This was it; it was Josh's final match of his final flight. CIAN MAHER was out of reach; he and his Froakie had worked incredibly hard to win the tournament. The way the standings appeared to be, he would be sharing the podium with the Gym Leader and one of his better friends, the Rustboro Ranger Captain. He couldn't give up, though; there was always the possibility that someone hoarding match slips could drop them all in right before the deadline, upsetting the leaderboard.

Most likely, though, his podium spot was secured. He could enjoy this last battle for what it was. "I am! Mauville Leader Devlin, but you can call me Josh," he replied, extending his hand for a handshake. Raikiri let out an intimidating-sounding purr that rattled the air. "Great to meet you, Lucia! Glad to hear you're so interested in the circuit." Hadn't he battled this competitor before? That Dunsparce looked awfully familiar...

Something was off. Hadn't he battled Lucia before? No; perhaps he was mistaking her and her Dunsparce for someone else. "Let's have a good match - one worthy of sending the tournament off." For what would be the final time, Raikiri leaped toward Hero the moment the starting horn blared.

Though the Zeraora's paws were laced with electricity, he did not use them to try to electrocute the smaller snake Pokémon; instead, he used the power to propel himself to surreal speeds. It was perhaps the fastest QUICK ATTACK Lucia and her Dunsparce had ever seen, the electric cat seemingly teleporting from one side to the other in a lightning fast paw swipe.

"They don't call me the Master of Faster for nothing!" Josh replied with a smirk. "You think watching him's fast, try riding him!" It was something he longed to do; being stuck in a hospital bed for a month plus had cost him so much core strength. He needed to build it back up before he could zip across Hoenn faster than a race car like he once did, and that would take quite a bit of work.

The DRILL RUN was a serious threat, making remaining in close quarters dangerous. A split second after he heard the whirring of Hero's rotating tail, the thundercat went full defense, looking to zig and zag away from the normal-type in a burst of AGILITY. The added speed would also come in handy a different way, if the match lasted long enough...

In a commanding position and still smirking, Josh pumped a fist and gave Lucia just one word: "Checkmate." Raising his Z-GLOVE to head level, he exposed Raikiri to the Z-Energy from the crystal embedded within, both it and the QUICKINIUM-Z his Pokémon carried gleaming with an intense, white and yellow light.

Backing into the arena's corner, the Zeraora let out a loud roar before disappearing for a split second. He reappeared in the opposite corner, the only sigh he didn't teleport being the recoil Hero may have taken from a paw swiping at him at supersonic speed. If that didn't down the foe, then perhaps the lightning bolts and aural explosion in his wake would!

What a way to cap off the tournament. If there were points for defeating a foe in record time, Josh earned it. He wondered if that would be a statistic in the final tournament report. To celebrate the win together, the Gym Leader took a seat on the thundercat's back, the duo posing for the crowd one last time.

"Thanks for the match, Lucia. Sorry it was so one-sided," Josh apologized. "Hey, if you want some pointers, drop by Mauville City Gym and I'll be glad to show you the ropes!" With that, he and his noble mount headed back to the commons to turn in the very last match slip he would enter, his rare and unusual steed turning heads.