“Go, Landon! Let it rip, May!” Zeru cheered from the sidelines of Cycling Road. The sun beat down on the suspension bridge-like road brightly. Landon’s Poke’mon stood beside Zeru on the side, cheering with Phanpy for their trainers. Most of the crowd, however, was cheering for Seiji rather than anyone else. Zeru held the Poke’mon egg closely to his body securely. He was sure to keep his promise to May and give it special attention. He and the Poke’mon did their best to cheer over their other voices. Landon and May wheeled their bikes out of the Cycling lobby and onto Cycling Road alongside the other contestants. “Good lick, May.” Landon flashed a thumbs-up. May responded by smiling and holding up a “V” for victory. They stopped their front bike tire to the white line. “Vul-vul!” “Pikachuuu!” “Bay-bay!” Vulpix, Pikachu and Bayleef waved flags with a chibi picture of their trainer it. Landon smile to them, blushing minutely. Hovering in the sky was a large balloon in the design of a poke’ball. In the basket were two people; a woman with a microphone and a man with a television camera. The lady pushed the bangs of her short brown hair from her face and peered down at the contestants. “Will ya’ look at that crowd? I’ve never seen so much excitement over a bike race.” She spoke into the device and her voice echoed all around the bike trail. “It must be because the famous Ms. Seiji Chance will be competing here this marathon race.” The crowd’s cheers were prompted to become louder. Seiji waved both hands in the air, smiling to all of her adoring fans. Zeru, being the only one who was silent, sweated anime style. It was in the Cycling road lobby that he lost some respect for her. ‘Sock it to ‘em, Landon and May!” He shouted. Pikachu and Toya waved their flags even faster. “And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the charity Bike-a-thon will commence.” The airborne announcer echoed, “While the bystanders take the car route to the finish line, we’ll be giving a play-by-play of the entire race. Racers, get ready.” All of the bikers jumped onto their bikes, balancing with one foot. Landon gripped the handle bars tightly and grinned. His heart beat faster as he waited eagerly for the start of the race to begin. May, on the other hand, was calm and collected. Ever since she got the egg from the Trick Master, she had been acting very mellow. Seiji glanced at Landon with a reproachful expression. “I’ll get you, Himura. No one makes me look like a fool and gets away with it!” She thought, growling. The bystanders started to walk off towards the cars on the car route. “Racers, on my mark…” The announcer prepped, “Get set…and race!”

       At her signal, the racers pushed down hard on the pedals and spun their wheels across the starting line. Landon, May, and Seiji easily started to pull in front of their competition.  They panted lightly as they pedaled speedily across the Cycling Circuit. Landon’s motivations for winning were quite simple; if he won, he’d represent a profitable victory for the Poke’mon Center and use Cycling Circuit to get closer to Mauville City. The riders fell back and pulled forward repeatedly, so it was way too early to tell who the winner could be. “And their off! Number forty-three and forty-four are both riding in sync while number twenty-one—Seiji Chance—pulls into an early lead. Number sixteen is lagging behind while the other bikers all clutter in the middle.” The announcer announced. However, Landon was too busy trying to drive the bike up to the front to hear the full play-by-play. The bikers swerved around the corners like a group of mad-men and women. Black tire marks belted the road with each sharp turn they took. Landon hadn’t been in long and was already starting to break a sweat, but May rode along without showing any signs of weakness. Seiji glanced back at her competition and grinned. “I think we’re far enough on this road.” She reached into her pocket into her pocket and pulled out a silver cellular phone. She used one hand to dial a number and put it to her ear. “Ha! I didn’t rig this bridge for nothing, Landon Himura.” “Hello, Minmin? You know what to do.” Seiji gave an even wider grin as she shut her phone. “In three….two…one…go!” Suddenly, a line of spikes that stretched from side materialized right behind her hind tire. “What!?” Landon shrieked, along with the other bikers. Seiji fell into a silent fit of laughter. “Landon!” “Huh?” Landon turned to May’s serious face. She didn’t say anything so he could read her expression. “…..right then,” He nodded. The two gripped their bike handle bars and pulled up; their bicycles launched over the spikes, landing roughly on the ground. A handful of bikers got the same idea and hopped the line as well. The others, on the other hand, slid to a screeching halt as their tires were punctured by the nails. “Whoa! Hang on a sec, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that most of our contestants have met with some sort of accident! They’re sliding and falling like a row of dominoes! Still, a bunch of riders remain in the race!” The announcer shouted. “Rats! I missed Himura!” Seiji growled. She retrieved her cell phone again, flipping it open. “This next one won’t miss.” Landon and May heaved a sigh of relief as they glanced back to the other riders. “That was a close one.” May said. “Yeah, you really saved my neck back there.” Landon said. May smiled, then gave him a competitive look. “C’mon, Himura, we have a race to win.”

