Traveling had its perks. One of those was not having to worry about 'where' a traveling carnival went, but more about its 'when'. Especially for a carnival this famous. Luckily for Howard, he was currently doing some traveling alongside some recently caught Pokémon of his, in order to track down valuables that Team Rocket was interested in. Luckily, the deadline was lax, and Howard had some spending money for the trip.

So why not spend it at a carnival?

And thus, Howard went. He took Crumble, his recently evolved Claydol with him. Shirley was curled around his back despite being comically oversized, and Celpho skuttled after him, the Anorith working extra hard to keep up. Macadamia the Forretress and Gemsly the Carbink followed suit. Mauville City was still as confusing as ever, but that hardly mattered anymore. The carnival made itself easy to find. As Howard poked around and flipped open his pamphlet, he saw an advertisement for a certain meet-and-greet.

"Meet the local Gym Leaders and law enforcement? Of Mauville? That could only mean..." Howard trailed off as he walked towards the booth's location.

If anyone from Team Rocket was here, he'd simply cite it as 'gathering intel'. Yeah, that was it!

As he approached, the Gym Leader would be able to see the man's hat from leagues away, should he care to look. Howard raised up his hand in greeting. "Josh! I knew I'd find you here, speedster extraordinaire! Thank you for your service, missing out on the carnival to run a booth! This must be the hardest part of being a Gym Leader!"

The archaeologist bowed his head. "For this, you have my eternal respect! How's Crash doing?

---

STAMP: Partake in the Meet-you-local-heroes event.
Josh Devlin

Hoenn really was a small world, wasn't it? Howard was quite the familiar face by now, and one he wondered if he could rope into a challenge at his Gym, even if the explorer didn't plan on pursuing the Champion Assessment like Josh did. "It's no big deal; my booth's got limited hours. I'll be able to enjoy the last few hours of today's festivities myself." His eyes shifted back and forth between his friend near him, having to look down thanks to the height edge Aslan gave him, and the boy reining Kovu around. He was sure the short one would have a hard time seeing around Kovu's red mane; perhaps he should have suggested Nala or Rani instead? Either way, the little one seemed to be having the time of his life on the lion's back. They were getting to the climax: transitioning from a walk to a run. Of course, it wasn't a true run, but it was fast enough for the young man to bounce around in the harness strapped to Kovu.

"He's doing wonderful! I think he's available if you want to take him on a run... if you have Funtasia tokens, that is!" Howard may have had an idea that a ride on Crash here would have been subject to carnival safely limits. If he wanted to experience the real thing, he would have to do so outside the festive grounds.

Craggro was gearing up to carry a tall, female passenger who looked a bit disgruntled to see just how rotund and out of shape the Arcanine was. "Pardon me, Howard," Josh softly said, his eyes shifting toward the escalated visitor as Aslan walked toward her. She seemed upset over how tired Craggro had become walking and running around for so long, as well as the lack of responsiveness the big dog had. After a kerfuffle that lasted several minutes than he wanted to, Josh defused the escalated customer by refunding the tokens she spent on the attraction... from his own pocket.

"See the pride running around?" Josh asked, trying to divert attention away from the problem visitor. "All five of them are mine!"

"Excellent! If you ever get a moment, let me know and we can catch up." Howard lowered his voice. "I'm gonna be real with you, Josh. The food here is divine. There's this cinnamon roll booth over yonder, and Shirley can't get enough." The Aerodactyl let out a growl of affirmation, and the smell of cinnamon emanated greatly from the the fossil Pokémon. She sniffed around, clearly hunting for more of the sugary treats.

Howard whistled, and waved over at Crash. "Hey, buddy!" Howard's voice took on an excited inflection in an attempt to excite the Boltund. "I missed you! How're you doing?" Howard rubbed the Boltund, nodding to Josh as he did. "Go ahead, I'll keep 'em company."

