An unexpected whoop and some hollers behind us caught my attention. Taking a step off Route 209’s open road, we watched as a cloud of dust slowly grew larger on the horizon. The ground rumbled, and, soon enough, a pair of riders came into view, both of them mounted on Pokémon with big smiles on their faces.

The rider in the front was a blonde-haired teenager in overalls riding a fiery Rapidash. In the back, an older, heavier gentleman, also in overalls, easily kept pace on a Tauros that was just as fast as the Rapidash.

At first, it seemed the two travelers would pass us, but as they neared, the girl tapped the side of her Rapidash’s neck and slowed down to stop right in front of us.

The man did the same soon after.

“Whoa there, girl!” the teenager called out to her Rapidash. “Well, howdy! You heading to Solaceon as well?”

“Uh, yeah. Our goal is Celestic Town, but, since Solaceon’s on the way, it made sense to stop.”

She smiled and nodded along to what I was saying. The man behind her, whose family resemblance told me he was her father, pulled back his wide-brimmed hat to wipe his forehead. The girl sat on her Rapidash and popped her lips awkwardly.

“So your Ponyta,” she began.

I knew she had stopped for a reason.

“What about him?” I said.

“He’s looking mighty fine. Close to evolution, I reckon. You planning to enter a race?”

I blinked and glanced down at Ponyta. He didn’t meet my eyes, choosing to look down towards the grass beneath his hooves. Togepi on his back, however, waved towards the girl on her Rapidash. She waved back.

“You know you’re the second person to tell me his evolution status?” I commented.

“Well, shoot. How long ago was that?”

“Few months.”

The smile on the girl’s face faded as she glanced over to Ponyta.

“Hm. If the signs were obvious back then, they're awful glaring right now. I reckon Ponyta should have evolved a while ago, they just haven't yet."

Ponyta dug his hooves deeper into the dirt. The girl stared at us awkwardly until, finally realizing how awkward this situation was, she sucked in a breath and had her Pokémon begin trotting back to the road.

“Well, uh, always nice to see a fellow equestrian, but, uh, I gotta go!” she said. “Have races and all that, y’know. Don’t be a stranger!”

As suddenly and unexpectedly as she had come, she left as well.. Her father let out a sigh as she commanded her Rapidash to gallop down the road. He tilted his hat goodbye, then left as well.

There was a long silence afterwards as my team just stood there uncomfortably.

“You know, there’s no need to rush,” I eventually said.

Ponyta finally looked up at me.

“To evolve, I mean. If you don’t want to evolve, you don’t have to.”

Ponyta looked away from me again, choosing not to make eye contact. Based on his reaction, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Well, anyway, Solaceon town is special,” I continued. “We just missed its monthly Contest, and it doesn’t have any special Gym there, either. I think it’s time we take a miniature vacation. We’ve been working hard, diligently training, and frequently competing in both Contests and Gym Battles. Almost every single town we’ve had one kind of event or another, so how about we just take a break? Just time to rest, relax, and take a breather after everything we’ve been through. What does everyone think? Sound like fun?”

In the air, Whimsicott cheered, and Ninetales barked in support of the idea. The only other Pokémon out right now were Ponyta and Togepi, and Togepi always seemed to support whatever brought the most joy to the most people.

I nodded once to confirm the decision.

“Alright then, we have a week's break once we get to town! We can take turns choosing what to do. It’s always nice to relax occasionally, yeah?”

I smiled at Ponyta, and he lowered his head slightly in acknowledgement. He still seemed a bit uncomfortable, but I hoped that this break might make him feel better.

Once in Solaceon, there was no pressure, no goals, no training besides the slight bit of daily routines we kept to keep in shape, and we relaxed. We’d technically been in Solaceon town once before, but that was only a night’s stay to rush towards Hearthome in time for our show battle.

Personally, I needed this break. I was still hung up over what happened in the Hearthome Contest, and the Gym Battle against Fantina had been too close to my liking. Being able to not feel the need to rush anywhere or achieve something was nice.

With that time, I explored the town and spent time with my team.

Solaceon was a rustic town, with large ranches and many Pokémon that looked like they belonged on a farm. Miltank and Tauros were plentiful, but in the widest numbers were Ponyta and Rapidash. They were all the Kantonian, Fire Type variants of Ponyta and Rapidash, which meant that while my Ponyta was surrounded by fellow members of his species, he was the only one of his Type.

Ever since that random encounter on the road, he'd been acting rather gloomy. Togepi was great at getting him to cheer up temporarily, but his head kept hanging down and he kept looking unhappy.

I wasn't sure what exactly to do.

Kirlia, who'd gotten close to Ponyta after the events in the Lake Valor Resort, seemed to think he just needed space. So, we explored the town, and I let Ponyta do what he wanted.

