There was truly nothing like Resheph and Mastema to fly. They were both stable and incredibly fast, capable of getting their riders almost anywhere in Hoenn in a matter of minutes rather than hours. While he didn't goad Howard into flying to Fallarbor at breakneck EXTREME SPEED pace, the two flying Pokémon still made amazing pace toward the humble town that served as a climate refuge during the summer months. Though many buildings were equipped with air conditioning, theirs were much more seldom used than cities farther south.

"You're not wrong," Josh agreed with Howard as the duo touched down. "One of these days, I'll need to show you Raikiri. He's my Zeraora and one of my most precious Pokémon. If you think Crash or Blitz are fast, they've got nothing on him." With it not being terribly busy, the two could sit down for the most part where they wanted. "Right, we are having a bit of a late lunch, aren't we?" he mused aloud. "At least we beat the crowd." He rolled his eyes at all the sports talk shows being shown on the television sets; there was but a single game being shown. "Castelia and Veilstone going at it, looks like. Two good ball clubs. You watch much baseball?" he asked Howard, trying to get a feel for how much he was into sports as a whole.

"I'm going to casually skip over the fact that you have a Pokémon with you that is spoken of in legend." Howard said cheerfully. "As expected of a Gym Leader, I suppose. You'll have to take me for a ride on Raikiri, sometimes." He paled slightly, getting nauseous at the thought. "Or perhaps not. There's such a thing as too fast, y'know?"

A waitress walked over and offered the pair menus, plus an offer of drinks. Howard got a water with crushed sitrus berries mixed in. Getting wasted seemed like an excellent way to forget the previous mission, but Howard wasn't particularly bothered by how it ended.

Besides, there was something far better than alcohol: baseball. Howard eyed the game with interest. "Damn. I like both of those teams." He cursed quietly. "Veilstone has this one, though. Castelia is good but their pitching game is nothing compared to Veilstone's."

"Yeah, when I get the chance." Howard answered Josh's question with a shrug as he drank his berry water. "Sometimes, we would bring out one of those portable TVs while we were traveling and watch them at night. You have a favorite to win?"

---

Josh Devlin

Josh laughed with Howard at his remark of Raikiri perhaps being too fast. He wasn't wrong; it took even the Master of Faster a lot of getting used to the intense speeds the thundercat ran at. "...You have to remember that I've also ridden Raikou before. Twice," he half-bragged. "Not the real one, of course, but the Top Champion's Raikou-familiar. Now that might be too fast." That day last December was one he would never forget, blasting across the land around half the speed of sound, the wind roaring around him at incomprehensible volume and speed, pure adrenaline keeping him in the metaphorical saddle the whole time. It was something he longed to do at will.

Perhaps Raikou was out there somewhere, looking for a partner. He once fervently pursued the Beast, and it nearly destroyed his life. Rather than focusing on what he couldn't control, he would focus on what he could control: his bid for the rank of Champion, being a better Gym Leader, and a better Ranger. "Just a tall lemonade for now, please," Josh requested.

Once the server had come back with their beverages, Josh's attention turned to the game, Howard's assessment of the teams correct. Veilstone did indeed have a nasty opener, catching two batters looking with a nasty, high slider that just grazed the top of the zone. "That is one tough pitch to take," Josh mused. "I'm pulling for Castelia to win. A lot of people don't like them because they're the only team in the league that can afford to pay luxury tax. It's not like the PFL, where there's a hard salary cap."

Josh knew the kind of device Howard was talking about. "You've been at this for a while, haven't you?" he asked. "Now there are so many cable and streaming companies offering services online that you can just watch TV on any device you have an internet connection on." A roar from the crowd surrounding the baseball diamond followed a screamer down third base, slipping past the glove of the third baseman and toward the corner. "That'll be extra bases for Veilstone."

"Castelia's not a bad team. When you can throw around money like it's nothing, buying up contracts is easy as sin. I don't hate them, but I can't help but root for the underdog." Howard shrugged and sighed. "It's on me, I guess. Everyone likes a good underdog story."

As Veilstone snatched away extra bases, Howard raised an eyebrow towards Josh and drank his water. "Case in point. Let's see if they can keep up the pressure. Castelia tends to struggle to warm up, but once they do... Veilstone will struggle. It'll be close.

Howard flipped up the menu and began skimming the options, chuckling at Josh's statement about a Raikou-familiar. What a silly idea! Nobody would ever think of something like that. He chuckled again, before putting the menu down in wonder. "You're serious. About the Raikou thing, I mean. I'll never get over the crazy shit you Gym Leaders get up to. Next to you, sitting in a desert with a portable television seems almost silly in comparison."