       The bikers were back on track and racing their greatest down the circuit. None of them were really away of the trickery that lay in the ranks. Landon couldn’t help but feel something was wrong, though. It was like he could sense a tricky aura amongst the riders. Seiji glanced around at the suspensions of the road with a curious air. The cell phone was clutched firmly in between her hand and the handle bar. “Now, which one was it….? Oh-yeah, that’s where she put it.” Her eyes fell on the third suspension from her. She stood up on the bike and started pedaling harder, her vehicle rattling underneath her feet. “Oh-no you don’t! May, let’s roll.” Landon and May stood up on their bikes as well and pedaled faster. “And…now.” Seiji pressed a button on her phone and glanced back. “….what!!?” She shrieked at the kid’s gain on her. “They’re way too close! This may not work like I hoped it would.” She thought to herself. There was an abrupt rumble on the road a few seconds later; as Seiji passed the third suspension, a trail of rocks lunged at the bikers from it. “What next!?” Landon buckled down on the bike. The rocks hit the ground and started tumbling towards him. With a small sigh, he leaned with his bike in turns and swerves from them. His misses were all close shaves, but not so close as the ones May encountered. She narrowly evaded strikes to her tires and feet. “Wha-wha-wha-wha!” She cried. Seiji had been in the front the entire time, so she didn’t even have to worry. “Oh-no! once again, some of our bikers have met with an unfortunate accident! Could it be that someone has rigged the Cycling Road? I sure hope the committee has something to say about this.”

 

       Meanwhile, the bystanders were all in the dome-shaped lobby building in Circuit Town. The lobby was exactly identical to the once on rout one-ten, except for the large big-screen television on the wall. The crowd was watching the race on it, shouting and cheering for their favorite racer. “THAT’S A LOAD OF BULL!” Zeru shouted over the crowd angrily, his temple beating anime style. He knew someone was sheeting and placed his bets on the movie star. Landon’s and May’s Poke’mon cheered even louder to try and drown out the others. Zeru held the egg close to his chest, but loose enough not to crush it in his anger. From time to time, he could’ve sworn he felt kicking from it. But who could tell with all the noise? “I hope Lan and May can pull through this race.” He said, sweating anime style.

 
      
“May, are you okay back there?” Landon called back to his friend. May let out a sigh and sweated anime style. “Somehow, I’m still kickin’.” She replied. A generous portion of the bikers had been wiped out—only seven were left! Landon clenched his teeth as his eyes darted around. “Who? Who is doing this to us?” He examined each biker carefully. His eyes fell on Seiji, who had brought her phone to her ear. “Wait! What’s this?” His eyes trembled in anger, “So it was you!” He shouted. Seiji glanced back and grinned. “What was that, little boy?” “What’re you trying to do?” Landon asked. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Seiji pressed a button on her phone. In response, the riders’ bikes started to vibrate heavily. The control started to become harder to handle and some bikes veered off course. SPWWEE!! “Yah-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Landon shook as his and the others’ bikes delivered a jolt of electricity through their bodies. Landon and  May touched down to the road harshly with the others, leaving Seiji to sail down the Circuit. “Ha-ha-ha! I knew that last one would get ‘em. Maybe I should work for team Darkhorn more often.” She laughed. Landon shook as he forced himself to get to his feet. His hair sparked, but fell back in place. “It’s going to take more effort than that to stop us, right, May?” He glanced back to see that May was still shaking on the ground. “Maybe me, but you keep going, Land” She flashed a thumbs-up. “We all know Seiji is a cheater, so go catch her and expose her for the fraud she really is.” “Right,” Landon hopped back on his bike and pedaled like mad. Now, he had to carry the weight of the entire race on his shoulders. And to make things worse, he had no idea what other tricks were up Seiji’s sleeves. He had lost his respect for her and hated the fact that he admired a cheater. But worse, he admired someone who would risk the lives of others without the slightest of cares. “Hey, we’re not out yet!” Two vices shouted behind him. Two bikers—a girl and a guy—rode up behind him. They were panting a bit dirty from the shock, but still capable of continuing. Seiji soared across the road swiftly, but smoothly. “This is unbelievable! Now , only four racers remain. This is a battle for the finish, ladies and gentlemen, as our main contenders give it their all. I’ve never seen such determination in a bike race before!” The announcer in the balloon announced. She was at the edge of the basket from the intensity of the race. “What?! I missed again? What is this boy trying to prove?” Seiji’s smile turned to a frown of disapproval. No matter what she did, she couldn’t keep Landon down. She was starting to think stopping him was going to be impossible.

