Chapter 69: That Tricky Old Geezer!
Chapter 69: That Tricky Old Geezer!
Though it was called a "dash," the racecourse was actually quite long, a round trip of about 500 meters. More importantly, the track wasn't a straight line. It was a wide arc, and the sandy path was dotted with large rocks that the competing Pokémon had to navigate around.
The real challenge of the race was maintaining top speed while skillfully dodging these obstacles.
CRASH!
Not long after the race began, one of the Tauros in the second pack, which had been charging forward with its head down and paying no attention to the path, slammed headfirst into a large rock. It collapsed to the ground, stars circling its head, unable to continue.
Tauros were powerful in a straight-line sprint, but they were also stubborn and lacked agility.
In contrast, the Pokémon in the first pack were handling the course with ease. The Ponyta had incredible jumping power, leaping over rocks with a single bound. The Doduo weren't great jumpers, but they were so fast they could simply run around the obstacles without losing their position, their bodies leaning into the turns like they were drifting.
However, this was a desert, not a grassy plain. Every time a Ponyta leaped high into the air, its hooves would sink deep into the soft sand upon landing, which severely hampered its speed. This was why, despite having a clear species advantage, the Ponyta hadn't managed to create a significant lead.
The lead pack was now over a hundred meters out, but the five Pokémon within it had started to spread out as the slower ones fell behind. Leading them all was Rex's Ponyta. With its long legs, tall stature, and brilliantly shining fiery mane, it was impossible to miss. It galloped madly, its hooves kicking up a thick cloud of dust that choked the Pokémon behind it.
Right on its tail, however, a Doduo was in hot pursuit, trailing by less than ten meters. Doduo, the Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, resembled an ostrich with two heads. Although it couldn't fly, it was an exceptional runner, rumored to be able to reach speeds of 100 km/h.
CRASH!
A moment later, the second Tauros followed in its companion's footsteps, knocking itself out on another rock. The trainers of the two Tauros wore embarrassed expressions. Who could they blame when their own Pokémon ran into a stationary object? It was just frustrating.
"Drilburr..."
Back in the second pack, Drilbur was gritting its teeth and pushing on. But without Sand Rush activated, its speed wasn't at its peak, and the gap between it and Rex's Ponyta had already widened to thirty meters. Just then, the Ponyta rounded the red flag at the halfway point and started the return leg.
"Oh, for crying out loud! Why is my Drilbur being so honest?" Basalt slapped his forehead, feeling a mix of pride and exasperation.
To activate Sand Rush, Drilbur only needed to kick up a tiny, localized sandstorm around itself. From this distance, no one would notice. Even up close, you'd have to be looking carefully. This was a desert, after all; a light breeze was enough to stir up dust. The risk of being caught "cheating" was practically zero.
And besides, so what if they got caught? This was just an amateur race hosted by a tourist park. Basalt couldn't care less. The worst that could happen was disqualification.
"Drilbur, full speed ahead!" Basalt yelled, his voice laced with urgency.
His shout surprised a few of the other trainers nearby. That Drilbur is already so fast, and it still hasn't gone all out? Is this guy for real, or is it just a tactical bluff?
"It's got to be a bluff, right?" someone scoffed. "There's no way a mole can run faster than Pokémon like Doduo and Ponyta, which are built for running."
Rex, standing with his arms crossed, just smiled faintly, a clear look of disdain on his face. The victory is mine.
At that moment, Drilbur had just passed the red flag. As it turned, it caught sight of Basalt waving and heard his shout.
"Drilbur?"
It paused for a fraction of a second. Back when it first mastered Sandstorm and Sand Rush, Basalt had repeatedly instructed it never to reveal those abilities unless absolutely necessary, or until he gave the secret signal. The words "full speed" and "all out" were that signal.
It meant: Stop holding back. Let loose!
Are we really at a critical, last-resort moment? Drilbur wondered, a sense of gravity filling it.
"Drilburr!" (`￣へ￣´)
Fine by me! it thought. I, the great Emperor Drilbur, have never taken second place since my debut. Real champions don't aim for second! To the top, or nothing at all!
With a strange cry, Drilbur began to kick up a vortex of sand as it ran. Its Sand Rush ability activated!
WHOOSH!
Drilbur's speed exploded. It shot out of the second pack and began closing the distance on the lead group at a visible rate.
"Whoa! That Drilbur is actually speeding up!" one of the contestants yelled, his voice trembling.
"No way! It was really holding back!"
"What is that speed? It's completely unnatural!"
"Seriously! Is that thing really a mole? Can moles even run that fast?"
