Kee was walking around Mauville City instead of doing literally anything else. On his head was Shaymin, and next to him was his Houndoom. Since Doug stepped down, he got taken off the list, and sadly and like usual, the new sign ups got taken far too quickly for him. With a heavy sigh, he found himself just walking around, exploring the city even more. Though he did end up being by the gym. Which had a race course around back. Well, several of them. Huh. The blonde hadn't done any research on the new leader's gym at all. He mostly preferred more traditional challenges...not that he had been able to get a challenge in. He only had one challenge under his belt, and had luckily earned the badge. But it was the only one he had.

There was a race going on, but it didn't look like it was a challenge race, just a training one. An unusually large Liepard and Sawsbuck following the track. Chuckling, he looked at his Houndoom. "Think you can go faster than them with me on your back?" The fire and dark type gave a woof sound in confirmation that he probably could. And with confidence. Honestly, the Pokemon was barely large enough for him to ride on at this point. But it was possible. The Shaymin on the top of his head made some cute noises and seemed to be pointing somewhere. Looking at where it was pointing. It was a Greninja, and someone helping another get situated in their saddle. Boy, that was awkward. Not a Pokemon you normally see being ridden on. It certainly looked uncomfortable...


Josh Devlin

A young man had approached Jackie, Josh, and his Greninja as the two had finished making adjustments. The Shaymin immediately caught Josh's attention, what with being a legendary Pokémon in his eyes. While it wasn't truly legendary, he still let out a whistle. "What an impressive couple of Pokémon," Unlike with many of his challengers, Josh recognized Kee's voice, having been one of John Sullivan's challengers that had to be entered into the new system and rescheduled.

"Keenan?" Josh asked the trainer next to the sizable Houndoom he had assumed he was getting a Gym Challenge from. "How can I help you?" he asked, pulling out his phone to check his Gym's schedule. "Your appointment with me is for this time next month, it looks like." Jackie stepped away, Winky zipping next to the Leader and Keenan. From the way the water-type ran, it looked like riding would only be awkward when she was still. Once she was in motion, her back would be relatively flat. And could that giant frog ever put on some speed. "Don't mind Winky. She's just eager to do her first practice race is all!"

Keenan Toral

{WC: 191}
{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Saber Manectric Good
Aslan Pyroar Good
Blinky Jolteon Good
Winky Greninja Good
Din Sawsbuck Good
Luna Liepard Good

Kee was startled a little bit by the sudden name calling. It was the gym leader! Josh? He could barely remember. The dark haired man pulled out a phone and checked it, listing his appointment for next month. "Oh, I'm already aware. I was just in Mauville and out for a walk with Shaymin and Houndoom. That's all." He hoped he didn't sound too nervous. This was his first official meeting with the new gym leader. The water type zipped towards him, making yelp in surprise, while his Houndoom just looked at his trainer like "what is wrong with you?" The blonde just laughed it off...cuz he was dumb.

Practice race? Was that what was going on here? "Oh, is that what's going on here? Wasn't the gym originally a military base of some kind? How'd you get it converted to a race track?" It was diving a little bit into history for the gym, but some of them did have some interesting backstories. Plus the amount of work for a conversion like that still seemed astronomical to him. And maybe slightly a waste, seeing that Littleroot was still recovering and all. Well, maybe the gym leader could enlighten him a little bit? Assuming he wasn't too busy...


Josh Devlin

So Kee was aware that he had the date right. He just happened to be out and about, wanting to check out the new Gym. Given the Gym was only a couple months old, it was natural to wonder how the place had changed with new leadership. "Both of your Pokémon look fearsome, especially the Houndoom. Almost looks tailor-made for the new Gym." It wasn't flattery, either; Houndoom were quite swift and otherwise well-rounded Pokémon for racing. If the dark-type dogs weren't typically so fickle, there would be a lot more of them on the racing scene, as they tended to be extremely beginner-friendly other than their hard hearts that were less of a racing problem and more of a general Pokémon raising problem.