       Meanwhile, Yoshimari and Tsubimi sat atop one of the suspensions far away. They had been watching the race the entire time with the use of their scope binoculars. Tsubimi took her pair from her eyes and gave a short chuckle. “Find something funny?” Yoshimari raised an eyebrow to her. “I knew that lady couldn’t pull it off. She so stuck on money, she thinks she can do anything.” Tsubimi reached into her pocket again and pulled out a black remote with the Darkhorn symbol on it. “So, we used the insurance we so carefully installed.” Yoshimari grinned, “I love the way you think, sis.” “Thanks,” Tsubimi pushed down the red button. Back on the road below, there was a sudden and willed rumble, followed by a KABOOOOM!! “Wha!” “Hold up!” Landon and Seiji, who narrowly missed the explosion, were sent flying forward as a cloud of smoke kicked up.

 

       “Oh-no!” Zeru gasped. He turned to Pikachu and pointed to the doors that led out to Cycling road. “Go help Landon and hurry!” “Pika-pi-pikachu!” Pikachu nodded and scurried towards the door. “I smell a Team Darkhorn trap.” Zeru said.

       Landon got to his feet, staring into the smoke cloud. Seiji sat up, but didn’t make a move. She just gave a confused expression. “This wasn’t part of the plan.” She thought to herself. Both of their bikes were strolled at the edge of the road carelessly. When the smoke cleared, the rest to the Cycling Road was revealed. Now, it looked like something took a big bite out of it. Landon’s eyes scanned the vicinity; there was no sign of the other bikes or racers. Could it be that they got caught in the explosion? “Hey! Are you okay? Where are you?!” He shouted. “Help us! Help us, please!” Two voices shouted back. Landon rushed to the edge and glanced down. The two bikers were hanging onto a ledge of the broken road for dear life. They teetered to and fro dangerously above the sparkling water. They were too far down for Landon to reach—he had nothing to work with. “There’s got to be a way for me to reach them….” He searched around frantically. Rubble and debris wasn’t exactly something he could use to help people with. “Help us; we’re slipping fast!” The two cried. “Grrrr!” Landon stood up and turned to the helpless-looking actress. “Don’t just sit there; help me save them!” “But I can’t do anything. This isn’t even my idea.” Seiji replied. “Why not?” “Because I’m…” She seemed hesitant and glanced to the ground, “because I’m a…a fraud.” “We know that!” Landon snapped. “Don’t worry guys; the balloon is lowering itself to them right now.” The announcer girl lowered the flame intensity of the balloon to slowly descend to the road. “They won’t make it in time.” Landon thought to himself. “Seiji, do you have a Poke’mon with you?” “Well…I have one.” Seiji reached to her pocket and pulled out a single poke’ball. She expanded it and let it burst open in her hand. A bright white light shot onto the ground to reveal her poke’partner. “Scyther-scy!” The green creature had mantis features with thin insect wings and a pair of sharp scythes for arms. “Scyther!” It clanged them together. “That’s perfect! Can I borrow it?” Landon asked. “Sure; go ahead.” Seiji nodded. Landon ran to the edge again, but this time accompanied with Scyther. He looked down to see how the victims were doing. He was relieved to see that they were still hanging on. “Okay, Scyther, let me grab your ankles and lower me to those two.” Landon said. “Scyther!” Scyther nodded and fluttered it thin wings; it floated into the air and the young trainer grabbed it by the ankles. Seiji watched the two float over the edge towards the fallen. Landon’s hair was whipped wildly from the wind of Scyther’s wings. When they reached the victims, he called out to them, “One of you grab my hand and we’ll pull you up!” “Okay, here I come.” The girl inched her right hand from the ledge shakily. Landon took it firmly and nodded to Scyther. “Scy,” Scyther nodded back and flew back up to the Cycling Road. Landon did the same for the guy and came up himself. “Wow….” Seiji gave him an astonished look as he made sure the bikers were okay, “He helped them out of the kindness of his heart. That’s something I would’ve never done. This boy knows more about empathy than me, which is why he was able to gain my Scyther’s trust so easily. If only I could be like that…” She thought. “Ha! Don’t celebrate your victory just yet!”

