Welcome to the Ikimono League
Neko (Silver Tru-Neko)
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, never will.
--
Chapter 3 – Trials in Uma
"Rapidash! I choose you!" Laura's voice echoed over the track. In a sudden burst of flame the horse Pokémon came galloping from the door to the stables. It sailed over the fence and slid to a stop beside its trainer.
"Well, Ash, choose your Pokémon," Laura said, guiding Rapidash into the starting gate. She stood beside her Pokémon, strapping on her helmet.
Ash took a moment to think. He knew Rapidash was fast – and he meant fast. The only Pokémon he could think of for matching it was Tauros – but Tauros was tucked safely away in Professor Oak's lab. At this juncture, that choice was inaccessible.
Come on, think, Ash urged himself. His only Pokémon big enough to ride were Charizard and Lapras – and he doubted Charizard could run very far, and Lapras had, well, flippers. He'd have to save them for the flying and swimming races, respectively. So, judging by those odds, it was okay to flop the first race.
"I don't have one," Ash admitted.
Laura did a double take. "You don't have a Pokémon to race? Are you forfeiting already?"
"No!" Ash was quick to correct. "Just the first race."
Laura folded her arms. "You don't race, you're out. Right now."
Ash gulped nervously, glancing at Misty and Brock. It didn't seem he could borrow either of their Pokémon, within league regulations. On the other hand, this was a new league.
"Hurry up!"
Sweat beading on his brow, Ash mulled over his Pokémon again. Charizard and Lapras were out. Noctowl, too. Pikachu and Cyndaquil were too small. That left – Bayleef.
Gulping, Ash raised the Poké ball and flung it. "All right, Bayleef, I choose you!"
"Leef!" cried the grass Pokémon brightly, bounding to Ash's side and nuzzling his shoulder affectionately.
"Uh, right." Ash patted its head awkwardly. "We've got a race to run together. Are you up for it?"
Bayleef nodded fiercely; Ash led it to the starting gate as Laura had.
"Ready?" Laura asked.
"Wait!" Brock interrupted suddenly. "Don't you need a league official to monitor a gym match?"
Laura glanced at him, irritated. "What, do you think I'm gonna cheat?"
Brock faltered momentarily. "Well, in Kanto-"
"This isn't Kanto," she stressed acidly. "We do it differently here, as you should know by now. If you want to watch, head to the box upstairs." She inclined her head to the stands, where a windowed room topped the structure. "Everything's filmed; the officials up there oversee the whole thing."
Misty and Brock hesitated, knowing Ash needed their support.
"You won't see the next two tests if you don't," she snapped.
"Go ahead," Ash agreed. "I'm fine." The defiance in his eyes reinforced it. Brock knew he had a strategy. Nodding, he took Misty by the arm and climbed over the fence.
Ash watched as his friends weaved their way to the top of the stands, nervousness flooding him. He wasn't sure he liked this new league much.
The intercom suddenly blared. "This is a gym match between Laura and a challenger. Riders, ready yourselves." At this, Laura and Ash mounted. "On your mark. Get set. Go!"
A gunshot split the air; the gates slammed open. Rapidash was off like a shot.
"After them!" gasped Ash, straddling Bayleef's back. He clung on to its leafy neck as the Pokémon sprang forward.
Bayleef did its best to keep up. Ash could feel the Pokémon's fervent breathing, the pound of feet beneath him. Ash hung on, hopes riding on this Pokémon's spunk to get them through.
However, Bayleef was not a born racer like Rapidash. The horse-like Pokémon was a blaze of fire careening toward the finish line. Ash and Bayleef had barely touched the home stretch before the bell rang out, declaring Laura and Rapidash the winners.
Ash slowed Bayleef to a walk as they came up on the victorious trainer. Laura hopped down, gave Rapidash a pat, and smiled triumphantly at them.
"Better luck next time, huh? Start hustling, Ash, or it'll be over before you know it."
Ash glowered a moment at her before thanking Bayleef for its help. Exhausted, the Pokémon merely brushed against him before returning to its ball.
Ash retrieved another. "Now you'll see what we're made of!" he challenged. "Charizard, go!"
With a roar the fire lizard exploded from its Poké ball. Laura observed his choice.
"Well, you're catching on. I'll give you that." She flicked a ball into the air. "Fearow!" A fierce-looking bird emerged, flaring its wings. Ash remembered the bad experience he and Pikachu went through with a Fearow, not long after he had become a trainer. He shuddered involuntarily.
"Having second thoughts?' mocked Laura.
Ash turned to his loyal Pokémon. "Pikachu, do you want to stay with Misty and Brock?"
"Pika!" Pikachu shook its head, as determined as Ash to win. Ash nodded, urged on by Pikachu's support. He turned to Charizard. "All right, Charizard, we're in a race against these guys." He jerked a thumb at Fearow and Laura. "We've got to win."
Charizard spat fire.
"Trainers, ready for the second test. On your mark." Ash clambered onto Charizard's back, gripping its neck. He could see Laura mounting Fearow as easily as she had done Rapidash. He clenched his teeth.
"Get set, go!"
Charizard rose from the ground with a mighty beat of its wings. Ash felt the air vibrating around him with the force; he clung tighter as they lifted higher and higher up. He panicked a moment, not knowing their track. Then he remembered.
"Head for the lake!" he yelled. Charizard roared, glanced around, and saw the glistening body of water below. Charizard shot toward it.
