Day of the race. I couldn't be more excited. With Ash competing with Bayleef, I couldn't wait to see how great they'd do together. I squirmed in my seat, a flashing egg in my lap before it finally died down again and went radio silent. Well, I suppose there's only so much excitement I could take in one day.
Ash and Gary were positioned at the starting line ready to go and I watched as the lights blinked once, twice, thrice then went blue, signalling the start of the race. "Yeah! Go Bayleef!" I cheered, standing up and punching the air with the egg in my other arm. However almost instantly there was a collision, meaning several of the Pokémon and trainers instantly were knocked out of the battle. "Oh no!" I watched the screen, waiting to see who emerged and sighed with relief as Bayleef, Ash, Arcanine and Gary all made it through the thick dust cloud.
"I'm glad Ash and Bayleef made it through." Misty said with a sigh as Pikachu cheered for Ash in Brock's lap.
"Pika Pi! Pika Pika!"
"That's right, you said it Pikachu! Go Ash go! Go Ash go!" I cheered as well, Togepi and Pikachu chanting along with me as we watched the screens. At the steep slope the other Pokémon all began to lag behind but Gary took the lead with Bayleef close behind.
"Looks like Ash is really giving Gary a run for his money." Brock commented. I was just about to start cheering again when something on the screen caught my eye. A balloon in the corner of the screen was following after the racers, only thing was, it was a Meowth balloon, which could only mean one thing. "Team Rocket!" Brock gasped, standing up as Misty and I both leaped to our feet too. "I bet they're after the Pokémon. We've got to warn them!"
"But how? They're way too far ahead for us to catch up with, what can we do?" Misty fretted but I was already zipping up my bag, egg firmly secured inside.
"Leave this one to me. Pidgeot! Let's get out there and show Team Rocket what true team spirit is!" I called, jumping from my feet and onto the track with Pidgeot flying out of her Pokéball. She landed and instantly I climbed up with some people blinking and whispering in confusion.
"Uh oh, looks like someone has spotted trouble, I wonder what this little girl's up to." I rolled my eyes at the commentator's commentating.
"Alright Pidgeot, let's show everyone what a real extreme Pokémon looks like." Pidgeot nodded her head with a chirp then flapped her wings once, gaining lift before shooting across the ground, moving so fast that I had to cling on tight with my knees and fingers to keep from falling off.
We overtook all the other Pokémon in their attempt to catch up and I looked ahead to see Team Rocket flying off with Arcanine in a net, Gary chasing after them and Ash hot in pursuit. "Guys!" I called as Pidgeot soared past but then slowed up so that I could quickly give them my plan. "You two just keep going, I'll get Team Rocket." I told them and Ash nodded his head.
"Right! Gary hop on!" Ash held out his hand and made as much room as he could on the board, letting Gary jump on behind him and Bayleef valiantly began to pull them as I went after Team Rocket's balloon.
"Oh no! It's the twerp with attitude!" I snorted with laughter.
"That's right, and that's my friend's Arcanine you got there! Give him back!" I yelled at them but they merely pulled faces and stuck out their tongues.
"Make us." Slowly I began to smirk. Jessie flinched slightly and stared as Pidgeot gave a proud cry then aimed straight for the balloon. "Is anyone else feeling worried?" She questioned.
"I am a little. I don't like that look she's giving us." James agreed as Meowth swallowed.
"I think we're about to get our feathers plucked." He said as Pidgeot tucked in her wings then burst through the balloon, both of us holding our breath before flying out the other side. The two massive holes instantly let out all the helium, making the balloon crash and fall down to the ground but Pidgeot went into a steep dive.
"Grab Arcanine, quick! Before he can get hurt!" I directed and Pidgeot instantly spread out her wings and grabbed the net, tearing it from the basket. Arcanine barked in surprise, looking up as Pidgeot began to flap her large wings, gracefully descending to the ground with Arcanine safely in her grasp as the balloon crashed, covering part of the house.
I sighed with relief as Arcanine was put down, Pidgeot breathing heavily so I rubbed her head before pulling off the net. Instantly I was slathered with Arcanine's tongue, his happy expression all I could see as I laughed. "Okay Arcanine! I know you're glad to see me." I giggled as Shelby ran forwards.
"Ruby! What happened?" Mr Shelby asked so I turned to face him.
