"Heh, not if I have anything to say about it," Josh smirked. "But I don't possess that title anymore. It used to be Eva Morales that was the queen of sky speed, but now it's freya morningstar . Back when the Head Professor was Rayquaza's Avatar, I helped her get used to riding them. That rollercoaster of a dragon made even me sick." It was an experience he would never forget, and while it was possible for a Terastal Rayquaza to form at the bottom of Area Zero, the Giant Chasm was simply too small to reach the speeds a Dragon Ascent could get the legendary serpent to.

Such a behemoth would be just as likely to manifest as it would be willing to let them climb upon its back. While a Terastal-powered lesser god like Raikou only needed a little convincing, a greater one like Rayquaza would likely be too far up the cosmic scale to entertain ferrying riders purely for whimsy. "I'm not saying Togekiss aren't fast; Mastema will be a great opponent for them. But Rayquaza... is on a whole different level. But if you're that eager, Verte will put on the best Dragon Ascent imitation he can." And by that, it would be no move at all; instead soaring as high as they could before the air got uncomfortably cold.

The prospect of Miyako challenging him made Josh's eyes light up. "Absolutely!" he answered while the atmosphere was still thick enough to communicate easily. "Make sure your Togekiss is as prepared as possible. Some of the courses on my property can be brutal for a Pokémon not used to flying with their trainer. You can sign up online at Mauville Gym's website, by calling the Gym, or registering in person." Accessibility was of utmost important for Josh, both in the Racing Grounds' capacity as a Gym and as a business.

When Miyako wanted to keep going, Josh obliged, the Flygon's wings thrumming with less volume the higher they soared. "You do have earplugs you can put in, right?" he asked. "Because his Boomburst won't be loud up here, but it will be when we get to the surface. And that's the ticket to his true speed." The thrust of wings buzzing obnoxiously loud and fast, combined with the height of a dragon's dive, was as close as he was going to get to what Rayquaza was capable of. And what more fitting place was there than near the tower that pierced the clouds?

With Miyako not having brought earplugs, Josh had to show restraint -- and hope the officer did, as well. "Yep -- I was a good friend of Rayquaza's previous Avatar. Helped her get used to flying with them."

The view from above the Sky Pillar was amazing; the two could see Sootopolis to the north, Ever Grande to the east, and Slateport to the west. The air was cold, but perhaps refreshing compared to the humid soup beneath them. The two would have to put more effort into speaking to be heard as they rose higher into the sky, in order to account for the thinning atmosphere. The height they reached was well beyond what birds could reach; dragons were simply built different.

Once Verte landed, putting on one last buzzing burst for Miyako's entertainment, Josh withdrew him and remained on foot, needing to give his own body a rest. "I'm sure Mastema will be happy to meet another Togekiss; you're not the first person to challenge Mauville Gym with one," he returned Miyako's grin with a mild one of his own, not noticing the Cyclizar performing a wheelie to make a quick turn. "That Cyclizar would be a great Pokémon to challenge the Gym with, too. I've got four or five of them back there," he teased, though he wasn't lying; he really did have several of them there. All of them controlled quite a bit differently from one another, as well. They were all used to ferrying complete beginners about the grounds, letting students young and old learn important fundamentals.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] UNAWARE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HEX	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]INCINERATE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TORCH SONG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ROUND
[attr="class","wildtabox"] BELCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

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

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

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

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

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] INFILTRATOR
[attr="class","wildtabox"]INFERNO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ASTONISH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MEMENTO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]EMBER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] CLEAR SMOG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

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

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

Miyako Noguchi CAUGHT THE CYCLIZAR!

Miyako truly was the spitting image of Josh, wasn't she? They seemed to like a lot of the same Pokémon. "They're incredibly fast Pokémon, they're beginner friendly, and they're even legal to ride on the highway," the Gym Leader added as his smile grew. "What's not to like about them?" There weren't a lot of Pokémon that could obey the posted minimum speeds on major highways. Cyclizar was one of them, their energy-efficient bodies able to ferry trainers for dozens and dozens of miles.

With so many excellent Pokémon on her roster, it came to no surprise that Miyako wanted to challenge the Gym multiple times. "You remind me of myself when I wanted to challenge Fortree Gym multiple times. Alexei Ivanov and I were best buds, but the war forced him to leave the region." He wondered how the Birdfather and his fiancée, Guillermo Marceliño , were doing on what he figured was a long honeymoon. "You can't officially re-challenge the Gym, but we have pretty routine pick-up races on the Gym grounds. It won't be particularly cheap, but perhaps a Mauville Racing Grounds membership might be right for you."

As the two reached the south precipice of the island the Sky Pillar was on, they would be able to take in the view of Pacifidlog. The town built on the sea was an architectural marvel, small as it was. "I love coming out here," Josh mused as the west wind picked up, the sea becoming choppy. "It's where the greatest number of wild dragon Pokémon live in the region, and one of the most concentrated in the world, too. Should they be respected? Absolutely. But there's no need to fear them. Many of them are just as playful as any other Pokémon!"

The topic would quickly shift to Gym membership benefits. "You get full access to the Gym grounds out back, the second-floor cafeteria and gym, the third-floor lounge, and even one free 32-ounce fountain drink every day," he advertised. "You'll get your own private locker on the ground level and wifi access. You'll even get a customized Mauville Racing Grounds jersey with a one-year commitment. And the best benefit of all: you will have a valid season pass to watch all of Mauville Gym's challenges and events for as long as you keep your membership up." And, of course, getting to meet and saddle up with Josh's other Pokémon... but he would leave that as a surprise. For a Pokémon racing fan, a membership was a dream come true.

Gym members truly were team players at Mauville Gym; they even got to mingle with employees. Being an employee also came with a free membership for as long as they were employed, plus an additional duration depending on the employee's tenure. Josh took care of his employees like they were family; it was a rarity in the modern, cutthroat world, and was part of what made getting a job with him so competitive.

"You don't even need to sign up in town!" Josh added. "If you would rather have all your Psyduck in a row, you can even sign up and prepay online. That way, we can have much of the paperwork ready for you to sign. The jersey doesn't usually come for a month or two, though. We get a deal when we order a certain number of them through our partner, so we send the orders off in batches. If you don't want to wait, I can put in a special order, but I would need to charge you the difference." It sounded like Josh would have yet another paying customer that would keep the Racing Grounds afloat in the event he needed to step down aa Gym Leader and stop receiving public funding.

The young man would let the rest of his fresh dragons out of their Poké Balls, though he let Suicune and Verte continue to rest. Yosei and Ao, his Salamence and Roaring Moon, bumped claws with one another as they took in the view. Reverb looked cheery as ever, the Noivern sounding a high-frequency screech from his ears. Area looked intimidating, the black-scaled Charizard's tail burning bright. "I don't think I introduced Reverb and Ares to you yet," Josh faced Miyako, gesturing toward the two dragons. Were she to look at the dragon's saddle, embedded within the front of it were not one, but two Mega Stones.