"Lars, thank you for letting me have the floor," Josh replied when the Head Ranger yielded. "And I'm happy to discuss the probationary period with you after the meeting. I'll make sure to let Matt Vice know, too. I was planning on stepping out to check on him soon. I accept full responsibility for my actions that lead to this...mess." He took a deep breath; what he was about to describe was the most traumatic moment he had ever suffered during his return trip to Hoenn. It was hard for him to even think about again. But it needed to be said, and it needed to be refreshed in his mind. To him, it was the whole reason for him to keep going. As a Ranger, as a Gym Leader...and most importantly, in pursuit of his dream: to hold the metaphorical reins of the Beast of Thunder, the fastest creature on four legs.

Josh cleared his throat. "If I can have everyone's attention, please." He took a deep breath, visibly sweating already. "This is something that will be very hard for me to recount, as it might be the most trying thing I have ever seen, whether at home in Johto, here in Hoenn, or anywhere else. So if I start to break down and I get a little loud, please excuse me." He began to recount his tale of his trip through the Cloud.

"So a few weeks ago, there was an expedition to Mirage Island. I expect some of you may know this, as there were a lot of people there. I would guess between fifty and sixty. I don't immediately recognize any of you, but with how chaotic it was, I could have missed you. We got whisked off to this place that was full of wild Porygon. Later found out it was called the Cloud. Now I don't remember a lot of details about what specifically happened, but there was this guy called...Maldacena, I think? I don't remember for sure." He paused for a bit to brainstorm and collect his thoughts. "Nope, can't remember for sure. Said he was with some kind of Triad, but I don't remember the name, either."

"Anyway, I don't remember everything, but there are two things I remember vividly. The first was seeing what this Maldacena claimed was the future of Hoenn. When we arrived, I recognized a ruined building and a landscape that was none other than the Racing Grounds of Trainer Hill, my Minor League Gym. There was not one blade of grass; just bare, grey earth. That wasn't even the worst part. There were corpses of many, many legendary Pokémon I recognized. Dozens of them. Even the Great One, Ho-oh. The patron deity of Johto, struck down by spears of silvery light, piercing through the hearts of them all with nothing short of surgical precision. The longer I rode forward, the worse it got."

Once Saber had slid down the hill, the terminal was almost there. What he saw next caused the Manectric to make an uncommanded stop, followed by a traumatizing-sounding howl. He slowly turned his head to his right, and saw nine more spears. The first suspended the corpse of Beast of the North Wind, Suicune, to a cliff face near the entrance to the Great Desert...though all of Hoenn in its current state might as well be a Great Desert. Entei's corpse was nearby as well, similarly suspended. Josh's jaw hung wide open as Saber started to turn back toward the terminal, letting out cries of protest. The Manectric clearly wanted Josh to stop looking at the fallen Pokémon. But it was too late. His eyes continued to shift right, and there it was.

Raikou, the legendary Pokémon Josh idolized.

Struck through the rib cage and slain in a single blow. Six smaller spears of light surrounded the body of the fastest land Pokémon in the world. Each one of them was centered around a mutilated corpse that would have been difficult to recognize if Josh wasn't intimately familiar with the species. In a semicircle surrounding the electric Legendary's body were a barely recognizable Dragonair, Absol, Gogoat, Skarmory, male Pyroar, and lastly, a Manectric.

Those were Josh's Pokémon.

In this future, Josh had given up the lives of all six of his closest Pokémon in an effort to protect the Pokémon he worshiped above all else.

And he had failed.

Miserably.

"I saw a future where the Beast I vowed to protect had died a horrible death, alongside six of my closest Pokémon that had clearly...defended him and failed," Josh recounted, beginning to sniff. "And then..."

Josh Devlin , in the thralls of emotions, rushes alongside them. However, his MANECTRIC saves him just in time as a SPEAR OF LIGHT impales it. Its limp form disintegrates into DELETING PIXELS.

"When that happened, I felt for a moment that my life wasn't worth living anymore. I felt like I would rather spend an eternity in the derezzed file sector, looking for Saber--sorry, my Manectric--he was my very first Pokémon, and I've had him since I was ten--and spend the rest of my days with him." He sniffed again, tears dripping down his face. "It's so hard for me to not yell just thinking about it."

"Anyway, I owe my life to my Absol, Twilight. She single-handedly stopped me from being derezzed, and in one of the most dramatic ways possible. I can still feel her PSYCHO CUT to this very day. After I woke up on Mirage Island, the rest of my injuries were undone, my body reconstituted. Even my Manectric was back, licking me. It was the best thing I had ever felt in my life. But I have one permanent reminder of this whole mess. If you're even the slightest bit squeamish, I recommend you turn away, now."

After giving everyone the opportunity to turn away or cover their eyes, Josh slowly lifted up the bottom of the top piece of his uniform, revealing a huge, cauterized PSYCHO CUT wound across the lower part of his forearm and his entire belly. It was slowly starting to turn into a scar, but that was going to take months to fully heal. "Everything else faded away like it was an illusion. But this wound stayed with me. It's very real. And it hurts. Every day."

He took another deep breath, wincing in pain as he agitated a few nerves around the wound in the process of tucking his uniform back in. "Which leads me to say something I've been scared to talk about until now. If this information winds up in the wrong hands, I could die. Elinor Anderson , Josh Dragomir , you might be aware of what this is already. But all of you are Rangers, and I know I can trust every single one of you." He was now sobbing, somewhat difficult to understand.

"I...I know that what Maldacena showed me that day was Hoenn's future. But it is only one future. It is not the future. I can't change the past. I can't even change the present. But I know that I...no...we...we, working together, we can change the future." His face was drenched in tears and sweat by now. "There is a very special Pokémon I have admired since I was a child. One I have envied for years, and for all the wrong reasons. But now I have a right reason to pursue the Pokémon that I can feel I have a deep connection to. With this Pokémon's help, I know I can do my part to change Hoenn's future. My part in changing the future that refuses to be changed." Josh's next words seemed to echo loudly in the meeting room.

"I...I'm going to pursue Raikou. My best shot to change the future is to pursue...befriend...and learn to ride Raikou."

After uttering those words, he collapsed into his seat in a flood of tears.