With the Garchomp now withdrawn, Josh was completely engrossed in saving Luna from the SCORCHING SANDS, leaving Toralf to battle on his own. With a sharp turn that threw the Gym Leader to the side of the cocoon he sat in, he got close enough to the mostly-buried feline covered in second-degree burns to get her back into her Poké Ball.

Without orders, Toralf relied wholly on instinct, the BULLET PUNCHES trapping him just in time for the Cinderace's SCORCHING SANDS to completely immerse one of his rear feet. Struggling to free himself, the Raichu flicked his tail at the Scizor. It would not be with the power of a bladed whip; instead, it would be with a high-speed ELECTRO BALL that took full advantage of his speed-focused training.

"Hmmmm you certainly do disappoint...." He made the remark as the Raichu was smashed into by the attacks relentlessly, the Gym Leader managed to save his pokemon, not that Amor bothered to try, and stop him. Instead he watched as Infernum finally fell the his poison, and he just sighed a little. The Electro Ball smashed into his Scizor, but with it's heightened defenses in the Sandstorm....It was going to take a lot more than that.

"Not even using my strongest team, and I'm driving you into a corner Mr. Devlin....How the mighty have fallen....Though you weren't really mighty to begin with...." The distorted robotic voice egged the other man on. Though that is when Amor released his next pokemon. A large Mecha-Tyranitar looking pokemon now towered over the field. A piercing roar echoed through the storm, and the next the ground was electrified. Zilla, the Iron Thorns had used Electric Terrain to bolster it's own power, while enhancing his future partners.

"Finish that Raichu....Bullet Punch...." He gave the order as his Scizor rushed forward at an incredible speed in order to finally finish off the electric mouse. If he succeeded he hoped that would drive the man far enough into a corner to force him to use that Z-Move of his. If Amor wanted any shot of victory, that move had to be dealt with before he summoned his own Zeraora.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
Cinderace faints due to Poison!
Amor summons Iron Thorns!
Iron Thorns uses Electric Terrain, and activates its Quark Drive boosting it's Attack!
Scizor attempts to finish off the Raichu with Bullet Punch!

MP Total
+9 Posts +90
Participation +50
+3 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +30
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50

Josh knew exactly what Amor was trying to force him to do. He knew of the Gym Leader's lethal weapon: the fastest charge any Pokémon on land was capable of. He would only get one shot at it, and he desperately wanted to save it for his Zeraora, Raikiri. As he had proven on his most recent search for Zacian with kyle lopez , the Zeraora mid Z-Move could outrun even Raikou in a full sprint.

As much as he wanted to hold out and let his Raichu fall, the fortunate alignment of the Scizor and Iron Thorns left him with a rare opportunity to try to catch Amor off guard and make a statement of how much he had improved as a combatant since their last meeting. Crossing his arms in his Z-Pose, Toralf's QUICKINIUM-Z glowed yellow along with the Z-GLOVE on the rider's right hand. "Now Raikiri, I want Toralf to use this, not you. Ignore the pressure on your halters for now, okay?"

Toralf sharply swerved, invigorated by the Z-Power flowing between electric-type and Leader. "HYPERSONIC..."

The Raichu finished his maneuver, forming a line with the two metallic Pokémon. With a loud squeal, lightning bolts danced around the rodent, ready to hurl his body toward the two foes.

"...PLASMA CHARGE!!!"



In the split second before the BULLET PUNCH were to strike, a sonic shockwave would attempt to blow all present off their feet. Raikiri kept his balance, used to it from not only how many times he had performed the Z-Move himself, but how often he had seen Josh's other Pokémon do so. In the blink of an eye, the giant, yellow rat would seemingly warp from in front of the Scizor to the opposite side of the Iron Thorns in a heap. Collapsing from the exertion, the weakened Raichu simply could not handle the Z-Move.

And there it was the final piece that he was missing to secure his own victory. The Z-Move came out full force, and blitzed through his Scizor, and Iron Thorns. While the Scizor fell due to being at the brunt of the attack, his Iron Thorns was still up, but it wouldn't be able to battle. It slumped over heavily injured, but now the stage had been set. So he began to clap at the Gym Leader. They were both down to two pokemon now, but Amor didn't know if the gym leader was going to use that Honedge. So he returned both his Iron Thorns, and Scizor.

