Chapter 22 The Race
And so, on we flew.
Or rode a flying Pokémon, in the case of Pikachu, Togepi, Vulpix, the humans, yatta yatta.
I was expecting it to be just a quick and easy flight through the rainbow or something similar to that, but that assumption wasn't very close to the truth.
We went on a winding path through the clouds before we actually came upon the rainbow itself, and even when finally arrived at it we had to follow a random pattern.
This, Ho-oh explained, was so no Pokémon like fly-by Pidgey would accidentally wander into the land of the Rainbowmon.
Amazingly enough, we passed through the rainbow itself, and it was a very strange experience, almost like passing through water that you could breathe in, mixed with a sudden feeling off bliss. The colors were soothing, and we finally arrived at our destination.
When we broke through the rainbow barrier, the first sight to come to our awaiting eyes was that of a bright green field, full of many cheerful flowers.
After we came closer, we saw a river, made of several weird stripes of different types of blues and greens. It was quite an interesting sight.
Peering closer, I saw a red Gyrados rear its ugly head, and then duck back under the water.
"Look!" Misty cried, from the top of Lugia's back, from where she was clutching tight to Ash. She pointed at the pink ground, on which a similarly colored Snorlax lay snoozing.
"The Pokémon here look different," Brock observed from Ho-oh's back.
"Pi," Pikachu agreed.
"Pi," Ash's Duplicat whimpered, from her death-grip on my tail.
I'm loosing circulation, Ziggy, I told her.
That just made her hold on tighter.
I didn't understand her. She could fly, but was apparently afraid of heights...
Or something.
"Ho. Oh hoo ho oooh hoo," Ho-oh told Brock.
[Yes. Some of the Rainbowmon even have different names from your Pokémon here.]
"Are any of the Rainbowmon the same color as Pokémon?" Ash asked.
Ho-oh nodded, and gestured a colorful wing towards a pair of tumbling purple Rattata.
Lugia questioned, There doesn't appear to be any sort of army organized. Where are the avians?
Ho-oh tossed his head in the direction of some strangely out of place gray clouds. I strained my ears and heard a slight rumble. "Ho-ho. *Ho* ooooh, ho hoooo oh ho. Ho oh hooo oooh ho ooh hoo hoo.
[Over there. *They* have organized, but the non-fliers don't think that they are any threat. They neglect to remember that there are several strong fighters in the avian group, such as Charizards and Pterdacts.]
"Pterdacts?" Ash was confused.
Ho-oh explained, "Ho oh ooh."
[Black Aerodactyls.]
"Black?" Misty asked after Ho-oh's speech was translated to her. "I thought the Rainbowmon were colorful..."
"Ooh ho. Hoo oooh oooooh hooohooo."
[Most are. But we've a few evil Rainbowmon that are black.]
"Arty cooo?" Articuno questioned.
[Are all da black ones evil?]
Ho-oh shook his head, "Oohh hoo oh."
[They just tend to be.]
It was at this time that we finally landed. Ho-oh hopped over to the sleeping Snorlax and asked where the dogs were.
"Dos?" Zapdos tilted his head quizzically.
[Dogs?]
"Ho, oh, hoo...Oh hoooo oohho. Oh hooo ooh..." Ho-oh looked to Lugia for help.
[Ignicane, Hydestree, Kurrwol...Three very powerful Rainbowmon. They are similar to your...]
Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, the white bird offered.
"Who are they?" Ash asked.
Very rare, very powerful Pokémon, Lugia told him solemnly.
"Snoooooooorrrrreeeee," Snorlax prompted us to pay attention. "Lax lax snooore snorlax."
[Heeeelllloooooo. The dogs are probably running across the Inious Field.]
Ho-oh thanked the pink Snorlax, and then proceeded to scan the horizon. When asked what he was doing he merely muttered something about transportation.
I can Teleport us, I offered.
Ho-oh grunted something about Teleportation not working in the land of the Rainbowmon and I shrugged.
Soon enough we found out what he meant by transportation, when a herd of Rapidash and Ponyta came galloping towards us.
Pikachu instantly hopped onto a very little Ponyta, who neighed happily at being selected. I didn't need a ride, nor did Lugia or Ho-oh. The humans got on a few Rapidash of their own, and an awed Spectra and the three bickering legendary birds did the same. After some hesitation, Ziggy hopped onto an anxious Ponyta.
Ho-oh asked if we were prepared for departure, and after an affirmation from each member of our rather large group (Pokéballs didn't work in the land of the Rainbowmon), the fiery horses took off.
The Ponyta, surprisingly enough, were capable of keeping up with the swiftly cantering Rapidash. Pikachu yelled out in encouragement to his "noble steed", and the little horse sprang out into the lead.
Not wanting to be outdone, Spectra cawed out orders to her ride to pick up the pace, and pulled out beside Pikachu's Ponyta.
