Chapter 19: Records Broken

Roku's P.O.V.

Pokeathlon Dome

"The first event will be the Hurdle Dash!" the announcer shouted.

A long track sprawled out in front of us, and many hurdles were set up in individual lanes. There was three lanes to each team; one for each Pokémon.

"Your Pokémon will be running the course, jumping the hurdles as they go!" the announcer continued. "Each of your Pokémon's times will be recorded and combined once all of them have crossed the finish line! The team with the fastest combined time wins! Remember: using moves will result in immediate disqualification!"

We nodded and took our places.

"On your marks…get set…GO!"

Riolu was the first to go, blasting off with great speed. I couldn't see any wind around him, which meant that he wasn't using Quick Attack. None of my Pokémon used any moves to get the jump on the opposition, so we were OK. Reia's team, however, was hot on their heels, and was staying that way as they jumped the first line of hurdles.

I looked at the jumbotron as the places showed up on the screen. Riolu was standing strong in first place, followed by Luna, Ponyta, Pidgey, Braixen, Hoppip, Doduo, Growlithe, Lyra, Eevee, Bellsprout, and Oddish.

"What a lead! Roku's Riolu is tearing up the competition out there!" the announcer shouted. "Wait…what's this?"

Riolu looked behind him and widened his eyes as he saw Ponyta barreling up behind him at full speed. He almost crashed into the next hurdle, but he flipped over it and kept running. Luna didn't want to lose, either, so she sped up to catch up with Ponyta.

"It's a battle for first place!" the announcer said excitedly. "Riolu, Umbreon, and Ponyta are neck and neck!"

However, Ponyta was going a bit too fast, and she couldn't jump over the next hurdle fast enough, causing her to trip and fall on her face. Riolu and Luna sped ahead, with Pidgey and Braixen taking Ponyta's place.

"And it appears we have another battle going on in the back!" the announcer pointed out.

I looked at the jumbotron to see Lyra and Eevee blast ahead of Growlithe and Hoppip, only being showed up by Doduo, who had sped up.

"I'm not losing this one, birdbrain!" Lyra shouted, speeding up even faster.

"In your dreams, foxy!" Doduo shouted back, speeding up as well.

The race was almost over, for the Pokémon were approaching the finish line.

"C'mon, Lyra! You can do this!" Reia shouted.

Lyra gritted her teeth and put everything she had into the last burst of speed, slowly advancing ahead of Doduo.

"What the…?!" Doduo shouted in surprise.

"How do you like me now?!" Lyra shouted with a smile.

The Pokémon barreled across the finish line. Riolu had placed first, followed by Luna, Pidgey, Braixen, Lyra, Doduo, Eevee, Ponyta, Growlithe, Hoppip, Bellsprout, and Oddish taking up the rear.

"There you have it, folks! The end of the first event!" the announcer shouted. "Who is the winner?!"

We all looked at the jumbotron as the times were being tallied up. It ended up with Eva placing fourth, Victor placing third, and Reia taking second, while I was sitting pretty in first.

"Team Roku wins the first event!" the announcer boomed. "But it's only the beginning! Proceed to your locker rooms until the next event is ready!"

We returned our Pokémon and proceeded to the locker rooms. Victor stopped me and said, "You got lucky this time, kid. But I'm taking this next one. You can bet on it."

"If it makes you feel better, keep saying that," I shot back, leaving Victor's jaw dropped as I went to my locker room.


Calem's P.O.V.

National Park

Calem and Zuki took their places near the fountain, ready for battle.

"OK, three-on-three, agreed?" Calem said.

"Agreed," Zuki replied.

The two Trainers pulled out their first Pokémon.

"Go, Greninja!"

"Go, Umbreon!"

The two Trainers threw out their partner Pokémon.

"Umbreon, use Quick Attack!" Zuki shouted.

"Greninja, Mat Block!" Calem ordered.

Umbreon dashed forward at lightning fast speed, only to be stopped by Greninja's bubbly shield. Now that Umbreon was up close, he was open for attack.

"Greninja, Ice Beam!" Calem shouted.

Umbreon didn't have enough time to get out of the way, and was frozen solid by the icy beam of energy. Zuki returned Umbreon to his Poke Ball and substituted Raikou in his place.

"Raikou, use Rain Dance!" Zuki shouted.

