Josh felt bad for the residents of the village of Littleroot. They already had to deal with expensive groceries due to their remote location in Hoenn, and now, a huge fire had decimated swaths of the otherwise quiet town. The Pokémon Lab in the area made it popular for new Trainers, and being away from the hustle and bustle of big cities made it a popular retirement destination for the elderly. With so much of the town's commercial district having gone up in flames, food was a big concern; families often had to drive to the larger Oldale Town just to get groceries.

Luckily for its residents, Josh had the perfect Pokémon to help with this job; a massive food drive had taken place in Petalburg City, and it was his job to deliver it to a Littleroot Town that was in dire need. He would have preferred to have the food drive in his Gym's hometown of Mauville, but even at the grueling pace his Pokémon could maintain, it would be over a two hour ride one way to get from there all the way to Littleroot. Petalburg was still not close; even at the highest speeds his Pokémon could comfortably run at while hauling freight, it would still be over an hour-long ride. And Josh's Pokémon were fast.

Even the racer was getting a little saddle sore as he arrived in Littleroot Town, his six Pokémon lining up near Mrs. Toral:. He introduced them one by one: Saber, the Manectric Josh was also riding; Braver, his Arcanine; Craggro, his Hisuian Arcanine; Aslan, his Pyroar; Crash, his Boltund; and finally, Nitro, his Gogoat that had cleared Hoennian customs at the beginning of the month. All of them had harnesses rigged to their saddles, each one of them connected to a cart containing an entire pallet of non-perishable food items. "This enough for you, Oliver?!" Josh waved from the back of his Manectric, the Ranger in his new red uniform - an upgrade from the one he wore to the dinner.

"I did!" Josh smiled, giving both his Arcanine a pet for their job well done, being careful not to cut himself on Craggro's sharp, rocky "fur." He didn't know what to call the grey, fluff-shaped substance that flew from the Hisuian Arcanine's body. "There's actually a couple more pallets back in Petalburg, but I need a rest first." At the mention of his new hometown, Josh loved the idea of a food drive there. "I wanted to organize one there, but Mauville and Slateport are just too far. It's over a two-hour ride one way, even as fast as my Pokémon are. Plus, the speed limit out here is a lot higher," the racer laughed. He would have preferred an unpaved road like Route 107 that didn't have marked speed limits, but they were not conducive to hauling freight; ergo, Petalburg was the best option.

"I actually have a Dragonair, Oliver," Josh replied at the mention of Dragonite hauling freight by air, "but I plan to keep her a Dragonair. She's not quite as fast and strong as a Dragonite, but I like the more precise control. Plus, there's just something amazing about being able to jump from sea to sky and back without a care in the world."

When prompted about food, Josh's entire team perked up; he had to feed them, as well! They had just completed a grueling run about double the length of a marathon in about a quarter of the time even the best human runners in the world would be able to complete such a colossal feat. Pokémon were truly incredible creatures. "I'd be down for some lunch!" Josh slid down from his Manectric's back. As much as he enjoyed riding his Pokémon, long and fast rides like that were rough on his rear. And to a lesser extent, his back.

"I just like Dragonair's versatility," Josh added as he sat down to have lunch, reminiscing with Oliver about the first time he rode Resheph while she used Extreme Speed. "There's truly nothing like it. The ground beneath being an incomprehensible blur, shooting past even the biggest and fastest birds in the sky...it's something I'll never forget." He conveniently left out the part where he was frightened to his very bones, but details. Minor details.

While Mrs. Toral's lunch was simple, her bologna and cheese sandwiches same off the portable grill looking gooey and scrumptious. There was a cooler full of small cups of yogurt that had fruits at the bottom. Having taken his fair share, he listened to Oliver's story about the trouble Team Rocket had caused him in Blackthorn City. "I have a bone to pick with Team Rocket, too. Wait, Blackthorn? You're from Johto, too? Do you remember when Team Rocket took over the radio tower in Goldenrod? I think that was seven or eight years ago." It was a memory that both haunted Josh and drove his anger toward Team Rocket to this very day.

"This was when I was still a Pokémon Trainer taking the Gym Challenge. I was on the way home from Olivine City after taking a tough loss at the Gym there. Never ended up getting the Badge there. Team Rocket basically took over the whole north half of the town, where my family's house was. We got displaced, and they got captured making sure I escaped." He paused to finish his sandwich. "I even made regional news - I was the teenager that helped Goldenrod's law enforcement secure the tower and got my family back. Ever since then, and ever since I came back to Hoenn, I've wanted to do nothing more than see those %&@$ers burn." And if Oliver was paying close attention, he might have been able to hear a low mumble, "And I know Raikou's going to help me do it."

"I'm still a little sore from the long ride," Josh replied to Oliver's question about how long he wanted to rest. "Can we do stuff around here for oh, a half hour or so?" He smiled when he heard Oliver wanted to help. "Strictly speaking, I can handle it, but the company would be appreciated. It's a long ride, especially two ways."

