The black-and-white Beast was emotionless in front of Ghost, though Josh was far from it. "It was recovering from my deepest, darkest moment that brought this to be." The Gym Leader gave his ashen Pokémon's face a cuddle, his hair standing on end as the Raikou loosed a purr that sounded like loud rumbles of thunder. The imagery of a grown man meeting his childhood idol could have been heartwarming for Ghost. At the mention of wanting to saddle up, Swift crouched, as if goading Josh to do so.

The Gym Leader frowned. "Ghost, I wish I could take you up on that. But I can't. My arm's too messed up to go any faster than a trot on him. And I'm sure you wanted the full experience. Unless you're okay with that, I'll have to take a rain check. But one of these days, Ghost... we'll speed across the land together. I swear it." Where one frustration ended, another began. Such seemed to be his life. But when the day came, it would be glorious: shooting into the clouds and flying amongst them before striking to the ground on one of the most destructive lightning bolts Hoenn had ever seen. Until then, he had to stop putting his entire focus on taking care of others and start taking care of the person who needed it:

Himself.

Ghost's confidence made Josh feel a lot better. That was one of the big steps to advancing up the Ranger ladder, and one the Elite had to learn himself. Both in transforming the Three Virtues into the Six Virtues, as well as applying those Virtues toward his current predicaments: not understanding Swift's weakness, as well as balancing his health with his duties. He let out an "Aww..." at the cute electric-type, giving a wave to them both as the two took point, going deeper into Meteor Falls.

He took note of the fairy-type Pokémon inside Ghost's backpack, but did not say a word to his friend about it. In any other circumstance, he would have made Ghost aware. This, though, was an exam. He could not give any outside advice. Pinky's feelers reached toward the backpack, Josh flicking her reins to get her to silently stop. "Sorry, girl," the Gym Leader whispered. "We can't help at all."

Josh frowned when Andrea asked about participating in the war. "I'm a Champion now," he answered. "And the late Kyle left his Raikou in my care. He wouldn't do that unless he truly trusted me. That he was willing to be a martyr for Hoenn shows how much he cared. I will say this, though. I do not plan on following in his footsteps. Swift and I will prevail. Even if we're not feeling a hundred and ten percent."

Now inside the power tower, the Beast and Iron Boulder carefully made their way across the slick surface before making their way to a diamond-shaped chamber with another similarly-slick surface. Peering down, Josh could see the top of a colossal generator beneath where they stood, a floor panel sticking out of the little ground that was solid and not slippery. "I only need one," Josh explained. "The Passho Berry is what teaches the Z-Move, yes, but Raikiri still needs a crystal to use as a conduit for the Z-Energy. That's what I came here to replace. If I can carry a few backups back home, all the better!"

They wouldn't be the only Pokémon inside, though! As Swift activated the floor switch, the northeast wall would recede into the ground... revealing a duo of floating Magneton hungry for Swift's and Terratron's electric charge. They floated toward the legendary and paradox, their magnetic and electric fields wringing all humidity out of the air.

The chicane coming up was what gave the course all of its difficulty. The severity of the curve would whip Pokémon and riders back and forth unless they slammed on the brakes. Josh knew the course well enough that he didn't have to: he could simply let Megalo ease off his speed, coasting until the curves came. He wasn't concerned about the Dragonair passing him; he was aware that the curve was a bit of a struggle for Resheph.

There was always a chance the brash and reckless redhead could wipe out, too. Floatzel were incredibly quick, but they tired out fast, and could not take hits well. If they even scraped the sides, that could cause them to lose a lot of speed or even outright retire from the race. Wholly unaware of how far behind the challenger was, Josh subtly reined his Milotic to the outside before flinging them the other way, ready for the feedback of the sea serpent's long tail moving like a whip.

The wicked turn on the backstretch would test the balance of both Pokémon and rider, many Pokémon choosing to slam on the brakes to avoid careening off the course walls. They were angled so that particularly tough Pokémon could pinball off them, losing no speed in exchange for a mark that would throb well after the race was done. None of the Pokémon in the race were particularly tough nor possessed the right body shape to do so, what with four of the five being serpentine in nature.

ACE SHEEKE and his FLOATZEL buzzed down the backstretch, flicking his whirling tails back and forth with excellent timing but rocking his trainer with mild whiplash, impeding his reaction time. The reckless technique extended their lead, but at what cost? Two laps still remained; would the redhead's body be able to hold out for that long?

Farther back, ARAVAN ESCHER, ERON IUNIS, and Josh Devlin fiercely battled for second place, looking for a passing opportunity just before the chicane. The DRAGONAIR made a bold move, its tail swishing furiously as the dragon's rider hurled its reins to one side. The turn was timed too late, the Gym Leader, oceanographer, and challenger Elaine Highland narrowly avoiding catching their MILOTIC and PRIMARINA in a pile-up. By the time the white-haired Gym Trainer had recovered, Elaine was right next to him on the inside, ready to make the pass on the course's final turn.

