The Rapidash Rush continues.
After getting through Exploud Chasm, Sealeo Breakwater and Kingdra Durance, they had reached Canterlot to have a small break. Once the break was over and they got their flags, their next destination was the Crystal Empire. But the main obstacles were the Machamps and Noiverns.
"How are gonna get through all of that?" Even Ash had no idea what to do in this situation. Those Pokemon won't let them have the chance of getting through. The Machamps crossed their four arms, standing firm.
"They sure big fellas aren't they?" Applejack said.
"Yeah right, I bet those muscles are just there for show. Watch this!" Rainbow Dash underestimated what Machamps are truly capable of. She got a taste of their awesome might as one of them easily sent her and Rapidash back with an easy flick on the nose of the Fire Horse Pokemon. "W-What the?!"
"It's not a good idea to underestimate them, Rainbow Dash. Here, look." Ash got out his Pokedex from his pocket to show her what they're all about.
"Machamp. The Superpower Pokemon. Machamp has the unimaginable might to punch 1,000 times in just two seconds. A simple hit from then can send their target across the horizon. They lift mountains casually with their four arms and have mastered every form of martial arts there is."
"Say what?!" Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Scootaloo and the other ponies were shaken by this. They could do all of THAT?
The Machamps had heard their dex entry as they flexed their muscles, showing off. And they had every right. If you're that powerful, why wouldn't you show off your stuff?
"How are we supposed to get past something like that?! 1,000 times in two seconds?! That's absurd!" Rainbow Dash said.
"It ain't gonna be easy. Not even close. Ash, what about the Noiverns? Can we move past them easier?" AJ asked.
"I wouldn't count on that either. It's not the flying that we should be worried about. It's their signature move, Boomburst. Its a super destructive sound move."
"Great. We've hit a brick wall." Scootaloo sighed.
"Not so. We have Rapidash remember. 40 of them in total. All we gotta do is use them to get past that. We can use the moves they know to make way."
"Not a bad idea. But those Machamp look pretty intimidating. And the Pokedex didn't help at all." A pony said.
"Let's do this! Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Ash commanded his Rapidash as it unleashed a blast with a certain shape, sending it to the Machamps. One Machamp had blown away the Fire Blast with a simple Dual Chop. "Flare Blitz!" Rapidash charged at one of the Machamps to separate them. A Machamp had blocked Rapidash by putting its hands out. Rapidash was doing its best to break through, only slightly pushing Machamp back.
"I got this!" Applejack said. She let her Rapidash run towards the Machamps, making it kick up dirt in their eyes with its hooves. Applejack's Rapidash then jumped over the distracted Machamp, however, another Superpower Pokemon grabbed its hoof, sending it back to the front. "That didn't work so well."
"They'll barely budge. Rapidash! Flame Charge!" Ash made his Rapidash pick up speed as it charged in once more. This time, all the Rapidash's had galloped forward, making all the Machamps act. The Machamps had all put their arms forward to the incoming Rapidash's.
It was now a struggle. A push battle even. Scootaloo had an idea sprung up in there. With all these Machamps distracted, why not take this opportunity to gallop past them. She made her Rapidash move past a Machamp who was too distracted with a Rapidash. Right at the very end of the line of Machamps even.
"Haha! See ya later!" She taunted. But she didn't take into account, the Noiverns. One Noivern used Boomburst to send her back to the front. "Oh come on!"
It looked like it was hopeless until the Rapidash's managed to actually push the Machamps back. Their strength was nothing to scoff at either.
"We managed to push them back but, this is gonna take a while." Ash said.
The Machamps then all dug their hands in the ground. What were they up to?
"What are they doing?" Applejack asked. The ground was shaking as the Machamp's changed the formation of the ground, causing the whole area to morph. Now it was full of huge bumps, making the area more chaotic.
"They changed the entire ground up. They REALLY don't want us getting through." A pony said.
"Then we'll use this to our advantage! Rapidash! Fire Blast on the ground!" Ash made his Rapidash unleash a Fire Blast on the ground. It caused a fiery explosion, creating a huge smoke cloud that blocked the Machamp's sight, even the Noiverns a bit. They had all scattered across the area as the Machamps also scattered. They used their hands to blow away the smoke as they saw all of them were all over the place. They each chased after them, aiming to stop them all.
"Yikes!" Rainbow Dash looked back as she saw a Machamp chasing her. It was imposing. A being with four arms just after you. Not only that but the Noiverns had flown down, chasing after those who got too far.
