[CyberCubed]

Well it took me over a week, but the next chapter is complete! It's over 28 pages too, so it was worth the wait. I had to seperate this chapter into two posts because of SPP posting restrictions, just like the last one. This chapter continues right from the Scyther attack on Ash and May, so you may want to re-read the last segment of Chapter 28 just to remember what was going on.

Chapter 29

Victory or bust!

The beats of their wings rang harshly, the sound pulsated through their ear lobes threatening to overtake their stability. The wind above was being cut through the center as a battalion of scythes were getting ready to make their mark. The teens could feel it all; their hearts raced knowing what little time they had left could make the difference between being on the water or back on the sand. Their bodies were soaked from the waves which splashed against their bodies, and their eyes tried to fixate on an escape route, although time was dreadfully short.

The two Water Pokemon struggled to pull along the surfboard in the current, away from the raining scythes above them, but the scythes belonged to life, and life had a mind of its own.

Fretting about whether to stop or go, May held onto the tethers in a loose manner just in case she had to make a split second turn to get out of the hazardous situation from above. If the scythes made contact with the two ropes, it was all over. Their hard work and their determination will have been for naught, and their dreams crushed. The girl wasn’t about to give up easily though, there was too much at stake here. Commitment, trust, honor, willpower, and a hint of revenge fueled her mind and kept the blood coursing through her body. Was the hope entirely on her shoulders, or was the boy or the Pokemon also a deciding factor? She tried to think, but the boy took charge.

“Before they get close, Corphish, try aiming your Bubblebeam attack at the Scyther above!” Ash called out in an act of desperation, peering over May’s shoulder while he clung to her waist.

With one pincer aimed upward and the other used to remain at a constant speed in the water, the lobster fired its attack above at the raining white and green aggressors. Much to its and its master’s dismay, the Scyther battalion easily avoided the bubbles and returned to formation after the attack had missed.

“Damn, that didn’t work!” Ash yelled, frustrated.

“Forget about attacking! We’ll outrun them with speed…we just have to!” May motioned frantically.

Corphish and Squirtle gave it their all, putting all their remaining strength into pulling the surfboard on the waves. May stared ahead, gripping the tethers more securely, but Ash constantly looked above and behind his shoulders at the Scyther formation which came dangerously close.

“SCYTH-ER!” the leader commanded, pointing its scythe at its prey.

Two Scyther on the sides came in for the first wave of attack toward the surfboard, while the others remained in formation.

“May!” Ash urged her.

“I know, I can hear them….” May gasped, hearing the beat of their wings in her ears. The course ahead was still wide and clear without any kind of protection, there was nothing to hide behind or a maze to lose them in. The girl was suddenly struck with an idea, “Zigzag!”

Ash looked at her confused but the Pokemon understood the orders. As the two Scyther prepared to strike, the surfboard began moving in zany zig-zagging patterns along the waves instead of a straight manner. The surfboard was being pulled along quite erratically, as Ash struggled to hold onto the girl with all his might. Having practiced zigzagging around buoys and stone pillars previously, it was the only plan that could possibly throw off the Scyther’s rhythm.

Their blades struck the surfboard but missed their prime target due to its erratic motion. A piece of the enclosed sides of the surfboards were sliced clean off, but otherwise the board was still faring well.

“Now they’re closer, use Ice beam, Squirtle!” May shouted, as the two Scyther hovered right above them.

“Squirt!” the tiny turtle cried.

It fired the icy light from its mouth and caught both Scyther in the blast, freezing both of them in a block of ice in which they plummetted down into the waves behind them. The remaining Scyther were shocked as to what happened to their partners, and instead of following the surfboard, they hovered over their fallen comrades trying to break them free of their icy encasement instead.

Ash and May turned their heads backward and cheered happily once they saw the Scyther wave had backed off. May raised her hand high and asked him for a high-five for a job well done, and he quickly slapped her hand happily.

“Heeehee, another disaster averted!” she laughed, “My Squirtle’s Ice beam has to be the best attack ever!”

Ash chuckled, “Yea, kind of like…hmmmm…what’s that word again?”

“Hm?” she asked.

“It’s a word Brock uses…it’s uh…oh now I remember,” Ash said, “Your Squirtle’s Ice beam is like a deus ex machina!”

“Eh? What does that mean?” she asked, turning slightly.

