From Minerva's perspective, Josh may have looked like a yellow and purple blur in his racing attire, his mount a swirl of varying shades of grey. The young man's skin tingled as Swift reached his top normal speed, already faster than a race car with its gas pedal to the floor. Adrenaline surged through Josh's veins as he could at last resume proper riding posture from the acceleration's squeezing force diminishing. Each of the Beast's footprints was an amazing distance apart, putting into perspective just how fast the electric legendary Pokémon was.

At the very edge of his clear vision's narrow band, Josh noticed a girl waving at her. This field was supposed to be largely deserted, especially in this weather. What was she doing out here? Unable to ignore her, the boy eased his hold on Swift, taking longer to slow down than he did to speed up. The size of the thundercloud billowing behind him shielded his back from the acceleration force. There was no such protection from being thrown forward.

After circling the younger lady a number of times, Mauville's Gym Leader at last became clearly visible. He spent some time catching his breath before addressing her. "Wasn't expecting to see anyone else out here in this weather. I'm sorry if Swift and I spooked you," he apologized, though he expected many trainers to be frightened in the presence of what they might think would be a god. Swift was no god; he was the memory of a god intertwined with Josh's interpretation -- no, idealization -- of what Raikou was.

To be able to stand fearlessly in front of a legendary creature like Swift was telling of how courageous Minerva was. "Swift is... no god," Josh admitted. "He's... a memory. A memory of his original partner, kyle lopez . And of mine." The Beast was more like an inner reflection of Josh himself, though he felt that would be a bit complex and overwhelming to explain to the lady. "He was... a parting gift from Hoenn's late Top Champion. He knew the hour of his death was coming. You see, he was in possession of the ashen memories of Raikou and Suicune... that allegedly perished in the Kanto war. Before he died, he passed the Raikou on to me. I wonder who is in possession of the Suicune..." he mused, dismissing the woman's sarcasm.

Legendary he may have been, Swift was as regal as Josh was well-behaved, the Raikou's dark eyes shifting toward Minerva. "Oh, I never properly introduced myself. Gym Leader Devlin, Mauville City. But please, you can call me Josh." The young man on the Raikou held the two outer tufts of his thundercloud like they were a common Pokémon's reins, showing the level of trust they had with one another... or if she read into being a memory of Josh's inner self, that they were of one mind entirely.

It was not until well after Josh received the Great One Ho-oh's blessing that he realized that one burden had been replaced with a much heavier one. "I've been chasing Raikou since I became a Trainer," Josh replied, giving the Beast a scratch behind his ashen ears and getting a smile from beneath his spiky, gray whiskers. "As heavy as he weighs upon me, the opportunity to be his partner is more than worthwhile." For every ounce of tumult that wielding the Raikou brought to Josh, the joy of blasting across Hoenn's plains faster than anyone else he knew made that trauma a small price to pay. No matter how down in the dumps the Champion got, he was always one thunderous purr away from shaking the negative emotions off.

The Raikou did not react to Minerva's presence, lacking the sentience to do so. "It's certainly a weight few can hold," Josh answered, even though Minerva seemed to be asking no one in particular. "Whether you want it or not, having such an ally changes your life forever. It's changed mine, both for better and for worse. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I've loved Raikou since I was six or seven years old. He's been my favorite Pokémon since." Though he originally loved Raikou for his extreme, perhaps unparalleled land speed, spending so much time with the legendary creature, both on and off the track, both in and out of battle, opened his mind to the Beast's nuance.

A chase was the best way to describe his pursuit of Raikou. The electric Beast had many powerful skills, but the Johtonian god of speed was best at running away over all else. He had witnessed that strength many times. Nearly two years ago, he had experienced it with Kyle for the first time. And now, with his rehab nearly complete, he could get that adrenaline rush at will. The only limitation now was Swift's strength... which was tied to that of the deepest recesses of his own consciousness.

