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6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 4, 2023 2:14:06 GMT

As Josh reined Braver around the corner with great strength, he glanced at the timer in the upper-right corner of his vision. It was apparent that he was on course record pace, he and his Arcanine riding as one the entire time. This race was no longer about merely winning or losing. Claiming a course record during a Gym Challenge would be the ultimate showing of his consistency and superiority as a Pokémon racer. With how far he was in front of the rest of the field, the last lap effectively became a time trial.

"We're going for it. That record's ours. EXTREME SPEED, Braver!" Josh commanded. As the Gym Leader dug into the Arcanine's flanks, the orange and black striped dog's four legs disappeared into one continuous blur. The forthcoming leap over the long gap down to the starting arch would surely be breathtaking to watch.

EXTREME SPEED is used.

NVjat0B1||

Taking full advantage of the long straightaway, all five Pokémon put on their greatest bursts of speed: ARAVAN ESCHER's VAPOREON and ERON IUNIS' LUXRAY with QUICK ATTACK chains, absalom steel 's HISUIAN ZOROARK with AGILITY, and finally, Josh Devlin 's and ACE SHEEKE's two ARCANINE with bursts of EXTREME SPEED the species was known for. The barriers on the course's inside were all that kept a layer of grass on the opposite side from being uprooted in the wake of the disturbed air. For those not used to the rapid running strokes the speedy Pokémon moves bestowed, merely holding on, let alone trying to make moves on their fellow competitors, was an adjustment.

The long-tailed, aquatic Eeveelution's QUICK ATTACK ran out before ARAVAN ESCHER anticipated it would, causing them to nearly fall short on the long leap. The Vaporeon's rear legs tripped on the edge of a sand pit marking out-of-bounds, causing it to stumble and lose valuable time getting back up to speed. While the Gym Leader continued to hold his commanding lead, absalom steel 's HISUIAN ZOROARK was determined to make this one close. Nailing the landing, the ghost-type carried all its speed through the final leap, howling past the electric cat. They were almost neck-and-neck with the hulking, Rock-type dog whose legs became visible again just in time for the white flag to wave.

INSTRUCTIONS

The fans cheered loudly as the white flag waved to the side of the starting arch; it was the last time around the track! For the final lap of the race, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 170, before modifiers are applied.

FINAL LAP | OBSTACLE 1

Prompt: The course's three opening U-turns approached for the final time. By now, racers likely had a better feel for how to approach the rapid-fire curves at high speed, perhaps even willing to drift around them when they didn't on pervious laps. There was nothing to take the field by surprise any longer; it was all a matter of execution.

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: Using BOOST POWER on this Obstacle will change the Intended Skill to Endurance from Reaction. Any TP lost as a result of a total roll that is more than 25 beneath the Target Number is doubled from the Pokémon needing to climb out of the water.

absalom steel

···

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

axel

he/him/his

february 3rd

malie city

asexual

trainer

senior ranger

5’2” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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260 posts

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TAG WITH @absalom

POSTED ON Jul 8, 2023 17:32:48 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","blbqimg4"]

[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

[attr="class","setting"]

He had to hold on tightly as Mirage shot forward using agility. Even with the increase in speed he watched what was going on around him. So he was able to see who didn’t do to well when it came to the speed boost. Aravan almost didn’t make the second leap and it was luck that Mirage had gathered enough speed to land past the aquatic Pokémon.
[break][break]
The boost in speed had moved them up in the race and had gotten his blood pumping. With the adrenaline pumping through his veins he almost gave the order to use agility again. But he restrained himself. There was a time and place for everything. He needed to figure out the best course of action before doing anything.
[break][break]
And not get ahead of himself. Even if he wanted to do everything he could to try and catch up to the gym leader. It wouldn’t be worth it if the boost in speed caused them to wipe out. Then they would only end up further behind.[break] Josh Devlin
[break][break]
GuKIlYxB

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + [break][break] Speed: S [break] Endurance: C [break] Reaction: D

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
DRAGONITE

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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[newclass=.blbqimg4 .header]text-align:left;[/newclass]·

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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7,164 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 11, 2023 3:00:43 GMT

The white flag waved with the Gym Leader in a commanding position. Of course, all it took to ruin his record attempt would be one misjudged curve. His RaiCorp Vision showed his first two lap times in the upper right corner of the display, and one other thing Josh was incredibly sharp at was math. He wanted to know if he had enough leeway to be able to put on the brakes through the nasty chicane on the backstretch and still get the record.

