DarkFoxKit: Alright, we have another chapter for you today, and it's the racing one! Bet ya'll are excited for this!
Key2DestNE: No kidding- it's weird how much you all wanted this chapter to go up… *mumbles*
DarkFoxKit: Ash riding on a Ponyta, this should be interesting. Storm will actually be on Ash's shoulder rather on his Squirtle like in the anime.
Key2DestNE: Yeah- though I still wish we had gone with the Pokemon riding… *pouts* It would've been interesting to see Storm riding another Pokemon, and how the other racers would react.
DarkFoxKit: We've got plenty of action already… Okay, enough stalling, let's get to it! And you all know we don't own Pokemon. Oh and I feel I should just go out and say it if it's not obvious enough; this is NOT Team Aqua's leader Archie, okay? It is a completely different Archie altogether, named after a friend of mine who calls himself Fallingarcher, Archie was just an easier way of calling him.
Chapter 20: The Grand Prix of Chaos
The next morning… it was still early and dark. Ash, Storm, Ponyta and Laura were all still asleep, but Blue was awake as he looked out the window, a lot of things going through the boy's mind.
He wasn't the only one who was up, though- Nya padded over to him, still a Meowth, and leaped up next to him, beginning to gently rub her head against his stomach. "Hey… what's wrong? You look like you're having something big to think about…" It was obvious she was half speaking to him, half showing what she was asking through her body language.
Blue looked over to her, surprised that the Meowth was awake already. He gave her a gentle rub on her head, sighing as he began to speak softly. "I just suddenly feel like a huge weight's been dumped on me… How do I know which path is the right one?"
Nya sighed, giving him a serious look. "Well, I don't know what it is you're thinking of, Blue… But whatever it is, I know you'll make the right choice- just follow your heart and you'll end up on the side you truly want to be on." Then she hopped off the windowsill.
"Where are you going?" Blue asked curiously when he saw her heading out the door.
"For a nice stroll. I like the sunrise." Nya answered simply as she walked out, closing the door with a smart kick.
Blue sighed as he began thinking to himself again, not noticing the Meowth turning into the legendary Mew. The pink cat flew up and around the ranch, and she gave a small giggle at some of the newly hatched Pokemon in the area as they were trying to learn how to walk and the humans were giving them treats for succeeding. "Oh, those humans will spoil them rotten! But at least they're taking good care of them…"
Then a voice spoke up from behind her, one that made her stop cold. "Unlike YOU, you mean?"
Mew turned around quickly and frowned, seeing a young and small Zekrom floating behind her. The Zekrom was bigger than her since she was naturally a small Pokemon, but he was smaller than a Tauros, indicating he's young but not a very young child. The final thing that caught her attention, though, was the green electricity coursing through the Zekrom's body. "... What do you want now, Archie? You've already proven how brutal you can be before. And I didn't come here to start trouble- I was only taking a morning stroll, that's all."
The Zekrom, apparently Archie, gave her a cool glare as he flew up next to her. "Which is precisely why I'm not going to start attacking now… The two of us are in a peace treaty for now, so I'm not here to be foolish- I'm simply making observations. After all, you still play your dangerous Mew 'Games' even though your child doesn't even have any kind of power to keep himself safe, what kind of Memma does that?"
"The kind who wants to prepare her child, not to straight-up give him the power. Your Memma, and just about every other Legendary Memma, transforms their human child into hybrids. While I'm no longer against it, I'm still uneasy with it, and I want to make sure my own child earns his powers, not just be given to him." Mew said as she crossed her arms, giving him a glare of her own.
Archie chuckled at that, giving a small nod of understanding. "I suppose that makes sense… You may be dangerous, but at least you know better than to simply give him that power- I have to give you credit, you're a better Memma than our own parents in our regard." With that, he began to fly, gesturing her to follow. "Come on- you wanted to have a morning stroll, so don't just hover in one place."
Mew looked at Archie cautiously- the two aren't exactly enemies but they're not on friendly terms either. They shared an uneasy alliance, Archie being in the Elite Rockets to try and find out what their plans are for her, but he's still a bit… rough around the edges with her, especially since it was so easy to fall under the same trap as the rest of the Elite Rockets in believing that she's a real monster. "... Is your half-sister doing any better?"
"..." Archie hesitated, glancing away with a sigh as they flew through the sky. "She's been… better, I have to admit that, but she's also been worse. Similar to your own child- he seems to get the basics of Pokemon Training and is powerful in his own league, but he still has a long way to go if he wants to earn his position, as you put it."
"I'm not looking for his skills as a Pokemon Trainer, Archie- I'm looking for his mind, heart and soul." Mew said softly, looking away sadly. "I couldn't just simply pick any human, after all… being a Mew isn't easy. Arceus is doing a great job as the Guardian of the Earth, but he's starting to let all that power go to his head. I don't want the same thing happen to my child."
The shiny Zekrom nodded sagely, looking at her as they flew above the barn. "I can understand that- whenever one of my younger Pokemon get out of line, my older Pokemon teach them that no matter how strong they are, there can and always is a stronger 'Mon above them… And being a Mew may prevent that lesson. Still… you are being harsh with him from time to time, you must have realized that."
"Of course I have, I'm not blind. But you must understand… being a Mew, you have to expect the worst. Look at where I am now… a war is about to break between Legendaries because of something I HAD to do. I don't want to be too harsh on Ash, but I need to do what I can to prepare him for the hardships ahead as my future heir. I, of all Pokemon, know how cruel the world can be." Mew said sadly as she mindlessly watched some early risers feeding their Pokemon.
