The bumpy, dirt roads on the outskirts of Fallarbor Town were proving challenging for Goroh, Josh's Cyclizar, to handle. On the flat, paved roads farther south, the dragon-type would be performing wheelies and going close to all-out to both get a feel for what Josh could handle, as well as entertain him. Both mount and rider had a penchant for high speed, and the other knew it well.

The two were racing down the country road, vast properties of several ranch homes flying by during the cool morning. If it was summer, Josh would have flipped his visor up and let the wind hit his face. Instead, he simply weaved about the mostly empty road, keeping Goroh to one side on the occasion traffic came up. "Wait, that's it! We're gonna miss our turn!" Josh barked. Andrea Vaneau may have been able to hear the Cyclizar's wheels screeching against the dirt road as the rider commanded harsh braking and an about face, the Mauville Leader not far from the ranch's entrance.

The Gym Leader loosed Kokusho's Poké Ball in self-defense, the riding-geared Hydreigon ready to belch dragonfire all over Chomper to keep his trainer safe. When he saw the young female in a dragon costume running toward him, he quickly recognized her from the conscription meeting. "Wait, Kokusho! Hold your fire!" Josh cried, the three-headed dragon holding his attack back. "Andrea Vaneau ? Is that you? I'm glad to see you survived! When we landed, I left as fast as I could trying to get Aslan, my Pyroar, to the hospital. I didn't think he was going to make it after that METEOR BEAM's direct hit."

The young girl's attention quickly turned to the Cyclizar Josh was seated on, who retracted her wheels and started moving more like a quadrupedal dragon. "That's right! It's a new species from Paldea," he answered. "Cyclizar. They're supposedly a really common dragon Pokémon from there. And they can put on some real speed. This one's name is Goroh, and I've been training her so I can race with the Paldeans that will be merging their league with Hoenn's for the 2023 season."

Josh gasped when he realized his social mishap. "Oh, right! I'm sorry! I get caught up in conversation easily and forget to do that at times! Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but I go by Josh." The Paldean Pokémon walked toward Andrea and would nuzzle her with her snout if she allowed it, able to tell how much she loved dragon-types. "Awesome! I'll have a look!"

The space was indeed huge. It, of course, paled in comparison to the size of Mauville Racing Grounds, but that was a project crowdfunded by the League and Mauville taxpayers. The size of the estate, considering it was owned by one family, was impressive. "Racing only really took off in the last several years. Think of it like another kind of Pokémon contest. Rather than the contest of strength that a battle serves, or a contest of wit such as a Clever Contest would, it's a contest of speed that physically involves the trainer, too." It was quite different from the Pokéathlon, where the participating Pokémon raced on their own rather than with their trainers atop them.

Were Andrea to meet more Pokémon of Goroh's species, she would likely find others of the Cyclizar's kind to be just as gentle upon capture. "They're hard to catch, but unlike most dragons, they're quite easy to raise. Didn't take more than a few days before she got used to me. What dragon can you say that about?" Dragon-types, as Josh was certain Andrea was aware of, were notorious for being incredibly challenging to raise.

Andrea's concern was a common one newcomers to the Gym asked Josh all the time. "That's a great question! Federation courses, including ones at my Gym, aren't simple ovals. They can have many turns of various angles, rough terrain designed to tire sprinters out, and all kinds of other twists. Depending on the course, a Pokémon that's purely fast may be at a disadvantage." Even speed itself was a multifaceted topic; some Pokémon were a lot faster than others, but could be outsped by Pokémon over specific distance ranges due to being able to hold burst speeds for longer durations.

Lizzie's gaze caught Goroh's attention, the Cyclizar sounding a low moo and crouching, letting Josh easily dismount. With her oft-worried trainer busy chatting up a storm with Andrea, Goroh slinked off toward Andrea's Salazzle and let out a quiet greeting cry she hoped Josh wouldn't hear.

Josh nodded, impressed at Andrea's intuition. "You're exactly right! The three fundamental skills racers evaluate Pokémon by are their raw speed, their stamina, and their turning," he explained. "I'm finding that Cyclizar are really well-rounded as mounts, and with them using their air sacs like a vehicle's tires, the ride is buttery smooth, unlike most Pokémon where--" Their conversation was broken up by the sound of Goroh's air sac squealing against the ground as she was trying to impress Lizzie by holding a wheelie. She violently launched forward, away from the Salazzle before running back toward her on four legs instead. Josh rolled his eyes.

"As I was saying, most Pokémon will rock you back and forth when you're riding them. I like it better that way; it makes me feel like I'm as one with my mount, which is really important. It is one more thing to worry about as a beginner, though. If you want to get into racing, I hope you find a Cyclizar, as they're relatively fast and are very balanced. Of course, exact capabilities will vary among individual specimens, but as a whole they're very well rounded." Josh's gaze met Goroh and Lizzie playing with one another. "If your Salazzle grows big enough, even she could carry you on the track!"

Many land Pokémon had rough gallops that could be a bit rough for a rider to get used to. Josh understood; some preferred buttery smooth flight that most dragons were capable of. Others loved the feel of being bounced along by the Pokémon's running stroke. Others still loved being flung around by a swerving Pokémon's tight turns. Every rider had their preference, and that's what made the sport so surprisingly accessible! "If you're used to the smooth flight of most dragon Pokémon, then that's understandable. Your Hydreigon looked incredibly well behaved when I saw her. I wish I could say the same for mine; Kokusho really has a mind of his own."

Their Pokémon looked like they were having a good time! Needing a rest, the large dragon-type sat down next to Lizzie. That close proximity didn't last long, though, as the Salazzle took off with surprising speed! Sure, the average Salazzle didn't grow big enough for a human to hop on, but if Lizzie's size was an indicator, there were ones big enough out there! "Andrea, you'd be surprised," Josh gently retorted with a smile. "Let me show you Blinky. Her species is typically smaller than Salazzle usually are."

From Josh's Poké Ball came a saddle-wearing Jolteon the racer was quick to pull himself onto. There wasn't a huge amount of room between the ground and the Gym Leader's feet, but there was enough for him to be comfortable. After all, with how lightning fast the species was, a brush with the ground could end up pulling a leg muscle on its own! "Admittedly, from what I understand, this is on the cusp of how big a Jolteon can get. But it should give you an idea! They're out there!"

Josh frowned upon being corrected. While Josh wasn't a dragon specialist like Andrea was, he should have been able to recognize the differences between males and females. "My bad. I'm sorry about that!" he apologized. "No wonder he's so well behaved! You're one brave trainer to be willing to raise such a challenging Pokémon so soon." His frown was erased upon recognizing Lizzie may have wanted to compete on the track rather than being a breeder's prized Pokémon. "See how much more she grows! If she's still got room to grow, then hop on when she's all grown up and give it a try! You might like it."

Josh nodded as Andrea came to the realization he did years ago. "Pokémon have individual ambitions and personalities, just like us! Admittedly, Blinky here did come from a breeder that bred her specifically for racing. She had to have four surgeries just to be able to battle, but she's now a mainstay of my Gym in the Doubles format." He had used a combination of Blinky and Illumina, his Lanturn, to acquire several Gym Badges in the region already.

It seemed the young Leader's advertising had worked! Perhaps Andrea would even join the racing circuit later this year. While Josh only entered the major races, it would still be fun! "I'd sign up as soon as you can while the wait is short. We're only booked out a week or two right now! Looking forward to it!" With that, he would help the dragon enthusiast sign up if need be. "Looking forward to the dragon race!"