Josh's arm looked like it was in much better shape than the last time the two had seen one another, having briefly visited after the Ultra Space prison incident. Being able to confidently hold the reins of a paradox Pokémon felt great. The Gym Leader brought the Raging Bolt to a stop close to Thomas, the Raikou-like creature craning his neck to warmly greet him.

"As promised after we got back from Area Zero, I've brought them all here. Didn't you say you had a place that was ideal for training with really strong Pokémon?" the Champion asked, Raikou the Raging Bolt's paws sparking with excitement to truly let loose for the first time since being abducted by the Loyal Three.

Raikou seemed friendly with Thomas, too, having warmed up to him when they were in Oldale together. Though his cry still sounded like rumbles of thunder, Tapu Koko's bearer would be able to easily tell the paradox's friendly demeanor. He would have to lower his head to be able to fit in the tunnel, but it was no big deal; the Raging Bolt did so normally when in an all-out THUNDERCLAP-fueled sprint.

"You must have had quite the League stipend to build an underground battle facility like this," Josh asked as they descended beneath the barn and through the tunnels. They were wide enough that he could stay mounted, even. It was a nice change of pace from all the walking he had to do around the Pokémon League's giant stadiums when Kyle was still around. "Were you a Gym Leader at one point?"

Thomas must really have been loaded, having royal connections powerful enough to live off asset income. Though Josh had assets, too, he didn't have them on the same level Thomas did. The former International Policeman could simply live off investment income. The Gym Leader relied on his career for his lifestyle. While it wasn't lavish, he enjoyed his lower upper class life. Money wasn't an issue for him as long as he was reasonably frugal.

Josh gasped upon seeing the horde of rare Pokémon, the young Gym Leader letting out all of his Pokémon to meet their counterparts. "Wow, so many. You're a talented trainer," he complimented. "No wonder you use to be Elite Four. I applied for the last opening, but they took Navy instead. I've debated applying for the seat Melody Miro vacated, but I'm unsure. You've held both positions before... what's it like being there?" he asked, reining Raikou toward the other ancient paradoxes. The RAINBOW FEATHER's scintillating glow intensified in the presence of the high Infinity Energy environment.

Did Swift want to train, too?

Josh didn't know that Thomas in the past was a Gym Leader, too. "That's what I went after when I was a Gym grinder," he related his own story of ascension to greatness as he watched Torrent dash around the underground biome with great speed. He had learned from riding Eriette that Spectrier were incredibly fast, whether running through the material world or the ethereal one. "Are you able to recreate your Gym challenge still? I would love to take it on when I'm feeling a hundred percent. When I did the Gym challenge, I loved taking on as many non-battle challenges as I could. Thankfully, I got grandfathered in before the awful, awful changes to the Gym program happened. The last one's really hurt my business."

Josh, too, could relate to a demon of his that he had already overcome. That had been shed when he went to Kyle's chamber and let the Great One purify him from the inside out. "I can feel that. The Eris incident made my life for the worse, and I've only put it behind me recently." As he watched Torrent get up to speed, Josh brought up his own Spectrier. "Eriette, my Pokémon of their kind, isn't here. I wanted to work with these six instead. Perhaps when we meet again, we can arrange to have Eriette and Torrent work with one another."

The Gym Leader took his position next to Torrent, his paradoxical mount's ruby-red eyes rolling toward the ghost-type. "I... think I'm ready. There's certainly enough room for Raikou to get up to speed." Once Thomas gave the signal, Josh jabbed with his knees into the Raging Bolt's sides, electric dragon and trainer picking up speed almost as fast as his Johtonian counterpart.

Were Josh able to see Torrent's face, he would have been caught off guard; Eriette and every other Spectrier the young Leader had seen had a serious personality. "How about late this fall, when things slow down at Mauville Gym?" he proposed. "With Kyurem still messing up Hoenn's weather, it gets quite chilly there in the winter. So much that I have to recommend people bundle up before they race me."

Raikou lowered his long neck to streamline his body for a high-speed run. He loved Torrent's competition; with how speedy Spectrier were, it encouraged him to pick up the pace. His gait was bouncier than anything Josh had been on post-injury, putting the work he had done in rehab to the test. "Whee-hee-hee!" the Gym Leader whooped in celebration as he felt the wake of disturbed air against him.

It had never felt so good to go fast again. And yet, he still had a long way to go.

"Not at all!" Josh answered. "I trust you. If anything, it'll make the challenge all the more productive." No matter how pure he became after his rebirth, there were always inner demons for him to conquer. Demons that he would have to conquer if he wanted to do his part in making sure the League defended Hoenn from the invasions to come.

None of Josh's other horse Pokémon could keep up with Torrent and Eriette. That Raikou could keep up with the Spectrier showed how fast the Raging Bolt was. "Let's hold at this speed for now," the Gym Leader suggested. "Don't want to overdo it!" The electric dragon sounded a thunder-like roar, rounding a corner as the duo observed many of the rare Pokémon. "When the war's over, you should finish your Champion Assessment yourself." Perhaps they might end up battling one another there if Hoenn got to a spot where she could know peace.