Even since the Champion Assessment, he had continued to grow. He had kept @michael as emotionally strong as possible while they were cellmates. He had raised zachary stellar into a fantastic candidate for Gym Leader. And though it was just Navy , Josh had garnered the favor of one of the Elite Four enough to be a candidate to join their ranks.

Indeed, change was life's constant. Josh wanted Swift to stay the way he was. He had seen how legendary Pokémon dominated their wielders in the past. What if Raikou were to resurrect from the ashes of the RAINBOW FEATHER alongside the Great One's return, only to reject Josh's hold on his thundercloud? What if he, like Articuno did Laurence Anderson , stonewalled him at every possible disagreement?

The mention of a bond made Josh visibly twitch. There was no bond between Swift and Josh. He had learned of the Raikou's true nature; that Swift was merely a construct made of ash, with but a shadow of the speed god's capabilities. Quick Attack, Electro Ball, and Reflect. He knew just from the little he got to watch the Beast under Kyle's command that Swift was capable of so much more. Why, then, did he feel so limiting?

Only time, blood, sweat, and tears would answer that question.

It was not until Minerva's final point that Josh spoke up. "Indeed, such is the nature of the scientific method," the Gym Leader agreed; though he was no scientist, his side hustle as a Ranger made him acutely aware of how the knowledge of Pokémon had evolved over time. "Just like us, too. I've taken on many different roles in the League's force before. It took several different positions before I found my true calling: managing and running supply lines. It's what Swift and I can do better than even the League's Avatars. It's taken me what feels like years to figure out. And now, I've found my place."

Minerva wasn't wrong. Not about either point. Josh had been searching for his true calling in Hoenn since his induction into the Minor League. Once, he fought on the front lines. Once, he was a lone wolf completing sensitive objectives and tasks that an undercover agent would. At last, he had found a niche that reflected his need for speed and allowed him to use his unique set of talents the best he could.

The mention of a divine gift being a curse and a blessing both resonated with him. "For the longest time, I wanted to be Raikou's Avatar. And now that I have ascertained how dangerous a divine blessing is, I no longer want to be one." There were many Patrons that were symbiotes with their Avatars; Kyle was one. He was a good friend with several others, too: Navy and Zacian seemed to be at least as in sync with one another, if not more so, than Josh and Swift. Those that weren't blew up in his mind and cautioned him.

"Don't get me wrong; I can only imagine what kinds of divine powers Raikou would bestow upon an Avatar." Superhuman reflexes, the ability to see his surroundings in slow motion, supreme speed... the list went on. "It's because I like Swift the way he is. I don't want him to change." For a genuine legendary Pokémon may not be of one mind as Josh and Swift were in their present state...

Josh was all too familiar with the price of power. The power the Knight of Thunder had at his fingertips came with the unrealized price of its severe limitations. The only techniques the Beast knew were Quick Attack, Electro Ball, and Reflect. All traditional means of teaching Swift new attacks had failed. Dynergy did not affect his ashen body. A Terastal frame could not hold itself together. And without a genuine, two-way bond, Z-Energy was impossible to utilize.

"Raikou being legendary has nothing to do with why I love him so much," Josh admitted, showing clear affection for the electric-type like one would an ordinary Pokémon. "I love big cat Pokémon. Their majesty, their ferocity, their protectiveness, and most importantly, their speed. And once my rehab is over, there is nothing I look forward to more than pushing the limits of his speed. My limits. Our limits." It may have been a mere joyride for now, but one day, that kind of speed would be needed somewhere on the bloodstained battlefield that was Hoenn.

The sentiment Minerva expressed was similar to what Melody Miro urged him to do: be open-minded to the concept of entering into service to Swift as a Patron. "I... really don't want him to. But if it is the Great One's will for me to enter into such a contract with him, I will."

For the Great One, Ho-oh, was the wisest deity in his birth region of Johto. The deity he revered above all despite his move to Hoenn.