Chapter 18: Let's Pokeathlon!

Roku's P.O.V.

Route 35

"Luna! Finish it with Quick Attack!"

"Lyra, nail it with Ember!"

Reia and I were engaged in battle with a couple of circus freaks: a Juggler and a Firebreather. Night had fallen, and we had fought our way through the road with ease. And this time, it was a full moon, which meant that Luna was even more powerful.

Anyway, Luna slammed into the Firebreather's Magmar, knocking it out, while Lyra scorched the Juggler's last Voltorb with a nasty Ember attack, finishing the battle.

"Aw, come on! That's just cold!" the Firebreather whined as he returned his fallen Pokémon.

"I don't know, it seemed pretty hot on my end," the Juggler said as he returned the ball to its ball.

"Either way, we won," I said. "Great job, Luna."

"You too, Lyra!" Reia said happily. "Way to fire things up!"

The two Pokémon beamed at our gracious compliments. We ended up heading towards the National Park, where we planned on setting up camp for the night. However, that all changed when I saw a sign hung up near the west exit.

"Play collectively with your Pokémon, trust your Pokémon, and believe in your Pokémon's potential! Your friendship with Pokémon will make your dream come true! Pokeathlon for you!"

"Pokeathlon, huh?" I said to myself.

"I've heard of that," Reia said, stepping up beside me. "The Pokeathlon is a series of sporting events that test your Pokémon's athletic abilities. They have five separate courses: Speed, Power, Skill, Stamina, and Jump, all designed to test the mettle of your Pokémon."

"Sounds fun," I said, looking down at Luna. "Maybe we should give it a try."

"I'm down!" Luna said.

"Then I'll do it too," Reia said. "Could be a useful opportunity to get stronger."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I said, heading to the west exit. "Let the sweat fly!"

We walked out the door to find a perfectly paved path to a massive dome-like structure. About halfway between us and the dome stood a big guy in a light blue jersey and his behemoth of a Poliwrath. He turned around right as we were walking up and looked us over.

"Hmm…I see it!" he said finally. "That twinkle in your eyes…and your air of confidence…yes! You'd make fine Pokeathletes!"

"Uh…thanks," I said, not so sure of how I should take that.

"It's Trainers like you two that make me glad that I opened up the Pokeathlon in Johto!" he said. "My name is Magnus. I'll be seeing you again soon, if my predictions are correct."

The man walked off. His Poliwrath said, "Be seeing you," before following him.

"Who was that guy?" I asked.

"Maybe he's some sort of athletic fortune-teller?" Reia suggested.

I looked on as the man entered the dome. He had a certain air of fame around him, and I couldn't help but feel like he was some sort of legend. I shrugged the feeling off and walked up to the dome, taking a deep breath before walking in.


Calem's P.O.V.

National Park

While Roku and Reia were off to the Pokeathlon Dome, Calem and Zuki were out setting up camp for when they returned. Zuki and her Umbreon had gone out and gathered firewood, and Calem sent out his Charizard to get the fire started.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower," Calem said calmly. "But tone it down a bit; we don't want people to think we're trying to burn this place down."

"Hmph…fine," Charizard sighed, sending a small shot of fire at the wood and setting it ablaze.

Zuki and Calem were sitting around the fire, with their partners out beside them. That's when Zuki decided to finally ask Calem about how he appeared from out of nowhere.

"Calem."

Calem looked up at Zuki. "Hm?"

"Last I knew, you were still in Kalos," Zuki said. "Yet here you are. The way you appeared was also quite suspicious. Tell me: why were you following us?"

"I was sent to make sure Reia didn't get into any danger," Calem explained. "Reia is my friend, and I will always be there for her."

"…You love her, don't you?"

Calem blanched. Zuki was already shooting accusations of love at him. But, now that he realized it, he always did feel a little different when she was around. Something about Reia made his heart beat faster.

"…I…I might actually love her," Calem said. "But she already seems to be attached to Roku. It'd be selfish of me to take her from who she really loves."

Calem facepalmed mentally. How could he deny his own feelings like that?! But, his head said to let her go, whereas his heart said to claim her as his own. Calem shook his head; the thoughts were flooding his brain.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Calem said, looking away. Zuki nodded and stood up, saying, "Maybe a battle will help clear your head. How about it?"

Calem looked up at her and said, "Sure, why not?"


Roku's P.O.V.

Pokeathlon Dome

We stepped in and were instantly awe-struck. The dome had a futuristic look to it, or at least, the entrance hall did. We walked up to the reception desk, when we heard a shout coming from the door.

"Roku! Reia!"

We turned around to see Whitney running up to us, still dressed in her usual attire. Reia gave me the evil eye, as if she was testing me.

"So, you're here to try out the Pokeathlon, too?" Whitney said.

"Yeah," I replied. "We figured it'd be a great bonding experience for our Pokémon. Is that why you're here?"

"Yep! I've already done a few courses myself, actually," Whitney confirmed. Then she looked us over and jumped in surprise.

"Wait…you're not going in dressed like that, are you?!" Whitney said.

"Well, I wasn't gonna dress in a tuxedo," I said.

"Wait a minute!" Reia said angrily. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?!"

"Well, you two don't look like athletes," Whitney said. "But don't worry, I'll take care of that. Roku, are you a small or a medium…? You look like a medium…" Then she looked at Reia. "And I bet you're a small. I'll be right back!"

With that, Whitney ran off and down a flight of stairs. She came back later with two jerseys: one black and one blue.