"I'm really sorry Mr Shelby, but Team Rocket tried to make off with Gary's Arcanine so I flew out with Pidgeot to get him back." I said, holding a hand against both Pokémon. "But we're all okay now."
"Okay? Do we look okay to you?" Jessie demanded as she crawled out from under the balloon.
"You owe us big time twerp! Balloon's don't come cheap you know!" Meowth growled at me so I glared at them both.
"Then maybe you shouldn't try pulling such dirty tricks on good people!"
"Hey look what I've got!" James suddenly trilled, skipping forwards with an overjoyed expression as he held up two baskets full of eggs that Mr and Mrs Shelby were supposed to be taking care of. "A ticket egg-tastic! A Pokémon egg basket!" James sang as my mouth dropped open.
"Put those back! Those eggs aren't for stealing, they're very precious!" I yelled at Team Rocket, throwing out a hand as the nice old couple gasped in fear.
"Which is exactly why we'll be taking care of them from now on." Jessie said to me. "After all, we do specialise in stealing precious things. By the way, do you still have that Dratini?" She questioned so I buttoned up my mouth. "With you now cut off from the other twerps, I should think it'll be pretty easy to just take your Pokémon. After all, you wouldn't want anything to happen to these…precious eggs of yours now, would you?" Those lowlifes, how dare they try to use those eggs to take my Pokémon.
"You're not getting away with those eggs, I call your bluff! You'd never hurt a Pokémon egg as they're too valuable!" I decided then flung out a hand. "Go Pidgeot, Wing Attack!" Pidgeot instantly flew upwards but Jessie sent out her Arbok to counter.
"Go Arbok, Poison Sting!" Instantly Pidgeot was showered with sharp needles, forcing her backwards and ending her attack as she collapsed to the ground.
"No! Pidgeot!" I should have realised how tired she'd be after all that quick flying, stupid-stpuid-stupid!
"Now Arbok, Wrap attack!" Arbok charged forwards towards Pidgeot, making my eyes widen in fear.
"No! Pidgeot!" Without thinking I flung myself forwards, leaping over Pidgeot to try and ward off Arbok but his long body curled around me and constricted, making me gasped as all air was crushed from my lungs and I struggled to breathe, feeling pain dance up my arms and torso as Mr and Mrs Shelby both cried out.
"Oh no!" But then I heard Bayleef running towards us and both Ash and Gary called out.
"Ruby! Hang on Ruby, we're coming!"
"Rubes! Alright Arcanine, Take Down attack!" Gary yelled and suddenly Arcanine powered into Arbok, slamming his weight against the other Pokémon and I felt the tightness instantly leave my body, allowing me to suck in a deep breath but I collapsed to the ground regardless, though Pidgeot put out a wing to stop me from hitting the ground too hard.
"Pidgeo?"
"Pidgeot…are you okay?" I asked weakly, clutching my ribs as Pidgeot trembled slightly.
"Pidgeo, Pidgeooooo." She chirped softly so I smiled then returned her to her Pokéball.
"Take a long rest. You've earned it." I said before going limp on the ground, trying to recover from that powerful attack. Next time, I think I'll just go ahead and send out Charizard instead of trying to be brave. Humans were not made to fight Pokémon.
"What shall we do now?!" James panicked, still holding the egg so I tried to get up and take them back myself.
"Let's scramble." Jessie said and they all ran off. Oh no you don't, not with those eggs! I was about to take a step forwards but my trembling body gave out and I fell back down to the ground again, making Mrs Shelby run over to me.
"Rest easy now pet, that was quite an attack you took." She said, putting her arms around me as I groaned and held me up so I could see what was going on.
"Bayleef, go get those eggs back!" Ash directed and Bayleef ran ahead but reached out with her Vine Whip, taking the baskets back to open the way for Arcanine.
"Alright Arcanine, Flame Wheel!" Arcanine charged forwards with an impressive amount of power, his entire body setting alight then slammed into Team Rocket, making them all scream as they soared up into the air.
"We put all our eggs into one basket again!" I gave a little chuckle then sat up on my knees, smiling up at the sky.
"Well, they always know how to egg-sit in style." I joked, making Mrs Shelby laugh as she placed a hand on my back.
"Ruby!" Gary suddenly called and ran over to where I was, kneeling down in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked with genuine worry with no lack of concern, making me blink slightly.
"Uh…yeah I'm fine." I told him so he pulled me forwards without warning and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a gentle but secure embrace as his head turned into mine.
