"Director, you don't have to be so humble," Josh replied in an almost pleading voice. "Take some credit where it's due!" As the flashing lights slowed to a stop, they flashed between a black tile and a tile that would have been very favorable for Josh. "Thank you. Because... a lot happened, as I'm sure you are aware. What with being Hoenn's Champion and all. I have a lot I want to talk to you about. Both about my future as a Gym Leader, and about... aspirations beyond."

In an almost glitch-like state, the lights rolled back to the black space, the lights going completely dark as a sinister think cue blared from the studio's sound system. He rolled his eyes as he found himself and Kyle under the lone lights, tension high. He had no idea what to expect, but it was going to be Arceus awful. "Sure thing!" With that, he sent out two of his most nimble Pokémon, Aslan and Resheph. It never looked right to him seeing his Pokémon de-geared, what with how much racing he did. It was as though their saddles and bridles were a part of the Pokémon themselves. "Come at me, Director!"

The Director looked awfully humble for a Champion, sending out a Chingling and Dunsparce to match Josh's extremely speedy Pokémon. "Aslan, NOBLE ROAR!" Josh commanded, his Pyroar taking a deep breath before letting out a primal roar intended to shake the mettle of all three of his opponents. The Leader very much doubted it would work on his opponent, but it would rattle the Pokémon enough for Resheph to get the upper hand. "Resheph, take out that Dunsparce with your DRAGON RUSH!" Lowering her horn and enveloping herself in royal purple draconic energy, the blue serpent lunged at the small snake with blinding speed.

Before the Pokémon crashed into one another, Josh's worst nightmare came to fruition. A dome of sinister energy, pulsing in psychedelic violets, materialized around the studio's battlefield, its screens simply floating in midair. The racer's Pokémon, almost invisibly fast before, looked like they were being played back on a high speed camera. It was almost like what the eyes of a Ninjask would see, if the studies were correct about its perspective being in super slow motion compared to what the rest of the world saw. The distorted dimension was none other than the problem the League held his job as a Gym Leader over his head for.

TRICK ROOM.

In all of his Gym Challenges up to this point, Josh had not once defeated a challenger who utilized the move. Not once. There was one hope for him in this battle. He had a long meeting with Callan Young about handling Pokémon that utilized TRICK ROOM to take his speed advantage away from him. This battle would be a test to apply that knowledge and prove to the League he had the skills to be a truly great Gym Leader.

Josh remembered this tactic well from his Gym battle with @callan. While it wasn't exactly this combination of Pokémon he had used in the battle with the newest member of the Elite Four. As threatening as the Dunsparce was, he knew the long-term problem in the battle would be not the offensive Pokémon, but the supporting Pokémon. Not one, but both the challenger's Pokémon let out loud yawns that could be heard over the sinister battle theme blaring from inside the Distortion-like TRICK ROOM. Was the twisted space reversing more than just the speed of Pokémon within?

"Change of plans!" Josh cried, his voice sounding like it was coming from beneath the sea. If his Pokémon fell asleep, Chingling could maintain the TRICK ROOM for the entire battle. He could not let that happen. Josh was Hoenn's King of Speed, damn it. And if he had any advantage, he was going to press that advantage--and the advantage of the harsh sunlight that had began baking the studio. "Aslan, FLAMETHROWER! Just from where you're at! Resheph, HYPER BEAM! Focus on Chingling, but try to catch them both in it!" That tactic had come from Josh's Gym Battle with noah faber . For all the shit the League was giving him about his battle performance as a new Gym Leader, he had incorporated points that worked in all of his previous Gym Battles. He was no stranger to innovation, either.

The TRICK ROOM slowed the speed at which Aslan exhaled his FLAMETHROWER attack, as well as the speed Resheph was able to undulate around the boundaries of the top-floor arena to set up an attempt to tag both Kyle's Pokémon in the beam of orange, pure energy coming from the Dragonair's horn. The speed of the attacks themselves, though, were unaffected. The surge of pure energy and fire raced toward the psychic-type in a cross pattern, Josh crossing his fingers that the added speed the distortion bestowed wouldn't be enough for his tactic to fail.

