Episode Twenty-Four
Previously, our heroes encountered an old friend of Michelle's named Gina. The two girls had a friendly battle with each other that saw Gina win, and Michelle decided to let her spend the night with the group. However, Team Rocket was up to their old tricks again and tried to steal Gina's Ditto but ended up getting Michelle's Poliwag instead. Fortunately, Poliwag ended up safe with Michelle and Team Rocket was once again sent blasting off by a powerful Hyper Beam. What will our heroes get into next? Find out as their journey continues.
Michelle, Amanda, and Mark were all walking casually down the path toward the next town when Pikachu spotted something on one of the signposts.
"Pikachu!" he shouted excitedly, which meant 'Guys, look at this!'
"What's Pikachu all excited about?" Mark wondered.
"I don't know." Said Amanda. "Let's have a look for ourselves." They looked at the signpost and the paper that was taped to it was advertising something that got them fairly excited.
"A Pokemon car race." Said Michelle. "That seems exciting."
"My dad actually used to be a race car driver." Said Mark. This was new information for both Amanda and Michelle.
"He did?" they asked together.
"He was one of the best racers ever." Mark said. "Every time he was on the track, he would blaze by so fast that you couldn't see him. He also won almost every race he was in. People were saying that he had the potential to become one of the best of all time, and he was certainly on the right track for that. After I was born, though, he had to stop racing so he could look after me. He hasn't raced since then."
"Do you think your dad would be proud of you if you were to participate in this race?" asked Michelle.
"I'm very sure he would." Said Mark. "Come on, let's go sign up!" The quickly ran into town so they could find the registration area. Of course, Team Rocket wasn't too far behind them, and Sally had a look at the paper herself.
"Looks like the kids decided to take part in a race." She said.
"The Pokemon Grand Prix." Said Conrad. "Do you think we should enter?"
"If it means getting to steal some Pokemon if we win, then yes." Said Sally. "Come on, let's go." The two of them ran off toward the registration spot as well, which happened to be a Pokemon Center located near the town's entrance. Mark, Amanda, and Michelle, however, didn't know this.
"I don't see anywhere to register." Said Michelle. Pikachu then spotted an Officer Jenny near the corner directing traffic.
"Maybe she knows where we're supposed to go." Said Amanda. They approached the officer, who was also talking into her portable radio.
"Excuse us, miss." Said Amanda. "I was wondering if it would be possible for you to tell us where we sign up for the Pokemon race."
"You're not too far away from the registration spot." Said Jenny. "There's a Pokemon Center up this road. Go there and Nurse Joy can tell you everything." The trio thanked Jenny and headed up toward where the center was. Fortunately, they only had to walk ten minutes to get there. When they got inside, Nurse Joy greeted them warmly.
"Are you kids here to register for the Pokemon Grand Prix?" she asked.
"We certainly are." Said Michelle.
"You're not the only ones that are here for that." Said Joy. The trio looked around and saw that there were several people in the lobby waiting to sign up.
"As you can probably tell, this is a very popular event." Said Joy. "So popular, in fact, that not everyone who registers even makes it to race day."
"What do you mean, Nurse Joy?" Mark asked.
"You have to run a qualifying lap first to determine your time. If it ends up in the top sixteen, you advance to the actual race." Joy answered. "You're also allowed to have one Pokémon with you in your car as a support."
"What do you think, Pikachu?" Amanda asked.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled, which meant 'Let's go for it!' The three of them filled out the forms, and then went over to the lobby area.
"Joy wasn't kidding when she said this was popular." Said Michelle. "Just look at how crowded this is." Eevee shuddered at first, but Michelle assured her partner that it would be all right. In fact, one of the people in the lobby was someone that the group had already run into a couple of times.
"Abby! I didn't know you liked racing." Said Amanda.
"I thought magic was your specialty." Said Michelle.
"It is." Said Abby. "I have other interests too, though, and racing happens to be one of those interests, which is why I'm here."
"Well, let's hope that all four of us get to race with each other." Said Mark.