“Just something Brock said to me once, about how my Pikachu was so strong it can get me out of almost any situation in battle,” Ash said, thinking, “Although really I have no idea what the words mean, but that’s the gist of it.”

“That figures, I knew you couldn’t have come up with such a big word like that all by yourself.” May smiled.

Ash squeezed her around her belly tightly after her comment, almost as if he was giving her a reassuring hug from behind without knowing what he was doing. May let out a soft “Ah,” feeling the warm contact of his chest against her back, and his arms against her waist. Almost forgetting that they were still in a race, the two friends enjoyed their brief moment of unintended affection until the surfboard hit a buoy briefly, which shocked and brought the pair back down to earth.

Ash stuttered, “There’s…a small cave coming up ahead…do you think we’re supossed to go through it?”

May looked at the floating wooden signs attached to buoys around them, “The arrows on the signs are pointing toward the cave, so that must be part of the track.”

“It looks really dark in there!” Ash said as the surfboard approached the entrance to the cave.

“Kind of creepy too,” she worried, “I hope there are no Zubat in there, if those things cling to my hair I’ll go nuts!”

“I’ll try to shoo them off if they cling to you,” Ash joked.

“I already have you clinging to me, I don’t need any unwelcomed guests doing it too,” she teased.

Corphish and Squirtle swam diligently, pulling the trainers inside the crevasse. The cave was dark and damp inside, but luckily there were no branching paths and the only way to go appeared to be straight. A couple of eerie sounds filled the cave but the trainers could not make out if there was anyone else surfing through there but themselves.

“Please no Zubat, please no Zubat, please no Zubat!” May pleaded.

“At that rate you might as well hold up a sign saying, “Come attack me Zubat!” you know?” Ash said jokingly.

The board continued to race through the cave, and May took a breath of relief once she saw light from the end of the tunnel.

“Alright, there’s the exit ahead!” May cheered, “Thank goodness there were no Zubat!”

“See? You got worried for no reason!” Ash said. He put his hands to his mouth and shouted out to the cave, “No Zubat in this cave I see! Maybe they just don’t like brunettes!”

“ZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIT!” a flurry of voices suddenly shouted.

“What the heck was that?” May asked cautiously, her eyes wandering around the cave nervously.

A bunch of red eyes suddenly appeared from the sides of the cave, and moments later they flew toward the trainers….eyes that belonged to none other than a Zubat swarm!

“ASH I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR SAYING THAT!” May shrieked.

Squrirtle and Corphish snickered as they kicked it up into full gear, as May and Ash frantically tried to shoo the Zubat out of their hair.

“IT WASN’T MY FAULT!” Ash defended, waving his arm around the Zubat above.

“OH SHUT UP!” May retaliated, brushing off Zubat with a giggle attached.

~*~*~*~

“Only SEVEN, that’s right…SEVEN participants remain in the race, folks!” Fredrick shouted into the microphone, “I’m going to reveal the current places that the participants are in, and with some spread all over the track, it’s going to be a tough time for the last few to catch up to the leads!”

“I wonder what place my sister and Ash are in!” Max wondered.

“They made it past the Sycther part, didn’t they?” Jamie asked, “If so they should be coming out of the cave and heading to the next part by now.”

“That’s still far behind though, we saw up to three participants come out of that part like over seven minutes ago,” Brock said, “They’ll really have to kick it up a notch if they want to get that prize money and the swimsuits.”

“Pika, chu pika!” Pikachu added.

Fredrick began reading off the list of the participants’ places, and after announcing five names he got to none other than Ash and May.

“And the “Little Rookies!” are in 6th place folks, that means they’re second to last at the moment!” Fredrick declared, “They narrowly made it through Slash Valley, but with any luck those crazy kids will stay in this race and make it all the way to the end!”

“Second to last at the moment, huh?” Tana said disappointingly, “I’ll feel really bad if they don’t win. May really didn’t stop talking about those swimsuits one bit when we first met one another, it was like all her mind was on.”

“She will win!” Max interrupted, “My sister wants that Skitty and Torchic bikini more than anything! She’s been obsessing over it for a week, there’s nothing that’s going to stand in her way.”

“Heh, that pink bikini with the Skitty and Torchic faces was a real cute one,” Tana said, not wanting to upset the younger brother, “It’s probably impossible to get that bikini anywhere else too, unless you pay a pretty penny for it. I can see why she wants it so much, I don’t blame her. A cute girl needs a cute swimsuit!”

