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.

15. Episode 5 Part 3

Episode 5: I'm Too Young To Go To Jail - Part 3

…

"I can't believe this is happening to us," said Lucas to Ness, feeling scared. "I can't get arrested. I'm too young to go to jail."

"It'll be okay, Lucas," Ness whispered, though he felt otherwise.

Ness & Lucas were sitting together in the sidecar of Officer Jenny's motorcycle. They sat handcuffed with their hands behind their backs as they anxiously watched her spray a soothing potion on the sick Pignite that they were supposed to deliver to Nurse Joy in Viridian City.

"That should calm you down for now," said Jenny to Pignite once she finished spraying. Now, Pignite was much more relaxed. She then held out the pokeball Ness & Lucas were carrying. "Now you can rest peacefully."

Once Officer Jenny had Pignite inside it's pokeball, Lucas decided to speak up again. "W-What are you going to do with Pignite?"

"Did I not tell you that you have the right to remain silent or am I speaking French?!" she scolded.

"We just want to know what you're going to do with it," said Ness. "Professor Oak told us to send it to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "You expect me to believe that the brilliant and world-famous Professor Oak asked for the help of you two low life hoodlums?"

"Hoodlums…?" said Lucas.

"And as for the Pignite, I will personally have it sent to the Pokémon Center myself… AFTER I have you two detained at the Viridian City Police Department!"

Pokémon Trainer & Lucario, meanwhile, were still riding their bikes to the bus station. While pedaling, Lucario saw up ahead what looked like Ness & Lucas sitting in the sidecar of a policewoman's motorcycle, much to his surprise.

"Master, look," Lucario pointed in their direction. "Ness & Lucas are in trouble."

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"Seeing Ness & Lucas getting arrested, we just didn't know what to believe," said Lucario.

"Yeah," said P.T. "I mean, Officer Jenny arresting two kids, not to mention, Ness & Lucas. That was just shocking. I couldn't believe it at all."

END:

P.T. looked speechless as he continued pedaling. That was the same Officer Jenny who asked them about the whereabouts of Team Rocket. Could she have mistaken Ness & Lucas for Pokémon thieves?

"Shouldn't we help them, Master?" said Lucario.

P.T. had never felt so conflicted. He really wanted to help them. At the same time, however, he really wanted to win.

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"Part of me felt really bad for Ness & Lucas," said P.T., being genuine. "However, another part of me felt that it was best to only worry about the race. As much as I hate saying this, I felt that if we let Ness & Lucas get sent to jail, it would no doubt give us the advantage we needed to survive the leg.

END:

"... L-let's just forget about them, Lucario," P.T. stammered. "It's better to just keep moving."

Lucario's eyes widened in befuddlement. "Master… you can't be serious. Don't you think this is a bit much?"

P.T. continued pedaling down the road as they were now about to pass Ness & Lucas. Officer Jenny saw them as she smiled and waved at them. "Hi boys."

Ness looked at whom she was waving at. "It's Pokémon Trainer & Lucario!"

"Hey! Over here!" cried Lucas. "Help us, please!"

"You keep your voice down!" Officer Jenny scolded him.

"You've got to help us out here, you guys!" Ness begged. "Please, you've gotta!"

P.T. & Lucario continued pedaling their bikes down the road, ignoring them.

"HEY, WAIT!" cried Lucas even louder. "Come back!"

"They… didn't even acknowledge us." Ness was almost at a loss for words as he watched them go farther down the road, away from them.

CONFESSIONAL:

NESS & LUCAS: Best Friends

"I had never felt so betrayed," said Ness. "I had a whole whirlwind of emotions going through my head. I could not believe Pokémon Trainer & Lucario would allow us to get arrested and ditch us. Screw them!"

END:

Minutes later, Officer Jenny had passed P.T. & Lucario as she carried poor Ness & Lucas in the sidecar of her motorcycle while driving it towards Viridian City.

"Master, Ness & Lucas are our friends!" said Lucario as they continued pedaling down the road. "What do you think all the other teams are going to say when they find out about this? This is the worst thing we've ever done."

"I KNOW! I just… I…" P.T. hesitated on what to say next as he continued pedaling. Finally, he just sighed. "Look, I can't worry about this right now. I just want to get to the bus station already."

Lucario was now beginning to question his master's tactics. Regardless, Lucario shrugged it off, dropping the subject as he continued pedaling.

Meanwhile, back in Pallet Town, five of the teams were still struggling with the Detour. At the Gardening task, Kirby & Jigglypuff were shown to have plowed a new line of dirt down the field. They were now finished.

"Did we do it?" Kirby asked Delia Ketchum as she and her Mr. Mime were inspecting their work. She stood there for a long time until Mr. Mime gave her a nod.

"Hmm… yep, that should do it," Delia confirmed.

"Yay!" Jigglypuff cheered happily. "Now we can plant the seeds."

"Alright, lets get this done, Jiggy-wigs," said Kirby.

Meanwhile, at the Biking Task, Peach & Daisy were now finishing up lap 3 as they were now riding their bikes through burning coals of fire that tons of Charmander had built up with their Flamethrower.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Peach as she was now surrounded by fire. "This is insane!"

"Good thing we're not wearing our dresses," said Daisy, evading the flames.

Once the princesses had gotten past all the Charmander, they completed the rest of the lap and crossed the finish line.

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said Tracey Sketchit once they came to a complete stop.

"Thanks," said Peach. Daisy then ripped it open to read it.

PEACH & DAISY: Currently in 4th Place

"Congratulations on completing the Detour. Make your way back to professor Oak's laboratory now," she read.

"Alright, lets get our clothes back on," said Peach, desperate to cover her underwear. This made Daisy laugh.

In the meantime, Mario & Luigi and Link & Zelda were already riding their bikes on their first lap around Pallet Town. The Mario Bros were leading ahead as they were now being attacked by Bulbasaur.

"Ayah," said Luigi, getting pelted hard with Vine whip.

"These-a Bulbasaur are crazy!" cried Mario, who couldn't see a thing with all the green leaves flying all over the place.

It wasn't easy, but no frontal attack like Razor Leaf nor Vine Whip was going to slow Mario & Luigi down. Link & Zelda on the other hand…

"Ow!" cried Zelda, who was having a hard time balancing herself while riding her bike. "That's the third time I've fallen down Link!"

Link wasn't having as much trouble with his bike, but Zelda just couldn't get it into gear like Link was able to. The rules stated that team members had to stay no more than at least ten feet away from each other while doing the task. That meant every time Zelda kept falling, Link had to slow down and wait for her.

"Come on, Zel. You need to try harder than that."

"Link, I didn't even want to DO this stupid task!" cried Zelda as she struggled setting her bike back up. "I told you I don't know how to ride a bike at all."

"But we're falling further and further behind."

"And whose fault is that, may I ask?" Zelda retorted. "Yeah, that's right. You're the reason why we're doing this stupid task. You didn't even ask me if I was okay with it."

Link sighed.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & ZELDA: Newly Dating

"It's so obnoxious how Zelda blames me for everything that goes wrong," said Link. "She's being very immature about the whole thing and it's really not helping us succeed."

END:

When Zelda jumped onto the seat of her bike again, she inevitably fell to the ground. "Ow! Ugh!"

"Here, how about you hold your bike while running the rest of the way," Link suggested.

"You wan't me to RUN while we do this!" cried Zelda, reacting as though Link was asking her to lift a cow.

"Why not? It wouldn't hurt. I mean, I think we're allowed to do that."

"Link, I don't want to run three laps around the whole entire town!" she complained.

"Just try it. For me, please," said Link. "Here, I'll run and hold my bike too. That way, we'll stick together. Sound good?"

"But I'm already tired and exhausted."

"Can't you at least just give it a try and see if it'll work for you? You never know."

"Ugh! Fine."

Zelda started pushing her bike down the road while Link got off his bike and did the same.

Meanwhile, back at the Gardening Task, Bowser & Bowser Jr. had found the Ketchum residence. After obtaining their wheelbarrow, Bowser Jr. was now pushing it down the road in what Bowser believed to be the direction of the Xanadu Nursery.

"Why do I have to be the one to push the wheelbarrow?" Bowser Jr. complained. "You're stronger."

"Because I'm the only one on this team that actually knows how to use a map properly, unlike a certain idiot I'm forced to work with," said Bowser.

"I am not the idiot here! You're the one with the stupid shortcuts!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"No, YOU shut up!"

"No, YOU!"

"GRRRRRRRR!" Lightning and thunder strike in the background.

While Bowser & Bowser Jr. continued bickering, Kirby & Jigglypuff were finishing up planting the seeds into their plowed line. After covering the seeds with the three bags of soil they had bought, they were finally done.

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said Delia, grabbing it out of a garden basket full of vegetables.

"Thank you so much," said Jigglypuff, grabbing the clue. She then let Kirby rip it open to read it.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 5th Place

"That's strange," said Kirby as he quietly read their clue.

"What's it say, Kirby?" Jigglypuff asked.

"It says we have to go back to Professor Oak's Laboratory."

"What do we have to go back there for?"

"It doesn't say. We'll have to find out for ourselves once we get there."

"You two cutie pies have a safe day now," said Dehlia as the two puffballs were grabbing their backpacks to leave.

"Mime, Mr. mime," said Mr. Mime, waving them goodbye.

Over at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Peach & Daisy were now in the backyard picking out their sick Pokémon just like the three leading teams ahead of them did before.

"Let's pick this one, Daisy," said Peach, pointing towards a sick Eevee. Eevee was her favorite Pokémon.

"Okay then," said Daisy, who then got out the pokeball that they were given earlier. "Go pokeball!"

Once she threw it, the pokeball sucked the sick Eevee inside it and sealed itself shut.

"Now what do we have to do?" said Peach while picking up the pokeball.

"Take Eevee to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City," said Professor Oak. "Nurse Joy will be able to take care of it once you give it to her."

"Did you get all that Daisy?" said Peach.

"Every word," Daisy assured her. "Come on, we better get going."

Once the two princesses had exited the laboratory, they quickly got back to their taxi that they had waiting for them. Daisy was putting their bags in the back of the trunk while Peach was giving their cab driver instructions.

"Sir, we need to get to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City fast. Can you do that for us?"

"Yes ma'am, I know where it is," said the cab driver.

"Super."

The princesses were now on their way to Viridian City.

"If we have the chance, I hope we can go shopping so we can buy newer and more practical outfits for the race," said Peach. "You were right, Daisy. These dresses really are a liability for us. I definitely felt a lot lighter without my dress on while we rode our bikes around Pallet Town."

"Yeah," said Daisy. "I just hope there's a store that's having a fifty-percent-off sale or something. We need to keep saving our money as much as possible so we can still have enough for food and transportation."

"Right," Peach agreed.

Meanwhile, P.T. & Lucario had finally arrived at the bus station.

"What do we do with these bikes, master?" said Lucario once they both got off of them.

"Let's just leave them here, Lucario," said P.T., though he was unsure that they would somehow be returned to their rightful owner in some way; He just didn't want those bikes to be their problem anymore. "Come on, let's go see if we can get some seats on one of those buses."

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"When we walked into the bus station, we went over to the counter to see if they had any buses leaving for Viridian City at an early time," said P.T. "Whatever I thought had the best departure time for us."

END:

"Excuse me, ma'am." P.T. asked the lady behind the counter, "What's the earliest bus that you guys have heading directly towards Viridian City?"

"The last bus left an hour ago," she confirmed.

"Really?" said Lucario.

"Shoot!" said P.T.

"Do you happen to have any more buses leaving for Viridian City today?" Lucario asked.

She typed into her computer. "Uh, yes. One of our buses will be coming back shortly, and once it does, it will be leaving this station in about two hours from now."

"Two hours!?" said P.T.

"That's the earliest bus you guys have?" Lucario asked.

"Yes."

"Great. Just great," said P.T.

"We can still call for a cab, you know," said Lucario. "We have more than enough money for it."

"I told you before, we can't trust taxi drivers," said P.T.

"But that lady said the next bus won't be leaving for another two hours. If we take a cab, we can save time and stay ahead of other teams just like you want."

"But there's no telling how long it will take for the taxi to get here. We are still out in the country after all. If we call for a taxi, it might take longer for it to get here than the bus itself."

"You don't even know that for sure," said Lucario, trying to reason with him.

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about," P.T. insisted. "Besides, buses are faster than taxi's anyways, plus they'll help us save money. Besides, now that Ness & Lucas are locked up in jail, we're absolutely guaranteed to survive this leg anyways."

"Master! How can you even say that?" Lucario thought P.T. was being unbelievable.

P.T. sighed. "Come on, Lucario. We had to leave Ness & Lucas in the dust. Besides, it's not like they wouldn't have done the same thing to us."

"No, they wouldn't have. I have the ability to look inside people's auras, remember? Ness & Lucas would never stab anyone in the back."

"Yeah, but you can't overlook the competitive nature of this race and how it can potentially affect you over time. From my point of view, it was bound to have an affect on Ness & Lucas sooner or later. It can happen to anyone in this game."

Lucario sighed. 'I give up,' he said to himself. 'It's no use arguing with someone who has an answer for everything.'

Back at the Detour, Mario & Luigi had completed their first lap pedaling around Pallet town and were now doing their second lap.

"Yahoo!" cried Mario.

"I'm-a Luigi, number one!" cried Luigi, who was pedaling ahead of Mario.

As for Link & Zelda, they were now pushing their bikes towards the large group of Bulbasaur that were waiting for them. Once they had reached them, the Bulbasaur began using Vine Whip to slow them down.

"Ow!" Link yelled. "Gee whiz!"

Other Bulbasaur were using Razor Leaf.

"AAAAA!" she screamed as sharp green leaves were flying everywhere. "I can't see!"

All of the Bulbasaur were attacking the two like crazy.

"Link, help me!" cried Zelda as she was continuing to get pelted by all the green leaves flying in her direction. She then accidentally let go of her bike to get a big green leaf off her face. After dropping her bike to the ground, one of the Bulbasaur used its vines to pull it away from her. Now she couldn't find it.

"Where's my biiiiiiiiike!" she yelled as she continued getting pelted by sharp green leaves. "Liiiiiiiink, I can't find my biiiiiiiiike!"

"Zelda?!" cried Link as he was now far ahead of her. "Where are you?!"

