As Blitz attempted to make the last several leaps, Josh's hair stood on end after his ride discharged an uncommanded SHOCK WAVE. Or rather, the SHOCK WAVE was forced out of his body by some sort of unknown force. It was as though the rocks were somehow electromagnetized in the big cat's presence. With the racer having very little experience with raising psychic-type Pokémon, it was impossible for him to tell that it was actually a PSYCHIC hold and not electromagnetism keeping him from leaping off the last ledges, which were now inexplicably floating in midair.

"What in the world...?" Josh cried, his hair standing on end under his racing helmet. By the time the psychic wave passed and Blitz was able to leap off the now-falling stone ledge, Eris and Rainer were a mere dot. She was about to get away if Josh didn't do something drastic. Right now. He radioed one more time. "Dispatch, this is Elite Ranger Devlin again. Ran into a bit of a snag, but I've still got her in sight. It's a bit of a last ditch effort, but I'm going hypersonic."

The plateau-like clifftop would be the best spot for Josh to catch up to his quarry. The Gym Leader took a deep breath. Though he had practiced with Saber many times, it was Shawn that had cultivated Blitz's Z-Move, not Josh directly. This would be the first time he rode the big cat in the fastest speed burst on land.

Yes, even faster than Raikou. If only he could catch Raikou himself and teach him the move. That wasn't happening, though; Raikou was dead.

"Alright, Blitz. HYPERSONIC..." The racer's muscles tensed as he leaned as low as he could on the Luxray, trying to remain as aerodynamic as he could to avoid being blown off by the wicked winds that were to come.

"...PLASMA CHARGE!!!"




Eris was likely able to hear a sonic boom from behind her, followed by a drumroll of thunderclaps as the shiny Luxray the Gym Leader was on rocketed toward her at impossibly high speeds. If she had paid attention to Mauville Gym much, she would have known everything about the move, including that Reiner wouldn't be able to resist the move like other Electric-types would. This Z-MOVE, though, wasn't to harm.

It was to cut off her escape route.

HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE was a move Josh couldn't use lightly: not just because of the sheer power behind the discharge of INFINITY ENERGY, but also because of the toll the speed took on Josh. Even geared for the task, the human body simply was not built to withstand a gallop as violent as a Luxray's when using the special, hidden move. Riding during Extreme Speed was dangerous enough for those not rather practiced with the move. This was dangerous even for the Gym Leader. He and possibly Eva Morales may have been the only two people in the world who had conditioned their bodies to ride Pokémon traveling at hypersonic speeds.

It was so fast that by the time Josh could see again, Blitz had already pounced Eris, pinning her down. She could likely feel the large Luxray's powerful purr as much as the heated emotions of an angry-looking Gym Leader. She may have been able to feel a shock or two from the racing cat's still-sparking paws, still cooling off from the Z-Move. He was furious. "Where were you on November 18?! How much do you know about Chu-e Choi 's and their whereabouts? WHY DID TEAM ROCKET KILL RAIKOU?! I WANT ANSWERS AND I WANT THEM NOW!"

Josh had lost control of his emotions. Again.

If Callan Young saw Josh in his current state, he wouldn't hear the end of it. The two had worked so hard on using the Gym Leader's emotions to fuel him in battle and not be controlled by them. But now, he was again being controlled by his emotions. He needed to get them back under control before he actually hurt Eris. While he never intended to actually harm the young lady, he was getting awfully close.

"I'll get off you when I have ANSWERS!" Josh screamed. "I know you know about November 18. What's their endgame, and what is Chu-e's role in their endgame? AND WHY DID TEAM ROCKET KILL RAIKOU?!" Eris may have been able to feel a tear that wasn't her own. "WHY DID THEY KILL HIM?! ANSWER ME, DAMN YOU!!"

If Eris refused to cooperate, Josh would take drastic measures by ordering Blitz to run an uncomfortable, but harmless, static through her with the paw that was pinning her down. "AND HE WON'T HOLD BACK WITH THE NEXT ONE! YOU HEAR ME?!" the out-of-control Gym Leader wailed. "NOW SPILL IT OR BE FRIED!!" If she opened her eyes for even a split second, she would have been able to see Blitz wide-eyed at the threat his trainer made.

