Howard was awake when he got the email. He was in the Hoenntel 6's lounge, eating free pancakes when his phone buzzed with the notification. He frowned, cheeks full of pancake, as he attempted to tap out a response:

TO: Josh Devlin (josh.devlin@hoennleague.gov)

Ohnj miah wau, readyut

"Fuck it." Howard grumbled as he closed his phone, and ditching the text. Instead, the email sent and Josh would be met with the worst email in the history of emails. He had way too much syrup on his fingers to type out something even remotely comprehensible, and it was far too early in the morning to answer an email. He had to do several breathing exercises first, maybe clear his mind of doubt, and cry onto Shirley's shoulder for a few minutes before finally typing something out.

No, fuck that.

Later, Howard would raise his hand in greetings as he met with Josh. Shirley was resting on Howard's large backpack, and the Aerodactyl seemed comically large on the man's body. She sniffed on Howard, and let out a yap. "She likes you! That's good. " Howard beamed as he returned her to her ball.

"I read it while eating pancakes. Easy adventure. With only two stars and a Gym Leader, this should be a breeze." Howard looked up at Josh on his Manectric. He clucked his tongue. "You betray your roots as a cat person, Josh. Thanks for the ride."

Despite the jab, Howard appreciated Josh's attempt to make Howard's ride easier. The less he vomited all over Mauville's streets, the better. He looked at the Boltund, and tentatively patted Crash's head and attempted an ear scratch. "Combine that with the trek to Lavaridge, and it'll be quite the trip. You ready?" Howard said as he clumsily climbed onto Crash's back.

---

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh Devlin

The two met on the street level of the Hoenntel 6, traffic a little heavier than usual due to a special event going on at a nearby mall. While the Gym Leader couldn't see the sky due to the road directly above him, it was a good day for a job in the canyon. The forecast was cool and overcast, with isolated showers. Hopefully they wouldn't get wet, especially with the duo traveling on Josh's electric mounts! "That's how you get keys stuck on your phone, heh," Josh jabbed back. The two wound up jawing back and forth for a bit over Howard's crude humor. "I did that for you. I noticed you struggled with Blitz a bit, so I brought Crash, my Boltund. He's not quite as fast, but he has a much more stable gallop. You won't bounce as high riding him."

The electric hound greatly appreciated the scratches behind the ear, letting out two barks of approval. Several passing drivers honked their horns at the Gym Leader, waving at him. "112 is a ways away, so it'll be a bit of a longer trip. Hope you've learned a lot from what I taught you earlier. Once we leave the city behind us, get ready to go fast. There won't be a speed limit holding us back," the Master of Faster winked. "Ready when you are." With that, he would lead the way to Mauville's north gate.

"That's considerate of you." Howard inclined his head, touched that Josh would be so accommodating to the archaeologist. They were essentially acquaintances still, though eating food at a sports bar together was one of the five fastest ways to bond with another person. "Thank you." He said simply, hoping Josh would receive the gratitude emanating from the two words.

"Hello Mr. Spark." Howard adopted a mock puppy voice as he scratched Crash's ears. "If I vomit, do not eat it. It won't taste very good."

Looking back at Hoenntel Six, Howard gave it a salute. He would be missing this place. Anywhere with free pancakes was good enough to him. "Sure, let's g—" Howard turned back to face Josh, only to see that the Gym Leader had already ran off.

"W-wait! Howard cried as he hopped onto Crash's saddle. "I wasn't readyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!" Howard screamed as he chased Josh through Mauville. It was a ride full of twists and turns, and Howard's limited knowledge was put to the test.

Even if Josh was (hopefully) obeying the speed limit, it certainly didn't feel like it. Howard felt like his face was peeling off. To make matters worse, he suspected that this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

---

Josh Devlin

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh was about to correct Howard on his Boltund's name when he realized how intimidating it might be to be on the back of a Pokémon nicknamed Crash. The intent of the name was akin to "crashing thunder", not "crash and burn", which may have been what Howard thought of first. At his friend's scream, Josh pulled to the side of the road and slowed Saber to the point where he could catch up. It did not take them long to pass by his apartment near his Gym. "If you're gonna ride a Pokémon, you really should have a helmet. Let me change into my Sygna Suit real quick, and I'll let you wear my old racing helmet. It'll be good for your peace of mind. And mine." Of course he would need to switch off the HoloWear aspect of it; Josh Dragomir probably wouldn't be too happy with him if the Ranger technology fell into unauthorized parties' hands.

