Chapter 26: The Pancake Race is a Blast!
Last time on "Pokémon Alola Journey", Kaito and Ash visited Mallow's family restaurant together, only to see Mallow doing some training with Bounsweet! They were confused since Bounsweet was training with a stack of pancakes on top of her head.
Questioning the Grass Type user, Mallow explained about the Melemele traditional Pokémon Pancake Race that was going to take place soon. Having been unwell in the past years during the event, Kaito decided to enter this time with Buizel.
Then, while shopping with Ash and Prof. Kukui, the Alola boy met Nina and Kotaro, with their partners, the Alolan Raichu and Floatzel. Nina explains about a little more about the rules while giving the boys and the Professor their pancakes for them to eat.
After lunch, the boys decided to train for the upcoming race as Ash's Pikachu and Nina's Raichu develops a bit of an unfriendly rivalry with one another while Kotaro's Floatzel starts to have trouble, due to his timid personality.
Nevertheless, the time for the Pancake Race has begun, as everyone from the Pokémon School except Lillie was ready to begin the race. For Kaito, he discovers that Seita decided to enter with Kaito's Rockruff at his side, allowing the two brothers to agree not to hold back on one another.
And with the all the rules explained and the confetti blowing, the race began as the Trainers needed to complete their part first.
The confetti popped and flew in the air, allowing the Pancake Race to start! Everyone began to run in the first course, which was the part where the Trainers will have to make their way to where their Pokémon partners are!
"And there they go! First off, we have a competition for the Trainers!" The announcer called out as the citizens of Melemele Island cheered for the ones participating in the race as the competition was on!
Everyone was off to a good start, as Kaito, Ash, Kiawe, Lana, Camilla, Hau, Nina, Kotaro, and Mallow were making their way across the hill. Some were lagging behind, like Sophocles and Seita as the Electric Type user panted, already feeling a bit worn out.
"Huff... Huff... Hey, you guys... Do you have to run so FAST!?" Sophocles complained as Seita managed to get ahead of Sophocles before he began to try and go faster.
"I'm not losing here today! Wait for me, big bro!" Seita called out as he began to pick up the pace, much to Sophocles' chagrin as someone younger than him was already getting ahead of him!
"Oh, that's just great... Even Seita is getting ahead of me!" Sophocles groaned as he tried to catch up, despite his weariness. But despite of the Electric Type user's efforts, his chance of winning the race came to zero when everyone got to the balance beam of the obstacle course!
Some Trainers couldn't balance themselves as they fell off the beam! The announcer noticed this and disqualified for those that were down, along with their fallen pancake stacks.
"Oh no! All of a sudden, we've got disqualifications coming thick and fast!" The announcer announced as Sophocles was one of the Trainers struggling! As he tried to balance himself while balancing the stack, he made one careless movement as he tried to get the stack balanced.
But as soon as he did, he accidentally tilted the pancake stack, causing him to notice too late to see that he was about to fall with the pancake stack!
"Oh no... AH!" Sophocles yelped as he fell off the balance beam. As soon as he did, he felt some pancakes coming off of his head as he opened his eyes to see... a group of Alolan Muk eating all of the fallen pancakes!
"Thanks so much, Muk! As you can see, these Muk really love the taste of those dropped pancakes, and they love cleaning them up!" The announcer explained, leaving the Electric Type user to sweat drop before he sheepishly thanked the Poison-Dark Types.
"Hey, thanks to all of you..." Sophocles chuckled sheepishly before another pancake was taken and eaten off of his face before he sighed. With him being disqualified, he would have to watch the others race to win. But...
"Togedemaru is so not going to be happy about this..." Sophocles groaned as he recovered from his fall before he started to slowly make his way to where the Pokémon were waiting for their Trainers.
Meanwhile...
The Trainers that made it through the obstacle course soon got to their Pokémon. With their Pokémon holding the pancakes now, the second part of the race was on! The Trainers pulled their Pokémon on the wagon to head to where the third part of the race was.
