At the beginning of August, Josh had been cleared by his doctor to ride a limited number of water Pokémon, both on the surface and beneath the waves. He had been advised to avoid Pokémon with great undulations in their bodies when swimming. This eliminated a lot of Pokémon, including Resheph, one of his favorite water types. Restricted to Pokémon with smooth swimming strokes, he had to get a bit creative with his roster.

"That should buy us some time," Josh nodded, clicking the switch on the Poké Ball containing Illumina the Lanturn. "It might get a bit dark down there. She should be able to help us see." Without too many more words, he waded into the shallow water, walking into the water-type and pulling himself onto the fish's saddle. "And if there starts to be a collapse, don't worry about it. Snacker, my Sharpedo, will be able to chew us a way out. You got an aquatic ride? You're gonna want one."

The receptionist, a young man in his early twenties, directed balor sen and his team up the elevator to the third floor office. Were the guest to knock on the double doors and enter, he would find it quite spacious. A mainframe computer had once been housed in its center. Now, it looked like a large family room or study, complete with bookcases lined with books on the topics of fast Pokémon, legendary Pokémon, and the Champion Assessments of various regions. On a series of shelves in one corner was a staggering display of Raikou memorabilia: plush, plastic figures, trading cards, and the like.

On the north side, overlooking a series of glass panes that allowed for a great view of the Racing Grounds proper, was a Ride-On Raikou plush that was not quite life-sized. Occupying its seat was a black-haired young man that didn't seem to notice Balor yet. He seemed to be lost in thought while he was waiting for a series of videos the League requested to be uploaded. He really needed to switch providers to a fiber network, didn't he?

Josh chuckled back at the coincidences of them running into one another. "At this point, we should probably just exchange contacts. When we're out of the water, of course! Couldn't have my phone getting wet." He did have special comms devices he could requisition through the Rangers in the event of an underwater operation, but they weren't needed here. "You picked a good day to do it; the heat is chasing away a lot of the more casual visitors... and people who can't saddle a water Pokémon."

A sly smile grew on Josh's face as Airi asked him about his Lanturn. "This goes back to... Mauville Gym. I told you the place is a Pokémon racing complex, didn't I? Well, I only really catch Pokémon that I can strap a saddle to. If it's not big enough or strong enough, I won't catch it!" There were, of course, a few exceptions; Amp the Toxtricity helped with Josh's sound setup, and Zaborg the Zeraora was a riding buddy. He was a Shiny thundercat that fought by riding on Josh's other Pokémon. Quite the unique fighting style for such a creature.

"As for her size..." Josh trailed off, bracing himself for a wave in the distance, "How much do you know about Space-Time Distortions?" he asked. They used to be frequent, but had become more scarce of late.

Josh whistled upon hearing Airi's tenure. "I'll be two years next month," he related his own length of employment. "And no problem at all. I get riders of all ages and skill levels at Mauville Gym. I've got a Furret named Wiley that's especially good with kids. He's got a U-Turn that keeps even me sharp, though; riding him isn't easy!" For those who hadn't seen Wiley, it could have been hard to believe a Furret that grew big enough for a human to ride, even if they leaned low enough on it to reduce their effective height.

"Due to the nature of Mauville Gym, business is seasonal," Josh explained as he saw an Unfezant take off from its nest, teaching the Pidove hatchlings how to fly. "Since Kyurem took a dump on Hoenn's climate, we've had more extreme weather instead of a usual tropical climate. The Gym's only really busy in the spring and fall; in the winter, it gets cold enough that I have to close the water courses, and in the summer, I have to limit hours because of how hot it gets. It's definitely eaten into profits." Mauville Racing Grounds may have received public funding by virtue of being a Gym, but it was also an independently-registered business. As such, he enjoyed profits that started to take him up the rungs of the upper class. He could make more money per hour at his business than doing Ranger work. Why did he continue to do Ranger work, then?

He enjoyed it. He had a passion for it. And he wanted to, most importantly, save lives.

"I became a Gym Leader the September before last. Mauville Racing Grounds is actually Mauville City's largest small business; we have around 40 employees." There had been rumors of an IPO floating around Column Street for quite some time, though Josh vehemently denied those claims. Being a small business, he preferred to answer to his employees and customers over anything else. An IPO would mean answering to shareholders.

The approach Ghost took was largely nonviolent; it was only when the sonic dragons employed violence did the Ranger retaliate in kind. That was a big thumbs up for the candidate. Thankfully he was far away enough from the Boomburst that he didn't have to cover his ears, but it was still loud enough to be clearly heard.

