On Josh's count, both of the Talonflame were in the air, Suzaku screeching as she chased down Matchstick. The first few turns weren't anything special; a couple of steep banks would be needed to fly around them at speed, but it was nothing the bird couldn't handle. Lighting her wings on fire to imitate differential thrust helped, as well, provided it wasn't overdone. Differential thrust, when used improperly, could easily result in a spiraling dive even the strongest bird Pokémon would have trouble recovering from.

The first major obstacle was a half-pipe on the ground course, one that land Pokémon would have to race up the side of to navigate a U-turn. Aerial Pokémon would have to follow that same angle, ascending its near side at an almost vertical right angle before diving back down its far side. Josh let out a grunt as he reined Suzaku into a nearly vertical climb that started to make the even the Gym Leader dizzy.

Things went poorly. Fast. Matchstick, for better or worse, had not been in such a 'tough' position in the last few months. Thus, when push came to shove, the pokemon had to take things slow. Slower than it would've liked. As the mock half-pipe got close, the bird chose to take things normally. As a land pokemon might act, it took the sloped curve nice and even, a beautiful arc of perfection and practice. It raced back down as fast as it could comfortably. This ordinarily wouldn't have been a problem, as it raced through the colored flags, but this was a competiton. Thus, when Matchstick noticed Suzaku pull ahead by a very clear margin, it got upset. Pissed, to put it lightly.

"ccaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaWWWWWWWWWWWWWW--"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"

Together, the two tried to close the gap between the pair. Matchstick with its risky movement and hard turns, and June with her desperate attempts to steer the pokemon. In tandem, the two tried to match their movements together to perform a beautiful dance between the sideways checkpoints. Compared to the other racers, the two vaulted and jittered through the open air. Dancers with different rhythms in their heads. The Talonflame wanted to go as fast as humanely possible, and the delivery girl wanted nothing more than to not experience the same terrible and terrifying awful movement that she had when on that Cyclizar.

Even worse, the next 'rut in the road', to put it nicely, came up...

---

Josh Devlin

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At first, Josh had no idea how far ahead of june sleigh he was, though a screech from Matchstick and a scream from the Talonflame's rider tipped him off. He had a significant lead, but not an insurmountable one. Anything could still happen, though! A steep dive would cause the swift, fire-type birds to gain even more speed. There would be plenty of room to coast, but not so much that the teams could do more than catch their breath.

A downhill, C-shaped curve loomed ahead, giving the trainers atop the Talonflame plenty of time to analyze it and time their moves. That timing, and a skill that Talonflame weren't typically good at -- braking -- would be tested. "Careful, Suzaku!" Josh chided, pulling back on the orange bird's reins to slow her down some. He braced himself, ready for the sharp and rapid-fire curves to whip his body back and forth.

Absolutely wonderful. Ahead of the pair stood a great big... June had no idea what to call it. A curve? Another skateboard-like structure but in the air? Whatever the case, it looked terrible to navigate. At least, it would be a massive pain in the ass for Matchstick to navigate. From afar, the path ahead looked simple enough: slow down and then take a nice turn. However, the delivery girl remained strapped to the back of a bird that didn't quite understand the concept of 'slowing down'. 

There would need to be a better understanding between the two. Normally, June let the bird do whatever it needed in full trust that it had the ability to navigate the open skies or tricky situations. This time would be different. If they wanted to close the distance even further, there would need to be a compromise. Did the pokemon even grasp that yet?

She did the math quickly in her head and eye-balled just how much time they had. By her count... ten seconds. She would need ten seconds of control. If the bird could give up ten seconds of its preferred break-neck blitz, it could have the rest of it all. Tentatively, she pulled back on the bird. Careful not to tear it out from its natural form but forceful all the same.

Matchstick gave her a mean look from the corner of its eye. Confusion and doubt clouded its vision. However, it relented. Their speed dropped dramatically like they had hit a rough spot of counter-current. Much like the pair in front of them, they took the turn easily enough. As the seconds crawled by, almost to the mark, they crossed the near ninety-degree angle.

Then, the time sounded in both their heads. 

Matchstick took control back. On the downward spiral, the bird tucked its wings and plummeted straight down. June held on for dear life, unsure of what the creature wanted. Its focus remained straight ahead, but there was some crucial step missing. Gears turned in the delivery girl's head. A puzzle slowly put itself together, and there was naught but a single piece that remained to be put in. It slid into the picture--

Oh. The answer seemed obvious in hindsight. "Matchstick, use Brave Bird!"

Their free fall turned intended drop. Just in the nick of time, as flags blended in with the landscape around them. One after another, the two raced past their checkpoints like lightning. Any distance gained earlier by Josh got gobbled up as the pair behind progressively closed the distance. As this hurdle came to a close, another one would be right around the corner. The last one, June hoped. As long as they didn't fly into the sun like the legend of old, this could actually be a win for them. So, the two raced forward into...

---

13vvPzzt
Josh Devlin

june sleigh 's command to use BRAVE BIRD was a sign of at least one of two things: she was either reckless, or she had far more experience than she was letting on. There was still one more major obstacle before the finish line, and it would really put the two Talonflame to the test. The course's boundary flags turned vertical, meaning the course intended them to perform a large loop. The species was more than capable of maintaining inverted flight long enough to perform such a maneuver.

The two neck-and-neck, Josh pulled down sharply on the reins, raising the Talonflame's beak upward and sending them into a nearly vertical climb. The birds' blazing contrails wowed the class and even the Gym Trainers on the ground, the duo drawing fiery calligraphy high above the Gym in their loop high above the Gym. If June had never flown inverted before, it could have been jarring seeing the ground above her and the sky beneath her.

