The trio, wracked with thought, exited the temple. The world outside continued in its daily routine. The fresh air from the valley filled their lungs. As they passed the Scizor, it nodded.
"Good luck," it said.
"Uh...thanks," replied Louis.
The boy began to ponder the situation. He wondered how the trio would be able to find all the pieces of this crystal, and thought about where they would be located.
Then, all three heard a strange whistling sound coming from behind. It crescendoed and ended abruptly.
"What was that?" questioned Totodile.
"Dunno," replied Louis.
At the stop of the whistling, a thundering of hooves beat the air like a percussionist and the group noticed a rapidly approaching cloud of dust.
"What is it?" asked Louis.
Before Taki could answer, the sounds of hooves skidded to a halt, causing a cloud of dust and dirt to surround the group. All three saw the visage of a Pokémon that had the shape of a horse. As the dust settled, their vision cleared and they saw that the figure was…
"Whoa! A Rapidash!" said Louis, in awe.
"Yes. I called it here," a voice said.
Chief Tanaka approached from behind. Rapidash nodded at his arrival.
"It will take you to the location of the first piece," said Chief Tanaka.
Louis looked at the fiery mane of the Rapidash in concern.
"Um, I'm not gonna catch fire on it, am I?" he asked.
The Rapidash looked at the boy with a blunt expression.
"No," it said.
Hesitantly, but eventually, the group mounted the steed. Taki swooped up the Totodile in her grip and sat at the front while Louis, cautiously, hopped on behind her.
"Good luck," said Chief Tanaka.
He then looked to Rapidash.
"Run like the wind," he continued.
Rapidash nodded to the chief. It pivoted on the spot and galloped away. In a matter of seconds, the Pokémon reached its max speed and the group held on to each other tightly.
The view blurred past them like a speeding bullet train. They crossed grasslands, fields, streams, and rivers. In the distance, three small figures crouched on the road. Their mischievous activity obscured from the group's view.
"Group ahead, slow down!" pleaded Totodile.
However, the Rapidash wasn't showing any signs of stopping.
"I SAID SLOW DOWN!" shouted Totodile.
"Still can't hear you!" replied Rapidash.
Louis just barely recognised the purple shapes ahead. He realised that it was the same Ghost Pokémon from the night before. An idea flashed across the boy's mind.
"Speed up!" suggested Louis, with a devilish grin.
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Taki.
Metres away now, an ear flicked up on the Gengar as it turned to see an inescapable hooved mass bearing down on them and realised they had no time to react.
"Oh no," it whimpered.
The steed struck the Ghost Pokémon with immeasurable force, scattering the troublesome trio skyward. Louis leaned back and pointed at the three Pokémon.
"Remember me?" he called.
"I've got a Rapidash now!"
As they fell, Gastly was able to recognise Louis on the Rapidash.
"Oh, come on!" it grunted before it was obscured by a cloud of dust.
After a minute, Louis had regained enough composure to stop laughing and noticed a very unimpressed scowl from Taki.
"What?" said Louis.
A few leagues later, Rapidash slowed to a halt.
"We could use a break now," it said.
The trio dismounted, and stretched as Louis tried to gauge how far they had travelled.
"It sure is fast," he said.
"This would've taken at least a day on foot."
"You're right. It would have," acknowledged Rapidash.
Taki brushed herself of the dust and leaves gathered on the ride.
Suddenly, a small whiskered Meowth sprinted past them, a look of glee on its face. Totodile saw that the Meowth had a Shiny Goldeen in hand.
"Hey, nice catch," it said.
"Ha!" called Meowth as it ran out of view.
It took a few seconds to process what had happened.
"That was weird," said Louis.
Eventually, it was time to get moving again.
"Ok, mount up," said Rapidash.
All three members of the group got back on the Pokémon and sped off.
They rode with pace, the group getting a good look at all the scenery around them. Eventually, the fields turned to streams, and plains to rivers. But then, Taki noticed a figure holding a fishing rod by some docks, running around in a flurry.
"What's going on over there?" wondered Taki.
As they got closer, they could hear the fisherman speaking in a panicked tone.
"Where is it?! Where is it?! WHERE IS IT?!" he cried.
"Huh?" The trio said in unison.
"Wait! Stop here!" suggested Taki.
With that command, Rapidash halted to a stop beside the fisherman.
"Hey, is everything alright?" questioned Taki.
"No," answered the fisherman while going through his possessions, launching some over his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" asked Louis.
"I can't find the Pokémon I just caught," replied the fisherman.
"I spent a year tracking that fish!"
The Totodile looked to Taki and Louis, and whispered…
"Does he mean that Goldeen?"
A glint of recollection now completed a question they previously asked. Louis turned to the fisherman.
"Was it a Shiny Goldeen?" he questioned.
The fisherman dropped the items and stared at the group.
"Y-yes," he stammered.
"How did you know?"
"Do you own a Meowth?" inquired Louis.
– "No."
"Well, we just saw one carrying your fish," continued Louis, pointing in the direction they had just left.
"It went that way,"
In the blink of an eye, the fisherman gathered his belongings and charged, vanishing from view with a speed unseen before.
"That was fast," said Rapidash, intrigued.
In the distance, Taki spotted two, vast, red rock mountains, and a cut, splitting them into a valley.
"Is that where we're going?" asked Taki.
Rapidash nodded.
"Next stop…" it said.
"...Charicific Valley."
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