Raikou roared loudly, and almost immediately, the sky turned darker and it started to rain. Calem smiled, however. Little did Zuki know that Greninja had the Hidden Ability Protean, which changed the Pokémon's type to the same type as the last move it used.

With this in mind, Calem ordered Greninja to use Hydro Cannon, his most powerful move. With the boost from Rain Dance and from Protean, it was going to do a substantial amount of damage to the Legendary Pokémon.

Greninja charged up and sent a massive blast of water straight at Raikou, who, even with his high speed, wasn't able to escape it, and was blasted back incredibly far. By this time, every Trainer in the park had gathered to witness this legendary battle.

"Good strategy, using Rain Dance to your advantage," Zuki commended him. "But you're wide open now. Raikou, use Thunder!"

Raikou launched himself up and over the crowd, letting out a massive roar before dropping a thunderbolt worthy of Zekrom himself onto Greninja. The Ninja Pokémon jolted and writhed horribly before falling to the ground, fainted.

Calem couldn't help but lose his poker face. That attack was powerful enough to take out his most powerful Pokémon. But he still had two Pokémon left. Calem removed his second Poke Ball from his belt and thought, I know you can do this. I have faith in you.

Calem lobbed the ball onto the field, revealing his second choice.


Roku's P.O.V.

Pokeathlon Dome

The remaining Pokeathletes and I walked onto the next stage, ready for the next event. This stage was set up like a beach in a way, with rocks and umbrellas scattered around the stage.

"This next event is called Pennant Capture!" the announcer said. "You will be running through the stage, picking up the pennants that pop up from the sand. When you've gathered enough, head back to the line to switch with a partner. The team that gathers the most pennants wins!"

I saw many pennants emerge from the sand on the stage. I decided to let Riolu take the first turn.

"On your marks…get set…GO!"

The Pokémon on the line launched themselves onto the stage, gathering up as many pennants as they could. Riolu had at least six in his hand until Victor's Ponyta ran up to him and slammed him to the ground, taking his pennants as well.

"Hey! That's playing dirty!" Riolu shouted.

"In this sport, you do whatever it takes to win!" Ponyta replied, galloping back to the start line.

Riolu gathered up as many pennants as he could, but he only came back with three. I sent Luna out next.

"Don't let anyone behind you," I warned her.

"Don't worry," Luna growled. "They won't get me."

Luna dashed out onto the stage, scooping up any pennants she could find in her mouth. Victor's Doduo ran in to try and knock her off balance, but Luna slid and swept Doduo's legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground and taking his pennants.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Victor?" I said, smiling cruelly. All Victor could do was glare at me.

Luna ran back, nine pennants in her mouth. She let them go, spluttering because of the sand in her mouth, and went behind me, leaving Braixen to it.

"Go get 'em, Braixen!" I said.

Braixen launched out onto the stage, picking up pennants left and right, and even sneaking a few pennants from the opponents.

What the…Braixen must have the Hidden Ability Magician! I thought to myself. That's incredible!

Braixen ran back victorious, carrying nine more pennants. Lyra was hot on his heels, also carrying back nine. I looked at the jumbotron, noticing that Reia and I were tied. The seconds were ticking down fast, so I sent Riolu out fast, telling him to pick up the pace. Riolu dashed out, gathering more pennants. But I saw Ponyta gaining on him fast, going for another sneak attack.

Riolu looked behind him, and I could see his eyes. They said, not this time.

Riolu dodged to the side just as Ponyta was about to ram into him, and the added speed sent Ponyta into the wall, knocking it out. Riolu ran in, recovered as many pennants as he could, and ran across the line as time ran out.

"That's it for the second event!" the announcer shouted. "Who won?"

I looked at the jumbotron to see the final results. Victor was dead last, Eva took third, and Reia and I ended up tying.

"This was a very close match! Team Roku and Team Reia have tied for first!" the announcer. "Time to settle this in the final event! Proceed to your locker rooms until the next event!"


Calem's P.O.V.

National Park

"Go, Charizard!"

The Flame Pokémon exploded from the ball, landing on the field and giving out a vicious roar; half for intimidation, half for how pissed off he was at the rain.

"Sending out a Pokémon who has a complete disadvantage against mine?" Zuki said, chuckling softly. "You must have lost your edge."

Zuki's expression changed, however, when Charizard started to glow, and she saw that Calem had touched his Mega Ring.

