The Amazing Race: Video Game Edition

by TARfan97

It's an adventure that can't be missed. Twelve teams of fan-favorite Nintendo characters embark on a race around the universe for a cash prize of one million dollars. Nine teams will be eliminated, three teams will make it to the end, but only one team will emerge victorious. This is an Amazing Race story like no other in history. This is The Amazing Race: Video Game Edition.

12. Episode 4 part 4

First Author's Note: Guess who… IT'S ME! LOL! What's up fan fiction writers and die-hard Amazing Race fans? It's TARFan97 here in the flesh and I'm back fully loaded with tons more stories to tell. Dang, I'll tell yah, after eight months of hiking the Appalachian Trail across the east coast of the United States, my incredible journey has now finally come to an end. I have now returned to home sweet home, and I got to tell y'all, it is GREAT being able to get back to so many wonderful luxuries, luxuries that I've been taking for granted before I left. After spending many, many days trudging through the A.T. wilderness carrying a 40 pound backpack for about 12-18 miles on average every day, sleeping in a sleeping bag in tents and shelters (there was mice in them too), and eating nothing but variety packed rice and Ramón noodles almost every night for dinner - I could go on, so I better get to the point - I've been INDULGING in a lot of the welcome home treatment. It sure is great finally being able to sleep in back in a warm linen filled bed, as well as eating tons of good food such as fried chicken, and chocolate cake. I've also been catching up with my family and relatives so that's been great too, but most of all, I'm just so happy that I can finally get back to working on the final update that you've been waiting so patiently for Episode 4. It'll be a good thing too, because hiking the A.T. is bound to have a profound effect on this amazing race story from now on because the adventure has given me the opportunity to truly understand what it's like to be constantly hungry, dealing with sleep deprivation, and being almost constantly on the move 24/7. But what I've really enjoyed getting out of the adventure was seeing so many beautiful mountainous views, encountering tons of wild life, meeting lots of people, and just simply being free. Yep, the Appalachian Trail sure has been a truly rewarding experience.

Anyhow, enough about all that. It is now the concluding chapter of the fourth episode of the Amazing Race: Video Game Edition. Now as you all know, I was originally planning on having this episode be three chapters long, but I realized there was just SO much left to happen in this leg that it practically would have overflowed the third chapter, so with great reluctance, I've decided to let this episode be an exception to the 3 chapter limit rule for the usual episode of the story. Sure, I know some of you are thinking that having more chapters in an episode is actually good so as to have more time to be entertained, but it's like this. I just believe if there were more chapters for every episode, the story would be WAY too long which could end up making this story much longer than a normal season of the real Amazing Race. You know what I mean? It's not all complicated however. After all, I do intend to make the final episode to last more than three chapters since those are usually the longest episodes in your usual Amazing Race season. Now, with everything finally said and done, here is part 4 of episode 4. Enjoy.

Second Author's Note:

Ep. 4, Horses Are A Pokémon's Worst Enemy Part IV

…

Picking up where we left off, the two Deku guards that guarded the entrance to the Deku Palace were not letting Lucas go inside as his disguise wasn't fooling them, so Lucas was now being forced to take drastic measures to get inside

"You two jerks leave me no other choice," said Lucas, who then got himself into his attacking position. "PIKE-THUNDER!" he suddenly cried out, stunning the two guards with his pike-thunder attack, knocking them unconscious.

"That's better," said Lucas, who then went inside.

Only, it didn't get any better for Lucas from there. Not long after he entered the throne room, his childish disguise was continuing to backfire on him. The other Deku scrubs in attendance immediately saw him as an intruder and started attacking him.

'This is ridiculous!' thought Lucas to himself as he started using his pike-thunder attacks to stun other Deku scrubs to defend himself. After just a few minutes, the entire chamber was now filled with Deku scrubs lying unconscious.

"This is an outrage!" the Deku King angrily yelled out. "You wicked little-" Suddenly, a flash of light prevented him from finishing his sentence.

"Gotcha," said Lucas, having taken his picture of the King. He then made a run for it and went back to the tour boat where Pikachu was waiting.

Back at the Doggy Race Track, Fox & Krystal were still trying to finish the Detour. They decided to take a risk and bet 50 rupees from the 70 rupees they had left over for the next dog race. Using the same dog they used last time, it started racing rapidly against the other racing dogs once Mamamu Yan started the next race. This time around, the dog was more determined to win than last time as it ran extremely fast and kept its lead throughout the whole dog race.

"Woo-Hoo!" Krystal cheered. "Yes!"

"Come on, little guy. You can do it!" cried Fox. "You can do it!"

Eventually, the dog finally managed to cross the finish line in first place.

"YES!" cried Krystal. "He did it! He won!"

"TIME!" called out Mamayu Yan. "Yawls dog finished first and now y'all receive three times as much as y'all two betted on it." She said.

FOX & KRYSTAL: 170 Rupees Made in Total

"Congratulations, y'all two made more than 150 rupees." Y'all get to keep the money y'all made and…" she then reached into her pocket. "Here's your next clue." She said handing them over their winnings to Fox as well as their clue to Krystal.

"Thanks a lot," said Fox, smiling.

"Yes, thank you very much," said Krystal, feeling extremely happy as she ripped open the clue.

FOX & KRYSTAL: Currently in 1st Place

"Congratulations on completing the Detour," said Krystal, reading the clue. "You must now make your way on foot to the Stock Pot Inn, which is in the East side of Clock Town.

TOAD'S NARRATION:

Upon completing the Detour…" said Toad, "teams must make their way on foot back to Clock Town and find the Stock Pot Inn. This popular resting area is a place for tourists who travel all over to stay and rest while celebrating the Carnival of Time. It is also the pit-stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here… will be eliminated."

END:

"Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated," Krystal read.

"Alrighty then," said Fox, feeling incredibly excited as they both went to pick up their back packs and leave, "we're on our way."

"Let's do this, Fox!" Krystal was feeling pretty confident that they were going to be the next team to win a leg.

Back at the Gorman Race track, P.T. & Lucario were still struggling to complete the other side of the Detour. The competitive Pokémon Trainer, who hates losing, managed to be the first one to beat both of the Gorman brothers in his first go-round.

"YES! I WON!" he cried. "I BEAT THEM!"

Lucario, however, was still struggling to catch up. "I can do this, I can do this," he kept saying to himself as he and his horse went.

Lucario eventually managed to pass the older Gorman brother as he rode by. Lucario's horse was speeding up with determination and going faster as both were getting closer to the finish line. Unfortunately, Lucario was unable to beat the younger Gorman brother, whom had managed to cross the finish line first.

"Aw man," P.T. lamented. "He's already beaten him."

"Yeah! I beat ya, Sucker!" the younger Gorman brother boasted.

Once all the riders were finished, they all got off their horses and walked back behind the wooden fences to discuss what to do next.

"Alright Kid, listen up," said the older Gorman brother. "Since 'you' managed to beat the both of us, you don't have to race again."

Yes!" P.T. cheered, knowing that he now no longer had to torture the poor animal. "What a relief."

"However," the younger Gorman brother added, "because your weird looking dog was unable to beat 'me,' he has to continue racing."

"WHAT did you call me?!" Lucario said angrily, feeling really insulted. P.T. quickly had to calm him down.

Meanwhile, Peach & Daisy finally managed the find the Gorman Racetrack and became the second team to arrive there.

"This is it," said Peach.

"So… this is Ugly Country," said Daisy, looking around while keeping cautious of any suspicious activity.

"Look, Daisy," said Peach, "Pokémon Trainer & Lucario are here."

"Look Lucario," said P.T., pointing towards the two princesses while they were looking around, "Peach & Daisy are here. Here buddy, go on ahead and race again."

"I thought you wanted us to leave on after our first try," said Lucario.

"I know, but remember, I don't have to race on those poor horses again. Plus, you only have to race against the younger brother since you beat the older one, so you should be fine."

Lucario then angrily looked at the younger Gorman brother. That guy was going to rue the day for EVER referring to the aura Pokémon as a 'dog'. "Alright then, I'll do it. It'll be a pleasure."

Lucario then went to put his horse back in the stables. "And don't worry, Master. I'm going to use a different horse than the one I used last time."

"Good," said P.T while putting away his horse in the stables. "These poor guys are going to need all the break time that they can get."

CONFESSIONAL:

"From my experience of being a Pokémon trainer, I've taken my good treatment for all my Pokémon to heart and with great responsibility," said P.T. while scratching Lucario behind the ear. "Personally, I not only want all Pokémon to be happy and healthy from good treatment, but that goes for all living beings as well. I believe all animals and Pokémon deserve happiness."

This caused Lucario to lick him affectionately, making P.T. laugh.

END:

"Look Peach," said Daisy, pointing off into the distance. "Those guys over there must be the Gorman brothers. Come on."

As the two princesses walked over there, the two brothers quickly spoke over Peach & Daisy before they could introduce themselves. "If you two girlies are here to horse race, you're going to have to wait your turns," said the older Gorman brother, pointing at a sign that said…

CURRENTLY IN THE MIDST OF A RACE AGAINST…

(The sign then displayed a picture of P.T. & Lucario)

The older Gorman brother then snorted some snot out of his mouth and spat it onto the wooden fence. This left Peach & Daisy disgusted and speechless.

CONFESSIONAL:

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"Okay, WHY is everyone acting so rude today?!" said Daisy, exasperated.

END:

"You got this, Lucario. You can do this," said P.T., cheering him on.

When Lucario was ready, he was once again standing behind the starting line on his new horse.

"Hey, wait a minute! Lucario only has to race against YOU this time," he complained to the younger brother as the older brother was also standing behind the finish line with his horse. "You're not being fair!"

"Can't you remember the rules you little dunce?" the older brother said. "Each racer has to beat BOTH of us in a single race."

"Yeah, we can't go THAT easy on you guys," the younger brother snickered. "Where's the fun in all that? Ha, ha, ha!"

"Grr," P.T. growled once again.

"Come on, Peach," Daisy beckoned her. "Let's go pick out our horses."

"Coming."

While the two brothers were counting down to start again, Lucario got his horse into position while feeling more determined than last time to beat both brothers.

'No one calls me a 'dog' and gets away with it! You two creeps are going down!' he thought to himself before the race got started. This time around, Lucario now knew how to keep his horse under control and was now in the lead.

"YEAH!" P.T. cheered. "Go Lucario!"

Meanwhile, Pikachu and Lucas were now returning to the Swamp Tourist Center as they rode up to the dock in the tour boat.

"Guys look, they're back!" cried Ness.

Once the boat had docked, Pikachu and Lucas got out and started climbing up the ladder to go inside, where as Deku Link and Deku Kirby went onto the boat now that it was now their turn.

"You got this, Kirby," Jigglypuff chimed. "Take the best picture of the Deku King that you can make!"

"Make you sure you finish quickly for me, Link," said Sheik (Zelda's alter ego). Link, however, ignored her as he still felt upset at her for not volunteering to do the Roadblock this time.

Meanwhile…

"Did you get a picture of the Deku King, Lucas?" asked Ness.

"Yeah, I got it," said Lucas while following Pikachu inside.

"Good, that's awesome! I'm proud of you man."

When Lucas and Pikachu went inside, the photo contest boss went ahead and gave Pikachu his clue now that he had finished going back around the swamp. "Here ya go little buddy."

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed while going back outside to Samus with the clue in his mouth.

"Good job, Pikachu," said Samus while grabbing the clue to rip it open.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Currently in 4th Place

Meanwhile, the Photo Contest Boss was inspecting Lucas' picture.

"So did I pass?" asked Lucas.

"Hmm…," he continued inspecting, "looks pretty clear to me. Doesn't seem to have any blurs in it… Yep, this photo passes the test."

