Josh's joints, too, were starting to course with pain from how long Braver was able to hold his EXTREME SPEED. The charge would have caused friction burns to any exposed skin the tornadic wind speeds his racing attire protected him against. And to think this was the kind of speed Josh was going to have to get comfortable with if he wanted to live his dream. It was daunting to think about; they were covering several miles with each passing minute.

The Leader had reached his breaking point shortly after Matt did. His thighs were throbbing less from the intense speed and more from just how rough Braver's sprint was. He could handle the road flying by in a blur. What he had difficulty with was managing the power behind the Arcanine's strides. The backs of his hands pale from maintaining the strength needed to rein Braver around turns, Josh, too, was forced to ease up on his grip, his strength fading.

Once Matt was done losing his lunch, a badly shaken-up Gym Leader joined him near the bay's south dock, though he wasn't feeling quite so sick. It was the gateway to the body of water they would be flying over on Josh's Dragonair. And at a much slower pace, at that. Yes, Resheph knew how to use Extreme Speed, as well. And it was much faster than Braver's or Nana's. From what he remembered of his flight with Isaac, the feeling would be much the same, albeit with far less turbulence than aboard the giant dog.

"Pretty rare to see fairly calm weather like this around here, Matt," Josh changed the conversation topic, dismounting and withdrawing his Arcanine while collapsing onto a nearby bench overlooking the bay surrounding Mount Pyre. He began sharing a story of one of his early Ranger rescues, while still a Rookie, even. He had to deal with flying a stranded family home to Lilycove in some terrible weather. "A lot of fond memories, not all of them pleasant, came from that day. A lot of your first experiences doing something as a Ranger are ones you'll never forget. I know there are a lot of things you don't like about the Rangers. But giving people and Pokémon a second chance at life is something I treasure about what I do. It's why I didn't quit being a Ranger even after becoming a Gym Leader." Where were all these sappy speeches coming from? Josh never gave these kinds of speeches before becoming a Gym Leader. Was he just noticing their frequency after being saddled with the burden of the high-ranking League position?