The eastern fence of Mauville Racing Grounds, located just outside the city proper, went on and on. Even by Pokémon, it took quite some time to cross, what with there being six giant Sectors and a full commercial racing video game's worth of different courses there. Without such a generous land grant from the League, the completion of such a grand facility would not have been possible. Many Pokémon, almost all of them wearing saddles, roamed the grounds. There were notable exceptions, such as a Toxtricity making repairs to a scoreboard after it had been shorted out in a recent Gym Challenge.

Josh himself was riding one of his newest Gym recruits, Ghalta the Tyrantrum, his thighs aching as he got used to the vicious, brutal Pokémon's rough running stroke. The sheer power behind the dinosaur's stomping steps was incredible, but it would be worth it. He was smaller and faster than most Tyrantrum, but that didn't make him any less strong! He could still chew up and spit out some of the hardest substances in the world.

As he made an eastward turn, Josh noticed a young, teenage-looking female outside the fence door, seemingly waiting to be let in. "Hey there," he waved back. "Do you mind going through the front door and checking in, please? This entrance is for employees only."

Josh tilted his head and reined the Tyrantrum toward the lass. "Thanks! Ghalta's actually one of the newest additions to the team," Josh introduced the prehistoric dragon. What talent he must have had, to be able to tame such an aggressive species so quickly. Were Thea to look more closely, she would see that almost all the Pokémon within the fence wore saddles, including several Pyroar whose gear had the Hoenn Ranger logo emblazoned upon it.

Thea seemed oblivious to Josh. The League logo was plastered all over the fence at regular intervals. Internally signing, he spelled the facility's purpose out in plain words. "You can! This is Mauville Gym, better known as Mauville Racing Grounds. I'm Leader Devlin, but please, call me Josh. It's a bit of a trip, though; the place is huge. If you're going to the Gym, want a lift? There's room for two people in Ghalta's saddle."

As big as Ghalta was, he was actually smaller than the average Tyrantrum by a significant margin. He was about as tall as an Arcanine, but could still comfortably seat two on his back. "Mauville Gym is actually one of the largest sole proprietorships in Hoenn now," he tooted his own horn without remorse. "We've got over 30 employees now. If we get much larger, I might have to consider incorporating. Maybe even a small-time IPO." But now was not the time to talk money. It was time to get the enthusiastic girl inside those fences through the proper channels.

Once the Gym Leader felt Thea's hold, Josh lightly squeezed the dinosaur's sides and cried, "Hyah!" Following his nonverbal signals, the Tyrantrum walked, then jogged, then entered his slowest running stroke. It was brisk, but far from a hunting or pouncing speed - well within speeds permitted inside the municipality. "Whoo!" Josh cried as he felt the wind in his face - wind that his passenger would largely be shielded from. He debated clicking his helmet's visor into place, but decided against it; it was just warm enough that the wind wasn't biting.

As the duo entered Mauville City proper, Josh had to stop for the first traffic light on the way to his Gym. Though many rode Pokémon instead of drove vehicles, riders were subject to the same traffic laws as anyone else. He didn't hesitate to get in the fast lane when he could, though.

After some more stop-and-go, Josh guided Ghalta to the Gym's front entrance, being careful not to pull too hard on the Tyrantrum's reins. "If Ghalta was a normal-sized Tyrantrum, you'd have to worry about hitting your head on the asphalt above you," he remarked. Mauville truly was a construction marvel. Her first two levels never saw sunlight, lit only by neon business signs and street lights 24/7. Without gMH's robust backup power system, an outage would plunge the bottom two levels of the city into total darkness. "Front door's just ahead. Need a hand getting down?"

As much as it may have felt like full speed to Thea, Ghalta was running far from full speed. If there was one common trait about all of Josh's Pokémon, it was that they were among the fastest of their species in Hoenn, if not the world. "Nope! We're still a Pokémon Gym, after all," Josh corrected. "We've got battle courts for Pokémon to spar on, but they're also... triple standard size."

