Dashie whinnied playfully when Genny ran her hand through his mane. "Oh, did your mother own one as well?" Josh asked. "They really are gentle Pokémon. Couldn't ask for a better Pokémon to learn how to ride with." It was true; Galarian Rapidash were among the easiest Pokémon to learn with; their gait was steady, they were responsive, and their psychic abilities could keep a rider from falling, reinforcing their balance.

The reaction to Swift was expected; being in the presence of Johto's god of speed had to be overwhelming. The tiger was big enough that Josh could pet the top of his crown even while seated on the Rapidash's back. Swift purred in response to the affection, its rumbling throat sounding like distant thunder that Genny may have been able to feel, even from her distance.

"He was kyle lopez 's last gift to me before he died at Mount Chimney. It's like our Top Champion knew the hour of his death."

Saber's cold jaws could no longer hold after a swift whack of Marrow's BONE RUSH. Unable to close his mouth due to his jaw rapidly swelling from the repeated impacts, the Manectric began to choke on sand. Having seen enough, Josh withdrew the Manectric, leaving it up to Etali.

The swift bird wasn't unprepared; though the psychic attack twisted the bird's vision and sent him flying farther away from the action than Josh liked, he wasn't out of it by any stretch. All the speed and AGILITY the bird had been building up was for a well-known purpose. As the bird soared faster and faster, the sandstorm battering him, he opened his beak to discharge a lightning-fast ELECTRO BALL that closed the gap in a split second.

The way Lydia walked was disciplined, and to Josh, almost robotic. Her Lycanroc seemed incredibly well-behaved, too, not so much as shaking or flinching as the female soldier mounted up. The two canines were off at a pace that Lydia dictated, the Gym Leader not wanting to discomfort her with breakneck speed. The wind was also a factor: if they went too fast, they wouldn't be able to hear one another. "You work with HBIC, right? Then I can share this with you. It's a bit sensitive, so let's move away from the fence."

Once they were toward the center of the property, far away from fences where one could eavesdrop, Josh speculated on what the motive might be. "It's where I've kept a very special few Poké Balls when I'm away from the Gym," he answered, about to refer to his Raging Bolt, Gouging Fire, and Walking Wake. "Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, in their Hoennian forms. That and the Rainbow Feather that houses Swift, my Johtonian Raikou."

Was possessing a legendary Pokémon more of a blessing or a curse? These sorts of incidents skyrocketed after the knowledge had been public. "No one but my Gym managers should have known. Feels like an inside job to me. At least part of it."

The Top Champion and the Great One seemed to speak as one. The absence of the flames left Josh feeling not cold, but warm. Reborn. Cleansed of his checkered past. Like the deluge that put out Entei's SACRED FIRE at the Brass Tower in an era past, he came out of the Champion Assessment a transformed man in more ways that one.

"Did you say... Knight of Thunder?!" Josh gasped. "So you're saying... that the Raikou..."

Was his.

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-snes-spc/earthbound/121%20The%20Power.mp3[/player]

The Power - EARTHBOUND ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

After thirteen years, the new Champion's childhood dream came true. His past self would have been jumping and shouting like a crazed girl that had won a million dollars on a prime time game show. His eyes welled up as he stood to his feet and cuddled the ashen Raikou's black and white face. The purr the Beast loosed was powerful. So powerful that howard slayte and Lulu Flint may have been able to feel it even through their observation equipment.

As the two voices separated from one another, Josh's expelled Pokémon had returned in a flourish of rainbow plumes. The new Champion turned his head away from the Raikou he poured love and appreciation into. "Kyle, I... I feel like I could explode at any moment," Josh broke down in tears again, his voice perhaps a bit hard to understand. "I've never been so happy in my life. Is this whole thing recorded? I want the recording of this whole match. Something to cheer me up when I'm down in the dumps. Please."

The young man turned to one side and pat the electric tiger's crown. It responded by crouching, letting Josh sit upon the black thundercloud. Every hair on his body stood on end when he fully realized he was not only sitting astride the fastest Pokémon on land, but also in full control. "Your name... shall be Swift," he christened the legendary Pokémon, taking a deep breath and facing Kyle once more.

"Kyle... let's go to the Hall of Fame together. As friends and as champions."

With a light kick to the Raikou's sides, Josh followed the Emergent to the Pokémon League's most prestigious chamber.

Josh was pleased to see Beckett; he felt bad that he had to deal with his boss going missing after just being out of training. His Gym Trainers had a lot of experience. "Glad you were able to catch on to your duties without me. I was right to hire you on."

The Togekiss near both of them was fast asleep, peacefully dreaming of the day Josh would be able to soar the skies with him again. Pleasant dreams that reflected the desire to truly enjoy life with his trainer. "Supposedly they'll be able to discharge me in a week and change," Josh answered, "but it won't be over after that. I'll need to go to rehab to learn how to use my arm again. I'll probably need to relearn how to ride a Pokémon with just my good arm."