"That would be pretty cool." Said Amanda. "All we can do is hope for the best, though." Abby and the trio continued chatting with each other, but a brief time later, Conrad and Sally came into the lobby area.
"Hello there, kids." Sally said in a fake sweet voice.
"You guys again!" Michelle and Amanda cried together.
"What do you want now, Team Rocket?" Mark asked.
"You're not here to try and steal our Pokemon again, are you?" Michelle wondered.
"Oh please, we wouldn't dream of doing that." Said Conrad, also in a fake voice.
"We're here to take part in that Pokemon race." Said Sally.
"If that's the case, you're going to have to sign up at the front desk." Said Amanda.
"We already did that." Said Conrad.
"Okay, but no funny business." Said Michelle. Twenty minutes later, Joy went over to the lobby area.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Pokemon Grand Prix." She said. "This year seems to be our most popular year ever, with forty racers signed up."
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'That's quite a lot.'
"All of you will run three qualifying laps, with only your best time being counted." Said Joy. "The top sixteen times will then advance to the big race. You can each have one Pokémon with you to serve as your partner during the competition. The qualifying round will take place tomorrow. Good luck to everyone." The trio left the center feeling more excited than ever.
"My first ever car race!" Mark exclaimed. "I just hope nothing bad happens that'll ruin it for me."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'You'll do great, Mark.' Everyone's heads were held high, but then they ran into someone who was quite arrogant.
"So, you guys think you're going to win this race, huh?" he said.
"And who exactly are you?" asked Amanda.
"Last year's champion, that's who." Said the male. "Brandon Hinkle is my name, and racing is my game."
"Just how good are you at racing?" Mark wondered.
"I'm one of the top racers in the whole region." Brandon bragged. "I've been in plenty of races before and have won almost all of them, so you guys are going to be in big trouble when you race against me!"
"Oh yeah, well we'll just see about that." Said Amanda.
"You know what, since you sound so confident, let's have a little pre-race warm up." Said Brandon. "One on one battle, right here, right now!"
"Fine with me!" Amanda cried. Brandon grabbed a Poke Ball and got ready to throw.
"Arcanine, let's go!" he cried as he threw the ball. A big red fire type with black stripes appeared and let out its battle cry.
"Arcanine, huh. Okay, I've got just the thing for that." Said Amanda, and she grabbed one of her own Poke Balls.
"Squirtle, I choose you!" she cried. The small water type starter appeared and readied himself for action.
"Do you think Amanda can win this battle, Mark?" Michelle asked.
"We'll see." Said Mark. "While Squirtle does have the type advantage, Arcanine looks like he's been in lots of battles, giving him the experience advantage, so this could go either way."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Come on, Amanda! Knock him down a peg!'
"Thanks, Pikachu. I'll do my best." Said Amanda. "All right Squirtle, start things off with Water Gun!" Squirtle aimed a streak of water at the big fire Pokemon, but Arcanine jumped out of the way right before the attack could hit.
"I should probably warn you that my Arcanine is very quick." Said Brandon.
"Yes, I see that first-hand." Said Amanda.
"Okay Arcanine, use Take Down." Arcanine obeyed and charged at Squirtle.
"Use Withdraw quickly!" Amanda commanded. Squirtle got into his shell a split second before Arcanine could damage him, resulting in just the shell being hit. Squirtle then popped back out.
"Good work, now use your Bubblebeam attack." Amanda ordered.
"Arcanine, use your Agility now!" Brandon cried. Arcanine moved even quicker than it had on Squirtle's first attempt to attack, which allowed him to dodge the bubbles regardless of which direction Squirtle aimed.
"It's no good. None of Squirtle's water moves are working!" Amanda cried.
"Looks like I was right about the experience factor for Arcanine." Said Mark.
"Is it still possible for Amanda to win, though?" asked Michelle.
"Yes, but Amanda might have to come up with a different plan or else Squirtle will become burnt toast." Said Mark.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Hang in there, Amanda!'
