The sun shone on the day of the race and the snow nearly glowed with the reflected light. All the competitors were at the starting line. There were around fifty racers, all on a variety of pokémon. There were tauroses, rhyhorns, golducks, exeggutors, a gyarados, a long grass-type that Ash's pokédex called a serperior, arcanines, fearows, a gliscor, a machamp, ponytas, rapidashes, dodrios, noctowls, another pidgeot, some charizards, and even an enterprising trainer standing on an electrode.
Everyone had drawn lots to determine where they would start. Ash and Misty had been placed near the middle of the group. Misty, wearing an insulated black wetsuit, knelt/leaned on the back of Starmie. Ash, dressed in a winter coat, pants, and cap, was seated on Pidgeot's back with Pikachu, checking over the straps one more time.
Please don't go too high, Pikachu pleaded.
Don't worry, that's against the rules, remember? Pidgeot reassured the electric type.
"Nervous, shrimp?" Misty called out from her spot.
"No!" Ash shouted back.
"Good! Do your best and remember that you're going to owe me lunch every day that we're in Fuchsia City!"
"Sorry, I can't hear you! I'm thinking about what I'll make you pay for when getting lunch!"
Brock sighed from the sidelines. He was standing with a group of trainers who volunteered to help with safety and retrieval during the race. The former gym leader hoped that he wouldn't have to do anything, but figured that he couldn't count on it after the year he'd had thus far.
People from the ranch gave a series of speeches about the nomadic tribes, racing, history, sportsmanship, and the bonds between pokémon and rider. After that Lara rode out, carrying a flag.
"Listen up! I've got something important to tell you!" She shouted to the racers in Kantoese. Ash tried to listen to the sounds instead of the meaning, like he did with Sinnohese, but there was too much going on for him to do that.
"Y'all should know the drill by now," Lara continued. "Y'all should have seen the maps. Y'all should know where the flag is. Y'all know the rules, no direct attacks on the other racers, don't go too high, and make sure to hit every checkpoint. Mess any of these up and you're disqualified! Got it?"
There was a chorus of affirmations from the waiting racers.
"Good! Now I'm gonna count down and then wave this here flag! That'll be your signal to go!" Lara rode to the side of the track and held the flag aloft. Ash followed it closely.
"Good luck everyone! Do your best, y'all hear me now? And ta all the pokémon here today, y'all are great!" Lara shouted. "Now, for the big moment. Ready!"
Ash leaned forward, gripping Pidgeot tighter.
"Set!"
The flag was lifted higher.
"Go!"
And then it was chaos!
Pidgeot and the other flying-types took to the air, getting above the rest of the herd as they surged forward, snow churning and flying beneath them. Ash saw Misty and Starmie weave around several large pokémon as they tried to gain an early lead. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some of the other flying racers start to pull ahead of him and Pidgeot.
Let's get moving! Ash said, holding Pidgeot tighter. Show them what you're made of!
Oh no, Pikachu whined from Ash's back.
Wind rushed around Pidgeot and wind rushed from her wings as she surged forward. The other flying types began to fall behind and Pidgeot sped over the ground-based racers. Everything around Ash and Pidgeot began to blur as the chilling air whipped and grabbed at them. Ash hunched down to make them more aerodynamic and looked ahead.
According to the pokédex, some high-level pidgeots had been known to break the sound barrier. Ash knew that Pidgeot wouldn't be doing that in this race, but as more and more of the competition fell behind, he could see how that would one day be a possibility for her.
The first stretch of the race was over a flat plain, covered in glittering white unmarred snow. It was here that the flying types and the fastest ground bound pokémon pulled ahead of the pack. Ash could see that the other pidgeot and its rider were slowly falling behind, as were all the other racers.
Ash grinned at the sight and then frowned as he realized what it meant.
Pidgeot, slow down a little, he said over the roar of the wind, resisting the urge to slap his forehead. We need to save energy for later!
Right! Pidgeot nodded and obeyed. The world wasn't as blurred and the wind wasn't as ferocious. Ash looked back and saw the other competitors were now keeping pace with him.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, Pikachu muttered. Why did I want to do this again?
Because you don't trust me to stay out of trouble? Ash said.
