While they weren't Josh's Mauville Rangers, he did assume a lot of responsibility for them when annalise henderson was overwhelmed. The two of them were more like Ranger Captains together, though she was the one with the title. "No reason to hold off," the Gym Leader answered. "If anything, I think it's going to get worse the longer you wait. So I'd get your ticket in as soon as you can. If anything, put my name somewhere on it. I'd love to take the ticket myself." The Great Desert was one of Josh's training grounds. It was so wide open and sparsely populated that it was one of the few places in Hoenn where the speed demon could truly unleash his Pokémon. It would take time to cross the desert even aboard a Quick Attacking Swift.

Turning back to Kee, Josh kept his smile up when he heard the young man's question. "Part of how I became a Champion was learning exactly that. How to fight a legendary Pokémon without owning one yourself. And while Swift isn't anywhere close to full power, I think the best way to learn is by doing." When kyle lopez ran the Battle Arcade, Josh had to battle Entei there. Now, he would be on the other side of that battle with his Raikou. What a golden opportunity this was. "What's a good day for you to come down to Mauville Gym and spar with Swift?"

Josh's PC

PURIST (50 PD)
unshiny a pokemon using a shiny swap.
Enigma the Sigilyph was caught Shiny and Shiny was removed

LIFE, UH, FINDS A WAY (75 PD)
catch 5 fossil pokemon.
Aerodactyl, Tyrantrum, Bastiodon, Rampardos, Archen (capture pending in mod reqs)

UN-BEELIEVABLE (50 PD)
catch 5 bug-typed pokemon.
Beedrill, Slither Wing (listed in Trades tab), Vikavolt, Yanmega, Volcarona

ROCK COLLECTOR (50 PD)
catch 5 rock-typed pokemon.
Aerodactyl, Rampardos, Bastiodon, Tyrantrum, Iron Boulder

HAUNTED (50 PD)
catch 5 ghost-typed pokemon.
Gastly, Dragapult, Spectrier, Houndstone, Honedge

ILLUMINATED
own an illumina pokemon.
Two different Pyroar

TOURIST (50 PD)
complete 3 threads in "OTHER REGIONS" BOARD.
Homecoming
Orange Leaves
The Sky's The Limit

CURRY EXPERT (10 PD) - PLAYER-BASED
cook three charizard class curries.
- Can we have this also displayed on Shalin Nariya since she participated in these Curries too? Please only award the PD to Josh, though!
pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/post/464941/thread
pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/post/519090/thread
pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/post/565803/thread

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER (50 PD)
discover 15 curios from the rks simulation.
pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/39468/joshs-curio-collection - Josh has 17 curios!

SURVEY SQUAD (50 PD)
participate in 3 passerby hq analytics threads.
#6 #5 #4

DYNAMAXXING
unlock all dynamax candy tiers for a pokemon.
Bladestorm the Skarmory has 8 Dynamax segments.

Please display all awards! +435 PD

WIDENING THE DOOR TO THE HEART

While helping capture Shalin Nariya 's dozens of Pokémon alongside minjun hak , one of Josh's Pokémon approached him, towing a small cart filled with bags of empty Poké Balls. "Thanks for the help, Nuka," the Gym Leader said upon hearing a deep purr. "I'll make sure to get all of these to... huh?!" he exclaimed. That wasn't Nuka towing the cart.

It was Aleph, the battle-crazed Type: Null that was still a little soft after sparring with Tyrfing yesterday. He and the Iron Boulder went back and forth, CRUSH CLAW parrying SACRED SWORD with might whose shockwaves tested the Champion's balance. Instead of clashing, the two were working together, the Iron Boulder ferrying Shalin's smaller ride Pokémon over his broad, metallic back for Josh to capture and load up. As he saw the Shiny Eeveelutions come in, he was a bit jealous. Just what did she to to get in touch of not only a complete set of mountables, but for every single one of the eight to be Shiny?

After getting the wave of Pokémon into new Poké Balls, Josh stood in front of the chimeric Pokémon and embraced Aleph. He returned the love not with vitriol, but a whimper-purr that made his hair stand on end. "Aleph... this is what it's like. You're not a battle machine like JULES COTILLARD wanted you to be. You're a Pokémon. An independent one. Now, let's do our part in getting Shalin back. Together."

Aleph reaches LOYALTY LEVEL 2. Aleph can now engage in any form of non-entertainment activity without the need for a ROLL.

Swift the Raikou can learn one additional move from the TM/TR list, for a total of two. Once a move has been taught, it cannot be changed until after Aleph evolves.

From his experiences with Andrea, Josh expected the Ogerpon to be playful and cheerful, returning the love with love of its own for them both. "I know this Pokémon outside the simulation, too. Her name is Ogerpon, and she's a sweetie. You should meet her sometime! She's in Andrea Vaneau's care."