"Try a Skull Bash!" Amanda ordered. Squirtle lowered its head and started to ram at its fastest speed right toward Arcanine.
"Dodge it!" Brandon ordered. Arcanine jumped up high right before the attack could land, leaving both Squirtle and Amanda visibly frustrated.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle yelled, which meant 'I can't hit him. He's too good.'
"I know this Arcanine is powerful, but you can't give up." Said Amanda.
"Now, go for the Fire Blast!" Brandon ordered. Amanda gasped.
"Outside of Flamethrower, Fire Blast is the most powerful attack for a flame type like Arcanine." Said Michelle. "If I were Amanda, I'd be very worried right now."
"Pikachu?" Pikachu wondered, which meant 'How powerful is it?'
"It's very powerful." Said Mark. Sure enough, the powerful blast hit Squirtle directly, but not enough to knock it out.
"Are you okay, Squirtle?" Amanda asked. Squirtle gave an affirmative nod and stared down the Arcanine.
"Try another Water Gun." Amanda ordered. Squirtle sent another stream of water in Arcanine's direction, and once again, the big fire type jumped to try and avoid it. However, Arcanine wasn't quite fast enough, and the attack hit his back leg.
"Arcanine!" Brandon cried.
"There you go, Squirtle!" Amanda yelled. Brandon didn't seem the least bit worried, though.
"Body Slam." he said calmly. Arcanine spread out his whole body and jumped right on top of Squirtle.
"Try to get up!" Amanda cried. Squirtle tried getting out of Arcanine's grasp, but to no avail.
"Finish it, Arcanine. Hyper Beam!" Brandon cried. Arcanine opened his mouth, and a bright white beam shot out, hitting Squirtle directly. The small turtle struggled to get up, but the effects of the attack caused it to faint.
"And that's the match." Said Michelle.
"Great job, Arcanine." Said Brandon. He recalled his Pokemon and stared at Amanda.
"Let's hope your racing skills are better than your battle skills." he said and walked away with a big grin on his face. Amanda recalled Squirtle, and angrily watched Brandon disappear out of sight. Pikachu ran over to her, as did Michelle and Mark.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked curiously, which meant 'Are you okay, Amanda?'
"Not really." Amanda answered.
"That was a good try, though." Said Michelle.
"That's certainly not the first time you've lost a match, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time either." Said Mark.
"It's not the losing part I'm angry about." Said Amanda. "It's Brandon's attitude that I don't like."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I didn't like him either.'
"Just be glad that you didn't have to battle him, Pikachu." Said Amanda. Michelle placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Come on, let's find a place to eat and maybe that'll take your mind off of that guy." Said Michelle. The three friends, plus Pikachu and Eevee, all walked down the street looking for restaurants. The first one they found was closed, while the second one was completely full. The third one wasn't quite packed, but still packed enough that they decided to continue walking.
"I wonder why all of these places are so busy." Amanda wondered.
"It's because of the big race." Said the head waiter for the restaurant they had been about to pass. "An event like this attracts a lot of people, so you have to make reservations in advance to be able to get in."
"Oh, but we don't have a reservation." Said Michelle.
"No reservation, no table." Said the waiter, and he went back to his work. The trio continued to walk and saw plenty of other restaurants. However, all of them were full too.
"I don't think we're ever going to find a place with open room." Said Amanda. They were at the end of the block when Mark spotted a place that was quiet.
"There's nobody in this one." He said.
"Thank goodness." Said Michelle, and they ran up to the entrance.
"Can I help you?" asked the restaurant's manager.
"We'd like a table for three, please." Said Mark.
"Assuming that you're not busy, that is." Said Michelle.
"Don't worry, we have plenty of room." Said the manager. "Follow me." She led the group to a table that was just outside of the tent.
"The waiter will bring your menus to you shortly." She said as she seated them, and then she left.
"This place definitely looks nice." Said Mark.
"I'm glad it's also quiet." Said Michelle. "Those other places we passed through had too much loud music playing."
"Pikachu." Pikachu agreed, which meant 'Yeah, all of that constant loud music was kind of annoying.' The waiter came to the table five minutes later.