You don't stay out of trouble!
The race over the plains continued. Ash and Pidgeot flew low enough to the ground that the wind from their wake traced trails into the snow, kicking up a powdery white mist behind them. They and the other flying racers struggled for first place while doing their best to conserve energy. The racers on the ground mirrored their actions, slowly gaining on the fliers, followed by a billowing white cloud of disturbed snow.
They saw the first checkpoint and everyone began to clump together, falling in line to fit between the poles and under the banner. Two riders on fearows pulled ahead of Pidgeot and then immediately started trying to bump each other out of the way.
Stay behind them, Ash said by Pidgeot's ear.
Sure, she said as she complied.
One fearow managed to slap the other across the face with its wing, causing the other to roll away and crash into the snow. It cawed in triumph and then slowed down to land beneath the checkpoint. Its talons brushed the ground as race officials with visual recorders watched and then it shot right back into the air.
Ash and the other flying types right behind it mimicked its actions and then they all began jockeying for position again in the open sky. Ash took a split second to look behind him and saw a speck of orange darting through the other competitors.
Ash grinned and then told Pidgeot to pick up the pace.
The race over the plains continued for another hour. By the time the final checkpoint for that section came into view, the competition had thinned. A good portion of the ground bound pokémon had fallen behind or dropped out and some of the flying ones had joined them.
The checkpoint that marked the end of the first part of the race was situated before a sheer cliff, right in front of a cave entrance. From what Lara had told him, the first part of the race had been a test of speed and endurance, while the second part was a test of control and agility.
The flying pokémon touched the ground under the checkpoint and then launched themselves into the cave.
Strings of lanterns were hung on the sides of the wall, illuminating the interior as the flying types wove through the stalactites and stalagmites and then came to a sharp turn. Beyond that water rushed and roared like the wind had done earlier as the track hit an underground river, flowing too fast to freeze. The ceiling hung lower and the fliers were forced to slow down and skim over the surface of the rapids, stinging spray washing over people and pokémon alike.
It was then that the ground-bound pokémon caught up. Two rapidashes and a rhyhorn burst through the turn behind them. Roaring, the rhyhorn shot straight through the river, well trained enough to overcome the psychological distress of immersion and the irritation of water running through the tiny faults and cracks in its hide. Flames hissing from the whitewater spray, the rapidashes daintily jumped from exposed rock to rock, not letting even the tips of their hooves dip into the river.
And then the rest of the remaining racers joined them.
"Crap! Faster!" Ash shouted as he saw the crowd of pokémon charge in behind them.
Pidgeot sped up, trying to keep ahead of the large pokémon ramming through the water and rock behind them, ahead of the more agile pokémon jumping around them, and ahead of the water-types who were finally in their natural environment.
A tremendous sound filled the caves and everyone moved to the sides of the course as the gyarados blasted down the middle of the pack, bowling over smaller pokémon who failed to get out of the way. Ash and Pikachu clung tight to Pidgeot as she banked away from the mass of blue scales that went blew past them.
Once it was past, but before the other racers could return to their previous positions, something raced through the gap that gyarados had made, something purple with a flame haired girl on its back.
"Misty!" Ash growled, shaking a fist as she and Starmie cut through the raging river and got in front of him and Pidgeot.
"Told you that you'd be eating my dust today!" Misty shouted back, sticking her tongue out at him.
"No, I won't!" Ash steered Pidgeot back into the center of the course and urged her to speed up. They surged ahead of Misty and then dropped down to cut her off. He looked back and stuck his own tongue out at her.
"Nice try!" Misty smirked and then Starmie launched itself out of the stream, propelled by jets of water from its back-facing prongs. Ash gaped as they flew over his head and then shook the water out of his hair.
"Get 'em, Pidgeot!" Ash ordered.
The two friends began to jockey for position as they traveled through the twists and turns of the tunnels. Ash and Pidgeot would attempt to overtake her via the air and then try to cut her off. Misty would then fake him out and dart around him using Starmie's Water Gun attack to boost their speed. Their struggle continued until the stream deepened.
"Ha!" Misty crowed, before pulling ahead and disappearing into the depths.
