Even with Twilight's sharpened claws, the Beast still stood. Josh gasped; such a move would have taken down any other Pokémon he had come across. It was truly what made Entei legendary, wasn't it? Such ferocity, such bottomless endurance... but he could also not discount the Emergent's bond with his Patron perhaps augmenting Entei's power.

He didn't have time to ponder that, though: that SACRED FIRE was racing toward Twilight, and he had not a moment to lose. Raising his MEGA GLOVE skyward, Josh let out a wail of determination, a shield of Infinity Energy blunting the white, holy flames. False wings sprouted from the dark-type, her blades and claws sharper than ever, the brilliant quadruped shining with the light of MEGA EVOLUTION.



The Absol shook her head, feigning anger as she raked the ground around her and hurled a ROCK SLIDE toward the ultrafast god. "And you face Josh Devlin from this point on. Not a Gym Leader. Just another trainer," he defiantly mirrored Kyle's sentiment, the entire battle court shaking from the volume of their words. With Entei's focus likely on the Absol for a while, Bladestorm steeled himself against punishing attacks from a possible Urshifu, strengthening his IRON DEFENSE.

Josh's heart started thumping when he saw Entei go down. He pumped both his fists and shouted to the heavens. "I... I beat him! I BEAT HIM!!" Now all he needed to do was get through one more of Kyle's Pokémon. He was prepared for the Urshifu. He could outspeed Roy. The Silvally was a concern, as was what he could presume was the leader of the Mightyena pack.

He trembled when he saw what transpired before him. The Great One materialized from SACRED ASH. The mother of the Beasts. The patron deity of Johto. White SACRED FIRE erupted toward both Bladestorm and Twilight, threatening to afflict them both with nasty burns. Instincts taking over, the white, Mega Evolved Pokémon zipped toward Ho-oh fearlessly in a QUICK ATTACK. Without Aslan's Noble Roar holding the phoenix back, even Mega Evolution was little match for such staggering power. She would have only time to stand up, attempting to lunge for a second Quick Attack when she succumbed to the flames, EXPELLING her from the battle.

"Twilight?!" Josh shook as Saber leaped off the sidelines to fight alongside his Skarmory. The Gym Leader's DYNAMAX BAND glowed as the flames cascaded toward the more distant Bladestorm. Despite his lack of confidence in Dynergy after what happened to Rime deep within New Mauville's Regi Ruins, his talks with annalise henderson and lam logan gave him the courage to release the band's red energy. When he tapped into the POWER SPOT, the Skarmory grew to a colossal size, his trainer roughly the size of one of his talons now. Taking advantage of his extra weight, the metal bird fell onto Ho-oh with a BODY PRESS.

Josh stopped shaking at the mention of it being a test. Perhaps the Great One was testing Josh's resolution directly. With that of a Keldeo, he boldly accepted. "O Great One, I accept thy trial. May thy judgment be fair and just. O Great One, grant me the strength to perform in this ordeal to the best of my ability. Amen."

Even in the face of a colossal body, the phoenix was immobile. It truly was an unstoppable force meeting an immovanle object, the two grounded birds throwing everything they had at one another. In his enormous state, the Skarmory could not fly, rendering his Air Cutter unusable. He had tricks up his sleeve, though: he cut into the ground with the blades of his enormous, razor-sharp wings, loosing a ROCK SLIDE upon the very god his trainer worshipped above all else.

Saber, also giving it his all, fired a THUNDERBOLT toward Ho-oh. To his dismay, all it did was empower Ho-oh's THUNDER. It struck the Skarmory as though he were Johto's Brass Tower. The impact of the enormous lightning bolt, beyond anything Josh had previously seen, knocked him to the rear railing in his Trainer's Box, nearly causing him to lose hold of the Raikou stuffie in his arms.

Kyle's voice seemed different. Was that his Patron speaking directly to the challenger?

"O Great One, thank you for giving me such an opportunity. My faith in thee is unwavering. I shall not disappoint."

Saber took cover as close to Bladestorm's DYNERGY BARRIER as possible, but even the mighty shield could not fully protect the Manectric from the apocalyptic SACRED FIRE that blanketed the entire court. Even Josh felt like he was on fire from how close the white flames were. The explosion was deafening; he tried to call out to the Skarmory, but could not hear his own voice.

That Bladestorm, even with his Dynamax state waning, could remain standing after the hottest, strongest SACRED FIRE in the world. Its wake ejected more debris from the bottom of Kyle's chamber, which the heavily-breathing Skarmory would harness in a display of MAX ROCKFALL that could rival even the legendary phoenix's might. The more Josh silently observed, the happier he was about his hearing being blown. He couldn't imagine how loud that was.

The tale of devastation Bladestorm and Ho-oh weaved was unlike anything Josh had ever seen. Saber having to remain on the defensive just to stay on his feet and avoid being expelled from the chamber as Twilight was. Even with Josh at his full power, the might of Avatar and Patron was overwhelming. Bladestorm remained strong, but how long would DYNERGY continue supporting him?

The rainbow bird's flames raged on and on, cooking the Skarmory from within the DYNERGY BARRIER. As soon as the pressure of the purifying heat burst open the barrier, Bladestorm, too, was EXPELLED from the battle court. No sign of him, just like with Twilight. "You too, Bladestorm?!" Josh cried, his heart racing. First, Ho-oh had taken Twilight away from him. Now, the Skarmory he had worked so hard to teach how to survive the incredible pressures Dynergy put on his body?

He clutched the stuffie in his hands tightly, fearing what would happen to Saber.

"I... I-I am," Josh stuttered, doing his best to show courage, though his body language belied his fear. Anyone would shake in the presence of a god testing them, right?

