The starting horn would cut the duo's conversation short, the match timer beginning to count down. Having learned his lesson from getting into time trouble, Josh ordered Raikiri to start building speed right away. The quadrupedal thundercat zipped and zoomed around the court, building up his speed and AGILITY.

Knowing what Ripper was capable of, Josh knew he had to strike fast and hard. Once Raikiri looked like an electrified comet circling the arena, he sharply about-faced, his paws igniting from the tremendous friction put on them. Now alight, the yellow Pokémon pounced with the force of a well-thrown FIRE PUNCH.

The BRUTAL SWING of Ripper's pincers overpowered Raikiri, the burning paws only in contact with the electric cat for a split second before batting him away. Josh remembered Ripper's tenacity and ferocity from the time they clashed in his Gym. Both had clearly become far stronger than they were before. He had to brace himself: at any moment, shockwaves from their attacks smashing into one another could blow even the Gym Leader off his feet if he was not vigilant.

Sliding all the way to the arena's edge, Raikiri was fuming. With a fierce spirit fueling a lion-like roar, he bounded toward the armored insect. When it looked like he was going to repeat the same tactic, the Zeraora would throw Thomas a curve ball, BOUNCING toward in an attempt to hurl the foe high into the air.

Ripper was as powerful and as resilient as Josh remembered. What he didn't remember was how nimble and precise the Scizor was, snatching the fast-moving feline out of the air during his high-speed, uppercut-like pounce. When it looked like things could not get any worse, the bug-type hurled Raikiri to the ground in a loud crash.

Flinching, Josh rose his Z-GLOVE to head level, turning its Z-Crystal to face his feline partner. The Zeraora's QUICKINIUM-Z glowed a brilliant white-yellow, the mythical Pokémon vanishing from sight in a HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE so fast that even his speed-trained eyes could barely follow it. Were the Scizor somehow able to evade the electrified paws flying toward him at supersonic speed, the trail of lightning and the aural explosion left in his wake were equally dangerous threats!

Though the Z-Move was extraordinarily fast and powerful, it also left Raikiri reeling afterward. Any advantage that he would have gained had been lost and them some as he stayed back to catch his breath. There was plenty of time for Ripper to stand and take a fighting stance.

Though he was unable to attack, Raikiri was far from defenseless, running around the Scizor in a burst of AGILITY designed not to go faster, but to ease down from the peak speed he had put on before. He had to preserve the strength that remained in his paws: while he was used to using friction to ignite them, too much heat could cause serious harm to him.

Though Raikiri was running out of energy, he could still run at speeds that just about any rider would consider merciless. Even Josh, perhaps the fastest Pokémon trainer in Hoenn, experienced a high unlike anything his other Pokémon could induce when subjected to the thundercat's full ferocity. It was as though extreme speed, to him, was a legal recreational drug.

The BULLET PUNCH knocked Raikiri back to the corner, his legs unable to carry him any further. With him being immobile and ready to fall at any moment, he could only rely on his ranged attacks. From his whiskers and faceplate flew a trio of high-speed ELECTRO BALLS in a desperate attempt to down Ripper before he himself fell. There was also the issue of the match timer running out. Even if his attack landed, would it be in time?

The Mega Evolution and CLOSE COMBAT were too late; by the time the series of blows hurled the exhausted Zeraora out of bounds, the buzzer had sounded. The judges did not need to deliberate long; after convening for less than half a minute, the head judge waved the fighting-type attack off, declaring Josh the winner. Had he become better at clock management as the event went on?

The Gym Leader withdrew his Zeraora and offered Thomas a handshake. "Can't believe I pulled that one off. If you want to see more of him in action, maybe I'll drop by your ranch some time. You're more than welcome to go riding with me. It may not look like it, but Raikiri can seat two!"