Josh grumbled at Blackjack's words. The Mauville Leader and Ranger cared deeply about every single one of his Pokémon. One thing Josh did not understand about Team Rocket was their emphasis on Pokémon as mere tools rather than partners and true friends. Pokémon and humans were meant to live symbiotically. The very fact that Legendary Pokémon that chose to live alongside humans existed was exhibit number one, that even some of the gods felt the need for a human to live alongside.

Of course, that was still a mere dream to Josh. If only he had Raikou on his side for this chase. He would have been able to chase Rampage down without a second thought! That was neither here nor there; he had to rely on his own wits and his own Pokémon to get himself out of this mess, and not divine speed.

Shiver's SCALE SHOT was coming as the water-type obstructed the point where the river turned back toward the Racing Grounds' entrance. This was as far as the Dragonair was going to swim. "Resheph, jump out of the water and use your EXTREME SPEED!" He braced himself for the Dragonair, surrounding herself and her rider in purple dragon energy, to leap out of the water at the speed of a rocket.

3 MINUTES TO MAIN GENERATOR EXPLOSION.

She was too deep in the swarm. While the Dragonair was able to free herself after being picked off by the close-range SCALE SHOT, her momentum sent Josh hurtling into the air and over the outside riverbank. He reached for Bladestorm's Poké Ball, withdrew the battered Dragonair, and released his Skarmory, who was quick to make sure his trainer landed in the saddle. After getting to level flight, the first thing Josh did was get harnessed up, snapping the cocoon part of her cocoon saddle around his legs in case they needed to pull any evasive maneuvers.

Josh came into this confrontation expecting a simple race to the Operations Center. The situation escalated when he understood that attacking the other's mount was not off limits. And now, it escalated again as Blackjack drew a Doublade on him. His rival's taunt about making the Pokémon do all the work rubbed him the wrong way. That wasn't how being a Pokémon racer worked at all! Yes, the Pokémon did a lot of work, but so did the rider! The two worked as a team! Blackjack and his Doublade were certainly no strangers to teamwork - the two hid in the twilight, cutting through the Leader's racing suit. Luck & Pluck got the pleasure of tasting fresh blood from right above Josh's Psycho Cut wound that transcended the Cloud. He hissed loudly. At least it didn't cut that nasty wound back open - that would add so much to the already lengthy healing time!

Blackjack had some keen eyes. How did he noticed the Doublade sheaths Josh had on him? It wasn't like he had much of a choice. He had to knock the Crobat out of the sky. Bladestorm would help with that a lot, but it seemed he wanted a direct confrontation. "Alright, Bladestorm, I trust you. Tonight, we dine on Crobat." The Metal Menace sounded a screeching cry as Josh hung his reins at the end of the bird's saddle, then drew both blades comprising Yagyu. If Blackjack wanted a joust, he was getting one! Josh, likewise, kept the blade in his off hand raised in a defensive position, much like one would use a shield. The blade in his main hand was pointed at Isaac much like a polearm.

Then, Sunny's TAILWIND came. Or in Josh's case, a stiff headwind that would have made holding on difficult if he didn't wisely outfit his aerial squad with cocoon saddles. The resulting turbulence made it difficult for the Leader to keep his arm steady. Both blades disappeared into the twilight, Josh appearing to hold only the sheaths as a sinister absence of light enveloped both the ghost-type and her wielder's hands. If Josh was truly the Hero of Johto that he thought Raikou was looking for, this would be wonderful practice for mounted combat. The high-speed NIGHT SLASH, if it landed, would leave the Crobat reeling to the point where Josh could focus on just having Bladestorm make a beeline for the Operations Center. He spurred the Steel-type into AGILITY in an effort to add gash to slash...

It took great effort for Josh to not focus on fighting back after Luck & Pluck well...plucked skin and blood from him. It could have been worse. It could have been a frontal wound rather than a wound from behind, which would have sent a rush of air between his racing suit and his body. If he had to be cut anywhere, his back was one of the best places for it.

