Josh, too, noticed Yuina's interest in the larger-than-normal Pokémon. "Most of mine are roaming my Gym's grounds when they're not with me. Perhaps if you're in the Mauville area, you could stop by and see them," the Leader suggested. "It's pretty central; lots of people come through the city on their way to another." If he wanted to learn about a possible link between large Pokémon and Distortions, he would likely have to do original research, and that was research the Gym Leader simply didn't have time to do. He was still working community service hours, as well, though an increasing number of them were from unpaid Ranger work.

The Distortions had been popping up throughout Hoenn for quite some time. "From what I understand, yes, but the Distortions have been popping up in fewer numbers recently. It's still more than left its footprint on Hoenn's ecology, though; when those big Pokémon breed, they make more big Pokémon." It was a good thing they were starting to become more infrequent, as well; there were serious environmental and economic concerns with so many large Pokémon around. Breeders used to make money hand over fist breeding Pokémon that were the size of the ones Josh had found roaming Hoenn. Prices on the large specimens had dropped close to 95%, making them affordable for a lot of trainers now. It was great for the Pokémon racing scene, but it forced a lot of breeders out of their jobs.

The Gym Leader, noting Yuina's mild interest in the Gym Challenge, simply observed the young one's battle with the Steelix. It was a formidable opponent, and while it technically could wear a saddle, he would not be raising one. Not after the destruction Elinor Anderson 's had left during the pilot race at his Gym. That was one big bill fixing that damage.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SWARM
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SILVER WIND	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]QUIVER DANCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ABSORB	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FIERY DANCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] THRASH	[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 LAMPENT APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] INFILTRATOR
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MEMENTO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FLAME BURST
[attr="class","wildtabox"]PAIN SPLIT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CURSE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] CLEAR SMOG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

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

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

Yuina Higashi CAUGHT THE STEELIX!

Josh's eyes shifted toward the bottom of the trail. The slopes weren't quite so steep; while there were some hills, it was more plateau-like than truly mountainous. All the elevation changes would have worn Josh out had Aslan not been ferrying him around. "It comes with being a Gym Leader," Josh added. "With the many challenges coming through every week, I get to see so many different kinds of Pokémon. I'm still seeing ones I've never seen before. Still learning the Alolan, Galarian, and Paldean species." Of course, the ones that went fast came to him more easily, but those that did not were a constant battle for him to learn and keep straight.

Josh shrugged at Yuina's follow-up question. "Unfortunately, they haven't been researched as much as I'd like them to be. From what I understand, it's an overlay of the space that once existed in the same spot during a different time period. Why so many giant Pokémon appear within them, we have no idea." There were also a number of new Pokémon species, as well as evolutions, that Space-Time Distortions could induce, though Josh hadn't done a lot of research into that, either. That was more illeana reyes 's line of work, and she was busy with other projects.

The buzzing of Volcarona wings caught Josh's ears, the specimen big enough for even Josh to put a saddle on. "Sorry Yuina, but this one's mine!" The reverberation of his mount's HYPER VOICE throttled him, leaving him dazed but otherwise okay. While the sonic attack hit first, it was Crowley's HYDRO PUMP that left the bug-type in a heap. Poké Balls raced toward the rare, giant insect, Yuina's reaching their target first. Josh's instead made contact with a Lampent that was taking cover behind the Volcarona. "Guess I wasn't quite quick enough on the draw. Great catch - if you want a ride Pokémon of your own, that Volcarona is a great place to start."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] OBLIVIOUS
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TORMENT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SWAGGER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SCRATCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FIRE LASH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] FAKE OUT	[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 DONPHAN APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

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[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SAND VEIL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SLAM	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]GROWL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]KNOCK OFF	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ROLLOUT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

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

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

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

How many species of Pokémon were out there now? Was it over a thousand? There were so many to keep straight. "Thankfully as a Gym Leader, I only have to learn about a third of them; the majority of challengers wait until their Pokémon have completely evolved before walking into my Gym. While I don't condone that behavior, it's just how it is. Adult Pokémon, simply put, have a competitive edge." Says the person who used a Dragonair all the way up to Hoenn's Elite Four, though that dream died with Callan's perfect battle against him. "It's fun, isn't it?" he rhetorically asked. "One of the first things I recommend to trainers is getting three ride Pokémon: one for land, one for sea, and one for sky. Once you have those three, there's nowhere you can't go."

Josh sighed at Yuina's eagerness to go into one of the distortions. "First off, they're very dangerous, and second, it's not that simple. It's almost by happenstance if you run into one. They last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. I can make it to most of them because I have every common ride Pokémon capable of using Extreme Speed. Even then, sometimes they're just too far away." If only scientists in Hoenn were studying them; League personnel were far too busy with other studies, such as of Dynergy. "Sadly, the League doesn't have the resources to devote to it. I may have to do some original research myself."

Josh was about to apologize when he heard a sizzling splash, followed by an elephant-like roar. Reining his Pyroar to the cliff's edge, he saw a Donphan that was in obvious pain, having rolled into a small pool of magma several levels down! "Hold on, Yuina, that Donphan's in trouble," he said, sliding off his Pyroar and releasing a Dragonair. "Don't try to follow me. It's unpleasant down there. Come on, Resheph, let's go! DRAGON DANCE!"

With great speed, the serpentine dragon twisted and twirled toward the bubbling crater and in the Donphan's direction. He slammed his helmet's visor down to try to keep floating embers out of his mouth, but it didn't help him breathe the burning air any easier. Time was of the essence, though, and he was saving that wild. The Donphan could barely move. Sliding off his Dragonair's back, Josh dug through his supplies for some Sitrus Berries that were already steaming when he pulled them out. Feeding them to the ground-type just before they would have caught fire, Josh tapped the grateful Pokémon with a Poké Ball that would have burned his hand had he not been wearing his Z-Glove. He returned to Yuina's side, his clothes scorched even after sliding off his Dragonair's back and cooling off in the wake of her AQUA TAIL.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] IRON FIST
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ACROBATICS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]EMBER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MACH PUNCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FLAME WHEEL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FAKE OUT	[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 HOUNDOOM APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] unnerve
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ROAR	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]INCINERATE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]LEER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FEINT ATTACK
[attr="class","wildtabox"] FIRE SPIN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

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

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

Josh Devlin CAUGHT THE DONPHAN!

Mauville Gym had a reputation for being one of the toughest in Hoenn. When Josh first took over the Gym, it was the opposite; many trainers saw it as a "free" Badge, taking advantage of his relative inexperience compared to others in Hoenn. Now, it was the opposite; not even counter-strategies like Trick Room were a sure-fire way to win. The racing challenge was tough as ever, too, especially since he made the change to involve his Gym Trainers in it. "It's just the nature of how Mauville's challenge works. There are a handful of intermediate stage Pokémon, such as Dragonair, that are more than capable of carrying people on their backs. The Distortions change the whole ball game, too; I'm sure you could fly on a Pidgeotto from one of those distortions, for instance." Not that winning with an unevolved Pokémon was impossible by any stretch; it was just less likely to happen. A Bellsprout making it to the top four of the Kanto League in times past was evidence of that.

"It's tough to get to them on time," Josh lamented aloud, though Yuina's enthusiasm was appreciated. "Most of them last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Once things calm down, I'd like to do some original research on them. There's been an increase in giant Pokémon appearing since distortions have started appearing here, and I'd like to investigate if they're related. If I'm right, then that's a total game changer."

After Yuina's capture, Josh got back on Aslan and turned around. "I don't think we can advance any closer to the crater without the right Pokémon. How about we head back to Lavaridge and get some lunch?"