It took only a few minutes, but Josh returned in a striking-looking suit with yellows and cyans that made him look like a bipedal Manectric. "Alright, got it. Slip this on. It's even got a retractible visor you can use to keep the wind out of your face." He handed Howard the racing helmet he used to use before he got his Sygna Suit, which had the same thing built right in. Instead of yellows and blues, this one had a yellow and purple color scheme to it, with black lightning bolt shapes on each side.

Provided he would wear it, or show he had some other kind of head protection, the young man would continue alongside Howard and the Boltund until the duo reached the north gate. "The desert's a straight shot down this road. You ready this time? Make sure to not actually squeeze his sides too hard until you're actually ready to go." Saber let out a disjointed howl that could only be interpreted as laughter, remembering the one time he sent Josh flying from taking off before he was fully seated.

When Josh returned with the helmet, he found Howard leaning over another trash can. It was vaguely amusing in a cosmic sort of way the first few times, but now it was beginning to get old. Howard thought so too, and his stomach thought the joke was dated on the first attempt. Luckily for him, Josh, and Crash, Howard hadn't vomited. He had reached a state where he and his body played a game of Chicken to decide which would break first.

The archaeologist took a breath for a moment, before standing up, winning the silent battle.

"This thing is gonna riff on my style." Howard complained as he took off his hat and tucked it inside his pack. "You'd think mentioning something like a helmet would be the first thing you mention, Josh." Howard sighed as he put the helmet on with expert fingers. It was part of a Sygna Suit, yes, but it was still a helmet.

Meaning that this wasn't his first rodeo. Why could he ride a motorcycle but not a Pokémon? It was totally unfair to his genetics. He made a silent vow to not vomit into this helmet. Josh would likely bury him out in the canyon if he did. In a similar sense of comradery, Howard ignored the Sygna Suit's design and whistled appreciatively. Anything that he said about the suit would get flung right back at Howard. At least Josh's outfit was cohesive. Howard looked like a mix between a biker and a rural explorer.

"Man, if you keep saving my ass, I'll be more in debt to you than I ever was to university." Howard smirked from beneath the helmet as he hopped onto Crash. Hopefully the canine would live up to its intended namesake, and not the hypothetical one.

"Alright, let's goOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—" Howard shot off as he followed the Gym Leader's instructions.

---

Josh Devlin

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh laughed alongside Howard at the explorer's idiom. "Isn't helping each other out what being human is about, though?" Such bravado. Such naivete. Such an idealistic, highly abusable mind that would be easy for a bad actor to manipulate. That was the mind of the Mauville Gym Leader.

Crash's strides were long and powerful, the guest rider able to see the dog's feet when his legs were fully outstretched. He seemed a lot more comfortable than he did aboard Blitz, likely because he didn't have to contend with a flexing back meant for extreme bursts of speed that cats were known for. Boltund were still very fast, though! The two dogs flew toward Chimney Canyon at well above highway driving speed, trees and rock formations whipping past the electric-types and their riders. Even Josh let out a whoop at the pace Howard and his borrowed mount were setting.

It did not take them long at all to arrive at Chimney Canyon, where Josh was quick to withdraw his overland ride Pokémon. "How comfortable would you be with flying? That would be the fastest way to search for them," he asked Howard. "I've got a Pidgeot, Dragonair, and Togekiss ready for the task."

"Don't get all philosophical on me, man." Howard's muffled voice rang out as they sped along. "I saw somebody eat pancakes with their hands at my hotel. Nobody offered him a fork. For every nice person out there, there's a dozen people ready to take advantage of him. Trust me, I know." His voice gained a bitter edge as they picked up speed.

The shadow that Team Rocket cast over his prospects was looming as tall as ever. Sometimes, the archaeologist could feel it crawling on his spine. He shivered for a moment.

Hopefully the face-peeling speeds they were traveling at would cause the sound to be lost to the ether, but you never could tell with racers. Maybe Josh had developed some sort of insane listening skills that allowed him to pick up sound waves that were long gone. Howard wasn't sure of the exact science of sound, he had passed out during that elective at Rustboro.

Despite the speed, Howard could tell they weren't going as fast as Josh could, if the Gym Leader were doing this solo. The Gym Leader was a professional racer, and he conducted himself well in the saddle. Howard was simply slowing him down, so he would need to work extra hard to make sure that he didn't get left in the dust.

"I can fly." Howard said loudly over the wind. "I've been on planes and helicopters. I jumped out of one, once. Long story. Got stranded in eastern Unova for a month. Long story. How different can a fluffy Togekiss be, eh?"

A bold question, indeed.

