Sigmund's engines whirred as Josh waited for Melody Miro 's arrival outside Rustboro's south gate. With Captain Elise Calcifet busy making newly-appointed Gym Leader Thomas Benoit apprised of the goings-on within Rustboro City, and Shalin Nariya 's POW status. it fell upon the Champion to harvest the Captain's field of berry trees and recapture her Pokémon for transportation to the Rustboro Ranger's ranch.

The RAINBOW FEATHER's light had returned at long last, having been inert for weeks since the Raikou within pushed himself to his limits. "Can you let me down, Sigmund?" Josh asked, the paradox Pokémon doing as asked even before the rider finished his sentence. Remembering that the Iron Crown was a Pokémon that could read his thoughts would be quite the adjustment.

Drawing the Sign with a grin on his face, a lightning strike on a clear day would have alerted the Top Champion to her friend's position. Were she to arrive shortly afterward, she would see the black-haired man embracing the ashen construct like one would their significant other. A rumble sounding like distant thunder would leave the electric tiger's throat...

Far behind even the Hisuian Arcanine in front of him, Josh had resigned to his fate. He wished he could have given Genevieve a more intense challenge, but such was the unpredictability of a high speed competition. He wouldn't let her win the Badge by default, at the very least. He was going to make Zagreus finish the race... and the Leader's best way to do that was to fall to the outside of the track.

Once the course widened after a narrow, uphill curve, the Gym Leader reluctantly reined Braver over the strip glowing with energy from his support Pokémon's healing moves. As long as he could stay in its swerving path, that energy would flow into his Arcanine's tired paws, bringing him back from the brink of collapse and giving the pair the stamina needed to cross the finish line.

He wasn't winning the race any more, but he would do everything he could to make Genevieve work for it.

For some, like Josh Devlin , the pit stop was a salvation, His ARCANINE, pulling up the rear by a long shot, eased his running speed to stay within the strip's width for as long as he could. As impressive as Genevieve Cromwell 's lead was, her ARCANINE coasting along the left side of the wide, hilly straightaway in preparation for THUNDER ROAD's final turns, the Gym Leader's precision in remaining within the snaking lane was equally so. His ARCANINE absorbed healing power from it, easing his pain as though he had touched a Galarian Rapidash's horn.

Josh Devlin 's ARCANINE has regained one use of BOOST.

For others, it was an opportunity to make up ground. ARAVAN ESCHER was likewise coasting along the recovery zone when ERON IUNIS slapped his LINOONE's sides hard. With determined glares, he and his Pokémon charged forward, the normal-type's EXTREME SPEED making its legs lowly hum and vanish into a single blur. Gasping as he heard the noise, ARAVAN ESCHER glanced behind him and swerved his SALAZZLE out of the way, the two neck and neck.

The challenger was so far ahead that unless she looked back, she would be completely unaware of the fierce battle behind her -- or the even lower hum from the HISUIAN ARCANINE's EXTREME SPEED. With so much room to run and such a fast dog in the hands of the capable redhead, Genevieve Cromwell was far from home free as she crossed the line for the second time, a white flag waving above them as another sound bite blared from the nearby loudspeakers:

[player]https://file.garden/ZDeuoB-J4RNQd5aY/gyms/master/Final_Lap.mp3[/player]

"YEAH! THE FINAL LAP!"

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 a long straightaway meant to build speed was an uphill, semi-blind, right-angle left turn. Even Pokémon that were tall enough to see over the hill might find the curve a challenge; with its slope being level instead of rounded, it would be quite easy to slip both entering and exiting the turn. Faster Pokémon might need to ease off their high-end top speeds to avoid a nasty impact. Competitors needed to be ready for more right-angle turns afterward, only having a second or two to get into position for them!

Target Number: 120 (Reaction)

Special: Pokémon do not apply ranks in Speed to this Obstacle.

While Josh was used to it, the strain of his body weight against the top of his harness made it difficult to steer Mastema nonetheless. While he flew upside down, the legs of his pants began to fall toward the ground, exposing his legs to uncomfortably high winds. Winds that, after a while, would sting until the fairy-type could fly normally, letting gravity take over and straightening out his clothes again.

King Zing's drone becoming progressively more faint meant that Josh had a lot of work to do to catch up to his co-workers, let alone Miyako. "Hold steady, Mastema," he encouraged his fairy-type Pokémon while keeping a steady hold on the reins. "Once we cross that starting line, then the real race will be on. We'll really test her mettle then." Keeping firm pressure on the Togekiss' sides, the two chased after Ace and his lumbering Dragonite.

