Josh withdrew Suicune the Walking Wake just before leaving the enormous crater, taking a seat on Hylda's back for the trip to Oldale. The Icelands whizzed by, its crests and bergs seemingly parting on their own as the Glastrier TRAILBLAZED through them. The sound of icy hoofbeats was Thomas' cue that the Champion was coming; only he would turn a traditionally slower equine like a Glastrier into a speed demon.

It did not take the speedy horse long to get to Oldale HQ; the worst of it was having to slow down to match the municipal speed limit. Stop-and-go traffic was the worst. Withdrawing his Pokémon, the Mauville Elite entered the building. He had some Area Zero trinkets to drop off anyway. Meeting up with Thomas there worked out well for him.

Josh was quick to find Thomas in the lobby. "Sorry for the wait, Thomas," he apologized. "I don't get cell signal in the Giant Chasm at all. No internet, nothin'. I'm... unreachable except by local radio communication when down there. Only got your text after I left. What do you need?"

"Great to see you too, Thomas," Josh waved. "It's been too long." He rolled his eyes upon hearing of the rancher's difficulties, presumably in the Chasm. "Tell me about it. It's awful down there. Even with my new friends, and powerful ones at that, it's murder down there."

Josh stopped cold. "You said Entei? As in Hoennian Entei?" he asked, worried and hesitate to accept the Ball. "No wonder. Does she not know how fast Entei are? She passed out after riding Braver just once. My Arcanine. And she thought she could not only ride Entei, but wild? Girl's unhinged. Great friend, but Arceus is she unhinged." She was known to tame Pokémon by riding them and tiring them out trying to unseat her; she had made local news in Rustboro over it. But to ride a legendary Pokémon against their will? Surely even for her, that was beyond her limits. It showed when Thomas presented Josh the Cherish Ball used to capture the Gouging Fire.

"You used to be Elite Four, right?" Josh asked Thomas. If he got confirmation, then he would divulge his experiences in a soft voice. "Then I can trust you with this. Down in the depths of Area Zero, I caught Raikou. Hoennian Raikou," he said, referring to his Raging Bolt. "Gotta keep it on the down low; if Rocket finds out, they'll be ready for him. He only let me catch him because... well... it's a long story. I can tell you if you want."

Regardless of whether Thomas was interested, the name Desiree came to mind. "The last time I ran into her was before Kyurem blew open Area Zero. Haven't seen her since. I'm worried about her, too. She hasn't responded to any of my emails, either."

Thomas' inquiry meant to Josh that they were probably thinking along the same lines. "She's so weird. She can ride on a whip cracking at supersonic speeds, but she can't even handle an Arcanine. No wonder she asked you to deliver the Hoennian Entei to me. I'll do my best, but I can't promise I'll be able to connect with it. You see, I've been having trouble connecting with Tyrfing and Sigmund. They're those Pokémon that look like Terrakion and Cobalion. It's like... shard legendary Pokémon are multiplying in Hoenn. First Hoennian Sacred Swords, and now Hoennian Beasts..." he trailed off, lost in thought as he reached for two more Cherish Balls, setting them next to the one Thomas presented to him.

"So the Hoennian Raikou," he started to recount the story, "I've been able to forge a special connection with him unlike the others. When I went to the bottom of Area Zero, Andrea Vaneau helped me save a Raikou from a horde of paradox Pokémon. I became his friend, like I always wanted to. I even rode him around Area Zero, just like I do with Kyle's Raikou every so often. Then when I tried to leave Area Zero with him, he dissolved into Terastal mist."

It was some of the greatest despair the Champion had overcome, being so close to his dream, yet so far away. Even so, the possibilities dawned on him. "That's not the only instance of a legendary Pokémon appearing down there. Even if they can't leave Area Zero, I'd love the chance to hop on some other really fast ones. Imagine soaring on a Latios!" he daydreamed, imagining the G's the nimble, living jet could put on him.

It took him quite a bit of time to snap out of his trance before going over the rest of his story. "I later returned to Area Zero and ran into the Hoennian Raikou that's in this Poké Ball. It had the exact same injuries that the Raikou I befriended had. My gut feeling tells me that they're the same Pokémon. It makes me wonder if it was fate that I happened upon all three of them. Like the Great One is looking for a successor or something." Thomas may have been able to notice subtle signs of Josh withholding information. In a way, Ho-oh had already chosen a partial successor, having handed down the Sacred Ash Raikou to Josh.

