The difficulty of the mission wasn't Josh's concern. Josh's concern was that the League had assigned a rookie Ranger to help with the mission. This was way too dangerous for someone wet behind the ears. But apparently with the VALOR initiative leaving the Hoenn Rangers extremely shorthanded, Head Ranger Laurence Anderson was willing to bend the rules a bit to make sure things got done.

Josh had previously received a message over RangerNet that he was to meet the Rookie, wren rourke , at a subway stop with a full squad of ride Pokémon. He arrived astride Mystic, his Ninetales, at the agreed-upon location. "Wren?" the red-uniformed Ranger asked, as to confirm the name of the colleague he would be working with. He was under the assumption it was Wren due to the green armband and badge. "Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh. Beneath me is Mystic, my Ninetales."

"It's great to meet you," Mystic directly introduced herself to Wren by floating words into his mind. It might have been invasive if Wren didn't see it coming. "My master Josh is a delight to work with."

Josh sent out most of the rest of his team to get introductions out of the way, as the Rookie would be riding one of his Pokémon for the mission he was certain would escalate into a chase, based on what the briefing indicated. "This is the rest of my squad. Meet Saber," he gestured toward the Manectric, who let out a greeting howl, "Blinky," the Jolteon who looked ready to run at a moment's notice, "Aslan," a regal-looking Pyroar, "and Braver," an Arcanine that looked like he wanted to give Wren a big kiss. All five, including Mystic, were decked out in full riding gear. The very fact that they were all wearing reins implied they were extremely well-behaved. "You'll be working with one of them on today's mission most likely. If we can get through this successfully, I promise I will vouch for you to get your red uniform."

Braver couldn't help but bound toward Wren after Josh called his name out and was called "impressive", the fluffy-looking Arcanine stopping in front of the new Ranger and giving him a big kiss...or two, or three. "I think he's a good fit for you!" Though he and Craggro, which was the Hisuian Arcanine he left benched for today's mission, were effectively police dogs with how much he used them for Officer work rather than Ranger work, the Kantonian Arcanine was well-suited for today's mission.

Once the fire-type had his fill of affection, the majestic Pokémon sat down to allow Wren to easily climb into his saddle. It was equipped with extra harnessing to wrap over his upper legs and keep him from falling off during a high speed run. When Josh got the unwieldy but blistering fast Fire-type fitted, he had that extra safety feature installed to help practice his speed tolerance. An Arcanine's EXTREME SPEED was the highest speed any common overland Pokémon had to offer, and he fully intended to learn how to control the sprinting Pokémon during that move. Even so, it wouldn't fully prepare him for the eventual run on Raikou's back. In his mind, it wasn't an if. It was a when.

Mystic's tails billowed in the cool night wind as Josh made sure Wren was comfortable mounting up. "Try to get used to him on the way to the abandoned supermarket, Wren," the Ranger advised as he withdrew the rest of his ground squad and sent out a Dragonair. She, too was in full riding gear. "This is Resheph," Josh introduced the dragon-type, who greeted Wren by performing an aerial corkscrew that would have made novice riders squeamish. "She'll be our ticket to trying to stop this mess before it turns into a chase. Given the data dealer's reputation, though, I sincerely doubt we're getting out of this without some hundred-mile-per-hour action. Be ready."

While Braver had the body of an Arcanine, he had the heart of a young Growlithe, smiling and making the best canine laugh he could as Wren gave him a chin scratch that felt great. Josh made sure the newer Ranger had no trouble getting harnessed up; the safety features that the racer had added to the Arcanine's gear specifically for his own speed tolerance training would come in wonderfully handy. As long as the younger Rookie made sure to secure himself properly, he wasn't falling off the fire-type.

"Yep!" Josh answered Wren's question. "She'll be our spotter. She can also tase them with her Thunder Wave. If things start to look bad, she knows to be proactive about it, too." He caught on to Wren's facial expression changing at his remark of a high-speed chase being imminent. This is why Josh was so surprised that not only two Rangers would be on this mission, but he would be the lead. Sure, his talents were a wonderful fit for this mission, but to expose a newer Ranger who had limited experience riding Pokémon to dangerous speeds like this? It was a good thing Wren wasn't falling off Braver any time soon.

A coo and corkscrew from Resheph were all the two needed to find the trio of suspects involved in the exchange. "Looks like the tip was right. At least they weren't hard to find." He peered around the corner of the next building over and gasped, pointing toward them. "I've never seen that much money at once in my life." There were two briefcases filled with bundles of yellow, 100 PD bills. Between the two, there had to be a million bucks or more involved in this exchange.

The two Rockets each set one of the briefcases down half the initial distance between them. In their client's hand was a thumb drive. Just as the two were about to make the handoff, Resheph made her move, loosing a THUNDER WAVE in the trio's general direction. "Now, Wren!" Josh slammed his heels into Mystic's sides, spurring her into a QUICK ATTACK intended to get up to speed fast enough to keep pace with the much faster Braver.

