Ana and her Espeon were traveling Hoenn's longest straight road: the west side of the main thoroughfare between Verdanturf and Rustboro. Its lack of a speed limit made it a popular destination for regulars at Mauville Gym. As vast as the Racing Grounds were, this road went on for miles in one direction. It was perfect for trainers that had a need for speed... even the Gym Leader himself.

The artist and her Espeon might feel the whoosh of wind pass by them as a purple blur passed by them using QUICK ATTACK. Once the Pokémon's enhanced speed had worn off, its was more easily recognizable... and perhaps baffling.

Was that an Espeon the size of a small horse? And was that a black-haired man riding it?!

At first, Ana doesn't register the gust of wind as anything more than an unusually strong breeze—Hoenn is known for its unique weather patterns, after all. But when she catches sight of the purple blur, her eyes widen in surprise.

"Holy goodra," she breathes out, jaw dropping as the blur slows down enough to reveal itself. It's an Espeon, but not just any Espeon—one that towers over Old Whiskers, who looks like he might have seen a ghost. Ana barely notices the man astride the Espeon, her attention entirely captured by the size of the creature.

"How did it get so big?" Ana wonders aloud, her fingers itching to pull out her sketchbook and capture the moment. She's seen big Pokémon before—on TV, anyway—but never one so graceful and elegant as an Espeon.

Old Whiskers bristles beside her, his eyes narrowing as if he's trying to establish some sort of psychic connection with the larger Espeon. Ana can only imagine the conversation they might be having: a mix of old-man grumblings and awkward introductions.

She turns her attention to the black-haired man, a grin spreading across her face. "Wow, I've never seen an Espeon that large before! Is he friendly?" she calls out, her tone curious and light.

Josh Devlin

When Josh heard Anastasia Harmon 's remarks about his Espeon, he reined the psychic-type to a stop near her. "It's a bit of a long story," he shrugged, Janus opening his mind up to Old Whiskers, the ruby on his forehead growing. "If you want the short version, all the memes you see about Space-Time Distortions on social media aren't as far from the truth as you think."

Once Ana's full attention was on Josh, he introduced himself and his Espeon steed, climbing down to expose the saddle he was sitting in. "Gym Leader Devlin, but please, call me Josh. And this is Janus," he gently stroked the psychic-type's fur. "If you've never been to Mauville City's Pokémon Gym, what I'm about to tell you might be a bit hard to absorb."