A Girl of the Future Read online

  "Okay, let's get to work, Kirby." MetaKnight said.

  Stacey & Tiny Tina / Athena & Janey (Driftveil Drawbridge)

  The girls' cab pulled up to the drawbridge and they jumped out and grabbed their clue.

  "Detour… Iron Ore or Stones Galore." Stacey read. The two teams ran back to the cab and tossed the driver some cash. They rushed back to the bikes.

  "We'll do Stones Galore." Athena said.

  "Might as well stick together." Stacey said.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr: Father/Son (Clay Tunnel)

  The Yoshis walked into a long tunnel. Lanterns were strung along the walls, dimly lighting the area. Old, run down minecart tracks lined the floor of the cavern. Near the

  entrance were shovels and dirt sifters.

  "Where do we look?" Jr asked.

  Yoshi looked at their clue. "Using the provided equipment, search through the roped off sections of Clay Tunnel to search… Okay, so we need to find areas that have been

  roped off and then dig there and sift through the soil."

  FLIGHT 4 (Poke Airlines) – Arrival (Mistralton City) / 9:10 PM

  The dating Sages rushed out of the airport and into a waiting cab.

  "I had a hunch that calling ahead for a cab would be a good idea." CJ said (After-Leg). "Especially given that Mistralton is such a small town."

  "Headed for Driftveil?" The driver asked.

  "Yup." CJ said. "Charizard Bridge."

  "You got it." The driver said.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Drawbridge)

  "Detour… Iron Ore or Stones Galore." DK read. "We're gonna do Iron Ore."

  Diddy jumped onto a bike. "Come on, DK! Let's go!"

  Kirby & MetaKnight: Friends/Star Warriors (Driftveil Gym)

  The Star Warriors each brought their pickaxes crashing down on a rock. MetaKnight's rock cracked open to a chunk of iron, while Kirby's rock crumbled.

  "One down." MetaKnight said.

  Stacey & Tiny Tina / Athena & Janey

  The two teams pedaled up to the entrance of Clay Tunnel and dropped off their bikes. Running inside, they noticed the sifters and shovels.

  "Okay, so we're sifting through the dirt in the marked areas to find the stones." Athena said.

  CJ & Shaylene: Dating (Driftveil Drawbridge)

  "Detour… Iron Ore or Stones Galore." CJ read.

  "Let's do Stones." Shaylene said.

  "Sweet. We get to bike there." CJ said, quickly jumping onto the last bike. Shaylene hopped on the back and the two began pedaling.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr: Father/Son (Clay Tunnel)

  Yoshi and Jr each sifted through a shovel full of dirt as the girls rushed into the cave. "Dad, I found something!" Jr held up a small yellowish crystal-like stone with a flame-like

  design in it.

  "Me too." Yoshi said, finding a blue stone with lighter blue speckles resembling bubbles.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Gym)

  The Kongs walked into the gym and boarded the elevator into the mine, grabbing their equipment in the process. Within a few moments, they were at the base of the elevator,

  inside the mine section of the gym.

  Stacey & Tiny Tina / Athena & Janey (Clay Tunnel)

  The girls all sifted through clumps of dirt.

  "Found one!" Tina said, holding up a greenish stone with a lightning bolt design in it.

  "Athena, is this one?" Janey asked, holding up an orange sun-shaped stone.

  "I don't know." Athena said, as her dirt sifted through, leaving nothing behind.

  "Yay! I found a Water Stone!" Stacey cheered, finding the same blue stone as Yoshi.

  Kirby & MetaKnight / DK & Diddy (Driftveil Gym)

  "(Got another one!)" Kirby said.

  "Same here." MetaKnight said.

  "Got one, DK!" Diddy said.

  "Glad you're having luck." DK said. "Third rock and still nothing."

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr / Stacey & Tiny Tina / Athena & Janey / CJ & Shaylene (Clay Tunnel)

  "Dad, I found another one!" Yoshi Jr said, holding up the same lightning bolt stone as Tina.

  "Awesome!" Yoshi said. "That leaves… two to go."

  "Boo ya! Found another one!" Tina said, finding a shiny purple stone.

  "Kraggon spit…" Janey said. "Nothing."

  "I've got one." Athena said, holding up one of the stones marked with a flame.

  "Found a Dawn Stone!" Shaylene said, finding a shiny, round blue-green stone.