"May I get you started with any drinks?" he asked.
"Three diet sodas for all of us, please." Said Amanda.
"Sounds good." Said the waiter, and he left the table. Amanda then went into deep thought.
"What do you suppose she's thinking about?" Michelle wondered.
"Probably about how she's going to beat Brandon in that big race." Mark answered.
"Pikachu." Pikachu chimed in, which meant 'If she can't beat him in a Pokemon battle, how can she possibly do that in a race?'
"Racing is a lot different than battles, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Battling requires skill, while racing requires speed."
"It also requires some luck, too, and you certainly didn't have any of that in your battle." Said Michelle.
"She does have a point there." Said Mark.
"We may have lost the battle, but we're certainly winning the race." Said Amanda. A few minutes later, the waiter returned with their sodas and asked for their food orders. Amanda decided on a cheeseburger with fries, Mark ordered some pizza and Michelle went for some fish and salad. After the waiter left the table to give the orders to the kitchen, Amanda thought of something that concerned her.
"What if Team Rocket tries to pull off some cheating stunts during the race?" she asked.
"Knowing those two, I wouldn't be surprised, honestly." Michelle answered. Twenty-five minutes later, their food came. All three of them dug in and were very satisfied with their meal. Amanda even let Pikachu have a few French fries, and Michelle shared some of her fish with Eevee. Once they got the bill and Amanda paid, they all made their way back to the Pokemon Center.
"That was such a good meal." Said Michelle. "I wish I could eat like that all the time."
"Sadly, not everyone can afford that luxury." Said Mark.
"Wait a minute, something felt odd the entire time we were sitting down and eating." Said Amanda.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked.
"I'm surprised Team Rocket didn't try to interfere with our meal." Said Amanda.
"You're right." Said Mark. "Those two clowns usually follow us wherever we go." Conrad and Sally had chosen to eat at one of the crowded places, but unfortunately, didn't have the funds to pay for their meal, and so they had attempted a dine and dash. Unfortunately, they were caught by their server. As punishment, they were forced to wash dishes in the kitchen by hand.
"This is why you always make sure you bring money with you before walking into a restaurant!" the head chef barked at them. Conrad and Sally let out a sigh, as they knew they would be in for a long night. As Amanda slept, all she could think about was Brandon, and how he had made fun of her battle skills.
"I'll show him." Amanda whispered quietly. "Once we get on the track, the only thing he'll be eating is the dust from my race car." The next day was the qualifying race, and the three friends were all getting themselves ready. One of the rules that they had to abide by was that each competitor was required to wear special racing suits as well as a helmet. Amanda was dressed in a blue suit, Mark in a red suit and Michelle in a green suit.
"This is going to be a great race, Pikachu." Said Amanda. Right as they were about to get on the track, Brandon came up to them.
"If you still think you're winning this race, missy, then you may as well just throw in the towel right now because I'm unbeatable." He bragged. This got Amanda angry again.
"I'm not giving up." She barked. "I want to win this race, and I won't be satisfied until I do that!"
"Whatever." Brandon smirked, and he ran off laughing.
"Don't let him get under your skin." Michelle advised. "Just give it your best and you'll be fine." Just then, the voice of a talking Meowth was heard over the intercom.
"Anyone competing in the qualifying race, please report to the starting line." He bellowed.
"Come on, guys." Said Amanda. They got into their cars and waited for the red lights above the line to go off.
"Get ready." Said Michelle.
"Get set." Said Amanda. The lights then went off.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled, which meant 'Go!' The three of them hit the gas and took off. The first lap was spent getting used to the car. In the second lap, they picked up some speed and started to go faster. In the third lap, they went all out and crossed the line within two seconds of each other.
"That was certainly a close finish." Said Michelle.
"Just imagine if this was a real race." Said Amanda. They got out of their cars and were putting their helmets away when they heard someone on the track yelling for help.
"Pikachu." He said, which meant 'I wonder what's going on.'
