Josh waved goodbye to Matt Vice and Julia Davis after giving them a tour of the Racing Grounds. It was certainly an extensive and impressive facility well beyond his wildest dreams. The League sure went all-out with funding their Gyms. Sure, some were skeptical about the amount of pork in Gym funding bills, but they were the pride of any region that was an IAPL member! "Alright, that's enough overtime for one day," Josh mumbled from. "Where's Isaac, though? He's been on the can for an awful long time. I should probably go check on him."

BZZZZTTTT!!!

Sparks flew from the Gym's overhead lighting system meant for races at late hours. They were normally used only at public night events, what with how expensive it was to keep an entire course sufficiently and safely lit. But now the entire gym had plunged into darkness.

WARNING! EMERGENCY IN SECTOR 3! POWER OVERLOAD DETECTED! MAIN POWER SYSTEM CRITICAL!

No more than a minute later, Josh received an urgent email from Shelly, his Gym's secretary.

An unidentified psychic Pokémon infiltrated the Gym's Operations Center in Sector 3 and has disabled critical safety features. As things stand, a power overload is imminent, which could result in substantial, even irreparable damage to the entire Gym. We have about 6 minutes. As you are the only one currently on site with access to the Operations Center, you need to get there as fast as you can and enter your override key. I know you're good at going fast. Now do it.

Josh immediately released his Pyroar, mounted up, and started pulsing his legs into the cat's sides. "Double time, Aslan! We gotta hurry!" Just as Aslan lunged forward, a single bright spotlight illuminated a familiar, yet unfamiliar, figure. Aslan's claws kicked up a lot of dirt and grass from the sudden deceleration. The lion reared higher than Josh thought was possible, finding himself nearly parallel to the ground at his peak and holding on for dear life. "...You!!!" the Mauville Leader screamed, pointing a finger at the figure under the bright spotlight.

6 MINUTES TO MAIN GENERATOR EXPLOSION.

Josh's first instinct at seeing the nameless face others knew as Blackjack was to scream at him, send his Pokémon after him, and drag him back to Law Enforcement HQ for questioning. He did not have time for that. The clock was ticking. "I'm only holding my Pokémon back from mauling you because you saved my life. And I want to know why. But not now. I'll play along with your silly game for now. A Rhyhorn ain't outrunning Aslan, though."

The Pyroar snarled at Rampage, Isaac not even waiting for the countdown to start racing toward the Operations Room on the complete opposite side of the Racing Grounds. This was just like with the Drift King. And this was no ordinary track either. The courses of the Racing Grounds were cordoned off one another, land courses separated by the creeks forming the various aquatic ones. It would be anything but a straightforward sprint, though there would be no turns greater than 90 degrees as a result. The Pyroar would do well.

Josh squeezed Aslan's sides, spurring the Pyroar to nearly full speed from a standstill. He was already starting to get dizzy just from being blasted back in the saddle thanks to the whiplash of the intense acceleration. While Rampage had a lot of advantages, raw speed was not one of them. Once the Fire-type had the lead, he was not giving it back. "DOUBLE TEAM, Aslan!" With this race not being official, plus the urgency of his Gym's power generator on the verge of exploding, he had to coax every bit of speed out of his Pokémon possible. Even if it hurt them both physically to do so.

The race with Blackjack being one that did not abide by Federation standards had its advantages, but it also had its drawbacks too. It brought Josh back to his studies of the first year of Federation racing, where limited attacking of other racers was allowed. It brought Josh back to the day he raced the Drift King, where he nearly got Twilight Side Attacked into the cliff face. This was far more dangerous than even that.

This was full contact. And a collision at hurricane speeds was going to hurt.

Rampage's STEALTH ROCK was a dirty trick, putting them right over Twist Road's bridge. Shaking his head, Josh sharply reined Aslan out of the way, bounding toward another course featuring a bridge over the same creek. The detour cost them double time. Not only did the lion have to swerve out of the way of the most direct path to the Operations Room, he would also have to swerve back around when he was clear of the Stealth Rocks.

Josh could not afford to have any more pain inflicted on Aslan than he already was, digging his heels into the cat's flanks with more force than he had before. The Pyroar was going to be sore after this one...even more so than after a normal race. He was behind, though his DOUBLE TEAM still being in effect helped him at least somewhat keep up with Isaac's mount. With Josh's mount still being at close to full strength, he would catch up in due time. Time he needed to take advantage of.

His lips puckered inward under his visor, Josh pulled his right arm back to get Aslan onto the main course again. He had picked the lead back up, but for how long? Josh's Pokémon were built to race in safe conditions, not what the two were involved in! Cross country racing was a whole different beast, that much was certain. The shattering of Stealth Rocks behind him was the only cue Josh needed to glance behind Aslan.

