Josh's Gym indeed was notoriously difficult to get into. As he got better at his job, he became more adept at getting through his queue faster. A League intern very quick on the draw managed to snag up a spot for a familiar face, Elinor Anderson . The same Anderson that had challenged him while he was in the Minor League. During and shortly after his rehabilitation, he had a lot of time to study with Callan Young , kyle lopez , and some of the best combatants in the region.

Though he advertised electric and fire-types as primary Pokémon, they weren't all of that type! There were some off-the-wall Pokémon, such as his Dragonair, that were still quite swift, and could hang tough. He wanted to use his Manectric badly, showing Elinor a new trick he had learned. Unfortunately, without Z-Move approval from the challenger, it wasn't to be.

Josh's Minor League facility was sprawling, but was a small park in comparison to the new Racing Grounds on the edge of Mauville City. With Shelly on vacation, it was Andrew working the front desk. The middle-aged man, a retired Pokémon racer and frequent commentator for high-profile races including this one, processed the Councilwoman's registration.

Josh was a bit disappointed Elinor wouldn't race him. They were of similar age, and given her talent, she had to have a Pokémon capable of going fast. But that was neither here nor there. Racing wasn't for everyone. Heading straight ahead, it did not take Elinor long to spot Josh removing his Arcanine's large saddle in preparation for the intense battle to come. Resheph let out a greeting coo toward the Councilwoman, Josh having already degeared the Dragonair. "When I saw your name on my schedule, I got--whoa." She looked like she was dressed for an IAPL meeting, not a Gym match. "Business Casual was plenty good!" he half-joked. "These two are Braver and Resheph," the Leader introduced his Pokémon, the Arcanine towering above them both greeting her with a howl.

Josh led her to the facility's main battleground, underneath the LOOP CROSS aerial course whose rings bad been retracted into the ground. The battleground was a regulation-sized grassy field with no obstructions of any kind. There was plenty of room to run, but nowhere to hide. His challenger was likely aware from their last meeting that there would be absolutely nowhere to run. "I'm sure you know the rules by now, Elinor, but League protocol and all. You take down my two Pokémon before I take down yours, or otherwise impress me in battle, and the Hoenn League Quick Badge, the real one," he added with a chuckle, "is yours. Challengers first." The trainer's boxes rose from the ground to a good height above the ground, keeping the Leader and challenger out of harm's way as powerful and fast attacks would be flying across the arena below. He gave the degeared Arcanine a pet as he awaited Elinor's decision. "It will be the only decision you will get the time to think about in this battle."

EARTHQUAKE and PROTECT, perhaps the Doubles equivalent to the move e4 in Chess. It was a combination Callan Young 's training had prepared him for. With his electric-type Pokémon, he had a simple solution. Most of them knew how to use MAGNET RISE, which was, by this point, a well-known defensive tactic at his Gym. A tactic Elinor was well aware of back when the Racing Grounds were in a much more inconvenient location, and thus, got far fewer challengers. None of his tricks, including the THOUSAND-CUT JOUST he was so used to finishing battles with before, would work on him.

As the standing Elite Four member taught him, there was more than one way to take advantage of his strengths. While he couldn't dodge the Swampert's imminent EARTHQUAKE, he could stop it before it started.

"Stop that Swampert with double EXTREME SPEED!" Josh commanded both of his Pokémon the moment he saw Swampert's fists rising. Both of his Pokémon vanished from how rapidly they accelerated, attempting to ram the water-type down and stop the shockwave from leaving the ground. If that went off, though...Josh would really be in a tight spot, perhaps even down his Arcanine from the word go!

The biggest difference between this battle and their previous one was while Josh's Pokémon had extremely speedy charges, Resheph's EXTREME SPEED had weight to it. The extra weight multiplied the force of the invisibly fast charge, which Kaleo was unable to fully PROTECT itself against.

That left the even heavier Braver to collide with the Swampert, who desperately tried to stop the charge of the fastest Pokémon on land, barring legendary Pokémon. It was a good thing the water-type had almost the entire field to work with, as it would have been pushed out of bounds otherwise!

Elinor's partner held tough, and was rewarded; it overcame Braver's momentum and nailed him with the shockwave of a point-blank EARTHQUAKE. With no time to react, the rumbling earth thred the fire-type into the air, struggling to stand after the shockwave had passed. "BURN UP, Braver!" Josh commanded of his weakened Arcanine, the large Pokémon igniting its entire body in a pillar of immolating flames that would leave every bit of its fur a charred black, trying to drag the Swampert down with it.