Ash grit his teeth as he watched her go. Pidgeot couldn't go much faster without risking a crash. Race officials and volunteers were following close behind the main body of racers to collect anyone in trouble, but anyone collected would be disqualified. Ash had gained an early lead due to the terrain and now the terrain dictated that he had to hold speed and let others pass him.
They wove through the cave system, speeding over and around rapids, racing over an underground waterfall and over the placid surface of an underwater lake lit by hanging lanterns reflected in the water like man made stars.
By that point even more racers had dropped out, either succumbing to exhaustion in the cold water, or having crashed the cave walls. The gyarados surged through the center of the lake, towards where the river resumed, Misty and Starmie following in its wake. Ash urged Pidgeot forward, hoping to make up the distance before they were crammed into the confines of another tunnel. The other fliers were doing the same thing, while the running pokémon dashed across a trail on the side of the lake.
"Not bad!" The rider of the other pidgeot in the race, a grey-haired teenager wearing a red vest, white shirt, grey leggings, and aviator goggles, shouted at Ash. "I thought for sure you wouldn't last, but you proved me wrong!"
"Thanks," Ash shouted back through gritted teeth. The pokéraised boy was wet, disheveled, and his exposed skin was red from the cold. Pidgeot was still going strong, but her form wasn't as crisp as it had been at the start of the race. Meanwhile the other rider looked spotless and their pidgeot made keeping pace look absolutely effortless.
"What's your name? I'm Jared!"
"It's Aaron," Ash replied in a surly tone.
"Is this your first race?" The other rider shouted as he pulled slightly ahead and they plunged back into the tunnel.
"Yes!" Ash growled as Pidgeot lurched around a stalactite, throwing him against the straps of the flying gear.
Why didn't Zapados smite me before I agreed to do this! Pikachu cried out as he too was squeezed against the straps.
"You're doing great then!" The other rider shouted. "How old are you?"
"Twelve!"
"Ah," the other rider replied, sounding vaguely disappointed. "Well, kid, keep it up and you'll be a shoe-in in a few years. Watch, by the time you're fifteen like me you'll win this thing, just like I'm about to!"
At some unseen signal from its rider, the other pidgeot zoomed forwards, kicking up more ice-water spray in its wake. Ash wiped his face, grit his teeth, and renewed his grip on Pidgeot.
Go as fast as you can without crashing, Pidgeot! Ash cried out.
Oh no, Pikachu moaned.
Pidgeot crowed in acknowledgement and barreled down the tunnel. Lanterns were sparser there. Pidgeot zoomed between pools of illumination in the blue-grey tinged darkness of the tunnel as the river rushed and crashed beneath them.
Instead of stalactites and stalagmites the river had dug a chaotic zig-zagging path full of twists and turns. Pidgeot banked, rolled, and dove through them, struggling not to crash into the cave walls. More than once she flew too close and cut Ash against protruding rocks. Each time Ash hissed in pain and clamped down on the gash until he was forced to grip Pidgeot again.
Light- sunlight- flared in their eyes as they darted around another turn. Pokmeon and rider both squinted as they blasted out of the caves like a bat out of hell. A checkpoint stood at the bank of the river, before another stretch of grassland, with another checkpoint and a forest beyond that. Ash could see Misty, Jared, and the gyarados already racing towards the forest.
Are we going to let her beat us? Ash hollered.
I don't intend to! Pidgeot cried back. Unbound by rocky walls she resumed her full speed. Wind washed the icy water off of Ash and settled a chill into his exposed flesh. There was a jolt as Pidgeot bounded off the ground at the checkpoint. Pikachu yelped in dismay.
How much longer? The electric pokémon whined, his voice a museum display of utter misery.
We're about halfway, Ash answered.
Oh no… Pikachu moaned again.
They reduced Misty's lead by three quarters by the time they managed to enter the forest, but Jared and the gyarados had increased their own leads. At the same time, the other racers who had made it out of the cave and were gaining rapidly once Pidgeot was slowed down by the forest.
In the forest they were following a wide dirt road through what seemed to be a tunnel of trunks and an irregular ceiling of snow-covered branches. Pidgeot was forced to fly low, too low, in order to avoid them, losing speed once again.
