After finding the mischievous fae for the third time, the Nameless One's amnesia was suddenly cured, and Aslan no longer felt compelled to remain in the Fae Kingdom. "I had a lot of fun, too!" he chirped. "I'm glad you could let me see him again - I miss being with him and riding him like this!"

The pranksters mentioned they enjoyed being with him and his shiny Pyroar. "I'd love to come back again! Do you have any Chasers? If any of your kind go really fast, I'd love to play with them! It'd be fun!" After getting his questions answered, the Gym Leader would turn around, wave goodbye to the playful fae, and have his Pyroar enter a swift gallop away from the grove.

The dense forest gave way to a great field that seemed to compel the Nameless One to do what he loved doing, and that was going fast. While there were a few small hills, the terrain in front of him was mostly flat. It would be perfect. He slammed his heels into the big lion's sides and cried, "Aslan! DOUBLE TEAM!" With a prideful roar, the albino feline zoomed forward, three images of himself and his rider trailing behind him. Adrenaline surged through him as he reached top boosted speed and let out another joyous whoop that echoed throughout the plains.

The presence of a ravine with a single bridge crossing it caught the knight's attention, reining his lion steed in some to travel across the stone structure at a much more reasonable pace. Or he would have, if he didn't stop to admire the other great cat at the far end. The muscular, feline shape of its body, the purple thundercloud on its back, and the knife-like fangs in front of its mouth were signs that all belonged to only one figure.

"...Raikou?! Is that really you, Raikou?!"

The Pyroar-riding knight briefly frowned in disappointment.

Apparently it wasn't really the Beast of his dreams, though the sight of the deceased Beast sparked his excitement at least for a fleeting moment. He could tell just from hearing the less-than-noble voice that the Beast in front of him was not real. As he explained, he was standing before an Impostor whose image seemed to reflect its beholder's greatest desire.

"My desire for Raikou is... complicated," he began his lengthy story. "Ever since I was a child, I had dreamed of meeting, befriending, and riding on Raikou's back, for it is the fastest land Pokémon in the world. Second, to avenge my family for what Team Rocket did to them." He wasn't sure this Impostor would know much about Team Rocket, but it couldn't hurt spilling the truth. "Third, to save not only Raikou, but Hoenn, my entire outside world, as a whole, from a bleak future where only the Creator-God survives. I can't say my desires aren't entirely unselfish, but I want to say they're selfless enough." He breathed a deep sigh as he slowly guided his Pyroar steed across the bridge, approaching Raikou. "And that... is my answer."

Rejection was a possibility Josh did not want to consider. In his mind, especially after the vivid dreams he had about the Beast, he was the chosen one. He was the one to hold Raikou's thundercloud reins. He was a Johto native, a worshipper of the Great One, Ho-oh. He even proved to himself, through the Top Champion, that he had the speed tolerance to handle Raikou's full speed. Yes, it hurt. But he didn't fall even though the paralyzing acceleration of a legendary Pokémon's Extreme Speed.

"It's something I've been avoiding thinking about for the past twelve years," Josh began to answer. "Keeping that thought out of my head has been part of what's kept me going." He sniffed. "You see, I found out just recently... about a month and a half ago... that the Raikou I knew likely perished in a war. I hold out a glimmer of hope that Raikou somehow didn't die, or that there's another Raikou out there looking for me." Tears rolled down both his cheeks. "That's why I was so excited to meet you. I thought you had survived the war!"

The questions about Josh's motivation continued. "It's something I don't want to think about. Ever since I moved to my new home, I've been having these vivid dreams about Raikou." It was not unlike the dream he was having now. "I genuinely think he's trying to reach out to me. Whether it be the Raikou that I knew from Johto, or one from another part of the world, it does not matter to me. As for your third question, that's the easiest one so far. Raikou is no different from other Pokémon, right? And what do trainers do? They bring the very best possible out of their Pokémon. I would help Raikou truly master his powers and make him the best he can be. Just like Aslan here." He gently pat the back of the lion's head, who let out a content purr. "And if that still isn't good enough, that's no reason to just cast him aside!"

