Mauville's three-tiered cityscape was just as much of a marvel from the outside as it was the inside. The surrounding landscape to the east was one of the most diverse in the entire region. To the southeast, a picturesque beach found only here and in the region's remote islands. To the northeast, a grassland bordering the rainforest to Fortree. Far to the east, a vast wetland with the longest single road in Hoenn cutting through it.

Perhaps the reason for AISLING O'CONNOR 's Flareon being so fired up was seeing one of the city's local celebrities riding astride another Flareon that was just as big as they were. It was Mauville's Gym Leader, Josh Devlin , and he was surrounded by seven other equally-large Eeveelutions that all wore saddles. Those who were local may have known the racing-ready Pokémon well, for they were part of a special variation of his Gym Challenge few got to experience.

The scene grabbed Josh's interest immediately, the mounted trainer and his seven other Eeveelutions approaching AISLING O'CONNOR . "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but your Flareon is impressive," the Gym Leader complimented. "It takes a lot of work to find ones that grow that large. Clyde here was the better part of a few months' search." The Flareon looked enthusiastic, too, making gestures for their trainer to hop aboard.

Almost all of Josh's ride Pokémon played along with his wishes, but the level of dedication Aisling's Flareon had to serving as a loyal steed was uncanny. Training such a Pokémon for the task would be incredibly easy. "Gym Leader Devlin or Champion Devlin, but I go by Josh," he introduced himself before inserting himself into Aisling and her Flareon's argument any more.

"You're welcome!" Josh returned the awkward appreciation. "It's rare for Flareon to grow that big, so yours is pretty valuable to those in my circle." Clyde walked toward AISLING O'CONNOR 's Flareon and introduced himself to them while the rest of Josh's Eeveelutions scattered about, Kairi taking a dip in the shallows and splashing water toward her friends on the shore. Blinky's fur sparked as Kairi soaked her, electrolyzing the water that had fallen onto her quills.

Once she was dry, Blinky jogged toward Josh, the Jolteon barking expectantly. "I'll be with you shortly! There's only one of me and eight of you," he answered the electric-type with a little frustration in his tone. Turning toward Aisling, Josh answered her question. "This is one of my playgrounds for my Pokémon. It's wide open and is more biodiverse than my Gym grounds. I go riding here pretty frequently. I don't think I mentioned it directly, but I used to be a professional Pokémon racer before I took over the Gym."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD CLAUNCHER APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] MEGA LAUNCHER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BUBBLE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]AQUA JET
[attr="class","wildtabox"]WATER SPORT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CRABHAMMER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin AISLING O'CONNOR

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD BARRASKEWDA APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] PROPELLER TAIL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]PECK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BITE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DIVE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FURY ATTACK
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin AISLING O'CONNOR

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

AISLING O'CONNOR CAUGHT THE SQUIRTLE!

"Most of them are!" Josh answered, his eyes focusing on Blinky. "Jolteon especially are good for racing, long as you have the proper equipment to make sure their quills don't spike up." Aisling may have noticed the guard on the front of the electric-type's seat, keeping a rider's legs from bouncing into her quills. Though it added some weight to her gear, she didn't seem to mind... and it seemed necessary for a human to be ferried about on one safely. "They all have their different strengths and weaknesses, just like in battle! After all, a Pokémon race, at its core, is just an unorthodox Pokémon Contest." Silph Cup races awarded Contest Ribbons for winners, after all.

After the brief battle with the Clauncher, the Champion elaborated on his career choice. "I've admired very fast Pokémon since I was a child, and have dreamed of competing on a professional level. Little did I think I would ever be teaching Hoenn's trainers how to do so in an official capacity as Gym Leader!" In his mind, there was truly no better way to bond with a Pokémon with great running capability than to mount up, becoming of one mind with the partner ferrying their trainer across the wilds.

Pinky's low-pitched squeal may have startled Aisling and her Flareon, not used to the almost alien-sounding cry of a Sylveon so large. "What about you? What brings you out to Mauville Bay?"

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD TYNAMO APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] LEVITATE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TACKLE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SPARK
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin AISLING O'CONNOR

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD AMPHAROS APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] STATIC
[attr="class","wildtabox"]COTTON SPORE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ZAP CANNON
[attr="class","wildtabox"]THUNDER SHOCK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TACKLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin AISLING O'CONNOR

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

AISLING O'CONNOR CAUGHT THE CLAUNCHER!

Within the sports world, Josh was a celebrity, having made possible to compete with Pokémon that would have been unfathomable to enter in contests of speed. Outside of it, especially to Pokémon conservation activists, his methods may have come off as cruel. Furret and Linoone, even bred to the awesome sizes Josh's reached, were not meant for racing. They were meant for cuddling. Yet Josh wasn't one to listen to that level of reason. Only his passion.

The Gym Leader shook his head at Aisling's lack of confidence. "It's certainly not for everyone," the Gym Leader admitted. "Most don't think about it, but you need a good core to maintain proper posture, you need good balance, and you need good hand-eye coordination. Yes, Pokémon are smart enough to turn on their own, but manual control with reins is where all the fun's at. Makes you and your Pokémon truly feel as one." Little may Aisling have known that the bipedal Ampharos could fly like a Dragonite after evolution, and bear a rider with little trouble. That would require a Mega Stone, which required significant effort to procure.

Aisling's musings were concerning; while there were ways to deal with the wealth gap in Hoenn, petty thievery was not one of them. Policy changes and politics were. "...You take that back," the Gym Leader sternly answered, his difficulty of reading between the lines tunneling him toward a statement likely made only to stir the pot.