The stadium and racetrack are built around a large canyon. Half the track is at the top of the canyon cliff, and half is down in the canyon's bed. The stadium seats approximately 70,000 people. Tall, strong guard rails prevent Pokémon from falling all the way down the canyon cliff while racing along the clifftop.
The Ponyta and Josh both cringed when they entered the stadium and saw the course--it was intimidating, to say the least. There were a few hundred people watching the time trials, as well--he wasn't the only one trying to qualify for the GP Race to be held later. Ixion reared high to try to sway the crowd, but they blew her off. "Come on, let's go." With that, Josh mounted up, and the fire-type walked to the starting line, waiting for the scoreboard to reset and the red, yellow, and green lights to begin their cycle. Being the first one to run the trial was always most disadvantageous--he had no idea what kind of time he had to shoot for, and he'd never seen the course before. This would be a complete sightread for him and his Ponyta.
REST ENERGY TIME
17649 m 12/ 12 00'00"000
SPEED
0 km/h
"Hailing all the way from Goldenrod, Johto are the team of Josh and Ixion. At fourteen years of age, he is one of the youngest competitors we've seen in qualifying in a long time!" the announcer's voice boomed from the skybox above turn 3. The small crowd cheered for him, sending a chill down his spine and elevating his heart rate. "We shall see the bar he sets for his fellow competition. The full fifty racers are scheduled to trial today, but only thirty will make it to next week's race. Ponyta is a rather unusual choice of Pokémon for this track--I'm not sure she has the endurance for such a rough and tumble track."
Did he say fifty? You mean I have to beat twenty people to qualify? He shook his head as Ixion whinnied in nervousness. "Just ignore the glitz and stay relaxed," he tried to calm his Pokémon. "I know this is your first race, but all we can do is try our best. Even if we don't qualify, we'll improve, and eventually we will qualify for a big-time race." That didn't help either of them much--both of them were still nervous about being "under the lights" per say. Though the ratings for the time trials weren't very good, he still was being broadcast on national television.
Suddenly, the red light on the starting signal lit up. He grabbed the fire-type with both hands. He flexed his legs into position as the yellow illuminated. On green, Josh slammed his legs into his Pokémon's side, and the two were off down the straightaway.
Obstacle 1: The track opens up with a gentle left turn along the stadium walls. The track's width increases and decreases periodically, but remains wide enough to accommodate at least three-wide traffic.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
20
He could already tell, from leaning into the shallow turn 1, that Saber and Ixion rode a lot differently on a race course. Ixion's handling definitely wasn't up to snuff, and he could already tell that was going to handicap him when the track showed its true colors.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Normal 2 42 42 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 12/ 12 42.000 00'49"683
REST ENERGY TIME
16032 m 12/ 12 00'49"683
SPEED
120 km/h
Obstacle 2: The track quickly narrows up, bottlenecking to a maximum of two-wide traffic. Racers often hog the center of the narrow pass to prevent other racers from getting in front of them. A pileup here can narrow the gap between the front and back of the field by quite a large margin.
Ixion ran along the inside wall, Josh leaning gently to the left to coax his Pokémon away from the tall guardrail. Suddenly, the angle of the rail increased dramatically, the young racer forced to turn hard to the left.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
10
Overreacting to the turn, Josh tugged back in the other direction, Ixion swerving hard and kicking up a cloud of dust. "Gah!" he let out a cry as his left leg grazed the curve's outer wall in the process of the Ponyta correcting her trajectory. Even with all his protective gear, he could feel that one. He slowed down for that one, too. No wonder he had to sign a medical waiver to participate in the races--it was easy to get hurt from even the slightest mistake.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-12 8 38 -23 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 12/ 12 19.000 01'11"476
REST ENERGY TIME
15392 m 12/ 12 01'11"476
SPEED
84 km/h
Obstacle 3: The track widens but not by much--anything more than two-wide traffic is just about impossible. A lazy, uphill 90-degree turn follows the stadium walls, right below one of three skyboxes the facility features. Not a tough turn, but the narrow track makes the penalty for misjudging it steep.
