TO: Josh Devlin (josh.devlin@hoennleague.gov)
CC: Noel Parker (noel.parker@pmail.com)
MISSION: "The Beheeyem Files"
PROTOCOL: Hunt
DANGER: ★★★★☆

We have received repeated calls from Oldale farmers that a Beheeyem has been abducting livestock Pokémon from a variety of properties. We have traced its location back to an abandoned woodland cottage known to be the entrance to a Rocket bunker. Your mission is to find a way inside, rescue the missing Pokémon, and eliminate the Beheeyem. A military team will be handling a large-scale operation to decommission the bunker and render it inoperative. Try not to draw too much attention unless you want to spend an unforeseen amount of time in a Rocket jail cell.

Your objectives are as follows:

A) Gain entry to bunker
B) Rescue hostages
C) Eliminate the Beheeyem

You must rescue four of the six missing Pokémon for the mission to be considered a success. Lethal force against the Beheeyem is authorized.

Good luck! We're all counting on you.

Josh rolled his eyes at the ticket he was assigned. Yes, he was a Gym Leader and a Ranger both. He felt that didn't give Officers the right to recruit him for particularly dangerous tickets that were outside the purview of the Rangers. That was part of being a Gym Leader, though! He was technically a general of the Hoennian army, and as such, was responsible for disrupting Rocket operations as need be. Why him, though, and not someone like Navy ? This mission was way too covert for his tastes.

As he was riding his Zeraora mount toward the coordinates listed in the email, a campfire caught the Gym Leader's attention. His angle made the face and profile of the person near it easy to recognize. Reining the thundercat to a gentle stop that was unlike him typically, it indeed matched the description of the ticket's other assignee. "Noel?" the blue-uniformed Ranger asked. "Elite Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh," he formally introduced himself. "You're the one I'll be working with on this assignment? It's quite a doozy..."

Noel's demonstrated calmness around Josh's Zeraora, particularly one used as a mount, was a great sign that he had a reliable partner who could make sound decisions under pressure and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if need be. The thundercat was powerful and intimidating, and it was unusual for them to run on all fours. Josh's was something special indeed.

"What's rank more than a fancy title anyway?" Josh mused aloud. "Long as we can get the job done, it doesn't matter. I don't get why they're not just having full-time Officers or the Hoennian military to take care of this. Stealth isn't my forte at all." Perhaps the League looked a bit too much into the stealth mission he completed with Navy back in Dewford. He preferred the operations where he could go in guns blazing, zooming into battle faster than a race car with the pedal to the floor.

"Awful quiet, is it?" he continued as Noel made his report, presumably having scouted the place out first. "There's one of two possibilities, I feel. Either it's lightly guarded on the outside, or they don't guard it from the outside because of how well-hidden the entrance is. Either way, I'm sure we can handle it. Raikiri's sense of smell is incredible. Until you've been in the saddle while he's on the hunt, you wouldn't have a clue." Josh, too, didn't see any action coming from the empty residence. "Let's scoot around to the other side and come up with a plan."

Josh's eyes lit up at Noel's initiative, finding a poorly concealed entrance. It didn't do them much good, what with the entrance being locked. Looking around, he noticed the slope was long and straight enough for one of his Pokémon to build up speed and bust down the doors if need be. Getting in wasn't the issue; it was getting out with the captured Wooloo. He grimaced at Noel's question, going deep into the tank before sighing and presenting their best options.

"Noel, I noticed there wasn't a keypad or anything. This might be an exit and not an entrance, especially with how long this ramp is." He paused again to collect his thoughts before presenting a plan that seemed cobbled together the more he thought about it. "There's probably another entrance not far from here. We can look for that, but I doubt it's as in the open as this. Our alternative, like you said, is breaking in. Raikiri here is one of the fastest Pokémon on the planet. He's so fast he can even break metal doors off their hinges. The downside is every Rocket inside will be on our tails in a hurry." At the prospect of showing his speed, Raikiri flashed a grin back to Noel. He looked ready to run.

"If you're not comfortable with going in guns blazing, we can look for another way in. I think it's our best shot, though. I've been looking to send a message to Rocket for a while. A message not to mess with the Master of Faster after what they did to Mauville Gym. Twice. If you're up for it, I say we make ourselves some roadkill. Fried roadkill."

A nod was the only confirmation Noel would get as Josh took point, the Gym Leader sliding off Raikiri's back. He wouldn't be off his mount for long, though - only long enough for the Zeraora to get the entrance open. With a cat-like roar, Raikiri lunged for the door at blistering speed. The metal, sliding door flew off its track in the wake of the awe-inspiring force behind his PLASMA FISTS. A human scream immediately followed by a squishing noise made Josh aware there was already Rocket blood on his hands. That didn't bother him as much as it used to; while he wanted to get as many people out from under Rocket as possible, it was still war. Casualties would be unavoidable.