That was a full-speed Giga Impact headed his way. Her footfalls were rapid, heavy, and loud. Her gallop nothing short of violent. In a strange way, Josh felt bad for Blackjack. He had to deal with a violent gallop from his cats before, and it hurt. Aslan wasn't quite there, but another round of Double Team could send him over the edge. Josh instead went for a different tactic.

"Aslan, jump!" Josh strongly flicked the reins with both hands, ordering a high leap out of the lion. The Pyroar sprung skyward, his rider not even so much as reacting. He was in a near zen state. Nothing was going to break his concentration any time soon. He was going to win this race, make it to the Operations Room, and enter the override that would end this crisis.

5 MINUTES TO MAIN GENERATOR EXPLOSION.

Josh wasn't happy about having his Pyroar give up the lead, but Rampage was acting true to her name. What mattered is they were still in the race, and in one piece. GIGA IMPACT was a tremendous speed boost, yes, but it came with the price of a wave of lethargy afterward. There was no short of trash talk from Blackjack, despite the rock-type looking like she could barely run. The Leader simply ignored his rival's words, laser focused on trying to pass the Rhyhorn.

The team ahead wasn't making it easy, though; every time Josh reined Aslan to one side, Isaac and Rampage were one step ahead of him. He had to try to fake them out, and it was clear that if those two had survived this long acting with such reckless abandon, they were brilliant and clever, too. Josh just had to next-level him. He went not for the fake, but for the double fake, at first confusing his feline ride. His goal was to get them to weave left as they went right.

Their actions did not matter much, though! A wide river that fed the aquatic courses cut across their direct path, and there was no jumping across it. He would need an aquatic ride without losing too much time. Josh took one hand off the reins long enough to undo the snap on Resheph's Poké Ball. He was ready to click the release button as soon as the Pyroar got to the riverbank, instructing his mount to hurl him toward the waves.

Josh's gambit had worked! The jungle king's superior agility won out over Rampage's raw speed and power, the double fake being the answer to retake the lead. That lead could be short-lived, though. When the wide river's flow came into view, an explosion of embers flew from Aslan's paws, thrashing and bucking his rider off with power that scared even his trainer despite knowing it was coming.

As he went sailing into the air, Josh clicked the release switch on Resheph's Poké Ball, the Dragonair quick to catch him and float down to the river's surface to meet Blackjack and his Wishiwashi. He had already finished the leg that was his forte. He was great at Pokémon foot races. Aquatic and aerial races were much more challenging, as he only really got experience with those through his Gym Challenges.

Now was not the time to fret about a lack of experience, though; he had a job to do, or there would be no more Gym Challenges for him. Josh grabbed Resheph's reins and squeezed the serpentine Pokémon's sides for speed. The meandering curves of the front two-thirds of the Racing Grounds' difficult Quick Turn course stood between Josh and the Operations Center. Well, they were a bit more than meandering. Not like he could pick his battles anyway. "Keep as close to your unboosted top speed as you can, Resheph!" the Leader commanded. "I doubt there will be a chance for you to go into your Agility here...at least offensively. The turns are just too wild."

Wishiwashi was almost the perfect Pokémon for the course. If Resheph and Josh ever gave up the lead, the school could easily cover the width of the river and prevent them from passing Isaac for the length of the river. The switchbacks were dangerous enough for a Dragonair to navigate as is, Josh needing to do something he wasn't used to. Braking. If he was aboard his Sharpedo, these would be simple drifts. Unfortunately, his Sharpedo was in Pokémon storage, and wouldn't do him much good. Going underwater wasn't an option for Josh, either; his helmet, while a tight fit, was not water-tight. It would quickly fill with water and force him to retract his visor. That came with the dangers of hurricane-force winds flying in his face from how fast his Dragonair was moving.

Before Josh could hear the impact from Shiver's barrage of SCALE SHOTs, they had already flooded the water in front of them. "Jump it, Resheph!" the racer commanded, though not in time. He felt his mount's tail seize up at impact, the two coasting on momentum alone. Shiver's new shape let Isaac pass him easily. While the school were less numerous as a result, the attack shed less hydrodynamic sections of the water-type, making them even harder to catch.

Luckily for Josh, the river course's lone straight stretch was coming up, and he had a perfect retort in mind. "If this buffoon wants to play hardball, he's getting hardball. Resheph, ready your DRAGON RUSH." Both sets of her blue "weather orbs" started glowing a royal purple, filling with dragon energy that seeped out to surround herself and her rider. "Now!!" The Dragonair lowered her head, Josh holding on tight as his aquatic Pokémon attempted to spear the school.

4 MINUTES TO MAIN GENERATOR EXPLOSION.