Pikachu glanced over at her in surprise, then yelled out, "Pika!"
"Spect!" the oddly colored bird returned Pikachu's war-cry.
The two Rainbowmon were nose and nose with the other, each trying to stretch their neck out just a little more to gain even a partial lead.
Ash laughed at the two, and whispered to his horned stallion. It whinnied, then ran ahead in a burst of speed.
Slowly but surely, Ash's Rapidash managed to gallop ahead into the small space between Ash's two racing Pokémon.
"Pi!" Pikachu giggled.
Spectra muttered something unintelligible, and tried to use its talons to spur its Rainbowmon on.
Needless to say, the Ponyta didn't like this, and instead of springing further ahead, it slowed down and started bucking angrily.
Not much of a Tauros-rider, Spectra squawked and flew up into the air, trying to avoid the flames from its raging steed.
"I'll beat you, Pikachu!" Ash cried out.
Pikachu shook his head, "Pi pi."
[No way.]
By all rights, Ash's Rapidash should have been faster. But it had more weight to carry than Pikachu's Ponyta, and perhaps the Ponyta had a wild spirit.
The rest of us weren't too far behind, and watched the race with growing interest.
Neither Rainbowmon showed signs of fatigue...or surrender.
Just when it looked like Pikachu's Ponyta was about to pull ahead, Ho-oh ordered a halt.
"Aww, no fair! I was gonna beat you!" Ash whined to Pikachu.
Pikachu shook his head, "Pi pi, Pika-pi. Pika-pi pi ka pika!"
[No way, Ash. You were fixing to eat my dust!]
"You wish!"
"Meew meeew!" I came in between the two.
[Break it up!]
Trainer and Pokémon glared at each other, then, simulatenously, smiled. Ash held out his arms, and Pikachu willingly hopped off his joyfully prancing Ponyta and into Ash's arms.
Ho-oh rolled his eyes, then spoke, "Ho-oh."
[We're here.]
And indeed we were.
Author's Note: For those of you wondering about the weird origins of the three "dogs" here ya go...
Ignicane: A mixture of ignite (ignite a flame) and canine.
Hydestree: A mixture of hydrogen (H2O, ya know...) and stream (a water stream.)
Kurrwol: A mixture of current (an electric current) and wolf.
...Don't ask...
Oh, also, the "Inious Fields" comes from the dog's scientific name, "Caninious Dogius". (Sp?)
If you're bored of this, Superfire-yatta-yatta 2's posted up with two chapters right now.
And so, on we flew.
Or rode a flying Pokémon, in the case of Pikachu, Togepi, Vulpix, the humans, yatta yatta.
I was expecting it to be just a quick and easy flight through the rainbow or something similar to that, but that assumption wasn't very close to the truth.
We went on a winding path through the clouds before we actually came upon the rainbow itself, and even when finally arrived at it we had to follow a random pattern.
This, Ho-oh explained, was so no Pokémon like fly-by Pidgey would accidentally wander into the land of the Rainbowmon.
Amazingly enough, we passed through the rainbow itself, and it was a very strange experience, almost like passing through water that you could breathe in, mixed with a sudden feeling off bliss. The colors were soothing, and we finally arrived at our destination.
When we broke through the rainbow barrier, the first sight to come to our awaiting eyes was that of a bright green field, full of many cheerful flowers.
After we came closer, we saw a river, made of several weird stripes of different types of blues and greens. It was quite an interesting sight.
Peering closer, I saw a red Gyrados rear its ugly head, and then duck back under the water.
"Look!" Misty cried, from the top of Lugia's back, from where she was clutching tight to Ash. She pointed at the pink ground, on which a similarly colored Snorlax lay snoozing.
"The Pokémon here look different," Brock observed from Ho-oh's back.
"Pi," Pikachu agreed.
"Pi," Ash's Duplicat whimpered, from her death-grip on my tail.
I'm loosing circulation, Ziggy, I told her.
That just made her hold on tighter.
I didn't understand her. She could fly, but was apparently afraid of heights...
Or something.
"Ho. Oh hoo ho oooh hoo," Ho-oh told Brock.
[Yes. Some of the Rainbowmon even have different names from your Pokémon here.]
"Are any of the Rainbowmon the same color as Pokémon?" Ash asked.
Ho-oh nodded, and gestured a colorful wing towards a pair of tumbling purple Rattata.
Lugia questioned, There doesn't appear to be any sort of army organized. Where are the avians?
Ho-oh tossed his head in the direction of some strangely out of place gray clouds. I strained my ears and heard a slight rumble. "Ho-ho. *Ho* ooooh, ho hoooo oh ho. Ho oh hooo oooh ho ooh hoo hoo.
[Over there. *They* have organized, but the non-fliers don't think that they are any threat. They neglect to remember that there are several strong fighters in the avian group, such as Charizards and Pterdacts.]
"Pterdacts?" Ash was confused.
