Kai: Hi there! I'm Kai, Blair's favorite Mudkip! :D

I'm here to announce this special chapter! Why is it special? Well, I don't want to spoil too much here…
Simply put, Pokemon play a significant role here. Why? Find out by reading the chapter below!

Chapter 9a: Jumping Skills

It was the third day already—which means I would leave the next day. To make it special, Morty had promised me something we'd never done together before, though he didn't tell what it was. So we had to arrange our schedule for it to happen. Since he planned the activity for the afternoon, he told me to do the Gym duty in the morning. I had asked him if it were just some sort of a lunch date, but he said it wasn't anything cheesy like that. For a moment, I was relieved because that means he wouldn't do anything "weird" to me. Still, I was curious. When I asked him what we were going to do, he only said that it was an activity that I had done often.

And so I had to wait until the afternoon to get a clear answer, which was when I returned to Morty's house.

"GAAASTLY!"
"HAAAUNTER!"
"HAUNTAAAH!"
"GENGAAAR!"

Oh, the ghosts were there again. Impressive.

A second later, I noticed that I wasn't surprised by the surprise of the purple pesterers. In short, I was surprised by myself this time. Kind of weird, I know.

"Oh, hello, Ghosts. Seriously, I think you all should stop doing that to me. It's getting old."

"Ghaaa?"
"Gaaar?"
"Hauntaaah?"
It looked like they were asking 'Really'.

"Yes," I answered flatly.

"Gaaar…" The ghosts sighed, and looked away. They must be quite upset because their prank wouldn't work anymore. I mean, if they wanted to keep pulling off a prank, at least don't make it repetitive.

"Aw, come on. You ghosts don't have to act pitifully like that. Just tell me where your Trainer is."

"Gaarr…" Gengar shook his head. He seemed really upset. I guessed that what I said sounded too harsh for them. The ghosts just stayed there, unwilling to talk.

Looking at the purple gas creatures, I thought that maybe I should say something to them. I slowly approached the ghosts. "Urgh, alright. Listen, I don't mean to-"

"GAAASTLY!"
"HAAAUNTER!"
"HAUNTAAAH!"
"GENGAAAR!"

I was thoroughly astonished—that I threw myself back before falling to the floor. When I saw the ghosts laughing festively, I could feel something inside me was about to erupt…

"THAT DOES IT! I SHALL NEVER FORGIVE YOU, PESTS!"

Shocked at my sudden rage, they flew away upstairs as fast as they could, laughing continuously.

"HEY! I'M NOT FINISHED HERE!" However, they had disappeared… I should have simply called their Trainer. "MOOORT! GET DOWN HERE QUICK!"

After that, I heard rapid footsteps coming from the stairs. He must be coming down hurriedly. When he had appeared in the room, I could see the pests' overjoyed face hiding behind their clueless Trainer. Though I did notice something very different from him…

"Whoa, Falkner. What happened? Did you know your face has reddened right now?"

"YOUR GHOSTS… huff, huff. They… they really irritate me with their plots…" I was exhausted from all the yelling I did.

Then Morty turned around, observing his ever-troublesome Pokemon. They were trying to keep a straight face, despite their shaky smile could be noticed easily.

He told them, "OK, it's obvious you all did something to him. So here's a new rule. Don't mess too much with him." Then he lowered his head, whispering, "Only I'm allowed to do so."

"Mooort, I can hear you from here."

He didn't seem to mind me though. "I will have to put you all inside the Poke Ball for the time being." Having said that, he pulled out Poke Balls from his pocket, and switched them in. What a relief.

Later he looked at me with his signature smile, which always signified his self-confidence… or absorption. "Falkner, I know my Pokemon can be very irritating but believe me, they won't be doing anything harmful to you."

Yeah, not harmful enough to literally give me a heart attack…

"You're already familiar with my ghosts' nature."

