With Josh having to get his community service hours in, he had little time to go to the arcade. This was one of those days; after putting the past behind him following the Second Battle of Dewford, he felt like he needed a treat. After all, his valor deep in the Terastal Caverns had led to the end of Rocket Executive Grigori Rylixav. He was in his element: bright, flashing lights, electronic dance music, arrows scrolling up the screen at a good clip yet not blindingly fast like most pro players did, and most importantly, a crowd.

A driving, intimidating-sounding beat was certainly attention-grabbing as the Gym Leader clutched the blue safety rail behind him with both hands. The crowd's size was in part due to the yellow-dressed man's celebrity status, but he had the skills to back it up. Watching the combo counter roll up was mesmerizing, especially at the chart's most dense moments. When the song ended, the Leader had come up several thousand points short of a personal best. Even so, he was met with applause as a banner at the bottom of the screen flashed with the phrase "TRY EXTRA STAGE!!"

As he leaned against the safety bar, catching his breath while took advantage of every second he could before the game forced him to pick his final song, his eyes shifted towards a pink-haired young lady.

Step Step Revolution was far different than real dance, even tap dance. With only four directions to worry about, the game was largely about stamina, technique, and most importantly, pattern recognition. While he was in between songs, a young lady asked whether the Gym Leader could be recorded. "Long as I'm properly credited and my own AmiGo profile is linked, sure thing. I'd give you a proper greeting, but now's not the time," he pointed toward the timer winding down.

Standing on the stage once more, Josh scrolled through the song list, finding a new folder labeled "EXTRA EXCLUSIVE". This folder contained songs that could only be played during a game where an Extra Stage was earned. Highlighting the first song in the folder, a cut of the well-known single Eon Break blared through the machine's speakers. The song had been atop the EDM charts in Unova for months by now, and was the song ever a challenge.

While its Expert level chart was only rated a level 16, it was much more difficult to pass by virtue of the Extra Stage having an extremely strict life system. Four misses at any point in the song got you booted. The trance was just as pleasing to listen to as the steps that accompanied it. The crowd remained silent as Josh worked through the chart, dazzled when the scroll speed doubled toward the end. That wasn't the problem, though; his legs felt like jelly and felt like they were going to cramp up at any moment. Toward the end of the song, Josh got off beat and picked up four late misses, one after another, failing in the final few measures. He stepped off the stage and leaned against the back of the rail, huffing in disappointment.

The token line in front of Josh looked a bit long, which worked out in his favor; after playing such an intense set, he looked out of breath. "Thanks," he huffed again. "I try to stress to people that anything above a 15 is no joke!" The next pair of players was starting, and appeared to be much more casual players. While they weren't beginners by any stretch, they were definitely playing lower level content that would be easier for Julie to follow if she was interested. Josh took the opportunity to sit down and rest his legs for his next set.

"I'm used to attracting crowds when I play, though that's more due to my Gym Leader status than my talent with this game," Josh admitted. "Still can't play uppers worth a damn." Uppers referring to content allowed in the elimination rounds of the most prestigious competitions, where only the most difficult five percent of content in the game was used. "It's a game that's easy to learn and hard to master. When we do a set, I can teach you everything I used to get started! How much experience do you have with other music games?"

While it wasn't quite the expression Josh expected from an arcade-goer, the intent was there, and he found it. "Thanks," the Master of Faster replied with a beaming smile as the group in front of them started the last song of their credit. Josh and Julie would be up next. "While it isn't my true craft -- my true craft is speed -- I played this game on and off for a long time when I was a teenager." Bigger crowd watched him showcase his true craft; after all, he was looking to turn pro at Pokémon racing before taking his Gym Leader seat. "Right. I didn't introduce myself fully, either. Gym Leader Devlin or Elite Ranger Devlin, but please, call me Josh." The informal demeanor may have come off as surprising, stunning even, from a League big shot, but what was a title, really? Though it wasn't strictly part of his job description, Josh felt one of his duties was to bring happiness and morale to Mauville's citizens.

