Chapter
29
Victory
or bust!
The
beats of their wings rang harshly, the sound pulsated through their
ear lobes threatening to overtake their stability. The wind above was
being cut through the center as a battalion of scythes were getting
ready to make their mark. The teens could feel it all; their hearts
raced knowing what little time they had left could make the
difference between being on the water or back on the sand. Their
bodies were soaked from the waves which splashed against their
bodies, and their eyes tried to fixate on an escape route, although
time was dreadfully short.
The two Water Pokemon struggled to pull along the surfboard in the current, away from the raining scythes above them, but the scythes belonged to life, and life had a mind of its own.
Fretting about whether to stop or go, May held onto the tethers in a loose manner just in case she had to make a split second turn to get out of the hazardous situation from above. If the scythes made contact with the two ropes, it was all over. Their hard work and their determination will have been for naught, and their dreams crushed. The girl wasn't about to give up easily though, there was too much at stake here. Commitment, trust, honor, willpower, and a hint of revenge fueled her mind and kept the blood coursing through her body. Was the hope entirely on her shoulders, or was the boy or the Pokemon also a deciding factor? She tried to think, but the boy took charge.
"Before they get close, Corphish, try aiming your Bubblebeam attack at the Scyther above!" Ash called out in an act of desperation, peering over May's shoulder while he clung to her waist.
With one pincer aimed upward and the other used to remain at a constant speed in the water, the lobster fired its attack above at the raining white and green aggressors. Much to its and its master's dismay, the Scyther battalion easily avoided the bubbles and returned to formation after the attack had missed.
"Damn, that didn't work!" Ash yelled, frustrated.
"Forget about attacking! We'll outrun them with speed…we just have to!" May motioned frantically.
Corphish and Squirtle gave it their all, putting all their remaining strength into pulling the surfboard on the waves. May stared ahead, gripping the tethers more securely, but Ash constantly looked above and behind his shoulders at the Scyther formation which came dangerously close.
"SCYTH-ER!" the leader commanded, pointing its scythe at its prey.
Two Scyther on the sides came in for the first wave of attack toward the surfboard, while the others remained in formation.
"May!" Ash urged her.
"I know, I can hear them…." May gasped, hearing the beat of their wings in her ears. The course ahead was still wide and clear without any kind of protection, there was nothing to hide behind or a maze to lose them in. The girl was suddenly struck with an idea, "Zigzag!"
Ash looked at her confused but the Pokemon understood the orders. As the two Scyther prepared to strike, the surfboard began moving in zany zig-zagging patterns along the waves instead of a straight manner. The surfboard was being pulled along quite erratically, as Ash struggled to hold onto the girl with all his might. Having practiced zigzagging around buoys and stone pillars previously, it was the only plan that could possibly throw off the Scyther's rhythm.
Their blades struck the surfboard but missed their prime target due to its erratic motion. A piece of the enclosed sides of the surfboards were sliced clean off, but otherwise the board was still faring well.
"Now they're closer, use Ice beam, Squirtle!" May shouted, as the two Scyther hovered right above them.
"Squirt!" the tiny turtle cried.
It fired the icy light from its mouth and caught both Scyther in the blast, freezing both of them in a block of ice in which they plummetted down into the waves behind them. The remaining Scyther were shocked as to what happened to their partners, and instead of following the surfboard, they hovered over their fallen comrades trying to break them free of their icy encasement instead.
Ash and May turned their heads backward and cheered happily once they saw the Scyther wave had backed off. May raised her hand high and asked him for a high-five for a job well done, and he quickly slapped her hand happily.
"Heeehee, another disaster averted!" she laughed, "My Squirtle's Ice beam has to be the best attack ever!"
Ash chuckled, "Yea, kind of like…hmmmm…what's that word again?"
"Hm?" she asked.
"It's a word Brock uses…it's uh…oh now I remember," Ash said, "Your Squirtle's Ice beam is like a deus ex machina!"
"Eh? What does that mean?" she asked, turning slightly.
"Just something Brock said to me once, about how my Pikachu was so strong it can get me out of almost any situation in battle," Ash said, thinking, "Although really I have no idea what the words mean, but that's the gist of it."
"That figures, I knew you couldn't have come up with such a big word like that all by yourself." May smiled.
Ash squeezed her around her belly tightly after her comment, almost as if he was giving her a reassuring hug from behind without knowing what he was doing. May let out a soft "Ah," feeling the warm contact of his chest against her back, and his arms against her waist. Almost forgetting that they were still in a race, the two friends enjoyed their brief moment of unintended affection until the surfboard hit a buoy briefly, which shocked and brought the pair back down to earth.
Ash stuttered, "There's…a small cave coming up ahead…do you think we're supossed to go through it?"
May looked at the floating wooden signs attached to buoys around them, "The arrows on the signs are pointing toward the cave, so that must be part of the track."
"It looks really dark in there!" Ash said as the surfboard approached the entrance to the cave.
"Kind of creepy too," she worried, "I hope there are no Zubat in there, if those things cling to my hair I'll go nuts!"
"I'll try to shoo them off if they cling to you," Ash joked.
"I already have you clinging to me, I don't need any unwelcomed guests doing it too," she teased.
Corphish and Squirtle swam diligently, pulling the trainers inside the crevasse. The cave was dark and damp inside, but luckily there were no branching paths and the only way to go appeared to be straight. A couple of eerie sounds filled the cave but the trainers could not make out if there was anyone else surfing through there but themselves.
"Please no Zubat, please no Zubat, please no Zubat!" May pleaded.
"At that rate you might as well hold up a sign saying, "Come attack me Zubat!" you know?" Ash said jokingly.
The board continued to race through the cave, and May took a breath of relief once she saw light from the end of the tunnel.
"Alright, there's the exit ahead!" May cheered, "Thank goodness there were no Zubat!"
"See? You got worried for no reason!" Ash said. He put his hands to his mouth and shouted out to the cave, "No Zubat in this cave I see! Maybe they just don't like brunettes!"
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIT!" a flurry of voices suddenly shouted.
"What the heck was that?" May asked cautiously, her eyes wandering around the cave nervously.
A bunch of red eyes suddenly appeared from the sides of the cave, and moments later they flew toward the trainers….eyes that belonged to none other than a Zubat swarm!
"ASH I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR SAYING THAT!" May shrieked.
Squrirtle and Corphish snickered as they kicked it up into full gear, as May and Ash frantically tried to shoo the Zubat out of their hair.
"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Ash defended, waving his arm around the Zubat above.
"OH SHUT UP!" May retaliated, brushing off Zubat with a giggle attached.