Seeing the outer wall curve right, Josh prepared himself to lean into the next turn, Ixion's mane flaring up in anticipation of finding a good spot to regain lost time.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
1
The hill's grade made the turn look less sharp than it actually was. Josh and Ixion both let out cries of anguish as she bounced off the guard rail, clear into the wall on the outside of the track. That leg of Josh's definitely wasn't going to feel any better. Despite her injury, the fire-type wanted to at least finish--she wasn't going to let Josh make a fool of himself in his first time trial ever. They just had to be a bit more cautious than usual, and really pour on the speed in the straightaways...if there were even any on the course. He hadn't seen one true straightaway yet.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-5 2 25 -39 -4.5
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 20.000 01'43"943
REST ENERGY TIME
14725 m 8/ 12 01'43"943
SPEED
109 km/h
Obstacle 4: The track remains narrow for a series of lazy S-curves--not hard to take, and one of the best places to make a passing run on the upper half. If a Pokémon does take a spill here, though, it can be difficult to recover from being on the outside of one of the curves.
Finally, a breather, Josh thought. "Ixion, let's pick up the pace, but not too much." He tried to stay toward the middle of the track to minimize the amount of turning he needed to do.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
11
ooc: Wow at these rolls... I'm speechless.
For the first few turns, Josh's strategy of taking it a little slow while minimizing lateral movement worked well. The last of the curves came much more quickly than expected, though--Ixion nearly grazed another wall, sliding out of the turn just in time to avoid another set of scratches on both Josh's leg and her side.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-5 5 28 -20 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 40.000 02'29"630
REST ENERGY TIME
13311 m 8/ 12 02'29"630
SPEED
118 km/h
Obstacle 5: The track finally starts to show its true colors here. Its widening is designed to lull riders into a false relief, as it is quickly followed by a pair of switchback 120-degree turns. It is entirely possible for less thick-skinned racers and Pokémon to wipe out completely on this pair of tough turns.
The switchback coming into sight, Ixion veered to the outside of the track and slowed down dramatically, in an effort to ensure passing through these turns unscathed. Josh took a deep breath before leaning hard right into the first half of the switchback.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
1
She slid perfectly around the apex of each turn, albeit at the slow speed she was moving. Josh breathed in and out deeply, the menacing turn behind him. Not wanting to relax too much, he put pressure back on Ixion's sides, getting back up to speed on the small straightaway after the difficult curve.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-16 16 50 -20 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 60.000 03'07"766
REST ENERGY TIME
12723 m 8/ 12 03'07"766
SPEED
64 km/h
Obstacle 6: After a very short straightaway, the course goes all-out on its racers again, featuring two lazy 180s back to back. The track is wider and the curves aren't as tight--just long. By running along the inside of one, it's easy to slide past the apex of the other.
Not again...ugh! Josh scowled, Ixion forced to put the brakes on again. No sense rubbing either side of this turn when there was still a lot of course to go. As he turned to the right, he got a glimpse at the course's namesake minefields. How is this course even approved by the Federation? He didn't have time to study it--the next turn was coming fast.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
12
Ixion stayed in the center of the curves--too centered, in fact. She killed a bit more speed than Josh liked taking the second turn, being a bit too conservative in staying away from the wall. As soon as they were out of the curve, she let out another whinny from the rider's silent command to step on it. He was both glad and afraid that he did--what he was about to see on the course would completely blow his mind, and put him in a state of pure bliss--or pure fear.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-12 9 39 -20 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 80.000 04'14"053
REST ENERGY TIME
11152 m 8/ 12 04'14"053
SPEED
88 km/h
Obstacle 7: This is it. The biggest jump currently on a Pokémon Racing Federation official track. Teams leap downward over a hundred and fifty feet, onto a long slope that slants further downward. It's not uncommon to come down the slope at speeds faster than even Extreme Speed will let it run. Make sure to go fast enough to clear the canyon cliff, or a certain wipeout will occur.