Archie was silent for a moment before nudging her gently. "Hey… cheer up- today is going to be exciting for you, right?" He couldn't help but give her a small smirk, shrugging. "After all, not only is the race going on… but little Bluey is going to have a lot to think about, too!"
"... You've told him, didn't you? I've read what was going on in his mind. Why did you do that anyway?" Mew only reads minds of hybrids when she feels it's necessary, though she reads human minds purely for fun.
Archie shook his head, still smirking in amusement. "I've sensed something about the boy… call it my connection with younger Pokemon- you'll learn about it sooner or later, Mew. Besides, if he does join us, I'll be sure to keep him with me most of the time, to keep him from becoming too jaded."
"If you're sure- I trust your judgement Archie, you've never let me down before. But… out of curiosity… why ARE you in this race? Is this a mission for the Elite Rockets? I mean… it would make sense since there's a lot of rare Pokemon here." the pink cat asked as they flew over the racing tracks.
Archie hesitated, frowning to himself before shrugging. "Well, I shouldn't be telling you this… but it's both a double mission for the Elite Rockets and, as I told your child, a personal mission. My Blitzle does need some speed training, after all- and when better than during a race?"
"That's true." Mew chuckled a little, nodding in amusement. "So I'm going to take it you and the other members will be participating?"
"Well… Myself, Dustin and Matt are. Jayden's still in Cinnabar Island, and our Leader isn't looking too good right now." Archie answered, giving a small frown as he mentioned the leader.
"... Is she getting any proper rest at all?" Mew frowned, looking a little worried herself.
"Not as much as she should be- she is a narcolept, as you know, so she's only sleeping when she passes out." Archie sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Dustin's the one most affected by it… Matt, as you know, is unaffected by everything, and I don't believe Jayden knows just yet- but even without them, he'd probably still be the worst off due to dealing with the stress of being temporary leader of the Elite Rockets on top of worrying for our Leader."
"I wish there was something I can do… but it's because of me that she's like that. I just hope Ash might be the answer she's looking for…" Mew sighed before she stopped and looked down at Laura's ranch. "Well, I'd better get back before the Dodrio crows and Ashy worries about me. Good luck with your mission, your leader and your half sister."
"Yeah… you too, Mew- good luck with your child and the chaos that may be entering your life soon." Archie responded, both of them returning to their slightly cold attitudes as they both turned and left, the true Legendary returning to the ranch as the hybrid returned to the hotel.
Ash, meanwhile, was having a strange dream… He was dreaming he was in the Hoenn region on a tropical vacation, and he met up with Blue, who looked a lot happier, and Blue suddenly morphed into a Latios. The Latios suddenly Mega Evolved into a Mega Latios and Ash jumped on his back, the two flying around the Hoenn region before he woke up. "Whoa… what a weird dream…"
Blue blinked, turning and glancing back at Ash curiously. "A weird dream? ...What was it about?" Despite the conflicting thoughts still fighting in his head, the boy showed no signs of it, leaning against the windowsill like a slight bad boy.
"O-oh, it wasn't anything, really!" Ash wasn't sure if he should tell Blue that he dream him being a Latios- that'd be awkward.
"Oh come on, now you've made me curious." Blue chuckled, crossing his arms and giving the younger boy a look. "What was it about? Did it involve me or something?"
Ash gulped, nearly growing pale, but he quickly reigned in his worry, giving a sheepish smile. "W-well, it's a bit embarrassing, so just forget about it, okay Blue? Don't worry about it…"
"Hey… be quiet. I'm still trying to sleep." The Pikachu groaned from the bed, rolling over and giving them a sleepy glare.
"Rise and shine!" Laura suddenly yelled, opening the door. "It's breakfast time! After that, we better head on to the stadium where the race will be held!"
The poor sleepy Pikachu glared at Laura, groaning, while Ash sat up in his bed. "Wow, already? Huh- we'll be right down, Laura!" He then turned around and frowned, beginning to look around. "... Where's Me- Nya?"
As if on cue, the Meowth came walking back, smiling at him. "Breakfast smells goooood, huh Ashy~?" She licked her lips, her stomach growling. "Man, I'm starving- wake up Stormy, or else you're gonna miss the ketchup~"
"Ugh… Go away, I wanna sleep…" The Pikachu rolled over again, before Nya began tugging on his tail playfully! "H-hey, stop it you crazy cat!"
Breakfast was pretty fun and chaotic- Nya kept throwing her pancakes at Storm's face, who in turn squirted his ketchup bottle at her face too! Ash and Blue had to get the two under control before they started an all out food fight! But Laura was enjoying it, it was rather amusing.
Blue grumbled, his face covered with some ketchup that Storm had accidentally squirted at him. "Ugh… these two are a force of nature if I've ever seen one…" He began wiping at his face with a napkin offered by Laura, muttering the whole time.
"I'm sorry about the mess, Laura." Ash sighed.
"It's alright, Ash. It made a mess but it really livens up around here." Laura smiled. "It's usually quiet when it was just me."
"What about your family? I mean don't they come over?" Ash asked, Laura looked old enough to possibly be an adult and live alone, but he wondered if she had her family here.
"My family are always mighty busy around here. They help take care of the Pokemon that live close to the border, so I don't see them often except for special occasions." Laura said with a small sad tone in her voice.