Despite the fact that I listened to his words, my sight had been fixed at his outfit. That turquoise shirt, with sandy yellow stripes on the arms and waist, paired with that baggy blue trousers, and shoes which had the same shade of yellow as his shirt. Have I mentioned his headband was turquoise too?

"Ah, guess you've noticed it already. I'm sure you still remember my old outfit." He chortled, perhaps because he was entertained by my reaction.

"Well, of course I do! It's kind of unusual to see you in your old outfit again."

He giggled. "Actually, I feel kind of unusual too. Tell me, what do you think?"

I answered frankly, "Uh well, it might look unusual, but I think you still look quite attractive in it."

"What's that you said?"

As expected, he would love to hear my flirty compliments for him. I knew Morty had a little bit of self-absorption. "Mort, I don't have to repeat that word again."

Having said that, he then walked towards me. He stared at my face with that sweet smile, which although I had seen it many times by now, it still made me nervous. Grabbing my jaw, he looked at me eye-to-eye and said, "I heard what you said about me." He leaned forward, and placed his lips on mine, softly. It was rather quick compared to how he would do it in the evening. "I don't know you could utter such a sweet compliment for me," he whispered.

"Mort, you'd better not do that when we're outside…" And that reminded me, "Where are we going anyway?"

He smiled proudly with his eyes closed before he answered, "Falkner, since we spent our time with each other so much, I think we should give some time to our Pokemon too. That's why I decided, for today… we'll go to the Pokeathlon!"

As soon as I heard that word, my mind tried to check if I had misheard what he just said. Morty? In Pokeathlon? Honestly, I didn't think he would suit in an event like that... not that I underestimated him. But this event explained his clothing nonetheless. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes. I actually have always wanted to participate in Pokeathlon, but I felt a bit unsure," he said, "Now that I have someone who actively participate in the event, I thought that maybe it's time for me to give it a try. I could learn a thing or two from you then." As always, he gave a smile when he finished saying something.

"Hmm, that's good to hear. But I don't think you could learn much from me. I only specialized in the Jump competition. And as far as I know, Ghost-type Pokemon won't do well for the Jump Course."

He was eager to learn more. "Ah, you can't expect one Pokemon to be good at every course. Then which course should I try?"

"You could opt for the Skill Course. I think your Pokemon will do much better there."

"I'll give it a try," he responded, "But this means we'll be participating in separate courses." He appeared somewhat disappointed.

I had to come up with an idea so we could meet each other at the Pokeathlon, although I wasn't sure what to do. I had to take part in the Jump Course, whereas he had to take part in the Skill Course. We couldn't duplicate ourselves so there would be two of us in the same competition… oh wait. I knew what to do! "Mort, I got an idea."

"That's great. So we could still meet then?"

"Yeah. We can participate in both Jump and Skill course and still see each other! You just have to pick which one you want to try first."

His eyes widened. Haha, he must have not expected me to come up with a bright idea. "Ah, that's it! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He hurled a palm to his head.

"So, which course should we try first?"

"Well, since you said you specialized in the Jump competition, I'll say we try that first. That way, I can see how competitive you are."

"Good idea. Then we try the Skill Course afterwards." I had never tried the Skill Course, but hey, I wanted to know other events in Pokeathlon.

"By the way, have you had lunch yet?" He asked.

"Well, since you said we're not going on a 'lunch date', I had one before I came here," I answered. "What? You haven't?"

"No, I have. I was worried that I'm going to take you out with an empty stomach." He chuckled a little, before letting out a deep breath. "Well, everything's settled. We'll be going soon, just let me pack a few things before we go."

-oooooo-

Once we had prepared, Morty and I went to the Pokeathlon Dome from my house. Yes, my house. Knowing that we would be competing in Pokeathlon, I realized that I had to bring food and drink for my Pokemon before I go. It would be a disadvantage for them if I couldn't give them some snack when they're exhausted. Anyway, we decided to go to the dome by cycling. Other than our Pokemon, their Trainers need to have exercise too. I figured that it was the best time, because later we would only stand while cheering for our Pokemon, and that wouldn't take as much effort as cycling.

