Indeed, Kokusho was one of the most aggressive of Josh's Pokémon. After the Gym Leader had permanently removed the three sets of halters surrounding his heads, though, the Hydreigon was warming up to him. Slowly. It wasn't that the dragon didn't mind being ridden; in fact, he loved showing his strength in a form Josh could appreciate without being torn to shreds. Plus, an occasional bucking motion would keep the trainer's skills sharp.

Josh hopped onto his three-headed mount and rest his hands at the base of the center neck. He looked ready to take off when a man's voice entered his ears. Kokusho turned around to see who it was. "He was," Josh answered. "Kokusho is his name." The normally aggressive dragon was all too calm around Alec; perhaps the Hydreigon knew a dragon trainer when he saw one. "What's yours?"

Alec honestly wasn’t surprised when the guy’s Hydreigon was calm around him. Despite that though, Alec knew better than to not step any closer than where he was. Doing so would have caused Josh’s Hydreigon to go berserk. “Evening star, eh? Not a bad name,” Alec said, knowing his region’s language. “I’m guessing you’re from the Johto Region, or that you know a thing or two about the language of the region, am I right?” Alec had said, believing it to be the former. When asked about his, Alec stretched, still feeling tired. “The name’s Alec, and yes, I’m a Dragon Tamer,” Alec had said, having already surmised that Josh was thinking that as well. Then again, his traditional clothing was a dead giveaway.

“I’d show you some of my own dragons, but doing so probably wouldn’t be all that wise. Kokusho’s kind are relatively dominant in terms of their own species,” Alec had said, starting to explain. “Sure, I’m new to him and all, but compared to him, I’m just a human. So my presence isn’t all that bothersome, as you can see,” Alec had said, now believing that it was okay to get a bit closer. Alec slowly held out his hand for Kokusho to sniff it, then a few seconds later, Alec was able to place his hand on its middle head.

“People tend to make the mistake to try and touch one of the side heads rather than the main one. However, that could either have you end up losing your arm or worse,” Alec had said in a serious tone of voice. “All three heads are connected to one another, with the two on the side sending signals to the main head in the middle. The ones on the sides have their senses heightened to the point where their senses are extremely sensitive. A slight poke to their heads or any kind of sudden movements can overstimulate them, causing them to become aggressive and attack without even giving it a second thought,” Alec finished, pulling his hand away as he backed up slowly.

After Alec had finished talking up a storm, which wasn’t like him (especially after just waking up), he realized that the guy never gave his name. “What’s your name by the way?” Alec had said, gesturing to Josh with a slight nod of his head.

---

Notes:
Josh Devlin

From Alec's recognition of the Johtonian tongue, Josh guessed the tall man was also from his home region. "Yep, I was originally born and raised in Goldenrod," Josh answered, "but I'm in the process of getting dual citizenship." The traditional clothing Alec was in caught his eyes almost immediately after he brought up he was a dragon tamer. "Are you a Blackthoen Dragoon? You sure look like one." Kokusho respected Alec's obvious prowess with dragons, warming up to him more quickly than he was warming up to Josh. "It shows. Kokusho usually doesn't like other people petting him."

That explained why Kokusho hated tactile control so much. "Wow, no wonder he didn't like being reined up. I wonder if he'd let me control him a little better with halters only around his main head instead of all three. I took his reins off completely because I thought he didn't like them period. This makes a ton more sense now! It's also way easier trying to control one head than three."

When asked his name, Josh rolled his eyes at himself. "Oh, I'm sorry! I got so carried away that I forgot to introduce myself! Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh. I used to be a semi-professional Pokémon racer."

Alec wasn't surprised that Josh mentioned his clan, or well, a portion of it anyway. "My parents are, but as for me, no. Instead, I became a trainer." Alec had said truthfully. He liked traveling a lot more than staying in one place all the time, although given how he acts nowadays, it can be hard to tell by looking at him. Sure, he was proud to be born into his clan, but that kind of life wasn't for him, or at least, that's how he felt. Then again, he was only born into the Side Branch, so it wasn't like he was 'royalty' or anything like that.