"OW!" Zelda couldn't take anymore of the green leaves that were continuously being thrown at her as she just stood there not knowing what to do. "Somebody help meeeeeeeeee!"

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & ZELDA: Newly Dating

"I was just so completely scared," said Zelda. "I couldn't find my bike anywhere because all those stupid Bulbasuars kept shooting green leaves at me. I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to get out of there quick."

END:

Zelda was now running for her life screaming as the Bulbasaur kept using Razor Leaf on her. She ran far away. Far enough to be out of the Bulbasaurs' reach. She then fell to her knees on the ground and began sobbing as she was now losing control of her emotions.

"Zelda?" Link called out to her once he saw her. He then dropped his bike to the ground and ran over to where she was at. "Zelda, are you okay?"

"I can't do this, Link! I can't- I don't want to do this!" she continued sobbing.

Link didn't know what to think. He wanted to finish the task, but he also knew Zelda's well-being was more important.

"Here, up on your feet." Link pulled her up with his hand and embraced her.

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & ZELDA: Newly Dating

"I knew at that point that there was no way Zelda was going to finish the task," said Link, "so, kind of in respect for her needs, I decided that it's better for us to do the other one."

END:

"Come on, I'll carry you," said Link. Zelda then plopped herself onto his back and he carried her away from the bike course.

Bowser & Bowser Jr., meanwhile, were now at the Xanadu nursery and had already bought their gardening supplies. Bowser was now counting their money while they were paying up.

"Hurry up already!" said Bowser Jr., getting impatient "We don't have all day you know!"

"Can it, Junior!" said Bowser, annoyed. "I'm counting as fast as I can go."

"Gloom, Gloom…" said Florinda's Gloom, shaking its head in bewilderment. The two evil koopas had been fighting almost the whole entire time they had been here.

"Are you two just about done?" said Florinda, getting impatient.

"I am now," said Bowser, forking over their doe.

Florinda put their money into the cash register and all their supplies were now gathered onto their wheelbarrow.

"Alright, let's get of here," said Bowser, gathering their wheelbarrow while forcing Bowser Jr. to carry both of their backpacks.

"Ugh! Dad why is your bag so heavy!"

"Oh, quit whining already!" he said while pushing. "This is strategy, so deal with it."

Bowser Jr. angrily threw a raspberry at him in response.

Meanwhile, Link & Zelda had managed to find the Ketchum residence and had found where all the wheelbarrows were lined up.

"Quick, grab the green one over there," Zelda ordered Link.

Once Link obtained their wheelbarrow, Zelda then plopped herself onto the wheelbarrow to take a rest. "Whew! Finally, I can get off my feet."

This annoyed Link, who knew this was going to happen. In response, he purposely tipped the wheelbarrow over, knocking his lazy girlfriend to the ground in the process.

"OW!" Zelda cried. "Link, what is the matter with you!"

"Look princess, I did not agree to switch tasks so that I could allow you to be extra dead weight," said Link. "I already gave you a piggy back ride."

"But I'm TIRED!"

Picking up where we left off with Fox & Krystal, they had finally arrived in their taxi at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.

"This is it," said Fox, demanding their taxi driver to park next to it.

"Thanks for the lift," said Krystal, handing their money over to the cab driver.

"You're welcome miss."

"Alright, let's go," said Fox after getting their bags out. The two vulpine were now heading inside the Pokémon Center.

Once inside, the place looked huge. It was clean and air conditioned, and there were people everywhere with their Pokémon. Krystal then spotted Nurse Joy over at the front desk, so they quickly went over to greet her.

"Welcome the Viridian City Pokémon Center," said Nurse Joy, who wore her pink hair in two loops. "How may I help you?"

"Hi there, we're in a race," said Fox. "I believe we're supposed to give this to you." Fox handed her their sick Skitty, who was resting inside it's pokeball.

"This is one of the sick Pokémon Professor Oak told me about," said Nurse Joy. "I'll take good care of it." She then placed the pokeball containing Skitty onto a stretcher and had her Egg Pokémon, Chansey, deliver it over to the emergency room. Nurse Joy then reached into her pocket… "Thank you so much for your kind service. Here is your next clue."

"Thank you very much," said Fox, grabbing the clue out of her hand. "Oh, and you're welcome."

Fox let Krystal rip open their clue.

FOX & KRYSTAL: Currently in 1st Pace

"It says we have to make our way to the Viridian City Gym," Krystal read.

TOAD'S NARRATION:

"After safely delivering their sick Pokémon to Nurse Joy, teams must now search the streets of Viridian City and find the Viridian City Gym," said Toad. "Owned by Giovanni, head of a notorious organization called Team Rocket, it is here where teams will find their next clue."

END:

"Alright, off we go," said Krystal.

Meanwhile, Ness & Lucas had been taken into the Viridian City Police Department by Officer Jenny. They were now shown behind bars.

"Please, Officer Jenny, you have to listen to us!" cried Lucas, clutching onto the cold metal bars. "I swear, we're not thieves!"

"Please, we're in a race!" Ness added. "That's the reason why we were trying to deliver that sick Pignite to Nurse Joy in the first place!"

"Tell it to the judge," said Officer Jenny, carrying their sick Pignite in her hand so she could deliver it herself. She then shut the door to her office and left. She was gone, and Ness & Lucas were locked up and all alone.

"Now what are we going to do?" said Lucas, feeling helpless.

"We are so eliminated from this race," said Ness.

Meanwhile, Fox & Krystal were busy wandering around the streets.

"Excuse me," said Krystal, talking to a passerby, "do you know where the Viridian City Gym is?"

"No. Sorry."

"Hey, sir," said Fox, "do you know where to find the Viridian Gym?"

"Nope. Never been there before in my life."

"You've got to be kidding me," said Fox, shaking his head.

Back in Pallet Town, Kirby & Jigglypuff were over at Professor Oak's Laboratory. They had decided to obtain a sick Ottish to take to Viridian City.

"Pokeball, go!" cried Kirby, throwing the pokeball at Ottish. Once he did so, the sick Ottish was then sucked safely inside the pokeball.

"Thank you," said Professor Oak. "I now need you to take Ottish over to the Viridian City Pokémon Center and have it sent to Nurse Joy. Can you do that for me?"

"We will, I promise," said Jigglypuff. She then quickly grabbed Kirby's hand. "Come on, Kirby! We have to get to Viridian City quick! We're not going to have this poor Ottish continue to suffer!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" cried Kirby while being pulled.

"Safe journeys, you two," Professor Oak called out to them. 'Boy, how I wish I could study that Jigglypuff and her ability to speak. Oh well.'

Once the two puffballs left the laboratory, they got inside their taxi.

"Hey ma'am, how much money do we have to give you to get all the way to Viridian City?"

Once the cab driver told them their amount, this left them shocked. "That's an awful lot of money for us to spend. I think it would be better for us to take a bus."

Jigglypuff agreed since they had already spent so much of it at the gardening task, so she asked the cab driver where the nearest bus station was.

"It's not far from here," she said. "I can take you there if you want."

"That would be wonderful. Thank you," said Jigglypuff.

With that being said, the two puffballs were now on their way to the bus station.

Back at the Detour, Mario & Luigi were now in the middle of their second lap of bike riding as they were now getting squirted with water by all the Squirtles playfully attacking them with Water Gun.

"Mama mia!" cried Mario as he got pelted with water jets.

"Ayaaaa!" cried Luigi. Both Mario Bros ended up drenched.

As for Bowser & Bowser Jr…. they continued to bicker as they struggled to get their Tauros to form a straight line down Mrs. Ketchum's field. Bowser was the one pushing the plow while Bowser Jr. was in charge of leading the Tauros down the field with the sugar cubes.

"Quit feeding the Tauros more sugar you moron!" Bowser yelled. "That's what's slowing us down!" He wasn't wrong. Every time their Tauros ate a sugar cube, it would stop pulling the plow.

"It's not my fault it's mouth is faster than my hand!" Bowser Jr. as the Tauros was sucking on Bowser Jr.'s hand trying to eat the sugar cube. He quickly pulled it back out and got the Tauros moving again. "Besides, you're the one who's not pushing hard enough!"

"YOU'RE the one with the lame excuses! I'M the only one performing this task properly…" Suddenly, their plow popped out of the ground, causing Bowser to trip and fall to the ground face-first. He then got up, spitting dirt out of his mouth before growling angrily.

"Yeah. Sure," said Bowser Jr. sarcastically.

Link & Zelda weren't doing so hot working with each other either. They were now at the Xanadu Nursery.

"Here are the corn seeds you were looking for," said Florinda, handing them over in a bag.

"Thanks," said Zelda while Link struggled to carry all the fertilizer to the wheelbarrow. "You know… it wouldn't hurt for you to help me carry some of these," said Link.

"No way," said Zelda, "Fertilizer is gross. Besides, I'm the one getting the corn seeds and the sugar cubes. That's two of the three items on our list you know."

After Link finished putting all three big, heavy bags of fertilizer into their wheelbarrow, Link crossed his arms at her, annoyed.

Back in Viridian City, Fox & Krystal had finally managed to find the Viridian City Gym… except, there was one small problem.

"Looks like the Gym is closed," said Krystal, looking at the sign on the door.

VIRIDIAN CITY GYM

OPEN FROM 5 pm – 12 pm

The time was now 1: 27 pm.

"I wonder why this gym isn't open until five in the afternoon," said Krystal. "Sounds awfully late. Don't you think?"

Fox shrugged his shoulders. "I guess whenever you're the gym leader, you get to make your own rules. Looks like we'll have to wait here for the next few hours."

"I'm willing to bet my buttons the rest of the teams will be caught up to us by then," Krystal sighed.

In the meantime, Kirby & Jigglypuff got dropped off at the bus station by their taxi driver.

"Thanks for the lift," said Kirby after getting their bags out.

"No problem," said the female taxi driver, waving both Kirby & Jigglypuff goodbye before driving away.

Once both puffballs got to the ticket counter, they saw P.T. & Lucario sitting on a bench reading their guidebook.

"You think they're going to be on the same bus as us?" said Jigglypuff.

"Probably so," said Kirby, who then asked the ticket lady for two bus tickets to Viridian City.

While Kirby was busy with the ticket lady, Jigglypuff went over to P.T. & Lucario.

"Are you guys taking the bus too?" asked Jigglypuff.

"Yes," said Lucario, nodding his head.

P.T., meanwhile, just sat there reading silently.

"…Well, what time does your bus leave?"

"In about an hour," said P.T.

They didn't say anything more. They just continued keeping to themselves.

"…okay, well… see ya." Jigglypuff then silently walked back over to Kirby. 'They sure don't talk much.'

CONFESSIONAL:

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Long Distance Dating

"Pokémon Trainer & Lucario are really weird," said Jigglypuff. "They didn't even want to have a conversation with me. I don't know if that's just how they are or if that's how they're playing the game."

END:

"Here you go," said the ticket lady. "Both of your bus tickets are ready."

Jigglypuff took a good look at the bus ticket Kirby gave her. "Yep, we're definitely on the same bus as Pokémon Trainer & Lucario."

"Yeah, I figured as such," said Kirby, looking over at them sitting by themselves at the bench. Neither Kirby nor Jigglypuff felt all that ecstatic about sharing the same bus as them since P.T. & Lucario weren't very popular with the other teams at that point.

Back in Pallet Town, after riding their bikes through a bunch of flames caused by the large group of Charmander, Mario & Luigi had finally finished their third and final lap around Pallet Town.

"Whew!" said Luigi while slowing down behind the finish line. "Good-a thing I didn't get burned. That was fun-a."

"You could-a say that again," said Mario, taking off his helmet.

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said Tracey Sketchitt.

"Thank you," said Mario before ripping it open.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in 6th Place

"Alright, it-a says we have to go back to Professor Oak's Laboratory," said Mario.

"Let's-a go," said Luigi, grabbing his backpack.

Later, Bowser & Bowser Jr. were finishing up planting all their corn seeds at the other side of the Detour.

"There," said Bowser Jr. "Finally finished."

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said Delia Ketchum.

Bowser snatched the clue out of her hands and ripped it open.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR: Currently in 7th Place

"Alright, we're heading back to Professor Oak's Laboratory," said Bowser while grabbing his backpack. "Come on, Junior. Times a-wasting."

"For the trillionth time, quit calling me Junior!" cried Bowser Jr.

"Oh, can it, son! I can call you Junior whenever I want, 'cause I'm your father."

"Oh yeah? Well, as soon as we win the million, I'm emancipating myself from you. See if that'll get you to drop all this Junior garbage."

"Hah! We'll just see about that."

Link & Zelda, meanwhile, were still busy plowing Delia Ketchum's field. Unsurprisingly, Link was the one plowing the field.

"Figures you had to have ME do the grunt work while you once again do the easy part," said Link, using his anger to push the plow.

"Less complaining and more plowing please," said Zelda, who continued waving her sugar cube in the air for the Tauros. They were going pretty slow. "Come on, Link. Go faster!"

"This is not as easy as it looks, Zelda," said Link, going as fast as he could.

"Well it's not good enough for me. You're supposed to be the expert at this sort of stuff. Now push harder!"

"Hey! Excuuuuuuuuse me, princess!"

At that point, Mario & Luigi had arrived back at Professor Oak's Laboratory. They had decided to pick a sick Chimchar to take care of.

"Pokeball, go!" cried Luigi. Chimchar was now safe and sound inside it's pokeball.

Not long after the Mario Bros left the lab, Bowser & Bowser Jr. went and caught themselves a sick Ponyta.

"Alright! We got a Ponyta," said Bowser Jr.

"Let's get out of here," said Bowser.

When Mario & Luigi had gotten back to their taxi, Luigi suddenly realized something. "Mario, wait-a!"

"What's up-a?"

"What about Link & Zelda? We're-a sharing this taxi cab with them, remember? What-a will they do if they don't have a taxi cab of their own?"

"Oh no!" said Mario, remembering that they weren't good with obtaining taxi's and such. "Weren't-a they riding their bikes behind us while we were doing to the Detour?"

"I didn't see them anymore after that-a first lap. You think-a we should wait on them?"

