It only took a few minutes for Josh's receptionist on duty to check the new Gym employee in and direct the young man to the vast property where challenges took place. Three other males around Raju's age were present, a Zebstrika, Stoutland, and Houndoom standing next to them. Next to the Gym Leader was his Ninetales, Mystic. "Great to see you, Raju!" Josh waved. "Everyone's here bright and early. Eventually we'll split off into groups where you'll work with some of the more tenured trainers here, but I want to start with a diagnostic to see how skilled all of you are."

Josh led the four toward the Main Sector's SPLIT OVAL course, one designed for beginners. The only major obstacle was that it split into two lanes down the backstretch, the inside one shorter but narrower. Other than that, the course's round corners were easy to navigate. It was a perfect place for extremely fast Pokémon to let loose with everything they had. "Let's go for a ride around the Split Oval once, all together," the Master of Faster proposed. "I want to try to gauge everyone's skill levels so I can determine where to start. I'll do my best to keep pace with everyone."

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 207}
{PC: 1}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

When Raju arrived, there were three other men beyond Josh, with a Zebstrika, Stoutland, and Houndoom next to them. The bowl cut blonde waved back at the gym leader. Who mentioned splitting off into groups to work with the more tenured trainers, but also wanted to see their skills first. The dark haired man led them to one of the race tracks, a big oval. Towards the back stretch was two lanes, an inside and outside one, with the inside one being narrower. That part could both be a boon and a total loss...he'd have to be the first one through with Big Bert.

A simple race, huh? That was easy enough. Taking out a pokeball, he released his Blaze Breed Tauros, the giant black steed rearing up with a roar and slamming his hooves down, making quite the large dust cloud. Big Bert was named that for a reason. Even among other Tauros, no matter the kind, he was gigantic. Something else to note was the blood red bull ring in the creature's nostrils. Some people thought it cruel to do such a thing to any Pokemon. But Big Bert wanted it because he thought it looked cool. More so since Raju made his earrings at the top of his ears look good. And who was he to deny his big beasty this? He had given him plenty of warning that it would hurt, but the literal bull didn't care. For he had wanted to be closer to his trainer.

After a leap and finishing a crawl over the big guy's back, Raju held onto his mane. "We're ready." With an intense look, both young man and Pokemon looked absolutely terrifying. Going to where the starting line was, the bull pokemon dug a little with his one hoof and lowered his head. Oh, he was ready!

Josh Devlin

Josh's look off the line was equally serious. There was little that got the Gym Leader more pumped than competing in Pokémon speedsports. Big Bert, true to his name, towered over Mystic. the red nose ring a sign of the trained creature's sheer aggression. He would certainly have to keep Mystic away from the Tauros; with that kind of weight to throw around, any incidental collisions would not end well for the golden fox. Intentional collisions were, of course, illegal for the racers' safety.

Once the two indicated they were ready, Josh would give the signal to start, on a countdown from three. Once the countdown was over, Mystic sprung forward, the Gym Leader leaning low into the wind to avoid being blown off his perch. Though his racing instincts were to hug the inside line, Josh kept his mount toward the inner third of the uphill, gently left-leaning opening stretch. There was room for Big Bert to attempt a pass if he could put on a burst of speed to do so. While Tauros typically did not have quite the raw speed Ninetales did, they had deep wells of stamina within.

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 193}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

Raju and BB took off like a bullet! Despite his large size and species, Big Bert had speed and endurance in spades. Then again though, Josh probably trained all of his Pokemon specifically for racing. What BB lacked was reaction time and sharp turning. He'd be more likely to just barrel through any hurdles than to jump over them. Even with the gentle left turn, both Raju and Big Bert tried to do it more to the inside wall, but failed...miserably. They were on the outside wall. Granted, their speed and size easily made them well within and maybe slightly ahead of the pack. Once the straight shot came, then man and Pokemon started to drift a bit to the inside wall. And once they started to move, it seemed they had the other racer's eyes on them too.

