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Chapter 4 — Tour De Alto Mare
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“Come on!” Ash shouted in encouragement while tugging aggressively on Buizel’s reins. Buizel cried out energetically and sped up further along the canal in response. Ash squinted at the cool rush of moist air that buffeted him and remained firmly focused on the track ahead.
The competitor in front of Ash—a tall man with tanned skin whose Mantine-drawn chariot left a turbulent wake behind him—glanced back and scowled. He tilted his chariot to the side to block Ash’s path forward.
Buizel growled and slowed to avoid crashing head-first into the man’s chariot. Ash abruptly tugged the line to the right and Buizel followed suit, bolting to the right and speeding up across the water.
“You’re not passing me, brat!” the burly man yelled while angling his line to the right to move his chariot just in time to block Ash’s second attempt to pass him.
Ash scoffed as Buizel stalled again. ‘He reacts quickly to us…’ He looked ahead and paid close attention to the upcoming turn. ‘It’ll be a tight squeeze but I think we can do it.’ He instinctively tightened his grip on the line and pressed his feet firmly against his chariot. “Buizel, get ready!”
Buizel briefly glanced back and nodded confidently at Ash. He focused on the canal’s sharp turn and the vivid red illusion that signaled it, already knowing his trainer’s intentions well. The man angled his chariot and turned around the canal’s corner. However, their turn became too wide given Mantine's wide wingspan and large profile.
“Now!” Ash shouted while crouching and pressing his weight to the side to angle his chariot in preparation. Buizel surged forward and swam into the space between the Mantine and the sharp edge of the cobblestone sidewalk. The sharp momentum of the turn pressed Ash lower into his chariot but he barely retained his balance and avoided a fall.
Buizel smirked and swung his dual tails out of the water as he passed next to them to send a large splash into the other competitor, who crouched and shielded his face in response to avoid falling. Buizel snickered at the expletives that Mantine hurled his way in response.
“See ya!” Ash hollered triumphantly as he and Buizel exited the turn, now firmly ahead of the man and his Mantine.
“Get back here, you little—!” the man shouted, whipping Mantine’s reins in frustration and raising a fist in protest.
“Show them what you’ve got, Buizel!” Ash smirked and pressed down onto his chariot. Buizel uttered a taunting cry at the Mantine and sped up, blasting far ahead of the pair and leaving the man looking on with a flabbergasted expression.
“What a terrific maneuver from contestant Ash Ketchum!” the MC shouted enthusiastically over the loudspeakers scattered throughout the racetrack. “A tight squeeze but he’s got it! He’s now in fifth place! Now, let’s see how those behind them are doing!”
“Of course, it was terrific.” Ash glanced briefly at Pikachu. “Hey, remember the race at the Orange Islands? It almost feels like it, right, buddy?”
Pikachu laughed and nodded while voicing his thrilled approval. He pointed ahead and adopted a competitive grin.
Ash followed Pikachu’s paw and noticed a woman on an orange chariot ahead of him. “Four more to go until I’m first. She’s next.”
The woman glanced back and noticed Ash a fair distance away behind her. “Let’s go faster, Vaporeon!” she shouted while returning her attention to the racetrack. Her Vaporeon let out a loud cry and sped up.
The woman glanced back again to check her distance from the competitor on her back and blinked in confusion when she failed to notice him anywhere. “Huh?” The sound of a large splash beside her immediately made her whip her head in the other direction. “What!?” she cried out as she noticed Ash and Buizel rapidly swimming past her. “So fast!”
Ash grinned while Pikachu waved goodbye at the woman and her Vaporeon. “Three left.”
Meanwhile, back at the main bridge that made up the start and finish lines, Brock painstakingly waddled his way back to the railing and half-heartedly leaned over it with a sickly expression. “Ugh, my head’s spinning…”
Bianca blinked and looked at him. “What was that about?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Brock said while waving dismissively. He used the railing for leverage, stood up, and looked at the illusion covering the sky above the racetrack. “Oh, Ash is in fourth place now. Dawn is fighting for first!”
“Uh-huh.” Bianca took a picture with her digital camera. “Your friends are pretty good; I’ll give them that. In the last couple of years, Ross won without much hassle. This time he has to work for it.”
“We’ve got quite the race here, folks!” the MC’s voice blared over the loudspeakers. “Reigning champion Ross is fighting evenly with newcomer Dawn from Sinnoh! So far, they’ve traded first place more times than I can count!”
“Precisely,” Bianca agreed. She briefly glanced at the second digital camera placed on the railing near her to ensure it still recorded Latios’ illusion as it vividly showed the race to the crowds with intricate detail and astonishing clarity above the canal. “Are they experienced?”
“Ash and Dawn are pretty good Pokémon trainers, yeah,” Brock confirmed, voice full of pride and admiration. “The best, in my opinion.”
