[ti]scenario[/ti]ASPER CUP: Thunder Road

Asper Cup: Thunder Road

Audio: Osc-Sync Carnival

Sparks flew all around Alicia Westfield and Josh Devlin as they fought fiercely for the lead, the ZEBSTRIKA making a move on the inside line. Her BAYLEEF, ready to ride the lightning at Alicia Westfield 's command, impressively kept up, the two neck and neck as they leaped over the edge of the course. Josh Devlin 's flick of the reins sent the electric horse soaring skyward before Alicia Westfield 's followed.

Once they were over the edge, the closest ground to them the lower part of the track, the two instantly stopped gaining height. UNOVR's height limit seemed to cap aerial maneuvers made by land Pokémon as well, the vertical component of their movement canceled. Gravity took over afterward as all eight racers dove and swam toward the bumpy lower section. The ZEBSTRIKA's leap was so expertly timed that it and the Pokémon racing aficionado landed almost at the far end of the torn-up patch of track, having to deal with almost none of its moguls.

Alicia Westfield and Shalin Nariya were not so lucky, their BAYLEEF and PHEROMOSA landing at an angle. The uneven ground thrust the dashing Pokémon to one side, allowing ACE SHEEKE's CHARIZARD to zip past them. Both were barely able to recover in time to avoid grazing the track's guard rails. The green-ette's steadfastness wowed the crowd, impressed that she and her highly unusual mount could coordinate a recovery despite presumably not being able to see due to the fierce wing vibrations.

Altair 's ONIX was unable to leap far, but more than made up for it by being used to navigating rough terrain. With quick adjustments to its tail angle, the rock-type made the ride about as smooth as possible for the aspiring bird trainer that now had a firm lead on the back half of the pack.

Even flying Pokémon were not immune to the moguls; their bodies tilted about violently, as though connected to the angle of the surface beneath them. Alkaid 's CELESTEELA landed above the side of one of the sharpest bumps, sending them flying toward the right guardrail and taking ERON IUNIS and ARAVAN ESCHER with him. The ABSOL, already reeling from nearly twisting an ankle on the way down, hit the guardrail particularly hard.

The peace Alkaid enjoyed would not last long, as his CELESTEELA would begin its shrill whistle again. He was not the only one tortured by noise; ERON IUNIS heard an air-raid siren as his model, and his Absol's, rapidly blinked red.

ERON IUNIS and ARAVAN ESCHER each lose one use of BOOST.

The next time ERON IUNIS' Pokémon misses an Obstacle's Target Number by 20 or more, he will CRASH OUT.

The next time Alkaid 's Pokémon misses an Obstacle's Target Number by 20 or more, he will lose one use of BOOST.

Due to using an INVASIVE SPECIES in the race, Alkaid will need to roll one additional die in the next round. The highest die rolled will be ignored.

As the eight racers crossed the starting line, their red BOOST icons would turn green, an announcer's voice booming through nearby loudspeakers:

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

Now, the real race would begin!

You Got Boost Power! Speed-increasing moves, such as QUICK ATTACK, AGILITY, and EXTREME SPEED are now allowed. Pokémon will be able to use such speed-increasing moves a number of times up to one plus their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE on Speed-based Obstacles for the posting round, meaning you will roll four times instead of two for that post and ignore the lowest two rolls.

Beware! Taking tight turns and stamina-draining Obstacles at high speeds can result in dire consequences, and may impose DISADVANTAGE on Endurance-based and Reaction-based Obstacles, meaning the higher of the two rolls will be ignored. If the lowest two of the four rolls would still pass the Obstacle, Track Position for that Obstacle will be instead calculated based on the highest two rolls.

If your Pokémon can MEGA EVOLVE, they may do so once for the rest of the race. This will consume one use of Boost. Doing so will grant your Pokémon three temporary Ranks in Speed, Endurance, and/or Reaction, divided as you see fit. This can cause your Pokémon's maximum Ranks in an attribute to exceed 5, but not exceed 6. Mega Evolution will last for three Obstacles.

If you have a Z-Move that could be reasonably used as an extreme burst of speed, your Pokémon may use it once for the rest of the race. This will consume two uses of Boost. On the Obstacle the Z-Move is used on, you will NOT need to roll; all numeric components of your roll will be maximized (an automatic 200).

