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"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Sept 22, 2023 5:34:57 GMT

Slowing a speeding Sharpedo was tricky. Pulling back on the fin would cause Snacker to jump out of the water with how fast he was going. With a deep breath, the Gym Leader loosed his hold on the menacing sea creature's sides as much as he could while still retaining the ability to hold on. The jet coming from the valve on Snacker's rear end stopped completely, the water-type cruising on momentum alone and letting the friction of the water slow the two down.

When the curves came, Josh pushed hard on one side of his mount's fin, then the other. The two were nearly swimming sideways, Snacker banking like an airplane in a steep turn as he rounded the dead-man's-curves. It was disorienting even for the Gym Leader. While he expected the competition around him, especially Eron and his Kingdra, to shoot ahead, there was a long home stretch where Snacker could go all out. He just had to remain patient and execute a solid run to maintain his position.

TARGET NUMBER 2 IS SELECTED.

iEpIS9E0

The gallery roared at Tempest Quinn 's MEGA BRACELET glowing, his already-rugged SHARPEDO kicking up a wild wake barreling down the straightaway post-MEGA EVOLUTION. The shark was faster, meaner, and could turn tighter. The challenger's grip would be put to the ultimate test, the force put on his lower body threatening to hurl him off at any moment. His efforts would be rewarded, rapidly closing the gap between himself and the Pokémon in front of him.

Much of the rest of the field had to slam on the brakes just to avoid scraping fins or scales against the meandering riverbank. The more nimble swimmers in the field, ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGONAIR and ERON IUNIS' KINGDRA, took advantage of their extreme aquatic agility, though the severity of the turns left their lower bodies with soreness they would need to endure for one last lap. Exiting the second U-turn riding the high of MEGA EVOLUTION, the blistering fast shark forced ACE SHEEKE's DEWGONG and Josh Devlin 's SHARPEDO to be acutely aware of their surroundings. The ice-type in particular looked ready to yield to the charging predator at any moment.

Down the long home stretched the five Pokémon swam, a white flag waving above the starting arch as an announcer's sound clip blared out of nearby loudspeakers:

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1125505812761161949/1154294701692821544/Final_Lap.mp3[/player]

"YEAH! THE FINAL LAP!"

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: If trying to navigate through the rough surf from the second lap wasn't stressful enough, the curve after it was! After a substantial descent that would raise the speed of every Pokémon left in the race, competitors would have little time to react to a right-angle left turn! Those whose reactions were insufficiently sharp would find their mounts badly buffeted by the surf, forcing them to regain their bearings amidst a nasty current!

Target Number: 145 (Reaction)

Special: None

Tempest Quinn

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POSTED ON Sept 22, 2023 6:16:25 GMT

[nospaces]

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Keeping a hold of Marina's newer, faster, and more agile form was rough. But Temp did keep his grip, even as the G-force from the tight turn threatened to rip him right off of her back.[break][break]

They were gaining! Progress![break][break]

The crowd started to go wild, which really fueled Temp. He wasn't sure if he could actually win by this point, that first obstacle had been a disaster, but even if he could just close the gap he would be proud of himself![break][break]

Another turn was coming up, which Tempest tried to guide Marina to slide into like before. He held on tight and hoped she could keep steady.[break][break]

EeZmtqOO

[attr="class","tag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 145 goal. mega sharpedo turn 2/3

[attr="class","pkmn"][break]

[break]
SPEED: ★★★★★[break]
ENDURANCE: ★★★☆☆[break]
REACTION: ★★★☆☆[break]

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·

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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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POSTED ON Sept 25, 2023 7:23:23 GMT

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-gamecube-gcn/f-zero-gx/227b%20-%20Infinite%20Blue%20%28Big%20Blue%29.mp3[/player]

🎼 NEW THEME SONG! - Infinite Blue (Final Lap) - F-ZERO GX OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK

The course resembling an aquatic version of Alexei Ivanov 's in Fortree may have been more brutal; the TAILWIND from Josh's Gym Pokémon churning the surf to be rougher than normal made navigating some of the turns on the backstretch difficult. Worse yet, there were small waterfalls for his Sharpedo to swim over. Landing off course would not only be race-ending for the Sharpedo and Gym Leader, but it could also be quite painful; unlike most aquatic Pokémon, Snacker had a fin protruding beneath his belly, too.

