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. Today's challenger wouldn't even need the help of the Gym's ample signage to find her destination, for she herself was a Gym Trainer. The voice of SHELLY SPIEL, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger Elise Calcifet , please report to Sector 1. Challenger Calcifet, to Sector 1. Thank you!"

When the challenger arrived, she would see the brash and tall ACE SHEEKE, already seated on Aslan the Pyroar; the timid and short ERON IUNIS, on Toralf the Raichu; and the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER, at the reins of Blitz the Shiny Luxray. Lastly, he would see the Gym Leader Josh Devlin , making adjustments to the saddle strapped to Twilight, an Absol that was slightly shorter than Josh. It was a fierce, merciless field of competitors, each of which had won races with the Gym Leader at the reins.

All his Gym Trainers and their Pokémon looked ready to go, armed with Z-GLOVES to match the power of the MEGA STONES the Gym Leader and challenger had. "Morning, Elise," Josh greeted his friend and challenger. "Normally I wouldn't let anyone with as few Badges as you have race this course, but since you... y'know... work here... we're pulling out all the stops. If you want to personally earn the Badge you've been part of handing out, you gotta bring your racing game to the next level."

The gallery surrounding Sector 1's SPIRAL course was full, serving a much higher capacity than most courses due to its extreme difficulty. The second most challenging overland course on the grounds, it tested every skill one could possibly imagine. It had jumps. Long turns. Blind turns. Sharp angles. Difficult terrain. That list was not even close to comprehensive. The course's sheer length would also push the racers to their very limits.

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 Quick Attack 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 reined his Absol toward the starting line, taking his mark alongside his friends and co-workers. "If you want this Badge, Elise, you'll have to work for it! Remember, pace yourself - it's a long track!" Josh warned as he slammed his helmet's visor down. If Elise were to glance toward him, the challenger would see a laser focused expression, almost like he was in a zen state as he held Twilight'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. Mega Evolving your Pokémon consumes one use of Boost. 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.

Special: Any extra rules specific to this Obstacle are located here.

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)

Special: Track Points lost as a result of non-Water Pokémon rolling beneath this Obstacle's Target Number are multiplied by 1.5, rounded up.

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 smiled at Elise's acknowledgments about the challenge being at its most difficult. "I'm just excited to race you on such a hard course," the Master of Faster smiled. "I've never had a challenger serious enough to race me on a course this hard. This will be fun. While being a Gym Leader prevents me from going all-out against you, I will give it my best within those limitations. If you can overcome them, then you deserve the Badge I'm sure you've given out to many challengers yourself." He smiled as he heard the snap of Elise's visor. He knew how fast Absol could get. There would certainly be sparks flying as the two white Pokémon dug their claws into the dirt, whipping their riders around each turn. It would be just as much of a test for the trainers as it was their Pokémon.

If there was a course that could be described as Pokémon racing hell, Spiral was it. There was not one place on the entire course where Pokémon and racer could truly relax. Every single skill imaginable would be tested. Navigating uneven terrain, jumps with awkward landings, jumps that required a lot of speed to clear, long turns, and even braking; there were some turns that were simply too tight to take at anywhere close to full speed.

Once the five Pokémon and riders were lined up, three images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou, dashing full blast, appeared on the monitor covering the starting arch's near face. Behind the images was a "GET READY" prompt, Josh and his Gym Trainers tensing up in anticipation of the signal. The first image of the Beast started to fade away, accompanied by a loud squawk serving as an aural warning. A second, then a third, followed. When the final image vanished, the prompt changed to a green "GO" alongside a longer and higher-pitched tone. With a sharp jab at the dark-type's sides, Josh spurred Twilight into an explosive burst of acceleration, the swift Pokémon leaving Elise and Sayori in the dust if they didn't give it their all in kind!

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: After the opening first few seconds to allow Pokémon to get up to speed, the SPIRAL's merciless nature would become apparent: Pokémon would need to have stellar grip to make a right-angle right turn on uneven ground sloping to their left. Even that cruel test of balance was a mere warmup; after rounding that initial corner, the dirt road twisted back and forth in a sharper right, followed by a gut-wrenching right. Coming out of that, the racers would find themselves on a parallel path featuring the inverse of what they just went through! Better be ambidextrous!

Target Number: 150 (Reaction)

Special: None

The SPIRAL was a daunting course. Even for experienced racers, this was a marathon, not a sprint. Pacing would be incredibly important. There would be very little going at top speed not only due to the difficulty of each turn, but due to the sheer length of the course. The Gym Leader himself knew he was going to be sore by the end of the run.

