Steel (Poke)Ball Run

Chapter 15 – VS STAGE TWO

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That wind, whatever it was, travelled all the way back to where Johnny and Gyro were relaxing after the race. Awkwardly getting to know each other under the curve of a hill with a tree stuck in it. Away from all the hustle and bustle of the party, it was good.

Gyro drank from a canteen. 'Hm, so what kind of Pokemon do you carry Johnny?' he asked idly then extended the canteen to him. 'Thirsty?'

'Uh, yeah, actually.' Johnny replied. He reached over to his bag but Gyro shook the canteen in front of him.

'I'm offering. You ain't sick… are you?' he asked.

'Nope, healthy and hearty.'

'Then go right ahead, take a sip from mine but don't hog it.'

'Thanks.'

Johnny accepted the canteen. He drank lightly from it; a little bit away from his lips so they weren't touching where Gyro had been sucking. He wondered if Gyro had been sick recently, probably not if he was willing to share. Whatever, Johnny eventually decided. The water tasted slightly foreign but familiar, obviously it was rainwater but still, it had a tang of something abroad. Maybe it was filtered, Johnny couldn't tell. He handed the canteen back.

Gyro stowed it away and got a PokeBall out instead. He flashed Johnny a golden smile.

'You show me yours and I'll show you mine.' he said.

'Mine're usually shy around strangers.' Johnny replied.

'C'mon, you've seen three of my Pokemon, only right I get a little glimpse as to what kind of heat you're packing.' Gyro insisted.

Johnny sighed. He crossed his arms. 'Fine. But don't make fun of me.'

'Oh, this is gonna be good, isn't it?' Gyro laughed. He had an annoying laugh.

'People used to say I like girly Pokemon.' Johnny said.

He brought a PokeBall out. The PokeBall had a bright orange shell with a yellow decoration. He scrutinised it, grimaced and sighed, then chose a different PokeBall whilst putting this first one back.

'Go, go, Problem child.' Gyro told one of his steel PokeBalls.

'Ugh, this is, uh, Angel.' Johnny said.

In a pair of silver flashes, two Pokemon joined them. Gyro's Bibarel bounded up to him and Gyro enthusiastically greeted it. Meanwhile, Johnny's Pokemon was a bit more standoffish. It sat in his lap but refused to acknowledge him, even when he poked its back to give it a scratch, a token of affection.

'Aw, who's my good boy? That Surf back there was brilliant, my little Problem Child.' Gyro cooed.

He scrunched up his Bibarel's chubby cheeks in his hands. He made faces at it and it made faces back. Johnny couldn't tell if Gyro was supposed to be mimicking Bibarel by pretending he had buck teeth but squishing up his own lips eyes, or if Bibarel was trying to mimic Gyro by stretching its face strangely. It was kind of cute.

'And this, my friend, is Johnny.' Gyro said.

He turned his body and if he was going to say anything further, he completely dropped it upon seeing what sort of Pokemon Johnny's "Angel" was. Gyro grinned eagerly. His eyebrows raised and eyes popped.

'Can I touch her? What a little cutie! Where'd you find her? Wait, is she a girl?'

'Yeah, Angel is a girl.' Johnny said. 'Um, if she lets you pet her… sure. I caught her a fair few years ago now, before my accident. I found her at a place called the Giant Chasm; it's north-east from here, more or less. It's a pretty out of the way spot. I was screwing around with some local Trainers and found her.'

'She's adorable!' Gyro cooed.

Angel was a Clefairy: a small, pink, plump creature with vestigial wings. This one sported quite the grumpy frown. Just like its Trainer truth be told. But it was excruciatingly adorable. In both cases.

Gyro twisted around, knelt down next to Johnny, and attempted to remove the Clefairy from his lap. As his hands attempted to pick it up, she swiped at him with its stubby paws.

'Yowch!' Gyro theatrically yelped. 'Nasty little thing, ain't she? She's no Angel.'

'You're telling me.' Johnny deadpanned.

'Are all your Pokemon like this?' Gyro asked.

'Not all of them, just most of them.' Johnny replied.

'Would you say your friendship is high with Angel then?'

'...Not really.' Johnny admitted.

'Why don't I give her a little massage then? That'll make her a mite bit friendlier towards you.' Gyro suggested.

'Again, if she lets you touch her, go right ahead.'

Johnny unflinchingly grabbed his Clefairy around its waist. It struggled and clawed at him, attempted to bite his hands. Johnny was utterly unfazed. Gyro noticed there were a fair few scratches and marks up and down his arms. He wondered how frequently this happened.

'Here you go.' Johnny said.

His Clefairy had stopped struggling, seeing the futility its in movements.

