It was a sunny day and not a cloud in the sky. Just the way Ghost loved it. As he was sitting on a large rock catching the sun. He would hear a familiar voice. This was a voice he did not hear in quite some time. Ghost looked over to see none other than Josh. Josh was a good friend of his and he might as well be called a Chaser. 
As Ghost hops down off the rock and onto the sandy beach sand.

As he dusts himself off. He would look on at Josh and would say to him.  "You look different did you ummm cut your hair?" He would say to him with a cheerful smile. Answering his question by pointing into the water. There it was Bane his mighty Kingdra. "You should know that answer by now. But you don't know what I got Zapdos Josh Zapdos.

 Soon he would hop onto Bane's back. assuming Josh followed suit. He would say to him  "So old friend how he you been?

Josh Devlin

The sight of a Kingdra made Josh wish he had brought Keiga with him. Alas, she was in Interim Gym Leader JACKIE MYERS' care, being prepared for a race challenge at the Gym he was currently not welcome at. "Wait, you got him?!" Josh immediately perked up. He gave the Chaser an air hug, since he wouldn't be able to reach him from the back of his Samurott. "That's awesome! What's it like to fly on him? It seems like we have a lot of catching up to do." It reminded him of his flight on Articuno with Laurence Anderson . He longed for another flight on the ice phoenix under less harrowing conditions.

He paused unnaturally long upon being asked how he was doing. "...Not very well." His eyes shifted to see a number of sunbathers around him. "...How about we swim out a ways over the bay? Until the beach disappears over the horizon. That should be far enough."

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 159}
{PC: 2}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         U!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

Ghost looked on as Bane kept a steady drive. This was nice and fun. To just relax and not have to worry about a thing for a while. Looking on Ghost would then reply to Josh's question.  "Bam bam bam bam bam. That's my new catch phase. But no Josh ole pal I don't and that's the sad part. But what I do know is he has been found and tamed. The good news is I can go meet up with the guy who got him. I am major said that one of the four legends I have are now gone. But you know what I've got a good feeling about this."

 Soon he would shake his head as he followed him out to sea. Eventually, an hour would pass and it was just them and their Pokemon and that is when Ghost would say to him. "So have is it going on your legend chasing project?"

Josh Devlin

Zapdos had been tamed. That was good news to hear, and would definitely be something to report to SAPPHIRE if the information could be verified. He couldn't help but laugh at Ghost's mood whiplash when he revealed he wasn't the chosen one. "Do you know who tamed Zapdos?" he asked. "As a Ranger, you should know that I'm a lead on Project SAPPHIRE. Any information you have on Zapdos would be incredibly valuable."

Regardless of whether he was willing to share, time would pass as the two Samurott sped away from the shore. Once Mauville City disappeared beyond the horizon, Josh felt comfortable sharing his story. "This is really hard for me to tell you, but... I have been suspended from exercising my duties as a Gym Leader for six months. It's because of... well, the biggest mistake of my life. Does the name Eris ring a bell?"

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 148}
{PC: 3}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         U!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

Ghost was a little bit stunned to see how shocked Josh was over the Zapdos news. He looked almost as shocked as Ghost did almost. As he looked on he would then say to him as a response to his quotes and question. "Project SAPPHIRE... I wonder what legend has to do with that. But if this letter I got is no joke then Project THUNDERBIRD will be closed. You see in gotten a strange letter saying who tamed it. Even where to find this person. I will be going there soon to confirm this. So I can't really give you a straight answer to that."

 As he heard the name Eris his eyes grew bigger. "Yeah can't say that I do. Maybe I met her but I can't put a name to a face. Why is she some type of Ranger or Chaser? Besides what in the world did you do to get yourself suspended? You know how hard it is to even get suspended."

Josh Devlin

Project THUNDERBIRD? Josh had never heard of an operation like that. If it involved legendary Pokémon, it would have gone through him, thanks to his lead role in Project SAPPHIRE. "SAPPHIRE isn't about a specific legendary Pokémon. There was a bulletin that went out last month over RangerNet, for those who couldn't make the meeting in Ever Grande. It war marked as urgent; didn't you read it?" Ghost's mention of knowing who tamed Zapdos caused Josh's eyebrows to go up. "As a Ranger, any information you have on legendary Pokémon, if you're at liberty to share it, would be extremely helpful. If you're not at liberty to share it, then I understand, and I won't give you any more legal exposure than you already have."

Ghost's widening eyes did not go unnoticed. "She's a child terrorist. She's been wanted by the League for quite some time. We finally got her and I was supposed to transfer her to Mauville Law enforcement for questioning. She got away from me, and I chased her all over Mauville and 117. And that wasn't just about me. It was about Raikou, too. I still want answers as to what happened to Raikou in the Kanto War and the Johto Invasion." Tears rolled down his eyes as the traumatic memory of his Beedrill attacking Eris was front and center again in his mind.

"This is really hard for me to say, but..."

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 240}
{PC: 4}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         U!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

Ghost would look on and then reply to him. "Yeah, I may have speed-read through it. But this is beside the point. Who doesn't know when the legends will appear they just do. But I don't go chasing. After them as a Pokemon Ranger. I go chase after them as a Pokemon Chaser. 
Those are two completely different things. So whatever the league got going on. I see it as they stay out of my way and I will stay out of theirs.

 "Soon he would hear an unfamiliar name and it confused him a bit as he would then say. "Can't say that I do know that name. Why did she do something bad or something?"

Josh Devlin

It seemed Ghost was blissfully unaware of the situation, that even Josh's suspension was news to him. "She was pretty high on the League's Most Wanted list for a while, but we finally got her and I was responsible for bringing her to HQ for questioning. She tried to get away from me, and I had to use every bit of speed I had to catch her. Even my Pokémon's HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE. You familiar with it? It might be the fastest Pokémon move in the world." Second fastest -- only to Eva Morales 's Rayquaza and their DRAGON ASCENT, that is.