Blitz knew Josh had taken things way too far. The two had known each other for so long that they knew how each other thought. The Luxray had only obeyed Josh's command to use a Z-Move because he trusted that Josh would not use it to harm her. What Josh had failed to take into account was the massive collateral damage his mount's Hypersonic Plasma Charge would cause not directly, but indirectly due to its sonic shockwave.

The Leader's Pokémon took a defensive stance, Josh laying as low as he possibly could in the saddle, using his mount as cover. The SPRINGTIDE STORM still badly hurt both of them, Blitz more so. Both of them felt the Fairy-type move's shredding winds, even the blooms carried in its wake having cutting power. The Gym Leader was bleeding in several places, and yet still, he was blinded in his own rage. "One hundred volts, Blitz," Josh sternly ordered, getting a shake of the head. "ONE HUNDRED VOLTS, BLITZ! NOW!"

There was no saving Josh now. He was lost in his own rage.

The wounded Luxray stepped off Eris, the young lady free to move once more. The first thing she might have seen afterward was Blitz spinning and bucking Josh like a Tauros at a rodeo, the Gym Leader holding on for dear life as a few drops of blood went flying around him. It didn't take long for the electric-type to fling Josh out of the saddle and away from Eris, in a heap on the rocky plateau. The big cat stood in front of Josh, ready to defend his trainer at all costs but showed no signs of further aggression. One paw remained on Josh's upper right arm, pinning him to the ground and preventing him from standing.

"Blitz, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! AFTER HER!!" Josh screamed. The Luxray retaliated with a loud purr, followed by sparks leaving all four of his paws... including the one pinning Josh down. Every hair on his body stood on end as he could feel the electric cat preparing to shock him out of his berserk state. With his one free arm, Josh reached across his body for the beast's Poké Ball and withdrew him. "YOU GET BACK HERE, YOU NO-GOOD! YOU HEAR ME?!"

Josh knew that if he were to send out his Manectric, the electric wolf would likely rebel against him in his current state. There was only one Pokémon in his possession still untamed and violent enough to follow his orders, yet fast enough to catch the two. It was King Zing, the still half-wild, battle-crazed Beedrill. It was the only Pokémon that he felt he could rely on. "King Zing, let's go!" The giant, monarch Beedrill emerged with a loud buzz, the enraged Gym Leader wasting no time getting on. Running on more adrenaline than he was when he rode Raikou, the wasp zipped forward, chasing Eris and Reiner with both foreleg stings outstretched, as well as with little regard for Josh's safety. He did not realize just how sore he was going to be from just the vibration, let alone the battle itself...

The way Josh fiercely, almost cruelly manipulated King Zing's reins fueled the wasp's anger, channeling his trainer's anger into his own. They were riding as one, and not in the way he did with most of his well-trusted Pokémon. These two, in their state of rage, were going to cut swaths of destruction through the plateau of Eden's Grotto. And if they had to come within inches of cleaving Eris in two to get her back to HQ and get the answers he wanted from her, so be it.

Had Josh not been in a heightened bodily state, the Beedrill's shaking would have caused him to pass out. It was intense - far more intense than his friend's Beedrill ever got. Eris may have been able to see Josh visibly shaking back and forth as Reiner defended her. King Zing reared to shield Josh from Reiner's RISING VOLTAGE, though he couldn't fully protect his rider from it. Arcing electricity cut small holes in his shoes, burning several nerves in his feet. He was going to feel like his feet were burning once he was out of his berserk state.

Josh's response to Eris' comment about Raikou not choosing him was met with a bestial roar followed by incoherent babbling. Not a single word out of his month, if one could even call them words, was understandable. With Josh mercilessly reining the Beedrill from side to side, his RAGE grew from being struck by the electric attack. King Zing zipped about, which would have given Josh awful whiplash in any other circumstance. The equally angry wasp tried to fake out Reiner and pluck the shiny Luxray with his venomous, rear barb, ready to buzz violently over Eris' Pokémon to pump extra venom.