APRIL 20, 2025

The two Manectric looked like living lightning bolts as they circled one another, ready to pounce upon the first misstep the other made. Hoenn's Top Champion was so talented that he could mimic the strengths of the battle styles of those he fought. Their history with one another made Josh's adversary aware of every nuance of his team, particularly of his most loyal Pokémon.

To the Gym Leader, it was almost like he was fighting himself.

Even commentators in PSPN's booth had trouble following the action, the two lunging past one another. With both electric canines being living LIGHTNING RODS, only one blow would truly matter. Both knew what would decide the round's outcome would be landing the first ICE FANG. Normally a defensive mesaure against pesky Ground-type Pokémon such as Dugtrio, the arctic attack would serve a different purpose in this match: to sap the other of their speed advantage. The moment one let off the gas, the other would find every blow easier to land.

Saber's cold attacks were calculated, shifting his momentum to keep as much of his body as possible out of the way of the foe's teeth. He felt a puff of cold air every time the foe's mouth snapped shut in a near miss. Kicking up dust from a quick about-face, Saber made a move of his own, his fangs likewise recoiling.

Even the close calls took their toll on both; the mist from the repeated ice-type attacks formed frost on both their bodies. Though Josh's approach led to more frequent opportunities to strike, Kyle's led to greater success. Josh's first Pokémon squealed as the Top Champion's Pokémon crunched down upon one of Saber's calves, the Manectric desperately writhing for freedom. With few other options, Saber grappled the opposing electric-type with his own maw of frost-laden teeth.

What had once been a contest of speed became a contest of endurance, one Manectric's legs and the other's back freezing from the inside out. Neither gave an inch, pained red eyes growing brighter as the two fought one another for their freedom in the capacity-crowd arena. The Top Champion's diverse training methods proved to give him the edge, Josh's hyper-focus on speed proving to be his downfall in the match of electric dogs. He wasn't one to let Kyle press an advantage, though; hastily replacing his prized Pokémon with an Absol, Twilight lunged at the Manectric with blinding speed. Her QUICK ATTACK over the electric-type's existing wounds evened the match.

Not holding any of his best Pokémon back for their match, the next of the Champion's Pokémon to appear in front of Josh and Twilight was a Mightyena. Which of his Mightyena, though? He had brought four of them to the title bout...

To Josh's dismay, the Mightyena the Top Champion wielded was Foxtrot, the sixth member of the Dog Boy's battle troupe lunging at Twilight and PLAYING ROUGH with her in the middle of her SWORDS DANCE. His squad of grey and black hounds, unassuming as they were, were among the most feared Pokémon in Hoenn, any one of them capable of felling even a god. They had all the practice in the world, too, able to spar against Entei, Ho-oh, Terrakion, and Solgaleo. It would take a special bond to overcome them.

A special bond Josh would begin to display with Twilight.

Raising his MEGA GLOVE, both it and the dark-type's ABSOLITE gleamed a blinding purple-pink: the light of MEGA EVOLUTION. With a second wind and false wings sprouting from her shoulders, Twilight loudly howled, foreseeing a ROCK SLIDE ensnaring the Mightyena. Her sharpened blade and claws carried to the pointed rocks cutting through the Mightyena, the angel-like quadruped felling the foe.

Next to come out of Kyle's Poké Ball was Delta, who was quick to subject Twilight to TORMENT. With her Night Slash and Psycho Cut ineffective against the scout of the Dog Boy's brigade, even Mega Evolution could not protect her from repeated claw swipes capable of SMASHING ROCK to bits.

Running out of Pokémon capable of taking the Top Champion's dogs down, the Mauville Leader hurled forward a Poké Ball containing a Shiny Gogoat, his golden horns gleaming in the spotlight.

APRIL 20, 2025

The Shiny Gogoat was key to fighting through the Champion's merciless pack of Mightyena. His BULKED UP muscles let him withstand even the many FIRE FANGS that came raining down upon him, the burns and wounds from each patched with their own energy siphoned from Nitro's HORN LEECH. Only one Pokémon remained on the Top Champion's belt. Hurling it into the air, the sky above the Ever Grande arena turned bright reds, oranges, and yellows.