When we arrived, our bicycle would then be left in a parking area near the building. Guess who was amazed when the two of us stood before the Pokeathlon Dome. "Wow, I'm finally going to compete here for the first time," he commented, "To be honest, I feel kind of nervous."

"Hey, don't worry about it," I replied, trying to reassure him. "Just act like the confident guy you always be, and I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Hmm, okay. I'll try," he said, probably not noticing the sarcasm in my words.

And so we lifted our feet from the yellow Poke Ball tile, walking through the glass door into the dome. Morty and I stopped at the neon-lit pathway—allowing Morty to admire the grand interior of the entrance hall. As he was busy observing the dome, I was busy observing every single movement of his face. His head turned slowly from left to right, intently looking at the features of the building. Occasionally, his jaws would drop before immediately rose again, perhaps from saying things like 'wow' or 'whoa'. The sight of Morty's amazement was enough to amuse me.

"Wow," came that word again. "I must say, this dome is… stunning," he commented as his eyes still gazing the dome's interior.

"Mort, really," I retorted. "You've never been here before?" I asked him to clear up my confusion. It sounded strange that a Gym Leader had never come to the Pokeathlon, at least as a spectator.

"No," he answered flatly, "I told you this is my first time." He finally looked at me though.

"Not even to simply watch the competition?"

He blinked, focusing his attention back at the hall. "I've watched a little footage of it on TV, but here, no."

Having my questions answered, I thought I shouldn't talk about Morty's first participation here again. Instead, I should oblige him to join the competition. So I grabbed his hand, and with the eyes of determination, I told him, "Mort… let's not waste our time here. I'll take you to the counter."

He only gaped at my bold enthusiasm. But then he smiled, and nodded.

We strode toward the center counter, our feet moving over the flashing pathway of light, and I looking resolute. If I were to remember what my face looked like during that moment, I would probably burst out laughing.

"Welcome! This is the reception for admission." It was the same greeting I heard each time I came here. "Leader Falkner, I would normally admit you to the Jump Course, but I see that you also bring Ecruteak City's Leader here."

I chuckled as my eyes were pointed at Morty. "Yes. You see, it's his first time."

"Ah! Well then," the receptionist lady joyfully replied before turning to him, "If you need any information about the Pokeathlon courses, I'll be happy to provide it to you." She ended her words with a grin, the kind of grin Trainers see on Nurse Joy's face everywhere.

Morty smiled back at her, and it was the usual 'proud' smile I saw.

"Now, which course would you like to try? Will you two be participating in the same course?"

"Yes, Jump Course please."

She giggled with her hands covering her mouth, which popped up questions in my head. "I had thought that you two would be participating in the same course. You two seemed to be very close friends!" She said in a cutesy tone, "Judging by how you… hold each other's hands." Then she giggled again.

I slowly lowered my head… and I found out that I was holding Morty's hand all this time. So I let go of his hand slowly, because I didn't want him to think I disliked holding hands with him. Good thing she only thought we were only close friends. Very, VERY close friends in actuality. "Ah ha ha…" I forced a laugh. "I guess we are."

The lady gave a modest smile to us. "For your information, the Pokeathlon will begin in twenty minutes. In the meantime, you could practice with your Pokemon at the area to the west of the dome."

Morty and I decided to practice for the Pokeathlon then, especially because Morty needed to learn some basics of the events. We withdrew Pokemon who would be competing with us from the PC box. To my surprise, Morty had come up with a team of Ghost-type Pokemon, one which I never heard of before.

Outside the building, we switched out our Pokemon. Mine were Pidgeot, Swellow, and Staraptor, while Morty's were Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusclops. Looking at Morty's ghost Pokemon, I really hoped that they wouldn't be too much of a nuisance later on. Gengar was naughty, Mismagius was mischievous, and Dusclops… this ghost gave me goose bumps. Regardless, we led our Pokemon to the practice area. It wasn't really crowded, probably because it's 4:30 in the afternoon and people were busy hanging out somewhere else. I saw Trainers, or Pokeathletes in this case, actively exercised their Pokemon. I picked a spot closer to the waters. After thinking about what I should say, I was going to tell Morty the guideline of the Jump events.