  "Awesome. I've got a Dusk Stone." CJ said, holding up the same purple stone as Tina.

  Kirby & MetaKnight / DK & Diddy (Driftveil Gym)

  "(Boom!)" Kirby said, smashing a rock and finding a chunk of iron.

  "Come on, lady luck…" MetaKnight mumbled, dropping his axe. The rock crumbled apart, leaving behind iron. "That's all five!" The Star Warriors rushed through the dark gym,

  navigating the maze and soon found a hefty man with curly brown hair, wearing a red shirt, tan vest, cowboy hat, jeans and chaps.

  "I take it y'all've found yer iron ore?" The man, Driftveil Gym Leader Clay asked with a southern accent.

  "Yes." MetaKnight said, handing over the iron. Clay took the chunks of iron and handed a clue to MetaKnight.

  Kirby & MetaKnight: Friends/Star Warriors – Currently in 1st

  "Proceed to the Pokemon World Tournament…"

  "Once teams complete the Detour, they must make their way to the south of Driftveil and find this place…" Toadsworth stood in front of a large building with a blue roof and

  a flag on each side of the door: one red and one blue. "…the Pokemon World Tournament building. It is here that teams will find their next clue."

  "Caution: Yield Ahead." MetaKnight read.

  "This is the second Yield on the race." Toadsworth stood on the Yield mat in front of the PWT building. "A Yield is a point where a team can Yield another team and force

  them to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. A team's Yielding power is limited, as they can only use the Yield once."

  "(Let's go.)" Kirby said.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr / Stacey & Tiny Tina / Athena & Janey / CJ & Shaylene (Clay Tunnel)

  "Yo girl! I found another one!" Tina said, holding up a Fire Stone.

  "Yay! That's five!" Stacey said, finding the same blue-green stone as Shaylene.

  "What now?" Tina asked.

  Stacey read the clue. "We need to take the stones to the market."

  "Then let's do this!" Tina said. The two rushed out of the cave as everyone else continued searching.

  "Come on, Dad! We only need to find two more!" Yoshi Jr said.

  "I think I found another one!" Janey said, holding up a brown stone marked with a green leaf.

  "Dude, we've got to hustle!" Shaylene said. "We need our lead back!"

  "I know!" CJ said.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Gym)

  Both of the Kongs dropped their axes onto rocks, both watching their rocks crumble to dust.

  "Darn…" DK said.

  "Gotta keep looking." Diddy said.

  Kirby & MetaKnight: Friends/Star Warriors

  The Star Warriors' cab pulled up outside of the PWT. They jumped out and ran to the Yield mat.

  "We choose not to Yield anyone." MetaKnight said. He and Kirby rushed to the clue box and grabbed their clue. "Roadblock… Who wants to be the very best?"

  "A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. In this Roadblock, that person must enter the Pokemon World Tournament building, where they will be given

  three random Pokemon and paired up against some of the most powerful trainers in the world: gym leaders. Once they can defeat their opposing gym leader in a Pokemon

  battle, they will receive their next clue." Toadsworth narrated.

  "I'll do it." MetaKnight said. He ran into the building and was greeted with a table covered in small red-and-white metal balls. Standing beyond the table were six people. A

  dark-skinned woman wi
th tall, bushy blue hair stepped forward, dressed in a white blouse and blue slacks.

  "Greetings. I am Lenora, the Nacrene City Gym Leader. I will be your opponent today. Choose three Poke Balls. Those will be your Pokemon." The woman said.

  "I was nervous walking into that Roadblock." MetaKnight said (After-Leg). "I know nothing about Pokemon battling, and even if I did, we were given three Pokemon at random

  to battle with, so it was half luck and half strategy."

  Stacey & Tiny Tina: Friends (Driftveil Market)

  The girls rushed into the market and quickly found the stone vendor. They handed over the stones they had found.

  "Please tell me we have the right five…" Tina said.

  The vendor paused. "You are… correct." He said, handing them a clue.

  Stacey & Tiny Tina: Friends – Currently in 2nd

  "Proceed to the Pokemon World Tournament. Caution: Yield Ahead." Stacey read.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Gym)

  "Got another one, little buddy!" DK said, smashing open a rock and finding a chunk of iron.

  "Me too!" Diddy said.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr / Athena & Janey / CJ & Shaylene (Clay Tunnel)

  "Found another one, Athena!" Janey said, holding up a Water Stone.

