I stop to take in a deep breath, letting my sore muscles to take a short rest. The sled isn't really heavy actually, but Glaceon is.

"Glaceon," I groan. "Get down, will you?" My partner smiles playfully, laying down on the sled. His muslce-built body stretches out as he yawns, showing his canine fangs. Instead of doing as I say, he stays on the sled and watches me entertainingly. "You little brat," I huffed, but I couldn't hide the small smile playing on my lips.

Every year, a Pokemon Sled Race is held at Snowpoint City. Joining the race has always been my dream. Now that I've hit the qualified age, I'm allowed to participate in this race of speed and teamwork. I push my sled to an empty spot beside another participant, who was busy checking his own sled. I secure mine in place and reached for my Pokeballs in my bag. Pressing down on the smooth buttons, I toss them into the air and watch as white beams shoot out of the capsules and land in front of me. Four Pokemon materialize before me in a straight line, all gazing at me with a glint of excitement in their eyes.

Glaceon finally decides to hop down from the sled and stands in front of the four Pokemon with his head lifted high. Behind him, Leafeon, Espeon, Jolteon and Sylveon puff out their chests with confident smiles painted on their faces. "Alright team, ready to win?" I ask. My companions bark their name enthusiastically, especially the Ice-Type.

I chuckle and take five collars of different colors which is blue, green, purple, yellow and pink. After putting on their respective collars, I made sure that it isn't too tight nor too loose. Then, I grab the neck line from the sled and studied my Pokemon, planning out their position in my mind. "Glaceon, you be the Leader," I ordered. "Followed by Espeon, left swing, and Jolteon, you be right swing. Lastly, Sylveon and Leafeon, you two be wheelers. Alright, line out!" My Pokemon nod in unison. They immediately go into position in front of the slled, and I carefully use the neck line to connect their collars.

"You're a rookie, aren't you? This is your team?" a voice asks mockingly. I spin around to meet a boy with emerald, green eyes. He brushes his brown hair from his eyes and scans my five Eeveelutions. "Doesn't seem much," he adds.

I frown and stand up, but remain silent anyways. I guess you'll always meet a rival when it comes to a race.

"Everyone's Pokemon look so weak," the boy says loudly, earning himself a glare from other participants who are within earshot. "I'm gonna win this easily." He stuffs his hands in his pockets and starts to laugh, walking away with his nose pointing high. I roll my eyes and continue securing the tow line, until a hand gently pats on my shoulder.

I turn around and see a girl this time. "Don't mind him," she says. "My name's Amy. I really like your team. Good luck in the race!" She smiles sweetly and reaches out a hand. I take it and grin.

"I'm Lucy. Good luck to you, too."

Her smile widens and she walks away. I watch her until she stops at a nearby sled connected to three Mightyenas and two Poochyenas. They yip and howl excitedly when they see their musher returning. Turning my attention back to my team, I did a last checking on the rigging. After that, I briefly examine the sled and its runners. "All nice and secure," I whispered, mostly to myself.

Soon, it is time for the race to start. Participants are asked to ready themselves at the starting line. I stand on the runners which extends back of the basket. Glaceon already had his body lowered and his pointy ears perked, wanting to take off as soon as possible. The sound of gunshot slices through the crisp air, and I could almost listen the blood rushing through my ears as my heart pounds rapidly against my chest.

"Hike! Hike! HIKE!" I shout at the top of my lungs. Without a second of hesitation, my five faithful companions push off with their powerful hind legs, kicking up clouds of shimmering white snow. The sled jerks forward and I tighten my grip to prevent from falling. Other mushers also have their Pokemon running. The cold wind rushes pass me, stinging my face and pushing me back. I lower my body to avoid as munch air current as I could and keep an eye on the direction my team is heading.

Five Fletchinders hover above us, a camera strapped onto their necks to monitor us. My team quickly breaks out of the line and leads the race. I smirk, but it is quickly wiped away when another racer rushes pass me. The arrogant, brown-haired boy tosses me a smug expression, his sled being pulled by five Houndooms. I chew the insides of my cheek as I glare at him. "Hike! Hike!" I yell again, encouraging my Pokemon to go faster.