Before Josh could finish those calculations, the course's sweeping curves flew at him, forcing his full attention back to the race at hand. He did his best to commit the first half of his calculations to memory. The long and sharp right, left, and right U-turns were taking a toll on Braver, but more so on the Gym Leader. It was a stark reminder of why Pokémon racers were athletes. Leaning one's body into turns and withstanding the incredibly fast, often jarring running, swimming, and even flying strokes of Pokémon required great lower body strength. Deep down, he hoped Absalom was in second place. He didn't want to deny the young man a Badge for his heroic efforts, but with such a commanding lead, the challenger's only option was to pass the Hisuian Arcanine in front of him and hold that lead.

Pokémon racing really was a brutal sport, wasn't it?

bw9|PHmF

absalom steel 's hesitance to avoid ordering a burst of AGILITY from his Pokémon proved to be a prudent decision. After two grueling laps, all five Pokémon in the race were beginning to show signs of weariness. Just as a vehicle's engine could only take so much power before overheating, the muscles of Pokémon on the race track could only go all-out for so long. All five teams realized that, saving their partners' energy presumably for the final seconds of the race.

The way the five racers navigated the sweeping turns was for the most part unremarkable, with exception of the Gym Leader, Josh Devlin . He and his ARCANINE shared a fire in their eyes, cognizant that they had a shot of breaking their own course record. Being over three seconds behind, it was improbably ERON IUNIS and his LUXRAY would catch up.

All eyes were on the competitors taking the turns three-wide: absalom steel and his HISUIAN ZOROARK, ACE SHEEKE and his HISUIAN ARCANINE, and ARAVAN ESCHER and his VAPOREON. A lead change occurred among the three with every single turn. While there was a clear second, third, and fourth among them, it was so close that the race was going to come down to the disgusting S-curve on the backstretch. Whoever made it through that unscathed would be in great shape to be the race's runner-up!

FINAL LAP | OBSTACLE 2

Prompt: The only true obstacle remaining between teams and the finish line was the track's at this point brutally familiar S-curve on the backstretch. Having an idea for how to time commands to turn would not making the tight timing needed to properly execute them any easier. Compounding the difficulty of the turn itself was the mounting pressure that if a Pokémon made a mistake and wiped out on the whiplash-inducing curve, the end of the race was so close that there was not enough real estate remaining to make a recovery! It was the Drift Highway's great equalizer; no lead was safe!

Target Number: 135 (Reaction)

Special: None

absalom steel

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

axel

he/him/his

february 3rd

malie city

asexual

trainer

senior ranger

5’2” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

260 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @absalom

POSTED ON Jul 14, 2023 14:20:10 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","blbqimg4"]

[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

[attr="class","setting"]

He knew Mirage was getting tired. Even if they didn’t end up getting a badge he would still praise the fox pokemon. He in no way was giving up. He was just being realistic. The race looked like it would be close for now. And he felt the only way he could accomplish anything was ending up in second. There was too much of a lead between him and the gym leader.
[break][break]
The others hadn’t had problems using their speed boost on Laos that he had been skeptical about. Though his main concern had been Mirage accidentally getting hurt. If they hadn’t been a reason he wouldn’t been more than happy to take the risk. He could be quite reckless after all. But never at the expense of his own Pokémon.
[break][break]
As the next lap came up he would narrow his eyes. Now this was where he figured the race was the most crucial. He needed to focus. Now he was in forth place but he was real close to the other racers. If he could just past them and keep a steady second place he would be good.
[break][break]
But he knew that there was a chance that wouldn’t happen. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t go down without a fight though.
[break][break]
LXq6vZYp

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + [break][break] Speed: S [break] Endurance: C [break] Reaction: D

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
DRAGONITE

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,164 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 19, 2023 3:25:39 GMT

One eye drifted toward the race timer in the upper right corner of the Gym Leader's Vision while the other kept an eye on the road, both his arms tensed. While Josh did loose the hold on Braver's sides somewhat, he didn't slow down quite as much as he did on the previous two laps. He knew that if he wanted to break his own course record, it was going to be tight. Tenths mattered.

