Volume IX's Winning Shipping: WindFestOfUsShipping


One-Shot 9: Rapidash Risa Reborn


Risa stood out in the plain as Eevee stood by her. She wore a white shirt and shorts while wearing track shoes. She stood before she knelt down. She was on all fours, ready to run. She lifted her knees and brought a foot back while her hands stayed firm to the ground. Looking ahead, she saw the path as Eevee took a similar stance. "Ready?" asked Risa.

("Ready,") Eevee barked. A silent countdown rached through Risa's mind.

"GO!" she shouted before she and Eevee dashed. They sprinted for a few seconds before pulling up. They looked back at where they started, about 150 meters away. Risa and Eevee seemed satisfied with the sprint. "A nice 10-second sprint to get back to form."

("Indeed,") Eevee agreed. As they reset themselves, Risa spotted Ash and Pikachu from the corner of her eye. Quickly, she ran over to them.

"Ash!" she called. Ash and Pikachu heard Risa and turned to her with Eevee. Pikachu leaped down to meet up with Eevee who tackled him playfully.

"Risa, what's up?" asked Ash as he looked at the outfit Risa wore. "And what is that you're wearing?" Risa giggled to Ashs questioning.

"Ever since you helped me get my running legs back, I've been working on my comeback to my athletic career. Rapidash Risa is like Moltres, reborn from the fires of despair and ready to prove who I was." The self-cheering made Ash sigh.

"I'm not sure that makes sense, but I'm glad you're able to do what you missed." A giggle came from Risa.

"Yeah, at least. So, how about a race?" The visiting trainer wondered about this race.

"A race? To where?"

"The Pokémon Center." The location made Ash nod in agreement.

"You're on!" The agreement made, Ash and Risa set themselves side-by-side. Pikachu got to the front to start the race. Each one lined up and set themselves to start.

("Ready?") squeaked Pikachu. Ash twisted his cap around. As Risa added one final stretch while they both were on one knee and both hands on the dirt. ("Get set…") Ash and Risa rose their knee as they were on all fours, ready to run. Finally, Pikachu rose a paw before flinging it down like a chop. ("GO!") Ash and Risa jumped and sprinted pass Pikachu. Their race was on. Eevee got to Pikachu as he stood and watched. Still worried about Risa's past, Eevee wanted to make sure the two didn't get hurt.

("Shall we?") she asked.

("Let's…") agreed Pikachu. They raced after their trainers as they pumped their arms, getting step for step toward their goal.

'I train myself and my Pokémon in speed,' Ash thought. 'And she's coming back from an injury… I should be able to win.'

'Just because I learned how to run again,' Risa thought. 'I'll show Ash that I haven't lost a step.' As Ash and Risa raced through the city, students saw the race occurring.

"That was Rapidash Risa!" one student gasped.

"Is she really back!?" wondered another student. Pikachu and Eevee were doing their best to catch up.

"You can do it, Risa!" one more cheered. Their arms still pumping, their legs aching and their "finish line" fast approaching, Ash and Risa still looked close.

'For a young man to keep up with a star athlete like me,' Risa minded. 'He's been able to stay with me stride-for-stride. He may be the next star athlete for sure.'

'I can see why she's an athlete if she's racing this hard,' Ash minded. 'It won't change what I'm going to do, and that's win!' They reached the last stretch, the Pokémon Center in sight. 200 meters… Ash and Risa pushed their aching legs, running for so long. Nurse Joy stepped out as the two runners came by. Risa started to pull away as Ash gasped to the effort. Finally, they reached the Pokémon Center.

"GOAL!" shouted Risa as Ash passed her and fell to the street. Risa slumped a little from exhaustion, her hands on her kneecaps. Joy attended to Ash as Pikachu and Eevee arrived.

"It looks like she beat you by half a second," Joy studied. Pikachu and Eevee made it to where they fell onto their stomachs in the same exhaustion as Ash and Risa. Joy helped Ash to his feet while Risa recovered enough to hoist the Pokémon.

"Great race, Ash!" she huffed. "You look like you could be the next star athlete." Pikachu climbed onto a shoulder before Risa offered a hand to help Ash on his feet.

"Thanks…" he appreciated.

"How about we get something to eat? I know a restaurant which can fill us after a race like that." The Pokémon cheered to the idea.

"Okay!" They proceeded to a restaurant where Pikachu and Eevee had bowls of Pokémon food and Berries. Ash and Risa had bowls of stew and vegetables. "How long have you been doing this athletic stuff?"

"Ever since I enrolled in mid-Elementary School, so about 3rd Grade on. I always wanted to run, and my parents had a hard time keeping me restrained even as Rick was born. I always wanted to run with Rick whether in a stroller, carried for a piggyback ride or when he learned to run himself. Because I was built like an athletic sensation, I believed Rick would as well." Pikachu and Eevee awed Risa's past growing up with Rick.

"I know you care deeply about Rick." That's when Ash suspected something that happened before he met Risa. "Did your injuriy change your thoughts?" Risa shook her head.

"It was more than my thoughts. My confidence took quite the hit knowing that I couldn't run with the injury, I just quit. Suddenly, I just resumed studying since that's all I could do. My leg healed, but my spark seemed permanently smothered. Before I knew it, the Wind Festival came around… and you." Mentioned, Ash's eyebrow rose.