Even before the Poké Ball burst open, an intense wave of PRESSURE knocked the challenger and his Gogoat off his feet. An almost unbearable heat wave caused the Gogoat's leafy main to shrivel up, the uncomfortable environment enhancing the power of the SACRED FIRE that turned Nitro's leaves to cinders. Still laying on the ground, the sweating Gym Leader withdrew the grass-type.

As Josh reached for his next Poké Ball, his body continued to convulse uncontrollably. As the flames subsided, their source stepped forward, letting out a loud bark that raised the temperature even further. Before him was the Beast of Fire, the Johtonian god of the red earth, Entei. None of his Pokémon, not even Raikiri, could match the fire-type's speed.

Was this what challengers felt like when they battled Josh at his Gym? Helpless in that they were facing a Pokémon so fast that they couldn't hope to hit it with any ordinary attack? On top of that, such a fast Pokémon having a devastating attack only the Johtonian fire gods could master?

As much as the odds were stacked against the Mauville Leader, it was his request that the Top Champion use the Beast against him in his title match. Not just to prove to the Top Champion, but to himself, that not even a god would stand in the way of doing what he wanted to do: prove himself among Hoenn's most elite fighters.

It was time to square off against one of his three childhood idols.

Josh hurled his Dragonair's Poké Ball forward, legendary and dragon charging alongside one another in a duel of EXTREME SPEED...

APRIL 20, 2025

The challenger was most well-known for extreme speed than anyone else in Hoenn. The Top Champion had one of the fastest Pokémon in the world on his side. Speed would not be the Gym Leader's savior in today's battle; as fast as the Dragonair was, Entei's was that of Johtonian folk tales. The Beast roared proudly, his white mane billowing as Resheph went sailing across the arena and into the base of Josh's trainer's box in a split second. The impact knocked Josh off his feet, the railing saving him from a fall.

"It isn't over yet!" Josh defiantly cried as the legendary Pokémon hopped backward to follow up with another burst of mighty speed. Hurling his TERA ORB beneath the platform, the trainer's courage and quick thinking prompted the Dragonair to form a crystalline shield around her body, reflecting the properties of water. With exquisite timing only a Pokémon trained for speed could execute properly, the Dragonair whipped her AQUA TAIL at Entei's blurred feet.

The second blazing fast charge was too much for Resheph to handle, but she left the legendary Beast breathing heavily. This was Josh's only chance. It was up to Aslan, the Shiny Pyroar that went through hell and back in space, to secure Josh the title he dreamed of. And he wasn't holding back one bit.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, the crystal in Josh's Z-GLOVE glowed a bright white, as did the PYROARIUM-Z hidden beneath the lion's mane. As loud as the fire Beast's roar was, the EMPEROR'S ROYAL ROAR was louder still, shaking the morale of even the Johtonian god and turning the tide of battle. Not accepting defeat so easily, the sacred Pokémon breathed white-hot, affinity-piercing SACRED FIRE all over the feline. It would have been a tactic that secured the Top Champion's victory had it not been for the display of Z-Power.

With the smoldering, but standing, Shiny lion still standing, having survived the deity's trial by fire, kyle lopez clapped, as though subtly encouraging his challenger to deliver the final blow. With a deafening HYPER VOICE, the Pyroar did so, Entei too dizzy to remain standing. The platforms receded into the arena floor, letting Kyle stand next to Josh, grab his arm, and raise it high above his head. "Today, Hoenn finds itself a--"

Suddenly, all the lights in the stadium went dark, a DRAGON DART sliding into the Gym Leader's neck and knocking him unconscious. With the arena now shrouded in almost total darkness, it was trivial for the source of the DRAGON DART, a Dragapult with a masked and caped rider on its back, to scoop up the newly-crowned Champion and vanish in a display of PHANTOM FORCE.

