Vertigo. That was what Josh had experienced sitting in Raikou's thundercloud saddle that day. It was a feeling that took a supernatural amount of speed to induce in the Gym Leader. "Take your time," Josh assured the royal. "I know you're not used to going quite that fast. Hell, even I'm not used to Raikiri fully yet. A sprint that fast is hard even on me." Once the two regained their senses sufficiently, Josh waited for Elise to slide off the Zeraora before doing so himself. He swung the door open and flicked a light switch on.

The second metallic door creaked open, revealing the Gym Leader's personal sanctuary. It would have looked quite familiar to Elise. The display case of racing trophies had a few more than before, including the Bronze Plaque commemorating his third-place finish at the big race at Fortree City. The ride-on Raikou was still staring directly at them as they entered, and the four-panel dance game setup was still on their right. The biggest difference was the presence of a table and three chairs near the giant, lavish plush. To him, it served as a fourth chair surrounding the table, though he would not be able to reach the table from where he sat. It would be like sitting on a bar stool surrounding a normal dining table.

He didn't care, though; this was one of the few places he could safely lose himself in his childhood fantasy. The grown man got on the toy Raikou's thundercloud and leaned into it as though he were riding the real thing. He lightly pulsed the reins and sounded a command in a quiet, yet cry-like, voice: "Faster, Raikou! Faster!" Though the Beast did not move, he closed his eyes and imagined the wind flying around him like it did that day the Top Champion gave him a birthday present he would never forget.

After a few minutes, he shook his head, releasing Blitz, his Luxray, and Blinky, his Jolteon. "You two mind recharging the batteries here? I'm sure they're low on power by now." With a nod, the two went to opposite corners of the Secret Base, flipped open battery covers that camouflaged with the floor, and began discharging electricity around them.

It did not come to Josh's surprise that Elise was one of those who found his Secret Base last spring. With the two having known each other through Mauville Gym, finding his old Gym's location would have been a breeze. He even pretend-squeezed the feline's sides, imagining going for an Extreme Speed run on the Johto legendary's back. The memories of him rushing across eastern Hoenn at death-defying land speeds came flooding into his mind. He had to be careful, though; he couldn't let those kinds of desires cloud his judgment again. He still wanted to serve on AQUA despite the dangers. If it got out of hand again, the League wouldn't be giving him a second chance. Plus, he had to prove he could stand on his own without the help of a legendary Pokémon.

After being lost in his daydream for a couple minutes, Josh set the reins down and casually sat on the Raikou plush's back, as though the Beast were still. "I've been on the real thing before. This is one of the few ways I have to appreciate that memory. It's unlike anything you can imagine. It must be what other people feel when they ride at full speed with me."

Josh shook his head. "But that's not why you're here. I got your text the other day. You said you're thinking about leaving Mauville to open your own Gym, right?"

"The best way to describe what being on Raikou's back is like is Raikiri but faster," Josh replied. "I've been on Suicune's back, too. Back when I was ruining my life chasing Raikou with the...earnestness I once did, for lack of a better word, every road led to him. kyle lopez , sorry. He was the one that got me started in the Gym program in the first place. Raikou's Extreme Speed is nothing short of paralyzing, even if you're used to really high speed. Raikiri's Quick Attack is fast, but Raikou is in a league of its own." He sighed, the memory so distant. At least every so often, if he wanted to relive the experience of a Beast ride, he could get ahold of the Top Champion and do some work together that necessitated the high speed. He wanted to experience what riding Entei was like, as well, but the fire-type seemed a bit reserved to let guests aboard the last time he asked.

"Honestly, you want my best recommendation?" the Mauville Leader asked, letting her thoughts sink in. "I'd recommend applying for dahlia goode 's Minor League program first. Gym Leaders in Hoenn have a lot of other responsibilities beyond taking challengers. They're the heads of Law Enforcement for their cities. My experience as a spare wheel, floating between Ranger and Officer work, was part of the reason I got selected for my position." How long ago had he tussled with Isaac Merlo and Gerald Kaiser ? It had been almost a year now.

"You're effectively one of the generals of Hoenn's army, answering only to the Elite Four, Council, and of course, the Commissioner herself. You will be required to participate in most military operations, like Dewford. Remember that?" Losing the Seal Stone was a devastating blow, and would leave the League at a serious disadvantage. He wondered how much Rocket activity there was at The Border, having seen the Yellow Seal there himself. The Seal of Hatred. With the seal merely leaking, its mist conjured an incredibly hateful version of himself, willing to fight him to the death. It was for that reason he had put off his return trip there.