“I guess that explains it,” Bianca said after a short hum. “Most locals who compete here do so with pet Pokémon. It makes sense they’d struggle against trained Pokémon. Ross stands out often because he used to compete in gyms years ago before he retired.”
Brock gave her a confident thumbs up. “Then just wait and see. Ash or Dawn will win.”
Bianca glanced at Latios’ illusion, focusing on Dawn and Ross as they fiercely fought for first place. “We’ll see if she can keep it up.”
“And Ross retakes the lead!” the MC announced enthusiastically, which caused many locals in the crowd to cheer and roar in approval.
“Come on, Piplup!” Dawn shouted encouragingly. Piplup cried out a series of chirps and pushed himself as hard as he could, barely overtaking Ross and his Wailmer after they turned around a tight corner.
“But Dawn fires back and retakes the lead!” the MC called out.
Ross scoffed and instinctively tightened the grip on his line. “Let’s go, Wailmer! We’re not losing our crown!”
Wailmer called out melodically and swam as fast as he could, leaving a violent wake trailing his large body. Yet, even as the turbulence battered Piplup and the side of Dawn’s chariot, the pair kept up and remained slightly ahead of them.
Dawn smirked and threw a side glance at Ross. “You’ll have to do better than that!”
“Oh, don’t test me!” Ross shot back.
Dawn and Ross approached a tight turn, entering and exiting it in near-perfect unison while remaining neck and neck.
“I wonder who will falter first because, right now, neither wants to slow down! It’s a test of endurance to see which Pokémon can sustain such an intense pace to the end!” the MC narrated. “A couple of turns behind Ross and Dawn, it looks like newcomer Ash Ketchum and the Legendary Josh are fighting for third place now!” the MC added excitedly.
Ash blinked upon hearing the MC’s announcement and the crowd’s applause. “Legendary Josh? Why’s he called that?” he wondered aloud. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the chariot ahead of him, now so close that he felt the rush of moisture glide past him from its wake. “What’s so legendary about that guy, anyway?”
Josh—a teenager dressed in long brown shorts, a dark red shirt with blue sleeves, and a bright green cap—turned at the next corner and allowed Ash to see the Pokémon that pulled his light blue chariot.
It was a Magikarp.
Ash made a face and his jaw dropped. “How is he in third place with a Magikarp!? Is this the B-Button League all over again?” he wondered. Pikachu grimaced at the mention of the powerful Magikarp he fought at Jubilife City and swore some of the bruises of that battle still hurt to this day.
Buizel looked at the Magikarp incredulously and gritted his teeth furiously. He was not losing to a Magikarp of all Pokémon.
“Whoa!” Ash cried out as Buizel accelerated further and went right after Josh at breakneck speed. “That’s the spirit, Buizel! Let’s take the Legendary out of his name!” he added. ‘I guess if he’s so good with a Magikarp, that’s why they call him that.’
Josh glanced back and noticed Ash rapidly approaching him. He pulled on Magikarp’s line to catch her attention. “Hurry up, we can’t let him pass us!” The Magikarp let out a series of loud vocalizations of her name and sped up.
As Ash and Josh approached a tight turn on the next canal, Buizel charged through and attempted the same maneuver that allowed them to pass the Mantine-drawn chariot earlier. Right as Magikarp turned, Buizel tried to wedge himself in the space between Josh’s chariot and the sidewalk.
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“Magikarp, jump!” Josh commanded. The Magikarp reared back and let out a thundering cry as she leaped out of the water with immense force, dragging Josh’s chariot over Buizel and the sidewalk’s sharp corner, enabling the pair to land ahead of Ash as they exited the turn.
Ash looked at the pair incredulously. “I know Magikarp can jump but that’s ridiculous—Wait, Buizel!” he protested, almost losing his balance as Buizel surged intensely through the water while thinking that a fellow water-type wouldn’t outdo him.
As the two racers approached the next turn, Buizel’s breathing turned erratic and his twin tails spun faster. When Josh entered the turn, Buizel screamed and swam with as much power as he mustered. He leaped out of the water like Josh did a turn ago and dragged Ash’s chariot just barely above Magikarp, even though it scraped slightly against the sharp edge of the sidewalk under them.
Ash winced and Pikachu clung to his shoulder for dear life as they landed firmly ahead of Josh’s chariot with an enormous splash. Ash fought against the sudden tug the violent landing caused and maintained his balance. “Way to go! We got this!”
“What a twist of events! Ash steals Josh’s maneuver and overtakes him to take third place!” the MC screamed excitedly to the cheers and claps of the crowd.
Latias rolled her eyes as she followed the competitors. ‘Dummies. They could’ve fallen doing that,’ she thought to herself.
“Hey, that’s why you’re in charge of safety. Or what, are two overexcited teenagers doing dangerous stunts a bit too much for you to handle, dear sis of mine?” Latios quipped playfully, restricting his telepathy solely to his sister.
