested you to have a strong water-type Pokemon for," Cissy answered. "It's a race of water Pokemon!"

"You guys will race down there at the beach so come on," Senta urged as he ran ahead, the rest of the group following.

As they walked along, Ash couldn't help but sigh. He had been really unprepared for these types of things. Despite this, he managed to pull through each time, but it had been really close. If the previous events were any indication, Ash would be riding a water Pokemon here. That ruled out Wartortle so the only one left was Lapras. It was technically his Pokemon right now, but would it want to race with him? They promised to help it look for its mother but said nothing about it having to battle. How would Lapras feel about this?

"Hey, Ash. What's wrong?" Serena asked him, drawing the attention of Leaf, Misty, and Tracey.

"I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to go about doing this last race. I'll probably need to ride on top of a Pokemon so I can't use Wartortle. It's also too late to make a transfer for Kingler. That means I have to use Lapras," Ash replied.

"What's wrong with using Lapras?" Misty asked him.

"It has no experience with battles before since it's just a baby. Not to mention, I feel like I would be betraying Lapras' trust by using it in a match when the only reason I got it to join us would be so we could search for its family," Ash muttered.

"From what I can see, Lapras adores you, and you two haven't even known each other that long. I think you'll be just fine," Leaf told Ash.

"Yeah. Not to mention, I wouldn't worry about it having no experience, either. Lapras are some of the strongest swimmers in the world," Tracey added.

"Hmmm," Ash mused as he took a brief look at Lapras' pokeball attached to his belt.

"Ash, I don't think Lapras came along with you just because you agreed to find its parents," Serena said.

"Huh?" Ash inquired and turned towards.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm sure that was some of the reason, but Lapras also trusts you," Serena elaborated. "I'm sure it knows that you would never make it do something against its will. It can probably sense that the only reason you would ask it something was because you really needed it. I don't think Lapras will refuse."

"I guess I'll find out soon enough," Ash said as he took another look at Lapras' pokeball.

Once the beach came into view, Cissy signaled with her hand for everyone to stop. She then pointed to a red flag about half a mile out into the ocean. The group had to squint to see it, but they could make it out. Apparently, that would probably be the finish line. So they just had to race there while riding their Pokemon.

"Okay, Ash. The rules for the Pokemon wave ride are simple. All we have to do is swim out to that flag, circle it, and swim back. The first one to reach the shore is the winner," Cissy told him.

"Sounds easy enough," Ash remarked as he fiddled with Lapras' pokeball.

"One more thing," Cissy added with a smirk. "You don't simply ride your Pokemon like the past races. You have to stand on top of them."

"S-s-stand?" Ash stuttered. He had never been the most coordinated of people so this would be extra challenging.

"You heard right," Cissy replied before pulling out another pokeball. "Go, Blastoise!"

The final form of Squirtle appeared and let out a roar. It then brought out its cannons and pumped a huge blast of water into the air to show its strength.

"A Blastoise would be really tough to beat," Ash muttered. Even if he could ride on Wartortle, it wouldn't be impossible, but still extremely difficult to win in a race against its evolved form. He had to use Lapras.

"So which Pokemon do you have that can stand up to Blastoise?" Cissy asked as she and the Blastoise leered at the boy.

"I have the perfect one!" Ash cried, determined to not let his apprehension show. "Go, Lapras!"

The baby transport Pokemon appeared and looked at its surroundings. Its eyes then settled on Ash as it looked at him inquisitively. Ash knew Lapras was thinking that he wasn't just going to ask it to transport him to another island. If he wanted Lapras to trust him, he had to be confident in his question.

"Lapras," Ash began. "I know what I'm about to ask you has nothing to with finding your parents, but I need you to lend me your strength. Will you help me win this match I'm having right now?"

The rest of the group watched as the trainer and Pokemon stared into each other's eyes. It seemed there was some sort of battle going on in Lapras' mind right now. It wasn't like it was unexpected. One thing was certain, however, Ash's ability to win completely depended on Lapras' response. They sincerely hoped Lapras would agree.

