Chapter 70 – The Big Dog
May and I rode Tauros and Fierymane until we reached a bike station. We recalled our riding Pokemon. May said, "Route 17 is also a bike trail. We can rent bikes here to take down the trail." I replied, "Sounds like fun!" We entered the bike station and rented our bikes. We returned all of our Pokemon to their pokeballs, except for Flamefox, who sat on my shoulders, and Amber, who sat on May's shoulders. The bike trail was long, but pretty much all downhill. We encountered random trainers along the way, who May and I each made short work of. It was about a 4 hour bike ride to route 18, so we took breaks along the way, so our Pokemon could have some time out of their pokeballs. May was trying to spend a little bit more time with Clefairy and level her up a bit, too.
Before we knew it, we reached the bike station at the end of Route 18, and we turned in our bikes there. I released Tauros and Firestorm, May released Fierymane, Redfur, Fiona, and Inferno. I mounted on Tauros, and May mounted on Fierymane, and the 2 of us headed for the Big P Pokemon Ranch. May knew where it was from coming through here last year, but she hadn't stopped in before. It was in the outskirts of Fuschia City, near the Safari Zone. We soon found a ranch, with corrals full of Tauros, Nidorinos, and other Pokemon. "This must be the place!" I said. A girl with blue hair and an orange headband, with a green shirt and blue jean shorts came riding over to us on a Ponyta, accompanied by a Growlithe. "Can I help you?" she asked, in a strong, western accent. I asked, "Are you Lara Laramy?" She answered, "That's me. Now who are you?" I answered, "I'm Joe from Crimson Town, and this is my friend, May." She said, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Then May said, "We heard that you have a big race here every year." She replied, "Yes, but I'm afraid you already missed this year's race. That's kind of a shame – your Tauros and Rapidash look like they'd have been top contenders!" I said, "I was in a race 2 years ago with my friend, Trevor." She asked, "Trevor - brown hair, black hat, rides a Rapidash?" I answered, "That's him." She said, "Yeah, I know him! He's a great guy! Really great racer!" Then she said, "You did a great job raising this Tauros – looks as good as one of mine!" I said, "Thanks!" She rode up to May and Fierymane and said, "And this Rapidash looks top notch, too." May said, "Thanks! Fierymane and I make a great team!" Then she said, "Why don't you guys come with me to the ranch. Your Tauros and Rapiadash can mingle with the others, and you 2 can have a bite to eat." I said, "Sounds good to me!" May said, "Same here!"
We entered Lara's ranch and had a big, hearty country style meal. Even the Pokemon ate good. Redfur and Fiona got along famously with Lara's Growlithe, as did the fire foxes and Inferno. May and Lara really hit it off, too, talking about Pokemon breeding, comparing their fire horses and fire dogs, and talking girl talk, and May and Lara also played with Clefairy. I began to feel left out! Lara had a video phone, so I decided this would be a good time to call Professor Oak to switch out Lapras and get Jolteon back into my party. "Why hello, Joe" Professor Oak said from his end. I replied, "Hi, Professor. We're at the Big P Pokemon Ranch." He said, "Ah, Lara Laramy's ranch! May can learn a lot about Pokemon breeding from her!" I said, "Believe me – she is! Anyway, the reason I called is I'd like to switch Lapras out again, and bring Jolteon back into my party." He said, "How did you and Lapras do in the race?" I answered, "We did pretty good, but May and Blastoise won the race. We did thwart a cheater, though, and won a special trophy for demonstrating good sportsmanship!" He said, "Well, I'm glad to hear that one of you two won. And good work on stopping that cheater. It serves him right." I then asked, "So, how about the Pokemon switch?" He answered, "That would be fine. However, before you do that, I have a favor I'd like to ask of you." I replied, "Okay, sure. What do you need?" He answered, "I have an Arcanine that I've come into possession of. I was studying him since he evolved, as part of my research on Pokemon who evolve with a fire stone. However, I'd really like for him to get some battle experience. In other words, I need someone to train him to battle, and you were the first person I thought of!" I said, "Thanks, Professor!" He replied, "I know that I'm asking a lot here – you'll have 3 fire types in your party. That's half your team." I said, "That's fine with me, Professor. You know I'm preferable to fire types! And, May can always hold one of them in her party if I need to switch out for a different type." He said, "That's true. Okay, then. I really appreciate this, Joe! It will help me a great deal in my research." Lara's phone was equipped with a Pokemon transfer unit, so I put Lapras' pokeball onto the transport pad. I said, "Thanks for helping me out with the race, Lapras! You did good", as her pokeball dematerialized. Soon, Arcanine's pokeball materialized on the transport pad. I said, "I've got the pokeball, Professor." He said, "Same here! I know you and Arcanine will get along just fine! He's very loyal, and he does know some powerful fire attacks!" I said, "Thanks, Professor, for choosing me for this." He said, "I always know I can count on you, Joe! You take good care of that Arcanine now." Just then, May entered the