By now, Josh and his electric steeds had become quite used to the dangerous thunderstorms ravaging Ultra Plant. Even his Pyroar had become acclimated, now that a Sygna bond of the same strength had been cultivated among them. Rather than being astride his Manectric or other electric Pokémon, Josh was seated on the back of Aslan, the Shiny Pyroar that was the king of his pride. Two females, Vitani and Zira, flanked the monarch lion the Gym Leader rode.

"Hey," Josh waved to Madeline McKenna , who would be accompanying the racer for a deeper dive into the hostile, lightning-infested world. Ahead of them was Jiujiu, his Xurkitree whose wireframe took the shape of a great cat. The Ultra Beast, more than familiar with the territory, stood well in front of the assembled lions. "Jiujiu here knows the way back to the ship way out that way," he pointed. "If we follow him, he should be able to keep us safe." There were two empty seats, one on each of the Pyroar, that Madeline could use if she didn't bring a Pokémon of her own she preferred for fast travel.

While Josh and Madd weren't exactly friendly with one another, they were at least civil, having worked with one another on multiple operations within what was quickly becoming the Gym Leader's favorite realm of the Ultra Wilds to operate in. The constant presence of lightning beckoned Josh to return to the place even when not on business there, the intense storms pushing his electric Pokémon to speeds well beyond what they were normally capable of. "Hi there, Madd," the Pyroar-mounted, suited Gym Leader waved, the feline's fur standing on end after a loud crackle of thunder interrupted the rider.

"Let's go! Jiujiu will lead the way." The wireframe, cat-shaped Ultra Beast bounded ahead, toward the location where the derelict vessel was at. The frequent lightning strikes changed the landscape, the narrow land bridge that Josh and others before him took to their destination no longer functional. Only a zip line remained. Jiujiu's head crackled and flashed brightly, pointing toward the zip line. "What's up? Can't we just fly to it?" he asked. The Xurkitree wrapped his "tail" around the zip line's thick wire and lowered his black body as much as he could. Dismounting and withdrawing his two Pyroar, Josh scurried up the Ultra Beast and sat on the thick wire serving as the electric-type's "back". "All aboard, Madd! Last stop: Megalopolis Spaceport!"

"Apparently!" Josh smiled as Jiujiu ferried them down the derelict power lines, a bit of a rough ride at times from a line or two threatening to buckle. "Having such a flexible Pokémon around is more helpful than I ever dreamed! And he's fast, like almost every other electric Pokémon!" If he couldn't have a Raikou, then a wireframe the shape of one would do.

Even Josh flinched at how close the intense lightning strike was, a nearby pillar of rock melting in an instant from the plasma surrounding it. Josh's hair stood on end, too. Unlike Madd, the Gym Leader seemed to embrace the storm's intensity. He withdrew the rest of his Pokémon, sending out his Zeraora and Manectric. Their VOLT ABSORB and LIGHTNING ROD would keep the two travelers safe through the storm. That wasn't enough for Josh, though. Taking a seat on his Zeraors'a back, he was ready to zoom.

"This storm is incredible!" Josh cried, able to feel the surge running through Raikiri's four paws and up his legs. "You know how fast electric Pokémon can run in a storm like this? I bet Raikiri could go supersonic if he tried!"

He really treated Ultra Plant like his playground, didn't he?

"Not at all!" Josh chirped back. "Jiujiu doesn't get to see a lot of action outside the Ultra Wilds because of... connotations with their kind." Most Hoennians were scared of Ultra Beasts due to the Megalopolan Invasion well before the Gym Leader came to the region. While he didn't reply to the comment about Jiujiu's speed, all it would it take was one look at his beaming face to know he appreciated the remark.

Raikiri absorbed some of the latent energy from the intense lightning strike, sending Josh and his feline forward at sickening speeds. It was difficult to tell whether the Leader's cry was of distress of or bliss. For most others, the speed would have torn him to shreds. It was only his yellow, Manectric-inspired suit that allowed him to stay in one piece, as well as the Manectric himself to keep the mythical cat in sight.

After allowing Madd a chance to catch up, Josh led the way toward a derelict Megalopolan spacecraft. With the shard of BLACK AUGURITE he brought with him and the PROTECTIVE PAD to keep himself from being zapped while working so close to electrical hazards, the Master of Faster hacked away at the live Xurkitree wiring preventing the duo from investigating the vessel. This was not the first such vessel Josh had seen. What would be inside this one...?

While waiting for Madd and her Garchomp to catch up, Josh wheeled Raikiri around outside the derelict flying vessel, hooting and hollering as the electric feline swerved about and gave him a rush he would not forget anytime soon. Coming down from such a high would not be pleasant, but was it ever worth it in the moment! The speeds he and his mythical partner could achieve in the Ultra Plant's lightning storms were just like when he rode Raikou with Kyle back in Hoenn's mainland. Who needed Raikou when he could just come here and dash across the desolate flats nearly as fast as a Raikou could go back home?

Even with the BLACK AUGURITE to clear a path, the Xurkitree wiring was so dense that the sparks could be hazardous. "Madd, try to stay close to me." Withdrawing his Zeraora for his Manectric, his partner's SYNC STONE began to hum and react, erecting a SPECIAL SHIELD to deflect the endless wave of sparks coming from the live wires.

As the duo searched the vessel, their efficiency hampered by the need to stay together to do so safely, Josh would come across a snippet of a report while searching a cabin.

LOG 057: ᘺᕼᓰᖶᘿ ᕼᗩᓰᖇ... ᗩᕵᕵᘿᗩᖇᘿᕲ... Sᗩᓰᕲ... ᕼᘿᖇᘿ ᓍᖇᓰᘜᓰᘉ ᕵᓍᓰᘉᖶ... Sᕼᘿ... Sᘿᗩᖇᑢᕼᓰᘉᘜ... ᖶᓍᓍᖽᐸ ᕲᗩᖇᖽᐸ Sᖶᓍᘉᘿ

The Gym Leader showed the report's text to Madd. "Can you read this?" he asked. "I can't read it at all."