From: TheRunt <therunt411@aol.com> Subject: [PW!][Repost] Big P: And they're off... Date: Thursday, September 16, 1999 6:51 PM (This is a compilation repost of the "The Big P Pokemon Race - And They're Off!" thread. For your convenience, a summary of this episode appears at the bottom.) Fireworks burst in the bright blue sky, not a single cloud visible. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to this year's Pokémon challenge, sponsored by the Laramie Clan!" declares the announcer. "Our course takes our challengers over rugged terrain, to test their speed and ability. Whoever clears all the obstacles and crosses the finish line first is our winner. All Pokémon trainers who wish to compete must apply at the Information Center." While he waits for the race to begin, the announcer organizes his space and checks his equipment. "Microphone, Check. Monitor, Check," he says to himself. "Entrant statistics..." he looks around his desk, not finding them he sticks his head out of the booth, "Harvey, where's my stats?" Within moments a dopey looking assistant enters the booth and hands the announcer some papers. "Sorry..." "You should be," scolds the announcer. "Without these, I'd look like a complete idiot..." Harvey mumbles something and leaves the booth. The announcer examines the papers: Position: Jockey: Mount: 1) Lara Laramie Rapidash 2) Damian Fox Drake (Dragonite) 3) Mithril-rama "Rilli" Deimos (Doduo) 4) Jon Jolt (Jolteon) 5) Jon Laramie Tara (Dodrio) 6) Julia Aiyana Tidal (Starmie) 7) Felix Galahad (Beedrill) 8) Kirsty Dragonite 9) Sirius Reis (Dragonite) 10) Dario Dodrio 11) Zeus (Primeape) Hades (Rapidash) 12) Monk-Chan (Mankey) Vinal (Tangela) 13) Stallone (Machop) Ferdinand (Tauros) 14) Roo (Kangaskhan) Tiny (Dragonair) 15) Robert Slowbro "Well this is going to be an interesting race," comments the announcer to himself. Meanwhile, Runt stands next to Sarah Jane at the sidelines, as well as Purgatory and Gads Trisan. He briefly examines the monitors that will allow him to see the action even after his Pokémon disappear in the distance. Christy and Dustin pat their friends on the back in support. Gads cries out to his Mankey, "Calm down, Monk-Chan! All that stomping must be giving Vinal a headache! You promised you'd be friends with Vinal, at least until the end of the race!" Monk-Chan stops, knowing he'll get the chance to Seismic Toss his rival soon enough. "Where's Lara?" asks Runt. "I'm not sure," replies Christy, "she said she had something she had to do before the race." The high pitched voice of the announcer shouts out, "The first part of the Pokémon obstacle course is a winding dirt road through the countryside, followed by the 45 degree uphill which leads to a 45 degree downhill slope. The third part of the obstacle course is the most difficult: crossing the river over stones. Once on the other side, the Pokémon must eat an entire bowl of food, climb down the mountain, and head for the finish line! At this time, we ask all entrants please head to the Starting line." Lara appears on her Rapidash and rides up to the line. She says something to the racers, but its impossible for those at the sideline to make out. Dust fill the area as Dario races up to the starting line on his Dodrio. He positions himself next to the Primeape. Back in announcer's booth, the announcer takes a sip of water. "Well, let's do this." He pushes down the button on the mic and shouts, "Reaaady...Set..." All the red lights in front of the Pokémon turn green. "Go!!!" A huge cloud of dust flies up around the starting area, and the racers take off down the track, at very high speeds. When the dust clears, Robert is only five feet in front of the starting line, his Slowbro coughing at all the dust he's inhaled. "And they're off..." yells the announcer. "For the moment, the pack is fairly even, but I'm pretty sure that Slowbro isn't likely to be much of a threat -- What's this? Monk-Chan has Seismic Tossed its mount and taken an early lead. I don't know if that's legal, but it doesn't seem to matter cause the rest of the pack is gaining fast. Oh...Looks like that Mankey got a little to excited and tried to do another Seismic Toss before its mount had let go of the ground - too bad, now they the only group they're ahead of is Robert and Slowbro... And they're at the 45-degree hill!" The announcer grabs his water and takes another sip, "-- Holy crap! John Laramie is Going..going...gone! I wonder if he gets frequent flyer miles for that one!" The crowd sweatdrops at the lousy joke, then Gads throws a Coke can at the announcer. "And Monk-Chan it at it again, leaping from back to back of its airborne competitors..." All six parties at the sidelines stand, shocked. Gads is the first to break the silence. "What the hell..." "Was that legal?" asks Christy. "Looks like..." says Runt, flipping through the rulebook, "I don't see anything in here against it..." He drops the book and looks to find his Pokémon. Tiny, with Roo hugging him tightly, has slipped a few positions but is still going strong as the pack heads down the hill. "YEAH! You guys can do this! KEEP GOING!" yells the Mankey's trainer. Runt rubbed his ear, "And I thought that girl at the Porygon Demo was