  "Awesome." Athena said, sifting more dirt and finding nothing.

  "Yes! Another one!" Yoshi said, holding up the purple stone, known as a Dusk Stone.

  "Found a Fire Stone, babe!" CJ said.

  "Woot!" Shaylene cheered.

  Stacey & Tiny Tina: Friends (Pokemon World Tournament)

  The girls rushed to the Yield, pulled a picture out of the box and placed it on the board, followed by placing their small picture in the lower right corner of the board.

  "We choose to Yield CJ and Shaylene." Stacey said.

  "Personal feelings aside, CJ and Shaylene are a strong team." Stacey said (After-Leg). "We needed to try to slow them down."

  "Roadblock… Who wants to be the very best?" Tina read.

  "I do." Stacey said. She walked into the building, where she was greeted with the table of Poke Balls and the five trainers. A man with spiky blue hair and dressed like a ninja

  stepped forward.

  "I am Koga, former leader of the Fuschia City Gym and member of the Kanto Elite Four." He said. "Choose three Poke Balls. We will then do battle."

  MetaKnight

  MetaKnight and Lenora stood on opposite sides of a square battlefield similar to a basketball or tennis court.

  "Are you ready?" Lenora asked, holding a Poke Ball in her hand. She threw the ball into the air. "Go, Dunsparce!" A bluish-white light shot out of the Poke Ball and struck the

  ground. The light took a shape and vanished, leaving behind a small, yellow and blue creature similar to a snake, but shorter and thicker. It had small wings on its back and its

  tail was conical.

  MetaKnight threw his Poke Ball, and from within it emerged a large black dog creature. It has two large horns on its head that curved backwards, an arrow-like tail, and what

  looked like bones across its back.

  "Ah, Houndoom. Lucky choice." Lenora said. "But can you use its skill effectively to win?"

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Gym)

  "Any luck, DK?" Diddy asked, crashing his pickaxe down on a rock.

  "Nothing…" DK said, cracking open an empty rock.

  "Of course." Diddy said.

  MetaKnight (PWT – Inside)

  "Houndoom… Attack?" MetaKnight questioned.

  "You need to call out an attack name specifically." Lenora said. "You can use the nearby Pokedex to see what moves your Houndoom know." She pointed to a small table next

  to MetaKnight. On it was a small red device. MetaKnight picked it up and pointed it at Houndoom. He scanned the text that appeared on screen.

  "Got it." MetaKnight said. "Houndoom, use Flamethrower!"

  "Dunsparce, use Dig!" Lenora said. As fire shot out of Houndoom's mouth, Dunsparce quickly dug a hole and burrowed underground.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr / Athena & Janey / CJ & Shaylene (Clay Tunnel)

  "Dad, I found one!" Jr said, holding up a Dawn Stone.

  "That's five! Let's go!" Yoshi said.

  "Athena, I found another one!" Janey said holding up a Thunder Stone.

  "Come on, we can beat them!" Athena said, as the two rushed out of the cave.

  "Damnit!" CJ swore.

  "Just like that, we were last." CJ said (After-Leg). "First to last, just like that."

  "Come on, dude! We've got to hurry!" Shaylene said.

  "I know, Shay! Shut up!" CJ said. "Just find the stones!"

  Stacey (PWT – Inside)

  Stacey and Koga stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, each holding a Poke Ball.

  "Let's see how you do." Koga said. "Crobat, I choose you!" Koga sent out a purple bat with two sets of wings: one smaller than the other.

  "I hope I've got something good…" Stacey said, throwing the Poke Ball. She watched as a white creature emerged from the ball. Its body was flowing like a dress, purple skin

  could be seen in parts of its face and it had two ice crystals sticking out of the top of its head. Tied around its waist was a red bow. "No way! A Froslass!"

  "Let the battle begin! Crobat, Steel Wing!" Koga shouted.

  "Dodge it!" Stacey said. Crobat's wings began silvery and shiny and Crobat dove toward Froslass. Before Froslass could react, Crobat's wing hit it directly.

  "Now follow up with Heat Wave!" Koga said. Stacey watched as a blast of fire shot out from Crobat's mouth. When the fire vanished, Froslass stumbled a bit before toppling

  over.

  "Froslass is unable to battle!" A nearby judge said.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr / Athena & Janey (Driftveil Market)

  The two teams rushed into the market and quickly found the stone vendor. He examined both teams' stones, returning the stones to Athena and Janey.