If he could just get through this one turn, it would be down to fundamentals of the last right-angle turn... and pure speed. Speed his Arcanine was known for even among his kind. There was a reason he used Braver to prepare for his pursuit of Raikou months ago. He was still hopeful that day would come, though he knew he had to keep expectations in check. Perhaps rumors of Raikou's death were greatly exaggerated. Raikou, after all, was a god. The domains of the god of speed were limited compared to many of Hoenn's Pokémon that chose Avatars.

Determination and fire in the Gym Leader's eyes, he waited until the last possible moment before grunting loudly, pulling back with his left arm sharply and putting great pressure on the big dog's left halter. A split second later, he mirrored the motion, switching the force to Braver's right side. If his timing was right, the course record was his. If not, he might slip back as far as fourth place!

gIg5OG3t

absalom steel assessed his Pokémon's endurance well. It wasn't just his HISUIAN ZOROARK that was tiring; the entire field was. Even Josh Devlin and his ARCANINE were pushing their limits in pursuit of a new course record. There was still one brutal turn separating the field from the finish line, the entire field wisely pushing their claws and paws into the ground to brake in preparation for.

absalom steel 's conservative approach took advantage of the one edge his HISUIAN ZOROARK had over the Gym Leader's and ACE SHEEKE's two ARCANINE: grip. The ghost-type's claws made the challenger's partner a bit more adept at not only making quicker turns, but remaining stable through those turns. There was still a clear skill gap between he and the redhead, but nothing raw aptitude couldn't overcome. His exit from the chicane was sublime, passing the HISUIAN ARCANINE going into the home stretch.

While there was, at this point, little hope to catch the Gym Leader, the Badge would be unconditionally Absalom's if his lead through the final stretch could hold! All he had to do was hold off the rock-type. The final turns from ERON IUNIS, ARAVAN ESCHER, and their LUXRAY and VAPOREON, while far from poorly executed, simply did not match the sublime lines the frontrunners took. As long as the challenger maintained a strong pace on the home stretch, he would secure a podium spot!

FINAL LAP | OBSTACLE 3

Prompt: The home stretch was all that remained, an official standing near the starting arch and waving the checkered flag. There was little risk of an accident on this straight sprint to the finish! Now was the best opportunity for the five Pokémon to give it everything they had!
Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

absalom steel

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played by

lumity/jayfeather

axel

he/him/his

february 3rd

malie city

asexual

trainer

senior ranger

5’2” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

260 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @absalom

POSTED ON Jul 23, 2023 5:13:41 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","blbqimg4"]

[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

[attr="class","setting"]

Luckily it seemed that taking things easy was paying off. Now the question was if it would continue to do so. As far as he could tell he was in second place. But he knew that it was a place he could easily lose. He would have to give everything he had to ensure he kept his position. But with how Mirage was tiring he worried the dual type would give out on stamina too early. Something the teen didn’t want to happen.
[break][break]
Once he was sure he was in a spot he could go out he would meet the gaze of the fox Pokémon. He could tell that he was on the same page as the dual type. And from the look in his eyes he could tell that the dual type to wanted to go all out. That he didn’t want to go down without a fight.
[break][break]
Well if Mirage felt the same way who was he to say no. Taking a deep breath he gave the order. ”Mirage, use agility.”
[break][break]
Having his order the fox Pokémon increased his speed with the move agility. He hoped it would be enough to maintain second place.[break] Josh Devlin
[break][break]
NSgwivoF//

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + [break][break] speed: S [break] endurance: C [break] reaction: D

[attr="class","pokeclass"]
DRAGONITE

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,164 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 26, 2023 4:45:21 GMT

With the course's final curve behind him, having not suffered a scratch or much loss of speed surrounding it, there was only one thing left to do. It may have been stressful to Braver, borderline cruel even, but only one thing mattered to the Master of Faster in the moment. He was seconds away from potentially breaking his own course record in a Gym Challenge against one of his friends.