"Yes!" Lucas was now cheering and jumping for joy once he heard him say that.

"Here's your next clue little guy." He then handed over the clue to Lucas.

"Thank you!" said Lucas, happily, who then hurriedly took his clue outside to show Ness.

"Ness, we passed! WE PASSED!" Lucas ecstatically stated while handing him the clue.

"Sweet! Good job buddy," Ness said while ripping open the clue to read it.

NESS & LUCAS: Currently in 5th Place

"Congratulations on completing the Roadblock," Samus read while rubbing Pikachu behind the ears as he sat on her shoulder.

"You must now make your way to Romani Ranch," Ness read. "Once you're there, you must find Cremia and Romani, and drop off your horse at the Ranch's stables to receive your next clue."

"Alright, let's go," said Samus, heading towards their horse. Ness & Lucas followed.

"Good job guys," said Jigglypuff.

"Yeah, good job," said Sheik.

Bowser Jr., who was still working on his Deku disguise, chose NOT to wish the two departing teams good luck. Meanwhile, Bowser snored while he continued sleeping in the grass.

"I'm sorry I put us out of the lead back there, Samus, pika," said Pikachu.

"Don't worry about it; it's not your fault. Don't forget, this leg isn't over so we can still catch up."

Link and Kirby, meanwhile, were busy riding the tour boat together as they rode their way through the swampy water to the Deku Palace while Koume led the way.

"Link, are you okay?" Kirby asked.

"I'm fine," said Link, "I'm just really mad at Zelda at the moment."

"Then… isn't that supposed to mean you're NOT fine?" said Kirby, confused.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & SHEIK: Newly Dating

"I just felt very upset with her," said Link. "By that point, I had to do my fourth Roadblock this entire race, while Zelda hadn't done a single one. I mean, we're supposed to be working together as a team here, but instead, I feel like I'm doing all of the work."

END:

Back in Ugly Country, Lucario totally kicked butt in his second go around on the Gorman Race Track. Channeling his inner racer, he used all of his anger to get his horse to pass up both Gorman brothers in the race. After surpassing all obstacles, he managed to cross the finish line first.

"YES! You did!" P.T. cheered excitedly. "You totally beat those guys! YOU'RE TOTALLY AWESOME!"

Lucario now felt really good.

After Lucario had gotten off his horse, P.T. went over to him and gave him a big hug. "You did it, buddy! I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, here's your next clue," said the younger brother, feeling disappointed for losing while handing it over to Lucario.

Lucario happily ripped it open and let P.T. read it.

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Currently in 2nd Place

"Congratulations on completing the Detour," P.T. read. "Make your way on foot to East Clock Town and find the Stock Pot Inn. Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated."

Lucario then went to put his horse back in the stables. "Good luck, you're highnesses," said Lucario to Peach & Daisy, who had already getting 'their' horses.

"Thank you," said Peach. "Good luck to you too."

"Yeah, good job," said Daisy as a sign of good sportsmanship despite her disapproval of the way he and P.T. were playing the game lately.

As for Fox & Krystal, the two vulpine managed to return to Clock Town and were now looking for the Stock Pot Inn. Now that it was getting late, the town was more crowded than ever as many people were getting ready for the Carnival of Time to get started pretty soon.

"This way," said Fox as he and Krystal went up a set of stairs that was near the Southern Entrance of the town walls. They were now entering into Eastern Clock Town and started asking people around on where to find the Inn.

"Excuse me, sir," Fox asked a travelling Goron, who was wearing a mask of one of the four giants for the occasion, "Do you know where the Stock Pot Inn is at?"

"Its right over there to your left," the Goron pointed out.

"Thanks."

As Fox & Krystal were heading closer to their destination, Krystal noticed something interesting.

"Fox, look! Toad is up there," Krystal pointed out. Toad was shown standing on the upper deck of the Inn with this leg's pit-stop greeter.

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Fox stated while grabbing her hand.

"Here they come," said Toad, talking to a man with violet colored hair, who was sitting in a strangely decorated chair at the mat while Toad pointed towards Fox & Krystal from the balcony. The two vulpine entered the inn, and hurriedly went upstairs to open the door to the upper deck. Once back outside, the happy pair ran to the mat and landed on it together.

"Welcome to Clock Town," said Mayor Dotour, who just so happened to be the mayor of Clock Town.

"Thank you," Fox & Krystal said simultaneously.

"Fox & Krystal," said Toad, smiling at the both of them.

"Yes?" said Krystal, feeling jittery while Fox held her hand.

"…you are team number ONE!" he declared.

"YES!" Fox & Krystal ecstatically cheered. Fox swung Krystal off her feet and spun her around, making Krystal laugh with joy. They were both so happy now that they managed to pull off their first leg win.

FOX & KRYSTAL: 1st Place

"Fox & Krystal, I have great news for you both," said Toad. "As the winners of this fourth leg of the race, you two have won a trip for two from Adventurocity to Adabat, which is on Planet Mobius," said Toad. "There, you'll be staying ten nights in a fancy wooden hut over the shallow sapphire ocean waters and you'll get to enjoy fishing with the native locals, exploring the tropical jungles, as well as receiving special massage treatments."

"Oh, that sounds really good right now, Toad," said Krystal.

"I can't blame you, Krystal, I mean look at you both," Toad pointed out, causing everyone to laugh.

"Ha, ha, yeah," said Fox, pointing at all of his cuts and scrapes. He felt exhausted.

"Absolutely," Krystal laughed. "I need to take a shower and get all this dirt and mud off of me. Ha, ha."

"Well, once again, congratulations to the both of you," Toad continued, smiling.

"Thank you," said both vulpine, who again kissed and made out with each other in celebration for their victory.

CONFESSIONAL:

FOX & KRYSTAL: Dating

…Fox & Krystal didn't know what to say about their very first leg win, so they just continued making out with each other.

END:

Back at the Southern Swamp, Link and Kirby had arrived at the dock and were getting out of the boat to head to the entrance of the Deku Palace. Link and Kirby had an easier time with the guards than Lucas did. Now it wasn't because they both looked like actual Deku Scrubs, it was because both guards remembered Link, who had helped to retrieve the Deku Princess and returned her to the palace a long time ago. For that, the guards allowed both Link and Kirby to go inside. When the two entered the throne room, it was the exact same story for them as all the Deku Scrubs in attendance immediately welcomed them. Everyone, including the Deku King, was so grateful to Link for his grand service a long time ago, that he allowed him and Kirby to have their pictures taken with him.

"You did it Link!" Navi cheered while flying over him and Ness.

"Well that was easy," said Deku Kirby, carrying his pictograph box with his photo inside while he and Link were heading back to the tour boat.

"Sure was," said Deku Link. Having the homeland advantage truly did pay off in a lot of ways… even though Termina wasn't Link's home.

Meanwhile, after managing to find Milk Road, Samus & Pikachu and Ness & Lucas were now riding their horses along the very path that led to Romani Ranch. After finding Cremia and Romani, they were finally able to get their horses put in the stables.

"Here's your next clue," Romani said to both teams once Cremia was finally done.

"Thank you," said Samus as she ripped open her and Pikachu's clue first.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Currently in 4th Place

"Detour…" Samus read.

NESS & LUCAS: Currently in 5th Place

"…Horse Racing or Dog Racing?" Lucas read after ripping open his and Ness' clue.

"You want to try 'Horse Racing,'?" said Pikachu after Samus finished reading the clue. "I feel pretty confident that we can do it, pika,"

"Alright then, we'll try it," Samus decided. She and Pikachu were now heading their way to Ugly Country to do the task.

"Hey Ness, Samus & Pikachu are going to do 'Horse Racing," said Lucas. "You think we should do that too?"

"Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt."

The two boys were now running after Samus & Pikachu.

Meanwhile, back at the Gorman Race Track, Peach & Daisy were struggling greatly while horse racing against both of the Gorman brothers. They had already raced two times, but neither of the girls had beaten at least one of the brothers yet.

CONFESSIONAL:

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"Those two guys were not taking it easy on us at all," said Peach. "They were just way too fast and way too good at racing those horses that we kept having a hard time trying to keep up."

"Yeah," said Daisy, "It was awful."

END:

As the two princesses continued struggling on their third attempt, Samus & Pikachu and Ness & Lucas were the net two teams to arrive at the race track.

"Where is everybody?" said Ness.

"Hey look, there's a sign on the wooden fence," said Lucas, pointing at it.

CURRENTLY IN THE MIDST OF A RACE AGAINST…

(The sign then displayed a picture of Peach & Daisy)

"So does this mean we have to wait, pika?" said Pikachu.

"Hold on," said Samus. "I hear something coming this way."

It was the sound of horses racing to the finish line that Samus was hearing, and with that being said, Peach & Daisy's third race was almost over… and the Gorman brothers once again became the winners.

"HWAAAAAA!" both brothers cried triumphantly as they crossed the finish line.

"Dang, those two look tough to beat," said Ness, who then watched the princesses cross the finish line looking mad and completely frustrated.

"GRRR!" Daisy growled angrily while punching the air with her fists repeatedly.

"I HATE THIS!" Peach screamed at the top of her lungs.

Not long after, all four horse riders were back behind the wooden fence with the other two teams. Because Peach & Daisy once again failed while other teams arrived, they were now being forced to go to the back of the line. This only added even MORE frustration to the two princesses.

'Worst. Detour. Ever,' Daisy thought to herself.

"Alright, which one of you guys is goin' next?" said the older brother.

"Hold on," said Samus before they could continue. "Do we each have to ride our own horse while racing?"

"That's what y'all is supposed to be doin'," said the younger brother.

"But what about Pikachu?" Samus then looked at the little electric mouse Pokémon. "He's too small to ride a horse on his own. He's not even big enough to ride a pony. Can't you just let the two of us ride on the same horse together?"

"Nope, you can't do that," said the younger brother. "There can only be one rider on every horse during each race, and that's that."

Samus moaned in frustration.

"I don't mind if I have to ride a horse all on my own, pika," Pikachu stated, even though the thought of doing such made him feel nervous.

"No Pikachu, it's too dangerous," said Samus. She didn't want him to get hurt. "There's got to be another way."

"Look lady, you're holding things up," said the older brother, getting impatient. "Make a decision and go."

"Alright, fine!" she stated. "Ness, Lucas, why don't you guys go ahead. We're going to do the other task."

"Gee thanks," said Lucas, who then went into stables to get his horse while Ness followed him inside.

Back at the Southern Swamp, Link and Kirby had gotten back at the Swamp Tourist Center with their photos.

"Yes! They made it! They're back!" cried Jigglypuff, jubilantly jumping up and down.

"Did you get our picture, Link?" Sheik asked.

Link, however, didn't say anything to her while he and Kirby got out of the boat and up the ladder.

"Come on, Link! You can't ignore me forever!"

This got to Link. "At this point, Sheik, it's definitely worth a try!" Link's remark left Sheik, and everyone else around, rather shocked.

"…Humph," Sheik complained while Link and Kirby went inside.

"Well that wasn't very nice," said Navi the fairy, feeling concerned.

Once inside, the photo contest boss was inspecting Link's photo first. Because Link had much experience with photographing with a pictograph box from his past adventures, his photo passed the test.

"Congratulations, kid. Here's your next clue," he then handed it over to Link.

"Thank you, sir." Once he retrieved it, he went back outside.

The man then inspected Kirby's photo. Sure enough, his photo passed the test as well.

"Good job, little guy. Here ya go," he then handed over the clue to Kirby, leaving the little puffball glowing with happiness.

"Yay! Thanks a lot!" Kirby then went outside with the clue in his hands.