While Resheph missed the data dealer, she had struck both agents squarely. Her job was not over, though. With split second reaction time, the Rangers' target snatched both briefcases, then released a giant Kantonian Persian that reminded Josh of Herc, his Persian from his travels in Ageos. Unfortunately, he would never be able to see the white cat until after the barrier was gone. The Normal-type did not clear customs there until after the barrier surrounding Hoenn went up. It was a barrier that made transporting Pokémon cross-region, even as data, impossible.

Gunfire erupted from the lot, the two guards watching the exchange trying to snipe Resheph. The Dragonair was far too nimble for their aim. Josh had done enough Officer work as a Ranger that he was used to the unsettling sounds of firearms, but Wren probably wasn't. "This just got complicated," Josh said to Wren as he took charge of the situation. Technically he was still on probation, but there was not another Ranger that could be assigned to the mission that also had the skillset he did. If anything, Laurence Anderson could take it up with Ranger dispatch if he wanted to whine about it. Exemplary performance on this mission might be all the convincing he needed that the outburst at the Lilycove meeting was a one-off thing. "Go that way and see if we can corner him."

Provided Wren would follow his directive, Josh would focus his attention on the fleeing data dealer and his Persian. "Mystic, let's hurry!" Josh urged his Ninetales mount, who quickly accelerated after the Persian with complete disregard to municipal speed limits. He radioed Law Enforcement Dispatch with an update. "Dispatch, this is Ranger Devlin, working with Rookie Ranger Rourke. We stopped the exchange and my Dragonair's got the two Rockets all tied up. Their client got away and we're in high speed pursuit. He's headed toward Highway 110, riding a Persian. Rookie Rourke and I are going to try to cut him off, over."

Josh winced when he sad Wren and Braver clip the corner of a building, but he didn't have time to worry for the younger Ranger. They had to stop their quarry from escaping. He guided Mystic onto Highway 110, tailing the Persian while repeatedly pulsing his legs into the Ninetales' sides. The psychic fox harnessed Josh to his back with a creative application of EXTRASENSORY, then put on the metaphorical afterburners, leaving behind a trail of purple embers as her paws pounded the pavement.

While there was not a lot of traffic on the road at this hour, every vehicle Josh swerved Mystic around was a trip to the hospital waiting to happen. Car horns filled the air as the normal-type as their drivers yielded to the rapidly-fleeing Pokémon and Ninetales-mounted Ranger in pursuit. "We gotta try, Mystic. QUICK ATTACK!" he commanded, the golden fox lunging toward the feline in an attempt to overtake them. Every such effort was met with a showing of DOUBLE TEAM from the Persian, the move's illusory copies forming a trail behind it to further illustrate just how fast the chase was getting. The Ninetales and Persian were whipping past vehicles at such high speeds that it looked like the vehicles were still by comparison.

Despite the massive head start Josh had, Wren had by far the faster ride. If he only had the courage to push the fire-type to his most extreme of Extreme Speeds, he would fare much better than Josh did. Of course, what courage that would require. Arcanine were well known for their Extreme Speeds unparalleled by all but legendary Pokémon. It would be well within reason, and within his pay grade, to back down.

Josh could feel Mystic's rapid heartbeat as he trailed behind BRaver, the much swifter Arcanine. The speeds the three Pokémon were reaching on the public highway were growing from dangerous to reckless to deadly in a hurry. Deep down, he was growing jealous of the data dealer's Persian. Not even Herc, his ride Persian held up in customs, was fast enough to be able to outpace an Arcanine. The cat's superior turning capability helped in weaving through traffic.

Then, Wren made a move. He had Braver metaphotically floor it; the gas pedal all the way to the ground. Josh gasped when he saw the Rookie's reckless abandon. An Arcanine running in Extreme Speed was the fastest any Pokémon could run, barring Legendary Pokémon. Josh knew from firsthand experience that riding Braver during Extreme Speed hurt. It hurt even him, and he was used to ludicrous speeds. Wren wasn't. When they were about to overtake, it was evident that he could no longer handle the pain.

Josh let out a deep sigh as he and Mystic caught up to the fellow fire-type. "I'm going to be the laughingstock of the Rangers for this one. The fastest Pokémon rider in Hoenn, and I couldn't pursue a fugitive on the highway." Dejected, he began radioing Slateport Law Enforcement Dispatch. "We better report in and get this over with."

"Dispatch, this is Ranger Devlin and Rookie Ranger Rourke," Josh introduced himself to the officer on the other end. "Suspect got away, over."

"Ranger Devlin, this is Dispatch. He what?"

"He got away."

"Ranger Devlin, you understand the dire consequences your failure of this mission will cause, don't you? Over."

"Dispatch, I wouldn't call this a failure yet. We stopped the exchange from taking place, but we were unable to recover the data. All he needs is another buyer. Put out an APB across the entire region. Set up checkpoints at major highways leading from Slateport City at a high priority, over."

"Affirmative, Ranger Devlin. Will keep you posted on any developments. Over."

"Out." Josh signed off, then turned to face Wren. He wouldn't be surprised if the Rookie's limbs all felt like jelly after riding at almost the speed of a race car. "...We made the right call. It was getting too dangerous to chase them. It's in the hands of real law enforcement now." He guided Mystic within Wren's reach, reaching to give the Arcanine's rider a gentle pat. "Let's head back and give these two a rest."