       Everyone averted their gaze towards the other side of the road. Team Darkhorn jumped down with a landing that was as soft as a feather, grinning. While the others know nothing about the situation, Landon knew perfectly well what they wanted. “Too bad, Team Darkhorn; Toya or any of my Poke’mon aren’t with me.” He shouted. Team Darkhorn just let out a laugh, “Ha! A Stealth like dark, we’re shadows of the night.” “Blanketing over those who do things right.” “Where treasure glitters, we’re there to claim.” “To higher riches, we’ll surely aim.” “Tsubimi!” “Yoshimari!” “We’re Team Darkhorn, the Pirate thieves.” “Don’t mess with us; you’re out of your league!” They announced.

       Seiji stood up, clenching her fists and teeth. “You two didn’t say anything about a bomb.” She growled. “Oh, did you check the news flash? There’s a ton of things we didn’t say. Like the money, for instance, is totally fake.” Tsubimi grinned. Seiji’s fists shook violently as her anger rose. She glared at Team Darkhorn with her venomous purple eyes. “I’ve had enough of you two. Scyther, let’s do it!” “Scyther-scy!” Scyther fluttered in front of its trainer, ready to battle. ‘Then let’s fight. Go, Loudred!” “Go, Tailow!” Team Darkhorn sent out their Poke’mon. “Loudred!” “Taiiiloow!” Loudred and Tailow cried. Landon folded his arms and grinned. Somehow, he felt that Seiji would do something with her heart for a change. “Scyther, use Fury Cutter!” Seiji stated. Scyther used its great speed to charge with its scythes raised; despite its swiftness, its repeated slashes failed to land on Loudred or Tailow. “You’ll have to do better than that, Ms. Chance. Loudred—” “Tailow—” “Screech attack!” Team Darkhorn exclaimed together. SPWEEEEE!! “Ughn!” Everyone covered their ears from the sharp, high-pitched sound emanating from Loudred and Tailow. Scythter fell to its knees as it shook from the sound. Team Darkhorn, however, didn’t seem to mind the sound at all. “Now, use Wing Attack!” Tsubimi pointed to Scyther. “Taiill!” Tailow fanned its wings before diving towards the bug Poke’mon at lightning speed. “I don’t think so. Scyther, use Doubleteam defense! Seiji shouted. “Scyther,” Scyther stood up and crossed its swords. It concentrated hard to produce the fake images of itself all around the road. “Tailow?” Tailow pulled out of its attack in confusion. “”What? Which one is the real one?” Tsubimi blinked. “Now, use Swords Dance.” With its scythes still crossed, Scyther spun around in place very rapidly. A small gust of wind kicked up around its body the faster it went. Just looking at it made Landon and Team Darkhorn feel dizzy. “Finish them off with Fury Cutter!” Seiji cried. “Scy—” Scyther launched itself through the air like a powerful bullet with its scythes crossed. The two Poke’mon had no time to react—Scyther was moving way too fast. “Scyther!” SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! There was a repeated swishing sound as Scyther’s Fury Cutter forced Loudred and Tailow to the ground. “Dah! What happened?!” Team Darkhorn cried. “Pika!” “Huh?” Landon stepped forward with a questioned expression. Pikachu soared overhead from out of nowhere. It landed on his shoulder, giving him a sparking cheek-to-cheek rub. “Where did you come from, Pikachu?” An overjoyed Landon asked. “Pika-pika-pi-chu-pika, pika,” Pikachu folded its arms. “Zeru sent you to help? He must’ve known we’d need you.” Landon turned to face Team Darkhorn. “Okay, Pikachu, send them flying!” “Pi-kaaa—”Pikachu grinned as its cheeks sparked with electricity, “—chuuu!” Two bolts of lightning blasted from its cheeks and trailed towards Team Darkhorn. Its fur stood on end from the shock-back. “This is—” “—gonna’ hurt!” KABOOM! Team Darkhorn was sent flying into the air. They disappeared in the clouds like a speck of shimmering light. “Good job, Pikachu.” Landon patted the dizzy electric mouse on the head. “You were great, Scyther. Return,” Seiji held up her Poke’ball and recalled her Scyther with a smile. Then, she walked up to Landon and made a quick, respective bow. “Thanks for teaching me, Landon. Without you, I might’ve left those two on the edge. You opened my eyes to how much I need to improve and I thank you for it.” Landon reached out his hand and smiled, “It’s no big. I’m just glad you understand now.” “Maybe we can’t finish the race, but can battle in the future. Right now, let’s get those two to the hospital for a check up.” Seiji shook his hand and smiled back.