"Yes!" Sheik cheered. "You did it Link! I knew you could!" She said this while reaching out her hand to grab the clue, but an embittered Link wouldn't let her, much to her consternation.

"YAY!" Jigglypuff cheered, while she and Kirby hugged each other. "You did it! We made it!"

"Thanks, Jiggs," said Kirby. He then let her rip open the clue and read it.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in 6th Place

"Make your way to Romani Ranch and find Cremia and Romani…" Link read.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 7th Place

"Once there, you must drop off your horse at the stables to receive your next clue," Jigglypuff read.

After that, Link took off his Deku mask and turned back into his normal human self while Deku Kirby used his powers to turn himself back into simply Kirby. Once both teams were ready, they went back over to their horses and departed for Romani Ranch. As Bowser Jr. watched them leave, he became immensely frustrated. "I can't believe we're still in last place! This Roadblock is stupid!"

Never-the-less, he still felt comfortable with his and his father's standing in the race as Mario & Luigi still haven't arrived at the Roadblock yet. Because of this, Bowser Jr. was now riding the tour boat all alone to the Deku Palace.

Meanwhile, once P.T. & Lucario returned to Clock Town, they had managed to find the Stock Pot Inn. They were now arriving at the mat on the upper deck of the inn.

"Welcome to Clock Town," said Mayor Dotour while sitting in his big fancy chair.

"Thanks a lot, man," said P.T.

"Pokémon Trainer & Lucario," said Toad, "…you're team number two."

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: 2nd Place

This left them both with big smiles on their faces - Lucario more so than P.T.

"That's great, Toad," said P.T.

"Yeah, that's not bad," said Lucario, feeling proud of him and P.T.'s leg performance. "We're still up in the front, so that's all that matters."

"Pokémon Trainer, are you alright there buddy?" asked Toad.

"I'm okay. I'm just still a bit upset about the horses back at the Gorman Race track. It just makes me so angry and upset to think those beautiful horses could be treated so badly. It's just criminal."

"I know just how you feel," said Mayor Dotour, "word has actually been going around Termina that those two crooks are up to no good. We've been trying to put those two boys to justice for their misdeeds for a long time now."

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"I'm now more driven to win this race more than ever now," said P.T. "and when we do, I want to donate a good portion of our winnings to a good cause to promote better treatment for not only Pokémon but all animals in general. Animal abuse is not cool!"

"You said it, Master!" Lucario agreed, licking his face once again.

END:

Back at Romani Ranch, Samus & Pikachu were heading over to Mamamu Yan's Doggy Race Track to try out 'Dog Racing'. Once they had arrived, Pikachu wanted to be the one to pick out a dog for the race, so Samus let him do so while she went over to grab the bag full of rupees provided for them. After that, Pikachu was shown scurrying around inside the dog pen trying to find a good dog while Samus was making their bet for the race. Unlike Fox, none of the dogs showed any dislike for the little electric mouse Pokémon.

"Pika? He said while looking around. "Which one should I pick, pika?"

While he continued searching, one of the dogs was shown following him around. It was out of curiosity as it had never seen a real live Pikachu before.

Meanwhile…

"Is that your final decision?" Mamayu Yan asked once Samus made her bid.

"Yes," Samus declared.

"Alrighty then, thirty rupees it is." She said, taking thirty rupees out of Samus' hands.

"Hey, Pikachu, have you found a dog for us, yet?" Samus called out to him.

"I think we should try this one, pika," he said, referring to the dog that kept following him around.

"Are you sure about that?" said Samus, who then walked inside the dog pen and picked up the dog to look at it.

"We could try. He seems to 'want' us to pick him, pika."

"Is that the dog y'all will be racin'?" Mamayu Yan asked.

Samus then nodded her head. "We'll do it. He seems fine to me."

After that, once Mamayu Yan whistled to get all the dogs over to the finish line again, the race was about to start.

"Alright dogs!" she said. "3…2…1… GO!"

All of the dogs were once again running extremely fast.

"Come on! Come on! You can do it! Run fast!" Samus cheered.

"Pika! Pika! Pika!" Pikachu cheered while sitting on Samus' shoulder.

Sadly, however, the dog Samus & Pikachu picked out was slowly falling further behind as the race wore on. Once the race was over, the dog finished in dead last place.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 20 Rupees Left in Total

"Oh, now that wasn't a good choice," said Mamayu Yan, stating the obvious.

"You don't say," said Samus, annoyed.

As for Ness & Lucas, they too were sucking immensely as they lost their first horse race against the Gorman brothers.

"NEXT!" cried both brothers.

"Hard isn't it," said Daisy when it was their turn again.

"It's SUPER hard," Lucas lamented.

"How are those guys so good at this?" Ness wondered.

As for Bowser Jr., he became the next person disguised as a Deku scrub to arrive at the Deku Palace, and just like a few others before him, he was unable to get the two Deku scrub guards to let him through.

"We've heard that one before!"

"You look more like a baby dodongo than a Deku scrub!"

As the two Deku guards continued telling Bowser Jr. to git, he finally gave in and decided to try a different approach… by using his flamethrower.

"AAAAAAAAH!" the two Deku guards screamed as they were now running around burning in agony. (Deku scrubs are made of wood, and fire burns wood.)

While the poor Deku Scrubs jumped into the swampy water to put out the fire, Bowser Jr. went inside laughing.

Meanwhile, Link & Sheik and Kirby & Jigglypuff became the next two teams to arrive at the ranch. Once Romani saw Link, she excitedly ran over to meet him once again.

"Hi Grasshopper!" she chimed. "Welcome back! Te, he!"

"…Grasshopper?" Sheik bemused, causing Link to turn red in the face.

Suddenly, Navi was heard laughing her head off.

"Ugh…" Link moaned, feeling embarrassed.

Not long after, Cremia was finishing putting Epona as well as Kirby & Jigglypuff's horse in the stables.

"There we go. You're all set," she said, talking to both teams.

"Be sure to take good care of Epona for me," said Link. "She means a lot to me."

"I can handle that," Romani beamed, "It's my way of continuing to thank you for scaring off the ghosts for me when you first came here."

"Eh hem," said Cremia, "we can BOTH handle taking care of her." Even though Romani was a bit older than when Link last visited her, Cremia still didn't believe Romani was old enough taking care of the horses just yet. Romani groaned at her in annoyance.

"Here are yawls next clues," she said, handing them over to the two teams while giving Cremia the ugly eye. Link & Zelda came first of course since she really liked Link a lot.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in 6th Place

This time, Link let Sheik read the clue. "It's a Detour, Link."

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 7th Place

"I think we should do 'Dog Racing,' Kirby," said Jigglypuff. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle riding those horses, what with how small I am."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about me too," Kirby agreed. "Let's do it."

"Kirby & Jigglypuff are doing 'Dog Racing', Link," Sheik said while watching the two puffballs head their way to the Doggy Racetrack. "You think we should do that too?"

"I don't think so, Sheik," Link said, remembering from his experience of playing that game when he first came to Termina. "It usually takes about a million tries to make about a hundred and fifty rupees, and that takes way too long. Let's just do 'Horse Racing.' Riding horses is way more up our alley anyways." He said all this while picking up his backpack getting ready to leave.

"Okay, if you say so," said Sheik.

"He KNOWS so," said Navi, feeling confident in her good ol' partner, Link.

Back at the Doggy Race Track, Samus decided to take a risk and bid the rest of their rupees on a new dog that she got to pick out this time. After the second race was over, the dog Samus picked out finished in second place.

"Time!" Mamayu Yan called out. "Congratulations, y'all two earned twice as much as y'all betted, and that's forty rupees.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 40 Rupees Left in Total

"But that's still ten rupees less than what we started with, pika," said Pikachu, feeling cheated.

"Don't worry about it, Pikachu," said Samus. "We just have to keep trying." For the next race, she decided to have them use the same dog they used last time and bet twenty rupees once again.

Meanwhile, Kirby & Jigglypuff became the next team to arrive at the Doggy Race Track.

"Hey guys, pika," Pikachu greeted the two puffballs.

"Hi," said Kirby & Jigglypuff while they went to grab the bag of fifty rupees that had their names on it.

Jigglypuff wanted to be the one to pick out their dog, so she did just that. "Awww, you pups look so ADORABLE!" she chimed, causing the puppy dog she picked up to lick her affectionately. She then brought it over to the starting line and placed it next to Samus & Pikachu's dog.

"Hey, Jiggy-wigs, how do you think bidding all fifty of our rupees sounds?" Kirby asked. "It'll be the quickest way for us to finish if we're lucky."

"Sounds good to me," said Jigglypuff, who was actually willing to take the risk as she had great confidence in the dog that she picked out.

"Let's do this!" said Samus; feeling convinced that the two puffballs were going to lose (Samus, of course, kept this to herself so as to be a good sport).

"Yeah!" cried Jigglypuff.

By Mamayu Yan's command, the next dog race had begun.

Back at the Gorman Racetrack, when Link & Sheik arrived, they found Ness & Lucas waiting around in front of the wooden fence.

"Hey guys," said Ness.

"Hi Ness, what's going on?" asked Link.

"We're waiting our turns in line," said Lucas. "You see, we're waiting for Peach & Daisy to finish." He then pointed to the sign that showed their picture on it, which showed they were taking their turns at the moment.

"So we have to wait in line?" said Sheik. "How long does that usually take?"

"Quite a while, actually," said Lucas.

"A VERY long time at that," Ness added.

Apparently, Ness was trying to intimidate Link & Sheik out of doing the task out of strategy. It seemed to work as it made Link think that he didn't want to waste any more time by waiting in line again. He felt he and Sheik had done enough of that during the Roadblock back at the Southern Swamp.

"…You know what Sheik, let's just do the other task," Link decided. "I'm not waiting in line again."

"Excuse me!?" Sheik said, feeling annoyed. "I thought you said it was better that we do THIS task!"

"The other task doesn't have lines, Sheik. Let's just go and do it. Come on." He beckoned her.

"Wait. What?! No! Link, WHY are you second guessing!? NO! I'm not walking all the way back across the ranch!" Sheik's voiced was now getting raised higher and higher as she started complaining again. "That was tiring enough as it was! I'm not switching tasks just because you don't want to wait in line. That's STUPID! WHY are you being stupid again, Link! Link, ANSWER ME!"

"Sheik, pipe down and quit yelling!"

"I'M NOT YELLING AT YOU, LINK!"

Link sighed. "Look, I'm tired too, but I don't care. We're DOING the other task."

"But I- Link! GRRRRRR! Sheik grumbled immensely at him as she 'struggled' to follow after him.

"Oh no," Navi said, shaking her head as she followed after them.

Watching Link & Zelda bicker like that just left Ness & Lucas rather amused.

"H-what the heck!?" Lucas snickered after Link & Sheik left. "What was all THAT about?"

"Yeah, especially Zelda," said Ness. "She doesn't usually act that way. Wonder what's gotten into her."

Peach & Daisy, meanwhile, had FINALLY managed to pull off a win as both of them managed to beat both of the Gorman brothers.

"YAY!" cried Peach. "We won! We won!"

"Yes! Good job, Peach!" said Daisy.

"No," Peach laughed, "good job, yourself,"

"Good job, guys," said Ness, so did Lucas.

The two princesses thanked them as they continued laughing happily while getting off their horses and putting them back in the stables.

"Alright, here's your next clue," said the older brother, feeling annoyed.

"Thank you," said Daisy. She then let Peach be the one to read it.

PEACH & DAISY: Currently in 3rd Place

"Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated," Peach read.

"Y'all should've seen Link & Sheik before they left," said Lucas.

"Why? What happened?" said Daisy.

"Did they arrive while we were racing?" asked Peach.