While the ogress was a friendly one for a time, once they had reached the outskirts of the festival grounds, a TOXIC CHAIN had shattered the mask, encircling the now tantrum-filled grass-type. Just as the young man was about to wave goodbye, the incensed Ogerpon walloped Josh's midsection with her IVY CUDGEL. As a fountain of blood erupted from his body, the Gym Leader's vision turned to static, both Josh and Xuying waking up in the League's simulation pods.

"Honestly, as much as I can," Josh sheepishly replied. "What child didn't dream of riding a legendary Pokémon? I wouldn't mind running into the Terastal Raikou again and showing him how much my skills have improved," he told the whitest of lies. With the RAINBOW FEATHER in his possession, he could do that at will. Perhaps it would unravel sooner than he wanted it to; if a particularly aggressive paradox Pokémon showed up, his hand may be forced.

While not a paradox Pokémon, a Coalossal did force the rider's hand, seeing it terrorize a defeated-looking Archen on the level below. Shaking his head, the Gym Leader clicked open another Cherish Ball. "Suicune, let's go!" Skillfully switching ride Pokémon by simultaneously withdrawing the Raging Bolt and sending out the Walking Wake, Josh landed in the seat hidden within the twin-tailed dragon-type's purple fur. With a daring leap and HYDRO STEAM flying from his tails, the Walking Wake crashed toward the fire-type enough to distract it from the Poké Ball he dropped in the Archen's direction. Hopefully he would be enough of a diversion to catch the terrified fossil Pokémon and get it to safety!

The self-sufficiency of Shalin Nariya 's Pokémon was amazing. Despite their trainer being missing for six weeks, the myriad of saddled Pokémon lived their lives like wild Pokémon. The vast fields were upkept by herbivorous Pokémon grazing, while the carnivorous ones sought prey from the surrounding lands. ollie morales had brought to Josh's attention that this was causing a major environmental disruption in Petalburg Woods and the areas surrounding it. On top of that, the unattended Pokémon would be a goldmine for Rockets. He wouldn't be surprised if there were already some unaccounted for.

The Head Ranger had authorized the deactivation and decoupling of the Poké Balls containing Shalin's Pokémon, so that they could be recaptured and taken to Elise Calcifet 's ranch for safekeeping. Several Rangers, including newcomer minjun hak , had been assigned to the task, and it was a gargantuan one. The jailed Petalburg Captain was in possession of nearly a hundred Pokémon. "Elite Ranger Devlin, but please, you can call me Josh," the commanding Ranger introduced himself and his Illumina Pyroar steed, Kovu. If minjun hak desired, he would be seated on one of the other ten Pyroar Josh had brought with him. Though most of their saddles were occupied with Cadet and Rookie Rangers, a few were vacant. "Had to bring quite a bit of Mauville's force here. Our goal is to round up and capture all of Shalin's Pokémon, then get them to Captain Elise Calcifet in Rustboro City. I'm going to be sending you a list of Shalin's entire roster - mark them off once you catch them. They shouldn't put up any resistance when they see us."

Josh had opened another trainer's eyes to Pokémon competing in more than contests of brawn. The lion pride was more than capable of hunting, but that was not their only skill. That their running had been refined to the point where they could ferry humans across Hoenn at extremely high speeds, yet not crush their passengers' spines from their exaggerated motion, showed that Pokémon could do almost anything under a trainer passionate enough about their craft. Not that their extreme speed didn't make them a unique threat in combat; that they could ram and take down even large prey made them menacing on the battlefield as well.

It did not take much to appreciate a mount that could tear anything beneath its rider to shreds.

The pride would slow to a high, but much more comprehensible speed after the effects of DOUBLE TEAM wore off. "I'm headed back to Mauville," Josh let Lisette know. "If you need a lift back there, let me know; otherwise, I gotta take Zira with me. If this was fun, drop by Mauville Gym sometime! She's but the tip of the iceberg." Whether lisette bellamy accepted or not, Josh and his team would make their way back toward the big city.

Shopping:

Type 1 Evolutions: 2 (200 PD)

Evolve Regulus the Larvesta to Volcarona (learns Quiver Dance for evolution)
Evolve gacha Cranidos to Rampardos

Type 2 Evolutions: 2 (50 PD)

Evolve Sparrow the Piplup to Prinplup

Type 3 Evolutions: 1 (50 PD)

Evolve Sparrow the Prinplup to Empoleon, learn Aqua Jet over Swagger as Evolution move

Level Tutors: 3 (3x Prismatic Penitentiary reward)

Kaboola the Drifblim learns Tailwind and Phantom Force
Enigma the Sigilyph learns Tailwind

TM/TR: 6 (360 PD)

Vulcan the Heatran learns Double Team
Kura the Druddigon learns Double Team
Gacha Rampardos learns Surf and Double Team
Kaboola the Drifblim learns Ally Switch (over Self-Destruct)
Serperior learns Trailblaze