"Sounds like they're very dedicated to taking care of the Pokemon." Blue said with a slight stretch. "Which is admirable, but I still think these Pokemon could take care of themselves."
"That's true, but with poachers always on the hunt for rare Pokemon and Pokemon Trainers capturing them, we figured it's important to make a ranch to raise Pokemon in their natural habitat." Laura explained. "Of course, we have to do that while still taking care of them at the same time."
"And your family owns this ranch, right? But what will happen if someone else owns it?" Ash asked, frowning a bit.
The rancher hesitated at that before sighing. "...Well… I'm not sure- it depends on the person who owns the ranch, I suppose. But if someone greedy owns it…" She trailed off, letting the two Trainers and their Pokemon fill in the blank.
"...I see." Blue frowned a bit, sitting up more after finally getting all the ketchup off him. "So that's why this race is so important to you…"
"Yeah- we want to take care of the Pokemon and be able to provide for them and the workers, but if someone else owns it then all the land including the Pokemon will belong to them, and that would be disastrous!" Laura said with a small groan, rubbing her forehead with one hand.
"What I don't understand is why have a race to determine who gets the ranch?" Storm asked, frowning curiously.
"It's supposed to show whoever takes the most care of their Pokemon and skills is the most fitting to run the ranch." Nya answered, shrugging. "Honestly though, it's not as fair as other challenges- look at what happened to Laura, after all!"
Blue frowned in thought before nodding to himself. "...Well, Ash should be able to win that race- he's a pain at times… but he knows what he's doing when it comes to tough situations." He gave a small smirk to said boy, ruffling his hair. "Besides, if he doesn't I'll just have to help him in any way I can!"
"H-hey! Ponyta and I are in sync now! I'm sure we have a decent chance at winning!" Ash pouted before he perked up, giving a sheepish grin. "But in any case, I won't lie when I say I'm nervous, I've never been in a Grand Prix before."
"Don't think about it too much Ash, just go out there and try to have fun." Laura said to him.
Ash nodded, but thought to himself, I'd have more fun if your job and all the Pokemon here weren't at stake…
Around 12 in the afternoon, Ash, Laura and Blue made their way to the tracks, and to their shock, the place was packed out! Nya stayed in Ash's packback, not wanting one of the Elites to spot her, and Storm was on Ash's shoulder.
"You know, you could just stay in the audience and watch, Storm." Ash said to his Pikachu buddy as he put on the saddle on Ponyta.
The yellow mouse shook his head, chuckling. "Heh- no way, I'm absolutely coming with you Ash! If you need help, then I can't be in the stands, now can I? I don't trust that Archie guy, despite giving me that magnet something seems off about him- not to mention that 'Matt' boy was odd too…"
"I agree, there's something unusual about them, and they both had that strong aura that A.J. had." Ash said, thinking back to those two. "They almost reminded me of Dustin…" He cringed at that, remembering the brutal Trainer with the Dewott.
"Who are these people? Do they trouble you, Ash?" Ponyta asked, looking up at the Trainer as he began to mount her.
The raven-haired boy sweatdropped, smiling sheepishly. "Er… you could say that, yeah… They're… not the nicest of people, to be sure." He looked around again, he could almost swear he felt like someone was glaring at him at that very moment…
As the racers began getting all their Pokemon to the starting line, Blue stood up, making the rancher girl next to him look at the boy curiously. "I have to go check on something, Laura, I'll be back soon."
"Well hurry up, the race is about to begin!" Laura said as Blue went away from the stands.
Blue glared as he looked around, muttering under his breath, "I know someone's here…" He looked around a corner before narrowing his eyes. "...Alright, come on out- I know you're there!"
The back wall of the barn was what Blue was glaring at… that is, until the air began to shimmer and a figure began to appear. When the air cleared, a certain Trainer was there, giving an irritated glare right back. "...Hmph- so you're the one Archie was talking about, I see. Blue, was it?"
Blue looked at the Trainer… It was Dustin- he remembered that guy when he invaded Koga's Gym and took his badge. "You! Why are you here? Why did you take Koga's badge? What purpose did you have!?"
The Elite Rocket tsked in annoyance, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "I have no reason to tell you that… not unless you decide to take Archie's offer. As for why I'm here…" His eye twitched, remembering exactly why he was here in the first place. "...Let's just say another member stole my Pokemon for this race, and I'm making sure he doesn't hurt him."
"Another member? … Not a very organized Organization if you asked me." Blue frowned, still glaring at the other boy. "Why are your members here anyway? To take over the ranch and use their Pokemon for your own uses?" Blue clenched his fist at that, getting into a slightly threatening position. "I heard from one of your own that you are looking for Mew, but I still don't know all the details."
Despite Blue's body language and words, Dustin just smirked, seeming at the very least a bit calmer. "Heh… we're not like normal Rockets, Bluey boy. We don't just tell all our secrets to anybody who wants to join… they actually have to join us- don't want any sensitive info getting out after all, am I right?" Then he shook his head, growing serious. "As for why we're here… no, it isn't to take over the ranch. We're not like normal Rocket members, like I said- we catch Pokemon the right way or we let them join us if they wish, and train them from there."
"You know, you're very different from the other Team Rocket grunts I've seen… Your Pokemon seem to like you, and rather than see you as their Masters, they see you as their friends or family. How could you guys be a part of Team Rocket if you're so different from them?" Blue asked curiously but still kept his guard up.