"While trying to apprehend her, I wanted to get answers from her about Rocket's motive for killing Raikou. I wanted to believe so much that she had the answer I was looking for that I didn't let up until she told me what I wanted to hear. In hindsight, it was an answer she clearly didn't have. But in the heat of the moment, all I could focus on was Raikou. Blitz, my Luxray, realized that, and started disobeying me." Josh sniffed several times, his watery eyes and flustered face making him difficult to understand.

"And then... I completely lost control."

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 202}
{PC: 5}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         H!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

As he looked on Ghost truly wanted to believe that his good friend Josh was a very good storyteller. 
He did not want to believe that the person. He heard about was him. He did not want to believe that Josh became a dark person at that moment in time.
Nonetheless what he was saying no... how he was saying it.
It nearly caused Ghost to go into tears himself. However 
He still hears the old Josh in there somewhere. As he mentioned the fastest move which he never heard about before. However, to try to make Josh feel better he would say to him.

" I might have but it must have slipped my mind. I've been so far gone lately. However, it seems you have lost your way trying to find something. Most usually do lose their way on that road.
Josh, I can not judge you on your lowest moment not your highest moment. As I know you by your heart and you seem really regretful. But you need to make a promise to yourself that the Ranger league and your Pokemon to never do such a thing again."



Josh Devlin

"In the heat of that moment, I lost control," Josh continued, his face continuing to drip tears. "Given how high profile of a Rocket target she was, I had thought she would know what happened to Raikou in the Kanto War. And I... I nearly killed her over it. Rather, my Beedrill, King Zing, nearly did." It was a moment of great darkness in his light-filled life, though small that moment may have been, it snuffed out dozens of lights he had worked so hard to hang in the lives of many Hoennians. Even Toshiro simply floated in the water, rather than bobbing up and down to keep Josh on his riding game. The solemnity in the air was easy to recognize.

"Ghost, I've already done that," he answered. "I want to make this wrong right. I really do. Eris is a child. She doesn't deserve what Rocket's done to her. She certainly didn't deserve what I did to her. And now I have to live the rest of my life knowing I did that. Nothing can undo what I did. I just want to clear my name and do what I can to help her." As much as he felt like he had to do something, there was nothing he could do. That relationship was forever shattered. There would be no making amends with her. Regrettably, he would have to move on.

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 233}
{PC: 6}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         H!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

As he sat on the back of his Kingdra. He would watch Josh's movements and the tone of his voice. They were all given a regretful vibe. 
It was sad to see such a person of high standards be brought down this low. But only time will tell if he could truly do what it is he set out to do and that's to face this Eris person. 
 "Well, it seems like you need to go and see this Eris Person. When you do you need to apologize to her. It seems you were a different person than the one I am speaking with right now. But the real question is and I do mean this. Where do you go from here my dear friend?"


 He asked this as he truly wanted to know what was going on in his mind better yet his heart. As it has been a few weeks and yet Josh has not forgiven himself or at least that is what Ghost is thinking at this very moment.  




Josh Devlin

Ghost seemed to understand what Josh was trying to say deep down, but Josh could not bring the words to his lips right away. "That's so much easier said than done. How do you even approach someone who tried to take your life, let alone get them to understand you genuinely want to apologize to them and ask for forgiveness?" Little doubt it was a touchy subject; Josh had received a lot of conflicting advice on the matter. Ultimately, he would need to choose which advice was the most sound and act on it. That involved being a true leader and making a decision for himself.

"I go back to being the kind of person I was before this happened, with one change. Ever since I learned of Raikou's fate, I had become obsessed with getting to the bottom of who killed him and why." The weight of his folly quest had begun to bear its full load down upon the Master of Faster. "I had valued Raikou above everything else. Even my Gym and... my friends. Having Mauville Gym taken away from me made me realize I can't abandon my city. My people. Every resident of Mauville City is as much of a friend as you are. And I haven't needed Raikou to protect them until now."

It was clear he adored the Johto Beast, and still had a strong wish to be the one to fight alongside him. "If this has taught me one important lesson, it's that I have to bottle my obsession back up into a mere wish. A desire. Not a goal. Rather than chasing what cannot be chased... I need to focus on what I can do. And that's keep Mauville safe from Rocket. Be the best, most influential Gym Leader I can be. And most importantly, not let Raikou control me anymore." There was nothing wrong with an innocent desire. It was that desire turning destructive that nearly led to a child's life being ended... and another life nearly ruined.

---

ghost fireheart

{WC: 337}
{PC: 7}

NAME            SPECIES           STATUS 
Fumiko          U!Samurott        Good  
Toshiro         H!Samurott        Good
Torvie          Swampert          Good
Kairi           Vaporeon          Good  
Resheph         Dragonair         Good

Ghost understood what it meant to be crazy about something. After all he is a chaser for peak sake and they must be extremely crazy over the Pokemon that they must catch. As the wind blew he would hold on to his hat. As the sun was starting to get low. 
It was clear the duo was talking all day. But that was nothing when you are trying to help a good friend out. 
Still Ghost would wonder. Where is the Pokemon at that he raised. That decided he was going to far. How does he feel and don't still even look at Josh the same?


So many questions to be asked and what not. But do the people still look at Josh the same? To judge one based off of their darkest hour or even their most godlike one. Is truly not a good way to judge anyone. 
Ghost was all smiles when he would say to him.
 "Well then this is a new Josh. A Josh who learned from his past mistakes and what not. Now that that's out the way. Tell me this one thing my dear friend. Have you forgiving yourself above all or are you still struggling with that part of your heart.



Josh Devlin