"Yeah," said Ness. "Link decided he didn't want to wait in line again. You should've seen the way Zelda reacted after that."

"Yeah," said Lucas, "she started yelling and complaining, and it turned into a bickering match. She went nuts!"

"Oh dear," Peach gasped out of concern for her.

"I think it's because of all the stress of this race," said Daisy as she got her backpack ready. "She's probably sleep deprived."

"If that's so, she needs to get some rest," Peach suggested. She and Daisy then left and made their way back to Clock Town.

Back at the Doggy Race Track, the next dog race had come to an end.

"Time!" Mamayu Yan called out. She then looked over to Kirby & Jigglypuff. "Well I'll be danged! Yawl's dog came in first place, which means y'all win three times as much as you betted. That's one-hundred and fifty rupees exactly!"

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 150 Rupees Left in Total

"YAY!" cried a jubilant Jigglypuff, jumping up and down for joy.

"We did it, Jiggs!" cried Kirby.

"As for you two, yawls dog came in fifth place, so y'all only receive all of the rupees you bided," Mamayu Yan said, given them back their twenty rupees.

"Thanks," said Samus sarcastically.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 40 Rupees Left in Total

"Congratulations, y'all," Mamayu Yan said to the two puffballs, "here's your next clue."

"Thanks," said Jigglypuff, receiving it and then ripping it open.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 4th Place

"Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated," she read.

"Good job, guys, pika," Pikachu said, giving Jigglypuff a high five. Pokémon to Pokémon.

"Yeah, nice job," said Samus, giving Kirby a high five.

"Thanks," both puffballs said as they were now on their way back to Clock Town.

On their way out, they ran into Link & Sheik, who were arriving at the Doggy Race Track.

"Did you win already?" asked Link.

"Yeah, and we got it on our first try too!" said Kirby, excitedly.

This made Sheik feel very upset. There was no way she and Link would win this leg now, not like how they planned in the beginning.

Back at the Southern Swamp, Bowser Jr. was frowning majorly while sitting in the tour boat on his way back to the Swamp Tourist Center. He felt like a failure as he just HAD to screw up and fail to get a picture while he and his Dad were still at the back. Here's what happened. After he entered the palace, he was in such a hurry to finish that he failed to read the signs. He went the wrong way by turning right and going into one of the palace gardens, rather than going straight ahead. He got caught by one of the guards that patrolled the area, and ended up getting kicked out of the palace early. When he did, Bowser Jr. landed in the water and lost his pictograph box in the process. No matter how hard he searched underwater, he couldn't find it anywhere, so he just gave in.

"Dad is going to kill me," Bowser Jr. said to himself. There was no doubt about this.

When he got back, however, he was relieved upon discovering that his dad was STILL asleep. Once he got out of the boat, he quickly tip-toed on dock and climbed up the latter to go back inside to see the Photo Contest Boss.

"…so… you lost the pictograph box and didn't even get to see the Deku King. Well aren't you the greatest." he said rhetorically, causing Bowser Jr. to shake his head in bewilderment. "Well, kid, looks like you're going to have to go back around the swamp before I can give you your next clue, so you better hop to it."

"When am I EVER going to get out of here?!" Bowser Jr. complained while going back outside. He immediately got back into the boat and began his voyage back around the swamp. 'What a waste of time!' he thought to himself.

Back at the Gorman Race Track, Ness managed to be the first person to beat both of the Gorman brothers, but Lucas had failed.

"Yes! I won!" cried Ness.

"Aw man! I lost!" cried Lucas.

This of course meant Lucas alone had to continue horse racing in order for Ness & Lucas to have completed the task.

Meanwhile, Peach & Daisy soon managed to arrive back in Clock Town, and had found Stock Pot Inn. Once they got to the upper deck, they went and stepped onto the mat together. They now felt very tired.

"Peach & Daisy," said Toad, "…you're team number three."

PEACH & DAISY: 3rd Place

"Yay," both princesses said. They were breathing huge sighs of relief now that the leg was finally over.

Not too long after that, Kirby & Jigglypuff became the next team to arrive at the mat.

"Kirby & Jigglypuff," said Toad, "…you're team number four."

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 4th Place

The two puffballs just stood there in shock for a second. "…WHAT!?" they both cried, causing Toad to laugh.

"Fourth Place!? Is that even accurate!?" said Jigglypuff with her eyes wide open in disbelieve as they were mostly in the back of the pack throughout the whole leg.

"Trust me, it is," Toad confirmed.

"No way!" cried Kirby, giving Jigglypuff a high five. "I thought we were going to be like fifth or sixth or something, but fourth!? That's incredible."

Back at the Doggy Race Track, Samus & Pikachu decided to go and pick out a third dog for the next race.

"This is starting to suck, we've been stuck here for like an hour already, pika," Pikachu complained while he helped Samus search for a better dog.

As for Link & Sheik, Sheik made Link go into the dog pen to find a dog while she went and made their bet to Mamayu Yan.

"Of course it had to be ME to be the one to find a dog," Link said bitterly as he felt that Sheik was once again not doing her fair share of the work.

"We're going to bet thirty rupees for our first go-round," Sheik decided.

"Alrighty then," said Mamayu Yan, taking the rupees.

Pretty soon, Link found a strong and healthy golden furred dog to run their first race. When Samus found a big white dog for her and Pikachu, she decided to make a risky yet strategic move.

CONFESSIONALL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Friends

"By that point, I was just getting really frustrated and impatient with that task," said Samus.

END:

"We choose to bet all of the rupees we have left," Samus said to Mamayu Yan.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" she asked.

"Positive," said Samus. Of course, she knew that even if they were to win first place, they'd only end up with one-hundred and twenty rupees, which was thirty rupees short of their goal, and if they failed… they were in for a lot of trouble.

CONFESSIONAL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Friends

"I don't know what came over me to make such a move, but by that point, I just didn't give a darn," said Samus. "I was just getting very desperate to get out of there."

END:

Once all the dogs were ready, Mamayu Yan once again counted down to 3…2…1.

"Go!" she shouted. Another dog race was officially on. When it came to an end, however, Link & Zelda's dog only came in eight place and Samus & Pikachu's dog came in sixth place. Both teams failed miserably.

"I am sorry, but both of yawls dogs were unable to finish anywhere between first through fifth place, so none of y'all receive back any of the rupees you all betted."

LINK & ZELDA: 20 Rupees Left in Total

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 0 Rupees Left in Total – EPIC FAIL

This caused Samus to lash out and yell at the skies in frustration, causing everyone to cover their ears.

Pikachu's ears suddenly drooped down in sadness. "What are we going to do now, pika?" He knew there was hardly any chance he'd be able to ride the horse on his own at the other task. Samus, however, was not willing to give up so easily.

"Come on, Pikachu," said Samus, picking up her backpack "let's just try and do our best at the other task. I'm not going to let this Detour lick us."

"But… I'll never be able to handle riding any of the horses, pika," said Pikachu.

"We have to at least try," said Samus while picking him up, and putting him on her shoulders so they could leave.

At that moment, it then started drizzling a bit.

"What do we do now, Link?" Sheik said, feeling miserable as several rain drops were falling on her. "We only have twenty rupees left."

Link thought it over for a few seconds. "…Lets just give it one more go and bid the rest of our rupees. We'll see where it goes from there. If we lose, we'll do the other one."

"Fine then, but you're going to be the one to find another dog for us. I'm not going to waste what little energy I have left if it ends up to be a waste of time."

Link just gave her an angry scowl before going back into the dog pen all by himself again. Link was just too tired to argue with her and he just wanted to get it over with.

"That was kind of out line, you know," said Mamayu Yan, feeling sorry for Link.

"Whatever, I don't care. I'm just really tired," said Sheik. "Besides, I like these kinds of tasks. In these tasks, it's only necessary for the man to do all the grunt work while I don't have to do anything. It's perfect."

Unbeknownst to Sheik, however, Link overheard her, and when he did, it just made him feel incredibly furious. Link DID have incredible hearing after all.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & SHEIK: Newly Dating

"Zelda just made me feel angrier than ever before at that point," said Link. "I was wet, and tired, and hungry, and throughout the whole leg, she has been nothing but a headache. I was the only one doing the Detour task, and Zelda wasn't willing to help me out, and by that point, she had hardly done ANYTHING in this leg! Not a thing at all, besides whining and complaining about everything, and starting bickering matches just simply because she was 'tired!?' I was upset enough with her before she outright said that she preferred having me do all the grunt work at these tasks, and so I just snapped."

END:

'THAT'S IT!' Link thought to himself. Because he was feeling exhausted, however, he didn't have the energy to express his anger out loud. Instead, he deliberately decided to pick the weakest dog he could find so they could lose the next dog race. He wanted them to have no other choice but to do the 'Horse Racing' task so he could get Sheik to start doing some actual work.

Sure enough, when Mamayu Yan started the next dog race, the dog Link chose finished in dead last place.

LINK & ZELDA: 0 Rupees Left in Total – EPIC FAIL

"Oh, that wasn't a good choice!" said Mamayu Yan.

"Are you kidding me, Link!?" Sheik angrily stated. "You just went and picked the worst dog of the bunch! Are you TRYING to make us lose the race? Are you seriously that STUPID!? YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT!"

Link did his best to ignore her as he picked up their backpacks so they could leave.

Back at the Gorman Race Track, Lucas gave it his all as he tried to race against those same Gorman brothers one last time. After an intense horse race around that same race track, Lucas finally managed to pull off a win against both brothers.

"YES!" Ness cheered. "You did it man, you did it! You won!"

Lucas breathed a huge sigh of relief now that he finally managed to complete the task.

"Congratulations, kid," said the younger brother, "here's your next clue."

"Thanks," said Lucas, obtaining the clue. He then gave it to Ness for him to read it.

"Good job buddy, you rocked!" said Ness.

"Thanks," Lucas said while putting his horse back in the horse stables.

NESS & LUCAS: Currently in 5th Place

While Ness was ripping open the clue, Samus & Pikachu returned to the Gorman Race Track.

"Did you guys finish, pika?" Pikachu asked Ness while Samus went inside the stables.

"Yeah, we're getting ready to leave. So y'all weren't able to complete the other task?"

Pikachu shook his head sadly.

"Well that's a bummer."

When Lucas returned, Ness then took out their clue and read it. "Warning: the last team will be eliminated."

"Let's get out of here," said Lucas grabbing his backpack.

"Best of luck to you guys," said Ness, feeling sorry for Samus & Pikachu's rotten luck.

Meanwhile, Bowser Jr. had managed to finish going all the way back around the swamp, and was now arriving back at the Swamp Tourist Center where Bowser was just now finishing his nap. Surprisingly, he saw that Mario & Luigi STILL hadn't arrived yet. Once the boat docked, he quickly got out and climbed up the ladder to retrieve their next clue. Once he did, he hurried out, climbed back down the ladder, and went over to his father.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 8th Place

"Wake up, Dad, wake up," said Bowser Jr., shaking him awake.

After shaking him, Bowser finally woke up. When he opened his eyes and looked around, however, he IMMEDIATEY became filled with rage.

"ROOOOAAARRREE!" He roared incredibly loud, breathing immense amounts of fire out of his mouth. "Son, WHERE did everybody go!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO PUT US IN LAST PLACE!?

"Calm down, will you?! Mario & Luigi haven't arrived yet," said Bowser Jr. He then held up the clue. "Look, I've finished the Roadblock and got our clue."

"GIVE ME THAT!" he yelled, yanking it out of his hands. Feeling incredibly angry that they've once again fallen behind the other teams, he practically destroyed the contents of the clue trying to rip it out in his frustration.

"Dad, be careful with that!" he said while Bowser was littering the ground with bits and pieces of the clues envelope.