Dustin shrugged, closing one eye but keeping the other focused on the boy in front of him. "Hmph… simple- we made Team Rocket. Giovanni just joined in and became the frontman… he joined us because he wanted our power, just like the other Gym Leaders you fought a year ago."
"Then I don't understand why you allow Giovanni to operate like the way he does- he enslaves the Pokemon, not befriend them like you do. He sells them and steals the rare ones for a living, why would you allow that?" Blue asked, still glaring at him.
Dustin rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Simple- he makes the money and we use it to push our real agenda, nothing more, nothing less. We don't care how he makes it, as long as he doesn't try to turn against us or use one of our Pokemon he can do as he wishes."
Blue glared right back, snapping at Dustin, "And you're willing to let many Pokemon and people alike to suffer just for that? I don't know what it is you're trying to do with Mew, but your methods are questionable at best, and masterminded criminals at worst. Tell me, why would I join people like you?"
Dustin sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation. "Troublesome Archie…" he muttered to himself. Leaving ME to do the cleanup while you offer the position of Rocket Elite to anybody that is remotely close to us… "...You don't have to if you don't want to- but we're doing this for the right reason, even if you don't think our methods are moral."
Meanwhile, Ash got Ponyta to the starting line, and beside him were a lot of other Pokemon too with people riding on top or behind them. Ash saw some interesting choices, though- there were big ones like Ryhorn and Onix, there were smaller ones like Nidorina and Tauros, there was even someone on an Electrode… now THAT would be an interesting… ride. And then there's Dario, the Dodrio Trainer, riding on his, what else? Dodrio. The boy was smirking cockily, and it drove Ash nuts.
"I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face." Ash grumbled under his breath, enough for Storm to hear it.
Storm's cheeks sparked, and he nodded. "Yeah, me too, I saw one of his bird's head giving me the raspberry! If they try to eat me just because I'm a mouse, they have another thing coming!"
"Focus on the race, you two." Ponyta reminded them, whinnying slightly. "We can do this- we just have to focus on our own path instead of noticing what the others are doing!"
The announcer then spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "ALRIGHT! RACERS READY!" All the Pokemon got into position, ready to take off as soon as the light turned green, Ash gripped onto Ponyta's reins tightly, sweating a bit- he noticed Archie not too far from him, with the Pichu on his shoulder. He was riding on his Blitzle, a lot of people were staring at it since it's not a Pokemon you'd see in Kanto. And then there's Matt, with his shiny Minccino on his shoulder, riding on an Arcanine. "READY… GO!"
When the announcer fired off a blank shot as soon as the light turned green to start the race, everybody shot forwards! ...Well… everybody except for the person on the Electrode, that is- they just rocketed straight up into the air when their white and red ball exploded at the starting line.
"OOOH! AND THE ELECTRODE JUST SELF-DESTRUCTED AT THE START OF THE RACE, WHAT AN UNFORTUNATE WAY TO START!" The announcer spoke as the camera focused on the rest of the racers.
Ash was in the middle of the pack- he didn't like how boxed in he was since all the other Pokemon were either too big to pass or the others would try to push him out of their way, they were not allowed to attack or battle each other during the race or they'd be disqualified. "Come on Ponyta, we have to find a way out of this crowd so we can pass them!"
The fire horse nodded before Storm blinked, noticing a fiery tunnel off to the right! "Hey, Ash- to the right! I think there's a shortcut for people whose Pokemon are unaffected by flames!"
"No, Laura and I have been on this race track before- that's blocked off, if we go there we'd be disqualified. They block off certain pathways or it's deemed as cheating." Ponyta explained.
"Then I guess we'd better make our own path." Ash said as he turned Ponyta to the right, trying to squeeze in between a Tauros and a Poliwhirl. Then he blinked, noticing a few people going down that fiery path! "Huh? What in the-"
"OOH! AND THE THREE RACERS THAT ENTERED THE FIERY PATH JUST FELL DOWN A PIT FALL! LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE OUT OF THERE!" they heard the announcer say across the race track.
"Newbies, they would take that path." Ponyta said with a slight huff. "There are no short cuts in life, or in this race."
By this point, about 20 racers were left, as Dario managed to sneakily trip another racer's Pokemon and make them fall to the back of the pack and further! Ash's eyes widened in shock, seeing this. "Wha- how did nobody notice that!?" He glared at the Dodrio-riding boy, hating him more and more.
"Forget about him, we need to focus on the track Ash! Dario will do anything to win, anything." The fire horse said to her current rider.
"YAHOOO!" Ash yelped when he saw a huge shadow jumping over them as well as the rest of the pack, and it turned out to be Matt on the Arcanine! The Arcanine managed to jump over half of the pack, getting close to the front!
"Whoa! That guy is nuts!" Ash yelled, ducking to avoid the huge dog's tail as it landed in front of them.
"NO KIDDING! I thought that Arcanine was going to Body Slam us!" Storm said, shaking himself.
"Yeah, that's Matt alright, the crazy one of my little band of friends." Ash then heard Archie's voice from beside him, and his eyes widened in shock. Turning, he saw Archie on his Blitzle right beside them, the Pichu on his shoulder waving to them. "Yo- what's up?"
Ash yelped, barely staying on top of Ponyta. "W-wait, you mean to tell me that's NORMAL for him!?"