"It is! Mauville City's Gym is also known as the Racing Grounds," Josh clarified. "They used to be located on Trainer Hill north of here, then I got promoted a couple months ago and had to move here. And that is indeed what's going on," he gestured toward Lyndon and Duncan, who were rounding a corner with Josh's Sawsbuck and Liepard. Surprisingly, the grass-type was quite competitive with Luna! "It was when Captain Sullivan ran the place. The conversion wasn't too bad; I was able to use a lot of the old roads on the base for my courses. Plus, it's not just the League that funds the Gyms. We get quite the stipend from the city, too. And Mauville's residents pay a lot of taxes."

Keenan Toral

{PC: 3}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Aslan          Pyroar          Good
Blinky         Jolteon         Good
Winky          Greninja        Good
Din            Sawsbuck        Good
Luna           Liepard         Good

Kee couldn't help but snort a little bit. Shaymin was hardly fearsome...okay, it did pack a punch, but look at it! It didn't look it! Looks can be deceiving was practically in its name! "Um...I'll differ in opinion about Shaymin. It may pack quite the punch, but they're too cute to be fearsome. Aren't you little buddy!" The blonde gushed a little bit, taking the Shaymin off of his head, and making it face him. The cute little Pokemon simply smiled and made a happy noise. Houndoom just sat down and watched. He knew this may take a while, might as well sit and bathe in the sunlight. Plopping Shaymin on top of Houndoom's head, the little hedgehog made itself comfortable between the horns on the dog. And said dog didn't so much as flinch.

Kee nodded a little bit at the brief bit of history...and the workings of a gym. Taxes...hopefully that wasn't increased based on how complicated the gym could be. But something in the back of his mind bothered him...oh, his little brother! "My baby brother evidently became friends with gym leader John Sullivan. Said he was a cool guy, and despite his age, had some pretty good advice. Are you from Hoenn originally? What led you to become a gym leader here in this land of disasters?" Did Kee bother to read up on the new gym leader? Absolutely not! Did he care? Not really. Best learn first hand about a person, in his opinion.

Josh Devlin

Okay, so fearsome was completely the wrong word for Shaymin. The Gracidea-bearing Grass-type was positively adorable, especially sitting between the Houndoom's horns. "Aww..." Josh cooed as Kee was at play with the small Pokémon. "My career doesn't let me raise small, cute Pokémon like that, as you can imagine." Josh had raised close to forty Pokémon for the Gym, and there were very few that one could even conceive of as being cute. Perhaps Pinky, though the ride Sylveon was resting after a hard-fought challenge earlier in the day.

Hoenn really was a small world; it seemed like every Gym Leader was quite popular. "Mauville in particular has incredibly talented people I had to succeed. Before Captain Sullivan, Katherine Fairburne ran the place, and look where she is now. She's been in the Elite Four for as long as anyone can remember. It's quite a long story. Want to go for a ride around the place?" he offered, assuming the Houndoom was trained to do so.

Lyndon and Duncan waved to Josh, the Sawsbuck and Liepard having finished their practice race. He didn't see the result, but the wave got his attention. He gave the two a double thumbs-up. Winky stepped back toward Josh and crouched at the mention of a run around the track. The Greninja was excited to go for a speedy run with her trainer aboard. She could put on some real speed, though Josh would request she hold it back as to not completely intimidate Kee.

Keenan Toral

{WC: 252}
{PC: 4}

NAME            SPECIES          STATUS
Saber           Manectric        Good
Aslan           Pyroar           Good
Blinky          Jolteon          Good
Winky           Greninja         Good
Din             Sawsbuck         Good
Luna            Liepard          Good

Kee couldn't help but contradict the man. "Nonsense, whoever seen a Pichu ride a Squirtle, or a Magby ride a Gyarados? Or a Chikorita ride a Greninja? And there are tons of examples of non-fully evolved Pokemon taking on fully evolved Pokemon, and winning." And more that could probably be thought of, but don't try to Pigeot hole yourself into one specific thing! Well...ok, his baby brother adores Ghost and Steel-type Pokemon, but the kid was likely stronger than he was, so he could get away with it.