As they were running, Kotaro was struggling to pull Floatzel due to his young body being unable to pull a heavy weight like Floatzel! The evolved Water Type watched in worry as Kotaro slowly managed to keep moving despite the struggle.
"Float...?" Floatzel asked, only to get a shaky grin from the young boy.
"D-Don't worry about it! It's... not your fault... that I can't pull... hard like the others can!" Kotaro panted as he struggled to move as he watched Ash, Kaito, Nina, and the other racers getting ahead of him as he bit his lips.
"We're not... losing... to sis... and Raichu... today! Not today...! Not ever! HAH!" Kotaro gasped as he pulled harder, which started to increase his speed a little to go up the steep road hill!
As Kotaro was doing that, Floatzel watched the young boy pull hard, causing him to feel sorry for Kotaro.
"Float..." Floatzel sighed as he wondered on how his other new Pokémon friends and rivals were doing.
Kaito and Ash were having no problem pulling their Pokémon starters up. Neither were Seita, Hau, Lana, Mallow, and Camilla! As they were pulling, the Kanto Trainer turned to where Pikachu was.
"'Kay, Pikachu... Once you and I get through all of this, you'll be in the race that's just for Pokémon! I'll head over to the finish line and be cheering for you there, so go for it!" Ash called out.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu cried out affirmatively. He was determined to make Ash proud as Kaito glanced at how the Kanto Trainer was doing, before he turned to Buizel, who was holding the stack of pancakes like the other Pokémon were.
"Well, Buizel... We're almost at the third course of the race! Once we get there, it's all you now! I know that you can do it if you believe in yourself, Bui!" Kaito grunted, causing Buizel to nod in agreement before he gave his human brother a determined expression.
"Bu bui!" Buizel cried out affirmatively.
Like Pikachu, the Sea Weasel Pokémon was determined to make his human brother proud.
Back at where the finish line was, Lillie, Principal Oak, Prof. Kukui, and Seita were all watching to see how the students were doing with their Pokémon as Rotom took notice of the Fomantis that Camilla was pulling.
"It appears that Camilla's partner for the Pokémon Pancake Race is a Fomantis!" Rotom buzzed before he explained the details about the Grass Type.
"Fomantis, The Sickle Grass Pokémon. A Grass Type. Fomantis sleep with their leaves spread to gather sunlight for photosynthesis." Rotom buzzed as the adults, Lillie, and Seita continue to watch the race go on.
Back at the race...
While many Trainers were able to pull their Pokémon up on the hill, some weren't so lucky, considering that the Pokémon they were entering with are too big and heavy for them to pull! Kiawe was one of them as he struggled to pull Turtonator up!
The Fire Type user's face was almost starting to turn purple from trying to pull hard, much to the Blast Turtle Pokémon's chagrin as he realized that his weight was the reason that was dragging both him and Kiawe down from winning the race.
"GRGH! Ngh... There's no problem... I'm fine... I'm... fine..."
But as Kiawe tried to reassure to his partner that he was doing fine, the weight from his Fire-Dragon Type was too much for him to handle as he fell on the ground, much to Turtonator's surprise and concern.
As Kiawe panted from the intense pulling he had to do, he grumbled to himself before he came to a realization of why he wasn't able to pull.
"I... think I just figured out something..." Kiawe grunted, causing Turtonator to cock his head a little in question.
"Turtonator?" Turtonator asked, before Kiawe flipped onto his back as he let out a loud yell.
"It's just that you and I... AREN'T MADE FOR POKEMON PANCAKE RACING!" Kiawe screamed out loud in frustration, enough to make the Fire-Dragon Type flinch at the sudden rise of the volume Kiawe was yelling at.
For Sophocles, he made it to where there were some Pokémon waiting for their Trainers to come. Togedemaru was one of those Pokémon as she looked around, concerned as to why her Trainer wasn't coming until Sophocles arrived with the bad news.