Mario knew they were still one of the last place teams, but he also knew that they had formed an alliance with them and Fox & Krystal. He figured that abandoning them here in Pallet Town would make them look bad, so he reluctantly agreed to it. This, however, didn't stop him from getting the bad feeling this probably wasn't the best idea.

As for Bowser & Bowser Jr., they had exited Professor Oak's Laboratory and were now getting back into their own taxi. They had decided to go to the bus station since they were short on cash thanks to the gardening task.

"Dad, look," Bowser Jr. spotted Mario & Luigi waiting outside their taxi cab. "Mario & Luigi are still here."

Once Bowser saw them, he suddenly got an evil grin on his face. He decided to take this as an opportunity to taunt them.

"Hey, what's the matter with you two losers?" Bowser called out to them. "Did you're taxi run out of gas or something. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

This annoyed the Mario Bros. Luigi was shown crossing his arms while scowling at them.

"Just-a ignore them," said Mario.

"Nah, nah, nah, nah! We're going to beatcha!" Bowser Jr. called out before sticking his tongue out at them.

"I hate-a those guys," said Luigi as the two Koopas drove away in their own taxi.

"I should have known sharing a taxi with another team-a would be a bad idea," said Mario, feeling foolish.

"We can still leave-a, you know."

"No, we have to remain-a faithful to our alliance."

"I'm-a starting to rethink whether this alliance is truly going to work out for us."

Back in Viridian City, Peach & Daisy became the next team to arrive at the Pokémon Center. After getting out of their taxi, the two princesses went inside and went over to Nurse Joy at the front desk.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon Center, how may I help you?"

"Hi there. I believe this belongs to you," said Peach, handing over their sick Eevee, which was resting inside it's pokeball.

"I'll take good care of it," said Nurse Joy. "Here's your next clue."

"Thanks," said Daisy, receiving it.

PEACH & DAISY: Currently in 2nd Place

After reading their clue, the princesses made their way over to the Viridian City Gym. Once they found the gym, they were surprised to see Fox & Krystal waiting outside.

"Hey girls," said Krystal.

"Is the gym closed you guys?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, it's not going to open until five," said Fox.

"That's great!" said Peach, enthusiastically. "This gives us plenty of time for us to go try out that mall that they have here. Now we can go shop for some new clothes, Daisy."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun," said Krystal. "Can't we go with them, Fox? Waiting around out here with nothing to do is boring."

Fox sweat-dropped, feeling nervous about this. He didn't like going shopping as much as the girls did. "I guess..."

But before Fox could finish his sentence, all three girls suddenly screamed gleefully with excitement before grabbing his hand and running off to the mall.

"Yay! We're going to go shopping!" cried Peach.

"This is going to be so much fun!" said Krystal.

Fox sighed while he was being pulled by Krystal. 'I've got a bad feeling about this,' said Fox.

In the meantime, Bowser & Bowser Jr. were dropped off at the same bus station P.T. & Lucario and Kirby & Jigglypuff were at. Once they got to the front desk, they were told by the ticket lady that the next bus wouldn't be leaving for another fifteen minutes, and they still had a few seats left for them.

"Perfect, give me two of them," Bowser demanded.

While the lady printed their tickets, Bowser Jr. spotted the two other teams that were there.

"Dad, look. Pokémon Trainer & Lucario and Kirby & Jigglypuff are here."

"Good," said Bowser. "This means we're catching up."

Once the two puffballs spotted the two evil koopas, they were not pleased.

"Oh, great," said Kirby. "Bowser & Bowser Jr. are here. Just what we need right now."

"Looks like they're going to be on the same bus as us I'm afraid," said Jigglypuff.

As for P.T. & Lucario…

"Whatever," said P.T. "They don't scare me. They're not even that good at this game anyways. Not as much as us."

"They could have some tricks up their sleeves, you know," said Lucario, trying to caution him.

"Even if they do, we'll be ready for them."

Not long after the two koopas got their tickets, it was now time to go. P.T. & Lucario, Kirby & Jigglypuff, and Bowser & Bowser Jr. all got onto the same bus together. Once the bus pulled out, they were all now finally on their way to Viridian City.

Speaking of Viridian City, Peach, Daisy, and Krystal were all having a ball at the mall. They energetically went through the aisles of the department store picking out clothes for Peach & Daisy to try on while poor Fox carried all their clothes for them.

"Here girls, try this," said Krystal.

"No, I want to try this," said Peach.

CONFESSIONAL:

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"Going to the mall was so much fun!" said Peach. "It felt great being able to take a break from the game and just do our own thing."

"Yeah, we were totally in our element then," said Daisy. "Shopping for clothes really made me feel happy and rejuvenated."

END:

"You think this would look good on me, Krystal?" said Daisy.

"Yeah, but that's too expensive. Try this one. It'll look cute on you."

'I'd rather be at the video game store instead of doing this,' Fox said to himself, feeling bored and miserable.

Peach & Daisy were shown having a little fashion show in the dressing room while having Krystal be the judge.

"Wow," said Peach while looking at herself in the mirror. "I've never looked so good."

"Well, Krystal," said Daisy, showing herself off to her in a different outfit, "how do I look?"

"Hmm… try the other one on," said Krystal. "Then I'll see what I think."

"Okay." Daisy then closed the door to her dressing room stall to try on more clothing.

'Tell me when this is over,' Fox said to himself while sitting on a footstool.

Back in Pallet Town, Link & Zelda finally managed to complete the gardening task with ease.

"Congratulations, here's your next clue," said Mrs. Ketchum.

"Thanks a lot," said Link, obtaining their clue.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in Last Place

After reading their clue, Link grabbed both his and Zelda's backpacks. "Alright, let's go, Zelda."

Mario & Luigi, meanwhile, were still waiting on Link & Zelda.

"Waiting-a… waiting-a," said Luigi, tapping his foot.

"What is-a taking them so long?" said Mario, getting restless and impatient.

Almost immediately, Link & Zelda were shown running toward them now that they were heading back towards Professor Oak's Laboratory.

"Mario? Luigi?" said Link, who was surprised to see them. "What are you guys still doing here?"

"Waiting for you guys-a," said Luigi. "We're-a sharing a cab with you. Remember?"

"Come on, Link. We don't have time for chit-chat," Zelda urged him. "We have to see what we have to do at Professor Oak's lab so we can get out of here already."

"Okay, okay. Geez."

Once inside Professor Oak's Lab, Link & Zelda had decided to take a sick Corsola to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.

"Pokeball, go!" cried Link, throwing it at Corsola. Once that was done, Corsola was safe and sound inside it's pokeball.

"Thank you very much, young man," said Professor Oak. "Please take good care of it for me."

"Will do mister," said Link as he and Zelda quickly hurried back over to Mario & Luigi.

"Here they-a come now," said Luigi, spotting Link & Zelda exiting the Lab.

"Quick, open the trunk," Link called out to Mario.

Once Mario opened the trunk, everyone put all their backs in there. Both teams then got inside the taxi cab so they could finally get going.

"Are all four of you ready to go?" said the taxi driver.

"Yes, step on it-a," said Luigi.

"To Viridian City we go," said Mario.

"Ah. Thank the goddess Hylia we have you guys sharing this cab with us," said Zelda.

"I sure hope we're not too far behind," said Link.

With that being said, both teams were now finally on their way to Viridian City in last place.

Later on after that, the bus containing P.T. & Lucario, Kirby & Jigglypuff, and Bowser & Bowser Jr. was now pulling up at the bus station in Viridian City. Once the doors opened, all three teams squeezed by all the people getting off and quickly got off the bus. All three teams then raced against each other while looking for the Pokémon Center. Once they found it, they all arrived at the same time. They went inside and quickly presented their sick Pokémon to Nurse Joy at the front desk.

"Please help this poor guy!" said P.T. presenting their sick Psyduck.

"It needs medical attention right away!" said Kirby, presenting their sick Ottish.

"Give me my next clue! I want it now!" said a pompous Bowser.

"Hey, why don't you back off!" said Kirby, disgusted.

"Alright, alright!" cried Nurse Joy. "One at a time please. Chansey, I need a stretcher over here stat!"

"Chansey!" cried Chansey as it rolled one of the stretchers over to her.

While Chansey was busy putting Psyduck, Ottish, and Ponyta on the stretcher, Nurse Joy thanked the three teams.

"Thank you all so much. Here are your next clues."

"Thank you," they all said before ripping open their clues.

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO, KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF, and BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 3rd, 4th, and 5th Place

"It says we have to find the Viridian City Gym," said Lucario.

"Let's get out of this place," said Bowser Jr.

All three teams exited the building and were now looking for the Viridian City Gym.

CONFESSIONAL:

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Long Distance Dating

"Bowser & Bowser Jr. were being very rude at the front counter," said Jigglypuff. "Yes, we get that they're evil and all, but they don't have to be jerks about it. Sheesh!"

END:

Back at the mall, Peach & Daisy finally found a pair of clothing that they could both wear for the remainder of the game. They were cheap enough for them to buy.

"I like them," said Daisy. "Do you like them, Peach?"

"Hmm…" Peach took a good look at the clothes she and Daisy were trying on. The clothes they were wearing made them both look like Lara Croft. "…I like them. I feel much lighter in them."

"That settles it, we're keeping these," said Daisy.

Peach & Daisy went and paid for their new clothes. They then changed back into them in the dressing room. Once they came back out, they presented their new look to Fox & Krystal. Peach was now wearing a pink tank top with tanned short shorts while Daisy wore a yellow tank top with blue jeaned short shorts. They also had their hair tied up in pony tails, which was a very nice touch. Fox & Krystal were most impressed.

"I think you two look marvelous," said Krystal, admiring their beauty.

"Yeah. They make you look sexy…ow!" said Fox, getting nudged in the arm by Krystal. "But not as sexy as my beautiful girlfriend, Krystal."

"Exactly," said Krystal.

Meanwhile, P.T. & Lucario, Bowser & Bowser Jr., and Kirby & Jigglypuff had found the Viridian City Gym.

"Are they open?" asked Jigglypuff.

P.T. looked at the sign on the door.

VIRIDIAN CITY GYM

OPEN FROM 5 pm – 12 pm

P.T. looked at his watch. The time was now 4:07 pm. "It's not open yet. It won't be for another hour."

"Great. MORE waiting!" said Bowser Jr.

"I wonder where the other teams are at?" said Kirby, referring to the teams that were ahead of them.

As for the teams that were behind them, Link & Zelda and Mario & Luigi became the last two teams to arrive at the Viridian City Pokémon Center. Once inside, they handed over their sick Pokémon to Nurse Joy at the front desk.

"Thank you very much," she said, while having Chansey put Chimchar and Corsola on a stretcher. "Here are your next clues."

Once both teams gave their thanks, they ripped open their clues and read them.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in 6th Place

"Make your way to the Viridian City Gym," Mario read.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in 7th Place

"It is there where you will find your next clue," Zelda read.

"Alright, let's get going," said Link.

"I hope-a there are other teams there," said Luigi.

At that moment, it wasn't long before Fox & Krystal and Peach & Daisy returned from their little mall adventure.

"Hey guys!" Krystal called out to the three teams that were now waiting in front of the gym entrance. Everyone there gave them a warm welcome.

"What do you think of our new look?" said Peach, showing herself off.

"Oh my gosh, you look so pretty!" said Jigglypuff enthusiastically.

"Dang, what have you guys been up to?" said P.T., admiring the two princesses.

"We went shopping at the mall," said Daisy, smiling gleefully. This made Jigglypuff change her mood.

"You all got to go shopping together? Without ME?!" said Jigglypuff, exasperated. "How DARE you!" She then blew herself up into a balloon. This made everyone laugh.

"Wait a minute. Where are Ness & Lucas?" said Kirby, noticing that they weren't around.

P.T. & Lucario started fidgeting at the mere mention of them, not saying a word.

"Yeah, shouldn't they be here with you guys by now?" Bowser Jr. added, remembering they were one of the front running teams.

"We haven't seen them," said Fox. "Hope they didn't run into any sort of trouble."

Cue to Ness & Lucas behind bars.

"This sucks," said Lucas while they were both waiting for Officer Jenny to return. Ness meanwhile, was busy bouncing a tennis ball off the wall to pass the time.

Later on, it was 4:57 in the afternoon when Link & Zelda and Mario & Luigi had found the Viridian City Gym, just in time before it was about to open.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Zelda, feeling relieved they had once again caught up to all the other teams.

"Yay! You made it!" said Jigglypuff, running up to them enthusiastically.

"Wow. Talk about-a déjà vu," said Mario. "It-a seems like we're always having to be the last two teams to meet up with everyone." This made people laugh.

"Is the gym open yet?" asked Link, looking around at all the other teams waiting around outside the entrance.

"You're just in time," said Fox. "The gym should be opening any moment now."

Without a moment too soon, the doors to the Viridian City Gym had opened. Two guards had arrived to open the doors and all seven teams quickly went inside. Once everyone had entered, the guards closed the doors and locked them in. "No one is allowed to leave the gym until they've finished what they came to do," said one of the guards

Bowser had spotted the clue-box, so he was the first one to obtain a clue for their team. While all the other teams got their clues, Bowser ripped open theirs and read it.

"Roadblock: Who wants to be the very best like no one ever was?" Bowser read.

TOAD'S NARRATION:

"A Roadblock is a task that only one person may perform, and no person can perform more than six Roadblocks on the entire race," said Toad. "In this Roadblock, one team member must battle one-on-one against a gym leader in a Pokémon battle. To complete the task, each team member must pick from one of the eight Kanto gym leaders to battle against. They then must enter a big chamber, look amongst many different types of pokeballs with Pokémon in them, and pick one that they will be battling with. Once team members have made their choice, they must go inside the battle arena, and sign their names on the board to indicate who will battle first. Once it's time to battle, team members must order their Pokémon to take down the other opponent's Pokémon. Each Gym Leader will be using different Pokémon, so if team members want to succeed, they'll have to use strategy while battling. If the Gym Leader's Pokémon gets knocked out, the Gym Leader will give them a gym badge, as well as their next clue. If they fail, the team member must pick out a new Pokémon and wait at the back of the line before they can try again. To get a good concept of battling, team members can sit on the bleachers and watch every battle while waiting for their turns, but since the gym only allows for battles to be done one at a time, getting another turn can take a while."