By the time the League could get backup power running, Josh Devlin was nowhere to be found.

APRIL 20, 2025

"Undo his blindfold," a gruff voice boomed around the Gym Leader. He felt the sting of its thick cloth whipping about the side of his face, yanking his head and neck with uncomfortable force. He looked around in his seat, able to see Lilycove out a tall tower's west window and Ever Grands out the east. His heart sank when he realized where he was and who he was in front of.

It was his arch-nemesis, dorian westcliff , a shit-eating grin on his face as he had not only the person who tried to take Eris Halla 's life, but now a League Champion, in an incredibly vulnerable position. "You want any hope of getting out of here alive, you answer my questions and do as I say. Otherwise, this will be the last time you ever see your best friends." The Mad Dog drew two purple curtains back, showing a dehydrated-looking Saber and Nitro behind bars, a Charizard and a Houndoom expelling HEAT WAVES around them.

"What did you do to--WHOA?!" the Gym Leader yelped as he flew out of his seat. Peering down, he found that he wasn't sitting in a chair at all. He was strapped to the bulb at the end of a thick vine. Tilting his head as he heard loud breathing from behind him, he saw the vine was sprouting from the largest Venusaur he had ever seen.

"I've heard you love going fast, Devlin," Dorian teased. "If you wanna go faster than you've ever gone before, then keep being feisty with me." As if to give him a taste of what the Venusaur could do, the grass-type sent a comparatively small pulse down the vine. Even that small motion caused the vine's cracker to powerfully flick, yanking the Gym Leader back and forth wildly in a split second. A snapping noise, though not a loud one, echoed in the sealed room, Josh letting out a cry and a hiss as his knuckles turned red.

How could Shalin Nariya withstand this? Furthermore, how could she enjoy something so painful?

"That too fast for you, Devlin?" Dorian taunted. "Well, it's gonna get even faster if you don't cooperate with us. We know who you are and who you've been in cahoots with. Now tell me, Devlin. Where is the Scarlet Book?"

The Venusaur's eyes were squarely on Josh as he lowered his vine to the floor. He could still feel the entire vine shaking from the recoil, the knuckle on his right middle finger oozing red. His hand shook with the vine he was strapped to, Dorian barking at him demanding the truth to a question he could not answer. The book had been uploaded to the RKS system in a heavily secured location that could only be accessed after signing a NDA. He was contractually obligated to keep his mouth shut.

"I don't know," was the Gym Leader's firm response.

"Where is the Scarlet Book?!" dorian westcliff reiterated all the louder.

"I just told you. I don't know. I wasn't there when the League found it."

"Not good enough, Devlin! Where is the Scarlet Book?!" Being a Beast under Silas made Dorian privy to the whereabouts of Rocket's Violet Book, as well as a list of the people that knew of its true location. He could only assume that Gym Leaders were under the same umbrella, having been granted full knowledge of the artifact's location.

How wrong he was. The Gym Leader truly did not know.

"Baron Bulbsworth the Eighth!" Dorian called out to the giant Venusaur whose vine the Master of Faster was strapped to. "VINE WHIP the Scarlet Book out of him!"

If the harness Josh was tied to was strong enough to hold up even under the extreme force of a lashing whip, there would be little hope for him to writhe free. For the material to hold up at speeds far faster than anything Josh had access to, it had to be extraordinarily strong. Too strong to break out of.

The grass-type shook its body hard, sending a big pulse down the vine Josh was strapped to the very end of. When he felt his body rising upward, clearly able to see another part of the vine racing toward him as his body was drawn back, he knew Dorian's Pokémon wasn't toying around anymore. All he could do was brace himself.

The pulse reached the end of the vine with a deafening snap. Dorian's harness held Josh fast to the lash's very cracker, whipping the Gym Leader back, then forward with such speed that his knuckles popped through the backs of the skin of his fingers. In the moment his pain was the most intense, he couldn't even hear himself scream, the VINE WHIP's motion sending his own voice back into his lungs.