"FALKNER! MORTY! HEY!" A familiar voice shouted our names.

We looked to the side, and saw a kid—or maybe a young teenager, waving his hand. He had lavender hair, donned green clothing with yellow tie, and a pair of brown shoes with notably long socks. He was running toward us. But an important item was notably missing from him, his net.

"Bugsy?" I replied first, "Are you here for Pokeathlon too?"

"Of course! Why else do I be here for?" He answered with his cheerful tone. Bugsy had always talked with that energy by the way. I guess that was natural for a boy of his age.

My eyes widened. Perhaps I was wrong about thinking other Gym Leaders had never come here. "Wait, you've been participating for the Jump Course all this time?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure you've been competing more often."

"Really?" I responded, although that question sounded kind of underestimating. "How come I never see you during competition?"

"Well…" He thought, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, he frowned, and stared distastefully at me. He even folded his hands. "Maybe that's because you're already in the Supreme Cup while I'm still a newcomer..."

"Huh?" I was taken aback by his change of mood. To clear up, I truly had no intention of condescending him. "Bugsy, no. I didn't mean to look down on you. I was a little bit confused," I explained to him in an apologetic voice. "Sometimes, I just wanted to have a friend when I saw my Pokemon competing. It's not really fun to watch the competition alone, you know."

The look on his face changed again. He looked confused now, but then he chuckled. "Falkner, it's all right." He had got his cheerful character back. "Don't take my reaction so seriously. I was just surprised that you would talk that way to an amateur like me."

"Oh, I see." I faced down and scratched my head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. But well, I learned something from Bugsy; I should watch my words so I wouldn't underestimate someone unintentionally.

"Ah! Morty, I totally forgot about you!" He finally noticed Morty's presence. "It's nice to meet you too!" And it was my turn to be quiet and watch the conversation.

"It's nice meeting you here, Bugsy," he replied, showing Bugsy his signature smile.

"I don't know you've been participating here too," Bugsy retorted bluntly, his mouth agape with a gaze of wonder in his eyes.

"Oh no, no." Morty shook his hands in response. "Today will be my first time. I absolutely have no experience, which is why I come here with Falkner. So I could learn a thing or two from him."

"That's an excellent idea! I want to be tutored by Falkner too!"

Hearing his words, somehow I felt proud of myself. It was kind of strange. I was smiling in my thoughts, but Bugsy and Morty would probably notice it soon. Nevertheless, I would be more than willing to share some of my proficiency to them. Hehe. "Ahaha, you don't have to-"

"Wait a second," Bugsy interrupted. "Morty, are you participating for the Jump Course like Falkner and I did? Cause I think your Pokemon will do better if they compete in the Skill Course."

"Yes. It's so that I can watch how Falkner compete, but I'll try the Skill Course later."

"Oh, guess I'm lucky to be here today. I get to see how a professional would compete in Pokeathlon!" Bugsy looked really excited to see my Pokemon during the competition.

I wasn't self-conscious as I heard them talking. But I knew I made an unusually wide smile, my eyes staring at the sky. My left hand was on my waist while the other patting my jaw. Professional… the term Bugsy used for me. When I was thrown back to reality, I realized something; I had never expected that I would make such a conceited posture like this…

"All right, you two. Enough with the compliments," I said as I rubbed the back of my head with eyes closed, facing down. Although I certainly didn't mind hearing them idolize me more… "I'm going to tell you some important aspects of Pokeathlon, so pay attention!" I might have sounded like an expert, but then again, I am one, right? At least to Bugsy and Morty…

-oooooo-

After a long period of instructing and preparation, Bugsy, Morty, and I, found ourselves standing together on the Pokeathlon field. As I stood firmly on the field, Morty was gaping at the enormous digital scoreboard in front of us—and his mouth had already been that way since we entered the Pokeathlon field. Bugsy? He was spreading his broad smile to the world as always.

