Josh's smile grew, seeing how they could help each other become better adventurers. "Might not be a bad idea to do some cross-training together. Since we've met, you've become a much better rider. Your form is really good. You're probably just not used to going so fast. That's something I can help fix, though!" he suggested. "Once I've got all this... stuff.. behind me, what say you?"

Regardless of the answer, Josh would withdraw his Pokémon at the course's entrance; Pokémon were not allowed to help with it at all. There were three options: the "A" course, the "B" course, and the "C" course, each of which were of differing lengths, difficulties, and prices. He relied on his Pokémon and lower body strength to get him through these types of challenges, so he didn't think the "A" course was a good idea. "I vote for the 'B' course - it's right in the middle difficulty-wise. What say you?"

"You think so? Thanks, man. I just learned by copying you. Best way to learn is to replicate a master. Then, you learn why they do things the way they do. Then, you think on how to improve it." Howard held up a finger and smiled. "That is what separates the adept from the inept, methinks."

Methinks? Who said 'methinks'? Howard cringed internally. That was something that only showed up in those old-school fantasy novels you said in high school. Each time Howard said the word, he could feel his soul growing older and more archaic.

"I'm not opposed. Practice makes perfect, and it'd make traveling easier." Howard agreed as Josh suggested their course. B was a perfectly acceptable course, as it was designed for people who were relatively fit and used to courses like it. It'd make a decent challenge for the two reasonably fit trainers, but wouldn't leave them on the verge of collapse by the end of it.

Howard's eyes wandered towards the 'C' course. There had once been a 'D' course, which required a signature on a waiver and had allegedly killed someone. From what Howard guessed, it had simply been too hard to complete, and had been broken up and incorporated into 'A' and 'C'. Howard's eyes returned to 'B'. Lots of running, sliding, and the like. It wasn't as balanced as 'C', but it wasn't as easy as A. Decent compromise, given Josh's skillset.

"Sure!" Howard waved over and paid his share in tokens, before taking a knee and retying all his laces. Sometimes, these courses would provide their own clothing articles, but Howard preferred his own.

---

Josh Devlin

Both of them took the starting line, competing head-to-head on the mid-difficulty course. Josh's lower body strength gave him an edge early on, running through the tire grid like it was nothing. Crawling through the tight spaces that followed was little trouble for him; perhaps he was the Master of Faster both in the saddle and on foot? Craggro barked from the sidelines, cheering his trainer on.

All that would change when the cargo net loomed ahead, the Gym Leader bleeding time due to lacking the upper body strength needed to climb it quickly. It would give Howard ample time to catch up; there was more than one occasion where he had to move back a step to maintain his balance before continuing upward. At the top of the cargo net, short zip lines awaited to get them back to the surface level, knotted rope all they had to get over a pair of walls roughly their own height.

There was a reason they called Josh the Master of Faster; he didn't skip leg day.

Given the amount of technical skill required to mount a Pokemon, especially the minor adjustments in the leg area, Howard wasn't surprised that Josh was faster than him in a sprint. Howard was an endurance runner, and he suspected that in a long run, he and Josh would last a similar amount of time. In a race? Josh could clear him every time. Howard only ran fast when the adrenaline kicked in.

That only happened when he was running from a boulder. Josh was not a boulder.

Cargo nets, however, were a different story. Climbing was far easier than running. Years of meticulous work of hewing fossils from stone had given Howard a surprising amount of upper body strength. He was muscular, but lean. Most field researchers were. You didn't get out onto the field if you were afraid of getting sweaty.

"Pump those arms, Devlin! It's like throwing a baseball! Pretend it's Castelia!" Howard shouted down at Josh as he climbed up. He had a momentary advantage, and it was best not to waste it.

"Hup!" Howard flew from the zipline, they were short, which defeated the purpose when you could touch the ground long before you reached the end of the zipline, but whatever. "Ropes..." Howard breathed as he popped his knuckles. Allowing himself a moment, Howard took half of a second to glimpse at Josh.

---

Josh Devlin

Howard would find Josh quite far back, still climbing the cargo net by the time he got to the end of the zip line. The lead was simply too big to overcome. Once the Gym Leader had reached the two walls, it was already over. With Josh the loser of their competition, he took a moment to catch his breath and let his upper body recover some strength before flinging himself at the walls. While he was able to get over the first one with little trouble, his arm muscles started to burn pulling himself over the second.

Stumbling across the finish line, Josh glanced at his time; he didn't come close to making it on the leaderboard. "Phew!" he huffed. "Maybe athletics of some kind would have been a better field to go into. You're strong!" Everyone was strong in their own ways, though; in this particular course, upper body strength was more important than lower body strength. When seated on a giant feline accelerating through the grasslands at several strides per second, lower body strength was a godsend. The duo would go on to partake of some less physically demanding attractions before going their separate ways, Craggro on the verge of falling over and taking a nap.