The Type Specialist Extra Chapter 1 - The First Annual Great Fairy Type Race

Author Note:

The extra chapters will begin to be posted to Royal Road starting next week.

This chapter is insanely long and is likely the longest chapter of the set.

More notes about these extra chapters and the upcoming schedule are included at the bottom of this post.

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“Welcome, one and all, to the most exciting event you’ll see all year!” a voice echoed out from above the forest’s trees. “An event in which the competing Pokémon will be pushed to their limits, an event that will involve more than just speed! Strength, skill, cleverness—all traits that will be tested today! So, I say again, welcome all of you, Pokémon and human alike, to the First! Annual! Great! FAIRY TYPE RACE!”

And thus, cheers.

That was what the world became: an overwhelming cacophony of cheers. Around this small forest home, Pokémon of all kinds gathered and shouted their names. They stood around and sat on a set of stands with a cleared-out track marked on the forest floor before it. A cloth screen had been set up opposite to those seats, and a projector quietly hummed but was yet to display any wide-angle shot.

The gardens here were bustling, and a handful of humans chatted. Even when the initial noise quieted down, the ambient conversations made this place quite loud. The sheer number of living beings made even just the smell overwhelming. It was no longer the peaceful Verdanturf homestead it was before. Now, this place was the center of a grand event.

Fidough was struggling to handle it all.

The old Dachsbund that served as the guardian for her pack let out a soft but low “wuff” to encourage her and the other members of her kind to start heading out. Half of them had already begun walking to explore and meet with the so-many other living beings present here today, but Fidough herself stepped back in an attempt to stay behind. The vast majority of the meandering creatures towered over her head.

Where Dachsbund was a golden brown hound with ears and a neck that resembled a well-bred loaf, Fidough looked much paler and entirely uncooked. Essentially, she was just a doughy pup. A yellow glaze provided her body with the barest of tints, and compared to the other members of her pack, she was by far the smallest. And, technically, neither she nor any of the dogs under Dachsbund were related by blood. Instead, they had all been rescued. 

She didn’t like to think about it, but she could still remember the day when she had woken up and seen that her mother was gone.

Fidough didn’t want to leave. The chatter hurt her ears, and the multitude of smells felt as though they were stabbing at her nose. The world was a mess of color, noise, and stench, and she really didn’t want to have to experience all of that. But, from within his small, wooden house, Dachsbund reminded her that she was the one to volunteer, and then a single nudge sent her off.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to suffer alone. A small flower drifted over, and an even tinier Pokémon waved to her from where it was holding onto the flower’s stem.

“Wuff,” came Dachsbund’s encouragement from behind.

Fidough took a cautious step forward, and her friend, Flabébé, giggled.

Flabébé’s presence helped. If something as small as her could face these crowds, then Fidough could as well. Doing her best to keep her head held high, she strolled on out, although her short legs meant she moved rather slowly, and her stubby tail was down and pressed between them.

This place was her current home, and it had been her home for quite some time. Dachsbund had been brought on board to protect it in exchange for help with taking care of all of the Fidough. Fidough herself had been happy here, but with this event, it was hard to handle all of these strangers walking around. There were so many people that she didn’t recognize, and the Pokémon with them were just as strange.

One human walked alongside a full-on behemoth, a titan of spiked stone. Another, a shorter person with green hair, walked alongside a full-fledged knight that had blades growing out of its arms. Another almost seemed jealous of the would-be racers, repeatedly eyeing a Gogoat in the back. And, a few others chatted among themselves with a pack of Eevee playing around them. A few other Pokémon had joined in on the games, but Fidough herself couldn’t bring herself to get close.

At least, the announcer was familiar. Wanda was the one who stayed here and took care of all of the Pokémon when the master of these lands was away. Wanda was much nicer than any of the strangers here, as she always made sure Fidough got extra treats.

Except, she was the announcer for this race, and she sat far away, hanging in the sky within a metal basket. A great bird with cloud-like wings kept her aloft, and her gaze was cast out toward the forest, where the race itself was still being set up.

As for the true owner of this place, they were right in the center of the crowd. Fidough had only heard positive things about them, but when she looked over—

A faint smile. A sharp gaze. A relaxed nature that didn’t betray the stories of their strength. A silhouette that seemed to be surrounded by a faint gleam, and a presence that was defined by the impossibly strong Pokémon that followed their every command.

They acted friendly, but there was a tension inside them, one that was ready to snap at a moment’s notice. They were a figure that would creep its way into every story involved with this home, and when they looked away from their conversation partner to sweep their eyes over everyone here—

Fidough turned, unable to look that person in the eye. It felt as though as if she met their gaze, her very soul would be snatched away.

Unlike Fidough, Flabébé was nowhere near as nervous, and her tiny squeaks dragged Fidough around to show her all of the sights. However, unlike Fidough, Flabébé wasn’t being taken care of by the humans of this home. She was wild—technically—but she did live immediately nearby. They had met when Fidough had been exploring the carefully managed flower gardens that surrounded this home, and like so many other wild Pokémon, Flabébé had been drawn in by the lure of the comfort and safety of this private grove.

With Flabébé at her side, Fidough started to enjoy herself somewhat as she walked around. She might have been nervous, but she was safe, and it was interesting to see everyone who was here before the start of this race. So many friends of this land’s master had come to witness it, but not all of them would be competing. The only Pokémon involved would be the unevolved Pokémon. Only the weakest of the weak would participate, and, among them, this race would determine the best.