After a few moments, Howard turned to see the altercation between Josh and the agitated customer. He scowled, even if he couldn't hear the argument. It didn't take a rocket scientist to determine the reason behind the scuffle. This customer wasn't satisfied, and was taking it out on the poor Arcanine and Josh.

Shirley growled. Good sense of character, she had.

"I'll be back. Watch 'em, Crumble." Howard tapped the Claydol on the body before walking off in the direction he had gestured towards earlier. A few minutes later, the archaeologist returned with two boxes under his arm just as Josh paid off the customer. He scowled again. As Josh came back, Howard offered him a box. The smell emanating from it was divine.

"Cinnamon roll. Looked like you needed a pick-me-up. Asshole. Can't believe you'd let her push you around like that." Howard said angrily. "She's still in range. I can throw a cinnamon roll at her if you want." With how heavy and dense this carnival's cinnamon rolls were, it'd likely leave the customer comatose for several months. A worthy trade for getting uppity with Mauville's Gym Leader.

"Impressive collection of Pyroars, though." Howard glanced back. "Did you breed them all? They look gorgeous. Can I ask you something, though?" Howard's eye shined. "What's with the Arcanine, buddy?"

---

STAMP GET: Offer a carnival treat to someone else!
Josh Devlin

Josh nodded, ready to spend some time with Howard when his booth closed down for the day. "Once my shift is up, absolutely. Shouldn't be too much longer now." He smiled at Shirley's reaction to the cinnamon rolls. "Those do smell heavenly. You'll have to show me where you got them - I didn't see any of those when I went to the food court earlier in the week." Crash barked at Howard in greeting before being taken to the other side of the fenced field, where a teenage female looked ready to take a seat on him and go as fast as the carnival's safety regulations would allow.

The Gym Leader perked up at Howard's generosity. "You don't have to, but thank you," he nodded, accepting the sweet treat. "Wow, these taste heavenly too. Hold on, their time is up, and they paid extra to get a photo with me." Josh reined Aslan toward a mother and daughter seated on Kovu and Simba. The three posed for a camera, getting permission to share their picture on the AmiGo social media network. A little advertising never hurt! The three lions and their riders looked so happy together, too!

Come saddle up with Josh Devlin at #Funtasia, three times a week! Experience the thrill of riding with the Master of Faster!

Once he was done sharing, the post immediately reblogged by Funtasia staff on the carnival's account, he returned to Howard. "Some were bred, and some were caught," he answered. "They're one of my Gym's biggest accomplishments. These five love to run, and they're my go-to if someone challenges my gym with a Pokémon I don't have myself. You'd be surprised some of the Pokémon people come in with. There was a young teenager that challenged my Gym with a Charmeleon. A huge one at that. Looked like he was riding on a bipedal dinosaur. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it goes to show you in this world, you'll see a little of everything!"

The explorer's attention turned to Craggro, the rotund Hisuian Arcanine standing out. "It's a long story. How about when my shift ends, I tell you? I'm not proud of how it happened. We're gonna cut the line off in just a few minutes."

"Sure, I'll tell you... Howard's voice trailed off ominously. "...if you let me take a ride on one of your Pyroars. I even have tokens, but between you and me—" Howard leaned in— "They're way too expensive. I know it's a carnival and all, but my soul is dying. My wallet is crying, Josh. Crying like that kid's food bill was for that Charmeleon."

The man crossed his arms took a bite of his cinnamon roll. Divine. Munching on the treat, Howard glanced over at Gemsly. Could you sell a Carbink? Maybe he could exchange Gemsly for more Funtasia tokens? Likely, but morally dubious. Howard sighed and wilted slightly. Why was everything that made money in this world so morally dubious?

