If Virizion's relationship with Lam was anything like Swift's with Josh, they would be mirror images of one another. "That sounds really exciting! My first race with Swift," the Master of Faster replied upon seeing the Sacred Sword's proudly-held head. They knew of Josh's speed bent, too; after all, Josh had once sat upon the grass-type legendary Pokémon. "Let's figure out a good date for it! I think it would help you two get to know one another better, as well." Little did he realize just how long any race they agreed to would be delayed by a tragic injury.

As Oldale came on the horizon, the sun began to set behind the woods, making it grow dark quickly. "Geez, it's already this late?" he asked no one in particular. "I probably won't make it back home until after dark. Might have to get some lodging in Oldale and make it back to Mauville tomorrow. Thankfully I don't have to go into work tomorrow!"

Mauville's three-tiered cityscape was just as much of a marvel from the outside as it was the inside. The surrounding landscape to the east was one of the most diverse in the entire region. To the southeast, a picturesque beach found only here and in the region's remote islands. To the northeast, a grassland bordering the rainforest to Fortree. Far to the east, a vast wetland with the longest single road in Hoenn cutting through it.

Perhaps the reason for AISLING O'CONNOR 's Flareon being so fired up was seeing one of the city's local celebrities riding astride another Flareon that was just as big as they were. It was Mauville's Gym Leader, Josh Devlin , and he was surrounded by seven other equally-large Eeveelutions that all wore saddles. Those who were local may have known the racing-ready Pokémon well, for they were part of a special variation of his Gym Challenge few got to experience.

Josh had done enough chase-downs for Law Enforcement that he knew the signs of intoxication well. Slurred speech, a certain odor, and the like. There was nothing criminal about being intoxicated, as long as one wasn't behind the wheel or in the saddle of a Pokémon while above the legal limit. "Mauville can be difficult to get used to after it modernized," Josh admitted, "just because there's no other city I know of that has had to build up instead of out like this. Castelia's the closest I know of, but even then, they don't have entire networks of roads stacked on top of one another." It was truly a marvel of modern engineering that multiple urban layers could be built on top of one another. The bottom two levels were almost like a gigantic parking garage, only the top level exposed to the elements.

With the offer accepted, Josh would take a seat at a table next to the bar. "You'll enjoy it. It's some of the best Unovan cuisine in Hoenn. Not exactly cheap, but the price is very reasonable for the quality you get." No matter where one went in Hoenn, one couldn't go wrong with bar food.

As powerful as Voja's claws and fangs were, the Alolan dragon remained standing. The dark-type's unceasing aggression would continue, raking at the grass-type until it drove the Mightyena into the dirt with a WOOD HAMMER. Shaking and helpess, what with two of her legs pounded into the dirt, Josh sighed and recalled the exhausted, whimpering Pokémon.

"You're a lot stronger than I anticipated you would be," Josh answered as he reached for his belt. Before he could detach one of them, Aleph would bolt toward Hunu's Pokémon, leaping toward it with outstretched claws and talons in a brutal-looking X-SCISSOR.

That was a little more than a small fall; Braver was huge. So big that the Arcanine had to crouch for Josh to climb onto him. And yet, she seemed to take it with stride. What a tough girl! The scientific analogy caught Josh off guard; he had never heard of a beginning rider's experience quite that way, but understood the gist of it. "The world needs more quick learners like you. With instincts and intuition like yours, there's nothing you won't be able to do if you put your mind and body to it."

Braver took off as fast as a trot could carry him without going into the long and powerful strides his species was known for. As much as the cocoon functioned like training wheels on a bicycle, it was both a great tool for beginners and an important safety mechanism for experienced riders looking to push the giant dog's speed to his limits. "Isn't it rewarding? Once you get a Pokémon of your own, you'll have the freedom to travel wherever you want, when you want."

With the lesson over, Josh guided Absinthe to the Gym's rear entrance. "There was one more thing I was going to go over with you. If you hold the reins then flick your wrists to send a pulse down them, the Pokémon will jump. But I'll leave that for you to practice. You're welcome to come down here in between Gym challenges if you want!"

