His first opponent was one who had learned much about riding a Pokémon from Josh himself: ghost fireheart . "...Wasn't expecting to run into you out here, Ghost!" Josh greeted from the back of his Shiny Pyroar, who let out a gentle purr toward his Ranger friend. "Did you learn the art of mounted combat from Finn's school, too?" It was a little disappointing he couldn't meet Ghost deeper in the tournament, but it was good knowing one of them would be moving on to the next round. "We shall see how much the student has learned from the master."

The rules were simple: combatants would be armed with a sword to try to make strikes on the rider, and a shield to block them with. There were five panels on the front of the shield, used for scoring. The first to break four of the five would move on to the next round. Falling off one's mount was an instant loss, and ties would be broken by decision. "I'm gonna be using Aslan! What about you?"

Wait, flying Pokémon were allowed in this tournament? That seemed hardly fair, with Aslan being able to move in only two dimensions and Roc Royal in three! He reviewed the rules, and there was nothing restricting flying Pokémon from participating. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm going easy on you, you know," Josh retorted. "I'm just a little surprised they're allowing flying Pokémon in the joust is all. Good luck, and may the best rider win."

With that, the two met on opposite sides of the battleground, surrounded by spectators cheering them both on. Even some of Josh's Gym staff had come down to watch the Master of Faster in action. With his sword in his right hand and a large shield strapped to his left, the Gym Leader spurred the golden lion toward Ghost and Roc Royal, his eye on the panel in the center of his foe's shield.

Ghost did have a point; by allowing flying Pokémon into the joust, it did allow for more varied entries. While the dragon's aerial nature did give Ghost some advantage, he would have to come down from the air to strike Josh eventually. "I wouldn't expect you to go easy on me!" With their words out of the way, a war horn sounded, the signal for the two to charge at one another.

Ghost was armed with two polearms, his targets instead on the padding he wore. His strategy was all offense, able to attack the racer's strong side and his weak side. Josh could attack only from his strong side, but he had a big shield strapped to his left arm. While the padding Ghost wore was thick, it was still risky to fight without a shield!

Spurring Aslan into a dash, Josh exchanged blows with Ghost at great speed, slicing broadaide at his opponent. Blade clashed with spearhead, and spearhead sparked with shield. The crowd roared at the loud sound of metal-to-metal contact. When the two turned around, Josh could see a big crack on the center panel, just as he had aimed. Not wanting to give up a lead, he reined Aslan toward Ghost's weak side, pivoting his body to try to get a better angle for his next cut.

Josh's timely blow had unseated Ghost from his Salamence steed. Why, then, was the match allowed to continue? Did the refs just miss it? Rather chapped, he shook his head at the ref on his side of the jousting strip and had a heated conversation with the official. Under the thread of ejection, he backed off and continued the match, his frustration boiling over and enabling him to put extra power into his sword attacks.

As blade and polearm clashed, the back edge of Josh's weapon scored a hit against yet another target on Ghost's vest. That was two down!

With a massive lead, the young Gym Leader focused on playing the rest of the match defensively. With the Salamence taking advantage of its weight, as well as the gravity of its dive, he knew a direct hit would have a good shot at unseating him from his Pyroar steed. Rather than focus on scoring a third point, he would battle defensively, ready to spur his lion into DOUBLE TEAM at the last possible moment, using Ghost's momentum against him.

As Roc Royal soared high above the jousting strip, Josh raised his shield to cover from the aerial attack. He kept a close eye on his opponent, unable to hear a word that Ghost said due to the great distance between them. "Come and get me," Josh said to himself, readying his own sword against the charge.

The Salamence's dive had incredible force behind it, sparks flying from the metal-to-metal contact that made Josh's left palm sting. The wooden scoring panel, now dislodged from the shield, slid down it. Shaking his head, he now had greater respect for the power behind mounted combat. Even defending against such a high speed attack could put one's shield arm out of commission.

Even Aslan reared and backed away. The specially-crafted saddle kept Josh from falling, but it was clear that a little more force would knock him off. He reined the fire-type erratically about the strip in an attempt to confuse the Salamence and opponent before making a strike at one of the remaining scoring targets.

With the sun's angle changing, Ghost and Roc Royal had the ability to hide there, the glare making it difficult for the Gym Leader to see the soaring dragon and jouster. As the two collided with great force that threatened to knock him off his Pyroar steed, the lion let out a loud roar that rattled Josh. That blow hurt his shield arm; though it saved him from being skewered due to the extreme force behind the dragon's dive, the scoring target nearby had been badly damaged. Even a rough gallop could cause the thing to shatter, scoring a point for his rival. It held for now.

Though his left arm stung still, the Gym Leader wasn't going to give up the opening his parry created. He thrust his own weapon toward the last easy-to-reach scoring target, which split in two and hit the ground with a thud. It was match point, and Josh had a couple to give. He readied his stance, ready to slam his heels into the lion's sides for his fastest charge yet.