Despite having returned from CIAN MAHER 's Gym with increased confidence, Josh's was still jittery over his scheduled interview today. He returned to the Pokémon League's third floor office, a Raikou plush just under one foot long underneath in his left arm as he walked down the long hallway to Callan Young 's office. Without the soft facsimile of the Beast he had chased for years, he would have been a nervous wreck.

Callan's office was far more plain than MATIAS SILPH 's was, and the door was wide open. If he was paying attention, the Elite Four member would have instantly recognized the piece of memorabilia from when he visited Josh's Gym. Mauville's Gym Leader took a seat in front of the desk, set the yellow, blue, and purple emotional support tool in his lap, and greeted the former Lilycove Gym Leader. "Afternoon, Mr. Young," Josh said, surprisingly formal for how long the two had been on a first-name basis with one another. "I'm sure you've already reviewed the similar conversation Matias and I had in his office a number of weeks ago."

Technically this was not Callan's office, but rather a meeting room that Callan reserved for interviews. But it would suffice for the purposes of trainers meeting him to get into the Champion Assessment.

"Hi Josh." Callan said as he rose from his chair and slid Josh's chair for him. "Come, have a seat." Callan returns over to his side.

"I have briefly checked it yes, but that's not a standard procedure." Callan replies. "I did check it however to get a grasp on what occurred last time. But it'll have no bearing for the purposes of the conversation we'll have."

He clicks a button on his laptop, a blip starts and he begins to speak. "So Josh, I tend to structure my interviews differently from Matias." Callan begins, as he does, the words begin to appear on a word document to his side as he records the contents of the conversation. "It's a fair bit more formal, but the purpose of it is to ascertain your character, and whether or not I'll believe you possess the traits I believe are necessary to become a Champion." He pauses to allow Josh to interpret those words.

"So, to begin with, I'd like for you to tell me about yourself as if I did not know you. And tell me why you would like to become a Champion-ranked trainer."

Josh Devlin

Callan's formal approach didn't do anything to ease Josh's nerves, the Leader gently rubbing the Raikou doll's head. At least by virtue of knowing the Elite Four member well outside of his position, it didn't make his nerves any worse. He was asked to introduce himself and why he was seeking Champion Rank: two very reasonable questions for one being inspected for the right to battle Hoenn's finest trainers, all of which were more than capable of winning World Championships. After all, Hoenn had the toughest Champion Assessment in the world for a reason.

"Elite Ranger and Mauville Gym Leader Josh Devlin," he introduced himself for the interview record, "though I'm originally from Goldenrod. Before I became a Gym Leader, I was a semi-pro Pokémon racer. I formally moved to Mauville City shortly after the Meteno incident. If it's a Pokémon that is big and goes fast, I love raising it. As a Ranger, I'm a search-and-rescue specialist."

The next question, of course, was perhaps the most difficult question Matias had asked him. Though he had already come up with the answer, it was a difficult question to answer. What made it more challenging was Callan knew of Josh's desire to find Raikou. "The simple answer is 'to prepare myself to pursue Raikou again when I get another lead.' The full answer, is, of course, much more complex." Josh took a deep breath. "It's not just about Raikou. You see, the more time I've spent in Hoenn, the more I'm starting to believe the Raikou of my dreams isn't Johto's Raikou, but another one. And I think he's looking for me. But he won't see me until I'm at my best. As I'm sure you've heard by now, more than anything in the world, I want Raikou to pick me as his Avatar." A long pause as he looked down at the yellow and purple doll on his lap.

"Second, to crush Team Rocket. I want to prove to the League that I can be a valuable asset on the League's most crucial operations. I want to avenge my family for what Team Rocket did to them. And third, I want to pass my skills onto the next generation of trainers. There is no tougher test of skill with Pokémon in the entire world than Hoenn's Champion Assessment. You see, Callan, I'll eventually be too old to race. I'll need to find a successor to hand the reins to. One duty of a retiring Gym Leader is to find a successor, and I want to do everything I can to ensure my successor is more talented than I am."