"Huff... huff... Togedemaru, I goofed! We're disqualified from the race!" Sophocles groaned, causing the Roly-Poly Pokémon to turn to her Trainer in shock.
"De maru!?" Togedemaru exclaimed as Sophocles picked his partner up from the wagon.
"Yeah, so let's cheer on everyone else." Sophocles said as he was about to walk to where the finish line was, until Togedemaru let her spikes on her back freeze Sophocles in his tracks! Surprised at being poked by the spikes, the Electric Type user yelped in surprise.
And just before he could recover, the Roly-Poly Pokémon knocked Sophocles down while jumping onto his back with her spikes!
"AH! Hey, that hurts! I'm sorry! At least I said I'm sorry! Isn't that something!?" Sophocles shrieked as he was assaulted onto his back continuously before he managed to stop and calm Togedemaru down enough to let them return to where the finish line was.
Meanwhile, the Trainers that made it so far managed to let their Pokémon do the race this time. Some of those people were Ash, Hau, Kaito, Seita, Lana, Mallow, Nina, Camilla, and Kotaro!
With their Pokémon making their way across the final course, the Trainers all headed to where the finish line so they could watch to see who would win the last part of the Pancake Race.
But while they were all crossing the bridge, trouble began to occur. Raichu was easily taking the lead as he gloated that to Pikachu, who was starting to feel a little worn out from the pancakes he had to carry on his back again.
"Rai rai!" Raichu gloated, causing Pikachu to frown as Buizel watched from behind. Floatzel was struggling to hold the pancakes while moving, due to him using his two feet instead of all of his paws to move fast.
But while the four Pokémon were ahead of the others, no one noticed that a Mimikyu from behind them was about to use Shadow Ball! As the Ghost Type attack was charging, the Disguise Pokémon had eyes for only one target: Pikachu.
At where the finish line was, Kaito noticed this and widened his eyes in disbelief.
"What is that Mimikyu doing!? Is it trying to disqualify itself while taking Buizel and the others down!?" Kaito exclaimed as Ash was worried for his Electric Type partner.
"Oh no... Pikachu!" Ash gasped as the others watched in worry. But while the Trainers were all watching the plasma screen, Mallow noticed that Bounsweet tripped!
"No, Bounsweet!" Mallow gasped as she watched her Grass Type fall onto the bridge with the pancake stack falling over! The same went for the Mimikyu as it lost focus of the Shadow Ball once it realized that the pancake stack of its own fell!
But as the Shadow Ball was done charging, the Disguise Pokémon accidentally let it loose, causing it to hit the bubble that Popplio was using to hold the pancake stack! Lana gasped at this as she watched her Water Type lose balance.
"Popplio!" Lana gasped, as the announcer declared the disqualifications of the three Pokémon.
"I can't believe what happened! Mimikyu, Bounsweet, and Popplio were all disqualified at the very same time!" The announcer announced, much to Lana and Mallow's disappointment as they were hoping that one of them would win.
No one seemed to notice a very familiar woman steaming angrily for the Mimikyu that caused all of this to happen.
"The nerve...! That Mimikyu…!" The woman growled angrily, causing the man next to her to sweat drop at her steaming temper.
Buizel was surprised to see his good friend disqualified as he called out to her in worry.
"Bui!?" Buizel called out, only to get a shaking head from the Sea Lion Pokémon, who barked at Buizel to keep moving.
"Pop! Popplio Pop!" Popplio called out, encouraging the Sea Weasel Pokémon to move on with the others. Hesitant at first, the Sea Weasel Pokémon nodded as he remembered that he needed to win for himself and his human brother.
With that in mind, Buizel moved on, passing Floatzel, who was nervous about the pancake stack he was holding.
Soon, with the bridge out of the way, the Pokémon that were able to get through the third course were now heading for the rocky course! Raichu was delightfully taking the lead, feeling proud of himself for being first.
Following Raichu was Pikachu, who was struggling to pick up the pace! Buizel was third while Floatzel was not too close from behind. Rockruff was picking up the pace from the two Water Types as Eevee and Fomantis were behind the determined Rock Type as the Bewear was behind them, too!
