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This was what Callan Young , too, had been trying to beat into Josh's head. He needed to stop focusing on what others thought of him and start focusing on what he was doing. Greyson, too, saw that problem in him. If two of the three Elite Four he trusted saw that concern, then it was something he needed to work on fixing before he could become a Champion, regardless of the penalty imposed upon him by the League. A year and a half was plenty of time to correct that toxic behavior, though.

Josh gulped when Greyson deferred command to him. He understood the likely reason why: to test the Elite Test taker's adaptability that needed work. "In theory, it should be simple with Blitz's X-Ray vision, like I said. We perform a systematic sweep of this part of the island. Blitz will tell us if there's something important inside," he explained, stroking the Luxray's head and getting an affectionate purr out of it.

"I think the trickiest part of this mission is going to be destroying their security cameras. I have a Dragonair that can fly above them, but if there's any kind of manual surveillance, she'll be spotted pretty easily. Plus, once we blow up more than one, they'll know what's up." Josh frowned; it seemed like once they put their plan into action, things could get hectic fast.

"I can send her to scout alone. That should attract less attention; she could pose as a wild Dragonair passing through. With my Luxray doing ground recon and my Dragonair during aerial recon, we've got this." Once they had the building plans, finding an entrance to their base would be easy. Little did he know that he would be on the team for that operation, too...

"Oh, and destroying any alarms would be a good idea."

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 306}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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Josh had done well up until the point where he had described how his own Pokémon could fill in for every single one of the tasks that they would be required to complete. He had a partner with his own team of Pokémon. Part of leadership was probing. Finding out what your subordinates could do for you. For the mission. When he first took on the mantle of Mauville Gym, he had only a few employees, taking most of the work on alone. It resulted in him overworking himself, having to put his Ranger work and other things he liked on hold.

Had Josh become so used to his duties as Gym Leader that he had let his leadership skills rust away?

Josh carefully considered the Pokémon Greyson had presented to him before giving his thoughts. He had a hard time believing a single electric Pokémon could overload the entire electrical grid of even a small area. "Decidueye would make a far better scout than a Dragonair, and probably raise less suspicion. Could even knock out a sentry or two if need be. That's a good way to split the work. Shorting out the power, even if it's temporary, could be a good way to get past security where physical access to the device isn't feasible without being spotted. Depending on how resistant their grid is, my Luxray might need to pitch in, too."

With Greyson's input, the duo had a revised plan of action.

"So our first course of action is to have your Decidueye scout for a power grid access point for our Togedemaru and Luxray. That will give us time to operate without being detected remotely. From there, we try to find the huts where the safe key and building plans are being kept. My Luxray can see into the buildings if he gets close enough. If you handle the outside, I can handle the inside."

That last line was Josh thinking like a leader.

Though he didn't show it, the young man was smiling on the inside. This was a solid plan of action, and given how stealthy the grass and ghost-type Pokémon was, Rocket might not see it coming. "I still think it wouldn't hurt to physically disrupt the security system in case Rocket can get power back online. What other Pokémon do you have with you, in case things get ugly? I've got a Salazzle and an Umbreon."

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 410}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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Pondering the list of Pokémon Greyson gave Josh, a lot of them were combat all-stars. The Delphox, out of all the Pokémon, had the most utility in his eyes. The paradox Pokémon he was unsure about; the only two he was familiar with were Ao, a Roaring Moon, and a Slither Wing he didn't know the role it would fill on his team. "The Scizor will be very helpful if we get into a firefight. If it knows Bullet Punch, that would be very good at destroying any machinery we need, such as security cameras if they aren't out of reach. The Steelix will be great at breaking into any building we can't find the key for," Josh proposed. "Same with the Delphox. It seems like it would be pretty easy for it to burn its way into any lightly-secured building, and quietly at that. If we can't get into the front door of wherever they're keeping that safe, we can make our own entrance."

Sighing, Josh formulated a plan. "Alright, let's go over this one more time. Your Decidueye can relay the locations of guard towers, huts of interest, and what not as my Luxray and I advance. Your Togedemaru can overload the power grid to make us less detectable on their security deck. Your Delphox can help out with infiltration as needed. The rest of your Pokémon can be used at your discretion."

Next, he described his own role. "My Luxray can see inside the huts to find out where the safe containing the building plans is. Might even be able to find the key easier, in case it's buried somewhere. My Salazzle can assist your Scizor with any cameras it can't reach. She can corrode them to the point where they'll stop working. My Umbreon can be a ground-level scout as long as he remains in the shadows."

