Josh should not have been in the warzone at all. With her EXTREME SPEED, Resheph zipped about the battleground, delivering Pokémon medicine and other supplies to those on the north side of the island. MATIAS SILPH , annalise henderson , Melody Miro , Navy , and Thomas Benoit, among others. He watched some of the bloody battles from the back of his Iron Crown, Sigmund, who had at last warmed up to him after seeing his selflessness blossom before his LED eyes.

He watched the psychic-type levitate another small crate of Pokémon medicine onto a large buoy that the Dragonair had been towing. She let out a confident coo as the Champion sent the Dragonair off to make her delivery. "Stay safe, Resheph," Josh said to his starter Pokémon as violent attacks from Roy Aker 's battle shook the cliffside.

Standing next to the young man were his Pyroar and his Type: Null, Aslan and Aleph. The legendary Pokémon in particular looked bloodthirsty, even excited to be involved with such a high stakes battle. The Shiny Pyroar looked much less excited, and was even shivering. "What is it, Aslan?" Josh asked, the Pyroar lifting a paw toward the northern sky.

A wall of rain was approaching.

"Just our luck. I... might end up having to relieve you."

Before Josh could get a chance to withdraw Aslan, he found himself at sword-point, though completely unphased by it. He was a Champion and a Gym Leader; this was not the first time an attempt had been made on his life. Seeing the grave danger he was in, Sigmund would begin to glow a purple-pink, attempting to push Rhea Armistead away with a telekinetic shove. "Whoever you are, you don't want to mess with me," Josh threatened, Aslan and Aleph flanking the young man while flourishing their sharp fangs toward her. "If you don't know who I am, then you'll find out soon." Sigmund's digital eyes stared toward Rhea menacingly, his metallic antlers dancing with purple sparks ready to discharge a PSYSHOCK at a moment's notice.

"You're out of your league, lass," he called out, not realizing how close to his own age the Rocket was. "Go home, or... Sigmund and I will have little choice but to run you over. He's the fastest of his kind in Hoenn."

As haughty as Josh was, he was right. He was a Champion: one of only five in Hoenn. He may have been the least decorated of the five, all four of the others war heroes in some way, but he had still proven his mettle against Hoenn's best. Perhaps even the last to ever battle the late Top Champion kyle lopez before he became a martyr the region would never forget.

"That does not matter; it is a Champion's duty to confront the unknown for the sake of the region," Josh retorted as Sigmund continued to defend him. The Cobalion look-alike's artificial eyes glowed pink, loosing the PSYSHOCK dancing between his antlers directly upon Rhea's mind. It may have felt like her brain was directly exposed to a shock much like that of an electric Pokémon's Thunderbolt. "The true heroes will give all they have to reclaim the Sootopolis mainland from Team Rocket. And it is my job to support them in every way I can."

That Rhea wouldn't stand down even in the face of the facsimile of Melody Miro 's Sword of Justice was a sign of her own resolve. Neither would back down. "If you can keep your wits about you in Sigmund's presence, then it's clear you are as indoctrinated as I am to your own cause." As the raindrops became more dense, Josh realized he was on borrowed time.

Josh's two Pokémon bared their fangs toward Jack after the OMINOUS WIND harmlessly struck them. "Aslan, free Aleph!" the Gym Leader ordered, lunging toward Cain and aiming to CRUNCH down upon the blade-wielder's soul gem.

The mist turned to a heavy rain in little time at all, Josh's left arm stinging as the heavy drops battered him. It showed no signs of letting up, either. He couldn't imagine what poor Aslan was going through. With his precious lion's time on the rainy battleground limited, he pushed the normal-type to his limits. Raising his Z-GLOVE skyward seemingly in sync with a flash of lightning, the Shiny feline's PYROARIUM-Z glowed with a bright, white light. "EMPEROR'S ROYAL ROAR!!!" Josh bellowed as the SHOCK WAVE struck and danced over the lion king's wet body, conducting and amplifying the Rotom's electricity.

EMPEROR'S ROYAL ROAR
[Normal][Sonic]
The user threatens a target with a mighty roar that does moderate damage. Those around the user will be empowered while those near the target’s area will find their strength lowered.

Opening his big mouth wide, Aslan deeply inhaled before expelling an ear-crushing clamor. The deafening cry could be heard as far away as Ever Grande, the ears of everyone on the island ringing as it sounded like the lion's shout had been amplified through a rock concert's loudspeakers. The exertion, when combined with the rain and the electric attack, left Aslan highly vulnerable. It was a move that robin coello may have recognized from the time they spent together.

Between the deluge and the Z-Move's morale-sapping side effect, Aleph was able to shrug off the BITTER BLADE. The artificial legendary Pokémon abruptly reared before pouncing the Ceruledge with a swift AERIAL ACE amplified by his ally's invigorating war cry.

When it looked like Josh was going to be in full control of the battle, the sheer power behind the Z-Powered roar's vibrations caused a large portion of the island to crumble and sink into the sea. "Aslan, Aleph! Get out of there!" Josh shouted through the rain as he mentally reined his Iron Crown away from the collapse. The lion, having spent so much of his energy on that attack, was much slower on his feet than usual. It looked like he would barely make it at this rate...

The Type: Null and Iron Crown sped toward the side of the island far from Sootopolis, Aleph skidding upon its surface. Aslan slipped on the unstable ground, slowing him down as the now primordial rain battered him and paralyzed him. The super-saturated air made Josh's left arm ache as raindrops the size of currency coins mercilessly held him back in the battle. It drove away his focus and slowed his reaction time. The KYOGRE's eyes briefly shifted toward Rhea Armistead and her Rotom, the dangerous weather more than doubling the strength of the point-blank HYDRO PUMP that pierced through both sides the lion's saddle with the force of a cannon's discharge.