As the vine came to a stop on the ground, still rumbling from the lashing motion's recoil, all Josh could do was scream and hiss in agony, blood dripping from his exposed finger bones. "And that's just one crack, Devlin. Out with the Scarlet Book's location, or the next one's gonna be even harder!" The Silas Beast's supersonic torture method left Josh breathless, speechless, and devoid of meaningful consciousness.

APRIL 24, 2025

Days later, after withstanding multiple torture sessions from dorian westcliff , all Josh he could do was groan and moan in pain. Without the protection of a Sygna Suit specifically designed to withstand extreme motion, the Gym Leader's skin was red in countless places, his hands still feeling like they were on fire from the knuckles on his fingers piercing his skin. No matter the training, the human body simply was not designed to withstand the speed of a whip crack. Not even the Master of Faster.

The noise coming from the Gym Leader got dorian westcliff 's attention, a large bottle of water on an end table in front of the cell where an unconscious Saber and Nitro lay. The Gogoat's normally green leaves were mostly yellow and brown; it was a sign of extreme dehydration. The emaciated Pokémon, if they had not perished yet, looked like they could die any moment from a lack of water.

There was no outside light coming from the windows anymore; the sun had fallen beneath the horizon, cloud cover masking the moon and stars on the lightless night. This time, instead of a Venusaur, he was helplessly strapped to the back of a Kommo-o. From wielding Extratone in battle, he knew what the species was capable of. If he didn't divulge the Scarlet Book's location this time, the dragon's Clanging Scales would reduce him to paste. They rattled beneath Josh at a much more mild rate, the vibration causing his hair to stand on end and making him hiss, agitating the wounds on his knuckles.

"This is your last chance," dorian westcliff barked. "Where is the Scarlet Book?!"

"I already told you the last four days! I don't know!" Josh retorted. "You're asking the wrong guy! Just because I'm a Gym Leader doesn't mean the League tells me everything!"

The Silas Beast looked impressed by the Mauville Leader's "resolve", the ability to hold secrets tight even under duress. "I must say, your loyalty to that dog dahlia goode is impressive. That you would keep such knowledge under lock and key, even with your life on the line, is entertaining. You're the most fun 'hero' I've had the pleasure of testing in a really long time. But every hero has their--"

"Westcliff," a booming voice echoed from the torture chamber's entrance.

"B-Boss..." the former Beast stuttered in the syndicate leader's presence.

"Let him loose. Psychic analysis has made it clear that he truly does not know where the Scarlet Book is." The Gym Leader breathed a sigh of relief when Dorian undid the harness keeping him strapped to a Pokémon that could vibrate him to mush on command. "Go, Westcliff. Get back to work on that operation Elisabeth Fiorelli assigned you. Your presence here is neither required nor welcome."

As if to taunt the Gym Leader even further, the Rocket Boss walked up to the cell the two Pokémon were in and grabbed the water bottle with a mechanical hand. He extended it beyond the cell's bars and poured the refreshing, clear liquid into both their open mouths. While it took some time, the weak Pokémon opened their eyes, though both were still unable to move. While he appreciated Declan keeping his prized partners alive, he knew there was a catch somewhere. "What do you want with me?" Josh asked the League archnemesis.

"Among Meteno, the Ancient Tomb, and both Galar operations, your courage and tenacity have been a major thorn in our side. When dorian westcliff , mint frost , Amor Rose , and even Cillian Quinn couldn't follow the simple directions of ending your life, it was clear that you are no ordinary Gym Leader. And now, you are a Champion. I can't let that talent go to waste. You, Josh Devlin , would make one of the finest Beasts Rocket has ever seen."

Josh rolled his eyes as the Rocket boss continued to ramble. "Your speed is a lethal weapon, wasted in the hands of the League. Renounce dahlia goode in front of me and join Team Rocket today. You won't even have to give up what you love most, your Gym, as long as you can keep our alliance a secret. Little will change about Hoenn. We just don't want to see such prodigal talent on the losing side."

