It felt so freeing to go this fast. To see the world in the way Nana does. It was like pure freedom, almost flying. Did all speedy pokemon feel this way? Is this why people liked going fast? It had to be. To feel like you were the most powerful thing alive! Gripping her mane tighter, he turned his head to see the others- who were now becoming specs behind him.

"We're in the lead!"

Nana was focused, but she heard her trainer. No way she was slowing down though, that was not how you won races! She would keep going. Prepared to use her Extreme Speed, to sending her further into the lead when they got to the halfway point. Seems the two shared a competitive spirit!

Josh Devlin

Nana's lead was measured in seconds...and growing. This race was not even close. Josh's Pokémon were trained for courses with actual obstacles, not a mostly straight-line path with a few gentle curves. Raiden tried to keep pace the best he could, but even he wasn't able to keep up with what was arguably the fastest Pokémon on four legs, not counting legendaries. Arcanine were popular among two classes of racers: beginners who relied purely on their speed to win races they otherwise had no rights winning, and the greatest professionals that had truly mastered compensating for the species' extremely poor handling. While he didn't intend any offense to Matt, Josh felt his opponent was clearly in that first group.

As Matt's lead continued to grow, Josh whistled for Crash to join him; he had caught notice of a very large Liepard running alongside them. It reminded Josh of his battle with the Drift King, who rode a giant Liepard that nearly beat his Absol to the finish line and cost him his most prized battle partner. If he didn't have ana fell to cover his hind, he probably would have lost more than just his Absol.

Once Saber and Crash were able to box the Liepard between each other, Josh took one hand off the reins to reach for an empty Poké Ball and bop the Liepard with it as the checkpoint came into sight. Once the teams crossed that checkpoint, they would be able to go all out, and that worried Josh. Arcanine's Extreme Speed would be very dangerous to use in an environment like this one, and one mistake with it could cause Matt great harm. If he were closer, he might have called the race off...but with Josh trailing by multiple seconds, there was no chance Matt would be able to hear him.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD MORGREM APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] FRISK
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CONFIDE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FALSE SURRENDER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BITE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SUCKER PUNCH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD LOUDRED APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SCRAPPY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ASTONISH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HOWL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ROAR	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ECHOED VOICE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Josh Devlin CAUGHT THE LIEPARD!

Knuckles were white as he clung even tighter to Nana. His eyes were beginning to sting from the sheer speed. Goggles were going to have to be an investment he made if he was going to keep considering this. Ducking his head down into her mane, he wormed his hands and fingers in deeper to her fur. Trying to keep the best grip he could- knowing what was about to happen.

The check point was reached, and Nana glanced behind her to see where her competition stood behind her. Far back, right where they belonged in her eyes! With a loud growl that vibrated through her body to warm Matt, the time had come!

Paws began to gleam bright white, the sound of some sound barrier breaking as a shove of her paws sent her forward- and at a blinding speed, Nana was off and running the distance. Leaving heavy paw prints behind her as her claws dug into the ground to propel her forward.

Josh might have heard the high pitched shriek Matt gave when Nana took off.

Josh Devlin

Matt and Nana briefly came back into sight when the checkpoint marking their halfway trip came into view: the Ancient Tomb. It was a haven for Ghost-type Pokémon, but not any Josh was interested in. There was only one Ghost-type Pokémon he knew of that could wear a saddle in his eyes, and it was a legendary Pokémon. To him, one that would never bond with a pure-hearted Trainer. As he crossed the checkpoint, Josh got his first good look at Nana since the start of the race, what with there being a nearly straight chunk of trail that went on for a few miles. What he caught a glimpse of was terrifying.

Josh heard a high-pitched scream from what he could only assume was Matt. Nana's paws were gleaming, streaks of white with blurs of orange and black above the fire-type. That could only mean one thing: Nana was using Extreme Speed. Arcanine using Extreme Speed was the speed limit among mortal Pokémon. Until the road started to curve about more toward Fortree City, there was nothing Josh could do to help. He could mount his Dragonair and try to chase after him with her Extreme Speed, but it was far too dangerous in such a confined space. One impact at speeds more easily expressed as a Mach number than as a standard unity of speed would almost certainly be lethal.

"Saber, QUICK ATTACK!" Josh commanded as the two reached the checkpoint and turned toward the longest straight run on their route. Even with several uses of the move chained together, the Manectric was still rapidly losing ground. Far ahead, a big curve was approaching, and certainly one Nana could not take at full speed...

Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no.

Matt was screwed. Well, he was. Until something came and barreled him off the back of Nana. The canine almost didn't notice, but she dug her claws into the ground, sending her tumbling across the ground as she snapped her head back to spot what happened to her trainer- even if she was hurt from her tumble, she was more concerned for him.

Meanwhile, Matt was tumbling and rolling along with a arm full of some yellow pokemon. A scraggy? Yes, it was a scraggy! It had tackled him off the Arcanine. Why?! Matt wasn't really registering what was going on, just that his chest hurt from the tackle he got, plus the rest of his body hurting from tumbling across the earth. What was this Scraggy after?!

