"Thanks for meeting with me, Councilwoman," Josh greeted his friend with unusual formality before taking a seat, his Manectric sitting down on the floor next to him. Even the normally chipper electric-type looked somber, as though he knew the discussion that was about to go down. "Since Meteno, a lot has happened. A lot of life-changing stuff. How about we start with the good?" He pulled out his phone and texted her the photo the Top Champion took of him riding the Raikou-familiar.

"I got to meet and ride Raikou!" Josh chirped, though the Councilwoman could probably tell the apparent excitement wasn't genuine. It definitely was not the reason he had come. "That day last year... I had never been happier, and more humbled, in my life. Imagine riding from Mauville to Fortree in a matter of minutes. Then imagine riding from Pyre to Mauville even faster than that." He went on to describe his experience to Elinor in great detail, particularly mid-Extreme Speed, and just how paralyzing it was to go that fast. "It makes me feel like... like a fool putting so much work into tracking him down. I thought that Raikou would be just a little faster than a normal Pokémon. It's not even close." Elinor may have been able to notice a tear crawl down his cheek. "And even so..." he trailed off.

"...Raikou's dead," Josh continued as another tear rolled down his other cheek. "I dunno what it is, given that we never even met each other, but when I heard Raikou perished in the Kanto War, it felt like losing a family member to a horrible disease. Almost like Raikou itself was a family member." Not even the death of his Doublade impacted him. There would be times when he would get into depressive, even angry episodes thinking about it. They weren't often, but they were quite extreme when they did happen.

"And that's not all. Remember when I said I was taking the Champion Assessment? Well... would you be able to take a look at that email I sent you?" The email would contain the results of Josh's two interviews, one with Matias, and one with Callan. "That's what I wanted to discuss today. The interview with Matias I understood. But the interview with Callan I don't get. I don't understand the conflicting reviews at all."

Adequately considering the perspectives of others was something Josh had struggled with for a long time. Being a Gym Leader and meeting a wide variety of people helped a lot with it, but it was still an adjustment for him. It was a cruel thought, indeed.

"No, Elinor, I absolutely get why Matias declined me," Josh acknowledged, Saber nodding. "I struggled with CIAN MAHER 's Gym. THe Weather Gym is known for being the Gym used to ease challengers into the road to the Pokémon League. Taking an L to that Gym... I get it. That's an issue with combat prowess. Anyone who has issues with that Gym clearly does not have an understanding of how weather, natural or artificial, affects Pokémon combat. That's something they teach you in trainers' school when you're younger than ten. When you're too young to own a Pokémon, even. Callan's, though..."

He trailed off and remained silent for a long time, deep in thought. Was there truly more to a Champion than battle prowess alongside love and respect for one's Pokémon? "Reading the report, he specified the exact opposite: I have battle skills easily worthy of the title of Champion. That I should have little trouble with the Elite Test itself. What I'm confused about... is what do his three points have to do with being a Champion, though? We're not in elected or appointed positions of power, unlike the Top Champion, the Elite Four, or Council like you."

He reread each of them to Elinor, aloud, to make sure there wasn't anything he was missing about them. "Isn't this the attitude we at the League are supposed to have about Team Rocket, though? That every single one of them are scum and need to be appropriately punished? The dogma I've been taught, both here and in Johto, has indicated there's no such thing as a good or bad Rocket. If you're not League, you're Rocket, and you need to repent or face the League's limitless wrath. Something like that. I don't remember exactly what the scriptures say. The League and its dogma, after all, are incorruptible, ineffable, infallible, and absolute."

These were the same scathing remarks Callan made in his review, but presented to Josh in real time, and in language that was much easier for him to understand. Not once did Matias bring the point about Josh's lack of consideration of others' perception of him. Did he just not care? Did Matias simply cast the values of leadership aside for pure battle prowess?

Furthermore, wasn't a defining purpose of the League to eradicate Team Rocket from the face of the region, whether Johto, Hoenn, or anywhere ese in the world? "That's strange... that's what Matias lauded me for most was exactly that tenacity about Team Rocket."

Josh's eyes widened.

MATIAS SILPH .

Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias Matias.

