"I DON'T KNOW!" Howard's voice wailed across the arena. "They've got the wrong Howard! I checked the register for the tournament, and they think I'm Howard Slate! Without the y!"

Howard hadn't even fought in that many battles. Occasionally, he'd get dragged up whenever the actual Howard Slate failed to make an appearance, and he'd fight in Slate's place. Howard didn't even bring anything noteworthy to the tournament. Atlas was at home, Shirley was napping in her Pokeball, and Celpho had recently gotten struck by Thundurus's lightning bolt.

Serizawa, his Larvitar, was all that was left. The little bastard had recently destroyed a dumpster in a fit of rage, and was now sitting in the middle of the arena, growling.

"Let's just get this over with. A nice, clean fight. Maybe we can catch a game after this is over, yeah?"

---

Josh Devlin

"That's a mess I wouln't wish upon anyone," Josh answered. "I'd let the League know so that TOs are aware that this has been a trend." Perhaps this was a boon after all!

"Oh you won't have to worry about that at all," Josh smirked. "Long as your eyes can keep up!" He wasn't kidding; the Zeraora zoomed toward Serizawa the moment the horn sounded in a QUICK ATTACK that even the Gym Leader had a hard time following.

"Thanks." Howard tapped his eyepatch. "If I can find my other eye, I'll take you up on that."

Serizawa lumbered to his feet, munching on a clump of dirt as he glared daggers at Zeraora. The Larvitar was a powerhouse, but Howard's mediocrity as a trainer had created a little monster who barely listened to orders in favor for rampaging. Howard was good with fossils, including Pokémon that emerged from them. He was also good at telling Josh who was going to win the next baseball game.

Training Larvitars was not part of that regime.

"Serizawa, use-"

Serizawa turned towards Raikiri as his pupils dilated. As the beast lunged with the speed of lightning, the Larvitar omitted a targeted strike in favor for a rampaging Earthquake.

---

Josh Devlin
3/3 (No mechanic)
yFjCmaBB

The rumbling EARTHQUAKE was the Mauville Leader's worst nightmare. While the Zeraora was able to BOUNCE over the main seismic assault, he landed right as its aftershocks came, knocking the feline off balance. It was a heavy blow, one that would send the big cat out of the match, and Josh out of contention, if the Larvitar landed it again.

Josh could not let that happen.

His prized partner displayed the full extent of his AGILITY, circling the Larvitar like a yellow comet in orbit. It was truly a testament of the Gym Leader's athleticism that he could stay mounted on such a viciously fast creature, let alone control him at speed.

Serizawa was a sledgehammer that dodged the finesse of Josh's greatest tactics. Howard wasn't a good battler in the heat of combat, but he could sit down and think. After fighting Josh once and chatting about strategy with the Gym Leader, the archaeologist realized that his Pokemon would never be able to hit Josh's speedsters.

Instead, he'd opt for widespread damage. Raikiri could bounce about all it wished, but as long as Serizawa sprayed and prayed, it'd be fine. Another Earthquake would...

"LARVITARRRRRRR!" The Larvitar leered at its opponent, before running forward to thrash its lights out. Howard slumped and threw up his hands. Josh could ride a Zeraora, but Howard couldn't keep control of his Pokemon.

---

Josh Devlin
3/3 (NO MECHANIC)
HuRvlHfc

That Larvitar of Howard's was a lot tougher than it looked, bucking and THRASHING underneath Raikiri. For the speed it lacked, it had wonderful combat instincts. If those Pokémon of his were in the hands of a truly talented trainer, they would be able to coast through the Pokémon League. Were the Pokémon strong...

...or was Howard actually a battle prodigy?

No matter. No more mercy, even for his friend. Raising his Z-GLOVE to the Zeraora's head level, both it and the QUICKINIUM-Z hidden in his Pokémon's fur gleamed a brilliant yellow. "Dodge this!" Josh shouted. No taunting; he was legitimately chapped at how Howard belittled himself in front of the young man. In a way, they were like one another, never willing to take credit for their own accomplishments.

Wreathing himself in lightning, Raikiri barreled toward Serizawa with surreal speed. If the paws leading the HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE didn't knock the ground-type over, then the ground-piercing electricity surrounding him would. There was also the explosion that came from the Zeraora outrunning his own sound waves - possibly a threat to the trainers, too!

"Dodge? Dodge wh-"

It was already over by the time the words were uttered. Howard felt his bones jiggle slightly as a soundwave shook his body. He clapped his hands to his ears as a loud ringing erupted from Raikiri and its Z-move. When Howard uncovered his ears, his nose started to bleed. Blood dripped onto the arena and Howard wiped his nose.

"Ah, that's what you meant." Howard couldn't hear his own voice over the ringing. "That's, ah... too fast."

"Larvi..." Serizawa collapsed, eyes rolling. He began to cry. "WAAAAAAHHHH!"

Howard groaned, ears still ringing. "Seri..." The Larvitar made a fist, before slamming it into the earth with remarkable strength, sending Stone Edges in random directions.

