Naturally, doing Ranger work would get Josh exposed to lots of different Pokémon. It was one of the big reasons the Gym Leader's menagerie was so large; by going to the ends of Hoenn, he caught all sorts of Pokémon from any habitat imaginable. "They're definitely slower to adjust. While not an Alpha, my Luxray, Blitz, took a long time to adjust to being a Gym Pokémon. An Alpha Luxray would be uncomfortably large to sit on. He'd be too large to bring in the house at all!" The fixation on Alpha Pokémon brought up one more point. "I wonder if when you catch an Alpha Pokémon, it loses its... Alpha status, for lack of a better term. But they keep their size, which is what matters to me. Before their discovery, getting a Jolteon the size of an Alpha through breeding alone would cost you millions of dollars."

Josh appreciated El's enthusiasm, but had to stop them there. "In the morning, El. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Ranger protocols, but Rookies generally aren't allowed on night operations due to their inherent danger. We'll head north of Mauville to the Valley of Steel in the morning. I assume you have lodging for the night already?" Even if they didn't, the city was so large that finding a vacancy wouldn't be too hard. Worst case scenario, there was the upstairs couch... as long as they didn't mind cereal. That was about all the breakfast food the young man kept around, given how much he was away from Mauville due to his contract work as a Ranger.

Regardless of arrangements, Josh would forward the mission briefing to El with their permission. "Looking forward to working with you!" Noticing Bibidi attempting to communicate with Josh, he let the gentle Alakazam into his mind. The mental discussion made him smile; he, too, was often incapable of saying no. As fierce of a competitor as Josh was, he wanted to be a white knight. A hero of Hoenn. One known for saving a list of lives so long it wouldn't fit on a sheet of paper as long as his arm.