"Also, there's a new element in this race that could have a huge impact on the outcome of the game," said Toad. "It's called the Short Cut. A Short Cut is an optional twist that gives team members the opportunity to complete the task much easier should it prove to be too difficult for them. Here, the Short Cut will provide cheat sheets for everyone to use that will give out information on what Pokémon to choose from and what moves they can use to beat their opponents. While this may prove helpful, it will also come with a price. Should teams decide to take the Short Cut, they will be given an automatic thirty-minute penalty, which can potentially cause their game to be cut short. If teams want to stay in the game, they should heavily consider whether they think it necessary to use it.

END:

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 1st Place

"I'm doing this task because I'm already the best at everything," said Bowser, arrogantly.

"Surrrrrrrrrre," said Bowser Jr., sarcastically.

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Currently in 2nd Place

"Who wants to be the very best like no one ever was?" P.T. read. "That's definitely me."

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 3rd Place

"Can I do this one, Kirby?" asked Jigglypuff. "Pretty please?"

"Sure. Why not," said Kirby, knowing he had already done the last two Roadblocks.

"Yay!"

FOX & KRYSTAL: Currently in 4th Place

"I'll do it," said Fox.

PEACH & DAISY: Currently in 5th Place

"I'm doing it since you did the last Roadblock, Daisy," said Peach.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in 6th Place

"I'm-a doing it, Luigi," said Mario. Luigi agreed.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in 7th Place

"Who wants to be the very best like no one ever was?" Link read. "I know you can do this one, Zelda. You have to."

"Do I really have to, Link?" said Zelda, who STILL didn't feel ready to do a Roadblock yet.

"You know I'm only allowed to do six Roadblocks, Zel, and I've already done four of them. You're going to have to start stepping up to the plate at some point so it may as well be now. Besides, we're caught up to everyone again, so you might even be able to get us in the lead."

"But I don't know if I can even do it."

Peach was listening in on their conversation. "You can do this Zelda. It's a Pokémon battle. This task requires nothing but brains, and you wield the Triforce of Wisdom. This task is totally up your alley."

"I know-a you can do it, Zelda," said Luigi, offering up encouragement to her.

"Do the Roadblock, Zelda," said Krystal. "You'll regret it if you get eliminated without doing at least one Roadblock.

"Zelda, Zelda, Zelda!" Jigglypuff chanted

Immediately, everyone was chanting Zelda's name, trying to encourage her to volunteer. This lifted Zelda's confidence.

"Alright… I'll try," said Zelda, proceeding to open the red envelope. This made everyone cheer with excitement. Link, especially, was extremely happy.

"Yay! She's going to do it!" said Jigglypuff.

"Welcome to the Amazing Race, Zelda," Fox joked.

Once all the Roadblock participants read what they had to do, Bowser, P.T., Jigglypuff, Fox, Peach, Mario, and Zelda went to pick out a gym leader that they wanted to battle against. Bowser wanted to be the first one to battle so he randomly picked the first gym leader he saw.

"I'll take you," said Bowser, picking Lt. Surge, the Vermilion City gym leader.

Bowser then went inside the Pokémon chamber to obtain his Pokémon. The chamber was huge. There were 18 tables stacked with tons and tons of pokeballs. Each table represented each different type of Pokémon and every pokeball had a tag attached to it containing a picture and description of the Pokémon inside.

CONFESSIONAL:

BOWSER & BOWSER: Father-Son

"When I got inside that pokeball chamber, I didn't know which one to choose from," said Bowser. "There were hundreds of them."

END:

There was also a table containing a big glass box, which required a code to unlock it. Inside the glass box was a book on how to beat specific types of Pokémon. Only racers that were willing to take the Short Cut were able to access it, but for Bowser, that was out of the question. Still, Bowser didn't want to waste any more time, so he just randomly picked the first pokeball he saw and exited the chamber to write his name on the board first.

Meanwhile, everyone else was finishing up picking out the gym leaders that they would battle against.

"I'll take you," said P.T., picking Brock, the Pewter City gym leader as his opponent.

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"The reason I picked Brock is because I hear he's supposed to be the easiest one to beat," said P.T. "I figured the easier I could beat him, the faster I could leave."

END:

"I'll pick you," said Jigglypuff, who picked Erika, the Celadon City Gym leader. She figured Erika was going to be gentle based on her appearance.

Going in order, Fox picked Blaine, the Cinnabar Island gym leader. Peach picked Misty, the Cerulean City gym leader. Mario picked Giovanni, the Viridian City gym leader. And as for Zelda, she picked Sabrina, the Saffron City gym leader.

Once everyone picked out their opponents, they all went inside the Pokémon chamber. Just like Bowser, nobody knew which Pokémon to choose from, so they all just picked randomly. After that, everyone went inside the battling chamber to sign their names on the board.

Who battles first:

Bowser

Pokémon Trainer

Zelda

Fox

Mario

Peach

Jigglypuff

"That is so not fair!" Peach complained. "We were one of the first two teams to arrive at the gym and yet I battle sixth? This is outrageous!"

"Guess you should have been quicker when making your choices," Bowser bemused, mocking her as he got ready for his battle.

The battle between Bowser and Lieutenant Surge was about to begin. The other racers went and sat on the bleachers getting ready to watch the action.

"Go Dad!" cried Bowser Jr. "Kick his butt!"

"This ought to be interesting," said Fox, crossing his arms.

"I sure hope Bowser doesn't finish first," said Krystal.

Bowser, meanwhile, looked at the tag on the pokeball he picked. "Let's see which Pokémon I'll be battling with. A Mudkip, eh? Well, here goes. Mudkip, I choose you!"

When Bowser pressed the button and threw the pokeball, out came Mudkip.

Lieutenant Surge snickered.

"What's so funny?" said Bowser.

"This battle is going to be a piece of cake. Voltorb, I choose you!" Suddenly, out came Voltorb.

"Yep. This match is so over for Bowser," said P.T. confidently.

"How do you know, Pokémon Trainer?" asked Daisy.

"Simple. Mudkip is a water type Pokémon and Voltorb is an electric type Pokémon. Water absorbs electricity, which means Mudkip is totally weak against Voltorb. Hence, Bowser is screwed."

"The one-on-one battle between Bowser and Lieutenant Surge is about to begin," said the referee. "Bowser will be using Mudkip. Lieutenant Surge will be using Voltorb. There will be no time limit. Let the battle begin."

Suddenly, Bowser realized something. "Wait a minute, I don't know what moves to use! What do I do?!"

"Voltorb, use Shock Wave!" said Lieutenant Surge.

Voltorb shot a huge serge of electricity towards the poor Mudkip, knocking it out unconscious in almost an instant.

"What?! No!" cried Bowser, stupefied.

It laid on the ground, electrified to the core. The attack was super effective.

"Mudkip is unable to battle," said the referee. "Voltorb wins, which means the victory for this match goes to Lieutenant Surge."

"What!" Bowser yelled. "No way! You must have cheated! You're Pokémon was obviously WAY too O.P.! There's no way my Pokémon would've gone out after just one stupid attack!"

"My Voltorb and I never cheat," said Lieutenant Surge. "Water type Pokémon like your pathetic Mudkip are weak against Voltorb, which is an electric type. Electricity beats water. Get the picture?"

Suddenly, Bowser realized he was right. "Dang it!" he said, hitting himself in the head.

"Now it's my turn to battle," said P.T., who then left the bleachers and walked onto the battle arena.

"You've got this in the bag, Master," said Lucario.

"Of course, I do. I'm an ace trainer," he said, causing some of the racers to roll their eyes.

As P.T. saw his opponent Brock walk onto the battle arena, he looked at the tag on his pokeball. "Looks like I got Vulpix. Okay then. Vulpix, I choose you!" Suddenly, out came Vulpix.

"Very well then," said Brock. "Geodude, I choose you!" Suddenly, out came Geodude.

"Oh no, not Geodude!" cried P.T., remembering that Fire types are weak against Ground types.

"Let the battle begin!" yelled the referee.

'I'll have to begin with a Quick Attack.' P.T. thought. "Vulpix, use Quick Attack!"

Vulpix charged at Geodude at a quick pace, however…

"Geodude, dodge it quick!" cried Brock.

Geodude immediately dodged the attack.

"Geodude, use tackle!"

Geodude managed to tackle Vulpix, causing Vulpix to get knocked to the ground. Eventually, it managed to get back up, but it was now much weaker than before.

"I have to keep trying," said P.T., getting desperate. "Vulpix, use Swift!"

"Geodude, dodge it and use tackle one more time!"

Geodude did both and knocked out P.T.'s Vulpix. It laid unconscious.

"Vulpix is unable to battle," said the referee. "Geodude wins, which means the winner of this match goes to Brock."

"Ah man," said P.T. "How could I have lost?"

"Oh wow, this is hard," said Peach.

"If even Pokémon Trainer couldn't win, there's no telling how long it'll take to beat these guys," said Fox.

"Guess it's my turn now," said Zelda, feeling nervous as she was about to perform her first Roadblock.

Back in the Pokémon chamber, Bowser just stood around looking at all the pokemon while contemplating his dilemma. "Just great. How am I supposed to win if I don't even know how to battle?" Bowser decided to take another look at his clue. He came across the orange sheet of paper that contained information about the Short Cut. He then looked at the orange "Short Cut box" that hung underneath the clue box. "Hmm…"

CONFESSIONAL:

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Father-Son

"I'll be honest, I didn't want to take the Short Cut because I didn't want to be given another penalty," said Bowser, "but I knew I had no experience with Pokémon, so I really didn't have a choice."

END:

Bowser went over to the Short Cut box containing cheat sheets. The clue said that as soon as any team obtained one, the thirty-minute penalty would immediately be given to them. "I didn't want it to come to this, but I'm taking a cheat sheet." He then opened the box and pulled one out.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Penalized by thirty minutes

Bowser looked at his cheat sheet. It contained information on all eight Kanto gym leaders and the types of Pokémon they specialized in. There was also a set of numbers imprinted at the top of the sheet which contained the secret code to open the glass box containing the big book in the Pokémon chamber.

Bowser began reading his cheat sheet "Okay, it says Lieutenant Surge specializes in Electric type Pokémon. This means I'll have to use a Pokémon that's stronger than Electric types." He read the cheat sheet further. It said that the types of Pokémon that could beat Electric types were Grass types, Ground types, and Dragon types. He could even counter act with another Electric type if he wanted to.

Bowser went back inside the Pokémon chamber. He typed in the code to open the glass box and obtained the book. While he was searching through the pages, P.T. walked back inside and saw Bowser reading it.

'Figures he would take the Short Cut,' thought P.T., 'always taking the easy way out by cheating.'

When P.T. went and looked around for another Pokémon, he then stopped and realized something. Even if he did know almost every type of Pokémon and what moves to use, he had no idea what kind of Pokémon Brock specialized in. Ordinarily, whenever he was out on his travels searching for a gym leader to battle against, he would ask around town to obtain info from other trainers on what kind of Pokémon the gym leader specialized in. In this situation, however, he had no way of figuring out this tiny detail since he couldn't go back outside to ask around since the guards locked them in. 'This isn't good. How can I beat Brock if I can't even figure out his next move?' He then looked at the Short Cut box containing cheat sheets. 'Man, I'm almost tempted to… NO! I'm an ace trainer. I must stay strong and maintain my honor. I'll just go and pick out a Pokémon that contains the highest evolution. That ought to help me win.' After doing just that, he left to sign his name on the board again.

Meanwhile, Zelda lost her match against Sabrina when Sabrina's Kadabra took out Zelda's Butterfree.

"Butterfree is unable to battle. Kadabra wins, which means the winner of this battle is Sabrina," said the referee.

"Better luck next time," said Sabrina.

Zelda felt crestfallen.

"Good try, Zelda," said Link. "Go ahead and pick out another Pokémon."

"Now it's my turn," said Fox, feeling confident.

"You can do it, Fox," said Krystal.

Fox didn't do so well on his first battle either. When he went up against Blaine, his Rapidash took out Fox's Bellsprout pretty quickly.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle. Rapidash wins, which means this battle's victory goes to Blaine."

"Dang!" said Fox.

"Good try," said Blaine.

"Now it's-a my turn," said Mario, who went to use Snorlax against Giovanni's Persian.

Back inside the Pokémon chamber, Bowser came across a page in the book that contained a Pokémon that he was interested in using. "That's what I'll use. I just have to write down the moves it uses and then find it." Once he wrote everything down on his cheat sheet, he then went to the table containing Ground type Pokémon to find the one he was looking for. Once he did, he took it and went back to sign his name on the board again. After that, he sat next to Bowser Jr. on the bleachers and watched Mario fail miserably while battling against Giovanni, much to his amusement.

"You sure were in there for a long time," said Bowser Jr. "What took you so long?"

"I was strategizing," he said.

Suddenly, Bowser Jr. saw the cheat sheet in Bowser's hands. "Wait a minute. Did you go and take the Short Cut? Without even consulting me about it?!"

"Hush!"

"But this could ruin our ga- "

"Shut up!" Bowser harshly interrupted, not wanting the other teams to hear. "I'm aware of the repercussions, but this is the only way for me to complete the task. Now keep your muzzle shut and don't question me any further!"

"Humph!"

The other teams overheard Bowser & Bowser Jr. anyway.

"Looks like those two evil turtles are taking the Short Cut," said Jigglypuff.

"Of-a course," said Luigi, who wasn't surprised. "Why wouldn't they?"

When it was Peach's turn to battle, she too failed to succeed when her Torchic got knocked out by Misty's Staryu.

"Good try," said Misty.

"I can't believe I lost," said Peach, feeling down.

It was now time for Jigglypuff's Sceptile to go up against Erika's Victreebel. When the battle began, however, Sceptile wouldn't obey any of her commands. Apparently, Sceptile felt heavily insulted that it had to be told what to do by another Pokémon; not to mention, a mere Jigglypuff. As a result, Sceptile refused to even battle.

"Sceptile, use Mega Drain already!" cried Jigglypuff in frustration. Sceptile still wouldn't budge. Sceptile's refusal to obey gave Erika the edge to win the match.

"Victreebel, use Razor Leaf!" said Erika. Following her command, Victreebel knocked out Sceptile.

"Sceptile is unable to battle. Victreebel wins, which means the winner of this match is Erika."

