Josh tensed up when a voice reached out to him just as he climbed atop the black thundercloud, holding its outermost tufts like reins. Swift interpreted the sudden motion as a command to turn around, the tiger rearing to face the source of the voice. He deeply exhaled when he realized that the set of prying eyes belonged to none other than AQUA Initiative member Laurence Anderson .

"Oh, it's just you, Lars," the Champion called back. "I thought you were Rocket for a moment and got scared we'd have a serious problem on our hands. Come on, Swift, let's go say hi!" The Raging Bolt and Manectric matched Swift's relatively low speed, Josh coaxing the ashen Beast to a stop. "You know Saber by now, and you've seen Raikou," he gestured toward the electric paradox. "Now, I'm about to go for a run on Swift here," he gave the electric tiger a gentle pat. "Wanna join me with Amir again?" he asked, though not with his usual chipper demeanor. Something was clearly distracting him...

Swift looked every bit like a Raikou, other than being monochrome. Josh grabbed the outermost tufts of thundercloud and pulled back on them, the Beast rearing dramatically like a Western hero's horse right before they rode off into the sunset. Raikou's and Swift's cries were indistinguishable, their purrs both sounding like rumbles of thunder.

The pinching of Lars' nose was a sign that he was in one of his moods. "Ever since we went down to Area Zero together and got jumped by the DRK Triad's goons, I've... started to understand your paranoia," he admitted. "That's why I was relieved to see it was just you and not Rocket. Because if Rocket finds out about Swift before we come knocking on Sootopolis, we'll lose a huge tactical edge. You see, Rocket probably thinks Raikou died with kyle lopez ."

Any enthusiasm Josh had within him was sucked away thinking about how MATIAS SILPH killed Kyle, the Top Champion and his mentor. With Swift under his command, he would simply have to carry on the late leader's legacy in his own way. "Not the Raikou. A Raikou," he clarified. "You know how Arcanine have two different forms that are still the same species? It's the same with Raikou and Swift here."

"Looks like," Josh emphasized. "There are some regional forms that look quite different from their base species. Exeggutor from Kanto and Alola look almost equally like Raikou and Swift do." Granted, it was perhaps the only drastic departure in terms of shape, but the example still stood.

When asked about the color, he breathed one of his trademark deep sighs the Ranger knew were of disappointment. "It's how I got him from the Great One. The only attack he knows how to use is Spark. Not even Quick Attack. That's what I was looking forward to doing. Riding him mid-Quick Attack. And he can't even do that. He also... doesn't act like other Pokémon do. He seems to be wholly obedient for the time, which is a plus. But he's missing the... how do I even describe it... the Pokémon element. Kind of like the human element we have."

As he would discover from studies with illeana reyes , Eva Morales , and others, the so-called Pokémon element was a reflection of Josh's personality. The good, the bad, and the ugly. His growth would depend entirely on Josh's growth. "I would ask Kyle more... but he's not around to answer those questions."

When the topic changed to the supernatural and Sootopolis, Josh sighed a second time. "Here's the thing, Captain. I'm a Champion now. While I'm not on the same level as AQUA, I carry a similar weight to them, legendary Pokémon or no. Whether I want it or not, there's no going back. But to answer your question..." He leaned forward on the ashen Beast, letting go of the reins and running his hands through the white tufts behind his mask: where a real Raikou's facial fur would have been.

"This is how much I love Raikou." The Beast mirrored the affection with a purr that rattled and tickled his rider, causing Josh to smile and even laugh.

Josh was taken aback by the news, Swift's eyes opening wide almost in sync with his rider's. Were the red of his eyes red instead of grey, they would have been narrower than what looked healthy. "I don't know how you haven't heard. It's been all over the news." He began to sniff, not wanting to accept it himself. But he had to. It was reality. His mentor and the Great One were gone. "Especially since you're a part of AQUA. You get these sort of updates way before we even do as Gym Leaders." Another sniff. "...Lars, Kyle's been killed. Possibly murdered."

He perked up when Lars shifted away from the discussion on the late Top Champion and toward the monochrome steed Josh confidently sat upon. Swift walked a slow circle around the Composed without so much as a verbal or tactile command from Josh. "Not one bit, Lars," he answered. "Because... that's how much I love Raikou."

Josh pulled back on Swift's thundercloud as Lars lit up his vape, causing the Beast to walk back a few steps. "Sorry - nicotine allergy," he apologized.

To brush Kyle's death off was cold. Cold as his Patron could be. "Did you even listen to me? It's Kyle we're talking about. There was no one who held the League up more than he did. Without him, we are vulnerable. Really vulnerable." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Matias was a pillar of the League, too. He was arguably the most militarized person in their employ; the League would never have been able to repel Rocket at Littleroot without him.

The mention of AQUA surprised Josh some. "Even if I wanted to be pulled into AQUA, I couldn't. Far as I know, I'm no Avatar." Then he thought about it. Now that he had been exonerated for the Eris incident, he was eligible to be a higher-up again. "Are you saying the League is considering me for Interim Elite Four in Matias' absence?"

Josh had not forgotten about Kyle's patron. "I am well aware that the Great One blessed him; Swift here is a part of that blessing passed on to me. You don't check your email? I sent all League personnel an email about it the day after it happened." He didn't answer the Captain's questions, expecting that they were rhetorical, knowing him. Perhaps they weren't and he would have one of his hissy fits.

Josh had already had that talk at Navy 's and freya morningstar 's Gym Leader Summit in Mossdeep. It led to him "betraying" one of his best friends. "Why do you think I notified the League as soon as I could?" he asked. "Not just to report, 'hey everyone, Raikou is my friend now,' but because I need their help, too. Just like you should be talking to other Avatars about getting your Patron under control. I don't have a control problem, thankfully."

He wouldn't get into that problem quite yet, though.

"But I know what you're getting at. The Great One resurrected Raikou, Entei, and Suicune when they died in the Burned Tower, according to the Johtonian legend. He brought Nala and Rani back from the dead. I'm more than familiar with their powers. That's why I don't think Kyle is truly dead. I want to find out what truly happened to him."

The young man moved forward on Swift's thundercloud, making room behind him when he noticed Saber and Raikou getting antsy. "Feel up to a run on Swift with me?" he offered, though he didn't expect Lars to accept.