"Do you think you could squeeze me in? Pleeeeeeeease? How many tokens is it?" Howard pulled out a pouch as Josh went to take his selfie. "You and Shalin are the same. She was taking photos as we went on the RAYQUAZA. Crazy woman." Shalin's antics were positively deranged, and Howard suspected that the only reason Josh didn't follow suite was because of a little-known defense mechanism known as 'self-preservation'. "Is she available? Because I've gotta confess, Josh, it's quite fun riding Pokémon. It's not something I ever had the chance to do, but the rush is something else."

Howard turned solemn at Josh's expression. No more jokes. 

"I understand. If you can't fit me in, don't worry about it. If you want to talk, I'll listen."

---

STAMP GET: Eat a Carnival Treat!
Josh Devlin

Fairs were expensive to put on, which is why they were most frequently put on near densely populated areas. Attracting lots of visitors was needed for the event to turn a profit. "Deal," Josh agreed as several more children, clearly from the Dugtrio Ring Toss field with the prizes they carried, got in line to meet the Gym Leader and ride his Pokémon. "Should be able to get you in with this group."

After sharing pricing information consistent with other attractions at the carnival, and assuming Howard was willing to pay said price, Josh would slide off Aslan's back. "I'll even give you the best seat in the house," he gestured toward the big, Shiny lion, who crouched to let the explorer aboard. "Now I can't promise it'll be as much of a thrill as it was when we were in the wilds," he whispered to his friend. "Gotta make sure it's safe for everyone regardless of skill, after all."

One of the older children, excited to be seated on Rani's back, twirled her reins about. The lioness lightly bucked and kicked in the small chutes akin to what one would see at the Tauros Rodeo field. She was giggling. "Have a good time, Howard!" Once all six fire-types' riders were ready, the doors swung open, Josh starting a timer application on his phone. His attention was split between Craggro to make sure he was okay after ferrying so many people around without a break, and Rani, who looked more like a rodeo Tauros than one of the speedy lions that was advertised. With a snap of the fingers and a shout of her name, though, she stopped bucking and chased after the other lions.

Howard would find control over Aslan much more limited than when they rode together in the wilds, where he had full control over the mount he rode on. It was still a thrill, though, circling along a seemingly invisible preset path at a clip that was fast enough for the feline's flexing backs to bounce their riders high.

"Heh, don't worry about it." Howard slapped Josh on the shoulder as he bravely marched towards the lion. "Did you forget when we flew through that canyon together? If I can survive in the air, I can survive on a carnival ride! Besides, someone's gotta inspire the little ones of Mauville!" Howard flexed his arms and pumped them in a thoroughly lame macho manner, though he didn't seem too serious about it.

"Alright, big guy!" Howard mounted Aslan and tried to recall what Josh and Shalin had taught him.

"Don't go too fast or hold the reins too tight, or you'll explode. Probably" Shalin's voice echoed through his mind.

"Yeah, that sounds right. Don't run over any kids, all the lawyers in the League won't be able to save you if you do that." Josh's voice added. Howard didn't bother to discern whether or not that was the actual Josh Devlin, lest he entertain losing his mind.

Riding Aslan was different from riding any of Josh's other Pokémon. Josh had once said that riding felines was substantially different from riding canines, and Howard felt it immediately. The back seemed to arch more, even though the maneuvers Aslan went through were nothing compared to Josh and Howard's other excursions together. Riding Aslan was way better than the incident at the Tauros-Rodeo. Howard hoped the poor Tauros ranchos would recover. The incident had left them in tears, and Howard could never go back.

But riding? He could always go back to that.

"YEE-HAW!" Howard flipped his hat off and held it like a cowboy, before returning sliding off Aslan and trekking over to Howard. Unlike last time, he hadn't gotten caught in the saddle. He was definitely improving.

"And here, Mr. Devlin, are your promised tokens." Howard produced a palm full of the sparkly overpriced metal circles.