"SHUT UP!" he said, as he took out there clue. Once he was finished reading it, he picked up his son and slammed him onto their horse.

"Ow! Watch it!"

"Quit whining and get the horse moving!" he said as he grabbed the ropes to their horse. The dysfunctional father and son Koopa team was now back and at it again as they left the Southern Swamp.

Back in the stable of the Gorman Race Track, Samus found that there were no ponies for Pikachu to ride on at all. Samus was now really beginning to think they were screwed. Never-the-less, she refused to give up and then went and decided to pick what she thought was the smallest horse for Pikachu to ride on. Of course, all three of the horses that were available in there all looked similar in size, and they were pretty big horses.

Meanwhile, Link & Sheik were now standing outside the stables to wait out Samus & Pikachu's turn. However, before Samus & Pikachu could start the task, Link & Sheik were appalled by the poor condition that the horses were in, so they took out their bottles with pink fairies, and let them lose so that the fairies could heal the horses into much better condition. Immediately, all the cuts and scrapes on the horses' legs were gone and the horses became fully energized again.

"Alright, Pikachu, let's do this," said Samus, who then put him on the stable of the horse he would have to ride. To her, it was the smallest horse that there was to offer.

"You ready for this?" She asked him while handing him the ropes.

Pikachu just nervously shook his head. "I-I don't know about this, Samus. I'm not big enough to ride this horse, pika."

Samus gave him a sympathetic yet determined look. "We have to at least try." Samus, however, was just as equally worried as she couldn't stop thinking about Pikachu's well being. She then got onto her own horse before beginning to walk it and Pikachu's horse to the starting line.

Meanwhile, as Link & Sheik were watching Samus & Pikachu, they were feeling really bad about the predicament those two were now in.

"Man, that is just so unfair," said Link, feeling sorry for them.

"I can't believe those brothers didn't provide any ponies for any of the smaller racers to ride on," said Sheik. "Did they really have to make this task that difficult for everyone to finish?"

As for Bowser & Bowser Jr., they were able to quickly find Romani Ranch and have Cremia - who immediately didn't like them - put their horse in the stables. Once that was done, they were then being given their next clue by Romani - who also didn't like them. Bowser once again didn't let his son read the clue.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 8th Place

"It's another Detour," Bowser said while quickly page skimming it.

"Which task do you think we should do?" asked Bowser Jr.

"Definitely 'Dog Racing,'" he decided.

"And what makes you so sure of that all of a sudden?" Bowser Jr. questioned.

"Because the other task involves the both of us having to ride a horse, and in case you've forgotten, I'm too heavy to ride a horse, remember?"

"Oh… right." He was then suddenly being pulled by his father once again.

"Come on, son, there's no time to waste!"

"Let…go…of…my…hand!" Bowser Jr. stammered as they went.

Back at the Gorman Race Track, the Gorman brothers started the next horse race on account of "Go!" and they and Samus & Pikachu were off. Almost immediately, however, Pikachu couldn't keep himself on his horse as the horse's movements caused him to lose his grip on the ropes.

"PIKAAAAA!" he screamed as he suddenly went flying. He then landed face-first on the ground with a thud.

"OOOH! Ouch," Link winced while watching him from behind the fence.

"Pikachu…?!" Samus called out to him, becoming concerned. She then started slowing down.

CONFESSIONAL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Friends

"As I heard Pikachu screaming, I just immediately got worried," said Samus. "Instinctively, I felt the need to slow down and get off my horse to run and check on him."

END:

"Pikachu…!" Samus cried as she ran up to his side. "Pikachu, are you alright?!"

"I-I'm…" Pikachu winced as he tried to get up. "…I'm okay."

"No you're not, you're hurt," said Sheik, coming over to help, and she was right. Pikachu now had a couple of scratches and bruises on him.

"Aw man!" said Samus, for this was already turning into a disaster.

Getting back to Bowser & Bowser Jr., they were now arriving at the Doggy Race Track to do the task.

'Great, MORE freaky looking weirdoes!' Mamayu Yan thought to herself as she watched them gather their bag full of rupees at the table.

After that, Bowser told his son that he had to be the one to make the bet while Bowser himself would be the one to pick out a dog from the big bunch. Bowser's reason for this was because he believed Bowser Jr. had screwed them up enough in this leg, and he just wanted to get out of there quickly. Bowser Jr. felt objectionable to this, but he didn't want to continue to argue as he too wanted to get the Detour over with. As Bowser went into the dog pen to search, Bowser Jr., who wanted to finish the task in the fasted way he thought possible, decided to take a foolish risk by betting ALL of the rupees provided for them to Mamayu Yan, which she accepted.

"Alright, this one should win the race, no doubt," said Bowser, coming back over with a dog that had golden fur on it. "Did you place our bet, son?"

"Yeah, Dad."

"Well then let's get this race started, y'all," said Mamayu Yan, who then called over all the dogs with her special whistle again.

"3…2…1 GO!"

All of the dogs were now once again running fast to try to win, only they were all now getting tired due to playing the same game over and over all day. Bowser & Bowser Jr.'s dog felt tired too; he was getting exhausted actually. Because of this, it was now falling behind the other dogs.

"NO!" Bowser yelled. "Go faster! FASTER!"

But the dog wouldn't go any faster, no matter how much Bowser yelled.

'Uh oh,' Bowser Jr. thought to himself, getting nervous.

"And… time!" Mamayu Yan called out. The race was now over, and the golden furred dog had lost.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 0 Rupees Left in Total – EPIC FAIL

"NO!" Bowser yelled. "That little weakling! How could it have finished last?!"

"Guess you should've picked a better dog," Mamayu Yan smirked, once again stating the obvious. This only preceded Bowser to growl angrily at her.

"Son, how many rupees are left in that bag?" he said, turning back to Bowser Jr. "I'm going to place the bet this time."

Bowser Jr., just stood there. He was in for another yelling at now. "I uh…" He then sighed, "…we don't have any more rupees, Dad."

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Bowser yelled, snatching the money bag out of his hands. It was empty, just like his son said. He now became incredibly furious.

"…I'm sorry Dad."

"YOU SHOULD BE SORRY YOU IDIOT! NOW WE NO LONGER HAVE ANY MORE RUPEES!" Bowser was now screaming at the top of his lungs. He was FLAMING mad now.

"But Dad, I was only trying to-"

"SHUT UP! DO NOT say another word!" said Bowser, who was picking up his backpack now that they had to leave to do the other task. "You suck at this game, son! Every time I leave you to do something, you always mess things up! You're nothing but a screw-up, Junior!"

"Don't, I told you not to call me J-"

"I SAID SHUT UP, JUNIOR!" Bowser once again interrupted, causing Mamayu Yan to shake her head, disgusted.

Meanwhile, Ness & Lucas managed to find the Stock Pot Inn in the East side of Clock Town and became the next team to arrive at the mat.

"Ness & Lucas," said Toad.

"Yeah?" said Lucas.

"…you're team number five."

NESS & LUCAS: 5th Place

"Alright! Nice job!" Ness said, smiling happily as he and Lucas gave each other high fives for each other's excellent hard work.

As for Samus & Pikachu, because they failed to even complete the horse race around the race track on their first try, it was now Link & Sheik's turn. Sitting with their own horses in front of the starting line, Link sat confidently in his saddle as he had done plenty of horseback riding in his time, and he was feeling ready to get the race on. Sheik, on the other hand, didn't look as confident.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & SHEIK: Newly Dating

"This is going to come as a bit of a shocker to everyone, but I've never ridden a horse on my own," said Sheik. "I'm always used to having either Link or my castle attendant, Impa do it for me while I ride with them, and so I knew I didn't have this in the bag."

END:

When the Gorman brothers said "GO!" they were now off and running.

"Whoa!" cried Sheik, already struggling to control her horse.

"Hyah!" Link said, hoisting the ropes to his horse. Being the horse riding expert that he was, he was already in the lead.

"Link!" Sheik cried out to him. She was falling far behind. "Link, wait for me!"

Link, however, didn't hear her as he was too busy trying to beat the Gorman brothers. As expected, he beat the both of them in a landslide as he crossed the finish line first.

"Alright!" Samus cheered. "Nice job, Link!"

"Way to go, Link, pika!"

Sheik, however, didn't even get one-fourth of the way through the race track by the time both of the Gorman brothers crossed the finish line. She ended up having to walk back carrying the ropes while pulling the horse.

"Are you kidding me, Sheik?" said Link, feeling shocked and disappointed. "I thought you said you were good at this."

"Oh, shut up," she said, feeling embarrassed.

Meanwhile, as Samus & Pikachu were getting ready for their turns again, Bowser & Bowser Jr. was shown to be arriving.

"Oh great, it's Bowser & Bowser Jr. again," Link complained while pointing out to them.

Sheik saw them. "They better not have any tricks up their shells."

When they arrived, the two koopa's decided to keep their distance from everyone so they could think and figure out what to do to get Bowser to complete the task.

Meanwhile, Samus was busy trying to figure out a way to help get Pikachu to stay on his horse. "Here Pikachu, how about we tie you to the ropes," said Samus, tying him to the ropes. "That way, you can't fall off the horse at all."

"I guess that could work, pika," however, he didn't think this was a safe idea. "But Samus, if I DO fall off again, this time I want you to keep racing and cross the finish line first. This way, it'll benefit us like it benefited Link & Zelda."

"Okay then," she said, "but hang on tight, and don't get hurt again."

Samus then got back onto her horse and the Gorman brothers started the next horse race. Just like she promised, Samus didn't think about Pikachu at all and focused on beating both brothers to the finish line while Pikachu was once again falling behind.

"Whoa…whoa!" Pikachu wavered as he struggled to hang on to his horse. Of course, he was staying on longer than last time.

"You can do it, Pikachu!" Link cheered for him, causing Sheik to nudge him with her fist.

"Don't cheer for him you moron! We're trying to stay OUT of last place, remember?"

"Hey! Excuuuuuuuuse me for being a good sport, princess!"

Sheik threw a raspberry at him in response.

While Link & Sheik continued bickering, Samus was kicking butt. Just like that, she managed to cross the finish line first.

"YES!" she cheered. "I beat the both of them!" She then suddenly remembered Pikachu.

"PIKAAAA!" Pikachu yelled as he continued having more trouble trying to control his horse. Just like how it was with Lucario, the horse was afraid of the little mouse Pokémon for it never saw one before, and it was now trying to shake Pikachu off its back out of panic.

"Someone help me, pika!" Pikachu struggled to continue hanging on tight as the horse kept shaking him back and forth. By that point, both of the Gorman brothers had crossed the finish line. Eventually, the horse did manage to get him off as Pikachu once again fell to the ground. Unfortunately, because he was still attached to the ropes, the horse was now dragging poor Pikachu around as it ran along the track.

"OWWWWWW, PIKAAAAAA!" the poor little electric mouse Pokémon cried in agony as the scared horse continued dragging him across the track.

"Oh no, PIKACHU!" Samus screamed as she ran after the horse to help him.

"I'll help!" said Link, jumping over the wooden fence to run and help Samus stop the horse.

All the commotion was causing both the Gorman brothers and Bowser & Bowser Jr. to laugh sinisterly at Pikachu's misfortune. This caused a disgusted Sheik to give them all a scathing glare.

Meanwhile, Link ran after the horse and jumped onto it to get it to slow down while Samus went after Pikachu. After hoisting the ropes, Link was able to get the horse to stop, and Samus was able to save Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Samus cried. "Pikachu, are you alright?!"

"…pika…" Pikachu struggled to get back up on his feet. He was now covered in dirt and bits of grass, and he had more cuts and scrapes all over his body now. He looked destroyed.