"Uh oh!" Ash said. A Noivern had used Dragon Pulse as it shot down the ground, causing an explosion that threw Ash's Rapidash off balance for a small bit.
The over Noiverns had used Boomburst or Supersonic to try and stop the contestants. The crowd watching this were very confused about what was going on.
"What in Celestia's name is going on?!" Rarity yelled.
"It's pure pandemonium! It's like a game of cat and mouse!" Twilight replied.
"Yeah! Ain't it awesome?!" BigTime Ben said.
"But are they ever gonna escape those Noiverns and Machamps?" Dawn asked Brock.
"It's a 50/50 chance. The Rapidash have the speed advantage. But the Machamps have immense strength to shake the area and the Noiverns can create great wind attacks to cut them off. They'll have to rely on Rapidash's speed for this one." He answered.
"Pika."
Ash had managed to keep on moving with his Rapidash powering through the Dragon Pulse.
"If you're gonna attack, then we'll attack back! Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Rapidash turned its head around, releasing Fire Blast. Noivern flew over it as it was still on the chase, firing Air Slashes. Rapidash was gaining speed as it was outrunning Noivern.
For the others, they were starting to turn this around. Applejack had made a Machamp run around in circles, making it dizzy.
"What's wrong, big guy? Even Big Mac doesn't get that flustered when things ring around him!" She taunted the Superpower Pokemon. She and her Rapidash escaped from the Machamp who was dizzy, making them the second to leave. The others were occupied, trying to cut off the contestants.
Rainbow Dash had seen an opening. A spot where there was no Machamp or Noivern since they were too busy with the rest. And she seized this opportunity, leaving this area as well.
"Hehe! Buh-Bye!"
The Machamps were seeing that they weren't stopping them all. So they all used Dynamic Punch to shake the ground, causing all of the contestants and Rapidash to fly up into the air as they were launched. Scootaloo's was unaffected because they were actually away from the pandemonium. They had the idea of staying far back while the others handle the rest. And thanks to that launch, she and her Rapidash sneaked past by hiding themselves in a large pile of rocks which was created when the Machamp's changed up the ground. Now she was the next one to leave.
Finally leaving that place and hoping that everypony else can make it through, they headed towards their next destination. The Crystal Empire.
The Crystal Ponies were waiting as they were cheering on the contestants. Cadence and Shining Armor had the second flags waiting for the racers. Ash and Applejack had arrived to grab ahold of their flags next.
"Here's your flags you two. Good luck!" Shining Armor said as he and Cadence lent them their flags.
"Better be ready. Cause those Machamps aren't the only obstacles you have to deal with." Cadence said to them. As more and more contestants arrived, managing to break past the Machamps and Noiverns, barely, they took their flags and galloped on.
"What's even gonna be next?" Scootaloo asked. And right on time, BigTime Ben's face showed up as they were galloping.
"What shows up next is...Zebstrika! Rapidash's Rival!"
"Zeb-who?" The ponies all said.
Zebstrika was here. A Pokemon comparable to Rapidash, essentially its equal. They all turned around to see Thunderbolt Pokemon right next to them.
"What the?!" Rainbow Dash jumped a bit. "Ash! What can you tell us about these ones?" Ash took out his Pokedex to show them.
"Zebstrika. The Thunderbolt Pokemon. A herd of Zebstrika running at top speed gives off a noise like thunder. When Zebstrika run at full speeds, lightning shoots out of their manes. They are rivals to that of Rapidash."
And the dex was right. The Zebstrika's and Rapidash had eyed each other down while running. They both loved to compete against each other but didn't want any of them beating the other.
"So these two are rivals huh? I can dig that." Rainbow Dash said.
"These Zebstrika's will be aiming to beat you all to the punch. Think of them as opposing racers. From now on, you're all on the same team and these Zebstrika's are on another team. Let's see which equine Pokemon is the fastest of them all." BigTime Ben said with his face leaving.
The Zebstrika's all used Wild Charge to boost themselves forward.
"Hey! Rapidash! Flame Charge!" Ash did the same as his Rapidash kept up with them.
"Uh.. do what he said!" Rainbow Dash followed what Ash did as her Rapidash also used Flame Charge. The other contestants did the same as now it was a race between the Fire-Types and Electric-Types. To make it to the Ice Islands, they had to go through some harsh snow, but this wasn't a problem from the two Pokemon. They were in the Arctic North as their hooves were leaving both flaming and electric footprints along with trails.
The Zebstrika's were rowdier than Rapidash, so they used Discharge to throw them off balance.
"Woah!" All the racers said.
