The question made Niky tilt his head cutely. Space-time distortion? Was he serious? "Is that not just a sci-fi trope?" It was obvious that he wasn't even aware of the distortions as of late. He had been to focused on just running the store and living to really notice. Then Josh would hopefully educate him. Including how to stop them and/or destroy them. Then, if they could fix up the dens...

"I'll leave Sol and Gojira here, and take the rest with me. Optimus may be weak to ground attacks, but knows Magnet Rise. We might still get a good haul, though I would imagine leaving some for the packs might help them view us differently. This could cause much more serious issues down the road if we leave the distortion alone..." Best do what's possible to end it and put things to right. For not just the Pokemon's sake either...

Josh Devlin

Josh looked the slightest bit stunned. These distortions had been all over the news for months. How was it possible Niky hadn't heard of them? He listened to Niky's perspective on how to handle the packs - primarily by stopping the distortions. With a frown, he answered, "There's no such thing as 'stopping' the distortions other than letting them run their course. They come and go, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. They can pop up anywhere." He shared the story of how a distortion popped up in the middle of one of his Gym Challenges. "Even towns aren't safe from them."

Josh nodded at Niky's suggestions. "I wouldn't be opposed to investigating the aftermath, but what these distortions can do in such a short time is crazy. Almost like a tornado. These distortions are full of these huge Pokémon with red eyes. Scientists call them Alpha Pokémon. I wouldn't be surprised if Mystic and Blinky were former Alphas, escaped from distortions. If you can catch one, they're amazing to raise." He rambled on about some of his other unusually large Pokémon, including his desire to obtain an entire giant Eeveelution set. He was just missing a Vaporeon and Leafeon. "How about we check it out after lunch?"

---

Niky Racz

{WC: 214}
{PC: 9}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Really?! No way at all? They could stop a meteor, deal with so many crazy antics, but not stop or derail a distortion? Where was his tax dollars going? And they can happen anywhere and anytime...why did that sound kind of sleazy? Anyways, Josh wasn't opposed to investigating the aftermath a bit more. Alpha Pokemon was what often inhabited them, unusually large Pokemon of their respective species. Josh wouldn't be surprised if a couple of his own were alphas, including the large Ninetales that was close to Niky. The blond simply raised his arm at it to let it sniff his hand, palm down. "Huh. Give you guys Team Rocket, Meteors, Legendary Pokemon going apeshit, but of all things you can't, it's time distortions. Who knew. Sure, my haul was fruitful this morning."

After cooking and eating, off they went, albeit slowly. Tracks seemed to make the packs go all over the place, likely just trying to find a new home, or retreating to a different place. Once there, it did look like a warzone. But beyond a time space distortion...what could have kept them from coming back? A couple of roars sounded deeper in the den. Fabia was out and at the ready for a fight. And out of the den came three Pokemon, much larger than other species of them. A Garchomp, Gabite, and a Gible. Fabia hopped off of Niky's shoulder, and hit all three of them with Icy Wind. Gabite reacted with a Bulldoze attack towards her, and Gible used Dragon Breath on whoever was closest. Garchomp stayed back though...the true Alpha of the three...


Josh Devlin

The remnants of the Distortion Josh had found were a long way from the camp. Due to the distance involved, Josh encouraged Niky to hop on Alphamax, his Garchomp, for the flight. Regardless of the travel arrangements, though, the dragon's bio-thrusters roared to life, letting him soar skyward. The Gym Leader kept his mount to just above the treeline, swooping in for a landing near the former Distortion's site. It was a good thing Garchomp were also great runners, otherwise landing the speedy creature safely would be a real challenge!

Once the dragon's passengers had disembarked, Josh switched rides to Mystic, his Ninetales, his two Pokémon leading the way to the large cave on the side of the island opposite its watering hole. Three red-eyed Pokémon barreled out of the cave mouth, the largest a Garchomp that towered to near double Josh's height. The ICY WIND that struck the three dragons with a supremely effective element earned a violent, deep roar from the Garchomp almost as loud as its bio-thrusters. Mystic retorted against the Gible that had bathed him in dragonfire with an EXTRASENSORY mental assault, dropping the young dragon.

The towering Garchomp, flying into a rage, rocketed toward Mystic with claws outstretched, forcing the Ninetales high into the air. Tilting its head skyward, the Alpha overtook the helpless golden fox, then reversed course and dove toward him in a DRAGON RUSH. Mystic cratered into the ground, the result of a critical blow that rendered it unconscious in a single blow. It sounded another roar that made even Josh quake in fear. Alphamax returned the roar with one of its own, ready to go wing-to-wing with the giant before him.

---

Niky Racz

{WC: 282}
{PC: 10}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      KO
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Fabia slide back from the Bulldoze attack, but wasn't out for the count. Niky could feel eyes on them, but kept his attention at the battle at hand. The Popplio fired a Hydro Pump, only for the Gabite to avoid it, and aimed a Slash attack. Fabia thought ahead though, already gathering energy for a Moonblast. And she let it loose at point-blank range. The Pokemon slammed hard into the side of the den. He returned Fabia since she was injured, and switched in Polygon as the two Garchomps roared at each other.

The odd pokemon unleashed a Psybeam at the enemy Garchomp to start off the final battle. They were supereffective against each other, and while the wild one did get hit with an ice type attack that should have also slowed it down, who knows how strong it is. And he was sure that Josh raised his Pokemon with speed in mind. But he couldn't count that the allied Garchomp would have the speed to pull off a one hit KO. The attack was a surprise to the Alpha, and made it stumble back a few steps. But it wasn't much, and it still had plenty of fight left.


