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 SHELLY SPIEL, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger DAVEY JONES, please report to Sector 2. Challenger Jones, to Sector 2. Thank you!"

Provided the challenger found ample signage, he would see the brash and tall ACE SHEEKE, already seated on Ulysses the Dewgong; the timid and short ERON IUNIS, on Keiga the Kingdra, and the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER, harnessed into the cocoon saddle strapped to Resheph the Dragonair. Lastly, he would see the Gym Leader Josh Devlin , making adjustments to the saddle strapped to Snacker, a vicious-looking Sharpedo that looked like he could buck his trainer off at a moment's notice. "Davey? Your name sounds familiar, but I can't quite put a finger on it. Either way, welcome to Mauville Racing Grounds," Josh greeted his challenger. "It's rare that I get challengers that have both as many Badges as you do and the desire to race on the waves. You're actually the very first challenger to take on the Ordeal!" The three Gym Trainers introduced themselves and Josh's Pokémon they were borrowing, one by one.

The gallery surrounding Sector 2's ORDEAL course was full. It was a real treat for the crowd; there were far more spectators than normal due to the infrequency of water races at his Gym. This one was particularly exciting due to the course's high difficulty. While it didn't feature the inversions that the aerial version of the course did, those sections emulated them by having Josh's other Pokémon churn the waters like a wave pool. Its narrow and wicked turns would almost certainly test the fin strength of competing Pokémon, rubbing against the walls almost inevitable.

Josh went over the rules of the challenge, required by Hoenn League statute. "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', our Pokémon will start running. Pokémon are not allowed to use moves like Aqua Jet or Extreme Speed on the first lap. After the first lap, though, use them as much as your Pokémon 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 he had finished explaining the rules, Josh dipped his toes into the water, signaling his Sharpedo to swim to the course's edge so he could slide into the saddle, joining his three loyal Gym Trainers for the contest of speed in a marine environment. "As I'm sure you know, Sharpedo are some of the fastest Pokémon on the high seas. You asked for it - better hold on tight!" Josh bragged as he slammed his helmet's visor down. If Tempest were to glance toward him, the challenger would see a laser focused expression, almost like he was in a zen state as he held Snacker's reins in anticipation of the green light.

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.

Josh, too, understood the joke; before he became a Pokémon trainer at age thirteen, he was into a wide variety of subgenres of fantasy content. Snacker was showing Marina no mercy, flailing and jostling Josh in the saddle already. That Sharpedo was mean, and it was apparent from the beginning that he would give Tempest and Marina no quarter. "I'm just excited to put on an aquatic race like this," Josh replied with a smile, flipping his visor down. He couldn't have water splashing on his face, after all! "A lot of people get intimidated by the aquatic challenge because of how slippery controlling them can be. There's nowhere close to as much friction as there is on land."

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 Snacker's sides hard a split second later, the Sharpedo opening his maw and squirting a high pressure blast of water through his rear for propulsion.

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.

NOTE: This Obstacle has MORE THAN ONE TARGET NUMBER. Please specify in your OOC notes which Target Number you are challenging.

Prompt: The Ordeal makes itself known for its difficulty from the word go, challenging racers with two right angle turns, one after another! Excellent timing and Pokémon capable of strong banking would be needed to navigate them both without slowing down. After exiting the turns, racers would have less than two seconds to make a decision: do they swerve right and take the safe path following the channel, or do they dash toward a ramp that sends them high into the air, cutting the corner? Bounds markers from the aerial course make the pass narrow, requiring a precise jump angle to land back in the water successfully!

Target Number 1: 150 (Speed)

Special 1: Pokémon who roll at or above this Obstacle's Target Number will gain 80 TP (0.8 sec) in addition to the normal TP gained. Pokémon that roll beneath this Obstacle's Target Number will lose 50 TP (-0.5 sec) and be diverted to the longer route (Target Number 2) instead.

Target Number 2: 120 (Reaction)

Special 2: None

The twists and turns of the ORDEAL were ones Josh knew well, having put in a lot of practice for the season opener at Fortree Gym. The aquatic adaptation of the aerial course had enough differences to keep him sharp, but he had an idea how he was going to approach the course from the moment he sat on his Sharpedo's back.

After rounding the two opening curves, Josh having to pull on the reins before the turn even came due to the way Snacker propelled himself, he guided his water-type to the left. Without the ability to use AQUA JET, the jump would require a much tighter angle to navigate, and adjustments would be difficult with the shark up to speed. With steady hands on the reins, he gave the aggressive Dark-type a firm kick to the sides, his mount pushing water through his rear end as forcefully as he could sustain. The two bounced toward the ramp, ready to soar above the waves and land farther down the channel.