LAP 2 | OBSTACLE 1

Prompt: After the course's opening three curves, the track narrows to three-wide but remains relatively straight for a long time. For those confident in their ability to control their Pokémon in narrow lanes, it is a prime place to let loose with reckless speed, but passing is risky! Racers also need to heed the nasty right-angle curves coming after the long, but thin, straightaway!

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: Boosting does not impose disadvantage on this Obstacle.

STANDINGS & COURSE MAP

If you cannot view the image, click here to view it at full size!

RULES

PLEASE HEED THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES. These rules are also subject to change.

• Your Pokémon are now LOCKED IN and STATIC for the remainder of this thread. You may not upgrade mid-thread.
• The Asper Cup guidelines can be referenced in this thread's first post.
  
• Your character's Pokémon can only use ONE move at a time. Remember that moves that could conceivably be used to make your Pokémon go faster are PROHIBITED DURING THE FIRST LAP OF THE RACE.
• Please provide a TL;DR summarizing your character's actions and/or BOLD moves/abilities used with each post.
• Missing too many posting rounds will result in YOUR CHARACTER'S DISQUALIFICATION.
• You MUST ROLL THIS ROUND in the Story Mode Rolling thread. The roll will be 2d100.
• Please POST ONLY ONCE THIS ROUND.

DEADLINE

AUGUST 4, 11:59 PM CDT (9:59 PM PDT)

The moderator post is expected to go up no later than August 6.

He thought he had peace and quiet for this stretch, however fact of the matter was that everything looked to be pitching again—and then the whistling came back!

“Che cazzo,” he would grumble under his breath. Okay, that was absolutely it. He definitely needed to purchase some heavy-duty earplugs whenever he brought this rocket beast out of Ostellia.

“Sorry!” he would yell over at the other two who’d gotten caught in the aftermath of his tailspin—the potential wipeout was rather nasty, but at least he was still… in the race… for now.

“Come on, don’t fuck around, we’re not even halfway through this entire thing!” he hissed under his breath as he attempted to reel the Celesteela back under control; but the constant keening noise was too much to ignore as beast and human rider somehow managed to drag their asses back onto the racetrack.

“Let’s go, let’s go, please don’t fuck up!”

But apparently… today was not meant to be…

He couldn’t help but pinch his nose this time out of sheer exasperation. Why was luck not on his side at all these days?

He didn’t realize that he’d pinched his nose so hard it turned red due to the pressure he’d unknowingly been applying to it.

He was ready to lose his proverbial shit, after all.

---

link to roll; fuck me

lap 2, obstacle #1

This was it. Josh had the lead. With no one in front of him, he could treat the rest of the race like a time trial. He had put hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into the F-Zero series before leaping into action on UNOVR. Never did he expect to be able to put those time-attacking skills to the test here. As he crossed the line and boosters became available for use, a message briefly popped up near the center of his HUD, showing how far ahead he was of the Charizard narrowly trailing him. It wasn't much, and that needed to change.

Rounding the opening three corners, a long but narrow stretch was the perfect chance to unleash his mind, and his body, upon the course. If his past experience in the Surge Steppes was any indicator, the track was going to be flying by. His thighs would be burning when this was all done. But it was worth it in the moment... to not just win the race, but to leave the competition in the dust.

"Raiden, QUICK ATTACK!" Josh barked over a peal of thunder. Raiden loudly whinnied, his white stripes flashing yellow as speed trails surrounded him, his hooves clacking against the metallic ground more rapidly than any real world horse's could... and by a long shot at that. It almost felt like he was floating in the saddle, the Zebstrika's gait so rapid that he was floating in midair as it reached a trough, only to catch him as the Pokémon's flexing back peaked. The entire duration of the Quick Attack, he was screaming in fright.

For someone who dreamed of riding on a cheetah as a child, it was ironic for him to be afraid of breaking speed limits.

Asper Cup: Thunder Road

Audio: Osc-Sync Carnival



Though the opening stretch was long enough to accommodate it, much of the field showed an abundance of caution as boost laps began. ARAVAN ESCHER's skin tingled as a crashing lightning bolt struck one of the nearby towers and the wind picked up. The one mercy the Surge Steppes bestowed upon them was the air was so dry that they didn't have to deal with rain painfully pounding at them all. Unlike in Hoenn, UNOVR's Kyogre didn't come with a heavy rainstorm upon being brought out of its Poké Ball. The oceanographer watched the distant battle between ERON IUNIS and Alkaid , his CELESTEELA's shrill whistling an incentive for the black-horned ABSOL to pick up the pace and complete the pass.