“Latios… Shut up and focus on being the TV,” Latias replied with a snort.
Ash laughed as they surged past Josh and gradually increased the distance between them thanks to Buizel’s superior swimming speed. He focused on the canal and pouted when he noticed Dawn and Ross weren’t yet in sight. “Buizel, listen, we need to go even faster. Don’t slow down for turns. It’s our only chance to catch them.”
Buizel swam fast and dragged Ash’s chariot with him. The pair settled firmly in third place, and now free of the immediate stress from nearby competitors, Ash took a moment to marvel at the scenic surroundings they dashed past and made numerous mental notes of places he thought they should visit on a future date.
The canals brimmed with people and Pokémon, as tourists and locals gathered on sidewalks, balconies, businesses, terraces, makeshift stands, and rooftops to watch the race with candid excitement and lively chatter. Ash observed that the bridge ahead of him—a stunning double arch of stone with elegant marble trimmings and a cobblestone finish—appeared crowded to the point not another soul fit on top of it.
The buildings and houses, made from elegant Istrian stone and painted in traditional colorful motifs, along with frequent trees jutting from cutout gardens on the sidewalks that framed the canals, created a beautiful vista to glide through.
Buizel swam through a turn at top speed, causing Ash to wince when his chariot splashed a rather large wave onto the open terrace of a nearby luxurious restaurant. However, a bright wall of telekinetic light abruptly shone to life and blocked the water, causing it to harmlessly slide off it and back into the canal without splashing anyone in the crowd.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief, glanced up, and remembered that Latios and Latias followed along the race. He couldn’t see Latios’ illusions, but the dragon appeared as a second sun of azure light high above, his presence bathing the city in divine light. Latias wasn’t in sight, but he recalled seeing her following the racers along the middle of the pack earlier. Ash returned his focus to the track and braced himself for the turn ahead.
The flashing illusion of red energy, which blocked the canal’s right turn, pulsed vividly to warn Ash and Buizel of the upcoming turn. He grimaced and shifted all his weight to the left to counteract Buizel’s intense left-hand turn. He struggled but just barely managed to retain his balance and the pair hurried onto the next turn.
Latias followed the racers diligently and watched the race closely to feed a secondary viewpoint to her brother should he need it, occasionally giggling at their mishaps and enjoying the race’s fun. “So, who do you think will win?”
“I think Dawn will win,” Latios guessed. “Her Piplup is well trained and is managing his exhaustion far better than Ross’ Wailmer. He may be out of shape. It’s between those two as everyone else is too far behind, I think.”
“Perhaps, but Ross always seems to do well when it matters,” Latias countered. “He’ll win.”
“Want to bet on it?” Latios smirked. “Dye your feathers neon green.”
“…No,” Latias answered after a moment of thought. “Anyway, it’s been a pretty uneventful Tour de Alto Mare so far, don’t you think?”
“Don’t jinx it,” Latios advised.
“Oh, come on! This far into the race, there’s no way there’s going to be an—” Latias’ head whipped to the side and her glowing eyes narrowed the moment she caught sight of a competitor precariously losing his balance during a tight turn. She reared back and shot forward so fast she became a faint red-and-white blur. Her vast psychic powers easily contained the sonic boom she caused to her immediate surroundings to avoid collateral damage.
Ash screamed as his balance faltered from the intense centrifugal force of the sharp turn that he subjected Buizel and himself to, flinging him clean off his chariot and straight into the stone wall of a building. Ash gritted his teeth, covered his face with an arm, closed his eyes in reflex, and braced for impact against cold, hard stone.
It felt a lot softer and warmer than Ash anticipated when it finally arrived.
Ash’s eyes flew open in surprise, catching a brief glimpse of a down of luscious red and white feathers as he slid down into the water with an unceremonious splash. He emerged from the water and shook his head to clear some of it off his face. He looked up, taken aback by the sight of Latias looking down at him with a friendly smile. He recalled seeing her way back and wondered how she made it to his location so quickly. Despite the dire situation that he subjected her to, the dragoness’ friendly visage conveyed no hint of stress or worry.
Latias tilted her head and giggled, her ears pointed upright and arms retracted to her sides. “Be careful. You’re taking turns way too aggressively,” she suggested. “Wouldn’t want you to fall again.”
“T-Thank you,” Ash replied gratefully. He looked back in panic and noticed that Josh rounded the last corner and headed straight for his location. “Gotta get back to the race!” he exclaimed as he swam back to his chariot as quickly as he could. Buizel awaited him with an apologetic expression while Pikachu repeatedly tapped the chariot to signal him to hurry up.
Latias observed as Ash swiftly boarded his chariot and darted off the moment he grabbed the line. She shook her head in amusement when he entered the next turn with the same lack of care as he did the turn prior.
