SBR Chapter 7
Pocoloco and the Sandman is the seventh chapter of Steel Ball Run.
Summary
This chapter begins with Pocoloco remarking how unlucky he is due to oversleeping the day of the race but later changing his mind because of how fast his horse is moving due to the ground being trampled and beaten by the other racers horses as he catches up to rest of the racing group Pocoloco catches a gold coin in his mouth,and sees a woman's cleavage. Once he catches up to the rest of the racers they make to a cliff where one racer proclaims "Damnit! it's his fault where'd he go it's that Indian i thought we were on the course because that guy was running this way." Standing on the top of the cliff Pocoloco watches Soundman climb to the top of the other side of the ravine while the other racers comment on this "It's that Indian did he trick us into thinking the course was this way damn it's not like that i....sort of went along with him because he was running fast like that and i just followed him." As the other racers look at the map or decide to go back Pocoloco has his horse run off the cliff to try to reach the other side. Soundman seeing this tells Pocoloco to use his rope to lift his horse up to top side of the cliff after reaching the top of the cliff Soundman and Pocoloco both race ahead while Pocoloco looks at Soundman thinking "That guy did he come all the way from the beach at that pace how can he run like that it's true i got help from that Indian but me being able to jump over that cliff proves my luckiness and this guy thinks he's gonna win the race eh?" While running on the top side of the cliff Pocoloco catches up with the main group of racers as the announcer exclaims "The leader is still Gyro Zeppeli and no they have just passed the 6,000 meter sign it's finally the last third of the 15,000 meters of the first stage after the climb it's downhill from there it's roughly 60 to 70 lengths between him and the following group will he make a clean escape could this race end here with his getaway?" Pocoloco continues along the course riding close to Johnny Joestar asking if Gyro is the leader while Johnny thinks "Gyro Zeppeli's horse will begin to tire soon a little less than 2,000 meters is always the reasonable choice when speeding up and going for the finish line but if i lose sight of him now it might be impossible to catch up with him to me this race isn't about winning or the prize money but to find out the mystery of the steel balls I'd need his recognition beating him in this stage would be the easiest way first keep the distance between him and challenge him after the 2,000 meter mark!" As Johnny plans out how he will surpass Gyro in this stage of the race the announcer proclaims "What happened Gyro Zeppeli is going off course he's veering right Gyro's going greatly of the course what is he thinking could Gyro Zeppeli be planning to take a short cut the brush ahead he's going off course and into the brush Gyro Zeppeli has gone off course to the right he's going for a short cut if he goes through the brush he can shave 800 to 1,000 meters off his running distance Gyro is going to cross the forest but there will be obstacles it's more of a forest than a brush the trees are too tightly packed it's a dangerous bet since there are too many trees dropping speed and using stamina is a must but if Gyro succeeds he'll get closer and closer to a complete sweep what will the followers do which course will the followers take the brush or the regular course?" Once the announcer finishes his proclamation Johnny begins to think to himself "What the is Gyro Zeppeli insane there's a very high chance of the rider getting injured as well as the horse and dropping speed isn't the worst thing." As Johnny finishes his thought the announcer once again exclaims "Two horses are going for it two from the following group are chasing Gyro more from the following group are joining the chase seven horses no eight horses are they accepting Gyro's bet Gyro's disappeared into the forest!" This chapter ends with Johnny following Gyro into forest as he watches Pocoloco dive straight into the forest thinking "What this guy what's he doing he closed his eyes what's he thinking he's not slightly opening his eyes either and that posture is one of confidence rather than fear it's like he decided to test himself by closing his eyes."