Misty and Starmie retained a small lead, but Ash and Pidgeot were able to keep pace with her as she and her pokémon slid on a trail of ice. Behind them the other racers were catching up. In an impressive display of control and agility, the fearows and some of the other flying pokémon were weaving through the branches. Meanwhile the running, sliding, and slithering pokémon were unimpeded by the terrain.
We're going to need to risk going higher, Ash told his mount.
You're going to be eating branches, Pidgeot warned.
If I eat branches now, then I can eat free lunch later!
Idiots are always thinking with something other than their brains, Pikachu growled.
If you think it's worth it, Pidgeot sighed and climbed. Ash tucked his chin into Pidgeot's feathers as twigs beat at his head and hair. They were able to start gaining on Misty again. She looked back and glared at them.
"Don't think this is anywhere near over!" She called out to Ash. "From what I've heard, the real race only begins once we reach the mountain!"
Oh no, Pikachu moaned once more.
The forested section was almost boring compared to the caves. There were no sudden turns, no icy waters, no spikes of stone above and below. But with the constant twiggy assault and Pidgeot's reduced speed, Ash found it to be the most miserable section.
Near the end of the section, after the sharpest turn the road split in two, with checkpoints visible down each branch. There was only a split second to choose. Ash went down one fork; Misty went down the other.
According to what Ash had been told about the course, both routes would lead to the base of the mountain and the final set of checkpoints. After that each rider was free to ascend the mountain in whatever way they wanted, though Pidgeot would still have to mind height restrictions.
It was just after the fork that the other racers finally quit holding back. A small stampede of ground-bound pokémon and some of the remaining fliers began to overtake Ash as he neared the final checkpoint that marked the end of the forest and the start of the mountain.
Once again Ash found himself jockeying for position as Pidgeot matched pace with the other racers. Everyone was fighting to get to the head of the pack. More than one racer was pushed into the trees and forced to eat a face full of bark.
Ash's teeth ground together as Pidgeot was forced to drop back to avoid being burned by the flames of rapidash that had run beneath them. He resisted the urge to have Pidgeot go faster; they needed to save their energy for the final stretch of the race, where the terrain would be in Pidgeot's favor again.
They filtered further and further towards the end of the pack, before the forest ended at the final checkpoint of that section. Flattening her wings to her side, Pidgeot managed to slip between a pair of tauroses to touch ground beneath the banner and then leapt back into the sky.
All the racers scattered, everyone taking their own route up the mountain, to where the flag waited at the peak. Ash looked over to where the other path came out of the forest and saw the racers there were doing the same thing, with the other pidgeot and gyarados in the lead, chased by a pack of racers, with Misty leading said pack.
Ash clenched his fist and grinned, turning back to Pidgeot.
Go Pidgeot! Give it everything you got!
Let's do this! Pidgeot accelerated and the final stretch began!
It looked like another rock, white snow topping a brown-grey lump, resting at the top of a rocky incline next to a ridge.
If it hadn't been covered by snow, then the race officials would have caught it on their sweep. If the racers had been able to peer closer, they might have seen it breathing. If the pokémon mounts had been given the time, they might have been able to smell it or hear it.
But in the end, they all missed seeing it for what it was until it was too late, until a tauros accidently stomped on it.
Starmie swished and swerved on their path of ice, boosted by jets of water blasting from backwards facing prongs, weaving through the competition to stay at the head of the pack. Misty ducked under a large pokémon and helped Starmie steer by throwing her weight from side to side.
Misty had no idea where Aaron was at the moment, but the former gym trainer was confident that he was probably only a little further from the flag than she was. Misty had no plans to ever tell him, but she had found his persistence in evolving Pidgeot a little impressive. She had to admit that he had come a little way from the trainer she had met in the Viridian Forest.
Of course, Misty still intended to beat him.
The orange haired girl and her pokémon blitzed under a rhyhorn, the rock type nearly slipping on the ice trail, and then broke free from the pack. As graceful as a figure skater she and Starmie slipped up the mountain, their course threading around obstacles as they climbed.