annoying." "What'd you say?" asks Dustin over the yelling of the other trainers. "Nothing," Runt replies. He turns his head in time to see the Tangela crash into the ground at the bottom of the hill. A smile creeps onto his face. Gads, the disastrous duo's trainer, shakes his head. "No, Dow, I don't think we're going to win. Unless Monk-Chan can find a way to revive Vinal, we're finished." < Back in the Announcer's Booth > "And the disastrous Mankey-Tangela duo have gotten into another accident - ouch! The pack quickly passes the two and -- oh no...I always knew John was all wet, but this is ridiculous! He's all washed up!" The crowd facefaults and the announcer is pelted with more Coke cans and even a Pokédex. "Oops! Sorry Dexter," yells the voice of Ash Ketchum. "And the pack has reached the food bowls - this is where some of the faster Pokémon lose precious time... What's this?!? Monk-Chan and Vinal are back in the race? And Robert on his Slowbro are catching up quick, already surfing across the river -- I haven't see this many comebacks since the last 'Yo Mama' competition..." The announcer goes quite as he watches the end of the race... "Okay, Slowbro," cries Robert, "now comes a ridiculous part of the race. You need to eat some food." Slowbro just stares into the distance for a moment, his eyes wide open, his jaw hanging open as dopey as usual, then he suddenly comes to a realization. "Slowbro!" Knowing that food is ahead, the hungry pink Pokémon wobbles quicker than usual toward the bowls of Pokémon food. He slides down the mountain slope to his bowl of Pokéchow and gobbles it all up in under five seconds! Robert sweatdrops, "Now there's one thing you're *not* slow at!" Robert points down the slope. He sees some other Pokémon approaching the end of the race, "To the finish line, Slowbro! One more Swift!" The first group of racers that Robert encounters on his dash to the finish line is Lara, Dario, Felix, and Sirius. Felix notices that his poor Beedrill is slowing down from having to carry his trainer for such a long time, "Come on, Galahad! Don't get tired now! We're almost there! More Agility! Be one with the hedgehog." Sirius is silent as he holds onto his Dragonite's reins, knowing that Reis knows what to do. Lara and Dario, however, aren't quite as quite. They keep squabbling, and Dario's Dodrio keeps pecking at Lara's Rapidash. Lara shouts out, "That's enough, varmint! I'm gonna run ya off the road!" "Whut?" Dario looks shocked, since the good guys never fight back. As Lara's Rapidash spits fire at Dario's Dodrio, Lara shouts out, "Ya'll finish the race for the Laramie clan!" Robert stares at the finish line ahead with determination, passing Lara and Dario, "Whew! I've secured 13th place! What a come back!" Unfortunately, Robert's Slowbro stops on the road and starts panting. Robert sighs, "I wish Slowbro came with jumper cables...Now what am I going to do?!" "Prrrimeape!" The fierce voice is heard, as Zeus the Primeape comes riding in on Hades, the black Rapidash. Embarrassed that they had fallen behind a Slowbro, they redouble their efforts to catch up. Slowbro turns around to face the approaching Pokémon duo. While most Water and Psychic Pokémon wouldn't be afraid of a Fire Pokémon being ridden by a Fighting Pokémon, Robert's Slowbro is. The pink Pokemon's eyes go wider than usual, and he drops on all four legs and dashes down the road, trying to run away from the Rapidash hot on his trail. Slowbro zooms past Julia on Tidal, John on Tara, Damian on Drake, and even past Mithril-rama on Doduo... Mithril-rama blinks as she sees Robert pull ahead of her in the race, "What the...?" Even Deimos is shocked for a moment, before he starts racing after Robert, who is still being chased by the black Rapidash. Up ahead in the race, Stallone, Sarah Jane's Machop, keeps urging Ferdinand the Tauros to go faster, determined to win the race. He looks back to see a Slowbro catching up to him. He can't allow that, "MACHOP! MACHOP!!!" The Tauros he is riding understands Stallone's orders and he whips his three tails to pick up speed! Sarah Jane's Tauros seems to not have much luck getting past Kirsty's Dragonite. The large flying Dragon Pokémon is effortlessly blazing flapping his wings down the final road, hovering over the ground much like the other Dragonite in the race, just much faster thanks to Kirsty's small size and the Dragonite's superior speed! Runt's Dragonair is neck to neck with Jon's Jolteon... While a Dragonair normally aren't able to keep up with one of the fastest Pokémon in the known world, the vitamin enriched gravy Tiny inhaled gives him the extra boost he needs. They speed past Monk-Chan and Vinal without even noticing them... Monk-Chan narrows its eyes, places its paw on his forehead, and sees that the finish line is close enough to be reached with just one more Seismic Toss. It snorts out insane laughter at the two speeding Pokémon ahead, and leaps onto Vinal. The Mankey grabs the Grass Pokémon and Seismic Tosses it into the sky, holding on tight... The two Pokémon do end up ahead of Kangaskhan mounted Dragonair and Jon's Jolteon - Unfortunately, they crash five inches from the finish line and the two Pokémon land wrong, knocking