Chapter Eighteen
Little Kickers' Little Surprise

She wanted to laugh. The moment she stepped into the dojo, she just wanted to laugh. Paul was a sight to behold; one she never would have expected from him. He stood in the middle of the polished floor, looking entirely out of place, surrounded by screaming children barely half his size, Indiana the Sandshrew balancing precariously on his shoulder. He wore a look of uncharacteristic concentration as one of the tinier children explained something to him.

Couldn't have been an easy task, however, with ten children that Annabelle could see and at least that many Pokemon following along. She counted Mankey, Machop, Makuhita. One tiny little girl with red pigtails was being chased by a boisterous Toxicroak. Her gaze rested on Paul and the young boy with the Mankey. After a few moments conversation, Paul detached the wriggling Sandshrew from his shoulder and set him down by the Mankey. Annabelle took a cautious step forward, heart thumping, horrible visions of the vulnerable baby being set upon. But the Mankey took a step backward and after a quiet word from its trainer, coiled its fists up and slowly moved its body through the paces of a punch. The baby Sandshrew watched in awe, then balled up its own tiny paws and tried to copy the Mankey's lead.

Annabelle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Collapsing into a chair by the front entrance, she allowed her body to relax. She kept her gaze still trained on Paul and Indiana. The baby Sandshrew followed the Mankey's every step and punch, his tiny face screwed up in concentration. Half convinced still that Paul would soon lose his temper or lash out at the child, she didn't quite trust herself to look away. She felt suddenly large and intrusive, the determination littering Paul's face almost an unwelcoming sight. Despite it all, he and the child seemed to be getting along. What she could pick out seemed light and airy, full of encouragement for both parties.

Annabelle noticed the only other adult in the room before Paul did. A tall, bearded man with dark twinkling eyes wearing robes too big for him came gliding from an adjoining room separated by a screen door. Silently, he moved between children and Pokemon, offering nothing more than a nod or approving gesture, but causing a hush and stillness wherever he went.

The child and Mankey tutoring Paul both froze when the older man approached them but he went unnoticed by Paul, who kept on shouting encouragement and miming the moves. As the young boy gestured to Paul to look behind him, Annabelle slid forward in an attempt to hear what they were saying. Paul's face had reddened considerably and it was made only worse when he glanced over in Annabelle's direction.

By the time Annabelle had slipped off her chair, the old man had already left their side and was making his way towards a small raised platform at the front of the room. Annabelle elbowed Paul in the stomach, hissing "Who was that? What did he say?" but a flushed Paul only muttered at her and turned away.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the old man had a hushed, coarse sort of voice. It reminded Annabelle bizarrely of sandpaper but she found she couldn't help but listen to it. "Welcome to Little Kickers. I am very grateful to see pupils both old and new," he added, with a short glance in Paul's direction. "…attending here today."

"Sensei! Sensei!" The girl with the Toxicroak piped up from the front of the room. "Never mind all that other stuff, okay? Tell us about the competition!"

When the old man only looked at her quizzically, a look of horror passed over her face. "Oh no! S-sensei, it is today, isn't it?"

The old man laughed, a short, raspy chuckle heavily embedded with a hacking cough. "Forgive me, lass. I don't meant to tease you. You're right. Today is competition day."

"Competition day?" Annabelle muttered under her breath. "What the hell is that?"

Sensei's deep twinkling eyes found Annabelle in the crowd of Pokemon and children and she flinched as she felt their hot gaze. Had he heard her? Was that even possible from such a distance? She offered a quick smile then dropped her head in apologetic shame.

"For any of you that do not know, or have forgotten, or simply do not know, today marks the eighteenth annual Inter-Dojo Scavenger Hunt."

"Inter-what?" Annabelle glanced at Paul in the hope he was as clueless as she was. But he was listening intently, his eyes never wavering from the Sensei atop the podium.

"I do hope all of you in attendance today will be participating." The old man smiled. "Anyone who wishes to take part, please make your way to the Wooper Park by the Pokemon Centre to sign up. I will be heading there shortly myself."

Amidst the burst of excited chatter, Annabelle glanced up at Paul. "Scavenger Hunt?" she questioned. "Is that what you were talking about with the old guy?"

"Yeah. I signed us up."

"You… what?"

"Listen, though." He grabbed her by the arm, his eyes suddenly bright. "They're offering a rare Pokemon as a prize for coming first!"

"A rare… Pokemon?"

"The old guy didn't say much but he said they offer up a really rare, high quality Fighting type Pokemon egg as a prize."

Annabelle instantly perked up. "Egg?"

"Yep! And come on, we could benefit from having a fighting type in our team. We have basically no coverage across our teams, much less any sort of decent power potential."

"Aren't you getting a Riolu?" Annabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, but that's not for weeks yet. Come on, Annabelle." Paul was practically pulling her arm off in his haste to get her out the door.

"Alright, alright, alright!" She cried, allowing him to drag her off, completely and utterly bemused by the sudden enthusiasm he was displaying.

The Wooper Park was apparently ten minutes' walk away. After professing that neither he nor Annabelle knew where it was, Paul was invited to follow Ryan, the boy with the Mankey and his friends up there. This suited Paul fine. Kids walked slowly and these ones weren't obnoxious.

Dashed with fountains and hedged by lush, leafy green plant life, the Wooper Park seemed like it would be a pretty decent place to take a break. A vendor was selling chunks of crispy fried fish wrapped up in newspaper and the smell made Paul's mouth water, despite having gobbled down a huge meal earlier in the day. There was a small congregation of people by the largest fountain in the park, some already decked out in full martial arts gear, and several official looking adults mingling between them.

"Are we, like, the oldest people here?" Annabelle muttered, realising that everyone else, who wasn't an official, was easily a foot shorter than her.

