Seeing Alphonse Gambino climb onto Braver without the hulking Arcanine needing to crouch was nothing short of alien. It was the only Pokémon on his roster that could accommodate the tallest person the Gym Leader had ever seen. When the two stood alongside one another, the Arcanine was shorter, though not by much. It wouldn't be uncomfortable for Alphonse to sit astride Braver, his side letting him wrap his legs around the fire-type's body if he so wanted. "It is," Josh nodded, seated on Craggro, his Hisuian Arcanine. He had already learned that the rock-type's EXTREME SPEED would be unusable until they worked off all this extra body weight. It was going to take a while, but a little at a time would be the best he could do.

"It really is," Josh nodded in agreement. "There's nothing like the world flying by you at wild speeds. Don't be afraid to hold his reins and control him yourself. Just remember, we are in town, so we do need to obey the speed limit." Both of the giant pups would be able to reach that kind of speed easily. "You need a crash course on how to control a mount, I can give you one."

Josh smiled at the mention of Al's daughter being into racing. "There's organized racing out there for riders of all skill levels, from novice to master," he added. "Would be fun to meet her on the circuit one day." His eyes shifted toward Braver from time to time to make sure the Arcanine was okay. It still felt alien to him watching a man astride a Pokémon that big, yet able to easily see over his head. One issue with riding Arcanine was having to see around the Pokémon's head rather than over it, but it was not an issue for him!

The Arcanine was far from monstrous. Larger than the average, certainly, but not massive. While he had yet to see a red-eyed Arcanine come out of a Space-Time Distortion, if the size ratios were similar to his other Pokémon, one of those Arcanine would be close to the hright of a two-story building. It would be uncomfortably large to sit on, except for maybe Alphonse. "Sadly Braver is not up for trade, but I can help you find something comparable. Ever since the Space-Time Distortions started showing up in Hoenn, there's been a huge influx of Pokémon that are way larger than previously-known average sizes for their kind. One of my fastest ride Pokémon is... a Jolteon. That should give you an idea of what's out there. I'm sure we'll find a Pokémon big enough to bear your weight."

Braver wasn't at all bothered by the weight, bounding forward at what was a pace between a trot and a canter for him. Craggro kept pace, his heavier breathing a sign that he was having a harder time keeping pace. "If you enjoy controlling Braver, we can always take a turn outside the city some time. Then you can see just how amazing Arcanine are when there aren't any speed limits."

Josh had heard of Drifblim before, as well, and did not care for the species, either. Despite being a fairly common ride Pokémon in Sinnoh, it was not his style. "Drifblim are just too reliant on the wind for me to want one. If you want to ride a ghost Pokémon, there's no better than Dragapult." They were incredibly fast, and could travel between the material and ethereal with little trouble. While the ethereal plane was an unlivable environment for humans, the jaunt needed to perform PHANTOM FORCE with a rider upon them was short enough to be survivable -- and enjoyable, with practice.

"Right, the Space-Time Distortions," Josh started to explain as the two rounded a corner onto a rural road on the top level's outer roads. The speed limit was higher, meaning Al could pick up the Arcanine's pace if he desired. "They're home to these giant Pokémon with red eyes. Alpha Pokémon, they're called. Imagine a Jolteon big enough for me to ride on, and that's the kind of proportions we're talking. Occasionally they'll escape the distortions and make their way into the ecosystem. When they do, they lose their Alpha status, but can be caught in Poké Balls like normal. They tend to be a lot more aggressive than their normal counterparts, but they're well worth raising. I bet an Alpha Arcanine would be so big that even you would find riding it uncomfortable."

The topic drifted toward Al's daughter. "Absolutely! You should bring her to Hoenn sometime! My Gym is so popular that I get off-region challengers with surprising frequency." He paused to reminisce about his older days. The days before he moved to Hoenn. "Before I was Mauville's Gym Leader, I was a semi-pro Pokémon racer. If we get to know each other better, I can show you my trophy collection some day."

By now, Craggro was starting to lag behind Braver, the Hisuian Arcanine's lack of stamina showing from having to carry around hundreds of pounds of excess weight. "You okay, buddy?" he asked the rock-type, who responded by sticking his tongue out and panting.

Al couldn't have been more right; many of Josh's oversized Pokémon wer temperamental. Inky, his Glaceon, still had a mind of his own, the saddled Ice-type not afraid to buck Josh off if he was in a foul mood. "Oh believe me, I know. Having caught a few of them myself, they're a handful, but are they ever rewarding to raise." The mantion of being a businessman, and seemingly a very successful one at that, did grab his attention. "As long as you pay your employees what they're worth and pay your fair share in taxes, I wish nothing but the best of performance from your business, whatever it may be. What industry are you in?" he idly asked.

It seemed Alphonse wanted to issue a challenge to Josh's Gym! Not right away, but sometime soon. "Of course! Feel free to issue a challenge to Mauville Gym and I'll take it when I can! You can go online or give us a call to schedule an appointment. Unfortunately, I'm unable to take walk-ins due to challenger volume." The sideways glance did not go unnoticed, though it directed the Leader's attention to a quite-large Zangoose on all fours, those front claws sharp as an Absol's horn. With claws like that, that normal-type could make some quick turns.

"You got it. That Zangoose is mine." Sliding off Craggro, he commanded the Hisuian Arcanine to ram and trample the Normal-type. The big dog's weight held him back, preventing him from using many of his moves. He did have a brutal one in his arsenal, though; a ROCK SLIDE left the Zangoose with little mobility. A cornered Zangoose was the most dangerous one, though, claws of REVENGE cracking the big dog's rocky skin and defeating the Gym Leader's partner in a single blow. With a loud cry and a desperate act, Josh hurled a Poké Ball at the powerful foe.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD RUFFLET APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] HUSTLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FURY ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DEFOG
[attr="class","wildtabox"]PECK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SLASH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Alphonse Gambino Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD BRAMBLEGHAST APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] INFILTRATOR
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ABSORB	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DISABLE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CURSE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ASTONISH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Alphonse Gambino Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

BOTH OF YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPTS ARE SUCCESSFUL!