Mauville Racing Grounds' facility was enormous indeed; while the office space had little signage due to its size being on the smaller side, the property where the action took place, just outside the city proper, was enormous. Luckily, Josh had experienced staff who knew the facility well, and signage that could guide challengers to the correct location. The voice of ANDREW WEISS, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger Logan, please report to Sector 2. Challenger Logan, to Sector 2. Thank you!"

Provided the challenger found ample signage, he would see the brash and tall ACE SHEEKE, already seated on Ares the Charizard; the timid and short ERON IUNIS, on Mastema the Togekiss, and the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER, astride Sidewinder the Dragapult. Lastly, he would see the Gym Leader Josh Devlin , making adjustments to the saddle strapped to an Altaria of his own. "Ah, there you are, Lam!" Josh greeted his challenger. "Just gotta make sure Squall's gear is comfortable for both of us and secure before we get airborne," he explained. "This should be a competitive one. Don't think I haven't noticed you signed up for the big race in Fortree!" The three Gym Trainers introduced themselves and Josh's Pokémon they were borrowing, one by one. "And don't forget, Aravan, no disappearing into the ethereal. That's illegal."

The winds were on the calm side, which would make navigating today's course much easier. A small crowd filled the bottom several rows of mostly empty stands on both sides of Sector 2's LOOP CROSS course. It was titled as such for its two loop-de-loops and long, lateral turns greater than 360 degrees. While those would take precision to enter and exit, as well as stamina to maintain, there was plenty of room in between them for extremely speedy Pokémon to shine!

Josh went over the rules of the challenge, required by Hoenn League statute. "I'm sure you're familiar with Hoenn Racing Federation rules if you've registered for the big race in Fortree, but I'll refresh your memory. See that arch near the starting line, with the long and skinny monitor on it? We line up behind that, and the countdown will be on that display. It will sound four horns and display '3, 2, 1, GO'. On 'GO', the race starts. Moves like Quick Attack can't be used on the first lap. After the first lap, use them as much as you think your Altaria can handle. Beat me to the finish line after three laps, or otherwise prove to me you can handle the pressure of split second decision making, and the Hoenn League Quick Badge is yours."

Once the explanation was over, Josh took a seat on the large Altaria's back, the cloud-winged dragon's legs bending a little more than he expected. Perhaps the lithe, narrow-bodied dragon was a little too small for him? They had practiced before, and had been fine until now. Maybe the Altaria was still getting used to carrying him; after all, they were not a common species for riding. "You better be ready to truly fly in three dimensions, and even upside down," Josh warned as he slammed his helmet's visor down. If Lam were to glance toward him, he would see a laser focused expression, almost like he was in a zen state as he held Squall's reins in anticipation of the takeoff.

You will have 8 ranks to distribute among three skills. No more than 5 ranks can be assigned to any one skill.

• SPEED: This represents how fast your Pokémon can travel. Each rank of Speed adds 10 to all your rolls, and an additional 10 to rolls on Speed-based Obstacles.
  
• ENDURANCE: This represents how well a Pokémon can navigate difficult terrain, and affects how often a Pokémon can use its Boost during a race. Your Pokémon can use its Boost a number of times equal to its number of ranks in Endurance (min. 1). Each rank of Endurance reduces the Target Number of Endurance-based Obstacles by 20.
• REACTION: This represents a Pokémon’s cornering ability. Each rank of Reaction reduces the Target Number of Reaction-based Obstacles by 20.

In the OOC notes of your next post, please note your Pokémon's distribution of skills.

You do not need to roll after your next post, but you will need to [ roll ] twice at the end of every post mid-challenge. This roll will be modified according to your Pokémon's skill ranks.

Example: If a player rolls a 60 on a post involving running down a straightaway as fast as possible atop a Pokémon with four ranks in Speed, their effective roll will be 140.

The Leader's next post will include a "mod post" that depicts the course's first Obstacle: a prompt that presents a challenge for the racers to overcome. Each Obstacle will include the following information:

Target Number: This is the number the racers need to roll at or above to overcome the Obstacle without penalty. While it is uncommon, an Obstacle can have multiple Target Numbers.

Intended Skill: This is the Skill that will apply to the Obstacle. It can be Speed, Endurance, or Reaction.