Ho-oh explained, "Ho oh ooh."
[Black Aerodactyls.]
"Black?" Misty asked after Ho-oh's speech was translated to her. "I thought the Rainbowmon were colorful..."
"Ooh ho. Hoo oooh oooooh hooohooo."
[Most are. But we've a few evil Rainbowmon that are black.]
"Arty cooo?" Articuno questioned.
[Are all da black ones evil?]
Ho-oh shook his head, "Oohh hoo oh."
[They just tend to be.]
It was at this time that we finally landed. Ho-oh hopped over to the sleeping Snorlax and asked where the dogs were.
"Dos?" Zapdos tilted his head quizzically.
[Dogs?]
"Ho, oh, hoo...Oh hoooo oohho. Oh hooo ooh..." Ho-oh looked to Lugia for help.
[Ignicane, Hydestree, Kurrwol...Three very powerful Rainbowmon. They are similar to your...]
Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, the white bird offered.
"Who are they?" Ash asked.
Very rare, very powerful Pokémon, Lugia told him solemnly.
"Snoooooooorrrrreeeee," Snorlax prompted us to pay attention. "Lax lax snooore snorlax."
[Heeeelllloooooo. The dogs are probably running across the Inious Field.]
Ho-oh thanked the pink Snorlax, and then proceeded to scan the horizon. When asked what he was doing he merely muttered something about transportation.
I can Teleport us, I offered.
Ho-oh grunted something about Teleportation not working in the land of the Rainbowmon and I shrugged.
Soon enough we found out what he meant by transportation, when a herd of Rapidash and Ponyta came galloping towards us.
Pikachu instantly hopped onto a very little Ponyta, who neighed happily at being selected. I didn't need a ride, nor did Lugia or Ho-oh. The humans got on a few Rapidash of their own, and an awed Spectra and the three bickering legendary birds did the same. After some hesitation, Ziggy hopped onto an anxious Ponyta.
Ho-oh asked if we were prepared for departure, and after an affirmation from each member of our rather large group (Pokéballs didn't work in the land of the Rainbowmon), the fiery horses took off.
The Ponyta, surprisingly enough, were capable of keeping up with the swiftly cantering Rapidash. Pikachu yelled out in encouragement to his "noble steed", and the little horse sprang out into the lead.
Not wanting to be outdone, Spectra cawed out orders to her ride to pick up the pace, and pulled out beside Pikachu's Ponyta.
Pikachu glanced over at her in surprise, then yelled out, "Pika!"
"Spect!" the oddly colored bird returned Pikachu's war-cry.
The two Rainbowmon were nose and nose with the other, each trying to stretch their neck out just a little more to gain even a partial lead.
Ash laughed at the two, and whispered to his horned stallion. It whinnied, then ran ahead in a burst of speed.
Slowly but surely, Ash's Rapidash managed to gallop ahead into the small space between Ash's two racing Pokémon.
"Pi!" Pikachu giggled.
Spectra muttered something unintelligible, and tried to use its talons to spur its Rainbowmon on.
Needless to say, the Ponyta didn't like this, and instead of springing further ahead, it slowed down and started bucking angrily.
Not much of a Tauros-rider, Spectra squawked and flew up into the air, trying to avoid the flames from its raging steed.
"I'll beat you, Pikachu!" Ash cried out.
Pikachu shook his head, "Pi pi."
[No way.]
By all rights, Ash's Rapidash should have been faster. But it had more weight to carry than Pikachu's Ponyta, and perhaps the Ponyta had a wild spirit.
The rest of us weren't too far behind, and watched the race with growing interest.
Neither Rainbowmon showed signs of fatigue...or surrender.
Just when it looked like Pikachu's Ponyta was about to pull ahead, Ho-oh ordered a halt.
"Aww, no fair! I was gonna beat you!" Ash whined to Pikachu.
Pikachu shook his head, "Pi pi, Pika-pi. Pika-pi pi ka pika!"
[No way, Ash. You were fixing to eat my dust!]
"You wish!"
"Meew meeew!" I came in between the two.
[Break it up!]
Trainer and Pokémon glared at each other, then, simulatenously, smiled. Ash held out his arms, and Pikachu willingly hopped off his joyfully prancing Ponyta and into Ash's arms.
Ho-oh rolled his eyes, then spoke, "Ho-oh."
[We're here.]
And indeed we were.
Author's Note: For those of you wondering about the weird origins of the three "dogs" here ya go...
Ignicane: A mixture of ignite (ignite a flame) and canine.
Hydestree: A mixture of hydrogen (H2O, ya know...) and stream (a water stream.)
Kurrwol: A mixture of current (an electric current) and wolf.
...Don't ask...
Oh, also, the "Inious Fields" comes from the dog's scientific name, "Caninious Dogius". (Sp?)
If you're bored of this, Superfire-yatta-yatta 2's posted up with two chapters right now.