When Josh had died and been reborn in front of kyle lopez 's Patron, so did his grudges toward Raziel Beckett . Whether he would be helping trainees prepare for ear or undergo training himself, he was as ready as he was going to get. Dashie, his Galarian Rapidash, gently levitated him to the ground; he hadn't gone through enough rehab to put that kind of pressure on his arm and shoulder yet. The young man walked through Slateport HQ's office to get to the training grounds in the rear, releasing and getting back on the psychic equine with telekinetic assistance.

"Hey, Captain," Josh set Dashie's reins down and waved toward the Slateport League official, his demeanor in no way hostile. Friendly, even. "Long time no see! How you been?" His arm's bandages and wrappings would have been almost impossible for the young Ranger to miss. Pinned to his blue Ranger uniform was a RAINBOW FEATHER that gleamed in the sunlight.

Professional, certainly. A bit too uptight for Josh's tastes, but that was Razz. A little business-friendly tone and demeanor wouldn't hurt, would it? "I know, Razz, I know. But the war's not gonna wait. And I'm a Champion now," his colleague insisted. "It's not like my arm's completely useless, either. I can still use it; I just have to be careful not to put too much stress on it." The young man unpinned the RAINBOW FEATHER from its spot on his uniform and drew the Sign. electrified ash coalescing into the form of a monochrome Beast.

"I had reached out to AQUA and former AQUA about getting help with strengthening Swift," Josh explained as Dashie loosed a HEAL PULSE from his horn to relax its aches away. "And I'm at the end of my rope. He hasn't been able to defeat a single of my Gym Pokémon in battle, and I don't know why."

The concerns were not without merit and did not go over Josh's head. They were perfectly valid. He needed to rest; rehab and riding on a horse Pokémon gave his left arm enough of a workout. "That's why I'm not asking for physical training. Not for me directly," the Knight of Thunder answered. "I've already resigned that I won't be riding Swift into battle any time soon, like I did in Galar." That was, of course, while Swift was still under Kyle's care. It was one of his most triumphant moments, and one he wished he could relive. He still had the hilt of that sword, his one physical memory of it all. Perhaps one day, he could make a blade out of it again, though it would certainly not slice with the speed of an ELECTRO BALL.

When asked what he wanted to work on, Josh scratched his head a couple times before bringing up his woes with the Beast. "He can already run faster than an Extreme Speeding Arcanine," the Elite Ranger replied, proud of how fast Swift was. Many times while he was in the hospital, he daydreamed of slamming his heels into the creature's flanks and zooming across Hoenn so fast that even his eyes couldn't fully follow. "But that's all he's good at. Where he lacks is in battles, both on offense and on defense. When I first matched him up with my Gym Pokémon, he's only been able to use Spark. Since getting back from Ultra Space, he's learned Quick Attack. I think Kyle would be disappointed if the Beast he entrusted me with became no more than a glorified beast of burden."

It was a superb idea: one of a Raikou's best defenses was his speed. Whether he was while still alive prior to the Kanto invasion, or as an ashen memory in Kyle's care, speed was an incredible offensive and defensive tool. There were times, though, when Swift wouldn't be able to use that. Terrain, Pokémon moves like Mean Look, and even just being outnumbered would prevent him from using his most powerful weapon. Having other tools as a backup was important, especially in the hands of a trainer known for speed and nothing else.

The purpose of getting Josh trained for the war was to make him and his Pokémon less reliant on pure speed as a tactic. He could still lean into his strengths, but having another way to fight was important for keeping Rocket off guard. "About as ready as I'll ever be," Josh replied as he slowly reined Dashie to Razz's side.

Swift's SPARK attack would be simple for the front line of Pawniard to repel with their steeled IRON DEFENSES. Perhaps the legendary Pokémon's electric charge knocked one down. The Raikou was still lightning fast after all; Josh doubted even the most well-trained Pawniard truly had the reaction time to steel itself against such a blow.

The sheer number of PSYCHO CUTS was overwhelming. How could Swift possibly withstand so many psychic attacks coming from all directions, each one capable of causing ash to fly out of his black body?

The Beast's body began to glow dimly, covered in a REFLECTIVE sheen that the Gym Leader didn't notice right away. It was only until the sound of shattering glass brought Josh's attention back to the battle, formerly lost in thought over what he could do. It was nowhere as close to as resilient as an ordinary Pokémon's REFLECT, shattering after just a few strikes.

A thunderous purr rattled the air around Razz, Josh, and their Pokémon. "Swift..." he trailed off. "Whatever defense that was, he couldn't hold it for long enough. I've never seen him try to do that before, though."

Swift was a more versatile Pokémon than Josh could have imagined, even limited as he was. His instincts, and Josh's, were to bolt beneath the ROCK TOMB before it encircled him. "No, Swift. We need to get to the bottom of this. Whatever you tried before, do it again!" Josh encouraged the ashen construct. The REFLECTIVE coat returned, this time slightly thicker than it was before. As the ROCK TOMB attacks fell on top of him, some of their boulders were sundered to rubble, giving him an escape route from the imprisoning attack.

The barrier broke upon reflecting three of the PSYCHO CUT attacks, the rest striking the Beast squarely. Ash blew in Josh's face as his legendary partner started to deform. "Not after that," the Champion replied. "I saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to protect me. Guard me. Show me his VIGILANCE." After Josh had drawn the Sign once more, Swift returned to the ashes his body composed of. "I don't think he's ready for war yet, but I think I have a new avenue to explore with him. An avenue that may save our lives if I'm forced to use him before I think he's ready."

Josh's Champion Assessment had taught him that very lesson: even legendary Pokémon were not invincible. Ordinary Pokémon were capable of defeating them, even at full power. Plus, wielding a legendary Pokémon in war made one a giant target.

"Swift will need to rest for the rest of the day," Josh replied, the Sacred Ash composing the Raikou's body back in the feather serving as his vessel. Reining his Rapidash closer to Razz, the rider nodded in agreement. "You're right; we still have a lot of training to go through. Long ways to go before he'll be ready. But I do have other powerful Pokémon. Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, from Area Zero. Aleph, my Type: Null. And of course, Saber."