OBJECTIVE A: COMPLETED

"We're in! Let's move, Noel," Josh urged his partner as he climbed back aboard the large thundercat. Though it was a bit uncomfortable navigating the narrow hallways while on his Pokémon, the Leader and Raikiri taking up most of the hallway, the shock factor was too strong to ignore. After a close call with a ceiling beam, Josh leaned as low as his saddle would allow, his head barely over the Zeraora's as he searched for the missing Pokémon -- and the Beheeyem they were to assassinate.

As Josh crossed an intersection, the sound of BULLET SEEDs being discharged and ricocheting off the metal wall at high speed made him turn around. "Noel, we've got company..."

Noel wasn't right; if there was one thing Josh had, it was guts. Stones. Contagious courage that bordered on recklessness. Long as he was in the saddle, he felt close to invincible. There were notable exceptions, such as when he barely escaped with his life after his run-in with Cillian Quinn despite riding Raikiri around, but for the most part, he was in his element.

Josh paid the spouting Rocket no heed, not slowing his Zeraora steed down one bit as he passed the two Noel was to handle. A BULLET SEED drone discharged small but deadly projectiles toward the invaders, Josh hissing as a throwing knife grazed his left arm. His attention drawn to the wound-be assassin, there was little that could stop the mythical thundercat, ramming and trampling for after foe with PLASMA FISTS. The clink of a keycard grabbed the Elite's attention, the Zeraora stopping to toss it toward Josh at an angle he could easily catch it.

Josh swiped it at the nearest entrance. Instead of the door opening, an unsettling alarm blared throughout the base. He didn't need to radio Noel for either of them to know that their time was rapidly being cut short. Barreling down the tunnels and to the lower level, he found another locked door to swipe his keycard at, this one working.

Beyond were a myriad of caged Pokémon, including all of the missing Wooloo. The courageous Gym Leader slid off Raikiri's back and withdrew the Pokémon into their Poké Balls, quickly tossing them into a nearby black bag that he slung over his shoulder. Back in the saddle, he faced the room's exit, only to be greeted by multiple Rockets including one in a suit. With several of them pointing firearms modeled after BULLET SEED and other Pokémon attacks, getting out would be tricky even with the Zeraora's speed.

OBJECTIVE B: COMPLETED

The Druddigon sliced and diced through the Rocket sentries in the hall with powerful DRAGON CLAWS. With a follow-up use of DRAGON TAIL, it tripped up many of the ones pointing their weapons at Josh. The remainder opened fire, Raikiri rearing to shield him from as much of the spray as possible. After recoiling from his injuries, Raikiri's PLASMA FISTS started to glow brightly, the electricity making even the Gym Leader's hair stand on end. A direct blow knocked one guard out, the other thrown to his feet from the small tremor the impact caused. "Thanks, buddy," Josh huffed. "Appreciate the bailout."

The only one that was left was the suited Rocket, who wore body armor beneath the Executive garb. "When the Boss hears I poached a Gym Leader alongside the Pokémon he wanted, he'll make me a Beast for sure," the director bragged before lobbing a Poké Ball toward the ceiling. "And I have just the tool for you, too. Beheeyem, TRICK ROOM."

The bane of Josh's existence. Two words he did not want to hear. The hallway and warehouse vanished into a wavering, pink and purple dimension where Raikiri's movement was slowed to the point of helplessness, while the Beheeyem was almost as swift as Raikiri was before. The dirty tactic reduced Raikiri to only using Quick Attack, the one move not affected by the warped space.

"Roger!" Josh cried, sliding off his Zeraora's back for the dangerous move he was about to perform. With there being very little room to move, on top of the bullets that had already grazed him and scraped at his skin. Crossing his arms in his Z-Pose was a signal for the executive to pull out a BULLET SEED shotgun and open fire. "HYPERSONIC..."

Josh again hissed; though his Elite Ranger uniform had enough padding to stop some of the small and sharp projectiles, others pierced it. He would need to go to an immediate care, or even a full medical facility, afterward to get those hard seeds removed.

"PLASMA CHARGE..."



He had finished his pose just in time: the Zeraora, wreathed in electricity, rammed and trampled the Beheeyem. The sonic boom from the thundercat's immense speed shattered nearby glass, including a window that allowed Raikiri to follow-up with a barrage of PLASMA FISTS to the already-bleeding Beheeyem's head. The psychic-type was completely motionless.

OBJECTIVE C: COMPLETED

The head Rocket on the operation was furious, loading a new cartridge of Bullet Seeds into his firearm. He pointed the barrel toward the reeling Zeraora and pulled the trigger, much of the shot piercing the big cat's skin. Stumbling and making slow pace for its standards, though still very fast among Pokémon, the Zeraora scooped Josh up, now running only on his hind legs. Carrying the Gym Leader under his strong arm, they fled the bunker at top speed. Josh dropped one of the Wooloo Poké Balls in his dizziness. Noel Parker could stop to pick it up, but with the sound of firearm discharges the only thing audible over the alarm, would it be a necessary sacrifice to leave alive?