Archie nodded, keeping his eyes focused on what was ahead of him. "Yep, that's precisely what I'm saying- he's powerful, but he prefers to do things in an unorthodox way most of the time. Don't underestimate him in this race- just because he can't have that Arcanine attack you doesn't mean he won't find a way to speed ahead of everyone else and leave them eating his dust."
"But we're boxed in! We can't get over like this!" Ash gritted his teeth, ducking under a Tauros's tail whipping violently.
"Then you better be creative and think of a way, that's how you win." Archie winked at him mischievously, a twinkle in his eye.
"Creative? Ponyta may be a good jumper, but she can't jump over all these Pokemon like that Arcanine can, and I'm not crazy like Matt is!" Ash shouted.
"Then find a way that works for you!" Archie said, that smile never leaving his face before he leaned closer to his Blitzle. "Well, anyways, I'd better catch up to him- good luck trying to reach us, Ash! You're gonna need it!" With that, his Blitzle began crackling with energy before it sped away, almost as fast as a Pidgeot in the air!
"Wait… did his Blitzle just used Spark to get ahead?" Ash said to himself. "So we can still use attacks, just as long as we don't aim it at the competition?"
"Well I guess, I mean we've never done it like that before." Ponyta said, tossing her head in her best equivalent of a shrug.
Ash frowned thoughtfully before his eyes lit up, getting an idea. "Then let's do it, it might be the only way to get out of this box! Alright, use Flame Wheel Ponyta- we're getting out of this squashed area!"
The fire horse whinnied in understanding before she began to cover both herself and Ash in flames, the heat pushing away everyone else and allowing both of them to push forwards a bit. Unfortunately, the heat didn't affect all of the Pokemon, and soon the three of them were behind a couple of Rhyhorn, unable to run past them.
"We're getting there, at least some of the Pokemon backed off." Ash said with a small grin.
"That was crazy! I've never been inside a FLAME before!" Storm shouted, sounding excited.
"There's gotta be a way to get past the Rock types…" Ash said to himself, trying to think. "Uh… hmm… maybe we can…" He frowned thoughtfully, looking around for some creative way to use the powers of the flaming horse he rode, before he nearly facepalmed. "Use Quick Attack- it can help you get a bit faster!"
Ponyta gave a whinny in response as she sped across the the track with a silver streak behind her, but she was still having trouble getting passed the two big Rock types that wouldn't let her pass. "Going faster won't help if we can't get past them!" she cried out, the Rhydon nearly shoving her out of the way before she quickly pulled back, right behind the big creature.
Ash gritted his teeth, mentally going through all the moves a Ponyta might know… before one popped up into his head. "Hang on- do you know Sunny Day?"
"U-uh…" Ponyta blinked at that, looking at the boy on her back in surprise. "I do, but why-"
"Just trust me on this! Use it!" Ash quickly said. Quickly using Sunny Day, Ponyta's flames became bright all of a sudden, and the clouds in the sky began to clear as the atmosphere suddenly got hotter.
"Oooh, what's this? The sunlight suddenly turned harsh! How will this affect the other racers?" The announcer shouted in anticipation.
Ash was having a hard time seeing anything, the sunlight was very bright on the track, but he did notice the other riders having a hard time seeing unless they were wearing sunglasses, which some of them were. They were also very hot- one could literally just feel all that sweat, and the Pokemon around them looked tired from the sudden heat wave… except for Ponyta, that is. "Now use Flame Wheel!"
With Ponyta's Flame Wheel heated up with Sunny Day, all the Pokemon around them quickly had to move before they get burned- even the two bulky Rock types ahead had to make a path, they were already being boiled alive! Ash gave a smirk as Ponyta ran past them.
"Whoa! That was awesome!" Storm cheered from Ash's shoulder as they were slowly getting ahead of the pack.
"Uh-oh, looks like the easy part is ending soon." Ponyta suddenly said with a grim whinny, confusing both racers on her back.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash frowned, not liking that. "Why'd you say the easy part is ending soon?"
"This part of the track is pretty straight forward… but now we're coming across the lake." The fire horse answered. "For the Water types, this is where they shine… but we're going to have a tougher time- I am a Fire type, after all."
"Then how do we get across?" Ash asked, he could already see the lake in the horizon.
"There are some stepping stones there meant for other Pokemon, we can use that to get across, but one wrong move and we'll fall in." Ponyta explained.
Ash frowned at that as he looked ahead, seeing Dario, Matt and Archie way ahead of him- only a few others were this far from the cluttered pack back there, and he had to do his best to catch up. "Okay then…" He gritted his teeth, leaning down closer to the flaming pony he was riding. "Let's do this!"
Ash saw Dario's Dodrio easily jumping from stone to stone. Matt's Arcanine easily leaped almost half way across the lake before landing on a stone and doing the same thing again. Archie's Blitzle was also easily skipping across the rocks, using it's Spark to stay speedy. Thankfully, Ponyta seemed to have the same skills as Archie's Blitzle as she skipped from rock to rock without much sweat. Ash could also see the Water types simply swimming across, but the bulky Rock types… they had to stay behind- they just couldn't move without sinking like a stone.
Meanwhile, back at the starting line… Blue and Dustin were both watching the race, the two of them occasionally giving the other suspicious glances.
"... Why aren't you out there racing with them?" Blue finally asked, turning to Dustin and giving him a look. "I'd think that the del facto leader of your group would be leading the charge out there, not sitting here in the sidelines."