'C'mon girl, unlike that meanie over there, I'll treat you right.' Gyro teased.

Johnny rolled his eyes. But inwardly, he was fuming over his shortcomings.

His Clefairy relaxed almost immediately upon being handled by Gyro. He let it get comfortable in his lap. His Bibarel sniffed at Clefairy's face, to Clefairy's utter disgust. Bibarel, however, was oblivious to Clefairy's discomfort as it decided to lick Clefairy to seal the fact that it had decided that Clefairy was a friend. Bibarel then lumbered around to Johnny, presumably to decide if Johnny was a friend too.

Bibarel sniffed Johnny's hand which he idly held out for it. It's wet nose and oily fur felt strange on his fingertips but he didn't mind. Despite its nickname, Problem Child the Bibarel was quite friendly and well behaved. It rubbed against Johnny's hand and he let his fingers drift through the thick scruff of its neck.

'Oh ho, you are capable of being nice.' Gyro teased.

'It's not like that. I evolved a Pokemon via full happiness once. I just don't battle my Pokemon all that often anymore and sometimes, they get the worst of my frustrations.' Johnny admitted.

Gyro hummed. His Bibarel wedged itself between Johnny and Gyro, putting its head between its paws, it began to nap; or at least pretend to. Without thinking, Johnny began to stroke its side. It snorted and sniffled contentedly.

Johnny's Clefairy was in very good hands. It was lapping up the attention, melting in Gyro's hands as he massaged it. Johnny tried not to watch. He just felt inadequate as a Trainer. It wasn't his Pokemon's fault that he was a horrid person but clearly, they were suffering for it.

'Reckon you'll evolve Angel anytime soon?' Gyro asked.

'I dunno. If I find a Moon Stone, yeah. Otherwise, no.' Johnny replied.

'Uh-huh.'

'So who taught you to do massages, if you don't mind me asking?'

'My father. I come from a long line of doctors. We know all sorts of remedies. Sometimes, a good old massage can be the right fix for a patient, other times it'd be surgery and medicine.'

'Oh, cool.'

Gyro grinned. 'I think our little patient is finally content.'

'Really?' Johnny lifted his head.

'Fairy…' his Angel murmured sleepily.

'She'll be right as rain for now on.' Gyro said. 'Here, handle her carefully.'

Gyro doted on Johnny's Clefairy like it was a human baby. Johnny had never seen his Clefairy so tranquil before. He scooped it up and cradled it. Now he was the one treating it like a baby. He couldn't help but rock Clefairy until it was completely lulled into a sleep.

'Now,' Gyro spoke sharply, slightly different from before as his voice had lost many carefree notes to it, 'it should go without saying but you've got to treat your Pokemon more nicely. They'll perform better in battle and they won't bite or scratch as much outside of it either. Surely a veteran Trainer like you ought to know this. It's simple stuff.'

'Alright, alright, I get it. I know. Stop scolding me already, you loon.' Johnny said. Upon saying that, he wondered if he was at that point where he could playfully insult Gyro.

Gyro snickered. 'It'd be nice if all our days were like this, wouldn't it Johnny?'

Apparently, they were at that stage of friendship.

'Yeah, I guess.' Johnny replied.

'But this isn't a vacation. This is a serious battle and journey. There won't be a moment to spare tomorrow onwards. But it'd be nice to just enjoy the quiet today.'

Tomorrow seemed to come all to quick. Before they knew it, they were lined up once again with announcements blaring over speaker systems. With people, more people than what could be counted, lined up to either watch or participate.

'The second stage is scheduled to start in five minutes!' Maria's voice sailed through the air.

In the distance, hot air balloons began to float up. Along the starting line, there was a newfound determination among the participants of the race. Having tasted defeat and scoped out the best of the best, many blazed with a second coming of the desire to win. For most.

Pocoloco rested casually atop his mount; guzzling from his canteen. He would be the one exception to the many who were out to win with a vengeance. Though, Sandman was taking the five minutes to rest too, cross-legged on the ground surrounded by his Pokemon. Although, in his case, it was understandable seeing as how he planned to cross the region on foot.

Diego, meanwhile, was taking the challenge ahead very seriously. He loaded his Sawsbuck's saddle with the last of the supplies he was bringing along. He had a stern expression cross his face as he pulled himself up onto his Sawsbuck's saddle next. He looked out to the distance with determination; his eyes scanned his competitors and the horizon.

There was a crackle over the speaker system then, Maria spoke. She sounded as though she were reading from palm cards rather than usual free speech.

'With the exception of the required checkpoints where President Valentine's Leaders are playing hide-and-seek, all participants are free to choose their route, how many miles they do each day, if they train along the way, engage with battles with other participants, and which lodgings they stay.