The giant leap downward looked a lot bigger as Ixion raced toward the cliff's edge. Josh could not contain his nerves at all, his hands shaking uncontrollably. She hit the highest speed Josh was comfortable with before making a low jump off the top of the cliff to the gentle, downward slope on the canyon floor.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
2
Josh held his breath for the duration of the fall--several seconds as gravity accelerated Ixion's pace to anything beyond what he'd ever seen her run at before--let alone experienced firsthand. She landed with a loud noise, but on her feet, sliding for a second before regaining her footing and going flying down the slope.
Josh screamed in fear, gripping the Ponyta as though his life depended on it. She interpreted it as a command to speed up, and sprinted down the slope, her gallop sounding like a Tauros stampede. It was so fast that Josh felt like he was floating above his Pokémon's back.
As the slope flattened and Ixion slowed down to a more sustainable pace, Josh let out another scream--not of fear this time, but of joy. Even if he crashed out of the trial, the joy of rushing down that hill killed any fear he had of intense speed. His joy was to be short-lived, though--the first spire field loomed in the distance, and at the speed the fire-type ran, it was coming up fast.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Normal 16 56 52 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 28.000 04'44"620
REST ENERGY TIME
8231 m 8/ 12 04'49"820
SPEED
294 km/h
Obstacle 8: Immediately after this track's claim to fame is its other claim to fame--the "minefields" of rock spires that dot the canyon floor. Racers typically weave around the seemingly randomly-places hunks of rock, but racers confident in the strength of their Pokémon can bash right through. Racers may take a steep Endurance penalty to bash through this Obstacle.
Josh's bliss was short-lived, though--he and Ixion were forced to put the brakes on, preparing to weave around the many columns of rock that littered the canyon floor. He knew two more of these things were coming--he'd just need to get used to the first one. The other two would be a piece of cake to weave around.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
13
So far, so good, Josh breathed a sigh of relief. He felt bursts of air from narrowly avoiding some of the rock formations, but the two weaved around them, staying as far to the right as possible to ensure they wouldn't miss the small tunnel to the next minefield--the one he got a good look at from the clifftop. "Two to go, Ixion!" he encouraged the fire-type.
NAME ACTION ROLL RESULT TP CHG ENDUR CHG
Josh/Ponyta Slowdown-14 13 45 -17 0
POS NAME ENERGY TP TIME
1 Josh 8/ 12 - 45.000 05'50"483
REST ENERGY TIME
6449 m 8/ 12 05'50"483
SPEED
101 km/h
Obstacle 9: A gently-curving tunnel generally impossible to pass in. Not a difficult turn, but the lack of width makes it easy to rub the rock walls and lose speed.
Vision wasn't great in the tunnel, either--Josh had to squint to make out just where the turn began. The light from Ixion's mane helped somewhat, but not enough to make a huge difference. She cautiously sped up, trying to stay centered. At least in the time trials, the two didn't have to worry about being caught up in traffic.
Dice Roller1 D20 rolled
3
Ixion stayed centered for most of the turn. The sudden light at the end of the tunnel blinded her and Josh for a split second. By the time they could react, Josh grunted from his padded leg grinding against the wall. When Ixion tried to angle him away from it, her frame started grinding against the the rock face. Just as she was going to turn away from it, she hit a particularly sharp rock. Flailing about in pain, she sent Josh flying, the trainer rolling along the course and nearly into the first spire of the second field of them.
Josh being able to move after being flung from his Ponyta's back was something to say a prayer of thanks for. It was a marvel of both Arceus and mankind's technology that let him walk away from the accident. Ixion, however, needed to be recalled immediately. He did so, then reached for Bladestorm's Poké Ball. There didn't appear to be a ton of room to take off. It'd be reckless to try to get out of the canyon floor alone, anyway.