It seemed Blackjack's jousting skills matched Josh's. The two Night Slashes met with force that caused even the hilts to dig into their wielder. Unsurprising, given their ludicrous closing speed that exceeded that of every land-bound Pokémon in his Gym. Both his hands throbbed as Luck & Pluck knocked Yagyu out of both of Josh's hands, leaving him unarmed and extremely vulnerable.

Bladestorm was having such a hard time shaking Sunny, the two almost evenly matched in terms of speed. The Crobat's SUPERSONIC, while not as debilitating for Josh due to his helmet blocking some of the sound, rang through the Skarmory like a tuning fork. His now-erratic flight path caused the two to yield the lead to Blackjack and his Crobat. After the second wrong turn, Josh filled his empty hands with the bird's reins, wrenching full manual control from the Metal Menace. Too confused to even retort with a compressed Air Slash from between the wings, he couldn't even strike back.

2 MINUTES TO MAIN GENERATOR EXPLOSION.

The Operations Center was in sight, behind the tallest peak on the northwest corner of the properly. With Bladestorm unable to comprehend verbal directions, it was up to Josh and his airmanship alone to end the crisis brought on by Team Rocket.

Without his trusty sidearm in hand, all Josh and Bladestorm could do was flee. Flee toward the Operations Center, enter his access code and the override, and restore meaningful power to his Gym. Then he could get ahold of Mauville Law Enforcement to get assistance in arresting this goon that was proving to be less a nuisance and more a real danger. Not being able to shake off the Crobat was rough enough, but Luck & Pluck were far stronger than Yagyu was, able to withstand the NIGHT SLASH while his own Doublade was not.

As Blackjack crossed the jet-colored blades in hand, each seeping purple haze, a vortex opened behind him that pulled at the two of them and kept them from advancing to their in-sight destination. "AGILITY, Bladestorm!" The Skarmory engaged full thrust, but the longer he struggled, the more intense the suction became.

Josh and Bladestorm became separated from one another, the force of the suction becoming so great that it undid the snaps keeping him harnessed to his Pokémon. He emerged wearing a ruined racing suit, his skin underneath covered in electrical burns that had shredded large portions of the scab covering his Absol's Psycho Cut wound from his trip to the Cloud.

What few arena scoreboards' screens remained showed zeroes in grey. Broken glass littered the property as every single light had its lens blown out. Bleachers were shredded. The only building that remained was the main office, its doors and windows shattered from a series of shock waves caused by the power overload Josh had failed to stop. The entire Operations Center, along with each building housing a power generator, had been completely leveled. He was no longer a Gym Leader. He had failed in his most sacred duty he had promised the League he would fulfill.

Then again... Josh had seen a similar landscape to this before. In the Cloud. How could he forget? That moment...the moment he saw the one he felt he was destined to bond with. The legendary partner he felt he had the birthright to sit astride. That moment he saw the sacred Beast dead, alongside his six closest Pokémon, including Saber...that was the moment that drove him to his real purpose, his real calling. It was the moment that had led up to every single one of his successes in Hoenn. And he was not giving up until he could convince his idol that those two were meant for each other.

Shifting his sight upward as he tried to stand, Josh was quickly met by Blackjack, Luck & Pluck in hand and practically touching the spot between his eyes. "So you have spared me yet again...who are you?" Josh rasped through his electrical burns. "Just tell me...who are you?" He continued to listen to Blackjack's philosophical assault.

"You...you're right. Seeing that hellscape once was enough. But twice...no. If there's one thing I've learned from that day...that horrible day when I saw Raikou die...it's that the past can't be changed. The present can't be changed. But the future...the future CAN be changed. No matter what anyone says. And I will CHANGE THE FUTURE THAT REFUSES TO BE CHANGED!!" he screamed, hissing from the strain of forcing that through his weakened vocal cords.