room. "Hello, May" Professor Oak said. May replied, "Hi, Professor. So what did I miss?" I answered, "Professor Oak wants me to train this Arcanine for him" as I held up the pokeball. "Oh, cool!" May exclaimed. Professor Oak said, "Well, good luck, you two" and hung up. I said, "Come on! Let's go outside so we can see this Arcanine!" We headed outside, where Lara already was, and she asked, "So, how is Professor Oak?" I said, "He's fine. He wants me to raise this Arcanine for him." With that, I opened the pokeball, and a large, orange, white, and black Arcanine materialized, sitting in front of us and looking at us. "He's very handsome", Lara said. May said to me, "He looks just like Marc!" I replied, "Yeah." Lara asked, "Who?" I answered, "Er… an Arcanine friend of ours." She said, "I see." I walked up to the Arcanine, and he barked a greeting. I said, "Hello." He walked up to me and began to lick my face, nearly knocking me over with his huge tongue! "Easy, big guy!" I said, as I petted his soft fur. May said, "It looks like he likes you already!" Lara said, "Arcanines are great Pokemon – and rideable, too!" May said, "Yeah – now you can give Tauros breaks once in a while, and ride Arcanine." I said, "I never thought of that. What a great idea, May!" Flamefox and Firestorm approached him, and he barked a greeting to them, as well. They each responded with a "Vul!" and a "Nine!" I then said, "Okay, Arcanine, let's see what you've got" and I climbed onto his back. He immedately began to run ahead, and I held on. Flamefox and Firestorm ran after us. May released Fierymane and also began to run after us. He was fast – not as fast as Tauros, but fast. May and Fierymane caught up with us. "How's he doing, Joe?" I answered, "Just great! He's a natural runner!" He kept galloping ahead, and leapt over logs and bushes with ease. I said, "Let's see – Arcanine, hit that dead tree with a flamethrower!" He released the stream of flames from his mouth, which struck the tree and it burst into flames. "Great job, Arcanine!" I exclaimed. He barked in reply, as he continued to run us ahead. May said, "I hope Lara doesn't mind that you did that." We ran past the Tauros corral, and my Tauros saw us. He leapt the fence, and ran alongside us. I said, "Hey, Tauros! Keep up the pace with us. I want to try something!" With that, I leapt from Arcanine to Tauros. "Yeah!" I exclaimed. May said, "Joe, you're crazy!" I rode on Tauros' back, alongside Arcanine, and May and Fierymane, along with Firestorm and Flamefox. We finally turned around and headed back to the ranch, where Lara was waiting, with her Growlithe, Ponyta, Clefairy, Redfur, Fiona, Inferno, and Amber. "Did you all have fun?" she asked. I said, "Yeah, that was great! Tauros and Arcanine are both good runners!" Just then, we heard a disturbance by the Tauros Corral. "Come on, Growlithe!" Lara shouted as she and Ponyta galloped in that direction. I followed, on Tauros, and May also followed, on Rapidash, and the rest of our Pokemon followed us, as well. When we reached the Tauros corral, we could see them running about in a frenzy – and there was a wild Nidoking running amok inside their corral! "How did that get in there?" Lara asked. I replied, "I don't know – but why are you Tauros running away? Why don't they fight it?" She answered, "These are young Tauros, who haven't been trained to battle yet! They're just following instinct!" I said, "Tauros, get in there and stop that Nidoking!" He nodded, and leapt into the corral, where he charged at the large, purple beast. Tauros hit it from behind, with his horns, knocking it forward onto it's belly. The Nidoking stood back up and tackled Tauros, knocking him to his side! Tauros jumped up and hit the Nidoking with a horn attack! It went flying up, but landed on it's feet. As Tauros charged at it again, the Nidoking grabbed Tauros by the horns and flipped him! "Tauros!" I shouted. The Nidoking jumped up to body slam Tauros, but was intercepted by Arcanine, who used a take down attack on it. The Nidoking was knocked on it's back, and Arcanine body slammed it! It whacked Arcanine with it's arm and stood back up! Nidoking came at Arcanine with a horn attack, only to be tackled and knocked over by Tauros. Then, both Tauros and Arcanine hit Nidoking with a body slam, sandwiching it in the middle! The Nidoking fell over, defeated! I tossed out a pokeball, which engulfed the Nidoking, and then the ball was transported to Professor Oak's lab. I exclaimed, "Way to go, both of you! Good teamwork!" Tauros and Arcanine looked at each other and nodded, acknowledging saving each others' butts. They seemed to have a mutual understanding between them, and I think at that minute, they became best friends. May said, "Wow, that was impressive!" Lara said, "Yeah! You're a great trainer, Joe! Thanks for saving my Tauros herd from that Nidoking." I said, "I can see that Tauros and Arcanine are going to get along just fine!"
Lara gave Tauros and Arcanine a look over before we moved on, but their wounds were mostly superficial. Lara said, "Feel free to stop by again anytime, especially for the next race! And please say hi to Trevor if you see him." I said, "We will." I rode off on Arcanine's back with Flamefox, so Tauros could have a little rest, and May rode on Fierymane's back, with Amber. Lara's Growlithe barked us a goodbye. Our next stop was Koga's gym in Fuschia City. I was looking forward to using my new Arcanine in a gym battle.