Then there was a loud noise from above her, a pokémon roaring in rage and pain. Misty turned to look as more noises followed, the sound of blows, of creaking and cracking rocks, and the sounds of a person and pokémon shouting in pain and fear.
There was a rumbling and Misty's breath caught in her throat. A wave of rocks, ice, and snow was tumbling down an incline as a grey ball of fur with glove like hands rampaged down the mountain, chasing after a tauros and its rider.
Misty traced the path of the avalanche and saw that it was heading for the group of racers behind her. Thoughts of victory abandoned she steered Starmie around and began heading back down the mountain.
"Avalanche!" She shouted, hoping to warn them. "Avalanche!" But her voice must have been lost to the noises of the race and the fight, because none of the group reacted.
Starmie shot down the mountain and reached the other racers just before the rocks did. At the last second the racers caught sight of the slide and tried to stop, but their own speed betrayed them. Some were able to turn, but many stumbled.
"Starmie, Ice Dome!" Misty shouted. "As big as you can! Protect everyone!"
Blue white light shot from Starmie's prongs. Ice creaked, cracked, and roared as the dome grew into existence in front of the riders.
Rock slammed into it. Spidery cracks spread. The entire thing shook even as Starmie reinforced it with more Ice Beams. And then the rest of the avalanche arrived and everything went dark.
Pidgeot soared over the mountain as ponytas and tauros' bounded up rocks. Ash had thought that the pack would split up once they reached the mountain, but it looked like the forest exit had been by one of the best paths up the mountain.
At least for the ground bound pokémon. Ash thought he saw a straight shot up the mountain. He pointed Pidgeot to the path and the flying type performed a banked turn towards it. Her wingtips brushed over jagged rock formations as she followed the slope of the mountain towards the peak.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw a pair of rapidashes blaze forward like earthbound comets, leaving trails of melted snow as they ascended faster than Pidgeot. They bounced from surface to surface, steam hissing and light flashing as they sped away from the pack and towards victory.
It was that sight that convinced Ash that he probably wasn't going to win the race, even if he somehow managed to beat the other pidgeot rider. Previously he had always known that his victory was improbable, but he had thought that there was a small chance. Not after seeing those rapidashes.
Still, he resolved to at least beat Misty!
Pidgeot soared higher and Ash looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl. Instead he saw something moving down the mountain, a tide of white washing down the slopes.
An avalanche!
Pidgeot, we need to make a detour! Ash shouted, pointing at the wave of snow. Someone might get hurt!
On it! Pidgeot rolled and snapped to the side, swooping towards the avalanche. She drew close just in time for Ash to see a speck of orange on purple race between a group of racers and the avalanche.
"Misty!" Ash shouted in horror.
The tumbling rocks and the billowing wave of snow reached the girl right as there was a flash of blue-white light. The wave crashed into something, washing around it, burying it as the slide of snow and rock continued down the mountain.
Go faster! Pikachu shouted. We've got to go help!
With a shriek Pidgeot pumped her wings and she cut through the air towards where they had last seen Misty. Barely bothering to slow down for the landing, the three of them reached the spot in a spray of snow.
Ash ripped at the straps of the riding harness, almost becoming tangled in them until he forced himself to focus on getting free. He then jumped down, shoving his hands into the snow and digging.
Should I melt it? Pikachu asked. No, urgh, that might cause another avalanche.
I don't know, my parents never let me up high in the winter! Ash quit digging, taking a moment to catch his breath, looking around frantically. What to…. Pidgeot! I need a gentle but constant Gust right here!
What- Oh, I see what you're doing, Pikachu said, scurrying out of the way.
On it! Pidgeot took wing once more, hovering over the area and gave a slow flap of her wings. A column of spinning air appeared before her. Strands of wind swept at the snow, clearing it away and carrying it up into the column. Glittering streams of snow were hurled away from the top of the gentle wind storm as it dug deeper and deeper.
Ash watched with bated breath until a patch of ice was revealed.
Keep at it! He told Pidgeot. We're almost there!
Slowly, too slowly, Pidgeot cleared away the snow and revealed the top of an icy dome. Spidery cracks ran throughout the ice and it seemed stained with snow. Ash ran over towards the center, trying to get a better look.
