Word had spread quickly of Josh's accolades; his Champion Ranking and his Ashen Raikou had turned him into more of a celebrity than he already was. Unlike clover matamata , Josh didn't sign up for this job for the excellent pay; he signed up to give the two children an experience money couldn't buy. That was meeting a Champion and his Pokémon face to face.

Josh had several Pokémon with him that were popular among younger visitors, letting them safely get experience in the saddle even at a young age. Though they may have been spoiled rotten, they were still children. From his experience, the best way to keep a child entertained was to offer them a new experience. And do that he would.

It would not be long before the Champion, Josh Devlin , was in sight, a plethora of saddled Pokémon before him. And not one of them was an equine. One of the children, upon seeing the giant, saddled Furret, sprinted toward the friendly-looking Pokémon. "It's sooooooooooo big!" the young one squealed, completely ignoring the equally large and impressive Espeon that Josh looked comfortably astride.

Wiley's saddle was designed for an adult to sit in, though a rider had to lean quite low to the ground to avoid dragging their feet on the ground. A child, though, had more freedom. "One at a time, one at a time!" Josh laughed as the two raced to be the first to hold the Furret's reins. Ultimately, one beat the other to Wiley's back, the child hooting and hollering as the Furret bounced him about in place.

The other child backed up to see Josh four other ride Pokémon, Zira the Pyroar expectantly crouching. The Beedrill looked fun to hop onto, as well! Overcome with decision paralysis, the young one stood before all four of Josh's unoccupied Pokémon with their mouth wide open in awe. He wanted to go on all of them!

"Not at all!" Josh replied, turning toward Clover as he watched the guest rider pull on Wiley's reins haphazardly, the Furret giving them the illusion of control. "I was like this when I was young too. When I was their age, I dreamed of riding on the back of a Raikou." He wondered what his childhood self would think of being able to make that dream a reality. Once he was through rehab and his arm function had been restored, Josh would want no more than to blast across Hoenn at the speed of a lightning bolt.

That was part of what Josh was afraid of when Swift's weight was thrust upon him. His dream was too good to be true; while he could race across the land, he felt pressured to be a lap dog for the League, even in kyle lopez 's absence. "That so many of them have gathered in this region is concerning. But I think more of them are benevolent than you think. Death hasn't stopped the Great One before, nor will it stop her now," he replied, referring to the Top Champion's passing. "It's just a childhood dream. I just wanted on the fastest Pokémon on land!"

And now that he had it in his possession, he could live his dream once his doctors had seen sufficient progress in his rehab.

The young, indecisive child at last pointed to the Beedrill. Seeing his desires, Josh gave the excited young one a boost to reach the insect's saddle. Guest and bug-type were off with a noisy buzz, the swift Pokémon's trainer hearing laughter coming from him the whole time. "Whee-hee-hee! This tickles!" Glover may have been barely able to hear.

"Some, not all," Josh corrected Clover. "What makes them special, from what I understand, is their ability to think like humans do. To analyze. To form an agenda. The people they ally with are chosen because their viewpoints align with that agenda." Josh's legendary Pokémon was different. His Raikou lacked even the intelligence of an ordinary Pokémon, his thoughts instead a reflection of Josh's subconscious. What he wanted the Raikou to be deep within his mind. If he could harness that elusive portion of his mind, then he would be able to harness its true power.

Admittedly, the Master of Faster may not have been the best person to ask about the relationships between legendary Pokémon and their bearers.

Josh hummed over hearing Clover's childhood dream, momentarily distracted by Wiley running in circles with his passenger doing his best to stave off dizziness. The other child, too, was growing weary, both from King Zing's constant tingling and a headache induced by the yellow insect's vibrations. They both gathered around Valoo, Josh's Drampa, who cooed toward them both gently.

"That's a noble dream," Josh replied. "With a vision like that, have you looked into the Ranger program? It's pretty robust and full of thinkers like that."

Josh frowned when he heard the Rangers being depicted that way. "What do you mean?" he asked with raised eyebrows, genuinely curious as to why someone could look upon Hoenn's Rangers like that. "Disaster response has always been their job," he clarified. "It's up to Law Enforcement, specifically the Investigation division, to get to the root of problems. I just suggested it because you mentioned wanting to see more places like Pacifidlog." The place had a surprising number of Rangers, mostly marine Rangers, that all worked together to keep the surrounding seas safe, particularly from rogue dragon Pokémon expanding their territory from the Sky Pillar a little too far.

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw the two children trying to climb aboard his Drampa. "You two want on Valoo's back?" he asked, both their eyes beaming brightly. The dragon crouched as low as he could, the Gym Leader sliding down from his Espeon's back and giving the young ones the help they needed to sit in the saddle of the fastest Drampa in Hoenn. While not fast by flying Pokémon standards, it would certainly be quick for the young ones. "Have fun!" he waved, giving the normal-type dragon the go-ahead for takeoff.

In Josh's eyes, it wasn't the Rangers' job to resolve large-scale conflict. It wasn't even the Gym Leaders' job; their tasks were largely tied to their municipalities, though they could aid in regional affairs as needed. Ultimately, it was the bigwigs that were responsible. The Elite Four and Council in particular: Hoenn's regional political leaders. "I tried running for Elite Four once. I failed miserably. I'm just no politician. I'd rather be out in the field, saving lives... rather than having to choose who gets to live and who must die." He would say little more on the matter.

Clover called for the kids to be returned to their soon-to-arrive parents. As much fun as they looked like they were having, he had to cut it short. "Alright, Valoo, time for the finale!" The dragon soared before diving like a roller coaster smooth enough for even kids to be on. Both the guest riders screamed and laughed as the Drampa gently dove and swooped, their stomachs turning upside down from the flight. They gently touched down hear Josh and Clover, the Gym Leader helping the two get off the back of the fastest Drampa in the world. "They looked like they had a really good time!" he remarked, expecting Clover to lead the children back.