Josh was a bit surprised to see Elio's name on the email, as well as Elio greeting him with such confidence. There must have been more to this individual than meets the eye; perhaps he had credentials outside the Rangers. "I concur," Josh replied. "Don't get me wrong; I don't like seeing Pokémon die, even if they're hostile. But when a wild Pokémon, even if it's an escaped one, has a kill count, it's serious. Especially in a place as populated as Lilycove. There may be something... special... about this Pokémon, too. Supposedly it was one of those new Pokémon species that came through the rifts toward the end of the Meteno crisis. We have to be prepared for anything."

If there was a time to discuss strategy, it was now, with the sun still barely in the sky. Josh sent out his Luxray to join the Absol he was already atop. "First off, staying mobile is really important when dealing with an unknown foe. You can use Blitz here for the evening if you don't have a ride of your own. We don't even know what types it is; it's something we're going to have to figure out mid-battle, most likely." He wished Mystic, his Ninetales, was more cooperative with guests, but there would be no way he would allow Elio aboard.

Josh frowned in agreement, nodding at Elio's cautious approach. "We at least have footprints and other signs of what to look out for. I think we are going to need to observe it for as long as possible before the confrontation." This was his first mission as an Elite Ranger where he was the commanding Ranger, and was it ever a doozy. He was responsible not only for his own life, but for Elio's as well. The burden of responsibility was growing...

Elio's thoughts were absolutely true; Josh could fill an entire zoo with the number of racing Pokémon he had. Not to mention he had by now likely spent the equivalent of a lower class person's entire annual budget on saddlery for them all. How many did he have now? Close to fifty? Maybe more? Upon being called his name, the Luxray sounded an obnoxious cry but didn't snap. If anything, he looked ready and raring to go. Once he felt Elio's weight upon him, the guest may have been able to feel the vibration of a deep purr the big, black-and-blue cat made. It was a sign of how powerful the lungs fueling his legs were. "Blitz is going to be leading the way, actually; his X-ray vision and tracking will be key."

With the big cat taking point, Josh coaxed Twilight into a run that Blitz was more than happy to keep up with as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. The Elite Ranger turned his Vision's night mode on, scanning the silent jungle road of Route 120 for signs of a Pokémon that would fit the name. "Honestly the scariest part of this whole thing is not knowing what we're looking for. The very name Haunted Fist seems to imply that the Pokémon is both Ghost-type and Fighting-type. I don't know of a single Pokémon with that combination of types."

Without warning, Blitz slid to a stop, scanning a nearby jungle thicket and purring loudly. Elio may have been able to feel stronger vibration than before, perhaps getting a feel for just how respected large felines were. "Whoa!" Josh reined Twilight to a stop, the Absol's eyes also shifting back and forth.

With three Pokémon, all with good night vision, on the lookout for this menace of a wild, finding it and ambushing it would be easy, right?

Wrong.

Phantom Fist had been tracking the duo the entire time. Silent as a Drifblim in the sky, it was only Kangxi's supernatural senses and Blitz's X-Ray vision that alerted them to its presence.

And even then, it wasn't fast enough.

The roar came with a painful buck-off from Twilight, Josh's shirt ripped from being caught on the back of his mount's forehead blade after CLOSE COMBAT with the wild downed his combat all-star with a single blow, and it was coming for Blitz, too! The limited lighting, combined with the Annihilape's incredible speed, made the battle hard to follow; if it wasn't for the wild's colossal size and red, glaring eyes, it may well have been entirely impossible to fight it!

Seeing the potent fighting-type move take it down in one mighty swing of its fist, Josh knew he was dealing with a fighting-type Pokémon. Trusting his instincts, he sent out Janus, his Espeon, quickly climbing aboard for much-needed mobility. Once he was seated on the big psychic-type Eeveelution, he drew the twin swords that were Yagyu and pointed them at Haunted Fist. "Strap me in with your PSYCHIC, and send the rest of it at Haunted Fist!" Josh commanded. He felt himself be telekinetically shackled to his steed's back, the rest of the wave headed toward the angry Annihilape. It flinched, then shook its head and sounded a screech.

It took that powerful PSYCHIC attack like it was nothing. Were the duo in over their head?