Both the challenger and Gym Leader showed signs of reckless aggression, their SHARPEDO each taking tight lines through the opening curves despite their less-than-stellar turning capability. The two aquatic predators bounced along the waves, neck and neck going into the first split. Neither shark backed down, trying to keep the other from jetting toward the ramp. With a firm squeeze, the challenger's mount sped ahead of Josh's. A strong wind gust suddenly whipped up a wave that caused the dark-type's angle to awkwardly shift left, the SHARPEDO sliding off the corner of the ramp and toward a buoy in the corner of the course.

While Josh Devlin , ARAVAN ESCHER, and their SHARPEDO and DRAGONAIR sailed over the the corner in graceful leaps, Tempest Quinn had to put his own in reverse, competing with ACE SHEEKE, ERON IUNIS, and their DEWGONG and KINGDRA. As the former Gym Leader was turning his SHARPEDO around, he might catch a glimpse of the redhead's arctic Pokémon whizzing around the C-shaped curve the jump would have cut out, followed by the KINGDRA scraping against the thick, foam wall on the inside.

By the time Tempest Quinn turned his SHARPEDO around and got back on course, the leaders were barely in sight. There was even a sizable gap of about one second between the KINGDRA and challenger. It was still early on, though, and anything could happen in the unpredictability of a Pokémon race on a course so difficult!

Prompt: The surf gets a little rougher as the course's current accelerates and meanders through sharp turns, each at their own unique angle. The next thirty seconds of the course would be a constant battle of balance and steering control. Rounding the last sharp corner, the sound of rushing water announced a sharp dive fueled by WATERFALL from some of the Leader's other Gym Pokémon. Nailing the dive angle would be of utmost importance; otherwise, it would be easy to overshoot landing on the water below and winding up on dry land!

Target Number: 140 (Reaction)

Special: If a Pokémon rolls beneath the Target Number by more than 30, any TP loss beyond the first 30 are doubled.

With the surf growing rougher by the second, Josh and Snacker bounced along the waves, losing control briefly during each moment they were airborne. Even steering proved difficult, having to pull the other direction before the Sharpedo had finished making the turn he was passing through! Once they had finally reached a relatively straight section after the relentless curves, Josh pushed down on the shark's fin, the only part of the Pokémon above the surface his tall fin. The rough surf splashed in front of his visor from time to time, but it quickly dried out with the high speed they were clocking.

When he heard the sound of the waterfall, Josh pulled back on the fin, trying to maintain a flat angle with a slightly right lateral angle coming up to its edge. If all went according to plan, the dark-type would splash into the water below and immediately start turning into the next series of curves. In a last second adjustment, he angled the Sharpedo slightly down, feeling it would ensure he would not overshoot the leap. The two went over the edge, mentally crossing his fingers for gravity to be kind.

The popping noises of the Leader's and challenger's SHARPEDO boomed over the ambient splashing of the tails and fins of the other Pokémon in the race. While ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGONAIR appeared to have an advantage over the rest of the field by having aerial maneuverability, using the serpent's flying capabilities at all was strictly prohibited by race rules, and would leave the blue-haired Gym Trainer with a disqualification. He and the DEWGONG ridden by ACE SHEEKE were very close to one another as they watched Leader Josh Devlin confidently guide his SHARPEDO over the waterfall.

The Master of Faster had failed to account for the wind during the dive, the stiff breeze pushing the shark away from its intended path. It let out a pained bellow from slamming its fin into the foam wall, dislodging itself with a powerful flail that threatened to unseat his rider. By the time he could recover, the DRAGONAIR and DEWGONG trailing him had passed him.

ERON IUNIS and Tempest Quinn , riding their KINGDRA and SHARPEDO, got a good look at the carnage below after having lined their jumps up. The Leader was in sight until the two teams landed, the course's turns obscuring the front-runners' position. The white-headed dragon rider had made a similar mistake to Josh, the wind pushing them into the same spot that gave the Leader trouble. While the KINGDRA did not get stuck in the foam wall, having to build up speed again allowed Tempest Quinn and his SHARPEDO to pick up a lot of ground on the Pokémon in front of him.

Prompt: Following a nasty and narrow chicane on the backstretch is a long right turn with several large, mandatory rings to swim through. Supported by thick poles from the underside, some were above the surface completely, mandating Pokémon jump to make it through them! Their size made the angle to swim or leap through them generous, but one mistimed leap could result in a miss -- and with it, a significant time penalty! Combined with a long right turn in the course itself, Pokémon and racers would need to maintain sharp focus to avoid major disorientation!

