@Scytherwolf; @Soups;

Episode 112: Just Add Water

"I am so glad you got Team Rocket off our backs for a good long while." Misty smiled. "Now they won't try to cause any more trouble!"

"And if they do, you can always pop their balloon." Ash grinned. "I'm just glad my Badges are okay."

Brock looked up from the guidebook when he heard waves in the distance. "Well! We've made it back to the eastern coast, not far from where we disembarked." he smiled as the group emerged from the brush to find a few sand dunes and a beach.

"I am so ready for a day at the beach!" Misty dashed down onto the sandy shore and heaved all of her Poke Balls skyward. "Come on out, everyone! You guys deserve a vacation after all we've been through!"

[Surf's up!] Michelle made a flying leap into the water, making the resulting wave splatter onto her giggling master.

[Bury me in the sand, please?] Ami begged Brock.

After making a Marill sized hole in the sand with his fist, Brock waited for Ami to climb in the hole before covering her with sand. "There we are."

Sango rolled through the sand, waiting for Michelle to pick the jewels and pieces off her branches, while Pearl and Aurora kept watch from the water. "If I knew where the locker rooms were, I'd be in my trunks surfing right now." Ash smiled as he watched the waves lap the shore.

[I know...] Tintri sighed before he remembered something. [Did we even pack the surfboards?]

Ash was about to answer when a sign on a noticeboard got his attention. "Hey, Misty...check this out!"

Misty hurried over to look at the sign. "Speed Pokethlon today at the Wave Aquatics Center--all tracks and skill levels welcome..."

"Don't forget you have one medal left to earn!" Brock smiled as he also looked over the sign. "This would explain why no one's here on the beach right now--they're all signing up for the Pokethlon!" He made a grand gesture to the path leading into the city, where a crowd of Pokethletes were rushing inside a majestic blue building near the town's main drag.

Misty nodded. "It's only fitting I end my Pokethlon experience the way I started it--so let's go!"

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"Okay..." Misty began as she emerged from the women's dressing room in her jersey, and made her way to the stands, where she spotted the boys in the front. "I've picked Pearl, Ami, and Sango for the competition."

"Great choices--according to the program, the first event of the day is the Hurdle Dash." Ash reported.

"I'll be using Pearl for that." Misty replied as she watched her faithful Starmie fly over to the pool's second lane.

"You sure? Remember that you still have the Relay Run later on..." Brock cautioned. "You don't want your fastest Pokemon to wear out early."

"Relax--I plan to use Sango in that event." Misty assured her companion before hurrying off to meet Pearl.

Once all the Pokethletes were in position, the referee called. "Ready?" before the whistle blew. A mass of waves flew up from the pool as the Pokethletes and their Pokemon dove in but a Primarina and her rider emerged from the waves in the lead, with Misty and Pearl not far behind.

Pearl, however, felt her core turn pink with awe and adoration over the beautiful seal-like Pokemon as it sailed over the first hurdle in its lane. [She's beautiful!]

"I'm glad you think so, but we need to focus on our lane, not the competition." Misty warned.

[Right!] Pearl replied as she dove under the first hurdle, allowing her to build up enough speed to fly over the second one when she surfaced.

In the stands, the boys watched as the Primarina and the Starmie leapt over the third hurdle at nearly the same time. "Good thing Pearl pulled herself together when she did..." Ash commented as the two Pokemon and their riders made a last sprint to the end of the pool.

"Game, set, and match." Brock smiled as Misty and Pearl edged the Primarina for a narrow win.

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"Okay...this Capture the Flag event is a little different." Misty explained to her Pokemon as the pool was cleared. "It's more like Capture the Coins instead--whoever can find a rainbow of coins hidden in the coins at the bottom of the pool, wins."

[May I try?] Ami asked.

"Well..." Misty hesitated a moment. A Marill was obviously too small to carry a person.

She flagged down a referee making his way to the pool. "Excuse me, but does a Pokethlete have to compete on a rideable Pokemon for Capture the Flag?"

"No--you do not necessarily have to ride a Pokemon in Capture the Flag." the referee replied. "If your Marill wishes to attempt the event, she is welcome to try."

[YAY!] Ami cheered before hurrying off to a starting block, with Misty not far behind.

"Good luck, Ami!" Ash called from the stands. Brock whistled in agreement as the four Pokemon dove into the water with a collective splash, the water becoming a frenzy as the competitors scoured the depths of the pool to find a rainbow of coins.

Underneath the surface, Ami was initially jostled in the waves the Primarina and a Dewott generated as they hurried to the pool bottom. But once her field of view cleared and she could see the coins on the pool's bottom, she raced ahead of the Dewott to find a red coin. An orange coin was nearby, and she rushed to beat the Primarina to a yellow coin. I wish there were props or guides rather than this mass of coins... she thought as she dug through the mass of coins to find a green coin.

She smiled when she snatched away a green coin from the Primarina some moments later, finding the last three remaining colors before beating the Dewott to the surface to take a narrow second place.

"Well done!" Misty met her Marill on the pool deck some moments later. "I was a bit worried when the Primarina surfaced first..."

[Took a little while to find a green coin..] Ami wheezed as Misty dried her off with a towel.

"Second place isn't so bad--you did your best, and I'm proud of you for that." Misty assured Ami as the pool was prepped for the final event...

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[Go, Sango!] Tintri cheered as the whistle blew to signal the Relay Run was underway. [Go, Sango!]

"Misty and Sango got off to their fastest start yet..." Ash was impressed as Misty and Sango rocketed out to an early lead.

Brock consulted the stat list as Misty streaked by to begin another lap. "Corsola has pretty high speed, but is only decent in everything else..."

[Whoa!] Tintri gasped as Misty surpassed her old record of 14 laps. [Misty just broke her old record of 14 laps!]

"Is this it? The moment where the 20 laps in two minutes finally falls?" Brock asked as the final seconds on the clock ticked away, the four Pokethletes all desperately tried to finish another lap or two before time expired.

Ash grinned when he saw Misty had finished with 16 laps. "Not yet, Brock--beating her old record and the overall win is accomplishment enough!"

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"Well done, Misty...you've finally earned eight medals." Bock smiled as the group departed the medal ceremony later that evening. "What are you gonna do next?"

"I just want to focus on the Grand Pokethlon for now." Misty replied as she admired the glint of her gold medal in the setting sun. "Once I win a medal in that, then we can start planning the trip to Worlds of Wonder."

"Fair enough." Ash replied. "It's already safe to assume the Grand Pokethlon will be a little of everything you've seen on this journey, but I've noticed you never used Aurora--is she not Pokethlon material?"

"Part of that reason was her size and the space I had to compete in." Misty explained as the group started down the beach to make camp for the night. "But if I have a nice wide open space to compete in in the Pokemon League..."

She snatched away the stat guide from Brock and located Lapras' entry. "Aurora would be a best fit in a Power, Skill, or Stamina event."

The three friends then laid their hands on top of each other. "Let's make a splash in the Pokemon League together!"

To Be Continued...