Resheph had all kinds of time to react, the dragon floating above the Ground-type attack...and right into Kaleo's ICE PUNCH. The scales that were struck froze on contact, the ice surrounding them immediately shattering from the strong vibration powering its fists. "Resheph, DRAGON RUSH!" Josh commanded, the Dragonair lowering her horn in Kaleo's direction, attempting to drill into its bright scales while surrounded in the purple light of dragonkind.

SPRINGTIDE STORM was an attack Josh had never heard of. Was it a grass-type attack? It sounded like one, and wouldn't scratch the Dragonair's scales. Nor would it stop the DRAGON RUSH headed its way. The serpentine Pokémon was very nimble, her moves just as fast as Kaleo's were. The two dodged the same way, the purple-glowing horn primed to pierce Kaleo's scales at any moment. Elinor's Pokémon had a nasty surprise, though! SPRINGTIDE STORM was a Fairy-type move that was building within Kaleo's fist, the two of which were on a collision course! If the two clashed, the rattling scales would grind through those of the fellow dragon-type and knock her out!

Braver reared high as Swampert deflected the searing attack; it was easily high enough to unseat anyone who dared ride him without a saddle. With the other battle so far away, this became less a Doubles match and more two separate Singles matches - something Josh was much more comfortable fighting. "Blind it with your SCORCHING SANDS and retreat!" Josh cried, Braver stumbling about in dizziness and substantial weakness. Even a proverbial light tap on the cheek would retire the Arcanine at this point. Being in melee range was a death sentence. He needed room to run. And with the two dragon-types locked into their own scuffle, room he would have.

The split warzone converged into one as both dragons were incapacitated by each others' powerful attacks. This left the Swampert and BURNed UP Arcanine as the final combatants of the match. Both pushed each other to their limits. Josh had one more trick up his sleeve, though. While it wasn't the THOUSAND CUT JOUST he had tested the Councilwoman with before, this would test a similar skillset. After all, he did have to incorporate split second reactions into his battles some way!

"Braver, trample over Swampert with your EXTREME SPEED!" Josh yelled over the ambient cheering from the gallery. The gambit was similar to the Leader's signature move, yet different. While this ultra fast charge was just as tricky for the Swampert to read, this one had substantially more raw power behind it. Unlike with Blinky's version, the water-type was going to have just one chance to interrupt the charge with its SUPERPOWER.

One chance was all it needed.

Elinor's Pokémon grabbed onto the charging, now-typeless runner, using its weight to try to pull Braver out of his EXTREME SPEED. The resulting imbalance caused them both to topple over. With Braver down for the count, all the water-type had to do was get out from underneath the Arcanine and stand, and the battle would be over! Josh preemptively reached into his pocket for the Badge he expected to present to the challenger.

The moment the weakened Swampert became the first to rise to its legs, the lead official called the match in che challenger's favor. Unlike the last time that the two battled, when Josh's confidence was uprooted, here it was not the same. He had learned a lot about not only improving his understanding of his own Gym and how to combat it, but also fantastic development of countermeasures for his Gym's weaknesses.

Josh had also truly meant what being a Gym Leader was about. Sure, making sure only those who truly understood what the Gym was trying to teach were the one who get Badgs was important, and his win rate at the Gym was an important KPI of his prowess as a Gym Leader, but it was not the only one!

Josh was kicking it on all other cylinders, and with the knowledge, study time, and practice he had put in, that stray number would come down in due time. It already had started to come down. He had a lot of people to thank, but especially Callan Young . He had big shoes to fill after renowned Gym Leader John Sullivan moved on to better opportunities. Even though Elinor had defeated him, it was not a crushing defeat. This match could have gone either way.

The Leader pulled his closed right fist out of his poccket and approached the challenger as their trainer's boxes receded to ground level. "It seems both of us have improved and are an even match now. It was a difference of one tactic that determined today's winner. That winner is you. Here," Josh outstretched his right arm ending in a fist, turned it upside down, and opened the fist to reveal the Councilwoman's prize. "The official Hoenn League Quick Badge. And it's different from the other one I gave you. You see? No Minor League shield on it. It's the real thing." The gallery applauded them both on a battle well-fought by both sides.

As the two were walking toward the entrance to get checked out, Josh would bring up one more point to the Councilwoman. "Elinor, I have one more request of you. Not necessarily any time soon, but in the future, I'd like to have a battle with you, where neither of us have to hold anything back. Not at my Gym, either. Our battle will be far too destructive for Let's find a place on the main island of Hoenn as far from town as possible. Some place that can absorb the kind of violent match I'm sure we will have." Little did he know just how true those words would be...