Josh had only been to the region a handful of times, though their cuisine was popular throughout the world. "You won't be disappointed," Josh reiterated. "Their steakburgers are so good. I'll be getting one myself." Their half-pound patty would fill even the most stout of bellies, and leave plenty to be reheated for ones that could be filled with less. There were so many other great menu items, as well; the steakhouse's cooks truly put their heart into it. It, and the Gym Leader being a regular, drove business quite a bit.

Once their orders were in, the black-haired man at last introduced himself. "Great to meet you, Valerie! Elite Ranger Devlin and Champion Devlin are my former titles, but you can call me Josh! I'm also this city's Gym Leader, the Master of Faster!" Aravan shook his head in the background, disapproving of his boss's boisterous greeting.

Even Swift's very entrance was highly destructive; the entire lab went dark from every lightbulb illuminating it shattering at once. Even Josh himself gasped in awe; this was his first time seeing the true power of his element. When he first commanded the Beast to attack Cyllora, it was with raw physical might powered by unfathomable speed.

It was that awe and respect for the Johtonian god of speed, even in his ashen form, that allowed NIKOLA SAMSA and their familiar Hisuian Typhlosion to disappear into the shadows. Their face seemed familiar, too, though the Gym Leader couldn't quite put the Rocket's former identity together. Though he had accomplished his mission of disrupting the Rockets' lab, he left with more questions than answers.

And he was certain the two would meet again.

Josh's face was beaming when he heard of Elise's progress with her fear of insects. "I'm so proud of you. I remember when you wouldn't get near even one of the smaller ones." He expected a Flygon would help quite a bit; being atop the insect dragon was a great way for Josh to prepare for flying on his own Beedrill, King Zing. "Was it fun? I have my own Beedrill and Flygon with me, too."

With the Hare King's acceptance, Josh would click open Kion's Poké Ball, the large male perhaps being familiar to Elise for being the very fastest of his pride. "That's so sad... those three look like they're made for each other," he remarked, knowing how hard she had to hunt for both of the Galarian king's precious steeds. "I hope you can get to the bottom of it soon. You ready?" he asked. Were she to be so, Josh would kick at Eriette's sides, his Spectrier accelerating up Route 116's slight incline. The rest of his Pokémon followed, though they lacked the power the ghostly horse had.

"I'll call you Bella, then!" Josh replied with a smile, Nala's lustrous head tilting toward her. "I've got a younger cousin named Bella. She's still in Johto. Couldn't make the move to Hoenn." He remained silent as she approached Blitz, the Shiny Luxray crouching if necessary to let the fellow Ranger aboard. "My pride are all well-trained! They won't buck or bite," he assured her. What they would do is purr.

Were Bella to hop on, the electric lion would run his motor, perhaps making it feel like she was on a living motorcycle. "Have you ever been on a Pokémon before?" the Elite asked her. "The reins in front of you are how you steer, and your legs are how you control speed." It was the very basics, but he would be more than willing to go over them with her if need be. He did that at his Gym on a routine basis -- it was part of what he taught prospective challengers not quite ready to throw down!

A neutral expression would accompany keyboard tapping. "That's okay; it seems like has an opening coming up in about fifteen minutes. While we're waiting, I can check you in," the receptionist offered. "Can I see your Trainer ID, please?" Whether it was a real one or a fake one, it would see the Harlequin through to a meeting with the Gym Leader. "Through these doors are Mauville Racing Grounds. Follow the signs to Sector 1, and you should see him."

Provided Jecht was able to do so, he would easily find Josh astride Blinky, a Jolteon that was nearly at the limit of how large genetics could make the Eeveelution. The saddled and bridled electric-type tilted her head toward the harlequin, the Gym Leader in her seat remaining silent until he came closer.

Flying to Rustboro and Dewford was no longer an option for Josh. With Rocket's eyes in the skies all around Petalburg, the Gym Leader was too juicy of a target. That meant his only way to get to Rustboro, when he had business with Captain Elise Calcifet , was to take Rusturf Tunnel there. He had picked up a Ranger ticket, too; a young trainer with a Poliwag had become lost on the first underground level of the tunnel and could not get out on his own. With his exact coordinates known, someone had to simply recover the trainer and his Pokémon and get them both back to Rustboro City.

It was a perfect job for Arabella Trovato and the Master of Faster.

"Thanks," Josh replied with slightly lowered eyebrows, his Shiny Illumina Pyroar steed lightly growling. "but I'm single and not looking." Bringing the lioness to a stop, he formally introduced himself. "Elite Ranger Devlin or Champion Devlin, but please, call me Josh. Arabella, if I remember your name from the ticket? It's great to meet you." Behind Nala were several other feline Pokémon, their saddles perhaps beckoning Arabella aboard. Though there was another Pyroar and a Shiny Luxray that seemed more capable, a Purugly the size of a small horse may have caught her interest, too!

Not only were Spectrier typically wild, but they were breathtakingly fast. They were perhaps the fastest equine Pokémon out there. He recalled the first time he rode one with Remiel Calcifet . Now, he had one of his own to command. "Great to see you, too!" Josh waved, Eriette snorting toward the Captain and Llamrei. "I'm just glad you were able to transfer to Rustboro instead of Petalburg. Otherwise, you could well have wound up captured instead of her."