Ash turned at a blur in the corner of his eye; Laura and Fearow were keeping up! The other trainer's gaze was set forward, determined. Ash urged Charizard further.
It looked like they had the advantage with Charizard's size and strength; soon, they had pulled a sizeable lead. Ash cheered.
"Almost there, Charizard! Now-" Ash paused mid-sentence as he saw a brown bird shoot under them. Fearow had entered a steep dive – headed straight for the lake!
Before Ash could speak, Charizard roared in anger and flashed downward. Wings glued to its sides, the Pokémon bore down on Fearow. Still the bird was out of reach; its form was more aerodynamic, and with its head start downward there was no way Ash could beat it.
"Nooo!" Ash yelled out in frustration as Laura landed neatly, leaping off her mount. Charizard shook the ground as it hit it moments later.
"Too bad, Ash," smirked Laura. "Two strikes. You've lost your chance. Better luck next time."
Ash jumped down, landing hard and stumbling. He said nothing, simmering with anger.
Gary was still ahead.
--
Earlier that morning, Gary had arrived at Medal gym with a couple aces up his sleeve. One: he knew the types of tests gym leader Laura set up. Two: his Pokémon were ready to face – and beat – hers.
Gary was unsurprised with the layout of the gym. After all, he had expected as much. He leaned against the fence, watching a rider walk a Ponyta through its paces on the track. After a few laps, the horse and rider paused and trotted over to where Gary stood.
"Something you want?" the rider shot at him.
She was about his age, Gary noted, with dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail and striking green eyes. She was sizing him up, just as he was doing, he realized with amusement. This league did intrigue him.
"I'm Gary Oak," he said coolly, "from Pallet. I heard this is a gym."
The girl laughed. "That it is. You're looking for the gym leader?"
Gary nodded.
"They'll be right out." With that, she urged the Ponyta away. Gary watched from the corner of his eye as she guided the Pokémon into the stables. He was still indifferent when the same girl emerged minutes later and made her way toward him.
"You're not surprised," she commented, setting her hat on the fence and vaulting over it.
Gary raised an eyebrow.
"I assume you already know what this battle entails, then," she said, smirking when he finally showed some emotion. "Three tests: a race right here, with both of us riding our Pokémon. Then a race on flying Pokémon to the lake, where finally we'll ride water Pokémon to the shore. If you win two out of three contests against me, you get the badge."
"Fine with me," said Gary, twirling a Poké ball in his palm. He already knew whom he would choose.
Laura whistled. Moments later, a Rapidash came trotting toward them.
"Let's see how cool you are after this," she muttered, leading the Rapidash toward the starting box.
Gary smirked. "Arcanine! Go!"
The Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, growling. It and Gary strode toward the starting box.
"All right, trainers! On your mark, get set, go!"
At this command, the gate was flung open; Arcanine and Rapidash surged forward. Neck-to-neck, the Pokémon charged for the first turn in the track. Gary moved Arcanine toward the inner edge of the track, knowing it would give him the advantage.
The other trainer, sensing what he was doing, urged Rapidash to do the same. The two Pokémon struggled against each other for the edge.
Gary could see the straight expanse of terrain just ahead. "Come on, Arcanine!"
Arcanine, growling, shouldered Rapidash aside and bolted ahead. The doglike Pokémon flew to the home stretch, unencumbered. Hooves galloped behind them; Laura and Rapidash were on their heels.
"Almost there," muttered Gary. "Keep going!"
He positioned Arcanine directly in front of Rapidash, cutting off any opening. Gary checked over his shoulder to see Rapidash now jump the fence! Wide-eyed, he watched the Pokémon cut across the inside field toward the finish line.
No, you don't, thought Gary, and Arcanine surged forward.
Running head-to-head on opposite sides of the fence, the trainers and their Pokémon bore down on the finish. Gary knew Rapidash needed to get back on the track, so he kept Arcanine next to the fence to block it.
Suddenly, Rapidash reared up and sailed over their heads in a mighty leap. A moment passed in the Pokémon's shadow, Gary's heart thumping, mind racing. This trainer… she would do anything to win!
"Arcanine! Body slam!" he yelled, an idea coming to him. Just as Rapidash landed, Arcanine barrelled into it. The Pokémon lost its balance, teetering for a second. It was the chance Gary needed.
"Go!"
Arcanine bolted ahead, the finish looming closer and closer. Behind him, Gary heard Laura urging Rapidash back into the race. But already it was too late; Arcanine bounded over the finish line and a bell sang out.
"The challenger has won the first match!" blared the intercom.
Laura and Rapidash trotted toward them; oddly, the trainer was smiling. "Finally, a worthy challenger!"
Gary smirked. "Told you." He slipped off Arcanine's back, pausing to give the loyal Pokémon a pat. "Good work, boy."
Arcanine let out a rumbling purr before retreating to the welcome shelter of its Poké ball. Gary smiled to himself, placing the ball back on his belt. This new league was certainly interesting.
When he turned back to Laura, she already had a Poké ball in her hand. "Time to fly. This should be fun! Fearow, go!"
A raptor-like Pokémon burst from the ball, cawing loudly. It settled on the ground beside its tamer, wings folded, beady eyes observing Gary.
Gary made his choice: "Pidgeot!"
The second bird made its appearance, flaring huge wings. Gary and Laura faced off with their Pokémon by their sides.
"The trainers have chosen Fearow and Pidgeot for the second match: on your mark, get set, go!"
To be continued...
--
Please review!