The taunting gave the Master of Faster a second wind despite the red patches on his exposed skin making his arms look like a red-and-white checkerboard. His resolve was wholly with the League. With dahlia goode and the Council. With the dream of a world without Rocket. "Turning my back on her now would be to betray every friend I've ever made. Especially Isaac Merlo . That name might sound familiar. He once worked for you tirelessly. Now, he has liberated dozens, if not hundreds, of hardworking people from your ranks. Throwing away my legacy as a Gym Leader, the success of which I largely owe to him, would be turning my back on him and every single citizen of Mauville. My conscience would never allow me to betray them."

"I thought you might say that, Devlin. But every mind, no matter how resolute, has its limits. We've been monitoring all the work you've done at Ultra Plant. What you were searching for. We found what you could not. I won't take any more of your time. I present you with an offer you can't refuse. Devlin, renounce your alliance with Dahlia before me, right now, and I will grant you the allegiance of a powerful ally for the glory of Rocket. An ally I am certain you are familiar with."

With the pop of a Quick Ball, a tiger-shaped light blinded Josh. Its white frame faded into golden mane and yellow cloud, its muscles and paws crackling with a hemisphere of sparks that made the Gym Leader's skin tingle. The Johto Beast, the god of speed, stared into his eyes with fervor that brought the captive trainer to his knees, paralyzed with grief and indecision.

"The god of your homeland, the one you desire above all else, is at your fingertips. All it will cost you is your unerring, complete loyalty to Rocket." All the mortified Gym Leader could do was scream at the top of his lungs. The physical torture dorian westcliff put him through was intense and physically unbearable.

The mental torture declan walsh scarred him with tore into his mind like a scourge of lightning, leaving him in unfathomable pain.

Before Josh was the fastest Pokémon on land, the Pokémon he wanted above all else. There was little that gave Josh more joy than blasting across the land with kyle lopez and his Beasts. Even Entei had warmed up to him by now, getting to experience the rush of being on each of them and understanding their differences. Raikou remained his favorite.

All that he had to do to have that kind of speed at his fingertips for the rest of his life would be to pledge his allegiance to declan walsh and his Rockets. He could even do something otherwise impossible, even with Kyle's help: experience the speed of a Raikou Z-Move. To leap into a cloud, ride a striking lightning bolt, and coast over the land, the thundercloud he sat on the only thing keeping him from vaporizing into the bolt of plasma that the Beast turned into... it was a dream come true. And all he had to do was say yes.

On the other hand, there were all the people that helped him get to where he was. What would CIAN MAHER say if he found out Rocket had bribed him with the legendary Pokémon he once obsessed over? What would Elinor Anderson say after putting her heart and soul into making him the best Gym Leader he could be? What would Navy say, with how much he helped Josh turn his obsession back into a mere dream?

What would the people of Mauville say when they found out their Gym Leader was a double agent? Gym Leader by day, deadly predator of Leaguers by night?

Sensing the agony and indecision in Josh's mind, declan walsh pushed his agenda on the Master of Faster even farther. "Go to your new friend and greet him. Welcome him into the fold. Awaken Devlin to his true calling."

The Shiny Raikou slinked toward Josh, the PRESSURE of his aura adding to the Gym Leader's pain. To rouse him even more, the electric-type crouched on all fours next to him, beckoning him to sit on the yellow cloud. "Devlin, live the dream you have dreamed of for years. Ride, Devlin. Ride, and claim your birthright."

As the Gym Leader rest his hands on the side of the yellow thundercloud, the weight of those he swore allegiance to bore down upon him with crushing force. Betraying those people now would be turning his back on every friend he had ever known, forever. Isaac Merlo had spoken to him many times about how painful it was to escape Rocket's clutches. It had taken the Johtonian god of winds to save his life. If he were to accept the Rocket boss' offer, the next time he met his best friend, it would be on the field of battle.

