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 MARISOL SIMONE , please report to the Main Sector. Challenger Simone, to the Main Sector. Thank you!"

Provided Marisol followed the ample signage to get to the Main Sector, where the facility's battle courts were located, she would find Josh removing the saddle from Saber, the Manectric that was, by now, the face of his Gym. "Challenger Simone?" Josh asked. "Gym Leader Josh Devlin. Great to meet you," he greeted the blonde, the vast battleground behind him. While most Gyms' battle courts had some variance to how large they were, Mauville's was notable for being extremely large; it was triple regulation size, and it was wide open. Pokémon had plenty of room to run and nowhere to hide, playing into the ultrafast Pokémon on Josh's Gym squad and giving them quite the home field advantage.

The Gym Leader directed the Pokémon therapist toward the west side of the triple-sized court, toward the Trainer's Box on the challenger's side. "According to your application, this will be a half-team Doubles match. The first side to incapacitate all their opponent's Pokémon will be the winner. The challenger is permitted to withdraw Pokémon, but the Gym Leader is not. There will be a ten-minute time limit. Once time expires, the side with more Pokémon standing will be the winner. Ties will be broken by sudden death. Good luck to you; you'll need it."

Once the two trainers were positioned, the small gallery cheered, primarily for Josh, as the platforms rose to a height of roughly ten feet. The Gym Leader hurled two Poké Balls toward the circular pool surrounding the inner ring of the battle court, a Manectric and Kantonian Arcanine ready to do battle. "Now, bring forth your first two Pokémon. I can assure you it will be the only decision you will have time to ponder," Josh taunted as the move timer counted down on the scoreboard clearly visible to the challenger.

Josh's taunting was part for fun, part intimidation tactic to scare less serious challengers away. After all, he needed to test how challengers would respond to pressure of all kinds, verbal pressure included. Marisol didn't seem to back down, which was a good start. Next, he would test the female's split-second decision making. Though the Blissey couldn't be ignored indefinitely, the Gym Leader recognized the Ghost-type Ceruledge as a priority one threat that needed to be handled immediately. As such, he responded appropriately.

"Braver, Twilight, CROSS ATTACK!" Taking advantage of the triple-sized battle court, the racing-trained Pokémon accelerated into a speedy gallop that could have been awe-inspiring for those who had never seen the Mauville Leader's Pokémon run. How was it even possible for an Absol to run so fast?

The dark-type put on a show of not only her speed, but her agility as well, digging into the ground to make a tight turn toward the Ceruledge. Twilight got there first, attempting to hook the blade-wielding fire-type with her own blade on her forehead, her SUPER LUCK perhaps enabling her to find the Ceruledge's hidden soul gem with a sharp NIGHT SLASH. A split second after she was out of the way, Braver would slam on the brakes, the friction causing his paws to catch fire and kick SCORCHING SANDS the phantom's way.

Marisol had made an amazing first impression, parrying the swift combination attack with a perfectly timed guard. "Well done!" Josh complimented the challenger. Very few teams of trainer and Pokémon had the reaction time to call for an effective defensive tactic. "Let's see you parry this one, too!" Her blade still sharp from the unsuccessful Night Slash, she passed by the challenger's Pokémon with the whoosh of a windstorm, carving cuts into the trail in a sudden about face. Lowering her forehead scythe as low as she could, she kicked up clumps of dirt that would aim to clobber both of her foes with the force of a ROCK SLIDE.

Braver didn't have the agility to immediately retaliate against the Ceruledge. The Arcanine was incredibly fast, but the species was known for how difficult it was to handle. Needing almost the entire width of the battle court to turn around, the fire-type wreathed himself in a cylinder of flames, looking to ram, trample, and run over the Blissey in a FLAME WHEEL.

The Blissey had compressed her body enough to hide between Braver's pairs of legs, the tremendous wind of the Arcanine's wake threatening to knock her over. It left her all the more vulnerable to the psychic blade that powered the ROCK SLIDE, Josh pumping a fist at the window he had opened. "Now, Twilight - finish Ceruledge off with--"

Too late.

Denied the chance to Mega Evolve, the Absol's screech was a sign of her being decimated in a single hit, the superheated BITTER BLADE cleanly piercing her back and melting the surrounding skin, letting the ghost-type revel in the foe's life energy if it wanted. It was an enormous tempo shift that required Josh's immediate attention... even if it meant the Blissey would be hard to handle down the road. Shaking his head, the Leader sent out what may as well have been the mascot of his Gym: Saber, a Manectric whose presence was to be feared.

Not having to be told what to do, both the mighty dogs lunged at the Ceruledge, Saber taking the lead and attempting to BITE into the phantom's soul gem. Once the electric-type was clear, Braver slammed on the brakes, kicking SCORCHING SANDS toward the fire-type in an effort to render it immobile.