"Be there as soon as I can!" Josh replied, wheeling Ecco around to get to the mostly-flooded second level. The Palafin began charging at weakened wooden doors, Silverio likely able to hear the impacts. The loudest would be the one surrounding his cabin. Once he confirmed they were there, Josh and the Palafin took a few seconds to refresh their air supply. Keiga and Kairi waited outside before paddling to the couple's aid one at a time. He urgently waved them out of the almost completely flooded floor to higher ground, though the Kingdra and Vaporeon made sure not to swim uncomfortably fast.

By the time they had left, the floor above them was also beginning to leak water. It seemed the entire ship would be submerged before long. "Do you think they can handle a ride back to Dewford?" Josh asked Silverio, the cadet being more familiar with the victims' condition. "Otherwise I'll have to call for a team to airlift them out!"

Braking while flying downward was one of the most challenging flight maneuvers in the Gym Leader's arsenal. It was easy for his mount's wings to catch too much air and soar too high. Thankfully, there would be little danger in crashing, with Togekiss having the ability to float and hover. Pulling back on Mastema's reins and pushing his body weight into him, Josh turned his Pokémon more vertical, purposefully inducing drag.

Once the course leveled out again, the shaking Champion likewise did so, able to feel his Pokémon exhale. Holding such an odd flight angle while maintaining lift seemed harder on the Pokémon than he had anticipated, signaling that he needed to let the Togekiss catch his breath instead of trying to make a move on the long straightaway to the start of the last lap. As the hairpin turn approached, Josh guided his partner toward the left, then silently commanded a hard right bank to round it.

With ACE SHEEKE and ERON IUNIS trailing by a substantial margin, there were three Pokémon in contenion for the top spot as the penultimate lap's final turn loomed ahead. It was a tough one, being both narrow and sharp. Josh Devlin followed challenger Lutgarde Dijkstra 's line closely, planning to use his TOGEKISS' stronger banking ability to catch up and make a pass.

In a cruel twist of fate, his challenger's turn was as late as possible, leaving Josh with insufficient time to react. By the time he could bank, his TOGEKISS' underside was already scraping against the large "right turn" sign curving along the overland track's outer wall, robbing the Gym Leader of a lot of speed. So much that ARAVAN ESCHER and his NOIVERN flapped past them with a chattering cry.

As the white flag waved, were Lutgarde Dijkstra to peer back, they would see not the Gym Leader on their tail, but a Noivern that looked determined to overtake them!

The fans cheered loudly as the white flag waved to the side of the starting arch; it was the last time around the track! For the final lap of the race, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 170, before modifiers are applied.

Prompt: After two laps, the course's maze of curves prior to the Aero Dive had become quite familiar to all the Pokémon involved in the challenge. The gates forming course bounds had been reversed for the final lap, making the back-and-forth turns a mirror image of what they were on the first and second laps! How would the Pokémon and racers handle the higher speed alongside conflicting muscle memory?

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: None

Josh hummed and hawed over the consideration that Vespa had a Ditto. Whatever Pokémon Josh had that was best for the task, they could have two. "Then how about this one?" he asked before clicking the switch on Vayu's Poké Ball, a saddled Corviknight flying out of it and landing on the small island with a metallic thud and a screech. "Vayu was the Pokémon I was planning on using to haul the largest pieces to one place, where they could be loaded by another team on standby." He would need to take care not to rupture anything with his giant talons, but the steel-type was more than experienced in moving heavy, sensitive machinery around. He had even helped Bora move entire sets of bleachers around at the Gym when both of the metal birds were alive.

As Josh climbed back aboard Kairi, ready to ride in the opposite direction he sent Vayu off, he noticed Aleph attempting to goad The Squad into a sparring match, extending his CRUSH CLAWS outward. The Gym Leader rolled his eyes. "Come on, Aleph, we have to focus. Maybe after we're done here, you and her Falinks can go a few rounds." He turned toward Vespa. "Sorry about that. Aleph's strong, but he can be a bit... moody."

Josh could feel Megalo's muscles tensing; he could feel how tired the Milotic was from the strain of the mid-distance swim. One nasty turn separated them from glory... but he was in tight traffic. Resheph was in front of him, and the challenger's Milotic behind him. As much as he wanted to have the Pokémon swing to the outside and blast through the two corners, he knew better. There was one thing he could do to get by traffic, but it came with a great risk.

