Thanks to the great efforts of the Science Sisters, illeana reyes and Dr. Eva Morales , Josh had a nearly foolproof lead on where to get a replacement Absolite for Twilight. Unfortunately for him, locating the deposit was only half the battle. The deposit was located inside a giant subterranean cave network known as the Watery Grave, which was a ship graveyard for centuries before Hoenn's Rangers cleaned it up. That didn't make it any less dangerous, but it was his beat lead. Going in there alone would be suicide. He would have two intrepid partners for the journey, though.

Matt Vice and Isaac Merlo would be joining him once all three had finished preparing for the dangerous delve into the partially submerged cave network. But that was another day. Snacker, the Sharpedo Josh was astride, seemed to want nothing to do with the haunted island, starting an uncommanded AQUA JET that caused Josh to lurch back in the saddle. The racer had overcorrected, causing his mount to breach the surface and beach himself. At least the water-type attack's wave put out a small fire that seemed to be caused by a nearby Fuecoco!

The Gym Leader's sudden appearance had to be startling for the young lady nearby. "...So sorry!" Josh apologized, withdrawing his beached Sharpedo for Mystic, a quite-large Kantonian Ninetales whose head barely stretched over both of them. The fire-type crouched down to let his trainer sit in the saddle on his back.

Josh was relieved that the fire had just started and didn't escalate into a problem; though the area around the island memorial was damp, there was plenty of dry brush for an uncontrolled fire to spread. "If you're going to have a fire Pokémon out and about like this, I strongly suggest carrying a water Pokémon on you. That way, a fire won't get out of hand. I just happened to be in the area, that's all." Mystic's nine tails waved like a banner in a strong breeze.

"Great to meet you, Elise and Domon!" the fairly tall, black-haired young man answered. "Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh. Beneath me is Mystic," he introduced his Ninetales mount, reining him away from the Fuecoco. "I'm not on duty right now, but I'm not going to ignore a disaster waiting to happen. So what brings you out here?" Mystic briefly glowed a faint purple as he mentally communicated with Josh. "No, Mystic, please don't." He shook his head. "Mystic likes to talk to people through their minds, and it can be a bit unsettling. Wait, did you say castle?" A castle was an unusual place to live; it seemed like Elise was part of an extraordinarily wealthy family. Josh's family wasn't exactly wealthy, but he could live comfortably and had a healthy amount of disposable income.

Josh's smile started to show when Elise at least understood the importance of having fire-types and water-types on the same team. "Remember that kids' video with the talking Ursaring, where he says 'Only you can prevent forest fires'? That one? It's truth in television. The best practice when going through wilderness is to try to leave it in better condition than it was when you came." Before becoming a Ranger, Josh wasn't exactly a conservationist. Ranger school taught him way more than he ever thought he would need to know, but he had used just about everything he was taught!

"I've known Mystic since not too long after the distortions started showing up in Hoenn," Josh added, uncertain how much Elise knew about them. After collaboration and original research involving the distortions, Josh had concluded that many of his Pokémon that were overly large for their species, like Mystic, had their origins, direct or indirect, in the Distortions. Alphas, they used to be called. Of course, they lost their true Alpha status when they were taken out of the Distortion. "He's a little fickle, but reliable." A noble voice echoed in both Josh's and Elise's mind, but with the voice sounding like it was underwater, it was very hard to understand. It sounded like a polite objection, but exact language was almost impossible to tell. "You are right. I'm a little surprised Ninetales isn't classified as a Psychic-type Pokémon, because they have psychic powers. Perhaps that Mystic isn't a psychic-type might be what makes him so hard to understand."

"Wait, you're Galarian royalty?!" Josh asked, lurching back in Mystic's saddle and causing him to rear suddenly. "You're a princess? I haven't been treating you with enough respect! Would you prefer Princess Elise, or a different title?"

Regardless of what title she preferred to be called by, Josh couldn't help but offer her assistance in hunting for wild Pokémon. "Considering where I'll be going next, tracking down some more Pokémon suitable for the environment might not be a bad idea. How about I go with you a while?" He detached three Poké Balls from his belt and clicked them open, three more saddle-wearing Pokémon emerging from them. The Sylveon's unusually low-pitched greeting cry sounded almost alien, as did the crackling cry of the Jolteon and low rumble of the Umbreon. "These three are Pinky, Blinky, and Kamuy," Josh gestured toward the human-sized Pokémon. "These are three Pokémon that regularly race at my Gym. One of them can be yours to use during our search; we'll be able to cover ground faster that way." The other two would be Josh's Pokémon to use in battle against anything they would encounter.

Kamuy's reins blended in so well with his fur that Elise may not have noticed them until she sat atop the dark-type. If she tried, Elise would discover the Umbreon would be responsive to shifts in body weight, as well, turning in the direction his rider leaned. Pinky, excited for the Fuecoco's victory, loosed a firework-like explosion of MYSTICAL FIRE skyward in celebration, being careful to set it off in an open space as to follow her trainer's advice regarding fire.

"Princess Elise it is," Josh nodded as he watched the young one get comfortable astride the Umbreon, whose leg muscles fueled powerful strides. "Alright, onward, Mystic! Let's ride!" The enthusiastic Gym Leader pointed forward, a Swoobat ducking for cover after seeing the two large Pokémon charge. Unsure how much speed the Galarian royal was comfortable with, Josh let Elise set the pace of travel.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SPOINK APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] OWN TEMPO
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ODOR SLEUTH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PSYWAVE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CONFUSE RAY	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PSYBEAM
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Elise Calcifet Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KIRLIA APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] TELEPATHY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]LUCKY CHANT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]GROWL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DOUBLE TEAM	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TELEPORT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Elise Calcifet Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Elise Calcifet CAUGHT THE PHANTUMP!

Josh was impressed with the pace Elise was letting Kamuy run at; for Umbreon species standards, he was a fast one, and the royal could probably feel it in his swift gallop. "A swift Pokémon beneath you is one of the best investments you can ever make as a Trainer," Josh said to Elise as he steered the golden-furred Pokémon next to her. "Every trainer should have a Pokémon big enough to ride across the land on, a Pokémon big enough to swim with, and a Pokémon big enough to fly on. You have those three, there's nowhere you can't go!"

By now, even Mystic was getting easier to control, starting to become less apprehensive about letting Josh pursue his dreams, both related to the Johto Beast and to racing Pokémon. While the Ninetales couldn't speak it aloud, he spoke in his mind that he was ready to take to the track this year. It put a big smile on his face. "Mystic, thank you. You'll do wonderful out there."