Upon entry to the Gym and its waiting room decorated with a thunderstorm motif, Josh's secretary would have directed Sierra to Sector 1 for her appointment with the Gym Leader. Provided she followed the signage, she would have seen him near the SURFACE SLIDE course's starting line, surrounded by an entire pride of Pyroar. There were six of them total, four males and two females, the largest male boasting a golden, Shiny mane.

If Sierra Benoit had done much research into the Mauville Gym Leader, she would have known this lion by name: Aslan. It was one of his Gym's most well-known Pokémon and Pokémon species. His pride of Pyroar was one of his Gym's attractions, often used to teach students attending his riding and racing classes. Every single one of them wore saddle and bridle, an indicator of just how loyal and well-behaved the savannah predators were. He was so busy at play with his pride that he didn't notice Sierra immediately.

Aslan let out a gentle purr upon Sierra mentioning his name. As gentle as a Pyroar's purr could be, anyway; it was still noisy and may have been intimidating. "His name's Aslan, named after a lion god in a popular Unovan fairy tale about a witch and a magical wardrobe."

The Gym Leader accepted Sierra's handshake, Rani sniffing the reporter. "Gym Leader Devlin and Elite Ranger Devlin, but Josh is just fine by me," he introduced himself, two of his Gym trainers sparring with potential challengers in the background. "You weren't at all! Challenger volume has been low recently, so it's been easier to take time out to speak with the press. What can I help you with today?"

Josh was no stranger to "hectic". Between his Gym Leader duties, Ranger duties, and restitution, he was quite busy. "They're the pride of my Gym, and of the Mauville Rangers. Any time there's a large rescue operation I have to head, all of my Pyroar come with me for other Rangers to use." Aslan sniffed, purring loudly but affectionately. It was a sign of how powerful yet gentle the great cat was.

Nala, the smaller of the two females, was the one to approach Sierra. She sniffed the reporter's hand, even lightly bumping her if she were to allow it. "Certainly! We could meet in my--"

After sniffing Sierra, the great cat crouched in front of her before sitting down, letting the newsperson cuddle with the lioness if she wanted. The red saddle on her back may have beckoned Sierra, too. Josh didn't know what to say, particularly after Aslan did the same, even going as far as to sidestep in such a way to have his own saddle bump into his trainer's outstretched hand. "A run, now, Aslan?" he asked before turning toward Sierra. "Sorry. I don't know what's gotten into Rani. She's friendly, yes, but usually not this friendly with people."

Josh couldn't help but coo at Nala and Sierra cuddle with one another, the reporter perhaps able to feel a refreshing warmth course through her. "Pyroar have a reputation for being tough to raise, but they're as friendly as a house Skitty when you get past their hunting instincts." She may have been able to feel the vibration of a powerful purr reverberating through her skin.

Nodding, Josh tapped Aslan's back, the Shiny jungle king crouching to let the Gym Leader aboard. He may have looked like a much more imposing figure holding the normal-type's reins, but was still friendly as ever. "It's what inspired me to become a trainer in the first place when I was ten. It's fed into a dream I've never been able to give up: befriending the fastest Pokémon on land." If Sierra was familiar with Johtonian mythology, she would have easily been able to know that Pokémon as Raikou, the god of lightning and speed.

Nala purred toward Sierra, noticing the attention toward her red riding gear. "I think she wants you to hop on! Just try to be careful with her. She's even faster than Aslan is." Though he didn't explain it, there was also the issue of felines' backs flexing far more than a Ponyta's. While their saddles were designed to mitigate that motion, the bounciness of the predator's running stroke would still be more pronounced than an equine's.

Nala indeed understood Sierra, doing her best to keep her acceleration as smooth as possible. It didn't make the initial leap any less intense, Aslan keeping pace with the faster lioness holding her true speed back in the interest of keeping her guest rider safe. It may not have felt like holding back to Sierra, as her shout indicated to the Gym Leader. Her form looked surprisingly good for someone claiming to have little experience. Even with the racing-trained feline holding back a lot of her speed, it didn't change the reality before her.

Pyroar were just plain fast.

Josh reined Aslan along, Simba on the lioness' other side to keep Nala straight as Sierra seemingly adapted to the bouncy running stroke. There was just something special, something magical about sitting astride a mount capable of ripping anything in its path to shreds.

The excited Rani, not to be outdone by her pridemates, snarled before bolting forward, three images of herself trailing behind her in a blazing fast DOUBLE TEAM. It was a common racing technique for Pokémon not capable of more conventional, and often more stamina-efficient, Quick Attacks.

"Oh, Rani, always wanting to one-up your sister," Josh sighed, all six lions going fast enough to leave dust clouds behind them. "Holding Nala's reins can help with your balance, too," he turned toward Sierra and raised his voice some, though he was uncertain how much he could be heard over the wind ripping around them. "She's all yours to control! If you pull on her reins with one arm, she'll turn in the same direction, and if you squeeze her sides, she'll go faster! It's just like riding horseback!"

For someone who didn't have a lot of experience, Sierra sure was a natural. Though her motions were not as precise as those of a racer, the confidence and trust she had in Nala was higher than many of the applicants he had hired to be Gym Trainers. They were already going faster than legal highway driving speed, and Nala's guest rider seemed to be having the time of her life. Josh, likewise, jabbed at Aslan's sides to keep up, the lions' backs bouncing the duo about. With every expansion of their running stroke, it felt like the saddle fell from underneath their rumps; with every contraction, their backs caught them from a tiny fall.

As Rani pulled ahead of the pride, Sierra had goaded Nala into going all-out. The prideful lioness roared, her rider perhaps getting feedback from her mount's powerful lungs before lunging forward into a full, DOUBLE TEAM-fueled gallop of her own. The move forced Aslan to try to keep up with a DOUBLE TEAM use of his own, the older lion king chasing Nala at speeds needed for the many police chases the Gym Leader helped with. If not for his injury from the Meteno operation, Aslan would have been able to keep up easily. On his synthetic leg, though, that speed simply wasn't there. "Wheeeeeee-haaaaaaa!!" Josh screamed perhaps loudly enough for Sierra to hear over the resounding wind as Nala pulled away from the remainder of the dashing pride.

Even Josh had to catch his breath after the two completed a lap around the concourse. Sierra had talent to withstand a redlining, DOUBLE TEAM-fueled sprint from a great cat. They had gone faster than many older commercial vehicles were capable of moving with the gas pedal all the way to the floor. "Are you okay?" Josh asked, sliding off Aslan's back and offering the interviewer a hand in standing. "You're a natural racer and quite the athlete, Sierra. You could make a lot of money doing this even semi-professionally." He continued to shower the reporter with compliments of her great skill, instinct, and reaction time; all were important for a racer to have.

Sierra's gaze was met with a smile between the lioness' own breaths. It was not often she got to let loose at full speed with a guest in her saddle, and she enjoyed every bit of it. She walked toward the reporter, letting the two cuddle if the blonde so desired.

With both of them a little shaken up after the wild and fast ride, Josh led the way back into his Gym's office. "Sorry we got so distracted," he apologized, the air conditioning refreshing after working up quite the sweat. "I'm sure you still have all kinds of questions for me. My office is on the third floor if you want to use that to take all the notes you need."