How much data could illeana reyes possibly want about The Border? Josh barely escaped with his life the last time he came back from there after fighting the strongest opponent he had ever faced by himself. Yes, stronger than kyle lopez 's Entei. It was himself, or rather, his own shadow, riding on the back of a Pokémon he had never seen before. That mount Pokémon he had never seen before, though it resembled a cross between Raikou, Suicune, and an ice Pokémon.

After seeing that Pokémon in action, he wanted one. Little did he understand that very Pokémon was a god...

As Josh flew down the south half of Mount Pyre on his noisy Flygon, whose wings sounded like a revving vehicle engine, his Dragapult flew ahead of him, catching sight of Jennail Doe 's Drakloak and wanting to play with the adolescent Pokémon. "Hey Sidewinder, where you going?" he shouted, his voice a little distorted. While the Flygon's saddle was designed to absorb most of the vibration, it couldn't block all of it.

As Verte approached the Drakloak, Josh noticed a masked female near the playful-looking, floating phantom. He could only presume the Drakloak had a trainer. The green dragon landed near Sidewinder and the unfamiliar duo of trainer and Pokémon, his wings becoming visible once again as the ambient hum ceased. He waited for a bit for his body to stop tingling before sliding down from the Flygon's saddle.

"Sorry to bother you!" Josh called out, dressed in his blue Ranger uniform. "Sidewinder here just saw another one of his kind and wanted to say hello. What brings you to such a place so late?" He pointed toward the rift he had just left. "I would hope not that. Beyond that rift are horrors that are unlike anything I've ever seen before. Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but I go by Josh. I was just getting off duty for the day."

Researchers were admirable yet all too often unsung for their painstaking work. "Great to meet you! Would you prefer Dr. Doe or Jennall?" Regardless of her choice, he would continue. "These two are Sidewinder and Verte," he gestured toward the Dragapult and Flygon, the larger apparition chatting up a storm with the Drakloak while at play. "Take my word for it; even for a Gym Leader, it's dangerous in there. It's not at all for the faint of heart."

The topic of Hoenn's Gym Leaders came up. "They're among the toughest in the world, but they're all wonderful people. I can especially vouch for Alexei Ivanov . He taught me most of what I know about riding a flying Pokémon. Once your Drakloak evolves, you should take them to his Gym in Fortree. He'll teach you so much about flying." How it had come full circle: the Birdfather had taught him how to fly, and now he could give her that opportunity to learn, too. "Of course, I could teach you, too. I was a semi-professional Pokémon racer before I became a Gym Leader. You should think about dropping by my Gym in northwest Mauville sometime!"

Money and rent were two things Josh had taken for granted since he became a Gym Leader. He had lived the last five months of his life on what was essentially a free ride from the League. As long as he kept making Gym Leader performance standards, which he had been able to handliy do since qualifying for the Champion Assessment, he would have a rent-free home in Mauville City, and a healthy paycheck to boot. While he wasn't a billionaire like oscar clayton was, he could live a comfortable lifestyle.

He took a second look at the Drakloak, his jaw dropping a little. "Faustus is huge for a Drakloak. He can probably carry you on his back as is!" Inspired by seeing such a big Pokémon of the line's kind, Josh withdrew Verte, leaving the saddled Dragapult as the only one of the Leader's Pokémon present. The ghost-type tickled Josh with his tail before floating next to him and beckoning him to hop on, which he did. The Gym Leader held his Pokémon's reins in a neutral position, his mount hovering near her. "Have you ever given flying on him a try?" he asked, giving her a good view of what good riding posture was.

It seemed that just as Josh had a knack for electric Pokémon, Josh had a knack for ghost Pokémon. Jennail's prowess with them was remarkable. "Your Pokémon battle so well autonomously. I can tell you've been with them for a long time," the Gym Leader complimented. "Did you catch Faustus out of a Space-Time Distortion? Ever since they started appearing, Pokémon that are enormous in size for their species have been much more commonplace all over Hoenn, and I love it. It makes Pokémon racing so much more accessible and not just for the wealthy."

As to prove his point, Josh sent out his Jolteon, Blinky, who was almost as tall as he was. The saddle on her back showed she routinely ferried people around. She let out a greeting bark toward Jennail and her two Pokémon. "Blinky and her seven brothers and sisters all came out of the Distortions. Now, they're routinely helping me take on Gym challengers!"

Sidewinder hovered closer to Jennail at Josh's silent commands through the reins. "If you want a taste of what it's like, you're welcome to fly around the mountain with me," the racer offered. "I have to warn you, though. Dragapult are some of the fastest dragons in the world, so be ready to hold on tight."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] GENDERLESS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] IRON FIST
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DEFENSE CURL	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HAMMER ARM
[attr="class","wildtabox"]NIGHT SHADE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]MUD SLAP
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Jennail Doe

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] GENDERLESS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] LIGHT METAL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TAKE DOWN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]TACKLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HAMMER ARM	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CONFUSION
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Jennail Doe

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

Jennail Doe CAUGHT THE FROSLASS!