"Let's have a look and see." Said Michelle. They ran back to the track where they saw a girl named Lisa driving much faster than she should've been. She tried to slam on her brakes, but she couldn't. She tried to turn, but she couldn't do that either.
"I don't think what's about to happen next is going to be pretty." Said Michelle. With the brakes and steering wheel both malfunctioning, the car slammed right into a barrier and Lisa was sent flying backwards onto a patch of grass. Thankfully, the car wasn't damaged, but Lisa was screaming in pain when she tried to get up.
"That doesn't sound good." Said Mark.
"Let's go help her." Said Amanda. They rushed over to Lisa to check on her.
"Are you okay?" Michelle asked.
"No." Lisa cried. "I think my arm might be broken." She tried to move again, but it did no good. Fortunately, Nurse Joy was nearby and rushed to Lisa's aid.
"I had a feeling that I heard some commotion over here, and it looks like I was right." Said Joy. "Let's have a look at that arm of yours." She carefully tried to feel where it was hurting, only for Lisa to scream again.
"I know it hurts, but you have to let me look at this." Joy instructed. She examined the arm carefully and then gave her diagnosis.
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news." She said. "The good news is that your arm isn't broken. The bad news is that it's severely sprained." She took out her first aid kit and applied a cast as well as a shoulder sling.
"You'll have to wear that for the next ten weeks." Joy continued. "I'm afraid that means no racing for you tomorrow. It's a shame, too, because your time was the fastest out of everybody. Well, I have to get back to the Pokemon Center." She took her first aid kit with her as she left, and then Lisa started crying.
"Cheer up. Everything will be okay." Said Michelle. Lisa disagreed, though.
"You don't understand." She sobbed. "This was supposed to be my first year taking part in this race. I wanted to do it last year but got sick. And now this year, my arm gets hurt in an accident the day before the race."
"I'm sorry you got hurt, but I have a sneaky feeling that what happened to you was no accident." Said Mark.
"We think someone set that up to force you to get hurt." Said Michelle.
"You haven't heard of Team Rocket, have you?" asked Amanda.
"My aunt Lorelai has told me a bit about them, but I've never seen what they look like." Said Lisa.
"Wait a second, did you just say that Lorelai is your aunt?" Michelle asked.
"As in, the famous Lorelai of the Elite Four?" Mark wondered.
"Yes, that's the one." Said Lisa. "Now, what were you saying about Team Rocket?"
"There's these two crooks named Conrad and Sally who work for them, and we think they messed up your car to cause that accident." Said Amanda.
"I guess that would explain why the car was fine yesterday when I did a test run with it and then suddenly wasn't working today." Said Lisa.
"Exactly." Said Mark.
"Since you're out of the race, what are you going to do?" Michelle asked.
"I guess I'll have to settle for watching the TV broadcast." She said, and then she let out a sigh. "It won't be the same, though. Anyway, thanks for helping me." She picked herself up and walked away sadly.
"I feel sorry for her." Said Amanda.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed sadly, which meant 'So do I.'
"She worked so hard and now she doesn't get to show her skills." Said Amanda. "I want to have a word with Team Rocket." She looked all around the track for Conrad and Sally but couldn't find them. The two crooks had wisely disappeared after finishing their run.
"One less bit of competition to worry about." Said Sally.
"I suppose that's good news for us, but weren't we supposed to ruin the twerps' cars instead of one that some random kid was using?" said Conrad.
"It was dark out when I did this, so I couldn't see." Said Sally. "No matter, though, we're going to make sure that those twerps don't win the race."
"We don't even know yet if we qualified, though." Said Conrad. Later that evening, Nurse Joy posted a sheet of paper in the lobby stating who had qualified.
"There's our names!" Michelle cried. They looked at the sheet and saw that they had indeed advanced. Unfortunately for them, so had Brandon, Sally and Conrad. Amanda growled, but there was nothing she could do except get a good night's rest. The next morning, the three of them were back at the racetrack and getting themselves ready for the big event.
