"Great to meet you, Reinier," Josh replied, extending his hand in an awkward fashion. The height difference there was from him being seated on a giant lion Pokémon made it difficult to exchange physical pleasantries, but he would still try. "It's... never dull around here. And it's been... dangerous of late. But if you're adventurous, it's perfect for you."

Josh was no stranger to finding lodging in Lilycove; after all, he had to during the Vital City Tournament at the beginning of the year. "There's one not far from the space they used for the recent tournament," he replied, "though it's on the other side of town. I can help you get there, if you want. If you don't have a water or flying Pokémon, though, you might have trouble getting to Mossdeep. Security out east is growing tight."

When Reinier mentioned the Gym Challenge, a faint smile worked its way onto Josh's face. "lam logan is the Gym Leader here. Good luck getting into his Gym without a partner, though; his Gym is all about team battles. And one more thing..." he trailed off, the smile growing.

Josh felt the fairy wolf's muscles flex as he turned straight toward Eternatus. Those cleaving strikes had done enough to thin the skeletal dragon's army; now it was just a matter of confronting the big bad. "Zacian, QUICK ATTACK!" the racer called out.

In a gait that was as rapid and as bouncy as his Raikou's, the hero zoomed toward their titanic foe, zipping out of the way of poison-type attacks that threatened to separate rider from legendary steed. Even Josh was squinting, his focus unbreakable as though he was the one directing the heroic deity.

Just when Josh thought it couldn't get any faster, Zacian started chaining QUICK ATTACKS together like a seasoned racing Pokémon, threatening to curl the racer's lips backward and blow away every drop of moisture from his teeth and gums. He couldn't imagine what Lutgarde was feeling, directing Zacian at truly disgusting speeds!

"No, I was scared, too," Josh admitted, vividly remembering how the world was going by too fast to see when Swift, under Kyle's purview at the time, entered Extreme Speeds by leaping out of a thundercloud and merging with it, giving Josh the experience of riding a lightning bolt. It was Josh's favorite phrase for describing what being atop the legendary tiger was like, and it was powerful imagery, too. There and back in the blink of an eye. Winds that, were Josh on his own, would have shredded casual clothes. Such land speed was an overwhelming thrill, yet came with an equal dose of helplessness, the human body on its own simply not designed for land travel at such reckless rates.

"You'll have to ask the Pyroar that," Josh teased as he leaned low on the thundercat's cloud. "They're the ones towing the eggs. We're just gonna... give them a wide berth." Once the Tropius had fled, Josh answered her. "Legendary Pokémon have Infinity Energy readings that are off the charts. Raikou can run faster than a race car and not tire out like other Extreme Speed users can." Once Josh felt Desiree's hold, he squeezed the Beast's sides and let out a cry. "Hyah!"

With powerful strides, the Raikou accelerated quickly enough to push and stretch Josh's facial skin against his bones, excess tissue rippling toward the space beneath his ears. It felt like being inside of a fighter jet as it executed its takeoff roll, a rocket-powered engine propelling it to dizzying speeds. As the tiger galloped faster and faster, its paws barely touching the ground, the duo's surroundings turned into a beautiful sea of greens, tans, browns, and blues.

Josh's strength slowly returned to him - not enough to stand on his own, but enough to get Dimitri out of his Poké Ball. The Feraligatr, sensing Josh's weakness, dropped on all fours and let Josh aboard. He still looked exhausted, his water-type trying to keep the ride as smooth as possible. It wouldn't be good for sand to get stuck in those wounds!

"Great work," Josh said as Dimitri stopped near Zachary, the young Champion giving his blue-haired friend a thumbs up. "When he's trained for it, you should let me ride him." How good of an idea would that be, though? That Raichu could thrash if it really wanted. "Anyway, my Pokémon and I aren't doing so hot. Let's... back to Mauville before anything else happens."

One of the voices in the choir of Flygon was not like the rest. Rather than producing an alluring tone, this one was as grating as a revving race car's engine. From within the sandstorm's center, a BOOMBURST exploded outward, the storm's swirling sands rocketing outward and sand-blasting everything around it.

Josh groaned, his back and thighs sore from absorbing Verte's vibration at full speed. The shockwave was so intense that it created an eye-like hole in the storm, perhaps giving nina larson a chance to see that there was a blue-garbed Ranger astride the largest of the Flygon.

"Of course not," Josh replied, a shift of the wind blowing the wake of cold air surrounding Hylda toward Greyson and his Rapidash. "That's one thing that the Champion Assessment, and the Gym circuit as a whole, taught me. It's okay to have a star player, but a star player can't carry a team on their own." It wasn't just the case as a Pokémon trainer; any team sport was like that.

The topic of sentience caused Josh to freeze. Was that why Swift was so eager to listen to Josh? Because the Beast couldn't think for himself like a normal Pokémon could? He didn't want to answer Greyson's question at first. He didn't want to believe that Swift was as MATIAS SILPH said: a construct.

"I haven't been with him long enough to figure that out yet," Josh answered. "Legendary Pokémon are different. I didn't want to just treat him like another member of my team. Even so, he's as obedient as any of my other Pokémon. I... I don't know the answer yet. But I hope he is. After all, even gods need friends, right?"

Andrea Vaneau was really rubbing off on him, wasn't he?

"Thanks so much!" Josh replied before withdrawing King Zing; all that loud buzzing was making it difficult for him to hear Elodie. He let the Serperior's Poké Ball disappear on its trip to the PSS. When he got back to Verdanturf, he would get the giant grass snake fitted for racing. Serperior were fast!

Clicking open a second Poké Ball, from within it emerged Saber, a large Manectric who wore a saddle wrought in the image of a purple thundercloud - that of the legendary Pokémon Raikou. The Leader's hair stood on end as he cuddled the electric wolf. "This is Saber. My family got him for me when I turned ten," he introduced the Manectric.