the Tangela out cold...again. Monk-Chan reaches its tiny paw out towards the white line before him, but passes out as well. Back at the observation area, Gads Trisan continually knocks his head into a nearby boulder, and it suddenly smashes into bits from the constant wearing down from Gad's forehead! "Nooo! It's so close! Vinal can just extend a vine and it wins the race! One of you wake up! Do something! AHHH!" Gads breaks out into hysterical laughter and the spectators around him slowly back away. Tiny, the Dragonair, speeds up ahead of Jon's Jolteon, but Jon urges the Jolteon he's riding to go faster! Jolt pulls into the lead! The two Pokémon continue using their Agility move, trying to beat the other out as they approach the finish line. Soon, they appear to be nothing more than a blue blur and a yellow blur. They cross the finish line! But no one knows which one did it first. The announcer cries out, "It's a photo finish! We gotta wait for the photo to develop!" The sheer speed of the two Pokémon trying to outrun each other tosses Vinal across the finish line, a fainted tumbleweed of blue grass! Monk-Chan awakens, sees that Vinal made it, and jumps up and down, thinking that its the winner, while it only actually claimed third place. But no one is about to tell that to an easily angered Mankey... Kirsty speeds across the finish line on her Dragonite, knocking Monk-Chan to the floor! "Yeah! 4th place!" Robert's Slowbro is still running away from the Rapidash behind him, horribly frightened by the nightmarish beast. Stallone, the Machop, has actually fallen behind the Slowbro on the race to the finish! "Machop!!!" The fighting Pokémon reluctantly slaps his fellow Pokémon, the Tauros he's riding. Fortunately, the slap isn't in vain, since it sends the Tauros hurtling past Robert's Slowbro, allowing it to claim fifth place! "CHOP!" The Slowbro, completely oblivious of his surroundings, keeps running even after crossing the finish line, surprisingly taking sixth place. Purgatory's Pokémon, Hades the frightening Rapidash, takes 7th place. He is followed by Rilli on Deimos, Damian on Drake, John on Tara, Julia on Tidal, Sirius on Reis, and Felix on his Beedrill! Lara comes running in on her Rapidash shortly afterward, followed by a thoroughly burned Dodrio, a soot covered Dario mounted on it. Jon leaps off of his Jolteon and clenches his fists, waiting for the result of the winner to come in... Runt runs up to his Dragonair and his baby Kangaskhan Roo and hugs them, "Great job, you two!" Jon and Runt stand side by side, staring at a huge monitor that is showing slow-motion clips of the race. The announcer clears his voice and bellows into the microphone, "And the winner of the Big P Pokémon Race is..." The monitor shows a huge photo of Tiny pulling his long majestic body, pouch and all, ahead of Jon's Jolteon, who is just inches behind the finish line. "...Runt Cloverwood!" As the first, second, and third place winners claim their trophies and titles, Robert's Slowbro is still running around the countryside, having left the Racing area. Robert sweatdrops, "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but you can Stop running now, Slowbro!" The Pokémon ignores his trainer and keeps running without looking back! <Meanwhile, at the Post-Race Celebration> "Stop In The Name Of The Law!" shrieks Officer Jenny. "Dario, Get Back Here You Dirty Sidewinder!" yells Lara. Turning, those in attendance could see Dario, mounted on his Dodrio, taking off at full speed, with Lara and Officer Jenny in pursuit. Sarah Jane's eyes narrow angrily as she remembers what Dario tried to pull. "Stallone, Ferdinand, get that creep." With a brief nod, the Machop leaps atop the Tauros and takes off. Officer Jenny and Lara closes in on Dario when Jenny's jeep stalls. Dario takes advantage of the distraction to untie his bandana and let it fly. The bandana flies into Rapidash's face, startling the Pokémon. Dario laughs as he thinks he's home free. He'd never expected a Tauros running at full speed to strike his Dodrio... And he definitely didn't expect a Machop that leap off the Tauros and knock him to the ground. "Hey! Let go of me you little..." exclaims Dario as Stallone wraps his arms around the scoundrel. "Good work!" says Officer Jenny as she runs up. The officer quickly handcuffs Dario and begins reading him his rights. "Looks like Dario finally got what he deserved," Lara comments as Sarah Jane catches up with them. "The little guy did it," says Robert as Stallone hoists Dario up and carries him to Officer Jenny's jeep. "Just shows what the right kind of training can do," remarks Damian. <To Be Continued...> Summary: Big P Pokémon Race followed by Dario getting captured by Officer Jenny with help from Stallone and Ferdinand. [Race Rankings: 1st, Roo & Tiny; 2nd, John & Jolt; 3rd Monk-Chan & Vinal; 4th, Kirsty & Dragonite; 5th, Stallone & Ferdinand; 6th, Robert & Slowbro; 7th, Zeus & Hades; 8th, Rilli & Deimos; 9th, Damian & Drake; 10th, John & Tara; 11th, Julia & Tidal; 12th, Sirius & Reis; 13th, Felix & Beedrill; 14th, Lara & Rapidash; and Last, Dario & Dodrio] _______________________________________________________________ "Slow and steady wins the race."