Josh had been in a pickle trying to figure out how to accommodate Laurence Anderson ' Legendary Challenge since he opened the option. He would normally have little trouble with it, but the Council, particularly Elinor Anderson and PENELOPE LIVY , had slapped Josh with an embargo on taking Gym Challengers. Furthermore, Raikiri trusted no one at his reins other than Josh. Even if he did, the Zeraora was simply too fast. It wasn't the sustained speed that was the problem; the boosted speed, even as a passenger, caused even Shawn, Josh's second-in-command and top Gym Trainer, to violently vomit after just one QUICK ATTACK.

As it turned out, riding at the speed of a swirling tornado took not only intense training, but a certain threshold of natural strength, dexterity, and stamina. It took among the best reaction time in the world to control something so fast. Josh was the only one at his Gym who could do this. He, Laurence Anderson , and his Gym staff would have to do some serious (and illegal) improvisation. The Gym Leader wasn't worried about this, though. The two, along with several of Josh's long-term Gym staff, came up with a plan that would leave zero evidence of his wrongdoing.

First, Laurence Anderson had officially registered for a standard race challenge, not the Legendary Challenge, with a Pokémon he wouldn't be using in the real Gym Challenge. Second, he had requested the match be private; no live audience would be permitted to watch the race. Third, stage manager JAMIE STONE would induce a power overload shortly after the race began. Josh knew that as long as a challenge had at least the start of it recorded, the challenge would still be valid even in the event of a power failure; he would be putting SHAWN RICHARDS' name as the Gym Trainer overseeing the challenge. And technically, he was.

There would be no recording. No witnesses. No evidence.

The Gym Leader was at the front desk, Lars fully aware of the conspiracy and fraud that was taking place. "Good morning, Head Ranger!" Josh greeted him from behind the desk. "I have you all pulled up in our system. With your Badge count, you'll be racing on the Spiral. It's in the very southwest corner of Sector 6. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I am unable to take your challenge directly. You'll be racing against four of my finest Gym Trainers instead." The Head Ranger was likely fully aware of what those circumstances were, as he had access to the unredacted report detailing Josh's near-murder of Eris Halla . "It's in the far southwest corner of the property. From the main concourse, take two lefts, then a right, and it will be at the far end. I wish I could watch you, but I can't. Good luck!"

Provided he followed those directions, Lars would see SHAWN RICHARDS, ACE SHEEKE, ARAVAN ESCHER, and ERON IUNIS, riding a Hisuian Arcanine, Houndoom, Greninja, and Furret, respectively. All were larger than usual for their kind, but particularly the Greninja and Furret were. Eron in particular looked like he was nearly laying on the Normal-type's back to keep his feet off the ground. "Challenger Lars, is it?" the young, tall man waved from Braver's back. "I'm Shawn Richards, interim Mauville Gym Leader. I'll be overseeing your Gym Challenge today. I'm sure Josh explained all the rules to you before? If so, we'll get started."

Provided Lars had his Pokémon at the ready, the Arcanine's rider would go over the rules. "I am required to go over certain things, though, per IAPL regulations. See that monitor? It's going to count down 3, 2, 1, GO. On GO, the race begins. No Pokémon move that could be used to go faster, such as Quick Attack, can be used during the first lap. After that, they're fair game. Beat me to the finish line after three laps, finish in the top two, or otherwise show me your composure in making split-second decisions, and the Hoenn League Quick Badge is yours."

Once the five were lined up, three images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou at full gallop appeared on the banner monitor above the starting arch. Behind them was a "GET READY" prompt, Josh's Gym Trainers tensing their legs in anticipation. The first of the three images began to fade away, with it sounding a loud squawk as a simultaneous aural warning that the race was about to begin. A second, then a third followed. When the final image of Raikou disappeared, the prompt changed to a green "GO" alongside a longer and higher-pitched squawk. The four trainers spurred their Pokémon into a run.

Seconds later, everything went dark.