Example Obstacle: The track starts out with a bang--a sharp, 135-degree left turn mere tens of meters from the starting line. The width of the turn itself makes recovering from a misjudged angle easier, but the track quickly narrows up again afterward. A guardrail on the outside keeps Pokémon from sliding off the course, but there is no such guardrail on the inside, and there’s a shallow stream that looks time-consuming for non-Water Pokémon to climb out of!

Target Number: 105 (Reaction)

After the players make their rolls, the Target Number is deducted from the player's roll, and the difference becomes the player's Track Points (TP) for the round. 100 TP corresponds to roughly one second of time differential. The race will consist of three laps, with three Obstacles per lap. After the ninth Obstacle, total Track Points will determine finishing order. The QUICK BADGE is awarded if at least one of the following conditions are met:

1) The challenger finishes the race in 1st or 2nd place.
2) The challenger finishes the race ahead of the Gym Leader.
3) The challenger otherwise demonstrates their mastery of the tenets of Mauville Gym, at the Leader's discretion.

Nerves when coming to a Pokémon Gym were natural. The Gym Leader himself was nervous when he entered Alexei Ivanov 's Gym as a challenger, learning how to truly fly as one with his Skarmory. Back then, he never thought he would be taking challengers in a very similar vein. In retrospect, though, he wasn't competing with Alex, which in a way made his racing challenge more difficult. His courses were also a lot more sane than the Birdfather's, which he would come to see on race day. Zipping himself into place within the cocoon, Josh felt the deep hum of Squall's voice, the giant male ready to leap into the air at his rider's command.

Once the five were lined up, three images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou at full gallop appeared on the banner monitor above the starting arch. Behind them was a "GET READY" prompt, Josh and his Gym Trainers tensing their legs in anticipation. The first of the three images began to fade away, with it sounding a loud squawk as a simultaneous aural warning that the race was about to begin. A second, then a third followed. When the final image of Raikou disappeared, the prompt changed to a green "GO" alongside a longer and higher-pitched squawk. Josh squeezed his Altaria's sides, and with a few powerful flaps of her cotton, cloud-like wings, the azure dragon was in the air. He was not one to get up to speed quickly, expecting to be behind early. As long as he could keep the Altaria away from trees, poles, or other obstacles, he expected to steadily gain ground as the contest went on.

After each posting round, a prompt describing the upcoming section of the track will be posted. These prompts may highlight different sections of the course on each lap. You will react to the prompt, then [ roll ] twice. For the first lap, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 130 before modifiers.

Prompt: Subtle curves pepper the opening stretch. If there were no other racers to deal with, the curves were so slight that one could coast straight ahead, making it easy to get up to speed! With the heavy traffic that was typical of the start of any race, though, finding that ideal line would be easier said than done! Furthermore, building up speed was important, as the first of several vertical loops was marked by a pair of yellow, triangle-shaped signs at the abrupt end of the road beneath them! Much like a roller coaster, the racers would briefly fly upside down before diving onto the adjacent section of the course to their right!

Target Number: 125 (Speed)

Special: A Pokémon that rolls beneath the Target Number by more than 30 will instead result in a loss of 150 TP from the Pokémon not completing the loop properly.

Lam was quite a bit more lithe than Josh was, making the Gym Leader look just a little silly to be at the reins of an Altaria. It was a species that typically could only maintain flight with slim, skinny riders. Squall was a big and strong boy. Though even with his great size, the cloud dragon's body was narrower than Josh was used to. Once they were in the air, though, he could let his lower legs hang from his mount's side.

Rather than fighting early traffic, Josh immediately reined Squall skyward. With surprisingly strong wingbeats, the screeching dragon soared, giving up early position to find the straight line he was used to taking during time trials. Speed was important, as those yellow signs were coming up fast! The moment he passed them, Josh slid both his hands up the reins and pulled hard. Squall reached a precarious angle of attack after the command to ascend. He hoped his decision to fall back early would give him enough speed to complete the inversion and dive out of it, screaming ahead of the others and taking his rightful position at the front of the pack.

lam logan 's nerves were understandable; there was a big difference between a casual flight over Hoenn and a competition that tested not only the physical limits of the Pokémon, but the trainer, as well. Both ALTARIA took a similar approach, though it was hard to tell which was more effective. The challenger's built up speed less quickly, but also conserved strength to be able to make it all the way up the first of two vertical loops. That extra strength would prove valuable for the following turn, which was a brutal, long, uphill curve. Leader and challenger both exited the loop with a great deal of speed and wind in their faces (or in Josh's case, his visor).