He flinched back when the top creaked and then shattered, bits of ice flying. Misty and Starmie emerged from their icy shell, disheveled and covered in snow and bruises. The gym trainer looked around, tense, panting, and worried, but relaxed when she saw Ash.
"Thanks," she said, deflating and slumping against Starmie. "I thought I was in trouble there."
"Are you okay?" Ash asked, rushing over to check on her.
"I'll be fine once we get back to the ranch," Misty said, letting her head lean against her pokémon. "It's the other racers. Part of the shield failed and they got hit."
"Did you?"
"No," Misty said, closing her eyes and catching her breath.
"We'll need to-" A screech rang out behind Ash. He whipped around to look at the source. Something barreled past him, knocking him flying. There was the sound of flesh striking flesh and Pikachu let out a cry of pain.
Ash's vision was a confusing mess of spinning white and bright as he tumbled through the snow. He slid to a stop, gut aching, head spinning. He pushed himself up and looked where he had been.
A grey furred pokémon with glove like hands, a primeape, was attacking Misty, Starmie, and Pidgeot. Misty was behind another quickly splintering ice half dome as the fighting type pounded at the barrier. Pidgeot came in from behind, wings extended, beak ready to strike. The primeape simply backhanded her without looking and continued its assault.
Ash's head swiveled as he tried to figure out where Pikachu was. He caught sight of the electric type feebly getting up further down the slope. Reassured that Pikachu was in no immediate danger, Ash rushed over to the fight.
"Pidgeot, to me!" Ash shouted. He wished that he had brought his other pokémon, but it had been against the rules, which stated that he could only bring pokémon if they weren't in their pokéballs.
Pidgeot shook her head and then jumped over to Ash. What's the plan? She asked.
"Don't get close!" Ash shouted, pointing at the primeape. "Use Wind Slice!"
Pidgeot nodded and flapped her wings forward. Two invisible blades of wind cut across the surface of the snow and into the primeape's back. Fur went flying and two shallow cuts appeared on the things' back.
With an incoherent bellow of rage, the primeape abandoned its assault on Misty's defenses and charged at them instead.
"Fly!" Ash shouted, jumping on Pidgeot's back and wrapping his arms around her neck, hanging on for dear life.
Pidgeot leapt into the air, the primeape's attack ruffling her tail feathers. The fighting-type skidded to a stop, leaving a furrow in the snow, a berserk glare trained on Ash and Pidgeot.
A pressurized jet of water nailed it in the back, knocking it head over heels. Ash looked and saw that Misty was back on Starmie and out from their dome. In a flurry of limbs and snow, the fighting type blitzed Misty and her pokémon, only to be caught by another blast of wind from Pidgeot.
Ash and Misty locked gazes. They nodded at each other and then their attention turned back to the primeape.
The two trainers and their pokémon began to circle their attacker. If their pokémon had been fresh then either of the two could have beaten the enraged primeape on their own. But both pairs were exhausted from the race, while the primeape was fresh and strengthened by its Rage.
Not only that, but the fighting type couldn't be allowed to rampage where the other racers were trapped. It could collapse the dome keeping them all safe and could start another avalanche.
When primeape moved to attack one of the two, the other struck. Wind, water, and ice battered at the furious pokémon from all angles as it chased after Starmie sliding over a trail of shining ice and the wind-borne Pidgeot. Howls of frustration echoed through the mountain as its blow met nothing but empty air again and again and again.
Maybe that would have been enough to defeat it if Ash and Misty's pokémon were just a bit less tired. But Pidgeot flagged at a crucial moment, a single flap of her wings taking too long. The primeape was on her with a barrage of blows. She was sent tumbling through the air, Ash slipping off and toppling to the snow below.
A shadow fell over him as he pushed himself out of the snow again and he flinched back. But it was Misty and Starmie sliding between him and the fighting type. Starmie let out a cry of exertion as another ice half-dome sprang into existence from an Ice Beam.
"Get Pidgeot and go get help!" Misty shouted as she crouched behind Starmie. "I'll distract it!"
Ash almost argued, but then scrambled down the mountain. Ice creaked and cracked behind him and the primeape roared. Ash fought through the snow, looking for a patch of yellow…..