"You sure had me worried, that Arbok looked like it was about to choke you to death."
"I don't think it even realised it was me it was holding." I answered a little uncomfortably, shifting slightly until Gary let me go. "But thanks." He nodded his head as he stood up.
"No sweat. It's thanks to you my Arcanine is safe and sound. I think the odds are starting to look a little even between you and me." I rolled my eyes as I stood up, taking a deep breath but my ribs continued to ache.
"Let's have a quick look at you." Mrs Shelby fussed but the moment she lifted the back of my shirt she gasped and dropped it again.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked but when she didn't answer I lifted the front of my shirt only to find my skin was bruised black and blue. "Oh. Right." Quickly I hid it again. "That could be a problem."
"Ruby you should get to a hospital. Something might be broken." Ash said to me but I shook my head.
"After the race. Come on you two! There's still time to get back in first place, none of the others have caught up yet." I said, quickly pushing them over to their Pokémon as Mr Shelby gave them both an egg. "I'll be cheering for you from the sky, okay? Come on out Charizard!"
He appeared with a roar, glanced around the scene then rolled his eyes before giving me a stern look, placing his hands on his hips. "What? It's totally not my fault they fell out of the sky again. They're the ones who won't give up!" I argued with him as Gary and Ash set off. "Never mind. Come on! We have to go see who wins the race!" I said with a smile but Mrs Shelby lay a hand on my shoulder.
"You get yourself seen to immediately after, you hear? You don't want any health complications now or later." She told me and only let me go after I had specifically promised I would go see someone for help. Hey, Brock would know what to do.
I leaped onto Charizard's back and sat on his shoulders as he rose up into the air then flew after the others just as the rest of the participants caught up. Charizard gave me a perfect view and I could see Gary and Arcanine at the front with Ash beginning to lag behind. Not good.
But then suddenly Ash steered off and aimed for a jut in the rocks pointing towards the track on the other side of the mountain trail where Gary was still aiming towards. Bayleef took the leap and soared through the air, making my eyes go wide before I laughed, angling Charizard alongside Ash. "Way to go Ash!" I cheered. "Woohoo!"
Ash laughed in return as he landed beside Gary and the two of them sprinted for the finish line, Bayleef and Arcanine not giving up any ground. Charizard flew up higher and I watched carefully as at the last jump, Bayleef slapped her own rear with her vines and leaped over the finish line a bare few inches ahead of Arcanine, her long neck stretching out and I cheered in victory as the confetti began to fall.
Charizard cheered in excitement as well, spouting off a Flamethrower into the sky, making Ash look up and wave so I waved back before patting Charizard's neck. "Come on Charizard, let's land before we accidentally set fire to something." I suggested with a chuckle, making Charizard smile back at me before he landed.
I returned him to his Pokéball then ran over to Ash and Bayleef, holding out my arms. "You guys were great!" I said, flinging my arms around Bayleef as she ran at me. "Especially you Bayleef, you sure showed everyone how awesome you are!" I laughed, rubbing her head as she enjoyed the attention she received from everyone as Misty and Brock joined us, congratulating Ash as he stepped up for the award of a large trophy and Bayleef received her medal.
We all cheered but once everything was over, I sat down with Brock and let him give me some stuff to help ease the swelling and bruising as Ash, Gary and I explained everything that happened. Once I was done I brought out Pidgeot, gave her some Antidote and Super Potion to make sure she was alright and once she was as bright as a button again, I gave her a huge hug in thanks then let her return for some extra rest.
"So Gary, how do you feel about losing to Ash?" I asked as we faced one another, the egg back in my arms again.
"No regrets. You sure have raised yourself a great Pokémon Ash." Gary complimented and Ash nodded his head.
"Thanks Gary." Ash said. Just then I felt the egg gave a definite judder of movement.
"Huh?" I blinked and looked down, seeing it glowing brightly. Instantly everyone crowded around, watching the egg with anticipation.
"Is it time? Is it hatching?" Misty asked, her voice thick with excitement as Pikachu's eyes sparkled brightly.
"Pika Pika?" But then the egg stopped glowing.
"Oh…" We all groaned, feeling disappointed and my shoulders sagged deeply. Oh well, maybe not this time but perhaps next…wait a minute, it's glowing again!