"Don't even remind me. Hoenn had its own Darkest Day. Thankfully, I dodged the draft for it by one day. Did you hear how many Pokémon were killed by...that thing that day?" He gave a physical description of Necrozma to the best of his ability. "Hundreds, if not thousands. The human toll was huge, too." A single LIGHT THAT BURNS THE SKY ended countless lives that day. He was fortunate to not be among them. "Anyway, that's enough. We can't do anything about it now. Applying for the Minor League program will give you the Pokémon-related responsibilities of a Gym Leader without the political and military baggage that comes with it. You'll have less challenger volume, as well. It's a great way to get your feet wet before you commit to the position. I was a graduate from the Minor League program when John Sullivan stepped down as Mauville's Gym Leader."

Even Minor League candidates were heavily screened. While Elise would have no issue passing background checks, she needed the Pokémon battling skills to pass the practical exam. "If you're serious about applying for the Minor League, on one of your days off, I want to put you through the gauntlet. If you want to be a Gym Leader, my level of combat prowess is close to, if not at, the floor the League is willing to tolerate." He was trying to save her the pain of being put on probation for battle performance issues. Each Gym was supposed to weed out a certain percentage of challengers from the Gym Challenge, and for its first few months on the circuit, Josh's Gym was not maintaining those standards. Since then, Mauville had a reputation for being a trying Gym, many challengers saving it for last.

Josh nodded at her acknowledgment of the one-day battle. "If you join the Major League, you will be obligated to battle in most operations, with the Elite Four as your commanding officers. They won't tolerate insubordination of any kind." He internally shook a fist at MATIAS SILPH , one of his direct superiors. He couldn't stand taking orders from him, and he knew insubordination would lead to more than just a loss of his Gym Leader position. He was the Volatile, and Josh's Sygna Suit left him weak to Ground-type attacks. One Ground-type hit from Matias' Patron and he would be mere paste on the ground.

"You'll also have to come up with a theme and a set of challenges for your Gym, and they can't closely overlap with any other Gym's challenge," Josh continued. "Do you have any ideas what you want to do? If not, we can brainstorm."

Josh nodded at Elise's resolve. "It sounds like you're serious about it. Pick a day both of us have off, and you and I should have a battle that day. We'll find your shortcomings, and I'll do what I can to help you work on them." She had access to the Gym's internal scheduling document, so it would be very easy to cross-reference their upcoming days off and pick one that suited them both.

He listened to the royal's suggestion for a Gym's type and smiled at her selection. "You don't need to worry about overlapping with a Johtonian Gym. It's overlap with Hoenn's Gyms that's the League's concern with every new Leader. Hoenn doesn't have a Ghost-type Gym, so you're good on that front. Now, what about your... special challenge? The one that sets your Gym apart from the others?" While she didn't strictly have to have one per League regulations, Josh found it was a great way to attract challengers. After all, most of his own challengers preferred to race him instead of battle him, despite the low challenger success rate!

His eyes shifted toward the Luxray, who was about to finish recharging the Secret Base's large batteries. "You want on the Raikou?" Josh asked, looking like he was about to hang the soft-looking reins up.

"Looking forward to it," Josh replied with a big smile on his face. "I had to step up my battle skills a lot when I took over Mauville Gym. I'm curious to see how you battle. I'm sure we can learn a lot from one another." Aside from wild Pokémon, Josh had never seen Elise battle before. He knew she liked ghost-types, which made her remark about making her Gym Ghost-type come as no surprise.

He perked up more when Elise mentioned the inspiration for her special challenge. "So a lot like Rosmontis' Gym on the other side of town, but an indoor version of it," he speculated. "That sounds like a ton of fun! During the off-season I would do remote beta testing for an indie game studio that made those types of adventure games. Of course, I can't do that anymore, now that I run Mauville Gym full time."

Josh got down from the plush Raikou to give a Elise a turn in the thundercloud seat. To him, she looked like a natural rider, a knight in shining armor, on the facsimile of the legendary creature. "You've learned a lot from me. One day, I hope to take you on the back of the real thing. Just like Kyle did for me."