Joshua sits upon Jophiel, overlooking the ndscape as he checks the map on his Arc Phone.

  He has to shield his eyes from the sun, but he manages to see where he is on the map with a little icon.

  “...is this pce bigger than the game?”

  [Sinnoh is not small, Josh]

  [Hisu

  Hm. Well he supposes that makes sense.

  (“What are we going to do about Akari?”)

  Looking behind him, he can see Akari following behind, riding Uriel. Uriel seems a bit bothered by being ridden by a stranger, but she's not making a fuss about it.

  Akari, on the other hand, looks like she's handling a bomb. Frozen in fear, not sure where to touch or if she should touch anything at all.

  “Not sure, but I'm more worried about what I'm supposed to do with…”

  He looks at his UI.

  Jophiel, Garian Rapidash Variant.

  Uriel, Zebstrika Variant.

  Ace, Vaporeon.

  And finally, one st unexpected surprise from Professor Laventon…

  Cyndaquil, Hisui Variant.

  “I already have Pokemon, Laventon… why did you get me a starter…?”

  It does help fill out his Pokedex…

  “D-Did you say something, Mr. Joshua”

  For a moment he wonders if it was Gabriel, but his eyes only meet Akari's.

  “...nothing. Just thinking about something”

  He shakes his head.

  “By the way, she won't bite you, she's a sweetheart”

  She flinches a bit.

  “R-Right!”

  “Zebstrika…” Uriel whines in embarrassment.

  …

  There were no pokemon really worth catching for his own team in the fields around Jubilife. But he does take the time to catch one of each he finds. So he can immediately offload them to Laventon.

  > COLLECT EVERY POKEMON <

  (9/237)

  ‘Every Pokemon’ my ass… he's lucky it's limited to Hisui, though.

  Cyndaquil, as a starter, is inherently stronger than most pokemon at simir stages of growth. Their ‘stats’ are a bit higher so the pyer gets attached to them.

  Or that could be a complete lie, because Joshua never really got into the logistics of any of the games.

  Still, he let Cyndaquil beat up some Starlys and Bidoofs to level them up a bit as they traveled.

  “So… um… what are we looking for?”

  Akari asks hesitantly, watching as the older man checks the bushes for pnts and herbs.

  “Kleavor's favorite food is Plump Beans, I'm looking for them so I can throw it at him until he chills out”

  “Kleavor? Lord Kleavor? The Noble Pokemon of the Pearl Cn?”

  “Yes, that one”

  She's guffawed at him for a moment, but she eventually keeps talking.

  “Professor Laventon mentioned you knowing a way to calm them down… is that true?”

  Joshua wonders if Laventon told this girl anything at all.

  Oh, found some. Nice.

  He puts the beans away.

  “It's not a groundbreaking discovery. You just throw their favorite food at them until they stop overdosing on the ‘angry space ser juice’”

  “...angry space ser juice?”

  Joshua takes the time to turn around this time, pointing at the space-time rift swirling atop Mount Coronet.

  “Do you see that nasty thing up there? I'm going to REALLY simplify this, but whatever comes out of that is what's making the Noble Pokemon go all crazy”

  She looks over, then back at him.

  “...and you're going to stop it?”

  “That's right” He nods.

  “How?”

  “Build a team, Joey and Uri could probably do most of the heavy lifting, but there's no reason not to”

  Jophiel wells with pride, while Uriel nods in agreement.

  “...don't you already have four Pokemon?” Akari asks, skeptical.

  “One of them is a non-combatant and the other I'm not sure will be on the main team”

  Typhlosion would be nice, and it's certainly his favorite starter, but there's certainly heavier hitters out there.

  So technically he has… four? Four open slots for official competition.

  Look at him, thinking he's going to compete, how cute.

  He has his eyes on the Alphas, and other Pokemon that could well round his team with types he doesn't have yet.

  “Oh… Okay”

  Akari hasn't asked about her ‘issue’ with her Pokemon yet, and to be honest she hasn't done much but make idle chatter.

  Not that he's compining, of course, but isn't he supposed to be teaching her something?

  …

  Grandtree Arena.

  “You're saying you can calm down Lord Kevor?”

  Joshua stands in front of Warden Lian.

  Visually, he looks like a child. Short, young face, curly brown hair, and wearing a rge brimmed hat.

  But this is a man who takes care of a ten foot tall Pokemon with axes for hands.

  “Yes. If I throw these at him, it will help him calm down” Joshua holds up a small bag of Plump Seed balm.

  Warden Lian takes it and inspects it, holding up to the sun for a moment.

  “Plump seeds… Lord Kleavor’s favorite food. Yes… Yes! This could work! I am always surprised at the Gaxy Team's inventiveness!”

  He hands it back, visibly excited now.

  “I'm not Gaxy Team, she is though” He gestures to Akari, who stands behind him.

  “Wait… if you aren't part of Gaxy Team, then what made you come to help?” Lian asks, not accusing anything, but seemingly just curious based on his tone.

  Joshua reaches up and presses against his cross. He could make the excuse that it simply opens up more options to him. More Pokemon, maybe some goodwill with Pearl Cn?

  The pragmatic mind may try to find a way to profit off of every decision, but that's… shallow, and that's not the person Joshua wants to be.

  “Do I need a reason?” He chuckles to himself.