"Look Rubes, the egg!" Gary pointed and we all watched, biting our lips or holding our breaths as the egg began to glow again.
"What's going on here kids?" Mr and Mrs Shelby asked as they approached but then gasped as they saw my egg beginning to glow. I could feel its warmth and the movement from inside as I held the egg, staring with baited breath until finally, it began to shift into shape. I gasped as the light disappeared and a small baby Pokémon lay in my arms unlike any other I'd ever seen.
It was aerodynamic in appearance, with tiny jet like wings on its back and small red and white arms that were tucked into its body. The lower half of its body was red with the blue triangular marking on its chest with a long white neck, pointed ears and a splash of red on its face with a white mark in the middle. It was adorable, and so petite! Nestling easily into my arms as everyone stared.
Slowly the Pokémon opened its eyes, blinking softly in the setting sun then looked up at me with a soft, wordless sound. Instantly I smiled, tears beginning to slide down my face as I felt its attachment instantly connect with me, making the baby Pokémon smile and nuzzle closer, a wave of love washing over me.
"I don't believe it…" Gary breathed before pulling out his Pokédex.
"Latias. Specific information about this legendary Pokémon is still unknown." Wait a minute, wait a minute, did Dexter just say…legendary?!
"Awesome! Ruby, you got a legendary Pokémon!" I instantly hissed at Ash, making him quieten down as I cradled little Latias in my arms.
"You might wake her." I scolded him softly, gently rocking Latias as she yawned and curled up closer into me.
"Wow, that's so amazing! You actually found a legendary Pokémon egg." Misty breathed as I frowned.
"But if there's no information about it, then it can't be native to either Johto or Kanto. How did it end up all the way out here?" I questioned, looking up at Mr and Mrs Shelby who had tears in their eyes.
"I don't know Ruby, I'm just glad that that little baby Pokémon has you to look after it." Mr Shelby said then picked up the incubator. "I'll take this off your hands for you, you don't want to be carrying this around with you, but here, you'd best put that baby into a Pokéball to keep it safe and out of sight for the time being." He said, taking the Pokéball that sat at the top of the incubator then handed it to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking down at Latias who shifted her head on my shoulder to nuzzle closer, taking a deep breath of my hair to familiarise herself with my scent.
"With a legendary Pokémon like that, you can imagine all sorts of people wanting to take it away from you. With Latias still only a baby, it'll rely on you to protect it, so don't let anyone you don't trust know about your Latias." Mrs Shelby told me so I nodded my head then touched Latias with the Pokéball.
"Okay, then I guess I'll have to keep you a secret my little cutie." I said with a smile and Latias blinked open her eyes to smile up at me before it disappeared into the ball with a soft sound. My heart continued to pound deeply in my chest. I still couldn't believe it. A legendary Pokémon. All mine. Mine to raise! I couldn't wait!
"You take good care of that Pokémon Rubes, you wait until you tell my grandpa about it. If you decide to, of course." Gary said and I nodded my head.
"I hear ya. Professor Oak won't believe his ears." I agreed before nodding my head to Gary. "It was great seeing you again."
"Yeah, you too." He agreed, turning away then gave a wave over his shoulder. "See you around guys."
"Goodbye!" Ash called and waved after Gary as he gave his signature flick of his hand in farewell as he walked up over the rise then slowly disappeared under the hill. I almost took a step after him, watching as the tip of his head finally went from view.
"Speaking of eggs, Ash, we can't thank you enough for helping protect ours." Mrs Shelby said and we turned to face him, noticing he held another incubator in his arms with a pale blue egg held inside.
"This here's a very special Pokémon egg and well…it's for you." Mr Shelby said and handed the egg to Ash who instantly brightened further, gazing down at his egg with a bright smile as we all gave a coo of happiness.
"Wow, your own Pokémon egg!" Brock said as I chuckled.
"Try not to break it Ash, that incubator is only idiot proof to a point." I joked and Ash gave a laugh whilst nodding his head.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
"What kind of egg is it?" Misty asked but Mrs Shelby only winked and pressed a finger to her lips as she spoke.
"It's a secret."
"When it hatches you should use the Pokéball on top the case to catch it." Mr Shelby told Ash who continued to gaze at his new egg with disbelief, unable to believe his luck. From one egg hatching to a new one being received, we've had our fair share of eggs I'll say that! Now with this new one on the way, I couldn't wait to see what it turns out to be!