"Ugh!" cried Jigglypuff, blowing up into a balloon in frustration.

"Sorry you had to lose like that," said Erika, petting her Victreebel.

This meant no one present was able to beat their opponents on their first go 'round. This Roadblock was a tough one, no doubt.

Back at the Police Department, Ness & Lucas continued trying to get Officer Jenny to set them free.

"Please Officer Jenny, you have to believe us!" cried Ness.

"We're not Pokémon thieves, we're only children!" cried Lucas.

"I do not want to hear another word out of either of you!" yelled Officer Jenny, who was growing very frustrated with them just as much as Ness & Lucas were growing very frustrated with her.

CONFESSIONAL:

NESS & LUCAS: Best Friends

"It was Unbelievable," said Ness. "We lost like five hours at that Police Station because that stupid Officer Jenny wouldn't listen to reason."

END:

Back at the Viridian City Gym, it was now time for Bowser to battle again. This time, he felt confident that he could win now that he had a cheat sheet.

"You better not lose this one, Dad!" Bowser Jr. called out to him as he took his position on the battle field.

"He better not win this one, you mean," said Peach to Bowser Jr. He stuck his tongue out at her in response.

"I know I can win this battle," said Bowser while facing his opponent. "Sandslash, I choose you!" Suddenly, out came Sandslash.

"Very well then," said Lieutenant Surge. "Raichu, I choose you!" Out came Raichu, ready to battle.

"Sandslash vs Raichu?" said Daisy. "What do you think about this match up, Pokémon Trainer?"

"Well, Bowser's Sandslash is a Ground type and Raichu is an Electric type. Plus, Bowser has a cheat sheet to help him out, so it looks like Bowser has the edge here."

"I was afraid you would say that."

"Raichu, use Body Slam!" Lieutenant Surge called out.

Raichu did as he was told, giving Sandslash a pretty effective hit.

"I'm not letting you beat me!" said Bowser, who then looked at his cheat sheet to figure out his next move. "Uh… Sandslash, use Sand Attack!"

"Raichu, dodge it quick!" cried Lieutenant Surge. Like so, Raichu was able to quickly evade the attack.

"Shoot! I had him!" said Bowser.

"You're going to have to be a little quicker than that if you want to beat my Raichu. My Raichu is the fastest Raichu in all of Kanto. Couldn't ask for a better electric Pokémon."

"Ugh!" Bowser growled in annoyance before taking another look at his cheat sheet. 'Let's try this move.' Sandslash, use Scratch!"

Sandslash did so, giving Raichu some damage. "Yes!" said Bowser with his fist in the air.

"Don't start celebrating yet," said Surge. "This battle has only begun. Raichu, use Headbutt!"

Raichu did so, causing Sandslash to get knocked to the ground once again. Luckily, this didn't knock Sandslash out.

"Sandslash, use Scratch once again!" Sandslash was slower in delivering the attack since it was now pretty badly damaged.

"Raichu, dodge it now!" Raichu managed to do so. "Don't think using the same attack twice in a row is going to help. Raichu is a fast learner after all. Heh, heh, heh."

Feeling frustrated, Bowser quickly looked at his cheat sheet to find another attack that could work. "Sandslash, uh… use Rollout as fast as you can!"

Sandslash did so and manage to hit Raichu, knocking it to the ground and giving it more damage.

"Yeah! Go Dad!" cried Bowser Jr.

"Wow, Bowser sure is doing a lot better at battling now that he has a cheat sheet," said Link.

"Yeah. Much better," said Fox, making a mental note of this.

"Still, Sandslash is looking pretty bad," said P.T. "I wouldn't bet on Bowser winning so easily because of that."

"I wouldn't bet on Bowser if you payed me," said Jigglypuff.

The battle continued for a short while. Attack after attack, Bowser slowly but surely weakened Lieutenant Surge's Raichu more and more. Unfortunately, Sandslash was always in a much weaker state than Raichu.

"Raichu, use Body Slam once more!"

"Sandslash, dodge the attack now!" Sandslash, however, couldn't dodge quickly enough, getting itself hit.

'I can't lose this!' Bowser thought while looking through his cheat sheet for the most powerful move to finish off Raichu. "Sandslash, use Sand Tomb!"

It was an effective hit, but since Sandslash was weaker than ever, it wasn't enough to take out Raichu.

"Raichu! Wrap this up with Dynamic Punch!" That did it for him. Once Raichu used Dynamic Punch, Sandslash was finally knocked out. It lay on the ground unconscious.

"No!" cried Bowser, infuriated. He was so close.

"Sandslash is unable to battle," said the referee. "Raichu wins, which means the winner of this match is once again Lieutenant Surge.

"Man, that was the longest battle yet," said Link while feeling relieved that Bowser lost.

"Yeah, that cheat sheet of his really helped him a lot," said Fox.

"You didn't call out your attacks fast enough, Dad," said Bowser Jr. "You can't just look at your cheat sheet right before calling out every single attack. Next time, have your attacks memorized."

Bowser didn't like taking advice from his son, but he knew he was right. "Fine. Whatever." He then went back inside the Pokémon chamber to get his next Pokémon.

Listening to what Bowser Jr. said, Krystal couldn't help but feel as though using that same approach would help Fox win as well.

"Fox, I know you're not going to like my suggesting thus, but I can't help but feel that you should use a cheat sheet as well."

"Say what?" said Fox, who couldn't believe his ears.

"Now that I think about it, I think I should be getting a cheat sheet too," said Peach, as much as she hated to admit it. "Yeah, I'll be penalized, but I'm not feeling very confident in my own battling ability."

"Me neither," said Zelda.

Other racers were beginning to agree to the idea since all anyone's done up till this point was lose every battle.

"I don't know guys," said Fox. "Let's just continue to see how this'll play out."

The racers continued to fail with the Roadblock. P.T.'s Fearow got knocked out by Brock's Onix.

"Ah Man! I'm supposed to be an ace trainer. Why can't I win a stupid one-on-one battle!" P.T. whined.

Next, Zelda's Piplup got knocked out by Sabrina's Espeon.

"Why is this so difficult?" said Zelda.

Next, Fox's Growlith got knocked out by Blaine's Magmar.

"Geeze!" said Fox. "Can't anyone beat these guys?"

As for Mario, he didn't do so well in his next battle either as his Emolga got knocked out by Geovanni's Dugtrio pretty quickly. Same went for Peach in her next battle as her Cubone was no match for Misty's Milotic. This ultimately sealed the deal.

"Alright, that's it!" said Fox, tired of the lack of success. "Everyone, Iet's all get cheat sheets. It'll make this challenge easier for us to complete. Plus, it'll be fair that way if we all take the penalty."

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & ZELDA: Newly Dating

"Fox told us that if we all took a cheat sheet, everyone would be given a penalty, making the game fair and square by default," said Zelda. "This meant we could all finish the leg without falling behind, which I thought was a brilliant idea."

END:

Everyone immediately got off the bleachers to go get a cheat sheet. Well… everyone, except P.T., who still felt apprehensive about the idea.

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"I didn't want to take a cheat sheet," said P.T. "I personally felt that if I was shown cheating my way through a Pokémon battle for the first time in my life - not to mention on national television - it would kill my credibility as an ace trainer. I just couldn't lose face by doing that to myself."

END:

While P.T. stayed on the bleachers, everyone else had gotten cheat sheets from the Short Cut box.

FOX & KRYSTAL, PEACH & DAISY, KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF, LINK & ZELDA, and MARIO & LUIGI: All penalized by thirty minutes

Once everyone read their cheat sheets, they all then went inside the Pokémon chamber and got the Pokémon book out of the glass box.

As everyone present took turns reading the book together, Jigglypuff was busy looking at all the pokeballs in the chamber. At that moment, she realized that if Sceptile wouldn't obey her in her last battle, there was no telling if any of the Pokémon would obey her. This made her worried since this potentially left her with no options at all. To make matters worse, she only had two minutes left before she could start her next battle, otherwise she'd have to go all the way to the back of the line again.

CONFESSIONAL:

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Long Distance Dating

"I didn't know what to do," said Jigglypuff. "If I couldn't get a single Pokémon to obey me, there was just no way I could ever be able to complete that Roadblock. I definitely felt screwed."

END:

"What am I going to do?" Jigglypuff lamented.

…

Jigglypuff continued looking around the Pokémon chamber.

"What am I going to do?" Suddenly, Jigglypuff had gotten an idea.

Back at the bleachers, Kirby was waiting impatiently for Jigglypuff to return.

"Come on! What's taking her so long?" said Kirby. She only had fifteen seconds left before her time was up.

Suddenly he saw Jigglypuff re-enter the battlefield, and just in time. This left Kirby filled with relief.

"Yeah! Go Jigglypuff!" cried Kirby, giving her a good whistle.

"Now we can finally begin," said Erica. "Bellossom, I choose you!" Out came Bellossom, ready to battle.

"And what Pokémon will you be using?" the referee asked Jigglypuff.

"ME!" said Jigglypuff, who then jumped onto the battlefield, surprising Bellossom.

At first, the room became filled with silence. Then suddenly… "WHAAAAT?!" everyone yelled out.

"Excuse me?" said the referee, confused.

"Yes. I choose… uh, myself!" said Jigglypuff, sweat dropping. 'Man, that sounded awkward.'

CONFESSIONAL:

KIRBY & JIGGYPUFF: Long Distance Dating

"I decided that since I'm a Pokémon, I could perform the Roadblock via technicality," said Jigglypuff. "Of course, I knew that if I got beat, this could backfire on Kirby and I's game big time."

END:

Everyone was completely taken by surprise, especially Kirby.

"No way," said Link.

"She's really going to do it all by herself?" said P.T.

"Is she even allowed to do that?" said Bowser Jr.

Kirby was now getting very concerned.

Calling for a timeout, the referee went to have a talk with production to discuss the matter over. Meanwhile, Kirby ran onto the battlefield to try to reason with Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff, what do you think you're doing! You can't battle Bellossom all by yourself! This is crazy!"

"I don't have any other choice, Kirby. If Sceptile wouldn't obey me, then maybe neither will any of the other Pokémon. I have to do this."

"But Jigs, what if you lose?"

"I know what to do, Kirby. I'll be fine. Trust me." She said, giving him a look of assurance. "Besides, even if I do lose, you can still take my place. I'm fine with another penalty should it come down to that. Right now, I need you to believe in me."

Kirby just stood there for a few seconds before finally giving in. "Okay then, Jigglypuff. I believe in you." He then gave her a kiss on the cheek before going back to sit on the bleachers. Still, he couldn't stop himself from wishing that he had been the one to volunteer for the Roadblock and not Jigglypuff.

Eventually, the producers were able to work it out with the referee. "After much deliberation, we have decided to allow it. We shall let the battle commence."

This left Jigglypuff relieved. Everyone else, however, grew worried for her.

"The one-on-one battle between Jigglypuff and Erica is about to begin," said the referee. "Erica will be using Bellossom while battling Jigglypuff. There will be no time limit. Let the battle begin."

"Bellossom, use Leaf Blade on Jigglypuff now!" Erica called out.

Bellossom's Leaf Blade however got blocked by Jigglypuff's Defense Curl. She was okay. Then, after evading Bellossom's Magical Leaf, Jigglypuff then went and used Double Slap on Bellossom.

"Bellossom, use Leaf Storm!" Erica called out.

Jigglypuff couldn't evade the attack quick enough that she got hit.

"Ooh!" said Link.

Jigglypuff refused to give up as she got back up on her feet. She the attempted to use Disable, but Bellossom dodged her attack, frustrating her.

"Bellossom, use Sunny Day!" Erica called out. Jigglypuff, however, managed to dodge the attack before using Mimic. The attack was super effective.

"Alright! Nice move, Jigglypuff!" cried Kirby.

As the battle continued, Jigglypuff continued her strategy of defense while mimicking Bellossom's powerful attacks. The intense battle was coming to a head and both Pokémon were exhausted.

"Bellossom, wrap this up and use Stun Spore!" yelled Erica. Jigglypuff tried to dodge it, but she was so tired that she ended up getting hit. She got knocked to the ground.

"Oh no!" cried Kirby.

Jigglypuff was shown lying there for quite a bit, worrying Kirby even further. Could this be the end? Before the referee could announce the winner however, Jigglypuff surprised everyone by slowly getting back up.

"I… am not… going… to lose this!" yelled Jigglypuff. Then, giving it all she got, she used Pound to finish off Bellossom.

"Bellossom, dodge it quick!" cried Erica, but it was too late. The impact caused Bellossom to get knocked straight to the ground. She was completely wiped out. Everyone then looked at Jigglypuff… and she was still standing!

"Bellossom is unable to battle," said the referee. "Jigglypuff has won the match!"

Immediately, everyone got up out of their seats and loudly cheered for Jigglypuff in congratulations. The crowd went wild. Suddenly, Jigglypuff passed out due to exhaustion.

Kirby, along with the medical team, went over to assist her. "You did it, Jigs! You won!"

"Yeah," said Jigglypuff while being fed a Hyper Potion, "…I did. I really, really did."

"Bellossom, return," said Erica, putting Bellossom back in her pokeball. She then went over to Jigglypuff, who was now feeling better. "That was a great battle, Jigglypuff. On my behalf, I reward you, the Rainbow Badge." She then handed it to her.

"Thank you," said Jigglypuff, obtaining the colorful badge.

"And as for beating me, here is your next clue," she said, pulling it out of her back pocket.

"Thank you," said Kirby, obtaining it from her. "Good job, Jigglypuff. You got us in first place!"

Kirby ripped it open to read it.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Currently in 1st Place

"Congratulations, you've completed the Roadblock. You must now take the gym badge you won and present it to Toad at the mat, which is at the Museum of Science in Pewter City."

TOAD'S NARRATION:

"After completing the Roadblock, teams must now travel to Pewter City using public transportation and find the Pewter Museum of Science: the pit-stop for this leg of the race," said Toad. "Upon arrival at the mat, teams must then present the gym badges that they won during the Roadblock in order to be checked in. The last team to check in here… will be eliminated."

END:

"Warning: the last team to check in will be eliminated," Kirby finished.

"Alright, let's get moving." Kirby then went to pick up his backpack. "Don't worry, I'll carry your backpack for you so you can conserve your energy."