'Finally, if a participant in this race desires to retire for any reason, their respective numbers will be flown as flags along the route. Covered wagons staffed with medics and referees will follow behind at a distance if assistance becomes required. The referees can be borrowed out for Pokemon battles if desired. The medics meanwhile are impartial and are here to provide healthcare to both man and 'mon. The medics will stock food and medicine to dispense at request. Bear in mind, the medics can decide if a participant Trainer is unable to continue so it is best not to visit too often. Thank you.'

The speaker system died down.

Gyro experimented with his goggles. They seemed to offer little protection as they were slatted. Johnny paid no mind to whatever it was Gyro was doing with them though. It seemed like he was goofing off. They were both riding high on their mounts, side by side, and chatting to each other. Johnny was reading a newspaper.

'Listen to this Gyro, Sandman seems to be this stage's top candidate for both battle and race. Even in the gambling arena, he is most popular. What do you think, Gyro?' Johnny asked.

'Bah, whatever. What about me?' Gyro asked he cocked a cheeky smirk but he looked ridiculous with those goggles strapped to his face.

'Sucks for you.' Johnny teased. 'I'm sixth most popular, apparently. You're down at number nine which I suspect is because of your penalty otherwise you'd probably be more popular.'

'Those people don't know what the fuck they're on about. Any way you look at it though, this article is obviously written by an everyday idiot. No one should take it seriously!' Gyro complained. As he grumbled, he pulled back his goggles and put them around the base of his hat.

Johnny suspected that he was hiding some jealousy.

'But, if Sandman takes the prize again, the advantages start to stack up: extra visits to the medics, a loss shaved off, and a retry with a Leader…Not to mention the points he'll accumulate. If that happens, he'll get an overwhelming advantage over everyone else in the race. That's really what we've got to keep from happening.' Johnny said.

'I wonder… can he run over one hundred kilometres in a day?' Gyro asked, gravely.

'I'm afraid so.' Johnny said. He lifted his head and a man in the crowd caught his eye. 'Oh yeah, that guy over there,' he pointed, 'he's popular and a huge candidate for this round of the race since it's home turf for him. He's called Mountain Tim.'

Gyro leaned around and noticed the guy. He was wearing some striking attire: he closely resembled Johnny's Zebstrika, actually.

'But look at that weird hat he's wearing. Makes me wanna walk over there and trample on it. Right whilst he's still wearing it!' Gyro said.

'Mountain Tim is a cowboy so he might do poorly on the short range. But then again, he did well to take fourth place yesterday. He kept pretty close behind us, after all.'

'Nah, I think it's because of his weird hat. Haven't you noticed it yet?'

'Gyro. Shut up, you don't get an opinion on "weird hats". So please take this seriously. I think this stage is going to turn into a battle over waterholes. We're going up north to the bridge that connects this part of Unova to the mainland. Behind these mountains, there's a lot of springs and lakes but not a lot of surface rivers. There's only the one and you can see part of it from Driftveil City. However, we're not going towards it so even though there's plenty of greenery around, it's all coming from below ground. But on the map, there's options. A few oases here and there, so to speak.

'So, this stage depends on how far people are willing to go to find these sweet spots, or if they'll stop and draw water out themselves. But there's the second concern, pick the wrong spot or you'll find an Amoonguss den. In 1875, just when this land had become part of the recognises lands of Unova, there was an incident which involved the deaths of an entire cavalry squadron. It was a pretty bad drought that year, temperatures reaching as high as fifty degrees Celsius but they managed to find the waterholes in this area but then they found one. So, they drank and drank. Cheered: they weren't going to die of dehydration today but then a disease started to spread through the ranks.

'Twenty-six men died from bizarre symptoms. Their skin dried and they scratched themselves to the bone, their eyes dried out and cracked. Fungi began growing in their stomachs. It was later discovered that the waterhole had a cavern connected to it and was drawing in the poisons from the Amoonguss population in the area. They never found out what they died from first: choking on the fungi, dehydration and starvation, or self-inflicted damage from scratching.

'This map points out which waterholes are known Amoonguss dens but there's the possibility they've migrated so anyone who finds a good oasis will probably guard it well. It'd be a huge advantage.'

'Yeesh, never knew Amoonguss could do such a thing.'

'Only as a group. One Amoonguss won't fuck you up that bad but a colony? Yeah.'

'So, you're the local between us which way should we go? Feels like you've got a plan to avoid our friends from the mushroom kingdom.'

'Sort of. I reckon from the starting point, we go this way. And after travelling fifty a day, we should reach the first waterhole marked as being safe. If we stray from this path, we could lost. The forest is thick here. There's a reason why there's no distinct route up this way. Though the forest may seem safe, we could end up forfeiting more than the race if we slip up.'