~*~*~*~
"Only SEVEN, that's right…SEVEN participants remain in the race, folks!" Fredrick shouted into the microphone, "I'm going to reveal the current places that the participants are in, and with some spread all over the track, it's going to be a tough time for the last few to catch up to the leads!"
"I wonder what place my sister and Ash are in!" Max wondered.
"They made it past the Sycther part, didn't they?" Jamie asked, "If so they should be coming out of the cave and heading to the next part by now."
"That's still far behind though, we saw up to three participants come out of that part like over seven minutes ago," Brock said, "They'll really have to kick it up a notch if they want to get that prize money and the swimsuits."
"Pika, chu pika!" Pikachu added.
Fredrick began reading off the list of the participants' places, and after announcing five names he got to none other than Ash and May.
"And the "Little Rookies!" are in 6th place folks, that means they're second to last at the moment!" Fredrick declared, "They narrowly made it through Slash Valley, but with any luck those crazy kids will stay in this race and make it all the way to the end!"
"Second to last at the moment, huh?" Tana said disappointingly, "I'll feel really bad if they don't win. May really didn't stop talking about those swimsuits one bit when we first met one another, it was like all her mind was on."
"She will win!" Max interrupted, "My sister wants that Skitty and Torchic bikini more than anything! She's been obsessing over it for a week, there's nothing that's going to stand in her way."
"Heh, that pink bikini with the Skitty and Torchic faces was a real cute one," Tana said, not wanting to upset the younger brother, "It's probably impossible to get that bikini anywhere else too, unless you pay a pretty penny for it. I can see why she wants it so much, I don't blame her. A cute girl needs a cute swimsuit!"
"I agree, but I'm sure with all the training she's done with Ash that they'll be able to get to the finish line first," Brock added, "When those two set their minds on something there's no stopping them, I can't see either of them letting the other down by not winning."
~*~*~
Two surfboards violently clashed against one another in a narrow passage, all the while avoiding Vine whip attacks coming from hidden Pokemon in the reefs. The competitors wouldn't give up their current place easily, and it was apparent that one side wanted to brutally knock the other out of the race.
"Sharpedo, ram into them one more time!" Precita declared.
Sharpedo moved its burly body in the water and slammed itself against the oppossing surfboard. The other young couple waddled desperately as their surfboard was on the verge of tipping over. Their Seadra and Huntail weren't used to such overbearing force from opponents and were frightened by the attacks.
"Now we got them," Dan snickered.
"Alright, ram yourself into them – huh?" Precita stuttered, feeling something tug on her board.
Precita and Dan peered behind them and grunted angrily as they saw three green whips pulling onto the back of their surfboard. There were several Grass Pokemon hidden in the reefs surrounding the course, and slowing down participants with their hold was their specialty.
"Break free of the hold!" Precita demanded.
Sharpedo and Gorebyss struggled to pull their surfboard out of the vine's grip, but to little avail. Precita glared angrily as the other couple mocked them and continued on their merry way.
"Those losers got away," Precita sneered, watching the other surfboard take the lead, "Will you get these goddamn vines off our board already?"
Dan let go of her waist and grabbed ahold of the three vines pulling on the back of the board. He tried pulling and twisting them but the grip was too strong. Had he had his pocket knife with him, he wouldn't hestitate to slash the three vines off his board no matter how much that would have injured the Pokemon they belonged to. This was the first trap that they were successful caught in, and they were enraged that they were being made a mockery of by Fredrick above.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Fredrick snorted, "The most aggressive pair of our tournament, not to mention the pair that got two 15 second penalties for harassing other participants, get a taste of their own medicine! What do you think, folks, can they break free?!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" the crowd roared.
"They're making fools of us," Precita glared.
"What do you want me to do, huh? I can't get these damn vines off our board," Dan retaliated.
"WATCH OUT!" a voice called out from behind.
"And who is that coming up from the rear?" Fredrick squinted, "Could it be? Yes it IS! The "Little Rookies" are racing at full speed and are about to pass "The Aggressors" at any moment!"
"THOSE KIDS!" Precita snapped.
May's face turned sour once she spotted Precita and Dan ahead of her. Her face then beamed with relief once she saw that they were being pulled backward by three green vines coming from a Pokemon concealed in the reefs.
"Let's blow past these guys," May sneered, pulling on the tethers.
Corphish and Squirtle roared with delight, pulling the surfboard past Precita and Dan. Before they passed them by however, Squirtle and Corphish purposely splashed water in their faces, antagonizing them in the process. Precita and Dan could do nothing but stare with envy as Ash and May faded into the distance ahead of them.
"Well we passed them up, here's hoping those vines don't let them go," Ash said.
"I'm thrilled, it's about time they fell into a trap that they couldn't get out of," she replied.
Their high didn't last long however as they caught up to the pair of surfers that breezed past Precita a few moments ago. The oppossing pairs eyed each other determinedly, each ready to do whatever it took to remain in the lead.
Suddenly, a flock of Pidgeot, Swellow and Fearow appeared in the sky in front of them. They flew up from behind several large rocks, waiting to spring a trap on the participants in the course. The large bird Pokemon flapped their wings in unison blowing harsh gust of winds at the surfers. Their Water Pokemon suddenly found it hard to swim as the mighty whirlwind attacks disturbed the flow of the current, thus giving the Pokemon and the surfboard a bumpy ride.
"Out of one problem and into the next! The "Little Rookies," and another pair of participants that I can't be bothered to remember the name of at the moment, are struggling against a fierce whirlwind attack!" Fredrick declared, "Will the competition be blown away?"
Ash wrapped his arms around her torso tightly as the wind threatened to blow him right off the surfboard. May grunted, trying not to fall off the surfboard herself, and clung to the circular opening on the pillar of the surfboard rather than the tethers themselves.
"This wind is strong!" May yelled, her feet slipping on the surface of the board.
"That's obvious, I know!" he replied, his legs actually being blown up into the air while still holding her around the waist.
"Ugh, you're going to fly away!" May gasped.
She removed one hand from the circular pillar and put it around his arms which were wrapped around her stomach. She made sure one of her hands held onto him, just in case his grip loosened and he went flying. She had to bring his body back down to the surfboard, she couldn't bear to think of her friend being blown away.
May and Ash squinted as they peered over to the opposing trainers, only to see that they were having much less luck than they were. A large cluster of flying Pokemon were closer to their surfboard, and the wind attacks got so strong that their entire surfboard was lifted out of the water and began flying in the air. Their Seadra and Huntail helplessly hung over the edge of the surfboard still attached by the tethers, while the trainers themselves lost their grip.
"These kind of obstacles weren't listed in the contract!" the male surfer whined, flying in the air into the unknown, "Honey?!"