  Lian stares at him for a moment and smiles. He can tell Akari is looking at him too.

  “Very well. I will call upon Lord Kleavor, and hopefully your pn will calm him down. I hope you succeed, Mr…”

  “Joshua”

  “Mr. Joshua” Lian nods. “If you succeed, you will have done the Pearl Cn a great service”

  With that, he turns and leads him up a dirt path. Like much else in this area, it's grassy and full of lush trees. But there's a noticeable ft clearing that seems almost walled off with the terrain, and a rge tree sits in the middle of it.

  Lian gives Joshua a look, which he just nods at.

  Gncing at Akari, Joshua flicks his head to the side, which she takes as a chance to back away.

  “OH MIGHTY KLEAVOR, LORD OF THE WOODS” Liam begins.

  Joshua takes a deep breath, rolling his shoulders, he feels the hidden strength beneath the unassuming suit.

  He knows he should be fine. Jophiel and Uriel are ready to intervene if need be, and his suit should take any of the potential damage.

  Enchantments may not work here, and the tangible effects of his Faith may be lessened, but the Lord has not abandoned him.

  And his suit feels a little safer because of it.

  “BENEVOLENT LORD WHO WORKS HIS MIGHT BETWEEN THE HEAVENS AND EARTH. WE OFFER OUR GRATITUDE”

  Joshua feels something shake.

  “WE BESEECH YOU- REVEAL YOURSELF TO OUR EYES…”

  [StevenStoneOffical: Good luck Joshua.]

  [IonoZone: Kick his butt!!!!]

  [I<3Gible: You got this]

  [SabrinaOfficial: Time to be really good at not dying again, Josh]

  There's silence for a moment. Before a cry fills the air.

  “GGRRAAAASSSHHHAAAAAA!!!”

  He sees something gold shoot through the air, running throughout the area in quick bursts.

  Behind him, a tree is cut effortlessly in two, it falls to the ground with a loud thud.

  Something stands before him. It's massive frame dwarfing him by comparison.

  Bright gold envelopes its frame like hot metal, eyes bright and filled with madness. It cuts at the ground with its two massive axe-like hands.

  Reeling its head back, it cries once more.

  “GGGRRAAAASSHHHAAAAA”

  His UI updates.

  >LORD OF THE WOODS - KLEAVOR<

  Joshua adjusts his stance, and grips the balm in his hand tightly. Lian and Akari have run off, it's only him.

  He breathes in.

  “Lord, give me strength”

  And out… oh, right.

  “Arceus is pretty cool too, I guess”

  > OVO <

  Kleavor CHARGES.

  Suddenly, it feels like he's right back in the forest.

  Memories of the Centaur flood him.

  And Joshua does what he does best.

  He MOVES.

  …

  [POV: AKARI]

  Akari isn't sure what to think about the man, “Joshua Abrams”.

  Whenever Professor Laventon proposed the suggestion of her joining the man on his adventures… she was a bit skeptical. Sure, she trusts the Professor, and as his assistant she may have a bias towards him, but she couldn't help but feel a little… odd, at his idea.

  He praised the man for being a powerful trainer with powerful Pokemon, a man with morals and integrity despite his odd name and clothes.

  And to be honest… she wasn't sure how much she was supposed to learn from him.

  But dear Arceus, the absolutely GALL of this man!

  Just from a few hours of watching, the sheer amount of disregard for his own safety is absurd! Or is he just that confident in his own strength? She doesn't know!

  He rides quite possibly the most beautiful but dangerous Pokemon she's ever id her eyes upon, and for SOME reason whenever she watches those two she feels a blush coming on.

  Is this what a true bond between trainer and Pokemon looks like?

  Casually, he's going around catching Pokemon like he's BORED. Pokemon are dangerous! That's what Pokemon Partners are for, but he's treating this like he's just walking around the Vilge!

  But he's not BORED! He's EXCITED! He's loving every second of it! Joshua is dealing with such deadly creatures and he's treating them like they aren't even a threat!

  He's treating this like a vacation!

  Then, he casually announces that he's going to calm the Noble Pokemon, as if that's just something he can just DO?!

  And now he's dodging Lord Kleavor's attacks with practiced ease, all while pelting the Pokemon with bags of… balm?

  The worst part of it is that Lord Kleavor is actually slowing down.

  Arceus, it's working.

  Hiding behind a nearby rock, she and Warden Lian watch as the Noble Pokemon gets progressively calmer as they get drowned in balm.

  “Suns getting real low buddy…” She hears Joshua say to himself.

  “GGGRRRAAAASSSHHAAAAA”

  It takes ten whole minutes of running, dodging, throwing, and sshing before Lord Kleavor starts… slowing down.

  They stop glowing, returning to their natural colors.

  Akari stares wide eyed, beside her Lian is the same.

  “It worked…”

  “He actually did it…”

  Baffled, she almost misses Joshua walking up to Lord Kleavor and speaking to them.

  She can't hear what he's saying, but next thing she knows he's wrapping his arm around Kleavor's leg, holding up a strange white device, and then a *click* sound as they both… smile?

  “What”

  (A/N: I'm asking this just in case. But do yall like the direction the story is going? And is there anything you would want to be done or changed? And NO, fucking the horse does NOT count I can SEE you typing it)