“I agree, but I’m sure with all the training she’s done with Ash that they’ll be able to get to the finish line first,” Brock added, “When those two set their minds on something there’s no stopping them, I can’t see either of them letting the other down by not winning.”

~*~*~

Two surfboards violently clashed against one another in a narrow passage, all the while avoiding Vine whip attacks coming from hidden Pokemon in the reefs. The competitors wouldn’t give up their current place easily, and it was apparent that one side wanted to brutally knock the other out of the race.

“Sharpedo, ram into them one more time!” Precita declared.

Sharpedo moved its burly body in the water and slammed itself against the oppossing surfboard. The other young couple waddled desperately as their surfboard was on the verge of tipping over. Their Seadra and Huntail weren’t used to such overbearing force from opponents and were frightened by the attacks.

“Now we got them,” Dan snickered.

“Alright, ram yourself into them – huh?” Precita stuttered, feeling something tug on her board.

Precita and Dan peered behind them and grunted angrily as they saw three green whips pulling onto the back of their surfboard. There were several Grass Pokemon hidden in the reefs surrounding the course, and slowing down participants with their hold was their specialty.

“Break free of the hold!” Precita demanded.

Sharpedo and Gorebyss struggled to pull their surfboard out of the vine’s grip, but to little avail. Precita glared angrily as the other couple mocked them and continued on their merry way.

“Those losers got away,” Precita sneered, watching the other surfboard take the lead, “Will you get these goddamn vines off our board already?”

Dan let go of her waist and grabbed ahold of the three vines pulling on the back of the board. He tried pulling and twisting them but the grip was too strong. Had he had his pocket knife with him, he wouldn’t hestitate to slash the three vines off his board no matter how much that would have injured the Pokemon they belonged to. This was the first trap that they were successful caught in, and they were enraged that they were being made a mockery of by Fredrick above.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Fredrick snorted, “The most aggressive pair of our tournament, not to mention the pair that got two 15 second penalties for harassing other participants, get a taste of their own medicine! What do you think, folks, can they break free?!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” the crowd roared.

“They’re making fools of us,” Precita glared.

“What do you want me to do, huh? I can’t get these damn vines off our board,” Dan retaliated.

“WATCH OUT!” a voice called out from behind.

“And who is that coming up from the rear?” Fredrick squinted, “Could it be? Yes it IS! The “Little Rookies” are racing at full speed and are about to pass “The Aggressors” at any moment!”

“THOSE KIDS!” Precita snapped.

May’s face turned sour once she spotted Precita and Dan ahead of her. Her face then beamed with relief once she saw that they were being pulled backward by three green vines coming from a Pokemon concealed in the reefs.

“Let’s blow past these guys,” May sneered, pulling on the tethers.

Corphish and Squirtle roared with delight, pulling the surfboard past Precita and Dan. Before they passed them by however, Squirtle and Corphish purposely splashed water in their faces, antagonizing them in the process. Precita and Dan could do nothing but stare with envy as Ash and May faded into the distance ahead of them.

“Well we passed them up, here’s hoping those vines don’t let them go,” Ash said.

“I’m thrilled, it’s about time they fell into a trap that they couldn’t get out of,” she replied.

Their high didn’t last long however as they caught up to the pair of surfers that breezed past Precita a few moments ago. The oppossing pairs eyed each other determinedly, each ready to do whatever it took to remain in the lead.

Suddenly, a flock of Pidgeot, Swellow and Fearow appeared in the sky in front of them. They flew up from behind several large rocks, waiting to spring a trap on the participants in the course. The large bird Pokemon flapped their wings in unison blowing harsh gust of winds at the surfers. Their Water Pokemon suddenly found it hard to swim as the mighty whirlwind attacks disturbed the flow of the current, thus giving the Pokemon and the surfboard a bumpy ride.

“Out of one problem and into the next! The “Little Rookies,” and another pair of participants that I can’t be bothered to remember the name of at the moment, are struggling against a fierce whirlwind attack!” Fredrick declared, “Will the competition be blown away?”

Ash wrapped his arms around her torso tightly as the wind threatened to blow him right off the surfboard. May grunted, trying not to fall off the surfboard herself, and clung to the circular opening on the pillar of the surfboard rather than the tethers themselves.

“This wind is strong!” May yelled, her feet slipping on the surface of the board.

“That’s obvious, I know!” he replied, his legs actually being blown up into the air while still holding her around the waist.

