That Ice Spinner did more damage than he thought. A critical hit? Still, the Pyroar wasn't done, and leapt in another Bounce. It was now or never! "Dragon Claw!" The Cyclizar held his ground, and just looked up with blue claws at the ready. When the Pyroar came close, Rollin lunged with his claws, creating a huge dust cloud. When things settled, Rollin was on the ground beneath Aslan's paws, out cold. Well, that wasn't completely unexpected. Taking down Big Bert was a huge advantage. Even with Bounce though, Raju couldn't help but feel that the fight between the two would be epic.

Returning Rollin, he knew what he needed to work on, and what to do. Nodding at himself, the blonde did look at Josh as if to say "what now?" It had been a long day already. Though he also wasn't a stranger to even longer days...

Josh Devlin

Nothing was working! The Basculegion was staying just ahead, and was even increasing the distance between them. With a heavy sigh, he just had Samurai to keep up the pace. Maybe an opportunity would present itself. But everyone here was more experienced than he was. All they had was some childhood bullshit and pure instinct. If there was a time that that wasn't going to cut it, at least it was during a friendly race and not in the throws of his gang activity. If nothing else, he was a fighter. Even witht he Kingdra nipping at his heels, they plowed on. The track narrowed on ahead...encouraging the Golisipod to move faster so that at the bare minimum they didn't lose their position. If they could pass the Basculegion, great. But if not, he'd just try not to finish in last place.


tldr
Doesn't pass Thomas Benoit, but tries to close the distance in the straightway. Maybe passing? Doubtful.
At least tries to maintain position and stay in front of Michael Navidson.

AdgzfBCp

Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction
·

• player/ooc name: Jun
• character tags: Keenan Toral Aaron Toral Oliver Shrakes Asher Baran Niky Racz Raju Mystic
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): N/A
• ic posts for characters: Aaron
  
  Keenan
  
  Oliver
  
  Asher
  
  Niky
  
  Raju
  
  
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

His employer seemed to be having a battle of his own. While Raju tried to catch up, the two Sharpedo ahead collided. The larger one won. Rarely did the smaller creature won in that kind of battle, and Josh Devlin really should have known better. There was a reason Big Bert didn't so much as flinched when something smaller rammed into him. Sadly...he was too close to actually do much about it. The Basculegion and its trainer at least had the time to slow enough down and avoid Josh. Raju and Samurai did not. The mid-course accident didn't bother Raju too much. The blonde didn't even let go of Samurai. But they also didn't recover as quickly either.

Josh still remained in front of the Basculegion...who was that again? Whatever the case, they zoomed forward to try to get back to where they were. They got passed by a lot of other racers...not good. He needed to give a good showing, damn it! The first obstacle was that Basculegion...

Diving down, he attempted to pass. The tunnel was going to get narrower...and early lead in there to block the path was going to be crucial. As will the sudden exit and landing. He hoped he didn't belly flop...

TLDR
Gets smacked by Josh Devlin. what the heck man!
doesn't recover fast enough, Thomas Benoit and Josh is still ahead of him.
Didn't even notice who all passed him, just that he was passed by a lot of people.
Tries to pass Thomas to get into the tunnel before he does.


_csOMtXF

Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction




·

The Shed Tail helped, but before he could launch into an attack, Josh had Pyroar use Hyper Voice. The resulting noise was loud enough to stun even Raju, but he was still able to get a command in. "Ice Spinner!" The Cyclizar spun like a Beyblade, forming ice all around him to defend against the attack, and moved towards the Pyroar at speed. It wouldn't do much damage, since Pyroar resisted it, but it was better than nothing, and he had to do something to also defend against that Hyper Voice. Raju had to balance out defense and offense in this battle, since his main bruiser got knocked out so quickly. Maybe needing some more Pokemon or if he had more time to properly train Rollin, he might stand a chance. For now, he had to see what Josh's next move will be...and hope it would be something he could handle easily. Rollin won't be lasting much longer.


Josh Devlin

He was making progress! Passing CIAN MAHER, and then Eris Halla soon after, Samurai and him surged forward! Even passing another and even kyle lopez and his massive Wailord. The blonde was right behind Josh Devlin! Well...go big or go home! They tried to get closer...then the first lap was finished. Already?! He hadn't had the chance to teach Samurai Aqua Jet, so he had no speed boosting moves. Sheer grit and handling was going to be the only reasons he even stayed in this race. Then he noticed the wind shift. And how Samurai seemed to struggle a little bit. Maybe he could use the wake by Josh to at least keep their position? He attempted to do so, even as those around him used their speed boosting moves.


TLDR
Passes a lot of people, from Eris to Cian to Kyle.
Attempts to get closer to Josh.
Tries to use Josh's wake to shield him from the change in current and at least holding his current standing.


HYovYs7t·

The revenge knockout worked! The Espeon fell, but the Pyroar used Bounce. Unlike BB, Rollin had some defensive tricks up his sleeve. Though the coverage was good to know. But they had to react fast! "Shed Tail!" As the attack name suggested, Rollin literally shed his tail to avoid the pouncing lion. One little bit of good news as that the dragon-type resisted the Pyroar's fire type attacks. Still, the Shed Tail wasn't harmless. He may have avoided one devastating attack, but he was sure Josh taught the Pyroar more. Rollin stayed low to the ground, like a wrestler would. Worse still, that Noble Roar did lower his attacking power. Rollin wasn't a slouch, but still lacked when compared to BB. Raju would have to see if he could turn this around with Josh's next attack.

