[nospaces]

Twilight's eyes immediately shifted upward, the Absol gently kicking to try to get Josh's attention. "What's up, girl?" He looked up to see a Metang floating near the starting line of Mew Mauville's underground race course built for Electric and Steel types. He wouldn't be racing on it anytime soon, though; its very design meant the surface needed to be powered by electromagnetism before it was usable, as the course itself was a Mobius Ring. It was a simple, yet wild, concept, having to deal with the sensation of riding a land Pokémon upside down for half the course.

As Josh passed close to the course's main surface, the Metang dislodged itself from the surface's underside and floated in front of Twilight, thrusting its claws toward them as though it wanted to pick a fight. Josh left his star combatant out of this one, instead choosing to rely on Aslan. The fire-type cub sounded a battle cry toward Metang, to no effect; if anything, that got the wild more riled up.

Embers fanned out from Aslan's hair as he took a deep breath, trying to time a Flamethrower attack from close range. He slightly mistimed his breath weapon; both of them suffered heavy blows, though all it took was a single strong fire-type attack for the Metang to realize it was outmatched and turn tail. Josh was about to return the bruised Litleo to his Poké Ball, but the cub protested - he insisted he was good to keep going! The three--Aslan, Josh, and Twilight, advanced beyond the course to see if there was a suitable race Electric-type down here...


NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Twilight      Absol          Good
Aslan         Litleo         Fair
Saber         Electrike      Good


{WC: 270}
{PC: 2}

[nospaces]

Aslan ran ahead of Josh and Twilight, toward the opposite side of the inactive race track before doubling back and sliding underneath the Absol's legs. "What has gotten into you, Aslan?" he asked half-rhetorically. He wasn't getting an answer from the Litleo. He got the answer as a Magnezone zoomed past Josh and Twilight, as though it were trying to run down the pole on the final lap of a regional championship race.

As with the Metang, the two exchanged Flamethrower and physical attacks when Aslan realized he was being outran, but this time the cub was not the one to come out on top. Aslan collapsed in a heap after the ramming attack, Josh reaching toward him and letting out a cry of the lion cub's name. As he reached for Resheph's Poké Ball, he felt Twilight lunge toward the Magnezone.

Not wanting to be directly involved in combat, Josh let go of his Absol's back, tumbling over some thick cables as he rolled in a different direction. Shaken up from the emergency dismount, he could hear several strong impacts of claws against metal interspersed with sonic explosions. It sounded anything but pretty.

By the time he mustered the strength to stand, Twilight had returned to his side. He saw the damage from the sonic explosions, and could clearly see where each one impacted her white fur. She was not happy with how Josh had let Aslan fight to the point of exhaustion, though it was difficult for her trainer to tell. Not wanting to agitate her wounds any more, Josh swapped out the dark-type for Resheph, who could actually carry him to the course's upper levels in search of the Pokémon he was looking for...

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Twilight      Absol          Fair
Aslan         Litleo         KO
Saber         Electrike      Good

{WC: 288}
{PC: 3}

[nospaces]

Resheph was a playful soul even after becoming a Dragonair; Josh couldn't help but let out a whoop or two from her strong undulations as she accelerated upward. Her elegant dance was met with with a bark when she passed above the altitude the starting line was at. Josh's eyes shifted toward the source of the noise. It was difficult to see because the course's lights were all off, but there was a Yamper stuck on the course!

This was the perfect opportunity. While it wasn't his ideal Pokémon, and certainly not as strong in combat as a Luxray, Boltund were incredible runners. Unlike Saber, who was more of a sprinter, Boltund were capable of high sustained speeds, and able to maintain bursts of Agility for long periods of time. Their stamina made them great Pokémon for high speed travel.

While Josh's first instinct was to use Saber to pummel the wild into exhaustion before capture, this Yamper looked distressed. It was a long way down. "Resheph, can you fly close so we can save this little one?" The serpentine dragon nodded before hovering as close to the course's surface as she felt comfortable.

Josh let go of Resheph's reins and called out to the electric-type with open arms, an empty Poké Ball with its release button pointed toward the wild. "Jump into my arms! I can get you down safely!" It was a little deceptive, but it was the best way he could think of to capture this Pokémon nonviolently. The wild backed up to allow for a running start, then thrust itself off the platform and toward Josh's open arms...

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Twilight      Absol          Fair
Aslan         Litleo         KO
Saber         Electrike      Good

{WC: 277}
{PC: 4}