"Bravo....Now let's make this last battle interesting shall we...." Came the robotic voice as he summoned his own Zeraora. With the electric terrain up, their moves would be powered up, that was if they could actually use their electric moves on one another. However that didn't matter much to Amor, as his Zeraora was equipped to deal with pesky opponents. "Dragon Hammer...." He gave the order as his Zeraora's right arm began to glow with draconic energy, and then it dashed forward in an attempt to smash into the Gym Leader, and his mount.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
It's the final countdown!
Scizor fainted!
Iron Thorns is heavily injured, but has been returned to conserve its strength!
Amor summons Zeraora!
Zeraora uses Dragon Hammer on Zeraora, and Josh!

MP Total
+10 Posts +100
Participation +50
+4 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +40
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50
Use a Mythical Pokemon +25

The Z-Move was clearly what Amor was waiting for Josh to pull the trigger on before sending out his ace Pokémon: a Zeraora of his own. Josh grimaced at the sight, still reeling from riding his prized thundercat at supersonic speed. While it was worth every bit of energy to cleave through two of his adversary's Pokémon, it left him unable to properly wield the Honedge in his hand.

The thundercats' fighting styles couldn't be more different; Raikiri prowled and pounced like a feral cat, while Amor's danced like a martial artist waiting for the perfect moment to bury the opponent in fist and claw. His speed asvantage had been nullified, too; had the Head Scientist's final Pokémon been vulnerable to electricity at all, even if resistant, the sheer power behind the feline's Electro Ball would be unrivaled.

It was not to be.

The purple energy of the DRAGON HAMMER burned, leaving both rider and mount hissing from white burns. Two could play at the burn game, though; while Josh's feral steed could not produce dragonfire, he could still overload his claws with electricity, causing them to ignite. With a super fast lunge, the mythical cat sought to rake across the upright Zeraora with a heated FIRE PUNCH. When he was in melee range, Josh awkwardly thrust toward his electric foe with Danjuro's SACRED SWORD. His sloppy technique would make the attack easier to see coming.

The Fire Punch came quick, and Stryker was forced to take it, but he was easily able to avoid the Sacred Sword by diving to the side, and out of the range. This was going to be a fight for the ages, but Stryker was here to do a job, and so his fists ignited once more with the draconic power. If his opponent wanted to fight two against one, then that only made it a fair fight for him. So he blitzed the mounted trainer, and their Zeraora, attempting to slam another Dragon Hammer into them again. It was obvious that they were not going to be taking it easy against this.

Very few people knew the full extent of Amor's party, he rarely used his Mythical Pokemon, they were aces, strong enough to turn the tide of a battle. While still lesser than Pokemon that could be considered legends, they were powerful enough in their own right to be respected, and not left alone.

Besides they still had one more trick up their sleeve should they need to play it. If Josh Devlin thought their two Zeraora were equal....Amor was here to try, and correct that. So now the climax was here. The Master of Faster vs Rocket's Angel.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
Stryker avoids the Sacred Sword, but gets hit by Fire Punch!
Stryker uses Dragon Hammer Again!

MP Total
+11 Posts +110
Participation +50
+4 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +40
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50
Use a Mythical Pokemon +25

Former Councilwoman Elinor Anderson had tried to teach Josh the importance of the balance between speed and strength, both when he was in the Minor League and as the head of Mauville Gym. Melody Miro and Greyson Connors had shown Josh that he had failed to balance his battle strategy accordingly since their last meeting. Speed was an incredible weapon, but all it would take to fell a foe that was only swift would be one lucky strike. One lucky strike before the jousting racer landed a hundred cuts.

Josh rose his arm to defend against the DRAGON HAMMER, the impact knocking Danjuro out of his hand and into the side of a large piece of stone. Without his trusty sword arm handy, there was little reason for the Gym Leader to stay in the saddle. The mythical, feral cat retreated to let his rider dismount before ramming down Stryker, leaping above him and attempting to pounce with DRAINING PAWS.

The pesky sword was out of his hands, but the Drain Punch would hit him squarely, and would restore his enemies stamina. The Cybernetic ninja let out an annoyed 'tch' noise. "If you think....That is going to help you...." He pulled out a strange looking Black Pokeball. There was a crystal in it, and it began to shine brightly. Amor couldn't afford to allow him to heal more than he could damage him. "You are wrong...." He stated coldly to the Gym Leader, as a purple draconic aura swelled around his Zeraora, and then crystalized around it. Stryker was now a Dragon Type.

With this new surge in power for his dragon type attacks his arm glowed that same shade once more, and he unleashed a powerful Dragon Hammer once more against his doppleganger. Had his opponent learned anything of value from their previous bouts? Would he be able to overcome this obstacle? Amor didn't know, but he was curious to see.

"When will you stop thinking one dimensionally...." Amor taunted his enemy.