Dragons were not meant to fly upside down. Neither were insects. Pokémon struggled to maintain lift while inverted, losing speed and having to get creative in order to stay airborne. All except ARAVAN ESCHER. His DRAGAPULT's wings, modeled after a stealth fighter, made the pair adept at flying upside down. The two zoomed past Miyako Noguchi , his tail whizzing back and forth as to tease her. That pride would be their downfall, the tail pointed in exactly the wrong direction as the Gym Trainer reined the ghost-type along the turn. Having to suddenly swish his tail in the opposite direction. the team overcorrected.

A loud metallic clang rocked the air around them as the two slammed into the inner course wall, the dragon-type barely able to recover before his rider scraped against the ground. Miyako Noguchi , ACE SHEEKE, and Josh Devlin 's fairy-type and poison-type Pokémon all soared past in a flash. Though ERON IUNIS' DRAGONITE was fast, it was far from nimble, unable to swerve out of the way of the struggling DRAGAPULT. The two collided, putting quite the dent in the scales around the orange Pokémon's left thigh. Losing almost all their speed, they took back to the air, well behind the Gym Leader.

ARAVAN ESCHER loses two uses of BOOST.

All the Gym Trainers breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the final loop and were able to revert back to standard flight, their muscles relaxing as they coasted toward the starting line. As the challenger led the way, the first to complete the first lap, she would also be the first to hear an iconic sound bite from the starting arch's speakers:

[player]https://file.garden/ZDeuoB-J4RNQd5aY/gyms/master/You_Got_Boost_Power.mp3[/player]

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

You Got Boost Power! Speed-increasing moves, such as QUICK ATTACK, AGILITY, and EXTREME SPEED are now allowed. Pokémon will be able to use such speed-increasing moves a number of times up to one plus their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE on Speed-based Obstacles for the posting round, meaning you will [ roll ] four times instead of two for that post and ignore the lowest two rolls. For the second lap of the race, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 150, before modifiers are applied.

Beware! Taking tight turns and stamina-draining Obstacles at high speeds can result in dire consequences, and may impose DISADVANTAGE on Endurance-based and Reaction-based Obstacles, meaning the higher of the two rolls will be ignored. If the lowest two of the four rolls would still pass the Obstacle, Track Position for that Obstacle will be instead calculated based on the highest two rolls.

Prompt: After the course's opening loop, Pokémon and racers would get a chance to catch their breath between now and the long, spiraling upward turn: there was a long, straight section of track that was ideal for Pokémon to regain their stamina, or for those who were daring, the chance to put on a burst of speed. Better hit the brakes before the long turn, though!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

"You've never been to Johto?" Josh asked Yuina. "It's beautiful, though a bit cold in the winter. I should take you sometime. The Tin Tower is gorgeous, and the sages will let me inside because of Swift." Not just because of Swift, but it was the most convenient alibi he had. "You might want to visit the Ilex Forest, too. There's a shrine to Celebi there."

It was just as when Josh had rearranged the stone slates into a mural of the Great One so long ago; the floor beneath him crumbled, causing him to fall into a hidden chamber filled with murals and hieroglyphs. Wiley squealed from the harsh landing. Though he was grateful that the Furret broke his fall, he felt bad for the normal-type. Giving the long-tailed Pokémon a rest,

"The more there is, the less you see..." he read, not getting a chance to ask Yuina a question about it before the scene faded to white...

Contrary to popular belief, Raikou was not a landbound species in the right weather conditions. "If there are storm clouds above him, Swift can fly," he educated the Gym Leader politely, well aware that he and kyle lopez may have been the only two people in the region that had seen the capability demonstrated firsthand.

The thunderous force of nature descended to their ship and relieved the duo of its valuables... which were enough to placate the haughty god. All of a sudden, the rough seas became calm, and the black clouds parted. "Well, now he can't fly even if he wanted to, heh," Josh embarrassingly laughed as he pointed toward the cloudless sky. He watched the legendary Pokémon zip and zoom about the black clouds. Perhaps one day, he could use his Raikou to dance among the clouds alongside the Thundurus. He pondered coming back to the simulation to do that another day. "I think I see land ahead," he pointed in the direction the electric-type came from initially.

As much as Josh didn't want to swallow that pill, it was true. He was a phenomenal Gym Leader with a wonderful work ethic. Unlike many Gym Leaders, who relied on their League stipend to remain afloat, Josh's Gym was quite profitable even without public funding. Taxpayer funds, of course, went to the Gym, whether it be maintenance, employee paychecks, or anything else directly related to the Gym's operation. He was one of the region's greatest success stories; during the warm months, tourists flocked to the Gym just to engage in his Pokémon racing challenge. Relieving Josh of his Gym by way of a promotion to Elite Four would split his focus between his city and the rest of the region.

