It would only be appropriate that Josh would fly to Mount Pyre on a Dragapult. While a buttery smooth ride, the phantom dragon was extremely fast. It took even the Master of Faster getting used to, and he did not feel comfortable using the ghost-type in a race yet. A flight over the bay would be a good environment to practice in, the Leader shooting through the overcast skies at the speed of the air-to-air missile he named his Pokémon after.

The dragon energy powering Sidewinder's charge rippled above the mountain and its bay, Josh grunting with every swift turn his ghost-type ride made. His arms twitched with the strength needed to control such a dragon, flying past Matias at blistering speed before wheeling the spirit around and landing near the nerh dock where the standing Elite Four member stood.

"Vaguely, but I did," Josh answered as Sidewinder hovered near the Volatile. "This is not my first trip out here related to Meteno, either. Remember when I said Kyurem broke my Absol's Mega Stone? Well, supposedly there's a deposit inside of a dangerous island cave around here. I need to go in there and find a replacement before Team Rocket strikes again. Then, there's also the matter of my Doublade. But I've come to grips with losing her."

"As much as I'd love to blame the League for it, there was no way to predict Haunted Fist the Annihilape could use DESTINY BOND," Josh sniffed. "I don't know how much you heard about it, but it was all over Lilycove's local news. When a wild Pokémon gets a name and has a kill count, you know it's bad. But thank you. I miss having my sidearm. If I find another Honedge I'll catch it, even though it won't be the same."

The Leader thought he had heard Matias requesting to catch a Fidough that was near where the scuffle with the Amoonguss had taken place. "I'll do it for you, Matias," Josh agreed. "After all, I still owe you one for when we met up at the restaurant. Sidewinder, missile lock... and fire!" The recoil from the Dreepy missile launching toward the fairy-type at supersonic speed made Josh flinch, bouncing him uncomfortably far above the phantom dragon's saddle. Was this what riding a phantom was like? He was still getting used to how fast and slippery his new mount was. It was not an easy one to stay on!

The DRAGON DARTS left the pooch completely unharmed. "Fairy-type, huh?" Josh immediately recognized, sending out one of his other new partners, Wiley the Furret, to chase the small dog down. A Furret big enough to wear a saddle was an unusual sight, indeed. Would it really surprise Matias, though? Doubtful, considering how the relationship blossomed leading up to the Meteno crisis. The wild had little hope of escape against the speedy, serpentine Normal-type, displaying potent swerves that questioned the sense of outfitting him with a saddle. The playful Wiley trapped the Fidough with speed alone, exhausting it and not allowing it to escape. Sidewinder floated above the fairy-type, Josh dropping an empty Poké Ball on it from above.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD MR. MIME APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SOUNDPROOF
[attr="class","wildtabox"]COPYCAT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ROLE PLAY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MIMIC	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BARRIER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]MATIAS SILPH Josh Devlin

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] AFTERMATH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BELCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]METAL CLAW
[attr="class","wildtabox"]POUND	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TAKE DOWN
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]MATIAS SILPH Josh Devlin

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

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!

"They are," Josh agreed, "but so far I haven't met too many I've wanted for my Gym. Admittedly, many of them are fascinating for battle, but for the racing scene, there is one in particular that's caught my eye." He wished he could show Goroh to the standing Elite Four member, but the Cyclizar was tied up at the Gym all week. "Is that Pokémon one of them?" he asked, pointing to the Armarouge in combat with the wild Mr. Mine. "It's gotta be that or Galarian, right? I barely studied Galarian Pokémon, eiher."

Josh couldn't get the friendly dragon-type out of his mind. "Cyclizar, they're called. Ever seen them? There's an entire racing league in Paldea where they race nothing but that Pokémon." Said league had already agreed to merge into Hoenn's when the racing season started in March. "They're really fascinating; not only can they run on four paws, but they can glide on these retractable, round air sacs. And can they ever put on some speed. I wouldn't be surprised if they became legal to ride on the freeway."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] KEEN EYE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BITE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PURSUIT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]KNOCK OFF	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]LEER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]MATIAS SILPH Josh Devlin

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] PICKUP
[attr="class","wildtabox"]THUNDER SHOCK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SUPER FANG
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CHARGE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PARABOLIC CHARGE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]MATIAS SILPH Josh Devlin

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

MATIAS SILPH CAUGHT THE MR. MIME!

Josh's quizzical look grew as he saw the new Pokémon. "I've never heard of a Pokémon with both of those types at once before. Paldean Pokémon coming to Hoenn really shook things up, didn't it?" he asked Matias half-rhetorically as the psychic-type saluted him. "Seems very loyal if you're able to get through to one. A lot of Pokémon that are really powerful are fickle at first but loyal once you give them time."

"Funny you say that," Josh added, a subtle chuckle leaving his mouth. "Kyle was my first challenger when I joined the Minor League, and he set a course record like it was nothing. I should ask him about challenging my new Gym with Cyclizar. They're really easy to control, yet super fast and quite competitive in their field." He daydreamed about pulling wheelies alongside the Top Champion. Win or lose, it sounded like a blast.

Matias' words were true; most Pokémon, especially big ones, respected power. He went through that with Bladestorm. He was still going through that with Kokusho. The unruly dragon was slowly warming up to him. He looked down at his racing gloves, still able to see the dents in them from the Kydreigon pulling on his reins so hard the last time they flew together. "We raced our Manectric together back when I was in the Minor League, and he led wire to wire. Of course, since he was my first challenger, he got an easy course. This time, that won't be the case."

The mention of the Sacred Sword of Freedom, Virizion, got Josh daydreaming again. "Why did Raikou have to die in the war?" he grumbled. "Had I remembered that, I would have coordinated my visit with him with you, too. Could you imagine it? With how fast those two are, they would be such an even match. Let's say by some miracle Raikou is still out there and finds me. I couldn't think of a more fitting match than Virizion and Raikou racing one another. But that's obviously not happening. Raikou is dead." He had accepted that fact the day he rode the Beast-familiar, getting as close to confirmation as he could when he want to the Burned Tower and found a memorial to the Raikou and Suicune of Johto there.