As Josh would come to learn, June's command showed that he was right on both accounts. This maneuver risked almost everything. Tight control and preparation of what was to come would determine just how well it would pay off. As they approached and started to climb the loop, it seemed as if June didn't give herself enough credit before. Ember-kissed feathers left a trail that rivaled the sun in sheer intensity whilst the two climbed higher and higher. The class below struggled to pay attention, students and teachers alike, while the sight unfolded. 

June held on tight and as close as possible to Matchstick, who focused entirely on the process involved with such a feat. Every single ounce of momentum would need to be preserved and utilized to its full potential in order to ensure the loop went smoothly. If it lost it, then the race stood as good as lost. Both riders pushed past the first quarter. It wouldn't be long before they reached the midway point.

Unfortunately, this marked the end of their chances. While the world inverted and the pair of Talonflame pushed through the top of the loop, a weird idea sprang forth through the delivery girl's head. They had just used Brave Bird to reclaim all the distance lost earlier. Why couldn't they... do it again?

"Matchstick, Brave Bird again!"

"Skreeeee?"

"I said, Brave bird--"

The pokemon relented. It did not truly think it was a good idea, but the instinct kicked in much like the previous time. There needed to be mutual trust between trainer and pokemon, an understanding that both were equals and possessed critical thinking skills. However, this would not be the case as the pair started their drop. 

Matchstick noticed the problem first. Their angle was too tight. Furthermore, while the loop was rather tall, it did not stand tall enough to afford such a dramatic speed boost when they did it. There wouldn't be enough time to reposition into a good place, and they were approaching the ground fast. While that should've been expected, there was no way in hell that they both made it to the flag and  didn't rocket into the ground at the speed of sound. 

June's world shifted radically and her stomach churned. "Wh-wait, what are you doing girl?! We're going to miss the-- wooooAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

They missed the checkpoint. Matchstick abandoned the Brave Bird and instead pulled out its wings. Frantic and powerful swings felt like they struck a solid brick wall as all their speed and momentum disappeared into the wind. Their descent slowed and slowed until they hovered between a pair of trees, their green leaves dotted with red and grey feathers. It looked like a massacre had occurred when quite the opposite did. 

June held on tight as the bird started to fly calmly to the finish line. Her vision swam and her body felt heavier than a sack of rocks. Shame and guilt hung heavy in her head as reality presented itself: her move had nearly got them killed. What the fuck did she think would happen? How did she think that would go? So stupid! Now wasn't the time for this self-doubt, though. The Talonflame had wasted no time in the short and quick trip over, and soon enough they were back right next to Josh. 

"Good race..." she muttered. Her chipper attitude had disappeared, replaced with a shy and meek trainer with less confidence than those that had signed up for the class not even an hour ago. Her knuckles turned white against the muscled wings she clutched, and she looked firmly down at her saddle. Even worse, Matchstick looked annoyed. Or relieved. Or stressed? There stood no surefire way to tell. Birds can only be so expressive.

---

Josh Devlin

Whether for better or for worse, Josh was completely unaware of Matchstick's belligerence. Her scream seemed typical of those pushing their Pokémon to their limits during the end of their first few races. It was not until after crossing the finish line and turning around to watch the other Talonflame do so that he noticed the mess of red, orange, and grey feathers from what appeared to be emergency braking. The look on June's face was all Josh needed to see.

"You've got good fundamentals," Josh complimented. "You definitely have a good grasp on everything I would have taught you alongside the rest of today's class." With a deep breath, he continued on. "I do have one recommendation for you. I think you're trying to bite off a bit more than you can chew. Talonflame are really fast, and Brave Bird is a really intense boost. I would say the best way you could improve as a rider would be to practice flying around on Matchstick at high sustained speeds. Once you have a good grasp on that, try Quick Attack instead of Brave Bird. It's a lot more manageable."

"But I--"

"Keee-aarrrrrrr!" Matchstick called out. Its head cranked ninety degrees to the side in order to stare down its trainer, annoyance now clear on its face. June closed her mouth immediately and stared off to the side. "Ok. Yea. I'm sorry."

The bird continued its death stare for a few more seconds before it returned its attention to Josh. It nodded its head vigorously at the trainer in June's stead and let out a few friendly chirps. It seemed like this sort of thing wasn't exactly uncommon between the two, a practiced song and dance instead of a one-and-done lesson to be learned from. Unfortunately, there still stood much ground and progress to be gained about the idea of risk management with the delivery girl. How many more times would this happen?

Whatever the case, the Talonflame seemed to be done with both the conversation and the race. With a defeat under its wings, it slowly turned around and started to fly away. More flying needed to be done before it would be content with its time here. June, meanwhile, tried to turn back towards Josh. "Next time, we're gonna come back and be even faster! I don't need anything but Brave Bird!"

Despite her almost purposefully ignoring Josh's advice, her glum attitude had vanished. With closed eyes and a bright, warm smile, she waved as they flew off. There would be a next time if only for Matchstick's sake. She would prove that she didn't need to slow down or play it safe with a move like Quick Attack. Even if she fell another nine times, she'd get back up ten times in response.

But those were thoughts, and thoughts were meaningless without action. Thus, she took hold of the reins and started to guide her Talonflame away from the course to a relatively open sky. Time to practice until the sun set on this day. Or they got hungry. Whichever came first.

---

Josh Devlin