The wound that Raikou licked grew deeper and deeper with every affectionate kiss, the flat of its tongue covered in the Gym Leader's blood. As the wound became deeper and deeper, Josh's words became more and more labored. It hurt so much. But he was also next to the Pokémon that it was his dream to meet.

"Andrea, at one point, I thought so too," Josh answered. "We had confirmation that Suicune died in the war. And look where Suicune is now. With Isaac Merlo . We never got that confirmation with Raikou. He's been out there the whole time. And look where he is. Right here." His entire body was tingling with static; every hair on his body was standing on end. Though he could not fold his hands, he recited the Great One's prayer before the holy creature:

"O Great One, hallowed bird of rainbow colors, thy will be done, Impart me with thine FORESIGHT, thine JUDGMENT, and thine INSIGHT to carry out thy will, and to deliver Hoenn from thine enemies. O Great One, impart thy faithful servant with the Blessing of Thunder, and make me a messenger of the new kingdom to come. A kingdom where your Blessed serve your Great Will for ever and ever. Amen."

Whether it was by prayer or not, the Beast ceased licking Josh, stepped off of him, and crouched between them. He ran his hand through the tiger's thick fur. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in quite some time, for kyle lopez had been too busy to travel with Josh since they last rode the Beasts across the land in the summer. Josh's eyes opened wide as the Raikou's red ones shifted backward.

"...That's part of the point I've been trying to make," Josh replied, sighing as he continued to pet the Raikou, this time on his thundercloud. It felt so soft, yet left such a tingling, almost tickling sensation. It was exactly the same sensation he felt when he rode upon Raikou's back with Kyle all the time ago.

"They may be gods, but not every one of their kind is a god, right? I don't know if I could handle being friends with the Raikou. You know, the ones that make people Avatars. That would be... so much. What I want is to be friends with a Raikou. I never liked him because he was legendary or powerful or anything. Andrea... I like Raikou cause he's fast. At one point, I thought he was the fastest land Pokémon on the planet. But then... I met Tyrfing, and then... Kora. Don't get me wrong, I still like Raikou so much. But he might not be the king of--"

Josh was interrupted by a loud purr whose vibration rattled the air around he and Andrea both. The purple cloud felt like it was throbbing in his hand. While Raikou was making that loud sound, his eyes shifted to Andrea and Josh, then toward his own back again. He rest his hands on the cloud a second time, a softer, more gentle purr rocking him. "Are you... are you saying you want us to hop on?"

"That's not what I meant," Josh half-apologized, something he still did far too often. "I am loyal to speed, yes, but I will forever love Raikou, even if another Pokémon is faster. You know just as well as I do that I value every single one of my Pokémon. Have you been down to the Racing Grounds since we raced Gia and my Cyclizar? I think I have twice as many Pokémon roaming the Gym now. And I love every single one of them."

Josh nodded at Andrea's point about the Raikou Josh had ridden with Kyle not being real. "Just like with other Pokémon, every specimen's different. Some are faster than others of their kind. Some are stronger. Others are tougher." Valoo, Josh's Drampa, was quite swift despite the species not being known for speed. He could take Pokémon species not known for speed, run them through a breeding service, and raise the best of its generation to its fullest potential. Medli, Josh's Meganium, was living proof of what he could do.

Josh at first wanted to protest, but then remembered what happened when they took Kora for a spin in the RKS Simulation. He had nearly made her sick. Perhaps it was better if he harnessed the Beast's truly legendary speed on its own. "I'm sure your dragons could fly straight to the top of Area Zero faster than Raikou could run up the trail... with how much it winds, anyway."

With how willing and calm the Raikou was, Josh set an empty Poké Ball nearby. The Beast gently kicked it back to his feet They were partners, but Raikou refused to be captured. He was a wild and free spirit, instead drawing a Sign in the clouds above Area Zero. It was a Sign that Josh could draw to call on the Beast.

He took a seat on the thundercloud, his nerves shooting through the roof. Unlike the last time when Kyle was supervising, Josh was fully in control of the Pokémon of his dreams. While he could not unlock is full potential without a Passho Berry, the space simply didn't exist in Area Zero for a Z-Move. They would need an open field that went on for miles and miles. "See you at the top, Andrea!" Josh waved before holding the outer two tufts of the Beast's cloud as though they were reins. He took a deep breath and braced himself for impact, like he was about to be shot out of a cannon.

"Hyah!"

While Andrea's words were true, Pokémon racing was so competitive that trainers were looking for every small edge they could get from genetics. Due to the size requirements Josh had for his Pokémon, though, he couldn't be picky. The number of generations required to produce offspring that were near the top of what was possible both in size and in speed was astronomical. On top of that, as Josh had learned with Blinky, overspecialization often led to deficiencies that never would have developed in the wild. Were she wild, Blinky's inability to fight with her claws would have killed her off.