As the five racers crossed the starting line, an announcer-like sound byte played from the Gym's loudspeakers, the display on the starting arch flashing with the same message:

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

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

Now, the racers' mettle would truly be tested.

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 their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE 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, 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: The course's three opening U-turns loomed ahead a second time, though racers would find the timing for navigating them would feel much different, what with their Pokémon already going at full speed. This would be doubly true for Pokémon who fully embraced the course's name, choosing to drift around the long turns rather than twist their bodies via traditional means. There would be little time between curves to adjust, and fin muscles might start to feel the burn!

Target Number: 130 (Reaction)

Special: Using BOOST POWER on this Obstacle will change the Intended Skill to Endurance from Reaction. Any TP lost as a result of a total roll that is more than 25 beneath the Target Number is doubled.

Josh should not have been in the warzone at all. With her EXTREME SPEED, Resheph zipped about the battleground, delivering Pokémon medicine and other supplies to those on the north side of the island. MATIAS SILPH , annalise henderson , Melody Miro , Navy , and Thomas Benoit, among others. He watched some of the bloody battles from the back of his Iron Crown, Sigmund, who had at last warmed up to him after seeing his selflessness blossom before his LED eyes.

He watched the psychic-type levitate another small crate of Pokémon medicine onto a large buoy that the Dragonair had been towing. She let out a confident coo as the Champion sent the Dragonair off to make her delivery. "Stay safe, Resheph," Josh said to his starter Pokémon as violent attacks from Roy Aker 's battle shook the cliffside.

Standing next to the young man were his Pyroar and his Type: Null, Aslan and Aleph. The legendary Pokémon in particular looked bloodthirsty, even excited to be involved with such a high stakes battle. The Shiny Pyroar looked much less excited, and was even shivering. "What is it, Aslan?" Josh asked, the Pyroar lifting a paw toward the northern sky.

A wall of rain was approaching.

"Just our luck. I... might end up having to relieve you."

The blinding speed did exactly what it was meant to do: disorient Haoyu and the Thwackey. That there was a saddle on the giant rodent's back showed just how talented the Gym Leader was in the saddle. To even keep the Raichu from crashing was quite the feat, let alone to control him in a race and use him as a mount in battle. Josh had the grass-type on the defensive -- exactly where he wanted him. "Now, ELECTRO BALL!" Josh ordered.

It was arguably more of a signature move than Quick Attack for Mauville Gym, being the one Pokémon attack that specifically took advantage of extreme speed. The faster the user was, the faster and stronger the barrage of projectiles would get. Many of Josh's Pokémon were among the fastest of their kind in all of Hoenn, if not the entire world. The fast and agile Raichu swerved about, his long, bolt-shaped tail whipping spheres of electricity toward the grass-type almost too quickly for even Josh to follow. They would have to get through that WOOD HAMMER first, but any direct huts that got past it might sting quite a bit!

This was what the village had urged Josh to find: the child lost in the woods. As much as he wanted to bring the monster to justice himself, what was most important was stopping the attacks from happening in the first place. Rescuing the child would be a bonus that the village may not have expected, given how violent the monster's attacks were. He gave the child a gentle pat on the shoulders and back if allowed to do so.

"I'm not here to hurt you, either," Josh assured the young man. "We need to get back home. All three of us. I don't have a lot of time to explain right now, but I can while we're on the way. If we don't leave right now... I might not make it. If you're with me, come."

With that, Josh would lead the Monster back to his home town to be judged by his peers... and the Child back if he wanted to. He would be fully transparent of his job as an Inquisitor, what he had been through on the way to finding the child, and if there was anything he could do to comfort or shelter the child while he cleaned up the confusion that caused the villagers' stigma against the young one.

Armed with Park Balls and Saber, Josh rode through the brush, keeping an eye out for Pokémon that traditionally scored high. Bug-types were not his forte at all; he owned a few, but not many. He was far from lithe, many winged bugs unable to bear his weight in flight. King Zing had amazing strength to be able to do so, and Josh couldn't wait until his arm was feeling well enough to bumble through Petalburg Woods astride him.

The time passed quickly, and Josh had little to show for his efforts; down to the ten-minute mark, he never made a catch. He was in luck; in the many years it had been since Josh entered the contest, species from abroad had been introduced to the park, making scoring a much more complex affair. Having made his way to the corner of the park, a Larvesta crawled, its oranges aglow bright as the sun. This was quite the rare species that would score well.