"Don't worry, dear, I'm right behind you!" the girl shrieked, her body spinning in circles in the air.
The surfboard followed the trainers in the air, with the two Pokemon absent-mindedly being blown along with them.
"Entry #8 is DISQUALIFIED!" Fredrick snickered as the trainers were blown out of bounds, "Now that those unfortunate souls were blown into oblivion, our flying Pokemon will turn all their attention to the "Little Rookies!"
"NO!" May stuttered, "With all those Pokemon ganging up on us…we…we can't be blown away like they were!"
"Have any ideas, May? Because I'm open for anything right about now!" Ash yelled, his entire body blown up in the air.
His hands slipped along her stomach and were now holding onto her chest right below her top, the rest of his body wasn't on contact with the surfboard, but being pulled up in the sky instead similar to the effects of a tornado. May wrapped both her arms around the circular pillar, not having the strength to even hold onto Ash's arms anymore. Her wet brown hair was being blown viciously in all directions. The two youths could not withstand the winds from the flock of flying Pokemon, and pretty soon, the accumulated winds would carry up the entire surfboard in the air.
Ash continued to wail with half his body in the air, his hands continued to slip, loosening their grip and moving higher up on her chest. He didn't have any choice in the matter, but his hands eventually had to grab ahold of the curves on her chest in order to not get blown away. May was startled with the placement of her hands, but she didn't have much time to react as the entire surfboard felt like it was drifting a few inches above the water.
"Pheesh? Cor!" Corphish yelled, astonished that its body was being picked up in the winds.
Squirtle followed suit, letting out frightening tears of being put into an unfamiliar hostile territory.
"THIS COULD BE THE END FOR THE "LITTLE ROOKIES!" Fredrick said, gasping himself.
"They can't end this way!" Max cried, jumping from his seat and holding onto the railings, "THIS ISN'T FAIR!"
"Sadly, anything is fair game here," Tana signed, "Poor May, she'll never get those swimsuits now."
"PIKACHU, PIKA, PIKA!" Pikachu shouted to its master, in an act of desperation.
The Pidgeot, Fearow and Swellow went into formation, and began producing their strongest whirlwind attacks yet. The audience gasped at the trainers' plight, many staring silently in disbelief that they were still hanging in there. Others made comments about how they felt terrible for the kids, and how this was a bit too harsh for competitors in the race.
"STOP THOSE FLYING POKEMON!" an old lady yelled from the stands.
"They had enough, nobody should be put through that!" a middle-aged man added.
"Calm down my faithful fans, if anything looks too hectic, we'll call off the birds and disqualify them," Fredrick said reassuringly. On the surface, it looked like Fredrick didn't favor certain surfers over others and didn't care who got disqualified, but underneath all that nonchalant posterior, he was hesitating to disqualify them because he wanted them to win. He covered the mike with his hand and muttered to himself, "C'mon children, there's a way out…you just have to find it!"
Ash's hands unintentionally closed tighter, and May yelled. She closed one eye as the harsh winds whipped across her face and screamed, "Ash! Watch out what you're grabbing onto!"
Ash let out a response, an unrelated response, but a response to remain in the race instead of being blown out of bounds.
"…we have to go underwater!" he cried.
May turned her head, not sure if she heard him correctly, "Wha?"
"UNDERWATER!" Ash screamed.
The entire surfboard was now floating five inches above the waves, drifting in circles with their Pokemon along. Feelings of nausuea consumed them, the spinning was rapid enough to make any lesser people to lose their dignity. Ash cried out his plan one last time, knowing that it would only be a few more moments before they would be sent out of bounds.
"UNDERWATER!"
Corphish and Squirtle, floating helplessly above the waves, finally understood their trainers' command. They summoned every last ounce of strength in their body, regained their focus, and prepared to make a dive underwater.
"HOLD YOUR BREATH!" Ash cried, still grabbing her upper chest.
"WHY?"
"JUST DO IT!"
The girl opened her mouth, taking in as much air as possible and closed it tightly. Ash did the same, knowing what precious seconds they had left.
The two Water types darted for the water, using the strength of the wind to propel them downward. They splashed into the waves, and using their aquatic abilities, they swam deeper into the water. The tethers tied around the circular opening of the surfboard were being pulled downward, due to the Pokemon swimming deeper into the blue abyss.
May was alarmed, and shrieked in fear as the nose of the surfboard was being pulled beneath the waves. Moments later, the entire surfboard was submerged with the pair altogether.
Beneath the waves, Corphish and Squirtle swam diligently pulling the surfboard along with them. The different pressure underwater almost made May lose her grip and float away, but Ash pulled his body toward her and pressed himself flat against her back. Her torso was being flattened against the circular pillar on the surfboard, and Ash forcefully held her in place by pressing himself harshly against her. His arms extended under her armpits and wrapped around the cicular pillar securely, hoping it would keep them in place.
Above the waves, the flying types stopped their whirlwind assault and were staggered by the move that their opposition had made. The audience gasped in shock and fear, wondering if perhaps the young trainers were blown forcefully underwater.
"Well…uh…that was unexpected," Fredrick panted, rubbing his forehead with a towel.
"I don't believe this, Corphish and Squirtle pulled Ash and May with them underwater!" Max gasped.
Brock grunted, his hands clenched into fists. His eyes twitched not being sure of what to make of the situation.
I hope you know what you're doing, Ash, Brock thought, grinding his teeth.
Squirtle and Corphish made several turns under the waves, hoping to find an opening above to surface on. Ash and May desperately held their breath, the fierce winds and the pressure of going underwater had the two exhausted, and not exactly in prime shape for keeping what precious air they had left.
She was struggling more so than Ash, her face turning blue with feelings of passing out beginning to overwhelm her. Ash desperately eyed her making sure she was still conscious. He knew she wouldn't last much longer, and the terrifying thought that she wouldn't make it to the surface began to overwhelm him. He rubbed her soft hands hopefully under the waves, in some false hope that it would get her to hold on.
Corphish and Squirtle began swimming at an upward slant toward the surface, but everytime they tried to get above the water, they were pushed down by the current. Apparently there was still a force from above disrupting the current of the course, and being powerful enough to prevent the Water types from surfacing with their masters.
This…is…it… May thought, her mind beginning to drift, Why'd you have to pick such a stupid plan, Ash? You…you're…gonna get us killed…"
Her chin lowered and her eyes began to close. Ash was starting to lose his breath as well, things were looking awfully grim.
Just a few more seconds, we gotta get above… Ash thought, No…we're not gonna die…no…this plan should have worked!
"SQUIRTLE!" Squirtle yelled desperately, trying to reveal something to Corphish.
