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 ANDREW WEISS, Josh's scheduler, echoed over the Gym's loudspeakers:

"Challenger Noguchi, please report to Sector 2. Challenger Noguchi, to Sector 2. Thank you!"

Provided the challenger found ample signage, she would see the brash and tall ACE SHEEKE, already seated on King Zing the Beedrill. While the redhead looked a bit too big to be riding even a monstrous wasp that size, he insisted that Josh allow him to do so. Aside him was the timid and short ERON IUNIS, on Tiamat the Dragonite. His white hair stood on end as the proud and aggressive dragon roared her bat-like wings, creating an unnatural-sounding hum. Lastly was the reserved ARAVAN ESCHER, astride Sidewinder the Dragapult.

Miyako would also see the Gym Leader Josh Devlin , making adjustments to the saddle strapped to Mastema, a Togekiss of his own. "I know you're excited, Miyako Noguchi , but let's take this one challenge at a time, shall we?" Josh greeted his challenger. "Just gotta make sure Mastema's gear is comfortable for both of us and secure before we get airborne," he explained. "And don't think I haven't heard of your stories from Shalin!" The three Gym Trainers introduced themselves and Josh's Pokémon they were borrowing, one by one. "And don't forget, Aravan, no disappearing into the ethereal. That's illegal."

The winds were on the calm side, which would make navigating today's course much easier. A small crowd filled the bottom several rows of mostly empty stands on both sides of Sector 2's LOOP CROSS course. It was titled as such for its two loop-de-loops and long, lateral turns greater than 360 degrees. While those would take precision to enter and exit, as well as stamina to maintain, there was plenty of room in between them for extremely speedy Pokémon to shine!

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', the race starts. Moves like Quick Attack and Tailwind can't be used on the first lap. After the first lap, use them as much as you think your Altaria 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 the explanation was over, Josh took a seat on the large Togekiss' back, Mastema floating into the air. "If you're brave enough to rodeo with a Tyranitar, then these loops and inversions shouldn't be an issue for you," Josh laughed as he slammed his helmet's visor down. If Miyako were to glance toward him, she would see a laser focused expression, almost like he was in a zen state as he held Mastema's reins in anticipation of the takeoff. The Togekiss mirrored his expression, as though the two were of one mind.

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, plus one. 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.

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)

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 listened to Miyako's bravado as he zipped himself securely into Mastema's cocoon. When she described the incident, he facepalmed; Shalin Nariya had told Josh about it. "That's... why I recommend a cocoon saddle for flying Pokémon," he answered as he put both his hands back on the reins. "It can feel a bit restrictive at first, but you won't fall off your Pokémon. Period." While he felt the cursing was unnecessary, he appreciated the enthusiasm. "Now, watch that banner and the lights on it, just like we discussed. See you on the other side!"

Once the five were lined up, three images of the legendary Pokémon Raikou at full gallop appeared on the banner monitor above the starting arch. Behind them was a "GET READY" prompt, Josh and his Gym Trainers tensing their legs in anticipation. The first of the three images began to fade away, with it sounding a loud squawk as a simultaneous aural warning that the race was about to begin. A second, then a third followed. When the final image of Raikou disappeared, the prompt changed to a green "GO" alongside a longer and higher-pitched squawk. The Champion squeezed Mastema's sides, his Togekiss hovering forward and accelerating slowly. Though getting up to speed was a challenge for the fairy-type, once he was there, he would be one fierce competitor -- one Miyako Noguchi would do well to give no quarter!

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: Subtle curves pepper the opening stretch. If there were no other racers to deal with, the curves were so slight that one could coast straight ahead, making it easy to get up to speed! With the heavy traffic that was typical of the start of any race, though, finding that ideal line would be easier said than done! Furthermore, building up speed was important, as the first of several vertical loops was marked by a pair of yellow, triangle-shaped signs at the abrupt end of the road beneath them! Much like a roller coaster, the racers would briefly fly upside down before diving onto the adjacent section of the course to their right!

Target Number: 125 (Speed)

Special: A Pokémon that rolls beneath the Target Number by more than 30 will instead result in a loss of 150 TP and one use of BOOST from the Pokémon not completing the loop properly.

Josh was fortunate that Mastema had raced this course before, though with ERON IUNIS at the reins. The wise and stern Togekiss was familiar with the correct angle for every turn, as did the Champion himself. It would just be a matter of adjusting to how the fairy-type accelerated and turned on this specific course. Despite its medium difficulty rating, LOOP CROSS had features none of his other courses did, including the one before him: a vertical 360-degree loop.