"Braver, use EXTREME SPEED!" Josh commanded, digging his heels into the giant dog's flanks. With a howl, all four of the fire-type's legs disappeared into one continuous blur, the Arcanine sprinting forward at the sustained speed of the legendary Pokémon he idolized. Perhaps he would one day get to experience that face-melting speed on command, rather than only through the Top Champion kyle lopez . For now, though, he would have to settle with being able to experience the speed of a Raikou for seconds at a time, as long as his Arcanine's EXTREME SPEED lasted. He was fully aware of how much stress he was putting on the Arcanine's body; he was pushing his mount even more than normal in the final seconds of a race. That did not matter to him.

He was hellbent on breaking his own course record.

EXTREME SPEED is used.

XETa5Mz0||

While many of the Devlin fans in the crowd were excited to see the Gym Leader make a bid at his own course record, the true excitement was the battle for second. No one was truly out of it. Loud cheering erupted from the stands as all kinds of speed-enhancing moves were loosed from the competitors' legs. AGILITY from absalom steel 's HISUIAN ZOROARK let him pull away from ACE SHEEKE's HISUIAN ARCANINE as it got up to EXTREME SPEED. The ghost-type reached its peak speed faster, but the rocky dog's peak speed was higher. There was no telling who would win.

Even in the back, the race was competitive, ERON IUNIS' LUXRAY lunging toward the battling Pokémon, letting the momentum of its QUICK ATTACK carry the white-haired racer over the long jump and not far behind the challenger. Even ARAVAN ESCHER's VAPOREON had quite the speedy QUICK ATTACK, maintaining pace with the electric-type. Though both nailed the landing, the VAPOREON's paws were less able to absorb the shock of landing, sapping it of critical speed needed to catch the feline it was chasing down. Eron's fourth-place finish was one he was satisfied with, given the competition.

The HISUIAN ARCANINE was gaining on the challenger fast, forcing absalom steel to give it everything he had. He coaxed just enough speed out of his HISUIAN ZOROARK to hold Ace off, securing the challenger a second-place finish.

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-gamecube-gcn/f-zero-gx/228%20-%20Hurrah%20for%20the%20Champion%20%28Winning%20Run%29.mp3[/player]

NEW THEME SONG! Hurrah for the Champion - F-ZERO GX ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Josh basked in the glory of his achievement, "IMPRESSIVE! NEW RECORD!" flashing next to his finishing time, and Absalom may have been doing so in the glory of securing a tightly-contested runner-up position.

"You've more than shown me that you and your Zoroark truly are connected as one," the Gym Leader complimented as he reached into his pocket for one of Mauville's Gym Badges. "You made sound decisions with little time to think about them, have shown you can put complete trust in your partner, and most importantly, to remain calm in even the toughest situations. Those are all skills that will see you far in the Pokémon League."

Presenting a closed fist to the challenger, within was the prize Absalom had earned. "Take it. For finishing second place, you've earned it." He opened the closed fist in front of him, revealing his Gym Badge to be snapped into his friend's Badge case. "This is the official Hoenn League Quick Badge. You and your Zoroark shall be enshrined in the Gym's list of Qualified Riders as champions." Once the award ceremony was over, he would lead his friend back to the lobby. "You'll have to show me where you got one of those Zoroark, too. I'd love to hop on one of those!"

absalom steel

···

close tab

played by

lumity/jayfeather

axel

he/him/his

february 3rd

malie city

asexual

trainer

senior ranger

5’2” height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

260 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @absalom