TO: Josh Devlin (josh.devlin@hoennleague.gov)
MISSION: "Devil's Manner"
PROTOCOL: Hunt
DANGER: ★★★☆☆

We have received reports of mysterious Pokémon disappearances within and near Mauville City, as well as substantial increases in psychic residue within the coordinates referenced in the attached document. The most dense psychic residue is located near Lake May on Route 111, where psychic Pokémon are not native. We need you to perform a sweep of the area, rescue the missing Pokémon, and investigate what's going on. The whole situation reeks of a bad actor. Be careful and be prepared for anything.

There are six Pokémon missing. While it is preferred you rescue all six, you must bring five of them back safely for your mission to be considered a success.

Your objectives are as follows:

A) Rescue missing Pokémon
B) Analyze psychic residue
C) Neutralize all psychic hostiles

Good luck! We're all counting on you.

Though the mission's danger rating was low, this reeked of a Rocket operation too much for Josh to pull any punches. He was bringing his A-team to today's assignment, including the most powerful Pokémon he had in his arsenal. Riding up to Momo on the back of a quadrupedal Zeraora, with a Type: Null behind him, Mauville's Gym Leader would do his best to assure the coordinator her Bulbasaur would be okay.

"Not your Bulbasaur specifically, but I'll do my best to get them back for you," Josh answered, dressed in a blue Elite Ranger uniform. The Zeraora waved a paw toward Momo, the rider hoping the mythical feline's presence wouldn't scare her too much. "Elite Ranger Devlin, but you can call me Josh if you want. This has been going on for a while, and HQ's asked me to investigate. If you want to tag along to keep an eye out for your Bulbasaur, you can. Stay alert, though; I think there might be foul play at work." The Type: Null's eyes formed an unearthly stare toward the woods by the lake, Josh reining his feline mount toward it. From the Zeraora's lithe body and rippling muscles, one thing about Raikiri was clear.

This cat could run.

Josh smiled at the pinkette's enthusiasm, despite the tension of the situation she was in. "Great to meet you, Momo; I just wish we could be meeting under better circumstances. If foul play is involved, you could be in real danger. If you've got Pokémon that can protect you, that's a big plus. So long as you're aware, then you can come along. Do you have a Pokémon you can ride on? We'll get there a lot faster if you do."

If Josh were to find out Momo did not have one, he would scoot back on his mount, leaving the front half of Raikiri's saddle exposed. The great cat crouched to let Momo on. "Hop on and hold on tight. Raikiri here has three speeds: fast, faster, and blistering." Though Josh would have to extend his arms more than he was used to in order to manipulate the mythical feline's reins, he didn't mind if it made it easier for Momo to hold on. That was what was important; if she had little riding experience, even a casual run from the Zeraora could be overwhelming. Josh reached for Aleph's Poké Ball, ready to withdraw the Type: Null before taking off. There was no way the normal-type could keep up with the Gym Leader's fastest land Pokémon.

Understanding that he had no hope of keeping up with the thundercat capable of rivaling legendary Pokémon in speed, Aleph allowed himself to be withdrawn. Josh was still a bit nervous about bringing Momo along, but if she understood the risks, there was nothing he would do to stop her. He made sure Momo was comfortable before ordering Raikiri to take off toward the lake.

And take off they did. Josh had warned her for a reason; Raikiri zoomed ahead with the acceleration of a feline ambush predator hunting for a meal, his strides rapid and strong. Sparks flew from his PLASMA PAWS as they continued speeding up, going faster than even a Rapidash. He had hoped the roaring wind didn't scare Momo too much. What would have taken hours to get to on foot, the rider duo had covered in minutes.

As the lake came into view, Josh loosened his leg pressure, the Zeraora gradually slowing down to keep Momo as comfortable as possible while he shed the speed that made him the mythical thundercat Josh once believed was a reincarnation of Raikou. He stopped to make sure she was okay before heading closer to the lake to begin their investigation.