Corphish followed Squirtle's gaze to the bottom of the ocean, and nodded in unison. It opened its pincers and fired its strongest Bubblebeam attack toward the ground. At the same time, Squirtle fired its Ice beam attack to form an icy slope that would lead to the surface.
Damn it, Ash, May gasped. Her mouth opened slightly, the water began seeping in, There was still so much I wanted to do in life, Contests, Pokemon, growing up, watching my brother turn into the powerful trainer I know he'll become, finding love…becoming a Mom…
Her eyes began to sink back into her sockets, her mouth opening completely as the bubbles of air drifted out. The last pockets of air began to escape her, leaving her with nothing but the promise of death.
Corphish's aim managed to propel the surfboard at an angle to get it on the icy slope that Squirtle had created. With their plan set into motion, and their trainers on the brink of life and death, the surfboard was pulled at astounding speeds up the icy slope.
Ash was on the brink of losing his breath as well, opening his mouth slightly only to take in deadly water. Drowning; the one time that the greatest substance on Earth was a poison instead of a nurtrient.
Can't let her go, he thought, pushing her almost lifeless body against the pillar on the surfboard, Not…slip…away…
Her mouth opened, water filled her and threatened to take away her life.
Ash…thank you for the time we spent together…I…I…was yours…wasn't I…? were her final thoughts…
The crowd watching from their seats were getting restless. They didn't care where the other participants were on the course, they were all worried as to when Ash and May would surface. Fredrick began to bite his fingernails nervously. Various officials and lifeguards started to get the feeling that something wasn't right.
"C'mon….come up!" Max yelled desperately.
Brock, Pikachu, Tana and Jamie watched with mortified expressions…would they even surface?
Above the water, a large Dragonite was resting in a small alcove. It was a seven foot tall dragon Pokemon, with orange wings and a large mouth. The Pokemon was flapping its wings carelessly at the waves, finding it somewhat amusing that it could change the current of the water. Being an overpowered Pokemon itself, its wings were creating tremendous whirpools in the waves. It was amused at its own antics, completely unaware however that it was preventing a certain pair of people from surfacing.
"CORPHISH!" Corphish yelled, using its Bubblebeams to propel it faster.
Squirtle nervously looked behind it toward Ash and May, whose bodies looked like they were going to float away at any moment. The two Water Pokemon brought their bodies side by side, and using their bodies as missiles, the quickly darted toward the white light and out of the depths of the water, fighting against the raging waves. The Dragonite looked in shock as a surfboard surfaced behind the Pokemon, with two exuasted humans on their knees pressed against one another.
"SQUIRTLE!"
"CORPHISH!"
The surfboard was floating on the water, and the crowd gasped when the two humans looked unconscious.
"Are…they ok?" Tana asked, worried.
"ASH!" Brock got up from his seat, almost willing to dive down onto the course himself and swim all the way over to where they were.
"PIKA PIKA!" Pikachu screamed.
Max stood silently, terrified to even think about what happened to his sister and best friend.
Dragonite continued to look at the surfboard absent-mindedly, before Corphish began to tell him off. The mighty dragon scoffed at the little lobster, and instead of coming to their aid, the Pokemon hovered in the air and flew off the course.
"A Dragonite?" Fredrick said to himself in shock, "That…that wasn't one of our Pokemon, was it?"
Corphish and Squirtle waded to the sides of the surfboard, going as close to their human masters as possible without tearing the tethers they were attached to. Their fears were relived however when Ash began to cough, moving his body slowly and trying to catch his breath. The boy spit out from his mouth and held his chest, breathing heavily and trying to absorb everything that just happened.
"Cor-phish!" Corphish yelled, elated to see its master alive.
"Ugh…May?" Ash asked nervously, looking at her body.
The girl was on her knees with her cheek resting against the pillar, her hair splattered in front of her eyes, not moving.
"MAY!" Ash screamed. He pulled her from her shoulders and turned her over, his heart nearly leaping out of his body for what he did to his friend. He pressed his right hand against her upper chest to see if she was still beating.
"Squirtle…" the worried Pokemon watched.
"They're above the waves now, but something seems wrong with May," Brock said sternly.
An aghast Max continued to stare.
Mortified, Ash rocked her body gently to see if she would open her eyes. His eyes lit up however once he felt it…she was breathing!
"MAY! You're breathing….wake up!" Ash cried happily.
The girl opened her eyes slowly, and within a few seconds, she quickly got out of Ash's arms and gagged over the edge of the surfboard. She coughed and gasped quite vehemently, and took in huge gasps of air when she had the chance.
"THEY'RE ALRIGHT, FOLKS!" Fredrick cheered. His voice lowered, "Lucky for me too…damn Dragonite…that wasn't even part of our race course Pokemon…nearly drowned those kids…"
"Look, May is sitting down on the board next to Ash!" Max cried happily.
Pikachu jumped on Max's shoulder, gleefully dancing on the young boy. Max wrapped his arms around Pikachu and spun around laughing and cheering. Both younger brother and Pokemon were estatic that their loved ones were alright.
"She's gagging, she must have lost her breath underwater," Brock sighed, "Damn, I don't want them to scare me like that."
"She'll be ok though, won't she?" Jamie asked.
"Most likely," Brock uttered.
Squirtle laughed and beamed in the water at its master, but was unable to jump into her arms due to it still being attached by the tether.
May panted, "I musta…swallowed half of the water in this ocean while I was down there…gah," she coughed, breathing heavily.
Ash grinned, placing his left hand on her shoulder. "Glad to see you're ok, you had me worried for a second."
Between her pants and coughs, she managed to put on a smile, "For someone who almost got us both killed, you're lucky I don't strangle you here on the spot, Ash Ketchum."
The two shared a laugh, sitting side by side peacefully on the surfboard. Their hands were on their knees, staring out on the horizon.
"That was some plan…diving underwater to escape being blown away by the bird Pokemon," May said softly.
"I'm sorry things didn't turn out exactly as I expected them to," Ash frowned, "I can't believe I nearly killed us both."
"You do some crazy things, I'll give you that," she said, coughing again. She wiped her mouth with her arm and started to breathe more regularly, "It was a good plan though, despite having my life flash across my eyes."
"Heh, you're pretty cheerful for a girl that lost her conciousness underwater," Ash said, nudging her playfully.
She hugged her knees tightly, turning to him with heartwarming eyes, "Part of me knew you wouldn't let me die anyway. You're Ash Ketchum and you can do anything, I'd expect nothing less."
"Yea…I'm Ash Ketchum." Ash nodded, his face lowering into his knees, "I'm sorry for that plan, putting our lives in danger like that…but it seemed like the only alternative to keep us in the race…"
May's face jolted like a shock of electricity, she quickly jumped to her feet and looked around perplexed.
