Josh wished he had known about this fair roughly two eternities before he came to Hoenn. Only finding about it after his journey through space made him feel like he had missed out on a lot. Sword and sorcery was his favorite fantasy genre, whether it be for a movie, a video game, or a novel. He was getting far more mileage out of his Halloween costume that he expected to only use once a year. This was the fourth time in the last six weeks he had left the grip of reality to assume the guise of the person he wanted to be.

One of the three Heroes of Johto, on the back of the Great Raikou.

With the reins of his Manectric masquerading as Raikou in one hand and a plastic shortsword whose blade glowed an electric yellow in the other, Josh rode toward the entrance to Ye Olde Slateport, stopping at its front gate to purchase his wristband. He had a lot of experience with a sword from his adventures in the world of the full-sim MMO, NINE: True Goddess Reincarnation. Laurence Anderson and Josh Dragomir could attest to that after seeing him fight from Raikou's back in-game. Today, though, would be different. This would be his first joust in actual reality, not just a virtual world. There would be no auto-aim, no white wizard to patch his wounds, and most importantly, no alternative sensations replacing the feeling of pain if he was struck.

It would all be real.

There would only be one way to find out how his skills from the game would carry over into real life, though! He just had to find the place where the advertised jousts were taking place. Reaching the fair's main square, the Gym Leader reined his Manectric into a leisurely stroll around the many benches adorning a large fountain. Where was a directory when he needed one? This place was enormous. It sure could use better signage...

The moment the woman turned around, Nikita knew he’d made a mistake. Aside from a similar hair color, she shared little with his target. The wrinkles of her brow were pronounced. The mouth frog-like and flat. The bewilderment in her gaze was almost palpable. “Excuse—” Before she finished her statement, the ruddy faced man next to her whirled with a snarl. The smell of cheap booze wafted over Nikita.



Tch. “I knew you were sleeping around, Barbara! This greasy haired weasel been up in your hot box! You stupid whore!” Weasel? Greasy? I wash my hair, you know? And, who in Hoenn says box? Nikita sighed, his request for calm ( a raised palm) going unnoticed. Ah, misunderstandings like this were quite cumbersome. “Now, now, it appears there’s been a —” The man’s drunken fist swung for his face.



But Nikita no longer stood there. Instead, his hand was wrapped around the man’s other arm, holding it painfully in place. Lithe legs allowed the grandfather to stay out of the man’s ham-handed reach. ”Now, you are going to calm down.” The officer murmured to the struggling man. Something in the way he was held made the moron pause. “And you are going to apologize to your wife.” He twisted the man’s hand. ”Not only for yelling at her but for being an ignorant buffoon.” The not-so-tough guy whimpered, slurring something that sounded like an apology. With a grunt, Nikita released the man. “I am sorry for the interruption, madam.”



A true pity that the husband was the one with the habit of removing his wedding ring. Still, he was not being paid to interrupted their wedded bliss.



With the trail now cold, Nikita turned towards the main thoroughfare. His target had been excited to see the joust. Amongst the stands, Nikita knew spotting the woman would be simple. A few more pictures would be enough to prove his point. These strategic steps were interrupted by the feeling of wet upon his cheek. “Tch.” It appeared that errant wedding ring had cut his cheek.



Drip. Drip. Drip.

As he moved towards the fountain, Nikita’s eye caught on Josh and his Pokemon. This seemed the sort of thing Samuel would enjoy. And the gentleman looked familiar. A gym leader, perhaps. “Pardon me—” Nikita started. “May I take a picture?” A sleek black phone was now in his hands. “It’s for my—” Son. “--grandson.”

It did not surprise Josh one bit that vistors would want to take photos of him and his Manectric in costume. The young man gently pat the faceplate of the mask his mount wore to make the electric canine look like the Great Raikou. "Long as the Great Raikou is okay with it!" A nod was all the confirmation he needed. "Sure! We can get a variety of shots if you want! Long as you can send me copies of them, too!"

With that, the Master of Faster would allow the older gentleman to take a variety of photos ot him in costume. Poses included Josh standing next to the Manectric-masquerading-as-Legendary; Josh by himself striking a victory pose with his plastic, yellow sword; as well as several mounted poses, including one where the Beast was dramatically rearing. That last photo would have exposed without a doubt that the Manectric really was just posing as a Raikou.

"Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but I go by Josh. Sir Devlin also works while we're here," the self-proclaimed knight-for-the-day smiled, sheathing his glowing sword and turning its light off as to not run the internal battery dry. "What brings you to the Faire?" His eyes shifted about, discovering the fair's directory was right there. He had looked everywhere but right in front of his eyes. "I'm looking forward to being in the Pokémon jousts."

As Josh conversed with his Manectric, Nikita took a moment to truly survey his surroundings. He did not wish to seem desperate or pushy. For, in truth, he was neither. His grandson would not be picky with what the picture was of. The boy was still fascinated by chalk. Without his deductive lens clouding his view, it became almost charming. In younger eyes, this dog was not a mutt in a costume but a god. Perhaps, if time allowed, he and Samuel would pay another visit to this place.





At the acceptance, Nikita first turned to Manectric. He dipped forward in a half-hearted bow. “Your generosity knows no bound” Was that exasperation in his voice? A bit of sardonic humor, perhaps? At the request for copies, the P.I. nodded. His phone—a beautiful, new model—appeared in his gloved hands. “I believe that can be arranged.”





With the camera ready, it took Nikita only a short time to catch numerous photos of the pair. These pictures were then sorted into his images, next to damning evidence of infidelity and corporate subterfuge. With the showstopping piece taken, where the ‘god’ clawed at the air, Nikita lowered his hand. “Thank you, Josh.” It appears he’d recognized the costumed man at some point during the photo shoot. “I believe Josh will suffice.” It had been some time since he’d deemed another person a sir, and he was not going to buck that trend.