Together, as a team, we looked through what the town had to offer. There were restaurants, touristy shops, an old-fashioned newspaper building people could tour (I recalled Altaria to the team just to let him experience it. He absolutely loved it), and there were even ruins, although most of the ruins were off limits to anyone but researchers.

A lot of what we did was just wandering and taking in the sights. Most of Sinnoh had been either rolling hills, dense forests, or—

I wasn’t going to think about the swamp.

Here, however, it was a wide, open space with plenty of room to run. Most of it had been claimed by ranches or the town itself, as well as a few daycares where trainers could leave their extra team members.

However, one activity in the town seemed to catch Ponyta's eye, and I made sure we all went as a team to watch them together.

The races.

At the edge of the town, there was a large, oval-shaped track where various fast, rideable Pokémon were ridden in races. In it were Pokémon like Arcanine and Tauros, as well as one surprisingly large Persian, but the vast majority of the races were flaming Rapidash.

Immediately, I was reminded of the Gogoat races back in Kalos, but there were a few key differences. Every Pokémon competing was either bred by or trained by the person riding them, and there were no "rentals." Additionally, I was disappointed to see that the race was less combative than the Kalos Gogoat races, mostly just involving Pokémon trying to move around their opponents and slow them down without actually unleashing direct attacks. I supposed it was safer, but it also looked less fun.

Ponyta and Togepi joined me on the stands, with Whimsicott floating in the air holding Carbink in his arms. Ninetales was unconscious in her Pokéball, still recovering from a food coma she got earlier today, and Kirlia sat next to me in his own seat.

I was happy to see that the races seemed to finally cheer Ponyta up. With rapt attention, his head tracked the movement of the races all the way around the track, and his eyes sparkled whenever whoever he supported would win. While he didn't make noises to cheer, Togepi made more than enough for the two of them, chirruping and trilling her name the whole time the Pokémon ran.

There was betting, too, which I considered but ultimately avoided. It was similar to horse races I knew of, except with lower limits of how much money could be placed on a bet, as well as heavy regulation. Considering there were Pokémon that could get insights on probable outcomes, as well as the fact Pokémon could understand humans enough to cheat, it was no surprise how limited and regulated the system was.

In fact, there was even a wall of photos of people who weren’t allowed to race. I had absentmindedly looked them over when I first walked in, which forced me to do a double take when I saw Ash’s photo there.

There was never an episode detailing this. I wasn’t sure if this was a result of a change I made, or if it was just a small event that happened in the background.

Together, we sat and watched a few races. Each one took a bit of time to start up, but were surprisingly exciting. The constant neck and neck nature of the Pokémon in the lead combined with people tending to save trump cards for the end made it nearly impossible to tell who would win until it actually happened. Occasionally, there'd be a boring race where two competitors would slow each other down and a third would pull far out ahead, but the vast majority was still quite something.

It was a few races in, however, that Ponyta seemed to have some kind of reaction. He gained a somewhat sullen look, then glanced over to me once the race was over. After nudging me with his nose, I got the sense that he wanted to communicate in private.

I nodded in understanding, then sent out the sleepy Ninetales.

"Keep an eye on Togepi. You too, Kirlia."

Kirlia gave me a quick noise of acknowledgement and kept his eyes on the field. Ninetales picked her head up and smacked her lips, then hopped up onto a seat to curl around where Togepi was watching the field.

I smiled.

"Let's go, Ponyta," I said.

He didn't take me too far away, just down and around the side of the bleachers. This area was rather open concept and was nothing like an actual stadium. We simply stood on some grassless dirt out of sight.

“So, how are you feeling?"

Asking that, I kneeled down onto the ground to let us speak closer to eye level. Just like what happened with the girl on our journey here, he seemed hesitant to actually do anything. However, this time he was actually looking towards me, just not in the eye.

To explain himself, Ponyta trotted in place a bit, then without making any sounds, I felt a warm pressure on my mind before a sudden stop. That happened a few more times, kind of like a relaxing headache, if such a thing was possible, before moving onto the next step of his explanation.

Ponyta lowered his head and his horn glowed. His Dream Ball at my side detached itself from my belt before being placed on the ground in front of me. I felt the other Pokéballs shake before they joined his ball in a line before being placed right back on my belt.

It was an impressive display of psychic control to explain his point. After all that, I think I had a good guess about what had been keeping him so down.

“I get it. You’re feeling guilty you’re guaranteed a spot on the team," I said.

Ponyta nodded, then let his head fall down while his eyes stared up at me, honestly resembling a guilty dog.

In response, I just gave him a small smile and brought my hand forward to rub his mane. He looked at me, confused, as I explained my thoughts.

“I had an inkling you would feel this way. With how my team cap is set, you don't count against it until you evolve. With Togepi likely competing in her first battle soon, that means I'll only be able to bring with me six Pokémon, yet you'll still have a spot since you're protecting my mind."