"Thank you," said Jigglypuff.

Seeing the two puffballs becoming the first team to leave the gym, P.T. finally gave into pressure, and went to get a cheat-sheet, surprising Lucario.

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"I couldn't stand the fact that Kirby & Jigglypuff got to be the first ones to leave instead of Lucario and I," said P.T. "I had to take a cheat sheet; not only because everyone else was doing it, but also because I didn't want us to potentially fall further behind. No matter what it took, I needed to get out of there as fast as possible to stay in the front."

END:

P.T. opened the Short Cut box and obtained his cheat sheet. "Man, I'm really going to lose face now. The things I do for a million dollars."

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Penalized by thirty minutes

In the meantime, it was now time for Bowser's third battle. He was going to be using Garchomp against Lieutenant Surge's Electrabuz. This time around, Bowser had memorized all the moves that he was going to use.

"The one-on-one battle between Bowser and Lieutenant Surge is about to begin. Bowser will be using Garchomp while Lieutenant Surge will be using Electrabuz. Let the battle begin!"

P.T. meanwhile, was looking around the Pokémon chamber for a good Steal type Pokémon to use now that he knew that Brock specialized in Rock type Pokémon. He suddenly came across a pokeball that contained a Lucario, just like the Lucario that he had. "That's it! This is the Pokémon I'll be using in my next battle." He then took a closer look at the tag attached to the pokeball and saw that it was only at level 30. "Aw man, my own Lucario is at a much higher level than that. It might not know all the moves that my own Lucario knows. Shoot!" Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. "Yes. I know just what to do." After obtaining the Lvl. 30 Lucario, he went back to the bleachers to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, Bowser's third battle with Lieutenant Surge was coming to a head. Bowser was more determined than ever to win.

"I'm not letting you beat me again! Not this time!" said Bowser to Lt. Surge. "Garchomp, give it all you got and use Dragon Rush!" The attack was powerful enough to finish things up. Electrabuz ended up lying on the ground, completely knocked out.

"Electrabuz is unable to battle," said the referee. "Garchomp wins, which means the winner of this match is Bowser."

"Alright!" cried Bowser, with his fist in the air once more.

"YES!" Bowser Jr. cheered.

"No," said Daisy, groaning along with the other contestants.

Once Electrabuz was returned to it's pokeball by Lieutenant Surge, he went over to Bowser. "So, you finally beat me, eh? Well done. Here is the Thunder Badge on my behalf."

"Thanks a lot," said Bowser, obtaining the orange and yellow colored badge.

"And since you beat me, here is your next clue."

"Yeah, I'll take that," he said, swiping it out of his hands. Bowser Jr. went over to him as he ripped it open to read it.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: Currently in 2nd Place

'Warning: The last team to check in will be eliminated," Bowser read. "Alright, let's go."

"I sure hope we can catch up to those pink twerps so we can win this leg," said Bowser Jr., wanting to win another prize.

Speaking of Kirby & Jigglypuff, they were now at the Viridian City bus station trying to obtain tickets on the next bus heading to Pewter City. It was getting dark.

"Hi ma'am," Kirby said to the ticket lady behind the counter, "I need two bus tickets to Pewter City."

CONFESSIONAL:

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: Long Distance Dating

"We wanted to save our money to buy some dinner," said Jigglypuff, "and the taxi was going to be too expensive, so we decided to continue taking the bus."

END:

"The earliest bus will be leaving in an hour and eighteen minutes," said the ticket lady.

Kirby sighed in disappointment. "Okay, that's fine. We'll take it."

The ticket lady proceeded to print out their tickets.

"Here you go," she said, handing them their tickets.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 1st team on the 7:15 pm bus

"Now that we have some free time, let's go get something to eat," said Jigglypuff.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Kirby agreed. "Let's try that burger joint we passed on our way here."

Back at the gym, it was now time for P.T.'s third attempt at battling Brock.

"I sure hope my plan works," said P.T. "Lucario, I choose you!" and out came Lucario. This surprised all the other racers.

"No way!" said Daisy, who then looked at the other Lucario sitting near her on the bleachers and the one P.T. was battling with.

"Pokémon Trainer must've-a found another Lucario to battle with!" said Mario, feeling stupid for not thinking of the possibility of this happening beforehand.

"Man, I did not see that coming," said Link.

"Very cleaver," said Fox, knowing this gives P.T. an advantage.

"Alright then," said Brock. "Rhyhorn, I choose you!" and out came Rhyhorn.

"The third one-one-one battle between Pokémon Trainer and Brock is about to begin," said the referee. "Brock will be using Rhyhorn, Pokémon Trainer will be using Lucario. Let the battle begin."

"Lucario, use Quick Attack!" P.T. called out immediately.

"Rhyhorn, dodge it quick!" Brock cried, but Lucario was too fast for Rhyhorn as it got hit.

"Alright!" said P.T.

"Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack!" Brock called out. Rhyhorn had hit his mark as well, but with more damage.

'I've gotta get more aggressive,' thought P.T. "Lucario, use Metal Claw!" It was an effective hit.

Meanwhile at the bus station, Bowser & Bowser Jr. went and bought tickets on the same bus as Kirby & Jigglypuff.

"Here you go," said the ticket lady, handing Bowser their bus tickets.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 2nd team on the 7:15 pm bus

"Now we just got to wait for this stupid bus to leave," said Bowser as he and Bowser Jr. got on.

"If team pinky is on the same bus as us, we'll be able to get ahead of them and win this leg," said a cocky Bowser Jr, referring to Kirby & Jigglypuff.

Back at the Viridian Gym, P.T. continued battling Brock. It was getting down to the wire.

"Rhyhorn, use Tail Whip!" Brock called out. Lucario, however, managed to evade the attack.

"Nice job, Lucario," said P.T. "Now, use Bone Rush!" However, the attack missed.

"Rhyhorn, use Stomp!" The attack was pretty effective, and Lucario was very badly damaged.

"Don't give in, Lucario!" cried P.T. "It's now time to use Aura Sphere!" Lucario did as he said.

BOOM! The impact caused Rhyhorn to faint.

"Rhyhorn is unable to battle," said the referee, "Lucario wins, which means the victory for this battle goes to Pokémon Trainer!"

"YES! I WON!" said P.T. ecstatically.

"Aw man," said Link, disappointed that another team succeeded before them.

"I knew he was going to win," said Daisy.

"Rhyhorn, return!" said Brock, putting Rhyhorn back in his pokeball. He then walked up to P.T. to congratulate him. "That was a great battle. On my behalf, I give you the Boulder Badge for beating me."

"Thanks," said P.T., obtaining the grey colored badge.

"Also, here's your next clue."

"Thank you very much." P.T. obtained his clue.

"Lucario, return," said P.T. The Lucario he battled with returned to it's pokeball. P.T. then quickly told the other Lucario sitting on the bleachers to come with him back to the Pokémon chamber.

"Now it's my turn to battle," said Zelda.

"Alright, I'm next," Fox said as well.

Zelda was the first one on the battlefield when she saw Blaine coming over to battle, confusing her. "Sir, what are you doing? I battle Sabrina, remember?"

"No, I'm battling Fox. It's his turn now," Blaine corrected her.

"He's right, Zelda," said Fox, walking up to her. "I battle next."

"What are you both talking about?" Zelda was now confused. "I'm supposed to battle after Pokémon Trainer, just like I did the two previous times."

"Didn't you sign your name on the board after choosing your next Pokémon?" Fox asked her.

Suddenly, Zelda realized something, "…oh shoot."

Back in the Pokémon chamber, P.T. & Lucario were shown reading their clue.

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Currently in 3rd Place

"Make your way to Pewter City and find the Museum of Science," P.T. read while Lucario got their bags.

"Alright, let's get out of here," said Lucario.

Zelda, meanwhile, went and looked at the sign-up board.

Who battles first:

Bowser

Pokémon Trainer

Fox

Peach

Mario

CONFESSIONAL:

LINK & ZELDA: Newly Dating

"I realized right then and there that I forgot to sign my name on it," said Zelda. "I felt like a fool."

END:

"Aw shoot!" said Zelda as she signed her name at number 6. "How could I have been so careless?"

Zelda returned to the Bleachers feeling very disappointed in herself as Fox began his third battle against Blaine.

"Zelda, what happened?" said Link, confused.

"They wouldn't let me battle because I forgot to sign my name on that stupid board!" said Zelda.

"What? You can't be serious," said Link, shocked at hearing this.

Zelda looked like she was about to cry again. "Now we're going to be in last place again! I hate this game!"

Link sighed in disappointment. He couldn't believe this.

P.T. & Lucario, on the other hand, were at the Pokémon Center getting information from Nurse Joy. He wanted to know if there was a faster mode of transportation other than the bus.

"We have a subway system that connects through all Pokémon centers, including this one," said Nurse Joy. "It's the fastest way to get to places here in Kanto."

"Where can we find it?" asked P.T.

"There's an escalator behind you to your left. It'll take you there."

"Thanks," said P.T., who started heading toward it. "Come on, Lucario."

Meanwhile, Fox managed to complete the Roadblock when his Kabutop's took out Blaine's Magcargo.

"Congratulations, Foxy," said Blaine. "Here's the volcano badge and your next clue."

"Thanks a lot, sir," said Fox, before meeting back up with Krystal so they could read the clue.

FOX & KRYSTAL: Currently in 4th Place

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

"Alright, let's go."

"Now it's my turn again," said Peach.

Meanwhile, P.T. & Lucario managed to obtain tickets on the Kanto Intraregional Subway by using the money that they had. After placing their tickets in the machine, they got on the underground train right before it closed the doors. They were now on their way.

"Now we just have to get through the Viridian Forest Station before reaching Pewter City and we'll be good to go," said Lucario.

"Yep, that's right," said P.T.

As for Fox & Krystal, they were asking around for taxis. After a while, they finally obtaining one. However, the taxi driver told them it would cost almost sixty dollars just to get to Pewter City.

"Sixty dollars?!" said Krystal.

"That's too much money," said Fox. "We're taking the bus."

Later, Peach was the next one to complete the Roadblock when her Bayleef took out Misty's Lapras.

"Yeah, Peach! You won!" Daisy cheered, who then left the bleachers and ran toward her.

"Congratulations, Peach," said Misty. "Here's the Cascade Badge as well as your next clue."

"Thank you so much," said Peach, before having Daisy rip open the clue.

PEACH & DAISY: Currently in 5th Place

"Alright, let's get out of here," said Daisy after reading the clue.

"That Roadblock was hard," said Peach.

"I can't-a believe this," said Luigi. He and Mario and Link & Zelda were now the last two teams remaining at the gym.

"Don't-a worry, Luigi," said Mario as it was now time for his next battle. "Ness & Lucas haven't gotten here yet, so we're still safe."

Back at the bus station, while Fox & Krystal were waiting in line to get tickets, a young man walked over to them, wanting to help. Unbeknownst to the two vulpine, it was none other than Gary Oak, the grandson of Professor Oak.

"Hey, I noticed you two were in a hurry back there," said Gary. "Are yawl trying to get to some place important?

"We're in a race," said Fox. "We're trying to get to Pewter City as fast as possible so we can stay in it."

"Well it just so happens I know an even faster way to get there," said Gary.

CONFESSIONAL:

FOX & KRYSTAL: Dating

"This nice young man came over to us and told us he knew a faster way to Pewter City," said Krystal.

"He told us we should use the Intraregional Subway station, and that the subway would get us there much faster," said Fox.

END:

"Where do we find it?" asked Krystal.

"Beneath the Viridian City Pokémon Center," said Gary. "You can't miss it."

"Thanks a lot, kid," said Fox as he and Krystal were now heading there.

Before reaching the entrance of the Pokémon Center, the two vulpine ran into Peach & Daisy. They told the two princesses about the subway system underground, so all four of them agreed to take the subway together.

CONFESSIONAL:

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"Fox & Krystal are just too cool," said Daisy. "They told us that the subway gets to Pewter City the fastest."

"Yeah, it was sweet of them to let us know about that," said Peach.

FOX & KRYSTAL: Dating

"We decided to help out Peach & Daisy because we wanted to earn their trust," said Fox. "We figured this would help make us look valuable to have around."

"Yeah, this is part of our strategy," said Krystal. "We're just going to help out teams at certain points in the game to try to make it less likely for us to get Yielded in future legs."

END:

Once underground, Fox & Krystal and Peach & Daisy obtained their tickets, placed them in the machine, and got onboard the train. Once the doors closed, they were on their way.

Meanwhile, Kirby & Jigglypuff had finished eating dinner and made it back ten minutes before the 7:15 pm bus was ready to leave. Once they got on and went to their seats, they noticed Bowser & Bowser Jr. were on that bus too. This, of course, made them unhappy.

"Bowser & Bowser Jr. are on the same bus as us, which means we'll be arriving in Pewter City the same time as them," said Kirby to the camera, feeling displeased.

"Guess this means it's a footrace to the mat with those guys," said Jigglypuff as she studied her map of Pewter City.

Before both teams knew it, the bus had closed its doors, and they were on their way.

Back at the Viridian City Gym, Mario lost his third battle against Geovani when his Nidoqueen took out Mario's Heracross. This guy was tough.

"Heracross is unable to battle," said the referee. "Nidoqueen wins, which means the victor for the third time in a row is Geovanni."

"Mama Mia!" said Mario. "This-a guy just won't let me win."

Luigi felt most annoyed at this. He was sick and tired of them not excelling very well at this game.

Zelda, meanwhile, was delighted by this. Now, it was finally her turn to battle.

"You've got this, Zelda," said Link now that she had a cheat sheet.

While Zelda began her third battle, P.T. & Lucario had finally arrived at Pewter City when the subway train pulled up at the underground station. Once they got off, they ran up the escalator, entered the Pewter City Pokémon Center, and asked Pewter City's Nurse Joy on where they can find the Museum of Science.

"Go up the road that goes north from here, turn left, and then you'll see the museum from there," said Nurse Joy.

"Thank you," said P.T.

After that, P.T. & Lucario ran the rest of the way to the Pewter Museum of Science. Once they spotted it, they went inside and found Toad waiting at the mat near a rock exhibit.