A red marker appears at the horizon as we close in, indicating a turn on the trail. After we pass by the marker, the boy's Houndooms made a turn to the left. "Haw!" I command. Glaceon immediately changes his course to the left, and the other four follow his lead. This time we see a blue marker, telling us that the trail will be straight ahead. "Hike! Hike!" For some reason, I couldn't close up the gap between me and the boy, and it really frustrates me.

Another red marker ahead, and it is a turn to the left again. "Haw!" I shout. My loyal team swings to the left, and the sled smoothly turns to the direction it was being pulled to. "Hike hike!" My teeth start to chatter as the cold wind slaps against me. I bite down on my lips, my sight locked on the back of the boy. As if sensing my thoughts, Glaceon yanks at the tow line and barks a command at the four behind him as he tries his best to run faster. Espeon, Jolteon, Leafeon and Sylveon lower their heads and dig their paws into the snow to have a better push off when running, taking bigger leaps as they try to go a farther distance.

The sled slowly picks up speed, sailing through the snow and catching up with the boy. "Yes!" I laugh. "Go on, team! Hike! Hike!" Another turn to the left, and I shout the command, "Haw!" This is the third turn, one more turn and we'll be almost reaching the finishing line. The last turn is a turn to the right around the forest. The boy disappears from sight as soon as he did a right turn, his figure covered by the trees. "Gee!" I command after passing by the blue marker.

After the turn, what comes into sight is totally unexpected. My eyes widen and my blood turns cold. "Whoa! WHOA!" I yell and pressure the brake with my foot. My Pokemon halt as they hear the command and stare at the same direction I am gaping at. The boy is panicking. He's safe on the solid ice, but I couldn't say the same for his Houndooms. The leader and the other two behind him have half of their bodies in the icy cold water. The thin ice around them has given away under their weight, cracking even as they struggle to haul themselves out. The two Houndooms at the last are frozen with fear as they stare at the ice beneath them, afraid that it might give away any moment.

Without thinking, I jump down from my sled and rush to the Dark/Fire-Types, but I stop in my tracks when a loud crack sounded beneath my boots. I quickly jump back, just as the ice where I was standing seconds before crumble and reveal the water beneath. I gasp. My Pokemon howl and bark with worry lace on their voices. "I'm fine," I say, reassuring them.

"Please..." I snap my head at the boy, his hands are trembling as he slowly blurts, "Please, help my Houndooms..." I blink at him for a moment, an indescribable feeling burning up inside me. Ignoring him, I turn back to the poor Houndooms. They are shivering from the cold, their eye fill with horror as they watch me, whining. If I could pull them out... I thought.

"Glace! Glace Ceon!" My partner barks. I spin around and meet his gaze. His eyes burn with determination as he stand tall with his tail high with confidence. The others did the same, howling their names as if agreeing with their leader. Even though I couldn't understand the language of Pokemon, I still know what they want to do. Their bodies are built with muscles, yet they are small and light enough to stand on thin ice if they move carefully enough. But can I really risk it? One wrong move and my Pokemon will end up with the same fate as those Houndooms. "Glace!" the Ice-Type barks again.

Biting down hard on my lower lip, I storm over to my Pokemon and unhook them. "Okay," I say, my voice trembling ever so slightly. "I want Espeon to hook the leader's collar with this." I pass the neck line to Espeon, and she takes it in her jaw. She has the lightest weight compared to others, the chance of her falling into the water is slimmer. But still... "After hooking this, I want the others to pull them out from the other end of the line. But we need to disconnect the line attaching to the two Houndooms behind first. So Leafeon, you need to use razor leaf on the line. Is that clear?"

My Pokemon nod with a bark and immediately spring into action. From a distance, Leafeon leaps into the air and lets out a battle cry as she swings the glowing leaf sprouting on her head. Two sharp-edged leafs are sent spinning towards the line. They slice through it with ease and the two Houndooms scurry back to their trainer's side with their tails tuck between their legs.

Espeon crouches down until her belly touches the surface of the ice. Slowly, she crawls on all fours and approaches the leader Houndoom with caution. A cracking sound hit my ears and my heart skips a beat. Espeon stills, and the others freeze, too. A moment of silence falls upon us as we wait, almost expecting for another crack. But it didn't.