"Welcome to the Pokeathlon!" Maximo, the Pokeathlon announcer, shouted exuberantly at the audience. "This afternoon's event, the Jump Course!" Then all the audience gave a loud applause, which agitated Morty as he focused his attention to Maximo.

"Who will shine brightest? Let's meet the competitors!"

"The Gym Leader of flight appears! My dad's Pokemon really soar!" I yelled my signature quote. "Team Falkner! Swellow, Pidgeot, and Staraptor!" The audience would then give me a big applause with loud scream as always.

"The Mystic Seer of the Future is here! And I foresaw victory upon my vision!" Morty shouted. Yeah, I had told Morty during practice that he should think of his own quote. "Team Morty! Gengar, Mismagius, and Dusclops!" Despite being a newcomer, Morty received a rather high-pitched scream from the audience… which puzzled me until I learned that Morty might have fangirls all over Johto.

"With my bug Pokemon's skills and my knowledge, I believe we can win!" Bugsy's quote sounded simple in comparison, but he was able to show his self-confidence. "Team Bugsy! Scyther, Beedrill, and Butterfree!" He received a mild applause from the crowd. Still, it didn't wipe the joyful look on his face.

The fourth competitor was a Camper named Jakey. His team consisted of Murkrow, Ledian, and Gligar. Although the crowd gave him a lively applause, his Pokemon didn't seem to be much of a threat to me. But no, I wouldn't underestimate another Pokeathlete again.

"All right, we're ready! Aim for the top! Let's… POKEATHLON!" Maximo announced, marking the start of the competition.

-oooooo-

First event, Lamp Jump. Pokemon bounce again and again while touching lamps to score points. For this event, I taught Morty and Bugsy that their Pokemon should jump high and aslant so they could score high streak of points. They should also take care not to hit each other, as Bug and Flying-type Pokemon generally don't recover quickly after collision. I don't know for Ghost-types though, they might resist better, but aren't most Ghost Pokemon gaseous by nature?

"PIDGEOT! AIM MORE LAMPS!"
"MISMAGIUS! I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER!"
"GO, MY BUG POKEMON! WE CAN WIN THIS ONE!"

Those were some of the quotes I heard—or remembered while I was watching my Pokemon. We Pokeathletes had our own special spots in the field, situated near the event zone so the Pokemon could hear their Trainer's cheer. Oh, the Camper also shouted for his Pokemon, but since he and I were placed at other ends of the field, I couldn't hear what he shouted. I might not be able to see how he did as well. But even if I could, did I have to?

That sounded rather underestimating… Anyway, my bird Pokemon did a satisfactory performance for this event. They were able to make a good number of five points streaks. Morty's ghosts did quite well. Although Gengar and Dusclops couldn't jump very high, Mismagius did an excellent performance for this event. Bugsy's Pokemon didn't appear troubled at all. They jumped left and right for the lamps, earning fair number of points. And why was I reporting this? Because this tutor was responsible of reviewing his trainees' performance.

Second event, Disc Catch. This is the only event in Jump Course where Pokemon teams could interact with one another. That means real competition! There were two important things I said to Bugsy and Morty; jumping and pushing.

My birds were struggling vigorously during this event, perhaps too vigorously. They pushed other team's Pokemon off the platform a lot. It was probably because I forgot to tell them this wasn't the Supreme Cup.

Gengar and Dusclops had difficulty catching the discs, so Morty relied more on Mismagius. Bugsy's team of insects moves around here and there fast. They pretty much went for any nearby discs they spotted. And now that every team's Pokemon competed in one arena, I could see Jakey's Pokemon team. They did… just fine. They seemed to have come up with their own strategy though, which is staying at the front. This made them score lower points, but was quite effective to prevent other Pokemon teams from earning them.