Yet despite that, Howard found no difficulty in comparing the sense of scale in his life to the scale of Josh's. Eventually, all that would be left of them both would be memoirs and scraps left in the earth for future generations to argue over. Howard had no issue with that. They were both infinitely small in the grand scheme of the world and its geological eras.

Eyeing the menu, Howard raised an eyebrow at Josh. "Appetizers? Are you a soup or salad kind of guy?"

---

Josh Devlin

An underdog story did sell newspapers, after all. Well, not physical newspapers, as very few of those existed anymore, what with digital media being far cheaper to "print". A walk put a runner on first base, then midway through the count, the home plate umpire called a balk during an attempt to pick off the first base runner. The Gym Leader scowled. "A balk, really...?" An instant replay was all Josh need to see. "Nope, they got the call right. Still, a balk is really frustrating. Now any hit is gonna drive in two runs."

Josh couldn't help but chuckle back. "You think I'd lie to you about something like that? It was that experience that has made me as fired up as I am about Raikou. If you think some of my Pokémon are fast, hooboy..." He described his experience riding on Raikou, being particularly descriptive of the Beast's EXTREME SPEED and even sharing the speed figure the legendary Pokémon achieved. Though it was hard to believe, his body language and voice inflection may have led Howard to believe he was being fully truthful and not exaggerating. "I want that power for myself."

"I'm more of a soup person. What you looking at getting?" Josh asked as he browsed the menu himself. "For my entree, I think I'm gonna try their buffalo chicken sandwich. I haven't had one of those in a while."

As Josh explained the wonders of EXTREME SPEED to Howard, the archaeologist could only nod and chuckle. How else could he respond? You didn't just drop a number that high and expect people to believe you? Yet it was Josh! The man had so many feathers in his cap that he didn't really need to lie. Maybe he was exaggerating, or misremembering, or he had gone so fast his brain had melted. They would never know.

That number could NOT be real. Even if Josh's demeanor and body language insisted it was. This was one of those things where seeing was believing. A lot was happening in the Hoenn region, though. Times were changing, and Howard felt like he was getting left behind. He crossed his arms in thought.

"I'm definitely a soup guy. It's easy to make when out and about. Salad spoils, and it'll go straight to my thighs." Howard cracked a smirk. "Just kidding. It's just so hard to beat soups, y'know?" Howard removed his hat and let it dangle from the chair. It was rude to leave one on indoors.

"I'll try this chicken fried steak, then. Been trying to find an authentic one in Hoenn for ages. I don't know if it's the way food is prepared here, but nobody can get the skin or textures right. That's not important, though. Josh..."

Howard leaned forward, serious.

"Why do you want power?" He asked quietly. "You're a Gym Leader, a member of the League's upper brass. A living legend. You could beat a thousand of me with one hand tied behind your saddle. What would power do for you?"

---

Josh Devlin

Little did Howard know that Josh was not exaggerating one bit. That speed was very real, a gallop so fast that the force behind it left Josh paralyzed while he was on the thundercloud... and yet, he had never been more in heaven than he was that day. He came out of his daydream when Howard brought up their appetizer. "Absolutely. They fill you up real quick."

After putting in their orders, the topic of power came up. It was a somber one for Josh, having been completely humiliated by Cillian Quinn 's Lugia. A god so powerful even other gods had every right to fear her. He imagined even Arceus Himself had every right to fear the corrupted Beast of the Sea. "You haven't been to war in Hoenn, have you?" Josh asked. "It's a constant here, unfortunately. If you think I'm strong, there are a select few that have managed to catch the attention of the gods themselves. Even befriend them."

It was clearly an uncomfortable topic for Josh at one point, having talked about it with many higher-ups and even some of his long-standing friends. "There was a day when I would give anything, even my Gym, to fight in this war alongside Raikou. It was once an obsession that very nearly ruined my life, and it took every bit of my will to make it a mere dream again." He paused to let that sink in. "Call me a living legend when you see me holding Raikou's reins."

Sipping on his lemonade, Josh let out a yawn. "What a boring 5th inning," he remarked as Castelia came to the batter's box for the start of the 6th. Strikeout, strikeout, groundout. Groundout, walk, double play. "I dunno about you, but I don't like watching pitcher's duels like this. I like to see strong offenses on both sides. Some people, like my dad, love watching scoreless games, like that Castelia playoff game last year that went for fifteen innings without a run."