"Down, Megalo!" Josh ordered, pushing onto his scales in front of the saddle. The water-type submerged, giving him a good look at Resheph's swishing swimming stroke. The fog of the marine environment made anticipating the curves more challenging, but if he could time the two turns correctly, he could claim second place! With confident tugs back and forth, Josh steered the cream-colored serpent around the course-defining chicane.

The three serpents competing for the final remaining two podium spots reached peak form going into the final hazardous turn. all of them taking different approaches. ERON IUNIS and his DRAGONAIR remained on the inside, the Kantonian dragon winding through the curve effortlessly and with minimal speed loss. Elaine Highland 's approach was much more conservative, keeping a steady pace and giving her MILOTIC the maximum amount of time to swerve around the two corners at a wide angle. Her technique saw her through with almost no speed loss, rapidly gaining on the white-haired man and leaving Josh Devlin behind them both. Though she had a slight lead on him for now, Dragonair were at their strongest in sprints, and the final straightaway was coming.

By the time they had rounded the corner, ACE SHEEKE and his FLOATZEL were already in the air, propeller-tails forming a cone of wind behind them as they whirled loudly enough to make a buzzing noise. With one more push, he might be able to break his own course record. Fatther back, only ARAVAN ESCHER's diehard fans watched the PRIMARINA graze the inner wall of the chicane. Though they would finish the race, the fairy-type did not seem to be competitive with the rest of the field. Perhaps the Gym Leader would need to fix that with a few training sessions...

Prompt: The home stretch was all that remained, an official standing near the starting arch and waving the checkered flag. There was little risk of an accident on this straight sprint to the finish! Now was the best opportunity for the five Pokémon to give it everything they had!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

This was exactly what Laurence Anderson had warned Josh about, and why not to be involved with the supernatural. The DROUGHT strong enough to suppress even Kyogre's primal rains could only come from one source: the land titan present near the Elite Four. He felt betrayed. ENVIOUS thanks to PENELOPE LIVY 's influence. HATEFUL thanks to jayden cross 's. Why him? Why were the League's upper echelons distrusting of him? Was it as the Coveted said?

Was Josh's rise to Champion Rank a fluke? Had kyle lopez and the Great One been wrong to entrust him with the Johtonian god of speed?

The dark-types' ruinous influence dimmed the Great One's holy light within him, Josh grunting and falling as Swift's REFLECT shattered. "Thanks for the save, Captain," he exhaled, slowly and shakily getting to his feet. Were it not for his aggressively paced rehab, one of the many healers the League had may have had to airlift him off the battlefield. It was a sign that he, indeed, was growing stronger.

That ENVY and HATRED grew as the DROUGHT suppressed even the heavy rains, now DESOLATE LAND drying out the air around them. "Matias, you LIED TO ME!!" Josh spat toward the Volatile. "Why did you lie to me?!" When this was over, he would have words with the Elite Four. And jayden cross wasn't stopping him. He remembered that snow cat's aura of HATRED well from his trips to THE BORDER. From fighting the Marshadow that once belonged to Kyle, the fighting-type skillfully holding snowy reins.

This snow cat was no steed. It was a hunter, preying upon the negativity that it had induced in the foes that surrounded it. Josh Devlin included.

"You!!" Josh pointed toward jayden cross . "Swift--"

Before Josh could command his Beast to do anything, the distant Resheph had heard her trainer's screaming. Returning from her sea patrols, she saw the danger he and his allies were in. The reckless serpent hurtled toward jayden cross with EXTREME SPEED in an effort to intercept the attack and keep Matias safe. Her draconic body would do little to keep her face from the Avatar's icy weapon, the Dragonair writhing about the point of impact. "Resheph!" he cried, reaching for the Dragonair's Poké Ball and attempting to withdraw her, only to be denied by Zev Harcourt 's Necrozma's Z-MOVE: DARKNESS THAT COVERS THE WORLD.

Encased within the dome of RUINATION, Josh couldn't even see what was going on around jayden cross , Chien-Pao, and his precious Dragonair. Unbeknownst to him, the combination of ice and darkness had sapped every bit of life force the dragon-type had. When the smoke cleared, he would see the blackened, bloodied husk of one of his favorite Pokémon before him.