"Me, Pikachu… and Eevee?" Barking, Eevee happily hopped around.

"So, when was Rapidash Risa coming out of the stables?" a brunette female student voiced. Ash, Risa and the Pokémon turned to see a few of the female students wearing the school uniform.

"Hey, guys!" greeted Risa. "I take it you saw me and Ash race?"

"Not only did we," an ivory-haired student confirmed. "What we saw was the old Risa that we marveled at."

"But don't you think it's silly to challenge this boy?" the brunette questioned. Risa scoffed to the brunette's point.

"This 'boy' may be the next star athlete," she warned.

"I believe her, Deb," the ivory-haired pointed to the brunette. "Did you see those two running? He was with her stride-for-stride!"

"That's for sure, Ari," Deb accepted. "Not to mention that he also helped with the Pokémon Catch Race after the Tyranitar ran amok." She picked up Pikachu. "Of course, without this Pokémon's Iron Tail, who knows what damage that Tyranitar would've caused."

"Trust me," Ash spoke up. "I didn't want Tyranitar hurt, but it was the only way to save everyone and keep the Wind Festival going."

"And we couldn't thank you enough for what you've done to make it possible," Ari acknowledged. Ash appreciated the praise from the girls as Deb gave him a kiss to the temple. Risa giggled at Ash's embarrassed face. They left as Ash and Risa reached a house. Inside was Rick.

"Risa, welcome home!" he greeted. "And you have Ash with you?"

"Yeah, if that's okay," Risa wished. Ash seemed surprised by Rick's recognition of him.

"How do you know me?" he asked.

"Well, who was the one to stop the Tyranitar during the Pokémon Catch Race?" sneered Rick. Ash giggled to the claim. Pikachu seemed curious to the boot on Rick's right leg. Rick saw the Mouse Pokémon's curiosity. "This is a special boot that is cushioned with air so that I can walk while my broken leg heals." Pikachu seemed surprised to hear about the broken foot.

"What happened to your foot?" asked Ash.

"I was carrying some heavy equipment with a few others when it slipped and my right foor was in the wrong place," Rick briefed. "Could you imagine trying to walk on a broken foot? The pain can be unbearable."

("Sorry about that,") Pikachu apologized. Rick petted Pikachu to know he understood. Risa looked to the two boys, knowing that their friendship started.

"By the way, did you know that I was a host on the Pokémon Channel?" wondered Rick. Ash blinked.

"No…" he curiously replied. Rick grabbed a white wig and sunglasses before dressing his head.

"How about now?" he asked. Ash laughed to the disguise.

"That was you!?"

"Right? No one would believe me if I said that I emceed the event." Pikachu climbed onto Rick's shoulder and laughed to the sight.

"Okay, Rick," Risa voiced. "I'm gonna make a pizza." The boys awed the idea.

"Go for it!" cheered Rick. Risa started to make her way to the kitchen when she tripped on a corner, going down. Ash was close by and caught Risa's fall. They both fell to the floor with Risa on top of Ash. Rick became worried. "Ash! Risa!" Calming down, Risa breathed a sigh of relief… or tried to when she realized that she was face-to-face and mouth-to-mouth. They were accidentally kissing. Rick gawked to the inadvertent kiss. Ash's and Risa's face flashed red. They couldn't believe they were kissing at that moment.

("Oh boy…") gulped Pikachu and Eevee. Breaking their kiss, Ash and Risa observed their faces. Some snorts later, they burst out laughing. Risa calmed down before helping Ash up.

"Sorry about that," Risa sighed. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" smiled Ash. Risa reached the kitchen and started making pizza when Ash and Pikachu offered to help. They made the pizza and ate it with some Pinap Juice. "Rick, did the doctors tell you how long your leg will heal?"

"They said a month," Rick informed. "After all, it's no fun that I can't do anything until it's back to full strength. They also said to take it easy since the bone is healing, the muscles and tendons will be in need of work after being off of the foot for that long period." Ash understood Rick's healing timetable.

"It's going to be a while, but don't feel too bad," he encouraged. "I want you to be up and running to keep up with Risa." The sister giggled to the support.

"Not a bad way to close off a date that had us running," she teased. Ash, Rick and the Pokémon gawked to Risa's point. "After all, I was going to kiss you sooner or later. That is what I call a confirmation of a date." Ash's face went bright red, realizing that he was on a date with a girl he helped get back on her feet, figuratively and literally.

"You know what this calls for?" asked Rick. "A nice group photo. Pikachu, Eevee, wanna join?" The Pokémon agreed before the two were on their trainers' shoulder. Rick had his Rotom Phone on hand and had the group gather. Ash was between the siblings, Pikachu between Ash and Rick and Eevee on Risa's opposite shoulder. That's when Risa turned Ash's head and gave Ash another kiss, this being intentional. Rick sneered and took the picture. Ash's face was bright red again. "That couldn't have been any better. I'm sure my friends will get a kick out of that." Risa realized Rick wanted to post the kiss on social media.

"I'll give you a kick if you post that!" she snapped as she chased the hobbling brother. Ash slumped to the ground as the Pokémon laughed to the escapade. Eevee sneaked around Pikachu before kissing his red cheek. Pikachu's face became as red as the cheek that was kissed. That night, Risa invited Ash to sleep with her, now that it was official for the two to be dating. They may be resting, but Ash and Risa's love lives were off and running.


END of VOLUME IX