Target Number: 140 (Endurance)

Special: If a Pokémon rolls beneath the Target Number by more than 30, instead a flat -100 TP penalty is incurred for a missed mandatory ring.

One of the most difficult challenges as a course designer was recreating the final turn of Fortree Gym's ORDEAL course to fit the aquatic format. He debated making part of the course underwater, but that would have been too physically demanding for challengers even by his standards. Therefore, Josh kept all the aquatic races as surface races only. His adaptation was just as mean, though. While most of the rings only required him to turn his Sharpedo tightly, there were a few that required him to jump!

Tensing his muscles, Josh flicked Snacker's reins when he was ready for the shark to leap out of the water. His mount tilted his body upward, then expelled water from his rear as quickly as he could without invoking Aqua Jet. As he approached the ring, he shifted his body weight to the right, prompting his loyal but feared partner to "buffer" a right turn the moment he splashed down.

One of the most difficult aspects of aquatic racing was navigating obstacles that caused Pokémon to temporarily leave the water. Fins designed to steer in water simply did not possess the lift needed to do so in the air. Once the Pokémon left the surface, it would be only gravity guiding them through the air and back to the waves. Straight leaps would have been difficult already, but the racers had to contend with a curved section of the course on top of the jumps! One miscalculated jump could lead to rubbing the outside wall and losing a lot of speed.

The entire field struggled to find correct angles, every single one of the five racers bonking a different section of the inside of at least one of the rings. While it still counted, the collision did sap the Pokémon of precious speed. ACE SHEEKE's DEWGONG scraped the inside bottom of the ring with her belly, and ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGONAIR the left side of her body, also leaving the blue-haired man with a thumping left foot. ERON IUNIS and his KINGDRA performed a relatively clean jump compared to the three, but still scraped the dragon-type's horns against the top of the ring.

Both the SHARPEDO commanded by Josh Devlin and Tempest Quinn collided with one of the rings' broadsides, though each did so with a different one. The rough impact sapped lots of speed from them both, Thankfully, both passed through the inside of the ring and not the outside; having a time penalty applied on top of the lost speed could potentially have been race-ending.

With how long the final straightaway was, taking almost thirteen seconds even for the blistering fast sharks to cross, coming into that with as much speed as possible would be paramount to having good position coming into the second lap. As the Pokémon crossed the line going full speed, an announcer's voice clip boomed from the speakers on the starting arch as well as those around the scoreboard:

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

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

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 two lowest rolls. 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 lowest two of the four rolls will be taken. If the lowest rolls would still pass the Obstacle, Track Position for that Obstacle will be calculated based on the highest two of the four rolls.

Your Pokémon may now MEGA EVOLVE once for the rest of the race. While your Pokémon is MEGA EVOLVED, it will gain 3 temporary ranks in Speed, Endurance, and/or Reaction, distributed as you see fit. This can cause a Pokémon's total Ranks in one category to exceed 5, but not exceed 6. MEGA EVOLUTION will last for three Obstacles. MEGA EVOLUTION will consume one use of Boost.

Your Pokémon may now use a Z-Move that could be reasonably used for an extreme burst of speed, but only 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; your Pokémon's roll will be treated as an automatic 200.

A Z-Move cannot be used while your Pokémon is MEGA EVOLVED.

Prompt: After a brutal series of curves on the opening stretch, it appeared the course was at last going to give the racers a break; the presence of gentle turns looked like a good opportunity to boost. When teams surfed over the shallow curves, though, they would find themselves battered by intense, shifting waves fueled by several of Josh Devlin 's Gym Pokémon using TAILWIND! Getting blown off course was a real threat. It was almost like an invisible whirlpool ran through the whole section of the course, testing racers' coordination, balance, and control! Using other racers as a shield could help, too!

Target Number: 175 (Reaction)

Special: The Target Number of this Obstacle is reduced by an additional 15 for each Pokémon ahead of them in the race. Any TP loss resulting from a Pokémon rolling beneath this Obstacle's Target Number is multiplied by 1.5.

As much as Josh enjoyed blasting across the waves on his Sharpedo, this part of the course was so treacherous on boost laps. During course design, he had even asked for Alexei Ivanov 's help on how to convert the wind tunnel from an aerial obstacle to an aquatic one; after all, it was the Birdfather himself that designed the ORDEAL at Fortree City. Being restricted to two dimensions made it even more difficult, the rough surf threatening to send him flying out of the saddle completely.