A single drop of blood hit his wrist in the gap between his glove and his arm. This Nikita wiped away before flipping through his gallery. “I am conducting an investigation.” At this, he almost sniffed. This reality show drivel was far from deserving of the word, but it was simpler to manage with his other job with a similar cover. The completely double lives of many coworkers seemed needlessly complicated.





“Hm?” Nikita slipped his phone away. He’d seen the aftermath of such tournaments in the past. One ebony brow jerked up, his eyes sweeping up the young man’s form. “In spite of the danger, or because of it?”

Josh reviewed the photos with a smile. With his sword in one hand and the reins of his masquerading Manectric in the other, he really did look like a hero. Some of these would be going in his Gym's office. "Works for me! I don't like all those long-winded titles anyone gives me. The only title I like is the Master of Faster," he briefly laughed. As cheesy as his Gym Leader title was, it rolled off the tongue well, and was quite descriptive.

The mention of an investigation reminded Josh of the one he was still technically the centerpiece of, involving Isaac Merlo . As immoral as it was for him to stay silent about him, he had an agreement with the Rocket. He understood now that the young man truly meant no harm; Isaac had his utilized the assassination attempt to prepare Josh in his own twisted way to truly fight the horrors within Rocket. As noble and idealistic as separating Isaac Merlo from Blackjack was, there was nothing more he could do until Isaac was willing to part ways, both with his Rocket persona and with Rocket himself. "If there's anything I can do to help cooperate prior to the joust, please let me know. Oh, I think I missed your name!"

In spite of the danger, or because of the danger? What a great question for someone so inquisitive to ask. "Honestly, a little of both. When I was promoted to Mauville Gym's Leader, I converted it into a racing complex. The skills needed to race Pokémon and those to perform well in a joust are not the most unrelated. Besides," he turned his gaze toward the young one, "who wouldn't want to see the Great Raikou compete?"

Nikita's inflection gave her double-take on Josh's title. It was an expression he had received many times about the cheesy nickname he had given himself when he had graduated out of the Minor League. "It comes from my career as a Gym Leader," Josh answered. "I often joke that when people ask about Mauville City Gym's Pokémon type, I tell them it's Speed-type. If you wanna go fast with your Pokémon, there's no better place in Hoenn. And you'll find no faster Pokémon on land than Raikou here. It really does feel like you're riding a lightning bolt." Riding the real Raikou was an experience he would get to live soon enough... and find very humbling. "Can do!" Josh agreed to the detective's task.

Nikita got that third reaction - the one he was looking for. "Great to meet you, Nikita! You'll be great to enjoy the festival with." It seemed the investigator appreciated Josh's unique combination of talents. "We do not; safety is our priority at racing events, after all. Alright I'm going to register. Wish me luck!" After he finished registering for his first match, the Gym Leader did as Nikita asked and made his raffle announcement.

While it was an unusual specialty, Mauville Gym was known for more than just Josh's racing challenge. It was known for Gym Pokémon that were nigh impossible for less disciplined trainers to follow. "That is one of my favorite parts of being a Gym Leader for the Hoenn League: we have the freedom for our Gyms to be about any reasonable subject matter, as long as it can be applied to Pokémon combat in some way." After all, with the number of lives lost on the battlefield between the League and Team Rocket, it was doubly important that the League be able to train replacements for those who paid the ultimate price in the never-ending war.

At the mention of Samuel visiting the Gym, Josh smiled. "When Samuel gets a little older, perhaps old enough to raise his own Pokémon, a course in how to control a Pokémon mount is in order!" While it was an important part of his Gym's revenue stream, his craft was about sharing the joy of being on a Pokémon's back first. There truly was no greater thrill to him than being on the back of a super fast Pokémon. The faster, the better!

With his business for Nikita taken care of, it was time for the first round of the joust. The female before him was taller and bigger than he was. The Gym Leader was quite lithe by comparison. While "Raikou" (the announcer even referred to the Manectric as a Raikou) had the obvious speed and agility advantage, Mudsdale were bottomless wells of stamina. Worse yet, the rules disallowed moves like QUICK ATTACK. It was the raw, unboosted speed of the Pokémon, as well as the riders' ability to deliver and deflect blows, that would determine the outcome of this contest. Sparks flew as lances collided with shields, Josh's left hand already throbbing from holding the shield that absorbed the impact. He could feel the power behind the Mudsdale's gallop just from the opening blow. He wondered how many of those he could handle before his arm gave out...

Wide-eyed hope was an understatement. When it came to chasing Raikou down, Josh had more than hope. Something reckless in him believed that no matter how trying his quest became, he was the one Raikou was looking for. He had the expertise with electric Pokémon, the focus on extreme speed, and most importantly, the heroism. The remark of Samuel not tying his shoes snapped the rider back to reality. "Heh, that's important too. Wouldn't want to get a shoelace caught on your mount's gear and take a fall when sliding down!"

The rider on the other side of Josh was just as strong as his Mudsdale. Leaning into the other's lance was not an option; were he to absorb another blow like that, his arm would be too tired to even hold up his shield, and it would be all over. What Josh lacked in strength he made up for in finesse, though, and his mount in speed. As the two rode toward one another, the Gym Leader squeezed the sides of "Raikou" sharply. The duo bolted forward at the last minute while their opponent was winding up, knocking them off balance and nearly forcing a tumble. Both of them had suffered big attacks; the next exchange could be the match decider. Whatever investigation Nikita was conducting might need to wrap sooner than later. If Josh lost, he would be out of the tournament...