Josh's eyebrows dropped in focus as he heard the clopping of Amir'a footfalls and the chime-like noises they made as they pressed against the rainbow-colored, translucent track beneath them. The Silvally and former Head Ranger were right next to him, the Gym Leader forced to rein Hylda to one side just to get some room to run. His reaction times were noticeably longer than they were at the start of the race, his fingers starting to tingle. Even with the protection his saddle offered, the Glastrier was starting to freeze him, affecting his ability to concentrate, as well.

When Josh saw the course seemingly disappear from underneath him, Hylda only having a few strides before going over the edge, he flicked the reins with as much force as his cold arms could muster. He winced, feeling like a piece of ice inside his arms shattered along with a blood vessel or two. "T-T-TRAILBLAZE, Hylda!" Josh ordered with clattering teeth, the stutter easily audible to his rival.

The Silvally and Glastrier sailed above the false course in sync, Josh's eyes on the border between the wavering section and the more solid section. He was unsure about the angle, perhaps commanding too high of a jump to have the distance to make it all the way across!

What looked like a straightaway where the legendary Pokémon could go all-out was deceptive: the wavering track would shatter beneath then with a single step. Recognizing it, the two Pokémon flexed their powerful legs and thrust themselves high into the air. A chilling mist rained upon Laurence Anderson and his SILVALLY from the ice Pokémon's leap being higher due to its TRAILBLAZE-powered running start. His gift as ARTICUNO's Avatar shielded him from the GLASTRIER's extreme cold that would have threatened the health of any other Pokémon and rider.

The Gym Leader's concerns fully materialized; Josh Devlin 's sudden move with his GLASTRIER's reins made their jump angle far higher than he wanted it to be. It was unclear from the top of the leap where he would land: tension grew as the psychedelic track accelerated toward the duo. A glass-shattering sound echoed from behind Josh Devlin as he landed, the ice Pokémon's rear hooves shattering the wavering part of the course behind him and its front hooves on the more solid part. Its rear hooves loudly clacked against the border, the GLASTRIER tripping and forcing its rider to skillfully get it on a stable trajectory. The slip-up allowed Laurence Anderson to build a small lead as they crossed the arch for the second time.

If Laurence Anderson were to glance back, he would have noticed the ice horse blinking a faint red color.

Prompt: The sound of bubbling muck surrounds the racers after they cross the line. A light fog and a thick, bog-like stench overwhelm the senses as the Pokémon navigate meandering, but light, turns. They are not the true hazard: the real danger are shallow pits of thick, almost tar-like brown goop that stick to the hooves, paws, or claws of Pokémon unable to leap over them or weave around them. While the sticky substance will dry off at high speeds, trudging through it will sap a racer's speed significantly!

Target Number: 150 (Endurance)

Special: Pokémon do not apply their ranks in Speed to this Obstacle. Pokémon that roll beneath this Obstacle's Target Number by 20 or more lose 15% of their Stamina from having to jump out of the muck.

Josh was at first terrified upon hearing the bubbling sound: if that was magma, one touch of that would melt Hylda, eliminating her from the race! That would be the least of her problems, too; she would have to spend a long time at the bottom of Shoal Cave, where he ones met Articuno. Only the Iceborne Mirage's prison would be cold enough for the horse to reconstitute her skin.

He breathed a sigh of relief. The substance was hot, yes, but not hot enough to radiate heat. Getting stuck in it would be unpleasant, and his icy steed was not exactly adept at making sudden turns. As one of of the larger pits approached, the Gym Leader sharply flicked his Pokémon's reins. With a mighty leap, the two soared above the course. It was risky, as seeing far ahead was difficult at the clip they were going! If he could pull it off, though, he could get the lead back and really make Lars sweat!

Indeed, it did smell like a mass grave, Laurence Anderson doing his best to hold his breath. That wouldn't be each, what with needing to exert great core strength to maintain his balance aboard the speeding SILVALLY! The smell would also prove to make focusing on weaving around the potholes difficult, as he and Josh Devlin would find.

Both of the legendary Pokémon would make long leaps over what looked like a creek of sticky goop. The SILVALLY and GLASTRIER both landed with a splash that was almost large enough to cover each other with heavy, sticky filth. The struggle to climb out was real, both of them immobilized for precious seconds. Ultimately, Josh Devlin 's GLASTRIER would be the first out, but Laurence Anderson 's SILVALLY would not be far behind! It was still anyone's race, and around the bend was the great equalizer...

Prompt: Even after the field of muck-filled potholes, the Phantom Road is unrelenting; the course gently turns left and narrows to the width of a single Pokémon, making passing completely impossible. Luckily, there are ethereal barriers on both sides preventing racers from falling off course. That would be the least of their worries; the entire strip of track transitions to ice and slope sharply downward. At its end is a sudden incline, thrusting the Pokémon into a ski jump-like leap. The home stretch is visible far in the distance, but they have to land on the course far below them, which zigzags back and forth to make landing the jump as challenging as possible! There was one blessing to it all; the extremely low temperature would cause any lingering much to freeze and fall off their Pokémon...