Why did he ask Alex for help again? That man was just as crazy as he was when it came to aerial racing, and he seemed to have a penchant for making racers suffer. Pulling back on the reins out of an abundance of caution, Josh slowed Snacker down, prioritizing remaining balanced on his Pokémon's back. He accepted that Resheph behind him would likely pass him, as the Dragonair's body was much more adept at handling unstable currents.

The rough surf combined with the chaotic turns was the peak of the ORDEAL's design, serving as a way to keep races exciting while testing the limit of the participants' bond with their aquatic steeds. By remaining in the wake of the competition ahead, Pokémon in the back of the pack could take advantage of the relative stability to get a leg up on those who had to attack the bouncy waves directly. It was a way to keep races close and exciting, at least in theory.

As adept as ACE SHEEKE and his DEWGONG were in powering through Hoenn's toughest water conditions with raw strength, the surf generated from the TAILWIND was too much for them to handle. A particularly tall wave out of nowhere swept the duo out of the water completely, sending them into the outside corner of a sharp turn. As the ice-type was righting itself, Josh Devlin , ARAVAN ESCHER, ERON IUNIS, and their respective SHARPEDO, DRAGONAIR, and KINGDRA zipped past, with Tempest Quinn and his SHARPEDO hot on their tail. After another series of tight turns on calmer waters, leaps over small waterfalls separating them, there would be a chance for faster Pokémon to let loose. This race could easily tighten up and leave the horned ice-type in a tough spot!

Prompt: After a long series of wild turns, both through and after the rough surf the Gym's Pokémon had created, came the longest straightaway on the entire course. It was wide, too; the entire field could AQUA JET alongside one another, if they truly wanted to, and its gentle left turn meant the inside line was less important than it was on other parts of the course. It would be a great place for Pokémon pushed to their limits to coast across the waves and and catch their breath, or for those with confidence in their mounts' endurance, give it everything they had. They just needed to make sure they weren't fighting traffic by the end; the course narrowed significantly as it looped back into a narrow stream, and the most brutal curves on the entire course loomed ahead!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

The bumpy surf in the wake of the TAILWIND splashed in Josh's face as he and Snacker cut through it. He felt awful force Ace having to take the brunt of that, yet simultaneously he loved the gift he had received. For the first time, he was in the lead! The lead was where he loved to be. With no one in front of him, the Gym Leader could treat it just like a time trial.

Glancing to his left, he noticed Aravan and Resheph threatening to pass him. With how blistering fast the Dragonair's EXTREME SPEED was, that lead wasn't going to hold for long, but Josh had to try. "Snacker, AQUA JET!" he commanded. The shark opened his jaws wide, taking in huge volumes of water before expelling them from the valve on his rear. The force yanked Josh back, the unintended pressure his hands and arms put on the Sharpedo's fin causing the Pokémon to jump.

Water splashed loudly around almost all of the racers as they kicked their Pokémon into high gear. Many, especially Josh Devlin 's SHARPEDO, were going so fast that they bounced along the water's surface, making maintaining control during the AQUA JET quite challenging. While the Leader displayed an incredible feat of speed, their inability to maintain a straight line gave ARAVAN ESCHER and his DRAGONAIR the opportunity to pass, and even allow ERON IUNIS and his KINGDRA to gain a substantial amount of ground.

Tempest Quinn 's election to save his SHARPEDO's strength was a show of his trust in his mount's natural speed. Even when not going all-out, the Bully of the Sea was incredibly fast. They were fast enough to keep pace and even gain on ACE SHEEKE's DEWGONG while it was mid-AQUA JET. They wouldn't have enough time to attempt a pass before the course narrowed in front of them, the most treacherous turn on the entire course coming up!

NOTE: This Obstacle has more than one Target Number. Please indicate in your OOC notes which Target Number you are challenging.

Prompt: Pokémon that showed the extreme speed of straight-line sprints better know how to put on the brakes, as the most vicious turn on the entire course was waiting in the weeds at the end of the long, progressively narrowing straightaway! A semi-blind left-hand U-turn loomed ahead, followed by an equally severe right turn! Even if Pokémon had the turning strength needed to twist around the back-to-back hairpin turns without pumping the brakes too much, their riders would need to be ready to endure substantial whiplash.

Target Number 1: 160 (Reaction)

Special 1: Pokémon that meet or exceed this Obstacle's Target Number will gain 40 TP in addition to the normal Track Position gain for this Obstacle.

Target Number 2: 120 (Reaction)

Special 2: Track Position gained as a result of rolling above this Obstacle's Target Number will be halved, rounded up.