  "Sorry, that's not correct." The vendor said.

  "And us?" Yoshi asked.

  "These are correct." The vendor said, handing a clue to the Yoshis.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr: Father/Son – Currently in 3rd

  "Proceed to the Pokemon World Tournament. Caution: Yield Ahead." Yoshi read. "Let's move!"

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (Driftveil Gym)

  Both Kongs smashed open a rock and both found a chunk of iron.

  "Found one!" Diddy said.

  "So did I! That's all of them!" DK said. The two rushed through the gym and quickly found Clay.

  "Congratulations. Here is your clue." Clay said.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends – Currently in 4th

  "Proceed to the Pokemon World Tournament. Caution: Yield Ahead." DK read.

  Yoshi & Yoshi Jr: Father/Son (PWT – Outside)

  "CJ and Shaylene got Yielded. That sucks." Yoshi said.

  "Works for us." Jr said. "We know there's a team behind us."

  "Seeing that CJ and Shaylene were on the Yield board was a good feeling. One – because it wasn't us. And two – because we knew they were behind us. And they're a strong

  team."

  "Roadblock… Who wants to be the very best?" Yoshi Jr read. "You want to do it, Dad?"

  "Yeah. I'll do it." Yoshi said. He walked inside and found the table of Poke Balls. A young girl stepped forward, dressed in a blue shirt and pants. She had two pink star-shaped

  buttons on the front of her shirt, as well as black hair that was put into a bun and two pigtails along the side of her face.

  "Hello. I'm Liza, one of the two gym leaders of Mossdeep City. I will be your opponent today." The girl said.

  CJ & Shaylene / Athena & Janey (Clay Tunnel)

  "This sucks." CJ said. "We went from first to last." The Pandorans ran through the cavern entrance.

  "They must have had the wrong stones." Shaylene said.

  "We've still got a chance. Let's hustle." CJ said, beginning to sift another chunk of dirt. "Awesome! I foun
d a Water Stone!"

  "Athena, we need to hurry!" Janey said.

  "Stay calm, Janey. We've got this." Athena said.

  "I found a Thunder Stone!" Shaylene said.

  "That's five! Let's hurry!" CJ said.

  DK & Diddy: Best Friends (PWT – Outside)

  "Dude, CJ and Shaylene got Yielded." DK said.

  "That sucks." Diddy said, grabbing the clue. "Roadblock… Who wants to be the very best?"

  "I'll do it." DK said. He walked inside and as he approached the table, a young pinkish-red-haired woman stepped forward, dressed in a white shirt with red trim, jean shorts and

  a red wristband on her right wrist. Her was tied back into two pigtails.

  "Hi! I'm Whitney, the leader of Goldenrod City. I specialize in Normal type Pokemon, and I will be your opponent today." The young woman said.

  Stacey / MetaKnight (PWT)

  "Crobat, Steel Wing!" Koga called out.

  "Rhyperior, Stone Edge!" Stacey said. Stacey now had a large stone creature in front of her. Parts of it were red like brick, and it had a horn on its head. It stomped the

  ground and stone spires launched up from the ground. Crobat dodged most of the spires, striking Rhyperior with a steel-coated wing as a spire came up from the ground,

  catching Crobat off guard. Rhyperior collapsed as Crobat crashed into the ground.

  "Both trainers' Pokemon are unable to battle!" The judge called out.

  "Dunspace, use Ice Beam!" Lenora called out. MetaKnight was now using a small yellow and brown seed-like Pokemon. Sprouting from the top of its head was a small pair of

  leaves, sort of in the shape of a propeller.

  "Sunkern, dodge it and use Seed Bomb!" MetaKnight called out. Sunkern's leaves began to spin, and as it started to leap off the ground, a beam of energy struck it, encasing it

  in ice, before it crashed to the ground unconscious.

  "Sunkern is unable to battle!" The judge called out.

  "That's the third time I've knocked out your Sunkern!" Lenora said. "Is the third time the charm? Can you win with your last Pokemon?"

  CJ & Shaylene: Dating (Driftveil Market)

  "Here are our stones." CJ said, presenting the stones to the Stone Vendor.

  "Correct. Here is your clue."

  CJ & Shaylene: Dating – Currently in 5th

  "Proceed to the Pokemon World Tournament…" CJ read. "Crap."