Josh was making a name for himself in Hoenn now. He proudly wore his red uniform, now a fully-fledged Ranger capable of taking on dangerous missions all on his own. He was a Gym Leader. Yes, all of this kept him busy, but was more fulfilling than the Gym Challenge or even racing ever was. He felt like he was making differences in the lives of Hoennians every single day. That was more satisfying than hoisting any trophy. And that was his primary motivation behind joining the VALOR Initiative.

He had completed a food drive delivery with this same squad of Pokémon not too long ago. This early morning assignment would be way less grueling; rather than an hour-long ride from Slateport to Littleroot, this was completely within Lilycove City. The pharmacy he would be picking up the medicine from was just a few minutes by the back of a ride Pokémon like the Pyroar he was astride. There was just one problem at such an early hour.

The pharmacy wasn't open yet.

Annoyed, he and his two Arcanine, Braver and Craggro, bounded alongside Josh and his Pyroar. Their saddlebags were unfortunately empty as the three fire-types took off. Ranger and Gym Leader met up with Julia, longtime friend and now best Ranger buddy, inside the gated community they had been given the passcode to as part of their work.

"Morning Julia," Josh waved from Aslan's back. "Unfortunately, I couldn't get the medicine yet, because the pharmacy the drive was done at isn't open yet. Whyisitnota24hourpharmacy?" His last question's words ran together in an unprofessional tone not befitting the Ranger uniform he wore. "...Sorry for snapping on you like that. I'm just frustrated is all. Brought the heavy duty squad this time. These two are Braver and Craggro," he gestured toward the Arcanine and Hisuian Arcanine, respectively. Craggro looked animated and ready to start work, while Braver was a little more reserved. He was still excited to help Josh with his work, but much more calm.

Josh, as well, had the idea to double-check the listing. "No, the hours on the website match the hours on the sign," he confirmed. "It says they're open, but the doors are locked." A couple of car horns sounded. Not too long after that, he heard the sound of hooves against pavement as a Rapidash and a Stantler cantered away from the drive-through. He took a peek around the corner, and there was quite the line. "Lot of cars and Pokémon down there. I think someone messed up big time."

What else could they have done? They were already outside the door, and they couldn't start the medicine run without the medicine. "Since we gotta wait anyway, I can tell you," Josh offered to explain why Craggro looked different. "Craggro is an Arcanine that evolved in one of those Space-Time Distortions. Ever been in one of them? They're full of red-eyed Pokémon that are just enormous. Imagine Aslan here, but almost twice as big. One appeared right over my Gym in Mauville once and disrupted one of my challenges. Right, I didn't tell you. I'm Mauville City's Gym Leader now!"

After about ten minutes, the hooves of a Gogoat clacked against the parking lot, carrying a uniformed young woman to the back of the store. As lights within turned on, Josh directed his three Pokémon toward the entrance, well within municipal speed limits, of course! It was not long before the front door was unlocked. Apparently the general manager was tardy. "Come on, let's see if we can beat the rush!" Josh slid off his Pyroar's back and withdrew all three fire-types, making a beeline for the pharmacy in the rear of the convenience store.

Sneasel were small Pokémon native to Johto; Julia's comment about a very tall one piqued his interest. "Were you able to get any pictures of them on RangerNet?" Josh asked, though it was a long shot. "If you haven't, I imagine someone has. These distortions are getting...not common, but not rare. And they're dangerous. One of them had a Pyroar that was almost twice Aslan's size. Absolutely terrifying to see."

A big smile came over his face as the two were discussing Josh's Gym while they were waiting for the pharmacy to return with the large order. While it wasn't entire pallets of medicine like Josh had delivered from Petalburg to Littleroot, there was enough that the two would need help moving it. Thankfully, Josh's entire squad was nothing but able-bodied Pokémon. With a little rigging, they would be able to strap the boxes to the backs of Josh's two Arcanine.

"Thanks! It was bittersweet, though; I had to give up professional racing for it. It's a long story of how it happened, but I'm sure I'll have time to tell you while we're making these deliveries." There were few things that got more excited than advertising his new Gym; his challenge, perhaps unique among every Pokémon Gym in the world, was what kept him flooded with challengers. He even got a stream of callers from other regions asking about participation in the Gym. If it weren't for the barrier, he would be even busier than he was already. "I will say this, though; if you want to get in, sign up as soon as you can. I'm already waitlisted out into the middle of October. Yes, I still do the racing challenges, and almost everyone wants to do them. I think the number of actual Pokémon battles I've been challenged to there is still in the single digits."

While it wasn't large enough to be considered freight, the order was cumbersome enough that the pharmacist instructed Julia and Josh to pick it up from one of the freight entrances. "Sure thing!" With that, he led the way outside and sent out his three fire-types again. Hopping on his Pyroar once more, the Leader gave the drive-through lane a wide berth, heading to the rear of the store. There was a single freight truck parked back there, and one of the pharmacy employees was waiting with stacks of boxes.

"Oh, my. This is a lot. Gonna need your help, too, Nitro!" Josh released a Gogoat of his own, the Grass-type keeping a safe distance from the two Arcanine, Craggro in particular. Aslan sat down long enough to let Josh dismount and help with loading and securing the cargo. The three Pokémon looked relieved to see they wouldn't be hauling hundreds of pounds of food each across miles and miles of wilderness road. This time, their cargo could be secured directly to their seats Josh sat upon when he needed their help directly.

