So it was of his own accord Navy applied for the open Elite Four seat. He was such a good fit for it, too. His combat prowess, his force of will, and most importantly, his leadership skills, were superior. It was little wonder Dewford's Gym Leader was chosen over Josh. The next line of Kyle's caught him totally off guard. "You're saying I'm AQUA material?" Josh asked, shivering at the concept of him being among Hoenn's most elite task force. After seeing what Elisabeth Fiorelli 's, Laurence Anderson 's, and MATIAS SILPH 's Avatarships did to them, he had his concerns about what a potential Patron could do to him. "I tell you what. I'll apply for the next opening. But I... really want to hold onto Mauville Gym. It's my pride and joy; it's what keeps me going every day. I love being a Gym Leader so much."

Josh was confused when Kyle said he would only be using three Pokémon against Josh's squad of six. "Is that appropriate, though? Shouldn't we be using the same num--"

His eyes shifted toward the screen showing Kyle's roster. Entei was there, as expected. But that wasn't the only legendary Pokémon he had to get through. A Silvally, yet another Urshifu, Roy, and a familiar-looking Marshadow. "It's ironic that the Marshadow I traded you for Raikiri is here today. It's a shame they won't be able to battle. If you're using Pokémon like those, then six-on-three is...probably fair," he chuckled at the end.

Their characteristics were completely off the charts. Some of them even broke the limits of what was normally possible for Pokémon. It was like being on the receiving end of the first enemy to be able to break the damage cap in an Eastern RPG. His heart racing from knowing he would have to get through Entei, Josh hummed over his starting two Pokémon while the pre-match timer counted down. He surely wouldn't use Entei from the beginning, right?

"Aslan and Nitro. You two are up," he pointed toward the golden lion and golden goat, the two galloping toward the center of the large arena more than capable of accommodating a Dynamax Pokémon. The rest of Josh's pride of Pyroar -- all nine of them -- walked in behind the challenger, as well. While they would not be battling the Emergent's Pokémon, they would be there to cheer for and support Josh and his six Pokémon -- including four of the ones he had known the longest. Perhaps the presence of Nala and Rani would bring a smile to the Top Champion's face.

AQUA also wasn't his decision to make. Ultimately, it was the decision of a god or of Commissioner dahlia goode , the one person who had the authority to repeal Josh's ban from serving that higher role. It was already a lot of work being Mauville's hero, and from what he could discern of them from his talks with Navy, the meetings weren't exactly glamorous. He got a taste of what they were like at the Gym Leader summit.

Mauville City was his domain, his playground. If he wanted to ascend to that higher seat, he would likely have to hand the reins of the Gym to a successor, as John Sullivan once did to him. Perhaps in a year or two, he might get that recommendation from the Commissioner. Until then, he was happy being Mauville's knight in shining armor. In months, he had transformed the city from a strategic military complex into the sports capital of the region. Pokémon racing had become Hoenn's most popular sport thanks to all the work he had done.

"And there are still plenty of faults to continue to address and remedy," Josh added as a familiar wave of PRESSURE rocked him. It would have made his hair a mess, were he not wearing his racing helmet. Even some of the Gym Leader's most well-trained Pyroar let out growls and squinted. They had become used to fields of PRESSURE from Twilight's presence, but the sheer intensity of the Beast's substantially eclipsed it.

Josh, though, did not fall like he did at the Battle Arcade. His experiences at Dewford, both on the front lines and behind enemy lines, helped him stand strong in the legendary Pokémon's wake. He was ready. If there was a state where he could defeat magic without using magic, it was this one.

He was dialed in.

"Entei first? You really are full of surprises," Josh casually and rhetorically asked. His best bet was to strengthen his own team and weaken their legendary foe the best he could. He knew from their previous battle that the blazing fast creature would be able to outspeed anything he had, with exception of one trump card he was trying to save for as late as he could. "Battle stations! Nitro, BULK UP, and Aslan, NOBLE ROAR!" the Gym Leader gave his first orders.

The gold-horned Gogoat's muscles tensed, the grass-type lowering its horns for what appeared to be some kind of ramming attack to come. Josh's entire pride smiled as their leader, Aslan, let out a prideful roar that might give the Beast before them some pause. Even the slightest bit of hesitation would be one the challenger would pounce upon, like a big cat waiting in the prairie grass for unsuspecting prey.

It was a double battle, yes. Josh wasn't overly familiar with Marshadow; he had caught one out of desperation for survival against the Chien-Pao spirit that roamed the Border. That was why the SPECTRAL THIEF took him totally by surprise. As both it and the SACRED FIRE raced toward the grass-type, the challenger had to make a split second decision; with their power enhanced, even the sturdy Gogoat would fall in a single blow. Josh hurled his TERA ORB toward Nitro, a pyramid of Terastal crystals mitigating the heat from the white flames somewhat. The Gogoat shattered the cocoon from within, its crystallized body glowing eighteen different colors.

The STELLAR TERA TYPE.

"Oh, is that the Marshadow I traded you for Raikiri?" Josh asked. "It's only fitting that I have to get through them, too."

