Josh had the back gate of his Gym open; all his challenges were open for the public to watch. His non-traditional challenges in particular were a favorite of the Mauville crowd, attracting general sports fans in addition to Pokémon fans. There was just something enchanting, mesmerizing even, about watching five Pokémon shoot across a track at breakneck speeds, their riders guiding them in a delicate yet graceful dance across courses that would make racers of motor vehicles squeamish.

Josh was in a tight spot, on the final lap against a tall male with a Kantonian Rapidash. Every time the Leader had Blinky, his Jolteon mount, try to make a move, the Rapidash had more in the tank, cutting the lightning fast Electric-type off. "Blinky, QUICK ATTACK!" Josh cried, pushing the electric-type to her limits. With blistering speed, the Jolteon shot forward, the Leader feeling like he was launched out of a firearm's barrel from the sudden acceleration. The two ended up passing the Rapidash, to the applause of the gallery. Suddenly, a bright flash of light accompanied a fierce whinny followed by a pained cry cut through the electrifying atmosphere.

It was just like on Meteor Falls. It was just like at Splashfest. And at Fortree.

A Space-Time Distortion had formed right on top of Josh's new Gym. There was only one thing he could do. "Vicki, run as far as you can! Get you and your Rapidash to safety! I'll call you back to reschedule you! But for now, run as far as you can!" The two did as asked, a cacophony of screams coming from the stands as the Distortion advanced, threatening to trap the fans within its deadly space.

Just as suddenly, Josh noticed a woman about his age not far from the open gate, which was also on the inside of the inescapable Distortion. In flashes of light, a colossal Luxray and Pyroar, dwarfing the size of the Leader's saddled Luxray and Pyroar that were racing around the track, appeared halfway between the gate and Josh's position. They were each over ten feet tall, their pupils a frightening red. The Pyroar bellowed a NOBLE ROAR that shook the air with an ear-piercing vibration much like a car stereo's bass cranked to maximum volume. "LOOK OUT!" the racer shouted, his Jolteon, Manectric, Luxray, and Pyroar sprinting toward the giant Pokémon in an effort to save the woman from the giants' wrath.

Josh gasped when he saw the girl's Golurk dispatch the enormous Pyroar and Luxray with a single PHANTOM FORCE attack. Not because that Golurk weren't strong; they were extremely strong Pokémon that Josh feared in his Gym Challenge. What caught Josh's attention was that her Golurk downed a Pyroar, a Normal-type, in a single hit with a Ghost-type move. It completely defied his understanding of how Ghost-types worked. He didn't see it use FORESIGHT. Was the Golurk so well-trained that its Ghost-type moves pierced resistances?

"I'm really impressed your Golurk can do that," Josh greeted the traveler. "I've never seen a Ghost-type Pokémon take out a Normal-type Pokémon that way without using Foresight. It must have taken your Pokémon months of training." His eyes shifted in search of more giant Pokémon, but so far all was as calm as it was going to get; there were just arcs of white electricity flying all over the Distortion. While Distortions only lasted a few minutes, it was the longest few minutes of Josh's day every time he had stepped into one.

"I am, and thanks!" The Mauville Leader accepted the female's handshake. "My racing challenge is really popular. Every single challenger I've gotten has wanted to race me rather than battle me. I'm Leader Devlin or Ranger Devlin, but I go by Josh," he introduced himself, starting to say something else but stopping as a wave of thunder drowned his voice out. "These four are Saber, Aslan, and Blitz," he introduced the saddled Manectric, Pyroar, and Luxray, "and beneath me is Blinky," he gently pat the Jolteon. "I never thought I'd get the chance to go riding on a Jolteon. She can really put on some speed!"

Josh felt embarrassed when Illeana explained she had her Golurk use Phantom Force more as a way to travel than as a direct means of attack. "Right," he sighed. One of his weaknesses as a Gym Leader was in standard battles, particularly in Doubles. Other than speed boosting moves, Josh was not the greatest at thinking outside the box. That was good enough to deal with many challengers, but as his battles were scrutinized more, he would need to be more adaptable. "It really is no different than using Double Team to go faster in a race, isn't it?"

Illeana seemed genuinely happy to see such an upbeat, enthusiastic, and perhaps even naive Gym Leader join the ranks. The four Pokémon let out purrs and barks in greeting, though they were still on edge. More Alpha Pokémon could pop up at any moment! She, too, introduced her Pokémon, followed by herself. "Illeana, is it? Sounds vaguely familiar..." His mind swirled for a few seconds. "Wait, Head Scientist? Do you know Dr. Eva Morales ? She referred me to you to talk about Alpha Pokémon in general! I think some of my Pokémon, like Blinky here, might be related to them."