Kee listened to Josh go through who all he succeeded. Kee didn't know that Elite 4 member Katherine Fairburne was before Captain Sullivan. At the offering, Kee nodded. "Sure! But...on what? Only Pokemon I've ridden before was Vikavolt, and that was during Greyson Connors's gym challenge...and I didn't bring her with me..." Again, his Houndoom looked at his trainer like he was stupid. Standing up and giving Kee a big, booming, woof, Kee looked at him. "Are you sure? I was just joking a little earlier..." A quick nod from the dark pokemon, and Kee just motioned for Josh to lead the way. Then his Houndoom JUMPED THE FENCE?! And right next to Josh and the Greninja. No warning, just up and over. Sighing, he did much the same, and got on Houndoom...

Josh Devlin

While all of Kee's points were valid, there were rules that needed to be followed, whether it was during official Federation races or during the Gym Challenge itself. "You are right that evolution doesn't mean everything in battle," Josh agreed. "Being small has great advantages, such as being quite slippery and hard to hit. The battles aren't the issue. The issue is that Pokémon Racing Federation rules, and the rules Mauville Gym's racing challenge are based on, requires the trainer to be mounted on their Pokémon mid-race. Granted, Meganium, and even Raichu if you found one big enough, could work well." Raichu would be a really fun one. Those giant electric rats could put on a lot of speed! It was one he would almost certainly have to contact a breeder for, which would be a long and expensive process.

Jackie having finished her adjustments to Winky's gear, Josh climbed aboard the Greninja, holding her reins for stability. He would almost assuredly need it to comfortably stay on the speedy water-type, whether it be while they were still due to the angle of her back while simply standing, or while in motion from the high speed they could run at. "And before that was cait alfric ." While Josh didn't know it, all three of them wielded legendary Pokémon. He did know, however, that all three had a reputation for being among the toughest Gyms in Hoenn. If he could keep that reputation in place, perhaps trends of Mauville Gym Leaders would continue and he would be able to curry favor with Raikou.

The Leader was expecting to have one of his own Pokémon help give a tour of the place, but after the Houndoom made such a grand entrance, leaping over his Gym's tall fence, he doubted Kee no more, applauding for the Dark-type's feats of strength and agility. "Have you thought about challenging my Gym with your Houndoom?" Josh asked Kee. "He's got a lot of what it takes to compete." Winky, ready to take off, bounded forward in sharp acceleration. The amphibian's running stroke was a bit rougher than Josh was used to, but he had adapted to worse. It would just be finding his timing.

Keenan Toral

{WC: 371}
{PC: 5}

NAME             SPECIES           STATUS
Saber            Manectric         Good
Aslan            Pyroar            Good
Blinky           Jolteon           Good
Winky            Greninja          Good
Din              Sawsbuck          Good
Luna             Liepard           Good

Ah. He didn't think about that. "Oh...I didn't think about that one. Maybe an idea for another non-traditional challenge?" The blonde kind of laughed nervously. "Though I don't think there's a Raichu big enought to ride on. Unless you're like, four feet tall..." So basically a kid. After mentioning another, they kind of dropped the subject. For now at least. After the jump, Josh applauded him. And Kee started to climb the fence. Shaymin giggled while Keenan answered Josh. "Of course! Houndoom's my starter. Well, one of them, but he was my first ever Pokemon. Granted, he was a Houndour then, but he's my best. I probably would use Tyrantrum too, in a fight. But in a race, definitely a tie between Houndoom and Vikavolt."

He got on his trusty doggy steed, then off they went. The Greninja was definitely faster than his Houndoom, but he wasn't far behind. "What influenced you to go into racing? What were some of the challenges to turn the gym into a race track of various types? And why Mauville?" Kee's little brother treated it as a hub for his adventures. So between the mild curiousity on what could bring someone into Pokemon racing and the challenges of using that as a basis for a gym, he couldn't help himself.