"I'd say you were lucky though, all things considered." Alec said, referring to the fact that his Hydreigon didn't retaliate. After their talk of dragons, Josh greeted himself, not only by name but also as a Ranger and Gym Leader. "A ranger and a Gym Leader. You must be one busy guy," Alec said to him, not mentioning that he was a former Gym Leader of the Hoenn Region a year or so ago. "When I can, I'll stop by your Gym and request a challenge," Alec gave Josh a light grin. "Where's your Gym at?" Alec had asked him. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if any of the former Gym Leaders were still around. He had a feeling that there were a few people that were still Gym Leaders. One name, in particular, was Fernando Silph.

As Alec and Josh continued talking, Alec's Espeon emerged from its Pokeball, releasing itself out in front of the bag Alec had set down on the ground. Luna let out what seemed to be a yawn, grooming itself, not paying her master or his company any mind. However, what did catch her attention, was this pecking sound coming from the roof of the cabin. She looked up to see a Cramorant, plucking the twigs off the roof while wearing a derpy expression. The wild Cramorant froze in place when it finally noticed Luna, glaring at it. Then, without warning, Luna used Psychic, having the wild bird be thrown repeatedly into a nearby tree. Since it liked plucking the surface of their home, Luna figured that the stupid bird wouldn't mind having its beak shoved into a tree several times over. After Luna felt that the wild Cramorant deserved enough, her psychic powers vanished, making the Cramorant fall to the ground, running away as a means to not be succumbed to such torture a second time. After Luna had dispatched the dumb wild bird, Alec had finally noticed she was out of her Pokeball. "When did you get out of your Pokeball?" Alec had asked his Espeon, which made Luna yawn, stretching herself out lazily.

---

Notes: skipping
Josh Devlin

At the mention of Alec confirming his parents were part of the clan, Josh guided Kokusho to the ground, recalling the Hydreigon for a different dragon mount: Resheph, his Dragonair. The blue and white serpent had a much more playful demeanor, even going as far as to perform a quick loop after Josh snapped the cocoon saddle together. "Whew!" he cried after Resheph's inversion. "Resheph is a bit... too playful, as you can see. I got her from the Blackthorn Dragoons. She was one of those with the Sacred Arte of Extreme Speed, back when it was a closely guarded secret that not just any Dratini could learn.

"Not as much as you think," Josh mused after the topic turned to his Gym. "My racing challenges are about the only thing I'm absolutely needed for. While I do take the vast majority of my Gym's battle challenges, I have Gym trainers that are more than capable of handling challengers if I need time away." It seemed like Alec was after Champion Rank, much like he was. "Oh, awesome! My Gym's on the very north end of Mauville City. It's famous worldwide for its racing challenge."

While Alec was distracted by his own battle, Josh caught sight of an Oshawott that reminded him of the day he saw CIAN MAHER 's Samurott, as well as the cause of one of the many scars on his chin. "Tiamat!" Josh cried, pitching his Dragonite's Poké Ball toward the wild. "Use your EXTREME SPEED!" he commanded, the tall, orange dragon's wings humming and blowing away any nearby loose rocks. Crossing the mountain's main lake invisibly fast, the dragon-type rammed the small wild into the nearby cliff with a loud thud. As she wound up to repeat the charge, the wild RETALIATEd with a crushing chop, just beneath Tianat's horn and landing a critical hit. With a loud wheeze, Josh knew she was in trouble. He withdrew the nearly-fallen winged Pokémon with the Ball in his left hand, pitching the empty one in his right hand at the water-type.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SUCTION CUPS
[attr="class","wildtabox"]PECK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]NIGHT SLASH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SWITCHEROO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TOPSY TURVY
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]alec foster Josh Devlin

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] CLOUD NINE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DRAGON BREATH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TWISTER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ECHOED VOICE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DRAGON RAGE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] DRAGON RUSH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]alec foster Josh Devlin

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

Josh Devlin CAUGHT THE OSHAWOTT!

After giving his Espeon its attention, Alec's attention once again shifted to Josh, recalling his Hydreigon for a Dragonite. "Time to see what Josh and his pokemon were capable of," Alec thought to himself, watching intently without saying a single word, failing to notice the Malamar that was swimming in the river nearby. Tiamat's first attack was a for sure way to keep the battle in their favor. However, when the Dragonite tried attacking in the same exact manner, the Oshawott RETALIATED, which was something the avid dragon tamer knew about. After living here a while, you start to realize how the wild pokemon around here fight, and most of them, if not all of them fight rather nastily.