"I'm aware." Howard said tiredly. His expression was a new one, a mixture of remorse, weariness, and contempt. Howard brushed the bandage by his eye absentmindedly. "I never fought in a war. I'm no trainer, Josh. I'm a coward. Compared to me, you may as well be whatever god you chase after. War is tiring, and at its current rate, this region will be a smoking crater in the ground. The League and Team Rocket will chase stronger and stronger Pokemon, until the world cracks and we have a Darkest Day anew."

History. The infinitely turning wheel that dictated how the world would move forward. As much as people liked to ignore it in favor of alternate dimensions and scientific progress, history never lied. People harnessing the power of Legendary Pokemon and capturing them was something that would continue for a very long time.

What would break first? The cycle, or Hoenn itself?

"You're not a bad guy, but power changes people. Its pursuit changes people. I wouldn't be the same if I had the power of a god, that's for sure." Ice clinked as Howard sipped his water. "Will you be the same on the other side? I hope so."

Silence.

"Well!" Howard said brightly. "Let's not worry about that. I'll be scampering away from any battle that happens. Littleroot? Dewford? Phooey. This baseball game is far more interesting. Maybe you and Raikou can team up if you beat it at baseball." Howard grinned, though it took a few moments for the intensity of his expression to vanish. He nodded. "I remember that game! I actually quite like it. It gets analyzed by professionals even to this day. If you hated that one, you must've hated the Pewter City preliminaries. That game went on for almost as long.

---

Josh Devlin

It was in that moment that Josh realized he had been so accustomed to war that he had forgotten what it was like to be a civilian. As a Gym Leader, he was someone special. As much as Michael Navidson had told him otherwise, he was a hero to the citizens of Mauville. He and his Pokémon were the densely populated city's knight in shining armor, fearless and (mostly) selfless. "That's the fear," Josh replied in a solemn tone. "I really hope it doesn't come to that, but there's no end in sight. Originally, I wanted to befriend Raikou just to be able to ride him and race him. Now, though, I have a greater purpose for doing so. And that's to save Hoenn from her grim future."

Power did indeed corrupt. Josh, though, had confidence in himself, his strong work ethic, and his strong morals. "It might be a good thing my interest is in him instead of a Pokémon with truly cosmos-altering powers. The Timelord Dialga and the Spacelord Palkia are roaming Hoenn. I don't think I could handle power like that. Imagine having dominion over something like time. I couldn't do it. Raikou's domain of lightning and speed is much more limited."

The conversation circled back to the baseball game just as their soups arrived in the bottom of the sixth inning, Castelia leaving two runners stranded. "Knock on wood, but the officiating has been really good so far in this game. Probably because Joe Westwood isn't behind the plate. They booted him to the Minor League last year for blowing too many games as a Major League umpire. I would know; I went to a Minor League game earlier this year with Michael Navidson , and he was behind the plate. Most erratic strike zone I've ever seen."

Castelia found themselves in a real bind, having two full-count pitches barely miss outside. With two on base and nobody out, the pressure was on. Even two sacrifice fly-outs could drive in a run. "Wow, this stuff fills you up fast," Josh said, sipping on his soup at the start of the big at-bat. "I'm not even gonna be able to finish this if I want to be able to eat my sandwich. This is not good, though. They can't even walk him. Not with Rodgers on deck. He's the one slugger Veilstone's got, and a grand slam would be a disaster."

"Heh, could you imagine having control over time? I'd be using that to zip about the timestream to settle so many historical debates. I could finally convince half the people in grad school that there is a key distinction between braille written in old Hoenn texts a thousand years ago and nine hundred years ago with conclusive proof." Howard huffed and clenched a fist. Was this seriously what filled his head? Discussions about languages nobody spoke and whether or not someone spoke them a thousand years ago, or a thousand and one years ago? "The Spacelord can suck an egg." Howard said as an afterthought.

It seemed like a small problem to have.

There was no need to have power. If he had Josh's struggles, Team Rocket would be breathing down his neck and choking him more than were now. Power was good for one thing: casting a very long shadow. If Howard had the powers of space and time in his hands, would he seriously make true on his promise to solve petty academic debates?

Or would he lose himself?

"Instead, you can go fast enough to break the sound barrier a dozen times over. It's not as impressive as godhood, but it's pretty close!" Howard refilled his water as the waiter came back with their food, as if sensing Josh's decreasing appetite. Howard didn't seem focused on it though. His eyes beamed as Josh mentioned Michael. "You know Mr. Navidson? He saved my skin on a salvage operation in Ultra Space. Like I said, man." Howard waved his fork like a magic wand. "You Gym Leaders are on a totally different level!"