Though Slateport and Ever Grande were the two most important cities in the region, Mauville was perhaps the most strategically located. It was at the very center of the region, serving as a strategic crossroads. To the west, Verdanturf. To the south, Slateport. To the north, Lavaridge. And to the east, the only land bridge between western and eastern Hoenn. Were Mauville to fall, dividing and conquering the League would be trivial for Rocket.

"I might need to ask the Commissioner herself about it. With supply lines becoming ever more important as Rocket marches inland, AQUA would be better with someone like me among their ranks. I had a successor lined up, but I haven't heard from him in a while." It wasn't like zachary stellar to disappear for so long. Though he felt a missing persons report was unnecessary, it would still have been nice to at least get word from him. "I just hope he's okay..."

It was only their strange environment that allowed Suicune to swim in midair, crossing the fleshy, muck-laden ground beneath. He may have been a bit reckless and even a bit stubborn, but the Mauville Gym Leader was smart and resourceful.

Even in the tunnel itself, he could hear Suicune's talons squishing against the soft ground beneath. "Just like with quicksand," Josh remarked. "The worst you can do is stay still and let yourself sink into it." He had experience; there was plenty of quicksand within the Great Desert, one of his romping grounds for his ultrafast Pokémon that would be a hazard to train without completely closing his Gym for the day. Mauville Racing Grounds wasn't just a Pokémon Gym anymore. It was a for-profit business that placed food on his retired family's table and let them live a comfortable, but not extravagant, lifestyle.

Trusting that the Nihilego, familiar with the depths, would lead them down the correct tunnel out of the trident-shaped cavern, Josh guided Suicune in the same direction. "My Gym is open-air, and thanks to Kyurem making the region's climate colder, there's less demand for challenges during the winter," he replied. "So I help the Rangers more, or assist illeana reyes with collecting data about--"

Before he could get too much farther, Josh felt a dread presence in the air around him. From within the depths of his mind, an illusion of one of Hoenn's most wanted criminals formed in the next large cavern. It was of Cillian Quinn and his Lugia, the purple, draconic bird DYNAMAXING in the light of the very Power Spot he had urged Commissioner dahlia goode to disable. "What are you doing here?!" Josh asked the false copy of the Harbinger, instinctively reaching for his RAINBOW FEATHER. "Stop! You can't just take all these innocent lives! What do you want from me?!"

The speed of the battle was getting difficult for even Josh to follow; he was far too focused on tracking the Scyther's location to pay any attention to Lash. When the FURY CUTTER failed to strike Lash's Hydreigon, the giant bug-type turned toward Kokusho, spreading its cutters wide and charging directly at Josh and his mount with a forceful X-SCISSOR.

The Gym Leader grunted loudly as he was flung from Kokusho's back, desperately reaching for the RAINBOW FEATHER once the fallen dark-type was back in his Poké Ball. Grasping the artifact between his fingers, he began to draw a distorted version of the Raikou's Ranger Sign. Ash drifted on the wind as he penned each stroke, his momentum reversing by the time he could draw the third. Could he finish it in time?

Zaborg and Josh really were the spitting images of one another in combat, the Zeraora one of the few Pokémon in the Champion's arsenal with the reaction time needed to ride Josh's Pokémon into battle. The electric quadruped swerved hard to get Zaborg out of the way of the SOLAR BEAM, leaving Raikou to take the full brunt of the attack. His scales afforded him some protection against the Torterra, but not enough to meaningfully remain in the battle. Slowed down substantially by his injuries, Josh didn't the Raging Bolt to faint to know his time was up. "Jump, Zaborg!"

Bracing against the dinosaur-Beast's strong neck, the Zeraora stood in the saddle and leaped high into the air. Josh withdrew the battered and bruised Raging Bolt and sent out a Gouging Fire in Raikou's place, the Zeraora landing squarely in the paradox Pokémon's seat. "This is the kind of strength you'll need if you want to have a chance at taking down the Elite Four!" Josh reminded Eddie as Entei lowered his head. The tall-crested fire-type loudly roared before tearing off in circles, Zaborg's hold on the Gouging Fire tested. Bucking and kicking in a DRAGON DANCE, the Zeraora held on with everything he had. Already moving at incredible speed from PROTOSYNTHESIS fueled by the hot and bright conditions, that speed was aboutu to get even higher.