Pikachu perked its ears up as it felt a strange, but now familiar feeling, from Ash. This was the same feeling it had when it was connected to Ash. Was his aura activating right now after being dormant for quite a while?

Ash, himself, felt it coming upon him as he stared at Lapras. It didn't sneak in this time as it usually does, however. It was starting off small and becoming gradually stronger. He suddenly found himself connected with all of his Pokemon. He could feel their emotions, and right now, he was focused on what Lapras was feeling.

"Psst, Serena. Is that Ash's aura?" Leaf whispered so Cissy and Senta wouldn't hear.

"I think so, but I don't know how he's using it this time," Serena whispered back.

"Wait. What?" Tracey questioned as he put on a look of shock towards Leaf and Serena, having been standing right next to them

Leaf and Serena blushed in embarrassment that they revealed this secret by accident. They just now remembered that Tracey had no idea about Ash's aura or Serena's psychic. He probably understood not to go any further about the topic right now, but he would definitely be asking questions later. Oops.

Lapras was having a very calming effect right now. It could sense Ash's aura, also. It wasn't scared of the strange feeling, though. It was seeming to just tell it to trust Ash. The transport Pokemon knew that Ash wouldn't be asking this unless it was important. Did he think that it would say no? Truthfully, that's how Lapras would normally respond. Still, Ash was definitely a sincere person and had done nothing to mistreat it so far. He was helping it by having it search for its parents. In return, it could help Ash when he needed it.

"Laaaaaa!" Lapras cried as it nodded its head before rubbing its face against Ash.

"Thanks a lot, Lapras. This really means a lot to me," Ash told with a laugh.

"So does this mean that you're ready?" Cissy asked, not having noticed anything strange about Ash.

"Yep! We sure are!" Ash replied. Half of the battle was Lapras agreeing to race with him. The next part would be winning. He then turned to Lapras. "Ready to win a swimming race, Lapras?"

"Laaaaa!" it agreed.

Lapras and Blastoise then scooted into the water. Once they appeared prepared, Cissy and Ash went to climb on their Pokemon. Cissy went first before finding her balance and effortless standing on top of Blastoise's rounded shell. That had to take some serious skill. She had apparently practiced.

Ash, on the other hand, was having a much harder time. He was on his hands and knees on top of Lapras. He shakily began to rise to his feet, struggling to find balance. This was really going to be a lot tougher than it sounded, and it already sounded tough to begin with!

"Ash, are you going to be okay?" Serena called worriedly from the shoreline.

"N-n-no p-p-problem, guys!" Ash called back. He was wobbling terribly, and he hadn't even fully stood up yet!

"Remember, if you fall, it's all over!" Cissy said from her Blastoise.

Ash finally stood up fully on Lapras, but that didn't make it any easier. He was still shaking and felt he could fall at any moment. It would only be worse during the race when Lapras would be going as fast as it could. It was then Ash remembered that his aura was kicking in. He could certainly use it to keep him balanced. He had no doubt he could do that, and that would make this match much easier since he would have no danger of falling. What would the cost be, though?

Cissy was using no special powers to stand on her Blastoise. If Ash used his aura to help him win when Cissy wasn't using anything, the match would be uneven. It would almost feel as if Ash was using a handicap, and if he won, it would only be because of his aura. It was different in his match with Sabrina and Giovanni because they were using special tools, also. Here, however, it was all skill. Ash also remembered Riley telling him that the only way his aura would help him get stronger would be once Ash already reached his maximum potential by himself. Using his aura here would not yield Ash any benefit in getting stronger. As tempting as it was, Ash had to push it away for now and win all on his own. He couldn't rely on his aura in every situation despite the convenience that it was working right now.

"Come on. We haven't go all day!" Senta complained.

Ash ignored the brat's comment as he continued to struggle. Lapras turned around to look in concern. It was ready to race for Ash, but it didn't want to put him in danger in the process.