But strangely, as the Bewear was moving, its entire body was shaking! It's as if something was wrong with this Pokémon.
At the finish line, the Trainers were calling out to their Pokémon to keep moving and aim for victory.
"Go for it, Pikachu!" Ash shouted out.
"Pikachu's going twice as fast!" Rotom pointed out as it noticed on how much speed the Mouse Pokémon had improved than when it had practiced with Raichu during their training.
"Keep it up, Buizel! You're getting there!" Kaito called out as Seita cheered for the Puppy Pokémon.
"You can do it, Rockruff! I know that you can!" Seita cheered as the others soon followed in their cheering.
"All right, Raichu! Way to go!" Nina cheered, with Hau and Camilla calling out to their Pokémon as well.
"Keep pushing through, Eevee! You can do it!" Hau shouted out loud.
"No giving up now, Fomantis! Keep trying!" Camilla called out, encouraging her Sickle Grass Pokémon to keep moving while balancing itself.
The announcer was hovering over the racing Pokémon with her Magnezone as she took note on who was still in the race.
"Leading the pack is Raichu, who's currently favored to win! Pikachu's second, followed closely by Buizel! Floatzel is fourth, while Rockruff is fifth! Eevee and Fomantis are trailing after their opponents while Bewear is right behind them!" The announcer explained.
Raichu turned back to where Pikachu was, before he mocked the pre-evolved Mouse Pokémon for falling behind once again. Frustrated at the chances that he might lose to Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon focused his mind and body before he began to speed up!
Buizel took notice of this before he tried to catch up, using his body to run faster while keeping the pancake stack balanced to prevent them from falling. Floatzel noticed his pre-evolved form taking the lead as the evolved Water Type bit his lips.
Realizing that two legs weren't enough to pick up the pace, the evolved Water Type let out a determined yell before he threw his pancake stack into the air! Buizel, Pikachu, and Raichu all turned in surprise to see Floatzel doing such a risky throw.
Even Kotaro was shocked to see his best friend doing a risky trick like this.
"What the...!? Floatzel, what are you...!?" Kotaro gasped as he watched his Sea Weasel Pokémon plant his two front paws on the ground before the plate and the pancake stack fell onto his back, without a single pancake dropping!
"Unbelievable! It was a risky trick, but Floatzel changes his movement to carry the pancake stack onto its back! Will it be able to go much faster now!? The announcer explained, as Kotaro started to smile before he cheered for his determined Water Type.
"Yeah... Yeah... YEAH! Floatzel, keep it up!" Kotaro exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air. Nina was a little surprised by the sudden change before she smiled.
"It looks like this event really did boost Floatzel's confidence after all!" Nina thought as Floatzel quickly began to catch up to where his three opponents were! At seeing Floatzel catch up, the three Pokémon continued to move faster!
Once again, Raichu was taking the lead once more until Pikachu suddenly got close to where he was! Raichu widened his eyes in surprise before he turned to see Buizel right beside to where Pikachu was!
Then came Floatzel, who was managing to catch up to where his rivals were! Feeling threatened of losing the lead, the Electric-Psychic Type began to move faster! Using his psychic abilities, he passed Pikachu and Buizel to retake the lead.
But soon, his position were being fought over! Pikachu, Buizel, and Floatzel were all running equally as fast, forcing Raichu to boost his speed once more as he tried to take the lead once more.
But this time, the Mouse Pokémon found it hard to do so, especially with how fast his three opponents were going at the same time. The announcer took notice of this as she announced the four rivals competing against one another.
"The first place rivalry between Pikachu, Raichu, Buizel, and Floatzel are really heating up! And it's the four of them that are all trying to overcome each other first and take the lead!" The announcer explained brightly.
"Looking good, Pikachu!" Ash complimented as Kaito, Nina, and Kotaro watched with smiles on their faces.
