Pokémon Journey: Hoenn

Chapter 4: An Electrifying Race!

Chapter 4: An Electrifying Race!

Route 102, Hoenn

4:02pm, 4th April 2006

"How much further have we got to go?" Nicola groaned as she dragged herself forwards.

"The nearest pokémon centre is another hour away," James replied, reading the guidebook.

"That's so far!" Nicola cried. "I think I'm going to need another rest…"

"You know, I might actually agree with you there," Richard sighed.

After stopping so that they could have a lunch break and James and Nicola could have their battle, the three trainers had resumed their journey towards Petalburg City. However, the path through the mountains was long and it was going to take them a great deal more time before they arrived at their destination. James had been hoping that they could stop in moderate-sized village that was about halfway through the mountains and marked a crossroads with roads heading to the west and east.

They were getting close to it now, but everyone was worn out after the long walk, as well as the lingering effects of the previous day's journey. He was starting to wonder if they should call it a day and find somewhere to set up the tent. It wouldn't be the most comfortable of nights, as James and Richard were well aware, but it would give Nicola a chance to rest her feet.

While the humans were flagging, the two pokémon they had out seemed to still be full of energy. James' newly-caught wingull, Nulin, was soaring energetically above the ground, occasionally swooping down to receive a treat from his new trainer. He seemed happy enough.

Chena, Richard's poochyena, was far more collected than Nulin. He was strolling alongside his trainer, occasionally glancing around to check his surroundings, but otherwise seeming fairly relaxed. According to the Pokédex, poochyena had a good deal of stamina, so it was no surprise that he was treating the long walk as if it were nothing.

They rounded another corner in the road and suddenly caught the sounds of cheering in the distance. The three trainers looked at each other.

"I wonder what that's all about," Richard said.

"Don't know," James replied, flicking open his guidebook to have a look.

"Maybe someone's having a pokémon battle?" Nicola suggested as they pushed on.

"I don't think that's it," James said, looking up from the guidebook as Nulin landed on his shoulder and nibbled mischievously at the strap of his backpack.

"Oh? Is there something else up ahead?" Richard sounded curious.

"Yeah." James nodded. "We should be able to see it soon."

"You aren't going to tell us?" Nicola asked, sounding disappointed.

"You'll find out for yourselves in a second!" James grinned back.

They continued walking along the road until they emerged from the shadow of the steep, tree-clad slope on their right. They found themselves in a wide-open section of the valley, the road leading up to an area of flat ground nestled against the hills and trees. It was from up here that the cheering was coming from. Between the cheers, Nicola thought she could make out some electronic whirring.

What lay to their right quickly became obvious as they reached a sign on the right side of the road proclaiming "Ocean Kart Racecourse". Beyond it, there was a main building alongside a number of more ramshackle structures lying to the left, while to the right, the tarmacked surface of a race track was visible, the occasional go-kart racing past. A small crowd of maybe twenty people or so were gathered under cover between the main building and the track.