Even Josh didn't fully understand the nature of his Beast... and the only person that could help hadn't been seen for months. He was on his own to piece the story together. Living or construct, Josh adored Swift. His adoration made Ecruteak's people adore him. As much as he enjoyed feeling like he was valued, being this much of the center of attention was just a bit overwhelming.

Overhearing the young lad's request, Josh guided the monochrome tiger toward the child pointing at him. The Beast sat down on his hind legs to allow the boy to pet and even cuddle with the god of speed before they moved on. Their travel became faster once Ecruteak Law Enforcement had been called to help clear the streets for Josh and Andrea.

For all the burdens there were to being a Champion, it sure had its benefits!

Even after the streets were cleared, cameras flashed, and the attention wasn't all on Josh, either; the presence of the Ogerpon tilted heads toward Andrea. "See, it'll all be fine!" he reassured the cosplayer. "My only regret is I'm still too hurt to go faster than a trot with him. Ecruteak's people deserve to see the kind of speed Swift is capable of."

After wandering for a bit, the duo came to the crossroads of the Burned and Tin Towers, Josh's eyes shifting toward the ruined structure. "This was where the whole thing started," he answered. "Where I started to despair when I found Raikou had perished in the war. What led me to the whole Eris incident. Since then, I have conquered it all. It just feels... strange to be back here so soon," he began to recount his story of redemption within the League.

Swift did not immediately respond to Andrea Vaneau . He was an ashen construct that reflected Josh's subconscious. He felt a real Raikou would have a true connection to this place, and truly would be able to awaken any latent abilities. Instead, the Beast roared, clouds beginning to cover the sky, as though he was summoning a storm. Just as quickly as the dark clouds rolled in, they dispersed, every drop of rain that dripped from them absorbed into the dry air. Andrea might have recognized the motions as a RAIN DANCE. A weak, unsuccessful one, but still a RAIN DANCE. "...Swift?" Josh slowly asked, uncertain what was happening.

Snapping out of his trance, Josh turned back toward the dragon lover. "Yes, this is where Raikou was born. I do not know of Swift's origins. The longer I raised him, the more questions I had." Inside the tower's remnants, there were tributes to Entei and Suicune, too. "Wonder where they're at? I haven't heard from either of them since we saw those toxic chained Pokémon."

After Swift took in the scenery of the Raikou's birth place, the two turned toward Tin Tower. "Andrea, there's something I feel I need to do. I never thought I would go back there after seeing Shawn's soul pass on. With Kyle's body not showing up anywhere, I have to confirm it. I have to go back to The Border and look for him."

Indeed, Swift was no god. Josh's precious Beast was a memory of the Johtonian god that paid the ultimate price to keep Johto from falling in the same way Kanto did. A true martyr, much like kyle lopez .

When Andrea reached out to pat Swift's faceplate, were she able to withstand the initial shock much like one would get touching a doorknob in winter, she would be able to feel his entire body rattling from a feline purr. It was loud for a cat, and may have sounded intimidating to those who had never heard it. If she was familiar with the Raikou by now, she would have been able to deduce the purr was a sign of affection that mirrored Josh's own for the electric Pokémon. He truly loved the Raikou more than any of his other Pokémon, and it was showing with how little action Raikiri had seen.

Once he had gotten through enough rehab to train with the Zeraora again, that would change.

"Yes," Josh answered with a nod, a patrol to the Tin Tower yielding to the Beast's rider without question. "After the Eris incident, dorian westcliff attacked Mauville Gym last year and took the lives of four of my employees, three prospective employees, and seven civilians. I went to the Border several times to put their souls to rest." He briefly closed his eyes as Swift walked the long road to the tower of the Great One. "So Kyle's Marshadow... the one he used in the Champion Assessment against me... was originally mine."

Even Ogerpon seemed in awe at the ancient structure, built long before Josh had even been thought of. It was one of the oldest buildings in Johto, carefully guarded and maintained. For Ecruteak's denizens, and Johto's as a whole, largely believed that one day, the Great One would return and bathe the region in a blessed rainbow.

"It is a long ways up, and you can't just fly to the top of it either. If the legend is to be believed, its upper floors are surrounded by a Crystal Wall from the outside," Josh recalled. "Thinking about it, I hope Isaac Merlo 's alright. It's been so long since I've heard from him..." he trailed off before Andrea's remark snapped Josh out of his trance.

Josh internally shook a metaphorical fist at Dorian. There was no getting those lives back. At the very least, all their souls passed on and could rest in peace for all eternity. And they had Josh to thank for that. "Fourteen that day. Dorian's pretty high up on the League's most wanted list. He's a psychotic serial killer. If you ever cross paths with him. run. As far as you can. You've got really fast Pokémon -- use them to get away." Of course, he couldn't do that. He couldn't let Princess Elise Calcifet be captured or killed. He couldn't let that madman take any more lives that day. And he did not. The death toll remained at fourteen.