That would mark the second Pokémon cruelly taken from him today.

PENELOPE LIVY 's words seemed to burn in the air around Josh, oozing closer and closer to him until they became seared upon his eyeballs. It was as though Chi-Yu itself swam within Josh's mind, driving him to become ENVIOUS of Navy . The man the League picked over him. In a way, it felt like he was kyle lopez 's handpicked successor into the AQUA Initiative.

Was this why kyle lopez entrusted Josh with Swift the Sacred Ash Raikou? Because he had no one else that had the knowledge, the passion, and the level of skill needed to wield the legendary Pokémon? Was it a mistake for him and the Great One to bestow the Beast upon him? Despite having known each other for almost five months, the Johtonian god of speed had only around a quarter of his potential unlocked under Josh.

Was he, in reality, not a compatible partner for the Raikou?

"With all due respect, Councilwoman, if it's because of the Eris Halla incident, you're being petty. I did my time for that. I repented. I know about the W.A.T.E.R. OPS in Sea Mauville; we'll be working together. I could have worked with anyone else, but I chose to specifically work with her. Why? Because I want to do what I can to prove to her that I'm not the monster she claims me to be."

The Pokémon battle seemed to be on hold, Swift distracted by and even intently listening to the conversation between Champion and Councilwoman. It was the true battle.

Eris had even said it herself. There was nothing he could do to mend their relationship with one another. Nothing he could do would be good enough. Those feelings of inadequacy... he had thought they had all been burned away in the funeral pyre of his past self. Had a shred of self-doubt still flickered in his mind, the Avatar stoking its flames?

That final blow left Josh paralyzed in his own weakness. Were kyle lopez to see him in this state, he would be one disappointed man. Perhaps the Great One would even revoke their blessing, Swift forever reduced to ash. The more he tried to resist, the more his blood boiled. Even burned within him. He began to shake uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the re-emergence of a negative emotion he thought he had quashed when Ho-oh had returned his Pokémon team from banishment.

"So despite all I've given for the League... for Mauville... you still don't trust me?!"

Josh whistled when Razz brought Indigo into and out of his Poké Ball. "I knew they could transform like that, but this is my first time seeing it happen in person," the Champion admitted. "Ecco doesn't do that when I bring him back to his Poké Ball. He must be built differently." Was it an understanding that the Palafin was more appreciated in his fish-like form instead of his human-like form? It was something even Josh didn't fully understand.

As the Illumina Milotic gleamed bright as a star, Josh having to shield his eyes briefly while they adjusted to her luminosity, he complimented the Head Ranger. "You've got a lot of strong Pokémon. I've got a couple of Crystablooms floating around from last Halloween. I might make some Pokémon of mine Illumina. Maybe one of my Pyroar." Little was he aware that such a transformation would render the lion incompatible with his Sygna Suit.

Putting on his aquatic gear as well, Josh and Keiga dove, Illumina helping light the way alongside the serpentine water-type. While it would take some time for them to safely sink to where the ship was, it would not take him long after that to point out their makeshift entrance in the hull, leading them to the engine room. Getting to where the Mega Stones were stored might be more work than he thought...

Eris' presumption that Josh did something he shouldn't have couldn't have been further from the truth; those Horsea were trapped within a cave that had been blocked by the wreckage. Without his help, they would have perished over time inside. After what felt like an eternity, she addressed Josh with a simple inquiry. After a deep breath, he would give his update, now that he had her attention.

"All these Horsea were trapped inside an underwater cave that got blocked off when a vessel crashed. Most of them are okay, but there a few lagging behind. Do you have a Pokémon that can patch any of them up? If not, I can make arrangements for other Rangers to take care of it. I'm going back down to seal the cave shut. Make sure nothing else can get trapped in there until the salvage team comes and does their work."

With that, Josh and his Kingdra submerged to the underwater floor once again. His two aquatic Dragon-types worked together in using more of the wreckage to create a seal around the cave entrance. While it wasn't a snug fit, any large Pokémon wouldn't be able to enter it, and even smaller Pokémon would have to be deliberate about it. If Eris needed assistance, she would be able to easily convince the Leader's Mantine to help out in any way possible.