Neither could quite catch ARAVAN ESCHER and his swift DRAGAPULT; not being bound by material physics let the dragon-type fly upside-down with ease that few common dragons could. Heavier dragons, such as ACE SHEEKE's CHARIZARD, struggled with the loop. While the orange fire-type had the speed to rapidly ascend, the design of his wings simply was not conducive to complex aerial maneuvers. The tall trainer and dragon nearly stalled out at the top of the loop, sounding a loud grunt as he barely recovered flight. While he was not out of the race by any stretch, he was significantly behind ERON IUNIS and his TOGEKISS, who closely trailed the two ALTARIA.

Prompt: Shortly after the end of the loop enabled gravity to propel the racers forward perhaps past their normal top speeds, one of the most challenging curves on Josh's entire property loomed ahead. Marked by green flags, it was a spiraling, uphill, right turn that lasted for two complete circles. Not only would this test the strength of the flying Pokémon to maintain a sweeping turn for so long, it would be a test of stamina for the riders, having to fly at steep bank angles for an extended period of time!

Target Number: 140 (Endurance)

Special: None

Loop Cross was one of Josh's favorite aerial tracks, as well as one of his best records. The number of attempts he had logged with his Dragonair in an effort to break the 03'40"000 barrier was in the hundreds. He did not expect to come anywhere close to that, as it would be far more taxing to maintain the demanding inverted section with Squall than with Resheph. Unlike Dragonair, Altaria simply were not designed to fly upside down for extended periods of time. They could certainly do so, with their cloud-like wings making it possible for any part of the wing to be the leading edge and provide lift, but they didn't have the full aerial mobility a floating mount like a Dragonair would.

"Squall, put on the brakes a little!" For a brief moment, the blue and white dragon tilted his wings to induce drag. That shed just enough speed to allow Josh to comfortably lean into the spiraling turn. Even at the reduced speed, the bank angle the two flew at made blood rush to the side of his head. At one point, the horizon was almost completely sideways. His right arm and leg began to tremble halfway up the turn from his arm's muscles consuming oxygen faster than his blood vessels could feed it, despite good breathing habits.

The decision for Josh Devlin to brake was a wise one, his awareness saving his ALTARIA from flying out of bounds along the outside of the course and suffering a time penalty. The TOGEKISS that ERON IUNIS was piloting had things a bit easier than the others, the floaty nature of the fairy-type's flight letting the competitor focus on maintaining as close to an optimal line as possible. ACE SHEEKE let out a loud bellow as he yanked right on his CHARIZARD's reins with all his might, defying the species' limitations and flying at a dangerously steep angle. The fire-type's grit on full display, the red team charged up the curve with reckless abandon, forcing Josh Devlin and ERON IUNIS to the outside of the spiral and yielding to the now-third place racer.

lam logan and ARAVAN ESCHER battled for the lead, his DRAGAPULT swiftly blocking the challenger's ALTARIA with every move. Halfway through, the apparition drifted to the outside, giving the Petalburg Captain a chance to overtake the ghost-type. And take that chance they did, stealing the inside line and not giving it back. The cloud-winged Pokémon took advantage of a critical pass to build up a substantial lead, but not one the challenger could rest his laurels on. There was still a lot of race to go, and speedsports were by their very nature unpredictable!

Prompt: Following the long turn was a straightforward but narrow strip for Pokémon to get up to speed in anticipation of a loop similar to the one at the start of the course. What made this one different was its end was twisted, as marked by the reversal of the colors of flags marking course bounds. The red flags marking the outside border of the track were now on the inside, meaning the racers would need to fly inverted for a period of time until the colors reverted to normal. Halfway through the inverted section was a right-angle turn. Those who relied upon the mini-map provided to them before the race began would be in for a rude awakening, as what appeared to be a left turn on the map was actually a right turn due to flying upside down!

