One by one, Pokemon continued to drop to sleep. Parker didn't even struggle as he climbed up the mountainside, he made it look like child's play while other trainers struggled to keep their Pokemon safe as Umbreon dashed up and around the mountain. 

"Ca-n...'t run..." Clemont was panting for breath as he reached the end of the path. He looked up at the mountain and dropped down onto the ground, groaning.

"Come on, Clemont" Serena patted him on the back and then hopped onto the mountainside. A few tiny pieces of rock crumbled under Serena's foot.

"What's lazy doing sitting down?" Misty walked up and then climbed up next to Serena. "Let's get going before we hit dead last"

"Right" Serena nodded. "Good luck Clemont!" she yelled as they jogged off. 

Clemont may have been completely drained, but he wasn't the only one feeling fatigued. Many trainers along the course had given up and dropped off to rest, practically ensuring defeat. Ash and co were also feeling tired, struggling to keep up, but they were all around the front of the pack, meaning that their stamina didn't really matter now. 

"Come on Pikachu, we can make it!" Ash was urging himself on, as Pikachu sat on his shoulder. Ash gripped a loose rock and it flew down the mountainside. He had to grip hard onto the steep rocky side, clawing at it to stay on. Ash then pulled himself up to the path that leads to the top. 

"Oh, so you finally made it here" Ash's head snapped to the side and Parker was already stood there, Umbreon sat by his side like an obeying dog. 

Pikachu instinctively jumped off Ash's shoulder, standing in front of Ash protectively. 

Parker chuckled slightly and casually leaned against the rocky wall to his right, folding his arms. "You guys sure are stupid..."

"Umbreon, hypnosis" a voice behind Ash spoke, making him turn. Elizabeth, another Team Shadow member, stood and watched as her Umbreon sent Pikachu to sleep. 

"You never thought about two Umbreon's, huh?" Parker shook his head. "Umbreon, shadow ball"

Ash couldn't move, he was overwhelmed by the ambush's deadly speed. Within seconds, there was a purple flash and a miniature explosion that sent Ash flying back. He landed on his back, looking up at the sky. 

"We bid you, adieu" Ash heard Parker's voice, but he couldn't tell the direction. Everything was hazy in his mind as he slowly sat back up.

"No one else is here yet... I hope the others are safe" his concerns immediately changed to everyone else. "I still need to talk to Serena and Miette..."

Ash stepped over Pikachu and scooped him up. "You will be ok, we will win Pikachu" 

Pikachu continued to silently snore, fast asleep. 

"Spearow!" A flock of Spearow suddenly appeared, flying around Ash and Pikachu.

"Why am I sensing deja vu?" Ash frowned, watching the Spearow. They thought Ash was trying to live on their mountain and flew down, pecking at him. Ash covered Pikachu and was hit by a very fierce peck, that sent him tumbling back down the path. He hit a large rock sticking out of the path in a jagged position, adjacent to the cliff edge. 

"I wonder where Ash and the others are" Cilan was with Iris, Brock and May, heading up the path. They had climbed up just past Ash's position and where heading to the top, where their flying Pokemon was supposedly waiting. 

"Hopefully, Team Shadow haven't been causing trouble. After all, they can't hurt us with their Pokemon" May thought carefully back to the rules.

"Well, if it isn't seen, technically they can," Cilan said, making everyone think a little more. "They can't be disqualified for the unknown, so if someone was hurt..."

"Don't even think about it, we will all be fine" Brock was confident, but Cilan continued.

"Plus, they have the hypnotizing Umbreon, it doesn't hurt people but sends them to sleep" he finished.

Everyone felt a little nervous as they carefully jogged up the path.

"Only a little bit up around this corner, come on guys!" Iris urged everyone to hurry and started picking up her pace. Everyone else followed her as fast as they could, with every bit of energy. 

Meanwhile, Ash had just got up. There was a dead silence around the path he was on. Pikachu was still asleep, cradled by Ash. 

"What can I do..." Ash thought, looking up to the peak. "Screw it!"

Ash held Pikachu in one hand and tugged on the mountain, pulling himself up. He continued to use one hand, but his whole arm was stinging from the slight fall he had. Ash gritted his teeth, his face straining. He was covered in dirt and looked worse for wear, but continued with one possibly severely damaged arm and tired legs. After what seemed like an eternity, Ash made it to the top. There was one Pokeball left, to his surprise. He didn't have the energy to move, so he crawled along to pick up the ball. Just as his hand gripped around it, another hand went over his to try and get the Pokeball. Ash looked up with half-closed eyes, not recognizing the trainer that grabbed the ball and snatched it from Ash. 

"Wait..." Ash said weakly. Before the trainer could release the Pokemon within the ball, there was a flash of lightning and the trainer dropped to the floor. 

