Eduardo Hisakawa would not find the Champion and Gym Leader in the lobby; instead, he would find the Leader's receptionist, SHELLY SPIEL, at the front desk in the decidedly stormy-decorated building. Yellows, blues, purples, and greys were all over the interior: the color scheme of a Raikou. Within were all kinds of nods to the Johtonian god of speed, it seemed.

The courteous young lady tilted her head away from her computer screen to greet Eddie and collect his information. "I don't see that you had an appointment with us today. What can I do for you?" If Eddie was simply looking to see the Leader, he would be provided directions to his third-floor office.

The transparency was noted and appreciated, Shelly clacking at her keyboard. "I'll see what he's up to." After several tense minutes of near-silence filled only with keyboard sounds, she responded, "He'll see you in his office. Take the elevator to the third floor, and it will be through the double doors straight ahead."

Provided Eddie followed her directions, once he opened the double doors, he would be greeted with a large, almost study-like office space. It was decorated with almost every piece of Raikou memorabilia imaginable: figurines, trading cards, and even the crown jewel of the collection: a Ride-On Raikou stuffie prominently displayed in one of the space's corners. The felt saddle and reins on the adorable tiger may have beckoned Eddie aboard.

"...Can I help you?" Josh asked the young man, a white-furred Zeraora's eyes shifting toward Eddie, as well.

Josh tilted his head away from his monitor as the young man approached his desk. He smiled in Eddie's direction, appreciating the guest's innocent brazenness. "They don't call me the Master of Faster for nothing," the Gym Leader answered. And with, to his knowledge, the fastest land Pokémon in the world in his possession, no one would be dethroning him any time soon. There was, of course, the process of getting used to riding Raikou routinely again, ever since kyle lopez had become so busy that he couldn't ride the ashen Beast with him.

Now, he didn't have to worry about it. And one day, Swift would become the people's legendary Pokémon, just as Josh had become the people's Gym Leader.

"This is actually perfect timing," he perked up a little, his head tilting back toward his monitor. "I'm a little behind on filing these reports and could use the company. What do you need?"

The very mention of the words unconventional Pokémon made Josh think of only one person: Shalin Nariya . She had talent, but she was, in the Gym Leader's eyes, not a good teacher at all. She instilled some very bad habits in newer riders simply by the Pokémon she used. Especially with that suit of hers. Some of what she did with that suit really should have killed her. And yet, she was still standing no matter how many times she put herself and her suit through such punishment.

Josh frowned when he heard Eddie's indirect request for a race. "I've actually got the race courses closed for a couple weeks," he replied. "So I actually can't accept racing challenges right now. But I know what you can help me with." He paused, uncertain how much he should be sharing with a random stranger, even if he suspected he might be friends with one of Josh's best buddies. "Eddie, how much involvement have you had with the war on Rocket?"

So the Hoennian military was involved in Poison Patrols, too? Rangers, Law Enforcement, everyone was in on it. When he namedropped Michael Navidson , Josh stopped. "He's one of the best warriors Hoenn's got. If he's training you, then there's nothing you can't do. I had my stint in military operations during Dewford. When all the Terastal caves opened. Obviously I can't share details, but I found out it wasn't for me. Wound up in the hospital with a body full of Bullet Seeds." He pointed toward a sealed cup full of bloodstained projectiles on his desk. "I'll never forget."

After listening to Eddie's accolades, Josh continued recounting his own story. "Michael Navidson , kyle lopez , Andrea Vaneau , and a bunch of other people visited me in the hospital when I spent a few weeks having to have all those extracted. The surgeries weren't difficult; it was just how many of them my body could handle at a time." If Eddie looked close enough, some of the scars from those operations would be visible on his exposed skin.

"This brings me to my point. The last couple weeks, I've been cooking up a new challenge for Mauville Gym. One that's more pertinent to the war. Sure, racing's really fun, but I want to be able to raise something we need more of if we want to beat Rocket." He paused to let his words sink in.

"What's not valued enough is the intelligence war. Technology has come to the point where critical war plans can easily be intercepted by the other side. As Michael Navidson taught me, there is value in traditional war couriers. Deliveries. Maintaining supply lines. That's why I'm going to be testing a new type of challenge: a wartime courier scenario." The Commissioner had already rejected Josh's challenge idea once, citing it was still too rough around the edges for approval. He had made revisions to it, but wanted some feedback before submitting it a second time. "It intends to simulate delivering war plans, supplies, or even food to soldiers deep behind enemy lines. While I don't require a ride Pokémon for the challenge, it will be strongly encouraged. Is this something you would be interested in helping me test?"

Josh didn't take someone like Eddie to have involvement in war. This would be a good test of what the upper bound of the challenge should be. Perhaps Eddie would even get to see something...truly special at the end. Something to see if he could truly be the savior of those on the front lines.

"Really helpful. While I don't require a Pokémon to ride atop during the challenge, I do recommend it. At the very least, you'll need some way to transport what you'll be responsible for taking to the safe house at the other end of the Gym." And by the "safe house", Josh meant his Operations Center at the top of the mountains.

"Come, follow me outside." The Champion would lead the way down the elevator, back to the lobby and through the sliding glass doors leading to what was usually race courses. Some of the concourse was closed completely. With dozens of saddled Pokémon, land, sea, and sky on patrol, Eddie's objective certainly would not be easy.

Set up not far from the entrance would be a medium-sized crate, just too awkward to carry by hand but easy for a Pokémon to transport. "That's what you'll need to deliver to the safe house way out there," Josh pointed to the distant building at the top of the hilly Sector 3. "Of course, my Pokémon will try to stop you, employing tactics similar to what Team Rocket would use in the warzone. Even I can't predict exactly what you'll run into out there. Who knows? Maybe you'll go toe-to-toe with a legendary Pokémon," he teased.

With Eddie all mounted up, and on a stout Mudsdale at that, Josh was ready to begin the challenge. "Good luck out there. And remember, it's a warzone out there. You might take a few hits. Stay strong, and if it ever becomes too much, just holler and I'll call 'em off." The Gym Leader hurled Mastema's Poké Ball to the ground, nimbly climbing aboard the Togekiss. Leaning low in the saddle and zipping the cocoon into place, they disappeared across the sky in a barely-subsonic flash of EXTREME SPEED.

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-64-usf/goldeneye-007/112%20Streets.mp3[/player]

MUSIC: Streets - GoldenEye 007 (1997)

Following the coned path away from the back entrance, all is calm for the first few hundred feet until the Main Sector comes into view. Just beyond is Josh's main battle arena, both of its platforms raised. Atop the west one stood an Espeon whose forehead gem glowed a bright red. Near it was a floodlight powered by the MOONLIGHT of an Umbreon on the opposite platform, focused into the device's lens. Patrolling the SPLIT OVAL, elevated higher at the north end, were a Raichu whose ears stood straight up, a Luxray whose eyes gleamed brightly in the dusk, and a Shiny Cyclizar whose eyes seemed to follow the spotlight while it wasn't behind her.

The only pieces of cover around the wide-open course are the behind the Jumbotron-like scoreboard on the east side of the battleground's green, as well as the tall deck of bleachers on the west side. Thankfully for Eddie, the spotlight was nowhere hear him and his Mudsdale upon his approach, but it was headed his way.

Directly beyond the Main Sector appeared to be the fastest way to the safe house. Alternatively, a trail beyond the scoreboard would take Eddie to Sector 1, a wide-open grassland with a few hills. Stealth there would likely be impossible. A trail beyond the bleachers would take Eddie to Sector 6, a wasteland-like environment where sure-footedness could be a challenge.