"Rodgers is great, but Stevenson is no slouch. Watch Veilstone crush this one." Howard said. He waited a few seconds, and then snapped his fingers right as the ball was struck. He waved his eyebrows at Josh. "Eh? Eh? Veilstone's not doing too bad!"

---

Josh Devlin

Howard's use of time manipulation did not seem malicious at all. It was one way Josh felt the young man's heart was in the right place. The number of bad actors there were that would use the power of time travel for evil was far greater than he could ever envision. "As much as I'd love to believe there are people out there that could be responsible with it, that kind of power is just something humans shouldn't have access to."

It was true, though; Raikou could reach half the speed of sound without a Z-Move. His mouth watered as he daydreamed about just how fast Raikou could get with his Gym's Z-Move. Would it be too fast for him to handle? With Avatar powers, not likely. Without them, if his own RONDEZ-VIEW OF LUV route taught him anything, he would not be able to do so. "I wouldn't say that. As awesome as it would be to hold the reins of the fastest Pokémon on land, speed can easily be countered on the battlefield. Trust me. I've had to learn this the hard way." His battle with Amor Rose came to mind, the crafty Head Scientist using his own strength against him.

Howard was right; while the ball went sailing into the air on a good trajectory, it didn't have quite enough steam to make it out of the park. Bouncing off the right wall, Castelia's fielding was quick enough to hold the batter to a double, but two runs scored, giving the Sinnoh team the lead. There were still no outs, either.

"Naturally, and yet they do. It's not something new, either. Entire regions have been built, destroyed, and made anew by Unova's Dragons of Ideal, Sinnoh's Arceus, and so on. The former even had the help of humans." Howard's eye narrowed. "History is a wheel. The more we as a species understand it, the more we will all understand where we're going."

Taking a silent bite of food, Howard considered the scenario with thought. He raised his fork after thinking about it for a moment. Josh was a man who valued speed, so you simply had to counter the Gym Leader's natural skill. "I would use a mixture of Trick Room, Gravity, and other moves to alter the terrain. Maybe use Sandstorm to cover my escape. I'm no fighter though, and my battling skills are mediocre."

As a civilian who avoided large scale conflict, Howard had no need to fight against anyone. Since he was in Team Rocket with a hidden identity, he had nobody actively chasing him down. Since that was the case, why learn how to fight when you could learn more about the world? There were those far more suited to the art of war, like the League's Rangers, Rocket's Battle Beasts, and the elusive Avatars.

"You want to change your thoughts on Castelia and Veilstone, Josh? Not too late to admit I was right-o." Howard raised an eyebrow. "Why do you even prefer Castelia? Their streets are pretty cramped, not too much racing unless the streets are clear." Howard raised a finger. "That doesn't mean its the only value the city has. It has utterly divine food. Simply incredible!

---

Josh Devlin

Howard may not have been a battle expert like Josh was, but he was one bright lad. "Don't even get me started on Arceus. The moment Arceus chooses an Avatar, whether League or Rocket, Hoenn is good and well cooked. No human should have that kind of power." He was right, though; history was a wheel, and time was the river that kept that wheel turning. "It is, and one that repeats itself if we don't learn from it. The past isn't there to regret. It's there to learn from."

Josh continued to sip on his soup as Howard described how he would beat his tactics were the two going to battle. "While traditionally effective against speed, yes, part of being a Gym Leader is figuring out how to counter tactics that naturally have an advantage against your style," he added. "If you're able to think of all of that, you've at least got the knowledge base to be a strong combatant. If you ever want to dip your toes deeper into it, let me know. I can slot you in at Mauville Gym. Not even necessarily for a challenge. For a battle course. Might be helpful if you get conscripted into the war. Shalin and I both didn't have a choice on fighting. For a Gym Leader, it makes sense. They shouldn't have conscripted her, though."

When asked about his choice of team, Josh had a quick and simple answer. "My dad's a Castelia fan... or rather, was. He's no longer with us. I got the news a few months ago. That's why I like them so much, because he did. You don't have to apologize about it. I'm over it now, but I still think about him."

Castelia was able to get out of their jam in the 6th inning, picking off the runner at second base and following it up with two pop-up outs. Other than a solo home run making it a one-run contest, the top of the 7th inning was uneventful. Their main courses arrived during the 7th-inning stretch. "That sauce smells so good," he said as he took a big sniff at his food.