"All right! Pikachu, Buizel, and Floatzel have all turned this into a real race!" Nina commented as she smiled at the four-way rivalry going on between the four Pokémon as Kotaro cheered for his evolved Water Type.
"You can do it, Floatzel! We're not going to lose today! No way! Not ever!" Kotaro cheered loudly while the Alola boy encouraged his Sea Weasel Pokémon to pick up the pace and overcome his opponents.
"Don't give in, Bui! I know you can run faster than that! Don't let them overtake you!" Kaito called out loud.
Despite of not being able to hear their Trainers calling to them, the four Pokémon are speeding up as Eevee, Rockruff, and Fomantis were lagging behind a little with the Bewear being behind all of them.
"Check it out! Those four are looking really hot!" Hau exclaimed in shock, seeing how fired up the four Pokémon were.
"If this keeps up, then it could be a four-way tie! Fomantis, keep up with them!" Camilla called out as Seita flailed his arms a lot as he tried to encourage the Puppy Pokémon to keep up with Buizel and the others.
"Aw, no way! Big bro's getting way too ahead! Come on, Rockruff! I know that you can do it!" Seita shouted out. As the Trainers were all encouraging their Pokémon to win the race, Lillie and Shiho watched together with the Eggs in their arms.
"I'm cheering for all four of them... Pikachu, Raichu, Buizel, and Floatzel! Oh my..." Lillie started to speak before she noticed something glowing from her arms! Shiho turned to the Egg Lillie was holding before she turned to see something glowing in her arms as well!
"Ah! The Pokémon Eggs! Lillie...?" Shiho started to ask, earning a nod from Lillie as they realized what this meant.
"The baby Pokémon in the Eggs here are going to hatch very soon..." Lillie assured before she gave a nervous expression. This would mean she would have to touch the hatched Pokémon later when the time comes.
Back at the race, the four Pokémon were still neck to neck as they continued to try and pass one another! Rockruff, Fomantis, and Eevee were all still behind, along with the weird Bewear that was struggling to catch up with the racing Pokémon.
As Kaito noticed the Bewear on the plasma screen he and the others were seeing, he folded his arms with a frown. He cocked his head in curiosity before he spoke up, wondering about the weird Bewear.
"Something about that Bewear feels off..." Kaito spoke, causing Ash to turn to the Alola boy in confusion.
"What do you mean, Kai?" Ash asked before the Alola boy explained.
"Well... I didn't notice it until now, but... don't you think that Bewear is moving a little too weirdly? Look at it. Its body is shaking. Its as if, it's being dragged along while moving itself." Kaito explained as he pointed out the weird Pokémon's movements.
Ash noticed this too, along with Camilla and Hau as they all frowned together.
"Oh yeah... Now that you say that, that Bewear IS moving a little too weirdly!" Ash agreed.
"Could there be something inside that Pokémon?" Camilla asked with a suspicious expression.
"Wait, so you're saying that someone could be cheating?" Hau asked in disbelief before he turned back to the screen.
"I don't know, Hau... But what I do know, is that we're about to soon find out why it is strange..." Kaito explained as the race continued on. Soon, all the Pokémon were near the finish line as Hau noticed the background of the race.
"Ah! They're near to where the finish line is! Come on, Eevee! Pick up the pace!" Hau cheered as he watched his Evolution Pokémon run to try and overrun both Fomantis and Rockruff.
But just before Camilla could encourage her Grass Sickle Pokémon to move faster, the weird Bewear began to move even more weirdly and wild! Coming from its back, were flames that seemed to be boosting the weird Pokémon's speed!
"What in the world...!? Are you all seeing this!?" Camilla exclaimed, catching everyone else's attention, including both Nina and Kotaro!
"What's with that Bewear? Is that... fire coming from its...?" Kotaro asked with a sweat drop as Kaito shook his head in disbelief.
"I knew there was something wrong with that Bewear! It must be a fake Pokémon!" Kaito exclaimed, much to the others' shock as they watched the Bewear starting to pass Rockruff, Fomantis, and Eevee.