Owwwwww, Ash heard a whine and saw Pikachu standing up and clutching at his head. That really hurt.
Pikachu! Ash cried out, pushing through the snow. Are you alright?
I'm dizzy and I feel sick, Pikachu admitted as Ash gently picked him up.
Do you think you can manage a Thunder Wave? Ash asked, trudging through the snow, back towards the battle.
Not a fast one, Pikachu said, snuggling into Ash's arms. It'll take some time. I'm guessing you're going to aim me like you did Metapod?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, Ash replied, flashing Pikachu a quick smile, before focusing back on the fight.
The primeape was chasing after Misty and Starmie, who stayed only inches ahead of it. Misty and her pokémon threaded a winding, curving, swirling, looping path, their trail of ice overlapping on itself so often that it was becoming a rink. But the fighting type wasn't letting up, its fists barely missing Misty and Starmie again and again, sending up bursts of snow and chips of ice.
Pidgeot was drunkenly fluttering back to the site of the battle. Ash looked down at Pikachu and then whispered, Get that Thunder Wave ready, but don't release it yet. He then looked back up.
"Misty, get some distance!" Ash shouted. "Pidgeot, capture that primeape with a Gust when she does!"
"Why do you never- Fine!" Misty growled, before turning to glance back at the attacking pokémon. She waited, continuing to swerve and dodge the hail of blows from the pursuing primeape, until the fighting type overextended by a hair's breadth with a vicious two-handed overhead blow. "Hydro Boost!"
Starmie's prongs bent back as Misty curled up in a ball right in the center of its back. High pressure streams of water blasted out of every prong. The two of them streaked away from the primeape like a watery comet.
Pidgeot struck then. With a mighty flap of her wings she called forth a windstorm and the primeape sucked up into it. It roared and thrashed in its prison of spinning air, but had no leverage with which to escape. Pidgeot then collapsed into the snow.
"Now Pikachu! Thunder Wave!" Ash shouted, pointing Pikachu at the trapped pokémon.
Payback time! Pikachu shouted. Rings of buzzing electricity flew from him and earthed themselves in the fighting type. Sparks covered it as its limbs locked up and body stiffened. Pidgeot's Gust faded and the primeape fell to the mountainside like a top that had been spun over the edge of a table.
Ash grabbed an empty pokéball and hurled it at the primeape before it could escape Pikachu's paralysis. Red light bloomed as it was drawn into the ball. The sphere fell to the snow, glowing red and rocking, snow hissing and steaming from the heat.
After rocking four times, the pokéball stilled and the glow faded. Ash cheered and pumped his fist in triumph, clutching Pikachu tight with the other arm. He rushed over to retrieve the ball, sliding it into his pocket, before going over to check on Pidgeot.
She was lying face first in the snow, wings splayed out, and she was panting. She looked up when Ash approached.
I'm done, she said in a tired voice. No more flying today.
I guessed as much, Ash said, kneeling down to look her over. Do you want to get in your pokéball now?
Yes please.
Ash recalled her and then went off to look for Misty. He followed the trail of ice and water. They were a little way off, Misty splayed on her back next to Starmie, both of them staring at the sky and panting with exhaustion.
"You got it I hope?" Misty asked without turning her head. "Because Starmie's out of juice and so am I."
"Yeah, I caught it," Ash said. "I'll find a spot to release it when it's ready to come out."
"Maybe someone at the ranch is authorized to carry pokéball locks," Misty suggested, still not moving. "But that seems like a 'later' problem to me."
"You're probably right," Ash said, sitting down in the snow next to her. The adrenaline from the race and then the fight was fading and he suddenly felt bone-tired. He lay back in the snow and stared up at the blue sky too. "How long until the race people know something's wrong."
"I don't know," Misty groaned and then sighed. "Let me give Brock a call…"
It turned out that Brock, the other volunteers, and the race officials were already on their way and arrived only a couple minutes later. Brock rode in on Onix, his shadow falling over the prone people and pokémon in the snow.
"Hi Brock," Ash said, not bothering to get up.
"You're in the way," Misty groaned.
"Oh, am I Brocking your light?" Brock asked with a smirk.
"That pun signed your death warrant," Misty groaned again.