In the end, my Pokemon dominated this event, but surely the other three competitors could tell why. My voice became a bit raspy at this point… guess I found out why my bird Pokemon were struggling too vigorously back there.

Final event, Hurdle Dash. This is basically like a human's hurdle race. I didn't tell much for this one. Simply jump right before the hurdle, and the Pokemon would run faster.

Morty's Pokemon led the start of the race. Bugsy's and mine had to jump a few hurdles before reaching top speed. Halfway through the track, Bugsy's team were in the lead along with mine, aiming for top three position. The insects looked more eager to win against the birds.

"FASTER! YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LOSE THIS ONE TOO!" And so did their Trainer…

I had been watching Bugsy more, his enthusiasm seemed growing from one event to the next. His Pokemon slowly made their way ahead of mine. Later on, I had a feeling that my Pokemon wouldn't shine for this event…

"YEAH! WE WON! YOU ALL DID A SUPERB PERFORMANCE!"

Bugsy's Scyther amazingly finished in first place, whereas my Pokemon finished somewhere in the top six. It was a completely different story for Morty though. His team was among the last four Pokemon to finish the race, one of them was Jakey's Gligar. Looking at Bugsy's elation, I thought that he would definitely make a great rival if he managed to climb his way to the Supreme Cup.

-oooooo-

"Great job athletes!" Maximo announced, indicating the end of the competition. "Which team fought the hardest? We've got the final result!"

I was standing in front of the enormous scoreboard, with Morty, Bugsy, and Jakey… wait, are names like these popular? Okay, that was merely a coincidence. Our Pokemon were lining behind us for the scores. Morty appeared uneasy, as if he had realized his Pokemon didn't do very well in the event. Bugsy showed his big smile to the audience again. I was rather calm, and certain that I would win.

"But first… who's overflowing with fighting spirit? A Challenge Bonus for Pokemon and Team!"

I got 27 points, Morty 31, Bugsy 28, Jakey 32. Lower points means better team. That's why Pokemon with weaker Pokeathlon stats were awarded higher points; they struggled harder to beat the stronger teams.

"Continuing on, the individual prizes!" Maximo shouted. "There wasn't one this time…"

There could be the No-Miss bonus, but other times it wasn't there.

"Moving on… the points leader!"

I had anticipated that one of my birds would get this one.

"Team Falkner's Pidgeot!" That's twenty points for my team.

Pidgeot, I'm truly proud of you. I always have…

"Next up… the prize for effort!" Normally, this would be based on how many times a Pokemon jump. "The Pokemon that failed the most…"

Sometimes I questioned why there was even a bonus for failing in Pokeathlon… Obviously, it could be rather disheartening for new Pokeathletes.

"Team Morty's Dusclops!" That's ten points for Morty's team.

Congratulations for him I guess? I hope he wouldn't be dispirited because of this…

"Finally, we'll add up the event points!"

The scoreboard rose slowly whereas the Athlete Points number increased fast. It would stop three times, denoting the total points received by the first, second, and third event. Still, by the second event, a certain person's score increased further than the other three competitors…

"The overall winner, with 376 points… Team Falkner!"

Bugsy was second with 324 points, Jakey third with 301 points, and… Morty was last with 260 points.

Knowing that I had won, I couldn't help but showing a triumphant smile. I didn't feel much special, but I was proud of my Pokemon. And the crowd gave a loud applause too.

"Falkner's team once again dominated the Jump Course!"

Maximo was right. I had won many times in the Supreme Cup's Jump Course. Logically, he wouldn't expect me to lose in the regular cup, would he?

"That was a wonderful performance! Keep aiming to be the top Pokeathlete! That is… Pokeathlon…" and all together the crowd would shout, "FOREVER!"

Kai: So I herd u all had to wait 4 months again?

Uh… I'm not involved in this. I only knew this story had been updated slowly lately.
Anyway, Blair only told me to present this chapter. So I don't know how to explain that.

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