For Halloween, it had been tradition for Josh to dress up as the person he had wanted to be: a knight in shining armor, wielding a plastic, lightning bolt-shaped sword. Its translucent edge, illuminated by a small light bulb within, gave him the illusion of being a member of AQUA. Reinforcing the illusion was Josh's Manectric, Saber. Though his purple thundercloud saddle was a permanent part of his outfit now, his Raikou mask and blue, spark-shaped tail dongle were not. Admittedly, it did feel different this year; with him possessing the RAINBOW FEATHER, he could sit upon the ashen Beast as part of his costume... but it didn't feel right. Memory or no, the Johtonian god of speed was not his to flaunt. It was his to defend the region with.

Josh wasn't going trick-or-treating for the candy; he was going to show off his heroic-looking costume. Striking a triumphant pose as he waited in line for their turn to register, the Gym Leader turned toward Vespa Baskerville . "What do you think? Do I look like an Envoy to you?" His self-proclaimed Avatar-like title had shifted over the years as he came to a better understanding of his role in the Hoenn region. Once Determined when all that mattered to him was befriending Raikou, then Signer before he knew his true focus, he was Hoenn's Envoy in the make-believe world that he deluded himself in during the tenth month of every year.

Seeing another Hydreigon rider in the sky, Josh reined Kokusho's main head toward her, his own dragon's heads dripping embers, sparks, and cold mist. The face atop the dark-type looked familiar, but he couldn't quite put a name to the face. Instead, he flew alongside the six-winged Pokémon, seeing if she would break the ice first.

They might not have time to do that; a glint of bright, golden light would catch Josh's attention, its source growing brighter and brighter as it raced toward them on clicking wings that grew louder and louder with each passing second. Josh remembered this before; he had seen a similar phenomenon with Yuina Higashi and a golden Arcanine. Flicking the Hydreigon's reins, fire dripped from the center mouth, ready to discharge FLAMETHROWER at the noble Pokémon closing in on the duo at quite the clip.

As quite the excited Yosei whooshed and wheeled about the sky, Zaborg's eyes followed the Salamence. The Shiny Zeraora wanted a turn on the dragon's back, squeezing Zetalpa's sides to make the Tropius fly faster. Once the two had their fun, Josh swooped next to Nicholas and his Altaria, the Salamence gliding alongside his fellow dragon.

"They're being kept in Oldale while the League searches for compatible foster or adoptive parents, from my understanding," the Gym Leader replied with a slight frown. It was rare for those kinds of families to work out, making Josh appreciate his own family even more. His mother and father had adopted him when he was six days old; he had never met his birth parents. "It's hard raising children you didn't give birth to, and especially ones their age. I hope it works out, and they can be reunited with their real parents. I have my doubts, though..." Rocket was ruthless, willing to cast away lives in the name of profit... one of the big reasons Josh fought tooth, claw, and tail against them.

The human life was too precious to assign a monetary value to.

Josh's sync with the Raikiri took the Zeraora's already fast and violent gallop to new heights. Speed that would work against the Gym Leader, his stunned body ragdolling in the saddle after being pounded deep into his seat thanks to Hati's DRAGON HAMMER. With Josh temporarily out of commission, Raikiri acted on instinct. As Tempest's Pokémon were to converge upon thundercat and rider, the Zeraora BOUNCED to avoid the mast majority of the attacks... only to bang against he top of Druid's dome, giving the Walking Wake a window to pounce.

Josh was in no condition to respond to Tempest's remark, the cocoon saddle he sat in proving to be a liability as Raikiri tumbled through the air, the DRAGON CLAW bouncing and raking mercilessly behind where Josh sat. The electric feline's yellow fur became tainted red, desperately preying upon a perhaps unsuspecting Druid from above.

Marian's sudden SOLAR BEAM, fueled by the Ninetales' dreadful heat, pierced Raikou's thundercloud, the Raging Bolt sounding like the last rumbles of thunder from a dying storm. The paradox landed with a loud thud, Raikiri now the only Pokémon that could fight back until the Champion's meaningful consciousness returned to him!