The Impostor did make a good point. While the Great One's Beasts as the Nameless One understood them were benevolent gods, that may not be the case with those of another part of the world. He needed to be cautiously optimistic, and be ready for a rejection that would shatter his heart. He had been chasing Raikou for so long that he never really considered what he would do if Raikou told him he was not the one he was looking for. Would he seek out divine power from another benevolent god? His future held many diverging paths. There were a myriad of futures that would end with him bonding with the legendary Pokémon he desired above all else... and just as many where he didn't.

He couldn't dwell on those now, though. He had a job to do.

"Thank you," the Nameless One replied. He would briefly dismount Aslan to touch the Impostor's grey crown if the Beast allowed it. "I get ridiculed for it in the outside world. But I truly believe that even if it isn't Johto's Raikou, there is a Raikou out there looking for me." With that, he hopped back on his Pyroar and continued past the bridge. "Aslan, let's go!" The lion entered a graceful gallop, speeding across the kingdom once more.

The Imposter's crown was not hard, like the crown the Nameless One got to touch when he rode the Top Champion's Raikou-familiar. That was one experience he would never forget. This crown, though, had a gelatinous feel to it. He frowned; even in this dream world, getting to ride Raikou once more would have brought him joy. If he wanted to, he could just ask Kyle to bring the familiar with him when they went on a mission next time.

The two left the false Raikou behind and entered a run toward the castle, going through a small town before meeting the Three Riders. They sure were as adorable as they were fierce: a trio of Joltik at the reins of a Shaymin and two Swinub! While the Swinub didn't look particularly speedy, the Shaymin immediately demonstrated it put on a surprising amount of speed!

And with that, the Nameless One's joust began with a NOBLE ROAR from the Fairy, rattling the nameless rider and intimidating the tiny, bug-type knights. At first, Aslan ran circles around the three, but the two Swinub knights took him by surprise as they caught up to the royal lion by riding each others' ICE SHARD, surrounding him in a pincer attack! With the royal Joltik spurring its Shaymin steed forward, Aslan had to make a move now. "DOUBLE TEAM, Aslan!" the big cat's rider shouted over the roaring wind. With a loud purr, the Fairy put on an sudden burst of speed at the last possible moment. The Swinub colliding with each other as they instead charged through one of the Pyroar's trailing images in an attempt to trip the Normal-type by ramming into him from both sides. The Nameless one was far from unharmed, though; cuts appearing on his skin from being struck with crossfire from the volleys of ICE SHARD.

That left the Nameless One and the royal Joltik in a one-on-one duel. The Shaymin steed proved to be much faster than the Swinub, though not as fast as the MOXIE-empowered lion the young man was riding. A barrage of STRING SHOT and ELECTROWEB would prove to slow them down, weaving around them and forcing the Pyroar to lose ground. His mouth burning with the origin of a cone of FLAMETHROWER, the Pyroar razed the sticky thread away, forcing the Pokémon to cut the thread away before the flames bounded to its body. Taking advantage of the Joltik's distraction, the racer spurred his lion mount to top speed, ready to pounce upon the final rider and dislodge it from its Shaymin mount when the opportunity arose.

With mere moments to relax before yet another creature of the Fae Kingdom began chasing him, the Nameless One couldn't let down his guard. There was a purple, ghostly equine headed at him, and fast. Really fast. "Aslan, faster! DOUBLE TEAM!" An image trail formed behind the royal lion, his flexing back harshly bouncing the rider as the strange creature gave chase. Even with the added speed of DOUBLE TEAM, the ghost Pokémon was gaining on them. "Full power, Aslan!" Except there was no more power.

Even the dizzying speed of DOUBLE TEAM was not enough to outrun this amazing creature. It seemed that this Chaser came in peace. "... You're really fast! Like... really fast!" He listened to the Chaser's request to see the Queen. "Not like I would be one to deny her that request!" His smile grew wider. "I'm really impressed with your speed. Can I... hop on your back and you take me to her?" he sheepishly asked the Chaser.