Just as Miyako caught Josh's attention, he climbed atop the Walking Wake, already feeling the power of the dinosaur Beast's strong muscles. "That answer your question?" he replied with a sly smile on his face. HYDRO STEAM began to form at the tips of the paradox's tails and beneath his feet, creating thermals that would be able to push his speed to great heights much like a real Suicune's TAILWIND. "Go for it!"

Josh and Suicune posed for the female's camera, the Walking Wake even holding a dramatic rearing position for one of them. "You're not the first to want photos of Suicune here, nor will you be the last. So, what brings you out here?" the Gym Leader asked. "There's not much out here but the Sky Pillar and the Contorting Currents Pokémon race course."

The reaction from Miyako Noguchi didn't go unnoticed. These Pokémon were still a handful, and even Josh didn't fully understand Suicune the Walking Wake. "Great to meet you, Miyako," the racer offeres an awkward-looking handshake, given his height above the ground while sitting on the Walking Wake. "He's a Hoennian Suicune," Josh introduced the water and dragon Pokémon. "Kind of like how Meowth and Vulpix have multiple forms based on their environment, for instance."

As the steam built, Josh answered the investigator's question. "I'm headed to the Sky Pillar to go dragon riding. It's the first time I've been able to do so since the Ultra Megalopolis incident." He wanted to forget about that Arceus-forsaken prison, but he couldn't. The horrors within would be etched within his mind for the rest of time. "Saddle up with me!" Josh scooted forward. As he did, though, Suicune sounded a majestic but stern-sounding cry. "It's okay, Suicune. It's just to the Sky Pillar and back. I'm sure she wouldn't ask if she didn't have a water Pokémon of her own."

With great reluctance, the Walking Wake crouched to let the excited-seeming Miyako sit behind Josh. "I'm still trying to understand Suicune. He's a legendary Pokémon, after all!" Oh, how misguided the Champion was...

Josh leaned forward once he felt Miyako Noguchi 's hands on his shoulders. "Suicune's the Beast of Winds, and can control the wind itself." While that wasn't exactly true of his "form" of the legendary Pokémon he revered, the Walking Wake's dominion over steam could emulate that talent in a personal space. He remembered riding kyle lopez 's ashen Suicune near Dewford so long ago; the feeling was much the same in the small radius the blowing air surrounded the water-type paradox. "That can make him pretty fast. Hold on tight!"

With a light kick to Suicune's sides, the Walking Wake ran off the dock and on the water's surface as though it were solid ground. No matter the speed or turns, the water's surface tension never broke. Perhaps the most odd sensation was not feeling the wind intensify even as the dragon-type accelerated. The wind that the increasingly-intense steam produced seemed to blow in sync with the dinosaur Beast's powerful gait, giving Josh and Miyako the illusion that the stiff but not hindering wind blowing in their faces was constant. As the distant Sky Pillar crawled toward them, the sun poked out from behind the clouds, causing their paradoxical ride's forehead crystal to glisten like a sapphire under a bright light.

Josh would have had an exact figure for the Walking Wake's speed, if Josh Dragomir 's HoloWear technology hadn't gone offline suddenly some time back. The prototype glasses given to him as a Ranger stopped working, and RaiCorp no longer serviced them within Hoenn. Without that, he would nave no quick reference for how fast they were traveling. Thankfully for Miyako, his apparel was tough; otherwise, she may have torn a hole in the back of a more ordinary shirt! Sitting behind Josh, she wasn't even exposed to all the wind in the Walking Wake's... well, wake.

He might have to bug Head Ranger ollie morales to retrofit the technology. That or a a League professor that specialized in gadgets like the now-defunct HoloWear.

"It's hard to say," Josh shouted back. "I don't think Suicune's as fast as an Arcanine right now, but I can fix that if you want!" Before he could squeeze the Walking Wake's sides to pick up the pace, Miyako wanted to slow down, catching sight of an Axew she wanted to add to her team. He gently but firmly pulled back on the paradoxical Beast's reins, releasing his leg pressure and causing the Pokémon to slow enough to see the wild more clearly. Though they moved at a pace between a walk and a trot, Suicune's talons still did not break the water's surface.

Did the Walking Wake share the real Suicune's water-walking abilities?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD DRAGONITE APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] INNER FOCUS
[attr="class","wildtabox"]EXTREME SPEED	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]LEER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SAFEGUARD	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SLAM
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Miyako Noguchi

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SEISMITOAD APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SWIFT SWIM
[attr="class","wildtabox"]GASTRO ACID	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]AQUA RING
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ECHOED VOICE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ACID
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin Miyako Noguchi

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Miyako Noguchi CAUGHT THE AXEW!

"Thanks," Josh blushed, not used to receiving quite this much flattery. "We've still got a ways to go to get to the Sky Pillar's main island. Hop back on, and hold on tight!" The young man would give Miyako help in getting back onto the Walking Wake if she needed it. "If you think that was fast, we'll be on the island before you know it. Hyah!" With a kick of his feet, the Walking Wake dashed over the waves.

Once the two riders were in more open waters, Josh grinned. "We're kicking this up a notch! Suicune, use Tailwind!" With a majestic roar, HYDRO STEAM formed around the dinosaur Beast's spiked tails. The thermals roared behind the Walking Wake much like the Johtonian counterpart manipulated the wind to run faster. Josh leaned into the wind as his mount reached speeds not far from what the real Suicune was capable of using Extreme Speed.

It would not take long for the Sky Pillar to loom ahead, Josh carefully pumping the metaphorical brakes. "The emerald serpent Rayquaza once made its home here," he said as the wind at last stopped roaring due to their slower speed. "The place is full of really powerful Pokémon. If you're ever overwhelmed, we can go back." The Walking Wake would leap from the water's surface to the top of a small but rough cliff; there was a reason the island appeared to be accessible only by air!