While the grass-type was no longer BURNED from the purifying flames, his bright leaves were still wilting from the PRESSURE and heat. "Nitro, EARTHQUAKE! Aslan, leap out of the way!" With a powerful flex of his muscles, the golden lion BOUNCED skyward, his eyes on the Marshadow that fancied itself the Knight of Fire by sitting on Entei's back. With the Pyroar safely in the air, the worn-out, desperate Gogoat slammed his hooves into the ground with all the might he had left, a shockwave rippling outward and putting the ghost-type rider's balance to the test.

Simple? Yes. Unique? Yes. Effective? Hell yes. It was the reason Josh's Gym was the speed Gym. There was no one in Hoenn faster. Except Eva Morales and her Rayquaza. He wanted another chance to go flying on the emerald dragon, particularly since he had acquired much faster Pokémon now. Being on that rollercoaster of a dragon without vomiting would show just how much he as a trainer had improved. It was a pipe dream, though, what with their relationship with one another still being a bit rocky after the Eris incident.

"I'm just happy to see it's seeing screen time, what with your bond to your Patron and all the other gods that follow you," Josh answered as the Ground-type shockwaves bounced off one another, nullifying much of each others' attacks. Even so, the Gogoat was simply too weak to remain standing for long. Nitro galloped toward Entei in a desperation attempt at a HORN LEECH, but any stamina he could regain was immediately sapped by both the legendary's PRESSURE and the swaying ground; the Marshadow's ASSURANCE was insult to injury.

"Not to say we don't have tricks up our own sleeve, too. Nitro mastering Steller Terastallization is just one of them."

Already down one of his best Pokémon against the Beast, Josh was quickly running out of options to handle the Johtonian deity that had been pitted against him. Making one of the many split second decisions he was known for, he pointed for Resheph to zip toward Entei. A veil spread from her AQUA TAIL to cover most of her body, flinging it at the Beast like a whip made of water... right as Aslan came crashing down toward Marshadow in an effort to separate rider from legendary steed.

The speed Josh remembered was still there. No, perhaps even greater. Even with his eyes trained for it, the divine Beast's STONE EDGE attack looked like it was playing in fast-forward. It was only the previous NOBLE ROAR and the veil of water softening the blow that let Resheph withstand the CRITICAL HIT. Aslan, too, owed his voice to his survival in the match. Were it not for the state-of-the-art safety systems in place, presumably vastly improved from the ones at his Battle Arcade, he did not have the death of his Pokémon to fear.

Were they sparring in the wilds, he would have withdrawn Aslan by now out of fear of a metaphorical death save failure.

It was a place Josh would have been comfortable to be in against any other opponent. He had the initiative, and Resheph's Extreme Speed was a potent weapon against any attack that took more than a split second to prepare. All that advantage had been wiped out by the Beast's very presence. From how well Josh knew Kyle's Beasts, he knew they were all equipped with Extreme Speed, as well.

It felt like he was fighting not kyle lopez , but himself.

"Aslan! Resheph! You've got this! Just like you did in that last close Gym match we had two weeks ago!" he cheered, instilling both of them with a second wind. While it wasn't much of one, it was enough to get one last set of attacks off. "EXTREME SPEED, Resheph!" The Dragonair, screeching, vanished in a blur of raw speed that perhaps only the two combatants and Isaac Merlo had the sense to detect. Whether it would connect or not depended almost entirely on Kyle's reaction time. If he rode Entei regularly, that reaction time had to be stellar.

What foresight from the Top Champion, Josh thought as the STONE EDGE hurled Aslan away, out of range of a deadly CRUNCH attack. He doubted the lion would have time to get back in melee range again, instead opting for the use of FLAMETHROWER. If Entei wasn't too distracted with the Dragonair, he might not be able to intercept, landing a key blow on the Pokémon that once mimicked him!

So the Champion wasn't going after Resheph at all; he must have recognized the exertion such a burst of speed would put on Resheph. She was exhausted amidst the PRESSURE, unable to intercept Entei's attack as she watched Aslan fall. It seemed the Marshadow had fallen, as well; a tricky foe, indeed. Kyle wasn't replacing his Pokémon, though; was he waiting for Josh? Both their time to do so was running out. With a beam of red light encompassing the Pyroar as his pride purred and growled, conveying a job well done, Josh withdrew the golden lion.

If he couldn't overcome Entei with speed, then he needed to do it with raw power.

"Twilight, you're on!" Josh pointed toward Entei, the Absol bounding onto the battle court in a mesmerizing SWORDS DANCE. Her precise, deliberate steps were as emotional as she had ever been. Was she starting to at last show more of her personality after all this time? One thing was clear from the glare on her face: she was going all-out like her life depended on it. She would not disappoint Josh.

Why wasn't he sending out another Pokémon yet, even still? Josh wasn't going to say no; if the Top Champion needed this much time to ponder a choice. "Mount and rider as one are more powerful than the sum of their parts," was the young man's retort. Verily, he had shown a greater understanding of his own Gym's precepts than during their last meeting on a battle court.