"We better bring him back," said Link, who then rode the horse back over to the starting line.

Samus did just that as she carried him back over. She felt horrible, more than ever now.

CONFESSIONAL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Best Friends

"Everything was just getting worse," said Samus. "I was feeling so out of control with the situation we were in, and no matter how hard I tried to fix it, nothing good came of it. At the same time, Pikachu was getting more and more injured and we were falling further behind. I had never felt so angry and frustrated. I HATED that Detour."

END:

Samus was now washing Pikachu's injuries with a wet cloth that she borrowed from Sheik, who was getting ready to try again.

"I'm sorry, Samus," said Pikachu while Samus was putting a band-aid on him. "I never meant for this to happen, pika"

"It's not your fault, Pikachu."

Sheik, meanwhile, wasn't having an easier time than Pikachu was. When the next horse race started, her horse jumped back and neighed. This caused Sheik to fall off the back of the horse and land face first into the dirt. Her horse then ran off after the Gorman brothers, who weren't bothering to stop. They, along with Bowser & Bowser Jr., were laughing at her misfortune.

"Augh! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" she yelled as she struggled to stand back up, covered in dirt. Link then went to help her up.

It was now Bowser & Bowser Jr.'s turn… only there was a teeny, tiny problem.

"Hey you!" said Bowser, talking to the Gorman brothers while walking over to them.

This caught everybody's attention. Seeing that it was coming from Bowser, it could NOT be good.

"Look at me," said Bowser. "I'm going to be too heavy for the horses you know. That's putting me at an unfair disadvantage."

"Oh great," said the younger brother, annoyed. "Another team that's telling us we're being unfair."

"Hey, come on! Just look at how fat and huge he looks," Bowser Jr. pointed out, causing an offended Bowser to snarl at him angrily while everyone laughed at him.

"He, he," Bowser Jr. snickered nervously, "but seriously, though, he really is going to be too heavy for the horses. There has to be something that can be done."

The two brothers thought it over. "Hmm… well…" said the older brother, "I guess there could be something that can be done."

"Oh, really?" Link questioned, getting suspicious. "Just what then?"

"Follow us," said the older brother to Bowser, ignoring Link. He led Bowser & Bowser Jr. back into the stables. They then closed the doors behind them, which only made it look even more suspicious.

"…What are they up to, pika?" said Pikachu, confused.

"Well, whatever it is, it can't be good," said Link, remembering just how conniving the Gorman brothers could be.

"Yeah and why did it have to be for Bowser & Bowser Jr. of all people?" Sheik wondered and lamented.

"I better check this out," said Link, who then used a Deku nut to break open a small hole on one of the wooden doors. He then peered through the hole to see what was going on.

"What do you see?" asked Samus.

Link saw what looked like some sort of empty glass container that one of the Gorman brothers was holding. Also, for some peculiar reason, or another, he heard a very powerful noise from one of the horses in there.

"Oh no," said Link, "they couldn't have. They wouldn't!"

"What are you talking about Link? What's going on?" said Sheik.

Suddenly, the doors to the stables opened up, and out came Bowser… who was sitting on an actual horse, smirking evilly.

"What the heck?!" said Link.

"What is the meaning of this?" said Sheik.

"How did you-?" said Samus, speechless. "There's just no way Bowser was able to… THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Tough luck, honey," said Bowser.

"WHAT did you just call me?!" Samus yelled.

Link then saw the Gorman brothers walk out of the stables. "Hey, you!"

"What now?" said the younger brother.

"I saw you with that empty glass container in there, and now that Bowser is able to all of a suddenly ride that horse without crushing it…"

"Yeah, so what's your point?" the older brother rudely interrupted.

"If what everyone in Termina says is true, and you truly have stolen some of it… you fed Bowser's horse with Chateau Romani!"

This left everyone speechless.

"…What, pika?" said Pikachu, confused.

"Chateau Romani?" Sheik questioned, who then suddenly gasped. "Wait a minute!"

"Yes, Sheik, that's just what they did."

"Wait! I don't understand," said Samus. "What is Chateau Romani? Is it like a drug or something?"

"No, Samus," said Link. "Chateau Romani is a magically enhanced milk beverage that comes from Romani Ranch. It's super rare and super powerful, and anyone that drinks it will suddenly become surged with an unlimited supply of power, energy, and strength."

"What?!" Samus became shocked and angry upon hearing this. "But that means!"

"No way!" said Pikachu. "You can't do that! That's cheating, pika!"

"It's not cheating if the game-makers allow it," Bowser Jr. smirked, sticking out his tongue to mock them.

"HOW DARE YOU, PIKA!" Pikachu was now very angry, as electricity was violently surging from his veins.

"Pikachu, don't!" said Samus, as Pikachu looked warn out enough as it was. "It's not worth it."

"But it's not fair, pika!"

"Pikachu's right, Bowser!" Sheik angrily stated. "You've gone too far!"

"Too bad for you then," said Bowser, laughing.

This only caused Link & Sheik and Samus & Pikachu to continue lashing out angrily at the koopa, but it wasn't going to make any difference as the Gorman brother's decision was final, and it only got worse from there. Right after the Gorman brothers started the next horse for the two koopas, Bowser's horse ran incredibly faster than the other racer's horses that Bowser was able to cross the finish line by the time the Gorman brothers were half way through. After that, by a chance of luck, Bowser Jr. also managed to cross the finish line before the two brothers could.

"YES!" said Bowser & Bowser Jr., cheering.

"NO!" said everybody else, infuriated.

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said the older brother, handing it to them.

"Thank you," said Bowser, snatching it out of his hands to read it.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 6th Place

Samus could not believe any of this. "Seriously?! What the heck just happened?!"

"You'll pay for this, Bowser, pika!" said Pikachu.

Ignoring Pikachu, Bowser was now reading the clue. "You're next pit-stop is at the Stock Pot Inn."

"Alright then, let's go," said Bowser Jr., excited.

Not a moment too soon, the two koopas were now gone.

"Those snakes!" said Sheik. "They'll be sorry they ever messed with us!"

"What goes around comes around," said Link, "and sooner or later, they will get their comeuppance eventually."

"Let's just hope it's not later," said Samus. She then looked at Pikachu. "You ready to try again? It's your turn now."

Pikachu didn't answer immediately. He only took another look at his injuries as he took a deep breath. "I'll give it another try," he said.

When he did give it another try, however, he fell off his horse again. The situation was really starting to look bad now.

"This is awful," said Samus, despondent. "It's been such a long day. When is it going to be over?"

With that being said, the sun was sinking deeper, and as the beginning of the carnival came nearer, many tourists and citizens of Clock Town were crowding the place while getting ready for the fireworks display to happen soon. In fact, as time would have it, it was at this point that Mario & Luigi FINALLY managed to get to Termina…yet, they were so far behind.

"We're-a here!" said Mario.

"Aw…finally!" said Luigi.

After saying goodbye to the fairy that led them through the Lost Woods, Mario & Luigi rode their horse towards Clock Town as instructed by the clue. After getting off their horse and entering the town, they searched around the extended crowds to find the clock tower.

"There it is-a," said Mario.

Once they arrived, they got their clue out of the clue-box and read it's instructions.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

"Okay, lets-a go," said Luigi.

Doing as the clue instructed them to, they managed to find the post-office in West Clock Town, and got their post-man hats so they could start searching for their next clue in one of the five red mailboxes that were scattered throughout the entire town. However, with eight of the ten clues gone from several of the mailboxes and with the town more crowded than it was earlier, that was bound to take a REALLY long time.

"Oh no," Luigi whined. He didn't think they could get done quickly.

"Mama Mia!" cried Mario, who then slouched down on the ground feeling defeated. The two Mario-Bros were now definitely beginning to think they were screwed.

Luigi, however, refused to ever so slightly go down. "We're not-a going to give up-a. We're going to finished-a what we started."

Mario looked up at him and agreed. "You know what-a, Luigi, you're right. Who cares how long it takes-a? Let's-a just finish."

With that, the two Mario Bros gave each other high fives, and began their search around Town for their hidden clue.

Back at the Gorman Race Track, it was Sheik's turn to race again. Before she went however, Link had to give her some tips on how to control her horse and how to stay on it better.

"So whatever you do," said Link, "whenever you're riding, just keep your feet pressed tightly against the horse, never let go of the saddle, and don't let those jerks pass you."

"Okay," said Sheik. "I think I got it now."

"You can do this, Sheik. I know you can." He then patted her on the shoulder before she was ready.

Before what felt like the one-thousandth horse race had begun, Samus was beginning to grow anxious. As much as she was rooting for Sheik, there was a major part of Samus that was hoping for Sheik to screw up again, but this time, it looked like it was going to work. "Oh gosh."

Once the next race began, Sheik immediately got into race mode, and started racing on her horse.

"There she goes," said Link, hoping for her to succeed.

"Oh, man, pika," said Pikachu, growing anxious.

The clock was ticking, and from Link's literal standpoint, there was no telling who was in the lead yet. Soon after that, Link saw, to his great delight that Sheik was in the lead!

"Yes! Go, Sheik!" cried Link. "You've got this! Keep going!"

"I can do this! I can do this!" Sheik said to herself. She was getting closer and closer. The Gorman brothers were catching up.

"Oh my gosh…" said Samus.

Before anyone knew it, Sheik emerged from the race victorious. She won the game!

"YES!" cried Link. "You did it, Sheik! You beat them! You won!"

"I won?!" said Sheik, who couldn't believe it. "I WON!"

Link then helped her off the horse and they gave each other a big hug. It looked very touching.

Samus & Pikachu felt very disappointed at this, but they clapped for them anyways.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & SHEIK (ZELDA): Newly Dating

"I couldn't believe it," said Sheik. "I actually managed to ride that horse and win. I-I actually did it."

END:

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said the older Gorman brother.

Sheik gladly took the clue, ripped it open, and read it.

LINK & SHEIK: Currently in 7th Place

"Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated," Sheik read.

"Alright, girl, let's get out of this place," said Link as he grabbed his backpack.

After exchanging congratulations and good lucks to each other, Link & Sheik had departed for Clock Town while Samus & Pikachu remained. They were the only ones left at the Gorman Race Track now, and it felt awful. Pikachu took another look at the horse he had to continue riding, and it did not look like it was ready for another round of having Pikachu ride it.

"I can't believe any of this, pika," Pikachu lamented.

CONFESSIONAL:

Samus sighed. "It just felt unreal. Are horses like a Pokémon's worst enemy or something? I don't get it."

END:

Back in Clock Town, after a long day of having to put up with each other, Bowser & Bowser Jr. finally managed to find the pit-stop at the Stock Pot Inn and arrived at the mat where Toad was waiting.

"Bowser & Bowser Jr," said Toad, "…you're team number six."

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 6th Place

Bowser Jr. just sighed. "Sixth place again. Yay, great…not!"

"We could've done better if you weren't such a screw up today, you know," said Bowser.

Bowser Jr. scowled at him again, but he was too tired to fight. He decided to just walk away and take a nap.

"Don't walk away from me, son! Get back here!" yelled Bowser.

Toad and Mayor Dotour just rolled their eyes.

Meanwhile, over in South Clock Town, Mario & Luigi were still searching for their clue. They had searched two mailboxes already, and they were all empty. Despite this, they still kept going.

"Come on Mr. Clue," said Mario, jokingly. "Come out, come out, wherever you-a are."

Back at the Gorman Race Track, Pikachu was giving it another go with the horse. Samus did her best to make sure Pikachu was properly secured tightly to the saddle with the ropes, and gave Pikachu the best advice she could give him.

"You can do this, Pikachu," said Samus. "Remember, Mario & Luigi are still far behind us, so we're not out yet."