At last, the raven-haired boy found his balance. He put on a big smile as he turned to his friends and gave them a thumbs up that he was okay. Upon seeing this, they returned the smile. Lapras itself also smiled as it turned to face forward again. Now, since that situation was out of the way, they could start the race.

"Let's do it, Lapras!" Ash cheered as he pumped his fist into the air, only to stumble again. He quickly found his center of balance again and put on a sheepish grin. He could wait until after the race to celebrate.

"Alright. You'll start at the sound of my whistle. This is for the badge!" Senta called as he put the whistle in his mouth.

Both Pokemon and people put on determined expressions. This race would have no obstacles to stop them like last time. That made the playing field completely even. Ash knew he couldn't simply keep up. He had to win. This had been extremely challenging for him so far, and he couldn't imagine going through it again. The last race, and the last time.

Senta's whistle soon went off, and the race began.

"See ya later!" Cissy called as she and Blastoise shot off, leaving Ash and Lapras behind.

Ash was initially startled by this, but he turned his hat around and put on determined expression. He wasn't going to let this head start deter him. They would just have to catch up.

"Don't let that stop you, Lapras! Let's go!" Ash called.

"Laaaaa!" Lapras replied as it took off, too. Not having quite the same boost in the beginning as Blastoise, it was still soon matching the same speed.

Ash was starting to struggle again now that Lapras was moving. He was constantly swinging his arms in an effort to prevent him from falling, but it was being met with little success. He didn't know how he could keep this up if there wasn't a way to do this race as quickly as possible. He would need to move to the inside to give him and Lapras an advantage.

"Okay, Lapras! Let's try to move for the inside!" Ash suggested.

"I don't think so! Don't let them get there, Blastoise!" Cissy commanded.

As Lapras went to move inside, Blastoise was soon to meet it and slammed into the transport Pokemon. This really made Ash lose his balance. If he was hit again, there was no doubt he would fall.

"Oh, no! Blastoise almost knocked Ash off!" Leaf cried.

"It isn't like it's not fair," Senta said from the side. "No rule said the Pokemon couldn't attack each other."

"That's really dangerous! What if Ash falls in?!" Serena shouted.

"He'll live," Senta shrugged.

Serena was about ready to choke this kid, but restrained herself. He was a lot younger than her and didn't know any better. That didn't change the fact that he was super obnoxious, though.

Ash had miraculously managed to find his balance again. He and Lapras were keeping a steady speed as the red flag came closer and closer. It was then he saw Blastoise was coming in for another attack, but he couldn't let that happen. Lapras wasn't as strong as Blastoise so it couldn't slam back, but it could still keep the turtle Pokemon at bay.

"Use Water Pulse on the ocean!" Ash called.

Lapras launched an orb of water from its mouth and fired. It instantly exploded on impact, causing as small wall of water to rise up which forced Blastoise back. Now they just needed to hide for a moment.

"Use Mist!" Ash yelled.

Lapras let out a cool mist from its mouth which spread around it and Ash like a blanket. It wasn't too long before they were cloaked by this mist, making them hard to see. Cissy squinted her eyes to see if she could make out any sign of the two, but found none. Not a bad strategy of hiding since they couldn't match Blastoise's strength. Cissy and Blastoise emerged from the mist about fifteen seconds later and put on a look of surprise when they saw Ash and Lapras had made it to the inside and were ahead of them!

"Nice work, Lapras! We're ahead now!" Ash praised.

"You think so, huh? Blastoise! Launch a Hydro Pump ahead of Ash and Lapras!" Cissy yelled.

Blastoise opened up one of its cannons before blasting out an excess amount of water. The water soared quickly overhead before landing in front of Ash and Lapras. A huge wave sprang up from the force and loomed menacingly over Ash and Lapras.

"Watch out!" Ash cried.

Despite Lapras' attempts to avoid the wave, the two crashed right into it. They felt the full force hitting against Lapras' body. The Pokemon cried out due to the impact and slowed down tremendously. Ash, however, couldn't take it. The wave was too strong. He immediately lost his footing and flipped off Lapras and high into the air.