Josh Devlin

It was expected that Kee wouldn't know about the Pokémon Racing Federation's rulebook. Even many sports fans hadn't touched the thing. After all, it wasn't necessary to enjoy being a spectator! Even the Master of Faster himself has been broadsided by an obscure rule before. It happens. Then it becomes one of those rules to remember for the rest of one's life. After all, experience is the best teacher! "If only it were that simple," Josh mused. "As part of the Gym application process, you have to pitch the lesson you're trying to teach to your challengers and come up with a challenge that reinforces that lesson. The challenge had to be narrow enough to fit your lesson, but not too broad, either. Plus, having to be mounted on your Pokémon during the race is a test of not only the strength of your Pokémon, but your own strength. And that's important, too. Think about how much strength and finesse it takes trying to control a Pokémon running a hundred miles an hour." He wasn't joking, either; when QUICK ATTACK was invoked, there were a lot of Pokémon that could reach such crazy speeds.

With how fast Winky was, Josh knew he had to hold back his racing instincts. After all, they weren't competing; the Leader was simply giving Kee a tour of the place. "The biggest obstacle was fitting all the needed landscaping into the budget. I chose Mauville for two reasons: one, it would save a lot on travel costs. Before I became the Gym Leader here, I used to be in the Minor League. I ran a much smaller facility north of here, on 111." The boy had a lot of fond memories of Trainer Hill, including racing Manectric with Director kyle lopez . And now he knew about Entei, too. Would those two ever have a conversation about that. "Then I got the letter about a promotion to the Major League, and was offered the choice of Mauville or Rustboro. Didn't want to go to Rustboro."

"Second... his is going to sound a bit childish, but it's because of my favorite Pokémon. It's a Pokémon that I will almost certainly never get to meet myself." He took a deep breath as Winky maintained pace, having to adjust between hopping and running to match the Houndoom. The fire-type's pace was in between the two speeds, which made riding the swift reptile a bit more tiring than it needed to be. "How familiar are you with the Johtonian myth of the Two Towers?" Kee seemed like a nice guy, but after all the times Laurence Anderson had scolded him about sharing his dream, he kept the truth to himself. "Also, do you mind having your Houndoom pick up the pace just a little bit? It's right in between Winky's hopping and running speed." The two passed by one of the hairpin turns on the Aero Dive course he had fond memories of racing with THEO BECKETT and Matt Vice . That looked like it might have been painful to try to drift through...

Keenan Toral

{WC: 516}
{PC: 6}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Aslan          Pyroar          Good
Blinky         Jolteon         Good
Winky          Greninja        Good
Din            Sawsbuck        Good
Luna           Liepard         Good

Who knew there was so many intricacies to being a gym leader. And his little bro wanted to become one? Talk about setting high goals in life. But his bro was very strong as well, and remained committed to his studies. Aaron had what it takes to not just be a gym leader, but elite four member easy. Kee on the other hand...didn't really know what to do with his life. Closest is becoming more active politically when it came to disasters. While he had done some volunteering, he just didn't know where to begin. Josh's test seemed to focus on literal split second decisions, along with strength and control for his tests. The blonde half wondered if his experience with Greyson's gym test will help him out here too.

Was landscapping that much? Something else to look into, prices of certain services. Mauville was chosen mostly due to cost. Travelling expenses were nothing to sneeze at. He'd been travelling for quite a while, and was trying to keep track of his own expenses. To say that it was a lot would be an understatement. Thank goodness both his parents had good jobs. Admittedly, he was trying to help with that by doing odd jobs here and there. Josh asked a peculier question. And after some thinking...Kee could probably figure out why. "Fairly familiar. My hometown is Olivine City. My guess is something to do with the legendary beasts. Raikou? Entei is imposing, but doesn't look like it has the speed you'd like. Suicune might, but is far more peaceful than its siblings...Raikou seems like it fits you best." Say what you will, the kid wasn't entirely dumb.

