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. They would not immediately find the Leader; instead, at the front desk was his secretary. The young man with well-cut hair would answer Kasper's questions. "One moment while I look up your challenge. Ah, here it is. Have a seat; I'll call you up when he's ready."

The wait wouldn't be too long; Though his volume was picking up, he was still quite organized and punchtual. Once it was time for their appointment, the voice of ANDREW WEISS, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger kasper thaler , please report to the Main Sector. Challenger Thaler, to the Main Sector. Thank you!"

Provided Kasper followed the ample signage to get to the Main Sector, where the facility's battle courts were located, they would find Josh removing the saddle from Blitz, a Shiny Luxray that was one of the most well-known Pokémon the Gym Leader had. "Challenger Thaler?" the Leader greeted them. "Gym Leader Devlin, but please, Josh is good." 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, with plenty of channels for aquatic Pokémon to swim. 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 and Champion directed the challenger 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 two-Pokémon Singles match. The first side to incapacitate their opponent's entire Pokémon team will be the winner. This match will have a seven-minute time limit, and 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 pointed toward the circular pool surrounding the inner ring of the battle court, the Luxray ready to do battle. He wouldn't be fighting alone; with a whistle from the Gym Leader, a Kilowattrel swooped in next to the Luxray, the black and yellow bird squawking loudly. "Now, bring forth your Pokémon and ponder your opening move. I can assure you it will be the only decision you will have time to think on," Josh taunted.

"Kasper it is," Josh replied, doing his best to make the challenger comfortable as he got to know them better. Nerves were common on the Gym Circuit, particularly since two Gym Leaders had reached Champion Rank. He had been in the business long enough to know how to match the intensity of his challengers, give them a match they wouldn't forget, yet one they could learn from, win or lose.

The armor of a Tyranitar was some of the hardest any Pokémon wore, made even more resilient during the sandstorms the species could summon. Why didn't Carnation's presence herald the inclement weather he was expecting? That could be something they covered after the match, win or lose.

Brilliantly faking Blitz out, the Tyranitar's jaws pierced the side of the big cat's face. A little more head-on, and it would have been a truly vicious blow. Josh didn't seem upset at all; if anything, he wanted the Tyranitar to strike first. Having learned from his matches with kyle lopez and Greyson Connors that speed on its own was not a valid premise to base an entire strategy around, he took advantage of the Tyranitar's proximity.

"Blitz, DISCHARGE," Josh ordered, a sphere of electricity expanding from the yellow Luxray. If Kasper's Pokémon didn't quickly back off, part of the dome would ravage the Tyranitar's insides -- a blow no armor would protect it from!

As slow of a Pokémon as Tyranitar was, that sluggishness came with brutal strength. Their jaws could cleave through stone and bend metal. Carnation's took with it a hunk of the Luxray's cheek. As brutal of a hit as it was, the miracle of modern medicine and Pokémon healing made recovering from even nasty wounds like that simple.

When the move Payback was ordered, Josh smiled. With that facial blemish, he knew Blitz was not much longer for the match. A leap across the battle court would get Blitz out of harm's way, raising his tail and firing a SIGNAL BEAM toward the rampaging Tyranitar.

Whether by the dark-type's brutal PAYBACK or too much blood loss, the yellow feline's will to fight would quickly expire. "You've certainly done your homework, Kasper," Josh clapped. "There are many ways to deal with a foe that's frustratingly fast. Payback is one: an attack that strikes harder against Pokémon that make the first move."

Blitz limped off the battleground as Etali swooped in to take his place. "I am curious to see what your Tyranitar will do against a flying foe," he mused as the yellow avian built up speed flying along the court's edges.

An elementary deduction; Rock-types had great advantages over birds. At least on paper. In practice, many rock-type attacks were too unwieldy to strike a bird down. "Etali, AGILITY!" the Gym Leader ordered.

The Kilowattrel tilted his wings upward, rocketing high above the ROCK THROW at a speed that made his acrobatics difficult to follow. One lesson Mauville Gym sought to teach was against high-speed foes, accurate attacks were more effective than powerful but unwieldy ones. If Kasper had done their homework, they may have been able to anticipate the next move that was coming, and against a Pokémon as slow as a Tyranitar, it would be certain to wreak havoc.

The damage to the court was nothing Josh wasn't used to; with how many Pokémon he had and the size of his workforce, repairing it would be a routine task to be completed when the Gym closed for the day. Kasper may have wondered how a human could withstand the G-forces behind such a maneuver, given they had seen the Kilowattrel wearing a saddle before.

"ELECTRO BALL, Etali!" Josh ordered as the Kilowattrel reached his apex. Hiding in the sun, the electric bird plummeted toward Carnation, spheres of electricity growing beneath his wings. With a vigorous beat from them, Etali launched the high-speed projectiles toward the Tyranitar. For a split second, there was a moment where the rock-type could smack Josh's speedy Pokémon. Could they find that brief moment in time to launch a successful counterattack?

Between the blinding ELECTRO BALLS and the slow speed of Carnation's attack, the electric bird had what felt like all day to weave around the hunk of earth that was hurled his way. Stretching his wings powered by the burst of AGILITY from earlier in the battle, the Tyranitar's parting blow grazed his underside. Even a graze still hurt, coming from an immensely powerful species easily capable of shattering bone to pieces.

"Etali, ROOST!" the Gym Leader called out, the black and yellow bird landing in the center of the grassy field to catch his breath. It would leave Poppy with the all-important initiative, but it was a small price to pay to make sure they would have an even match.

Indeed, the speed of the mind was greater than that of any muscle a Pokémon could physically move with. Reality itself seemed to twist around Etali, the Kilowattrel struggling to discern up from down. The mental assault delayed his takeoff by quite a bit, leaving Poppy in a more advantageous position.

The match was far from over; Josh had faced these kinds of foes before. Kasper's Pokémon was well-equipped to defend against energy attacks. Etali, though, was capable of both. "PLUCK its hat from its body, Etali!" the Gym Leader shouted, trying to get through to the confused-looking bird. Snapping out of his trance, the Kilowattrel soared high before diving toward the mage-like Pokémon's head apparel. With a sudden swoop, he aimed to lift the Pokémon off the ground!