...Which was why, days ago, Fidough had taken it on herself to volunteer and compete.

The thought of winning made her walk with more of a bounce in her step. She was the smallest of her pack, and that meant she was the runt. She wanted to prove to them—to everyone—that she was more than just the weak puppy that constantly needed to be protected. She was a full-fledged Pokémon just like any one of them, and just because they were all bigger—

“DOUGH!” came a sudden bark from behind her.

Fidough jumped, and her legs gave way when she came crashing down. At Fidough’s side, Flabébé hung off her flower so she could turn and glare. When Fidough looked behind her to see the source of the shout, she found herself looking straight up at another member of her pack.

Her brother—her adopted brother—stared back down at her. He had been the first to volunteer for this race, and he was the biggest and strongest of all the Fidough that had been brought together under Dachsbund.

He didn’t need to say anything else—the look on his face carried enough meaning on its own. His stare wasn’t mocking, only discouraging. If Fidough got so scared from what was just a simple greeting, then this race wasn’t for her.

For her own well-being, he thought she should drop out.

Fidough wanted to bark out in denial, to shout her name and state there was no way she would lose, but the commotion caused so many other people and Pokémon to turn their way that the weight of their combined gazes meant she suddenly felt twice as small.

Ultimately, her brother just turned around; he had nothing more to say, so he simply left. Behind her, Fidough felt a small palm rub her back—Flabébé did her best to give Fidough her support, even as the tiny fairy glared daggers into her brother’s back.

As the various visitors turned back to their conversation, Fidough slowly climbed back to her feet.

“Now, then!” came Wanda’s voice from the sky. “We’re just about finished setting up! Everyone, if I could ask the audience to head back to their seats~!”

The meandering people and Pokémon began to return to the stands. Fidough stayed behind with Flabébé, and so did many other Pokémon as well.

“Great! I’m Wanda, the caretaker of the Pokémon here and your announcer for this race! With me is—”

A screech rang as if to finish the statement for her.

Pokémon didn’t exactly speak a language—they mainly communicated through body language and feeling—but this cry wasn’t any of that. It was simply a noise that carried no meaning other than being loud.

Still, Wanda laughed, and even from this far away, Fidough could hear the merriment in her voice.

“Exactly, Altaria!” Wanda called out. “Well said! Then, no point in waiting. Let’s have all of the competitors line up at the start!”

Behind a white line painted onto a section of cleared-out ground, Pokémon began to line up, and more than just Fidough and Flabébé found themselves participating in the race.

A trio of Azurill that had been transferred here from a foreign region bounced into place. Wild Cottonee and other Flabébé from the local route floated over to join the group, their participation encouraged by meetings with a few of the stronger Pokémon that called this place their home. A small number of Eevee had been brought here by local breeders wanting them to socialize more, and a pair of young Vulpix brothers lined up as well, having had the insane idea to tie two of their legs together and compete in this race as if they were a single set of one.

And then, there were Fidough’s siblings. Twelve of them. Every member of her pack, save for Dachsbund, planned to compete. A full dozen outside of her lined up at the start, and Fidough couldn’t help but feel as though she was extra.

The spare.

The tiny, forgettable, unimportant thirteenth.

Her brother was part of that group, and he sent Fidough one last look that she did her best to ignore. The worst part about it was that his look wasn’t even cruel—it contained worry more than anything else. At her side, Flabébé patted Fidough’s back one more time, and Fidough tried hard to ignore the shaking of her legs to focus on the smells that filled the air.

With the crowded audience finally having walked away, she could now smell the excitement that pierced through every other scent here.

“In this race, competitors will need to do more than just run straight ahead!” Wanda shouted, her voice echoing through a set of nearby speakers. “There’ll be challenges. Obstacles! Trials in the racers’ way. Competitors, it’s up to you to decide how best to get past them, and the first Pokémon to reach the end will be the Pokémon to win our grand prize!”

Fidough shook herself in an attempt to force her body to relax. From the nearby edge of the grove, a bush rustled, and a lone Zigzagoon crept over to sniff at the competitors’ backs.

“Are we ready, Alex?” Wanda called out.

A thumb pointed up in the stands, and the home’s caretaker grinned.

“Great!” Wanda shouted. “Then, without further ado... We start on my count.”

Fidough lowered her stance.

“Get ready!” came the first of the announcements.

A breeze picked up as the various floating Pokémon prepared their initial rush.

“Get set!” came the second stage of the shouts.

Behind the starting line, dozens of paws dug straight into the dirt.

“You’ll start right when I say it...” came one more, extra set of announcements that wasn’t quite needed but helped to build the tension.

From there, there was a single moment of silence. Everyone held their breath, and Fidough reaffirmed her decision.

She hadn’t joined because the rest of her pack had decided to join. No, their participation had been their choice and theirs alone. As much as she wanted to prove her strength to them, Fidough had joined for one, solitary reason:

Fidough had joined for herself. If she could prove to herself that she could win—or even just finish the race—then she could prove her strength to everyone else, too.

“GO!” Wanda yelled.

Another screech from Altaria echoed out alongside that noise, and the bird’s scream was the gunshot that started the race.

Immediately, Fidough found herself in dead last.