"Uh, oh…"

Charizard exploded from the ball of light that had enveloped him, Mega Evolving into Mega Charizard Y. The sky quickly cleared, and a miniature sun was beating down on the park with great intensity.

"You forget that I wield the power of Mega Evolution!" Calem shouted. "Charizard, use Earthquake!"

Charizard roared again and slammed his tail on the ground, causing a massive quake and decimating Raikou. Zuki huffed and returned Raikou to his Poke Ball.

"You did well, partner," she said softly, looking down at the ball. "Get some rest." Then she looked up at Calem.

"You did well to defeat a Legendary Pokémon. I'm thoroughly impressed."

Zuki pulled a Poke Ball from her kimono.

"But I'm afraid I'll have to end this battle here…with me as the victor! Umbreon, release yourself from your frozen prison!"

Zuki threw out her partner, knowing very well that the heat from Charizard's Drought would thaw him out. The brick of ice slowly melted away into a very damp Umbreon.

"Now, use Moonlight!" Zuki shouted.

Umbreon's rings started to glow, and he healed the damage that had been dealt to him in the previous bout.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Calem shouted.

"Umbreon, counter it with Dark Pulse!" Zuki ordered.

Umbreon shot a massive black beam of energy at Charizard as he released the fiery stream. The two attacks clashed head-on and started a battle of willpower.

Calem and Zuki locked eyes with each other, not noticing the crowd that was going wild as the battle ensued. If one of them or their Pokémon lost focus for even a millisecond, they could lose.

Which wasn't an option for either of them.

Zuki was trying to work out a plan of action so that she could defeat Calem's Charizard and claim victory. She could tell Umbreon to put as much as he had into the attack, but as far as power goes, Charizard had him beat. He was just barely pushing the attack back.

I need to try and catch him off guard, Zuki thought to herself. But how?

Then a light bulb went off in her head.


Roku's P.O.V.

Pokeathlon Dome

I sat in the locker room with my Pokémon, trying to psych them up for the final event.

"OK, guys! And girl…" I said before Luna could shoot me another dirty look. "We've come very far in the past few minutes, and I know that I don't want to lose. We need to give this next run 150%! No backing down now! Let's do it!"

My Pokémon cheered and stomped, all fired up for our next event. As soon as we got the call for the next event, we ran out onto the field, eager to claim victory.

"The next event is simply titled Relay Run!" the announcer shouted. "One of your Pokémon will run the track until they can't run anymore, then will be substituted for another Pokémon! The team that runs the farthest distance when the time limit ends wins!"

I let Riolu take the first crack at it. The three other Pokeathletes line up on the line with him.

"On your marks…get set…GO!"

Riolu blasted off, the three other Pokémon hot on his heels. However, Eva's Bellsprout began to fall behind the rest, its endurance slipping. Riolu, Ponyta, and Eevee were neck and neck as they completed the first lap. Eva was the first to substitute a Pokémon, returning Bellsprout and throwing out her Hoppip. After the third lap, Riolu was growing extremely tired, and so I returned him and sent out Luna.

Luna slammed it into high gear, blasting ahead of Ponyta and regaining the ground we had lost. Victor eventually had to switch Ponyta out, sending out his Doduo. Reia recalled her Eevee and sent Pidgey out to race for him. Three more laps had gone by before we switched out Pokémon again, this time bringing out all Fire-type Pokémon: Lyra, Braixen, and Growlithe.

"Time is halfway up!" the announcer informed us.

I looked at Braixen, who was pretty much a streak of yellow, except that he wasn't using Quick Attack. He must have heard the announcer, and was giving it his all before he had to rest. After the tenth lap, we had switched out again, going back to Riolu, Eevee, and Ponyta. Ponyta was speeding up, slowly beginning to overtake Riolu.

"We will win this event!" Ponyta shouted. "I'm not going to let a rookie like you screw this up!"

Ponyta ran in to try and knock Riolu into the wall. But Riolu was expecting that, and jumped up on Ponyta, letting her slam into the wall.

"Hey! This ain't a fair!" Ponyta said, trying to shake Riolu off her back. "No pony rides!"

Riolu smirked and jumped forward, placing a foot on Ponyta's forehead before using the added momentum to blast forward and take the lead again.

"See you at the finish line, Dash!" Riolu mocked as he pulled away from Ponyta.