Hearing that most of Shalin's Pokémon were okay made Josh smile all the more, on top of the princess working with the Beedrill. "She's such a sweetheart, too. I never thought I'd say it, but that's a Beedrill that gives really good hugs. Have you ridden her yet? I don't really care for the vibrations, but she seemed to love it when I flew on her the one time." The Gym Leader faced eastward, ready to get going down the longest highway in Hoenn. "I'm excited; this is going to be my first truly fast ride since being in jail. I've got the new king and queen from the coronation on my belt, too, if Charles wants a ride!"

The Gym lobby's interior décor reinforced the Gym Leader's love of Raikou. The ceilings were dark as storm clouds, the wall colors bright as lightning. It was as though the entire lobby was a giant love letter to the Johtonian god of speed, Raikou. Jecht would not be able to locate Josh right away; only his secretary on duty, KEVIN STROUSSER. The young man looked somewhat blue, for it was his last week before being furloughed. With the war going on, business simply was not what it used to be.

"Good morning, sir," Kevin greeted the entertainer. "What's the name on the appointment?" Were Jecht to look outside through the sliding glass doors and the windows behind the desk, he would be able to see a vast racing complex, full of courses designed to test Pokémon that traversed land, sea, and sky. A myriad of Pokémon, dressed to bear the weight of a trainer, frolicked about the grounds.

The war was growing a bit too close to home. With Petalburg having fallen, there was only one city between Rocket and Mauville, one of the most strategically-placed towns on the mainland. Were it to fall, Rocket would have a stranglehold on supply lines throughout Hoenn's mainland. If he wanted to defend his city, he needed to use every weapon he had against them. Including his newest one, Eriette the Spectrier. The ghost-type was almost unique among Josh's Pokémon, the only other one on his entire roster able to carry him into the ethereal being his Dragapult. It was a highway he needed to be able to traverse during high stress situations as the war progressed.

And what better person to practice with than ex-Gym employee and ghost-type specialist Elise Calcifet ?

Expecting to meet up with her at Rustboro's east gate, he didn't see her right away. Setting Eriette's reins down and reaching for his well-protected phone, Josh sent the Captain a text message:

Hey, Elise! I'm outside Rustboro's east gate. Ready for a ride to Verdanturf and back, like we planned?

The younger stranger appreciated Josh's title, one he was proud to come up with while he was still in the Minor League awaiting promotion. "Thanks! I felt like it has a nice ring to it, heh," he chuckled as the rest of the pride joined in on the fun, Aleph too busy locking claws with a Mr. Rime's ICE SHARDS.

At Lisette's request, Zira crouched, offering her back to the younger lady. "Hop right on!" the Gym Leader offered. Were she to take her seat, she would see the lioness' red reins neatly hanging from the front end of the saddle, ready to be held in her hands. "Is this your first time on a Pokémon at all?" he asked, trying to gauge how much she knew on the subject.

Because Matias didn't trust him? If he was still Groudon's Avatar, then was he still under the influence of the RED ORB? There was no point in answering such a question; he doubted he would get a truthful answer to begin with.

The revelation of there being a mole within the League made Josh's eyebrows rise. "I've suspected there might be a mole myself. Even now knowing that they were modified Kanto Rocket posters, it was unlike the League to pull such a stunt and divide its members. Elise Calcifet , one of my best Gym trainers, resigned over the false directive." Granted, she had other things going on in her life, as well, but that wasn't the relevant part.

"And on top of that, the way the war's been handled so far, going right into the belly of the enemy like that was such an obvious trap. And we lost Petalburg, and Captain Shalin Nariya , over it. She is an equally valuable asset to the League... and we have no idea where she's at." Trying to read into Matias, she may have just been collateral damage in his eyes. A necessary sacrifice. "But I digress. I'm not as familiar with the League's upper echelons as you. But I highly doubt the mole is you. You may have lost control of the Red Orb, but you seemed in complete control in Sootopolis."

Josh kept his pride to a walk so that Nick could keep up easily, Tazama keeping her keen eyesight squarely on Solomon even as the Braviary became small from her perspective. While Rocket was busy with the reconstruction of Petalburg, they would be remiss not to have a few patrols about. Thankfully, Nick had the common sense to wait until night to take off. "Just make sure he stays out of any spotlights. We aren't equipped to engage with Rocket like this. If Solomon gets spotted, we abort. We don't want to add ourselves to the list of victims. They already have the city's Ranger Captain as leverage; they don't need more."

Once Nick had confirmed Solomon had found something, Tazama quickly caught up to him and purred powerfully to try to get his attention. Provided the cadet would stop, the large and muscular female would crouch and offer her back to him, her saddle perhaps beckoning Nick to accept the offer.

With how close the two were to Petalburg, an Illumina Pokémon would only attract undue attention. Reining Kovu to a stop, Josh withdrew both him and Nala, landing on the ground after falling through the space the lion king stood in. Waving for Nuka, the largest of his lions, the Gym Leader gave him a gentle pat, the giant crouching and letting Josh take to his back. Their size was breathtaking; they were about as big as Arcanine!

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."