Once the duo had dismounted from Ghalta, the Tyrantrum tromped back through town and through its north gate. "Great to meet you, Thea! Yep, Tyrantrum are usually as tall as a one-story building. It works well for me; getting on a normal-sized one is hard without assistance." Even when they were crouching, it was a struggle climbing onto them.

Once Ghalta was out of sight, Josh led the way through the Gym's automatic sliding doors to a lobby full of bright yellow, teal, and dark purple and grey decor. It was almost like being in the middle of a thunderstorm. The entire lobby seemed to be a love letter to the Johtonian god of speed, Raikou. If Thea was thirsty, there was a tank of drinking water and a stack of paper cups nearby. "What brings you to Mauville Gym? Is it a challenge?" the Leader inquired.

Some grew taller, too. He didn't dare imagine how large one of those red-eyed ones from Yuina Higashi 's true home could get... not to mention the destruction it could sow. Even his smaller one could exert enough bite force to chew through metal.

"So you're looking to spar, more or less?" Josh asked Thea. "Normally, Mauville Gym doesn't have too many opportunities for walk-ins, but with lower challenger volume in recent months, you're in luck!" A quick sparring session would be a great way to fill downtime while still remaining productive by the League's standards.

Whether she wanted to have a mock battle or just visit the many Pokémon, he would direct the young lady to ANDREW WEISS' scheduling desk, where the male receptionist would check her in. Were she to approach and open the sliding door in the back, she would behold quite the sight.

The land inside the fence seemed to go on endlessly. There were bleachers and scoreboards scattered throughout the vast facility just outside Mauville City limits. A staggering number of Pokémon, almost every single one of them wearing a saddle, roamed the grounds. They all seemed to be within a narrow, roughly human-sized range, despite what the Pokédex had listed for them for an average species size. Perhaps some of the most striking specimens were a complete set of Eeveelutions that were close to the upper limit of what was possible genetically. For one with a need for speed, the Jolteon's saddle may have been irresistible.

Thea's nonverbal communication conveyed just how excited she was, clearly starstruck by the dozens of Pokémon roaming the vast Racing Grounds. It was almost ridiculous seeing so many saddled Pokémon: there were enough for a good-sized cavalry brigade to ride into battle!

When Josh noticed Thea swooning over the two Rapidash, he introduced them. "They are! The silver one is Ixion. She was the very first Pokémon I learned riding with. And the other is Dashie." Were Thea's mind open, the Galarian Rapidash would bombard her with cozy, comfy vibes.

There Thea went, being all formal again. "Just Josh is fine! No need to be proper with me. I'm the people's Gym Leader, after all!" As they were chatting, Ghalta tromped across the main battle court at quite the clip. Always so energetic, the Tyrantrum was. "We could spar with our Pokémon, but... you said you were looking for a new experience. Was riding Ghalta your first experience being on a Pokémon's back?" he asked her, setting the hook he had for so many other trainers looking for new ways to enjoy Pokémon...

Dashie and Ixion were rountinely used by beginning riders, making them comfortable around Thea. To them, she was just like any other student of his classes. If her mind was open, she may have been able to feel a warm ping coming from the Galarian Rapidash. "I don't care for formalities either. A title only has the meaning that the person puts into it. Elite Ranger, Gym Leader, Master of Faster... at the end of the day, I'm still Josh. Title or no, I would still give my all to make life in Mauville easier."

Josh's eyes, too, lit up when they both seemed to have the same idea. "I always recommend to people that if they want to travel Hoenn, to catch a Pokémon they can ride across the lahd, another for the sea, and a third for the sky. Even the highways around here can be a bit rough, especially if you get out in the boonies. Around Fortree and Fallarbor especially, it gets rough."

Both the equines clopped toward Thea expectantly. "I think they like you! I do have to warn you, though... they can get really fast. So if you do hop on, be ready."