The boy's eye twitched, and he grumbled, crossing his arms irritably. "Matt is why I'm here- he took the Pokemon I was going to use in the race… I guess it's not that big a deal, but still, he could have used his own Pokemon instead of my Arcanine!"
"So why doesn't he?" Blue asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Probably because the idiot refuses to evolve his Pokemon, so they're all too small for him to ride on." he answered with a grumble.
"I take it you two don't get along…" Blue then noticed some people in the shadows of the race tracks were waiting for something, and he blinked. "... What's with those people in the shadows? They seem awfully suspicious to me."
"Heh… sabatogers. Poor Dario can't win the race on his own, so he hired some of the lower grunts of Team Rocket desperate enough for money to do his dirty work, make sure he wins." Dustin said as if it was a funny thing. He shrugged, giving a small smirk. "I wonder how the other racers are going to handle it…"
Blue glared and crossed his arms, snapping, "And you're letting this go? This is cheating, in a big race for the ranch- no matter what, it is illegal!"
Despite Blue's anger, the Rocket Elite shrugged again, stifling a yawn. "Yeah… so? We're not responsible for the acts of our grunts- not when we're this high up the food chain. Sure, this is illegal… but you can't prove I knew anything about it beforehand or had any hand in setting it up- so until you do, don't throw accusations where they don't belong."
"I believe my accusations are perfectly valid." Blue hissed. "You say you're not responsible for the action of YOUR grunts because you're so high up? No, that's exactly when you ARE responsible for them- because you're so high up. You're their authority, their 'mentor', their teacher in elementary school if you will, you're responsible for their actions and even if you didn't know what they were doing beforehand, you know NOW, and by letting this go you're allowing them to do what they want."
Dustin merely shrugged again, though, infuriating Blue even more. "Not really… Giovanni is their authority- as far as they know, we're simply more powerful grunts who work in the shadows, if they know of us at all." Then he gave the boy a small smirk. "Besides… what can I do by this point? The race has already begun, and I doubt anybody would listen to a kid, a bystander no less, saying it's been sabotaged… Now the racers, however, they might be able to handle those grunts~"
Blue gave a glare at Dustin, but Dustin just gave a challenging smirk back. The two then quickly looked away from and back at the race, Blue silently hoping Ash will be able to catch up- Dario may be cheating but his Dodrio is fast in its own right. Archie and Matt, however, they may be the real challenge for Ash and Ponyta… there was just something… unusual and powerful about them that made Blue uneasy, and same with Dustin who's standing next to him. They were all keeping a big secret, and Blue was the only one in that stand who had an inkling of it.
Back in the race, Ponyta finally made it across the lake, and Ash was thankful they didn't slip and fall in, that would've been bad. "Looks like we're doing a good job at catching up, those stepping stones slowed down a lot of racers."
"Well, everyone except those three- they're like masters of the track." The Pikachu pointed out, sounding rather irritated.
Ponyta nodded, frowning in slight irritation herself. "Dario is a good racer on his own, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew every trick to this raceway… Speaking of which, the next part is a bit different- you two had better be ready for a bumpy ride!"
"What do you mean it's different?" Ash asked, blinking in surprise. "What do we have to do this time?"
"Um… don't you mean uphill ride?" Storm asked when he pointed a hill up ahead, seeing Dario, Matt and Archie already half-way to the top.
"Oh boy…" Ash sighed, knowing this might be a bit more painful.
As Ponyta was running up the hill, Ash could see that Archie got his Blitzle to used Charge, it was building up power to help keep it from getting too tired. Matt had the Arcanine bouncing on his paws… and for some reason it was working. Dodrio was just straight up running. Those three were like a pack of elite racers on their own, Ash and Ponyta were like the loners here trying to catch up to them while the rest were still back there. "There's gotta be a way to go up this hill without exerting too much energy, Archie's got the right idea… I don't know how Matt's doing it, though."
Storm frowned before his eyes widened, realizing something. "Bounce… Matt is getting his Arcanine to bounce! As hard as it is to believe, bouncing takes the pressure off the feet while climbing a hill, making it easier to climb without using too much energy to-"
"Wait… bounce… Can you use the move Bounce, Ponyta?" Ash asked suddenly, getting an idea.
"Hmm?" The pony blinked in surprise before nodding. "I do- my Memma taught me, why do you ask?"
"We may be able to catch up to them yet." Ash said with a smile. Kinda wish I asked that sooner, maybe I could've gotten Ponyta to jump over that pack as Matt did. "Alright, use Bounce!"
Ponyta's hooves suddenly hit the rocky ground so hard it left a dent as she rocketed towards the sky! Ash and Storm had to hang on tightly or they'd fall to a painful death! "That's it!" Ponyta soon fell back towards the ground, the whole thing was exhilarating! They made it to the top in record time and as soon as Ponyta's hooves landed, she took off down the hill! They were right on the three racer's tail now! Literally- Ponyta could bite the Arcanine's tail from back there! "Great job, Ponyta!"
"WHAT A BOUNCE! Ash and Ponyta had caught up with the other racers in the league, it's anyone's game at this point! Can he keep up?" The announcer shouted hyperly.
Dario and Matt's eyes widened in shock, turning to look back at the racer who almost literally came out of nowhere, but Archie just gave the younger boy a welcome grin. "Hey there, welcome to the big boys Ash! But now the question is, can you keep up?"
"I think the real question is; can I get past you?" Ash said with his own grin, Storm grinning as well. Archie's Pichu mimicked the same smirk as Storm, it was almost like these two were brothers.
