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 KEVIN STROUSER, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger zachary stellar , please report to Sector 1. Challenger Stellar, to Sector 1. Thank you!"

Provided the challenger found ample signage, he would see the brash and tall ACE SHEEKE, already seated on Komainu the Houndoom with hands firmly on his horns; the timid and short ERON IUNIS, on Blinky the Jolteon; and the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER, at the reins of Pura the Purugly. Lastly, he would see the Gym Leader Josh Devlin , making adjustments to the saddle strapped to Toralf, a Raichu that was roughly the same size as Hermes, the giant Alolan one that Zachary had entered in the race. He smiled as the enthusiastic trainer re-introduced the tail-surfing electric-type to him.

All his Gym Trainers and their Pokémon were ready and raring to go, particularly the redhead with the Houndoom. "Great to see you again at Mauville Racing Grounds, Zachary," Josh greeted his challenger. "I've been looking forward to this since we got back from the beach! Seems like Toralf's already trash talking with Hermes!" he noted aloud as the Kantonian Raichu threw the gauntlet. The three Gym Trainers introduced themselves and Josh's Pokémon they were borrowing, one by one.

The gallery surrounding Sector 1's TWIST ROAD course was full, small as the stands were. Had Zachary given permission for spectators to take photos of him and his Raichu, several would have flashed as a pre-recorded pan of the course ran on the big screen. With only one turn greater than a right angle, it was the easiest course Josh used for official challenges. It was also short, the fastest Pokémon able to run laps in under thirty seconds. Zachary wouldn't have long to prove his sync with the Raichu!

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! Using your Tera Orb is permitted once during the race. Use it wisely. 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 climbed atop the giant electric rodent, joining his three loyal Gym Trainers for the contest of speed. "It's been a while since I've been able to go all-out in a race. I know how fast Hermes can get, and I have to be on top of my game if I want to win!" Josh retorted as he slammed his helmet's visor down. If Zachary were to glance toward him, the challenger would see a laser focused expression, almost like he was in a zen state as he held Toralf'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). Activating your TERA ORB will consume one use of Boost. 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.

Seeing Zachary's team make themselves at home within the crowd of season-pass holders made Josh's heart warm inside; it was rare to see that kind of camaraderie among a challenger's entire team. His eyes shifted to the sky as popcorn rained down upon the front few rows of fans like cascading fireworks. Josh wouldn't even have to clean the mess up; his Pokémon would no doubt devour the tasty food when the crowd cleared out. The Gym Leader's hair stood on end as the two Raichu trash-talked one another, electricity arcing between their pairs of cheeks.

Josh gave the giant electric rodent a gentle pat as Zachary had a pep talk with Hermes. Seeing how the trainer mounted -- by surfing on the Pokémon's tail alongside it rather than sitting on its back -- made Josh reconsider whether he wanted to raise an Alolan Raichu himself. It would certainly be a speedy way to travel over both land or water, but it would be very different than what he was used to. Even so, Toralf was quick, and he had a secret weapon that would put him ahead of Hermes in a pinch. "I'm sure it will be exciting the whole way; Toralf's no slouch in speed, either," Josh retorted.

Once all the competitors indicated they were ready, three still images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou, sprinting at full speed, faded into view along with a "GET READY" prompt. Said stills disappeared rhythmically, one at a time. Alongside each, a loud, low-pitched squawk blared as an aural indicator of the countdown and allowing the racers to more easily time their accelerating leaps off the line. The fourth such sound was higher-pitched as the final image vanished, the text "GET READY" shifting to "GO". The moment the starting buzzer sounded, Josh and his Gym Trainers jabbed at their mounts' sides with their knees, battling for early position.

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: The course begins with a series of three right-angle, uphill turns on a wide track, coming at competitors with increasingly rapid succession. The turns are sharp, but racers have plenty of width to find positioning. While there is little danger of a wipeout, wide turns are not advised without a plan due to how much extra ground the Pokémon would need to cover. A long straight stretch follows the third turn.

Target Number: 105 (Reaction)

Special: None