A/N: As we wind down the year, your next choice is in the DARK. No, seriously. There's very little choices to go with and since I used Lily the Pokémon Magician last time, it's hard to come up with a proper story but...well, here goes.
Shipping: RecordShipper

One-shot 11: Front Side 360 Fillet Ash

5TH ANNUAL MT. CORONET XTREME SNOWBOARDING COMPETITION TODAY. ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE WELCOME TO SIGN AND COMPETE AND GET AN AUTOGRAPH FROM WORLD RECORD HOLDER, KIDD SUMMERS

This was an open invitation to Ash as he, Brock, Dawn and the Pokémon arrived at the base of Mt. Coronet. Of course, Ash and Brock remembered Kidd. "It's been awhile since we last saw the record master," Ash thought back. "And now, she's sponsoring an extreme sport." Good for her.

"So you two actually knew her?" Dawn questioned. Of course. Why else would they be mentioning her?

"Yeah, we met in the Cameran Palace which was near the Tree of Beginning," Brock recalled. "She lost to Ash in the final round of the Palace Tournament. She did become a big help when a Mew had taken Pikachu to the Tree." Ash bobbed a nod to Brock's story.

"It was also where I learned about possessing aura," he added. Dawn remembered Ash possessing aura from when they rescued a special Riolu who could use Aura Sphere.

"You know, if you have had aura this whole time, why don't you use it to protect Pikachu from Team Rocket?" she pondered. It wasn't that Ash couldn't use it. Something Brock would help explain further.

"It's not that easy to use, let alone master," Brock clarified. "There are various ways of aura that can be used. Ash used his aura to sense Riolu when Pokémon Hunter J had taken him. Aura Users can also speak via the mind using Telepathy and can activate time flowers. However, they can also create attacks and barriers which if not kept in check can cost the user his life." Hearing that using aura could kill its user made Dawn glad he chose a safer path...only to be sidetracked by this event.

"This is gonna feel like back in Eggseter!" he stoked himself. "I wanna compete in this!" Brock, Dawn and the Pokémon sighed, expecting someone who wanted to show he wasn't afraid of anything. Someone else was happy to have extra competition.

"Looks like I'll have to stay on my board if I'm gonna beat everyone," voiced Kidd. All turned to the dark skinned girl in a new snazzy snowsuit. As soon as Brock eyed her...Oh boy!

"Kidd Summers, it's really you again!" he screeched as he jetted to her and clasped her hands.

"Brock...it's, uh...nice to see you again!"

"The honor should really go to you for showing up in a heated competition. I should probably make sure you're warm if you're gonna snowboard down Mt. Coronet-" BAM! Croagunk's Poison Jab refused to allow Brock to get any closer to Kidd. "If...Croagunk...wasn't...so...cold!" WHAM! On the floor paralyzed, Croagunk took the liberty of removing the lovelorn breeder. This allowed Kidd to see Ash once more and Pikachu.

"So, you wanna compete in the series of downhill races. But how are you gonna do that if you don't have a snowboard?" That's a problem Ash never assessed. You couldn't compete without a board to ride in the races.

"Well..." he stuttered. "Ya see..." Can't find the words to bail you out?

"Never came to mind, huh? Fortunately, you can rent one in the lodge. There's still plenty left." Relief. Ash knew what to do.

"Thanks, Kidd." Dawn could only watch, wondering if this was such a good idea for Ash to do this.

"Ash, this isn't like Eggseter," she reminded. "You don't have a Pokémon to guide you." Ash wasn't too concerned. Heck, he was stoked more than ever.

"No problem. I did do some boarding on the hills of Pallet the year before I acquired Pikachu. How bad could it be?" Kidd was about to drop some knowledge onto Ash.

"Well, you have experience," she scoffed. "But you need more than simple riding skills. You might wanna impress the judges as well. You might want to work on tricks. There are ramps and pipelines scattered all over the track." Tricks on the snowboard? That's something else Ash didn't think about. It didn't startle Ash.

