Chapter 37:  Ranch Racers (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

A brief stop at Hazel Town crossed my path with Danielle�s, and a couple of 
idiot Rockets by the names of Becky and Ben had tried to steal her Pok�mon, and 
ended up hurting her in the struggle.  
Still, it wasn�t as bad as it seemed, except, Danielle made something out of 
nothing, as if my bringing her to the Pok�mon Centre meant that I was in love 
with her.  
Unfortunately, I couldn�t convince her not to come along, and she�d invited 
herself onto the party.  

Abby kept behind, while Danielle close a tight grasp on my arm.  
�Does she ever stop?� questioned Abby, �She�s like a deranged puppy.�  
�Just ignore her, she�ll get tired of this...  I hope.� I called back.  

It was soon approaching evening time, and we were close to the Pok�mon Ranch, a 
well known landmark in the Pok�mon World.  
Here, herds of Pok�mon were raised in the wild, but with plenty of human 
interaction, this is turn gave the place a reputation for having great Pok�mon 
for trainers who were willing to pay for them.  
There was a herd of Tauros, a herd of Nidorinos, Nidorinas, Rhyhorns, among 
many others.  
�Abby, you know how you�ve got a great high level Rhyhorn, did you get it from 
here?� I asked.  
�No, I�ve never been here before...� she replied hesistantly.  
�Hmmmm...� I thought to myself, I just couldn�t figure out where she had 
captured Armour, or how, probability and sense told me she�d got it from the 
Safari Zone, but Abby had somehow forgotten all about that, and about how she 
gave me a massive bruise by throwing a Safari Ball in my face.  
A dark shadow swiftly jumped from behind one tree to another, but I had barely 
caught a glimpse of it, and was suspicious.  
�Danielle, I mean it.  Let go.�  
�What? What�s going on?�  
�I think we�ve got a poacher problem...�  
�Where Tetsubo?�  
�That tree.�  
I ran forward, jumped behind the tree and prepared to kick the stalker, but it 
had disappeared.  
�Tetsubo, it Is rather late, I wouldn�t be surprised if you were seeing 
things.� offered Abby.  
�No, I know I saw something.� I said firmly.  
�Yes Tetsubo, we believe you...� patronised Abby.  
�No you don�t! I can read you look a book Abby.� I complained, �Except there 
are a LOT of pages missing.� I added in thought.  
�Hoooaaarrrggghhh!!!� wailed a group of Tauros.  
I gave a strange look at the girls that pretty much said �I told you so�.  
As we charged into the area, the darkened figure had just used a fearsome 
Pinsir to throw a Tauros to the ground, a Pok�ball followed, and successfully 
pulled a Tauros inside.  
�Hey! Stop that!� I yelled.  
�What the?!�  
The figure recalled the Pinsir, and snatched the Pok�ball, and tried to make a 
run for it.  
�Go! Twinkill!�  
�Star!� shouted my Staryu, appearing in the air, it fell down to be caught by 
me as I ran by.  
�Twinkill, Water Gun.�  
I held onto Twinkill as it fired, running as fast as I could to be within the 
range of an effective squirt.  
Most missed, but I eventually caught up with the figure to douse him down.  
�Put your hands up, or I�ll have my Pok�mon use Thunderbolt.�  
�What�s so wrong with what I�ve done?!� shouted the figure.  
�Have you heard of the term �stealing�?!� I asked firmly.  
�You mean... those weren�t wild Tauros?...� questioned the thief.  
�Of course not!!!� I shouted.  
With that, I took a dive towards the figure, and tackled him with everything I 
had.  
The figure was buff, and probably more powerful than I, no, he was definitely 
more powerful.  
With one swing, I was deflected, and the figure picked himself up again.  
�You want to do this the hard way? Fine with me.� I smiled.  
Twinkill spun itself towards the poacher and rotated very fast, generating a 
large blast of electricity.  
�Yaaaaaa!!!� screamed the guy, before collapsing.  
Twinkill spun upwards, and came down on the guy, plunging two of its star 
points in the soil to restrain the guy�s neck under its body.  
�Good going Twinkill, would someone call Officer Jenny?� I called to the 
girls.  
�Please, I didn�t know they�d weren�t wild Pok�mon...� pleaded the poacher.  
�Are you stupid?! Do you really expect me to believe that you didn�t know?!� I 
complained harshly.  
I lifted the black hood to reveal... Chad!  
�Okay, I was wrong, you probably Were stupid enough to make a simple mistake 
like that...� I sighed.  
Twinkill rose into the air, while I helped Chad up.  
�Do you realise how much trouble you could be in? Everyone knows you�re not 
allowed to catch Pok�mon around these parts, you have to buy them.� I 
commented.  
�Tetsubo, did you-  Oh my god.� said Abby, with a cursing tone it seemed.  
�Hey, its the little girl!� said Chad cheerfully.  
�Don�t call me that.� she replied firmly.  
�I�ll get you, you mean mean man!� shouted Danielle, ramming her head into 
Chad, and then swinging her arms to beat him.  
Chad was too strong to be brought down by Danielle, she�d fallen back upon 
ramming him, Chad simply held a hand against her head, and it was enough to 
keep her grounded, while she harmlessly swung her arms around but not quite 
reaching Chad.  
�Cute.  What is it with you and younger women, Tet�?� smiled Chad.  
�What are you talking about? Emily�s older than I am, and I travelled with a 
guy for a short time.  Don�t go accusing me of what I haven�t done!� I yelled.  
�My Tetsubo, you�re getting all worked up, its almost as if you�re hiding 
something.� grinned Chad.  
�Actually, there is something I�ve been meaning to talk to you about.� I said 
calmly.  
�Hold it!� shouted a female voice, and a large Growlithe tackled Chad and 
brought him down, the Pok�ball with the Tauros was released, and unfortunately, 
this one was moody and angry.  
�Aw naw, whut were yuh thinking?! Yuh captured Heifer!�  
�Heifer?�  
�He�s the worst Tauros o� them all, he hates authority!�  
�HOOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!� roared the bull, charging at the group in general.  
�Twinkill!� I shouted, and it shocked the Tauros, only it wasn�t enough.  
With one big head butt, Twinkill has hit remarkably hard, I quickly recalled it 
and searched for a Pok�mon that was more adequate for the task.  
�Tetsubo.� called Abby.  
I looked up at her, and then turned to the Tauros, who had put me at the top of 
its hit list.  
�Go! Spaghetti!� shouted Danielle.  
�Tan-Gela!!!�  
With a quick Vine Whip attack, the strong attachments tied the four legs 
together and tightened, causing the Tauros to lose its balance.  
�Hoooaaaarrrgghh!!!�  
�Jus� do us all a favour an� recall that Tauros!� yelled the young lady.  
Chad quickly complied, and the struggling Tauros was dragged into its 
Pok�ball.  
�Ah oughta drag yer butt ta jail!�  
�I�m sorry! I�m sorry, I�m sorry, I�m sorry.� begged Chad, kneeling down and 
holding his hands together, �I didn�t know!�  
�... Ah�m gonna let y�all off, Ah think having Heifer as a Pok�mon will be 
punishment enough.  But you�re gonna hafta pay the owner something fer taking 
it away, else people�d do this all the time.�  
She wore a pale green shirt and blue shorts, brown boots, and a red belt around 
her left arm that went down to the right side of her waist, she also wore a 
light orange headband, and her blue hair fell to the sides, and down the back 
in a ponytail.  
�And what �bout you, do y�all know this fool?� questioned the girl.  
�I�m afraid so, Chad didn�t mean any harm.� I said.  
�Um, yuh wanna go ta town? It is gettin� kinda late...�  