"Up, Mastema!" Josh cried. With how floaty the angelic Pokémon's flight was, getting him to slowly somersault was an out-of-body experience in and of itself. Mastema being slower to get up to speed than Fancy Pants gave the Gym Leader a front-row seat to how the enthusiastic challenger would handle flying upside down on her own. He was confident she would be just fine. After all, they had shot straight upward along the Sky Pillar before -- on the back of the very Dragapult that was now her competitor!

Miyako Noguchi 's experience riding a fierce roller coaster as a child would prove vital in overcoming the high g-forces that Josh's Gym assaulted her with seconds after the word go. She battled ACE SHEEKE's BEEDRILL and ERON IUNIS' DRAGONITE for early position; while the venomous insect darted off the line the fastest, it lacked the top speed that the TOGEKISS and draconic competition had.

As the tall loop came, Miyako Noguchi , Josh Devlin , and ARAVAN ESCHER's three Pokémon tilted their wings back, trying to catch enough air to perform the midair somersault needed to stay on course. Though stamina would help some, the deciding factor was primarily the speed they entered the loop with. ERON IUNIS' inability to find open airspace, as well as Josh Devlin 's low acceleration, kept them from building up sufficient pace to take the loop at full stride. Both performed the maneuver, but not without a significant loss of speed putting them behind Miyako Noguchi and ARAVAN ESCHER, their TOGEKISS and DRAGAPULT in a dead heat for the early lead.

Prompt: Shortly after the end of the loop enabled gravity to propel the racers forward perhaps past their normal top speeds, one of the most challenging curves on Josh's entire property loomed ahead. Marked by green flags, it was a spiraling, uphill, right turn that lasted for two complete circles. Not only would this test the strength of the flying Pokémon to maintain a sweeping turn for so long, it would be a test of stamina for the riders, having to fly at steep bank angles for an extended period of time!

Target Number: 140 (Endurance)

Special: None

As taxing as the upward spiral was on Josh's body, this was one of his favorite turns on his entire property, and one he wished he had the budget to convert into a ground course. Sadly, money was not the only cost; physics would only allow ground-level inversions for Pokémon that were Electric-types, Steel-types, or Pokémon with Magnet Rise. New Mauville's single race course, the MOBIUS RING, was the only one in Hoenn that took advantage of magnetism in such a manner.

With a gleeful smile beneath his helmet, Josh guided Mastema upward before leaning to the right hard. Not as hard as he wanted to; though his right arm was under the most pressure, his left arm thumped more, still not used to the strain of such a long and tight turn. He grunted loudly as he attempted to maintain a slight pull upward on the fairy-type. Though he was in far from peak form, it felt good to be able to execute the advanced maneuver at all.

The back half of the loop got the five competitive racers back up to speed, gravity and lift working in tandem to make the wind roar around them once more. Miyako Noguchi and her TOGEKISS led the way, keeping to the center of the course at a steady speed. A pace that ARAVAN ESCHER's DRAGAPULT could not quite match. While being a phantom left the dragon-type with few limitations, its jet-like wings were physical. Ethereal propulsion could only provide so much lift, the Dreepy missiles inside the wing squealing from the high bank angle that slowed them down more than it did the challenger.

Josh Devlin 's TOGEKISS proved challenging to control during the long turn. The large fairy-type's body was designed for long, straight-line flights, not tight turns at speed. Unable to maintain the sharp angle needed to get through without braking, the Gym Leader slowly drifted toward the outside, putting more distance between himself and ACE SHEEKE's DRAGONITE, who was in a fierce battle with ERON IUNIS' BEEDRILL for third place coming into a long, much-needed straightaway.

Prompt: Following the long turn was a straightforward but narrow strip for Pokémon to get up to speed in anticipation of a loop similar to the one at the start of the course. What made this one different was its end was twisted, as marked by the reversal of the colors of flags marking course bounds. The red flags marking the outside border of the track were now on the inside, meaning the racers would need to fly inverted for a period of time until the colors reverted to normal. Halfway through the inverted section was a right-angle turn. Those who relied upon the mini-map provided to them before the race began would be in for a rude awakening, as what appeared to be a left turn on the map was actually a right turn due to flying upside down!

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: None

While Josh was used to it, the strain of his body weight against the top of his harness made it difficult to steer Mastema nonetheless. While he flew upside down, the legs of his pants began to fall toward the ground, exposing his legs to uncomfortably high winds. Winds that, after a while, would sting until the fairy-type could fly normally, letting gravity take over and straightening out his clothes again.