Josh abandoned his post as the Gym's office went dark, the computer monitor he was working at going blank. Sending out his Kantonian Arcanine, Braver, he leaped into the saddle and sprinted toward Lars.

"Sorry I'm late!" Josh cried, screaming toward Lars on Braver's back. "Stay near me!" He slid off his Arcanine's back, letting out a grunt and switching ride Pokémon to Raikiri, the Pokémon he would be using for the real challenge. Even Braver flinched, still not yet used to the mythical Pokémon that he could not match the pace of, even using Extreme Speed. "Now, TELEPORT!" The duo's vision disappeared into a white flash, the challengers and their Pokémon vanishing.

Their vision faded into an environment that was truly psychedelic. The WONDER ROOM, a vortex of light at one side, illuminated a geometric skyscape of reds, yellows, and greens. The checkered line beneath Josh and Lars was the only solid-looking ground beneath them. At least a mile beneath them were the peaks of Mount Pyre. Whether they were real or lllusionary was hard to determine. Expanding from both sides of the checkered flag was a geometric-looking road that gently and smoothly cycled among all seven colors of the rainbow, composed purely of LIGHT SCREEN being used by the myriad of wild ghost Pokémon present. A translucent barrier of NIGHT SHADE prevented racers from leaving the bounds of the course from above and both sides, as well. Josh reined Raikiri toward Lars and began explaining the challenge to him.

"Before you is Phantom Road, the most dangerous race course in all of Hoenn. Unlike every other course that follows a set path, the ghost Pokémon of Mount Pyre generate the course in real time, mid-race. Not even I know what the course will be like. I can't guarantee that the turns and obstacles on the course will fall within Federation safety standards, so you better be ready for anything."

With the course explanation out of the way, Josh went over the rules of the challenge. "Alright, Lars, if you've never raced a Pokémon before, here's how it will work. There will be a countdown of 3, 2, 1, GO. On GO, you and your ice phoenix better be ready to floor it. There are no restrictions on your use of moves such as Agility to go faster; use them as much as you think your Pokémon can handle. Your condition for earning the Hoenn League Quick Badge is simple: beat Raikiri and I to the finish line." If Lars was wearing the Vision goggles that Josh Dragomir had given him in August, he would be able to see the remaining distance he had to traverse to get to the end of the course. Unlike other courses, this one was designed with the full speed of a legendary Pokémon in mind. Once the two of them were ready, Josh reined Raikiri toward the starting line and waited for the countdown.

Even for him, this race was gonna hurt.

Please read the following directions carefully, even if you have participated in racing challenges before, as there are significant differences between standard race challenges and legendary race challenges.

You will have 10 ranks to distribute among three skills. No more than 6 ranks can be assigned to any one skill.

• SPEED: This represents how fast your Pokémon can travel. Each rank of Speed adds 10 to all your rolls, plus an additional 10 to rolls on Speed-based Obstacles.
  
• ENDURANCE: This represents how well a Pokémon can navigate difficult terrain, and affects how much stamina using your Pokémon's Boost consumes. Boost in the form of moves such as QUICK ATTACK and AGILITY may be used at any time, but mind your Pokémon's stamina! Each rank of Endurance reduces the Target Number of Endurance-based Obstacles by 20.
• REACTION: This represents a Pokémon’s cornering ability. Each rank of Reaction reduces the Target Number of Reaction-based Obstacles by 20.

In the OOC notes of your next post, please note your Pokémon's distribution of skills.

You do not need to roll after your next post, but you will need to [ roll ] twice at the end of every post mid-challenge. This roll will be modified according to your Pokémon's skill ranks.

Example: If a player rolls a 60 on a post involving running down a straightaway as fast as possible atop a Pokémon with four ranks in Speed, their effective roll will be 100.

The Leader's next post will include a "mod post" that depicts the course's first Obstacle: a prompt that presents a challenge for the racers to overcome. Each Obstacle will include the following information:

Target Number: This is the number the racers need to roll at or above to overcome the Obstacle without penalty. While it is uncommon, an Obstacle can have multiple Target Numbers.