The contestants buzzed with discussion, staring at Basalt as if they'd seen a ghost. What kind of divine training method was this? It was as if this Drilbur had completely shattered the limits of its species. A Speed-God Mole?
"My Drilbur has always been naturally fast. Add the Sandscale Berry and its Sand Rush ability, and this speed is perfectly logical," Basalt said with a calm smile. As he watched, Drilbur surged into third place, trailing only Rex's Ponyta and the swift Doduo.
But in terms of pure, raw speed, Drilbur in its Sand Rush state was clearly superior. The distance between it and the leaders was shrinking rapidly.
Three seconds later, Drilbur blew past the Doduo.
Only Ponyta remained, about ten meters ahead. There was still about 100 meters left in the race.
"Ponyta, faster!"
At that moment, Rex, who had maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, finally cracked. He could see that at their current speeds, his Ponyta was genuinely at risk of being overtaken.
And he was right. The gap was closing.
"How in the world was it trained?" Rex gritted his teeth, completely bewildered. I beat the other Ponyta, I beat the Doduo... am I really going to lose to a mole? No one would believe it!
"This is insane! Is... is Drilbur actually going to win?"
At the finish line, the referee and all the contestants held their breath, their eyes glued to the track, waiting for the winner to emerge.
In the final stretch, Ponyta seemed to dig deep and unleash its own hidden power. Its tongue was hanging out, its expression a mask of frantic exertion. The once-majestic white horse now looked like a crazed, hysterical stallion.
Whistle!
The finish line whistle blew. The referee took a deep breath and announced, "I declare the winner of this race is... Drilbur!"
In the end, Drilbur had won by the length of a single claw, just barely touching the finish line tape first in a thrilling photo finish.
"Drilbur really won?"
"That's just ridiculous!"
The contestants were dumbfounded. Rex's face was dark. His Ponyta, losing a race to a mole? It was an unacceptable, humiliating defeat.
"Hello. My name is Rex," he said, pushing through the crowd to stand in front of Basalt, his face grim. "Your Drilbur is very strong. Are you interested in a battle?"
Since he lost the race, he would win back his pride in a proper fight.
"Sorry, not interested," Basalt replied instantly, patting Drilbur's head as a reward. He had just finished the Seaside County qualifiers and was honestly too lazy to battle, even if Rex seemed like a strong opponent. There would be plenty of strong opponents at the Metro City training camp; he didn't need to seek one out now.
"Hmph!" Rex scoffed and turned away. In his mind, Basalt must have heard of his reputation and backed down out of fear. If that was the case, his Drilbur couldn't be that strong in a real battle. After all, he didn't even have the courage to face him.
"Basalt, that was amazing! You even beat Rex!" Faye rushed over, giving him a big thumbs up. She was completely convinced of her cousin's skill now. Her only slight disappointment was that Basalt had refused the battle. If he had won, she could have bragged about it to her friends at school for a year.
"It was nothing," Basalt grinned.
After the Novice race concluded and the Intermediate contestants began to take the field, Basalt followed a staff member to claim his prize.
It was a white metal pendant dotted with tiny gold flecks. It looked a bit like silver but felt heavier.
"This is the prize?" Basalt asked, stunned. It looked like a cheap ten-dollar souvenir you'd buy at a gift shop. Or worse, something from a stall at a tourist trap.
"Now, don't underestimate this pendant, young man," the staff member, a white-bearded old man, began to boast, spittle flying from his mouth. "The material may look like silver, but do you see these little gold specks? Don't they look just like stars in the night sky? This is actually a mysterious metal we found by chance while patrolling the dunes. It's incredibly hard! We've checked all our references and can't find any information on it. We therefore speculate that it's highly likely to be a meteorite from outer space..."
Basalt couldn't be bothered to listen. He snatched the pendant from the man's hand and walked away.
Yeah, right. I'll believe that when Porygon fly. This old geezer... he's full of it!
If it were a real meteorite, would they be giving it away as a prize in an amateur race? Basalt figured it was just a specially made craft item, designed to look fancy to trick tourists. He'd fallen for similar scams in his past life on Earth and lost a good amount of money. The memory was still painful.
He pocketed the pendant, said goodbye to his cousin, and rented a Numel. It was time to explore the deeper parts of the dunes. The areas near the park entrance were too frequented by humans to have any wild Pokémon left. But deep in the desert, in the places where people rarely went, there was still a chance. He had come all this way; there was no way he was leaving without checking it out.
"Basalt, the deep desert is uninhabited, and there are wild Pokémon there. Will you be safe going alone
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