Every time the water-type's body was bounced around by the whitewater, it felt like Snacker was trying to buck the Gym Leader off. He was used to it come, but particularly strong thrusts still hurt. He did all he could, keeping a steady hand on the shark's steering fin. His heart skipped a beat every time the out-of-control aquatic predator went airborne. There were still two more really nasty curves ahead of this, too. Only then would he get a break.

o3MmcJdc

The whitewater seemingly intensified for the last loop around the course, lighter squatic Pokémon more prone to being buffeted about by the waves and current. It proved to be the most difficult challenge yet; the turns were not easy to navigate, and required exquisite skill in balancing thrust, whether through the SHARPEDO's natural jets or the flicking of tails and fins propelling the rest of the field. Every clash between wind and current sent multiple competitors briefly into the air, forcing riders to react instantly when they touched down again.

This worked greatly against Josh Devlin 's SHARPEDO, the relatively light Pokémon bouncing along the surface and against the outer riverbank. With a powerful thrust that threatened to smash into his hip, the great shark righted himself, but not before Tempest Quinn and ACE SHEEKE passed him with better control. The redhead's control would not last long, though, his DEWGONG also going for a brief flight from a particularly high wave. His recovery from crashing into the riverbank was much faster than the Gym Leader's, getting up to speed tenths of a second before Josh Devlin could pass him again.

Tempest Quinn 's MEGA EVOLVED SHARPEDO took advantage of its added weight, not once losing contact with the whitewater. Every slide was perfect; perhaps even too perfect as the INFINITY ENERGY-amplified G-forces behind each quick turn may have felt like they were tearing at the challenger from the inside out. The jaw-dropping speed at which they navigated the dead man's curves kept the crowd's energy high. He got a front-row seat to ERON IUNIS' KINGDRA and ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGONAIR in a dead heat for the lead, though the Terastal water-type would add a third person to that chase before long!

FINAL LAP | OBSTACLE 2

Prompt: Even after navigating a treacherous leap over a waterfall at an odd angle, the course did not relent: following it were a series of six downhill, 90-degree turns, one right after another, in the reverse shape of a dollar sign. The only mercy the Ordeal gave the competitors was a wide berth to swim through, but even the most nimble of aquatic Pokémon would not be able to take these turns at full speed! Pokémon with poor braking could find this series of turns especially challenging!

Target Number: 160 (Endurance)

Special: Pokémon do not apply their Speed ranks to this Obstacle. Pokémon also apply their Reaction ranks (no rounding) to this Obstacle.

Tempest Quinn

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yams

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may 3rd

pacifilog, hoenn

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POSTED ON Sept 26, 2023 5:11:45 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

There was a bit of a shock when Tempest sailed past two of the racers. One of them being Josh Devlin himself! Even if they lost, Tempest knew that even this much would make him feel accomplished.[break][break]

But the race wasn't over yet! They could absolutely fuck it up in the last moment and just lose hard.[break][break]

Him and Marina would have to work hard![break][break]

He could feel the Infinity Energy fluctuating between them. She wouldn't be able to keep up her Mega for much longer....[break][break]

But maybe if she could hold, they could make it over the next obstacle![break][break]

zlId4BQm

[attr="class","tag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 160 goal. mega sharpedo turn 3/3

[attr="class","pkmn"][break]

[break]
SPEED: ★★★★★[break]
ENDURANCE: ★★★☆☆[break]
REACTION: ★★★☆☆[break]

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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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POSTED ON Sept 27, 2023 6:56:20 GMT

The Mega-Evolved Sharpedo's added weight and muscle was something Josh was low-key jealous of, making him want to badly find a Sharpedonite stone of his own. They weren't something he could just buy on the open market, either; if Twilight's Mega Stone was any indicator of how rare they were, he would have to go into real danger to get one. Little did he know how much danger that would put him in.

"Back, Snacker!" Josh cried, pulling up on the Sharpedo's steering fin to slow him down. He couldn't pull up too much, or the shark would go airborne, which was the last thing he wanted; there were, by design, raised walls preventing him from simply jumping over the curves and taking a shortcut. The Leader slowed his mount down enough to comfortably navigate the curves, having to be very careful; he could tell his Sharpedo was running on empty. Another sharp collision could even end his race outright.

n0NEakHk

Even the most nimble of aquatic Pokémon, such as Floatzel, would have to slow way down to be able to round the brutal turns. Braking was made even more difficult from coming off quite the dive, teams of Pokémon and racer splashing to the lower part of the course at high speeds. The nimble Pokémon in the field, such as ACE SHEEKE's DEWGONG, had to slow down very little, gaining quite a bit of ground on the three racers in front. Tempest Quinn had timed the Mega Evolution perfectly, his SHARPEDO reverting almost immediately after using its added stability to gain ground on ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGONAIR, who had just passed ERON IUNIS' KINGDRA thanks to its narrow body allowing the two to take a cleaner line through the gnarly curves.