AMATEUR CLASS
MOSS CANYON Minefield
Difficulty:[■■■■□□]
The stadium and racetrack are built around a large canyon. Half the track is at the top of the canyon cliff, and half is down in the canyon's bed. The stadium seats approximately 70,000 people. Tall, strong guard rails prevent Pokémon from falling all the way down the canyon cliff while racing along the clifftop.
The Ponyta and Josh both cringed when they entered the stadium and saw the course--it was intimidating, to say the least. There were a few hundred people watching the time trials, as well--he wasn't the only one trying to qualify for the GP Race to be held later. Ixion reared high to try to sway the crowd, but they blew her off. "Come on, let's go." With that, Josh mounted up, and the fire-type walked to the starting line, waiting for the scoreboard to reset and the red, yellow, and green lights to begin their cycle. Being the first one to run the trial was always most disadvantageous--he had no idea what kind of time he had to shoot for, and he'd never seen the course before. This would be a complete sightread for him and his Ponyta.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Did he say fifty? You mean I have to beat twenty people to qualify? He shook his head as Ixion whinnied in nervousness. "Just ignore the glitz and stay relaxed," he tried to calm his Pokémon. "I know this is your first race, but all we can do is try our best. Even if we don't qualify, we'll improve, and eventually we will qualify for a big-time race." That didn't help either of them much--both of them were still nervous about being "under the lights" per say. Though the ratings for the time trials weren't very good, he still was being broadcast on national television.
Suddenly, the red light on the starting signal lit up. He grabbed the fire-type with both hands. He flexed his legs into position as the yellow illuminated. On green, Josh slammed his legs into his Pokémon's side, and the two were off down the straightaway.
Obstacle 1: The track opens up with a gentle left turn along the stadium walls. The track's width increases and decreases periodically, but remains wide enough to accommodate at least three-wide traffic.
He could already tell, from leaning into the shallow turn 1, that Saber and Ixion rode a lot differently on a race course. Ixion's handling definitely wasn't up to snuff, and he could already tell that was going to handicap him when the track showed its true colors.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Ixion ran along the inside wall, Josh leaning gently to the left to coax his Pokémon away from the tall guardrail. Suddenly, the angle of the rail increased dramatically, the young racer forced to turn hard to the left.
Overreacting to the turn, Josh tugged back in the other direction, Ixion swerving hard and kicking up a cloud of dust. "Gah!" he let out a cry as his left leg grazed the curve's outer wall in the process of the Ponyta correcting her trajectory. Even with all his protective gear, he could feel that one. He slowed down for that one, too. No wonder he had to sign a medical waiver to participate in the races--it was easy to get hurt from even the slightest mistake.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Seeing the outer wall curve right, Josh prepared himself to lean into the next turn, Ixion's mane flaring up in anticipation of finding a good spot to regain lost time.
The hill's grade made the turn look less sharp than it actually was. Josh and Ixion both let out cries of anguish as she bounced off the guard rail, clear into the wall on the outside of the track. That leg of Josh's definitely wasn't going to feel any better. Despite her injury, the fire-type wanted to at least finish--she wasn't going to let Josh make a fool of himself in his first time trial ever. They just had to be a bit more cautious than usual, and really pour on the speed in the straightaways...if there were even any on the course. He hadn't seen one true straightaway yet.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Finally, a breather, Josh thought. "Ixion, let's pick up the pace, but not too much." He tried to stay toward the middle of the track to minimize the amount of turning he needed to do.
ooc: Wow at these rolls... I'm speechless.
For the first few turns, Josh's strategy of taking it a little slow while minimizing lateral movement worked well. The last of the curves came much more quickly than expected, though--Ixion nearly grazed another wall, sliding out of the turn just in time to avoid another set of scratches on both Josh's leg and her side.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
The switchback coming into sight, Ixion veered to the outside of the track and slowed down dramatically, in an effort to ensure passing through these turns unscathed. Josh took a deep breath before leaning hard right into the first half of the switchback.
