Now that was a face Josh wasn't expecting to see; he had only had @milo 's name. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Now he knew why. This was the same Milo, better known as the Drift King, that had nearly taken Twilight away from him at Chimney Canyon. "So it... it really is you," Josh slowly greeted the racer dressed in black and grey. He was dressed in racing gear of his own; vibrant yellows and purples, the same color scheme as the legendary Pokémon he idolized. "I never thought I'd see you again after I brought you in for arrest. I'm glad to see you turn a new leaf, Milo. Has it been a whole year already?"

The Liepard mount was tall, exceed the size of Luna, Josh's own Liepard. The extreme size could possibly have been the largest of its kind in all of Hoenn. "As you can see, I've got an entire pride of Pyroar now, all ready for the circuit. Except Aslan here; he suffered some pretty serious injuries months ago and I'm only just now getting him ready to race again." The shiny Pyroar raised a paw to greet Milo and his Liepard that looked impatient and ready to run; Craggro the Arcanine looked much less so. "These four, which you might not recognize, are Simba, Kovu, Nala, and Rani. They're the pride of my Gym."

Josh accepted the handshake, happy to see Milo seemingly turn over a new leaf. "Long as you've learned your lesson and use your racing talent for good instead of evil, I'd be happy to help you with what it is you need!" A barrel of positivity Josh was... to everyone except himself. He put immense pressure to make as many people happy as possible, even at his own expense. What tremendous mental fortitude such a stressful point of view required to maintain. If he ever snapped under the pressure, though, nothing good would come out of it. If the Eris debacle showed what happened when Josh snapped... he didn't want to think about it anymore. He was still living with the consequences of that decision, and of his intense pursuit of Raikou. While he no longer loved Raikou above all else, it was still high on his list.

"You didn't see the League logo on the signs outside? Mauville Racing Grounds is also Mauville City Gym. I'm the Leader here. Name's Josh Devlin if you don't remember me!" he introduced himself with a beaming expression on his face. "Your Liepard looks just as fast as before! I still vividly remember racing them with my Absol. Thought I was gonna lose her forever! But that's a thing of the past. Now, ready to go for a ride around the course? I want to help Aslan and the rest of my pride get their skills up to snuff, especially Aslan." The purring of the five lions was quite loud, perhaps even unintentionally intimidating. The species was a dangerous one, mounts that could tear their prey to shreds in seconds, and were fast enough for very few Pokémon to reliably flee them. Josh's lions in particular were so fast that they could not go full speed on the highway with breaking the speed limit there.

The Drift King had indeed turned a new leaf, prompting Josh to smile toward him. This was exactly the kind of talent Josh wanted to see when he let the now-reformed criminal off easy. It was living proof that even hard hearts can be convinced to cease their evil ways. Well, most anyway. There were some within Rocket that wouldn't give up their positions of power over their frozen corpses. Cillian Quinn came to mind.

"I got one better for you. I'll initiate the starting sequence I use for the Gym challenge," Josh replied with a smirk as he saw Milo ride his Liepard bareback. What thigh strength and sheer bravery it took to do so; that purple cat's back might start flexing hard when they got going. Even with the saddles designed to reduce the impact of the flexing backs of the Pyroar, it was still bouncier than sitting astride an Arcanine or Rapidash.

Once the racers and Pokémon 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 and his 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. Josh squeezed Aslan's sides, the lions and their riders shooting down the opening stretch. Rani and Craggro were the only two whose saddles remained empty.

UNDULATION, as its name suggested, was a course filled with troughs and peaks so harsh that one could not see over the top of them easily until passing them up. One moment, riders would feel their own weight pushing them into their Pokémon; the next, they would feel their own weight leaving them as their mounts raced downhill. Balance would be a big issue...

As Craggro and the felines shot forward off the starting line, the reason for the course's name would become apparent. One moment, the riders would feel their weight being pushed into their Pokémon's saddles, or into the Liepard's fur in Milo's case; the next, they could feel their own weight leaving them as their mounts raced back downhill. Keeping balance would be difficult, particularly as the cats got faster and faster. Pyroar and Liepard both had amazing speed. If Craggro were at full strength, he might have been able to get way ahead of them, but not with his rotund, overweight body holding him back.

After four rounds of up-and-down came a 90-degree left turn with a ramp-like mound on the left side. Pokémon confident in their jumping ability might consider using the ramp to cut the corner, saving a big chunk of time if they could land back on the course. Not wanting to strain Aslan more than he needed, especially with the lion's reduced speed since Meteno, Josh opted to swing wide, sliding around the corner tightly and taking advantage of his mount's decreased top speed in a clever way.

Josh and his lion soared thanks to a big jump off the ramp, cutting a corner and landing to be neck and neck with Milo and his Liepard. "Your skills are still sharp, too," Josh called back out to him while they could still hear one another. Once their big cats started running close to their top speeds, they wouldn't be able to. He was too focused on the course ahead to notice the impressive U-TURN - only the result of it.

A long, mostly straight part of the course was a great spot for the Liepard to catch up and possibly pass Aslan, whose speed would never be what it once was. The roughest part of the entire course was coming up: a section of deep, mogul-like terrain that would put the felines' footing to the ultimate test. With every footstep, the cats' backs would be at a different angle, perhaps making it difficult for the riders to hold on, too. Josh's knuckles turned white as he set Aslan's reins down, moving his hands to the end of the saddle and holding on with all his might.

As much as Josh loved riding Aslan or any of his lions, it was one rough and tumble ride even with the saddle designed to reduce the shock of their flexing backs. Shooting through the uneven terrain so quickly felt like he was being hurled about the bounciest fun house in the world. His arms were starting to stiffen in soreness from keeping his balance; a fall from the Pyroar would be a painful one.

Once the bumpy terrain was behind them, Josh relaxed his arms, grabbed the reins again, and spurred the lion into a sprint. Glancing back, he saw that Milo and the Liepard were slowly gaining on him. They would long run out of real estate as they both crossed the finish line fairly close to one another, smoking the rest of the Gym Trainers, particularly the one aboard Craggro. The smile on Milo's face showed that he had indeed changed for the better.

"I could tell you gave it your all out there," Josh said, still catching his breath some after the rough home stretch. "You're just as sharp as you were when we met a year ago. That was a wonderful race." His head tilted toward the sky before returning to make eye contact with the Liepard's rider ones more, the feline's impressive height letting them easily look eye to eye. "I have a Liepard of my own now. Her name's Luna. I should show her to you sometime."