---

STAMP GET: Mention the Tauros-Rode!
Josh Devlin

Howard seemed to be having a fun time seated on Aslan, the golden lion entering what Josh would barely consider a gallop. The speed of the ride peaked, the felines' riders sounding whoops and joyous cries as the flexing backs made them feel like they were floating above the saddle at times. He smiled as he saw a teenage girl squeeze and pulse her legs at Kovu's sides, wanting the lion to go faster and faster. Kovu kept his self-control about him. It was a good thing, too; had they not had the carnival's regulations to obey, Kovu would have started zooming.

One of the younger riders, a ten-year-old, got a belt loop caught on the corner of Nala's saddle, keeping him from sliding down. Seeing the trouble he was having, Josh approached him. "You're caught on something. Let me just get you unstuck here. Scoot back in the saddle, would you?" Being careful not to touch him any more than he needed to, Josh was easily able to get the stuck loop freed, the child sliding down and landing on both his feet. The young one rubbed Nala's mane before walking away.

"And that's all she wrote for today," Josh said to Howard as he took the visitor's tokens and put them in the box at the front of the attraction. Whistling for Aslan, Josh took a seat on the Pyroar, rounding up the rest of his Pokémon, including Craggro, who looked tired after ferrying people around for so long. He withdrew his other four Pyroar. "So, where to next, Howard?"

"You're a pretty helpful guy. Someone could run up to you and hold you at gunpoint and you'd tell them their safety was on." Howard put a hand on his hip as he watched Josh help down the child. He was shaking his head, but Howard didn't seem too upset. On the contrary, he was smiling. "Let's hit the Sky Pillar. Have you heard of it?" Howard said as the two rejoined Howard's menagerie of Pokémon. Following suit, he returned each one to their ball, except Shirley. Instead, she crawled onto his back.

Who hadn't? The Sky Pillar was a Drop Tower ride that stretched up to 700 feet, and allegedly hit 80 MPH on the way down. To Howard, Josh would appreciate a ride that threatened to have all the blood exit through his ears. Plus, it has a surprisingly low token cost. Between it and the Rayquaza, Howard preferred the Sky Pillar.

So the two set off, and the ride grew closer and closer as the two traversed the Funtasia. "Have you tried any of the carnival games or the obstacle course yet?" Howard asked as he tickled Shirley's neck. "Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at all of them! Maybe you can use them to practice your dexterity and adaptability? Plus, you can earn some cheap prizes to sell outside the venue!"

Of course Howard would find a way to make money off something as innocent as a carnival.

"Plus I've heard the ferris wheel they've put up is the largest one in Hoenn! We should give it a shot at some point."

---

Josh Devlin

Josh laughed hysterically at Howard's analogy. He wasn't wrong, either; the Mauville Leader loved making the lives of everyone around him as easy as possible. "The Sky Pillar? That thing looks pretty wild. Shalin's been begging for me to go on it with her, but we're never available at the same time. If you haven't been to her booth, it's... let's just say you have to see it to believe it."

The line at the Sky Pillar wasn't long, either, the two able to catch the end of a boarding period and not have to wait too long for the elevator to take them to the top. While the two were ascending, Josh took in Howard's other suggestions. "A couple of the games, but not the obstacle course yet. I wonder if they'll let me do that with a Pokémon? I doubt it." He nodded in agreement with having to go on the Ferris wheel as well. That might have to be another day, though.

Reaching the bottom of the Sky Pillar at full speed was going to feel like being a passenger on a snapping whip, Josh thought. Tell that to Shalin, though; with that being the Grand Finale of her booth's show on the last week, that would change his mind real quick if he were to see it.

Disembarking from the elevator, Josh and Howard got harnessed into place. "I can't handle whiplash as well as Shalin can, but this should be fun!" If this ride was one thing, it was fast. Josh loved going fast, even if it wasn't quite the speed he reached when he was on one of his Pokémon. "My Pokémon, when they don't have to hold back, can outdo any carnival ride you can imagine. I should take you aboard Raikiri sometime," he offered, his smile widening at the idea of exposing Howard to the highest speed any of his land Pokémon had to offer.