The time soon ended, and I looked at the jumbotron as our results were tallied up. Team Eva had only managed to run 7.6 laps, while Team Victor managed to run a cool 14.8 laps. Team Reia hit 15.1, while I was sitting at a massive 15.4.

"Team Roku wins the final event!" the announcer boomed. "That's it for this Pokeathlon! Let's see who won!"

Later, all of the Pokeathletes were gathered around a stage as the announcer gave out the awards.

"That's it for another Pokeathlon!" he shouted. "We will announce the winners in a moment. But first, who's overflowing with fighting spirit?! Here's a Challenge Bonus for each team!"

Our point totals went up. I received 29, Reia got 34, Victor got 35, and Eva got 30.

"Next, the individual prizes…there wasn't one this time."

I shook my head, wondering why he'd even mention it in the first place.

"Moving on…the points leader!" the announcer continued. "…Team Roku's Riolu!"

My point total went up by 30, bringing me ahead of the other teams.

"Next, a prize for effort!" the announcer continued. "The Pokémon that failed the most…Team Eva's Oddish!"

Eva's point total went up by 20. I could see a sheepish grin slide across her face.

"And now, let's total up the event points!" the announcer shouted.

We all looked at the jumbotron. I could feel my pulse rise, but I was confident that I was going to take the win.

"Event 1!" the announcer shouted as our point meters went up. I knew I had that one in the bag. Reia was hot on my heels, though, and it made me kind of nervous.

"Event 2!" the announcer continued. Our meters went up again. I could see the same nervousness in Reia's eyes.

"Event 3!" the announcer shouted finally. I could feel the tension in the air. It was bearing down on me with the weight of a Golem. I didn't doubt for even a second that the other Pokeathletes couldn't feel it. It was hard to miss, especially with the complete silence.

Actually, now that I thought about it, there has been a few explosive sounds coming from outside, though it was barely noticeable. I intended to check it out after the ceremony was over.

"And the winner…with 436 points…Team Roku!"

I immediately snapped out of my thoughts as soon as I heard that. The crowd exploded in cheers, and I could see the medal that was about to be handed to me. Not hesitating, I stepped up on the stage.

"Team Roku has earned the Speed Medal!" the announcer shouted, handing the medal to me. "Team Roku has also beaten the course record for the most laps run in the Relay Run!"

The crowd cheered even more. I couldn't help but raise my medal up triumphantly.

Man…I haven't felt this good since I won my first Gym Battle! I thought ecstatically. I could do this all day!

I knew that wasn't an option, though. I had to get to the HQ so Cedric and I could meet face to face. Eventually, the ceremony ended, and Reia and I had exited the dome, back in our usual clothing.

"Congratulations on winning these events," the receptionist said. "You will be given Athlete Points to exchange for prizes based on your score."

The receptionists gave Reia and I a small card that had our names and Trainer IDs on them. Then they loaded points onto them equal to our scores, and they gave me a 100 point victory bonus.

Eager to see what the Exchange Service had to offer, we rushed over to the other counter and checked out the merchandise. That's when Reia froze up, staring wide-eyed at a particular item.

A Fire Stone.

"Ah, interested in the Fire Stone, are we?" the receptionist said. "It's 500 points if you want it."

Reia's expression changed to one of sadness. I couldn't help but want to help her out.

"I'll take it," I said, handing the lady my card. Reia looked at me with joy in her eyes.

"Thank you…" she said.

"It's the least I could do," I said.

I knew why Reia was eyeing the Fire Stone. She had wanted to evolve her Vulpix into a Ninetales for a long time, but could never find one of those rare stones. To finally get one…I could feel her excitement.

The receptionist handed me my card and the Fire Stone, which I handed to Reia. I could tell that she wanted to use it right away, but her Trainer instincts told her no. Lyra wasn't quite strong enough yet, and Ninetales couldn't learn any moves after it evolved. Reluctantly, she stowed it in her bag, and we headed out to meet Zuki and Calem back at the park.


Author's Note: That was a long one. I remember the first time I tried the Pokeathlon; I didn't have a clue as to what I was supposed to do, and I got creamed. But I eventually got the hang of it, and I started sweeping the entire thing. So much fun…

Anyway, the next chapter will consist of Roku and Reia witnessing the final moments of Calem and Zuki's battle, followed with them participating in the Bug-Catching contest. So, in a sense, not much going on. But, bear with me. It'll get better.

Strato Abyss signing out.