"Speaking of death, why am I not surprised to find you two in the thick of things?" Brock asked, sliding off Onix and hooking his thumbs in his belt.
"That's not fair," Ash protested. "I saw Misty get hit with an avalanche and I had to help."
"How'd you get hit with an avalanche?" Brock asked, turning to the orange haired girl. "I thought you'd have picked up on how to avoid one from Lorelei?"
"I saw it heading for a bunch of racers who didn't see it coming," Misty answered. "You're getting them out of the snow, right?"
"We probably should have checked on them," Ash moaned, forcing himself to his feet. "The primeape didn't get in there, did it?"
"the primeape?" Brock shook his head slowly. "Of course it couldn't be simple….."
Brock and the other new arrivals were able to get everyone out of Misty's dome safely. None of the trapped racers were in critical condition and were ready to be moved immediately. They also found a battered rider and their tauros, the ones who had initially set off the primeape's rampage when they had accidently stomped on it. They began to ferry everyone back to the ranch over the course of several trips.
When they got back, Ash and Misty didn't bother eating or changing into their sleepwear. They forced themselves through the ordeal of treating and feeding their pokémon, Ash got a pokéball lock for the primeape, and then they collapsed on the floor of the ger, too tired to get in their cots.
Brock sighed when he was greeted by the sight after he got back to the ger. He took off their shoes, put them on their cots, and then tucked them in.
(Some habits die hard.)
The award ceremony was the next day, to be followed by a party. Ash figured that dealing with releasing the primeape could wait until tomorrow. He wanted to rest, eat, and listen to music.
Jared, the other Pidgeot rider, had come in first place. One of the rapidash riders had come in second, followed by the gyarados and its rider. They all stood on a raised platform, their pokémon standing behind them, as the gathered crowd chatted and cheered.
Lara had been chosen to do the speeches again and to hand out the awards.
The third-place winner received a plaque and was told that they would later receive a custom-made saddle for their gyarados. The second-place winner won some armor, forged in the tradition of the nomadic tribes, for them and their rapidash, along with a badge (Ash wondered if it ever got confused for a gym badge). Lara gave the first-place winner a hug to welcome him into the clan, a hand-woven standard with the Laramie emblem on the banner, and a golden medal.
Ash, Brock, and Misty clapped along with everyone else. Ash and Misty shared a look of mild regret, before smiling and looking back at the winners. In the end they had given it their all and sometimes that was enough.
Once the applause for the winners had started to die down, Lara raised her hands, calling for quiet.
"I hope y'all don't have anywhere to be in a hurry, 'cause I got a few more things ta say!" The blue haired woman announced once everyone had quieted. "I think y'all remember the unfortunate incident that happened on the mountain. It turns out that our sweepers missed a wild pokémon on the mountain and it caused an avalanche."
Ash and Misty grimaced at the memory.
"Luckily," Lara continued, her eyes searching through the crowd "no one was seriously hurt due ta the actions of two special trainers, who dropped out of the runnin' to save their fellow racers. These fine fellows managed ta not only shelter a group of racers from the avalanche, but they also subdued the pokémon responsible."
Her eyes met Ash and Misty's and they both flushed. "It's for that reason that I would like ta call Aaron and Misty to the stage now! Come on up now y'all!" Lara pointed at them and the crowd parted. A grinning Brock gave them both a shove on the shoulders and scarlet faced, the two of them made their way to the stage. Lara and the crowd helped them up.
"Let's get a round of applause for these two great young trainers!" Lara shouted, grabbing a wrist from Ash and Misty and raising their hands into the air. The two looked away from the crowd, still furiously blushing, as a new chorus of cheers and applause rang out.
AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading (Go check out their stuff, it's great).
I'd like to thank everyone for leaving a review/comment! They really mean a lot!
So anyway, this little arc had three purposes. Worldbuilding, character focus for Pidgeot, and giving Ash and Misty time to bond by letting them be little shits that they are. (And to establish that they are both competitive little shits).
I can be fairly predictable at times, so I don't think don't think that it's much of a spoiler to say that the next little arc will include some time for Ash and Brock to bond.
Don't forget to review/comment!