"Pika..." Pikachu sounded angry as the trainers Pikachu stared back at Ash and Pikachu. Although it was against the rules, Pikachu was angry at the trainer for trying to steal a weak trainers chance, especially his own best friend. It was a desperate act that could have been explained in scientific terms anyway because the electricity could have spread if fired at the floor.

Ash's eyes kept closing momentarily as he began to lose consciousness. He heard metal clangs and saw two Pikachu's fighting with their iron tails, like swords. His eyes then fully closed and he dropped down onto the hard, rocky ground. 

"Pika.." Pikachu panted for breath as the other Pikachu went for one last swing. Pikachu jumped up and a ball of electricity formed at the peak of his tail that was still coated in an iron plating. Pikachu flipped around and slammed down onto the other trainers Pikachu, the electro ball exploding around it. There was smoke from the explosion and dust rising from the air, like a curtain over a stage. Pikachu moved around the now fainted Pikachu and pressed the button on the Pokeball. Staraptor came out of the Pokeball and stared at Pikachu. 

"Pika, pika pi, pika pika!" Pikachu began waving his arms, explaining the situation to Staraptor, who nodded and then scooped up Ash, resting him just on the back of his body. Pikachu hopped on and they flew off. 

It was only a quick flight, across the forest and then down. Staraptor was very fast and they landed at the riverside pretty quickly, passing no-one. It seemed that Ash and Pikachu were the last place.

"What happened to him?" one of the judges was waiting by the water Pokemon, meaning that the one at the flying post had disappeared for some odd reason beforehand, which explained why the cheating wasn't caught. Of course, the judge realized he was talking to himself as Staraptor set Ash down and Pikachu hopped off. The judge inspected Ash carefully, checking his body. "He is completely worn out and for some reason, has sprained his wrist and also badly hurt his leg...I am not sure if he can continue"

There was a grip on the judges arm as Ash slowly got up. "I wouldn't count me out just yet" he grinned weakly at the judge, who looked at Ash like he was a maniac.

"If you think you can continue, I won't stop you. We have one more water Pokemon left and it may be a bumpy ride" the judge warned. 

Ash ignored him and lifted up the Pokeball, not even saying anything to Pikachu. He threw the Pokeball and there was a red flash before a Lapras landed in the water.

"Lapras, you will ensure me victory?" Ash asked, stroking its head gently. Lapras purred and then nodded before its expression hardened. Ash hopped on and then Pikachu slowly followed, feeling glad his trainer wasn't about to give up. "Now, let's go win, full speed and don't hold back!"

It seemed that, by some luck, Lapras was quite a fast Pokemon. 

"Pikachu, go to the back of Lapras and give use a hand with rowing!" Ash's weak voice had changed, he sounded awake and confident. Ash leaned forward and carefully rowed Lapras forward with his stronger, left arm. He and Pikachu gave Lapras a little extra speed. Ash looked up, watching as they finally started to pass many trainers. His tired face changed to a smile as Lapras continued to push forward. 

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled out excitedly, cheering Lapras on.

"We are not about to lose, Pikachu, thunderbolt on the water!" Ash suddenly blurted out, confusing Pikachu. The thunderbolt would also shock them and the Lapras.

"Pika!" Pikachu couldn't ignore Ash, he just had to trust his trainer with his ideas and go all out. Pikachu leaped up charged up the electricity within his body. "PIKAAAAAAAAAAAA-CHUUUUUUUUUU!" A huge thunderbolt broke from Pikachu's body, shocking the water. Instantly, the whole river became filled with electricity as each of the Pokemon around them started to get shocked. But, Lapras seemed to be ok as they continued onwards.

"I checked Lapras on the Pokedex" Ash sat down and looked at Pikachu. "He knows how to use protect and shielded himself from the electricity, which is why we are slowing down" 

Ash and Pikachu's ears perked up as they began to hear numerous murmurs and cheers alongside the riverbank. Many trainers and spectators were waiting to see who was going to finish the race.

"And our final competitor going through to the next round seems to be just up ahead, it looks like it is Ash of Pallet Town!" the announcer said through her microphone. 

"Last competitor?!" Ash shouted out, standing up to see the crowd. Lapras stopped by the riverbank and he carefully got off the Lapras. "Urgh.." he groaned slightly, feeling a stinging pain in his ribs. Ash clenched his ribs with his left arm and kept his injured right arm close to his body, his wrist hurting like crazy. 

"The judge at the other side told us about your condition if you would like to come with us" a doctor stepped up and supported Ash with his body. Ash allowed him to do so and followed the doctor away from the crowd. Everyone watched with worry as Ash slowly moved away and out of sight, towards a hospital. He didn't get to hear what the next event was going to be.

The final event before the anticipated battle tournament was just around the corner!