Moments later, Josh's vision faded to white, waking up sprawled over rocky terrain, short on breath, and his ears full of klaxons. Bladestorm was nowhere to be found.

60 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION.

He shook his head. Whoever this lunatic was, he had just spared the Gym Leader's life a second time when he was to rights a dead man. Groaning, he got to his feet, finding himself outside the double doors leading to the Operations Center. He quickly entered the combination to the secured building and dashed to the top floor as quickly as his weakened legs could carry him.

50 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION.

Josh panted as he grabbed onto both railings of the staircase, getting as much support as he could, his heavy legs pounding against the metal frames. He was already past the point of no return. He was going to save his Gym...or he would spend his afterlife in Luck & Pluck's NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE. For real this time.

While trying to be hasty, Josh knew his steps had to be accurate, too. Climbing the steps two at a time, he couldn't go up them full speed in his wounded state. If he tripped, it was all over.

40 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION.

The master power controls were located on the third floor of the Operations Center. Nothing but pure adrenaline was fueling the Gym Leader now. One floor down, one to go.

30 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION.

Josh's heart was beating dangerously fast, pushing his body to his absolute limits. One disadvantage to riding everywhere is only very specific muscles were toned...and not the ones that propelled the human body to high speeds on its own power. He reached the third floor entrance to the room with the master power controls and kicked the door open.

20 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION.

He sat down in front of the master control panel and began entering his override key, having to answer several security prompts first. His heart and head pounded with every few keystrokes. One missed input and it was over.

TEN. NINE. EIGHT. SEVEN. SIX.



The noise and flashing lights stopped. It was over.

As he turned around to leave the facility, the adrenaline rush left him, his jelly legs unable to support his own weight. In his weakness, he dialed for his Gym's secretary, Shelly. "I...need..." were the only words that left his mouth before his eyes closed. She understood that while the Gym was safe for now, the emergency was not over. She dialed for emergency services and gave them his location. Luckily, he didn't close a single door behind him, so they would be able to locate him! It was just a matter of response time...

Josh woke up to the sound of emergency personnel storming up the stairs to escort him out of the Operations Center. By now, the power had been fully restored to all areas of the building, and the generator's power output was no longer at a dangerous 317% of capacity; it was at a much safer 98%. The residue of LIFE DEW covered every single one of Josh wounds, though he would need to have the back of his racing suit re-stitched. There was even a purple, thundercloud-shaped cushion under his head.

Did Blackjack save his life for a third time? What were Blackjack's motives? Josh was dead to rights not once, but twice today. All it took was a single moment for him to teleport into to the room with his Ralts and put a knife in the Leader's heart. Instead, he patched Josh up.

Emergency services were surprised to see Josh awake. While he was conscious, he was still too weak to stand. They used several psychic Pokémon to teleport him to the outside of the building and onto the back of a police Arcanine, who whisked him to safety at a pace much slower than he was used to, but one that was needed for the situation.

Blackjack substantially reinforced Josh's FORESIGHT that day. He had trusted his instincts all day, but recognized that during Luck & Pluck's NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE, everything he had worked so hard to trust tried to deceive him all at once. He shook his head, fought through the nightmare, and managed to save his Gym with some outside-the-box thinking, an adrenaline-fueled act of desperation, and even a little luck. His FORESIGHT was the reason the Racing Grounds lived on and continued to serve trainers of Hoenn in passing on not only Josh's honed Three Virtues of COURAGE, CONFIDENCE, and AMBITION, but his new set of Virtues: FORESIGHT, JUDGMENT, and INSIGHT. The Three Virtues had become the Six Virtues.

As he passed out in the police Arcanine's saddle, a noble, familiar voice echoed in Josh's head:

"Alongside COURAGE, your FORESIGHT has flashed like a lightning bolt. Alongside CONFIDENCE, your JUDGMENT has echoed like booming thunder. Alongside AMBITION, your INSIGHT has roared like a shredding downburst."