Having returned from checking on his Gracidea, Josh was out riding Oberon, his Sceptile, trying to figure out the perfect angle to have his saddle at for maximum comfort. He had to make sure he wasn't staring at the sky. Sceptile was certainly a highly unusual mount, though their tendency to be quite hunched over when running at high speed made them mountable at all. It was part of the reason the curvature on the saddle had to be so steep; a rider would sit on its very back end when getting on, then lean into the front of it once the grass-type started running. And run this Pokémon could; Sceptile were among the fastest and most nimble Grass-types on the planet!

As Josh wheeled his mount back toward the road, he caught sight of a dense bamboo grove. A little too dense. It seemed odd for even something that hardy to so tightly invade native species. Was this yet another Secret Base? He would find out shortly. "Alright, Oberon, use SECRET POWER!" With blades of slicing grass drawn from the surrounding land, the cleanly cut bamboo gave way to a guardian Kingambit surrounded by stacks of logs. While Josh hadn't seen the species before, it was obvious the steel-type wished to challenge the Sceptile to a woodcutting contest.

The young man dismounted his Sceptile, and the two Pokémon began KOWTOW CLEAVING and NIGHT SLASHING the stacks of logs. Once the allotted time was up, the contest was a tie! While the Kingambit didn't admit Josh to the base, he did return with a flag embroidered with the insignia of the Tapu. Adding it to his collection, Josh returned to his Sceptile's saddle, the two on their way to Verdanturf.