[ti]spawn[/ti][S][SPAWN] Thunder and Storm

It would not take long for lightning to strike the spire, Raiden flinching and rearing from the overload of electricity. Josh could have sworn he saw the eggs move and wriggle while the Zebstrika was catching his breath. He reined the Boltund toward his partner and reached toward both the eggs. They were definitely moving like they hadn't before.

"Are you two okay?" he asked Thunder and Storm from within their shells. They were, of course, too young to respond. They were either writhing in pain or reveling from within from the large influx of electricity. Even after several minutes, the motion didn't calm down; it was more a sign of the latter. How close were they to hatching?

With the Ponyta long gone, the Steppes were once again filled only with wind, thunder, and the clacking of hooves. "Should probably get away from these pillars..." Josh trailed off, having confidence that he as a BOLTER could withstand direct lightning strikes now. They wouldn't exactly be pain-free, but they would be very much survivable.

At long last, Thunder and Storm had calmed down; though their eggs weren't motionless, they had moved less than they did before. It was a sign that they had survived the high voltage and perhaps even had a growth spurt from within. He would have to dismount to check their weight in order to see, and time was still ticking... even though he couldn't see his time outside the Challenge Tower...

Josh's entire field of vision turned to an orange-white as he and his Boltund felt a burning sensation that even his KINDLER class couldn't fully suppress. The beam of pure hatred engulfed the boy scout, his dog, and his electric horse, the HYPER BEAM inflicting hundreds of damage upon them all. Had he assigned himself the SWEEPER class instead of the TANK class, he easily would have whited out on the spot. Although powerful, he survived the onslaught.

With the Duraludon reeling after such an attack, he crawled off his now-fainted Boltund and recalled it. Out of range of the combat encounter, the steaming Gym Leader, covered in bleeding burns, fast-traveled to the THUNDERFALL SHRINE. It would put him even farther behind in the race, but keeping his Pokémon out of the Everworld was far more important.

Riding next to the two chicks, Josh waved toward them, making a funny face that children would typically appreciate. "Hi Thunder! Hi Storm!" he greeted the two, though they were too young to reply with anything except chirps and noises other tiny birds made.

Glad he could spend more time with them while they were young, for they didn't count against the active Pokémon limit, Josh let his Zebstrika take the lead. Now he was the one distracted, the hidden timer still counting up. He would even take a Mareep at this point. Mega Ampharos could fly, to his recollection!

The blazing horse could put on a lot of speed, able to keep up with Raiden and Crash for quite some time before at last falling off. Were this not the Surge Steppes, Josh was certain that the fire-type could have outpaced him. Their environment gave the Bolter's electric-types that extra kick they needed.

Josh's two Zapdos chicks appeared to be having fun, too; had the desire of high speed thrills rubbed off on them while he carried them on the backs of his Pokémon? Only the Father Zapdos in Mistra knew. Their distraction ending, Josh reined his Boltund back across the Tall Grass. The amount of time he had lost was beginning to get concerning...

Such were the dangers of setting movement macros; disabling them was an extra step to taking manual control of his Pokémon. Even so, it was good having downtime to do things like inventory management. With raid time rapidly approaching, having all of his important items toward the top of his inventory was important.

If there was one thing Josh wished he could do in the moment, it was check on his time in the race. That, though, would be hidden from his UI until he returned to the Tower Challenge. There were three Pokémon that fit the bill, not just one. Where was... any one of them?

What kinds of Pokémon were out there that could learn Extreme Speed, anyway? Josh thought about it as Raiden continued to circle the Tall Grass, the boy reprogramming his macro to move counterclockwise instead of clockwise due to pressure building on his left hip. He already had a Growlithe, which could learn it once it evolved. He knew the Dratini line could, and Lucario could, as well.

Togekiss and Linoone could. Linoone in particular sounded fun. It would require a Huge Seal pumped up to the maximum height possible, and perhaps even a slightly higher seat than normal, but riding the straight-line sprinter sounded like a lot of fun. Perhaps for a Colossal Battle next month, he would track one down.