King Zing's drone becoming progressively more faint meant that Josh had a lot of work to do to catch up to his co-workers, let alone Miyako. "Hold steady, Mastema," he encouraged his fairy-type Pokémon while keeping a steady hold on the reins. "Once we cross that starting line, then the real race will be on. We'll really test her mettle then." Keeping firm pressure on the Togekiss' sides, the two chased after Ace and his lumbering Dragonite.

Dragons were not meant to fly upside down. Neither were insects. Pokémon struggled to maintain lift while inverted, losing speed and having to get creative in order to stay airborne. All except ARAVAN ESCHER. His DRAGAPULT's wings, modeled after a stealth fighter, made the pair adept at flying upside down. The two zoomed past Miyako Noguchi , his tail whizzing back and forth as to tease her. That pride would be their downfall, the tail pointed in exactly the wrong direction as the Gym Trainer reined the ghost-type along the turn. Having to suddenly swish his tail in the opposite direction. the team overcorrected.

A loud metallic clang rocked the air around them as the two slammed into the inner course wall, the dragon-type barely able to recover before his rider scraped against the ground. Miyako Noguchi , ACE SHEEKE, and Josh Devlin 's fairy-type and poison-type Pokémon all soared past in a flash. Though ERON IUNIS' DRAGONITE was fast, it was far from nimble, unable to swerve out of the way of the struggling DRAGAPULT. The two collided, putting quite the dent in the scales around the orange Pokémon's left thigh. Losing almost all their speed, they took back to the air, well behind the Gym Leader.

ARAVAN ESCHER loses two uses of BOOST.

All the Gym Trainers breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the final loop and were able to revert back to standard flight, their muscles relaxing as they coasted toward the starting line. As the challenger led the way, the first to complete the first lap, she would also be the first to hear an iconic sound bite from the starting arch's speakers:

[player]https://file.garden/ZDeuoB-J4RNQd5aY/gyms/master/You_Got_Boost_Power.mp3[/player]

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

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 one plus their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE on Speed-based Obstacles 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 on Endurance-based and Reaction-based Obstacles, 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.

Prompt: After the course's opening loop, Pokémon and racers would get a chance to catch their breath between now and the long, spiraling upward turn: there was a long, straight section of track that was ideal for Pokémon to regain their stamina, or for those who were daring, the chance to put on a burst of speed. Better hit the brakes before the long turn, though!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

Josh had tensed both his legs in anticipation of crossing the line. The moment he did, he thrust both his heels into Mastema's sides. A year ago, such an abrupt maneuver would have resulted in the Togekiss hurling Josh off. It was a sign of the trust they had in one another, the stern and competitive fairy-type chasing after Miyako in his own burst of EXTREME SPEED.

The duo's surroundings turned into a sea of color, Josh shaking as he did his best to maintain the ideal posture to prevent the forces put on his body from twisting him at uncomfortable angles. Midway through the stretch, the Champion eased his hold on Mastema after his body started screaming at him. Though his body had almost fully healed, he was still not used to flying around at such high speeds. Even a small turn during the burst made him feel like he was being flung about in a centrifuge.

Another training regiment would surely be needed come the turn of the new year.

Miyako Noguchi and her TOGEKISS are the first to cross the line, a dust corona forming in front of them from their EXTREME SPEED. All becomes silent around them -- even the hum of DRAGONITE wings and the buzzing of BEEDRILL's, ERON IUNIS and ACE SHEEKE trying to keep up with EXTREME SPEED and a TAILWIND of their own. Even with ear pieces, the shockwaves flying outward from the swift Pokémon cause several new fans in the gallery to flinch, with even more pushed back in their seats from the microburst-like rushes of air. How intense must it have been for the competitors!

As Josh Devlin and his own TOGEKISS complete the first lap, he, too, commands EXTREME SPEED from the fairy-type. Catching too much lift, the two catapult up to the course's height limit, recouping some speed while shedding altitude as ARAVAN ESCHER passes him on his DRAGAPULT. The aquatic specialist did not put on his own burst of speed; he simply passed the Gym Leader with excellent fundamentals and his ghostly dragon's naturally high top speed. Top speed that might prove to be a problem maintaining when the long curves came...

Prompt: After the long, spiraling curve, the second half of the course's titular obstacle loomed ahead. This one was a loop much like the first, but rather than a vertical one, it was a horizontal one, the course's bounds tilting teams such that their right sides would be facing the ground! The straightaway beforehand had given them plenty of speed to build the needed momentum for the loop. While it would give riders and Pokémon an amazing view of the gallery below, that might serve as a distraction; a distraction that threatened to break the concentration needed to maintain sideways momentum!

Target Number: 140 (Reaction)

Special: Boost use does NOT impose disadvantage on this Obstacle.