Archie laughed at that as Dario quickly refocused on the race, Matt still staring in disbelief. "We'll see about that, Ash!" With that, Blitzle began to speed up a little more, just enough to push him ahead by a few inches as his body became engulfed by flames. Ash hissed as he realized the Bliztle was using Flame Charge to gain speed.
"How did you get so close!?" Dario snapped angrily. "Go faster, Dodrio!" The 3-headed bird crowed, quickly speeding up to catch up to Blitzle.
"W-wha?" Matt blinked before he quickly shook his head, grinning. "Not bad- looks like you're not being so boring now, derpy boy!" Ash's eye twitched at that, but other than that he didn't respond. "Let's see what you've got! Come on, Arcanine- let's rooooooll!"
The big fire dog gave a howl as it used Extremespeed to catch up with the other two, leaving Ash, Storm and Ponyta a few inches behind once more.
"Uh-oh, it looks like Ash and Ponta are starting to fall behind again, will they be able to catch back up before the end of the track?" The announcer spoke with anticipation again.
The raven-haired boy frowned in thought, looking around. "There's not much else we can do… for now though, use Quick Attack to speed up Ponyta!"
Ponyta sped down the hill, leaving behind the silvery trail once more. Storm clutched onto Ash's hat tightly so the boy wouldn't lose his hat with this insane speed boost. With Ponyta using Quick Attack, she managed to catch up to them again, this time right in the middle instead of being a couple of meters behind them. Ash and Ponyta were now right between Matt and Archie, Dario being just a few meters ahead.
"Oh! The rest of the racers had just been about to catch up, but they're falling down into mysterious pitfalls in the track- what is going on?" They heard the announcer say in surprise. Ash frowned at this, but Dario gave a hidden smirk.
"Yo Ash, you're doing a great job keeping up with the big boys, not bad for your first race." Archie spoke up from beside him.
"Yeah, well, it's to help Laura and the Pokemon of this ranch, so I can't afford to lose." Ash answered back.
Then Storm growled at the shiny Minccino on Matt's shoulder on the other side of them, it was making faces at him. "Stop that, you little pink furball!" he growled out, his cheeks sparking angrily. "You're not funny!"
"Your FACE is not funny!" the Minccino snapped back, sticking it's tongue out and pulling one of it's eyelids down. "Nyah nyah, you can't catch us~!"
"I'll show you what's FUNNY!" Storm snapped, his cheeks sparking more.
"Storm, stop it! If you shock anyone, we'll lose for sure!" Ash scolded, giving his Pikachu a warning look, or he would if he wasn't trying to keep an eye on the track.
"I-I know that, I wasn't going to shock him!" Storm pouted. "I was just trying to scare him a bit, that's all…"
Ash raised an eyebrow skeptically at that, but before he could say anything to the contrary, everyone suddenly heard the announcer cry out, "It's all up to these four racers in the front- now it's time for one more trial! Will they be able to make it!?"
"What happened to the other racers?" Ash asked, blinking in confusion.
"Must've gotten sabotaged back there." Archie said as if it was no big deal, shrugging.
"SABOTAGED!?" Ash yelled. "Isn't that a BAD thing? How can you be so calm!?"
"Staying calm will help you win the race, duh." Matt said from the other side as if it was common knowledge.
"Heads up Ash, there's something else we have to do up ahead." Ponyta spoke up.
"And now the Pokemon will choose which food to eat- they have to eat everything on the tray before moving on or they'll be disqualified! Better eat quick!" Ash heard the announcer say.
"Wait, EAT? As in real food?" Storm spoke up curiously, blinking in confusion.
"I've been saving my stomach for this moment!" Pichu said from beside Archie's shoulder, licking his lips.
"Yay! Finally some grub!" the reddish pink Minccino said as he drooled and rubbed his paws together.
Archie gave both tiny Pokemon a small glare, though. "No, you two don't get to eat- our riding Pokemon do!" he gently admonished them. "If you wanted to eat beforehand, you should have instead of saving your stomachs for this!"
Ponyta chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Actually it's fine if they eat. They allow the riders or their Pokemon to help out if they choose to."
"Oh really? Great, I get breakfast AND brunch!" Storm smiled excitedly, licking his lips.
Ash blinked as well before he noticed the Dodrio's three heads beginning to fight over their plate of food. He raised an eyebrow before grinning in amusement. "Alright then, let's dig in!"
Ponyta slide down the rest of the way and onto a tray of food, and she began quickly chowing down. Ash blinked, seeing these were all Poke Chow, but each one must have different flavors if the Pokemon are allowed to choose what they want. Storm jumped down and tasted it before he smiled and began eating.
Ash looked around to see Archie and Matt were also eating along with their Pokemon… wait what? "Are they… actually EATING the Poke Chow?" He blinked, completely confused.
Dario scowled in disgust, glaring at them. "You two are SICK!" he snapped, trying to get the 3-headed bird to agree with the other heads. "Eating food made for Pokemon- how stupid can ya get!?"
Matt just stuck his tongue out at the boy while Archie replied with, "Well it's not as bad as you may think- it can be delicious, if you use the right kind! Plus it helps us win the race, something you seem to be having trouble with."
"Hey! Stop fighting!" Dario snapped at his three headed birds- they haven't even touched their food yet, they were too busy fighting each other.