“Ugh, you’re going to fly away!” May gasped.

She removed one hand from the circular pillar and put it around his arms which were wrapped around her stomach. She made sure one of her hands held onto him, just in case his grip loosened and he went flying. She had to bring his body back down to the surfboard, she couldn’t bear to think of her friend being blown away.

May and Ash squinted as they peered over to the opposing trainers, only to see that they were having much less luck than they were. A large cluster of flying Pokemon were closer to their surfboard, and the wind attacks got so strong that their entire surfboard was lifted out of the water and began flying in the air. Their Seadra and Huntail helplessly hung over the edge of the surfboard still attached by the tethers, while the trainers themselves lost their grip.

“These kind of obstacles weren’t listed in the contract!” the male surfer whined, flying in the air into the unknown, “Honey?!”

“Don’t worry, dear, I’m right behind you!” the girl shrieked, her body spinning in circles in the air.

The surfboard followed the trainers in the air, with the two Pokemon absent-mindedly being blown along with them.

“Entry #8 is DISQUALIFIED!” Fredrick snickered as the trainers were blown out of bounds, “Now that those unfortunate souls were blown into oblivion, our flying Pokemon will turn all their attention to the “Little Rookies!”

“NO!” May stuttered, “With all those Pokemon ganging up on us…we…we can’t be blown away like they were!”

“Have any ideas, May? Because I’m open for anything right about now!” Ash yelled, his entire body blown up in the air.

His hands slipped along her stomach and were now holding onto her chest right below her top, the rest of his body wasn’t on contact with the surfboard, but being pulled up in the sky instead similar to the effects of a tornado. May wrapped both her arms around the circular pillar, not having the strength to even hold onto Ash’s arms anymore. Her wet brown hair was being blown viciously in all directions. The two youths could not withstand the winds from the flock of flying Pokemon, and pretty soon, the accumulated winds would carry up the entire surfboard in the air.

Ash continued to wail with half his body in the air, his hands continued to slip, loosening their grip and moving higher up on her chest. He didn’t have any choice in the matter, but his hands eventually had to grab ahold of the curves on her chest in order to not get blown away. May was startled with the placement of her hands, but she didn’t have much time to react as the entire surfboard felt like it was drifting a few inches above the water.

“Pheesh? Cor!” Corphish yelled, astonished that its body was being picked up in the winds.

Squirtle followed suit, letting out frightening tears of being put into an unfamiliar hostile territory.

“THIS COULD BE THE END FOR THE “LITTLE ROOKIES!” Fredrick said, gasping himself.

“They can’t end this way!” Max cried, jumping from his seat and holding onto the railings, “THIS ISN’T FAIR!”

“Sadly, anything is fair game here,” Tana signed, “Poor May, she’ll never get those swimsuits now.”

“PIKACHU, PIKA, PIKA!” Pikachu shouted to its master, in an act of desperation.

The Pidgeot, Fearow and Swellow went into formation, and began producing their strongest whirlwind attacks yet. The audience gasped at the trainers’ plight, many staring silently in disbelief that they were still hanging in there. Others made comments about how they felt terrible for the kids, and how this was a bit too harsh for competitors in the race.

“STOP THOSE FLYING POKEMON!” an old lady yelled from the stands.

“They had enough, nobody should be put through that!” a middle-aged man added.

“Calm down my faithful fans, if anything looks too hectic, we’ll call off the birds and disqualify them,” Fredrick said reassuringly. On the surface, it looked like Fredrick didn’t favor certain surfers over others and didn’t care who got disqualified, but underneath all that nonchalant posterior, he was hesitating to disqualify them because he wanted them to win. He covered the mike with his hand and muttered to himself, “C’mon children, there’s a way out…you just have to find it!”

Ash’s hands unintentionally closed tighter, and May yelled. She closed one eye as the harsh winds whipped across her face and screamed, “Ash! Watch out what you’re grabbing onto!”

Ash let out a response, an unrelated response, but a response to remain in the race instead of being blown out of bounds.

“…we have to go underwater!” he cried.

May turned her head, not sure if she heard him correctly, “Wha?”

“UNDERWATER!” Ash screamed.

The entire surfboard was now floating five inches above the waves, drifting in circles with their Pokemon along. Feelings of nausuea consumed them, the spinning was rapid enough to make any lesser people to lose their dignity. Ash cried out his plan one last time, knowing that it would only be a few more moments before they would be sent out of bounds.

