Josh was at a thrift shop in north-central Mauville, helping out in the warehouse by putting price tags on recent donations and entering stock into their computer. It wasn't the Ranger work he wanted, but it still got the job done. 4,000 hours was a lot of service hours he had been saddled with; even working full-time, it would take him two years to accumulate that many. The young man would have precious little time to himself. Especially once he got his Gym privileges back. That was exactly why he was going to work as much overtime as he could. Lots of Ranger tickets, just like he did before he became a Gym Leader. Barring availability of those, he would be pulling ten-hour shifts as much as he could. Once he got capacity to take Gym challenges again, he wouldn't have the time to work overtime anymore.

While Josh was pricing a stack of board games that came in, he received an urgent call from his Gym. It was his secretary, Shelly. "Wait, what?!" he nearly shouted. "I'm on my way!" He nodded to the manager on duty as he hung up. "I'm sorry, but there is an emergency at my Pokémon Gym down the street. I need to leave immediately." After getting approval to leave, Josh took the stairs to the roof of the building, then cocooned himself in Raikiri's saddle. "QUICK ATTACK, Raikiri!" Josh commanded. The Zeraora leaped off the building in a blur that threatened to give Josh whiplash, reminding him of riding Raikou's brutal speed. He was on too much of an adrenaline high to notice, though; no amount of speed was too fast when his Gym was under attack.

When he got there, he saw Interim Gym Leader SHAWN RICHARDS and security guard NATHAN MARTINEZ standing over the bodies of two of Elise Calcifet 's classmates, blood pouring out of the cracked skulls of the bodies. Whoever did this was no longer anywhere visible, but given the tension in the air, was still around. Clearly, the princess was bait, but it was bait the Gym Leader had to take.

He felt helpless. Out of sight, Josh made an urgent call to Councilwoman Elinor Anderson , requesting an exception be authorized to enter Mauville Racing Grounds to handle an emergency. Nathan was nearby, as well, seated on Josh's Boltund, Crash.

Not a moment sooner than Elinor Anderson giving the go-ahead did Josh thank her and disconnect. "Jump it, Raikiri!" the Gym Leader shouted, spurring the Zeraora to high speed and flicking his reins sharply, commanding a leap over the tall fence surrounding the Racing Grounds. He would honor the Councilwoman's request and only remain as long as was necessary. Bounding toward the action, Josh caught sight of Interim Gym Leader SHAWN RICHARDS and his bodyguard backing their mounts away from a ROCK SLIDE clearly aimed not at the Pokémon, but at them directly. The Charizard's FLAMETHROWER set the entire Main Sector alight, diverting attention of his Gym Pokémon, especially his water-types. They all focused on putting out the blaze, but it was hard work in the strong sunlight. "Elise!!" Josh shouted, pushing his Zeraora into a fast gallop toward the princess. "Are you hurt?!" Of course, the Incineroar would not let him get anywhere close without putting his friend's life at risk.

Now fully on the scene, Josh looked down at the morbid scene of two shattered skulls that belonged to students in his most recent class. "Brad!! Alicia!!" he cried, being driven close to his anger point. That anger point would bubble over in a matter of moments. "Shawn, Nathan, what the hell happened?!" They would relay the story of how the two new hires' lives were ended in an instant, crushed under the weight of a lead pipe to the noggin.

Hearing the voice he could not pinpoint, Josh sent out a Charizard and commanded him with an unusually stern voice. "Ares, they've got to be nearby. Find whoever is responsible for this and bring them to me. Now." Without delay, the dragon took off and started patrolling the Racing Grounds' buildings. He also began phoning for backup, which would be evident if Dorian was watching. "We have an emergency at Mauville Racing Grounds. There's a hostage situation and I need backup as soon as you can get it."