{TW: Body horror/gore}

SPOILER: Click to show

Pyroar leg bones and ribs snapped into pieces as the sound of squished muscle seemed to be amplified over the violent surge of water. It seemed even louder than the exhausted lion's final roar of agony, his blood-covered body struggling to remain standing without a heart to pump it. His blue, oxygen-deprived eyes closed, his red and yellow mane turning different shades of amber from the weaponized water. Through the gaping hole and the steam resulting from the water-type attack ripping into the lion's superheated insides, one could see blood spattered all over the dying king, muscle tissue ripped from the whitewashed bones that didn't shatter upon the impact of one of the strongest water-type attacks the Gym Leader had ever witnessed.

With no muscle power to support his body, the eviscerated lion fell into the sea, Josh desperately trying to withdraw the Pyroar into his Poké Ball but missing. "Aslan!" he cried over the wind and rain.

The dead lion fell off the crumbling island, reverse somersaulting toward the swallowing waves below. Josh guided Sigmund toward the most stable edge, catching his Shiny Pyroar's final moments before the feline was devoured in a loud, steamy splash. Even the Iron Crown made a weeping face with his eyes, recognizing how hard the loss was for him.

With kyle lopez gone, this Pyroar would not be given a second chance at life, unlike Nala and Rani.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAASLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"

As the Gym Leader was lost in his despair, Rhea Armistead would have a moment to accomplish whatever objectives Rocket had for her on this island, the Type: Null occupied with protecting him against any of the Rotom's attacks. Were she to attempt to continue her killing spree with Aleph or Josh, though, the RAINBOW FEATHER pinned to his combat vest would glow yellow with electricity on its own...

Josh was one of the most kind and compassionate souls in Hoenn. Even those at the bottom of Rocket's rungs, he wanted to save. The only people he truly hated were the DRK Triad, the Megalopolans, and those who doubled down on Team Rocket's dogma. Even Raziel Beckett and MATIAS SILPH , whom he once considered mortal enemies, had redeemed themselves to him.

Not Rhea Armistead .

She had committed regicide against the Gym Leader's pride. And for that, his hatred and enmity grew toward her. He felt no remorse whatsoever for bearing down the full brunt of his might upon her.

As Jack's HYDRO PUMP raced toward the Iron Crown and his rider too fast for him to evade, Aleph leaped into the attack, bravely intercepting it. "Aleph!!" Josh cried as the Type: Null also immediately collapsed, felled in a single colossal water-type attack raised to apocalyptic heights of power. The Champion reached for the RAINBOW FEATHER that glowed with electricity and drew the Sign's four strokes. Though Rhea Armistead may have gained Kyogre as a temporary ally, she wasn't the only one with a legendary partner who could take advantage of the storm.



The monochrome Beast of Thunder, reflecting its Knight's hatred and fury, roared loudly enough that perhaps kyle lopez 's Entei could even hear it from the mainland. The low-lying clouds flashed with lightning and rumbled with thunder as Swift leaped into one, conjoining his own thundercloud with the one the deluge fell from.

Josh huffed toward Rhea as he withdrew his fallen Type: Null. "Powerful as it is, the mouth of the leviathan is too slow to swallow me," Josh retorted, still shaking from the loss of his pride's king. "For it is not just Kyogre who can harness the storm's might. Swift!" he commanded, the Beast knowing exactly what he had to do. Leaping from the thundercloud toward Jack, the Raikou struck toward the Rotom at the speed of lightning, causing even Josh himself to gasp in awe.

For the Raikou would unleash a terrifying new power upon Rhea's precious Rotom. The ultimate technique for an electric speed demon to wield, its power grew the faster its wielder traveled. The ELECTRO BALLS that flew from Swift's crown and fangs whistled as they hurtled toward the water-type, the explosions they made upon contact not electric, but sonic in nature. 

SACRED ASH RAIKOU'S POWERS EXPANDED

Swift the Raikou is now able to learn applicable moves from the TM/TR and Move Tutor lists. Currently, he can only learn a number of TM/TR moves and/or Move Tutor moves equal to the loyalty level of Aleph the Type: Null (one). Once a move has been taught this way, it cannot be overwritten until Aleph the Type: Null evolves.

That was the origin of the Raikou's nickname. It was a name the Gym Leader came up with when he was a child, and one that just stuck. Little did his child self know he would get the opportunity to fight alongside his idol in this way. It brought him great pride to turn the tide of battle using the Pokémon of his dreams.

Fate had other ideas in store for the Gym Leader, however.

A ray of azure light parted the clouds above Kyogre, the behemoth's mouth opening wide as an ORIGIN PULSE flew toward the white cliff walls that shielded Sootopolis from the outside world. If he got the inkling that Rhea Armistead didn't want to fight, he would have called the attack out. But he didn't. He was certain that the woman was too indoctrinated in Rocket to be swayed to the side of good. "Jump, Sigmund!" the rider ordered, the Iron Crown tightening his psychic hold on him before leaping into the air.

A split second later, a savage explosion rocked their surroundings: the impact of the strongest aquatic attack in the world against Sootopolis City created a shockwave that loosed a horrible earthquake upon its surroundings. Even the air itself rang, crashing into the steel and psychic Pokémon and sending them flying into the eastern cliff wall that remained. Josh groaned after he and his mount slid down the cliffside, the rider rubbing his left arm as the robotic Sacred Sword's optical diodes flickered. Provided Rhea Armistead wasn't likewise overwhelmed by the attack, she would have a golden opportunity to complete the objective she was fighting Josh over... or inflict serious harm upon him.