Every Pokémon that was capable of using the move saw their legs blur white for a speed-increasing Quick Attack. Floating species like Flabébé and Cottonee weren’t allowed to move that far off the ground, but they could use Fairy Wind to generate a breeze that blew them forward after everyone else.

The three Azurill had been pressing themselves down into the ground, and the elasticity of their oil-filled tails saw them be launched straight ahead. The lone, creeping Zigzagoon seemed to be shocked at the sudden start, and though incapable of running in a straight line, its rapid, back-and-forth movement was faster than the speed at which Fidough’s short legs could carry her.

She was already panting, and her chest burned. Everyone was pushing ahead of her, even Flabébé, who turned around on her flower just to shout and encourage Fidough to catch up. At the very front of the pack was the pair Fidough least expected—the two Vulpix brothers, tied together, ran in perfect sync to be the frontrunners of this race.

“What an explosive start, but it won’t last for long!” came Wanda’s voice as all of the competitors disappeared into the forest. Behind them, the projector started to display a bird’s-eye view of the race to the eager audience. Everything would be streamed from above, as a camera had been tied to the bottom of Wanda’s basket, and a few Swablu had been bribed with food to carry a handful of smaller cameras and help out.

“The first obstacle isn’t too far away!” Wanda continued, still shouting. “Our competitors will reach their initial test before too long! They’ll need to make a decision there: strength or speed? It’s up to them to choose how to deal with the boulders raining onto their heads!”

Fidough stumbled at the declaration, and a single word seemed to echo around her.

Boulders?

A cheer came from behind Fidough as the first of the racers reached the initial obstacle. The flag-marked route of the race wasn’t perfectly clear—many of the forest’s trees were in the way—but soon enough, she broke through a gap in the forest to see just what this obstacle was.

The very first thing racers would need to deal with was a massive hill with a lone Pokémon composed of stone and crystal hovering at the very top. The hill honestly looked a little unnatural, appearing as if someone had raised the ground into a towering bulge without adjusting the trees. The forest floor had been dragged up into this enormous mound, leaving trunks half-buried and even a few branches pointing out.

The race’s path went straight up that hill, but the hill wasn’t the real obstacle—it was only there to create a more difficult path. Instead, the Pokémon at the top was the true challenge, even though it was only slightly larger than Fidough. Resembling a stone with blue crystals, tinted pink, the Pokémon’s eyes would curve up in enjoyment as it formed growing crystal seeds in the air around it. 

Those seeds would then coalesce and expand, eventually covering themselves in a layer of stone. Once ready, they were tossed down the hill in an onslaught.

Fidough was yet to properly reach the base of this hillside, but she faltered slightly when she saw one of those boulders slam straight into an Eevee’s face. A distant groan echoed out; the furred Pokémon was sent tumbling right down the hill.

When it landed at the bottom, however, the Eevee looked no worse for wear and jumped right back to its feet. With another Quick Attack, it ascended the hill faster than Fidough’s maximum possible speed.

“I mentioned needing to choose between strength and speed, but competitors are allowed to do anything they need to tackle Carbink’s stones,” came Wanda’s voice from where Altaria carried her above the trees. “Competitors can use speed to avoid them, but Carbink knows how to adjust their aim. They could also use their strength to take the stones on directly, but if a racer sustains any damage, then they’ll need to carry that forward through the entire rest of the race!”

Fidough started to climb the hill, and she was far enough in the back to see how the Pokémon ahead of her were handling these stones. The Eevee greatly preferred to use their Quick Attack to dart out of the way. Flabébé, Fidough’s friend, was already halfway up, and when a boulder started to roll toward her, she simply did what every other floating Pokémon did:

Nothing.

She didn’t need to act. She was small and light enough that the mere air pressure of the tumbling boulder was enough to pick her up and carry her right over.

Flabébé was fine, and Fidough let out a sigh of relief at the sight, but it didn’t last long. There were still plenty of others ahead of her, and she needed to worry about herself, too.

She saw her brother up there, and though he wasn’t the fastest, his strategy was the most direct. With the sloped ground of the hill, he very purposefully lowered his head ahead of him. When a stone approached, he then lunged for a Tackle. Rather than destroy the falling boulder, the burst of momentum gave him a single moment of leverage, and he pushed his snout underneath that boulder just to bring up his head and launch it over his back.

Through sheer coincidence, the boulder landed right next to Fidough,  and she squeaked in alarm as the ground shook from the impact. Thankfully, the boulder kept hurtling down the hill without hitting her, and these stones were causing enough trouble that she realized she was no longer dead last.

She was finally leaving a few other Pokémon behind.

The Azurill were probably in the worst situation out of every competitor here. The trio was far too aggressive, as even though they could leap over any boulder with ease, they kept intentionally bouncing into one another to send the others falling back.

Fidough couldn’t even imagine what kind of training they’d gone through to be as physical as that, but she knew she’d want to avoid them.

And then, a glint at the very front caught her attention. She brought her gaze back up just to see the pair of Vulpix brothers at the very front. As they just barely began to reach the hill’s top, a mischievous gleam entered the Carbink’s eyes. Another boulder was tossed at the pair, but the two Ice Types knew just how to reply.

The second the large stone hit the ground, a beam of frost formed a layer of ice beneath it. With its angled momentum and the slippery earth, the stone was thrown completely out of the way of the Vulpix’s path.

From there, the brothers were able to continue up and over to the other side, and a few other Pokémon followed them.