"No way!" Seita exclaimed as the Bewear knocked the three Pokémon out of the way with its speed! The three little Pokémon yelped in surprise as they dropped their pancake stacks onto the ground.
"Oh no!"
"Eevee, no!"
"Rockruff!?" Camilla, Hau, and Seita were all horrified to see their Pokémon get disqualified by the speeding Pokémon.
"I don't believe it! Rockruff, Fomantis, and Eevee were all stunned by Bewear's quick speed that they dropped their pancake stacks! Those Pokémon are disqualified from the race!" The announcer announced in shock.
"No way..." Seita groaned sadly while Hau just scratched the back of his head with a frustrated expression.
"Geez... What a way to lose a race..." Hau grumbled while Camilla sighed, annoyed with the reason why Fomantis and the others dropped their stack.
"That definitely proves it... Kaito was right about one thing. This Bewear isn't normal. It's definitely a fake Pokémon!" Camilla snapped, causing two people from behind them to flinch and sweat nervously from her harsh words.
Nevertheless, the race continued on with the four Pokémon still taking the lead together! They didn't notice that the weird Bewear was gaining on all of them and fast! The group widened their eyes as they saw the weird Bewear coming.
"That weird Bewear is gaining on them!" Ash exclaimed as the announcer noticed the speed of how fast the weird Bewear was moving.
"Dear me! Bewear's incredible speed is a little bit frightening! It's almost caught up with our four leaders!" The announcer announced as Rotom got in front of the finish line to see the five Pokémon coming up fast!
"I see them!" Rotom buzzed as the Trainers all cheered for their Pokémon to win.
"Go, Pikachu!"
"You can do it, Raichu!"
"Don't give up, Floatzel!"
"You're almost there! Just a little more, Bui!"
Ash, Nina, Kotaro, and Kaito all cheered for their Pokémon for victory! The four Pokémon all tried to run or move even faster, until the weird Bewear was gaining on them! It soon passed the four Pokémon, much to everyone else's surprise!
Both Floatzel and Buizel got out of the way in time to prevent themselves from getting hit, which led them to stray behind from both Pikachu and Raichu. The two Electric Types watched in surprise to see the weird Pokémon getting in the way!
"No way!" Kotaro exclaimed as the Bewear started to get near where the finish line was! But just as it felt like the weird Bewear would take the win, something unthinkable happened!
Another Bewear got in the race course and bashed its fist onto the fake Bewear! As everyone and the audience watched closely, the second Bewear knocked... a fake head of the fake Bewear!? Inside the weird Pokémon was a Meowth and a Wobbuffet!
And they looked awfully familiar to the students of the Pokémon School, except for Camilla and Hau.
"I LOST MY HEAD!" Meowth screamed as the fake Bewear head flew off before both he and Wobbuffet were sent flying high into the air! The real Bewear then jumped high in the air, grabbing both Meowth and Wobbuffet before knocking the machine down to the ground!
The machine exploded, allowing everyone to see who the lead runner truly was, actually!
"I can't believe it! It looks like the lead runner was a fake Pokémon! So, since that's against the rules, that competitor is disqualified!" The announcer announced as the Bewear then dove for two people that it noticed right in front of its eyes!
As it snatched the two away from the crowd, the familiar trio yelled before they groaned in defeat.
"We're off with a new blast..." Team Rocket groaned as Bewear carried them away.
"Team Rocket... Who knew?" Kaito grumbled to himself as everyone was bewildered to see what happened. Both Pikachu and Raichu were bewildered with what just happened too, especially since the fake Bewear they thought was real, was actually a fake Pokémon!
However, despite of the big distraction, this didn't stop neither Buizel or Floatzel as they quickly got past both Pikachu and Raichu! At realizing they were passed, both Mouse Pokémon yelped in surprise before they tried to catch up with the two Water Types.
Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough, which caused them to fall behind. The camera took pictures, each picture getting a quick zoom in to see who had won as the announcer happily announced the winners of the competition.