Callan listens with focused intent, his eyes do not waver much as he looks at Josh as he speaks, absorbing not just what he speaks, but how he says it, his body language, his expressions, what was left unsaid. Josh finishes and Callan has more questions than he had before. "Thanks for sharing Josh. I have a couple of questions about what you have just said." He replied, casually, as he looks into the script to briefly scan the areas that interested him.

"You say here that your goal is to pursue Raikou, and ultimately your dream is to become an Avatar of Raikou." Callan begins, turning towards Josh. They had this conversation before, multiple times in fact, but in the context of an interview he needed his clarification. "And you also say that he 'won't see you until you're at your best'. May I ask how you know that to be true?" Callan awaits his answer.

Josh Devlin

Callan's blank stare spiked Josh's nerves further; without the presence of Swift the "Raikou" in his lap, he would have blown his metaphorical fuse. "It's part of... part of my Johtonian faith. When I studied mythology at Ecruteak University, I learned that the Johto Beasts supposedly make more frequent appearances before humans than most other legendary Pokémon, but only appear before the pure of heart and those that truly give their all."

By now it was very clear, after putting together their interactions both outside and inside the interview room, that while Josh was quite the intellectual, a significant portion of his motivation was faith-driven. "There is no scientific evidence backing the claim up. It's just something my heritage and my faith have taught me, and it has yet to let me down. The Johtonian legends spoke of how the Pokémon that the Great One, Ho-oh, revived three nameless Pokémon into what we know as Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Perhaps their deaths in the Kanto War will again be temporary."

Josh's mouth opened wide when he realized how long he had spoken. "I'm sorry for rambling so long. The story of Raikou has just been something that's resonated with me since I was young, and I feel I relate to it a lot. But enough of that." He took a deep breath, doing his best to hold back his tears of passion. "Let's move on."

Callan shakes his head, after understanding the context behind his chase, "No, I think it was a critical aspect in understanding your experience." Certainly faith was a fundamental building block in the identity of many people. But it wasn't the question itself that was what was being assessed, but how he was reacting to it.

Callan paused as Josh asked him to move the question along. "You're uncomfortable with me asking this question." Callan observed, "Why?"

Josh Devlin

Callan likely already knew why Josh was uncomfortable. He was at the very meeting where Josh first revealed his desire to a sizable group. He also understood that the former Gym Leader had to address him as though they had never met each other. This only made the question tougher to answer. "...For one, it's something I've been ridiculed for since I was young. And understandably so; what is more blasphemous than wanting to catch a god in a Poké Ball, after all? Most children grow out of their dreams of wanting to befriend a legendary Pokémon. But not me. This dream has stayed with me for over fifteen years. It's part of why I became a trainer in the first place. It's part of why I became a Ranger. It's part of why I became a Gym Leader," he emphasized. "And now, it's part of why I want to become a Champion."

Josh took a long pause before continuing. "Even though that dream isn't happening anymore. Not with the Raikou I knew, anyway. Raikou perished in the Kanto War five years ago. I just can't help but feel it, though... either he didn't truly die, or there's another Raikou out there, searching for a human ally. And even if he doesn't pick me, my inspiration to improve as a trainer who specializes in speed is the unmatched land speed the sacred Beast possesses." He could no longer hold back a few tears, though he remained reasonably composed.

"I see." Callan replied, offering a nod of encouragement. He notes the tears that gently flow from Josh, but he does not shirk from his questioning. It was his duty to identify the next potential Champion, and as such, he needed to note everything with impartiality. Even if he would normally prefer not to. Callan paused as he considered if there is anything he wanted to ask regarding his faith, he reviews the script.

He smiles, no further questions needed on this end.

Callan continues towards the next aspect of his motivation, "So before we talked about this, you mentioned that a secondary goal for you was to 'crush Team Rocket', for what they did to your family." Callan briefly rubs his temple as he ponders this question. "Could you explain to me what occurred to your family? You don't have to go into the details, but I would like an explanation on the reasons behind the feelings of vengeance."

