Entering the fairly small three-story office building on the northwest side of Mauville City, Kara would behold a striking-looking Gym lobby whose walls were painted with lightning yellows and thundercloud purples. The ceiling was not white; instead, it was covered in stormy purples and grays. It often provoked a sense of dread in challengers, as though lightning could strike them at any moment. Paintings of a grey-crowned, yellow, cyan, and purple tiger-like Pokémon were present throughout. Anyone of Johtonian heritage could easily recognize it as the legendary Beast, Raikou. Even as a still, the creature was menacing yet awe-inspiring to look at.

When it came time for Kara's appointment, the on-duty scheduler, ANDREW WEISS, called for her. "Challenger Kara Li?" the short, black-haired man rhetorically asked. "The Leader will see you now. Follow the signs all the way to the back of the Main Sector, to the moat arena. Good luck, and remember: with great speed comes great responsibility."

Provided she followed the signage, she would see Josh removing the saddle from Winky, his Greninja, as part of finishing his preparations for the match. "Challenger Li?" he asked, turning around after undoing the last strap. "Gym Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh. These three are the ones you'll be doing battle with," he gestured toward the trio of Pokémon. "Winky, Ares, and Alphamax." The two dragons let out vicious roars that may have startled Kara if she wasn't ready for them.

Josh led Kara to the challenger's platform on the west side of the main battle court. It was a plain, grassy field with no obstacles to hide behind - perfect for speedy Pokémon to let loose. The court was also triple regulation size. "According to your application, the format will be singles, with three Pokémon per side. The battle lasts until one side's entire team is completely incapacitated. As challenger, you are permitted to swap Pokémon freely; as Leader, I am not. I have won the coin toss, so I will elect to make the first move."

With that, Josh walked to his Trainer's platform on the opposite side of the battle court, sending out all three of his Pokémon. Alphamax and Winky stood at his sides as the platforms rose to a substantial height over the court, a small gallery of fans cheering challenger and Leader on. Pointing toward Ares, the angry-looking Charizard belched FLAMETHROWER skyward in an effort to intimidate Kara. "Choose your first Pokémon carefully, challenger. It will be the only decision you will have time to ponder," Josh taunted.

Kara's choice was expected. It was a demonstration that she as a trainer understood the type chart. It was the most important fundamental any trainer needed to know. There was a reason one part of a Gym Leader's test was filling out the entire type chart from memory in a short amount of time with a high degree of accuracy.

Once the order of Pokémon had been decided, the scoreboard lit up, filled with numbers only highly technical trainers would understand the calculations behind, yet were easy enough for spectators to follow and see how the match was being scored. Ares and Blue squared off, the Charizard glaring menacingly at the Froakie as they waited for the judge to drop the green flag. "Begin!"

As the match timer ticked down, Ares was quick to show what Mauville Gym was all about. Taking to the air, the flame-tailed dragon's blue and orange wings became wreathed in purple dragon energy, propelling him into a clumsy yet swift DRAGON DANCE.

Though Ares' DRAGON DANCE made him fast, the Froakie was even more slippery. The water-type was already in the air before Josh could even think about ordering the use of DRAGON CLAW to slice and dice the young Pokémon. Small stones became lodged in the fire dragon's wings, SMACKING him DOWN to the ground and disrupting their flight surfaces to the point where he could no longer fly. The roar that came from the Leader's Pokémon was a sign that, while small, the Froakie was not to be underestimated. He learned that lesson from having battled CIAN MAHER 's Froakie twice.

Though his wings could no longer sustain him in flight, they could still be used to great effect. "Dodge this! AERIAL ACE!" Josh shouted. With a flap of his powerful, large wings, Ares dislodged several of the small stones embedded within them. Their powerful thrust enabled the dragon to put on some impressive land speed few imagined a Charizard to be capable of. With a second powerful wingbeat, Ares lunged at Blue dizzyingly fast, so much so that even the speed-focused Gym Leader could barely follow it.

If Red and Green wouldn't stop Kara, then the safety rails surrounding the platform composing her Trainer's Box would. Ares instinctively flapped his wings to try to escape the short-range WATER PULSE, but with them being full of stones, the Charizard was grounded. If the direct blow wasn't enough, the splash caught his tail. With a loud roar that made the gallery gasp in awe, Ares fell to the court's floor in a heap. "Charizard is unable to battle," the side judge announced, raising a red flag. "Judges' call: one point, Challenger Li."

The Gym Leader didn't seem bothered by being behind at all. In fact, he was smirking as he pointed toward his Greninja. "Winky, you're on." With a high leap from the trainer's box, the adult species of Kara's Pokémon performed some crazy-looking flips. Didn't she see a saddle on that Greninja not long ago? How could anyone ride a Pokémon capable of doing that and not just... vomit?

"POWER-UP PUNCH."

It was less a punch and more a stomp, the swift, grown amphibian looking to land on Kara's weakened Pokémon. The PROTEAN within the frog's front webbed feet turned them into something closer to fists, enhancing the already strong attack. Provided the blow landed, it would leave the Gym Leader in a commanding position, the Pokémon the challenger facing now possessing great strength in addition to blinding speed. It was a deadly combination the Mauville Gym Leader relied upon.

What the small water-type lacked in power, it made up for in cunning. The QUICK ATTACK to Winky's underside was just fast enough to evade the larger frog's first stomp, though the aim of a follow-up was true. Still, that critical hit stung. Had that been a stronger attack, Josh may have found himself in a tight spot. "Froakie is unable to battle," the side judge announced, holding up a red flag. "Judges' call: one point, Leader Devlin."

Josh was happy to make conversation with Kara, Winky leaping about in anticipation of her next opponent. He returned the grin with one of his own. "This isn't even the fun part of my job. The part I enjoy most is racing on one of my Pokémon around faster than you can legally ride on the highway. When your Froakie grows up, it would be fun to race our Greninja together!" Their conversation would be interrupted by a loud squawk from the scoreboard: the challenger's pitch clock was down to five seconds. If she didn't make a move by then, she would be assessed a one-knockout penalty!