"Okay, pika."

By this point, both Gorman brothers were getting real sick and tired of riding horses around the race track all day that they were actually willing to start taking it easy on Pikachu. Even so, the horse continued to remain stubborn, and when the next race started, the horse continued to try to shake off poor Pikachu out of fear of the little Pokémon. Not long into that race, Pikachu fell off again. This time, however, it was REALLY not a good fall to endure.

"OW! PIKA!" he cried. The wild horse had run off again.

"Pikachu!" cried Samus, running over to him.

"Ow! My leg, pika."

"Pikachu, are you okay?"

"No, my leg…pika…"

Samus took a look at Pikachu's leg, and it looked bad. "Oh no!"

…

"Pikachu, are you okay?" Samus was now more worried and concerned for Pikachu more than ever now. She couldn't tell if his leg was broken or sprained, but it was bad.

"I can't get up, pika."

"Don't get up," she said. "Don't stand. It'll only make it worse."

CONFESSIONAL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Friends

"When that happened, I was just like 'Are you kidding me?!'" said Samus.

"Yeah, it totally sucked, pika," said Pikachu.

"It sucked majorly. Dumb luck really set in on us very badly."

END:

There was no way possible that Pikachu could continue the task now. Samus was now punching the ground with her fist in pure anger and

frustration. 'How could this have happened to us?! It's not fair!' she thought.

"What are we going to do now?" Pikachu lamented.

Back in Clock Town, Link & Sheik became the next team to arrive at the mat at the Stock Pot Inn.

"Welcome back to Clock Town, Link," Mayor Dotour chimed.

"Gee, thanks," said Link, smiling.

"What? You're not going to welcome US?" said Navi, referring to her and Sheik, causing everyone to laugh.

"Link & Sheik" said Toad, "…you're team number seven."

LINK & SHEIK: 7th Place

"Okay, that's fine," said Link. Although their performance wasn't much of an improvement from the last leg, Link was just happy they were still in it.

"We could've gotten first place today," said Sheik, "but…well, we didn't, and I blame Link for that. It was his fault." She said, pointing her finger at him

"What!?" Link could not believe what just now came out of her mouth. "Augh, that's it!" Link had now had enough of her for one day. "You know what, screw you, princess. I'm out. I'm not getting involved in all this finger pointing. I'm done." He then turned around and walked away.

"You're such a baby, Link," Sheik teased him. "I can't believe you're not going to take even a little bit of responsibility for everything that happened today."

"Just shut up, Zel!" he said, while walking back inside.

"Baby!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh boy," said Navi, shaking her head.

Meanwhile, after about an hour of searching, Mario & Luigi FINALLY found a red mailbox that had a clue in it.

"Yes!" cried Mario, "We found-a one!"

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

After reading the clue, the two Mario Bros made their way through the crowds to the Southern entrance of the town, and took off for the Southern Swamp.

Back at Gorman Race Track, Samus & Pikachu were now the only other team left in the game. Only with Pikachu's new-made game breaking injury, there was no way he could finish now. With his twisted and injured leg, it was impossible.

Suddenly, Samus got an idea. "Well, buddy, guess we have no other choice."

"What's that, pika?"

"It's not going to make things very easy from here, but if it works, it'll help save us."

"What do you have in mind, pika?"

"Well, you can't continue anyways, so what do you say we just quit the task?"

"Quit the task? But, Samus, if we quit, we'll be penalized by-"

"Six hours. Yeah, I know," Samus finished for him. "But listen, here's what I'm thinking. Mario & Luigi are still several hours behind us, but even if we take the penalty, we still might have a chance to get checked in before Mario & Luigi are done."

"Are you sure, Samus? It sounds kind've risky, pika."

"Maybe so, but it just might be our only hope of staying in this game. I'm confident that we can make it, Pikachu."

"But what about my leg?" Pikachu pointed out. "Even if we survive, what if it really is broken? What then, pika?"

"Well, we'll never know unless we find out right? Besides, that's not what matters right now. What matters is that we survive this leg and secure our standing in this game, so are you up for it or not?"

"…Well," thought about it a little more, "…yeah, I am up for it. Let's do it, pika!"

"Right on, little buddy," Samus then picked him and put him on her shoulder. "Let's get out of here!"

Samus & Pikachu then returned back to the stables.

"We're giving up," Samus told the Gorman Brothers, "we're taking the penalty."

"Alright then, you asked for it," said the younger brother, giving her the clue, "now get out of here."

"With pleasure, pika," said Pikachu while Samus ripped open the clue.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Currently in 8th Place

"Make your way on foot to the pit-stop," she read. "Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated."

"Off we go then, pika."

Samus grabbed her and Pikachu's things and they set off for Clock Town at last.

The sun continued to sink, and it was now getting dark. Mario & Luigi turned on their headlamps as they were now arriving on their horse at the Southern Swamp and found the clue-box in front of the Swamp Tourist Center.

"I'll get it," said Mario, who then got off the horse, and ran to it.

"What's it say?" asked Luigi once Mario got it and ripped it open.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

"It's a Roadblock, Luigi," said Mario. "It says the person that performs this-a task should be a master of disguise and have good tastes. I'll volunteer since you did the last-a two Roadblocks, Luigi."

"Okay," said Luigi. "Thank you, brother."

After reading what he had to do, Mario then got himself changed into his red bathing suit, and got to work on his costume by jumping into the same mud puddle the other racers used before them. This made Luigi laugh, for he thought it looked fun. When Mario was done, he went to gather some fallen leaves and put them all over his body. Once Luigi was certain that he looked like an actual Deku scrub, Mario then climbed up the ladder to go inside the Swamp Tourist Center to get his pictograph box and a reservation on the boat cruise. Once he was done with that, he went back outside, and got on the boat where Koume was waiting. He was now off to the Deku Palace.

"Good luck, Mario!" Luigi called out to him.

"Will-a do, Luigi!" cried Mario.

Luigi then went inside the tourist center as he didn't want to stay outside in the dark all alone.

Meanwhile, after much walking and asking for directions, Samus & Pikachu were finally able to locate the Stock Pot Inn, and were now arriving at the mat to meat Toad.

"Hi Toad, pika," Pikachu greeted him, so did Samus.

"Welcome to Clock Town," Mayor Dotour said once more.

"Thank you," said Samus.

"Samus & Pikachu…" said Toad, "you're the eighth team to arrive."

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 8th Team to Arrive

"Uh huh," said Samus as she and Pikachu nodded their heads.

"However, I understand you both decided to quit the Detour," said Toad.

"Yeah, we had to, pika" said Pikachu sadly.

"Pikachu got injured, so we couldn't continue," Samus added.

"I understand that," said Toad, "however, as according to the rules, any team that is unable to complete the Detour must wait out a six hour penalty in order to make up for that. Now as you both know, Mario & Luigi haven't arrived yet, so you're six hour waiting penalty begins now."

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 6 Hours Remaining

"Okay," said Samus.

"Alright, pika," said Pikachu.

"Now guys, if you can be able to wait out the penalty before Mario & Luigi arrive, you'll be checked in at eight place, and you'll still be in the game. Now you guys can go ahead and just sit and wait around until you're time penalty is up," said Toad

"Alright then, at least we'll still be able to see the fireworks from here, pika," said Pikachu.

Samus & Pikachu then went to find a good spot by the wooden railings of the deck to sit down and take in the festive area.

Meanwhile, Mario was having trouble trying to get passed the guards at the entrance of the palace. Due to the many incidents that happened at the entrance that day, the guards were not willing to let anyone go inside for any reason any more.

"Please-a let me in," Mario begged. "I promise I'll-a be good."

"No way!" said one of the guards. "No more visitors."

"There have been enough visitors for one day, so scram!" said the other guard.

Mario had been there for half of an hour trying to get them to let him in, so he decided to just give up and go back. "Mama-Mia, what a disaster!" He lamented as he head on back to the tour boat.

Once he returned to the Swamp Tourist Center, he returned his pictograph box, and returned to the boat for another lap around the swamp. He was feeling wet and tired and hungry. He didn't know if he could continue wasting his time enduring all this misery for nothing.

"It's-a okay, Mario," said Luigi, "It'll be over soon. Think about how good it'll feel when it'll be finally over."

"Okay then, good-a point," Mario agreed.

Back in Clock Town, it was now dark out, and the hype from the celebrating crowds outside was getting louder.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 5 Hours and 4 Minutes Remaining

"The stars look beautiful tonight, pika," said Pikachu, sitting against the wall for the rain clouds from earlier had now vanished.

"Yeah, they do," said Samus, sitting next to him.

Soon, Mario was able to finish his second lap around the swamp, and was now receiving it from the photo contest boss.

"Here's your next clue," he said.

"Thank you," said Mario, receiving it and then going back outside.

"So what does the clue say now?" Luigi asked while Mario was ripping it open.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

"It says we have to drop off our horses as Romani Ranch to receive our next clue," he read.

"Alright, let's go then," said Luigi.

Mario & Luigi were now back on their horse and were now searching for the ranch.

Meanwhile…

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 4 Hours and 23 Minutes Remaining

"Besides your injury, I hope there haven't been any problems in this leg, I presume," Toad asked.

Samus & Pikachu then looked at each other. "Well, I wouldn't say that, exactly," said Samus.

"Really? What happened?"

"It was back at the Gorman Race Track, and it had to do with Bowser & Bowser Jr., pika," said Pikachu.

"Those Gorman brothers fed Bowser's horse with Chateau Romani to give them an advantage in the challenge," Samus continued.

"Yeah, and because of that, Bowser was able to easily complete it in an unfair way. We believe he cheated, pika."

"So you do you two believe Bowser & Bowser Jr. need to be given a penalty for their little game misdemeanor?" asked Toad.

"At this point, yeah, quite frankly we do," said Samus, laughing a bit.

"Well, it is true that we do give out penalties to teams who cheat and break the rules," said Toad, "however, this was a rare situation where the judges actually allowed this to happen, so we're actually unable to deduce whether or not that Bowser & Bowser Jr. will be given a penalty at the moment."

This caused Pikachu's ears to droop in disappointment.

"Although, because the advantage those judges gave was unprecedented and not approved of pre-determinedly, there's a very good possibility that the producers will be able to work something out with this, so something just might happen," said Toad.

"Yeah, I hope so," said Samus. "It's what they deserve."

Mario & Luigi, meanwhile, managed to find Romani Ranch, and were now dropping off their horse at the stables of the barn house.

"Alright, you're all set," said Cremia.

"Here's your next clue," said Romani, who then yawned as it was now time for bed.

"Thank you," said Luigi, who then ripped it open to read it.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

"I say we just try and do 'Dog Racing," Mario suggested as he didn't want to do any more horse riding.

"Okay, we'll try it out," said Luigi.

They then made their way over to the Doggy Race Track.

Meanwhile…

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 3 Hours and 11 Minutes Remaining

At that moment, the clock had struck midnight. That's when the fireworks display had started and the clock tower was now beginning to 'fall over' to begin the celebration of a new coming year filled with blessings, and happiness, and harvests in the land of Termina.

"Wow, look at that, pika!" said Pikachu, feeling awed by everything he saw.

"Isn't it awesome?!" said Samus. "It's like New Years!"

So far, for Samus & Pikachu, the fireworks were the best part of the celebration.

Back over at the Doggy Race Track, Mario placed their bet with the rupees provided for them while Luigi picked out a big orange furred dog. Mario bet thirty rupees for their first go round, just to be safe.

"Y'all two ready?" asked Mamayu Yan.

"We're-a ready," said Luigi.

With that being said, Mamayu Yan started the dog race and in the end, the orange dog Luigi picked placed second.

