Post by Josh Devlin on Sept 17, 2020 23:08:24 GMT
Josh had registered for a late time slot at the giant swimming pool; that early evening, he had the very last time slot before the place closed. It was dusk on an overcast day, and the practice aquatic race course's lanes were all completely empty. It was a little cool for riding a water Pokémon, but a warm shower afterward would fix that nicely. "I put this off for too long," Josh mumbled to himself before releasing Illumina, his Lanturn, next to the starting line. The light from her volt organ illuminated quite the area around the two, Josh able to see both walls of the course easily. "Alright, Illumina - ready?" The blue and yellow fish nodded, mouth wide open with a big smile. The racer carefully climbed atop his Pokémon and grabbed the reins, gently squeezing the Lanturn's sides. He tilted his head up to keep some of the blinding light out of his eyes - it might be a good idea to rig a hood to the back of it soon. "Let's go!" he commanded, pointing forward and briefly jabbing his knees into his mount's sides.
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{WC: 190/800}
{Pt: 2/80}
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Josh was a bit startled coming off the line - Lanturn were a water Pokémon not exactly known for speed. Though Dragonair swished their long tails to gain speed underwater, the young man felt a lot more power from the luminous Pokémon, both by vitrue of the relative size of the tail and how much closer he sat to the back of it. Used to how Snacker and Resheph swam, Josh simply relaxed and let his Lanturn swim...except she wasn't turning at all. They were headed toward a collision with the outer wall of the figure-eight course "Look out!" he cried, yanking hard with his left hand.
Mid-turn, Josh felt the force of his mount's tail growing, swishing him farther and farther. He briefly looked down to see he was sitting up against the tail fin, straps from the saddle flailing in the water! Before he could react, a sharp flick of the tail sent him flying through the first curve, bouncing off the inside wall. Groaning, the dismounted trainer let his legs float up to the water's surface, drifting down the course while floating on his back. Illumina swam on one side, guiding him to a ladder on the backstretch. One of the straps was caught on said ladder. He climbed out and retrieved the missing but intact piece of tack, meeting Illumina back at the line, where he could harness the Pokémon back up.
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{WC: 429/800}
{Pt: 50/80}
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By the time Josh had finished attaching Illumina's saddle, making sure it was snugly attached, the sun had set completely. A warning horn sounded, an impatient-looking lifeguard's eyes fixed on the racer and his Lanturn. Even the course's artificial current had been stopped. That didn't stop Josh; if anything, it would make adjusting to Illumina easier.
Another thing that made controlling the electric swimmer easier was knowing she preferred full manual pilot. Josh leaned forward, reins firmly in both his hands, and jabbed at Illumina's sides. Her large tail cut through the water, swishing back and forth to propel them counterclockwise around the course. While the lane was still wide, he tugged on the Lanturn one side at a time to test her cornering. Not only was her reaction nearly instant, but she could also turn rapidly by changing her tail's angle in sync with her trainer's commands. After making a more gentle turn toward the backstretch, Josh noticed the course's tunnel had been closed. With it being difficult to judge distance due to the lack of light, he gently guided his mount toward one side of the track, then sharply pulled her toward the other side with great strength.
p_
{WC: 629/800}
{Pt: 51/80}
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The Lanturn let out a loud cry - the sudden jerk, combined with a bridle attached too tightly, strongly pinched a sensitive patch of skin on her right side. She flailed about unpredictably, flinging Josh off his mount at high speed, in the direction of the closed gate, all within what seemed like a split second. Hearing a loud clang, the young female on duty shook her head, released her Floatzel, and dove into the water after him. Speeding down the course toward the two, she reached the gate in less than half the time Illumina did.
Josh was breathing heavily, but was at least smart enough to float on his back. There were a pair of red marks across his upper and lower right arm. Unsurprising, given the speed of the impact, but it could have been a lot worse. The Floatzel swam underneath Josh's good arm and helped carry him to the nearest ladder, where he could climb out and recall his Pokémon. A valuable lesson had been learned today, and he came to appreciate Pokémon intelligent enough to synchronize with riders instead of relying fully on the trainer's control. Shaking her head, the young woman allowed Josh to stretch and regain his bearings before escorting him out of the facility and locking the place up for the evening.
{WC: 851/800}··