"Cheap play you jerks!" Scootaloo yelled at them. A Zebstrika turned its head, sticking its tongue out at her. "Grr!"
"We'll just play dirty then too." Applejack smiled as her Rapidash was next to a Zebstrika. She took off her hat as she placed it in front of the Zebstrika's eyes, making it lose sight. She then took her hat back as the Zebstrika crashed into another of its kind. "Yeehaw!"
"Awesome play, AJ!" Rainbow Dash congratulated her. The racers and Pokemon had galloped along a long snowy hill. The Ice Islands were near, no doubt about it. To slow them down, the Zebstrika's butted heads with the Rapidash's by slamming into them. They were neck and neck, trying to push the other back.
"These Zebstrika's really don't wanna lose huh?" Ash said. "And neither do we! Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Rapidash had charged forward, leaving a huge trail of fire as it zoomed up the hill, easily making it to the top. The Zebstrika's and other Rapidash followed suit by using Wild Charge and Flare Blitz as well.
There it was. The Ice Islands. And BigTime Ben wasn't kidding. Ice Pokemon galore. From Snorunts, Cubchoos, Bergmites and even some Lapras here and there.
"Check out all the Ice-Types!" Ash said. Normally, the chill of the ice would reach their bodies, but thanks to Rapidash's mane, that chill was negated.
Unbeknownst to them all, the Sharpedo from before had been chasing after them. And since the Ice Islands had water, the Sharpedo could reach here. And they saw their targets right in front of them.
BigTime Ben's face had popped up once more to tell them the challenge for this one.
"Alright! For this one, you'll all have to-" His speech was interrupted by the Sharpedo's who used Aqua Jet to fly through his face and towards the contestants. "What the- Sharpedo's again?!"
"What's with these guys?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed. The Sharpedos knocked some ponies off their Rapidash's along with some humans. Applejack was one of these ponies.
"Applejack!" Rainbow Dash gasped. "Why you!" She got frustrated with the Sharpedo's as she flew off her Rapidash's tackling the Sharpedo's back into the water. She went over to pick up her friend who was on the ground.
"I'm fine Rainbow Dash. They only sent me to the ground. Though it is cold and hard."
"Either way, what's their problem?! No wonder they're known as the 'Bully of the sea'. That's all they are!"
The Ice-Types weren't safe either. The Sharpedo chased after them as well. The Lapras were doing their best to try and escape from the Sharpedo's dashing towards them. A Sharpedo had used Hyper Beam on the icy ground, causing it to shake with the ice caps breaking apart. The Brutal Pokemon would go to extreme measures to get their target. Even the Zebstrika's weren't safe.
"Those Sharpedo's are nothing but ruffians!" Rarity said as she and the others who were watching this were getting nervous with all the Sharpedo's around. The challenge that BigTime Ben planned didn't even go into play.
"They won't stop until they get us. Zebstrika's! Mind putting our rivalry aside and help us stop these Sharpedo's?" Ash said to them. The Zebstrika's knew that they wouldn't be able to finish their race unless the distractions were out of the way. They nodded in response.
"Awesome!" Use Discharge!" Ash took charge, making all the Zebstrika's use Discharge. The electric energy hit the Sharpedo's stunning them. A Sharpedo had come from behind, using Night Slash on Ash's back as it knocked him off Rapidash.
"ASH!" They all said in shock.
Ash fell on the ground as the Sharpedo was about to bite him. The trainer rolled out of the way as he tried to get back on his Rapidash. But his Rapidash was knocked down by Aqua Jets.
"Oh no! Rapidash!"
More and more Rapidash's were getting hit by Aqua Jets. All the contestants were losing their flow.
"This is horrible!" Fluttershy covered her eyes, not wanting to see this.
The Sharpedo's were in the water, everywhere with no safe space. The Ice Type Pokemon hid behind the trainers and ponies, scared of the Sharpedo's.
"What do we do?" Applejack asked.
"Our only option is to make them faint. We'll all have to pitch in." Ash explained. "Zebstrika! Wild Charge!" A herd of Zebstrika's used Wild Charge to knock away the Sharpedo's making some of them faint. "Rapidash! Fire Blast!" Then the Fire Blasts came next. They weren't effective but they were good for knockbacks.
Scootaloo hid behind an ice rock as she was petrified. The young pegasi had now gained a fear of Sharpedo. Her Rapidash stood by her. It was to make sure that it would protect her. It senses her determination to win just like it wants to.
"Rapidash..."