It was after his pokeballs, trying to find the one that the poochyena from earlier had been caught in. Were they friends, perhaps? Either way, Matt had no idea- just that the Scraggy touched a pokeball and got sucked inside. The fall must have injured it, from how the ball ddin't even move and no fought really put up from the pokemon. Or maybe it wanted to go with him?

"Wha.."

Everything was such a blur. Blinking rapidly as Nana came into view, whimpering and licking his face. "Nine?"

Josh Devlin

[Catching Scraggy with Pokeball]

Nana disappeared around the curve; going around an offshoot crag well east of the Kirikiri Mountain Range, it was going to be impossible to see where the Arcanine was until Josh and his Pokémon rounded the corner itself. Saber had the leg strength and the claws to be able to round the corner after shedding the added speed of his Quick Attack. Even Raiden had to cull his speed a little bit to make the tightest turn on their route. The rest of Josh's Electric-types ran alongside one another, though Saber still maintained the lead among his squad.

The signs of long skid marks and a riderless Arcanine ahead were all Josh needed to call the race off. This was the precise reason why there were so many safety features built into official race courses. Even with those, there was still a need to have paramedics standing by for every event. No matter how great the safety measures were, it didn't change the fact that high speed travel was inherently dangerous.

The sight of Nana licking Matt, who was sprawled on the ground, drove him to urgency. He spurred his Manectric to full unboosted speed, he and his squad skidding to a stop near his new friend and the affectionate Arcanine. "You okay?!" Josh asked, examining him the best he could for obvious wounds.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD GLAMEOW APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] KEEN EYE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SLASH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ASSIST
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CHARM	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HYPNOSIS
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD DODUO APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] RUN AWAY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]JUMP KICK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SWORDS DANCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]QUICK ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PECK
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Matt Vice CAUGHT THE SCRAGGY!

Matt just looked sputtered on the ground. Chest hurt, back hurt, head hurt. Why was his face wet. Oh wait Nana was licking him. Groaning, what had tackled him? It was like a blur. Why was one of his pokeballs on the ground? Going to reach, he winced at the pain that caused. Shiiit. Did he break something? Or just seriously injure himself?

"I... think I'm okay?"

He was shaky, really trying to downplay the pain he was in. Since it was... probably a 10 if he was being honest. But he was jsut going to grin and bare it. "I need better training if I'm ever going to do that again... made a fool of myself, huh?"

Josh Devlin

While Josh could not see how Matt looked underneath his clothes, nor did he have any desire to (that was a medical professional's job, after all), what he could see from exposed skin led him to believe his friend was pretty badly hurt. He wasn't going to be overly judgmental about something outside his expertise, choosing not to comment on Matt's injuries. "If you're feeling well enough to get back on your Pokémon, we should get you back to Fortree as quickly as you feel safe going."

Josh dismounted his Manectric and sit down next to his former competitor, unable to stop worrying. "Extreme Speed should only be practiced in fields where it's wide open for miles and no one else is around," he chided his new friend with a less-than-gentle tone. "One thing my coach from Silver League always told me was this: 'With great speed comes great responsibility.'" He let those words sink in. "I'll be blunt; you are lucky to still be alive." After all, Nana had probably exceeded speeds of some of the fastest supercars in the world, and in a wooded area like this, a broadside impact with a tree at that speed could have split his body in two.

"If you want to practice that sort of thing, I actually run a Gym north of Mauville City, and I organize Pokémon races there on weekends routinely. Once we get back to Fortree and make sure you're okay, I can email you a signup form if you want. Just..." He let out a deep sigh. "Just watch where you do that again. If not for your sake, for mine." Josh looked angry at Matt for his reckless behavior, but was more frustrated.

Sigh. The last thing Matt wanted was to be scolded by someone, who he assumed was around his age. It was almost hard to hide the annoyance on his face. It reminded him of his dad, Jackson. Always telling him not to be such a hot head, cool his jets. While his mother encouraged he express his emotions. Right now though, he had to take this with a grain of salt.

"I'm sorry, okay? Don't exactly want to get hurt, I already know my boyfriend is going to chew me out for this later." Rubbing the back of his neck, he grunted at the tension in his shoulders. Ow-

Nana started to snarl, her eyes locked above- a Drampa in the sky?! But that's not all! There was a loud caterwauling, as a Grimmsanarl came busting through, like it was chasing the Dramapa. Matt was stunned by this, before he noticed the Grimmsnarl turned it's attention to them.

Out of habit, Matt stepped in front of Josh and his pokemon- like he could defend them. Nana stepped forward, flames smokin gout of the corners of her mouth- and without a word blasted the pokemon. Matt frowned at this- slowly realizing... maybe he was out of his league with Nana- that stung. He had saved her, he owed it to her to be able to care for her and train her properly. Sighing, he called out to her. "Nana! Don't hurt it, let's catch it!"

Nana turned her head back, snorting, but nodding. Even if she could be wild, she did always reel back in fairly easily. "Extreme Spped and knock it back so I can throw a ball." Ordered Matt, as Nana was off in a blur. Smacking into the Grimmsnarl, sending it flying back just as Matt went and threw the pokeball after it. Hoping to blindside it and snag it away!

[Catching Grimmsnarl with pokeball!]

Josh Devlin