"Ash!" Serena screamed once she saw the blow.

Everyone from the shoreline looked on worriedly. Ash could be injured from this if something wasn't done quickly. Not only would he lose, but he could also be lost. Falling in the water that hard could easily knock him unconscious which would cause them to have to look for him. This was really not good.

Ash screamed as he flipped through the air. He then started the descent and saw the water coming closer and closer. He was strongly considering to use his aura right now. It would be cheating, but that didn't matter. It was still activated meaning it could at least keep him from drowning should the impact knock him out. He then made his split second decision and closed his eyes as he prepared to use his aura however it saw fit in the situation.

It was then he heard a loud cry from below. Ash then saw Lapras actually leap out of the water towards him! The transport Pokemon wasn't just about to let Ash fall in the water like that! It put on a serious look and caught Ash in midair before falling back in the water. Ash looked on in surprise that Lapras could do that. He was seriously feeling a lot of relief right now.

"Thank you, Lapras. You saved me," Ash breathed out.

"Laaaaa!" it replied as it started moving again.

Everyone on the shoreline breathed a huge sigh of relief, too. That was way too close. Thank goodness for Lapras' determination to save Ash. This also proved to be a good thing, however, as it showed the Lapras truly trusted Ash. If it didn't, it wouldn't have leaped out of the water to save him like that. It was really awesome and took skill to catch Ash like that.

Ash and Lapras then looked ahead and saw Cissy and Blastoise a good distance in front of them. The two had just circled the flag and were on the home stretch. Ash narrowed his eyes. They weren't out of this yet and could still race. They wouldn't be able to catch up by simply swimming, however. There had to be another strategy he could use.

Lapras circled the flag and was now on the homestretch, too. It was just a straightaway now with no curves or anything. Going towards the inside wasn't going to help now. What was something that could increase Lapras' speed? It then hit Ash.

"I've got an idea, Lapras! Use Ice Beam towards the shoreline!" Ash told it. He had scanned Lapras with his pokedex earlier today and saw it knew that move already. There really were advantages to check all of your Pokemon with your pokedex once you capture them. He couldn't believe he had never done this before. Leaf and Serena were right.

Lapras opened its mouth and launched a stream of ice in front of it. The Ice Beam continued going forward until it hit the shoreline. Lapras then lowered the power and brought Ice Beam back towards it. The attack was causing the water to freeze in front of it making an icy slide all the way to finish line.

"Alright! Hop on, Lapras!" Ash said next.

Lapras did as told and hopped on the ice path. It then began sliding along the way it created constantly paddling its fins to pick up more speed. It was also a little easier for Ash to balance right now due to the smoothness of the ride. He smiled as he saw they were indeed going faster and steadily catching up to Cissy and Blastoise.

"Come on, Ash! You can beat her!" Leaf shouted.

"So Lapras is faster on ice? That's a great strategy!" Misty complimented.

"Yeah. Ash is indeed getting closer," Tracey agreed as he watched from his binoculars.

Cissy turned back around and frowned once she saw Ash catching up. She was still glad he wasn't hurt after that last thing they did. Ash had a lot of courage and was above the average Pokemon trainer. That was for sure. Still, that didn't change the fact that she wanted to win, too.

"Alright, Blastoise! Launch back a Hydro Pump to break that ice way!" Cissy ordered, hoping it would slow them down.

Blastoise pointed one of its cannons backwards before shooting and huge amount of water once again. It shot through the air on a collision course with the icy path Lapras created. However, Ash wasn't going to let it reach this time.

"Use Ice Beam on that Hydro Pump to freeze it!" Ash called.

Lapras wasted no time in doing the attack and launched the Ice Beam as quickly as it could. The stream of Ice soon made contact with the Hydro Pump and began to freeze it. It spread along the water unit it became just a huge chunk of ice. It then halted in midair due to the force before splashing in the ocean, never reaching Lapras and Ash.

"Great, Lapras! Let's win this now!" Ash cheered as they began approaching the finish line. It wasn't too far away.