Josh Devlin

The subject of what Team Rocket did to Josh's family was also a touchy one, but it was one that needed to be said. It, too, was a big motivator. "Remember the Goldenrod Radio Tower takeover incident? When I was younger, my family got captured by Team Rocket at about that time. They were targeting the families of trainers with lots of Gym Badges, using them as leverage. Ultimately, many of the trainers who were targeted, including myself, were on the task force to run Team Rocket out of Goldenrod. Thank Arceus both my family members made it out of there alive, but not everyone did." He sniffed again; this was clearly a traumatic, defining moment for his motivation to join the League in the first place.

"And that... that's what made me take seeking Raikou seriously," Josh tied the stories together. "It's not just for the League. It's not just for Johto, or for Hoenn. My desire to see Team Rocket burn to the ground... all the way to the ground... is personal. Deeply personal. They nearly took everything away from me." Another sniff. "And they... they took away from me the only Raikou I've ever known when that horrible war happened. Sorry... it all means so much to me."

Callan pauses and reviews what Josh has explained to him about his family, his desire for vengeance, his thoughts on Team Rocket. He nods to affirm that he has heard everything, and then checks the script for further details about it. There was one part that interested him. "You've mentioned that you wanted to burn Team Rocket to the ground." Callan begins, "This seems to come from a place of deep trauma from your past." Callan pauses. "Aside from the organization as a whole, what do you think of people who join Team Rocket?"

Josh Devlin

While Josh had originally lumped everyone into Team Rocket as being irreparably evil, Isaac Merlo had thrown quite a monkey wrench into that viewpoint. It was a viewpoint that, admittedly, the League may have brainwashed him into. "That's quite a... loaded question, Callan. Especially when I was younger, I used to think of the League as this organization where it and its members were incorruptible, ineffable, and infallible. And to a lesser extent, I still do. But ever since the Mauville Massacre, I have realized things are not so black-and-white." It was one of the most challenging lessons he had ever learned after coming to Hoenn.

"And that goes both ways. There are people within Rocket that are trapped within and want to leave," Josh continued, "and there are likely moles within the League, as well. If I found out a friend or even just an innocent was trapped within Team Rocket, I would do everything I could to convince them to leave. Obviously evangelizing them to the League would be the best case scenario, but there are plenty of people out there that don't like how we do things." He paused to collect his thoughts, and it got a bit long. "But for those whose fealty truly is with Team Rocket and can't see how evil their deeds are, I show no sympathy, and especially no mercy, to. I would desire no more than to rain down Thunderbolts upon them from Raikou's saddle." A lofty dream, but a noble one.

"Thank you for answering Josh." He reads the script after it has been transcribed onto the screen. Callan's brow furrows, going back to the reference on this being a loaded question. "I'm clarifying your perspective on Team Rocket, which you previously mentioned a strong emotional reaction to, this is an interview on identifying your character. It's not a loaded question."

Callan paused then turned towards Josh. "What do you think I am evaluating on when I asked?"

Josh Devlin

"For one, fealty to the League," was Josh's knee-jerk reaction. "But more importantly, the ability to separate the people from the organization." He took another deep breath, rubbing the head of his plush one more time. His overall body language was anything but calm, feeling like he was losing control over the interview. "Like I said, there are almost certainly genuinely good people in Team Rocket, and there have to be bad actors within the League, too. I can't say for sure, but I've had a hunch since August that there's a mole within the Rangers stirring up trouble."

Josh gave Callan a moment to take notes before continuing. "My tenure as a Gym Leader has taught me more than any other job I've ever held. When I was young, I was taught that every member of the League was infallible and every member of Rocket was irreparably corrupt, like white and black pieces on a chessboard. There was no in-between. But Mauville, and especially Meteno, changed everything. The underlying tensions, and the actors driving them, couldn't be any less black-and-white. Gym Leader CIAN MAHER is a great example. Those are the kinds of people I want to see escape Team Rocket."