March 25, 198th year of the Alliance Calendar, sunny, Wednesday.
Today is the day of the spring horse racing event. After completing his chores at the ranch, Naoki decided to bring a few Pokémon along to watch the races and join in the fun. He also saw this as an opportunity to learn about the competition rules for future participation.
The spring races were held on a vast pasture just outside of town. By the time Naoki arrived, a sizable crowd had already gathered.
There were trainers passing by, young couples enjoying the day, a boy watching the race with his father, an old man raising horses, and more. The grassland was festively decorated with lights, and a large ribbon bearing the words "Kosaji Town Spring Horse Racing Festival" hung at the entrance. Nearby, a stall sold horse racing tickets, and behind it were various small prizes and props that could be exchanged for those tickets.
At the racecourse, many contestants and their Pokémon had already assembled. Naoki stood nearby, watching with a sense of envy.
Among the gathered Pokémon, he spotted a Rapidash with bright red flames covering its body. The Rapidash appeared well-cared for and stood out among the other contestants.
In addition to the regular form of the Rapidash, there was also a variant from the Galar region Rapidash, whose snow-white body and ethereal, colorful mane made it look almost dreamlike.
Other participants included the Zebstrika, the strong and powerful Mudsdale, and a slightly chubby Hippowdon.
Wait… a Hippowdon?
Naoki raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Wasn't Hippowdon a hippo Pokémon? How could it compete in a horse race?'
Just then, Naoki heard the voice of Postman Ivan behind him. He turned to see Ivan jogging over. "Hey! Naoki, you're here too?"
Naoki nodded, "Yeah! I finished up at the ranch and thought I'd check out the races."
Ivan grinned and led Naoki closer to the racecourse. "Come on, pick a contestant to support! Who's your favorite?"
To be honest, Naoki hadn't decided yet. But he did have a question.
Glancing at the Hippowdon kicking up sand, Naoki asked, "Can a Pokémon like that really compete in a horse race?"
Ivan chuckled, "There aren't many horse Pokémon around, so the town has a rule that any Pokémon with 'horse' in its name can enter the race!"
Naoki blinked in disbelief.
Ivan continued with a laugh, "It's actually better this year. Last year, someone tried to enter with a Seadra!"
Naoki struggled to imagine that. After all, Seadra is so small and wouldn't be able to carry a human rider.
"So, who are you rooting for?" Ivan asked.
Naoki turned his gaze back to the horse Pokémon and finally settled on a strong-looking Rapidash.
"Well, that Rapidash looks like it has the potential to win."
Compared to the heavy Mudsdale, Zebstrika seemed too bulky for speed, and Hippowdon didn't look like a fast contender either.
But the Galarian Rapidash, its body was also quite agile.
Naoki's eyes flicked back and forth between the two Rapidash, and he found himself torn.
Ivan, however, was brimming with excitement. "I'm backing that Mudsdale! It looks so strong!"
"But won't a heavier Pokémon run slower?" Naoki asked, puzzled.
Ivan grinned, seemingly understanding Naoki's thoughts. "Not in this race!"
Naoki raised an eyebrow.
Ivan pointed at Mudsdale and explained, "In this race, Pokémon are allowed to use their moves. Take Mudsdale, for example. If it uses Earthquake while running, the other competitors will—BAM!—lose their balance and fall behind!"
Naoki blinked in surprise. "Wait, do the trainers ride on the Pokémon during the race?"
"Of course!" Ivan said. "But don't worry, the trainers wear special protective gear that can absorb the impact of most Pokémon moves, so they won't get hurt too badly."
Naoki: "…"
This world really was something else. The thought of trainers riding Pokémon while they used powerful moves like Earthquake made Naoki reconsider his choice.
Earthquake could level the playing field for a heavy Pokémon like Mudsdale, despite its lower speed.
The Hippowdon, can raise dust and interfere with the vision of other players.
The Thunder Zebra, Zebstrika, also has a large number of interference moves.
If you think about it carefully, it seems even more difficult to choose a winner.
However, the horse racing was about to begin, so Ivan took Naoki to buy racing tickets. The owner of the stall was a bald man wearing glasses, who looked very shrewd. On the table in front of him was a sign stating that each person could only purchase 200 horse racing tickets, with the price of one horse racing ticket set at 50 Poke Dollars.
In the cupboard behind him were various props.
The most basic items included special Poké Balls, such as Dive Balls and Nest Balls, each worth 50 horse racing tickets.
The more expensive items were Pokémon-held items, such as the Light Ball, which increases Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack when held, the Hard Stone, which increases the power of Rock-type moves, and the Black Glasses, which increase the power of Dark-type moves.
These required 250 racing tickets.
Additionally, there were Evolution Stones of various types that Naoki was particularly interested in. He quickly glanced through them and found that all the stones—Ice, Fire, Water, Leaf, and Thunder—were available, except for the Sun Stone and Moon Stone.
The exchange price for each was 300 horse racing tickets.
"A horse racing ticket is 50 Poke Dollars; 200 tickets cost 10,000. I'll buy it!"
Naoki waved his hand and purchased two hundred tickets from the boss. Ivan also bought two hundred tickets.
At this time, a horn sounded, announcing that the first round of the competition was about to begin.
The boss behind the counter reminded them, "Do you two want to start betting?"
As he spoke, he took out a chart listing the odds for each player.
The highest odds were for Hippowdon, reaching an exaggerated figure of 1/57. The odds for Rapidash, Galarian Rapidash, and Zebstrika were all equal at 1/1.5. The odds for Mudsdale hovered around 1/3.
"It seems that most people are like me and choose to bet on Rapidash!" Naoki thought.
Ivan, on the other hand, simply bet all his horse racing tickets on Mudsdale.
Naoki hesitated for a moment but decided to trust his own judgment and bet on the Rapidash.
After placing their bets, Naoki took Koraidon and followed Ivan to the audience seats. Ivan's Pokémon, a small Milcery, was perched on his head like a piece of sushi, watching the game with him.
The audience began to gather. All the contestants at the racecourse donned protective gear and mounted their Pokémon.
As the whistle blew, all the horse-like Pokémon on the track surged forward.
Watching them gallop below, Naoki felt a surge of envy.
At that moment, he made a decision in his heart: one day, he would have a horse pokemon of his own! Just like the Spectrier and Glastrier!
Speaking of Spectrier and Glastrier, Naoki suddenly thought that he might be able to travel to the Galar region.
The situation with Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests, was not looking good. Not only had he been forgotten by the world, but his two steeds had also gone astray.
The plot of the Crown Tundra emerged in his mind. Perhaps he could reunite Calyrex with his loyal steeds and people.
Then, he could borrow one of Calyrex's horses to participate in competitions.
But.
The ranch was still in its developmental stage and couldn't do without him. Once he left, the Pokémon would go hungry.
And even if he went to the Crown Tundra, there was no guarantee he would find Calyrex.
But then, Naoki suddenly thought of something. According to legend, Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests, could see everything in the past, present, and future.
So the question was: if he did something beneficial for Calyrex in the Paldea region, would Calyrex be able to see it?
For example, building a shrine or something similar might help increase favorability with Calyrex so that when he eventually traveled to the Galar region, Calyrex would take the initiative to meet him.
Thinking of this, Naoki decided to build a shrine for Calyrex on his ranch.
Whether Calyrex could actually sense it or not didn't really matter. It didn't cost anything to have faith.