Unfortunately, the Vulpix’s clever redirection came with a consequence:

The boulder aimed at them was now hurtling right toward Fidough.

Where other Pokémon would dash to the sides, go over the boulders, or take them head-on, Fidough wasn’t capable of any of those options. Her combat prowess and known moves were far more limited—her Tackle was too weak, Lick would do nothing, and Growl could maybe intimidate the stone into changing its course.

...Yeah, right.

Recognizing her lack of options, Fidough threw herself forward. She practically stabbed her face into the earth and braced herself as much as she could. She didn’t want to be knocked all the way down, as her lack of difficulty so far was the only reason she’d passed others on the way up.

Somehow, for some strange reason, that strategy actually seemed to work.

When the boulder hit Fidough, she realized she had missed something important about their formation—as this was a Carbink forming them, these rocks were geodes and not true boulders. They were not solid stone all the way through; rather, they were mostly made out of a thin lattice of crystal that greatly reduced their overall weight. At most, they had a thin layer of protective rock around them, so when the stone hit where she had buried her head, it only barely hurt.

In fact, with her doughy body, the rock just kind of... bounced off.

“And the competitors have already reached their second obstacle!” came Wanda’s voice.

Armed with newfound knowledge, Fidough snapped up her head, and she realized she could keep running up without needing to slow down. Wanda continued to announce the frontrunners of this race, and Fidough ran right through. Carbink’s assault became meaningless to her as she could just hunker down whenever a boulder came close and let it bounce off.

By the time she crested over the hill, she had managed to leave behind the bottom fourth of the race’s pack.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, and a merry “Bink!” from the Pokémon next to her wished her luck as she dashed to the other side of the hill. Going down the slope did not involve running, thankfully; it was mud all the way down. Some Pokémon couldn’t quite handle it and ended up slipping, but Fidough purposefully let herself slip. It was a slide, and her speed drastically increased.

To her surprise, it was actually quite fun.

“For our second obstacle, competitors will have quite the challenge! It might just be the most difficult challenge across the entire race! This is a true test—and, honestly, probably a bit of an unfair one. If our racers want to get further, then they have to get past the menace that is Azumarill!”

Right as Fidough reached the earth, she could barely stop in time before the ground exploded before her.

There was a reason the back of the hill was covered in mud—this whole area had been turned into a swamp by the reality of the second challenge. The forest floor was a massive plain of brown, and a round, blue-colored demon with ears longer than its head crouched dozens of yards away with its arms shoved straight into the dirt.

In front of that Pokémon, geysers exploded out intermittently.

Back before the race began, Fidough had seen the master of this area and had thought that just looking at that figure would see them steal her soul. Here, she realized she had completely underestimated true fear. With a single look at this Pokémon’s face, she knew in her heart that any challenge toward this Azumarill would see her soul taken, chewed up, and then spat right back out.

The shouts here were chaotic. At seemingly random intervals, water would explode out in geysers from the ground. There would always be a rumble that would mark where the bursts would happen, but it took quick reflexes to avoid those bursts in time.

Some of the leading Pokémon were utilizing clever strategies to maintain their lead. At the very front, the Vulpix siblings froze the ground to delay the geysers just long enough to get past, and floating species like Cottonee and Flabébé were once again using air pressure to give themselves boosts and float right over.

Fidough could see her brother, and, for a second, a geyser made it seem like he disappeared. She thought that was it for him, but when the water blast faded away, she realized his strategy was like hers on the hill; the attacks could only be so strong with the level of Pokémon involved, and Fidough’s brother had made the executive decision to just take that damage and just keep running.

Fidough desperately wanted to be able to do the same.

However, though that brute-force strategy had worked against the boulders, she knew it would not work here. She didn’t have the strength or size of her siblings to keep going through the blasts; all that would end up happening is that she would get blasted right back.

She found herself standing at the very bottom of the hill alongside a few other Pokémon, staying still and just watching those in the front get farther and farther away. As much as she wanted to keep running, she’d be hit too easily if she kept moving forward. She stood still due to both fear and a need to figure out a path.

There had to be something more to this obstacle.

Right?

...Right?

She squinted and did her best to look for anything. And, to her surprise, it didn’t take long at all.

There was a pattern that Fidough could abuse.

When she had first slid down the hill, the explosions had felt random. And, they were, at least for the most part. The Azumarill was sending water into the ground, and that water would build up pressure until it became too much, exploding out into a pressurized burst. The rumbles always marked just where a geyser was just about to explode, but usually, if a rumble was heard, it’d always be too late.

No, the pattern came before that. Azumarill needed time to build up water. The geysers never came out twice in the same place—after every geyser exploded, there needed to be time for the pressure to build up before that geyser could explode again.

In other words, while the targets were random, the actual creation of the geysers wasn’t. This was an obstacle being controlled by a Pokémon, and all Pokémon had limited focus. While there were no obvious patterns, there was a strategy Fidough could follow:

She needed to do the exact opposite of everyone else and run toward the geysers instead of away.

Other Pokémon were still loitering around her, watching the field of geysers helplessly, and the lack of hope on their faces saw Fidough briefly turn around.

Follow, she essentially shouted with a bark over her shoulder.

She had no idea if anyone listened to her or not. She was far too focused on going through with her plan.

Her first target was an Eevee, and its speed meant it was ahead of her, but it had already been hit by a geyser once before, and the water in its fur weighed it down. Fidough wasn’t able to outrun it, but that wasn’t her point. 