To the wild pokemon, it was a way for them to survive, otherwise, they'd get eaten. It was as simple as that. The only way for them to not have that happen was to get stronger, which was what the Oshawott had proven. Despite this though, it was defeated, as well as captured by Josh. All things considered, Alec was somewhat impressed. It reminded him of when he was a gym leader. However, it was apparent to Alec that Josh was more than likely only a couple of years younger than he was. Alec was so focused on the battle he witnessed that he didn't answer right away when Josh mentioned that his Dragonair was a gift from his family - something that was actually quite common. His clan was known for giving newborn dratini's away to trainers because Dratini were very easy to raise. Chances are, it evolved while under Josh's care.

"I don't know about racing, but a regular battle is more up my alley," Alec admitted, not having any shame in that. In fact, that was what his own gym was centralized around back in the day. It was to test and see if people were ready to give it their all, even when the odds were stacked against them. There were a good few who did manage to do just that and beat him. Sure, Alec wasn't strategic like FERNANDO SILPH , but he was still able to hold onto his own in a battle, even without a strategy. Although nowadays, Alec has managed to be a little more strategic with his battles. The sandstorm strategy he used against Andrea Vaneau had proved it, despite it being rather simple. Alec had walked over to his bag, pulled a Pokeball from it, then proceeded to toss it out in front of him. as soon as the Pokeball opened, having his own Dragonite materialize out from it.

As soon as Veta saw the Dragonair and Josh, instantly greeted them without the notion of weariness. "Veta here is one of my strongest dragons. Sure, she may seem nice, and she is, but when it comes to a battle, she can be persistent," Alec admitted with a smirk.

---

Notes: skipping! Terribly sorry for the wait!
Josh Devlin

Trainers were a PD a dozen in Hoenn, but Josh could tell from the way Alec battled with his dragons that he was special. "The reason I'm so passionate about Pokémon racing is how it physically involves the trainer more than a simple Pokémon battle would. The level of trust and understanding needed to trust your Pokémon to carry you across the course at speeds most would consider dangerous requires a bond beyond what Pokémon combat does. It's a more active role for the rider, as opposed to a trainer's more passive role in standard battles." Resheph let out a greeting coo as Veta came toward her. "There truly is nothing like being on the back of a Dragonair or Dragonite using Extreme Speed, Alec."

Josh was thoroughly impressed at how Veta kept going despite having fought a fierce battle. "That's a great quality to have in a Pokémon trained for combat," Josh nodded. "My best dragon combatant is probably Kokusho, but he's still not as well-behaved as I'd like. He stopped chomping people's fingers off, which is a step in the right direction, but I still have to be really careful with him. Even last week, he bucked me off while I was flying above the beach with him."

Alec agreed with Josh, giving him a smirk. The first time when Veta evolved, it was the best thing ever, zooming in the sky on her back. Then again, he was a teenager. Now, it became something that he was just used to. "How regularly do you feed him?" Alec had asked Josh, referring to his Hydreigon. Judging from Josh's answer, he could more than likely fix that by feeding him more often.

As Alec waited on Josh's answer, Veta caught notice of an Exeggutor coming out from the bushes, prompting Veta to take care of it with a powerful, yet swift WING ATTACK. There really wasn't much he could do to keep the wild pokemon coming and going, but pokemon like that had a tendency to try and mess with his cabin ... which he didn't really like all that much. It was old and pretty much run-down. He'd do what he can to try and keep it from looking that way, but it seemed no matter what he did, it was just never going according to plan.

---

Notes: skipping!
Josh Devlin

The smirk on Alec's face didn't go unnoticed, provoking one from Josh, too. Smiles really were contagious, weren't they? Resheph's smile grew, too, the serpent floating around and circling Veta, hints of purple dragon energy floating from her tail. "Easy, Resheph!" he cried, reining the Dragonair in. Once she stopped, hovering near Alec's Pokémon, he answered the dragon trainer's question.

"I feed him what's recommended for a Hydreigon, but he also goes hunting on his own from time to time," Josh answered. "He's a big boy, though. Might have to see about feeding him a little more. I'm unsure if he's hunting because he's hungry or he just enjoys fighting. Haven't been around him enough to know for sure." A reckless idea popped into his head. Fun, but reckless. "Does Veta know how to use Extreme Speed? Might be a fun way to head down the mountain once we've climbed as far as we're going!"