"And the winners are... both Buizel and Floatzel! And since both Pikachu and Raichu crossed the line together, they tie for second place! Who would've guessed that? That's what makes the Pokémon Pancake Race so exciting!" The announcer announced, ending the Pokémon Pancake Race.
Later...
With the Pancake Race ending, Kaito and Kotaro stood together at the first place platform with Buizel and Floatzel while Ash and Nina stood at different second place platform. As the crowd cheered, both boys waved a little to the crowd applauding for them as they were the winners today.
"We did it, Floatzel! We won together!" Kotaro exclaimed as Floatzel smiled happily to his human friend. The two embraced each other while Buizel climbed up to his human brother's shoulder, before nuzzling his nose onto his cheek.
The Alola boy just grinned before he rubbed his Sea Weasel Pokémon's head to return the affection before speaking to him.
"Great work, Bui. We won, thanks to your efforts and speed!" Kaito pointed out, causing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to blink before he smiled back, as he nuzzled his human brother back in thanks as Rotom complimented the Sea Weasel Pokémon for his efforts in running during the race.
"Great running, Buizel! You were fast out there! And so was Floatzel!" Rotom buzzed, causing Buizel to cry out in affirmation, with Floatzel giving a hesitant cry and nod.
"Bu bui!"
"Float..." The two Water Types called out as the Pokédex floated over to where Pikachu was!
"And excellent running to you too, Pikachu!" Rotom added, as Ash added compliments for his Electric Type partner to hear.
"Yeah, you were really amazing out there!" Ash agreed, causing the Mouse Pokémon to smile softly for the compliments given to him.
As for Nina and Raichu, the waitress wasn't so bothered as she actually had fun during the competition, as she wondered about the same for her evolved Mouse Pokémon, who rather looked disappointed.
"That was a really fun face, wasn't it, Raichu?" Nina asked, only to get a pout from the Electric-Psychic Type.
"Come on, Raichu. Don't be a sore loser! You'll be number one next year! For now, we should be happy that Kotaro and Floatzel got to win this year, right?" Nina asked, causing Raichu to open one eye before he smiled, realizing that Nina was right.
"Rai rai!" Raichu said enthusiastically, accepting Nina's words.
For the ones that failed to finish the race, Sophocles was having a hard time taking in Togedemaru's annoyance as he kept apologizing to the Roly-Poly Pokémon.
"You don't have to keep being upset with me... I won't mess up again. Let's drop it, please?" Sophocles pleaded, causing Togedemaru to only pout and turn away. The bitter feelings of losing too early was still fresh on the Electric-Steel Type's mind.
For Lana, Popplio felt bad for letting the balloon pop as Lana reassured that everything would be fine the next time they compete in the Pancake Race.
"Popplio? How about you and I work on a balloon that's a lot tougher to pop, all right?" Lana suggested, earning a sad cry from the Sea Lion Pokémon.
"Pop..." Popplio barked sadly as Mallow turned to Lillie, who had the Pokémon Egg in her arms.
"Say, why don't you team up with the Pokémon from the Egg and race with it next year?" Mallow suggested, causing Lillie to hesitate as she wasn't still comfortable on touching Pokémon or letting Pokémon get near her.
"Huh? I'm not sure..." Lillie admitted sadly as she looked at her Pokémon Egg.
Shiho had to comfort the grumbling Seita and Rockruff for their loss as the little brother of Kaito groaned.
"That Bewear wasn't even real! It was a fake Pokémon controlled by that weird Meowth and that Wobbuffet! It's so not fair!" Seita complained, only to be comforted by Shiho, who kept Kaito's Pokémon Egg safe in her arms.
"Come on, Seita... No one can win all the time, especially when unexpected things can happen." Shiho said sheepishly, causing her second older brother to huff and pout, while folding his arms.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Seita groaned while Rockruff continued to pout for their unfair loss.