"Ya-hoo!" Mario cheered.

"Congratulations," said Mamayu Yan. "You're dog placed second, so y'all earn back twice as much as y'all betted."

MARIO & LUIGI: 80 Rupees Left in Total

"Alright-a, so far, so good," said Luigi.

Back in Clock Town…

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 2 Hours and 34 Minutes Remaining

Pikachu's stomach was now growling. "I'm hungry, pika."

"Let's get something to eat when we're done," Samus suggested.

"Yeah, definitely, pika." The two of them laughed.

Meanwhile, for the next dog race, Mario decided to bid half of the rupees that they had left. Meanwhile, Luigi decided he wanted to try out a different dog. He decided to pick one of the dogs that had weird blue fur on them.

"Y'all two ready?" Mamayu Yan asked once again.

"Ready," said Mario.

When the next dog race started, the blue furred dog Luigi chose was speeding by, almost like blue lightning. It ended up winning in first place.

"Holy cow!" cried Mamayu Yan. "It won! That means y'all receive three times as much y'all betted."

"Yes!" said Mario while hugging Luigi, feeling relieved.

MARIO & LUIGI: 160 Rupees Left in Total

"Congratulations, you made more than one-hundred and fifty rupees, so here's your next clue," she said, handing Luigi over their clue.

"Thanks," said Luigi. It had been a long evening for the two of them.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in Last Place

"You must-a now make your way on foot to the next pit-stop, which is at the Stock Pot Inn in East Clock Town," Luigi read. "Warning: the last-a team to check in will be eliminated."

"Alright-a, come on Luigi," said Mario, picking up his backpack. "Let's finish strong."

"We're-a going out fighting," said Luigi.

They were now on their way back to Clock Town.

Samus & Pikachu were still waiting out their penalty at the Stock Pot Inn.

SAMUS & PIKACHU: 1 Hour and 3 Minutes Remaining

"I can't believe it's been nearly five hours and Mario & Luigi still haven't arrived yet, pika!" said Pikachu, completely amazed.

"Yep, so far, so good," said Samus.

The clock was ticking fast.

Meanwhile, Mario & Luigi were struggling a little along the way.

"AHHH! Bats!" Luigi screamed as bats were swooping down and attacking them in the dark while traveling through Milk Road.

"We're not done, yet-a, Luigi," said Mario.

Pretty soon, they arrived back at Termina Field and were now heading their way back towards Clock Town.

Meanwhile…

"You're penalty time is almost over, guys," said Toad to Samus & Pikachu.

Samus took a deep sigh."That's what I like to hear."

"Me too, pika."

Meanwhile…

"We can make it-a, Luigi," said Mario as they walked their way through the crowded streets of Southern Clock Town.

'We're almost there,' thought Luigi.

The two Mario Bros were soon entering East Clock Town, and started looking around for the inn…

"We've got this Luigi, we're-a almost done," said Mario.

…

…

…

…

Finally, Mario & Luigi had reached the upper deck of Stock Pot Inn, and were now arriving at the mat to meet Toad, and boy were they happy to see him.

"Welcome to Clock Town," said Mayor Dotour.

"Mario & Luigi," said Toad.

"Yeah, Toad?" said Luigi, panting from all the running they just went through.

"…You're the last team to arrive."

"Yeah, we know," said Mario, who felt very tired and exhausted.

"…and y'all do remember that the clue said that the last team to be checked in at the mat would be eliminated, am I correct?" Toad continued.

"Yeah, we remember," said Luigi, who felt like his stomach was trying to squeeze its way up his throat.

"Well, I'm sorry to say this, but that team is …NOT going to be you tonight!"

"Say WHAT?!" said Mario.

"If you take a look behind you, Samus & Pikachu are waiting out a penalty for quitting the Detour," Toad pointed out to them. "Since you two managed to arrive before their time penalty elapsed, you've been moved up a spot to eighth place…"

"W-What?!" a shocked Luigi looked like he was about to cry.

"No way!" Mario couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"…and I am pleased to inform the both of you that because of this, you are still in the Amazing Race," Toad happily concluded for them.

"OH MY GOOOOOOSH!" Mario & Luigi suddenly jumped into each other's arms in absolute relief, happy as can be. They really thought they were out of the race completely. Boy were they wrong.

MARIO & LUIGI: 8th Place

The two Mario Bros hugged each other for what felt like a long time to them. Toad and Mayor Dotour couldn't help but look on in awe. When Mario & Luigi finally let each other go, Mario was all smiles, while Luigi had tears streaming down his eyes.

"Luigi, are you okay?" Toad asked, chuckling.

"I-I am-a perfectly fine, Toad," said Luigi, smiling. "I just- I've just… I can't-a believe we're still in this. Is-a this for real?"

"It is-a real, brother," Mario happily stated, hugging his shoulders. "Aw man, Toad. I really thought we were done for by the time we got here in Termina. I mean, this is just-a unbelievable."

"But we did it, we never threw in the towel, we kept-a going," said Luigi.

"Well, congratulations to the both of you," said Toad, smiling.

"Thank you," they both said.

Toad then looked on over to Samus & Pikachu, who now looked deeply saddened by what was to come. "Samus & Pikachu, why don't you two come on over here?"

The two friends did just that, and stepped back on the mat next to Mario & Luigi.

"Samus & Pikachu," said Toad, "…I'm sorry to tell you that Mario & Luigi managed to check in before you're six-hour time penalty elapsed."

Samus nodded her head. She & Pikachu only had seventeen minutes left to wait out.

"I'm sorry to tell you that that puts you two in last place…"

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Last Place

"… and that you both have been eliminated from the race."

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Eliminated

Samus scratched behind Pikachu's drooping ears upon hearing those words while shaking her head disappointingly.

"…Oh well," said Pikachu, "guess that's that, huh Samus, pika."

"Yeah," said Samus. "Oh well. We gave it our best shot. We played a good game, and we had a good run too."

"Yeah, y'all did-a good," said Mario, giving them a high five. Luigi did the same.

"Thanks, I'm just glad this leg is over," said Samus.

"Yeah," Pikachu agreed, "this leg was a tough one, VERY tough." He then pointed towards his bandaged leg, which turned out to be only a sprain according to the medical team that examined it during their penalty.

"Samus, you think you could give everybody some insight on you and Pikachu's relationship, and how this race affected it?" said Toad.

"Yeah, absolutely," Samus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this race was the best thing Pikachu and I ever got to do together. It was the right thing for us to do, because we're such good friends, and we don't usually have enough time to spend each other's company and to have fun, but on this race, it was just far out, and I'm just so grateful for that. I wouldn't have traded this adventure for anything else."

"Pikachu, what about you?" Toad asked him.

Pikachu chuckled. "Toad, I- I absolutely agree with everything Samus said. But I feel like we're more than just friends now, we're – we're better then friends. We're…we're-"

"Soul mates?" Samus smirked.

Pikachu laughed his head off at that, and the two of them were suddenly hugging each other. "Ha, ha, I was going to say 'best friends,' but that's good too. It really is, pika."

Everybody at the mat continued laughing.

CONFESSIONAL:

SAMUS & PIKACHU: Best Friends

"This race truly has been a great experience," said Samus. "We got to see many different worlds all over the Universe, and got to experience how different people from different eras lived their lives, and I got to see it all with my own eyes. It was truly phenomenal. Do I regret taking the six-hour penalty… well, it depends, you know, I took it because I was looking out for my good friend, Pikachu and you know what, we were pretty close to succeeding if you think about it. We were very close, so, I guess, in conclusion, I guess we should've just token the penalty sooner. Other than that, however, I have no regrets."

"I'm going to miss running the Amazing Race and all the freedom and adventure that came with it," said Pikachu. "I got to do so many wonderful things that I never thought I'd be able to do. I got to go ghost hunting in a haunted house, have a high flying adventure with the owls in Hyrule, I get to celebrate the Carnival of Time, and so many other things, but most of all, I'm happy I got to do it all with Samus. Yeah, I'm upset we didn't get to go as far as we wanted, but four legs is still pretty good, and I believe we did awesome on this race, I really do, pika."

END:

When everyone was free to go, Samus & Pikachu were then shown heading up to the top of the 'fallen over' clock tower and joined with several people that were shown singing and dancing to the gods for the coming of new things to come as another fireworks show came on display. My, how it all looked beautiful.

CONFESSIONAL:

FOX & KRYSTAL: Dating

The two vulpine were now able to pull themselves together after getting over the thrill of their first leg win.

"We're in the front now, and right now, everything is perfect," said Fox, "but the race is still on, and we can't lose our focus. We have to continue to keep our heads in the game."

"The competition has now been reduced down to two-thirds from what it started with," said Krystal. "There are eight teams left in the game, and eight more legs to go. These last four legs may have come and gone, but we're just getting started now."

"There's no resting time in this game," said Fox, "we have to remain wary of who we're still competing against and be prepared for whatever future locations and tasks we encounter down the road."

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"Some of the other teams are starting to turn against each other," said Peach.

"… and others are beginning to resort to lying, and backstabbing, and manipulating," said Daisy.

"Yeah, we have to watch out for other people and watch our backs from now on because this race is starting to turn dangerous," said Peach.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Father/Son

"Play time is over," said Bowser. "There's no more 'Ooh, look at that,' or 'Wow, this is fun.' NO! We're here to win and take everything for ourselves. Nobody is stopping us."

"We'll do anything to win from now on," said Bowser Jr. "There's no more back of the pack, we're going to do whatever it takes to get ahead, and keep getting further in this game. If anyone TRIES to stop us, we'll just take them down like timbering trees with an ax. No one stands in our way of victory."

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"We're not here to make friends, or maintain any friendships we have with the other teams for that matter," said Lucario "All of that can be settled for another time, but right now, we're going to keep doing whatever we believe needs to be done in order to stay ahead and win."

"We're kicking it, and we're going to continue kicking butt until the very end," said P.T. "Lucario and I are unstoppable, and nothing is going to slow us down. Nothing!"

END:

Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode.

...

On the next episode of the Amazing Race: Video Game Edition, the eight remaining teams are now making their way to the Kanto Region in the world of Pokémon.

"Gotta catch 'em all," said P.T.

"Kanto Region, here we come," said Link.

P.T. & Lucario immediately head into trouble early into the leg due to misuse of the alarm clock…

"OH MY GOSH!" P.T. screamed out of nowhere, awakening Lucario. "I set the alarm wrong! We are so dead now!"

Drama ensues in the airport when teams are forced to buy and book tickets of their own…

"We've put the tickets on stand-by, but there's no guarantee you guys are going to make it," said the man behind the counter.

"You're kidding me," said Kirby.

Some teams experience a crazy bike ride around Palet town…

"What the heck?" said Fox. "Is that charmander going to use flamethrower on us?!"

"Uh oh," said Krystal, "I don't want to get burned."

And watch what happens when of one of these eight remaining teams get into trouble with the law.

"You two are not permitted to be carrying any Pokémon in your possession," said an angry officer Jenny. "I am placing the both of you under arrest!"

…

Whew, Finished! FINALLY! That took forever, but it was worth it. I'm so happy I was able to finish this leg in Termina. Though, I'll admit, it's a REALLY long chapter. I'm planning on chopping some of it off and setting it over in the previous chapter, but other than that, it's all good. Man, a lot of crazy stuff really happened in this leg didn't it? Well, the unexpected is to be expected after all, especially since I never planned on which team place what placement throughout the entire race. I like it that way, it makes for a more unpredictable story, and I think those kind of stories are the best. I'm also not going to proof read this chapter until later on, so parden me if there are any grammar mistakes. Feel free to leave comments. Thanks for reading, and see you all later.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own T.A.R. nor NINTENDO.