---

2/3 (NO MECHANIC)
S7UvN336

Josh chuckled on the inside. If it was too fast for him to observe, then riding a Pokémon moving that fast would be out of the question for him. He wished he could share that surreal experience with Howard. With how violent a Zeraora's gallop could get, though, a simple camera would not properly convey the experience. There was no way a camera could remain steady enough to let him see what Howard saw. Riding at such high speeds could only truly be conveyed by doing.

Their match was still in progress, though, and time was running out. Raikiri was sweating, his heart beating uncontrollably fast from the exertion of Mauville Gym's ultimate move. At a pace that was much easier for both trainers to follow, the Zeraora weaved about the field of STONE EDGES and toward Serizawa, attempting to ride the Larvitar down underpaw, each striking like a DRAIN PUNCH would. 

"Larvi... The childish strike hit nothing as Raikiri dodged it. Serizawa was a competent Pokémon, but it was feral, untrained. It simply rampaged about until the other foe was obliterated. That was all well and good, until someone quick like Josh Devlin came along.

Both sides were wounded. Even Howard could see that. They were reaching the climax.

"As good as ever, Devlin." Howard gave the Gym Leader his praise. The island flashed in his eyes. "Serizawa, let's... fight and stuff?"

The little monster breathed heavily, before grumbling to his feet.

"LARVIIIIIIIII-" Serizawa opened his maw for a grand finale: Hyper Beam.

---

Josh Devlin
1/3 (NO MECHANIC)
Y1A5JhiK

The HYPER BEAM itself was a fast attack, but in the hands of a young Pokémon like a Larvitar, was too unwieldy to tag a Pokémon as fast as a Zeraora. Especially one trained by a speed demon like Josh. The world around Raikiri seemed to slow down, his incredible reflexes letting him zip out of the way. The deafening thud at which it hit the arena's outer wall meant he had dodged a real bullet. He was not out of the woods yet, though.

Peeking at his VITAL GEAR, he noticed he was very low on time! All that dodging had left him with very low attack output for the match. Fancy footwork alone would not impress the judges. If it came down to a decision, he knew he wasn't winning. With less than two seconds on the clock, he screamed and pointed toward Howard's Pokémon. Within half a second, the Zeraora heard and understood his trainer's wishes. In another half-second, he dove toward the rock-type in what would be a match-ending QUICK ATTACK. As the final tenths wound down, one question remained.

Would the hit count?

"-IIIIIIIIIIITAR!" The blast fired, missing. It struck behind Josh, causing a tremor. The strike was unwieldy, but it was powerful. It was a move Howard had never practiced with Serizawa, but the strike could've blasted through a reinforced wall. A remarkably impressive feat for such a small Pokémon.

The arena quaked. Instead of going to confirm the strike, Serizawa picked up a piece of the terrain and ate it, satisfied with his victory. Suddenly, the Larvitar felt something. It turned to see Raikiri closing the gap. Instinctively, the Larvitar slammed its foot into the ground. The ground shook again with another Earthquake.

The buzzer indicating the end of time was called. Serizawa was struck, and the Pokémon was sent flying.

"Serizawa...!" Howard let out a shout as he ran forward, grabbing his Larvitar in his hands. He caught him. "Are you okay? Little buddy?"

The referee whispered to another member of tournament staff, and after a moment of discussion, the arena's monitor blinked to life.

WINNER: HOWARD SLATE AND SERIZAWA!

"I..." Howard blinked, dumbfounded. He looked towards the Gym Leader. "I... huh?"

---

Josh Devlin
1/3 (WINNER)

They waved it off. The officials waved it off. On the replay it appeared too close to call, and the call on the field was a hit. Why did they overturn it? Josh looked furious, babbling incoherently to the officials before they waved both of them away from the arena. The review had taken so long that it was eating into the next round's scheduled time block.

The Gym Leader had calmed down some as he made his way back to the commons with howard slayte . "This... expression of weakness. It was before our race. When we were under New Mauville, and now, here. Stop it. You and your Pokémon are formidable. If that's what your Larvitar can do before evolving, after she evolves..." he trailed off, lost for words and lost in his own anger. He had been on the same end of these kinds of conversations before with several other people, Michael Navidson included.

Josh, Josh, Josh... what a hypocrite you are.

I lost to you when it mattered. Howard thought as he stared at Josh. When we were fighting for real, you crushed me.

Yet he couldn't say that. It was a secret that would be buried under the sands of time, forgotten by all. All but Howard. Yet it would not be chronicled. It would not be spoken about. It was simply best to wipe that battle away and forget about it. It was better to focus on the 'now', on the future.

He couldn't do that.

"I got lucky today. I've never been good at training most Pokémon. They don't listen to me." Howard gestured at Serizawa. "Shirley listens to me. Ancient Pokémon do. That's mostly book learning. For him, I don't know what to do. He hasn't listened to me for months."

A momentary victory turned to ash in his mouth.

"You're strong, Josh." Howard frowned and pointed towards him. "One day, I'll reach you. When it really matters."

With a wave, Howard returned Serizawa to his Pokeball and walked away.

"I'm gonna complain to the tournament organizers. I'll see you around."

---

Josh Devlin