"Round One is the largest arcade chain in Hoenn," Josh added after hearing that this was Julie's first time in an arcade. "They have an exclusivity deal with 5-7-3, the Kantonian company that makes most popular rhythm games like Step Step Revolution. Round One locations are the only company outside Kanto that can legally own these machines." He didn't like it, but that was the way the company ran their business. They had a home version, too, but it was subscription-based on top of being pay-per-play, just like the arcade version.

Once the previous group's credit was over, Josh swiped his card, waiting for Julie to do the same, then initiated Versus play. "Alright, I can give you the most important tips I've got. First, and this is going to sound counterintuitive, but raise your scroll speed. The default is really slow and puts way too much on the screen at once. Sure, you'll have less time to react, but that's also less information you have to process at the same time. There will be a green number that shows you how fast the scroll rate will be after the speed of the song is taken into account. Find a number you like and try to get as close to it as you can on every song. I like to shoot between 450 and 500, but that's probably too fast for you. Most of the best players in the world set theirs between 600 and 700." Josh would also show where in the options menu it could be adjusted.

"That's the most complicated one. Second, don't touch the center. Third, try to alternate feet as much as you can." To demonstrate what he meant, Josh tapped out a pattern that commonly tripped up new players, stepping on the left panel with his left foot, the down panel with his right, then the right panel with his left. "Even if it means you have to reach across your body. Trust me. Keep those three things in mind, and you should he able to handle a lot of the lower half of the difficulty curve. I would say for your first set, I wouldn't pick any chart harder than a level 7." The Gym Leader would leave song selection to Julie.

"Practice is honestly the best way to get better," Josh agreed with Julie's assessment. "Playing songs just a little outside your comfort zone is the fastest way to get better. You also have to be in great physical condition as you get to the upper difficulties. I would say anything above a 13 is where the game gets strenuous to play. And remember, the scale goes all the way up to 20." He conveniently left out the detail that there was still only one level 20 chart in the entire game. the world record score on it accompanied by only an A-minus letter grade. "Pictures? You think I'll have time to take those? Psssshhhhh."

Julie's nerves had put Josh on the spot, the first thing that came to mind a line from a previous version's announcer. "Feel the rhythm and show the world your soul!" he cheered as the Kantonian J-pop hit started. As precisely as Josh was stepping across the panels, he almost looked... bored playing the song. Even its Expert chart was too easy for him, his side of the screen flashing with yellow fireworks, visually applauding his FULL PERFECT COMBO.

It wasn't exactly a pretty clear, but it was a clear nonetheless. Josh likewise applauded for Julie's performance. "That's good if you don't have a lot of experience! Back in the beginning of the series, that was considered a mid-level chart. Did I tell you this game's older than I am?" By only a year, but that was a detail he would keep to himself.

After playing two more songs, one of his choice and one of Julie Solette 's choice, something curious caught the Gym Leader's eye. "Baby-Lon's Galaxy?" Josh asked. "Is this a new event?" Idly pressing the button, the music stopped, and the entire screen faded to white, seconds later fading into an intimidating-sounding piano track. Rather than the traditional song grid, there were a series of planets orbiting a star, each one associated with a hidden song not accessible during standard play. They all had intimidating-sounding names, too.

Memory Datamosher. New Millennium. Sisyphus. Among the song artists were some scary names, too. It all sounded like it would be musically intense. The difficulty ratings backed it up, too. They would be ones she could handle, but only on the very easiest difficulty of the five. "I'm so sorry - I didn't know this had been added. If this scares you too much, you don't have to..." he trailed off as the menu timer began to ran low.

The pulsing image of a phoenix flying about also made Josh's skin tingle. There would be little time for that, though; just he returned to make his selection, the menu timer expired, leaving him locked into what was highlighted, whether he wanted to or not. On top of that, a curious message flashed on the screen:

ATTACK! FLARE GAUGE "V"!

This was gonna hurt.