After the big battle in Dewford, many of Josh's Pokémon had been seriously hurt and were still recovering. Thankfully, Saber was not one of them. He would still have his second-ace Pokémon with him, seated on the electric-type's thundercloud saddle as he bravely rode through Mount Pyre's rift to The Border. While the multicolored, wavering panorama was ever familiar, the landscape was far from it. Canyons Josh could once see the bottom, he no longer could; even portions of the canyon wall itself had been rent asunder, leaving rainbow void in their wake. It was psychedelic to take in. As he rode closer to the cliff face, Josh took out illeana reyes 's instruments to collect data. Was the Border itself becoming dimensionally unstable?

That would be the least of Josh's worries, as unbeknownst to him and his electric steed, a familiar and dreadful face was stalking him amidst his search for the soul of SHAWN RICHARDS. A soul that the Interim Gym Leader's spirit was familiar with. A soul that kept him shackled to The Border and prevented him from passing onto the afterlife. Guiding his mount around a spiraling trail leading to the top of a large mesa, he saw the former Gym Leader's spirit hovering above a rainbow-void circle in the rock formation's center. When Josh greeted the terrified-looking spirit, he asked what was wrong. All Shawn's ghost could do was point skyward.

Among the souls being tornented by the Chandelure were those of not only SHAWN RICHARDS, but also security officer NATHAN MARTINEZ and those who had lost their lives in the Mauville Gym massacre. The weight of Josh's latest trip into the rift settled upon his shoulders as he rode his Manectric toward the ghost-type and the man who was obviously its trainer. This was no longer just about Shawn.

It was about every person that dorian westcliff killed that day under his watch.

With the Mad Dog on Josh's mind and a second Dusknoir casting a MEAN LOOK upon him as he visited the former Interim Gym Leader's soul, that man's identity would become clear to him. Dorian was here, and his Chandelure was absorbing the souls of those nearby. One of the fallen students' souls was being assimilated by the time he could get on the scene, Josh desperate to save them by ordering Saber to loose a DISCHARGE that would engulf the ghost-type and perhaps Dorian himself if he was close enough.

Seeing the man's face clearly, Josh scowled and barked harsh words toward him. "dorian westcliff . Don't make me run you through. What in the Great One's name are you doing here?"

Josh flicked Saber's reins upon seeing the Chandelure's flames brighten, leaning in on his Manectric to avoid being singed. The Manectric was not so lucky. Though he avoided being directly engulfed by the cone of flames, the electric-type's lower legs were all caught in the blaze, significantly hampering the ace Pokémon's speed. Guiding Saber away from the Chandelure and using him strictly for mobility, the Gym Leader sent out a second Pokémon for battle: a Hydreigon that looked like he wanted to chomp down upon the ghost's soul gem and shatter it to pieces.

"You don't recognize them?!" Josh snapped back. "The spirits are demonizing you because you were the one that demonized them in their previous life! Not one of them deserved to die!" The lamenting spirit of SHAWN RICHARDS floated toward them both, a pleading look on his face for Josh to free him from the Mad Dog. A triple DARK PULSE flew from the dragon-type's mouths toward the Chandelure, with one of them on a collision course with Dorian, as well.

Art. That was what dorian westcliff called his bloodshed. Art. "There truly is no redemption for people as psychotic as you are," Josh retorted as Saber circled the Mad Dog and his team. "Just seeing you stand makes me sick. If I didn't have to bring you in alive, I'd put a Thunderbolt through your twisted brain right now." Saber's aggression grew, making a sharp turn toward the Charizard spraying SCORCHING SANDS toward the two.

That was not going to work a second time. Not on his prized electric wolf. With a flick of the reins, the Manectric leaped skyward, levitation fueled by his MAGNET RISE slowing his fall and allowing the burning sands to pass beneath him.

Kokusho had no such luxury; the DRAIN PUNCH had knocked one of his three heads silly, the main head and one remaining head roaring in anguish. As much as he wanted to stick around, he knew better. With a parting U-TURN, the surprisingly nimble six-winged dragon made a hit-and-run chomp toward the Dark-type, the Gym Leader replacing him with a Shiny Pyroar that Dorian may have known well by now.