TLDR
Amor Terastallizes his Zeraora into a Dragon Type!
Amor taunts Josh!
Stryker is hit by Drain Punch!
Stryker uses Dragon Hammer empowered by it's new typing!

MP Total
+12 Posts +120
Participation +50
+4 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +40
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50
Use a Mythical Pokemon +25
Use Terastalization +10

"On the contrary," Josh retorted with a cocky grin as a purple Terastal crystal body enveloped Stryker, "you've helped me more than you could possibly imagine." As the Zeraora's new power manifested, many of its protections had also been lost, including that of aerial attacks. It was a chink in its newfound armor Josh was primed to take advantage of.

With a feline roar, the quadrupedal mythical Pokémon flexed his four strong limbs, vaulting and BOUNCING skyward. Though the DRAGON HAMMER did not directly contact him, the field of dragon energy was so dense that its corona singed the electric-type on the way up. His limbs outstretched, he was ready to pounce and pin Stryker down like a wildcat ready to ambush unsuspecting prey.

"Only one dimension? Try three," was the Gym Leader's quick line as Raikiri hurtled toward Stryker like a falling meteor.

A risky move as the enemy Zeraora bounded upwards, there was a chance they could dodge it, they were fast enough, and the opponent couldn't change direction midair. Or if they could it would be difficult. No instead Stryker stood still letting the meteor come straight down on him. It wasn't until the last moment that his new crystalline body would take on a sickly purple glow, and as the two came crashing down on top of him he would attempt to wash the other Zeraora in a Toxic. The downside being at such close proximity he was hit with his own attack.

So if he was successful they would both be poisoned, and on a ticking timer, no amount of healing would save them now. There were potentially other ways to win them, but a drawn out battle of attrition wasn't what he wanted. It was to cumbersome, and kept him from his other tasks.

"Like I said....One dimensional...." Amor goaded his opponent further as Stryker stayed standing, but now he was on the clock. "Now what will you do?" Came the amused words from the cybertech ninja suit.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
Stryker takes the Bounce attack!
As they collide into him he unleashes a Toxic that bathes both himself, and his enemy in the poison, which if successful puts them both on a timer!

MP Total
+13 Posts +130
Participation +50
+5 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +50
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50
Use a Mythical Pokemon +25
Use Terastalization +10

The purple, gooey, TOXIC blast was timed perfectly. Though the silver-haired scientist lacked the raw speed that Josh did, he had seemingly superhuman reaction time to be able to land such a blow. Raikiri was coughing from absorbing Stryker's venom. The Gym Leader himself was growing tired, too; if he made it out of this battle alive, he would need to call for a ride back to a League infirmary. None of his Pokémon could carry him anytime soon.

Ignoring the Rocket's words, Josh smirked. He had a way to outlast the rival Zeraora. With both of them in melee range, Raikiri would attempt to pin down Stryker after the big leap, socking the foe with a DRAIN PUNCH. Little was the Leader aware that his foe had also become envenomed, making draining its energy only harmful...

Amor just smirked from underneath his helm, and he watched as the Drain Punch made contact, and his own Zeraora covered it's arm in draconic energy, and then attempted to slam the Dragon Hammer into it's enemy. Still empowered by it's new typing, if they were going to make this a slugfest then that is what it would be. Amor's job of keeping another powerful leaguer at bay, and decimating their team, even if it cost him his own. That was good enough for him, it would take some time for the leaders pokemon to recuperate after this.

"Are you sure that is the move you want to be using?" He questioned the Gym Leader with a tilt of his head. The Toxic would gain potency over time, and soon it wouldn't matter how strong either of them were.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
Stryker uses Dragon Hammer on Josh's Zeraora!

MP Total
+14 Posts +140
Participation +50
+5 Fainting an opponent Pokemon +50
+1 Having my Pokemon KO'd +50
Use a Mythical Pokemon +25
Use Terastalization +10

The Leader's reflexes were quick. Perhaps a little too quick; not considering that Stryker had poisoned itself, there would be only poisoned blood for the DRAIN PUNCH to siphon. Though the Zeraora was fast, there was no outracing venom.

There was, however, outracing the DRAGON HAMMER. In a final act of desperation, Raikiri lunged toward Stryker with the fastest QUICK ATTACK his weakened body could muster. Shooting toward the feline's sensitive chest, mythical thundercat would meet mythical thundercat in a tense finale to the bitter battle that went on far longer than Josh thought it had. Were Stryker able to withstand Raikiri's final blow, that DRAGON HAMMER was coming down, and in a big way.