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: None

"Squall, we gotta pick up the pace!" Josh urged, squeezing the Altaria's sides. With a high-pitched trill, the fluffy-looking dragon extended his long neck forward, a shallow dive letting him pick up speed. The colored guide markers were confusing, particularly near the right turn, with the inverted section and the normal section of track being uncomfortably close to one another.

A recording of the sound of crashing thunder boomed around the course, simulating a passing thunderstorm. It made the sensation of the sky appearing beneath Josh and Squall unnerving. He leaned to his right -- or what he thought was his right through the disorientation of flying inverted. "Come on, Squall! Just this one curve and it'll be a straight stretch the rest of the way!" The Leader could feel his mount struggling to maintain flight, having to reverse how his wings usually flapped to stay airborne while upside down! Had he not had the experience of riding his Manectric through the MOBIUS RING in New Mauville, even Josh may have lost track of his senses!

ARAVAN ESCHER and his DRAGAPULT were not ones to take too kindly to being passed; the phantom dragon's ethereal nature made them by far the most adept of the five Pokémon at flying upside down. Blood rushed to the racers' heads as the starting arch whipped past them on the bottom segment of the course, appearing to he above them. The ghost-type slowly gained on lam logan and his ALTARIA until the end of the inverted section, ending in an inverted loop that caused all the Pokémon in the race to gain a great, unsustainable amount of speed. It would be a quirk racers would be prudent to take note of, as that level of speed could be almost impossible to control during boost laps.

ERON IUNIS, Josh Devlin , and their Pokémon had front-row seats to perhaps the greatest spectacle that transpired so far in the race: ACE SHEEKE and his CHARIZARD flying upside down with surprisingly little trouble. The wings of the orange, flame-tailed dragon were not designed for inverted flight at all, and yet the dragon, with great effort, managed to stave the two off and keep his third place position.

As the five racers crossed the starting arch, lam logan maintained a significant but not comfortable lead over the field. They would hear the announcer cry, as well as see an identical message on the arch's display: "YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

Now, the real race would begin.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/763977284038033418/1088229073215574077/You_Got_Boost_Power.mp3[/player]

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 their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE for the posting round, meaning you will [ roll ] four times instead of two for that post and ignore the lower set of rolls. Please separate the first two rolls from the second two rolls with a delimiter of some kind. For the second lap of the race, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 150, before modifiers are applied.

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

Prompt: After the course's opening loop, Pokémon and racers would get a chance to catch their breath between now and the long, spiraling upward turn: there was a long, straight section of track that was ideal for Pokémon to regain their stamina, or for those who were daring, the chance to put on a burst of speed. Better hit the brakes before the long turn, though!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

Josh exhaled after reaching the end of the long, inverted corridor. In open races on this course, there would be a size limit to how large Pokémon could be, as the vertically mirrored sections of the course would close enough to one another that a head-on collision between Pokémon would not be unrealistic. With only five on the course, it was astronomically unlikely that racers would be so separated that it would be an issue. At last able to relieve both of their bloodrush, Josh shifted his weight sharply to one side, Squall flying upright once more. "How you holding up?" he asked his partner, briefly taking his right hand off the reins to give a gentle pat. The Altaria responded with a high-pitched trill.

As much as Josh wanted to have the dragon floor it as soon as they crossed the line, he knew rocketing up the opening loop straight away would tire his mount out. Instead, he gave the order to do so as soon as they were at its peak. "It's time - DRAGON DANCE!" As they were leaving the brief inversion, gravity added fuel to the fire of the dragon-type arte. Squall's white, fluffy wings glowed violet, pushing forward despite a brief surge of pressure on his halters from Josh's recoil. lam logan may have been in the lead for now, but Josh was going to change that if he could! After all, the Quick Badge had a reputation for being a difficult one to obtain!

lam logan 's dexterity in holding his ALTARIA's reins with one hand would prove integral in remaining in the lead. Clutching his TERA ORB in his other hand, both of them briefly became encased in pink crystal, which shattered moments later in the light of INFINITY ENERGY. Covered in a FAIRY TERASTAL body, the cloud wings of the challenger's Pokémon glowed pink as well. The added speed the INFINITY ENERGY bestowed let the duo stave off the efforts of ACE SHEEKE and his CHARIZARD, leaving the fire-type a distant second as they, with a DRAGON DANCE, surged past the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER and his DRAGAPULT.