Egg Tutor: 1 (Duplicitous Masquerade reward)

Kaboola the Drifblim learns Clear Smog (over Stockpile)

Move Tutor: 3 (2x Funtasia event reward; 1x PKMN HUNTER (Aug '22) reward)

Kura the Druddigon learns Gunk Shot
Serperior learns Aqua Tail
Serperior learns Defog (over Tackle)

Sparkling Dust x5

Sources:
01: The Border: JD
01: Ultra Plant: JM #2
01: Sparkling Spawning reward
01: Sleepless in Slateport (Dec '23)
01: RVL NPC Co-op Routes

Using this to UN-SHINY Enigma the Sigilyph

Total: 660 PD

The toxic web ensnared the ashen tiger, each of Swift's cries sounding like crashing thunder as the purple threads ensnared him. Electricity would not dissolve them; only strength. Strength that Josh's obsession with speed had robbed the Raikou of. The idealized legendary Pokémon, wrought in not what made him legendary to begin with, but what Josh desired him to be, grew increasingly helpless beneath the small spider's venomous web. With only one free leg, he could not buck and kick as hard as he needed to free himself from the Spinarak's clutches.

At the same time, Neon's dagger pierced the Spectrier's legs, bucking Josh off as she writhed in pain. With the ghost-type in no condition to battle, and the Champion recovering from his nasty fall, he left the Spectrier be in the moment. Crawling away from Neon, he turned his head toward his trapped Beast. "Swift!!" Josh called out, wincing as he watched his prized Pokémon struggle against both the venom and the adhesion of the web.

Josh's racing helmet came with ear protection not just built in, but it could be toggled, as well. Artificial noise cancelling was a wonderful piece of technology. "Alphamax's cocoon saddle is normally designed for a single rider. I'll need to make some adjustments to it for us to both fly." It was going to be dangerous for Josh, as Easter would have the cocoon's protection and the Leader wouldn't. Even so, it was the best way for the young scientist to get the experience she wanted, and Josh was confident in his own skills. On top of that, if he did fall, he had a myriad of flying Pokémon that could intercept him.

After tinkering with the Garchomp's gear, now only the front half of the seat was cocooned. "It'll be a little different for you. Once you're sitting on his saddle, wrap the hanging leather part around your legs and your waist, and zip it up," the Champion explained. "It's how a cocoon saddle keeps you from falling. Very important for riding most flying Pokémon."

Once they were both situated, Josh would go over the basics with Easter. "Is this your first time riding a flying Pokémon at all?" he asked with worry on his face. Garchomp was not an easy Pokémon to learn with, what with having to take into account many factors other Pokémon did not require.

Josh lurched backward in Kokusho's cocoon saddle as the Hydreigon took off in a powerful motion he was not used to. It had been almost six months since he had held the reins of the three-headed dragon, and with him still missing some mobility in his left arm, steering the behemoth would take a lot of re-acclimation. A reminder that soaring on the back of the dark-type dragon required equal strength from Pokémon and rider.

Once they were at altitude, all Josh needed to do was survey Route 104 for the golden-glowing Scyther that Rustboro's Rangers asked for his aid in scouting... and stay out of any searchlights coming from the Rocket-occupied Petalburg. Embers, cold mist, and sparks dripped from Kokusho's three heads as they turned toward Lash.

The news of Raikou and Swift being separate classifications of Pokémon was still a bit jarring for Josh to get used to. Hearing them made him debate changing Raikou's name to something else; having both a Raging Bolt and a Raikou on his team was bound to cause confusion in the event he needed to use both of them simultaneously.

Josh could understand Kat's confusion; even for him, it was a lot to take in once the Chasm had been opened up. "How much time have you spent within the RKS Simulation?" he asked the nurse. "There's a scenario within that will explain... a lot." The thought of Pokémon on par with legendary Pokémon in power just roaming Area Zero en masse was terrifying. It was part of the reason the Chasm was so dangerous. "That's right. While they're rare to find still, they are down here in numbers. You could probably catch one yourself if you looked hard enough."

Once introductions were out of the way, Aleph growing antsy around Kat and shooting her a threatening glance, Josh was ready to lead Kat back to the surface. "I haven't had any success using a teleporting Pokémon in here," he frowned before noticing the Type: Null's unwanted behavior. "Aleph, she doesn't mean any harm. You don't have to point your claws at everything that moves, you know?" Turning his head back toward Kat, Josh apologized for his Pokémon's behavior. "Aleph and I are still trying to understand one another. We've known each other for a year now, and it still feels like I've made little progress with him." Raikou was much more friendly, the Raging Bolt at ease within Area Zero. He seemed as controllable as a normal Pokémon. "With teleporting being a challenge, do you have a ride Pokémon of your own?" Josh asked.