Intended Skill: This is the Skill that will apply to the Obstacle. It can be Speed, Endurance, or Reaction.

Example Obstacle: The track starts out with a bang--a sharp, 135-degree left turn mere tens of meters from the starting line. The width of the turn itself makes recovering from a misjudged angle easier, but the track quickly narrows up again afterward. A guardrail on the outside keeps Pokémon from sliding off the course, but there is no such guardrail on the inside, and there’s a shallow stream that looks time-consuming for non-Water Pokémon to climb out of!

Target Number: 105 (Reaction)

After the players make their rolls, the Target Number is deducted from the player's roll, and the difference becomes the player's Track Points (TP) for the round. 100 TP corresponds to roughly one second of time differential. The race will consist of nine Obstacles. After the ninth Obstacle, total Track Points will determine finishing order.

"I remember how fast they were at Meteno," Josh recalled. "I couldn't imagine what you two went through. I never knew that the connection between you had been severed to that point. And don't forget; full power or no, I'd still love to go flying on them with you in a more controlled environment than a warzone. But that's a discussion for another time. You're right. Let's go." Josh was doing his best to hide his nerves. He still didn't know much about the Zeraora other than the extreme speed the electric-type was capable of. He had never been able to push Raikiri to the limits of his speed. Today about be a first.

The 64,000-PD question was whether the Master of Faster was truly ready to go faster than he ever had before when he had full control over his mount. Yes, Kyle's Raikou-familiar was faster than Raikiri, but not by much! Both of them would still be speeding across the ghostly road faster than any race car humans had ever devised. While there was also the PRESSURE of being in Articuno's presence, he had become more used to it from his experience with Raikou.

A trio of floating Rotom appeared on the starting arch, powering the illusion of a digital display not dissimilar to the one on the Gym Leader's official property. Three images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou, in a full sprint, appeared on the illusory screen. Behind them was a "GET READY" prompt. As the first of the three images began to fade, a loud squawk produced by one of the Rotom was an aural warning that the race was about to begin. A second, then a third followed, the images of Raikou disappearing in succession. After the final one vanished, the prompt changed to a green "GO" alongside a longer and higher-pitched noise.

Josh squeezed Raikiri's sides, the mythical Pokémon bolting across the line at a blistering rate of speed. "YAAAAAAAA!!" the shaken Gym Leader shouted, the acceleration rocking him like that of one of the Johto Beast. "Holy shit, you're fast!" If Lars knew Josh, he would know the polite and professional Gym Leader saved cursing for truly special occasions. The scene was truly psychedelic, swift ghost Pokémon leaving the racers several seconds to react to the curves of a track that the inhabitants of Mount Pyre were creating in real time.

You Got Boost Power! Speed-increasing moves, such as QUICK ATTACK, AGILITY, and EXTREME SPEED are allowed from the beginning of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE for the posting round when using them on Speed-based Obstacles, meaning you will [ roll ] four times instead of two for that post and ignore the lower set of rolls. Please separate the first two rolls from the second two rolls with a delimiter of some kind. There are no caps on the Leader's rolls.

Beware! Taking tight turns and stamina-draining Obstacles at high speeds can result in dire consequences, and may impose DISADVANTAGE on Endurance-based and Reaction-based Obstacles, meaning the lower of the two rolls will be taken. If the lower of the two rolls would still pass the Obstacle, Track Position for that Obstacle will be calculated based on the higher of the two rolls.

While frequency of using Boosts is not restricted, each Boost will consume Stamina from a Pokémon. The amount of Stamina consumed per Boost is 20%, minus 2% for every rank in Endurance the Pokémon possesses. Obstacles may also consume Stamina; see the Special section of each Obstacle for how it will change a Pokémon's Stamina based on the Total Roll. If a Pokémon goes below 0% Stamina, it will be eliminated from the race.

If you Mega Evolve or Terastallize your Pokémon to a Tera Type that shares a type with one of its Boost moves, your Pokémon will gain three temporary Ranks in stats distributed as you see fit. This will consume one Boost use worth of Stamina. This can cause a stat to exceed 6 ranks, but not exceed 7 ranks.