"Shalin? I'm not surprised. You at least have some measure of restraint, even if it's on a completely different level from normal people." Howard said, referring to Josh's desire to mount and ride Raikou. "Shalin? I don't think there's a limit for her. She'd tape herself to something going faster than light, as long as it gave her a rush. Not that I mind, it's pretty amusing." Howard added as an afterthought.

"Do you really think they'd let you of all people do an obstacle course like that? You? I've already been banned from the Whack-A-Dugtrio machine, and nobody knows who I am. I don't think they'll let you get close to it with a saddle! You can try, though. I haven't had a good challenge in a while." Howard laughed as the two got strapped into place. Josh would handle this like a pro, no matter what he said. Howard had a smidge of experience riding on Josh's Togekiss, but the rest of his experience only came into play while spelunking.

The two shot glances at one another. Howard raised an eyebrow. "And here..."

"We..."

"Go..."

The words had barely left his mouth before Howard and Josh were sent shooting up at an extreme speed. Josh would tell him that Extreme Speed was on an entirely different level than this, but Howard couldn't tell. Gripping the rail, all Howard would think about was how shitty it would be for his hat to get blown off here.

Thankfully, it didn't. They reached the top of the ride with minimal incident, and were free to look over the carnival and a smidge of Hoenn.

"Huh. It's a lot better looking than a map would say." It was funny to think this chunk of land was embroiled in an ongoing crisis.

Then, the ride sharply descended.

---

STAMP GET: Ride on the Drop Tower ride!
Josh Devlin

Howard's blunt almost-trueh made Josh smile as he heard the Drop Tower's motor start. "Funny you speak of it that way, because the one thing Shalin can't handle well is high sustained speed. She won't even go near Blinky or Raikiri. Yet she'll sit on a Milotic's or a Gyarados' tail. I could never handle the g-forces of something like that. Hell, her booth is about... seriously, have you been to it yet? If you haven't... well, just do it."

Even if weren't for his fame, the obstacle course had to be challenged solo, with no aid from a Pokémon. Josh didn't know that yet, but he would find out soon enough. "Long as the obstacle course doesn't require a lot of upper body strength, I should be fine!" he shrugged.

The motor had built up enough power to launch the two into the air, much like getting shot out of a cannon. Josh screamed out of sheer joy and thrill. None of his Pokémon were capable of explosive takeoffs like this one; while they got far faster, none of them could launch him into the air like this.

He didn't say anything until the ride slowed down, giving them a great look at the carnival from hundreds of feet into the air. "I really should get one of my flying Pokémon and take you on it, so we can spend more than just a few seconds looking at this great view." It wouldn't be long before gravity took over, causing them to accelerate toward the surface. If the ascent was like being shot out of a cannon, then the end of the descent would feel like being a passenger on a whip. "Speaking of Shalin, I might know how she feels by the end of this," were the last words out of his mouth before the sharp descent began.

"You and me both." Howard nodded as the ride immediately began to crash back down to earth. For Howard, the G-forces here were utterly intense. He had gone skydiving before, but rarely did he ever have help falling towards the ground. This ride was threatening to snap the cord on his hat, and he had barely bought it! Hell, it felt more like grueling military training than anything.

But it was quite exhilarating. The rush was almost like riding a flying Pokémon. It was also far less dangerous than jumping out of a plane, that was true. Hell, it almost made Howard forget that he was screaming his lungs out!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ah, there. He remembered now. The ground rapidly approached, and as soon as Howard blinked, they were near the bottom. Machinery hissed as hydralics prevented the passengers from smashing into the ground, instead allowing their shoes to gently tap the floor.

Ding! The clasps automatically loosened, and Howard stared blankly at Josh. "I... think that the obstacle course shouldn't be too..." Howard held up a finger. "One second."

Deftly turning around, Howard leaned over the railing and began to gag. Yep, they were definitely getting the full Shalin Experience©.

---

Josh Devlin