Target Number: 190 (Reaction)

Special: Pokémon also add their full ranks in Speed to this Obstacle. Boosting does not impose disadvantage on this Obstacle. Pokémon that roll underneath this Obstacle's Target Number by 30 or more fall OFF COURSE and are ELIMINATED from the race.

Being trapped in the mire briefly wasn't the real threat to Josh and Hylda finishing the race; it was the whiplash that wracked the Gym Leader's already tired body from racing the Glastrier at full gallop for what was going on ten minutes. Though the legendary horse's body was designed for it, his was not. All the experience in the world meant little in the face of the physical limits of humans.

This was one of the reasons why Josh was so happy people seldom raced him with a legendary Pokémon out of the fear of being matched up against his Zeraora. One of these days, the sheer exertion it put him under would get him hurt and have to take time away from his Gym. All he could do was smile as he felt the TAILWIND blow to his side, accelerating the Silvally down the big slope.

Gritting his teeth and trying to stave off the aches through sheer force of will, Josh squeezed Hylda's sides and took his right hand off the reins just long enough to give her rear a good slap. "Hylda, TRAILBLAZE! Leap as far as you can!"

Rather than gallop down the slope, she took advantage of her icy hooves, sliding down it while leaning forward, using gravity to do most of the work for her before vaulting above the ghostly, rainbow-colored course. While it wouldn't be quite as fast as an all-out run, it would save the team's energy. And by the team's, Josh's.

He was going to need a day or three off after this one.

The slope was long and imposing, Josh Devlin and Laurence Anderson experiencing intense sinking feelings as gravity thrust their guts upward from the highest speeds the duo had experienced up to the point. That sinking feeling grew more intense as the SILVALLY'S TAILWIND intensified, the only thing enabling the challenger to preserve his lead. That feeling would turn upside down as their innards shot upward as the course sloped back upward, the GLASTRIER and SILVALLY catapulting above the zigzagging course below.

The TAILWIND helped build up the Avatar's lead going into the final series of uphill curves. Both sets of hooved clopped loudly near the end of the landing area, their jumps executed to perfection. The SILVALLY had built up slightly more of a lead going into the final series of uphill curves, though the GLASTRIER's boundless stamina let it eat into that lead as it TRAILBLAZED a path upward. Josh Devlin was slowly making up time, but he was also running out of real estate.

After one last curve with a steep upward grade, the finish line was in sight. Laurence Anderson 's lead held for the time being, but he could not relax; Leader and challenger were close enough that if he did so, he could get passed at the last possible moment!

Prompt: The home stretch was all that remained. While there was no official waving a checkered flag, the arch the two started at was in sight. There was little risk of an accident on this straight sprint to the finish! Now was the best opportunity for the legendary and mythical Pokémon to give it everything they had!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

Josh felt the TAILWIND blow near him and his TRAILBLAZING Glastrier. What incredible endurance the Silvally and Lars had! Every muscle in Josh's legs and arms ached from the marathon of a race, the large horse's cold permeating through the saddle and to his thighs he could barely feel. "Keep going! We can't... let him..." the Gym Leader trailed off, though the legendary equine knew exactly what his trainer was looking for.

With a loud whinny, the Galarian Pokémon chased after Amir. This was going to come right down to the wire; while the Silvally had the lead for now, it was not insurmountable, especially with how well Hylda had conserved her momentum. That gap looked to be getting smaller by the second. Would he run out of real estate before he made the pass?

The legendary Pokémon carrying Josh Devlin and Laurence Anderson gave it their all, desperately trying to outdo each other in an effort to be the first to cross that rainbow-colored line for the final time. The track beneath them appeared to cycle through seven colors like a strobe light at a nightclub, the GLASTRIER TRAILBLAZING toward the goal on a think layer of slick ice that made it quite swift. There was no telling who would win; that lead was shrinking by the moment.

Seconds before crossing the finish line, the TAILWIND, fueled by the RKS SYSTEM within the SILVALLY carrying the challenger, reached surreal strengths unlike any windstorm recorded on the face of Hoenn before. That final push barely kept Laurence Anderson ahead as they both crossed the line.

The course, and the ghostly environment, faded to white around them as Braver the Arcanine prepared to TELEPORT them back to Mauville Gym proper. The first thing the Composed would see when he came to would be one of Mauville Gym's Badges in the palm of Josh's hand, outstretched toward him. It was over; he had won.

"That's the kind of drive I expected you to see between you and your Patron. Controlled aggression. Split-second reaction time. The ability to adapt even in stressful circumstances. Take it. It belongs to you now." He waited for the challenger to claim his rightful prize before continuing.

"Now, take that drive you have with your Silvally, and find it with Articuno. If you can build that kind of relationship with them, not even Arceus Himself will stand a chance against you. All you need to do is apply what you learned today." Such naivete. As he would one day find out with both Sigmund and Tyrfing, raising a legendary Pokémon was not so simple.