Dorian's words were as true as they were manipulative. In them was a convenient half-truth and a missing detail that Josh would bring into as bright of a light as he could. "Dorian! While it is true that neither of our reuptations are unblemished, there is a big difference between us. Unlike you, I recognized what I did was wrong. Unlike you, I have remorse for what I did to Eris Halla . Unlike you, I have learned to live with the consequences of my choice." While he didn't share what those consequences were, he was still suffering from them today. "What happened to your conscience? Assuming you had one to begin with."

The Shadow Tag effect made it not only impossible for Josh to manually withdraw his Pokémon, but it also made every single attack headed at his Pokémon more accurate due to the lack of mobility. As much as he didn't want to expose himself to the Border's toxic atmosphere, he had to end the battle quickly. The Mad Dog had seen Saber's Z-Move before, and may have been expecting it. He redirected his Sygna Suit's remaining INFINITY ENERGY toward his Z-GLOVE instead, the Shiny Pyroar standing in front of Saber to protect them.

Josh cupped his hands around his mouth, the start of his Z-Pose for the loudest move any of his Pokémon knew how to use. Taking a deep breath, he flung his cupped hands away from his mouth, as though a massive gust of wind blew them away, as he shouted "EMPEROR'S ROYAL ROAR!!!"

EMPEROR'S ROYAL ROAR
[Normal][Special][Sonic]
The user threatens a target with a mighty roar that does moderate damage. Those around the user will be empowered while those near the target’s area will find their strength lowered.

Aslan, the king of Josh's pride, loosed a deafening roar that sought to ravage the ears of those in his way. The war cry would raise the morale of Josh's Pokémon and lower that of Dorian's, making the follow-up DISCHARGE sting even more. The friendly fire left Aslan worse for wear, all four sets of his leg muscles twitching. The DRAGON PULSE bleaching his fur with intense dragon energy didn't help matters, either, leaving him with barely any energy to stand...

The Incineroar would find there to be very little energy for the DRAIN PUNCH to drain. Josh was quick to withdraw the fallen Shiny lion in time to save him from further harm from the HYPER VOICE's shockwave. Neither one of them could hear each other, their aural senses drowned out by white noise from the Z-Move and the HYPER VOICE.

Seeing his ally felled drove the Manectric into a berserk state unlike anything the young man had seen before. Bucking and flailing, the Pokémon quickly unseated Josh with strength the Gym Leader didn't even know his most loyal Pokémon had. With the speed of a Beast, the electric-type rammed and trampled Dorian's Incineroar, encasing himself in not Discharge, but SHADOW BOLT. The negative electrical energy, black as night alongside the dense field of wisps emanating from Saber, made Josh's heart sink beneath his chest. He was too distraught to even stand up.

"How can this be?!" the Gym Leader cried in angst.

The buckoff hurt twice: once as Saber hurled his trainer into the air with strength unlike anything Josh had ever seen from the Pokémon he had known for fourteen years, and once again as he helplessly collided with the rocky ground. His head spun and spun in overwhelming dizziness, so clumsy he couldn't even get to his feet. In his weakened state, he didn't have a retort for Dorian's twisted words.

As the battle raged on, the Shadow Pokémon waiting for his Shadow Bolt to recharge, his worst nightmares came to life in the realm before him. A hallucination of the thundercat of his dreams appeared in front of his eyes, the tips of its illusionary fangs hanging over his neck. Though the Gym Leader knew the figment of the Raikou was not real, merely a product of his former obsession, it was still distressing to see the Beast holding him effectively at gunpoint.

A noble yet imaginary voice echoed in his mind:

"Fealty to me, or fealty to the League. You can only choose one."

Josh's eyes watered, blinding him to the battle and leaving him wide open to any attack dorian westcliff wanted to throw his way. Some months ago, the Mauville Leader was so fixated with Raikou that he would have renounced the League for the chance to forge a divine bond with the Johto Beast. Today, though, he understood that it was a price he could not pay. Though Raikou was his childhood idol, and still was to an extent, he could not sacrifice the many for the one.

Mauville City, one of the largest cities in Hoenn, depended on him too much.

"I still want you to choose me more than anything in the world, Raikou. But my loyalty to Mauville, to Hoenn's people, and to her League, comes first. It would break my heart to see you turn your back on Johto, the land you defended from Rocket years ago. But if your alliance is truly with them... then so be it. I will have to cut you down."

Unable to maintain the illusion of Josh's personal hell in the face of such courage and defiance of the spirits' understanding of him from what Shawn had said about his former boss, the illusions and hallucinations shattered. A second wind filled the Gym Leader, his dizziness leaving him.