"Is that even safe for human consumption?" Ash wondered to himself… then a thought struck him. Unless… they're… hybrids? He gave the two a suspicious yet curious look… it was possible they were Children of Legendaries- after all they both had the same kind of aura as Dustin… a strong aura that isn't usually found in humans.
Dario growled irritably before he pulled a remote out of his pocket and he sneakily pressed one of the buttons. Suddenly black smoke filled the area, covering up the camera that the audience and announcer were using to keep an eye on the race.
"Uh-oh, something's happening- the black smoke is covering our camera! I hope there's not another accident down there!"
"Hey! What's going on?" Ash yelled as he covered his mouth to keep from breathing in the smoke, he couldn't see anything! But he did hear Matt and Archie's voices, neither of them sounded happy.
"What the- this smoke!" Archie began growling, sounding angry. "It can't be… they're…!" He then paused for a moment before speaking to Matt. "...Let's get rid of these posers before we finish this race- what do you say?"
"These are idiots! I can't believe them!" Matt snapped. "Yeah, I'd be more than happy to show them what will happen when they mess with me!"
The smoke began to clear in the area, apparently someone disabled the camera so nobody would witness them. Ash looked up as he saw about 6 shadows looming over them. I have a feeling this race just turned into a battlefield…
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Archie is the Child of Zekrom- and presumingly on Mew's side, even though they are a bit uneasy with each other.
Key2DestNE: I sort of consider him an antihero myself, seeing as he works for the bad guys and yet is sort of a double agent…
DarkFoxKit: And now we see Dustin trying to convince Blue to go to the dark side, oh dear…
Key2DestNE: Hey, what can I say- I can be the wily fire bunny at times. *wink* Now then, on to the reviews I say! Solomon07, they can't necessarily BEAT Red, or match him- they're just talking themselves up… or are they? :3
DarkFoxKit: Yeah, they never proved they could beat Red. Thor94, they're strong but not OP, it's a misconception people make when you make a strong OC and they're automatically labeled OP. They are mostly bragging how strong they can be- they are not stronger than Red despite what Archie said, okay? But they are stronger than the average Trainer and Ash, despite his talents, is still somewhat of a rookie Trainer. And, excluding Gary, there HAVE been average Trainers throughout the story.
Key2DestNE: Briarfrost, we can't say anything about Ash catching Ponyta, but it looks like you were right about the Child of Zekrom being Archie! ….I-I do not have a crush on the child of Jirachi! *blushes*
DarkFoxKit: The OCs we are using are actually other authors who became online friends of mine, so if I find someone else who wants to be a child of Xernas and Yevtal, there will be- if not, maybe, maybe not, who knows. Canine667, I would've rather you PMed me that question so I could've answered right away, but yes, you may use this for your class assignment. :D
Key2DestNE: Yeah, that's awesome! Alphawolf99, er… nothing really HAPPENED to Sinnoh- we're just not going there yet. Dunno why you asked, though. But, well, I don't think Fox wants other authors in the ANs as of now- sorry. TimmyC, you're right about the leader being the Child of Jirachi, I dunno what an Aura Stone is, yes this Archie is different, and good- we made Matt to be confusing on purpose. But I didn't realize the OCs were close to being Mary Sues/Gary Stus, it's mainly that they're the higher ups of Team Rocket. They're MEANT to be tough.
DarkFoxKit: … What the heck is an Aura Stone? No, it's not a Aura Stone whatever that is, and again, we are running into the issues of the OCs being OP or Mary Sues in this case, just because they are stronger than the average Trainers does NOT make them Mary Sues! They're not ALWAYS in the story either- it's like seeing the elite boss fights before you're strong enough to take them on in an RPG video game, do you call THEM Mary Sues? *pant* … Sorry, I usually start to rant when I see things like that. And Guest- I should say that anyone named Guest will be treated as Guest if they do not give us their actual pennames- I'm only going to add a Child of Yveltal if someone who becomes an online friend wants to be one. And sorry to say, Blue is not any of those you listed… why is everyone assuming he's a Child of Legendary anyway? And Manaphay is a Legendary Pokemon, I don't know about Phione since they're really weak and common.
Key2DestNE: *looking up the information now* ...Well, apparently he's right- it's an event Pokemon, but then again so is Mew, so we count it as a Legendary. Spacemarine64, well it would be awkward to put your previous statement up here, and it would make the AN go on much longer.
DarkFoxKit: You could try looking for your previous review if it'll help, because it actually WOULD be too much trouble to post previous statements up here. AShinyBlueMew, no more Child of Legendary unless the story needs them or if an online friend requests it. But a Child of Diancie would probably have an interesting backstory as starting out as a Carbink before mutating… Icewolf9879, Ash will be a Mew some time later- we won't say when.
Key2DestNE: Yeah- we don't wanna spoil it, now do we? Awsomeness… huh- I didn't even consider it. It's been a full year, huh? Well, Fox, do you have anything special planned for this anniversary~?
DarkFoxKit: Uh… not really… I didn't think about it… Guest, I didn't delete anything, I don't know what you mean by deleting it from Wattpad. *Sighs in relief* Okay, we got most of the reviews- forgive us if we didn't get yours, with so many we can only take a handful at a time.
Key2DestNE: Agreed. Now then, that's pretty much it, isn't it Fox? I guess we can end now- unless we're missing anything!
DarkFoxKit: I think we're pretty good. Alright everyone, you know the drill- review and if you have questions you need answered right away, PM us, please, rather than leaving it in the review because we won't answer them until the next update and that could be a while. I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you.