Once they were finished, Josh asked the pharmacy employee to give his thanks to their manager. "Alright, I think that'll do it. Let's get to work. We've got several shelters to hit up. Yah!" He flicked Aslan's reins once Julia and Chester were ready, the Pyroar accelerating into a low leap. His other three Pokémon followed behind, the four obeying municipal speed limits en route to the first shelter.

"Come to think of it, it was probably closer to time-and-a-half than twice as large, but that didn't make it any less terrifying," Josh corrected himself. "Would never want to try to raise one that big, that's for sure. Being on one that big wouldn't be comfortable at all." If Julia had been paying attention to all their past meetings, almost all of Josh's Pokémon were between five and seven feet tall at the shoulder, perfect for carrying one or at most two people. "It's real bad. Those distortions are no joke. Already had my life flash in front of me once or twice."

"It's a lot," Josh remarked about how busy his Gym was. "It's more racing than I ever did trying to turn pro," he laughed. "I hope I get to see you on the track soon. And do try to bring a Pokémon faster than Chester," he teased both Julia and her Dodrio, making it obvious from his inflection and body language that he was just jeering at them.

Sparks flew from Aslan's claws as Josh had to yank back on his reins hard to get him to stop for a traffic light that was about to turn red. The cross-traffic was mostly vehicles, but there were a few Pokémon mixed in, mostly common equine Pokémon. They were very popular for city travel due to their ease of control. Once the light turned green again, they were off, turning toward their destination and arriving without further incident.

"Oh wow, this is really small," Josh remarked as he buzzed at the gate, the Rangers' red uniforms likely giving their good intentions to security. After a brief conversation with the officer on duty, the gate swung open, letting the mounted Rangers make their deliveries to the few homes inside...though each property was large. Whoever lived here was rather moneyed. Even more so than typical Mauville folk.

Julia precisely described the problem. "You hit the nail on the head, Julia," he confirmed. "When picking a Pokémon to use as a mount, a good shoulder height is roughly within a foot of your own height, erring on the smaller side. That way they're big enough that your feet won't drag on the ground, yet not so big that you can't get your legs around their backs. I'll have to show you Clyde, my Flareon. If I was too much taller, riding him would put my feet in danger of dragging. And that's not good. Neither for your Pokémon nor for you."

Josh shook his head as the two passed the final traffic light to their destination. "Dodrio are great distance runners, and they're wonderful for handling rough terrain. If you had more badges, I would have you challenge my Undulation course. It would be perfect for Chester to shine. But from what you've told me, you don't have enough Badges for that one." At four stars, she wouldn't be eligible to challenge such a difficult course without four Badges in her possession.

Their next destination was a row of duplexes, and high end ones at that. Almost none of the residents were home, either. Good; while Josh was a social animal around those in his niche, outside his niche he was quite reclusive. "Ain't nobody home, Julia! With the kind of security this place has, I don't think anything's getting stolen." He hopped off his Pyroar just long enough to leave each of the packages of pain reliever and other over-the-counter medicines at each of the front doors in the complex.

"That's everything here, looks like. Now, the big one. There's a shelter on the northeast side, where the slums are. I wouldn't call them slums, though; they're more like middle class anywhere else." He gently pet his lion's head before climbing back aboard. "It'll be a bit of a long ride. I can show you the back roads where the speed limit is a lot higher, if you want." She might have been able to hear Josh mutter "Stupid speed limit" under his breath.

Julia seemed impressed upon hearing Clyde's stature. To be fair, the Flareon was on the cusp of being too small for him. Clyde was only 58 inches at the shoulder; being almost a foot and a half shorter than Josh, he did need an extra adaptation with his saddle to prevent Josh's feet from touching the ground when going downhill. "In general, they're a status symbol in Johto," he added, "but with really large Pokémon becoming more common not just in Hoenn, but throughout the world, that's going to change, I imagine. I like it, though! With how much more common they are, I'd actually like to get a full set of eight that are large enough for it. Imagine them lining up on a track!"

Julia seemed to have a lot of questions related to his Gym. "...It would be easier to explain at my Gym," the Leader shrugged as Aslan bounded forward, Josh ready to rein the fire-type toward the back roads. "Arcanine, for as hard as they are to control, have a surprisingly stable gallop. I think we'll be fine." With the vast majority of the medicine being in the form of pills, leakage was a minimal threat as things were.

The two managed to make the final traffic light, taking them to the outskirts of north Mauville, not that far from where Josh's Gym was. The Gym, of course, was in the opposite direction. Perhaps they could drop by after their work was done. While the road was winding at first, it took the two almost straight east not too long afterward. Josh held Aslan's reins firmly and squeezed the Pyroar's sides. "Faster, Aslan!" With a roar, the Pyroar's back started to flex a bit more harshly. "Wahoo!" he couldn't help but whoop as he felt the big cat's acceleration push him back. Despite the longer raw distance, the two were going to make far better time going this way.

Julia looked like she was a little short of breath. Josh was used to the high speed. Aslan wasn't even trying; as fast as they were going, they were still obeying rural speed limits. "Oh, absolutely! You want a chance at beating us, though, you'll have to get used to going even faster. Riding during Aslan's Double Team is the real thrill, but it's far too fast within the city. The cops would be after me so fast, and I can't let my perfect record die!"

Nearly missing his turn, Josh abruptly yanked back on Aslan. The startled Pyroar's claws sparked, skidding across the pavement from the command to slam on the brakes. The lion reared powerfully, startling his rider at first. Josh seemed to thoroughly enjoy the strong maneuver. "Alright, let's get to work!" With that, he started unloading his other Pokémon and buzzed at the gate. "They should be expecting us."