The village was bustling with activity, a festival of some sort was going on 
here, there was plenty of unique food for sale, many rare imported Pok�mon 
goods, and carnival attractions here and there.  
�I must apologise for my friend�s rude behaviour.� I offered to the girl, �If 
there�s anything we can do to-�  
�Stop apologisin�, Ah�m tired o� hearin� it, name�s Lara Laramie, Ah�m the 
daughter o� the leader o� the Laramie Clan.�  
�The owners of the ranch?� I questioned a little surprised.  
�Uh huh.�  
�Well, Ah�m, I mean, I�m Tetsubo Capture, the red head�s Abby, the other girl 
is Danielle, and I believe you�ve already met Chad.� I explained, finishing 
with a slightly embarrassed look at Chad, stuffing his face with a large 
Magikarp-shaped sweet on a stick.  
�This is the best time o� year, when everyone gets together an� celebrates the 
day this here ranch wus built, we have stalls an� exhibits, an� then there�s 
the big annual race, �cept its going ta be the last one cos its so dangerous, 
Ah won it fer two years straight, until last year, but someone else represented 
an� won fer the Laramie Clan instead.�  
�Race, huh?�  
�Yeah, anyone can enter, but Ah wouldn�t if Ah wus you.  Its very competitive 
among the villagers in this here place, especially-�  
�Hoo hah! Heya Lara.� laughed a loud and arrogant guy who came in riding a 
Dodrio.  
He wore a green shirt with an orange sash, yellow trousers, orange boots, and 
his long spiky black hair was tied in a pony-tail.  
Lara looked disgusted, this wasn�t one of her closest friends obviously, so I 
decided to take one good thing from this tense environment.  

