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"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Apr 12, 2023 19:58:23 GMT

While Josh wasn't a close friend of every single person in League leadership, he was friends with enough of them. He had already spoken to Elinor Anderson , CIAN MAHER , and Melody Miro about his grievous sins. Next on the list of authorized parties to speak to was Eva Morales , the Peacemaker and the one who took the Master of Faster on the fastest Pokémon in the world. It was a truly unforgettable experience.

Today, though, he was visiting Eva about something far more serious. It was something that Josh hoped she was already aware of, but it very well could have been lost in her mountain of e-mails. It was time to confront the Doctor about the biggest mistake he had ever made, and one that would almost undoubtedly cost him a friendship or two.

He needed to make the Eris Halla situation right, though.

Arriving at the Pokémon League's labs, the Mauville Gym Leader buzzed for the Head Scientist. His Zeraora mount, Raikiri, was antsy as always. "I know you can clear that fence, but we can't just go barging in," Josh chided the electric cat trained to run and fight on all fours. If Eva kept up on urgent emails, she would be fully aware of the purpose of the Gym Leader's appointment.

Eva Morales

{WC: 212}
{PC: 1}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Good

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played by

BD

The Peacemaker

She / Her

January 25

Pallet Town, Kanto

Heterosexual...?

Veterinarian

Head Prof / Major

5'3'' height

My legacy is in the lives I save

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POSTED ON May 8, 2023 3:42:12 GMT

[attr="class","eva"]

[attr="class","top"]

Eva had indeed read her email. She had learned of Eris’s attack far before the email but was not privy to the culprit. She would admit, the answer did surprise her. She had held Josh Devlin in such high regards . . . until now. It seemed that the betrayals were never ending.

Your 2 o’clock is here

The familiar voice chimed through the intercom on her desk. A long, exhausted sigh hissed from between her lips as she reached out towards it, “I’m ready, send him in,” she alerts the secretary.

Josh would be given admittance into the laboratories once he was forced to return his mount to its pokeball, and then led to Dr. Morales’ office. He’d find her seated behind her desk, a rather neutral expression that would normally be a bright smile in welcome, “Good afternoon, Mr. Devlin,” she motioned to the seat across from her, “Please take a seat.”

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","milkcredit"]MILKY

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON May 8, 2023 21:49:35 GMT

When asked by lab staff, Josh withdrew Raikiri and walked the rest of the way to the Peacemaker's office. From her body language and demeanor, it seemed she was already aware of the Gym Leader's misdeeds. "I take you already know what's up," were the first words out of his mouth as he sat down. "And it hurts. It really hurts. It hurts the League. It hurts me. And most importantly, it hurts Eris. What hurts even more is had I just listened to my closest Pokémon, who were trying to stop me from doing that to her, this didn't have to happen. But I didn't. Instead, I used the one Pokémon I had that was untamed enough to let me make that bad decision." He wondered if Eris had recovered from her wounds yet. They were serious, as all Beedrill stings were. There was a reason the Pokémon, common as it was, was such a danger to trainers in wooded areas.

"The hardest part of this whole thing has been being separated from my Gym," Josh nodded. "Ever since I had to name an interim Gym Leader, the place has gone to hell and back. Every single metric has gone the wrong way. With me separated from my Gym and mindlessly slaving away in Mauville's slums, I've had a lot of time to think about what happened. I want to make this whole thing right. Right not only to myself, but right to the League, and right to Eris." Josh paused for a long time as his eyes began to shimmer in sorrow. "I want to make up for what I did. I know your specialty isn't exactly human relations, but I can't think of too many people I haven't approached that I'd be comfortable talking to about this. I know what I did was wrong. Horribly wrong. And I genuinely want to repair relationships with the League, not just as an organization, but as a person. I just don't know where to start."

Eva Morales

{WC: 338}
{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Good

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played by

BD

The Peacemaker

She / Her

January 25

Pallet Town, Kanto

Heterosexual...?