She slid perfectly around the apex of each turn, albeit at the slow speed she was moving. Josh breathed in and out deeply, the menacing turn behind him. Not wanting to relax too much, he put pressure back on Ixion's sides, getting back up to speed on the small straightaway after the difficult curve.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Not again...ugh! Josh scowled, Ixion forced to put the brakes on again. No sense rubbing either side of this turn when there was still a lot of course to go. As he turned to the right, he got a glimpse at the course's namesake minefields. How is this course even approved by the Federation? He didn't have time to study it--the next turn was coming fast.
Ixion stayed in the center of the curves--too centered, in fact. She killed a bit more speed than Josh liked taking the second turn, being a bit too conservative in staying away from the wall. As soon as they were out of the curve, she let out another whinny from the rider's silent command to step on it. He was both glad and afraid that he did--what he was about to see on the course would completely blow his mind, and put him in a state of pure bliss--or pure fear.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
The giant leap downward looked a lot bigger as Ixion raced toward the cliff's edge. Josh could not contain his nerves at all, his hands shaking uncontrollably. She hit the highest speed Josh was comfortable with before making a low jump off the top of the cliff to the gentle, downward slope on the canyon floor.
Josh held his breath for the duration of the fall--several seconds as gravity accelerated Ixion's pace to anything beyond what he'd ever seen her run at before--let alone experienced firsthand. She landed with a loud noise, but on her feet, sliding for a second before regaining her footing and going flying down the slope.
Josh screamed in fear, gripping the Ponyta as though his life depended on it. She interpreted it as a command to speed up, and sprinted down the slope, her gallop sounding like a Tauros stampede. It was so fast that Josh felt like he was floating above his Pokémon's back.
As the slope flattened and Ixion slowed down to a more sustainable pace, Josh let out another scream--not of fear this time, but of joy. Even if he crashed out of the trial, the joy of rushing down that hill killed any fear he had of intense speed. His joy was to be short-lived, though--the first spire field loomed in the distance, and at the speed the fire-type ran, it was coming up fast.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Josh's bliss was short-lived, though--he and Ixion were forced to put the brakes on, preparing to weave around the many columns of rock that littered the canyon floor. He knew two more of these things were coming--he'd just need to get used to the first one. The other two would be a piece of cake to weave around.
So far, so good, Josh breathed a sigh of relief. He felt bursts of air from narrowly avoiding some of the rock formations, but the two weaved around them, staying as far to the right as possible to ensure they wouldn't miss the small tunnel to the next minefield--the one he got a good look at from the clifftop. "Two to go, Ixion!" he encouraged the fire-type.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Vision wasn't great in the tunnel, either--Josh had to squint to make out just where the turn began. The light from Ixion's mane helped somewhat, but not enough to make a huge difference. She cautiously sped up, trying to stay centered. At least in the time trials, the two didn't have to worry about being caught up in traffic.
Ixion stayed centered for most of the turn. The sudden light at the end of the tunnel blinded her and Josh for a split second. By the time they could react, Josh grunted from his padded leg grinding against the wall. When Ixion tried to angle him away from it, her frame started grinding against the the rock face. Just as she was going to turn away from it, she hit a particularly sharp rock. Flailing about in pain, she sent Josh flying, the trainer rolling along the course and nearly into the first spire of the second field of them.
Josh being able to move after being flung from his Ponyta's back was something to say a prayer of thanks for. It was a marvel of both Arceus and mankind's technology that let him walk away from the accident. Ixion, however, needed to be recalled immediately. He did so, then reached for Bladestorm's Poké Ball. There didn't appear to be a ton of room to take off. It'd be reckless to try to get out of the canyon floor alone, anyway.
==>
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya