[newclass=.minisnailhouse a]font: 7pt roboto; color: #666666;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse]width: 500px;[/newclass][newclass=.monody]-webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */filter: grayscale(100%);[/newclass][newclass=.Chromeleft]width: 79px; height: 200px; float: left; background-image: url('https://i.imgur.com/mH1oth5.png'); -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */filter: grayscale(100%); transition: all 0.8s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.Chromeleftoverlay]width: 79px; height: 30px; padding-top: 170px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); transition: all 0.8s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .Chromeleftoverlay]background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); transition-duration: 0.8s; transition-timing-function: ease-out;[/newclass][newclass=.Chromeright]width: 420px; height: 200px; float: right; background-image: url('https://i.imgur.com/wf9T9Ea.png'); transition: all 0.8s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.Chromeoverlay]width: 420px; height: 80px; padding-top: 120px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); transition: all 0.8s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .Chromeoverlay]background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.45); transition-duration: 0.8s; transition-timing-function: ease-out;[/newclass][newclass=.puppycat]width: 200px; font-size: 5pt; font-family: roboto; text-transform: uppercase; color: #ffffff; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 1px; float: left; margin: 0px 0px 5px 0px; opacity: 0; transition: all 0.5s linear; [/newclass][newclass=.lemonsoda]width: 0px; height: 1px; background-color:#f5f5f5; float: left; transition: all 0.5s linear; [/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .lemonsoda]width: 200px; transition: all 0.5s linear; [/newclass][newclass=.NOSTALGIA]width: 0px; height: 1px; background-color: #f1f1f1; float: left; z-index: 2px; position: relative; transition: all 0.5s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .NOSTALGIA]width: 280px; transition-duration: 0.5s; transition-timing-function: ease-out;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse a]font-size: 5pt; font-family: roboto; text-transform: uppercase; color: #ffffff; font-weight: normal;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .puppycat]opacity: 1; transition: 0.7s; transition-delay: .5s; transition-timing-function: linear;[/newclass][newclass=.Stayingforawhile]width: 50px; height: 50px; border: 4px solid #ffffff; transform: rotate(45deg); position: relative; margin-bottom: -28px;[/newclass][newclass=.monody]-webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */filter: grayscale(100%); transition: all 0.8s linear;[/newclass][newclass=.snailhouse:hover .monody]-webkit-filter: grayscale(0%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */filter: grayscale(0%);[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans]

Right, the Nameless One had his name stolen, and could not leave the realm until he got it back! "Thank you, Your Majesty Queen," the lion's rider said, dismounting and bowing in her presence. Even Aslan bowed in the royal's presence. He was going to ask about the one who stole her name from her, though it seemed she wanted to learn about the outside world first.

"Though I have never heard of this مملكة Kingdom you speak of, I can give a report of the outside world. It's... at war. In the outside world, Aslan here almost lost his life in a bitter battle with an..." the Gym Leader trailed off. How could be describe Deoxys to one who may not have had a concept of an alien? He pondered for a bit. "An unusual creature that was clearly from an entirely different realm than both of ours. My position in the outside world requires me to be on the front lines. Even if it's in this strange realm, I'm glad I was able to meet Aslan again. In the outside world, he's been bedridden for weeks."

The Nameless One went back to the topic of his stolen name. "Your Majesty, you have mentioned your name was stolen, as well. Do you have a physical description or any clues as to the whereabouts of the fairy that stole your name? If I were to somehow recover your name, would you be willing to return mine to me?" he asked, running his hand through his mount's red fur. As he did so, he felt the sting of his wounds. "Also, do you have a way to patch me up? I'm a little hurt from an... altercation or two on the way to your castle."

---

- The Nameless One relays the story of 99943 METENO to the Queen.
- The Nameless One offers to recover the Queen's name in exchange for having his own name returned to him.
- The Nameless One asks for his wounds to be healed.

Hideo Kino

{WC: 293}
{PC: 17}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good

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It seemed the fae world and the real world were truly separate from one another. The only word of Hoenn that had come to The Queen was what the Nameless One had relayed. With a snap of her finger, a wave of healing energy washed over him, energizing him completely. "Thank you, Your Excellence," he politely replied.

"You are correct; I am a freedom fighter in the realm beyond yours," the Pyroar knight elaborated. The name the Queen mentioned sounded familiar, though he couldn't quite put his name on it. Was she trying to tell him who he was? Deducing that may be the case, he began to describe what he was all about.

This would be a great opportunity for an introspection.

"To be Josh Devlin means to pursue the Beast of Thunder, Raikou. To be Josh Devlin means to go fast - perhaps more so than anyone else out there. To be Josh Devlin means to be competitive yet friendly. But most importantly, to be Josh Devlin means to put others over oneself. To be the shield that complements another's sword, no matter the peril. To be there for others when they are in their moments of greatest need." He paused. "With great speed comes great responsibility," he recited the phrase, "the slogan of Mauville Gym and Mauville Racing Grounds."

"And that... is what being a Champion is all about."

---

Hideo Kino

{WC: 227}
{PC: 18}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good

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Josh was truly a complex figure. Prior to becoming a Gym Leader, his life was relatively simple: race Pokémon and try to turn pro. Chase Raikou. Other than that, live a normal life. Ever since becoming Mauville's Gym Leader, though, he found himself swept up in political subterfuge, total war, and even the supernatural. There was even more to him than he explicitly listed; that was all that came off the top of his head.

He was Josh Devlin once more.

"Thank you. And thank you for letting me meet with Aslan again," Josh replied, dismounting the lion. Before he headed through the portal, he buried his head in the fire-type's red fur and cuddled the great jungle king. "Your Excellency, I just have one more favor of you. If you would, keep Aslan here in your prayers. In my home world, he is extremely unwell, and may not survive. I hope and pray he does. But in the event he does not make it... I will have your world to remember him by. To see not only him, but Raikou... even if the Raikou was a mere illusion... it warmed my heart. It really did." He slowly walked to the portal's edge before turning around one more time.

"Your Excellency, may our paths cross again."

With that, he stepped through the portal while waving goodbye to Aslan and The Queen.

---

Hideo Kino

{WC: 231}
{PC: 19}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good

"Congratulations on finding your way through this ordeal."

Josh's exit from the dream would be as abrupt as it started, sitting just as he'd been when he first went under, once more within the treehouse. The Dream Mist the two Musharna had let out was being filtered away by a Galarian Weezing, reality becoming clear once more. A small *thump* could be heard as Hideo closed the book, a smile on his face.

"Now that you're back to reality: You did a good job, Josh! It's easy to get lost in a place where the rules of our world don't apply, but you were able to persevere and reclaim your name - and I think the answer you gave The Queen was a good one!"

Hideo lifted the book up, a Hatterene taking it and placing it aside.

"Now then: do you have any questions about your journey? Was there anything you would've done differently if given the chance?"

Josh breathed a sigh of relief; it seems he had passed Hideo Kino 's test with flying colors. "It definitely made me think outside the box. That sort of adventure makes me want to get a Musharna for myself, even though I could never use one as a Gym Pokémon. Even if it's only in a dream... I still want to befriend him." A sanctuary, where only Josh was welcome, to blast across the land on the back of the Beast he admired--no, at this point, worshipped. "I just spoke my mind to her. Everything I told her is how I truly feel. Being able to prove myself worthy to the Beast of Thunder is a dream I would love living and reliving again and again."

Hideo posed Josh a question about his journey through the Fae Kingdom. "Perhaps not being so direct with the Chaser." He had seen that Pokémon before on a trip across western Hoenn with Remiel Calcifet . "I wanted to get on his back and see how fast he could go. Reflecting on it, though, it probably wasn't possible within the confines of the dream. Not without resorting to... overly drastic measures, anyway. Other than that, though, I wouldn't have done anything differently." He paused to further reflect. "I... I hope Aslan will be alright. That Pyroar's suffering. I just want to be with him again. He means a lot to me, and I'm glad I got to spend time with him, even if it was only in a dream. It's been two months of pure hell without him."

---

Hideo Kino

{WC: 262}
{PC: 20}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Hideo smiled, nodding along as Josh answered him.

"An unconventional situation does require unconventional solutions. You had to be clever to find where the Hider hid on its third attempt, and rather than tire yourself, you had the Hider reveal itself with The Fairy. It can be easy to forget Pokemon can do more than just battle with their attacks, after all."

"And it was kind of you to indulge in each fae's purpose, even as they obstructed you. You could have chosen to try and incapacitate the Hider, but you played with it anyway. You could have ignored or rejected the Imposter, but you instead spoke with it. Even the Riders had a chase to battle you atop their mounts."

As for what Josh would have wanted to change, Hideo raised an eyebrow? "Just that?" he dramatically asked. "Wouldn't you want to have not lost your name in the first place? It did give you a chance to enjoy the Kingdom and its inhabitants, but if you had been too slow, you might have been trapped there forever, the Queen running off with your name!"

His tone lowered, the dramatic edge gone. "…though I suppose the story where you kept your name would have been much different. Perhaps the fae would have been more hostile towards you, or you would have encountered the Chaser much sooner. There are many ways an adventure could go - and what's important was that you saw your path through to the end."

He reached into his pocket, taking out a Minor League badge. "There isn't much I can do regarding your Pyroar, but I can still offer this. I know you probably already got one of these, since you were in the Minor League before, but I'd still like to reward you with the Minor League badge. Congratulations on completing the Ordeal Badge challenge!"

Josh Devlin

Josh was more than familiar with non-combat applications for Pokémon. First off, if he was traveling through the wilds and not in the saddle of one of his Pokémon, there was probably something horribly wrong. Second, his Ranger duties had taught him numerous ways to use Pokémon attacks outside combat. Clearing cave-ins, ice bridges... the list went on. "I've found over time and experience that whatever you do to others around you, they will pay it forward. Kindness begets kindness, after all," Josh added with almost religious resolve." When Hideo mentioned Josh not wanting to lose his name, his hands rose in front of his face. "Yes, but staying silent felt just rude. When someone polite asks for your name, aren't you morally obligated to oblige them?"

He continued listening to Hideo's evaluation of how the adventure went. "Exactly. And this path to Raikou... I want to see it to the end. Whether he accepts me or not." As the Minor League Leader seemingly downplayed the significance of Josh's challenge, he tried to reassure Hideo that his challenge wasn't for nothing. "I've been planning to go back to kyle lopez 's Battle Arcade for a while after getting spanked by Entei there. Every Minor League Badge you have makes that challenge easier. I hope to not have to battle Entei again until I take the actual Champion Assessment."

After accepting the Badge, Josh had a couple more things to say. "This also served as an important introspective. It's making me realize where I need to improve as a Gym Leader, as a candidate for the Champion Assessment, and most importantly, as a person. Have you considered applying for the Major League? I'm sure you would be fantastic at it." He paused to let the suggestion sink in. "Oh, and one more thing? Thank you for letting me see Aslan again. If you pray, please keep him in your prayers. He's suffering, and I'm not sure he'll make it." Badge in hand, the Mauville Leader headed back to his home city.

---

Hideo Kino

{WC: 341}
{PC: 21}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"It is polite…but fae can be very tricky beings. Not that you would know she was one at the moment, but there are plenty of stories of people getting stuck or cursed because of what seemed like innocuous wording. I don't blame you for giving it when asked, but the story may have gone differently if you hadn't. For better or worse."

At the mention of self-improvement, Hideo's grin turned into a smile. "That was always the point of this challenge: for the challenger to be put in a situation that lets them learn something about themselves, about where their strengths or weaknesses may lie, and to see what consequences arise from those parts of them. You might not really know what kind of person you are until the chips are down."

He waited a moment, thinking. "I think the best way to encapsulate it was a quote I read once: 'The decisions you make, and the actions that follow, are a reflection of who you are. You cannot hide from yourself.'"

The satisfaction from that quote was clear on Hideo's face, but the confident smile wavered slightly at the mention of moving to the Major League. "...it's something I've been considering. You can almost say what I got here is testing the waters. Maybe I'll do it once I feel confident enough…and get a few things sorted out."

With that said, Hideo stood up from your seat. "Well then, I guess that concludes the Ordeal challenge! I wish you good luck battling Kyle the next chance you get, and I hope Aslan gets better. I gotta do some stuff, so Vibes'll lead you out."

With a nod, the Hatterene from before approached Josh, leading him outside the treehouse. The forest was the same forest he'd gone through finding his way to the gym, the wooden steps leading down no different than the ones he went up. Josh wouldn't risk getting lost in these woods - so long as he followed the path he came from.

But if he were to look back to the treehouse, he would see the Hatterene watching him from above. The moment eye contact was made, she would wave to him, a farewell until the next time they met. With that, she would return to the inside, to perform whatever duties her trainer asked of her.

Because that was her duty as his Pokemon.

Challenge Complete

Josh Devlin