"Good luck, guys." Said Amanda. At exactly ten o'clock, Nurse Joy ordered everyone to the starting line.
"Okay everyone, let's have a clean race." She said. Meowth was in charge of the commentary.
"Welcome, one and all, to the annual Pokemon Grand Prix!" he announced. "We have a lot of talented racers here today looking to show their skills. Unfortunately, we are down one racer for today's event due to an accident that occurred during yesterday's qualifying round."
"Yeah, an accident that was caused by Team Rocket." Amanda muttered to herself.
"For everyone that is here, give it your all and may the best racer win." Meowth continued. "On your marks, get set, go!" Amanda zoomed out to an early lead after the first lap, but not surprisingly, Brandon was keeping up with her.
"Only one of us is going to win this race, and it's going to be me!" he claimed.
"Is that a fact?" Amanda asked angrily.
"It sure is, miss." Said Brandon. "Like I told you already, nobody can beat me." That was when Amanda noticed something on one of Brandon's tires.
"I may not be a racing expert, but I'm pretty sure it's a bit hard to drive properly when you have a loose wheel." She said smugly. Brandon looked at the tire and gasped.
"The car wasn't like this yesterday!" he cried. As a result, his turns weren't as sharp as they should've been, and he had to drop out after only two laps. Conrad and Sally were grinning.
"Another one bites the dust." Said Sally. Amanda continued to hold the lead, but that didn't last too long before Michelle pulled up beside her.
"I bet you must be glad that Brandon's out of the race." She said.
"I'm extremely happy about that." Said Amanda.
"Pika!" Pikachu reminded her, which meant 'This race is far from over.'
"I know, buddy." Said Amanda. The two of them remained even with each other for the next couple of laps, but shortly after lap five started, Michelle saw a net hanging from one of the trees. She tried to get past it as quickly as she could, but the net came down and swallowed her up while still in the car.
"Hey, this isn't funny! Let me down!" Michelle cried. Conrad just snickered.
"And there goes another one." He said. However, Mark came to Michelle's aid and tugged at the strand of rope holding the net together. The net opened up and Michelle landed back on the track.
"Thanks, Mark." She said.
"No problem." Said Mark, and the two of them drove away.
"Rats!" cried Conrad.
"I told you to make the net tighter!" Sally hissed. Meanwhile, another girl was humming along down the track and singing a tune to herself. She had just crossed the goal line to start lap number seven when she suddenly started driving in reverse.
"Huh?" she wondered. Sally had somehow found a remote control in her car's glove compartment and was using it to control the girl's car. The girl tried to move forward but couldn't. Then, she found herself ramming into a wall. Her race partner, a Poliwhirl, asked if she was okay.
"I'm fine." Said the girl. "I think there's some shady stuff going on, though. Well, nothing we can do about that." She tried to move forward again, and this time, she was successful.
"So much for that idea." Sally fumed, and she slammed the remote back into its compartment. The next three laps went smoothly, but on lap ten, a tack suddenly appeared in the middle of the road.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Look out!' He briefly took charge of the wheel and swerved away from the danger right before Amanda could hit it.
"Thanks, buddy." Said Amanda. Just then, the girl who had been sent in reverse got close to Amanda's car.
"I don't know about you, but I think somebody's cheating." She said.
"Oh, I already know that there's cheating going on." Said Amanda. "And I think I know who's doing it too. I'm not concerning myself with that right now, though. I just want to try and win this race." Amanda took off, with the girl following close behind.
"Any more bright ideas?" Conrad asked.
"Well, they do say that fruit's healthy." Said Sally. She started to throw a banana peel onto the track in order to try and get a driver to slip on it. However, a wild Mankey swooped down from the tree and grabbed the peel before any damage could be done. Sally grunted.
"Why is nothing going right?" she fumed and glared at Conrad.
"Don't look at me." He insisted. "A lot of these have been your idea."
"That's true." Said Sally. Another boy was enjoying himself, but on lap thirteen, he suddenly found himself going slower.
"I don't understand what's happening." He said.