The violet light of Ventri's MEGA EVOLUTION reiterated to Josh how he had gone from in control of the battle to being in a tight spot in a single, deadly combination attack. It was all his fault, too; poor threat assessment had made put him in this difficult position. Taunt was a great tool not just for stopping Trick Room-setting Pokémon. Was he off his game today? Or was he just too focused on going fast? That hyper-focus on speed was part of the reason he was winless against the Elite Four despite issuing a challenge to each one of them.

Though the Scorching Sands made it difficult to see, it wasn't impossible, especially after the Lucario took its heightened form. The blue bone was all Josh needed to see. He was about to showcase his favorite tactic with Braver the Arcanine, one that was often both offensive and defensive in nature.

"...BURN UP." the Gym Leader commanded with a smirk. With a loud howl, the giant dog wreathed himself in white-hot flames that aimed to cook the Lucario from the inside out. Taking every bit of the fire-type's heat, the screech that came out of the now-jet black Pokémon's mouth was a sign that it had overstressed its flame-producing organs. While ordinarily a curse, the desperate act served as a blessing, shedding his Fire typing and allowing the shaking creature to remain standing despite his five bleeding wounds.

Josh was done ignoring the Blissey as well, ordering Saber to tase the normal-type with THUNDER WAVE. Electricity arced along the surface of a thin, glowing sphere surrounding the Manectric's body as he ran close enough for the current to jump toward the challenger's passive Pokémon.

The HEAL PULSE had completely changed the battle's momentum. The longer the battle went on, the less likely Josh was to win; his style was all about hitting fast and hard. While the now-typeless Pokémon owed his survival in battle to his strongest fire attack shedding his typing, it would make other fire-type attacks far less powerful. He had one more trick up his sleeve, and one Marisol may not have been expecting.

"Braver, TELEPORT out of there!"

The Arcanine disappeared in dancing flames, appearing on the far side of the battle court in a flourish of his hot element. Josh hoped it would serve as enough of a distraction for Saber to get between both Pokémon, in range for a DISCHARGE to zap them both. If the exchange went as the ruthless combatant drew it up, one or both of Marisol's Pokémon would seize up from their muscles being overloaded with electricity, leaving them defenseless against a follow-up from the fastest charge Braver had to offer.

If Josh could go all-out with this battle, he would have it in the bag. His Manectric knew a hidden art that made Lucario's EXTREME SPEED look like a crawl. The agreed-upon rules of their challenge forbade Josh from ordering the use of that move; Z-Charms were off limits. All he could do was watch as the Mega Evolved fighting-type disappeared. He had one shot. "Flee, Saber! Use your QUICK ATTACK and bait it out of bounds!"

Both Pokémon shot toward the court's side, the Manectric playing a game of chicken with the Lucario to see which one would flinch first. With a powerful slide, the Manectric slid out of the way. Though Saber had barely outrun the attack, he had slid over the white line, causing the side judge to raise a red flag. Seeing little point in continuing the battle, Josh withdrew the ailing, burned-up Arcanine as well as his Manectric. "I see little point in continuing this battle."

"Manectric is out of bounds. Judges' call: one point, Challenger Simone. By a score of three to one, Challenger Simone wins the match."

The platforms receded as Josh began the long walk toward the center of the battle court. "You've more than proven your worth. That you were willing to risk the battle on such a risky tactic shows how much trust you put in your Lucario. That alone will serve you well in the Pokémon League."

Josh presented a closed fist at Marisol's chest level, then opened it up to reveal a well-earned QUICK BADGE. "Marisol, you've earned this. It is the official Hoenn League Quick Badge. Wear it with pride. This Gym has a history of being run by some of the toughest and most successful Leaders in Hoenn. Never forget that."

Once the crowd had emptied from the stands, Josh started strapping Saber's saddle back into place, the Z-GLOVE on his right hand glowing. "As a treat for such a brilliant battle, let me show you something. Had our rules been slightly different, I would have won." Once everything was in place, Josh mounted up, reined Saber toward the southeast corner of the battle court, and flipped his helmet's visor down. Crossing the Manectric's reins in his Z-Pose, he bellowed the first half of his move's name. "HYPERSONIC..."

A wreath of electricity surrounded Josh and his mount as he leaned in as low as he could, ready for the force of the Z-Move to send him shooting into the back of the saddle.

"...PLASMA CHARGE!!!"



Whipping the reins into a neutral position, the Manectric vanished into a trail of lightning even faster than Ventri's Extreme Speed. A sonic boom exploded from the center of the court before the electric wolf appeared in the opposite corner a split second later. "It's the Gym's signature move. If you cultivate Z-Power in a Pokémon that can use Quick Attack, your Pokémon can use that move, too," Josh explained, a bit dizzy after the supersonic jaunt but otherwise okay. "Best of luck with the rest of your Gym Challenge!"