I paused briefly, another connection coming to mind.

"...And you've been holding back your evolution for that reason, too," I said slowly.

He looked even guiltier than before, while I just felt awful.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked, remembering a few episodes of the anime where a similar event had occurred.

The way Ponyta refused to meet my eyes confirmed it for me.

I sighed and rubbed my head, feeling genuinely awful for the emotional state Ponyta was in. Not only that, but he's been hiding how uncomfortable he was about this for so long that I hadn't fully realized what he'd been going through.

"You know, there's no need to worry about evolving," I soon said. "Just because you’d then count against my team limit, doesn’t mean things would change. Sure, Togepi will probably compete in her first battle soon, and sure, that means I could only bring six Pokémon with me, but is that such a big deal? Sycamore’s Ranch is great, and we have enough Pokémon with us that there’s always someone there to keep people company. Florges, Dedenne, and Altaria are all hanging out there right now, and Azumarill stops by from Crasher Wake’s place sometimes, too. A guaranteed spot on the team means little overall."

He seemed unconvinced, and I frowned. I racked my brain for an answer, then came up with an idea so obvious I quite literally smacked my face out of annoyance.

The noise my hand made when it hit my face caused Ponyta's head to shoot up in worry.

“I'm fine, just stupid," I said. "Look, both of us have been missing something incredibly obvious that we should have realized a long time ago. This would help take the pressure off of you while also making it so you don't always have to be on the team. Ponyta, you’ve been protecting my mind all alone, right?”

Ponyta glanced up at me and tilted his head, confused.

“Well, why are we doing that? We have another Psychic Type on the team, don't we?”

Ponyta’s eyes widened then quite literally sparkled. Happily, he jumped around in excitement.

Following my idea, I went to fetch Kirlia. Smugly, he Teleported to be next to Ponyta before I could make my way back. Ponyta was still running around when I arrived.

There, I opened my mouth to explain the news with Kirlia, but without even saying anything, Kirlia suddenly snapped his head to stare at me. Then he began to rapidly glance between Ponyta and I.

“I take it Ponyta’s already somehow told you our plan?” I said.

Kirlia slowly nodded. I kneeled down again to level myself with my Pokémon.

"Then, you understand Ponyta's been helping me with my mind. I already have a protection in place, but it's obvious without a Psychic Type with me, and my surface thoughts are still readable. If you're willing, I want to know if you'd be able to help him out with that sometimes."

I expected Kirlia to take longer to decide, but he quickly gained a determined expression on his face and placed a close fist across his chest.

“Kirl,” he said adamantly, locking eyes with me on the ground.

I smiled and placed my hand on Kirlia's head to pat him.

"Thank you, Kirlia. Your help means a lot."

Kirlia met my smile with a wide smile of his own.

Even though Ponyta was right there and heard this, I turned to tell him the good news. However, upon doing so, there was suddenly a bright white light.

Eyes wide at this genuinely unexpected development, I stood up to take a step back and take the light in. Kirlia hurriedly moved to join me at my side, and titled his head up in amazement. Even more, with the stands of people so close nearby, a few excited shouts pointed out what was going on.

Where Ponyta was standing, he started to grow. His legs lengthened and his horn extended, and his mane, too, increased in length enough to reach the floor. His body enlarged to go from the size of a pony to the size of a horse. However, with his species, calling him a horse would be incorrect.

When the light broke, a full on unicorn, a Galarian Rapidash, stood in front of me.

Rapidash whinnied.

"Wow," I whispered.

Kirlia next to me made a short noise of agreement.

"I knew you were holding back your evolution, but I didn’t think you meant like this."

A sudden chirrup broke our stunned silence as Togepi scrambled to rush over, face locked in a wide smile. With considerable ease, Rapidash’s horn glowed as Togepi was lifted up and onto his back. The difference in size was rather humorous now, but Togepi still acted as if nothing too major had changed. She scooted forward on his back then buried herself in his mane, all while trilling happily.

I laughed.

“Hmm. You know, since this just happened, you know what we have to do now, right?”

Rapidash looked at me curiously.

“Let’s race.”

"I knew it! Ahaha! I knew that Ponyta would evolve soon!" one of the nearby riders exclaimed.

Turning away from where I was waving at my cheering Pokémon in the stands, I glanced over to the familiar voice.

That girl who approached me on Route 209 was here now.

"Don't think having something as cool as a Galarian Rapidash as your ride is going to make a difference! My own Rapidash will leave yours in the dust! Ugh, I'm so jealous."

I chuckled at the teen's comment and patted the newly evolved Rapidash on his head.

"Sorry. Wouldn't give him up for the world," I said.

Rapidash whinnied in agreement.