Nobody wanted to get directly in front of them. If Raju did his research right, the first lap was when no boosts were allowed. So for now, Raju's goal was to try to make it to that backstretch, that smaller route, and be the first into it. Big Bert was large enough to block the passage...he thought? It was hard to tell this far away, even when they were lining up. Even if he wasn't first to get into that shorter route, whoever was ahead of him better made sure they were hightailing it out of there. Big Bert had a bad habit of running just about anything over.


Josh Devlin

Though Raju may not have realized it, the outside may have been a better choice for a more lumbering runner such as a Tauros. The inside path was narrower than the outside, and would require very precise control for a momentum-driven Pokémon to traverse without losing speed. The wider lane let the fire-type focus on building speed for the downhill to come after the two paths merged.

To the Gym Leader's surprise, the two were neck and neck. While he was holding back to better observe Raju and Big Bert, the two being able to keep up with Mystic running at a good clip. He liked what he had seen so far of their control, but the real test would be coming on the downhill. The slope was long enough and steep enough that Pokémon might not be able to hold back. The Gym Leader was testing more than Raju's Pokémon; he was also testing the young adult's own speed tolerance.

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 164}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

The slope downward didn't bother them at all. Though admittedly, at about midway through, Big Bert did have to put on the brakes a little due to risk of toppling head over heels that would surely crush the smol man. That did, however, put him last. Not that it mattered, they'd proven that they could go faster than the rest and catch up easily. With a jump down to get a head start from the their braking slide, they were off and quickly catching up to the rest of the pack like he'd anticipated. It wasn't the speed that bothered Raju on that hill, it was the risk of them going faster than his big Tauros's legs can go. They'd had one close call back in Paldea, they didn't need another.

The second gentle curve was coming up. The blonde manuevered more towards the inside, already turning, knowing that they'd be on the outside anyways. Once the curve started, they were drifting to the outside, just as expected. Just not near as bad as the first one. Now it was just getting to that narrow path! With the outrageously loud sound of Big Bert's hooves on the track, they barrelled towards it! One of the other riders immediately got out of the way and stayed on the normal track, already seeing where Raju and his big bull was heading. It was a race to just get in there now! If anyone got in front of him, they'd have to worry about getting trampled over...somewhat. Raju and Big Bert might be brutes, but they would be perfectly rule abiding. They'd certainly give them a scare though!


Josh Devlin

Josh's other Gym trainers yielded to Raju and Big Bert, the Tauros' gallop so fast that he sounded like an entire herd of stampeding bovines! Even at the distance they were at, the racket drowned out the light tapping of the fox's paws against the dirt. What strength and athleticism Raju had! He was quite far ahead of the others in the class, some of which were distracted by the prowess he showed in optimizing his mount's speed to be sustainable, yet not so high that the Tauros tumbled.

There was still one more thing Josh wanted to test Raju on as part of the diagnostic. After the downhill was a straight shot to the starting line; it would be perfect for seeing whether or not the student could handle a speed-boosting move. "Mystic, QUICK ATTACK!" Josh cried after glancing back at Raju to see how well he was keeping up. The golden fox lunged forward into a sprint, his strides so rapid that Josh seemingly floated above the saddle as the remainder of the course whizzed by.

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 178}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

He slipped in! That said, Josh let off a Quick Attack on the large Ninetales. Wait...wasn't boosting moves not used until the second lap? Well, maybe Josh was bending the rules because this was a test. Either way, holy shit! "Flame Charge, let's go!" Big Bert's horns glowed red as flames erupted all around the bull and his trainer. Their gallop got faster, though still not near as fast as that Ninetales. The only good thing was that they'd exit right behind them. Trailing behind the duo was now a trail of burning hoof marks that got snuffed out by the dust.

Raju and BB burst out the small path and almost bulldozed out the track! Raju kept a firm grip to keep himself from getting flung off when they hit the rail, giving it a hell of a huge and long dent as they corrected themselves. That did give Josh a bit of a lead and allowed the others to catch up, but they were again almost at full speed again. Even if they had to scrape along the outside of the track, especially on that gentle curve. If one looked at BB, and was observent, they might have seen a small twinge of a bovine grin. He hadn't let loose like this in a long time, and was loving it!