Whoever was calling out those commands was loud. Really loud. Just from the inflections of the man's voice, the Gym Leader could tell he was fired up over what it was he wanted him for. While the ROCK SLIDE did not succeed in dismounting Shawn and his nimble Manectric, the CONFUSE RAY left Crash delirious. The electric sprinter bucked Nathan off in his confusion, leaving him at the mercy of Porkchop's rock-type attack. The Interim Gym Leader cried for assistance from the Gym's medical team, but it was in vain; they were unable to get close, thanks to Dorian's Pokémon.

Seeing little alternative, Josh made himself fully present. "Whoever you are, if it's me you want, it's me you've got! Leave them out of this!" Blood began pooling underneath Nathan as the largest stones from the ROCK SLIDE pinned him to the ground with their crushing weight. "Can't you see Nathan's gonna bleed out?!" Ares had returned to Josh's side, even the aggressive Charizard backing off after the wave of burning dragon energy washed over him. Raikiri let out a crackling cry, ready to pounce the one responsible.

Realistically, though, his head of security was a goner. Unless medical was able to assist within the next minute, the blood loss would simply be too great for him to withstand.

That was IT. With the size of the ROCK SLIDE and the implied size of the blood pool expanding beyond its radius, Josh knew Nathan was a goner. With Elise Calcifet and his interim Gym Leader still in danger, and the killer now in sight in the stands on the other side of the main battle court, he had to make a move. Now. The Emboar's loud ROAR was enough to scare even Saber away, the swift electric-type turning tail right into the flying dragon's SCORCHING SANDS.

With a fierce buck that hurt on its own, the Manectric desperately attempted to fling Shawn in a separate direction, anywhere away from the ground-type attack. The burning minerals ignited the Interim Gym Leader, the talented trainer's strength leaving him as the water inside his body began to boil away.

Josh had a great opportunity to end the battle here; with Dorian wide open, he could pick off the former Silas Beast with a supersonic charge from his Zeraora. He was faced with an impossible choice he had only a split second to make due to the rapidly-forming SMOKESCREEN: take out Dorian, save Elise, or save Shawn? In the heat of the moment, he chose to save the Galarian princess. "QUICK ATTACK, Raikiri!" The mythical Pokémon would charge toward Emboar and Elise at a speed that made him nearly invisible. Its purpose was not to strike the fighting-type, but to scoop up Elise and get her to safety.

The deathly scream of Interim Gym Leader Shawn caught Josh's immediate attention as he reined Raikiri toward the Gym's back entrance. "Get out of here, NOW!" Josh ordered his Gym Trainer, unsure if Elise was wounded. Once she was off the thundercat, the duo bolted toward Shawn's distressed voice. Unfortunately for him, not even the mythical cat's speed was enough to arrive in time. The Charizard's gout of FLAMETHROWER, on top of the pile of SCORCHING SANDS, began to melt the ground under where Shawn was imprisoned. All that remained of the Interim Gym Leader when the flames were gone was a pile of ash and molten bones.

Elise Calcifet had never seen the Gym Leader so angry in her life. That Charizard was going to pay, and neither Josh nor Raikiri were holding back. "HYPERSONIC..."

Josh didn't even dismount. In a borderline zen state thanks to the rush of combat and an anger that surpassed what even Eris herself had to deal with, dorian westcliff could clearly see the unbridled fury in the Mauville Leader's eyes. It was only in this heightened state that he unleashed his true power. Power he was consciously afraid to use. His meaningful consciousness had departed him in the moment, though. He and Raikiri were aiming for blood, much like the typical disposition of the Legendary Beast Josh believed his mythical steed was a reincarnation of.

"...PLASMA CHARGE!!!"



In a flash of lightning that was impossible for the untrained eye to track, almost immediately followed by a deafening sonic boom, Josh and Raikiri hurtled toward the Charizard at blink-and-you'll-miss-it speeds, wreathed in electricity.

Z-MOVE: HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE
[Elec][Priority]
The user is enveloped in lightning bolts becoming faster than the speed of sound. This move always goes first, even before other priority moves, and will always do at least neutral damage regardless of the target’s type or abilities.