It was just like his journey through the Cloud. His bond with, and affection for, the Manectric he had grown up with, was so strong that he was willing to give up every other Pokémon he had to be with that Manectric until the very end. Even if it meant living out the rest of his days in the Bad Sector of the Cloud: the realm of the deleted. It taught him an important lesson: no one Pokémon should command that high of a price. A lesson reinforced to him with Aleph's creation.

Shedding an entire well of tears, the Gym Leader tilted his head upward, his body shaking in terror as he let go of the Raikou's cloud. "No. No deal. It's true. I want a Raikou more than anything else in the world. I really do. But I also value my fellow Pokémon. And my friends. The price of giving them up to be with Raikou forever is too great. Plus, kyle lopez and Isaac Merlo have taught me much. The Raikou I know would never ally with the likes of you."

"Wrong answer," barked Declan as he hurled another Pokémon toward the cell that the emaciated partners were boiling alive in. From it emerged a GALARIAN MOLTRES who filled the cell with its FIERY WRATH. When the black fire was gone, Nitro had turned into a smoldering pile of ash, and Raikiri a cat-shaped pile of furless flesh. Before Josh could even react to the life of his most precious Pokémon being taken, the Rocket Boss continued to make very real threats.

"My offer remains on the table. Reconsider, Devlin. My patience wears thin."

The deaths of both Nitro and Raikiri, but particularly the Zeraora, made him shake. He had no more Pokémon capable of doing battle. He was on his own against not one, but two gods at the beck and call of the most powerful terrorist in Hoenn. Fear had set in. "Devlin, I know how much you want to fight alongside Raikou. Fulfill your childhood dream. Manifest your destiny. Ride, Devlin. Become the Knight of Thunder. For the glory of Rocket."

declan walsh didn't get an immediate response; all he got out of Josh was constant shaking. Living his dream the way the Rocket Boss wanted him to would betray the wishes of all of his friends. He would never be able to lead his Gym again, the thing he enjoyed most day to day. Who would run Mauville Racing Grounds without him? He didn't know a soul in Hoenn that had the passion for speedsports that he did. What would become of Mauville were he to lay siege to it with his Beast? The regret of turning down the chance to be Raikou's friend was unbearable. Betraying every friend he had ever known was equally unbearable.

It was truly an impossible decision.

All Josh could do was weep. Weep for the loss of his most precious Pokémon, the Top Champion's Zeraora he graciously allowed the speedster to raise into truly a force to be reckoned with. Weep for the loss of Nitro, one of the first Pokémon he trained for the racing circuit, and perhaps the most protective Pokémon on his entire squad. Now Josh understood why getting out of Rocket nearly cost Isaac Merlo his life.

In his most dire moment, he had to stand up for what was right.

"No, Declan," Josh reiterated as the floor became slippery with the Gym Leader's tears. "I can't do what you ask of me. Isaac Merlo told me about the hells he went through under you. Every single one of them. I'm no killer, and you know this. What you want me to do would betray every friend I've ever made. Even those still trapped under your rule. Asher Baran deserves better." He shook a fist and slammed it into the tiled floor.

"And that's my final answer."

Declan frowned in disappointment. "And it shall be so in more ways than one." The mob boss shoved the weakened Master of Faster to the ground. "EXTREME SPEED."

Before Josh could react, the Shiny Raikou disappeared, too fast for even his speed-trained eyes to see. A split second later, the Beast pounced him, pinning him to the ground, slobber dripping all over his face. As he reached to desperately throw a punch toward the feline's face, it opened its mouth with split-second reaction, his hand gone and his arm a jagged, bleeding stump. In the next split second, the tiger's face would be right in his, knife-like fangs piercing his face and leaving him in so much pain he was no longer meaningfully conscious.

"Good boy," Declan started patting his Beast's head doused in the Mauville Leader's blood, briefly surveying the body the feline had gored and ripped to shreds. "And don't think I've forgotten about you, Isaac Merlo . You're next."