Josh weakly smiled as he shakily raised Raikou's thundercloud reins to the point where they would be visible in the photos. He even got a bonus one where Raikou was posing like it was about to pounce. Once all of them were taken, he knew it was time for him to "wake up" from his dream. He slid off the Raikou-familiar's back and pat it on its grey, bone-like faceplate. "Thank you, Raikou. And thank you again, Kyle. This isn't to say I'm giving up. But until I have the certainty that another Raikou is in Hoenn, I can't chase something that doesn't exist."

He reviewed the photographs, and they were simply striking. Josh, holding Raikou's thundercloud in his hands, looked almost exactly like the Hero of Johto from the storybooks. The resemblance to artists' depictions of the hero was almost uncanny. "With how much Hoenn seems to attract legendary Pokémon from other regions, I truly think it's only a matter of time before Raikou returns. And I wanna do everything I can to impress him. And in the event Raikou chooses me, I will sign with AQUA as quickly as I can."

After Josh slid down from the Raikou-familiar's back, the majestic creature began to dissolve back into SACRED ASH. With the PRESSURE of Raikou's Aura the only thing keeping Josh conscious after the blistering fast ride, he had one more favor to ask.

"And Kyle? I'm taking the Champion Assessment. And when that time comes, I want a rematch with Entei."

With the Beast fully disappeared, Josh collapsed in the middle of the grassy field. Was it all real? Unlike with most dreams, this was wholly real.

And he got to live it.