 

       The Circuit Town Poke’mon Center was as big as the lobby, housing tons of Poke’mon and trainers. The press gathered around as Seiji handed Nurse Joy a large check for ten-thousand dollars. “Ms. Chance, is there anything you would like to say?” One of the reporters asked, holding a microphone to her face. Flashes from cameras rang out swiftly. Seiji smiled and took the microphone, “Yes, I would be pleased to announce that I’m establishing another fund raiser to help local Poke’mon Centers everywhere. And none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the lesson young Landon Himura taught me.” She said. “Ms. Chance—” “Ms. Seiji—” “Ms. Chance!” The reporters started to crowd around her, but she didn’t get mad. Thanks to Landon, she realized her potential to chance and had a plan to pay back the debt of kindness. Off to the glass doors of the center, Landon stood with May and Zeru. He and May were happy to be back in their normal clothes and with their third party member. Toya clambered up to Landon’s head while Phanpy stayed by Zeru’s ankles. “Here you go, May.” Zeru handed May back the Poke’mon egg carefully. “I was sure to be real gentle with it; just like you said.” Zeru smiled. “Thanks, Zeru,” May smiled back, but with a little more sincerity behind hers. She blushed quickly before planting a kiss on Zeru’s cheek. “Dah!” “Phan!” He and Phanpy gave a shocked jump. “Enough with the mush,” Landon started out the door, “There’s a gym badge in Mauville City with my name on it.” “Right, we should be going now.” May followed normally, but Zeru was still fighting his dizzy fit. He kept touching his cheek even as he, May, and Landon broke off into a sprint down the Circuit Town sidewalk. (Changing someone’s life is a good experience for both parties for it helps both of them grow stronger. In what ways will our heroes grow stronger? Find out on the next exciting episode of “Poke’mon X”.)

 

Fast Fact answer: Zeru’s favorite Seiji Chance film is “Blade To Fist”. Stay tuned for more Fast facts.

 

                                      “Shine the Sky” (Ending Theme)

 

Shine the sky!

Crystal power hit the high—

Flying current to my victory

Try and Try!

Never give the fight away

I’ll take every challenge that I can get in my hands

Des—tiny!

Prophecy I can’t ignore

Know what surprises that it has in store

Shine the sky!

A new adventure I will face

Another chance at victory with Poke’mon!

 

 

 



THIS IS THE END OF EPISODE 22. SEE YA'