Once the second dragon storm had been routed, Josh came a little closer to Ghost, though still tailing by quite the distance. Pinky gently rubbed the Elite Ranger with her feelers, making him relax amidst what turned out to be quite a tense operation. Two down, and one to go. The last storm of dragons didn't seem to be out in the open at all. If Ghost wanted to find them, he would have to go hunting for them.

Silv had forgotten one thing, and Josh had to a lesser extent: as extensive as their mission objectives were, apprehending any artist of foul play was not one of them. "I smell it, too," Josh whispered back. "But we're losing focus. We need to find them and get them back. We can file our concerns with HQ when we debrief. For now, we need to do what we were asked to do."

It would not take them long to find their victim and what was antagonizing their victims: an aggressive Blaziken standing atop the young man and woman, pinning them down. Several frightened-looking Torchic were running around in a panic. As soon as the fighting-type spotted Josh turning a corner, the wild stared at him menacingly, not at all afraid of the lion Pokémon around him.

Keldeo let out a wail as Zacian's BEHEMOTH BLADE loudly sparked against the water-type's SACRED SWORD. His lips opened to reveal gnashing teeth, standing up to Ascalon's strength with everything he had. The young swordsman began sweating profusely, his leg muscles convulsing harshly as he struggled to stand against the fae-wrought sword's brutal weight. His resolution fell short, cleaving through the light of the horn-blade.

The legendary wolf's blade continued to bear down upon Keldeo until Swift came to the rescue, a psychic shield slowing its descent for a critical split second needed to back away. The Raikou bore the full brunt of the BEHEMOTH BLADE, an eruption of ash flying outward in the direction of Ascalon's slash. Swift disintegrated before returning to the RAINBOW FEATHER. "Swift!!" Josh cried, Saber barking in an effort to redouble his trainer's focus.

For Keldeo was still out there, all by his lonesome.

Rearing so high that his back pointed almost completely vertical, a HYDRO PUMP helix left his exposed hooves directly for Zacian's face.

SURVEY #1

"When you think of the late champion, what memory spurs?"[break][break]

(SUBMITTED BY Josh Devlin )

"The day he came to my Gym on my birthday and let me ride on Swift's back the first time. Even now, when I can do it at will, it's an experience I'll never forget. There was just something magical about it."

SURVEY #2

"What comes after attaining the rank of a champion?"[break][break]

(SUBMITTED BY Josh Devlin )

"Even for Champions, improvement doesn't stop. The role of a Champion is to serve and protect the region that one Champions. I want to continue improving as a Trainer, to grow in strength and shore up my weakness, so that I can protect as many people as I can. On both sides of the aisle. Just like the late Champion and the Great One have given me a chance to repent, everyone deserves such a chance. Only those who refuse to repent deserve a true Champion's wrath."

SURVEY #3

"Do you think the late champion would act unconstrained in the advent of war? Why or why not?"[break][break]

(SUBMITTED BY Josh Devlin )

"No. He and the Great One would show mercy to those who repent. An unconstrained Champion would be no better than a war hero who defends his nation but not his people. What is a nation with no people to occupy it? A slab of rotten badlands. The Great One offers forgiveness to those who truly, genuinely seek it. Those who do not seek forgiveness from the bottom of their hearts shall die in the pyre of the Beasts' rebirth. That is what the Scriptures say."

SURVEY #4

"Should he appear during this campaign, would you rather have him rush straight to the war without preparation or let him adjust to the changes of the fast-paced world first?"[break][break]

(SUBMITTED BY Josh Devlin )

"If there is one thing the Champion has learned from me, I would hope that it is rushing in sparks blazing doesn't always get the job done. Rocket believes the late Champion is truly dead. I never believed that he died in the first place. Appearing without a plan will accomplish nothing. Even if it is in the region's most dire hour, the Great One and Her Avatar will emerge and deliver Hoenn -- League and Rocket -- from evil, for the Glory of Her Kingdom to come."

SURVEY #5

"If you could change something about the late champion’s life, what would it be?"[break][break]

(SUBMITTED BY Josh Devlin )

"If I could change one thing about the late Champion, it would be convincing him to take care of himself, too. He always took care of others at his own expense, to the point where he died in place of another. For as much as he championed others, he needed to champion himself, too. Just a little. Enough to take care of himself... and keep himself alive and well. It's something I struggle with, too. It's so easy to forget to take care of yourself when your job is to protect an entire region. But if you don't fight for yourself, too... you can't fight for anyone."