�Dodrio, the Triplebird Pok�mon.  Its three heads express joy, sorrow and anger 
as they plan strategies together, one of its heads will be awake at any given 
time.�  

�Are yuh ready fer the big race tomorrow Lara? Ah sure am!�  
�Of course Ah am Dario, whut makes yuh think Ah ain�t?�  
�Well that Rapidash o� yers is kinda outta control, yuh should find some way o� 
calming it down, wouldn�t want yuh ta fall off or anythin�!�  
Lara then gave Dario a powerful glare, as if she was ready to murder him, but 
then she let it go, �We�ll see whut happens, on the track.�  
Dario then took off, his Dodrio�s feet throwing dust around and making a lot of 
noise as he left.  
�What did he do to get you so mad?� I asked.  
�Ah know Ah don�t have much proof, but he caused me ta fall out o� last year�s 
race.  He... arranged fer my ol� Ponyta ta get scared, and Ah got bucked off, 
but Ah found another racer ta take mah place, an� he won the race and taught 
Dario a lesson, but now that particular Pok�mon Trainer�s moved on, an� Ah�m on 
edge.�  
�You think Dario�s gonna try something?�  
�Uh huh.�  
�Lara, between the four of us, we own a lot of Pok�mon, we could stick around, 
protect you from harm, I can�t stand people who bend the rules to get what they 
want...� I said, thinking of Bryan and several other members of Team Rocket.  
�Tetsubo, thank y�all, Ah �preciate it.�  

We returned to Lara�s place, and she led us to the stables, where a fine 
blazing Rapidash stood, looking peaceful.  
�Guys, this is mah Rapidash.�  
�Cool...� smiled Danielle, �How do ya get its flame that bright?�  
�Yuh like Rapidash?�  
�Of course I do.� replied Danielle, releasing one of her own.  

�Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pok�mon.  It is unable to resist racing against fast 
moving objects or creatures, it can reach a speed of 150 miles per hour.�  

�I never knew you had a Rapidash.� I noted.  
�You never asked.� grinned Danielle.  
�Wish I had, we could have saved ourselves a lot of walking.� I grinned back.  
Danielle�s Rapidash noticed the other, and approached it, giving friendly 
snorts and conversing a little.  
�That�s a mighty fine Rapidash yuh got there, can ya ride it yet?�  
�I�m good at it, but yours looks so... sick.� explained Danielle.  
�Hey, don�t insult mah-�  
�Look!�  
Lara�s Rapidash had collapsed on the floor, while Danielle�s nudged it with a 
concerned expression.  
�Tetsubo, please, git Nurse Joy in here on the double!� pleaded Lara.  

�Lara...� said the Nurse Joy later on in the Pok�mon Centre, �Your Rapidash 
will make a full recovery, it appears to be sick from something it ate.�  
�But that can�t be.  Ah give mah Rapidash the finest horse food.�  
�Well, there appears to be traces of the following...� said the nurse, giving 
Lara a list to look at.  
�That poor Rapidash...� moaned Danielle.  
�And right before the race...� added Abby.  
�No, this can�t be right, Ah�d never give this ta mah Rapidash.�  
�Well, that�s what we discovered inside of it, someone�s been feeding this to 
your Rapidash, or added it to its food perhaps?�  
�Dario.� I growled.  
�Grrrr, its one thing ta knock me offa mah horse, but ta poison mah 
Rapidash...  
He�s gettin� desperate.� growled Lara.  
�Lara, what�s riding on this race?� I asked.  
�Originally a place in the Laramie Clan, but our pa�s are rivals, every year 
they bet something, and Dario an� Ah race, an� whoever does better wins the bet 
fer their pa�s, it may come as a surprise, but Dario an� Ah used ta be friends, 
until our pa�s became more and more competitive, we were turned against each 
other more and more as the years went bah, ever since land became the prize, 
Dario�s been gittin� worse and worse wit� the cheatin�.  This year�s pretty 
special, whoever wins the race, wins ownership o� the ranch...�  
�Can�t you get him disqualified for this?� I asked concerned.  
�Ah�m afraid Dario�s too smart fer that, he�ll have left no trace o� his 
meddlin�.  Ah�ll just have ta endure his trickery and beat him through sheer 
skill.�  
�Lara, I don�t think it�ll be that easy.� said Nurse Joy.  
�But yuh said Rapidash would make a full recovery.�  
�Yes, it will, but not before tomorrow, I�m afraid it won�t be fit to run in 
the race...�  

Meanwhile Dario had a secret rendezvous with three certain individuals.  
�Yuh arranged fer Lara ta be put out o� the race yet?.�  
�Don�t worry, we took care of it.� said a female.  
�Did exactly what you asked.� added a male.  
�Good, but there�s others Ah need yuh ta deal wit�, an� no one mus� see that 
yuh or Ah are behind it.� Dario briefed.  
�Don�t worry, Ah won�t let down a fellow neighbour.� smiled Cletus, �Ah was 
born an� raised in dis here town, an� Ah know exactly how the race works, an� 
how ta bring down all the racers.�  
�Yuh do this, an� Ah�ll reward yuh handsomely.� grinned Dario.  
�How degrading.� commented Cassie, �We�re Elite Rocket, the best of the 
soldiers in Team Rocket, reduced to mere mercenaries.�  
�Work is work.� replied Claus, �We�ve failed so many times, we�ll be seeing a 
lot of these oddjobs until we do something right.�  
�It Will go right Dario.� assured Cletus, �Don�t worry �bout a thing, yer 
friend Cletus�ll take care o� Everythin�...�  

End of Chapter 37A  

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Chapter 37B
Back to Story List #21 - #40
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