Even Josh Devlin and ERON IUNIS were far from out of it, the Gym Leader's orders to initiate a DRAGON DANCE met with those of EXTREME SPEED from his friend's TOGEKISS. Swift as the Pokémon may be, their bursts of speed only let them keep up with the rest of the field. The blue-haired racer, his mount ideal for the long inverted section at the end of the course, had his eyes on the CHARIZARD and ALTARIA in front of him.

Prompt: After the long, spiraling curve, the second half of the course's titular obstacle loomed ahead. This one was a loop much like the first, but rather than a vertical one, it was a horizontal one, the course's bounds tilting teams such that their right sides would be facing the ground! The straightaway beforehand had given them plenty of speed to build the needed momentum for the loop. While it would give riders and Pokémon an amazing view of the gallery below, that might serve as a distraction; a distraction that threatened to break the concentration needed to maintain sideways momentum!

Target Number: 140 (Reaction)

Special: Boost use does NOT impose disadvantage on this Obstacle.

Josh and Squall coasted up the long, spiraling turn purely off the momentum of their DRAGON DANCE. As clean as their turn was, the Altaria barely having to flap his wings from how fast he was going, it remained short of catching the Togekiss. He wouldn't let his cheering fans distract him as his mount tilted sideways; all he kept his eyes on was the fairy-type in front of him as he felt his weight shift to his right side. "Keep up your DRAGON DANCE, Squall!"

At Josh's command, the purple glow surrounding Gym Leader and Pokémon intensified in an effort to outdo the second fastest Pokémon move in the world. The number one was, in Josh's mind unnamed, Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. Nothing was ever beating the sheer speed of a dive to and from outer space. A race track sized for that Pokémon would have to be an entire planet, seemingly.

Flying at boosted speed through the horizontal loop gave Squall the momentum he needed to complete it, ready to completely tilt over and start the long, inverted backstretch. That would be a good opportunity to ease off the metaphorical gas and let the Altaria recover. His mount's rising heartbeat let the Leader know he couldn't push the dragon too much further, especially not with an entire lap still ahead of them.

The back half of the field was fiercely competitive as the five Pokémon turned sideways in an amazing feat of acrobatics that got the gallery whistling and cheering. ERON IUNIS' TOGEKISS was as nimble as a fighter yet, able to turn on its side without losing any speed whatsoever, though the two were not a match for Josh Devlin 's DRAGON DANCING ALTARIA that zoomed past him on the outer lane. In his sight was the tail of the DRAGAPULT that ARAVAN ESCHER skillfully piloted around the loop, taking full advantage of its freedom of movement even outside the ethereal plane.

With almost cruel force, ACE SHEEKE spurred his CHARIZARD into a frenzy, its tail burning fiercely with the purple fires of a DRAGON DANCE, only pausing long enough to make a sharp right as the starting arch passed beneath them... which appeared to be above them, from the racers' perspective. Halfway down the inverted straightaway, the purple flames reverted to their normal reds and oranges. To them, lam logan and his ALTARIA were distant specks, the extra agility its TERASTAL BODY bestowed upon it allowing them to open up an enormous lead. Anything could happen still, but good racing fundamentals would likely secure the challenger a victory! Even the announcer seemed to agree, goading the challenger into resting on his laurels:

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1027406873948868683/1125213942579462204/FZX_-_Youre_Way_Out_in_Front.mp3[/player]

"POUR IT ON! YOU'RE WAY OUT IN FRONT!"

Prompt: Pokémon adept at inverted flight would find the section of the course after the horizontal loop quite easy, while those not so skilled with it would find remaining upside-down for an extended period of time a struggle. What followed would not be easy for any of them: a loop that the racers would be flying on the inside of. For much of the challenging aerial maneuver, the bottom of the loop would be in the competitors' vision. Gravity would fight against the senses of riders and Pokémon that sought to keep the angle optimal for maintaining speed. At the bottom of the loop, the red and green boundary flags would reverse colors, prompting the likely disoriented Pokémon to fly right-side up once more. Phew!

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: None