“UNDERWATER!”

Corphish and Squirtle, floating helplessly above the waves, finally understood their trainers’ command. They summoned every last ounce of strength in their body, regained their focus, and prepared to make a dive underwater.

“HOLD YOUR BREATH!” Ash cried, still grabbing her upper chest.

“WHY?”

“JUST DO IT!”

The girl opened her mouth, taking in as much air as possible and closed it tightly. Ash did the same, knowing what precious seconds they had left.

The two Water types darted for the water, using the strength of the wind to propel them downward. They splashed into the waves, and using their aquatic abilities, they swam deeper into the water. The tethers tied around the circular opening of the surfboard were being pulled downward, due to the Pokemon swimming deeper into the blue abyss.

May was alarmed, and shrieked in fear as the nose of the surfboard was being pulled beneath the waves. Moments later, the entire surfboard was submerged with the pair altogether.

Beneath the waves, Corphish and Squirtle swam diligently pulling the surfboard along with them. The different pressure underwater almost made May lose her grip and float away, but Ash pulled his body toward her and pressed himself flat against her back. Her torso was being flattened against the circular pillar on the surfboard, and Ash forcefully held her in place by pressing himself harshly against her. His arms extended under her armpits and wrapped around the cicular pillar securely, hoping it would keep them in place.

Above the waves, the flying types stopped their whirlwind assault and were staggered by the move that their opposition had made. The audience gasped in shock and fear, wondering if perhaps the young trainers were blown forcefully underwater.

“Well…uh…that was unexpected,” Fredrick panted, rubbing his forehead with a towel.

“I don’t believe this, Corphish and Squirtle pulled Ash and May with them underwater!” Max gasped.

Brock grunted, his hands clenched into fists. His eyes twitched not being sure of what to make of the situation.

I hope you know what you’re doing, Ash, Brock thought, grinding his teeth.

Squirtle and Corphish made several turns under the waves, hoping to find an opening above to surface on. Ash and May desperately held their breath, the fierce winds and the pressure of going underwater had the two exhausted, and not exactly in prime shape for keeping what precious air they had left.

She was struggling more so than Ash, her face turning blue with feelings of passing out beginning to overwhelm her. Ash desperately eyed her making sure she was still conscious. He knew she wouldn’t last much longer, and the terrifying thought that she wouldn’t make it to the surface began to overwhelm him. He rubbed her soft hands hopefully under the waves, in some false hope that it would get her to hold on.

Corphish and Squirtle began swimming at an upward slant toward the surface, but everytime they tried to get above the water, they were pushed down by the current. Apparently there was still a force from above disrupting the current of the course, and being powerful enough to prevent the Water types from surfacing with their masters.

This…is…it… May thought, her mind beginning to drift, Why’d you have to pick such a stupid plan, Ash? You…you’re…gonna get us killed…”

Her chin lowered and her eyes began to close. Ash was starting to lose his breath as well, things were looking awfully grim.

Just a few more seconds, we gotta get above… Ash thought, No…we’re not gonna die…no…this plan should have worked!

“SQUIRTLE!” Squirtle yelled desperately, trying to reveal something to Corphish.

Corphish followed Squirtle’s gaze to the bottom of the ocean, and nodded in unison. It opened its pincers and fired its strongest Bubblebeam attack toward the ground. At the same time, Squirtle fired its Ice beam attack to form an icy slope that would lead to the surface.

Damn it, Ash, May gasped. Her mouth opened slightly, the water began seeping in, There was still so much I wanted to do in life, Contests, Pokemon, growing up, watching my brother turn into the powerful trainer I know he’ll become, finding love…becoming a Mom…

Her eyes began to sink back into her sockets, her mouth opening completely as the bubbles of air drifted out. The last pockets of air began to escape her, leaving her with nothing but the promise of death.

Corphish’s aim managed to propel the surfboard at an angle to get it on the icy slope that Squirtle had created. With their plan set into motion, and their trainers on the brink of life and death, the surfboard was pulled at astounding speeds up the icy slope.

Ash was on the brink of losing his breath as well, opening his mouth slightly only to take in deadly water. Drowning; the one time that the greatest substance on Earth was a poison instead of a nurtrient.

Can’t let her go, he thought, pushing her almost lifeless body against the pillar on the surfboard, Not…slip…away…

Her mouth opened, water filled her and threatened to take away her life.

