Episode 3: Stepping Up to the Plate

The trio departed New Bark Town the next morning in high spirits. "I'm glad that Ethan finally got his Totodile." Ash smiled. "But I still wonder--why did Kamon want him?"

"Some people are just naturally punks out to make trouble." Brock sighed. "Kamon might be one of those people."

"You have to admit, that Cyndaquil was so brave!" Misty smiled. "But I wonder what would've happened if Kamon had snatched Hana and made Lyra panic?"

[Speaking of Chikoritas, look over there.] Tintri interrupted, pointing out a grassy spot by the roadside.

"Okay, team! In order to win the Capture the Flag event, you all need to work together!" a female voice explained as Ash carefully tiptoed up to a bush and peeked through it, where he could see a purple haired girl in a yellow and black pinstripe outfit addressing a Chikorita, a small brown bird Pokemon with a pink beak, and a tiny purple rat Pokemon. "Camden! You naturally have the advantage at this event due to your wings. Fenway! You can run fast on the ground, and speed is key to finding the flags. But I especially wanna work with you today, Wrigley..." the girl smiled as she knelt down to pet the Chikorita. "You may not be able to run fast, but you can power past our rivals!"

"Um, forgive me for interrupting, but what's going on?" Ash asked as he climbed through the bush to join the girl and her three Pokemon on the field.

"We're training for the Pokethlon--an athletic competition just for Pokemon." the girl explained. "Name's Casey--I've dreamed of Pokethlon glory since I was little."

"Sounds like fun!" Ash smiled. "I'm Ash...and these are my friends Misty and Brock." he smiled as Misty and Brock joined him on the field.

"Today my team and I are practicing the Capture the Flag Pokethlon event." Casey explained as she gestured to the rainbow of flags hidden under rocks, in tree hollows, in bushes, and buried in the grass. "The object of the event is to find as many of the flags hidden around the course as you can--either one Pokemon can do it alone, or a team of three can do it together. Since this is just practice, I'm having each of my Pokemon make an individual run on my makeshift course first."

She balked when she looked in her bag. "Great...I forgot my stopwatch and my whistle..."

"Here--my Pokenav has a stopwatch app." Misty offered.

"I've got a whistle..." Brock offered before retrieving his own referee's whistle from his bag and hanging it around his neck.

Casey grinned. "Nice, a Kanto Screamer! Those are some of the best whistles for outdoor competition. But the Pokethlon isn't just for competing on the land--there are also water and aerial courses, too."

"Really?" Misty gasped, her eyes sparkling over the thought of her Pokemon competing in a water Pokethlon. "Where do I sign up?"

"The main stadium is nearby the National Park, not far from Goldenrod City." Casey went on. "Once you sign up, you can compete at any stadium. The winners receive medals akin to the Olympics, and those that earn eight medallions earn the right to compete in the Grand Pokethlon during the Pokemon League."

She turned business-like again. "So...let's see how Wrigley does on my makeshift course."

"Okay!" Brock announced. "Ready? Set?"

The whistle echoed through the trees as Wrigley dashed from hollow, to rock, to bush, picking up each of the flags her master had hidden as she circled around the field, only pausing to drop the flags at her master's feet when she had gathered them all.

"One minute and forty-eight seconds." Misty announced as she showed Casey Wrigley's time.

"Not bad, Wrigley." Casey petted her Chikorita before gathering up the flags. "Got any swift runners on your team, Ash?"

"Well, I've got my Pikachu Tintri, but I don't think he's that fast..." Ash stammered.

"I'll hide the flags in the same places, and see if your Pikachu does any better than Wrigley." Casey offered. "Even if he wins by one second!" she called as she hurried off to hide the flags again.

Ash drew a line in the grass to serve as a starting line. "Remember, you need to beat a minute and forty-eight seconds." he reminded Tintri.

[Not too shabby for a Chikorita, but I think I can beat that!] Tintri grinned as Casey returned.

Brock waited for Misty to reset the stopwatch, then announced "Ready? Set?" before blowing the whistle again, spurring Tintri to race through the grass.

He found the first one buried in the grass, then retrieved the second one sticking out from a bush. The first hollow he checked was empty, but found the third flag under a nearby rock. He circled around to a log and grabbed the fourth flag from inside before finding the fifth flag in a dusty pit. After jumping over the tiny pit, he found the sixth flag in a bush near another hollow tree, and the last flag beneath a rock before hurrying back to the line.

Misty studied the stopwatch. "One minute and thirty-five seconds!"

"Wow!" Casey gasped. "Almost 13 seconds off Wrigley's time! What's your secret?"

"There is no secret..." a familiar male voice interrupted. "Ash only won because he cheated."

"WHAT???" Casey gasped in horror at what the voice had said.

Misty looked up to see Kamon perched in a tree overlooking the field. "How dare you suggest Ash is cheating?" she growled.

"Easy--having seen the course before, Ash knew where all the flags were, and told his Pikachu their locations before making his run." Kamon explained. "Simple as that!"

"Now, wait just a minute!" Ash protested. "I did no such thing! Tintri ran the course without me telling him anything!"

"Are you sure?" Casey asked, a stern look on her face.

A whistle silenced the impending argument. "Everyone, please!" Brock pleaded. "Rather than arguing over what Ash did or did not do to allow Tintri to finish with a faster time, I have a simple solution--have Tintri and Wrigley run the exact same course at the same time. If Tintri finishes within ten seconds of Wrigley, he ran the course fair and square. If Tintri finishes with a higher margin than that, then we have a case that he may have cheated, or Wrigley was just plain overmatched."

"Sounds fair to me." Casey replied.

"All right then..." Brock replied before waiting for Misty to reset the stopwatch. "Pokemon! Take your mark!"

TO BE CONTINUED...