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...