Oliver was a fellow Johtonian. No wonder the two resonated with one another so well. "I actually haven't been with the Rangers long myself; just a couple of months, but apparently it's my calling. I've done in two months what it takes most Rangers to do in a year." While his focus within the Rangers was niche, he was extremely good at working within his niche. Today's mission wasn't exactly within that niche, but it used enough related skills for him to get it done in an efficient manner. "I need to take a quick trip to the Pokémon Center. Since we only have a couple pallets left, I want to bring a few fresh Pokémon." He detached the drag harnessing from his Manectric before riding to the closest Pokémon Center, swapping out a few of his Pokémon, and returning.

With the previous pallets having harnessing attached to them for Pokémon-based transport, Josh simply left their bases at the delivery site. Worst case, he could arrange for them to be shipped back to Petalburg. If he was headed to Petalburg after he was done with the second round of deliveries, he would just take them there himself. They would most likely just get shipped there, given how precious Josh's time was.

Josh hopped off his Manectric, then swapped out the electric-type for Resheph, a playful-looking Dragonair all suited up for a rider to hop on. The number of ride Pokémon the Leader had was staggering. It made perfect sense, though; after all, Oliver was probably well aware of his status. They had met at the fete, and many other Rangers had congratulated him on his promotion. He climbed atop the serpentine dragon and held the Pokémon's reins for balance and support.

"Oliver, can your Dragonite use Extreme Speed?" Josh asked. "If so, we could probably make it to Petalburg in a matter of minutes rather than an hour on land. If not, flying is still a lot faster than running." The prospect of riding during Extreme Speed was a scary one. Josh had only ridden his Dragonair during the blistering fast technique a few times. He was slowly getting better at controlling it, but it was still frightening to go that fast.

Oliver made it sound so simple. Yes, burnout was a factor with him maintaining both Ranger and Gym Leader status. It was like working both a full-time job and a part-time job. He was too passionate about both to give up either one. He already had to give up his dream of professional racing, and he would pick giving that up any day over being able to make big differences in the lives of disaster victims, or even his everyday challengers. "No, I get it. It's why my Gym is only open the minimum number of hours required by Hoenn League protocols."

Josh's mind was blown when he heard how fast his Dragonite was without Extreme Speed. No wonder he preferred the Slateport route! "Did you say...five minutes from here to Petalburg? I don't think my Dragonair could get there that fast even if she was using Extreme Speed!" Josh's mouth was wide open. He knew Dragonite were fast, and it was making him reconsider either evolving Resheph or getting a Dragonite of his own. Perhaps he had built the thigh strength to where it would no longer be am issue. He slammed his racing helmet's visor down and stood next to the Dragonite that looked ready and raring to go, making sure the rest of his Pokémon were recalled if Oliver agreed to this. "Can I hop on behind you? At least for the trip there?"

"Thanks so much," Josh smiled, all too excited to clamber atop the Dragonite's back. The real reason he had never evolved Resheph is that Dragonite was awful at racing on Federation courses. They were notoriously difficult to control, especially at high speed. They were fantastic at distance travel, though, and were among the fastest Pokémon in the air. To get a good comparison, Josh sent out Resheph, his Dragonair, to fly alongside Oliver's Pokémon.

The less-than-smooth takeoff was no surprise; rather than gently rising into the air like a Dragonair, the Dragonite's takeoff felt more like Pazuzu's, Slider's, or that of one of his other bird Pokémon, the thrust of the dragon-type's wingbeats lifting them into the air. Shortly after the Dragonite faced Petalburg City, Oliver's Pokémon put on the afterburners.

Josh lurched back hard, white-knuckled when he realized there was no back-of-the-saddle to help him absorb the impact. His thighs stiffened as they absorbed the force of the sacred Pokémon's acceleration. Behind him, he heard the telltale sound of draconic, purple energy enveloping Resheph, followed by a loud popping sound as she initiated EXTREME SPEED...except the sound was getting quieter, not louder.

The reality of just how fast Oliver's Pokémon was going set in. Oldale Town whipped past in a blur as the Dragonite's wings whirred from how rapidly they were beating to maintain such high speed. Furthermore, the species had tremendous stamina to maintain the high speed flight for this long. Even if this Dragonite was his Pokémon, he didn't dare attempt to make a turn without some kind of harness, lest he be wrenched off.

The racer's heart was pounding as the two touched down in Petalburg City, near where the rest of their delivery was. "Whoa, can they put on some speed," Josh carefully dismounted, his legs a little unsteady as he saw the purple comet that was Resheph fly in almost a full minute later. His jaw dropped. "That was really fun! You've convinced me on Dragonite. I'll have to catch one myself! While I wouldn't evolve Resheph, I do have a Dragonite from my days in Johto. Maybe once the barrier is lifted, I'll go back home and try to get him through customs." He sent out his two Arcanine once more, rigging the pallets to both his Pokémon via harness, similarly to how he delivered the first batch of food. "I think I have it from here. Thanks for all your help today, Oliver! You're a real pleasure to work with! Let's do it again sometime."