Paul was mentally counting heads. Twelve kids, not counting he and Annabelle or any of the officials. "Is this… all there is?"

"What were you expecting?"

"I… don't know. I just thought, you know, for a dojo, you'd have loads of people. Especially if it's some big competition."

"These are just the competitors for our dojo," A voice behind Annabelle made her shriek in surprise. The old man, the sensei from Little Kickers had somehow caught up to them. "The other dojos have many more students than we do. I assure you, you will have many rivals."

He had said this with a noticeable twinge of sadness to his voice, but it was gone as soon as it came as he shuffled to the front of the group. He raised his voice, instantly commanding the attention of everyone in the area immediately. "Listen everyone. The dojo staff will be handing out the signup sheet and your instructions for the hunt in a few moments."

After a bit of squabbling between the younger children, the sign-up sheet made it to Paul and Annabelle. Paul scrawled both of their names across the street and the official, perhaps sensibly, handed the instructions to Annabelle.

Her eyes scanned downwards, slowly widening. "Wow…"

"Gimme that," Paul grabbed the sheet from Annabelle's hands.

Rules

You will undertake this hunt in pairs.

Each pair will be given an Objective List, a map of Goldenrod and a disposable camera

You will have 3 hours to complete as many objectives as you can.

Objectives are split into 3 levels of difficulty.

Easy = 1 Point. Medium = 3 Points. Hard = 5 Points.

Be careful! Some objectives require you to solve riddles and puzzles to get to your goal!

Each Objective requires evidence of completion.

Whether it is photographic or a souvenir will be listed on the Objective List

The pair with the highest overall total will win Sensei's Big Prize

1 Point Objectives

Obtain a Pidgey feather

Take a selfie with a wild pokemon in the picture!

Something strange is for sale on the third floor of the department store! Take a picture of it!

Can you climb to the top of Goldenrod's famous arch? Show us with a picture!

Which of Goldenrod's citizens cries the most? WITH PERMISSION, get a picture of her!

Three Pokeballs and a Super Potion give you just enough change from $2000 to buy this item. Show us what it is!

Who made the Wailmer wail? WITH PERMISSION, take a picture of her!

Who's mahoggin' all the mahogany? Get a photo for proof!

Find one of the following Pokemon in Goldenrod City, and take a picture for proof; Snubbull, Drowzee, Yanma, Growlithe, or Magnemite.

3 Point Objectives

Catch the baby Meowth. Take a CLEAR selfie for proof.

"I have a face that doesn't smile and hands that don't hold. What am I?" – Take a CLEAR selfie in front of me.

"Which building in Goldenrod has the most stories?" Take a CLEAR selfie in front of me.

"Where is the most eggciting building in Goldenrod?" Take a CLEAR picture of me.

"What has a dish but no fruit, and waves but no water?" - Take a CLEAR selfie in front of me.

5 Point Objectives

"What is still, and can still kick your ass?" - Battle me to win a Souvenir.

"What ends where it begins?" - Solve me with a photo for proof.

"I have rivers without water. Forests without trees. Towns without houses. What am I?" - Take a CLEAR photograph (Hint! I'm closer than you think)

BONUS - 10 Point Objective!

"Where are all the yellow cakes?" - Think very carefully, and take a photo for proof! I'm not easy! Anyone correctly answering me wins a special prize!

"Fu…dge…" Paul censored herself just in time as he finished reading. "Are they serious? Riddles? Riddles?! They want us to solve riddles?" he brandished the sheet at Annabelle as if she hadn't even seen it. "I thought we just had to find stuff!"

"Don't be like that, Paul. I'm sure we can manage!" Annabelle said brightly.

"We better." Paul grumbled. "I want that prize."

"You don't even know what it is yet." Annabelle sighed. "Typical man… So goal orientated…"

Paul was about to fire back at Annabelle when Sensei loudly cleared his throat. "Now then, everyone. Read the instructions carefully. You'll be heading out soon to start. Just for now, is there any questions?"

"About a million," Paul muttered under his breath.

"Now, remember, you will be competing against four other dojos in the Goldenrod area. Pioneers Dojo, Empire Dojo, Free Spirits Dojo and Pancham's Palace Dojo. I don't need to tell you that our Little Kickers remains the smallest of all taking part and has been for many years. We have never won the annual Inter Dojo Scavenger Hunt. I want to encourage everyone bearing our name today to do their best.

A smattering of cheering and applause rose from the Little Kickers' students.

"Your competitors from the other Dojos will each be starting in the North, South and East districts of Goldenrod. Yes, David, that means you're in the West District. Now, remember," his voice took on a more serious edge. "Your competitors know who you are. And while this dojo always prides itself on sportsmanship and integrity, there are some who do not uphold the same standards. Watch out for tricks."

"Tricks?" Paul murmured, hoping the old man would elaborate, but he didn't.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you that there will be no conferring with other pairs, or indeed, other dojos. Please remember to all do your best."

The kids around Paul and Annabelle looked weirdly tense and determined, hands clenched, poised on the tips of their toes, clutching their maps and objectives. While Annabelle felt out of place, Paul found their energy infectious, and felt a bubble of excitement burst somewhere in his stomach.

Sensei smiled down at them all. "You may begin."

Author's Notes

Again. I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible person.

This chapter was really really difficult to get out for some reason. Life has been really busy but I actually have some good news to share.

1. I have two weeks off starting Sunday so I hope to get some works out.

2. I have been accepted back to university and this time next year (or thereabouts) will be a fully qualified high school English teacher!

Anyway, the quality and length of this chapter are suffering a little bit so I do apologise. I'm going to try my best to get some more, better quality, chapters out for you all!

Thanks for always reading, guys. It means so much.