My Pokémon continued to cheer from the audience, Togepi's name coming from them the loudest. The crowd here today, having largely witnessed his evolution, also cheered rather fervently.

Around me, the other competitors grinned. They obviously expected a good race.

“You comfortable, Rapidash?” I asked my Pokémon.

Under me, Rapidash shifted a bit and let out an approving snort. We were forced to borrow another rider’s spare saddle, but out of everywhere in the region for Rapidash to evolve, this was the perfect place. After all, a ranching town like this practically specialized in saddle making.

There wasn’t any referee or the like stepping onto the track, but there were people in a box that overlooked the field. For this race to work, it was essentially a giant oval that the Pokémon had to get through as fast as possible, unlike the Gogoat track, which was a straight line.

Flags waved to the side to signal a countdown, and I leaned down. I whispered in Rapidash’s ear before we begin.

“Let’s start your evolution with a bang, huh?”

Rapidash gave me a rare grin.

A bang, and we were off.

Immediately, half of the other riders were left in the dust as my Rapidash’s Agility easily pulled him ahead. Most of the other mounted Pokémon were using the move as well, but they didn’t have the shared Type that made it easy to use.

We were on the first of two curves in moments. Next to us, that teen from before brought her flaming Rapidash up close. With her positioned there, I could feel the heat from the flames licking off its body. Completely unaffected, its rider smiled.

“You know what they say. If you can’t handle the heat—”

“You pull ahead,” I interrupted.

My Rapidash, using the heat to his advantage, activated his healing move, Morning Sun, to absorb both the energy from the sun and the warmth of the Rapidash's flames to give him a second wind of energy. He stuck to the inner curve and moved quickly and elegantly, easily pulling ahead of the rest.

"Oh, no you don't!" the teen said.

Her own Rapidash did the same, but as it was a Fire Type using a move so closely connected to the sun, the outcome was more heavily weighted in its favor, and we were now neck in neck.

However, that hardly mattered. We'd created distance between us and the rest of the race, but one other rider was in the lead.

Not riding a Rapidash, that rider was on an Arcanine instead. An initial use of Extreme Speed had brought it to the lead, and repeated uses of Agility had kept it there.

Rapidash and I were boxed in. We had the edge of the track on one side, the teen rider on our right, and the Arcanine in front. We had to get clever if we wanted to win.

Seeing the second curve coming up, a memory flashed in my head, and I leaned forward further than I already was to whisper in Rapidash's ear.

“Say, Rapidash. Remember what happened in the Gogoat race?”

There was no reaction from him for a brief moment before Rapidash turned his head my way, shocked. I gave him a smirk in return, and his expression cooled into one of determined acceptance.

This would be a dangerous, stupid, and risky plan, but I trusted my Pokémon.

The track curved and every Pokémon leaned to the side to maintain their speed. Rapidash, close to the dirt center of the track, subtly used Psychic to collect some ground. It took several moments for everything to be collected, and all the Pokémon righted themselves once back on the straight section.

I started to hear the sounds of many Pokémon shouting behind us. Everyone was using their trump cards to catch up.

"It's now or never," I said.

The dirt clump Rapidash was holding moved to float in front of him as he used it as raised, solid ground to start a jump. The teen's mouth dropped open as the added height plus the speed let Rapidash enter the air to sail above where the Arcanine was in front of us.

To my surprise, Rapidash used Psychic all around him, not to carry himself, but to push the air around him away and remove all resistance he experienced while running. I felt like I was sitting in an enclosed space, free of wind.

Then, Rapidash landed, and the audience cheered rather excitedly.

"Oh, come on!" that teen yelled.

Now ahead of the Arcanine, the finish line was so close and approaching rapidly. I could feel a win coming, I could feel Rapidash would make it to the end in first place!

Then, I witnessed the strangest sight.

A man sitting on the back of an ancient, blue sea turtle, whose shell had been cracked and broken in just the right way with Shell Smash to maximize its aerodynamics, blew past me with an Aqua Jet bringing him through the finish line.

Rapidash slowed to a halt in second place. The man held up a peace sign to the audience with a cheeky grin. I hadn't even noticed him enter the competition.

My stunned silence at losing to a turtle came to a stop when Kirlia suddenly Teleported to be next to Rapidash and gave him a big cheer.

We hadn't entered this to win, just for bragging rights. I still felt satisfied.

Rapidash was incredible. His control and power had skyrocketed with his evolution. While we didn't win this race, he was a force to be reckoned with. Even more, I knew he was much happier now, too.

"That was great, Rapidash!" I said, pleased. "I'm very proud of you."

Rapidash snorted as if to say "Of course!" then started to trot past the stands to show off. Kirlia used Teleport to join me on Rapidash's back as I waved to my cheering team.

"So how about we do that again?" I suggested.

Rapidash was in clear agreement.