"Like that's gonna stop me from beating you. I'm ready to leave an impression." Kidd was intimidated with Ash refusing to back away from competing. Finally, she had one more item to use.

"Nothing's stopping you? Alright. Beat me and I'm gonna give you something special." A wager.

"You're on!" After Ash rented a snowboard, Brock and Dawn had entered a lodge with a TV focused on the event. Brock was more occupied with the women in the lodge than he was about Ash's heats. Ash and Kidd completed the first two races in top positions, qualifying for the championship race. Dawn and the Pokémon watched in anticipation and impression that Ash not only had the guts to actually race down the snowy mountain but advance to the last race of the competition.

"This is the Finals for the Xtreme Snowboarding Competition," the disembodied TV announcer called out. "We have the top two competitors vying for top spot, Richard."

"Indeed we do, Carl!" Richard, the other disembodied TV announcer, acknowledged. "Newbie Ash Ketchum appears to show he's no rookie that is treated lightly. He had the best time in the Semifinals to go along with a double back flip Tweak Indy transition to a 50/50 Grind on the adjacent pipeline."

"How about World Record Maiden Kidd Summers? She made grab-to-rail-to-grab look easy with a Back Flip Nose Grab into a Tailslide and into a Front Flip Tail Grab, one combination that's difficult to imagine, let alone pull off."

"Well, with records that stretch those thoughts, you'd expect anything that will make your jaw drop." The screen showed six people, including Ash slightly bundled up and Kidd on the far right of the racers.

"Here we go for the final run of the competition!" A series of beeps were signaling the racers to prepare for the gates to open. Finally, one loud beep opened the door and the racers were off. The half-dozen boarders began their swift descent down Mt. Coronet, gaining speed. No surprise, Kidd led by a length from Ash and the rest of the field. "Kidd is off to an early commanding lead but things could change in a matter of yards!" The field reached the first set of jumps. They took the first jumps easy with board grabs. Ash did an Indy grab while Kidd a nose grab. Kidd sped ahead of Ash, wanting to goad him into challenging her. Previous runs told Ash that there was a long pipe to grind on...and Kidd was way off the line to properly reach it. Scooting to the right, he spotted the pipe and spun a Front Side 360 to land perpendicular to the steel. The icy pipe helped glide Ash across some of the track and passed "the record holder of record holders." Kidd realized that the goad worked too well.

"That's what you think, Ash," she sneered as she pushed her board forward. Those inside the lodge were a little stunned that Ash managed to get ahead of Kidd. Same could go to the announcers.

"...And using that pipe grind, newbie Ash Ketchum has peeled into the lead as we pass the first checkpoint," Carl reported. "This boy from Pallet Town has been on a roll! It's like he was born to board!"

"Well, when I talked to him prior to his second heat, he says that he mountain boarded down grassy hillsides as a means of excitement as he readied himself to be a trainer," Richard followed up. "So, in a sense, you're right! He was born to ride!" Approaching the midway point of the race, a scatter of ramps were the obstacles for the riders. But a bigger obstacle for Kidd was mobile, as in behind her. Her crouching on the board reduced wind resistance and helped close in on Ash when a spiky male sled into Kidd's path and then did a small leap with a back side 180...to Kidd's knee! The male landed fine but Kidd yelped in sudden and extreme pain as she doubled over and crashed. The yelp made Ash turn to see his friend wipe out.

"Kidd!" he shouted as she forced his board to stop, allowing everyone else to pass him. He began to scale back by hopping up the mountain in order to reach Kidd. The announcers were disgusted with the man's act on another racer.

"Ash has surrendered his lead to reach Kidd and for good reason. She took a shot to the knee by Jon Derricks! No doubt Jon's gonna be disqualified for that blatant strike!" Perhaps but he's got the lead right now. Ash reached Kidd and she was clutching her banged knee.

