The Great Desert at night was a playground for Josh's nocturnal Pokémon... and the ones too dangerous to use on standard Routes. At least not without frightening passersby with horrific paradoxes like Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, the three "Hoennian" counterparts of the Johto legendary Pokémon Josh revered. He had so many rare and powerful Pokémon that he was quite the force to be reckoned with.

Josh wasn't there to joyride, though. He was on a mission.

Seated on Eriette, his Spectrier, the ghost-type equine galloped across the night sands swiftly on the lookout for Neon, whom he had a tip was there. His nerves shot sky-high the deeper he got into the desert. For he knew from Remiel Calcifet 's testimony at the hospital that he would be engaging in battle with an Avatar. The RAINBOW FEATHER gleamed in the moonlight, its quill already leaking ash in a trail behind the hooved Pokémon.

Were they to get within sight of mint frost , Josh would quietly order Eriette to disappear into the shadows of a PHANTOM FORCE attack, taking the thrill-seeking rider on an ethereal jaunt to deliver a nasty surprise: a ramming and trampling attack from behind!

The satellite falls at a steady pace, Neon focusing to pull it to earth and then having to switch gears to keep it from falling too fast. He can see it up there, even at this dsitance. The UI in his helmet locks onto the target, and even swaps image modes to better keep track of it.

He doesn't notice and he probably wouldn't care that something else is awake in the desert. As the satellite closes in, he simply keeps focus, allowing himself to ease the breaks on it's descent. He doesn't expect the full force of a fucking horse to hit him this high up on the mesa. "What the-!" The Satelite freefalls as instinct moves to bounce the Spectrier and it's rider back before his entire spine is crushed.

Little wings flutter in SURPRISE, as Neon is harshly shoved forward, tripping over himself and slamming hard into the dry rock. That's definitely a bruised rib. The ache vibrates his knees and he swore he heard his wrists crack from the impact as he held himself up. Until he realized he was telekinetic and could stand with ease. Psychic power helps lift him to his feet and scoops up a few stray feathers that may have been tossed off. All are pulled into a tight orbit around him as he turned to face his opponent. "I'm sending that thing to the glue factory." he snarled, LED screen reflecting the irritated expression under his helmet.

He swaps vision modes, glaring at the gym leader and his steed. He then eases up a little as he recognizes the gym leader. How unfortunate. He doesn't remember seeing them in Sootopolis or the Petalburg reports, but he does remember their fight on the island. "A rematch? I'm kind of busy here." he said as the blinking light of the satellite drew ever closer to their meeting place. He holds up the few feathers, the bundle shining bright in the moonlight in front of him. Wit ha swipe of his hand he directs the feathers, sending the few that'd fallen racing forward, intent on stabbing either trainer or steed. The result would be the same anyway.

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Josh Devlin | 6th anni prompt - surprise

Once Neon had collapsed, Josh reined Eriette forward in an effort to pin him... only for him to levitate himself away from the ghost-type. This was all the confirmation he needed that the Galarian royal's lead was correct. This was Articuno's new Avatar.

Josh had an opportunity to get away if he felt he was in too much danger; mint frost was busy with some operation surrounding a satellite. And he would have run away, too, if it weren't his mission to disrupt the surveillance equipment that he had received League tips about. His arm still wasn't fully healed, but it was "good enough" to participate in missions that weren't in full-blown warzones. One day, he would be deployed into such an environment, not as a direct combatant, but as a supply runner.

At last, he had found his true role in the League. One that could make full use of his unique pool of talents.

Today was not that day. "I understand you're busy. And I wouldn't want to disturb you... if only that dismantling this little surveillance operation wasn't the reason I was here." The bright moonlight reflected the light of Neon's bright down, causing the Spectrier to rear in fright and Josh to nearly fall off the ghost-type horse. She had shielded Josh at her own expense, Eriette being well-equipped to handle psychic attacks.

With authority, the Gym Leader reined the Spectrier to one side. "I know about your new toys. And I've got some new toys of my own, too. If you don't want to see what happens when they collide, pack it up. Now."

Neon tilted his head, annoyed with the response. And with a panicked Spectrier, it made the threat even less potent. "Piss off. You don't want this." he said, watching the few feathers plunge into the ghost pokemon's body. "Say goodbye to your pony." he said, holding up his hand lazily and making a swiping motion, the feathers embedded in flesh following the direction before plucking themselves away from the stab wounds and returning to Neon's orbit, now tinged with blood instead of the usual pristine silver.

"Huh?" he asked, not fully understanding. "What do you mean new toys?" He presses the gym leader further ignoring the threat and even his falling satelite.

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Josh Devlin | 6th anni prompt - ???

"PHANTOM FORCE!" Josh ordered, both he and his bleeding horse disappearing into the ethereal. Inside the color-inverted world, it was cold... but not as cold as Josh remembered it being when he flew through it with Sidewinder, his Dragapult. It was as though Spectrier were adept at shielding their riders from the harsh, inhospitable reverse-atmosphere. It would be a technique Elise Calcifet and Josh would practice together in preparation for the war.

While concealed within the space, Josh pulled the RAINBOW FEATHER from his shirt, pinched between two of his right fingers. Holding the reins with one hand and the scintillating artifact in the other, he drew the Sign's four strokes, the ashen Beast galloping alongside the Spectrier.

Both accelerated toward Neon out of the ether at horrific speeds, Eriette huffing from the exertion of the PHANTOM FORCE attack and the blood loss from the Avatar's strike. "I may not be an Avatar, but I am the Knight of Thunder, successor to the late kyle lopez ." A heaven-rending roar left Swift's fangs. Though the electric feline's thundercloud saddle remained vacant, Josh and his monochrome partner still fought with a single, unified mind.