Other than the phantom-generated course he reserved for his legendary challengers such as Laurence Anderson , this was as close to racing hell as it got.

At the very least, the Gym Leader picked a good Pokémon for the challenge: Twilight's sharp claws would be more than capable of gripping the wave-like, uneven terrain. If she were to slip, but would be because of the rider's miscalculation, not her own capabilities. Though her turning capabilities were sharp, the turns were sharper yet, Josh worried he would instinctively pull on the Absol's reins hard enough to anger her as he guided her around the switchback.

The massively difficult course, the hardest land course on the property, took no prisoners from the very beginning. Josh Devlin and Elise Calcifet 's ABSOL both leaped ahead of the rest of the pack, having the fastest reaction time out of the five Pokémon. Just as the faster PYROAR under command of ACE SHEEKE was about to pass them, the royal lion stumbled on uneven ground, causing them to slide to the outside before correcting their trajectory. The damage had already been done, ERON IUNIS' RAICHU and ARAVAN ESCHER's SHINY LUXRAY zipping past before the great cat could get back up to speed.

The two ABSOL dueled one another for the lead down a narrowing stretch, the riders' legs nearly touching one another before the challenger's Pokémon put on a sudden burst of speed. Elise Calcifet held the lead for the time being, but there was a long ways to go! All five competitors would have to endure minutes of breakneck pace if they wanted a spot on the podium.

Prompt: After the course briefly splits in two, Pokémon need to jump to avoid a rough landing in a shallow gravel pit. Even after the jump, the need for speed would not relent; on the other side of the pit is a short but enormously steep hill that even the most stout Pokémon could not climb with stamina alone. They would need a lot of momentum to remain in motion before gravity's relentless pull sent them sliding downward -- and backward!

Target Number: 175 (Speed)

Special: Pokémon also apply half their ranks in Endurance (no rounding) to this Obstacle. TP loss as a result of rolling beneath this Obstacle's Target Number is doubled.

Reacting to the fork in the course, Josh wheeled Twilight in the same direction that Elise turned Sayori. With a flick of her reins, the Gym Leader coaxed a low leap out of the stoic Absol, intending on making it far enough to land beyond the gravel pit while still holding enough speed to coast over the steep hill. Managing the dark-type's energy was going to be the trickiest part of the race; it was long, and even the most energetic Pokémon simply could not maintain their top speed for the entire marathon that was the SPIRAL.

Josh grunted as he and his Absol hit the steep hill, thankful the saddle she wore had such a deep arc to it. Even with it, the Gym Leader had to hold on with everything he had, ready for Twilight to zip forward when she reached flat ground due to how hard he was squeezing her. Were his strength to give out, Josh himself would fall out of the saddle. Being out of the race might be the least of his worries; there were Pokémon behind that could trample him!

Elise Calcifet and her ABSOL led the way over the gravel pit, the Pokémon taking various approaches to the double threat before them. Some, such as Josh Devlin and the challenger, went for a low leap to preserve their momentum the best they could. Others, such as ERON IUNIS and his RAICHU, sprung as high as they could to ensure they would clear the pit. ACE SHEEKE and ARAVAN ESCHER elected for a middle ground between the other two groups, conscientious of the speed their PYROAR and LUXRAY would land with.

All five landed safely, with varying degrees of success. Elise Calcifet and ARAVAN ESCHER scaled the steep hill with little trouble, her ABSOL's quicker acceleration letting the challenger build up quite the lead going into the twisty backstretch. For ACE SHEEKE and ERON IUNIS, it was much more of a struggle, the two big cats slipping at the top of the slope and nearly sliding back down.

Josh Devlin 's ABSOL squealed upon landing, tripping over the pit's lip and losing a lot of speed. Despite his efforts to spur the dark-type to top speed, she simply didn't have the momentum to clear the slope, sliding back down. Backing up all the way to the pit's edge, she was able to barely clear it on the second attempt. The Leader's Pokémon had fantastic acceleration to catch up to the felines somewhat, but he was still quite far behind!

Prompt: After a long and narrow stretch testing the riders' ability to steer their Pokémon with precision, the course widens just in time for a long, right, and uphill U-turn that slopes away from the inside. With gravity pulling Pokémon down the slope, the curve tests the limits of how hard a Pokémon can turn. At the end of the U-turn, the course's elevation suddenly drops from going down the back side of the hill, the course whipping them back to the left in an even sharper U-turn! Was it even within the limits of human reaction time to respond to such a wicked trial?