---

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh Devlin

Though Josh wasn't a fan of Howard's attitude, he let the remarks slide. His experiences weren't like that at all; the ratios of good to bad were the opposite. Perhaps it was a byproduct of the sheltered environment he was raised in. Instead, he pushed the Pokémon to higher speeds, as high as Howard seemed comfortable with, before arriving at Chimney Canyon. He reined his Pokémon to a stop, making sure Howard could comfortably dismount the Boltund before recalling them both.

"You're right; Togekiss are quite easy to control. They hover in flight and don't have to flap their wings like other flying Pokémon. They only use them for speed and direction changes," Josh explained, sending out the Fairy-type and a Pidgeot. "Mastema," he gestured toward the large, serious-looking Togekiss, "is not one to take humor well. Just a heads up when you get on him. He's unerringly loyal and obedient to a fault. Be careful using his Extreme Speed, though. He won't hold back." With that out of the way, the Gym Leader took a seat on the large bird, who spread his wings and looked ready to take off at a moment's notice. "And this is Pazuzu. He's the first Pokémon I ever caught; I've known him since I was eleven."

Before the two took to the air, Josh switched his helmet's HoloWear over to a local map, the search radius overlaid on top of it. It was thanks to Josh Dragomir 's prowess that the technology had been implemented into his Sygna Suit. "How many Mega Ore deposits have you run into in your travels? I've been on the lookout for a hunk of Pidgeotite for a while, but no luck so far."

"And they're so fluffy!" Howard gushed as Josh finished his explanation of Mastema's personality and how to avoid crashing into a cliff. He coughed into his fist, even though he was wearing a helmet. "Sorry. I'm sorry. They're just so..." Howard trailed off again, the implications of his sentence obvious. As fluffy as Mastema was, Howard came to the conclusion that mentioning how fluffy he was would get old, fast.

And Mastema was fast, as Josh warned him. If the riding expert said that something was fast, then it was likely very fast. So fast that if Howard's hat flew off, he'd never see it again.

"Your first?" Howard echoed Josh's explanation, before glancing towards the Pidgeot. It seemed to radiate a quiet power and authority that Howard hadn't seen from Josh's other Pokémon. If the Gym Leader was bringing Pazuzu, then it was best to show the proper respect. "You two must be good friends." Howard said simply, before scratching his chin.

"Mega Ore deposits. I run into them occasionally, but I can't Mega Evolve my Pokémon, so they rarely catch my interest." Howard skipped over how he sent their coordinates and locations to Team Rocket for bonuses. Mega Stones were a commodity that Team Rocket treasured greatly, and he had found several over the course of his career. The bonuses he got from them...

"I have seen a few, but no Pidgeotite fragments. If I find one, you'll be the first one I tell." Howard said seriously, and surprisingly enough, Howard felt that he meant it. That was strange. The amount of artifacts he could get from fragments, and he was actually willing to give it to Josh instead.

A funny feeling, that was for sure.

"All right!" Howard clapped his hands together. "Anything differences between flying and land riding that I should be aware of? I'd feel terrible if I fell off and smashed your helmet." Howard hung his head in shame. "And my neck." He added as an afterthought.

---

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh Devlin

Mastema's expression grew more and more impatient with Howard. The Togekiss did not appreciate being described as cute and fluffy; he wanted to be known as a tough, steadfast guardian angel. Shaking his head, the fairy-type would hover near Howard and let him aboard easily. The cocoon on his back would make it impossible for Howard to fall once his upper legs and waist were all zipped up. It might take some getting used to, but it was an important safety measure while in the air, as the aerial Pokémon's bank angles could get quite steep when making tight turns.

"Yup! Caught him when I was eleven years old, on 35, just south of Goldenrod. We've been inseparable since." With a screech, it seemed like the Pidgeot, too, was getting impatient. "Key Stones and accessories are a dime a dozen anymore; they're almost always in stock at Lilycove Department Store. It's the Mega Stones themselves that are a pain in the ass to track down." He got to thinking about how much of an adventure it was tracking down both of Twilight's marbles of Absolite. One in a palace of fire and ice, the other at the bottom of a derelict waterway. How many dangerous dungeons hid Mega Stones? Perhaps he would explore one with Howard some day.

"Don't sweat falling," Josh reassured Howard. "All my flying Pokémon wear cocoon saddles for a reason. There is the addition of the third dimension, though, and the best way I like to help people learn it is like this." Josh took a deep breath as he felt Pazuzu shuffle his legs. "Think of your ride's reins and halters like a cord attached to the joystick of an airplane. You pull back on the joystick, the plane climbs. You push forward on it, he plane descends. It's just like that. if you pull back on the reins with both hands, you'll fly higher. If you loosen the pressure on them, you'll descend. Other than that it's mostly the same." As if to force the issue, the Pidgeot leaped into the canyon, not taking long to get enough lift under his wings to sustain speedy flight.