A little nervous still but slowly feeling more comfortable, Josh faced north, ready to execute their mission. "If you don't have any other suggestions, let's go. Once your Togedemaru overloads the grid, we need to disable as many of their cameras as possible before they get the power up and running again. If we get spotted on one of them, we'll be swarmed with Rockets in no time. Now if you're ready, let's go." Leaning in on his Luxray, Josh was ready to spring into action.

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 401}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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"Ten-four, Greyson," Josh nodded before lightly jabbing at Blitz's sides. The Gym Leader kept the Pokémon to a trot, not wanting to make too much noise. Taking advantage of the feline's quiet paws, he trailed a patrolling sentry to the first of several huts on the island. If only his Luxray knew THUNDER WAVE, he would be able to get inside without a key, letting the Rocket open the way for him. Instead, the Luxray took the scenic route to the back side of the building, Josh keeping his eyes open for anyone else guarding the place.

Guiding Blitz away from the hut's immediate vicinity and behind a tall, crystal-like protrusion nearby, he commanded his mount to take a look inside with his X-Ray vision. The feline's eyes glowed a bright yellow, letting him see the inside of the building. Josh knew the Luxray well enough that they could communicate with one another, though on quite the vague level.

Flipping his radio's switch to Greyson's frequency, Josh relayed his position to the Elite Four. "Elite Four Connors, this is Gym Leader Devlin, do you read? The inside of hut number three does not appear to be mission critical. Looks like an ammo dump of some kind. I'm gonna try to get my Salazzle in position to melt away the camera mounted above the front door. Just have to avoid getting spotted in the process. Has your Decidueye found anything of interest? Over."

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 243}
{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Good
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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"Copy that," Josh answered. Playing things chill was an important part of such an operation, though it was more difficult when one was famous. In addition to being a Gym Leader, Josh was a celebrity by other means. His face would be easy to recognize. Perhaps a disguise would have been a good idea. He might need to cobble one together if the League put him on these types of assignments regularly. "Copy. Bring it down, over."

Once the cameras stopped moving after Greyson had done his work, Josh knew they would have limited time until backup power was restored to the facility. His Salazzle took aim at the camera's lens, whipping a FIRE LASH toward it and disabling it. Knowing there was nothing inside the hut, he and his Pokémon took off after the next hut, which had another camera the young man's poison-type partner melted.

Hearing a ruckus within, two small-time Rockets stepped outside to investigate, only to be met with assassin-like precision from Blitz's QUICK ATTACK. The first was paralyzed with static, but the second was well enough to fire a tranquilizer dart at the Luxray's neck. A dose of VENOSHOCK left the other nearly motionless, venom seeping into the weakened grunt's skin.

Dismounting his to-be-unconscious Luxray and barging his way inside, there was not much to the hut. It was mostly filled with tables of computing equipment, presumably to be moved to the complex deeper within. A metallic glint caught his eye; it was the SAFE KEY they were looking for.

OBJECTIVE B: COMPLETED

"Connors, it's Devlin again," the Gym Leader radioed back. "Safe key is secured. Repeat: key secured. Let me know if you find out where the safe is being stored. I'll get there as fast as I can. Over."

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 294}
{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Sleep
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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"Good work, Connors," Josh radioed back. "Rendezvous with me at hut number three, over." While he was waiting for the Elite Four to arrive, he carefully removed the dart from his Luxray's neck. He tried to shake the electric-type awake, but it did not arouse him. Whatever was in those tranqs Rocket was using was quite powerful if it could put such an energetic Pokémon out.

After some time had passed, the League bigwig had completed his rendezvous, relaying the safe's location. "Hut number five, got it," he acknowledged as he withdrew his sleeping Luxray. "I imagine it will be pretty well-guarded. Take a look at this, too," he pointed toward a small firearm that was near a paralyzed, poisoned, and very much helpless Rocket. "Tranqs. How much of a sharpshooter are you? We might be able to use these to incapacitate them more quietly. Might be for the best, too; it probably won't be long before they're on to us."

Regardless of who was firing them, the Gym Leader and CO on duty led the way near the coordinates provided. It was just as heavily guarded as they thought. "This is a long shot, but you wouldn't happen to have any Chesto on you? I could have my Luxray see inside if you do. Otherwise, it's no big deal; we might just have to barge in the old-fashioned way." Regardless, he would click open Fire Eyes' Poké Ball, the venomous lizard lining up a long-range FIRE LASH to shatter yet another camera's lens. Even if they got the system back up in time, Rocket would be flying blind.

OBJECTIVE A: COMPLETED

---

Greyson Connors

{WC: 273}
{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Blitz         Luxray**       Sleep
Kamuy         Umbreon        Good
Fire Eyes     Salazzle       Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good

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