The ground rumbled, and the Eevee darted to the side. Fidough, however, kept going, and the burst lasted just long enough for her to catch up and jump through as the water fell back down.

Then, she turned and charged toward the next Pokémon that had the earth rumbling before them. Her short legs let her move only so fast, but there were enough geysers here that she never had to run that far. When her strategy worked a second time, proving that it was viable, gasps rang out from behind. She jumped over a hole rapidly filling back up with mud and felt a warmth in her chest that she hadn’t felt since...

Well, that she hadn’t felt in quite some time.

She chased after the sole Zigzagoon, jumping through the water as the Pokémon was blasted into the sky. Somehow, it managed to land ahead of her and keep running, but the other Pokémon’s positions didn’t matter to her right now, only her own.

Following the other Pokémon was giving her a safe route forward. Fidough did her best to ignore how that Azumarill looked so ticked off at the end of this path.

“Well, would you look at this!” came Wanda’s voice from the air. “Seems like Azumarill’s obstacle isn’t without flaw. Someone’s found a way to safely run right through!”

It took an embarrassingly long time for Fidough to realize that the compliment had been for her.

Soon enough, however, Fidough was able to reach the end of the mud and almost immediately reach the next test.

“For our third obstacle—”

This one was nothing more than the fattest rodent she had ever seen.

An overweight layabout of a Dedenne napped on the ground, and all around it, static electricity passively crackled out of its cheeks. A few metal rods had been stabbed into the earth, giving the electricity an easy path for it to follow. Bolts of lightning would jump between them, forming a maze that, if not perfectly followed, would result in quite a painful shock.

But this trial had a few obvious flaws.

Some Pokémon saved time by barreling through while throwing up walls to protect themselves, such as how the Vuplix created mounds of ice to block the electricity, and a few Eevee would kick up dirt and sand to interfere with the static. Meanwhile, the maze was only so large. It was also possible to completely run around. Fidough’s brother took this path, but he did stray too close at times and received a few lingering, static shocks.

...Alternatively, there was that one Zigzagoon, which just ran straight through. Unfortunately, it was still wet with water from the geysers from before.

A lightning bolt struck it.

Fidough sincerely thought that would be it.

But the Zigzagoon just shook its quills and kept running.

Genuinely, Fidough was unsure if it even knew it was competing in a race.

“For our fourth obstacle—”

Unfortunately, Fidough had slowed to observe the trial, and she recognized she was falling behind once again. With her speed, running around would take far too long—her brother had dropped many positions just to avoid the worst of the electricity—but she also lacked any options to protect herself while running through.

Unless she wanted to risk everything like the Zigzagoon, there was nothing she was personally capable of doing to get through the electric poles.

An idea tickled the back of her mind.

Fidough turned around, running through a small pack of Pokémon that had been watching her. The handful of Pokémon that followed her through the geysers looked at her turnaround as if she were insane. She ignored them in favor of running right back to the previous area. There, she very, very pointedly did not look at the demon still flexing its control and strength.

Rather than do anything as part of the race here, Fidough dove straight into the ground and into all of the mud. She flopped over and rolled around, letting the muck cover her body. Doing so took time and weighed her down, but the mud would limit just how much the electricity could affect her when running straight through.

As soon as her dough-like body became stained by a deep covering of brown, Fidough scrambled back to her feet so that she could keep running and return to the race.

However—

“Tch,” came a sound from right next to her.

The bone-chilling noise almost caused her remaining strength to vanish in an instant. Fidough was unable to move as she slowly turned her head just to see that demon staring right at her.

This monster of an Azumarill was no longer maintaining its blasts. It had stopped to glare right at where Fidough had been about to run. The Pokémon at the very back of the race were able to run straight through without facing any geyser blasts. Instead, the Azumarill focused on Fidough and only Fidough.

The demon stood up and took a single step to get close.

Fidough knew she had messed up. She had become far too focused on winning and only winning to think about how the Pokémon managing this race would react to her actions. She lacked personal strength. She had no speed. She thought she could use cleverness—any form of cleverness—to make that difference up.

It had worked, but not without cost.

Now, this Azumarill was glaring at her. Its eyes were filled with malice, hatred, anger, and—

And...

And a little bit of respect?

Fidough wanted to run, but she was far too frozen with fear. Even if she had the will to leave, her heart dropped in her chest when arms lunged out to pick her up.

All of her hope drained away.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She just wanted to win.

She didn’t want to die like this!

“Tch,” the Azumarill repeated, and its voice seemed more annoyed at Fidough’s current reaction than anything Fidough had done.

Ultimately, Fidough never got the chance to squirm, wiggle, or even just fight to escape. The Azumarill simply brought back an arm and held the dog up behind its head. Before even a single whine could leave Fidough’s throat, she found herself jerked forward.

Sailing through the air, she was thrown and hurtled right over the sleeping rodent’s electric maze.

Trees rushed past the sides of her vision, and she thought she would slam into one, but such a painful impact never came. Instead, Fidough hit a plain of grass that stretched beneath the trees. The landing hurt, but enough grass had grown to pad the blow. If anything, touching the green floor beneath her seemed to reinvigorate her instead.

A giggle rang out.

From where she lay on the ground, Fidough looked up to see a brown Pokémon with a head of cotton floating in the air above her. The Pokémon looked down at her with obvious amusement.