“Hmm?” Latias looked down and noticed a red and black cap floating on the water. She picked it up and playfully twirled it on her claws. ‘Better return it.’ She slid by the closure to the base of her claws and hid it behind a small illusion. She daintily levitated back above the city and monitored the other contestants, nodding in satisfaction at the fact all remained safe.
‘I just need to be more careful with my balance,’ Ash reasoned to himself. ‘Taking quick turns is the only way I’ll catch up to Dawn and that other guy. It’s all or nothing.’
“Ross and Dawn refuse to concede any ground to each other!” the MC shouted. “Or, should I say, refuse to concede any water to each other? Whatever! It’ll be a finish to remember folks!”
Ash’s expression shifted to one of concern as the MC’s narration only pressured him further. He didn’t know Alto Mare’s layout and thus didn’t know how much of the racetrack remained.
Buizel swam at a powerful and brisk pace, not slowing down for turns and hoping that Ash kept his balance and didn’t fall over again, as they knew a second fall would render the race unrecoverable. He felt the first signs of exhaustion throb in his twin tails and forearms from the continuous, strenuous effort of top-speed swimming. However, he knew that Piplup and the Wailmer couldn’t fare any better than he did. With renewed determination and a refusal to concede burning fiercely at the forefront of his mind, Buizel retained his speed and muscled through his building exhaustion.
Ash felt immensely relieved when he noticed the leftover turbulent wake on the canal’s surface the moment he exited a sharp turn, no doubt left by Ross and Dawn. “There they are!” he called out. “We got this, Buizel!”
Buizel shouted a sharp battle cry, continued his aggressive pace, and turned around the next corner at full speed. Ash crouched down and threw his weight on the side to resist the violent tug on his chariot from the brisk turn. He narrowed his eyes competitively as, against a backdrop of red light from an illusion of Latias at the end of the canal, he saw Dawn and Ross fighting neck and neck for first place.
“What’s this!? Ash Ketchum is approaching Dawn and Ross fast!” the MC shouted. “They’re about to reach the last turn before the finish line! Can he make it or is it too late?”
Ash gasped. “Hurry up, Buizel!” He knew that last turn was his last chance to gain any ground on them. Ross and Dawn briefly slowed down to take the turn safely and, unlike them, Buizel took the turn without slowing down. Ash winced as it caused them to swim widely through it and forced him to pile his weight so far to the side of his chariot that it almost dipped under the water’s surface.
Buizel violently forced his way between Ross and Dawn’s chariots, finally reaching parity with Wailmer and Piplup, who looked at him with surprised expressions that rapidly faded into a pair of competitive scowls.
“I have to admit, he’s quite impressive to have caught up with the leaders,” Latias commented to her brother. “He’s skilled and his Buizel is tough. I honestly have no clue who’ll win. It’s anyone’s race here.”
“Well, I guess I’ll swallow my words about Dawn winning. That Ash guy is good. They caught up with them despite falling so far behind.” Latios focused on the three swimmers and, with the race’s conclusion imminent, centered all his illusions on them. “All three Pokémon are at their limit, though. It’ll be close.”
“Pay close attention to the finish line,” Latias suggested. “We may need to officiate a tie-breaker.”
Ash looked further up and noticed the canal they turned into was identical to the one they departed from, with only the illusions laid by Latias at its sides inverted to show it was the proper way. The bridge at the end—which Ash recognized as the one Brock was on—flashed with a vibrant veil of red light and the word ‘finish’ appeared on its stone surface.
The crowds clapped and cheered as the three racers fought hard against each other and approached the bridge neck and neck. Brock and Bianca, along with everyone else on it, leaned forward to get a closer look as the three contestants drew ever so nearer to it. “It’ll be so close!” Bianca called out excitedly. “Go, Ross!”
Brock waved at the incoming pair. “Go, Dawn! Go, Ash! One of you better win!”
Ash glanced at his sides, noting that Dawn and Ross kept pace with him. However, their Pokémon appeared just as strained as Buizel did. “You can do it, Buizel!”
“Come on, Piplup! We can’t let Ash win!” Dawn shouted. She knew the race would end, either won or lost, based on the slimmest of margins. Piplup let out a defiant chirp and accelerated as fast as he could despite his burning exhaustion.
“We must defend our crown, Wailmer! Full speed ahead!” Ross called out. Wailmer’s face contorted from the strain as he sped up to his absolute limit.
“What a daring finish!” the MC boomed. “It’s so close, folks! Who will win!?”
Ash, Dawn, and Ross all shouted triumphantly as their respective Pokémon gave out thundering cries and pushed themselves to the end. With agitated waves and potent splashes shrouding the finish line from the violent swimming of Buizel, Piplup, and Wailmer, the three Pokémon and the chariots they drew crossed the finish line at seemingly the same time.
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Chapter End
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