There was no more room for attacks now that it was close to the end. It would slow down both of the competitors too much. The winner would now be based purely on speed.

Ash crouched down low for more balance as they got closer and closer to Cissy and Blastoise. In response, Blastoise began pushing itself even harder. That didn't stop Ash and Lapras, however. They were both closing in fast. It was going to be super close. The two finally caught up and were now just behind Cissy and Blastoise. They were just seconds from the finish line. Lapras then thrust out its long neck to give it an advantage.

Lapras reached the finish line first by a neck length.

Upon reaching the finish line, the transport Pokemon came to an immediate halt. Ash, in response, flew forward due to the sudden force and went flying off Lapras. The Pokemon seemed to sense this as it reached up and caught Ash in its mouth before he could go any further and wind up crashing into something or someone. Ash then smiled at his Pokemon in thanks as the Pokemon set him down on the shore. It was then it hit him.

Ash won. He actually won. He just defeated the first member of the Orange Crew. Ash had decided to stop acting so childish by jumping around and spinning in joy upon a victory. However, he couldn't contain himself this time. This as too exciting.

"Yeeeeeeeeees!" Ash cheered as he leaped into the air with his fist outstretched. Ash could then feel his aura dying away…for now. It had showed up for Ash to use right now and really would've benefited him, but in the end, it wasn't needed. It made Ash feel really good about himself that he didn't use it. His uncle's words rang in his ears about getting as strong as he could by himself first. Only then could aura help him. It looked like he was one step closer now.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried as it leaped into Ash's arms to hug him, pushing away his thoughts about his aura.

"Hey there, Pikachu! It looks like we won it!" Ash smiled and returned the hug. "Our first Orange Crew match!"

Serena was next as she ran over and gave Ash a big hug. She was so glad he was okay after something like that. Togepi also joined and hugged Ash's leg for winning, too. Leaf, Misty, and Tracey were next as they went over and high fived or hugged or whatever to show their excitement. Ash really pulled it off.

"Hey, Ash," Cissy called as she and Senta walked towards the excited group.

Ash looked over and saw both siblings smiling at him. Not only that, they appeared to be impressed as well at Ash's victory.

"It was a great race. That was really something to use Lapras' Ice Beam like that," Cissy told him.

"It was really awesome! I've never seen that strategy before!" Senta agreed, actually complimenting Ash for once.

"You definitely earned your win. I can see now how you made it so far in the Indigo Pokemon League, and I bet you'll do great in the Orange League, too," Cissy continued.

"Hey, Ash. I'm really sorry about the way I acted towards you. You're the real deal and have a lot of skill as a Pokemon trainer. I'll be rooting for you in the Orange League," Senta apologized sincerely this time.

"I couldn't have done it without my awesome Pokemon!" Ash smiled as he glanced and Lapras who smiled in return. It was really happy that it assisted Ash in this win. It turned out that it wasn't so bad, after all. It hoped to assist Ash even more throughout their time together. It was really beginning to like Ash.

"They really are great. This badge is yours, Ash. It's the Coral Eye badge of the Mikan Island Gym to show you beat me," Cissy told him as she outstretched her hand to present the item.

Ash took the badge from Cissy's hand, and he and the others stared at it curiously. It looked a lot different from any other badge he had gotten so far. It was a seashell that was pink in color with a blue, sparkling jewel embedded in the center. That seemed rather appropriate for a tropical place like this.

"So it's a seashell," Ash deduced.

"That's right. All of the badges from the Orange League gyms are seashells," Cissy affirmed.

"Thanks, Cissy!" Ash said. He then turned around and proudly showed his new badge to his friends. He just made it past his first challenge. This would be a sign of good things to come. Pikachu then held up a V-shape with its fingers to mimic Ash's old habit again. Surprising, Togepi copied Pikachu's motion just then, also, causing the others to laugh. It seemed Togepi was starting to take after Pikachu.