Josh Devlin was forced to pull back sharply on his mount's steering fin. When it looked like he was going to slow down enough to recover, the SHARPEDO caught air. In an act of desperation, he shoved the fin to the side to try to lessen the impact of what felt like an inevitable collision in the moment. The two slammed into the outer wall broadside, Josh thrown from his mount and clinging to the riverbank to avoid being swept further down the course. His exhausted SHARPEDO leaned against the riverbank as well. Lacking the energy to continue, the Leader and his Pokémon RETIRED from the race.

After navigating the twisty backstretch, all that remained was a long and straight sprint to the starting arch, Tempest Quinn very closely behind the DRAGONAIR and KINGDRA in front of him. He had to watch out for the DEWGONG behind him, too; despite the distance between them, the gap was not insurmountable to overcome!

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 four Pokémon to give it everything they had!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

Tempest Quinn

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yams

temporary

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may 3rd

pacifilog, hoenn

big homo

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beast

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TAG WITH @temp

POSTED ON Sept 29, 2023 16:41:35 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

The last of the concentration breaks, Marina's Mega evolution fading in blue sparkles around them. She pants, tired out from the change, but she keeps pushing. Encouraged by Tempest's voice as well as the thrill of the chase.[break][break]

Tempest grinned wide as they sliced through the water; the end was so close![break][break]

"We got this!" He called over the water to try and help encourage her.[break][break]

Then too soon it was all over, the flag waved and whistles blowed. Marina worked on slowing herself down to a more suitable speed in the water.[break][break]

Glancing back, Tempest eagerly tried to see where they had ended up placing.[break][break]

KYWDMEIU

[attr="class","tag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
🔗 woooooooooooooooooooooo

[attr="class","pkmn"][break]

[break]
SPEED: ★★★★★[break]
ENDURANCE: ★★★☆☆[break]
REACTION: ★★★☆☆[break]

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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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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Sept 30, 2023 5:38:40 GMT

The mad dash to the starting arch was on, ACE SHEEKE squeezing his DEWGONG's sides with almost painful force. The ice-type's large tail swished back and forth with shaking vigor in an AQUA JET that left the already excited crowd on the edge of their seats. What a story it would make if the redhead was able to stage a come-from-behind victory!

Tempest Quinn , ARAVAN ESCHER, and ERON IUNIS were locked in a dead heat for the lead, going three wide down the narrow home stretch! The SHARPEDO's right fin occasionally rubbed the channel's bank, as did the DRAGONAIR's swishing tail. The three traded spots multiple times, within hundredths of a second of one another as distance markers flashed by them like strobe lights.

Once the course widened some, the KINGDRA made her move, her tail fin flying back and forth at full speed in a purple DRAGON DANCE. Two could play at the game of sacred dragon artes, though, as ARAVAN ESCHER laid flat on his DRAGONAIR's back, minimizing drag.

With splashing so rapid that it sounded like a brass drum being struck, the aquatic serpent's blurred, blue tail propelled the duo to EXTREME SPEEDS and past the finish line, setting a new COURSE RECORD. The SHARPEDO's natural speed let Tempest Quinn barely hold the line, snatching the middle podium spot from their rival dragon. As fast as the DEWGONG's AQUA JET was, the ice-type simply had no hope of keeping up, finishing a distant fourth.

[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 OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK

Gym Leader Josh Devlin looked up at the three racers on the podium, their Pokémon swimming in the waters near the Ordeal's starting arch if they so desired. While he could not take his place there, what with the rough surf having caught him off guard close to the end of the race, he was beaming at Tempest Quinn 's performance. The young man's prowess as a former Gym Leader was on full display, proving that his bond with his Sharpedo was closer than the one Josh had.

"You and your Sharpedo truly rode as one," Josh addressed the challenger after congratulating Aravan on his new course record. "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 Tempest had earned. "Take it. For finishing in second place, you've earned it." He opened the closed fist in front of him, revealing his Gym Badge to be snapped into the Rocket's Badge case. "This is the official Hoenn League Quick Badge. You and your Sharpedo shall be enshrined in the Gym's list of Qualified Riders as champions." Once the award ceremony was over, he would lead Tempest back to the lobby. "Even though I didn't get to finish the race, I had so much fun. It's so rare that we get challengers to the aquatic courses. I'd love to race you again if you're ever in the area!"

Tempest Quinn

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yams

temporary

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may 3rd

pacifilog, hoenn

big homo

housewife

beast

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @temp