Momo's stillness was a sign that she was having difficulty adapting to the Zeraora's extreme speeds. That was nothing unusual, recalling what happened when he took Julia Davis on the same ride up the road not far from where he was now. As it turned out, it took a lot of adapting for the human body to get used to going faster than a race car. "You're welcome. Just want to make sure you're okay before you step off. I'll be staying on Raikiri."

The Grovyle looked solidly built, obedient, and ready to engage anything that were to attack them. Without a way to detect psychic residue on his own, Josh was reliant on his few psychic-types. Janus was one of them, the Gym Leader popping open the purple-pink quadruped's Poké Ball. While not as large as Raikiri, the Espeon was still very large for the species, the saddle covering most of his back capable of seating one person at a time. "Alright, Janus, we're looking for traces of psychic residue. See if you can sniff it out." Glowing purple-pink with PSYCHIC power, he walked alongside Raikiri, trying to sense the use of psychic moves in the area. Unbeknownst to them, the powerful display would attract a predator...

Josh wasn't bothered by Momo's reaction at all; he was used to it. His entire team was full of anomalies; in a bygone age, they would have been called Alphas due to their enormous size. "He's one of eight; the rest of the rainbow is back at my Gym in Mauville. You should drop by; almost every kind of ride Pokémon you can imagine roams my Racing Grounds there."

The Gym Leader's honed reaction time let him draw the Honedge from his scabbard in time, Josh wielding the steel-type like a medieval knight would a blade. He pointed it toward the Mienshao and let the leaping fighting-type run into it, the foe hopping on one foot from the deep stab wound inflicted by Danjuro's SACRED SWORD.

Setting its bad leg down and wincing in pain, the wild mustered the grit to lunge toward Janus in a U-TURN that caught the psychic quadruped completely off guard. Before he could react to the psychic wave, the assailant had already retreated well behind the Hypno way in the back and in control.

The two had taken down the psychic-type's cronies; all that remained was the Hypno itself. As the SHADOW BALL raced toward him, he hurled Aleph's Poké Ball toward the onslaught, the Type: Null emerging just in time to block most of it. What remained struck the Gym Leader directly, knocking him unconscious for a few precious seconds.

Enraged at his trainer taking such a blow, the Ultra Beast brandished his CRUSH CLAW toward the Hypno. Turning it into a glancing blow with its psychic power, the wild followed the attack up with HYPNOSIS fueling its pendulum. Anyone who made even glancing eye contact would be subject to narcolepsy.

The focus on its trance-inducing powers left their foe open to the Grovyle's LEAF BLADES. While it didn't interrupt the mesmerizing power, it did leave the Hypno much worse for wear. It wouldn't take much more punishment to bring their attacker to its knees.

With a deep bellow, the Hypno keeled over after the vicious X-SCISSOR left big gashes over the yellow Pokémon's chest. Though it wasn't in danger of dying, the Hypno would be out of commission for a very long time. "It's not over yet, but the hard work's out of the way." As fun as it was for the two of them to ride Raikiri together, that wasn't the most efficient way to run a search and rescue operation. The Gym Leader had been doing them far too long to be anything but efficient at them.

OBJECTIVE C: COMPLETED

Josh clicked the release switch on Dashie's Poké Ball, a Galarian Rapidash materializing next to Momo and beckoning her aboard. "Dashie here will be good at detecting any psychic residue nearby. If you find some, it's likely that some of the Pokémon we're looking for are close. I'm taking the rest of my Pokémon in the opposite direction you go. We'll cover a lot more ground that way." Regardless of what plan the two agreed to, Josh would execute it, going his own separate way from Momo.

With the big threat having been exterminated, Josh also sent out his tired Espeon, Janus. "I know you're not feeling so hot right now, but we need your help in locating any psychic residue the Hypno left behind. I'll make sure to buy you a great treat and get you a nice, long rest once we're back home." With an exasperated nod, the Espeon's forked tail glowed a faint purple, a sign he was on the lookout for where the Hypno had used its psychic power recently.