“Eek!”

Nina squealed as she reeled back from the Rapidash that tried to take a bite out of her head, only to be blocked by a shadowy cage from Azzy.

The Rapidash was gorgeous, an absolute chad of a stallion with golden yellow flames spewing out of a pure white coat.

But as far as Pokemon went, he was quite the eccentric one. The moment that he saw Nina approach, the Rapidash attempted to mount the wooden fence separating them and chomped at Nina’s head. If not for her Haunter, she’d be a goner by now.

“Hahaha!” Imanami laughed. “I see ya found my old friend.” The groom reached out to caress the mischievous Pokemon, instantly calming him down with his touch.

The stallion neighed, blowing out his lips as he did while nuzzling affectionately at his former handler.

“This here’s Gold Ship, probably the fastest horse any side of Mount Silver — when he feels like racing of course. No one really knows since there ain’t a Rider in existence who could coax him into gear, not even Whitney.”

“He’s uh… He’s real special…” Nina stammered.

“Heh. That he is… that he is… Truth be told, I’d say Gold Ship’s your best shot at taking down McQueen. But the old boy’s retired and ain’t no way a twerp like you’ll be able to tame him in time, not based on how he tried to chow on ya anyway. So best to do this proper.”

Nina nodded vigorously, thoroughly traumatized by Gold Ship’s ‘friendly’ reception.

“So er… Any recommendations on who I should pick?”

Imanima scoffed. “This ain’t some fancy schmancy showroom, girl. You’re picking a Ride Pokemon, not buying a car. Ain’t no such thing as the best choice — it all depends on ya and how ya can coax the best out of ya Ride. Every Pokemon here’s a winner in my book.”

Nina let out a wry smile, unable to refute the old man’s words. “But surely you can recommend a species right? Are there any Pokemon here that are innately faster than a Rapidash?”

The man cackled, like he had just heard the best joke of his life. “Ain’t nothing but an Arcanine faster than a Rapidash on land. And you won’t find any of them mutts here, on account of them being banned in derbies and all. Nah, if you’re looking to take Whitney head on then yer only choice is a Rapidash of yer own.”

Nina looked around her. There were quite a number of Rapidashes just hanging around on the verdant turf. Each with their own distinct characteristics; motley coats and colourful flames. Though a good majority were the bog standard white bodied and red flamed variants she was used to.

“Seriously, I didn’t know the appearance of the Rapidash line could vary so greatly. Each one of these guys could be considered a rare shiny if they were in the games.” Problem was, Nina did not recognize any of them. On account of her not being up to date with the racing scene and all.

“Bi! Bibibibi!”

“What in tarnation!” Imanami reeled at the sight of the flying brussel sprout that suddenly materialized in a shining burst of dust and glitter right next to Nina.

“Haha. Sorry about my friend, she likes to surprise people like that.”

“Is that… a Pokemon?”

Nina smiled, affirming the man’s thoughts without elaborating further as she watched Celebi fly off towards a secluded patch of grass where a lonely little Ponyta was grazing all by its lonesome.

Lustrous black coat and chilling blue flames, the Ponyta was probably one of the most beautiful Pokemon Nina ever had the pleasure of seeing. Almost on par with Whitney’s Rapidash with a different sort of vibe. “Didn’t even know that Ponytas came in black.”

“Look, Azzy… The Fire on that Ponyta kind of reminds me of you a little bit.”

“Haunt…”

The pair witnessed Celebi come up to the Ponyta with enthusiastic waves and energetic cries. Presumably, with the intention of befriending the black beauty.

“PoOoO!”

However, the moment that the Mythical Pokemon came close, the Ponyta quivered, neighed in distress and began running away. A gesture which Celebi mistook as an invitation to play tag, her favourite pastime.

“I see your friend found our most recent runt.”

“Runt?” The Ponyta did seem a little smaller than average, but not by that much.

“Her name’s Rice Shower, bit skittish that one. As you can plainly see.” Imanami smiled in amusement at the sight of the gloomy looking Ponyta running in dread from the playful intentions of the peppy little pixie Pokemon.

“Unfortunately, it’ll be some time til she’s ready for a Ride. Things can get real rough out there in the tracks — can’t race if she’s scared witless of touching other Pokemon.”

Nina nodded, feeling a little bad for the little black beauty. Especially when Celebi managed to pin her near a corner of the fence, prompting Nina to rush over and intervene.