"They are, but I'm no fighter. I'm more of a thinker. Leave Mega Evolution to those with genuine talent. Me and Shirley are fine as we are. She's already a handful now." Howard smirked as he leaned into Mastema's fluff. He zipped up the saddle quickly and held on for dear life. There were far worse ways to go than riding a Togekiss. If he and Mastema crashed into a cliff face, Howard would walk into the afterlife with immense satisfaction.

Well, Josh would likely feel terrible. It was best not to crash into a cliff face.

After experimenting with the saddle's motion for a bit, Howard nodded. If Mastema got them safely to their destination, Howard would treat the Togekiss with the utmost respect it deserved. The saddle was as Josh had described: weird. Howard would definitely need to get used to it. Luckily for him, this mission was the perfect chance. Nothing encouraged learning more than the phrase 'break a leg', or in this case 'break a face against a mountain face'.

"Alright, Hastema. You ready to get us to our destination?" Howard asked, before popping his neck. "Follow your trainer. Let's make him sweat, yeah?" With that, Howard and Hastema followed Josh and Pazuzu.

All right, push forward on the joystick—er—saddle. Howard blinked. Hastema was not an airplane. Howard followed the crash course left by Josh and descended into the canyon. Howard felt the rush of air against his helmet. Was this what Josh was talking about? The thrill? Maybe there was something to this whole 'third dimension', shtick. Howard wasn't sure what the Gym Leader had meant. Didn't jumping include the third di-

Shoot! Howard turned sharply as they turned a corner. "Sorry, buddy. He told the Togekiss. "I'm gonna do something stupid." As if Hastema could stop the archaeologist. Howard threw up his hands.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Yeah, he was having fun.

---

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy

Josh Devlin

"His name is actually Mastema with an M," Josh corrected before the Togekiss could take the mistake personally. It seemed Howard wanted to let the Elite Ranger lead the way. No surprise there; Elite Rangers were often supervisors of missions. While it wasn't quite that way, he did find himself in leadership roles more often than not during routine wilderness operations.

As Howard released the pressure on the reins, his borrowed Togekiss steed's angle of attack dropped. He had picked up such speed that he had caught up to Pazuzu, the fairy-type and bird picking up tremendous speed alongside one another. They were going fast. Really fast. Fast enough that any exposed skin would have been pushed against bone, collecting at the side of the body facing away from the vicious wind.
Once Howard threw his hands skyward, Josh was quick to do so as well. His gut flew down his chest from the rapid reversal of momentum when near-free fall turned into several G's, exposed skin rushing toward the front of his face from the power behind the rapid ascent. "YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Josh likewise shouted.

That was fun. But they also had a job to do... and their presence had to have alerted wild Pokémon below. His eyes on the canyon floor as the Pidgeot slowly descended, Josh kept his eyes out for either the victims themselves, or an unusually concentrated group of wild Pokémon that would indicate their presence. "Anything, Howard?" Josh asked, his heart still pounding from coming off the adrenaline high.

"Mastema. Mastema." Howard corrected himself as he leaned into the Togekiss. "Pleasedon'tkillmeI'msorry..." He muttered into the Togekiss's coat as they took another sharp turn. The last thing he needed was Mastema's ire. Or Josh's. It was impolite to fumble over a Pokémon's nickname, something Josh would hopefully understand. Just as he understood why the archaeologist was willing to let the experienced Ranger take the lead.

Josh was a Gym Leader. He was an Elite Ranger. He outgunned both Howard and many of the individuals he worked with from Team Rocket. When you were trekking through unknown territory in search of valuables, you employed a guide who was familiar with the area. This was what separated the inept from adept. Those who arrogantly assumed themselves to be above experience never lasted long enough to accumulate it. That was why Howard was content to let Josh lead. He was talented and experienced in this field.

It was simple logic.

"I'm checking." Howard's eyes narrowed. With the deftness and experience of someone who could pluck out imperfections in stone, Howard scanned the cliff face. The email had mentioned the two hikers being located on the east side of the canyon, so that was where they looked. After a few moments, he snapped his fingers to get Josh's attention.

SNAP!

Howard pointed at something huddling on the cliff face. From this distance, Howard could tell it was someone, but was it two people, or just one? He gestured at Josh, before flying towards the strange sight. "You take front. I'm not talented in this field, and I'm likely to botch it. Any slew of Rock-types could be around, and that could change everything with a snap. I'll keep watch. Is that fine, bossman?"

---

Josh Devlin

NAME	SPECIES
Shirley	Aerodactyl
Ayer	Nosepass
Celpho	Anorith
Crumble	Baltoy