"We do." Sally said as she drove right by him.
"As the race continues on, Amanda continues to lead the pack." Said Meowth in the booth. "The other racers are doing their best to catch up, though." Michelle caught back up to Amanda but had a bit of concern.
"I'm sensing unfair play." She said.
"I think I already figured that out." Said Amanda. "Team Rocket is definitely cheating. They'll get their just desserts later on, though." As the race continued on, several others dropped out due to being sabotaged by Team Rocket. As it got down to the remaining few laps, only Conrad, Sally, Michelle, Amanda and Mark remained in the race.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'Just us and Team Rocket left doesn't sit well with me.' She said.
"I know, Eevee." Said Michelle. All five of them were neck and neck as they began the final lap.
"This race is two close to call. Anybody could still win." Said Meowth.
"There's still one trick left up my sleeve." Said Sally. She waited until they were all close to the finish line, then pushed a button that extended the nose cone of both her car and Conrad's car just enough for them to cross the finish line ahead of Amanda.
"We did it! We won!" cried Sally. Once they got out of their cars, they hugged each other. Amanda, Mark, Michelle, Pikachu and Eevee were all disappointed.
"I can't believe we lost to Team Rocket." Amanda said dejectedly.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'I wouldn't be so sure about that just yet.' Conrad and Sally were standing on top of the podium smiling and cheering.
"We actually beat the twerps for once!" Sally cried. "This is the happiest moment of my life."
"Mine too." Said Conrad. They both jumped up and down on top of the podium excitedly when there was a tap on their shoulder.
"I've been getting complaints about possible cheating going on." Said Officer Jenny.
"Us? Cheating? Never." Said Sally.
"Don't even try to deny it." Said Jenny. "The footage from the race proves that it was the two of you. The other racers told me about their so called 'accidents', and everything traces to the two of you." Mark, Michelle and Amanda approached them and angrily stared them down.
"They even tried to kidnap me in a net at one point." Said Michelle.
"See what I mean?" said Jenny, and she tapped her foot angrily.
"I have no clue what you're talking about." Said Conrad, trying to play dumb.
"Yeah, we won fair and square." Said Sally.
"Fair and square? Yeah right." Said Amanda. "Jenny says you both cheated, and I believe her over you. Pikachu, we know how to deal with cheaters, don't we?" Pikachu nodded and gave Conrad and Sally an angry look.
"No, Pikachu, don't do it!" Sally cried.
"Thunderbolt!" Amanda commanded. Pikachu unleashed his power move on the two Team Rocket members, sending them high into the air.
"We're blasting off again!" They cried.
"Now then, Amanda, since you were the first one behind Team Rocket when crossing the finish line at the end, you're officially winner." Said Jenny, and she handed Amanda the trophy.
"Look at that, Pikachu, we won the race!" Amanda cried as she climbed to the top of the podium.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried happily, which meant 'Congratulations!'
"Yeah, congratulations Amanda." Said Michelle.
"Thank you." Said Amanda. Even Brandon congratulated her.
"You sure showed me a thing or two about racing." He said. "I hate to admit it, but you're much better than I thought you were."
"You weren't too bad yourself." Said Amanda.
"I still think I could've done better if Team Rocket hadn't interfered." Said Brandon.
"I'm glad you two finally see eye to eye." Said Michelle. Amanda just stood proudly atop the podium and held her trophy over her head. Despite some severe interference, the race went off successfully, and Amanda showed who was the better racer between her and Brandon. Meanwhile, Conrad and Sally left the town feeling more miserable than ever.
"We failed again." Said Conrad.
"It was nice to feel the thrill of winning for a little while, though." Said Sally.
"If only it could've been permanent." Said Conrad.
"We'll just have to plan better tactics for next year." Said Sally. They both let out a sad sigh as they walked down the street.
"Team Rocket's feeling low again." They both said in unison.
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Fearow, Squirtle, Weepinbell, Flareon, Nidoran Male
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Poliwag, Ponyta, Charmander
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, Gastly, Lapras
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Haunter, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female