Josh Devlin

Alphamax was a big boy, but the wild, red-eyed dragon had at least two feet of height on its counterpart. The majestic yet terrifying creature was able to shrug off the cold thanks to a diet that included YACHE BERRIES. Said diet allowed it to overcome its huge weakness to Ice attacks, making it a mighty foe indeed. Josh realized why. "Ugh, I forgot to tell you how many Yache trees grew here," he grumbled. "Had I remembered, I would have warned you."

The Garchomp left little time to dwell on the past. With their bio-thrusters spooling up, the two were about to engage in a high speed battle in the air. Having ridden Alphamax before, he knew following the battle would be close to impossible. While difficult to control and not nearly as agile as the rest of Josh's dragons, the raw speed they could reach was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

The two circled each other in a dogfight, trying to get behind the other and locking on with a DRAGON RUSH that would take the other down. Even from high in the sky, Josh could hear them roaring. While it wasn't nearly as loud as a commercial jetliner, it was the same type of noise. The two pushed themselves to full throttle, sonic booms ravaging the ears of all that stood under them. Josh at least saw it coming and was able to brace himself in time, but he wasn't sure Niky would be able to anticipate it.

Both of them enveloped in dragon energy from the death-defying speeds they were flying at, Alphamax took a sudden turn, briefly inverting to try to gain position on his foe. The wild wasn't having it, rocketing toward him like a Phoenix AIM-54 missile locked onto its target. There was no shaking this one. While the collision of dragon energy fields hurt both of them, Alphamax was on the receiving end of the DRAGON RUSH, the wild flinging the defeated dragon toward the ground. The impact created a huge dust cloud that made it difficult for Josh to get close enough to his fallen Pokémon to withdraw him.

Having taken down several of Josh's strong Pokémon, Josh began to sweat as the Alpha gave him a death stare, then shifted its red eyes toward Niky. He could saddle up Ares, but what good would that do? Charizard were not known for their mobility, and Yagyu would be knocked out of his hands with the force of his huge foe's ramming attacks.

This was bad.

---

Niky Racz

{WC: 425}
{PC: 11}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       KO
Mystic        Ninetales      KO
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

"Icy Wind has more than one property. It's a weak ice-type move, but it also lowers speed." Though that didn't seem to matter as both dragons took off in a high speed fight. Far too fast for Polygon to be of any use in a fight. What he wouldn't give for a Salamence...maybe not as fast, but at least still have the ability to do something. The first sonic boom actually sent Niky to the ground, on his butt and trying to protect his eyes from the dust storms. Soon enough, a large explosion happened in front of them, and there laid Alphamax, and the enemy Garchomp landing right in front of it, glaring at Josh. Then as soon as it laid eyes on him, Polygon jumped into action.

With three elemental beams of energy hitting it and this time actually doing more than tickling it, the manmade Pokemon's Tri Attack hit. Garchomp rushed with a raised claw, ready to silence the oddly colored Porygon-Z. Only to hit air as it used Magnet Rise to jump above it, and used another Tri Attack. Then it happened, starting small, but then increasing in size to encase the beast with ice. Frozen! And a lucky break. "What are you doing Josh! Send out someone else and have it use its strongest attack!" Now wasn't the time time sweat and dawdle! It was time for action and taking advantage of the situation!

Josh Devlin

When the dust cloud cleared, Josh saw that the towering Alpha was completely encased in ice. What a golden opportunity this was! "You saved my life, Niky! Thank you! I'll finish this. Yagyu!" Drawing the twin swords that were his Doublade, he was going to take matters into his own hands. The ghost-type's blade bleeding an eldritch glow, Josh wound both his arms back. As much as he hated taking lives, he had learned a grim reality as he ascended the Rangers' ranks and taken on more challenging hunts and rescues. Some wild Pokémon were so dangerous that they couldn't be allowed to live. He found a thin section of ice near the Garchomp's chest and plunged both of Yagyu's SACRED SWORDs into it. With the foe motionless, scoring a critical hit would be trivial.

The red eyes of the towering Garchomp disappearing and becoming a more normal color was the only sign Josh needed that the Pokémon had suffered an enormous blow that would at least make it no longer a problem for them. Whether the Garchomp was truly dead or not would be something the duo would not be able to easily confirm during the remainder of the stay on the island. "The Poochyena and Houndour should be able to live out here in peace now." He sent out Ares, his Charizard, and offered Niky a lift back to camp. It would be a somewhat tight fit, but the Leader was confident Ares could carry them both back if needed. That was plenty of action for one day!

---

Niky Racz

{WC: 263}
{PC: 12}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       KO
Mystic        Ninetales      KO
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

The ice made an opportunity, and Josh took advantage of it. The creature's eyes dimmed. Whether it was fully dead or not, its fate will be left to the packs that it and its brethren kicked out. Getting up, Niky's Porygon came in and helped him. His knee was giving him fits. But he felt eyes on them. The blonde definitly took the offered ride. The rest of the trip became uneventful, though they did see some "presents" at their camp. Berries mostly, but a pair of Garchomp claws as well. Niky had spotted a Houndoom and Mightyena watching them pack up and leave, both Pokemon giving them nods of appreciation. The former idol star kept the Garchomp claw, and hoped Josh would keep his as well. This was certainly an interesting trip. And charity. Despite the rush of disaster and potential harm, he had tremendous fun.


Josh Devlin