Time flew; in a blink, several days passed.
July 25, sunny, Sunday.
The whole of Los Platos took on a festival air. The usually quiet streets were unusually crowded; while not fully decorated with lanterns and streamers, the event drew enough heat to bring in plenty of out-of-towners.
It was the day of the Los Platos Pokémon Marathon.
The starting point was set at the town's commemorative central plaza.
To look more formal, the plaza had indeed been festooned with decorations, giving it festive flair.
On the outskirts of the plaza, a row of food trucks had parked like at a fair, their aromas mingling in the air.
Lucas strolled by with Luxray, taking in the sights.
Resisting the temptations with iron will, he passed the food stalls and reached the central plaza.
Besides local spectators, many traveling trainers passing through Paldea were lingering here, and quite a few Naranja Academy students as well.
Unfortunately, those students rarely interacted with Lucas and didn't recognize him; being on summer break, they also weren't wearing uniforms, so he couldn't identify the unfamiliar faces either.
Perhaps, with a chance meeting of eyes, some of them and a wandering trainer would sync up and start an impromptu battle right on the open grounds.
Even Lucas, thanks to Luxray's imposing appearance, received several battle invitations from trainers—but with check-in closing soon, he politely refused and headed to registration.
When Lucas and Luxray arrived, they'd just missed the peak. There were hardly any people left in line.
Even the multiple registration desks had dwindled to one middle-aged staffer on duty.
Joining the queue, Lucas found the person at the end—now in front of him—looked familiar. He called out curiously, "Officer Jenny?"
At his voice, the figure—whose slim feminine lines were evident even under professional riding gear—visibly stiffened, then turned in shock.
Even with her head fully sealed in a vented helmet against the heat, Officer Jenny stared, bewildered that anyone could recognize her. Only when she saw Lucas's face did she blurt, "How did you recognize me—wait, you're competing too!?"
Lucas pointed at the Poké Balls on her belt with an odd look. "Your Poké Balls have the police insignia plain as day, and your hair color's rare…"
"Oh—did your Growlithe evolve?"
"And you're racing with it?"
"Then why hide? As far as I know, you're the only one in town with the Arcanine line, right?"
Jenny: "…"
Lucas's rapid-fire comments left Officer Jenny speechless.
After a moment, she pulled off the helmet that nearly cooked her brain even with extra vents and said helplessly, "Mainly, it felt a bit off to enter under my Officer Jenny identity."
Suddenly, an elderly voice sounded not far away, making Jenny pause.
"Why would that be, Officer Jenny?"
With the tap-tap of a cane, Granny Touko—dressed in cheerful colors to match the festival—walked over.
Lucas's eyes lit up. "Granny Touko, long time no see."
Touko smiled kindly at Lucas. "When I heard you were competing, I came to watch."
After patting the approaching Luxray, Touko turned to Jenny. "Officer Jenny works so hard to keep our town safe. If folks hear you're racing, they'll be thrilled."
"At least I'm already looking forward to seeing you and your partner perform. Of course, I'm also looking forward to you, Lucas."
"This time you're racing with Arcanine?"
Beside the thoughtful Jenny, Lucas shook his head. "I'm racing with another of the farm's Pokémon."
"I see—what a pity…"
"It's fine. Though it looks a bit different from mine, your partner should also be an Arcanine."
"Oh my, is that so?"
Under Touko's curious gaze, Jenny could only nod.
"Not long ago, Growlithe evolved into Arcanine."
"This Pokémon Marathon will start from the central plaza's main road and head out of town."
"Outside, we'll circle the whole of Los Platos three times and return to the plaza. The total is about 500 km. Please ensure your Pokémon's stamina can handle the distance before registering…"
The registrar droned through the schedule again for Lucas.
Judging by his pace and expression, he'd said it countless times.
Lucas nodded. "Got it."
The registrar cut to the chase. "Final confirmation: your racing Pokémon is Mudsdale, correct?"
"You can still change it now. Once I submit, you can't switch."
"Confirmed," Lucas said.
With that, the registrar finished the entry, handed over the runner's vest and the number plate for the Pokémon's back, and pointed the way.
"The staging area is over there. Staff will meet you. Good luck in the race!"
Then he went back to processing the next entrant.
Stepping aside, Lucas rejoined Jenny and Granny Touko, who were done quickly as well.
"What's your number?" Jenny asked.
"Twenty-six," Lucas said after checking. "Looks like the Pokémon's number plate matches the runner's vest."
"I'm twenty-five." Jenny nodded, glanced at the nearly empty line, and added, "Looks like with the curious travelers and visiting trainers, we'll total around thirty people."
Granny Touko smiled. "Then I'll go claim a good spot at the start. Do your best, both of you."
"Take care!"
They waved her off, and after she disappeared into the crowd, Jenny stretched with a relieved sigh. "I was overthinking earlier."
"Thanks to Granny Touko, I have the confidence to step onto the stage openly as Officer Jenny."
Lucas gave her a meaningful look. "So you two had a little talk."
Jenny nodded and reminded him, "Let's go get ready in the staging area. I hear the mayor's going to speak."
The staging area was cordoned off with curtains in a corner of the plaza, with a direct passage to the starting line, so the crowd wouldn't spook the competing Pokémon.
It was already fairly crowded.
Among the entrants were Dodrio with three heads, a massive Onix, a black-and-white-striped Zebstrika crackling with electricity, a heavily armored Rhyhorn, and many Paldean Tauros—Blaze Breed, Aqua Breed, and Combat Breed alike.
There was even a magnificent Rapidash, wreathed in roaring flames, lithe and keen-eyed.
Rapidash aren't common in Paldea; Lucas guessed its trainer was a traveler from another region.
But the Pokémon that shocked Lucas most wasn't Onix, nor Zebstrika, nor Rapidash.
His gaze landed on an elderly man with graying hair. Beside him stood a pink, bipedal Pokémon with a cream belly, a huge drill-shaped shell clamped on its tail… a Slowbro.
Lucas was dumbfounded.
So the "Slowbro is also a horse" meme is real?
Does that mean I could ride Necrozma in a future race?
Thankfully, this was a marathon, not a horse race, so even Slowbro passed registration.
"Slowbro!?"
Clearly, Jenny had spotted it too. She covered her mouth and squeaked softly so only she and Lucas could hear.
"Because it's a town event with more focus on fun than competition, the entry rules are loose."
"After all, even someone wearing a suspicious helmet could register, Officer Jenny…"
Lucas rubbed his chin thoughtfully, slipping in a gentle jab.
"…Can we not bring that up again?" Jenny flushed like her dark history had been exposed, then shook her head and declared, brimming with spirit, "Come out, Arcanine!"
In the next moment—
A nearly two-meter-tall Arcanine with fluffy flaxen fur, tiger-like black-orange stripes, and fur ruffs at its feet—looking even more heroic than that Rapidash—appeared at Jenny's side.
Its arrival drew the competitors' eyes. Seeing the pairing of Officer Jenny and Arcanine added a touch of gravity to their expressions.
They thought in unison: who'd have guessed we'd compete alongside Officer Jenny and her Arcanine? The pressure's on now.
Jenny stroked her majestic partner; the usually stern face now carried a determined glint in the festive atmosphere.
Pointing at Lucas, she made a confident declaration of victory: "Even if you're a Champion—since you aren't using your Arcanine or Luxray—then the win will be mine with Arcanine!"