SURVEY #6

"Return? Y/N"

Y

While a Claydol would be functional for getting there, it sounded uncomfortable, and it would certainly be slow. "I got you covered. How does Blinky look?" he asked Montgomery, clicking open a Poké Ball containing the giant-looking Jolteon that Mauville Gym was known for. She was one of eight Eeveelutions close to, if not at, the limit that their genetic code would allow for. The Jolteon's saddle covered most of her back to accommodate her vigorous gait, and there was even a guard in front of it to keep a rider from flying into her quills. "If you think you're too tall for her, I can let you aboard Saber instead."

Regardless of travel arrangements, Josh would lead the way to their destination. "Had to deal with Galvantula before?" he asked. "They can be a bit tricky to handle, especially without fire Pokémon. They're great for battling bug-types, but not without a water Pokémon to put out the fire. And water Pokémon could easily get cooked by latent static from so many of them."

Raikiri and Josh were made for each other. He had so many electric feline Pokémon that his Gym may as well have been a cat preserve. How many cat Pokémon roamed the grounds now? Close to twenty? It showed just how much the crazy Gym Leader loved Pokémon that could go fast... and using that talent to keep Hoenn's citizens safe. "That reminds me, Elise Calcifet has a Zeraora that runs on all fours, just like Raikiri. We were going to race each other in the Spring, then... the whole abduction happened, and my arm got messed up." Once it was feeling better, he would have to make good on that meeting they had planned. The one where they would race each other. Maybe Swift could get in on the race, too.

Josh, likewise, had many. Out of the paradox Pokémon resembling Johtonian and Unovan legendary Pokémon, he owned five. Seeing Shalin's Iron Leaves prance about, he wasn't sure how well he would handle something that agile. The twirling leaps the Virizion look-alike made seemed dizzying. He had ridden Virizion before with MATIAS SILPH , too. The last good memory he had of the Elite Four before he had become corrupted by the Red Shard. Virizion was just so agile -- too much so for him to handle. "One of these days, we should set up a Paradox Pokémon playdate," Josh suggested, if anything just to get Raikou, Entei, and Suicune together in a setting that wasn't his Gym or a battlefield. Though they weren't the real Johto Beasts, he treated them as such: among the most respected Pokémon on his team.

At the end of the meandering, rainbow path was the Tin Tower. Josh slid off Swift's back and creaked open the double doors, his legs trembling. "Admittedly, this is... the first time I've been inside the tower," he admitted, the monochrome Raikou's long fangs rumbling like thunder.

Perfection was a lofty standard. A standard that by its very nature was unattainable... or at least unsustainable. The war had taught him that. "No, Hideo, I haven't," Josh continued, slapping his hand against his knee. "I used to be like that. I wanted to be the hero that could save everyone. This war, though... it's truth in television... or more accurately, truth in literature. The hardest thing a hero has to learn is... they can't save everyone. But there is one person I am determined to save."

Excellent. It seemed that Hideo was there. "Then I'm sure you heard the story I told to the Calyrex that is now with Elise Calcifet . The story that took every bit of my force of will to tell him. It's about... my own skeleton in the closet." His heartbeat jumped. An email had been sent off about this, but it hit different telling it to his coworker in person.

"You know Eris Halla , right?"

Josh barely heard a familiar voice over the waves. Reining Illumina toward its source, he spotted AIRI WATANABE alight a Swampert, the two enjoying themselves as they followed him into deeper water, away from the younger trainers wading in the shallows. "Airi!" Josh waved back. "Didn't expect to run into you out here!" The Lanturn's light flashed a few times, though it wasn't as bright as it would be otherwise, what with the light of the cloudless sky masking it. "This is about the only thing you can do outside," he idly remarked as Illumina floated toward the Swampert, treading water lazily. "It's forecast to be so hot that I closed the Gym down for the next few days. It's supposed to be in the 40s for the rest of the week." That was in the mid-100s for those who used the Unovan temperature scale. The air wasn't exactly dry, either. It truly was a sauna out there.

"Sick ride you've got there," Josh complimented. "And it's impressive that you ride bareback, too. My thighs aren't strong enough to do that." They were plenty strong; he could if he wanted to, but he would rather conserve their strength for going fast.

Swift was, like his name implied, incredibly fast. His lightning was almost as fierce as the element came. Where he lacked was raw physical power. Under Josh's command, he relied almost exclusively on his speed advantage to decimate foes. A speed advantage that Roc Royal's DRAGON DANCE had eroded into. Josh didn't acknowledge Ghost's remark; his eyes were split between the rapidly-moving combatants and his friend's MEGA BRACELET.

"Knock it out of the sky now, Swift! ELECTRO BALL!" Josh ordered. With his Beast still under the boost of his QUICK ATTACK, spheres of electricity formed on the tips of his fangs and his crown. Circling the Salamence with great speed, the Raikou's projectiles seemed to be coming from all directions.