Altair 's worries of crashing were premature; there was no one in front of his ONIX for quite the distance, and the ABSOL chasing him down was far away, as well. It would be the perfect place for the swift, but slow-to-accelerate ONIX to make a move on Shalin Nariya and her PHEROMOSA. The wiry insect was simply too fast; it may have felt like cheating that she was able to sit alight the Ultra Beast's wing. Such speed let her close the gap on Alicia Westfield and her BAYLEEF, the course's lacking width preventing her from making a pass and edging into the top three. Though the Gardener had maintained her position, she had lost a substantial amount of time to those in front of her.

It was only Josh Devlin that threw caution completely to the wind. With no one in front of him, he treated the race like a time trial, as though he had his sights on the course record. Just as ACE SHEEKE ordered his CHARIZARD's tail to burn brighter, a web of electricity flew outward from the ZEBSTRIKA's hooves in a QUICK ATTACK that earned a wind-masked scream from its rider. The gap between the leader and the runner-up widened further, the blonde miraculously able to hold the blood-curdling speed all the way through the straight but narrow span.

Just before the next turn, Shalin Nariya 's PHEROMOSA began to vibrate its wings again, wrestling control from the green-ette. Was it trying to use a BUG BUZZ to propel itself faster and get in the top three?

LAP 2 | OBSTACLE 2

Prompt: After three more generously wide right-angle turns, the course narrows to accommodate only three Pokémon side-by-side. As it steadily drifts to the left, the track's grade subtly increases... until it suddenly drops at a sharp angle, causing unsuspecting Pokémon to slip before making a proper leap!

At the bottom of the jump is a giant sign with arrows pointing to the right, warning competitors of a sharp right turn immediately after the landing. Though the sign is normally prominently visible, an ill-timed, blinding flash from the primary generator tower being struck with a giant lightning bolt complicates matters. Those far behind the leaders might be able to see more clearly than the poor leaders, their vision nearly completely obscured by the natural light show's brilliance!

Target Number: 190 (Reaction)

Special: The Target Number of this Obstacle is reduced by 20 per racer that is ahead of your Pokémon. Pokémon that roll beneath this Obstacle's Target Number lose one use of BOOST for every 30 points of difference between the Total Roll and the Target Number. Pokémon without a BOOST to lose will instead be ELIMINATED FROM THE RACE.

STANDINGS & COURSE MAP

If you cannot view the image, click here to view it at full size!

RULES

PLEASE HEED THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES. These rules are also subject to change.

• Your Pokémon are now LOCKED IN and STATIC for the remainder of this thread. You may not upgrade mid-thread.
• The Asper Cup guidelines can be referenced in this thread's first post.
  
• Your character's Pokémon can only use ONE move at a time. Remember that moves that could conceivably be used to make your Pokémon go faster are PROHIBITED DURING THE FIRST LAP OF THE RACE.
• Please provide a TL;DR summarizing your character's actions and/or BOLD moves/abilities used with each post.
• Missing too many posting rounds will result in YOUR CHARACTER'S DISQUALIFICATION.
• You MUST ROLL THIS ROUND in the Story Mode Rolling thread. The default roll will be 2d100.
• Please POST ONLY ONCE THIS ROUND.

DEADLINE

AUGUST 7, 11:59 PM CDT (9:59 PM PDT)

The moderator post is expected to go up no later than August 9.

Glancing at his mini-map, Josh was coasting. He was so far ahead of ACE SHEEKE, Alicia Westfield , and the others that he could let up on the electricity if he needed to. That wasn't the kind of competitor Josh was. He didn't just want to win. He wanted to humiliate everyone. Dialed in with his concentration and his sublime control over the Zebstrika, and with no one in front of him, it was just him and the course.

That is, until a sudden flash of lightning blinded him, making it nearly impossible for him to see! With how close the jump was, the avid racer flicked Raiden's reins. The Pokémon sprung high into the air, his trainer feeling the reversal of momentum the moment he was above the lower track. Once he felt his gut start to sink, he pulled hard to the right, signaling to the horse to make a sharp right turn upon landing. Without being able to see, though, he wasn't sure if he would have enough time to make such a turn!

Shalin and the sprinting insect had Alicia Westfield in their sights, ready to make good on their promise to pass them. She really wanted to get in front of ACE SHEEKE's Charizard, but she had to take it one step at a time. Just as she made her move, the scenery grew white from a lightning flash, the Bayleef's rider in front of her screaming for her mount to use... what? ELECTRO DRIFT?