As the dirt road turned to bricks that were laid in rainbow-colored patterns, Andrea asked about the origins of the ghost and fighting Pokémon. "We did trade. You see, Raikiri was originally Kyle's Pokémon. They didn't tick too well, and I didn't tick too well with that Marshadow. So we traded. So I owe Kyle not only for the Raikou, but a Pokémon I once thought was Raikou. I've got so many rare Pokémon now that it's hard to give them all the attention they deserve."

Raikiri and Josh were made for each other. He had so many electric feline Pokémon that his Gym may as well have been a cat preserve. How many cat Pokémon roamed the grounds now? Close to twenty? It showed just how much the crazy Gym Leader loved Pokémon that could go fast... and using that talent to keep Hoenn's citizens safe. "That reminds me, Elise Calcifet has a Zeraora that runs on all fours, just like Raikiri. We were going to race each other in the Spring, then... the whole abduction happened, and my arm got messed up." Once it was feeling better, he would have to make good on that meeting they had planned. The one where they would race each other. Maybe Swift could get in on the race, too.

Josh, likewise, had many. Out of the paradox Pokémon resembling Johtonian and Unovan legendary Pokémon, he owned five. Seeing Shalin's Iron Leaves prance about, he wasn't sure how well he would handle something that agile. The twirling leaps the Virizion look-alike made seemed dizzying. He had ridden Virizion before with MATIAS SILPH , too. The last good memory he had of the Elite Four before he had become corrupted by the Red Shard. Virizion was just so agile -- too much so for him to handle. "One of these days, we should set up a Paradox Pokémon playdate," Josh suggested, if anything just to get Raikou, Entei, and Suicune together in a setting that wasn't his Gym or a battlefield. Though they weren't the real Johto Beasts, he treated them as such: among the most respected Pokémon on his team.

At the end of the meandering, rainbow path was the Tin Tower. Josh slid off Swift's back and creaked open the double doors, his legs trembling. "Admittedly, this is... the first time I've been inside the tower," he admitted, the monochrome Raikou's long fangs rumbling like thunder.

With how narrow the staircase was, Josh could not remain mounted on Swift. Instead, he and the ashen Beast wandered the first floor, seeing statues of his mount and the Raikou's two siblings. "I never did get to hop on Entei's back before Kyle perished," he said as he admired the details of the masonry. It was clear that the Pokémon he revered were sacred to the people of Ecruteak, and the region as a whole.

"But that was his decision to make, not mine. I wonder if Pon would enjoy the speed of a Beast at all. Something to look forward to when I'm feeling better, maybe. I'll keep you posted on my rehab... because I don't want to do it until I've got full motion and strength in my arm again." It would be a glorious day, one he longed for. "The best day of my life was when Kyle dropped by my Gym on my birthday and let me hop on Swift for the first time. The first and only time I've been able to command him to floor it. It's something I want to be able to relive."

Sliding down from the Raikou's back, Josh followed Pon upstairs. "It is a maze, but I've been up here once or twice with the Gym Leader before. I don't know if I told you this, but I have five Gym Badges. If being a Gym Leader myself didn't keep me so busy, I'd come back here and finish my Gym Challenge here, too. Even though I've heard Olivine and Blackthorn Gyms are pretty rough." Of course, now that he was a Champion, he expected he would have little trouble defeating the remaining three Gyms... even without his rare and powerful Pokémon.

"It is," Josh replied, beaming as the ogress' trainer showered him with praise he was not used to. He gave a thought to how else he could cement his accomplishments in the aftermath of his sparring match with Chi-Yu. "I've debated taking Johto's Champion Assessment, too. I've heard from up the grapevine that we may have some doubters in my title. Once racing season's over and Mauville Gym slows down, I might take a few weeks off to come here and be a Johtonian Champion, too. With Raikou, Entei, and Suicune at my side, no one can stop me," he boldly declared, referring to the three paradox Pokémon.

Pon's enthusiasm warmed Josh's heart. "Who knows? Maybe Pon will even get the chance to drive," he tried to further excite the Ogerpon. "And of course, that offer extends to you if you change your mind, but I know you've expressed concerns about it. Dragons are fast, but there really is a big difference between land speed and air speed, isn't there?" he mused, knowing that all too well from teaching students at his Gym.

Before long, the two would reach the open-air top floor of the tower, beholding the golden statues of Ho-oh adorning it. "According to the Johtonian legends, this is where the Great One, Ho-oh, used to roost."