"THE RACE?!" May said astounded, "I NEARLY FORGOT!"
She quickly put her hands on the tethers through the pillar and turned back toward Ash.
"Get up, Ash! We've got a race to win!" May urged him.
The Pokemon quickly jumped back into position in front of the surfboard, ready to move at their trainers command. Ash stood up on his legs and after staggering a bit, he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" Ash asked uncertainly.
The girl panted a few more times, her body still feeling weak and overwhelmed.
"I…think so…I'm feeling a little lightheaded but we're still in this competition, aren't we? We…gotta…make up for lost time."
Ash noticed her body trembling slightly, she was still coughing and panting between breaths as well. After some careful thinking, he took the tethers out from her hands and moved her behind him.
"What…what are you doing?" May asked.
"I'll steer, you hold onto me," Ash instructed.
"But, I can still…"
"No, it's fine. You want to win those swimsuits, don't you? Well if we don't get a move on you'll never get them!" Ash retorted.
"…OK!" she said without hesitating a beat. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed herself against his back.
"Ready?" Ask asked softly.
"We…we have to make up for lost time," she reminded him, "The other participants must be far ahead of us by now after all the time we wasted sitting here."
"I know," Ash nodded.
"Guess winning those swimsuits was a fantasy after all, eh?" May asked, discouraged.
The Pokemon began swimming again, as the surfboard floated on the water through the drifting race course. Ash looked around him to see where he was, and he came to a shocking revelation.
"I don't think so, May, notice anything odd about this part of the course?!" Ash asked.
May looked around, but she didn't notice anything different, "No, what?"
Fredrick explained the situation on the loudspeaker, "Well according to the judges and officials, we're going to let the "Little Rookies" slide on this one, folks! You see, when the two went underwater they ended up taking a short-cut through the course. They skipped an entire segment, one in which has managed to propel them to current second place! Since the two kids risked their lives underwater, and the fact that the Dragonite keeping them beneath the waves was a freeloader and not part of our "Pokemon traps," we're being lenient on the two, and instead of disqualifying them for skipping parts of the race and moving ahead several places, they will be allowed to continue!"
"Whoa, really? Did we really skip past a whole part of the race while going underwater?" May stuttered in disbelief.
"Seems like it, I think we passed a whole part that has to zigzag through some canyons…it takes a long time to get through that part too," Ash said, steering the board and instructing the Pokemon to make a right turn.
"So instead of wasting time we managed to save time!" May shouted happily, "Awesome, we're ahead of all of the competition but one!"
"Guess there was some benefit to nearly drowning ourselves, eh?" Ash smirked.
"After this is over, remind me to give you a good smack when we're in the hotel room. Ok, Ash?" May joked, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I am SO going to tell my Mom and Dad about this. They're not going to be too pleased when they hear that you tried to kill their daughter!"
Ash rolled his eyes as she giggled in his ears, squeezing his waist in the same playful manner that he had done before.
"Full speed ahead, Squirtle and Corphish!" she cheered.
~*~*~
"I still have that horrible taste in my mouth!" Precita snarled, steering the surfboard in the water.
"A pity, huh? To have you taste such vermin," Dan replied.
"Maybe you should have thought of a better plan. The fact that I actually had to use my teeth to bite those vines until they let go of our board really degrades me," Precita said angrily, "I hope those pathetic grass Pokemon learned their lesson, I nearly tore their vines off with my teeth."
"I heard them whimpering behind the reefs, no doubt about that," Dan laughed.
Precita wiped her mouth. "When we get back to the hotel remind me to wash my mouth out. Disgusting."
Sharpedo and Gorebyss slid past the current 4th place participants by shooting them into a canyon wall with their Water Gun attacks. The other participants struggled to get back on their board after the assault, only to find out that the tethers connecting their Pokemon had been torn.
"Entry #20 is DONE FOR!" Fredrick shouted.
"Sharpedo!" Sharpedo grunted, its fin moving in the air.
"Sharpedo is trying to warn us about something…" Precita pondered.
The surfboard surfed through a narrow river surrounded by large canyon walls, but parts of the walls looked like they were made out of metal.
"Pedo!" Sharpedo screamed.
"GET DOWN!" Precita yelled, ducking while still holding onto the tethers.
Pieces of the canyon wall began to open and slide up into a compartment. It wasn't a real canyon at all, but a fake one made out of metal and plastic. There were several holes in the canyon opening up, each with a certain Pokemon standing behind ready to attack.
Dan cowered behind his girl, placing his hands on her lower back. "What the hell is going on?"
"They're going to fire on us, you idiot!" Precita snapped.
Various elemental attacks shot out from the canyon walls toward their surfboard. Flamethrowers, Ice beams, Hyper Beams, Psywave, Water Pulse, and Thunderbolts were blazing out from every which direction. The canyon was illuminated in pretty but threatening colors, as every attack threatened to send Precita and Dan overboard.
"Avoid these attacks if you don't want to become lunch meat!" Precita glared.
Sharpedo and Gorebyss desperately tried to avoid the beams, pulling the surfboard erratically as some elemental attacks combined with one another and exploded in the distance. Some beams directly hit the surfboard, destroying pieces of it before Sharpedo and Gorebyss pulled it out of harms way. The surfboard bumped along the waves, crashing into the canyon walls a few times which shook the young couple violently.
Precita nervously stood up on the surfboard to see if they had left the canyon, only to be struck with a Thunderbolt attack herself.
"GAAAAAAAH!" she cried, feeling the jolts of electricity coursing through her veins.
"Precita!" Dan cried, grabbing onto her only to share her electric fate.
Sharpedo and Gorebyss then cheered triumphantly once they exited the canyon, thus leaving the crazy elemental attacks behind. Precita and Dan stood silently clinging together, their bodies burnt and their hard frizzled. The electric pain soon ceased, but it had left its mark.
"That was shocking, wasn't it?" Fredrick laughed.
The crowd joined in on the laughter, many amused to see that Precita and Dan didn't escape the elemental attacks unscathed.
"GOD DAMN THIS!" Precita screamed, "My silky dark hair is now totally ruined!"
"NOBODY treats us like this," Dan snarled, "C'mon, we gotta be close to first place now, let's take out whoever there is ahead of us, then we'll beat the crap out of that French announcer."
"Good idea," Precita grunted furiously, "I've had it with this crap. Once I get those swimsuits and the prize money, I'm going to have to show quite a few people that nobody messes with me."
~*~*~*
The race poured on with only four participants left on the course, the others all disqualified for various reasons during the race. Ash and May were in current 1st place, the shortcut they took underwater really helped them to catch up to the surfers ahead of them. Having passed up the now second place participants just a few minutes ago, Ash and May were filled with confidence.