With time running out, Josh knew he only had one chance, and he had to make it quick. He slid down from Saber's back, ordering a QUICK ATTACK before the wild could BUG BUZZ. While his Manectric was mid-charge, Josh hurled a Park Ball toward the fire-type. As it sailed toward the wild, encapsulating it, the buzzer sounded. He took his Poké Ball to the judges for evaluation, receiving the bad news.

His capture had not been completed prior to time expiring, so his catch would not count.

"...You're kidding me," the Champion moped, wandering off to track down Andrea. "My catch didn't count. Apparently the Poké Ball has to lock prior to time expiring for it to be legal. Guess I'm scoring a big fat Swanna egg this time around..."

Josh sighed at Ghost's comment about how he had been treated. "You have no idea how much we were physically and emotionally abused in there. The wardens toyed with the lives of our Pokémon." He pulled up the leg of one side of his shorts to show a scar and darkened skin around it that never completely returned to its natural color. "Anyway, it's not that I can't ride Pokémon at all. It's that I have limitations on what kinds of Pokémon I can hop onto, and how fast I can go on them. It's mostly horse, dog, and psychic Pokémon I'm approved for. Nothing flying yet, and cat Pokémon I can only take up to a trot until my arm heals more. That's what bothers me so much. I've always wanted to race Raikou. I have the Raikou now, and now my body prevents me from doing so. It never ends..." he trailed off, lost in his frustration for a moment before sliding down from the plush and hanging its reins back up.

"Sometimes I wonder who will even write my biography," Josh pondered as he led Ghost to the elevator and to the first floor. "It won't be me; I'm no writer. I couldn't write a short story if I tried. I tried journaling once. That lasted for about three weeks."

The blast of hot air was unpleasant to the Gym Leader as he cracked open the sliding door leading to the Gym. "As promised... behold, my favorite Pokémon." Holding the RAINBOW FEATHER in his right hand, Josh drew the Sign, electrified ash hanging in front of him in the rough shape of a lightning bolt. The ash coalesced into the form of a monochrome Beast, his thundercloud barely moving in the nearly still air. In the Gym Leader's eyes, the thundercloud was a saddle beckoning riders to occupy it.



"Ghost... meet Swift."

There were times that Josh felt the League took a bit too much advantage of his Champions. That he could tussle with the League's greats, and even an Avatar or two, landed him more combat-oriented assignments, whether he wanted them or not. He wouldn't turn them down, though; he had experience working alongside people like Hideo Kino , ever blackwell , and Greyson Connors around the last time Dewford went to war. It was also clear that he needed to get used to fighting to be as useful as he could be in the war, even if he preferred to run supply routes. Suppliers were just as targeted as those fighting on the front lines.

Josh had received a tip from Slateport Law Enforcement of a illicit lab in the city's slums. He was to follow up on that tip, report as much information as possible about it, and if he could, dismantle the lab's operations.

Seated on the back of his Espeon the size of a small horse, Janus kept him from falling off despite the feline gait he ran with. He reined the psychic-type about with one arm and held in his other hand the Cherish Ball containing his Gouging Fire named Entei. The strong psychic-type levitated Josh up to the height of a window, where he would be able to peer beyond the repurposed warehouse's entrance...

The sea god, Kyogre, was one of the strongest foes Josh had ever faced. So strong that the aquatic behemoth had repelled even his legendary Pokémon. Swift was strong, but the old Tempest's Patron felt like it was in a league of its own. The Champion was running out of time to find the missing pieces and get his partner ready in time to be effective during the war. Now that it was known Josh was the bearer of the Johtonian thundercat, he would almost certainly be a high profile target for Rocket.

Now was not the time to ponder that job; he had another task to focus on. As an Elite Ranger, he was responsible for overseeing promotional exams to Senior Ranger, and even Elite Ranger with permission from Head Ranger Ollie. "Alright, I'll go over the briefing one more time. When Mount Chimney erupted, a large den collapsed, killing quite a few wild dragon Pokémon and forcing the rest to migrate. It's your job to get them to relocate away from the thoroughfare through Meteor Falls. Violence should be a last resort, but you are authorized to terminate particularly aggressive dragons. There will be a storm of Druddigon, a storm of Jangmo-o, and a storm of Deino. Use all the resources and knowledge at your disposal to get them to migrate. I will only intervene if the mission or your life is jeopardized." Such were the Ranger exams he preferred to run: a ticket that was out of the comfort zone of Rangers at their current rank, but one they could handle at the next rank. That was the sign they were truly ready for their higher rank.

Pinky let out a low-pitched mew of encouragement. "If you truly are ready for the rank of Senior Ranger, then you will find a way to fulfill the mission's objectives on your own. Good luck out there."