An Interpol special agent... that certainly qualified for handling classified information. Even though it wasn't current, it was verifiable. "Just... you keep it quiet, too," the desperate Gym Leader requested. "If this gets traced back to me, I could be in serious trouble. I'm sure you're in the same boat."

The Master of Faster pulled up Nikola's trainer profile, including the list of Pokémon that she registered at the Gym for training sessions. "This is where it's going to get... ugly. Back when I was working with Hoenn's military instead of the courier I am now, I was assigned to work with her on a covert op exciltrating a double agent from a Rocket lab related to Zapdos." Unbeknownst to him, Zapdos had since then severed ties with Rocket and was at large. "Let me forward the briefing and the debrief to you. I think they'll help a lot, because those were from one of the last times I saw her."

It wasn't a part of his history Josh was happy with, for it involved taking enemy lives. Regardless of which side of the aisle they were on, Josh had no desire to terminate existences anymore, human or Pokémon. Had Hideo Kino not taught him so well at his Gym, he and Raikou could well have been vicious hunters and killers instead of the Champion becoming a lightning-speed delivery boy.

Despite not being composed of living flesh, Swift was just as crippled by the poison as a Raikou of flesh would. With nowhere to run, all the Beast could do was helplessly thrash to try to kick the Spinarak off. As his strength faded, so did his ability to struggle.

Holding the RAINBOW FEATHER in his hand, the artifact glowed with the Great One light. Drawing the Sign a second time, rainbow light left its quill, giving the Raikou a second wind. A colossal ELECTRO BALL expanded outward from his crown, dissolving the SPIDER WEB surrounding him and threatening to electrocute the small bug. Were he to direct his attention toward the sound and sight of tiger paws kicking large amounts of sand out of the way in his wake, he would be able to see Swift charging toward his trainer's side.

"That," he pointed to his legendary partner.

Josh frowned upon hearing of Beckett's understandable fear of making people upset. "I'll put it this way," Josh replied, doing his best to coach his Gym employee out of the self-deprecation his own past self had to come to grips with. "I went through the same pain you did. I was afraid of what happens when things don't unravel according to plan. I had the rockiest road to Champion Rank of anyone in Hoenn's history. I had to battle each of the Elite Four twice. There were even some Gym Leaders, like Hideo Kino , that I could not defeat. Mistakes will happen. You're going to fail and make people angry. That's part of life. It's what you do with that knowledge the next time that matters."

As stern as Callan Young was, as demeaning as MATIAS SILPH was, they all had points they were trying to prove to Josh. Points he now understood and built upon. "Making mistakes and having misunderstandings is part of what makes us human, Beckett. We're fallible. But we're also the greatest learners on the planet. Don't be afraid to fail. But learn from your failures, for they will make you a much stronger trainer when you do." Perfection, like infinity, truly could not be reached. It could, however, be approached. Studying the limit as humanity approached perfection was what reflection of the race was all about.

It was part of what being human meant. Don't be controlled by failure. Learn from it.

Easter wouldn't be truly alone; Josh would be behind him, though she would be the one holding the reins. "It'll be a lot of fun once you get in the air," he reiterated as the dragon-type faced along the long and straight concourse. "As long as you're confident you can handle it, I won't stop you. I will say that a Garchomp's takeoff is a bit unique." The Pokémon spread his arms wise, ready for the air to flow around his fins and lift him off the ground.

Keeping a tighter hold on the cocoon in front of him, and by proxy, Easter herself, Josh gave his instructions. "Unlike every other flying Pokémon, Garchomp need a big running start to take off. And it's gonna be rough when they get going fast. Probably faster than any Rapidash you've ever been on." While it wasn't quite the speed of a Rapidash at full gallop, it was close. A biped's gait was also swingier than a horse's, which would make the takeoff even more challenging. "When you're ready to take off, squeeze his sides with your legs and he'll start running. Once he's going fast enough to leave the ground, pull the reins toward you, and that will pull his snout upward. That's how you gain lift. Don't ascend too quickly, though, or he won't have enough lift to maintain flight. It's honestly... a lot like flying an airplane."