They were getting close to the finish line which was only several miles away. The audience went wild, many cheering on the side of Ash and May, awaiting them to win the race. Scattered on the course were the last remaining obstacles, several red and yellow buoys that had to be avoided to remain at a good pace.
"The "Little Rookies" are almost at the end, folks, will they come in 1st place and win their prize money and swimsuits?" Fredrick shouted.
"You better believe we will!" May exclaimed in a collected manner.
"Just keep avoiding these buoys, after this we're home free, you guys!" Ash commanded.
Corphish and Squirtle acknowledged their trainer and zigzagged the surfboard carefully through the buoys. Corphish used its pincers to knock away some of the buoys that it would otherwise smack into.
"I can't believe it, Ash! After all we've been through we're actually going to win!" May said jovially.
"I'm pretty excited too, I'm glad to finally pay back our debt to Prof. Latrommi for one thing. At least I won't have that guilt anymore for breaking his machines," Ash said.
"And that pink bikini with the Skitty and Torchic designs will be mine…along with all the other ones!" May giggled, "I'm going to try them all on first thing after we win! I need to have someone tell me how I look in them though, you'll do that right, Ash?"
"Well I guess, but I was hoping we could get a bite to eat after the race," Ash said, "Nearly drowning really does work up an appetite."
"Er…ok then! First food and then the swimsuits!" May said, "I'd like to wash this horrible taste of salt water out of my mouth too for that matter….yuck."
There were several ramps ahead that were surrounded by buoys, apparently they were meant to give the winning participants a last boost of speed if they were neck and neck with their opponents.
"Our current 1st place participants are only a few miles from the goal now, with no opposition in sight!" Fredrick screamed, "So unless we're going to experience some kind of upset, looks like they have it in the bag!"
"FASTER!" Precita yelled, "We gotta catch up to them before it's too late!"
"Fine then, Gorebyss use your Ice beam attack on the water, we'll have to slide our way to the top!" Dan commanded.
Gorebyss obeyed its trainer and unleashed the energy attack on the water, crystallizing it and turning it into a slippery icy surface. The surfboard was then pulled on top of the ice while Sharpedo and Gorebyss swam on opposite ends of the icy path. With the surfboard sliding as fast as the Pokemon, this was nearly the only way they'd manage to keep up.
"I see the back of their surfboard," Precita squinted, "Use Water Gun on the target, Sharpedo!"
"Sharpedo!" the Pokemon cried, unleashing a jet of water on the back of Ash and May's surfboard.
Their surfboard shook upon impact, and since May wasn't holding on too tightly, the shock made her lose her grip as she fell off the back of the board into the water.
"What the heck?" May cried as she splashed backward into the waves.
"Corphish, Squirtle stop swimming!" Ash commanded, the Pokemon quickly brought their board to a halt.
Ash turned around to see May treading water innocently. She coughed and wiped her wet hair out of her eyes.
"Something must have hit us from behind," May said softly, "It couldn't be another racer though, we're so far ahead of everyone, aren't we?"
"Maybe it's another Pokemon trap? You know, something to catch us off guard before we get to the finish line?" Ash wondered.
May turned around, looking in the direction they came from. She was still treading in the water, but since they were nearly finished with the race, she wasn't in a rush to get back on board. "Oh well, I might as well get back on the board then. We'd be disqualified if you cross the finish line without me standing with you, remember?"
May noticed that Ash's face was focused on something, he was staring at something speeding in the distance.
"There's…someone coming from behind us!" Ash yelled.
"Entry # 13 is coming up the rear folks…it's Precita and Dan, the rightfully named "Aggressors!" Fredrick gasped, "Could they take the lead from the "Little rookies?"
"What?" May gasped, "I thought we were so far ahead of them that they'd never catch up!"
Suddenly May gasped in fear as the menacing Sharpedo opened its mouth and darted toward her. Its jaws were filled with razor sharp teeth, enough to tear a human to shreds in an instant. The Gorebyss swam on the other side, determined to take a stab at the girl as well. Precita and Dan's board was no longer on the icy path, but floating along on the water again.
"Sharpedo, there's your lunch! Have a taste of the girl if you please," Precita laughed devilishly.
May completely froze in fear, staring into the giant mouth that threatened to consume her.
"May, get back on the surfboard!" Ash cried.
"Cor-phish!" Corphish declared, opening its pincer and firing a Bubblebeam attack behind toward the Sharpedo.
The attack collided with the nose of the shark Pokemon, one of the weakest spots on its body. The Pokemon shook itself frantically to ease itself of the pain, which wobbled the surfboard quite erratically.
"Get a hold of yourself, Sharpedo!" Precita yelled, struggling to keep balanced on the bumpy surfboard.
Without realizing where it was going, Sharpedo slammed its fins against May's arm in the water. The Pokemon had a trait called "Rough skin," one in which would sting a person who came into contact with it.
May grunted, grabbing her left arm and rubbing it desperately to ease the pain. Precita and Dan's surfboard then forcefully slammed into Ash's, in which the boy fell off the surfboard as well. The board spun around a few times with Corphish and Squirtle attached in circles as Precita and Dan took the lead.
"What an upset!" Fredrick yelled, "Precita and Dan are now in the lead, and with both young trainers fallen off their surfboard, they'll have to get it together quickly or else they lost the race!"
"Shar-pedo," Sharpedo grunted, regaining its focus.
"Ha, I was hoping to get one more hit on the girl before we finished this race," Precita sneered.
"We're going to be passing through a few more buoys and ramps, and then we're done!" Dan said happily.
Knowing that they had no time to waste, Ash and May quickly swam back to their surfboard and got into position. May rubbed her left arm one last time before wrapping herself around his torso again. Ash asked her if the sting hurt, but she told him to nevermind and hurry up to catch up to their opponents.
"Let's get moving, guys!" Ash commanded, gripping the tethers, "This is the final stretch, we gotta catch up to them and win!"
"Corphish!"
"Squirtle!"
The board was pulled along rippling the water, with the two trainers as determined as ever to finally beat their opponents and end the race.
"Two can play at this game. Corphish, Squirtle…fire your attacks on the back of their surfboard!" May shouted.
Without hesitation, the two Pokemon aimed their elemental attacks at the back of Precita's board. Unfortunately for Ash and May, while it did slow them down a bit, neither Precita or Dan fell off.
"Since we're reaching the end of the race, no more penalties will be imposed on either side! Pokemon attacks are encouraged to gain a lead on your opponent, it's now or never!" Fredrick shouted. He covered the mike one more time, "YOU CAN DO IT, CHILDREN!"