"Here you go! Now you can look the part!" Whitney said. "Now, I'm gonna…wait! Where are my Pokémon?!"

Whitney looked at us and said, "I've got to go back to the Gym! See ya later!"

Once Whitney was out the door, I facepalmed. Who forgets to take their Pokémon with them?

"What a dunce," Reia said, getting my vibe.

"Tell me about it," I replied. I ignored the feeling and went to the desk.

"This is the desk for registration," the lady behind the desk said. "Will you try the Pokeathlon?"

"Yes, ma'am," we said in unison.

"Are you going in as a team or are you competing against each other?" she asked.

Reia and I looked at each other.

"We haven't competed against each other for a while," I said.

"Let's have it out," Reia said, smiling.

"Alone," I said.

"And what course will you be participating in?"

"I don't know…how about the Speed Course?" I suggested. Reia nodded her approval.

"OK, now I need your Trainer Cards and a team of three Pokémon," the receptionist said.

Reia flinched, and I knew why. She only had Lyra and Eevee. I took out one of my Poke Balls and handed it to her, saying, "Here, use this one. He'll obey you, I know."

Reia looked at me, then the Poke Ball. She nodded and took it.

We returned our partners to their Poke Balls and sat them on the table with the other Pokémon we were going to use. The receptionist read the DNA registered in each ball and opened the door. She handed us our Trainer Cards and told us good luck before showing us to the waiting areas. I nodded at Reia as we were put in separate rooms.

I took this time to change out into the jersey that Whitney had given me. That's when I actually started to think about her. She wasn't exactly my type, but I had to admit; I could watch those hips move all day.

Once I had finished dressing out, I sent out the team that was going to earn us our first Pokeathlon victory: Luna, Riolu, and Braixen.

"So what are we doing in here?" Braixen piped up.

"We're waiting until the receptionist tells us the course is ready," I said.

"Ready for what?" Riolu asked next.

"The Pokeathlon," Luna said, educating both of them. "Just be prepared to let the sweat fly."

"Saweeet! I love a good brawl!" Braixen said happily. "Let's have it out!"

"It's not a fight," Luna said. "It's meant to test our athletic abilities. We're going to be pushed to the limits, but I have faith in you two."

"What kind of course are we doing?" Riolu asked. Him and Luna seemed to be the only ones taking this seriously.

"They're testing us on Speed," I said. "There's gonna be a lot of running going on, but I know we can win. You're all fast Pokémon, so we have this one in the bag."

"But we can't use moves," Luna pointed out. "That's an immediate disqualification."

"Well, there goes my speed," Braixen whined. "If I can't use Flame Charge, I can't go any faster that I can right now."

"Braixen, have you seen how fast you've become?" I said.

And it was very true. Braixen was very light on his feet, and he could dodge and execute an attack before the opponent knew what hit them. That's why I chose him; I knew we could win this if we gave it our all.

"Really?" Braixen said. "I guess I never noticed it before. Thanks, Roku!"

"No problem," I said, smiling.

"Roku, the course is ready," the receptionist said.

"OK, guys," I said, then quickly added, "and girl," when Luna gave me the stink eye. "Let's show them what we're made of! Time to win this thing!"

"YEAH!" my Pokémon yelled.

I returned my team to their Poke Balls and walked out onto the lit field.

"Welcome to the Pokeathlon!" the announcer shouted. The crowd went up in cheers.

"Today we'll be doing the Speed Course!" the announcer continued. "Who will shine brightest today? Let's meet the competitors!"

The teams were prompted to release their Pokémon once their name was called out. I pulled out my Poke Balls.

"No one will stop us! We'll go running all the way! Team Roku: Umbreon, Riolu, and Braixen!"

I threw out my Poke Balls, releasing my team onto the field.

"We'll show them! Our bond goes way beyond this world! Team Reia: Vulpix, Pidgey, and Eevee!"

I saw Reia release her Pokémon. I had to admit, she looked good in a jersey. I also noticed her felt hat was off, revealing the full glory of those golden locks.

I shook my head. I had to keep a clear mind, or I was going to lose.

"Don't eat the grass along the road of life! My personal slogan! Team Eva: Hoppip, Oddish, and Bellsprout!"

The lass released her all-Grass type team. I wondered how it was going to work, then I started thinking: would types have a place in a competition like this? If so, we were going to be at a disadvantage due to our lack of conformity.

"Do you think you can keep up with me? They call me the 'Victorious Victor'! Team Victor: Ponyta, Doduo, and Growlithe!"

I shuddered as Victor threw out the three speed demons. I had gathered their data from the Pokedex, and all three of those Pokémon have amazing speed and agility. This wasn't going to be easy.

"All right, we're ready!" the announcer shouted. "Aim for the top! Let's…"

"POKEATHLON!" everyone shouted.


Author's Note: In my opinion, I think the Pokeathlon was a pretty decent replacement for Pokémon Contests. Better than those crappy Pokémon Musicals in Gen 5 (I literally wanted to put the game down and go back to my HeartGold). But I'm really glad they're being brought back in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire! I LOVED Pokémon Contests. I remember sweeping a Beauty Contest with my LV 100 Swampert. Imagine the look of shock on the other contestants' face when their Milotic, Gardevoir, and Medicham get creamed by an ugly-ass mud fish. I laughed my ass off.

Anyway, the Pokeathlon events will ensue in the next chapter, but they will be preceded by the battle between Calem and Zuki. I plan on making this one a doozy, so stick around.

Strato Abyss signing out.