As the obedient canine sat down, expecting a bit to eat, Josh answered Elodie's question. "I've been a trainer since I was eleven years old. When you get to know a Pokémon well enough, you can let them battle on their own and only command them if you need to. It's like how a really well-trained Pokémon will follow a road without you needing to rein it around." Josh had learned that lesson with his two Arcanine, who often ran at speeds that were too fast for human riders to react to.

King Zing bobbed up and down, producing an angry-sounding buzz with his wings as the psychic-type warped about the battle court. As he saw the young Pokémon grow up and evolve upon dodging the second wave, the Gym Leader smiled, applauding Zachary. Pokémon evolution was so amazing to see, and such a thrill to be a part of. Something in him made him want to catch another Ponyta to be able to relive the experience of being atop one in the middle of its evolution.

As fast as Josh's Pokémon were, one of the greatest checks to a Pokémon reliant on dodging was an attack from the mind. Those attacks, such as a psychic-type's Confusion, materialized and detonated at the speed of thought. He was proud to hear the command, then disappointed when Tarot YAWNED. Not letting the disobedience go unpunished, King Zing's outstretched foreleg stings began to whirl in a DRILL RUN. Were the Pokémon not able to evade, the stings would bore into the osychic-type's likely frail frame. It came with the price of exertion, the Pokémon tired from both how fast his stings whirled and its Kadabra-induced drowsiness.

"How long have you had Tarot for?" Josh asked. "They seem... like they are not trusting of you."

"Oh, is he ever!" Josh cheered back. "It's hard to find places in Hoenn that are rural enough for me to practice with him." Swift's monochrome eyes shifted toward the Viridescent Knight, then Virizion's. "Sounds like we're both successors in different ways. Last time I saw Virizion, they were with Matias. That's what had me confused. Sorry!"

Hoenn's legendary Pokémon sure were on the move, looking for new allies. First, Raikou from Kyle to Josh, and now Virizion from Matias to Lam. "Great to see you again, too, Virizion! Would love to show you how much my skills have improved!" He had fond memories of shooting across 123 on the Sacred Sword's back, twirling dizzily as the grass-type rocked him with their extreme agility.

It was the last pleasant memory he had of Matias.

"Right, I-I forgot to introduce you to him," Josh stammered in the Sacred Sword's premise. "His name's Swift." The Raikou loosed a loud, tickling purr that sounded like a distant rumble of thunder.

Beckett's voice startled Josh out of his trance, hanging the Raikou's reins up and stepping off the make-believe legendary. "Oh, hi there!" the black-haired man greeted his candidate. "You're here early! Gym Leader and Champion Devlin, but I like to go by Josh," he introduced himself as he extended a hand for Beckett to shake.

Josh would sit down at his desk, a close pass from Tiamat the Dragonite momentarily distracting him. "Thanks so much for your time today. May I ask what kind of position you are interested in, please?" he kindly asked, keyboard clacking filling the otherwise silent room.

Josh's skills with the blade were rusty. Having learned from Finnegan Yang , he put them to use in Dewford's clash over RESURFACED TREASURES. With the region gearing for war yet again. If he was going to ride his Pokémon into combat, he may as well learn and practice maueuvers that made it effective.

Perhaps with a little modification, he could electrify the blade and truly be a Knight of Thunder. Even so, he didn't expect to use it often. He had determined that the front lines were simply not for him. He did have the Great One's blessing, meaning the League would closely monitor him and his Sacred Ash Raikou.

He would not be practicing with the Beast, though; that would have to be done at the Pokémon League, at HQ's onsite training grounds. The public could not know about Raikou. From the perspective of the masses, all traces of the electric tiger vanished with kyle lopez 's death.

Shortly after Gym staff paged Josh from his third floor office, he came out of the elevator, dressed in a Manectric-themed SYGNA SUIT. "Good morning, Mikael," he greeted the young man. "You weren't on my appointment list, but that's okay. What can I help you with?" Mikael was fortunate that business at the Gym was very slow.

Aslan let out a growl as he saw Reinier approaching. "Easy, Aslan!" Josh chided the Shiny lion. Many of the others were well-behaved, sitting a distance from them and looking as obedient and calm as a trained house Growlithe. Nala was almost unrecognizable in her normal form again, after having been pregnant for what felt like a long time. Nuka the Litleo was still back at Mauville City Gym, likely at play with the Luxray and other cat Pokémon there. It would take some time, but one day she would join the Rangers' Pride as its eleventh member.

Being one of the more tenured and high-ranking Rangers in the area, Josh couldn't dismiss Reinier's plight. Aslan walked toward them, stopping near them so Josh could have a face-to-face chat. "Elite Ranger Devlin or Champion Devlin, but please, Josh is fine," he introduced himself with his well-practiced statement. "What can I help you with?"

The rapport between them was already being repaired; Josh could tell from the Avatar's tone. It seemed almost exactly like it was in Lavaridge, that night they went out to dinner together and the young man learned much about Avatars. "When you have to have enough Bullet Seeds extracted from you to fill an entire cup..." he trailed off, unsure where he was going with the anecdote. "But hey, I can't say I didn't try. I've found my place in the war. I might never be a war hero like you were, but I know my contributions will be vital for the League's victory this summer."

Matias did have a point, though it was one that Josh quickly dismissed. "The problem is the training would take place on the Gym grounds and is engineered around the layout there. I'll need to ask Commissioner dahlia goode if what you propose is okay." The issue was more complicated than that, though. "I just want Mauville Gym to be able to contribute to the war effort a little more directly. Plus..." he trailed off again before resuming, "Mauville Gym's... been slow. Challenger volume's down a lot. I need to drum up business somehow."