"Sick ride you've got there!" Josh complimented the Captain. It was hard to tell that long ago, they didn't get along. Josh not only tolerated the Slateport Captain, but seemed to be getting along with him. "Must be one well-trained Palafin to dive this deep. Ecco, my own Palafin, can't handle being too far below the surface. He's been helping with other aspects of the operation."

The notion of Key Stones being down there didn't surprise him. "Given that this was supposed to be a delivery for the war effort, I wouldn't be surprised if there were Key Stones down here, too," the Champion replied. This many Mega Stones didn't exist in nature in one place. Not unless they were all the same kind. It had to be a lost shipment.

Illumina surfaced and communicated the way to Razz's and Josh's Pokémon. It seemed straightforward, but nothing was ever easy for Rangers, was it? He crossed his fingers before giving Razz the rundown. "Illumina's found a way inside the ship. It's at the very bottom of the sea bed, and we might need supplemental lighting in case my Lanturn has to rest. Once we're inside, we scour the place and retrieve as much as we can." He was more excited to get his hands on a new Mega Stone. As hard as he had worked before, this would be child's play compared to what he had to go through to get his Pidgeotite, Absolite, and Sharpedonite.

Josh whistled when Razz brought Indigo into and out of his Poké Ball. "I knew they could transform like that, but this is my first time seeing it happen in person," the Champion admitted. "Ecco doesn't do that when I bring him back to his Poké Ball. He must be built differently." Was it an understanding that the Palafin was more appreciated in his fish-like form instead of his human-like form? It was something even Josh didn't fully understand.

As the Illumina Milotic gleamed bright as a star, Josh having to shield his eyes briefly while they adjusted to her luminosity, he complimented the Head Ranger. "You've got a lot of strong Pokémon. I've got a couple of Crystablooms floating around from last Halloween. I might make some Pokémon of mine Illumina. Maybe one of my Pyroar." Little was he aware that such a transformation would render the lion incompatible with his Sygna Suit.

Putting on his aquatic gear as well, Josh and Keiga dove, Illumina helping light the way alongside the serpentine water-type. While it would take some time for them to safely sink to where the ship was, it would not take him long after that to point out their makeshift entrance in the hull, leading them to the engine room. Getting to where the Mega Stones were stored might be more work than he thought...

"No, Ecco's definitely evolved," Josh assured Razz. "The red insignia on his underside gives it away." Perhaps, the way the Gym Leader had trained the water-type, he didn't need his Hero form to be at his strongest. That he could use a form of Jet Punch involving his snout instead of his Hero form's fists was the only indicator he had confirming that theory. What a mysterious Pokémon.

The submerged engine room was creepy, fan blades and criss-crossing axles at permanent rest. The fuel tank, thankfully, was unharmed. If that ruptured, cleaning up that mess was going to be hazardous and tedious work.

Keiga expelled DRAGON BREATH to melt the hinges on a door leading to the ship's corridors. While narrow, they were more than wide enough for the Gym Leader to stay atop his narrow-bodied Kingdra. On the opposite side of the bottom level was the cargo bay, its internal door having been twisted in the impact. Would recovering the Mega Stones be simpler than Josh thought?

Razz's Pokémon seemed to be better at doing the heavy lifting, leaving the Champion with cleaning up the scattered stones. Taking the net, he began to fill it with Mega Stones. It was quite the staggering reserve, able to outfit a small army of trainers with Mega Accessories and bestow upon them tide-turning power. Among them were a marble of CHARIZARDITE X and one of CHARIZARDITE Y. He made sure to keep those to the top of the net, intending to ask Head Ranger ollie morales if he could take them as compensation for his services in lieu of a paycheck.

Though there were still a few stones down there, the two had managed to excavate almost all of them. Surfacing with his Kingdra and Illumina Lanturn, the sunlight was almost as bright as the electric fish. "Awesome. Excellent work, Captain!" He reached toward Razz to offer a high five, looking for a more secure place to empty his net of Mega Stones into. He didn't forget about the two he wanted to keep, taking them off the top and simply holding onto them. "Think the Head Ranger will let me buy a couple of them off the League? I've been searching for some for my Charizard for a while with no luck."

Josh was completely floored that he got his way. "...Long as you say it's okay! It'll make Ares happy, that's for sure," the Elite smiled as Salem returned the high five. "Seems Salem's excited we wrapped this one up, too!" Ares would be more than happy; he would be ecstatic to be able to Mega Evolve and finally become a true dragon... even if was only for a short burst. Josh, on the other hand, was more excited for the supreme speed the Charizardite Y bestoeed upon Ares. Once his left arm's strength had fully returned, he would experience that speed for himself. He couldn't wait!

With their cargo secured, it was only a matter of time before Ranger transporters would come on the scene and take the recovered Mega Stones to Dewford, where they would be prepared for shipping back to the Pokémon League. "Thanks for all the help today, Razz. The bigwigs will be really happy when they see this."

Once the separate team had arrived to haul the Mega Stones back, Josh and Razz would also be able to go their own ways, whether it was to another job or to a nice shower.