"Nana, let's settle this race between us!" Caitlin quickly glanced at Liu Qing and A Hen catching up behind them, then spoke to Cynthia beside her.
"One each!" Cynthia also glanced behind her. She and Caitlin exchanged "wicked" smiles, then chose their targets in perfect sync.
Slowbro swiftly cut into Slowking's straight-line course. Caitlin turned her head smugly toward Liu Qing, who looked torn between laughing and crying, and feigned innocent surprise. "Oh, Mr. Liu Qing! Slowbro's beautiful swimming accidentally got in your way!" Then she turned to A Hen and called in what she considered a "quiet" voice, "A Hen, I'll hold Liu Qing back for you! Do your best-you can't lose to him!"
A Hen looked miserably at Caitlin, then helplessly at Cynthia blocking his path, and decided that silence was golden!
"The competition certainly is fierce! Ladies and gentlemen, please look at the big screen. As our ten groups enter the second straight waterway, every group's original formation has changed. Some contestants in three of the groups even fell into the water while turning, but they've already climbed back aboard and continued racing. Let's give their refusal to give up a round of applause!"
"May, stop admiring them! If we don't speed up, we'll end up last!" As soon as they finished the turn, May looked at Cynthia and Caitlin, who had moved into the lead, and once again voiced her admiration. Max had no choice but to tell his sister the truth: they were about to fall level with Fat Flannery and Zhu Yu in the fifth row.
"We can't fall behind! Wartortle, it's up to you!" May had been completely absorbed in admiring the Water-type Pokémon's graceful swimming. Finally snapping out of it, she gave an order, and Wartortle immediately responded, vigorously churning the water