Josh took Noah's taunt and raised it back at him, as though he were sliding a big stack of poker chips into the center of the table. It was a big move, and one he could back up. "If you think Saber was fast when we last battled, wait until you see Raikiri can do!" The Toxicroak's flex was met with a purr so loud that perhaps even Noah could feel its vibrations. Josh's hair stood on end. He wouldn't wanted to have been on the cat's back when he sounded that.

With the starting horn cutting their banter short, the Zeraora wasted no time. True to his trainer's title, the mythical electric-type zoomed toward the Verdanturf Leader's partner in a meteoric QUICK ATTACK that made him look more like a wisp of yellow light than his true form would suggest.

Though not directly impacted by the MUD BOMB, the Toxicroak's attack far too slow, inundating the arena in a thick, vile, tar-like substance that pulled at Raikiri's fur every time he tried to make a leap. Every single attack he made would leave him with stings of his own, gaps in his fur as the mire claimed a piece of him with every attack.

Noah had been a Gym Leader for far longer than Josh had, and it showed. The Master of Faster was frighteningly good at one thing. The Machampion appeared to have a much more diverse skillset. If there was one thing the Gym Circult, and the Elite Test, had taught him, it was creativity.

Though the furry feline's speed had been handicapped in the muddy conditions, he still had one way to use the mud against the Toxicrock. With a heroic leap, the thundercat BOUNCED into Kama in an effort to send her flying toward the rafters.

An already fast species specializing in speed could have made it challenging for even Noah's astute eyes to follow the Zeraora. The two hadn't had a battle on truly even footing, their last confrontation on the Verdanturf Leader's Gym grounds, where he was limited by the parameters of sanctioned matches. Here, both of them had the option to hold nothing back. Josh wouldn't, and he expected Noah wouldn't, either.

Defending itself by readying an X-SCISSOR, the unwinding, poisonous limbs and sharp natural weapons left Raikiri breathing heavily. The clever Toxicroak used the electric-type's high speed against him. After a second splash rendered huis fur wet and heavy, he gave up; it seemed there would be no avoiding being covered with heavy mud for the duration of the match.

With a snarl and a loud purr, a trio of ELECTRO BALLS flew from the electric cat's whiskers and face plate, on target to strike down the amphibian on the other side. With the mud slowing him down, it would lack both the speed and the punch Josh was used to.

Why did so many of Hoenn's Gym Leaders embrace this thing? More importantly, why did Alexei Ivanov and Josh seem to always be on the same side of arguments among high-ranking League officials? Was this tournament just one giant test to collect data on the Dynamax phenomenon? It was certainly one way to observe many of the phenomena in action and how they interacted with one another.

If that was the case, then Josh would help test it, as long as his Pokémon didn't have to be on the receiving end. If these giants were so tough, then it was time to see just how tough they were. Smirking, the Mauville Leader twisted his arm, the crystal embedded in his Z-GLOVE emitting a bright light. In what appeared to be a trick of the light. Raikiri zipped from one side of the court to another in a HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE with a threefold threat to Noah's Toxicroak. Could the steadfast fighter withstand an invisibly fast paw strike, a line of lightning bolts, and a deafening sonic boom?

"Thanks!" Josh replied with a smile turned grin. "It's the Mauville Gym special! If you have a Z-Accessory of your own, you can even ride one of my Pokémon using that move! All my electric Pokémon that can learn Quick Attack know it."

The MAX QUAKE knocked Josh off his feet, but not Raikiri! He was ready for a seismic shockwave, like all of Josh's electric Pokémon were. BOUNCING toward the Dynamax Pokémon with an upward-facing claw, he looked to be on a collision course with her exposed poison sac, trying to deny the Toxicroak the ability to spit venom at him.

The training of a martial arts master paid off in spades. Perhaps in a heightened mental state that allowed Kama to see through the illusion of the electric-type's incredible speed, she was able to swat Raikiri away, using gravity to turn his own pouncing attack against him. The judges had seen enough, waving the red flag against him.

"Another close one," Josh exhaled, in a way relieved that the tight match was over. "Your tenure as a Gym Leader shows, Noah. You, Hideo Kino , and CIAN MAHER are the only Gym Leaders to beat me. I beat all the other ones that entered the tournament. I guess I really have come a long way since we first met in Verdanturf." No matter where he finished, the biggest confidence booster came from defeating kyle lopez in the tournament. "You gonna make it to Ever Grande for my title match? I'm gonna be scheduling it with dog boy soon. And supposedly he's got something special planned for it." It was special, but no surprise. It was something they had long since agreed to.

To earn his title, he would have to defeat a legendary Pokémon without using one himself.