Target Number: 165 (Reaction)

Special: None

The narrow stretches of track were no difficulty for Josh to handle; with how much precision there was in controlling Twilight, about as much as could be expected from a Pokémon on four legs, he kept his hands steady on the Absol's reins. Small adjustments were necessary to keep a good racing line, but the priority was making sure neither his suit nor his Pokémon's fur rubbed against the walls and cost him precious speed.

The next turn was a tight one, Josh ready for it with a sharp right tug on Twilight. The Absol squinted, sparks flying from her sharp claws as she leaned into the sharp turn. The switchback following it caught him off-guard, causing the Gym Leader to panic and slide his right hand up the reins' opposite side. "Turn, Twilight! TUUUUUUUURN!" he yelped, yanking with both hands.

Letting out a cry of half anger, half pure grit, the Absol leaned dangerously close to the ground, Josh feeling like his leg was going to pop with how much pressure the turn was putting on his lower body. If he had any more strength, the whiplash from the sudden reversal of direction would have knocked him silly. Even Twilight was not out of danger; it took great strength from the white-furred Pokémon to fight gravity and avoid toppling over completely in the swerving motion that would have easily sent a less skilled rider flying.

The back-and-forth, whiplash-inducing turns would either force racers to slam on the brakes or risk a wipeout from taking the nasty obstacles at high speed. Either way would put great stress on the the bodies of not only the Pokémon, but the trainer as well. It reinforced the notion that Pokémon racing was as much of a sport for the Pokémon as it was the jockey. The strength and stamina needed to truly ride as one for minutes at a time pushed the limits of the trainer-Pokémon bond farther than any battle ever would. It was the creed of Mauville Gym in action.

Pokémon with shorter or sharper claws, such as ERON IUNIS' RAICHU, would be forced to slam on the brakes rounding each curve. The electric rat's quick acceleration would get them back up to speed, but not quickly enough for ACE SHEEKE, Josh Devlin , and their respective PYROAR and ABSOL to sandwich the short, white-haired Gym Trainer. They would be going three-wide into one of the course's most dangerous challenges leading to the starting arch -- ones that would give even sharp-clawed Pokémon fits!

Farther up the track, the SHINY LUXRAY chasing down Elise Calcifet 's ABSOL fully extended its claws at ARAVAN ESCHER's command, both squinting in great focus. When it looked like they were about to catch and pass her Pokémon, the electric cat lost its footing, sliding toward the outside barricade but ultimately recovering in time. The royal's ABSOL followed much of the same racing lines but managed to keep its balance, running down the narrow backstretch with a large, and growing, lead.

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

If you have a Z-Move that could be reasonably used as an extreme burst of speed, your Pokémon may use it 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.

Prompt: After the gravel pit and steep hill that gave many Pokémon fits on the first lap, it would be much easier to clear on boost laps, what with Pokémon being able to tap into their full speed. What wouldn't be easier would be a nasty, hilly S-curve impossible to see around! The apex of each corner was at the top of a tall mound, making it difficult to see the angle of subsequent bends. The last curve in particular was along a steep grade, Pokémon having to fight their own weight to avoid slipping and falling off the inside of the track and out of bounds!

Target Number: 140 (Reaction)

Special: Pokémon do not apply ranks in Speed to this Obstacle. Pokémon who miss this Obstacle's Target Number by 30 or more instead receive a flat -150 TP penalty for landing OFF COURSE. Gym Trainers that land OFF COURSE are DISQUALIFIED instead.

Josh's stomach sank, leaning forward to keep his grip on Twilight's back as she shot up the steep slope. The momentum shifts were so harsh that he felt like it was inside one of the gyros that he used for training before going into space with Andrea Vaneau , and more importantly, flying on the emerald serpent with Eva Morales . Without that, he may have fainted on the spot, considering the speed he approached the obstacle with.

He had a little bit of room to breathe before reaching the uneven ground ahead, huge humps making it impossible to see the next turn. Footing made a huge difference, Twilight leaning hard left or hard right depending on the exact angle of her footfalls. One wrong move could lead to the Gym Leader getting badly hurt. "Pump the brakes a little, Twilight!" he ordered, the white, clawed quadruped letting some of her momentum leave her to give Josh more time to react to each turn. With the kind of speed she was capable of, catching air was a real danger coming off each hump!