Josh Devlin

Despite it being a competition, and Raju trying to give a good showing, there was a thing as sportsmanship. So when CIAN MAHER waved at him, Raju waved back in a friendly way. Grudges during competitions like this was so stupid. If Cian manages to beat him, then so be it. Still, he was going to try his best, and try to overtake the sygna suit wearing man and his Froakie. The next group of obstacles looked like they were going to be requiring sharp turning. Samurai and him were going to go full speed! With their reaction time and speed, this should be a piece of cake. But the ocean could also be cruel with her currents...

TLDR
Waves back at CIAN MAHER
Tries to overtake him again with the turns and speed.

Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction


u02Moq4J·

That early lead vanished as soon as it started, immediately getting caught in the rough surf left by kyle lopez's Wailord. He wasn't the only one, as two others got caught in it as well. But once that thing was out of the way, Raju and his Golisipod got going. Things were still pretty close here, with CIAN MAHER, and his little Froakie,  in front of him and Leilani Kalawai'a and her Blastoise behind him. And neither by too much. The blonde doubted that Blastoise could be knocked off course too much by his own wake. So instead he focused on trying to pass the Froakie.

After exiting the tunnel, they immediatly got split off. Cian was forced to the left, as was he and likely the rest of the back half. It looked like it was a straight shot through. Raju hoped Samurai could really cut loose and pass Cian. But the power of the Sygna Suit may forbid him from doing so. Training will tell...that was for sure.

TLDR

Got caught in the wake of kyle lopez's Wailord. Stopping him from going too fast.
Gets through the tunnel, gets caught going to the left.
Tries to really cut loose and go full speed ahead to pass CIAN MAHER


Ma17KjKw


Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction·

Both pokemon practically ran the Espeon down. Josh knew that Raju was most worried about that one then. And the quick decision making on who to target and quickly must have impressed him. The Espeon wasn't done though. With that forked tail facing Big Bert, the psychic type sent the Tauros flying. That was a massively strong attack! Tough as Big Bert was...special attacks still gave him fits. "Iron Head!" Even with the Noble Roar cowing Rollin some, the Cyclizar got some of his courage back to use Iron Head on the Espeon. Best try to take it out fast as possible. If nothing else, maybe he'll get lucky with a flinch.

The poor Tauros landed so hard that he was knocked out. Identifying weaknesses and exploiting them quickly was part of the job...and Josh simply did that against his best boy. At the announcement, Raju returned his big boy. That was...disappointing. But hopefully the revenge knock out was going to be there...


Josh Devlin

Nobody bothered the silent, serious sam of a trainer/bodyguard/gang member/host/gym trainer. He noticed the sygna suits on the little girl and a guy, both using smaller Pokemon. If Shalin Nariya's was any indication of what they could do, they weren't to be underestimated. Not that he had any intention of winning. Of course, he was going to try his best, but this was more for practice than anything for Samurai, since they never raced before. The region top champion used a Wailord of all Pokemon...even if minimized, it was still huge. Beyond those two odd choices, there was also an Aegislash. On the surface, he could see using the Pokemon as a surfboard. But the underwater sections? That could be difficult for the trainer.

Soon, the warning came to the racers to be ready. Latching himself onto the special saddle for the Golosipod, Raju was ready for the dive. Samurai likewise cracked her claws and was ready as well. With the announcment, off they went! As soon as they dove in, Raju was surprised that the current was at their backs...good thing Samurai was quite fast, and had the reaction time to deal with obstacles. The buggy swordsPokemon swam with her powerful legs and main claws, easily brute forcing their way through the waves, hoping for an early lead.



TLDR
Honorable descriptions for Eris Halla and CIAN MAHER, as well as kyle lopez and Gwyar Wledig, and Raju's thoughts on them.
Go go go! Swimming Golosipod!

Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction

C5pATXQg



·

Josh laughed when he asked. One of his first challengers...was an Elite Four member?! Was that even allows? Evidently it was. Shocking to say the least. No wonder he mentioned it...probably the most stand out match of all the ones he had where he didn't knock out a single Pokemon. The gym leader soon said he was good to go, and Raju nodded. So was he, and Big Bert. Getting up, they moved to the last match of the day, ground.

Taking their positions, the blonde tossed out Rollin the Cyclizar and Big Bert, the overly large Blaze Breed Paldean Tauros that raced. Josh sent out a Pyroar and an Espeon. Well, that was terrifying. A super powerful Psychic-type. He did not expect to win this match. When the word go was announced, BB didn't waste time. The big bull charged with Flame Charge, straight at the Espeon, hoping to get the jump on it. Rollin likewise used Quick Attack to zoom past Big Bert to try to smack the Eeveelution in the face and distract it from using a powerful Psychic type attack. Strong as BB was, even he wouldn't be able to handle that kind of strength...



Josh Devlin

This was Raju's first official race. He hadn't even done a race as a gym trainer yet. A couple of battles, but not a race. Not even enough time to teach Samurai Aqua Jet. But...this could still be fantastic practice. And who knows, maybe Samurai would learn something. Clad in only swim shorts, the blonde waved at the crowd somewhat shyly and broodingly. He wasn't a man of words, but of action. And he was a scrawny little shit...no one would tell from a glance that he was actually a pretty good fighter, let alone a member of a gang. Oh well, physique aside, he sat on top of Samurai in his spot.

Some contestants were visiting with each other, some ribbing and smack talk. Raju kept to himself though. His Golosipod stood menacingly with main claws/arms crossed coolly. He'd already gained some reputation for being one of the strongest Mauville Gym Trainers there, and had quite the welcoming committee. There was two others there as well, along with Josh himself. And a heck of an array of people and Pokemon. From Gym Leaders to the Top Champion himself...Raju was a tad intimidated...not that you could tell.

tldr
basic intro. not much of a people person.

Ranks: A Speed / E Endurance / A Reaction