How many times had the Volatile's name come up ever since other higher-ups in the League had started exposing the young Gym Leader's problems? Hell, he couldn't even call himself the new Gym Leader anymore. Not with CIAN MAHER and Johanna Joy on the block. He was a veteran Gym Leader now.

When he took a step away from the idealistic precepts he had been taught and followed since well before coming to Hoenn, then thought about Isaac Merlo and Eris Halla , the retrospective hit him like the full force of a Kommo-o's violently vibrating CLANGING SCALES.

Matias the Volatile, whether by intention or not, had brainwashed Josh into a fierce, loyal-to-a-fault soldier of the League lacking in the most valuable trait anyone could ever have:

Common sense.

As Elinor went on, Josh looked genuinely distressed. Her description of the grunts of Team Rocket made it seem like they were a lot more common. Perhaps Isaac was not the diamond in the rough. Perhaps those like Cillian Quinn , whom Chu-e mentioned, were the ones the League was referring to in the scriptures.

He wished he could mention Isaac Merlo 's name. But he had sworn that man's identity to secrecy long ago. As things stood, it was knowledge he would take to his grave. He had to be vague about it, but he could relate his experience.

"The Mauville Massacre. Remember that? It was just before Meteno. I met someone there who wasn't who I thought they were. I thought they were one in a thousand within Team Rocket." He sniffed, doing his best to hold back tears. He wouldn't break his promise with Isaac. But there was someone else. "Elinor... I have a confession I'd like to make to you, and to you alone. As long as you promise the words never leave these doors. Whatever punishment you feel is appropriate, I'm willing to serve. Make up a cover story if you have to. If this goes fully public..."

"Thank you, Elinor," Josh gratefully replied. "Thank you for respecting my wishes. Now I understand if League policy requires you to share this with personnel such as the Elite Four and other Gym Leaders. But I would prefer as few people as possible to know about this. If word of this gets out... my reputation will forever be ruined. I worked so hard to get to where I was today by being a paragon of justice... of self-improvement... of making Hoenn's trainers into the best they could be. And if the word got out, it would be a PR disaster for the League as a whole." His eyes watered, a cascade of tears dripping from his chin.

"I... I was the one who attacked Eris Halla ."

A whole minute of only sniffing and squeal-like noises from the Gym Leader passed before he broke his near-silence. "I was on an assignment from my superior in Law Enforcement, Sergent Stafford. He was the one that assigned me to bring Eris in for questioning at HQ. He wanted me to pose as a Ranger so it looked like Law Enforcement wouldn't be involved. I didn't want to do it. But against my better judgment, I agreed."

Josh's speech slowed as he continued. "He authorized use of force, too, due to her history with Team Rocket. When I tried to apprehend her, I chased her on my Luxray." He paused to let it all sink in. "You know that report of an explosion west of Mauville City last month? That was my Luxray using his Z-Move. Not to harm Eris, but to catch up to her and take her in. All of that was well within the use-of-force guidelines for the operation. It was what was happened after that. These are the details I need kept as close as possible."

The tension in the air went up several notches as soon as Josh mentioned Eris. This was the first time that Elinor looked genuinely angry. Pain, whether physical or mental, was coming for Josh. That pain would only intensify the longer the wound of his near-murder was allowed to fester. It was better to rip the bandage off and treat the blemish now.

"That was when I lost sight of who I was -- the people I was working for, and the region I was working for. My Luxray recognized that I was losing that sight and refused to keep fighting her. And then..." he would go on to describe in detail how he used his Beedrill to ride Eris down and brutalize her in desperation to apprehend her and get an answer about why Team Rocket killed Raikou. "It was the biggest mistake I've ever made." The Gym Leader buried his face in his hands.

"Elinor, that day I lost sight of why I had chased Raikou for so long. Why I wanted to be a Champion. Why I want to see Hoenn freed from Team Rocket's tyranny. Why I have the drive I do. I let my rage control me. Remember when you and Callan Young helped me with learning to harness my anger in battle rather than be afraid of it? This is why I've been afraid of it this whole time. My fear of my full power stops me from doing horrible things like that. I never wanted the altercation with Eris to escalate like that." He at last uncovered his face, shaking his head.

"And I want to make it right."