For Ash, he noticed someone missing as he looked around to see who was missing in the crowd.
"Hey, I don't see Kiawe and Turtonator." Ash pointed out, with Pikachu expressing the same confusion.
"I wonder where they could be..." Rotom added as it too, didn't know where the Fire Type user and the Blast Turtle Pokémon was. Kaito chuckled a little, causing the Kanto Trainer to turn to him in confusion.
"Seeing how heavy Turtonator is, I believe Kiawe is still on the second part of the race course..." Kaito chuckled, causing the Kanto Trainer to widen his eyes in disbelief, with the same going for both Pikachu and Rotom.
"Wait, what!?"
"Pika!?" The two couldn't help but be surprised a little.
Meanwhile...
Kaito's words were proven to be correct as the Fire Type user was still struggling to pull Turtonator up the hill on the wagon. The Blast Turtle Pokémon sweat dropped, seeing how hard Kiawe was trying, despite on how heavy he weighted.
"I'll never... I'll never... I'll never... I'LL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE!" Kiawe bellowed out while Turtonator sighed, pitying his Trainer for his futile efforts to move him all the way up on the steep hill.
The next day...
"Everyone! Come quick!"
"Guys, hurry! This is something you can't miss!"
Lillie and Kaito expressed their distressed calls to the others as the students of the Pokémon School gathered around their two friends to see what was going on.
"What's wrong, you two?" Mallow called out as she and Lana ran over with Camilla.
"What is it!?" Kiawe added as he and Ash ran over with Hau.
"It's Snowy!" Lillie explained, causing everyone else to look at her in confusion, with Hau being the one to express his confusion.
"Snowy?" Hau repeated as Lillie explained.
"That's what I started calling the Egg after taking care of it for a while. But now it's always trying to roll around!" Lillie explained as everyone examined Lillie's Egg that was continuously glowing.
"The same thing nearly happened to the Pokémon Egg here when I woke up... Shiho told me about the Egg moving around a little while glowing at the same time. So Bui and I brought it here as fast as we can for you guys to see." Kaito explained.
The Alola boy did look a bit ruffled up with all the running he had to do. Buizel gave his human brother a sheepish smile as everyone turned to see the two Eggs glowing. As they watched with their Pokémon friends watching too, the glowing started to get even brighter!
Everyone watched in awe as the Egg shells broke off, revealing the two Pokémon that hatched to see the world around them. One of them was a fox figure Pokémon with fur as white as snow...
The other Pokémon was also fox figure, but with red fur! No one were more awed than both Lillie and Kaito as they were finally able to meet the two Pokémon that would stick to them as they live on.
To be continued...
Kaito's Team:
Buizel (M): (Ice Beam, Agility, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet)
Rockruff (M): (Crunch, Sand Attack, Rock Slide, Howl)
Next chapters:
Chapter 27: Getting to Know You, Vulpix!
Chapter 28: The Young Fire Burns in the Heart!
Chapter 29: The Wild Stones Handle the Fire!
Chapter 30: The Stones Stay in the Group!
Chapter 31: Little Ones Can Do Big Things!
Next chapter preview:
Lillie: The Egg is hatching! It's... Oh my... It's so beautiful... It's finally nice to see you for real, Snowy!
Kaito: So my guess was right... It was a Fire Type that would hatch from the Egg... It's nice to meet you, Vulpix...
Lillie: Hm... This... doesn't feel so good. Snowy is right in front of me, all bright and beautiful, but... I just... I...
Mallow: Lillie... Don't tell me you still can't touch it? You were able to touch it when it was just an Egg!
Camilla: I think what you need, Lillie, is to spend some personal time with the little cutie here. Maybe then you might be able to.
Kaito: You say that like it's simple. For Lillie, it's a big challenge for her since she can't bring herself to touch Pokémon...
Events that occurred:
- Kaito wins the Pokémon Pancake Race with Kotaro
- Kaito and Lillie's Pokémon Eggs hatch into a Vulpix and an Alolan Vulpix