Just then, A Sharpedo had used Night Slash on the rock Scootaloo was hiding behind. She screamed as the Rapidash got in front of her. It turned around and bucked Sharpedo away.
"Can you all help too?" Ash turned to the Ice-Type Pokemon. Most nodded but the Cubchoos felt like they should sit this one out. "Great! Alright, go!"
The Ice-Types had swallowed their fears as they used a variety of ice moves. From Ice Beam to Icy wind, to Ice Fang. With the combined effort from Zebstrika, the Ice-Types and Rapidash, they were all managing to push back against the Bully of the Sea. With all of their strength, they easily overwhelmed the Brutal Pokemon, scaring them off. They couldn't handle all of that, especially with the Zebstrika's having the advantage, and some Ice-Types had Freeze Dry.
Victory! The Sharpedo's had been dealt with. They won't be coming back for long.
"Woowee! That beats up rounding up the sheep any day of the week!" Applejack laughed. The others laughed as they had a huge problem off their back.
"Hehe! Yeah! Better get back to the race!" Rainbow Dash had already been on her Rapidash's galloping off. She took this opportunity to get ahead of everypony else.
"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" They all said in unison. They hopped on their Rapidash's heading back to their starting point, Ponyville.
The race was about to come to an end. The two Pokemon Types were neck and neck. Ponyville was over the horizon, they were so close. Ash, Zebstrika, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were right next to each other.
"This race is mine!" They all said.
"Rapidash! Flare Blitz!" Ash commanded.
"Flame Charge!" Rainbow Dash said.
"GO faster!" Scootaloo yelled.
Their speeds increased, even breaking past their natural speed limit. They were neck and neck. Their speed was so intense that it actually burned away the grass.
"It's gonna be close!" BigTime Ben said. Everypony was anticipating who'd win. And just like that in a sudden burst, they were all blown away once the racers passed the finish line. Their speed had caused a shockwave that powerful, as it was hard to tell who won that.
The racers stopped, leaving a long trail behind. BigTime Ben and everypony else were perplexed. He took his time to put his hat back on and adjust his clothing.
"Oh, sweet Arceus.. that was intense. But who won? Gothitelle?"
Gothitelle didn't really have the power to rewind projections. Psychic types can only do so much. She shook her head, not knowing.
"Well then. I guess we may never know who won. But either way, wasn't that an AMAZING race?!" Everypony cheered as they loved it. It was intense but it was enjoyable.
"I totally won that." Rainbow Dash said.
"You wish, Rainbow Dash." Applejack replied, thinking it wasn't her.
"You two are both winners in my eyes." Fluttershy said to both of them.
"Well! That ends Equestria's first official Rapidash Rush! Granted, the prize won't be going to anyone of you since we don't know who won... BUT! Maybe next time one of you will get it once I bring a camera. No hard feelings, right?"
"None taken." Ash said as his clothes were burnt due to that last-minute speed burst.
The race was over. Everypony was headed home as BigTime Ben was returning his Pokemon to their Pokeballs. From his Machamps, Noiverns to his Zebstrika's. Scootaloo was saying goodbye to Rapidash since the two of them shared a small little bond during this race.
"Bye Rapidash." BigTime Ben looked at the saddened Scootaloo who said goodbye to his Pokemon.
"Hey, kid. You did pretty well back there even if you had a slight disadvantage and almost fell into the chasm. I think you deserve this." BigTime Ben took out a Pokeball as out came the pre-evolution to Rapidash. Ponyta.
"Woah..."
"Ponyta is for you. You can deem this as your first ever Pokemon. I know you're already signed up for the league so this little fella will guide you to victory. And he'll do it with style."
"I love him!" Scootaloo hugged Ponyta as she got her first Pokemon.
"Welp. Best be off. Ya'll take care now, ya hear!"
"See ya later, BigTime!" They had all bid him farewell as he returned to his world.
Back at the underground base, Ghetsis had arrived, meeting with Cold Colt and Emerald Aura. They had already explained everything about The Rift and how the two worlds crossed.
"So. All of this is for fun you say?" Ghetsis said.
"Well yeah. The Rift wants an awesome event. So you'd better make sure you do something cool to satisfy him!" Cold Colt said.
"Oh, I'll give him an event like no other. From now on, you two work for me."
"Pssh. Yeah right." Emerald Aura said. But she and Cold Colt were threatened by his Hydregion. "Uh. Whatever you say boss." They were too terrified of it. Even if they had magic.
"Excellent. The first order of business. We'll take control of Mythical Pokemon. Meloetta."
Chapter 42 End!