---

The group was now riding atop Lapras as they were traveling to the next island. There was still some light left so they should be able to reach it before sunset. Ash was shining his new badge with a cloth before he pinned it to the inside of the jacket. One down. Three to go.

"They sure weren't kidding when they said the Orange League challenges aren't like regular gym battles. I can only imagine what the rest will be like," Misty commented.

"Well, I have the guidebook right here," Ash said as he reached into his backpack and pulled it out. "I'm sure it will tell me what I need to know."

Serena smiled at Ash's decision. He had learned from his error and was going to be studying as he should. An experience like this would only make him better and wouldn't let him be caught off guard like he was at the Mikan gym earlier today. As long as he used the guidebook and pokedex, he would be armed with enough knowledge to take on anything. She was proud of Ash right now.

"I feel like I'm going to be closer to my Pokemon than ever by the time the Orange League is done," Ash said. "I feel closer to them already. My Pokemon and I were a real team today. It was kind of dangerous, but it paid off in the end and really let me connect with them better so it's alright. I'll try to use all of my Pokemon by the time the Orange League is over so I can get closer to all of them!"

"I remember they did say the Orange League would do that for you. If you keep up how you've been doing, you'll do great," Leaf told him.

"Yep! I'll study hard and win the Orange League!" Ash stated.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed. It had missed out on this challenge, but it was eager to try out some of these Orange Gyms now, also.

"Laaaa!" Lapras added.

"Hey. I hate to change the subject, but I have a question," Tracey intervened.

"What's up, Tracey?" Ash asked him.

"What's this deal about you having aura?" Tracey asked in genuine interest.

"Um…uh…who told you that?" Ash wondered. He knew he never told that to Tracey yet.

"Eheheheh. It might have been we accidentally slipped up and mentioned it within his earshot," Serena mumbled sheepishly as she and Leaf twiddled their thumbs.

"That's amazing! Please! You've got to tell me what it's like! Maybe I could get a sketch of you using it!" Tracey exclaimed in excitement.

Ash chuckled nervously at the Pokemon Watcher's eagerness to learn about it. "Oh. Haha. Well, we have time to kill since we're traveling to another island. You may want to get comfortable. It's quite the story."

---

Well, Tracey is next in line to learn about Ash and Serena's secret. The next chapter has A LOT of material to cover. I was actually surprised I managed to cram it all into one chapter. It was one of the toughest chapters to write in the Orange Arc so far. I'll see you all on August 20 with the chapter!

Oh! There's a new poll! It's pretty important as it involves Lapras' fate in this story. Should it stay with Ash or not? I'm sort of at a crossroads so I'll ask what you guys think. Just please don't vote on Ash keeping Lapras just for the sake of Ash keeping Lapras. Vote on what you think is best for the actual story. I would even appreciate it if you could send me a PM with the reason why you voted for what you did.

Chapter 8: Performances and Pokevision

Answering the Questions: (slight spoilers)

How would you compare Charizard's loyalty to Ash to its anime counterpart?

For right now, it's better. Charizard still didn't listen to Ash at this point in canon.

Will Ash catch a Snorlax in this arc like he did in the Anime?

Yes.

How did Lapras get hurt?

It will be explained later on.

Will togepi be coddled until it departs like in the anime, or will it learn to battle like cubone?

It will be battling by Hoenn at least.

Will Wartortle ever get a new pair of sunglasses to replace his old ones?

Haha. Yeah. Ash will get it new ones before this arc is finished.

Will you have Tracey's Marill, Venonat and/or Scyther evolve at all?

Not sure yet. They won't evolve in this arc in any case.

So what gender is Ash's Lapras?

Female. Look in my profile for all the genders of Ash and Serena's Pokemon.

Will the possible final match between Drake and Ash be the only full 6 on 6 planned in this Arc?

Yes. The preliminaries for the Orange League will only be 3 on 3.

Will Porygon appear in the story?

Not sure yet. It's not something I've really thought about.

Is Lawrence III the collector Riley has to watch?

Yes.

If Riley is Red's brother, then is it true that Red can manipulate the aura?

Yes.