With a silent sigh of relief, Espeon carefully continues her way with the hook still dangling from her mouth. When she reaches the leader's side, she tilts her head to connect the hook to the Houndoom's collar. It clicks easily and she smiles. She hurriedly but carefully moves out of the way until she reaches on safe, thick ice. On the other end of the line, me, Glaceon, Jolteon and Sylveon are already ready. "Alright guys, pull!" I say and yank on the line. My Pokemon sink their teeth into the neck line and jerk their heads, pulling up the three Houndooms.

I stop when a familiar voice calls out behind me, "Lucy?" I turn my head and see the girl from earlier, Amy. "What are you doing..." she trails off when her eyes landed on the three Houndooms who are practically freezing to death. "Oh my..."

"Amy! Come help out!" I say, still straining at the neck line.

She stares at me for a moment, an unreadable expression flashes across her face. "... Sorry," she blurts. Then turning back to her Pokemon, she yells, "Hike!" Her Mightyenas and Poochyenas start to run, leaving us behind. My jaw drops as I stare at the girl with disbelief. I thought that she is nice and kind, I thought.

With a frustrated growl, I tug at the line harder. The Houndooms clawed at the slippery ice as they pull their drenched bodies up. The leader finally manages to crawl out, followed by another one. Leaving the last in the cold water as its life force slowly seeps out. Two more participants rush pass us, and they didn't even bother to stop and look. Anger boil up within me, and it somehow also increases my strength to pull on the neck line. "Ignorant. Selfish. People!" I scream, every word louder than the one before as I tug at the neck line fiercely.

With one last forceful pull, the weakest Houndoom is hauled out and he lays tiredly on the ice, his breathing shallow. We drag him to our side, with the other two limping and panting as they slowly walk. The boy rushes to us with the other two Houndoom by his heels and pats the leader's head with one hand, while running his other hand down the side of the weakest one. "Oh Arceus, are you guys okay?" he asks worriedly. His Pokemon whine and lick his face, snuggling up against him.

"We can send them back on my sled," I suggest coldly.

The boy looks at me gratefully. "Thank yo--" I cut him off before he could finish.

"I'm doing this for your Pokemon," I snap. "Not you. Now get them up on the sled, my Pokemon will send him back." Hurt flashes across his eyes and he nods silently. After we carry the three wet Houndooms onto my sled, I hook my five Eeveelutions onto the tow line. "Hike!" I shout, and the team takes off with Glaceon at the lead. I watch them run into the distance and turn back to the boy. "Can your remaining Houndooms pull us to the finishing line?" I ask.

"Uh, yeah... Sure," he stutters. He quickly pulls his sled to a safe distance from the gaping hole on the ice. "Howler, Laser, come here." His two Houndooms obediently reach their trainer's side. Without a word, he connects their collars with the tow line on his sled. I coolly hop onto his sled without asking his permission, and he awkwardly follows behind. It's hard for only two Pokemon to pull two people on a sled, but with only a short distance left, we should be able to make it.

"Hi-- hike!" the boy calls nervously. His Pokemon throw themselves forward, pulling us behind them. The sled move slowly at first, accelerating slightly as Howler and Laser yank and pull on the tow line. The journey went on quietly, none of us spoke a word. A large amount of people crowded at the finishing line. Mummers ripple through the crowd at the sight of our arrival. My five Pokemon wag their tail when they spot me. Somebody has already unhook them from the sled, so it means the Houndooms are being treated now.

I let out a sigh, thinking at how my first race turned out. I will need to explain this to the judges later, how annoying. And Amy, that little-- I guess I'll have to choose my friends more wisely next time. I shouldn't trust people too much, that has always been my mistake.

Next year, I will surely win the race, without a doubt.

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(A/N)

Another entry for the Pokemon contest! The judges are going to kill me for always entering my One-Shots last minute...

And seriously, I have no idea how a real dog sled race looks like. I did some research, and this is the closest thing I can write to a real dog sled race. Though I feel like I can write better. I might have made some mistakes, since I'm really used to writing with past-tense. I want to challenge myself into using present-tense, so please correct me if there's any error!

So... Hope you all like it!