Max, Brock, Pikachu, Tana and Jamie gave their last minute cheers and encouragement from the stands.
Precita and Dan were too focused on Ash and May coming up from behind that they weren't paying much attention to the obstacles on the course. They bumped into several small buoys which ended up slowing them down in the process. Meanwhile, Ash was carefully maneuvering his Pokemon around the buoys, and with all the training they did for the past week, this was a piece of cake.
The two surfboards met side by side, with both pairs glaring at each other with the same goal in mind, being number one.
"So you've caught up again, have you? Good, at least this won't be a boring finish," Precita said angrily.
Precita pulled the tethers to the right in which their surfboard collided with Ash and May's, trying to forcefully knock them off their board. This time however Ash and May were more determined than ever to hold on, and even pushed back on their own. Ash ordered Corphish to knock their board aside, and the powerful lobster did so accordingly. Its left pincer glowed in a white light as it struck the side of the opposing surfboard, knocking them far to the right in the distance.
"Gorebyss, use Shadow ball!" Dan commanded.
The Pokemon fired a dark energy sphere at their surfboard which caught Ash and May completely off guard. The entire left side of the surfboard crummeled into pieces against the impact of the attack. There was no longer an enclosed ledge where the two were standing, the last pieces on the left side of the surfboard fell apart.
"Now, Sharpedo, get in close and give them a bite attack!" Precita said, bringing the surfboard into closer range, "Tear their board to pieces! If they don't have anything to race on they won't be able to finish!"
"Shar….pedo!" the vicious Pokemon snarled, moving in for the kill. It swam as close to their surfboard as possible without breaking apart from the tether it was attached to.
"Watch out, Ash!" May cried, tugging on his arm.
The jaws of the shark Pokemon bit down on the edge of the surfboard, tearing off another large piece of the bottom. Ash and May desperately moved their feet out of the way and toward the right side of the board, otherwise the shark would have bit them clean off!
"This is just like you, Precita, sinking so low as to destroy our surfboard since you know we would beat you!" May yelled.
"What can I say? I do what I have to do to win," Precita chuckled, flicking her hair, "As I said before, the swimsuits are mine, little girl."
"In your dreams!" May retaliated, quite childishly.
Sharpedo moved in for another bite of the board, but an irritated Corphish slammed the Pokemon right on its head with its Crabhammer attack. The shark retreated and whimpered in pain.
With some quick thinking, Precita brought their surfboard to a halt and let Ash and May get in the lead. She then pulled the tethers to the right, hoping to get on the opposite side of their opposition. After a few more seconds the two surfboards were now side by side again, only this time Precita was on the right side instead of the left.
"Gorebyss, work your magic on that pathetic little Squirtle," Precita said.
"Squirtle move out of the way!" May cried, desperately.
Unable to react in time, Gorebyss stuck its long snout into Squirtles' hind leg. The tiny turtle Pokemon cried in pain as it felt its blood being drained by the malicious but beautiful Gorebyss.
"Squirt…squirtle…squirt!" Squirtle panted and gasped, unabled to shake its leg from Gorebyss' mouth.
May was enraged with small tears in her eyes, she moved to the edge of her board and started stomping on Gorebyss with her own feet.
"Get off my Squirtle!" May yelled, infuriated.
"Bysssssssssss," Gorebyss hissed, feeling the pounding on its head.
"Maybe we'll pull away," Ash grunted, pulling the tethers to the left.
The surfboard waded to the left hoping to pull away from Gorebyss' attack on the young Squirtle. Squirtle continued to cry helplessly as its leg started to feel numb.
"PHEESH!" Corphish screamed.
It fired its Bubblebeam attack over the other side of the surfboard hoping to hit Gorebyss, but it instead slammed into the edge of Precita's surfboard.
"That's enough, Gorebyss, pull back!" Dan commanded.
"Bysss?" Gorebyss was confused. It didn't want to retreat from its meal.
"Don't second guess me! PULL BACK, DAMMIT!"
"Bysssssss, Gorebysssssssssss," Gorebyss shook its head, its desire for blood was more satisfying.
"Obey me, you damn Pokemon!" Dan commanded, gripping the tethers, yanking it which harshly pulled the tether around Gorebyss' neck.
"BYSSSSSSSS…..byssssss!" Gorebyss cried, feeling the harsh tugs on its body. It pulled its mouth out of Squirtle's leg and returned to its masters' side.
"Squirtle, are you ok?" May asked frantically, peering over the edge of the board.
"Squirt…squirtle…" the Pokemon whined, still in a great deal of pain from having lost a lot of blood.
"Why'd you pull your Gorebyss back?" Precita asked.
"Because now we're going to go up a ramp!" Dan declared.
Their Pokemon and their surfboard then flew up a ramp which caught them several added seconds in the air ahead of Ash and May. Noticing that they were now in the lead, Ash and May had little options left with a half-destroyed surfboard and an injured Squirtle.
"Only two miles to the finish line, and Precita's team is currently in the lead!" Fredrick said, "The "Little Rookies" surfboard isn't looking too hot. It's taken a beaten and the board looks like its ready to fall to pieces! If they don't have something to surf on, they'll be disqualifiiiiiiiiied!"
"Damn it," Ash grunted, noticing more pieces of the surfboard break off from the abuse it took.
Squirtle struggled to keep swimming even with its leg injury, it knew it couldn't let is master down when they were so close to winning the race.
"We're catching up to them again…!" Ash screamed.
"Cor-cor phish!" Corphish grunted, propelling its pincers faster than ever before in the water.
"Dammit, them again!" Precita yelled, "Don't they know when to give up? Sharpedo use your Skull Bash on their surfboard!"
Sharpedo quickly darted for their board again and smashed its skull against the nose of their board, breaking off the entire frontal piece of their surfboard except for the small circular pillar that the tethers were tied through.
"Our whole surfboard is falling apart, Ash!" May exclaimed desperately. The bottom of the surfboard started to feel a little flimsy, almost as if what they were standing on would soon collapse.
"ONE MILE TO THE FINISH LINE!" Fredrick shouted, "IT'S COMING RIGHT DOWN TO THE WIRE, FOLKS!"
The lively crowd screamed and raved at the top of their lungs, many on the edge of their seats as to who would win.
"I've got an idea," Dan said, "Their board is in shambles, all we need to do is break off the circular pillar on the surfboard and rip apart their tethers and they'll be out of the race!"
"Hmmm, I love it when you're assertive," Precita licked her lips, "Remind me show my approval tonight in our room."
"Heh, thanks babe." Dan laughed.
Sharpedo and Gorebyss tried to ram into their surfboard once again, but this time completely missing their mark.