Ash…thank you for the time we spent together…I…I…was yours…wasn’t I…? were her final thoughts…

The crowd watching from their seats were getting restless. They didn’t care where the other participants were on the course, they were all worried as to when Ash and May would surface. Fredrick began to bite his fingernails nervously. Various officials and lifeguards started to get the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“C’mon….come up!” Max yelled desperately.

Brock, Pikachu, Tana and Jamie watched with mortified expressions…would they even surface?

Above the water, a large Dragonite was resting in a small alcove. It was a seven foot tall dragon Pokemon, with orange wings and a large mouth. The Pokemon was flapping its wings carelessly at the waves, finding it somewhat amusing that it could change the current of the water. Being an overpowered Pokemon itself, its wings were creating tremendous whirpools in the waves. It was amused at its own antics, completely unaware however that it was preventing a certain pair of people from surfacing.

“CORPHISH!” Corphish yelled, using its Bubblebeams to propel it faster.

Squirtle nervously looked behind it toward Ash and May, whose bodies looked like they were going to float away at any moment. The two Water Pokemon brought their bodies side by side, and using their bodies as missiles, the quickly darted toward the white light and out of the depths of the water, fighting against the raging waves. The Dragonite looked in shock as a surfboard surfaced behind the Pokemon, with two exuasted humans on their knees pressed against one another.

“SQUIRTLE!”

“CORPHISH!”

The surfboard was floating on the water, and the crowd gasped when the two humans looked unconscious.

“Are…they ok?” Tana asked, worried.

“ASH!” Brock got up from his seat, almost willing to dive down onto the course himself and swim all the way over to where they were.

“PIKA PIKA!” Pikachu screamed.

Max stood silently, terrified to even think about what happened to his sister and best friend.

Dragonite continued to look at the surfboard absent-mindedly, before Corphish began to tell him off. The mighty dragon scoffed at the little lobster, and instead of coming to their aid, the Pokemon hovered in the air and flew off the course.

“A Dragonite?” Fredrick said to himself in shock, “That…that wasn’t one of our Pokemon, was it?”

Corphish and Squirtle waded to the sides of the surfboard, going as close to their human masters as possible without tearing the tethers they were attached to. Their fears were relived however when Ash began to cough, moving his body slowly and trying to catch his breath. The boy spit out from his mouth and held his chest, breathing heavily and trying to absorb everything that just happened.

“Cor-phish!” Corphish yelled, elated to see its master alive.

“Ugh…May?” Ash asked nervously, looking at her body.

The girl was on her knees with her cheek resting against the pillar, her hair splattered in front of her eyes, not moving.

“MAY!” Ash screamed. He pulled her from her shoulders and turned her over, his heart nearly leaping out of his body for what he did to his friend. He pressed his right hand against her upper chest to see if she was still beating.

“Squirtle…” the worried Pokemon watched.

“They’re above the waves now, but something seems wrong with May,” Brock said sternly.

An aghast Max continued to stare.

Mortified, Ash rocked her body gently to see if she would open her eyes. His eyes lit up however once he felt it…she was breathing!

“MAY! You’re breathing….wake up!” Ash cried happily.

The girl opened her eyes slowly, and within a few seconds, she quickly got out of Ash’s arms and gagged over the edge of the surfboard. She coughed and gasped quite vehemently, and took in huge gasps of air when she had the chance.

“THEY’RE ALRIGHT, FOLKS!” Fredrick cheered. His voice lowered, “Lucky for me too…damn Dragonite…that wasn’t even part of our race course Pokemon…nearly drowned those kids…”

“Look, May is sitting down on the board next to Ash!” Max cried happily.

Pikachu jumped on Max’s shoulder, gleefully dancing on the young boy. Max wrapped his arms around Pikachu and spun around laughing and cheering. Both younger brother and Pokemon were estatic that their loved ones were alright.

“She’s gagging, she must have lost her breath underwater,” Brock sighed, “Damn, I don’t want them to scare me like that.”

“She’ll be ok though, won’t she?” Jamie asked.

“Most likely,” Brock uttered.

Squirtle laughed and beamed in the water at its master, but was unable to jump into her arms due to it still being attached by the tether.

May panted, “I musta…swallowed half of the water in this ocean while I was down there…gah,” she coughed, breathing heavily.

