"Big Bert better be ready," Josh replied with a smirk. "Raikiri is no joke. He's the strongest, fastest Pokémon I have. And if I have anything to say about it, he might have a cousin roaming the Gym when this tournament's over." Any other trash talk would be cut short by the starting horn.

In just a split second, the Zeraora was effortlessly dashing about the arena. It would have been hard for other competitors to follow, but Raju had been trained in the art of speed. That extra split second of time he had from faster reactions by virtue of being a trainer of the fastest Gym. Determined to outpace Big Bert, Raikiri zoomed around the Tauros, circling him with impressive AGILITY unlike that of any of Josh's other Pokémon.

Raikiri was running so fast that Big Bert's facial features, including his SCARY FACE, were almost unrecognizable. The FLAME CHARGE to follow was well-timed, but not quite well enough; the Zeraora escaped with some singed fur but little to no lasting harm. Raju's tactics were savage and swift, exactly how the Gym Leader had taught him. The young man was looking more and more like an Interim Gym Leader every time they met one another, whether in battle or out in the field.

For all the speed Raikiri had, it came with a price: the only defense he had was evasion. One strong horn strike from Big Bert, and it would be all over. Such was Mauville Gym: his Pokémon were easy to overpower... if one could hit them. Keeping his distance, the electric-type hurled a volley of ELECTRO BALLS toward the black bovine.

The psychic extension of Big Bert's horns gave him the range he needed to ricochet the volley of electric projectiles right back at the Zeraora. His VOLT ABSORB, powerful as it was, would be useless in the face of his own attack coming back at him with double the speed. Raikiri let out a pained squeal, recoiling and shaking from being overloaded with his own electricity.

As much as he didn't want to get in melee with the bull, Josh felt he had little choice. When accounting for both speed and power, the Zeraora and Tauros were equals. Where Raikiri was brutally fast, Big Bert was equally strong. Josh's Pokémon had strength not to be trifled with, either. His next maneuver would be dangerous, but if it paid off, would put him in an almost insurmountable position. Sliding to one corner of the arena, Josh's partner leaned low, his four paws carrying his body forward like an electric comet. When it looked like he was going to ram down the Tauros, Raikiri leaped and BOUNCED skyward, trying to launch Raju's Pokémon skyward.

With a discharge from his front paws, Raikiri was able to avoid landing on Big Bert's horns. Such a counterblow would have used the big cat's momentum against him, perhaps even knocking him out of the match then and there. It was not to be, though, as he landed from his acrobatic leap.

The Gym Leader had his top trainer right where he wanted him. With a smirk, he raised his Z-GLOVE to head level, bathing his partner in Z-Energy. Raju had to have known what was coming: a triple threat of the fastest-moving paws in Hoenn, a line of lightning bolts in their wake, and the aural explosion of crashing thunder to follow.

The Z-MOVE: HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE. It was a move Josh wanted to teach Raju about if he were to acquire a compatible Pokémon.

Even the might of another Z-Move would be too slow; there were very few Z-Moves that could defend against such a fast attack. One of those was another HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE, matching the move's blistering pace. SANCTUARY was another, able to repel anything an ordinary Pokémon could do and perhaps even give the gods themselves trouble.

Josh was still unbeatable in his domain. All of the trainers that had taken him down in the tournament had landed a lucky or skillful first strike. "Good match, Raju. When you get a Pokémon for it, I'd love to show you how to use this move. It's the Mauville Gym special, and my favorite move of all."