DPA: Rivals

Chapter 22: Run, Cameron, Run!

"These aren't just any shoes," Cameron noted, tightening the laces. "These are Ninjask Running Shoes by Klink Kicks, a company in the Unova region. Each pair of shoes are specially designed to stay intact for years under harsh traveling conditions, and when charged, can actually allow the average human the ability to run at twice their normal speed."

"These must have cost a fortune," Skye said, amazed.

"Nah, Cam's mom has a friend that works at Klink Kicks' headquarters," Daryon said, getting up onto his feet, clad in these fresh new shoes. He looked down at his old pair, covered in muck and grime, already falling apart, a hole near the ankle received during the showdown with Team Rocket. These new shoes felt amazing, as though he wasn't just wearing new shoes, but new feet. Better feet.

"So, Cameron, wanna race?" Daryon asked, grinning.

Cameron laughed. "This time we have two people who can make sure you won't cheat. That puts you at a disadvantage."

"I never!" Daryon feigned insult. "That giant boulder over there, shaped like an egg, first one to touch it wins."

Cameron looked over where Daryon was pointing through his new glasses, being able to see clearly for the first time since April and her criminal friends had almost beaten them to a pulp. "Deal," Cameron agreed.

The two stood next to each other, side by side, while Skye and Max acted as referees of sorts. Max had already run over to the boulder in question, so that he could see exactly who arrived first. Skye, over by the boys, had made a makeshift flag out of a handkerchief and a stick.

"One!" Skye began.

Daryon and Cameron knelt down, hands to the dirt, ready to bolt.

"Two!"

Cameron pushed the frame of his glasses closer to his face, so they wouldn't fall off when he started running.

"Three!"

Zoom! Daryon and Cameron blasted off towards the finish line-er, finish boulder. Both of them could feel their newfound running shoes propelling them forward, as though their feet had a mind of their own. Wind in their hair, it was as though they were riding a bicycle downhill at eighty miles an hour, one foot after the other.

Suddenly, as Cameron was running through a patch of tall grass, something that he couldn't see got in the way. He could feel his body tumble towards the ground as he tripped over the unidentified object, his glasses flying off of his face as he rolled around a few times in the dirt, before coming to a halt.

"I win!" Daryon cheered, having arrived at the boulder first, unaware of Cameron's predicament. He turned around, ready to gloat, before seeing his fallen buddy. He bolted back towards Cameron, standing beside him in seconds.

"Holy Krabby, are you okay?" Daryon asked, kneeling beside Cameron.

"Ugh," Cameron moaned, putting a hand to his head. "I am fine, I think. A few scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious."

Cameron groaned as Daryon helped him to his feet. Looking around, Cameron began searching for his glasses, hoping to find them in one piece. The idea of breaking two perfectly good pairs of glasses in less than a week wasn't an enjoyable prospect.

After ten minutes of searching, he found the pair, intact, in the grass patch near where he had tripped. Curious as to what he had fallen over, he pushed some of the grass aside. To his amazement, a Pidgey lay on the ground, knocked unconscious, probably due to the force of brand new running shoes hitting it in the head.

Cameron shrugged, taking a Pokéball out of his bag and clicking its capture mechanism against the Tiny Bird Pokémon's head, allowing it to absorb the knocked out Pidgey in light. The Pokéball only needed one shake before clicking, signifying a successful capture.

Putting the Pokéball away, Cameron looked up at a bemused Daryon, who seemed to be doing everything humanly possible to stop himself from laughing. "What?" Cameron shrugged. "The Pidgey was just laying there. It would've been a waste of a good opportunity to just leave it."