"Great to see you again, Julia!" Josh waved, sounding a light grunt as he dismounted his Manectric and started unloading the rest of his supplies his other Electric-types carried to the campsite. "You get your first 13 clear yet? I know you were close last time we went to Round One," he asked the young Ranger, miming a fast Step Step Revolution crossover pattern with his legs once his hands were free. "This is gonna be a nice vacation. Just us against the world."

Then, Isaac Merlo addressed Josh, recognizing him from the bonfire. "Yep! That's me!" he confirmed. "I know I didn't get to talk to you a ton when I was out there. I mostly had a conversation with myself that night." It was true; so much had happened between then and now. "How's your Riolu doing? That day we went riding Resheph together is a day I'll never forget." The thrill of Resheph's Extreme Speed on that day was a moment that would be burned into his memory for years to come. Then it dawned on him; he should probably introduce himself to Ashley, and the rest of his Pokémon.

He and his electric-types took a few steps toward the river, then Josh sent out his two other Pokémon and drew both halves of Yagyu. The Charizard and Sharpedo were also wearing full riding gear. Even for a Sharpedo of Snacker's size, his saddle was a but of a tight fit behind his main fin. "Great to see all of you, and meet you in person, Ashley! Formally I'm called Ranger Devlin or Leader Devlin," he said, implying he was a Gym Leader, "but I go by my first name, Josh. I'm also a Pokémon racer trying to get into the pro league. If things get bad, I have the know-how, but I'm technically off duty."

He started gesturing toward his Pokémon, one at a time, twirling Yagyu so that her eyes faced them. "In my hands is Yagyu. She's my trusty sidearm if I ever need her." He pointed the ghost-type toward each Pokémon as he introduced them. "Saber, my most loyal partner," he pointed toward the Manectric who let out a prideful howl, "Crash," he pointed toward his Boltund, "Blitz," toward the Luxray, "Ares," toward the Charizard, "and lastly, Snacker," toward the Sharpedo who was flailing about in the water. He quickly withdrew the temper-prone fire-type, quite inappropriate for a heavily-wooded area. He needed a flying Pokémon, though!

Once he was done, he sheathed the Doublade and recalled his Sharpedo before the aggressive water-type caused any trouble. He began pitching his tent as Ashley prepared the curry. While it wouldn't be quite as mild as the racer preferred, beggars could not be choosers. It was that or go hunting for his own food...and his less than stellar survival skills were one of the biggest things holding him back from growing as a Ranger.

"You'll get it," Josh encouraged Julia, though it was a little awkward because Ashley probably had no idea what the two were talking about. Isaac might. "What helped me get a lot better is when you feel like you're at the peak of your session, try doing something that's a little out of your comfort zone. Like three 12s in a row. I can also give you some specific recommendations next time...though next time might be a while. Remember, I'm gonna be Mauville's Gym Leader in less than a week." Some cute hums came from Josh as Julia introduced her team, particularly toward the Pikachu and Pansear. "I'm sorry for having to cancel your appointment. Because I got transferred to Mauville, I had to cancel all appointments after the 9th. I would call the Gym as soon as you can on the 10th. Good luck getting through."

Josh looked flush when he heard Isaac talk about his experience with Resheph, his Dragonair. It was an unforgettable dsy. He smiled and have a thumbs-up toward his friend and his Numel and Shuckle. While they weren't Pokémon Josh would use, there were Pokémon for everyone. While he was a little more used to it know, even with all this experience under his belt, his Dragonair's Extreme Speed was still scary to go for a ride on. Fun, yes. Scary, yes. Worth it? Absolutely yes.

While Josh didn't think about Yagyu for anything more than a self-defense tool, Ashley did have a point. Despite his experience, he had a lot to learn about thinking outside the box, both as a Gym Leader and as a Ranger. "Perfect. We'll be back!" With that, he recalled his entire team except for Saber and Yagyu, hopping back on his Manectric and heading north of the campsite.

He didn't have to go far either; there were all kinds of trees nearby. It was just a matter of finding some that was the right thickness...and of course, that weren't too close to anyone. He did a thorough search for anyone in the radius of the trees he was attempting to bring down. No one home!

While Josh could have done things sensibly, he wanted to also be extra about it! What was life without a little fun, after all? Once he found the tree he was planning on taking down, he let go of the reins with his right hand and drew half of Yagyu from her sheath. At his command, the other half flew out of her sheath. "I need you to guide the log in that direction," he pointed. The steel-type blinked, then flew roughly two feet above Josh's head, bracing against the tree. Josh backed Saber up, then jabbed at the Manectric's sides hard, goading a run out of him. "Yagyu, SACRED SWORD!" the rider cried as he charged just to one side of the tree.

It worked! The Pokémon's Sacred Sword attack cleaved the tree in one fell swoop, her other half guiding it away from Josh and his electric-type ride. The thud was loud, too; anyone still at the camp would have been able to hear it loud and clear. Her SACRED SWORD was useful in chopping up the wood to be cut-length, too; with two blades, she could get it cut twice as fast! Once they were done, he sheathed the Ghost-type, send out the rest of his Electric-types to put loads of wood onto, and headed back to the campsite. "How's this, Ashley? We still got another load or two!"

Josh smiled in relief as Isaac offered some help with hauling the wood the rest of the way to the campground. "Thanks, Isaac. Glad to see everyone here is so reliable." Though it was really Josh's Pokémon that should have been relieved; they were the ones doing all the work. Saber was carrying Josh, and his other electric-types were hauling the cargo. "Well, we need enough to go around for three days! That's a lot of meals! And you never know when it'll get chilly at night!" That, of course, would require their Pokémon to keep rotating shifts to monitor the fire overnight to ensure it doesn't either completely die or spark out of control. And even if they didn't use it all, there would be a nice surprise for the group that used the campground next!

It looked like Ashley was starting up lunch, and needed a hand. "Easy. Ares can handle that," Josh volunteered his Charizard for the task. "You just tell me when and I'll send him out real quick to get us a fire." He didn't want to leave the angry dragon out for longer than was necessary, lest a forest fire could happen. He would get his time in the sun later, but now was not that time.

When asked about food preparation, Josh shrugged, his three electric Pokémon starting to crowd around the group of campers. "This is gonna found a little funny coming from a Ranger, but I'm no cook. Back in my apartment in Johto, I had this sign in my kitchen that read, 'I serve three meals: frozen, microwave, and take-out,' Got that for my birthday one year." The moment the barrier went down, he was going to move a bunch of his belongings from Johto. Perhaps he would even formally emigrate to Hoenn and take up permanent residence in the tropical region.

Phew, Ashley was thinking ahead. "I was about to ask about that. Because I cannot handle spicy stuff. I'll take a bowl of the sweet stuff when it's ready. Looking forward to it, Ashley." He turned to face the group in general. "After lunch, want to check out a trail together? Going trail riding would be fun. Julia has Chester, and I have my three Pokémon for the rest of us."