As Josh and Bladestorm passed the last ram, he heard what sounded like Alex on his earpiece, though it was mostly static. "You're breaking up real bad," Josh replied, the voice incomprehensible. "He should have called this challenge off the moment the thunderstorm started," the Pokémon racer mumbled as he saw Alex and Fenrir waiting for him at the course's final checkpoint. The home stretch was before him, though it was difficult to see what was ahead due to the intense rainfall.

Another flash of lightning revealed the next obstacle: it appeared to be a maze of nets. Finally, something a Skarmory could excel at! While the fierce winds blew the dense maze of ropes around, he had one distinct advantage with his choice of mount. Bladestorm was his Skarmory's name for a reason: the steel-type's wings doubled as sharp blades. In ancient times, swords were crafted Skarmory feathers. He could take full advantage of that. "Alright, Bladestorm: keep your STEEL WING ready, so we don't get snared by those ropes. After him!" With a battle screech, the Skarmory took off after his trainer had a chance to catch his breath.

Josh at least tried to keep to the spirit of the challenge, weaving through the rope made as best as he could and only instructing the Metal Menace to cut them down if there was not a better option.

That last line from Alex came in loud and clear. "Stop your attack, Bladestorm!" the racer cried, the Skarmory spreading his wings to disperse the air pressure building among them. The Leader had clearly saved the most difficult obstacle for last; though the near constant lightning flashes provided ample lighting to see the rope maze with, the wind was blowing it about so unpredictably that there was no way he could react in time, let alone the delay from his mount having to react to his commands. He hooked the avian's reins to the end of the saddle, where they normally rest when no one was atop him. "Buddy, it's all you." He grabbed the end of the saddle with both hands, leaving the Skarmory in total control.

Then, they hit the mess of ropes, Bladestorm trying to level her flight path so the ropes she inevitably hit would bounce off the leading edge of her front wings - the single edge that wasn't sharp as a sword. The sudden and sharp bank angles to dodge the mess of ropes would have been vomit inducing to novice riders, and it was even starting to get to him. A stomach-turning counterclockwise barrel roll made him question which way was up in the dark conditions. With no reprieve whatsoever, a particularly dense section of the obstacle was fast approaching. He leaned as low as he could on the Skarmory's back and prepared for another barrel roll, this one in the opposite direction. He was starting to lose feeling in his limbs...

No sooner than when the Leader performed Josh's transfer to Gabe, the Pokémon racer's body fell limp. The constant and intense turbulence had pushed himself beyond his physical limits, depriving him of useful consciousness. The transfer had been performed just in time, too: a blinding flash almost immediately followed by an explosion of sound indistinguishable from the cry of the electric Beast drowned out what other senses Josh had left in him. The screech of a Skarmory was the last thing he heard before he could no longer keep his eyes open. "Blade...storm..." he croaked before his eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

Josh did not reply to Alex's calling of his name. Not the second time. Nor the third, fourth, or fifth. It took physical intervention from the Gym's staff for him to arouse to the smell of hot chocolate, said aroma trapped underneath a blanket. "Where...am...I?" Josh groaned, trying to sit up but ultimately crashing back to the ground. He was too groggy to realize that Bladestorm had been struck by lightning and could be in serious danger.

He attempted to take a sip of the hot chocolate, having to tilt his head sideways and lower his lips to the mug rather than lift the mug to his mouth like a normal person. Every single muscle in his body felt stiff. "Alex...where...am I?" the bewildered challenger repeated, his consciousness on the borderline of usefulness again.

By the time Josh had gained useful consciousness and was able to hold his mug of hot chocolate, the first thing he heard was of Alex's admiration for his determination to finish the course, and how stubborn he was. "It runs in my family," Josh panted, finally feeling well enough to stand up. At least he could speak normally now. "As much as I miss my family, I do not miss that aspect of my dad. That old man is hardheaded beyond reason. Worse than me."

Josh did as asked, opening his hand. When the Leader dropped the small, metallic object into his hand, he reached toward him and attempted to embrace him. "...Thank you so much!" He started sobbing, overwhelmed that the heroic effort that could have easily killed him paid off. "After how much we were flailing around at the start of the race, I thought I was going to walk away from your Sanctuary empty-handed. I had to be your worst performer ever. This means a lot. It means as much to me as...my dream."

He recounted the vivid dream he had before joining the Rangers. It was a day that changed his life forever. "Alex, coming from Johto, I've always admired the region's myths. The gorgeous Tin Tower, the tragedy of the Brass Tower, and the three Pokémon that were born from the tragedy. Suicune, Entei...and Raikou...but especially Raikou. Since I've been a child, I've studied the myths of Raikou from various regions."

His eyes started to water, the young challenger emotionally charged. "It speaks of a legendary hero seven centuries ago. A legendary hero that rode on Raikou's back. Faster than your birds can fly, too. I don't know what it is, but shortly after I became a Pokémon trainer, I've felt that deep down, I have a connection to Raikou. A long, lost connection waiting for the right circumstances to erupt like a thunderstorm. There's no way to know if that connection is real, of course, but deep down, I just feel it has to be there."

His sobbing became progressively more intense as his story continued, pulling out his phone and minimizing all applications on it so the wallpaper depicting his dream was clearly visible if Alex was to take a peek. "I want to...I want to meet Raikou and ride him myself."

Josh was starting to become hard to understand between his sniffling and tears he was doing his best to hold back. "Even if it's only once. And not for myself. This is going to sound weird, but I have witnessed Hoenn's future. A future of a bare-earth Hoenn featuring nothing but mass death. A future where my Pokémon all died trying to protect him. It used to be because I wanted to race Raikou. But no longer. The reason I want to seek out Raikou...is to CHANGE THE FUTURE THAT REFUSES TO BE CHANGED!" By now, he was in full-on cry-me-a-river mode, hyperventilating in the process.

The JUDGMENT Josh showed in his Gym Challenge today would serve him well: no matter his desperation, he needed to respect his own limits. JUDGMENT that would serve him well in his noble chase for the sacred partner he had sought for years. "I guess this means I didn't set a new course record after all, huh?"