Another blessing to going out to Mount Chimney early in the day was dodging the worst of the heat. On top of that, Josh's hunt for wild Pokémon wouldn't take him close to the crater. It was less his hunt and more Yuina Higashi 's hunt to expand her team. Litleo and Pyroar were known to prowl the vicinity of the crater; perhaps he would get lucky to run into one!

He came well-equipped to travel the rough terrain, the Gym Leader at the reins of a quite-large, Shiny Pyroar. Behind him was an entire pride of Pyroar, all wearing similar saddlery. It was obvious they were all his, as crazy as it was to believe without having seen it oneself. In all, there were three males and two females. The five lions walked toward Yuina, Josh waving toward her. "Yuina, right?" the blue-garbed Ranger greeted the brown-haired woman. "Gym Leader Devlin or Elite Ranger Devlin, but you can call me Josh. These five are the pride of Mauville Gym." The lions all looked well-behaved, Rani approaching Yuina with the friendliness of a house cat.

Josh was likewise perplexed when Yuina asked about his title of Gym Leader. Visibly confused. Perturbed, even. How had someone not heard of a Gym Leader? Almost every region had them. Alola was about the only one that was different, having its Captains and Kahunas... which were Gym Leaders under a different name. It took him a few seconds to compose himself before answering. Rani appreciated the pet, sounding a gentle purr (well, gentle by Pyroar standards) that Yuina may have been able to feel the vibration of. Pyroar lungs were really strong, after all!

"Gym Leaders are representatives of the League of the region they are in," Josh answered. "We're responsible for raising the next generation of Pokémon trainers to be the best they can be. There's usually one per major city, and usually eight per region, though the number can vary. I'm Mauville City's Gym Leader, the Master of Faster!" It was a tacky title, but one Yuina would be wise to heed if she ever took on the Gym Challenge.

"It's great to meet you, Yuina," Josh nodded, reaching to shake the female's hand, though it was a bit of an awkward reach for him while seated on the rather large Shiny lion. "I see Rani has taken a liking to you," he continued, noticing the lioness sniffing her a few more times before she sat down next to the curator. "She says you're welcome to ride her if you want to. The terrain here can be a bit rough. Oh, right! These five are the pride of Mauville Racing Grounds, the other title for Mauville Gym. This one is Aslan," he introduced his own mount, promptly scratching the eldest of Josh's lions behind the ear, "and the other three are Simba, Kovu, and Nala. Nala gave birth to Rani not that long ago, seemingly, and Rani's already grown up. Pokémon grow so fast, don't they?"

"Of course! Mauville Racing Grounds is one of Hoenn's finest attractions now," Josh bragged. "Most people who challenge the Gym don't battle me; they race me. There truly is nothing like watching the world fly by at high speed. Of course, these Pyroar won't do it unless you ask, but they're all really fast runners. Faster than you can legally drive on the highway," he continued to gloat about just how fast his Pokémon were. They were among the fastest their species could get. Aslan in particular didn't even need to employ stealth to catch his prey, like most big cats did. He just put the pedal to the metal, and no amount of warning would let whatever he wanted to make a meal out of get away from him.

Even sitting in the saddle of the standing lioness and gripping her reins may have been enough for a sense of great power to ripple through the guest rider's skin. "If you need a crash course on how to control a ride Pokémon, I can give you one real quick," Josh offered as Crowley did battle with the Rhyhorn. Tilting his head toward the wild, he observed the specimen, its size, and its ferocity. "Get a saddle for your Rhyhorn, and you'll have a Pokémon great for terrain like this." He cleared his throat. "Don't want to take off unless you're confident. Pyroar are very fast Pokémon as it is, and these are among the fastest of their species. Have you ever seen them run before?"

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] WATER ABSORB
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ECHOED VOICE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]GROWL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SUPERSONIC	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BUBBLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

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[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ANGER POINT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]LAVA PLUME	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ERUPTION
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TACKLE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]YAWN
[attr="class","wildtabox"] HEAT WAVE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

Yuina Higashi CAUGHT THE RHYHORN!

Nodding as Yuina gave Josh her understanding of his Gym, he raised his hands into the air, inadvertently startling Aslan from suddenly raising his reins. The lion reared, making Josh exercise his thighs to remain seated. "Whoops, sorry there, buddy!" the rider apologized, sheepishly patting his mount's head before turning back to Yuina. "Speed isn't everything! Rhyhorn have incredible stamina, which matters a lot in Pokémon races. I've taken challengers who have used Rhyhorn against me, to mixed results." It would have likely been the Pokémon Isaac Merlo used against him, had he been interested in the racing challenge at the time.

When the Camerupt interrupted their conversation, Josh was about to command one of his Pyroar to blow the Camerupt's eardrums to pieces with a HYPER VOICE, but it was clearly not needed. The Croconaw had the situation more than under control. "You're not bad at battle yourself! While your Croconaw has an almost insurmountable type advantage over Camerupt, you can't underestimate them."

Once the battle was over, Josh would give Yuina the very basics of controlling a ride Pokémon. "Think of the reins like cords attached to the handlebars of a bike. If you pull with your left hand, Rani will turn left. If you pull with your right hand, Rani will turn right. That's all there is to controlling direction."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] MYCELIUM MIGHT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]POISON POWDER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SCREECH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MEGA DRAIN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]POWER WHIP
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] VITAL SPIRIT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CLEAR SMOG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SMOG
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FLAME WHEEL	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]LAVA PLUME
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DYNAMIC PUNCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

Yuina Higashi CAUGHT THE CAMERUPT!

"Not quite," Josh corrected Yuina as the two continued on the trail, making sure to lead her away from the crater. As much as his Pyroar would like it, there was too big of a risk of the guest rider, and even the Ranger himself, from health complications due to unbearable heat. "Any Pokémon that you can ride on can be used for my Gym's racing challenge. It's not enough to have a really fast Pokémon if it can't carry you! I've been looking for a Ninjask big enough to carry me for quite a while. Even with really big Pokémon showing up in Hoenn in larger numbers of late, I haven't had any luck."

Yuina was right on the money. Fire-type and Ground-type Pokémon both struggled against water-type attacks, and were wonderful opponents for becoming stronger. Many Pokémon evolved through repeated battle, and some even evolved mid-battle. That was how many Gym battles were decided: a challenger's Pokémon evolving mid-battle gave them a huge advantage. With his career path, the vast majority of Josh's Pokémon had to be fully evolved before he could use them at his Gym.

"There's another half to it, too," the Gym Leader explained. "And that's controlling speed. Squeeze Rani with your legs and she'll move faster. Release your leg pressure, and she'll slow down. I know it sounds counterintuitive, because your leg pressure is also how you hold on, but that's how most ride Pokémon are trained." After the battle with the Toedscruel, he would observe Yuina to see how she handled controlling both Rani's speed and direction at the same time.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] BLAZE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CRUNCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]YAWN
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BITE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]NATURAL GIFT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] LOW KICK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] FLAME BODY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BURN UP	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]LUNGE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FIRE LASH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FLAME WHEEL
[attr="class","wildtabox"] STRUGGLE BUG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Yuina Higashi

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

Yuina Higashi CAUGHT THE TOEDSCRUEL!