"We have our gym badge, Toad!" P.T. called out while holding it up in the air for him to see as they both ran up to him. P.T. & Lucario had landed on the mat.

"Welcome to Pewter City," said the pit-stop greeter. He was a tall, bearded man named Flint, who just so happened to be the father of Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader.

"Thank you," P.T. & Lucario said simultaneously.

"Pokémon Trainer & Lucario," said Toad, "…you're the first team to arrive."

"YES!" P.T. & Lucario both cried out in joy. Another first place finish for them.

"However," said Toad, causing their cheering to die down immediately, "…you've broken a few rules."

"What!?" P.T. gasped, shocked in disbelief. "We did? Well, what did we do wrong?"

"When you two were at the second space colony while flying via S.E.A.S., y'all got onboard the first connecting flight by obtaining business class tickets when you're only supposed to buy economy class tickets," said Toad. "That is a major violation of the rules of plane transportation while running this race. For that, you've been given a thirty-minute penalty."

Lucario glared at P.T. since that was his idea.

"What?" said P.T. "I didn't know that wasn't allowed."

"Also," Toad continued, "after leaving Pallet Town, from what I understand, you two went and deliberately took two bikes from Tracey Sketchit without his permission, both of which you then discarded at the bus station, thus, allowing them to potentially get stolen," said Toad.

"I'll admit, that was also my fault," said P.T., while giving out an awkward chuckle.

"Well, I am pleased to inform you that production was able to return those bikes to their rightful owner. Still, however, stealing another person's property is unethical and against the rules of this race. For that, you've been given another thirty minute penalty."

"Fair enough," said Lucario, nodding his head in agreement.

"As for the third rule you've broken…" Toad began.

"Yeah, we know, we went and took the Short Cut," P.T. assumed.

"Not quite," said Toad. "The Short Cut is an optional twist that is offered to everyone to help make it easier to complete a task. Still, the thirty-minute penalty y'all obtained from that will be added to the other penalties you've accumulated, as I'm sure you both understand by now."

"Yeah…" said P.T. He was really wishing he hadn't taken the Short Cut now.

"Now, here's what you really did wrong during the Roadblock," said Toad, looking at P.T. "As you both know, the rules of the race clearly state that whenever a team member volunteers to do the Roadblock, it has to be done independently. Pokémon Trainer, from what I gather, after obtaining another Lucario from the Pokémon chamber, you deliberately went and switched it with your own Lucario before batting against Brock. Tell me, Pokémon Trainer, why did you do that?"

"I-I just figured that since my Lucario is technically a Pokémon himself, I could use him while battling Brock to gain an advantage. I mean… Jigglypuff was allowed to bend the rules since she's also technically a Pokémon."

"But she didn't have Kirby helping her while doing so," Toad pointed out. "Whenever you participate in a Roadblock, your partner is not allowed to help you. For that, you've been given another thirty-minute penalty."

P.T. looked down at the ground in absolute shame for his stupidity throughout the entire leg.

"Now, with all these penalties you've accumulated, they all add up to one big two-hour penalty, which already began the moment you landed on the mat," said Toad. "If you can wait out the next two hours before all the teams have arrived, you'll still be in the race."

With that being said, P.T. & Lucario went over to a bench to wait out the rest of their penalty.

"I knew this was going to happen," said Lucario, who felt very upset.

"This is all my fault," said P.T., downtrodden.

"You're right, master. It IS your fault."

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: 1 Hour and 57 minutes to go

Not long after, Fox & Krystal and Peach & Daisy were the next two teams to arrive in Pewter City. Once they all got off the subway, they went up the escalator, asked for directions, and raced all the way to the Museum of Science. Once inside, Fox decided to allow Peach & Daisy to land on the mat before them.

"Such a gentleman you are, Fox," said Daisy, smiling giddily.

"Hi Toad," said Peach as she presented her gym badge.

"Peach & Daisy…"

"Yes, Toad?" said Peach.

"Fox & Krystal…"

"Yes, Toad," said Fox. This made everyone laugh.

Toad smiled. "Y'all are the second and third teams to arrive."

"Alright!" said Daisy as all four of them gave each other high fives.

"Good job, girls," said Krystal.

"Now as you all know," said Toad, "since you've decided to take the Short Cut, both of you teams have been assessed a thirty-minute penalty the very second you landed on the mat."

"Yeah, we know," said Fox.

"However," said Toad, "P.T. & Lucario have been given an even bigger penalty for breaking the rules. Because of this, all four of you will be checked in at the mat before them, which means… Peach & Daisy, you're team number ONE!"

The two princesses screamed their heads off victoriously in reaction to this. This left Fox & Krystal surprised.

"Shut up! Are you serious?!" said Peach.

"I swear it's true," Toad concluded.

The princesses continue cheering with joy.

"Peach & Daisy, I have great news for you," Toad continued. "As the winners of this leg of the race, you have won two custom built bicycles made natively here in the Kanto region, each worth 10,000 dollars."

"No way!" said Daisy, excitedly.

"There's more… they get to be the color of your choice," Toad finished.

"Pink, please," said Peach, of course.

"Golden yellow for me, please," said Daisy.

'I would've wanted my bike to be red," P.T. thought to himself, feeling frustrated.

'Mine would've been blue," said Lucario, reading his mind.

"Thank you so much, Toad," said Peach, happily.

The princesses then allowed Fox & Krystal to stand on the mat.

"I've got my gym badge right here, Toad," said Fox, showing it to him with pride.

"Fox & Krystal, once you've waited out your Short Cut penalty, you'll be team number two."

"Thank you very much," said Fox, shaking his hand.

"Congratulations, girls," said Krystal, giving them both high-fives.

CONFESSIONAL:

PEACH & DAISY: Princesses/Best Friends

"I'm so happy we won our first leg!" said Diasy, excited.

"Me too," said Peach. "Who knew riding our bicycles in our underwear around Pallet Town would pay off in the end?"

Daisy laughed, giving her a high five.

END:

-PEACH & DAISY: 28 minutes and 47 seconds to go

-FOX & KRYSTAL: 29 minutes to go

-P.T. & LUCARIO: 1 hour and 39 minutes and 58 seconds to go

Back at the Viridian City gym, Zelda eventually managed to beat out Sabrina.

"Gallade is unable to battle," said the referee. "Umbreon wins, which means the victory for this battle goes to Zelda."

"Yeah! Alright!" Link cheered for Zelda while the Mario Bros gave a round of applause.

"I did it," said Zelda, "… I actually finished my first Roadblock."

"Congratulations, Zelda," said Sabrina. "On my behalf, I present to you the Marsh Badge for beating me, as well as your next clue."

"Thank you very much," said Zelda before suddenly finding herself being swung around in circles in the air by Link, much to her surprise.

"I knew you could do it, Zelda! Nice job!" said Link while Zelda laughed.

LINK & ZELDA: Currently in 6th Place

After reading their clue, Link & Zelda wished Mario & Luigi good luck before leaving for the bus station. Mario went ahead to start his next battle.

"This-a means we're the last team here, sigh," said Mario.

"I wonder why Ness & Lucas still haven't-a shown up yet?" said Luigi

Back in Pewter City, the first bus had arrived at the Pewter City bus station. After piling out of the bus, Kirby & Jigglypuff and Bowser & Bowser Jr. raced against each other to the Museum of Science. Upon entering the museum, the pink puffballs managed to land on the mat before the evil koopas.

"Yay! We made it!" said Jigglypuff before presenting her gym badge to Toad.

"Shoot! Those little twerps beat us!" said Bowser.

"Kirby & Jigglypuff," said Toad, "…you are team number three."

"What?" said Kirby, confused. "But I thought we were first."

"Now I have good news and bad news," said Toad. "The bad news is you have a Short Cut penalty you need to wait out before I can check you in, but the good news is, this will not affect your placement.

"That's okay with me," said Jigglypuff. "Third place is our best placement so far. That means we're only getting better!"

"Get out of my way!" said Bowser, sickened by her over-positivity.

"Hey!" said Jigglypuff, taken by surprise as the koopas got on the mat.

"Why you little…!" said Kirby, furious at Bowser for shoving her.

Bowser Jr. stuck his tongue out at him, angering him even further.

Bowser, meanwhile, showed off his gym badge to Toad.

"Bowser & Bowser Jr.," said Toad, unimpressed by their rude behavior, "you're team number four. Still, however, you have to wait out your Short Cut penalty like everyone else."

"We know that," said Bowser Jr., being a smart alec.

"Whatever," said Bowser, unsatisfied with their result.

Once both teams were done talking to Toad, they went to sit out their Short-Cut penalties with the other teams.

"Hey, how did y'all get ahead of us?" Jigglypuff asked the other teams since she completed the Roadblock first.

"We took the subway," said Fox. "It gets there faster than the bus."

"Oh," said Kirby. "I didn't know that."

"Harrumph!" said Bowser in annoyance.

-PEACH & DAISY: 3 minutes to go

-FOX & KRYSTAL: 3 minutes and 2 seconds to go

-KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 28 minutes and 45 seconds to go

-BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 29 minutes to go

-P.T. & LUCARIO: 1 hour and 15 minutes to go

"Great," said P.T. "We're falling further and further behind. This is my worst nightmare ever."

Back at the Viridian City Police department, Ness & Lucas were resting in their cell in defeat. By this point, it was already nightfall. Suddenly, they heard Officer Jenny unlocking their cell door. "Alright, wake up, sleepy heads. You're off the hook."

While yawning, Ness was suddenly taken by surprise. "Say what?!"

"You're not who we're looking for, so you're free to go."

"We are?" said Lucas in disbelief.

Officer Jenny went ahead and explained to them how production had gone out of their way to prove their innocence since Ness & Lucas were unable to do so. She also apologized for wrongly accusing them.

"By the way, Nurse Joy asked me to give this to you," she then handed them their clue.

"Thank you," said Ness, still in shock that they were being set free. He then ripped it open to read it out loud, telling them to go the Viridian City gym.

"I can take you there, myself," said Officer Jenny. "I'll get you there as fast as possible; it's the least I can do to make it up to you. Don't worry, your production advisers told me they would allow it."

"Oh, that would be very helpful, thank you!" said Lucas, happily.

Once outside, Ness & Lucas got onboard the sidecar of Officer Jenny's motorcycle once again. This time, they didn't have their hands cuffed, which they were thankful for.

"Sit back, hold on, and don't yell," said Officer Jenny before starting the engine and taking off like lightning, causing the two boys to yell anyways.

Link & Zelda, in the meantime, were buying bus tickets at the Viridian City Bus Station.

"The next bus will be leaving at 7:45 pm," said the ticket lady behind the counter. It was now 8:24 pm.

"That's fine, we'll take it," said Link. Their tickets were now being processed.

LINK & ZELDA: 1st team on the 7:45 pm bus

"I'm so ready for this leg to be over," said Zelda, exhausted from all that battling.

As for Mario, he was now partaking his fourth attempt at battling Giovanni. He was using Staraptor against Giovanni's Marowak.

"The fourth one-on-one battle between Mario & Giovanni is about to begin," said the referee. "Mario will be using Staraptor while Giovanni will be using Marowak. Let the battle begin!"

Meanwhile, Ness & Lucas had finally arrived at the Gym. After being dropped off by Officer Jenny, Ness volunteered to do the Roadblock, so Lucas went inside the battle arena to sit at the bleachers. Once Lucas saw that the Mario Bros were still there, he was in absolute shock.

CONFESSINAL:

NESS & LUCAS: Best Friends

"When I saw Mario & Luigi, I immediately became filled with hope," said Lucas. "I just knew we still had a chance so stay in the game despite our previous predicament."

END:

Once Luigi saw Lucas, he was taken by surprise. "Lucas! You're-a finally here! What happened?"

"It's a long story," said Lucas.

As Lucas and Luigi continued to watch Mario battle, Ness went over to Lucas. "Lucas, I don't know what to do. I've never battled Pokémon before and there's too many Pokémon to choose from. You think I should take the Short Cut?"

"The Short Cut?" said Lucas, who didn't know what he was talking about.

"Go ahead and-a take it," Luigi insisted. "Everyone else has taken the Short Cut, so it won't-a hurt you if you take it. Plus, it'll make the task much-a easier to complete." To Luigi, however, strategically this was because he wanted to stay in the game, and he figured that them taking the penalty would help.

"Well, Lucas?" said Ness.

"Well…okay."

Ness then went to obtain a cheat sheet from the Short Cut box.

NESS & LUCAS: Penalized by thirty minutes

'Now I just gotta hope-a Mario and I get to the mat before they do,' Luigi thought.

The battle between Mario and Giovanni continued. Staraptor was pretty badly damaged.

"I'm-a not giving up!" said Mario, determined. Marowak was also pretty badly damaged.

"So, tell me Mario," said Giovanni, "what will be your next move, because I'm quite looking forward to it."

"Good-a," said Mario, "Staraptor, it's-a now time to use Close Combat!" The attack was super powerful. Once the dust settled, Marowak was shown lying on the ground. He was knocked out!

"Marowak is unable to battle," said the referee, "Staraptor wins, which means the winner of this battle is Mario!"

"Yeah hoo! I won!" cried Mario victoriously.

"Shoot!" said Lucas, who was really hoping that they could get an edge up on the Mario Bros.

"Did he win?" asked Ness, who just got back with his chosen Pokémon.

"I'm afraid so."

"Congratulations, Mario," said Giovanni. "You've earned my respect. As a reward, I give you the Earth Badge as well as your next clue."

"Thanks," said Mario.

MARIO & LUIGI: Currently in 7th Place

Mario was now reading the clue while Luigi grabbed their backpacks. "Make your way to Pewter City and find the Museum of Science: the pit-stop for this leg of the race!"

"Let's-a get out of here!" said Luigi. The Mario Bros had split the scene.

"It's all up to you now, Ness," said Lucas, now that they were the last team. "Do your best for me, please."

"I will," said Ness. He was now going to be battling against Janine, the Fuchsia City gym leader.

Back at the Pewter Museum of Science…

"Peach & Daisy, Fox & Krystal," said Toad, "All four of you can come over here now."

Once they did so, their Short Cut penalty had elapsed.

"You may now step on the mat," and with that, the two teams did what Toad said. "You are now officially checked in."

"Thank you very much, Toad," said Peach.