The thought of having to start over from square one was devastating, especially after befriending the fastest Pokémon on land. He had barely gotten a taste of Swift's supreme speed before finding himself hurt badly enough to disable one arm. Even if it was temporary, it was still a huge blow.

"Filthy, disgusting words those are," Josh retorted as Dashie galloped away from Elisabeth Fiorelli and toward Aleph. "Mercy is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of love. Of faith. They believe there is a kind soul beneath your hardened heart. A heart hardened by the GRUDGES instilled upon you by your Patron."

Her words incited Josh to greater fury - fury that the Scorned would soon regret invoking. For as weighty of a weapon as GRUDGES were, JUSTICE tipped the scales with equal force. "They may be gods, but Elisabeth, they're still Pokémon! And even gods need friends!"

Josh's monologue would be cut short by Dashie levitating the Champion out of the saddle and onto the ground. "What are you doing, Dashie? I need to you--" He would again be cut off by the dark dome that encompassed not only Aleph, but now his Galarian Rapidash. An otherworldly whinny and a hybridized canine and feline screech was his only clue of just how much negative energy WO-CHIEN pumped into the two of them.

Within its impermeable veil of darkness, Dashie's horn glowed, her HEAL PULSE creating a shield of positive energy that saved Aleph's from the brunt of one of the most powerful dark-type attacks known to man. The exploding dome's shockwave brought Josh to one knee as he witnessed Dashie's terrible fate:

All that remained of her was her horn.

"Dashie..." Josh sobbed, his acidic tears absorbed into the dry soil beneath him. "Dashie!!! ELISABETH, YOU KILLED HER!!!"

Swift's monochrome eyes glowed a bright gray, its wielder's anger toward the Scorned mirrored with the Beast's SAVAGERY. In the split second that Elisabeth Fiorelli let down her guard, the Raikou pounced with the fastest QUICK ATTACK the Avatar had likely seen. Were she to dislodge her from her Pokémon's back, he would attempt to pin her down, overwhelming her with the PRESSURE of a legendary Pokémon's presence.

ABILITY SLOT REGAINED

Swift the Raikou has regained the PRESSURE Ability.

REDEEMING

quick before it perceives!

4X Silvally Memory (4@250 RKS POINTS)

TOTAL SPENT

come back if you dare!

1000 RKS POINTS

TOTAL REMAINING

save if you can!

50 RKS POINTS LEFT

Nothing could have prepared either of the duo for the landing. An unearthly screech of air sac against cavernous floor drowned out all other noise in the bottom of Area Zero, Koraidon leaving massive skid marks as its whirling wheels whipped itself and its two riders forward. Josh let out a wail of his own, his left arm thumping as though it could tear itself apart. The intense adrenaline rush coursing through his body was the only thing that kept him from going into shock as the red paradox Pokémon performed a wheelie.

Without being commanded to perform any turns, the Pokémon zipped around the same trail it did to get up to the Giant Chasm, only with twists so fast that the Gym Leader was powerfully thrust to one side. His entire body shook in pain; even his good arm was pushed harder than he would have liked just holding on.

Sensing his distress, the Koraidon let Josh and Eddie dismount close to the top of the Giant Chasm. If Eddie were to look at him, he would see a pained look on the Champion's face as the simulation began to fade. Once their vision turned fully white, it would eject them back into the real world, the pain he suffered within but a memory stressing to him to take his time with relearning how to ride Pokémon.

That's right -- Isaac Merlo hadn't come to visit him yet. Perhaps he was also suffering somewhere else in Hoenn. So many people suffered that day. He had the Great One to thank that all his inconveniences seemed to be temporary. Long-term, but temporary. He would be back at full strength in due time. And when he was, he would be ferrying soldiers, supplies, and war plans across the battlefield faster than the Magnet Train connecting Johto and Kanto.

Maybe one day, he would get to do so at the speed of a lightning bolt.

"The Tin Tower is in Ecruteak," Josh added, touring the northern, traditional city an easy thing to add to the list. "You are right. The Kimono Girls are something else. We might have to watch them the day we go to the Tin Tower." They could dominate at rhythm games, too; while Ecruteak didn't have a Round One location, the city did have a couple cabinets of older versions of Step Step Revolution. He felt like leaving Andrea out of that would be a good idea, given how their Sinnoh trip went.

"Not really," Josh answered, waving goodbye to the cosplayer. "Thanks so much for coming by. It means a lot. Once I get out of here, we'll have to plan that trip -- preferably before it gets too cold." Once Andrea was gone, Josh turned the television back on.

A weak water attack like Bubble would keep the effects local. "I was wondering if you had a water Pokémon capable of using Bubble, but it sounds like you don't." The mention of a rainstorm didn't go unnoticed. "If we were outdoors, I would. But I have an idea."

With a sigh, the Champion reached for a Poké Ball on his belt, from it emerging a Samurott whose horn nearly scratched the ceiling. "Fumiko, mind giving it a gentle SOAK?" Josh asked the saddled water-type. With only a nod, the Pokémon opened her mouth, a gentle stream of water flowing from it to the top of the grass-type.