The other possibility being the very Pokémon Josh rode upon. "Do you mean the ones that are like Raikou, Entei, and Suicune? They're equally dangerous," he cautioned, despite how tame Josh's three dragons seemed to be. "The Sacred Swords are all psychic-types, and can be a lot trickier to engage. I'm not saying the other paradox Pokémon, like Roaring Moon, aren't dangerous, but those six are on a completely different level. They're some of the most challenging Pokémon I've ever raised, but their companionship is worth it." Especially to Josh, who valued speed most of all. An Iron Boulder's hoof thrusters could propel the mechanical bovine to incredible speeds. Speeds that might even impress Eduardo Hisakawa .

As Josh rode Suicune further down the trail, the bottom of Area Zero's main cavern came into sight, covered in ankle-deep water. "I actually raise five out of the six of them," Josh bragged; soon, that would be all six when Caladbolg joined his roster in the near future.

As fitting as it was, Quick Attack wasn't even Swift's fastest attack... but Josh had not yet pieced together the puzzle enabling his precious ashen partner to use Extreme Speed. A speed that not even the most powerful supercars created by human hands could reach. A speed he had to conquer if he wanted to wield his childhood idol's power to its fullest for the sake of the League. He had experienced it once when the Beast was under Kyle's command. With the ashen creature now reformed in Josh's vision, such a move would reach new heights. Heights that putting a number to a unit might not let an observer fully comprehend without sitting on the thundercloud and experiencing that speed for oneself.

"You're not far from the truth," Josh laughed, at last having recovered his breath from struggling against the wind that threatened to blow him off his seat. "I've been called both before. As fun as it is to let Hoenn's wilds fly by so fast, there may come a day where I need to use that speed to come to the region's aid. Swift can do things no other Pokémon can do. The best way to describe what it's like... is riding a lightning strike that never touches the ground. Instead of the bolt being absorbed into the ground, it expands parallel to the ground and just keeps going." He even struggled to say that; his body clearly never trained to withstand that kind of speed, he looked weary after his dazzling spectacle.

So it was truly a one-off phenomenon, the appearance of these apex Pokémon. They were dangerous, both in their sheer strength and speed exceeding their more common kind, and in that little was known about them. "Not until we can find and study more of them. If you need a hand with it, especially while my Gym's slow in the winter, I can help," Josh offered. He, too, was interested in the Noble Pokémon... especially befriending one. It would be a wonderful asset in the war, as well as an amazing partner outside the war. It made him want to track down the Arcanine against Yuina's judgment and become its friend.

Though Josh routinely used his suit in combat, he also used his during Ranger work. It was part of the reason he owned eleven Pyroar, all of which could sync with him. Their myriad of applications both in and out of combat was part of what made the suits so wondrous to him. "I asked because of that Distortion we got trapped in the other day. I've been in many, many Space-Time Distortions before, but nothing like that one."

Josh didn't expect the process of disabling a Power Spot to be easy. They were still not well-understood; a key piece of knowledge about them was one that he lost his Alolan Ninetales' life to ascertain. He couldn't have that happen with any more of his Pokémon. "There was a Dynamax attack on Mauville City's largest department store recently," Josh reported. "We were able to keep casualties to a minimum, but we're still recovering from the aftermath. The entire shopping center is closed until it can be reconstructed, and that's going to take weeks, if not months. The attacker was a skilled swordsman, almost samurai-like, and wielded Pokémon like Kartana and Corviknight." He then added a physical description of Hitoshi Inoue to the best of his recollection. "If he can overwhelm a Champion, he's dangerous. Could be worth doing some legwork and starting a dossier if the League doesn't have one already."

Swift quietly walked toward Josh, the young man running his left hand through the Beast's white, facial ash. "That was just one attack, and in a fairly benign location at that. Mauville may not be Hoenn's largest city, but it's the most population dense. And bombs are most effective when detonated in population-dense areas. Disabling the Power Spot will cut off Rocket's access to the most destructive Pokémon attacks we know of. This is the precise reason I was opposed to the use of Dynamax Bands in the first place."

Beads of sweat dripped from Josh's spiky hair as his tension grew. If that first attack was a dry run, a real attack would be unimaginable. What if Rocket Dynamaxed a Pokémon in the middle of the city center? Or in the middle of Mauville Hills? How much blood would be on Josh's hands? It was a scenario he wanted to avoid at all costs. Unlike Hideo Kino , the Champion had already accepted that saving every single life was not possible, or at least not realistic. It was a disagreement that prevented him from claiming the Ordeal Badge in the months leading to his ascension to Champion Rank, and perhaps one of the reason why rumors of it being a fluke had spread so far.

"Commissioner, the potential for destruction and life loss across an already vulnerable area is too great. I would like to know what steps I need to do on my end to disable Mauville's Power Spot, and who from Science I need to assist me."