If you have a Z-Move that could be reasonably used as an extreme burst of speed, your Pokémon may use it once for the rest of the race. This will consume two Boost uses worth of Stamina. On the Obstacle the Z-Move is used on, you will NOT need to roll; your Pokémon's roll will be treated as an automatic 200.

Prompt: The first challenge the mountain's phantoms present is a spiraling left turn that gets increasingly tighter as it ascends, testing the strength and stamina of every team that braves it. Even if a Pokémon's turning is strong enough to take most of it it at full speed, the pressure it puts on the rider's left leg may make that infeasible. The very end of the turn requires a drift or substantial braking from even the most nimble Pokémon to avoid becoming a smear on the wall of souls protecting the racers from falling into Lake Pyre over a mile below!

Target Number: 160 (Endurance)

Special: A Pokémon that rolls beneath the Target Number loses 1% Stamina for every 5 points the Target Number is missed by as they scrape the outer wall from not being able to hold the long turn.

Raikiri's burst of speed off the line made Josh feel like he was being fired out of a cannon. He was the Master of Faster, but this was speed that rivaled even the gods. His experience with riding kyle lopez 's Raikou-familiar helped, but not as much as he'd like! Even the Zeraora's sustained speed was wild. The few times he had ridden the thundercat in a QUICK ATTACK before, they were all in a straight line. If Raikou was still out there, he just knew the Beast would test him by exposing him to all of his speed. One of his dreams since becoming a trainer was to race Raikou. This was, in theory, a warm-up for that... and it was already intense.

As the two reached the uphill curve, Josh reined the Zeraora to the left with a great deal of force. Possessing greater intelligence than most Pokémon, the mythical electric-type followed his rider's anticipated wishes rather than the exact commands he received from the reins. Those commands exceeded what the Gym Leader's strength could output. As he leaned into the turn, he felt increasingly like its force was going to snap his leg in two. "AAAAAAAAHHH!! I can't take it anymore - slow down!!" he cried, reining Raikiri back more as the turn got progressively tighter.

Perhaps the most unnerving part of the entire long, double-full-circle left turn was seeing the level beneath the racers fragmentize beneath them. If they were using it, seeing their RaiCorp Vision indicating their distance to the goal tick down every single frame, nearly as fast as the two decimals of their timers were counting up, had to be equally chilling. The strange dimension made it difficult to get a sense of speed otherwise, their only other reference point was the direction of the rainbow colors reversing. When they were at a standstill, the geometric road's colors were flying past them quite rapidly. Now, the riders' high rate of speed created the illusion that the cycle of colors had reversed.

As the turn got tighter, Laurence Anderson and his ARTICUNO banked at harsh angles that perhaps would have given even Alexei Ivanov pause. At the very peak of the turn, the Iceborne Mirage was nearly vertical, With a powerful thrust that could have threatened to unseat the Composed, the blue bird narrowly avoided a collision with the inside wall as the turn ended. Josh Devlin was not so lucky; despite his efforts to brake his ZERAORA, they had underestimated the sharp angle of the slope's end, sections of an invisible wall glowing a paranormal, ghastly purple as the electric Pokémon scraped against it. While the duo would eventually be able to recover, they would find themselves behind their challengers by a fair distance. The Gym Leader's right leg might not be in the greatest shape, either...

Prompt: After a steep downhill slope that forces Pokémon to their top speed and beyond, an equally steep uphill one, followed by a leap into a 90-degree right turn, forces Pokémon to keep their speed up despite the brutal hill preceding it. The jump is also semi-blind; while riders with extremely sharp vision can see through the floating course's path to see where the track ends, those not paying astute attention will find themselves at the mercy of a blind jump and turn requiring nearly superhuman reaction time! Two more long leaps into 90-degree left and right turns quickly follow, testing teams' consistency. Not even the bird Pokémon are safe merely flying over the gaps; with floating Dusknoir powering fields of high GRAVITY between them, even flying Pokémon will have to "jump" to make it across!