The LIFE DEW was poetic, giving Josh a new meaning to the legend he once studied. The THUNDER that had struck the tower, the SACRED FIRE that consumed it, and the LIFE DEW that put the fire out, transforming the Brass Tower into the ruins he had visited many times, including recently in Johto alongside CIAN MAHER and Elise Calcifet .

The legend was real. And it was right before him.

With Saber revitalized, and Ho-oh no doubt as well, it was time to put all his chips in the middle, just like he did many times playing poker with Laurence Anderson . "Great One, pass judgment upon thy loyal servant," he said to the god, this time with much more confidence as he raised his Z-GLOVE. Its Z-ENERGY and the riding-style pose from the Gym Leader prompted the glow of the Manectric's QUICKINIUM-Z. There was no calling out his moves like Josh normally did. Just a wreath of lightning enveloping the great, blue and yellow wolf as he broke the sound barrier in a crash with the bird. Lightning, thunder, and sheer physical force would come racing toward the Beasts' creator at a speed higher than any of them could achieve on their own. It was fitting for Josh's last stand to be the move he once planned on being his trump card to chase Raikou down so long ago.



The Z-MOVE: HYPERSONIC PLASMA CHARGE.

THE SIGNER AND THE EMERGENT

JOSH & KYLE

ON THIS FATEFUL STAGE, both kyle lopez and his iridescent patron comprehend completely, the complicated station he carries within this world. He is burdened by powers. By duties and fates thrust upon him against his will. And though he has grown to accept and nurture his lonely position, the Top Champion must contend with the reality of transition. Of transience.

Though the Top Champion may shoulder the curse of immortality—though one must wonder, how long this blessing may endure—he looks to prepare a future where kyle lopez remains no more.

FROM HO-OH'S SACRED ASH, blessed flames surge toward Josh Devlin like vivifying regalia. They embrace him like mothering wings, imbuing the man with newfound power. By the RAINBOW FEATHER as conduit, he can channel his inherited warmth to summon ash.

And so he does. Ashes travel up the quill and vane before spiraling into the remembered form of a familiar beast of legend: a Raikou.

SACRED ASH RAIKOU

[player]https://file.garden/ZXZrnWMYuz15frfJ/HOENN%20MUSIC/ecruteak%20anime.mp3[/player]
The power bestowed upon Josh Devlin by kyle lopez and HO-OH will allow him to summon a SACRED ASH RAIKOU through the use of a RAINBOW FEATHER. However, this ashen memory of RAIKOU has strict IC limitations, for it is, indeed, made out of ash.



Consequently, kyle lopez will not be able to summon a SACRED ASH RAIKOU anymore.

• Sacred Ash Raikou can only appear for a temporary period of time. After all, the ashes must return to ashes. However, the Sacred Ash Raikou can be summoned again.


• Currently, Sacred Ash Raikou can only learn up to 6 MOVES from its LEARNSET/LEVEL UP MOVES.


• Currently, Sacred Ash Raikou can not use TM/TRs, Move Tutors, Z-Moves, Dynamax, Terastallization, or 16-week berry effects.


• Sacred Ash Raikou is not sentient and will lack a personality.


• Sacred Ash Raikou and the Rainbow Feather that is used to summon it can be sacrificed permanently to bring someone or a Pokemon back to life.


• Sacred Ash Raikou can be added to Josh Devlin's PC.

Possible developments in the future may augment this ability/this Sacred Ash Raikou.

The SACRED ASH RAIKOU manifests as a stoic yet regal creature. Ash waltzes about its maw and mane. When the beast's colorless eyes match Josh Devlin's, its bark leaves its long fangs like a boneshaking crash of thunder.

DISCLAIMER

IMPORTANT NOTICE: this development has occurred organically by way of collaboration between writers, the individual narratives of kyle lopez and Josh Devlin, the conjunction of their narrative themes and story beats, and the culmination of Devlin's arc of redemption within the League.

However, it must be reiterated that legendaries and other comparable boons are not rewarded to characters or players that create narrow narratives or identities focused on their acquisition. Players should practice healthy boundaries OOCly with their own relationships with these Pokemon or rewards, especially when considering the site setting, site community, site philosophies, and site's systems.

Please note that this is not an avatarship and more akin to that of a "shard of a legendary" being bestowed (e.g. the rainbow feather is the shard or pokeball that contains it).

kyle lopez Josh Devlin

Even the Z-Move was not enough to fell the patron deity of Johto. The foe that Saber cleaved through was an ashen copy of Ho-oh, the real one still at full strength. In the shard's last moments, an immolating burst of SACRED FIRE ignited. Saber screeched in severe pain in excess of what he suffered against Entei in their last meeting.

It was over. He had lost. Failed to become a Champion at the very end of his road.

Josh fell to his knees and cried. Cried, cried, and cried as he awaited the end. The white, all-consuming flames raged toward him, his hands folded in prayer for the Great One to take him to heaven in his final moments. They were so bright that his eyes were burning, his body's instinct forcing them shut. As the blaze washed over him, he felt a comforting, purifying warmth spread through his veins. It takes the SACRED ASH RAIKOU's thunderous roar, vibrating every bone in the Gym Leader's body, to rouse him to meaningful consciousness.

He was in the presence of Raikou again. The same Raikou he rode on for his twenty-fourth birthday. When he at last opened his eyes, the stuffie that the Rainbow Feather rest in was gone, the sacred object at rest in his hands. Was this the Great One's way of communicating he had... in fact, passed?

Slowly rising to his feet, Josh cuddled the regal Beast. "I feel... like a terrible burden has just been lifted off my shoulders, Kyle," were the first words out of his mouth. "What's going on, and why is your Raikou here all of a sudden?" His entire pride looked equally confused and stunned.