'Got it.' Gyro nodded.

Gyro lifted his head. He seemed expectant of an announcement, the race was due to start any second now. Johnny meanwhile lowered his, he took out the cork from yesterday. He had hung onto it. But now holding onto it just frustrated him. Yesterday, he had caused it to rotate. He had activated the Spin within himself but today, he had been unable to. Johnny had taken every word of Gyro's lecture to heart. He had engraved every emotion and action he had done yesterday to his mind. And yet, it proved fruitless today. So, Johnny asked himself: what would it take to begin the rotation of it once more?

'It's now only thirty seconds until we start! Alright, just an instant, then the second stage will begin! There is no track laid along the race path so the train will head straight to the next checkpoint! They say the hot air balloons may only follow the oceanside path! Let's go… start!' Maria commentated.

The boom and sparkle of fireworks punctuated her pause.

'The ten o'clock fireworks have flown right on time! I bid bon voyage to all our participants as they make their way from the starting line!' yelled Maria.

There was a clumsy start for most. Sprinters had heart had to rein themselves in, it would be a long haul so there was little point to exert too much effort now. So, everyone ambled forward at a respectable pace. Everyone but one.

Johnny watched in anguished, frustrated silence as Gyro and his Mudsdale careened out in front of everyone. Dust and blades of grass swirled behind him in his wake.

'It's Gyro! It's Gyro! Just like in the first stage, he went flying ahead in his own! The mounts behind him will have truly eaten his dust! In a few more minutes, we won't even see him: he'll be a speck beneath the foliage of the forest! At any rate, Gyro Zeppeli plans to complete the second stage as a solo act!'

There were no words to express the utter pent-up frustration welling up inside of Johnny right now. They had literally just been discussing how best to go about this as a team and it hadn't even taken Gyro two seconds to abandon it all. The frustration solidified but not as frustration, or at least any longer. Johnny refused to let Gyro throw away their plans like a fool, even if it meant looking like one in the process.

'Argh, I'm coming after you, Gyro! There's no way you can handle twelve hundred k's in a day, fuck, you're an idiot!' Johnny growled under his breath.

He charged forward. Johnny sped out, hot on Gyro's heels. It didn't take as long as he feared to catch up to him but already, he was a fair way out of from the rest of the pack. Johnny dreaded if Gyro knew he'd act out like this. Like some sort of game or taunt. Just before Johnny thought he could catch up completely, Gyro swerved out.

'Huh? What's this? Gyro Zeppeli is… changing course? So he wasn't just flying out; he's picking a different route!' Maria announced.

Johnny gritted his teeth as he visualised the map and their current locations on it.

'What the hell?' he spat.

'Gyro Zeppeli is headed into the deeper parts of the forest! It looks like he's aiming to go up the midsection between the ocean cliffs and the last of the icy mountains… But why would he do that?' Maria yelled. 'It'd be much faster to just keep following close to the ocean! Does he plan to ignore the closer waterholes too? Does he not fear the stories of 1875? From his current angle, the closest waterhole would be one hundred and fifty kilometres away!'

Nevertheless, Johnny followed Gyro in his reckless tracks.

'What the hell are you thinking, Gyro Zeppeli?' Johnny roared at the back of Gyro's head once they came close to one another. 'At least give me some reason for all this speed?'

Gyro turned his head and cooly replied: 'What? Even with our little alliance, we're still rivals in this race. Wanna come with? If we swerve out this way first, we can avoid conflict on the main roads and that'll save us energy. And this way, we'll also get the leg up on even Sandman.'

He turned his head back to what was in front of him. He hoped Johnny was content with that answer. He considered it quite level-headed and well-reasoned. Truth be told, he had a strangely good feeling about this path closer to those mountains. He didn't know why but he was an impulsive fellow. He trusted his instinct. It hadn't steered him too wrong before.

The pair continued on ahead. Being well within the vicinity of Driftveil City, the forest was quite thin here. Most plains and long grass up to their mounts' knees. It was green and verdant here, deceptively moist and well-watered. It was gorgeous though, for all the hidden dangers anyway.

Their thoughts were completely separated from the rest of the pack. If it were not for Maria's announcements, they may never have noticed that someone had curved off from the main pack to follow them. At first, they just thought Maria was talking about Johnny but then when she changed her tune, their ears pricked up immediately at Maria's statements over the speakers.

'Oooh, now it looks like Gyro isn't the only one crossing the whole forest! He's gained a follower! But who on Earth would voluntarily pick such a route? It's like setting themselves up for suicide! All they must be thinking about is the prize at the end of this stage! Wait, I can see his number… That's Mrs Robinson!'