PEACH & DAISY: 1st Place

"Yes, thank you," said Fox.

FOX & KRYSTAL: 2nd Place

P.T. sighed while watching them.

-KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 24 minutes and 45 seconds to go

-BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 25 minutes to go

-P.T. & LUCARIO: 1 hour and 10 minutes to go

Back at Viridian City Gym, Ness had his cheat sheet in hand as he was now ready to battle Janine.

"The one-on-one battle between Ness and Janine is about to begin," said the referee. "Ness will be using Roselia, while Janine will be using Weezing. Let the battle begin!"

Meanwhile, Mario & Luigi had obtained tickets on the same bus as Link & Zelda. They managed to get onboard before the bus driver closed the doors.

MARIO & LUIGI: 2nd Team on the 7:45 pm bus

The bus was now leaving for Pewter City.

"Hey guys," said Link as their fellow alliance members walked up to where they were sitting.

"Hello, Link," said Mario. "Looks-a like we're on the same bus together."

"Have you guys seen Ness & Lucas yet?" asked Link.

"Yeah," said Mario, "they're still-a back there."

"Did they take the Short-Cut?" Zelda asked, now filled with concern.

"They-a sure did," said Luigi. "I made-a sure of that."

"Alright!" said Link, giving him a high five. "Nice job!"

Zelda was filled with relief. "This means we're still in the game. Thank goodness."

Back at the Pewter Museum of Science, Kirby & Jigglypuff's and Bowser & Bowser Jr.'s Short Cut penalties had elapsed.

"Alright guys, y'all can come on over here and step on the mat," said Toad.

The puffballs went first.

"Kirby & Jigglypuff," said Toad, "you're now officially checked in. You're team number three."

"Thank you," said Jigglypuff.

KIRBY & JIGGLYPUFF: 3rd Place

The koopas went second.

"Bowser & Bowser Jr., you're now officially checked in. You're team number four."

"Yeah, we know," said Bowser.

BOWSER & BOWSER JR.: 4th Place

The three other teams that were there gave them a round of applause to congratulate them. Everyone was instructed by production to remain at the museum until all eight teams had arrived. Toad had something important to discuss with all of them.

"Maybe we'll make it fifth? Heh, heh…" said P.T.

"Doubtful," said Lucario, still cross with him.

"I figured you'd say that.

-P.T. & LUCARIO: 45 minutes and 15 seconds to go

Back at the Viridian City Gym, after having Roselia use Mega Drain a couple of times, Ness managed to beat out Janine's Weezing with ease.

"Weezing Is unable to battle," said the referee, "Roselia wins, which mean the victory for this battle goes to Ness!"

"Yes!" cried Lucas, jumping up and down with joy. "You did it! You did it! YAY!"

Ness, meanwhile, gave a sigh of relief.

"Congratulations, Ness," said Janine. "I'm impressed by your battling skills. On my behalf, I reward you with the Soul Badge for beating me. Also, here's your next clue."

"Thanks a lot," said Ness. He then ripped open the clue and read it while Lucas brought over both their bags so they could leave immediately.

NESS & LUCAS: Currently in Last Place

"Warning: The last team to check in will be eliminated," read Ness before grabbing his bag from Lucas.

"Let's get out of here," said Lucas, still remaining hopeful that they'll make it.

After leaving the gym, Ness & Lucas headed straight for the Viridian Pokémon Center.

CONFESSIONAL:

NESS & LUCAS: Best Friends

"We were told by Officer Jenny that if we needed to get anywhere fast, she recommended that we travel via the Kanto Intraregional Subway System," said Ness.

"So that's just what we decided to do," said Lucas. "That Officer Jenny sure was helpful."

END:

"Let's go, Lucas," said Ness, once they found the escalater. After going underground, they bought their tickets, placed them in the machine, and then they got onboard the subway train before it took off. They were now finally on their way to Pewter City.

"I know we can make it, I know it," said Lucas, refusing to lose hope.

Later, the second bus had arrived at the Pewter City Bus Station, and Link & Zelda and Mario & Luigi immediately piled out. After racing against each other, they had arrived at the museum.

"Look, there's more teams coming!" Jigglypuff pointed out, as always.

Once inside, the competitive Link & Zelda managed to land on the mat before the Mario Bros. Both teams presented their gym badges as instructed by the clue.

"Link & Zelda, Mario & Luigi" said Toad, "as you all know, you've been given a thirty-minute penalty for taking the Short Cut. The good news is, once your penalties are up, you'll be team numbers five and six."

"Wow, that's amazing!" said Link, giving Zelda a high five. "That's our best placement yet."

"Yeah, it is," Zelda agreed, although she still would've preferred first or at least second for a change.

LINK & ZELDA: 5th Place

"Thank you so much-a, Toad," said Mario, relieved that the leg was over.

"Ditto," said Luigi, extremely happy that they were now back in the game and caught up to everybody after two rough legs in last place.

MARIO & LUIGI: 6th Place

"Pokémon Trainer & Lucario, this has gotta suck for you guys," Toad said to them over at the bench.

"Don't remind me," P.T. relented while the koopas laughed at their misfortune.

-LINK & ZELDA: 29 minutes and 40 seconds to go

-MARIO & LUIGI: 29 minutes and 37 seconds to go

-P.T. & LUCARIO: 42 minutes and 29 seconds to go

The camera showed the clouds forming over the moon at a sped-up pace to show the passage of time. The scene then shifted back over to Ness & Lucas riding on the train.

"I think we can make it seventh," Lucas thought out loud. Ness didn't say anything.

Finally, the subway train had arrived at the Pewter City Subway Station. After getting off, Ness & Lucas went up the escalater to the Pokémon Center, and went over to Nurse Joy asking her where the Museum of Science was. After giving them directions, the boys frantically ran the rest of the way to the museum. Once they ran inside, the other teams were cheering madly upon their arrival while Lucas spotted Toad at the mat. They then ran to the mat as fast as possible and landed there right before Toad. They were exhausted, and almost out of breath.

"Welcome to Pewter City," said Flint, the pit-stop greeter.

"Ness, do you have your gym badge with you?" asked Toad.

"It's right here," Ness presented it to him while trying to catch his breath.

"Ness & Lucas," said Toad. "…I'm sorry to tell you, you're the last team to arrive."

"Awwwww!" said Ness, in sheer disappointment.

"Aw man," said Lucas, feeling very upset after all they've been through.

"…However, there's something you both need to know," Toad continued before looking at one of the other teams. "Pokémon Trainer & Lucario, I need you both to come over here."

P.T. & Lucario did what he said.

"Now, Pokémon Trainer & Lucario," said Toad, "as you both know, you were the first team to arrive at the mat. However, over the course of the leg, you… flew to Kanto using business class tickets… took another person's property without their permission… and then P.T., you unwittingly had Lucario assisting you at the Roadblock when you were supposed to complete it on your own. For all these rule violations you've racked up, along with P.T. taking the Short Cut, you were both given an accumulated penalty of two-hours."

"Seriously?" said Ness, looking at P.T. & Lucario in disbelief. "That's ridiculous."

"Now… in most legs of the race, this wouldn't have too much of a major impact, especially since we're also factoring in Ness & Lucas's Short Cut penalty," said Toad, "but because all eight teams arrived within the space of about one hour and twenty-four minutes… the penalty of two hours unfortunately makes all the difference."

Ness & Lucas looked at each other in disbelief while P.T. covered his face while shaking his head.

"So, Ness & Lucas… you will both be checked in at 7th place, and Pokémon Trainer & Lucario… I'm sorry to tell you, you both have been eliminated from the race.

NESS & LUCAS: 7th Place

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Last Place - Eliminated

"Oh my gosh," said Lucas, who then hugged Ness in relief while still in shock, "…oh my gosh. I can't believe this."

"That is insane," said Ness, though even he had to admit that this was a very rough way for P.T. & Lucario to go out.

"Wow," said P.T., letting the feeling sink in, "Just like that, huh?"

Realizing he couldn't stay mad at P.T. for long, Lucario embraced his ever-loving friend. "I'm sorry, Master."

"Pokémon Trainer & Lucario," said Toad, "this has got to be the most unprecedented elimination we've had so far. Y'all two were a really strong team. I really thought you two could potentially go all the way to the end and win." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah, I really wanted that for us," said P.T., "but I guess I just got so caught up in staying in the lead that I got carried away and messed things up for us. I'm just too competitive for my own good."

"I feel like it's my fault too," said Lucario, after much reflection. "I feel like I could've been more assertive with my partner and yet I always just did everything my master told me to do. We're a team, and I'm just as much to blame for our downfall as Master is."

"No, Lucario, don't say that," said P.T. "All those rules we've broken were my own doing, so I need to take responsibility." He then looked at Ness & Lucas. "Also, Ness, Lucas," P.T. sighed, "I just wanted to personally apologize for letting you both get arrested earlier."

Everyone bearing witness to this confession either gasped or covered their mouths in shock.

"I really am sorry. That was very nasty, and deceitful, and unjust of me," P.T. continued before he started shedding a tear. "I hope y'all can forgive us… and perhaps maybe… we can even still be…" Suddenly, P.T. found himself bombarded with a big hug from Lucas.

"We forgive you, Pokémon Trainer," said Ness, smiling and giving him the big thumbs up.

Suddenly, everyone clapped and cheered for them. Everyone, including the Koopas, gathered around P.T. & Lucario to congratulate them. They were forgiven for everything they've done. After all, it is just a game.

"Y'all played an incredible game, Pokémon Trainer," said Fox, patting him on the back.

"Yeah, y'all really gave us a run for our money at times," said Daisy, giving Lucario a hug.

"Definitely. Y'all's game of deception was enough to impress even us," Bowser bemused.

"Good game, my friend," said Lucas to P.T., hugging him once more.

"I gotta say, this is a very touching moment," said Toad, causing everyone to laugh.

CONFESSIONAL:

POKEMON TRAINER & LUCARIO: Best Friends

"To go out the way we did was truly… extremely humiliating, if you know what I mean," said P.T., laughing a little. "This race has truly humbled me in so many ways. I clearly still have a whole lot to learn, yet I feel like I've learned so much as well. I've learned how to be a better competitor, and a better friend, and I've also learned that it's okay to lose sometimes. Losing is not the end of the world, in fact, it only helps you grow even stronger."

"The Amazing Race was everything I thought it would be," said Lucario. "I'm very satisfied with how far we went, especially since we even won a couple of legs. Our performance was fantastic, and my relationship with Master has only gotten stronger."

"Hey, you know what Lucario?" said P.T. "Let's drop this whole "Master" business. We're best friends, remember? From now on, you can call me… P.T. What do you think?"

Lucario licked his face with affection, causing P.T. to laugh. "I like it. I really do. It was truly an honor running run this race with you, P.T. Thank you."

"Your welcome, Lucario," said P.T., scratching his head affectionately.

END:

"Hey, Lucario. What do you say we head over to the Pewter City Gym tomorrow and we have a rematch with Brock," P.T. suggested. "Only this time it'll be fair and square."

"I'd like nothing better," Lucario happily agreed.

"Come to the think of it, let's start our next journey tomorrow morning and obtain all eight of Kanto's gym badges. I've always wanted to challenge the Kanto Elite Four."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast," said Toad. "Y'all still have to spend the rest of the month sequestered with all the other eliminated teams, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said P.T. This made everyone laugh.

…

Once everything was said and done, Toad had all seven remaining teams gathered around him.

"Alright everybody, listen up," said Toad. "I need your full attention."

Everybody was hearing him loud and clear.

"Throughout this leg, production has had a very rough day trying to look after you guys. Due to all the rule breaking and unfortunate situations that went down today, such as Ness & Lucas getting arrested, a lot of it had to be at production's expense. Because of this, production is filing a complaint against some of you, so I've decided to make this go for everyone left here. We ask that you guys respect the rules of this game, because breaking the rules affects not only you guys, but also the people who work hard every day to make this adventure possible for you guys, so consider this your first strike. I also want to inform you that in almost every single leg so far, I've had to give some of you guys penalties, either for reasons beyond your control or for not running the race properly. In this leg, all eight of you received at least a thirty-minute penalty. Now, considering the circumstances, I can truly understand why, but this has got to be a world record for the greatest number of teams we've ever had to penalize in a single leg. You guys are clearly a very volatile group, so all I ask of everyone left remaining here is that y'all try to run the remainder of this race as professionally as possible. Let's try not to get any more penalties from now on. Is that something we can agree on?

"Yes sir," said Fox, followed by everyone else.

"We will," said Jigglypuff.

"Alright then," said Toad. "Well go on ahead and get some rest. You're going to need it for tomorrow's leg.

With that being said, everyone left to get some much needed shut-eye.

Stay tuned for scenes from our next Episode

…

On the next the next episode of the amazing race, the seven remaining teams fly to Corneria City in the Lylat System…

"Wow, this place is way more technical based compared to Hyrule," said Daisy.

Food poisoning on a space flight affects some of the racers…

"Jigglypuff… I don't feel so good," said Kirby, looking a little greener than pink.

"Uh oh. Zelda, I really have to use the bathroom," said Link, feeling constipated.

…While other teams enjoy a much more thrilling flight.

"Yeah hoo!" cried Lucas with joy while flying around in an automatic arwing.

"Do a barrel roll!" Fox joked.

Teams play a military version of capture the flag…

"I've-a gotten hit with paintballs so many times already," said Luigi.

And in one of the most dramatic moments on the entire race…

"He just trampled on me, Link," Zelda complained. She now had a scraped elbow. "He's a psycho!"

…an incident sparks a violent showdown amongst the teams.

"Someday, I am going to light a bomb flower, and SHOVE it down your throat so you can feel yourself get blown up into A MILLION PIECES!" yelled an irate Link. This leads to a physical fight involving everyone.

"We are so getting kicked off this race," said Bowser Jr., facepalming himself.

…

Phew! Another leg finished. Man, writing may be fun, but if I were to ever work in the entertainment industry, I am NOT writing for the Pokémon Company. XD Seriously, writing about Pokémon battles is harder than I thought, so now I have a huge amount of respect for the writers of the Pokémon Anime. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter (though I'll probably be cropping it in the future due to its length) and I also can't wait for the upcoming "Amazing Race: Reality Clash" season airing this May on CBS. It's going to be so much fun!