Houndoom looked at the dark headed gym leader with almost a challenging look. And as such, upped his own pace, making Kee yelp a little and cling a little bit more. But still managed to eek something out. "Wanting to meet or capture your favorite Pokemon isn't stupid or dumb. You never know. I mean, you think I imagined getting a Shaymin?"

Josh Devlin

As Josh and Winky crossed a bridge running over the Switchback aquatic course on the south end of Sector 3, he truly began to appreciate the level of work he and others had put into making the Mauville Racing Grounds the best they could be. With how much demand there was for challenges and his list of staff growing, he could handle higher challenger volume through his Gym Trainers. He had recruited some real talent, especially Shawn. Shawn could become a Gym Leader in his own right, if he wanted. He was good; the two occasionally raced each other with their own Pokémon rather than using all of Josh's Gym Pokémon.

By now, Josh's intent to pursue Raikou had in all likelihood escaped the secrecy of the Rangers. "Oh, you're from Johto, too?" the Leader curiously asked. "I'm a Goldenrod boy myself. Traveled the road between there and Ecruteak many times. The racing league there got really big, then Kanto got wiped off the map and a lot of large events left Johto."

From the Gym office's color scheme, among other things, it was obvious that Josh at least showed interest in Raikou. "You're...absolutely right," he agreed with a long pause. "I've admired Raikou since I was young." Winky's running stroke became much more stable and comfortable after the two sped up, rounding the corner to get a good view of some of the more hilly courses and the Sector 3 Operations Center, where Josh narrowly averted disaster wrought by Isaac Merlo . Some of the most difficult courses on the property were in the foothills of the mountain range.

Kee spoke the truth. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Josh's pursuit of Raikou, particularly when it was to try to prevent the future destruction of Hoenn. "It's different with Raikou, though." He did have a point, though; Shaymin were extremely rare, and Kee had one. "But when your favorite Pokémon is a confidant of the patron deity of Johto... do you understand?"

Keenan Toral

{PC: 7}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Aslan          Pyroar          Good
Blinky         Jolteon         Good
Winky          Greninja        Good
Din            Sawsbuck        Good
Luna           Liepard         Good

Keenan nodded with a goofy grin. "Yep. Big bro is still there as a Pokemon breeder and rehab therapist. Plus I keep my extra Pokemon there. Although...this dome has made that exceptionally difficult..." And he wished he could help out with that, but he didn't know how. Maybe his brother was right to switch to his parent's place for the foreseeable future. "I thought Johto repelled the invasion? Most of the fighting was in the mountains by Blackthorne and Mt. Silver, but I do know that some infiltrated the Radio Tower in Goldenrod and stirred up trouble at the Lake of Rage, but otherwise Johto remains pretty secure..." He would have thought events would continue going on given that those all got resolved. Scary that they happened, but Johto had their heads on straight. Sometimes he wondered if Hoenn did or if the continual disasters just kept them worn down. Though he didn't voice this thought.

Josh confirmed the blonde's guess. Though at the same time, he mentioned the patron diety of Johto. "So? Look, every other week, Hoenn has a new disaster, often stemming from some legendary popping up causing trouble. Not just Rocket's plans either. It wouldn't surprise me at this point if Johto's deities, Lugia and Ho-oh, both showed up here with their confidants and went at it like Rocket and the League. Unlikely? Very much so. But still a chance, no matter how unlikely it may be. Don't give up hope just because the chances are one in a million. There are those that are constantly looking for legends as well, many of them perfectly willing to work as a team I'm sure. When there's a will, there's a way. And I'll still be rooting for you when or if you do manage to see it. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing it too." Though catching it would be a different story. And even he wasn't sure if he could pull that off. Hopefully Kee's optimism would help Josh out a little as well.


Josh Devlin