What a bummer. That revelation limited what Josh could share about rhe raid in Slateport that led to the start of the investigation to begin with. "I haven't been here too much longer," the Champion admitted. "I came here the day before the barrier went up in the wake of the Meteno crisis." It was one that Josh wanted to forget, but he couldn't. Aslan had survived against Deoxys' Meteor Beam against all odds. His fortune, however, had run out when Rhea Armistead 's Rotom condemned him to a horrific death by drowning in Hoenn's eastern sea.

Josh frowned at all of Maisie's questions. "I'm limited on what information I can provide without League credentials, but I can provide you with the photo from her Trainer's License. Any other information from it, I'll need League-recognized credentials to share. Trainer privacy and all."

It was, indeed, caused by the dragon-type's wingbeat rate. Flygon were unique among dragons in having insectile qualities to them. They largely were inherited from their specialization as Vibrava. In their intermediate forms, their wings were not powerful enough to fly far off the ground, but they could still tear up the air around them and induce headaches in their foes. Flygon refined those aspects so much more. "Alright, let's fly!" Josh called, squeezing Verte's sides.

With the agility of a Beedrill, the green dragon leaped skyward. While his wings were roaring like an engine, it wasn't overly loud; the tactile feedback was almost like being on a flying motorcycle. When he saw how much fun Miyako was having, he flicked the Flygon's reins, Verte putting on a sudden burst of vibration to mimic a motorcycle's kick.

When Miyako expressed interest in catching a Togekiss that was flying around, trying to evade being captured. If it knew Extreme Speed, there was no shot their mount was catching up with it. It seemed that it didn't, their approach to get within range uneventful. "I'm gonna try to bait it over the Sky Pillar directly! Hold on tight - this might get a little rough!"

Miyako's tingling sensation would mutiply as the shockwave of a BUG BUZZ flew toward the fairy-type, the Flygon's wings almost completely disappearing from how fast they were fluttering. Josh's hair stood on end, too; unlike Shalin Nariya , he wasn't fully used to such strong vibrations.

"Wonderful," Josh answered Mr. Toral. "Get the ticket submitted and I'll get everything organized. Just because I'm involved with the war effort doesn't mean I can't help Hoenn in other ways." He wasn't the one doing the fighting, either. He was a supplier. Though his job wasn't a glorious one, it was just as important. Without him, people like John Sullivan couldn't get the League's supersoldiers, their Avatars, back on their feet. The Hoennian army's commanders, like Navy and MATIAS SILPH , couldn't receive vital messages too risky to send by electronic means. Rocket had broken League encryption before. If Rocket wanted to intercept a hand-delivered message, they would have to outpace the fastest Pokémon on land.

A challenge he dared Rocket to take on.

Noticing Kee closing up again with a wide-open facial expression, the Champion tried to reach out to him again. "You sure you're okay?" he asked. "I know it's a lot. If you need time to think about it, let me know. If you're planning on taking the Champion Assessment, I think it would be a great help."

"What can I say?" Josh asked rhetorically with a sly smile on his face. "I've been studying fast Pokémon since well before I became a Gym Leader. I've loved fast Pokémon since before I was old enough to be a Trainer." His love of them was part of what inspired him to become a Trainer at all. "Just find a Pokémon that you think would be fun to hop onto! That's the most important part. Yes, fast travel is important, too, but so is having fun!"

Verte's wings became silent at Josh raising a hand. "You're welcome to! Just bear the feedback from his wings in mind - you might get a bit of a tingling sensation." The Gym Leader would help Miyako get into the saddle before climbing on behind her; though she would be riding in front, Josh would be the one holding the reins -- unless she asked to hold them!

"Sidewinder, PHANTOM FORCE!" Josh commanded as his Dragapult swished toward the Sky Pillar, the wake of the wind surrounding him creating large waves that swept small water Pokémon away. The two vanished from sight, reappearing in a color-inverted version of Hoenn that the Gym Leader hadn't visited since his injury in Ultra Space. The cold bit at him, but the discomfort was worth the thrill of zipping above the ethereal waves at hair-raising speeds.

Josh's heart raced as the ghost-type swooped upward in advance of the rapidly-approaching island, feeling like he was on a living, guided missile from how intense each turn was. Little did he realize another trainer was roaming the ethereal, too...