She didn’t get up right away, but the noise coming from ahead of her was blatant; the other racers were already running ahead of Fidough.

Fidough didn’t understand why the Pokémon had bothered, but the Azumarill’s throw had given her an advantage—she had completely skipped the electric trial, and the speed at which she flew meant she was no longer as covered in mud. And, this was technically the area for the fourth obstacle of this race, but as it turned out, the fourth obstacle wasn’t an obstacle at all.

This was just a Grassy Terrain, an environmental move that could provide passive healing.

In essence, this area wasn’t a trial but a choice: slow down to maximize the healing potential, or keep going while tired to not drop any speed.

For Fidough, just the barest hint of invigorating warmth was enough to rekindle her motivation, and the inside of her chest burned with energy. She didn’t hesitate to pick herself off the floor and re-enter a dash. She was only so fast, and the leading Pokémon were already picking up their pace.

Wanda’s voice echoed in the sky.

The fifth obstacle would be the last.

The end of the race was so, so close, and though Fidough now found herself in the top fourth of competitors, there was still so much more to go.

As she dashed off, the floating Pokémon waved goodbye as she poured all of her energy into this. She had to keep moving. She had to keep running. She had to win this race, if not to prove she could do so to herself, then just to prove that she could do so at all.

The forest’s trees began to creep higher and higher around her, and soon, the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own breath. She kept running, and running, and running. Even the sun began to be drowned out.

In the distance, someone shouted, and the world seemed to dim. The marked path of the race curved around to lead the competitors back to the finish line behind the very start.

As Fidough ran, her eyes began to feel heavy.

Logically, she knew she had to keep running, but why was she doing that?

Why run? Why race? Why keep going when she could just stop and rest?

Every time she lifted a leg, the movement became heavier. Her movements didn’t cease, but they did slow. Still, she kept pushing through it, when, eventually—

Fidough tripped.

The sudden jolt against the ground snapped her right out of it.

It was then that Fidough realized the forest was filled with a thick fog. She could barely see even just a few feet ahead—how had she known the path was curving around to lead her back to the start? There was still grass under her feet, but that didn’t make sense. The Grassy Terrain had ended a while ago; the forest floor should have just been dirt.

Though the world was silent, there was a faint creaking noise, and Fidough looked down just to see the grass visibly grow and twist around itself, forming a vine that reached for her leg.

She gasped and stumbled back. The reaching vine withered and died. However, there was still grass under her feet, and where she stood, more of the plants grew and tied together to creep toward her legs.

If she stopped moving, she would be tied down. She had to keep running to avoid the tangle, but where? And how?

She had no sound to guide her. The only light was the faintest amount from above. Walking was enough to outpace the grassy tendrils that reached toward her, but the forest was hardly present anymore, and she didn’t even truly know where she was.

This had to be the final obstacle. A maze of mist and vines. A choking, clogging air that permeated the world alongside some kind of confusion that made it hard to think.

...Honestly, for a race meant for low-level Pokémon, this felt like way too much.

Fidough began to wander, trying to find some kind of marker or the marked edge of the race. She had no idea which direction she was going, and she had no clue if she’d already lost or not. Once in a while, she swore she heard a Pokémon crying out, but when she looked over, no one would be there.

She hoped she was making progress, but there was only fog, grass, and the confusion in her head. She knew she needed directions, but the only directions she could see were directly down—

As well as directly up.

...

She could see directly up.

The sun was there, serving as the fog’s sole source of light. By bringing up her head, Fidough could look at its position to just barely gauge the direction of the world, and then she also realized—

She could sniff.

She was a canine.

Though faint, scent could guide her way.

While minor on their own, when combined, the sun’s position and the growing scent of the crowd would be just enough to serve as a guide. Fidough knew she could do it, and she had a feeling she was the first to realize.

If she could just get out of this obstacle, she could win.

Thus, she took a single step forward, but then she heard a shout.

The noise didn’t come from a Pokémon she expected; she must have been closer to the end than she thought. The Pokémon that had let out a cry had been far in the front, and she had somehow wandered just close enough to hear its voice.

Then, the shout came again, and that let Fidough realize the noise was closer to a whine. It was mournful, and it was pathetic. It was closer to a wail than anything else.

Fidough wanted to leave. Desperately. She wanted to win, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do so. Within this fog, she stopped and turned for the same reason she had called out to the others in the mud pit.

She had considered herself pathetic plenty of times, but that didn’t mean she’d let anyone else do the same.

There, through the fog, she found the source of the cry. One of the Vulpix brothers lay on the ground, hurriedly nudging the other one. Alongside the act, he was desperately biting and chewing at vines that wrapped up his body. All the while, his brother lay flat on the ground, completely asleep and totally wrapped up.

The sole conscious sibling didn’t even notice her through the fog. He was far too busy trying to escape this trap. He was still tied up to his sibling through his own choice, but with his sibling fast asleep, there was no way he would be able to get back up.

These two had been the frontrunners of this race, and now... Now, they were stuck. If anything, their presence here confirmed to Fidough that she could keep going and win.

As much as that was what she wanted, did she really want to win like this?

If these two were stuck, then every Pokémon here was stuck. Every Pokémon here would be going through the same thing as them. This was only the First Annual Great Fairy Type Race. The kinks hadn’t been worked out.

The Pokémon here were struggling so much that—

That it—!

That it very much reminded Fidough of herself.