"They're getting cocky now and getting careless!" Ash exclaimed, "You guys aren't going to get another hit on us!"
"I beg to differ, Sharpedo use your Slash attack!" Precita declared.
Sharpedo opened its mouth and slashed the circular pillar with its teeth. The entire bottom of the pillar was loose off its foundation and looked like it was about to slide clean off.
"NO!" May shouted, forcing down the pillar with her hands, "If this comes off we lost the race!"
"Again, Sharpedo! Do whatever you have to to tear apart that pillar! Or better yet, try to tear off the tethers!" Precita instructed.
The feisty shark Pokemon returned for another strike, opening its jaws and ready to take apart the whole frontal part of the surfboard with one bite.
"Squirtllllee…." the tiny turtle muttered, firing a weak Water gun attack at Sharpedo's face.
Suddenly, Ash's foot crashed through the bottom of the board. He looked down in fear to see that the entire bottom of the surfboard was tearing in two! He desperately pulled his foot out of the bottom and stood on another part of the surfboard, only to have his foot break through the bottom once again!
"The "Little Rookies" surfboard looks like it hit rock bottom, folks! A few more tears in the right places, and they'll have nothing left to race on!" Fredrick shouted.
"Sharpedo, AGAIN!" Precita shouted.
"It's coming back!" May shrieked, still holding down the pillar with the circular opening so it wouldn't break off.
"WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Ash yelled, pulling the tethers to the right.
He looked up, and spotted something. It caught his eye, something that would be the key to victory.
"Another ramp!" Ash said excitedly, "It's the last one before the finish line! If we get on that we should get an extra boost of speed and make it past Precita!"
"That's if this board holds together until then!" May panicked, her foot crashing through the bottom herself, "For Prof. Latrommi and the promise I made to myself to beat Precita, we just GOTTA win this!"
There were now three holes on the bottom of the surfboard, with large tears coming through the center. The enclosed sides were already torn clean off in previous attacks, leaving little foot room at all. The nose of the board was destroyed, and the pillar in the center had a large tear on the bottom. If that broke off, the tethers would fall off with it, thus giving them nothing to pull along the board with. The surfboard was in shambles, and in less than a minute the entire board would collapse altogether.
"We're roughly 30 seconds away from the finish line, folks! THIS IS IT!" Fredrick shouted.
"The finish line is right ahead of them, I can see it!" Max shouted with joy.
"PIKACHU!"
"They just need to hold on a little more and they'll make it, c'mon!" Brock urged them.
"They're going to use the ramp to their advantage," Dan said.
"Who cares, the finish line is right there! Whatever boost they'll get will be too little too late," Precita said, "Sharpedo, Gorebyss….put all your remaining strength into getting across that line first!"
The finish line was a large checkered flag floating above the water attached to two buoys at both ends. There was large enough room for ten surfboards to make it through at the same time, but there was only one ramp left to give only a certain surfboard a particular advantage over the others.
"Ash, here's the ramp!" May gasped.
The surfboard flew off the ramp and into the air. Corphish and Squirtle hovered in the sky for a few moments, the latter holding onto its hind leg with its hand. May clutched onto Ash's waist in anticipation as their surfboard was starting to fall back down into the waves.
"We're gonna make it!" Ash shouted.
"C'mon, c'mon!" May hoped excitedly.
Their water Pokemon plummeted back down into the water with what little there was left of the surfboard behind them. They were roughly neck and neck with Precita's surfboard, the boost giving them a near one second advantage.
"We're almost there!" Ash cried.
"NO, we're going to make it!" Precita grunted.
"They'll approach the finish line in 10 SECONDS!" Fredrick declared.
"Gah! We have almost nothing left to stand on!" May gasped. She was standing on the one small piece of surface left, the same one that Ash was. Their four feet were huddled together on one tiny piece of the bottom that was still holding by a thread.
"FIVE SECONDS!"
The two boards were right next to each other, neither party knowing which board was slightly ahead of the other. Corphish, Squirtle, Sharpedo and Gorebyss put all their last remaining strength into propelling through the finish line.
Ash, May, Precita and Dan were in the moment, all four of the knowing that it would be over in a second, and the winner would be declared. May made one last second wish to herself that she'd win the swimsuits, something she had trained to win for a full week. She was still obsessed with the swimsuits, particularly the Skitty/Torchic one, but she was also intent on finally putting Precita and Dan in their place for all the trouble they caused her. There was too much at stake; the pain and humiliation they caused her at the club when they first met, the fight they got into with Chaz and Eliza on the beach, where Ash was delivered a harsh blow to his stomach, the various and persistent ridicule and insults, and last but not least, the pain their Gorebyss caused to her Squirtle by sucking blood viciously out of its tiny leg.
Ash had thoughts of both the Professor and May filling his mind, knowing he couldn't disappoint either. In the blink of an eye, this would be it…the moment of truth.
"AND IT'S OVER!" Fredrick shouted, shooting a signal into the sky.
Both surfboards passed the finish line, with neither participants' knowing which one made it through first. Ash and May were relieved that their surfboard managed to hold together right until the end, but they were unsure whether they had won.
"Our camera and recordings will reveal who passed the finish line a second before their opponent!" Fredrick said.
"It's just gotta be Ash and May!" Max shouted.
"I think it did look like it was them," Tana said excitedly.
"That was a good race, they're going to announce the winner in a second because it was so close that no human eye could catch it," Brock said.
Pikachu pondered the win in its mind.
"Phew, good job, Corphish and Squirtle." Ash said.
Off his last remark, the entire surfboard they were standing on collapsed. Ash and May fell through the bottom and into the water, with the entire pillar on the surfboard tearing off and falling into pieces as well.
Ash and May waded apart in the water and cradled their Water Pokemon in their arms. May hugged her Squirtle tightly, eyeing its leg where it had been assaulted. She promised to take the little turtle right to a Pokemon Center so it could heal.
Precita and Dan still stood on their surfboard, awaiting the results.
"Do you think we won, Ash?" May asked confidently.
"Sure we did!" Ash said triumphantly, "We passed through the finish line first, there's no doubt about that."
"Corphish, corphish, cor cor!" Corphish said energetically.
Ash and May shared a chuckle as Squirtle smiled in her arms.
"Alright, folks, the results are in!" Fredrick said, "The winners will receive the prize money as well as fifteen different two-piece bikinis for the female participant in the race!"
"Please please…be us…" May prayed one last time.
"C'mon…" Ash uttered.
Fredrick continued after building anticipation, "And the winners of this years' Water Pokemon Surfing Competition are…."
He flung his arm around to the winners, and put on a huge smile while saying their names.
"…Precita and Dan!"