Ash grinned, placing his left hand on her shoulder. “Glad to see you’re ok, you had me worried for a second.”

Between her pants and coughs, she managed to put on a smile, “For someone who almost got us both killed, you’re lucky I don’t strangle you here on the spot, Ash Ketchum.”

The two shared a laugh, sitting side by side peacefully on the surfboard. Their hands were on their knees, staring out on the horizon.

“That was some plan…diving underwater to escape being blown away by the bird Pokemon,” May said softly.

“I’m sorry things didn’t turn out exactly as I expected them to,” Ash frowned, “I can’t believe I nearly killed us both.”

“You do some crazy things, I’ll give you that,” she said, coughing again. She wiped her mouth with her arm and started to breathe more regularly, “It was a good plan though, despite having my life flash across my eyes.”

“Heh, you’re pretty cheerful for a girl that lost her conciousness underwater,” Ash said, nudging her playfully.

She hugged her knees tightly, turning to him with heartwarming eyes, “Part of me knew you wouldn’t let me die anyway. You’re Ash Ketchum and you can do anything, I’d expect nothing less.”

“Yea…I’m Ash Ketchum.” Ash nodded, his face lowering into his knees, “I’m sorry for that plan, putting our lives in danger like that…but it seemed like the only alternative to keep us in the race…”

May’s face jolted like a shock of electricity, she quickly jumped to her feet and looked around perplexed.

“THE RACE?!” May said astounded, “I NEARLY FORGOT!”

She quickly put her hands on the tethers through the pillar and turned back toward Ash.

“Get up, Ash! We’ve got a race to win!” May urged him.

The Pokemon quickly jumped back into position in front of the surfboard, ready to move at their trainers command. Ash stood up on his legs and after staggering a bit, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Ash asked uncertainly.

The girl panted a few more times, her body still feeling weak and overwhelmed.

“I…think so…I’m feeling a little lightheaded but we’re still in this competition, aren’t we? We…gotta…make up for lost time.”

Ash noticed her body trembling slightly, she was still coughing and panting between breaths as well. After some careful thinking, he took the tethers out from her hands and moved her behind him.

“What…what are you doing?” May asked.

“I’ll steer, you hold onto me,” Ash instructed.

“But, I can still…”

“No, it’s fine. You want to win those swimsuits, don’t you? Well if we don’t get a move on you’ll never get them!” Ash retorted.

“…OK!” she said without hesitating a beat. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed herself against his back.

“Ready?” Ask asked softly.

“We…we have to make up for lost time,” she reminded him, “The other participants must be far ahead of us by now after all the time we wasted sitting here.”

“I know,” Ash nodded.

“Guess winning those swimsuits was a fantasy after all, eh?” May asked, discouraged.

The Pokemon began swimming again, as the surfboard floated on the water through the drifting race course. Ash looked around him to see where he was, and he came to a shocking revelation.

“I don’t think so, May, notice anything odd about this part of the course?!” Ash asked.

May looked around, but she didn’t notice anything different, “No, what?”

Fredrick explained the situation on the loudspeaker, “Well according to the judges and officials, we’re going to let the “Little Rookies” slide on this one, folks! You see, when the two went underwater they ended up taking a short-cut through the course. They skipped an entire segment, one in which has managed to propel them to current second place! Since the two kids risked their lives underwater, and the fact that the Dragonite keeping them beneath the waves was a freeloader and not part of our “Pokemon traps,” we’re being lenient on the two, and instead of disqualifying them for skipping parts of the race and moving ahead several places, they will be allowed to continue!”

“Whoa, really? Did we really skip past a whole part of the race while going underwater?” May stuttered in disbelief.

“Seems like it, I think we passed a whole part that has to zigzag through some canyons…it takes a long time to get through that part too,” Ash said, steering the board and instructing the Pokemon to make a right turn.

“So instead of wasting time we managed to save time!” May shouted happily, “Awesome, we’re ahead of all of the competition but one!”

“Guess there was some benefit to nearly drowning ourselves, eh?” Ash smirked.

“After this is over, remind me to give you a good smack when we’re in the hotel room. Ok, Ash?” May joked, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I am SO going to tell my Mom and Dad about this. They’re not going to be too pleased when they hear that you tried to kill their daughter!”

Ash rolled his eyes as she giggled in his ears, squeezing his waist in the same playful manner that he had done before.

“Full speed ahead, Squirtle and Corphish!” she cheered.

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