"My knee!" she writhed in excruciating agony. She couldn't move the knee and it was more than the fact that her legs were still attached to the board. Ash removed his and her boards from the boots and quickly used them as a makeshift gurney.

"Hang on!" he ordered. Kidd bobbed, still in a great amount of pain. Both began to slowly sled down Coronet, trying not to further irritate the injury.

"And would you look at that!" Richard huffed. "Ketchum is helping Summers down the mountain using their boards! No doubt Ash forfeited the race but when he heard that hit by Derricks, he wanted to make sure Summers got help. He's acting more fair than the jerk who buckled her together."

"Well no doubt, they'll get to the summit so that medics will start their work to save Kidd's knees," Carl sighed. "All in all, an ugly incident in the final round of this Xtreme event." Meanwhile at the bottom, the instigator crossed the finish line first to a jeering crowd. Jon was befuddled, oblivious to his illegal action.

"What?" he shrugged. The other three crossed the line and watched the crowd throw spoiled berries at Jon. As a judge came over to discuss his obstruction, Dawn, Brock and the Pokémon were anxious for Ash and Kidd. Ash did his best rounding the obstacle course as Kidd chilled.

"Y'know, Ash?" she spoke up. "Brock's not really my type. Despite being younger than me, you're more than him." Ash wanted to thank Kidd with that acknowledgment.

"You tell him, he won't be happy about it," he warned.

"True. But once I recover, I want you to be my witness to another world record." What's left? She's done more than anyone else that hasn't been attempting to get into the book. It's like the record book was her own biography. "After all, I may need help on Pokémon training...and you're the guy to do it." Ash was humbled. When he looked up, he saw the finish line. It took about 20 minutes to get down the mountain safely but they arrived and was helped by waiting medics, their friends and Pokémon.

"Ash!" Dawn called out. Ash looked up to Dawn bringing him hot cocoa. The EMT were taking every precaution necessary to stabilize Kidd's wounded knee. They soon loaded Kidd onto a gurney and lifted the rolling bed.

"Hold on!" The EMT were wondering what's up? "I...I wanna thank Ash." Ash heard his name called out and got to Kidd's side. Her leg's busted up...but her arm was only bruised and in good enough shape to whisk Ash's head and pull herself up...SMOOCH! "Thank you!" Dawn saw the kiss, tightly hugging Piplup in any attempt to hide jealousy. Brock saw the kiss too and wasn't particularly proud of Ash getting the girl. He brought out a pan. Dawn was disguising her hatred to Kidd getting Ash but Brock wanted to let him know. POW! But Croagunk had other ideas.

"Why...do...you...hate...me...bud...dy?" he groaned as he collapsed. Hearing that thud, the younger two glared at the paralyzed breeder. Some habits do die hard. At the podium, Jon watched in helplessness as his board, used as a weapon, was destroyed by someone's Infernape.

"Ash!" Nurse Joy called out. Ash turned to the nurse fast approaching. "You're needed at the medal stand." Ash wondered about it as Kidd was carried onto an ambulance and driven off.

"Why?" he asked. "I finished in last place." He did. Well, technically, second-to-last because of Jon's disqualification.

"You're receiving a medal." Dawn had an idea on what Ash was being awarded with.

"I think it's a special award for helping Kidd down the mountain. Though I think you already got it from her." The kiss? It would explain her foul face. Ash stood by the podium, next to the other female who participated. Her place got bumped up from Jon's disqualification.

"Before we announce the medal winners, we will honor Ash Ketchum with the Helping Hand Teamwork Medal for aiding a fellow competitor in the time of need," someone on the PA system explained. A Chansey came over with a pearl medal in the shape of an egg which had two hands holding each other. Ash got a rousing round of applause from the spectators who saw his rescue. Ash didn't win the race, but he did win the trust of a record holder.

END of DARK
(Yeah, I do apologize if anything was OOC. It was difficult to come up with a character who had Dark Pokémon. One more! One more round and that will be it. The reason Kidd was chosen is because she has a pair of Weavile.)