Meatloaf had to cover significantly less distance to get above the clouds; they could fly straight up, while Josh and his new Beast companion had to remain on land, covering the winding path back up to the Giant Chasm. As he expected, though, that would not be a problem for the electric tiger.

With a loud purr that rattled Josh, followed by a thunder-like bellow, Raikou tore up the trail back to the surface. The acceleration pushed his facial skin taut against his bones, collecting at the back of his neck. THe stresses it put on his body were great, but he didn't have a care in the world. Every turn whipped Josh from side to side, the Gym Leade gripping that thundercloud tightly.

Glimmora, Brute Bonnet and Scream Tail went flying into cave walls that served as bumpers of a pinball machine, Josh's joyous scream the sound of its player scoring a Super Jackpot. Even in their wake, Raikou continued to accelerate, Josh's heart racing and his muscles twitching as he felt his strength giving out... until the Beast at last leveled off his speed. Once he was there, Andrea would have been able to see a yellow comet zipping up the meandering trail leading out of Area Zero.

It was exactly like Josh remembered, to the very detail. Though Kyle's Beast may have been composed of Sacred Ash, it was very comparable to this one. Except this time, there was no Emergent supervising.

Josh was in full control of the Johto Beast.

Josh caught a glimpse of Meatloaf's DRAGON DANCE as Raikou rounded the last few winding corners beneath the cloud cover. The sound of a roaring waterfall echoed from the end of the widening cave, a bright light at the end of it. They were halfway outside the Great Chasm now. All it would take would be running far up enough the Chasm's cliffsides for the Beast to make a leap, and Hoenn would be his playground. What would Mauville Gym's regulars say to see Josh astride Raikou?

At the same time, Meatloaf was pulling ahead, and that wasn't something the brave rider could allow. He leaned low enough to be nearly flat on the Raikou's back, bracing himself for the ultimate land speed technique. The Johtonian god of speed, using the sacred speed art known to few... this was it.

"Raikou, EXTREME SPEED!" Josh commanded.

With a thunderous roar, all four of Raikou's legs disappeared into a yellow and black blur, the tail of the comet that was the sprinting Beast growing longer by the moment. Even with his helmet visor shielding him from the win, he could feel it elsewhere. It was like a blade of air trying to chop at him and slice him in twain. Red began to form on his face, skin tearing from how fast he was going.

He didn't care, as evidenced from the loudest whoop Andrea had ever heard from him..

Somehow, Josh was having even more fun than the first time he rode Raikou mid-Extreme Speed. Was it the adrenaline of having full control? Was it the vast openness at the bottom of the Giant Chasm, just above the clouds masking Area Zero?

As Josh ascended further, wisps of light began to form around the Beast. The faster they appeared, the more speed the Raikou lost. He looked down and his heart sank: the Beast he had befriended was disappearing into pure Terastal Energy.

Once the Raikou had slowed to a stop, it was having even more trouble maintaining its physical form than before. Recognizing that his new friend would vanish into Terastal Energy before long, the Gym Leader slid off and cuddled the Raikou as long as he could, the vibrations of his purr massaging his sorrows away. "Thank you, Raikou... I'll never forget you..." he trailed off as the Beast vanished into a yellow, breathtaking light show.

"I've come to realize that now," Josh wiped his tears clean, showing surprising maturity that he lacked even a year ago, when he faced Elinor Anderson and confessed to the attempted murder of Eris Halla. "But even then, there's opportunities to be had here. If any legendary Pokémon can manifest itself here, think about it. You've always wanted to fly on the Skylord Rayquaza, right?" he asked. "Or... that snow cat from the Border!" Little did Josh know how hateful Chien-Pao was. Even a Terastal-created Ruinous Sword might not let such a pure-hearted trainer sit in its snowy saddle...

"The one that's got swords for teeth?" Josh asked, not having played that particular route when Rondez-View was at the height of its popularity. He still played occasionally during downtime, such as at airports. He still needed to finish all eight of the branching paths on Shalin's route - he had that one bookmarked for a reason! "Andrea, just as much as you like your dragons, I like my big cats. Though it's true I like almost all fast Pokémon, big cats have a special place in my heart. I'd love to catch one of every common big cat Pokémon."

Where Andrea had expressed concerns over ruining the experience with the Peacemaker's Patron, Josh saw it from the side of being realistic. To him, it was better than not getting the opportunity at all. What would it be like soaring on the Great One Herself? He would never saddle up Ho-oh out of respect for the Johtonian deity, even if given the chance. But a Terastal mockery of one? Absolutely! Would a Chien-Pao's whippy turns hurl Josh out of the snowy saddle on its back? Probably. If there was an ultra-fast legendary Pokémon he could befriend, even if its existence was ephemeral, it was worth it.

"...Let's go home," Josh suggested after the yellow light show was over.