If Illeana was one thing with Josh, she was prompt and respected his urgency. This was not the first time a tragic natural event had fallen upon the Gym: she had, at a point in the distant past, helped fight some giant Pokémon from within a Space-Time Distortion that engulfed his Racing Grounds. He had a suspicion that her Golurk was special from the day he saw its Ghost-type attacks hit Normal-type Pokémon in defiance of their standard immunity. The Sygna Suit she wore made him reasonably confident that was why.

Some suits bestowed new powers upon their wearers. Shalin's bestowed upon her the strange ability to withstand violent motion; not even her Venusaur's snapping vine could unseat her while she wore her suit and was in her Flygon's presence. Some suits enhanced existing powers for their wearers. Josh's bestowed increased speed upon whatever he rode, as long as he was in the presence of his Manectric. The Manectric itself could now fully match Raikou in a race of sustained and even QUICK ATTACK speed. It made riding Raikou less meaningful than it once was, which was a blessing in that it made weaning him off his obsession much easier than it was.

"It's...very different from any of the rifts that I've seen so far, and I've been to most of the major ones," Josh answered. It was true; he had been to The Border, Ultra Sea, and Ultra Plant, having studied the first and last extensively. "I poked my head through it, and... you'll just have to see it for yourself. It's like the laws of physics don't apply there at all. I'm also worried for Eron and Jeff. You know how the atmosphere beyond the rifts is toxic? Well, this is even more so. I can't imagine they'll last more than a couple hours in there. It's so bad that it'll even slowly eat away at your Sygna Suit's protection."

Even for the brave Josh, the wannabe Signer, it was terrifying to think about. Sygna Suits were incredibly powerful, and yet, the power of this particular rift seemed to be greater. What was fueling such power?

Josh breathed a big sigh, collecting his thoughts. What would be the best way to explain the differences to Illeana? The rifts were all otherworldly, but this one was on a totally different level than the rest. After a long pause, the words finally came to him. "The other rifts at least have... Earth-like physics. Beyond that rift, like I said, physics as we know them don't exist." That last point was what would make the rescue of his valuable Gym Trainer so treacherous.

"Of course I'll take you there," Josh agreed, reining his Manectric toward the rift. He would have asked if Illeana wanted to saddle up, but she had a Golurk that was more than capable of transporting her around, if need be. "You seem like you're familiar with it somehow. What's your idea?" the curious Gym Leader asked as he led the way through.

On the other side of the rift was a realm that looked beyond alien. The sky, the ground, and everything in between were all dark colors. Small floating islands hovered above a bottomless void. Footprints had been left on some of them, many tilted at odd angles. Some were upside down, some were sideways, and others were inverted. Even gravity itself did not seem to follow conventional rules. "I don't see them anywhere," Josh said, looking around for the white-haired trainer and brown-haired challenger.

The deeper Josh went into the rift, the more unsettling his surroundings became. As he and Saber approached the end of a floating rock platform, he felt his weight shift to his right side. Squeezing the Manectric's sides with all the strength he had to avoid falling, the electric-type took it as a command to run. Courageously leaping off the edge, Saber's feet shifted sideways from Illeana's perspective, the localized gravity field pulling the Gym Leader sideways. Though the scientist looked like she was standing sideways, it felt like Josh was standing upright.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Josh grabbed a second Poké Ball, a Type: Null emerging from it. It was the same Type: Null that she helped him create. The normal-type looked fearless next to Saber. "Arceus, Illeana," the Gym Leader answered, hyperventilating from the seemingly out-of-body experience. "I saw it through the rift, but experiencing it for myself is completely different. Is this... normal... here, from your past experiences?" Normal was certainly not the right word to use. There was nothing normal about this rift...

Josh didn't verbally respond; his body language was all that Illeana may have needed to understand the Gym Leader's simultaneous awe and fear. When the scientist and bodyguard were once again near each other, he could talk to her again without yelling. "It's so... weird. When Saber jumped, my weight shifted toward the ground I'm standing on now... yet I didn't feel a thing in my stomach like one would when riding a flying Pokémon upside down. Or something like that."

After another gravitational shift, Josh looked toward where Illeana pointed. "That's Eron! He's one of my best Gym trainers! Come on, let's make sure he's okay!" Kicking his Manectric's sides, the rider spurred his Pokémon into a high leap, the ceiling's gravity grabbing him and flipping him upside down, where the white-haired Racing Grounds employee stood. "Are you okay?!" Josh cried as he landed on the ground above.

Aleph had beat him there. Not recognizing the white-haired human, the Ultra Beast Killer was quick to assume Eron was a Megalopolan, brandishing his CRUSH CLAW toward the poor young man's face. Desperately throwing a Poké Ball containing Mastema, the Gym Leader's Togekiss, the fairy-type blinded Aleph with a DAZZLING GLEAM. "Stop, Aleph! Stop! He's not an enemy!"

With a loud grumble, the Type: Null ceased the friendly fire, though it was a bit late. Even after a dose of LIFE DEW from Mastema, the young man's face was oozing red. "We'll talk about this once we get you and Jules out of here. Have you seen Jules anywhere?" A verbal, negative nod was all the badly weakened racer could muster. "He's gotta be deeper in here somewhere. Let's find him. We don't have a lot of time." Eron didn't look terribly happy that Josh had kept something as serious as a Type: Null secret from not just him, but as he would later find out, every single employee at his Gym...

The supernatural power that flowed into the wounded Gym Trainer cleansed and close his wounds within seconds. Witnessing the feat, both their jaws dropped in awe. "How did you...?" Josh asked. Was Illeana an Avatar? That kind of healing was extraordinary, much like Pokémon healing. Grateful to the Head Scientist but just as confused as Josh was, Eron offered the team another set of eyes to search for the missing Gym Trainer.

The silhouette of a giant serpent flying across the alien realm caught Josh's attention too, though it was too fast for him to identify. "Did you see that?" he pointed to seemingly nothing. "Whatever it was, it was quick."

It didn't take their new set of eyes long to find their missing challenger. There was a long distance between them... at least, it seemed that way. "So close, but so far away... we've got to find a way over there. Do you think we could just fly to him?" Sliding down from Saber's back, Josh clicked the switch on his Roaring Moon's Poké Ball, mounting the feathered dragon as Aleph returned to the rider's side.

Another person blessed with divine powers, even if most had left him... just how many gods were there roaming Hoenn? Being friends with something so powerful could be either a boon or a bane, depending on the whims of one's god. For some, the relationship was symbiotic; for others, it was parasitic. There was no telling how the relationship would be until the pact was signed. Had he been asked before his life unraveled before him, Josh would long to have such powers for himself. Now, after having seen so many Avatars, the prospect of being a slave to one's Patron was frightening.

"That explains a lot," was Josh's simple reply, though it was clear he was lost in thought. Illeana's worry showed, though for a different reason. Their unwanted visitor seemed to be closing in, and there was no telling what would happen if they truly caught that thing's attention.

The Gym Leader gently pat Ao's neck. "Alright, let's fly. We gotta pick up Jules and get outta here." The Roaring Moon stretched his wings and flew through the fields of shifting gravity, Josh feeling his stomach lurch every time "up" became a different direction. It took great effort for the Paradox Pokémon to fly at all, having to flap his wings in a different direction every time gravity changed.

Though they were a bit woozy afterward, both made it to the island Jules was on. "Come on, hop on and let's get you out of here."