Zipping up the steep slope with a QUICK ATTACK, the ABSOL piloted by Elise Calcifet further eluded the rest of her competitors. Her lead had grown so great that she may have been able to hear a sound bite from nearby loudspeakers:

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/996935022286209055/1071442026886864916/FZX_-_Youre_Way_Out_in_Front.mp3[/player]

"Pour it on! You're way out in front!"

Her experience as a Gym Trainer made her aware that sound clip played when the challenger was at least one and a half seconds in front of second place. Even so, she did not let up one bit, continuing her QUICK ATTACK chain through the humps and bumps surrounding the back-and-forth curves ahead. Her Pokémon had the physical strength to power through the turns, but both lacked the reaction time to do so at their elevated speed. The dark-type caught air off one of the speed humps, the ABSOL fully extending its claws to try to avoid crushing Elise Calcifet 's leg against the wall. The scraping of claw against track was loud and bright. Though she kept the challenger safe, the duo had lost almost all their speed.

The sound of paws pounding the course echoed from behind the ABSOL as the two got back up to speed, her overly aggressive maneuver causing her to lose her entire lead. ACE SHEEKE and his PYROAR zipped past, followed by ARAVAN ESCHER and his LUXRAY, though they were not too far ahead once the horned Pokémon was back up to speed again. She would be in heavy traffic for the last two turns, Leader Josh Devlin and his own ABSOL racing side-by-side. They were close enough that they could give one another a high-five if they wanted. Their two-wide run around the final curve denied ERON IUNIS and his RAICHU a passing opportunity.

The chaos of one nasty curve had completely upended the race, turning a runaway performance by the challenger into a tight contest, first-to-last only a little over a half-second apart.

Prompt: After a grueling series of S-curves and U-turns with very little flat ground, racers would at last be greeted by the closest the Spiral offered to a calm. Before them was a long and hilly, but shallow, left turn. Pokémon and trainers could catch a breather here if they felt the need to save their energy, while those who trusted in their partner's bottomless stamina might find this pseudo-straightaway to be a good passing opportunity!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

Such was the chaos of a Pokémon race: all it took was one competitor mishandling a nasty curve or other challenge in their way for action to spiral out of control. The sound of stampeding paws grew as the field became tighter and tighter, Josh's split-second reaction time keeping him out of last place. He jerked his right hand backward as Elise and her Absol ran alongside Twilight, trying to distance them from the fellow dark-type's horn-blade.

Josh's MEGA GLOVE glowed during the long stretch, beckoning him to Mega Evolve Twilight while he had a chance to do so. In his mind, though, the time wasn't right. It was a somewhat unfair advantage he had, having run the course many times before. While he knew what obstacles were coming, and Elise could too by virtue of having been on the property many times past, they still needed to time the Mega Evolution right. Instead, the Gym Leader simply squeezed Twilight's sides tightly, coaxing her to top speed to try to complete the pass and tail the two big cats in front of him.

For some, the long straight stretch was a reprieve, Josh Devlin , ACE SHEEKE, and ARAVAN ESCHER reining their Pokémon in to conserve their energy for the worst the course had to offer later on. As tempting as it was to bathe his ABSOL in the light of Mega Evolution, the prudent Gym Leader held back for the time being, letting Elise Calcifet and her own ABSOL pass with a small burst of speed. She held and gradually expanded upon that lead until a titanic sonic burst echoed behind the rest of the field.

With a loud cry unlike ERON IUNIS and a a discharge of Z-POWER, the white-haired young man gripped his RAICHU's back with everything he had, his electric vermin steed's bolt-tail parallel to the ground. The duo whipped past nearly the entire field in an invisibly fast Z-MOVE: HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE, its shockwave rocking the air around the other racers and pushing them aside by force. Even Elise Calcifet was not immune, though her ABSOL was just strong enough to maintain the pace needed to hold the RAICHU off. They were neck and neck as a truly sinister challenge loomed ahead...

Prompt: The calm before the storm was over, the reprieve preceding one of the Spiral's most dangerous curves: a tight, uphill left turn that went in a complete circle. Furthermore, it was covered in ice across its entire width. Freshly laid by a GLASTRIER prior to the race, it was slick as could be, and not even the hottest of fire Pokémon would melt it. Even the sharpest of claws would be put to the test maintaining a turn so sharp and so long on slick ground.

Target Number: 170 (Endurance)

Special: None