Target Number: 215 (Speed)

Special: Using Boost on this Obstacle will impose DISADVANTAGE as though it were not a Speed-based Obstacle. Pokémon also apply half their Endurance ranks and half their Reaction ranks (no rounding) to this Obstacle. A Pokémon that rolls beneath the Target Number by 30 or more also loses 10% Stamina and 30 additional TP from a high speed impact with a hidden, lower part of the track that is slower than the main route.

Josh could feel the skin of his cheeks rippling as Raikiri flew down the steep hill like a lightning strike. The Zeraora was competitive, too; he didn't want to lose to a god that wasn't the god of speed himself, Raikou. Despite their translucence, those walls of souls were solid as any physical barrier on the surface. He let out a hiss, feeling every bit of the scrape that made his right leg thump. Had it been just four months since he had the privilege of riding a legendary Pokémon? Racing the thundercat felt a lot like being on one of them, the speed just as merciless as it was then.

With the track being "drawn" in front of the racers in real time, Josh was discovering that the draw distance seemed to be based on absolute distance rather than speed. This meant that the faster he commanded Raikiri to run, the less time they would have to react to each turn as it came! Even before they reached the gaps in the course, Josh could feel his weight increasing from the fields of high GRAVITY, making his commands even more sluggish than normal. "BOUNCE, Raikiri!" he cried through the throbbing of his right leg, flicking his mount's reins with vigor. The electric mythical Pokémon leaped skyward, the very air surrounding him seemingly reaching for his four paws and attempting to pull him to the ground. What would happen if Raikiri fell short? Josh didn't want to think about it.

Laurence Anderson 's experience riding legendary Pokémon proved invaluable in withstanding the immense speed the short dive exposed him to, trust in his ARTICUNO complete, evidenced from his choice to hide his face within the arctic avian's feathers. Josh Devlin 's trust in his ZERAORA was likewise complete, electricity flying in all directions as they sped toward the fields of high GRAVITY.

Both Pokémon and riders felt their weight multiply as they soared above the void beneath, even the legendary ice bird not able to sustain flight above each. A screech and a loud purr followed each leap, rattling the Gym Leader's bones with every impact. The second leap was even harsher, Raikiri letting out a screech of his own from how much the preceding turn tore at his hard paws.

Flexing the muscles in their wings and limbs, the ARTICUNO and ZERAORA gained as much altitude as they could before tackling the longest of the three gaps. While Josh and his feline were able to clear the gaping hole in the course with little trouble, the Iceborne Mirage simply was not as agile as their rival, sinking beneath the course's top level just short. Their talons scraped a second rainbow track far below and invisible to Josh from his position on the upper part of the haunted trail. The ice-type possessed more than enough grit to recover their speed, though they were now trailing the Leader by about as much as they were leading coming up the spiraling turn.

Prompt: Not long after the upper and lower tracks merge do they split again, a median similar to the translucent walls marking course bounds vertically dividing the racers' path! While the curve itself was simple, a long right loop whose curvature varied in intensity, the two lanes were extremely narrow - just wide enough for both the Pokémon to stand alongside one another! Even the slightest errors would result in scrapes!

Target Number: 170 (Reaction)

Special: Pokémon that roll beneath the Target Number also lose 1% Stamina for every 2 points the Target Number is missed by.

Josh didn't even hear the scraping of the Mirage's talons against the lower section of the course; he was far too focused. With the track widening, the Gym Leader flexed his legs outward, ready to squeeze them into his Zeraora mount's sides for a dizzying Quick Attack. As soon as he saw the median, though, he backed off; those lanes were way too narrow to hurtle through them at speeds any higher than the borderline uncontrollable one they were clocking now!

Out of an abundance of caution, Josh tugged back on the thundercat's reins with both hands, choosing to take the lower fork. It was a path he doubted Articuno would want to take; the upper path had more airspace for the legendary to fly in. After another rattling purr, the feline's rider felt himself be flung forward from the brief but harsh skidding as they shed speed.