Janus took a step back as the Dustox flew closer, a bit skittish around bug-types after having been around one of his trainer's eccentric friends for a bit too long. "Great to meet you, Mike!" the Gym Leader answered. "They all come from Space-Time Distortions. Used to chase those things all over Hoenn when they more frequently showed up. You know what they are?" he asked as Ponky stepped toward Michael, gently rubbing her feelers against him if he allowed it.

"Great to meet your team, too! These four are Kairi, Clyde, Janus, and Pinky," Josh gestured toward the Eeveelutions, "and beneath me is Milo." To be able to control a Thievul around so many eggs was remarkable. Gym Leaders had great control of their Pokémon, didn't they?

"Some of our deliveries are clear across town. Do you have any other Pokémon? Bigger ones?" Josh asked expectantly, wondering if Michael had any Pokémon capable of ferrying him through Verdanturf.

As much as Josh enjoyed the LOOP CROSS course for its two vertical 360s, gravity letting Pokémon exceed their top speeds quite a bit when coming out of them, the inversion on the back of the course was tough on his body. He couldn't imagine how hard it was on Verte; unlike most of his dragons, the Flygon struggled with flying upside down.

Rather than remain steady like other dragons, or even his bird Pokémon, Verte banked back and forth to try to get as much lift as he could through normal flight. Josh was sweating beneath his rattling helmet, able to tell his mount was working extra hard to beat his wings harder upward than downward. The sensation of falling into the "top" of his cocoon saddle made it even more difficult for the Gym Leader to maintain control. It was working for the time being, but he and his Flygon had to be careful. If ACE SHEEKE and Ares passed him, that was okay. They would make up for it once boost laps started!

The already loud aerial race became even louder as Cain Stille 's and Josh Devlin 's FLYGON, as well as ARAVAN ESCHER's YANMEGA, were forced to work harder to keep themselves aloft while blood rushed to their trainers' heads. Cain may have been able to feel his skin tingling as he led the way around the corner, likely able to hear the bug's droning wings as the amateur oceanographer closed the gap.

Rocking back and forth seemed to work for the Gym Leader, the FLYGON's wake currents proving to be a real challenge for ERON IUNIS' BRAVIARY and ACE SHEEKE's CHARIZARD to fly through. The two Pokémon soared dangerously close to the ground to evade the moving air -- a maneuver that proved costly when they had to sharply "descend" to remain within course bounds as part of the final loop that set racers right side up again. Worn down after the sudden vertical swerves, the BRAIVARY and CHARIZARD accelerated more slowly than they had off the line. By the time they reached their top flying speed, they were significantly behind the more nimble Pokémon in front of them. If they could keep up their speed, they would make up time, but it was a tall ask.

As the field crossed the starting arch for the first time, an announcer-like voice clip boomed from the scoreboard's speakers:

[player]https://file.garden/ZDeuoB-J4RNQd5aY/gyms/master/You_Got_Boost_Power.mp3[/player]

"YOU GOT BOOST POWER!"

You Got Boost Power! Speed-increasing moves, such as QUICK ATTACK, AGILITY, and EXTREME SPEED are now allowed. Pokémon will be able to use such speed-increasing moves a number of times up to their Endurance ranks for the rest of the race. Speed-increasing moves will grant you ADVANTAGE on Speed-based Obstacles for the posting round, meaning you will [ roll ] four times instead of two for that post and ignore the lowest two rolls. For the second lap of the race, the Leader's rolls will be capped at 150, before modifiers are applied.

Beware! Taking tight turns and stamina-draining Obstacles at high speeds can result in dire consequences, and may impose DISADVANTAGE on Endurance-based and Reaction-based Obstacles, meaning the highest two of the four rolls will be ignored. If the lowest two of the four rolls would still pass the Obstacle, Track Position for that Obstacle will be instead calculated based on the highest two rolls.

Prompt: After the course's opening loop, Pokémon and racers would get a chance to catch their breath between now and the long, spiraling upward turn: there was a long, straight section of track that was ideal for Pokémon to regain their stamina, or for those who were daring, the chance to put on a burst of speed. Better hit the brakes before the long turn, though!

Target Number: 0 (Speed)

Special: None

As if the Bronzong wasn't bad enough, now there was a legendary Pokémon staring them down. Josh couldn't have picked a worse day to train with his Gogoat. He and his Pokémon were already worn down from their previous battle, and to defeat such a titan seemed impossible in his state. One swipe of that metallic arm, even to his good side, would cause permanent damage to his bad arm, if not outright slaying him.

He couldn't back down, though. He was a Champion. It was his duty, scary as it was, to fight to the bitter end for the League.

"LEAF BLADE, Nitro!" Josh commanded, taking cover the best he could from the falling rocks. He kept one eye on his Pokémon and the other above him. Though his racing helmet's visor would block much of the sandstorm, it would be powerless against the many boulders raining down around him. With a leap, the Gogoat sliced toward the metal construct with his natural weapon.