Haunted Fist was fast, but the racing-trained Espeon was equally good at dodging attacks and keeping his rider safe, ALLY SWITCHing with a fallen log to dodge the one the Annihilape FLUNG toward the duo. It tripped over the log, leaving it wide open for Tamar's SWORDS DANCE-powered X-SCISSOR. The Steel-type's attack bounced off, leaving only a small dent that was likely invisible to the human eye in such low-light conditions. Blitz would have been able to notice it more easily thanks to his low-light vision.

Fueled by the barrage of attacks it had withstood, Haunted Fist let out a war cry that attempted to induce a strong sense of fear into Elio, Josh, and their Pokémon. The angry Annihilape channeled every bit of its combat rage into a barrage of RAGE FISTs aimed at Tamar and Janus. The barrage was too fast for the Psychic-type to dodge, Josh grunting as the Psychic-type's mental hold on him was greatly strained. Kangxi's REFLECT saved both their lives: Josh's from being thrown from the saddle with paranormal force, and Janus' from being socked with the ghost-type's RAGE FIST. Had it not been for REFLECT, Janus would have died. This otherwise-lethal blow prompted Josh to draw Yagyu from her sheaths.

Needing to stay mobile, Josh withdrew the unconscious Espeon and sent out two more of his precious Eeveelutions: Pinky the Sylveon to battle Haunted Fist, and Blinky the Jolteon to saddle up and remain mobile. The war cry, combined with seeing his Espeon felled in a single blow despite REFLECT, instilled genuine fear in him, easily visible if Elio were to glance at him. This Annihilape had a kill count for a reason, and he was finding out that its RAGE FIST and buckets of stamina from its Alpha status were the lethal combination affording its double-digit kill count.

The Mauville Leader was afraid he was going to become a mere statistic.

The Sandstorm from Victoria further reduced the already low visibility. Thankfully it was short-lived, serving as a distraction for the Garchomp's Sand Tomb. It took the sandstorm and concentrated it in an immobilizing, quicksand-like vortex that left Haunted Fist almost immobile. "Alright, I'm gonna try to catch it!" He had come prepared with an entire box of Ultra Balls. They were expensive, but needed for high profile Pokémon such as the Alpha Annihilape before them. He sidearm-pitched the yellow-and-black metallic sphere at the wild. While it didn't deflect the Ball completely, it took mere seconds for the fighting-type to shatter it from within, freeing itself from the Garchomp's trap in the process.

Haunted Fist was livid.

With murderous intent, the wild lunged at Josh with blinding speed and RAGE FISTs ready to crush the Gym Leader's face. Even the Master of Faster only able to react so quickly, raising his drawn blades and letting the Pokémon fall onto them in a brutal NIGHT SLASH that pierced one of the fighting-type's vital organs. Then, all of a sudden, the Doublade's pink cloths went limp, and Josh could no longer feel the ghost-type's presence. "...Yagyu? You okay?" he asked. The space on the swords' hilts where the eyes normally were was a mere black space now. "Yagyu?!" That could mean only one thing.

DESTINY BOND.

Forbidden by the Pokémon League for this exact reason. The more severe the attack causing the knockout blow, the more powerful the vengeful attack would be. And if the user was attacked with lethal force, Destiny Bond would retaliate with lethal force in kind.

"YAGYU!!!"

The loss of his intelligent sidearm hit Josh hard. The twin swords had saved his life many a time when in trouble out in the wilderness. They made his swordsmanship look so much better than it actually was, correcting mistakes in his form without him even knowing about it. She, unlike most Doublade, could have her halves split between two different wielders and still function fine.

And now she was gone.

Blinky stopped next to Blitz, the two electric-types holding their heads low as Josh sobbed, mourning over the loss of his Doublade. At Elio's cold retort that was far too soon after the tragic loss, Josh swung the now-inert sword in his partner's direction, making sure to keep his slash short to avoid actually hurting him. "aaaAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!!!" his loud cry echoed in the night sky, the Gym Leader continuing to sob. He sheathed the blade in its now-inert scabbard.

As he thought about it more, he came to a decision on how he was going to move on from the loss. "This is gonna sound all kinds of messed up... but I think I'm going to study up on fencing techniques and learn to fight with Yagyu's blades. They may be inert, but they're the last thing I have to remember her with. As long as they can still cut, they'll still be really helpful in the wilds." Little did he know that his trip to The Border would even cut those pure intentions short.

"Elio, thank you. Let's go back to HQ," were the first words out of his mouth after his head was pointed somewhere but the ground. "I'll get our check and cut you your half of it."