Josh Devlin 's instinct was right; the two had gone their own separate ways. Not having to deal with traffic was nice for both of them. It was far from a respite, though; the precision needed to maintain high speed on a narrow strip of track not much wider than the Pokémon themselves was inhuman. This course would never have received approval from the Hoenn Racing Federation due to unreasonable difficulty.

Both racers struggled with the narrow lane to varying degrees. What little that remained of Laurence Anderson 's supernatural bond with his ARTICUNO proved to be integral, their wingtip just barely nicking one of the ethereal walls extending upward from the rainbow-colored course beneath them. The Composed would be able to hear the sound of electricity flying from the ZERAORA's paws as well as catching a glimpse of feline and Gym Leader scraping the outside boundary quite harshly. By the time the two lanes rejoined into a much wider one, bird and cat were on top of one another, nearly tied as an arch flew past them, signaling the race was one-third complete.

NOTE: This checkpoint has more than one Target Number. Please indicate in your OOC notes which Target Number you are challenging.

Prompt: Shortly after passing the arch, the course splits in two once more. The inside fork is a straight shot through, perfect for going all-out with the fastest moves a Pokémon has. The outside line is dotted with gentle curves and is significantly longer, though a strip of its surface radiates a violet-pink INFINITY ENERGY. Pokémon can take a "pit stop" here to absorb this energy just by traveling in near proximity of the narrow strip.

Target Number 1: 0 (Speed)

Special 1: None

Target Number 2: 120 (Reaction)

Special 2: Pokémon that pass through this Obstacle will recover 25% of their Stamina gauge.

This race was too close, the Mirage flying almost on top of Raikiri. Josh could feel the Legendary bird's cold body from where he was at, and he imagined it was making Raikiri's muscles stiff, too. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief when their cautious foe began to drift to the outside. "How you feeling, Raikiri?" Josh asked his mount, though they understood each other so well by now that its aural form was almost a formality. With a loud, aggressive purr that reminded him of Raikou's, he knew the Zeraora was ready to take advantage of the opportunity the Composed gave him.

"Alright! Let's go!" Josh wheeled the thundercat to the inside line and buried his heels in the feline's flanks. "QUICK ATTACK, Raikiri!" With the dizzying speed to come also came the risk of physical, nausea-inducing stress on the Gym Leader's body. It was what made rare and even legendary Pokémon special; their physical capabilities were often beyond beyond what humans could endure. That was one of the things that made Avatars like Laurence Anderson special.

Electricity flying from the Zeraora's paws, the big cat lunged forward at speeds that made even Josh scream.

The approaches the two racers took couldn't have been more different. Laurence Anderson and his ARTICUNO, true to his title as an Avatar, took the longer but more reserved path, their bodies glowing with INFINITY ENERGY as they passed over the strip. It made the ice-type feel good as new, but how much time had their pit stop cost them?

Josh Devlin and his ZERAORA went all out, their QUICK ATTACK making it difficult for the Head Ranger to even see him until they had resumed a normal running pace. Though not a legendary itself, the electric-type had the speed of one. The pressure the dash put on the Gym Leader's body was great, showing the dangers of using a cocoon with a feline Pokémon. A wave of lightheadedness would was over him as the temporary speed boost peaked. With his condition deteriorating as much as it was, how long would he be able to hold onto this lead?

Prompt: After a generous straightaway to cool down, the phantom-generated course takes another twist that would have been impossible on the ground. The road beneath the Zeraora and Articuno took the form of a cylinder with its own GRAVITY fueled by the many ghost-type Pokémon surrounding the mountain's peak. Navigating its round outer side would require excellent footing for the electric-type, a spectacular sense of balance for the flying-type, and an iron stomach for the riders to avoid vomiting from the extreme disorientation. Furthermore, a wall of souls runs along the center of the skyward-facing face of the cylinder, making remaining upright impossible.

Target Number: 170 (Reaction)

Special: None