[S][C/Alicia] Forged Anew

As Josh sped toward the entrance to the Dragon's Maw, a cutscene played showcasing the lightning-ravaged, gravity-warped field of twisted metal tarnished by electrical burns. With Saber the Manectric around, his body serving as a biological lightning rod, they would be safe from the elements while gathering materials.

"Hi, Alicia!" Josh waved as he reined the Liepard to a stop in front of her, clutching his leg after the wild and speedy ride. "She's gonna take... a lot of getting used to," he sheepishly admitted. "When I was younger, I always wanted to ride a big cat. Now I think I know why no one does in the real world."

It would take a lot of training, but one day, he would conquer the feline's rough gait. Her big saddle helped a lot, but it was still tougher on him than a horse Pokémon at speed. His feet seemed to spark with electricity -- a sign that his BOLTER class had been maxed. "Been enjoying this new class a lot. I just need to find a way to transfer the speed boost to my mount. Anyway, what's first on the agenda? I imagine gathering scrap metal. I think our best bet is to load it onto my electric Pokémon. That way, the lightning will strike them harmlessly."

It may have been for the better that Josh left that potential on the table for the time being. He was already struggling with Luna's high speeds, as well as Saber's in this electric environment. Without reduced pain thresholds, the boy would have been in quite a world of hurt from his feline mount's flexing spine at speed. "It'll take getting used to, like anything else. Once I have the muscles for it... she'll blow away Raiden from that race. And it's a step in the direction of my... dream. To saddle a Raikou."

If the Gardener class had hidden features like that, then surely a Bolter would, too. "I'll have to mess around with it. But--"

A massive lightning strike had been attracted to Saber, the force of its impact knocking Luna into the air and sending Josh flying from the saddle. "Ow..." he groaned, landing on his side. It took him a bit to get to his feet, giving the Liepard a gentle pat before climbing on again. He pointed toward a distant metal spire that had been ripped to pieces. Was it a lightning strike so intense that not even a lightning rod could hold itself together?

To Josh's knowledge, Alicia wasn't a Bolter; such a reaction would be expected of the grass-type specialist. Given the trick Tikani could perform, though... maybe it wasn't a stretch for her to have an electric affinity like his own?

"You're probably right," Josh nodded, giving the Liepard a light kick to the sides and match Alicia's pace. As they approached a landmass floating on its side, he felt gravity suddenly shift, his gut going flying to one side. The sky was now to his right, the "ground" to his left. Gulping, one realm, and one Pokémon, came to mind.

"Doesn't this scream Distortion World to you?" he asked Alicia in trepidation.

Josh, on the other hand, loved the experience. He just didn't like the connotations associated with the phenomenon. "As awesome as it would be to wield the power of that Pokémon, there are just... some legendary Pokémon that really shouldn't be in the hands of players," Josh mused. "Especially... just about every Sinnoh legendary. There's a difference between commanding a god of lightning... and a god of antimatter. Even I'd be hesitate to saddle a Giratina."

Ronda looked ill from the sudden shift of gravity; Josh couldn't imagine the kind of pressure such a change put on her air sacs. They could withstand a lot of punishment, but even a Cyclizar could suffer a flat if struck with enough force. That was a flat only time could fix; unlike a motorcycle, one couldn't just put a spare tire on a Cyclizar.

As the Liepard cantered toward the sky, he pointed to a shattered metal spire. "Look alive, Alicia - it's straight ahead!" he called out to her.

"Right, he's a thing, isn't he," Josh mused, smiling a bit too wide. "I mean... if he shows up, I wouldn't exactly say no. Arceus does learn Extreme Speed, after all." What a rush that would be, particularly if Arceus could type-shift in UNOVR much like it could in the mainline series. Each of the eighteen types had to have a different feel to it. He had serious doubts that the developers would put that kind of power in the players' hands. In his eyes, it was more likely for Arceus to appear as a postgame bonus boss that he had to have a fully maxed character to stand a chance against. A bonus boss programmed to be the most challenging content in the game.

Crios complaining about the sting of a lightning bolt left Josh concerned. "Exactly. We need to hurry." Thankfully for them, there was a lull in the storm, letting him load some of the ore onto Crios if the Onix allowed it. Otherwise, he would use his other electric Pokémon to haul their cargo back to the mainland. "Now, where's this new forge at?" he asked Alicia, unsure what the girl's game plan was.

Giyun, as tough as the Duraludon was, seemed once bitten, twice shy. "Long as we have iron ore, metalworking tools, and heat, that's all we need." All the steps had been completed; it was up to Alicia Westfield to make a makeshift forge with her Pokémon. "Ares is available if you need an extra source of heat," he offered, aware of what happened at Midas Corporation. "Ixion..." he started to think about the Ponyta that had gone missing.

The young one couldn't help but laugh when Giyun got off his rocker. "Entertain me. While we put this forge together, entertain me. You're saying that the Underforge was unusable because of a giant ceiling magnet? I have to hear this story."

Alicia's silence about Josh reining up Arceus was all he needed to hear. He expected her to disapprove of him strapping riding tack to any legendary, let alone that one. Was it irresponsible to turn a god into one's private jet? Probably. Did it hurt anyone? Absolutely not. What was the harm in some good, clean fun?