The struggle. The pitiful nature. Fidough wouldn’t be able to live with her win if she just moved on and abandoned them. Even with all of her deepest desires screaming at her, she made up her mind and charged the pair of Vulpix, rushing out of the fog with a sharp growl.

Terrified at her noise, the one conscious Vulpix between the pair raised his hackles, but he was utterly caught off guard when Fidough began to tear into his vines rather than directly attack. Only pausing momentarily due to shock, he didn’t hesitate to join her efforts.

Without much trouble, he was freed, and then they worked together to release his brother. Even without the vines, the other Vulpix didn’t wake right away, but that was solved after a sudden slap from several tails at once.

Just like that, the pair of Vulpix were awake, and they were free. Meanwhile, even though Fidough was free as well, she was slow. If the pair started to run, they could likely end this race before Fidough could ever hope to do the same.

But they didn’t leave. They just stood there and stared. Fidough could feel the grass creeping up her legs, but she only had to stomp in place to push it back down.

Their bright blue eyes held a simple question:

Why help?

Because, Fidough barked without thinking, you were in trouble. And I wanted to help.

Both Vulpix brothers nodded to accept that statement before hitting her with a different question:

So. What’s the plan?

From there, three of them split up: the Vulpix brothers willingly cut the string that held them together. Using the tricks that Fidough shared with them, they ran straight through the fog to search for the other competitors. Fidough was able to find another Eevee, free it, and then share her strategy with that Pokémon as well. Then, the Eevee raced off to find the others, and Fidough continued her search from there.

When she found Flabébé desperately trying to free her flower from a grassy vine, Fidough bit through the grass to tear it away. Flabébé looked up at her in genuine thanks, and then she joined Fidough in her ongoing race to help out.

One by one, the Pokémon in this mist were freed. So many of them had fallen asleep, and so many more immediately set off to help anyone they could find as soon as Fidough shared her plan. Many of them, however, didn’t leave. Rather, they chose to stay behind and follow her instead.

They followed Fidough.

The runt.

The weakest of her pack.

All of these Pokémon, better racers than her, willingly chose to believe in her ability to guide them out of this trap.

Quickly, the rate at which Pokémon were found slowed down, and a mass of them followed Fidough through the woods. It became harder and harder to find anyone still trapped, but through just the handful still searching that she’d bump into, she knew there was at least one more left.

She found him eventually.

Her brother.

He lay there wrapped in vines.

Unlike so many other Pokémon within this mist, he was fully conscious. However, he had willingly taken far too much damage over the rest of the race, and he had charged straight through the Grassy Terrain without giving himself time to recover.

As it stood, he was entirely unable to move due to the vines holding him down. Fidough trotted over, standing above him while he looked up.

With a soft woof, her brother asked his question.

Here to gloat?

But Fidough just shook her head and called the others over. With little effort, her brother was freed from the trapped earth.

For a moment, he didn’t move. He remained on the earth, looking at his sister while an unreadable expression crossed over his face. If he wanted to, he could run and finish this race before anyone else did, but he didn’t.

He stood, lowering his head in the process. A soft whine left his throat alongside a simple meaning.

Thank you.

And,

Good job.

He joined her group, and the sun and various smells let Fidough lead everyone to the edge of the fog. The mist ended abruptly and unnaturally, becoming a pale wall at the edge of the trees. Ahead, in the open space, the stands stood with the finish line set up ahead of them, and all of the Pokémon here aligned themselves at the edge of the woods.

No one else was trapped. Every Pokémon was freed. All of the Pokémon that had joined this race were ready, and they all were prepared to give this one final push.

Wanda said something from above them, and the crowd cheered for the final part of the race. Just like at the start, everyone was waiting for a signal.

But it never came.

“And they’re off!” came Wanda’s shout.

Exploding out of the mist, that lone Zigzagoon came rushing out.

Behind it, the expected leaders were out in the front right away. Several Eevee and the pair of Vulpix used Quick Attack to launch themselves toward first within a split second. However, that initial lead didn’t last long; attacks came from behind. The Fairy Wind that had carried so many Cottonee and Flabébé came out to push all of those Pokémon back.

The new leaders became those three Azurill, who bounced over the racing Pokémon to land at the front. They weren’t quick when they were on the ground, but the force behind every leap saw them launch themselves quite a long way.

Except, their tails were balls, and there was a pack of Fidough racing at their sides. With another jump, the three Azurill had basically turned themselves into toys. The various hounds leaped right after them, and they snatched the Azurill out of the air. They were thrown straight to the back as everyone else continued, running just as fast.

A Cottonee reached the front, furiously flapping its leaves in a desperate attempt to gather its speed.

Flabébé herself somehow passed it, using her flower as a hook to pull and throw herself forward by using the other Pokémon.

Then, Fidough’s brother was in the lead, somehow managing to reach the front by keeping a consistent pace that went undisturbed.

But he fell back when an Icy Wind from the Vulpix brothers saw him slip and slide across the grove’s floor.

Somehow, through this final, chaotic mess, Fidough found herself at the very front. Everyone else was constantly interfering with and interrupting each other, and her small size had let her just barely slip through. Shouts and screams came from all around her. Just about everyone yelled out in support.

The finish line was only a few feet away.

She could smell it.

She could taste it.

But then—

Momentarily, the sun was blocked out. Fidough looked up a single moment too late to see that sole Zigzagoon sail right over her head.