“Celebi~ Leave Rice Shower alone! You’re scaring her.”

Nina approached cautiously, taking care not to startle the quivering Ponyta who was all bundled up in the corner and shrouded in a flare of brilliant blue flames, almost like a dormant rosebud.

“Hey… It’s okay… It’s okay… Sorry about Celebi, she’s just looking to play.” The girl reached into the refrigeration compartment of her backpack with a smile. “My name is Nina, do you like Berries?”

Rice Shower shuddered and cautiously poked an eye out to peek at the human girl.

“Here, I’ll just leave them on the grass and you can try them in your own time. See, look. Aren’t they all pretty and colourful?” Nina giggled then beckoned for Celebi to leave. “C’mon Celebi, there’s plenty of other Pokemon here that you can play with.”

The pair casually walked away from Rice Shower, but Nina did not miss the sight of the foal cautiously approaching and gingerly poking at a Pomeg Berry with her snout. The girl and her Mythical companion shared a look and giggled at how cute and awkward the precocious little Ponyta was.

***

“Woah… look at that one go…” Both Nina and Kerry gasped.

The slick, pale flamed, brown coat Rapidash was like a machine, running tirelessly around the track, lap after lap. But what stood out most to Nina was how steady it was. Throughout the entire time that they observed it, the Rapidash barely slowed, maintaining a steady pace across each lap, as evident by the time recorded on the digital signboard.

“Mihono Bourbon,” said Imanami. “Boring, consistent, dogged. But more importantly, tame — too tame. Ain’t nuthin’ can faze him.”

“Bourbon?”

“Heh. Owner likes his liquor. Expensive taste too.”

“Faster than McQueen?”

The old handler shrugged. “Eh, user dependent. Like I said, ol’ Bourbon’s real tame — obedient. He’ll go exactly as fast as you’re willing to push him, turn exactly where ya want him to turn and stop where ya want him to stop. But that’s also what makes him tricky. If ya ain’t careful, he might break — dumbass doesn’t like letting his weakness show. So ya gotta know it for him and steer him right.”

Imanami twisted his lips and looked down at Nina while rubbing the stubbles on his chin. “Ya seem like a smart lil’ cookie. Think ya can learn Bourbon’s ropes in a week?”

Nina looked up at Imanami with a grin. “That depends, are you willing to teach me?”

***

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!” Nina bit back her squeal.

Throughout the entire Ride across the tracks, she had to keep chanting to herself; “Not a horse girl, not a horse girl, not a horse girl… But dammit is horse riding fun!”

The rhythmic jolts, the whirlwind of colors blurring by, the sound of the whipping winds and the warm flames licking at her skin. There was just a different sort of satisfaction to be had from riding a Rapidash across land as compared to zooming through the skies on a Dragonite.

“Urgh… I’m gonna have to catch myself a Rapidash now huh? Or maybe a Zebstrika… Do zebras count as horses? But they do have those jaggy streaks on their back, so how would someone even go about Riding them? Maybe they sell special Zebstrika saddles? I’ll have to ask Ohm about this some other time…”

“Brrr…” With a huff, Mihono Bourbon flared his fiery mane to garner Nina’s attention, as if somehow sensing that his Rider had fallen asleep behind the reins.

Nina chuckled and gave Bourbon a grateful pat on his thick muscular neck, revelling in the pulse of his protruding veins and the ripple of sinew beneath his lustrous coat. And for just a brief moment, the two felt connected, despite having just met. That moment though, was soon interrupted by the sound of boorish hollering from the side.

“WOOOHOOOOO!!! You snooze, you lose, Nina!” Justin howled.

The boy and his brown and white spotted Rapidash sped past Nina and her Ride at untenable speeds, eliciting a hapless groan from the girl.

Behind her, Nina could also see the looming figure of Kerry and her Rapidash steadily gaining, with a brown coat so vibrant that it was bordering on red.

Nina grinned and lowered her stance. “Heh. If it’s a race they want then it’s a race they shall get… Let’s go, Bourbon!”

“RaAaAa!” The Rapidash neighed and set his hooves aflame. Then, with a thunderous boom and upturned earth, Mihono Bourbon exploded into a blur and accelerated in a steady frenzy.

Meanwhile, as the three Ride Pokemon zoomed past, a meek little blue flamed Ponyta was peeking out between the fences with beady eyes.