Josh couldn't have been happier about his new position, and it was one id didn't even ask for! The League had come to him and asked him if he wanted to join the Major League, and he wasn't going to say no! "I love the new Racing Grounds so much. There are so many possibilities here that my challengers can't just memorize all the tracks. It's wonderful. Busy, but wonderful; I've got challengers booked about--"

Another crash of thunder accompanied by a bright flash as two more giant Pokémon began terrorizing fans who hadn't taken cover yet; these two were an Absol and Manectric. Both of them stood taller Josh and his Pokémon, even with the Leader mounted. Several innocent bystanders were incapacitated by the Alpha Manectric's DISCHARGE. "No!" he cried. "Blinky, everyone! We have to hurry!" Josh felt himself be pushed back in the the Jolteon's saddle by the intense acceleration force, his four Pokémon bounding forward to come to the aid of the fallen.

Josh briefly smiled at Illeana agreeing to help him understand more about Alpha Pokémon and the many likely former Alphas in his squad. "When this is over, we'll talk about it more." It was a meeting he was looking forward to, but he had to make it out of this Distortion alive first!

The first electric blast left those unable to take cover in shock. Josh, thankfully, had a myriad of ways to handle electric Pokémon. Once he was at the site where the Alpha Manectric was towering over even Saber, its red eyes nothing short of mortifying for the patrons of the Gym, he hopped off the Jolteon, using the quilled Pokémon as a shield for the masses thanks to her VOLT ABSORB attracting the electric blast like a lightning rod.

Several of Josh's other Gym Pokémon were around, as well. He gathered them with a loud whistle. With help of some of his Gym Trainers, he began propping the unconscious bodies onto the backs of his Pokémon, giving instructions to those still conscious. "I'm on it!" he shouted back to the scientist, then addressed the crowd. "Get to the edge of the Distortion as fast as you can! It shouldn't last more than a few minutes, and you'll be safest there!" He himself was, of course, looking for a window to evacuate. But not until everyone else was safe!

The wind and lightning inside the Distortion becoming more chaotic was a sign that it was decreasing in stability, no doubt in par due to Illeana's efforts in repelling the wild Pokémon, A bright flash scared several evacuees that were on Josh's Pokémon, though it didn't scare the Leader. If anything, it made him smile; he had been in enough of these to know the bright flashes were a sign it would be over soon.

As soon as the Manectric vanished in a flash of light, the sound of a metallic screech caused many to cover their ears, a screeching Alpha Skarmory appearing in another bright entrance. Before anyone could react, the steel-type snatched a young lady in its talons and soared above the Racing Gounds, building up speed and ready to slam her into the ground.

It would have succeeded, if not for the Golurk's DYNAMIC PUNCH downing the blade-horned Dark-type. Illeana seemed not only studious of, but an avid battler when it came to Alpha Pokémon.

Several bright flashes later, the Distortion and the Skarmory vanished, leaving the terrified spectator in a freefall. Josh's Dragonair, Resheph, was there to save the day for her, though! She carefully timed a burst of EXTREME SPEED to reach her in time, the unexpected rider screaming for her life for a different reason now. Her heart thumping as Josh's Pokémon slowly eased out of the Sacred Arte and landed, she stumbled off and collapsed. While there were injuries, not a single person had perished.

"Everyone's safe. It's over. Couldn't have done it without you. Thank you."

If there was one thing Josh was good at, it was quick thinking. The divide-and-conquer strategy the duo utilized against the dangers of the Space-Time Distortion saved the lives of all the spectators and challengers that were trapped within the Gym's property this day. "It was all I could do," Josh replied with a weak smile, fighting exhaustion. "At least two. I'll do a once over and bring those two and anyone else back."

After a quick survey, Josh and his Pokémon brought back four total victims with injuries, all of them teenagers. They all had suffered the same type of injury: large claw marks of various lengths and depths. It was clear that the Alpha cat Pokémon were responsible. "Some of these wounds look pretty bad," Josh noted aloud as his Pokémon dropped the victims off in front of her. "I should call emergency services. Some of these look really deep. You sure you can handle it?"

Josh was completely oblivious to the display of Illeana's supernatural healing, as he was far too busy getting ahold of emergency services and providing first responders needed information. Knowing the number of victims, the extent of the wounds, and access points to the properly was very important to making sure the teams could transport victims to medical facilities throughout the busy city.

All Josh noticed was the copious amount of blood covering the scientist's hands.

"Wow, this must have been...really bad," Josh gasped, seeing the swaths of destruction the Alpha Pokémon had wrought upon his Gym, as well as the human toll. While there were no deaths, the four had been badly hurt. While the signs of physical injury were gone, the mental injury would stay with them for weeks or even months.

"Shouldn't need to, but you are right. Mauville Gym will need to operate at a reduced capacity until we get this mess cleaned up. And thanks again; you're a life saver."