"It isn't as much as you think," Josh clarified, his eyes shifting toward Hollow at play. Seeing the Gastly reminded him of his own. Where was vanessa rosiello at, anyway? She was going to show him the outlandish idea of using a Gengar as a mount. She had disappeared, and the Gastly had seen no action. He might have to look for a new home for the ghost-type. "Ranger work is mostly contracts - you get paid piecework. It's the Captains and Head Ranger that are more like full-time jobs. When my Gym gets slow, I can take on a job for the Rangers, especially in the warmer months when they're busier."

The way Hollow used the Ball to capture a Pokémon was... intriguing, to say the least. Had whatever the Gastly captured been trapped in the ethereal world somehow? Perhaps a Pokémon frozen from being separated from its ghostly driver? "It's certainly possible," Josh shrugged. "Ghost-type Pokémon are a bit... weird." Even his Type: Null was perturbed by the way the catch happened, not able to comprehend what had happened; he had spent enough time with Josh and his Dragapult to understand how ghost Pokémon traveled. "How familiar are you with Dragapult?"

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD PROBOPASS APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] MAGNET PULL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TRI ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SPARK
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DISCHARGE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]MAGNET BOMB
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Caleb Kahilii

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD FALINKS APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] GENDERLESS	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] DEFIANT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FIRST IMPRESSION	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]COUNTER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]NO RETREAT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HEADBUTT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Caleb Kahilii

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Caleb Kahilii CAUGHT THE MONFERNO![/cente]

"Mauville Gym, since the weather began acting up, has been... seasonal," Josh explained. "Used to be that Hoenn just had a wet season and a dry season. Ever since Kyurem showed up and messed up the weather, we have four seasons like the rest of the world. Gets chilly enough in the winter that people don't want to race me." Many challengers didn't have a full-head racing helmet; just the minimum headgear needed to feel safe. A bicycle helmet would do little against the biting cold flying in a rider's face faster than legal highway driving speed.

Monferno were not Pokémon Josh was interested in. While an Infernape of sufficient size could wear a saddle, their narrow bodies made them ill-suited to bear his weight. Perhaps a more lithe trainer could ride one. "Ah," Josh answered. "They're one of a very few ghost-type Pokémon big enough to use as a mount. I don't have Sidewinder with me, but perhaps if we meet up again, such as at my Gym, you can see him. He's my own Dragapult." He went on to explain how their Phantom Force move could be used to carry a willing rider into the ethereal, which was possibly how the Gastly made the catch.

Suddenly, Saber hurled Josh out of the saddle with great strength, ripping the reins out of his hand in the process. The wolf's reaction was just in time, Aleph going berserk. The Type: Null sliced and diced into Saber in an effort to try to get to his trainer. It all happened so fast that by the time the Gym Leader could reach for Aleph's Poké Ball, the duo were already locked in combat with one another, a DISCHARGE slowing the repeated CRUSH CLAW attacks enough to gain control of the battle.