Josh frowned when he heard the news. Little did he know he would run into Desiree in Area Zero in a few days. He would be more than willing to share the update as it came in. "There a gymnasium or some kind of larger room we can use?" he suddenly asked.

Her specialization was beyond ridiculous. "Sure, it absolutely does. She convinced me to get a Kommo-o of my own; his vibration is more effective than dynamite when it comes to blowing out cave-ins and such. I just don't get how her insides don't melt from it." Josh had barely tapped into the powers of his own Sygna Suit like she did; it was fun to watch, but how it worked boggled the mind.

Josh looked confused. "Wait, what did you call them?" he asked. "I didn't think they had received official designations yet." If they had, the names hadn't been disclosed to him through official channels. "I'll have to take you up on it. I'll bring them both, as well as... some other Pokémon." The list of exotic partners at the Champion's beck and call was growing by the month. He briefly smiled back when Thomas chuckled. "Might be worth going down there once things calm down. I've never imagined what riding a Yveltal would be like. Who knows what we'll run into!"

The former Avatar repeated Josh's story back to him perfectly. "That's exactly right. This is also part of why I asked you for your trust and your silence. Come on. I'll show you what I mean." Once they were at the expansive training grounds, the Knight of Thunder clicked open a Cherish Ball containing Raikou, the paradox Pokémon he had befriended with Andrea at the bottom of Area Zero. "Thomas, meet Raikou." The saddled, long-necked dinosaur cat purred like a predator on the hunt.

"And that's not all," he continued, pulling the RAINBOW FEATHER from its pinned spot on his person. "You're former League personnel. I can trust you. But this has to stay confidential. If there are any leaks, Rocket will see it coming and devise countermeasures." He began to draw a lightning-bolt shaped Sign with the feather, ashes floating in the air from a massive electrical current...

"Iron Boulder and Iron Crown..." Josh mused as he drew the Sign, arc bolts dancing among the ashes left in the RAINBOW FEATHER's wake. "Will have to keep them in mind. They act a lot like the Sacred Swords that are familiar to Unovans. I do know one thing, though... whatever engine is inside Iron Boulder has a lot of horsepower behind it. Tyrfing can go fast. When we reconvene at your ranch, I'll have to show you."

Once the Sign had been completed, a deafening thunderclap roared inside the building, rocking light fixtures as though an earthquake was rumbling around them. A bright flash of lightning blinded anyone who was directly observing the summoning process. When the lightning faded, before the duo was a monochrome, ashen Raikou. "And this is Swift," Josh introduced the Beast to Thomas. "And this is what clued me in about Hoennian and Johtonian Raikou. I now command both, according to the Great One's will." And the late Kyle's will, too.

The Beast crouched, beckoning Josh to sit upon the black thundercloud, which he did. "Gym Leader, Elite Ranger, Champion, and now, Knight of Thunder. And Thomas, I have you to thank for pointing me to him in the first place."

And so, the stage was set. Little did Josh and Thomas know that their abduction into Ultra Space would significantly delay any training they were to do. "Look forward to coming over to Verdanturf again," the Gym Leader said. "117 is one of my favorite roads in Hoenn. There's a safe, well-traveled road if you need to securely get from Mauville to Verdanturf. There's also a huge plains to the north, where there's no speed limit. Once the word's out, I plan on practicing with Swift there. It's going to take a lot of getting used to his speed before I can truly be the Knight of Thunder the Great one wants me to."

Josh was humble about it too. "You pointed me in the right direction. And now, I'm living my dream." A loud and powerful purr rattled the Champion's bones; Thomas may have even been able to feel it, much like a car stereo's bass cranked to the maximum. "And thanks for doing this on such short notice. I'll make sure to take care of Entei." Getting ready to leave, he drew the ashes back into the Rainbow Feather, landing on his own two feet. "I think there's more to Area Zero than meets the eye. We should go down there together one more time."

Thomas was still a great friend even after all Josh had been through. He was fully aware of all the horrible things he had done to Eris and the extent to which he went to rebuild his reputation. "Thanks again. Look forward to coming to your ranch and racing Swift. I will say one thing - never once did I see Kyle ride Raikou. If there's anyone in Hoenn that can handle riding a living lightning bolt, it's me." Such was the domain of the Knight of Thunder: the fiercest blitzkrieg Hoenn had ever known.

As Josh headed to the door of the Ranger station, ready to ride his Glastrier back home, he turned back to Thomas one more time. "Please keep me posted about Desiree. She's one of my friends, too."