Josh was taken a bit aback by Elio's sprinting toward him after he had finished taking the photos. "There you are! You look just exhausted! I wonder why you didn't just ride your Pokémon here?" Perhaps there was an erroneous assumption that as of yet, he didn't have a ride Pokémon. "Thanks again for helping me out with Haunted Fist. While I was taking care of Gym Leader business at the Pyre rift, I got to help Yagyu's spirit pass on. Her blades crumbled in my hand that day. If anything, I'll just look for a new Doublade to catch."

"Not too long," Josh replied as Elio expressed interested in the elemental foxes the Mauville Leader had worked so hard to assemble. "Yep, they're a core part of my Gym now." The Pokémon broke off into three groups. "Kairi, Blinky, and Clyde," he introduced the water, electric, and fire-type Pokémon, resting his hand on Kairi's saddle and scratching her behind the ear, "Janus and Kamuy," he gestured toward the Espeon, "and Basil, Inky, and Pinky." Even the Glaceon was in a surprisingly good and social mood, which, in Josh's eyes, was unlike him.

"That's fair!" Josh chirped. "And that's why Pokémon are so amazing; they have personalities, just like us. With how big Hoenn is, even one that's really docile, like a Ponyta, would be very helpful. Being able to multiply your traveling speed helps so much." There was a bit of push and shove with any Pokémon, but Josh seemed to inevitably attract ones that loved to run. Perhaps it was part of why he was chosen to be a Gym Leader.

Josh paused for a few seconds at Yagyu's mention. He was reminded of the steel-type every time he reached for the Doublade's sheath out of habit, being so used to having the ghost-type at the draw for dangerous environments like the one they would be heading to. "Her soul's passed on," he confirmed. "I got to see her at The Border when I went there on a Gym Leader assignment. She'll be in paradise. I'm sure I'll get to meet her again when my number inevitably gets called, if you know what I mean." He had a long life to live, still, but with how much danger his job's duties put him in, it would be an upside if he was unlucky enough to be killed in action during the inevitable war.

Elio seemed just as excited as Josh was to go dragon hunting. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's ride!" The racer sat astride Kairi the Vaporeon, who looked ready to bolt toward the waterfall roaring inside the main cavern. The seven Eeveelutions, even the normally moody Inky, looked like they all wanted Elio to pick them for the task of covering the cave network faster!

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] GENDERLESS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] LEVITATE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HARDEN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TACKLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ROCK POLISH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]EXPLOSION
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin @elio

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] DEFIANT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FURY ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BRINE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]GROWL	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]POUND
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin @elio

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

@elio'S CAPTURE ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL!

"I suggested one because they're really easy to learn with," Josh clarified. "Mudsdale are really wide-bodied. They can be uncomfortable unless you're a big guy. Bigger than me, even." The ground-type species was ideal for very tall or pudgy riders. Josh was tall, but he wasn't excessively tall. Right around the six-foot mark. It made riding his Flareon somewhat problematic, having to get rests attached to his saddle to keep his feet up. "That and Rapidash are fast. Really fast."

As Elio approached Inky, Josh tried to caution him about how apprehensive the ice-type was around guests. A mild coo after the young man stood next to him was a sign that she was in a good mood. "Just be careful around him. He can be a bit of a handful." Smiling as to prove a point, the Glaceon reared abruptly seconds after the guest rider was comfortable. He may have been able to feel an extra spring in Inky's gallop as the Water-type and Ice-type led the way into the main cavern, Josh whistling at the size of its waterfall.

His skin tingled as Kairi leaped into the cool water basin the waterfall was draining into, able to feel her powerful tail swishing back and forth and propel her just as fast as she ran on land. "I've heard rumors of a hidden cave behind one of the waterfalls here! Let's check it out."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] COMMANDER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HARDEN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]MEMENTO
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MIRROR COAT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SPLASH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin @elio

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] WATER ABSORB
[attr="class","wildtabox"]NIGHT SHADE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]RECOVER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]WATER PULSE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BUBBLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin @elio

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

@elio CAUGHT THE LUNATONE!

"You got me," Josh sighed. "I'm only six-one. You should be able to handle a Mudsdale just fine. They're just a bit wide-bodied compared to most ride Pokémon is all." He listened to Elio's assessment of the ground-type, which was... surprisingly accurate. "Any obstacle that doesn't require making sharp turns, anyway. You gotta pull on their reins real hard to get them to turn."

The Gym Leader looked impressed to see Elio survive the small tantrum Inky threw, the Glaceon's demeanor changing afterward. With a coo and a puff of mist from his mouth, the ice-type relinquished full control to Elio.

Once they were past the waterfall, thanks to some ice attacks and Kairi's amazing aquatic leaping ability, the discussion turned to last year's Silph Cup finale "Given it was run out of my Gym, not as hard as you'd think. We did get a lot of useful data for the 2023 season, which I think is going to present its own challenges. After all, with the barrier gone, we're going to get a lot of out-of-region racers trying to qualify. Lots of Paldeans with Kilowattrel, I imagine."

Elio seemed enthusiastic about it. "Why not compete in this year's opener, then? It's at Fortree Gym. You gotta have a flying Pokémon this time, though, as it's an aerial race!" Josh revealed to him, though it may have been old news if he read PSPN Digest.