“It’s over!” Wanda shouted. “We have a winner!”

Ahead of Fidough, that Zigzagoon hit the ground and slid across the dirt before continuing its mad dash.

“Landing firmly in first place is... this Zigzagoon! A Pokémon that is, to my best understanding, completely wild and only competing here due to sheer coincidence!”

Altaria screeched. He didn’t say anything. He just screeched.

After crossing the finish line, Fidough’s legs completely gave out from underneath her. She collapsed.

All of that, and she still lost.

She’d completely neglected to think about how there was a prize, too. She had only wanted to win. Ahead of her, the wild Zigzagoon kept going in its panic until it reached a stage where a massive pile of berries sat on its wood.

Changing its mind, it then jumped straight into the pile as if taking a fruit-flavored bath.

The other Pokémon in the race kept running to secure their own positions, and Flabébé, having secured a very solid fifth place, floated over to comfort Fidough by placing a hand on her back.

It was hard to understate just how crushed she felt, and Fidough felt as though she had no energy left.

It was then that Flabébé suddenly drew back, and warm arms pushed under Fidough to carefully scoop her up.

“You know,” a voice said above her head, not directed toward her but to a small group standing to the side. “When I asked you to make a tough, final challenge, I wanted you to make a challenge that would push the competitors. Not traumatize them.”

Fidough looked over to wherever the voice was speaking, and the sight almost made her heart stop in her chest. Four beings that represented the peak of power that lived in this grove—a fox, a unicorn, a bouquet, and a ghostly doll—all hung their heads in what could have only been shame.

Ninetales had managed the mist. Rapidash had managed the hypnosis. Florges had managed the grasping vines, and Mimikyu had made sure everything was appropriately spooky for everyone involved.

Working together, these four had been responsible for that nightmare of a final challenge, and they were impossibly strong Pokémon, to boot. They were all monsters in their own right, and to have these elite-level Pokémon look so guilty after just one short phrase...

Who, exactly, was holding Fidough right now?!

She froze when she finally checked on who was holding her in their arms.

Once, she thought eye contact with them would see her soul be stolen. Now, she realized this person’s gaze was only warm and kind.

“You’re amazing,” the voice said softly. “To turn around even when you have a chance to win, and to help your fellow Pokémon instead of going off on your own? That’s the kind of support I want to see! And you were clever all the way through. Honestly, I’m amazed at some of the solutions that you thought up, too.”

Fidough hung her head slightly. She could be proud of how she handled everything after the hill, but she didn’t exactly consider hunkering down to be a clever strategy against the boulders.

Still, that person just laughed.

“Come on, now,” they said. “Might not have been that clever, but it worked, and the bounces made me laugh.”

Altaria landed, and Wanda climbed out of the basket. A boy with green hair ran up to her and then ran off to the side. Pretty quickly, he returned just to hand the person holding Fidough a towel.

Carefully, she was placed back onto the ground, and she stood there while the person wiped the last bit of mud off her. Their touch was light and caring. Fidough felt her eyes begin to close, but she had to force herself to keep them open and stay awake.

“You might not have placed first, but I don’t think that matters,” the person said softly. “What matters is what you chose to do along the way and the results your actions brought. And most ends aren’t even ends, anyway. Most of the time, they’re just one more step on the journey!”

With a short laugh, the towel was brought away. Fidough cautiously brought her head back to look up.

She stared at the master of this domain.

At the elite trainer.

At the person who wiped her off.

Fidough stared at Alex, and Alex smiled right back.

“As a thanks for saving the end of this race, tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to grant it.”

A team full of impossibly strong Pokémon was watching her, and Fidough felt so small compared to them. Yet, she knew what she wanted. She knew what she had always wanted. Her performance had already proven it to be true, but there was nothing wrong with wanting to push that even further.

So, locking eyes with this trainer, Fidough barked out her request, ignoring the shaking in her legs.

She was strong, but she wanted to be stronger. That was her desire.

She expected a laugh, but to that, Alex simply nodded once.

“Alright,” the trainer said with a slight laugh. “You came to the right person. If you didn’t know, training Fairy Types is kind of my specialty. I’ll do everything I can to turn you into the strongest Pokémon you can possibly be.”

Then, with a grin that demonstrated the utmost confidence, Alex picked her back up, and Fidough realized everyone was staring.

But unlike before, she didn’t feel overwhelmed. 

Simply put, she was comfortable, and she knew that she had won where it mattered.

==========================================================================
Author Note:

Including this one, I have seven extra chapters that I’m in the process of polishing and editing. This chapter is the longest so far, but there’s technically one upcoming one that carries the potential to be longer (though, after getting through this one, I kind of doubt that). I have no set schedule for releases this week. Chapters will come out when I finish editing them. Due to the length of this chapter, don’t expect a second chapter today, but there’s likely to be another coming out tomorrow.

When the next full fiction comes out, I’m aiming to get it out toward the start of a week rather than going with a surprise drop in the middle of it (so, a Monday or Tuesday). I’ve been splitting my time between the new fiction and writing these chapters, so I have fewer chapters prepared than I would have liked. However, everything is planned out enough to make writing future chapters easier, and the first full arc of the next fiction is already completed.

I can’t give you the exact date that the next fiction will be out, but I will tell you that there won’t be any extensive breaks before its release.

Thank you for waiting so patiently! I will see you very soon!