Wasn't that a Miraidon's signature move? How in the world did she learn that?

On his own, Nymris leaned into the wind and began vibrating his wings harshly. Not fast enough for a proper Bug Buzz, but fast enough that his rider became a streak of green light against the sky's light show. Blinded by both the intense motion and the brightness of the storm, she was completely in the Ultra Beast's capable hands, instinctively pulling on the Pokémon's right antenna as soon as she thought she felt them land. It was subtle, though, with how much her sense of touch had been dulled being thrown up and down too fast to see...

Asper Cup: Thunder Road

Audio: Osc-Sync Carnival

The ill-timed flash of lightning completely blinded racers toward the front, and made seeing difficult for those at the back. ACE SHEEKE was hot on Josh Devlin 's trail, his CHARIZARD's tail flame glowing a white-purple in preparation for a draconic burst of speed after the sharp corners. Blinded by the flash, he adjusted a split second too late.

A metallic crash barely echoed over the remnants of the thunder, the fire-type painfully belly-flopping against the large sign to keep its rider from being a second victim. Alicia Westfield , Shalin Nariya , ERON IUNIS, and Alkaid whizzed past as the dragon shook its head, getting back into the air with lackluster acceleration, the CELESTEELA's AUTOTOMIZED body slicing through the air and threatening to steal fourth place from the blinking-red ABSOL. Altair 's ONIX's rumbling from rapidly slithering made it all the more difficult for poor ACE SHEEKE, getting back in the air before the rock snake and ARAVAN ESCHER's legendary Pokémon could pass him with its vigorously-swishing AQUA TAIL.

ACE SHEEKE's CHARIZARD loses one use of BOOST.

Alicia Westfield wasn't satisfied with second place. A second thunderous explosion rocked the track, the Gardener and her BAYLEEF obscured in a purple and white fireworks show. Were it not for her special bond with the grass-type and their harrowing experience in the Everworld, the whiplike forces of the ELECTRO DRIFT, strong as a Z-MOVE, would have hurled her from her seat in an instant. The grass-type's sparking feet squealed from drifts and power slides that were a spectacle to behold; a moment that would almost assuredly find its way onto the highlight reel.

The Gardener and her BAYLEEF brute-forced their way through the whippy turns, substantially closing the gap between herself and Josh Devlin 's ZEBSTRIKA. The two were poised to run away from the rest of the field, a true duel between herself and a friend in his element. Even so, the rest of the field was not out of the race. Though powerful, the Z-MOVE would leave the grass-type low in reserves, but not dangerously so. The wavy backstretch would leave the field with a chance to conserve their energy...

LAP 2 | OBSTACLE 3

Prompt: The wavy backstretch after the mogul-like terrain prone to sending teams flying is one of the few places racers can elect to take a pit stop. All across the long and wide straightaway is a narrow, rainbow-colored strip that rejuvenates Pokémon that run across it. It cuts back and forth across the inside and outside, making following it the entire time costly. For Pokémon on their last legs, it may be their salvation! For those confident in their Pokémon's stamina, it is a wonderful place to let loose -- just don't catch air on one of the hills!

Target Number 1: 140 (Endurance)

Special 1: Boosting does NOT impose disadvantage on this Obstacle.

Target Number 2: 140 (Endurance)

Special 2: Pokémon do not apply their ranks in Speed to this Obstacle. Pokémon that challenge this Target Number gain one additional use of BOOST.

STANDINGS & COURSE MAP

If you cannot view the image, click here to view it at full size!

RULES

PLEASE HEED THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES. These rules are also subject to change.

• Your Pokémon are now LOCKED IN and STATIC for the remainder of this thread. You may not upgrade mid-thread.
• The Asper Cup guidelines can be referenced in this thread's first post.
  
• Your character's Pokémon can only use ONE move at a time. Remember that moves that could conceivably be used to make your Pokémon go faster are PROHIBITED DURING THE FIRST LAP OF THE RACE.
• Please provide a TL;DR summarizing your character's actions and/or BOLD moves/abilities used with each post.
• Missing too many posting rounds will result in YOUR CHARACTER'S DISQUALIFICATION.
• You MUST ROLL THIS ROUND in the Story Mode Rolling thread. The default roll will be 2d100.
• Please POST ONLY ONCE THIS ROUND.

DEADLINE

AUGUST 12, 11:59 PM CDT (9:59 PM PDT)

The moderator post is expected to go up no later than August 14.