Resheph was the first to fall limp, sawing logs from using such an exhausting attack while already tired. Josh's Pyroar, likewise, could not keep his eyelids open, and the tendrils of sleep claimed him as well. They would both be sitting ducks for Dunsparce...and whatever Pokémon fought alongside it in the aftermath of the brutally powerful combination.

The battle dais of Kyle's studio was covered in gravel, making it difficult for Josh's Pokémon to keep their footing even when the Arceus-damned distortion faded away. The challenger's two Pokémon didn't even notice a thing as the bladed rocks cut into their scales, both deeply imprisoned by the shackles of sleep. It took a second or two for him to realize his Pyroar was also no longer breathing. His Dragonair, despite being half-buried in sharp rocks, remained asleep, unaware of her predicament.

In a panic, Josh withdrew his unconscious Pyroar and sent out his Absol, Twilight, who also moved sluggishly in the inverted dimension. "NIGHT SLASH the Oranguru, Twilight!" the challenger commanded, his partner charging toward the Oranguru in what appeared to be slow motion. The mountain-adept, feline-like quadruped was at the very least used to the rough terrain. She didn't need that slowing her down, too. Once she was in range, the Absol raised her head, then rapidly swung it to the opposite corner, attempting to gore the psychic-type with her horn-blade.

TRICK ROOM was perhaps the most obnoxious trick in the book for the Mauville Leader. It not only reversed his speed advantage, but it took every tactic he avoided having to worry about by virtue of having such a fast Pokémon team. In this match, all his Pokémon were exposed to that very weakness. Remembering the advice of Callan Young , Josh did have a trump card, though. There was one way to ensure he got the jump on a foe, even inside this warped dimension.

"Twilight, QUICK ATTACK the Oranguru!"

While the ROCK SLIDE was too omnipresent to fully dodge, the added speed of Twilight's Boost would let her attempt to take the barely-standing Oranguru while she still had all her strength. It was speed not subject to the twisted space of the TRICK ROOM, either. Hit or miss, the Rock-type barrage came raining down, Josh's white Pokémon squinting in pain as one of the rocks landed on top of her horn-blade.

Resheph aroused after being slammed with the first boulder barrage, but was pinned beneath too many big stones to even think about escaping before the second left her down for the count. The tide of battle had shifted in the Leader's favor. As he sent out Pinky, the think cue changed to something less sinister as Josh was required to answer a question about himself.

"Ummm...I studied mythology at Ecruteak University for a dual credit course in high school. My favorite Pokémon to learn about were Raikou, Entei, and Suicune." Fitting, considering the boss Pokémon awaiting him at the end of the battle was Entei...

Dunsparce's uncoiling lash in the form of SECRET POWER was more than enough to retire the Absol. Josh was now down an entire Pokémon, but he had several advantages. One, Chingling's TRICK ROOM was flickering like a fading space-time distortion. He would be able to turn this battle around with the blitzkrieg tactics his Gym was well-known for. Little did he know how badly he needed to do so, what with the nasty surprise that awaited him. Second, he had two of his best partners in reserve: Janus and Pinky. Pinky was already out and about, now joined by an Espeon.

As much of a problem as the Gastrodon was for Josh's strategy, he didn't need the Dunsparce making the gravel-covered battleground any harder to navigate. The Eeveelution mount Pokémon had enough trouble as is. "Double QUICK ATTACK! Take out that Dunsparce! he commanded them both.

The tactic should have come as no surprise to the Minor League's Director; after all, Quick Attack was his Gym's signature move. While the Espeon's was an ordinary QUICK ATTACK other than being fueled by teleportation for added surprise factor, the Sylveon's was special. Pinky's feelers whipped through the disturbed airflow, her claws glowing a bright pink with PIXILATEd Fairy energy that added quite the punch to the blindingly nimble move.

The Gastrodon's ice storm hit, blinding both of the quadrupeds in one eye and covering their lower bodies in frost. The two were able to shrug the Ice-type attack off, but its primary purpose seemed not to harm, but to allow the Arcade Director to keep his speed advantage even after the TRICK ROOM faded.