Josh Devlin

Contrary to Raju's understanding, Josh had never explicitly forbidden boosting during the one-lap diagnostic; perhaps he had gotten his wires crossed between the written rules of the Gym Challenge and the training program? Either way, it seemed he was not only familiar with the types of Pokémon moves that raised speed, but had the physical prowess to withstand them! What a promising student.

As the two crossed the finish line and slowed to a stop, the excitement on Big Bert's and Raju's faces was high; a sign of a true passion for what they did. "You've got a strong understanding of not only Mauville Gym's precepts, but you have great racing fundamentals, too. Are you sure you don't have any experience? You looked like you and your Tauros had done this before."

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 133}
{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

Once the line was crossed, he saw that the gym leader was slowing down, and so did they. Granted, it took a bit longer for them due to how much weight Big Bert threw around. A single lap? Did he get mistaken on something? Josh started to give them lots of praise, causing Big Bert to raise his head high and making Raju turn pink from embarrassment. "Just makeshift races. Paldea is a very diverse region. There's hills and cliffs everywhere. And my...previous situation made me take an interest in martial arts. The phsyical part doesn't bother me..." Raju was tough as nails. And there were checkpoints for healing and everything too.

In a more official capacity, it may be a lot different. This was training. All the training in the world may help, but nothing beats an actual race or whatever activity you were training for. He didn't ever wanted to be weak again. Hense the commitment. "I also work in security. It wouldn't be good if I was physically weak. People rely too much on their Pokemon anyways."


Josh Devlin

It all clicked with the mention of Paldea. "Paldea has a massive Cyclizar racing scene," Josh added. "Their racing league merged with Hoenn's for the 2023 season. I was right to select you as a Gym Trainer here; you're one of the best students I've had in a long time. There's little else I have to teach you about racing fundamentals. Some, but not much. Most of the rest of it will just be from learning the courses on the property, and of course, learning how to administer official League battles." That was one important duty Gym Trainers had: in the event that a Gym Leader was absent, a Gym Trainer, particularly high-performing or tenured ones, could be expected to handle official Gym Challenges in their absence.

"Some courses here require Pokémon to jump to clear gaps in the track. Is your Tauros good at it?" Josh asked, Mystic bounding away and making a breathtaking leap down the Split Oval's home stretch as if the Gym Leader goaded him to do so. "If not, you may want to consider catching another Pokémon for courses that are jump heavy."

---

Raju Mystic

{WC: 190}
{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good

Raju nodded. "You've mentioned that before..." The blonde may not always have the sharpest of memories, but he did remember that. Still, he blushed and shrunk a little from the compliment. To him, it wasn't really that hard. He one hundred percent agreed that he needed to learn the course more in depth, along with thier obstacles. The first question was an easy one. "Yes, though not always the most gracefully. He's best on courses with few obstacles and few turns. Or if there are any, they're like the ones on this course. Some work with my Cyclizar would be better for more complicated courses." Big Bert was a bruiser, preferring sheer force and speed over finesse. He was definitely more of the traditional fighting architype. That said, he could still give a challenger a good run on the racing front.

The second question he kind of already answered. "Rollin still needs some work. But we're on it. I do have a question regarding the battles though. Do they have to be Pokemon that you can ride? Or can they just be speed-based pokemon or have moves that can control the pace of a fight?" That could make all the difference. If you control the pace of a fight, you can determine the outcome so much easier.


Josh Devlin

Raju was quite well prepared to be a regular at Mauville Gym, possessing enough of the needed Pokémon to be competitive versus challengers and keep his challenger win rate where the League wanted it. "You are of course welcome to bring your Pokémon here and practice during downtime, especially when challenger volume is low like it is now."

The attention shifted toward expectations in battle. "While it's preferred, it isn't necessary," the Leader clarified. "The Pokémon you use should be fast, though. We're not looking for a certain threshold, but it should preferably have at least one move it can use to interrupt attacks. Quick Attack and Aqua Jet are great examples. A Ninjask, as much as I wish they grew big enough to ride, would be a fantastic example."

---

Raju Mystic

{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Pinky         Sylveon**      Good
Crash         Boltund        Good
Janus         Espeon         Good