Veterinarian

Head Prof / Major

5'3'' height

My legacy is in the lives I save

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POSTED ON May 15, 2023 1:32:23 GMT

Eris Halla likes this

[attr="class","eva"]

[attr="class","top"]

The Professor’s brows bounce up in surprise when Josh dives right into it. He doesn’t skip a beat, taking a seat and divulging every single word that comes to mind like a poorly pl;anned opening statement. Instead of cutting him off, Eva patiently listens, her gaze apathetic and held firm on his. Without wavering she folds her hands over her lap and leans back in her leather chair.

When he finally finishes, she lets a silence linger for a moment. She takes a deep breath, as if everything he just said had already exhausted her, “I’m not here to chastise you, Josh,” she begins, her voice is soft but lacks empathy, “You seems to have learned quite a bit from your grave mistake,” her emerald eyes flicked up and down in a critical assessment of him quickly before continuing. He seemed genuinely upset, “I’m here to be honest with you, like you were just honest with me.”

Eva leans forward now, her folded hands settling before her on the desk, “I am not an unbiased party in this. Eris is like a daughter to me. Literally,” she tried adopting her several times. Their history dated far back to Kanto, “So hearing that someone I trusted attacked my daughter was alarming,” Trusted. He lacked that privilege now, “If I am anything, it is forgiving. I’m here to one,” she raises one hand, holding up a single finger, “Make sure you have learned from your mistake,” which is seemed he had, “Two,” a second finger rises, “That you have forgiven yourself and are mentally stable to continue to serve The League in your full capacity,” he is a valuable asset to this organization, “And three,” a third fingers rises, “To help you navigate the confusing feelings you must be experiencing.”

Her fingers fall, and she folds her hands again, “What do you think is the first step to forgiveness?”

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","milkcredit"]MILKY

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON May 16, 2023 6:46:03 GMT

Josh couldn't tell whether Eva's long pause was resentment, shock, bewilderment, or any other unnatural emotion. Every word she said was true; Josh had learned much from the horrible atrocity he had committed. He had come clean to as many people as he felt comfortable with within the League. He breathed a sigh of relief when, unlike several others he had spoken to, she didn't seem interested in grilling Josh for his misguided motive for doing what he did. Eva had the read on him, too. He wasn't upset with Eris. He wasn't upset with Isaac Merlo or any low-level Rockets he knew. He wasn't upset with anyone in the League. Except MATIAS SILPH .

Finding out that Eris was akin to a daughter to Eva made it even more difficult for Josh to speak. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Eva... I had no idea... Had only I known..." The severed trust between the two did not go unnoticed, either. It would likely take years to rebuild that trust. Multiple years. "I, too, have someone I used to closely trust. I once looked up to him and wanted to be just like him. Then as I spent more time with him, I learned he was not the person I thought he was. The very person that I thought was a mentor to help me improve as a Gym Leader, and by proxy, a general of Hoenn's army... while I can't blame my actions on him, he influenced me in regrettable ways."

To answer Eva's first question, Josh nodded before saying, "I have, and in the worst way possible. Especially after learning of the kind of relationship the League had with Eris, it's really taught me the difference between Team Rocket the people, and Team Rocket the organization. Unlike a certain someone I was alluding to before." While he didn't bring up the Volatile's name, Eva may have been able to catch on, particularly in the wake of that last comment.

The second question, though simple, was much more complex for Josh to answer. "Eva, this is going to sound weird, but... I can forgive others easily. Even those I don't get along with. The one person I've had a hard time forgiving... is myself." After a few deep breaths to collect himself and keep himself from bursting into tears, he continued. "One thing I strive to do not just as a Gym Leader, but as a person, is hold myself to higher standards than those around me. I've had a lot of time to think on it, too. The hardest part of my restitution hasn't been the monetary part or knowing I will never, ever serve the League in a higher capacity for the rest of my life. No. The hardest part is having my Gym taken away from me. I've got a news article I want to show you that might shed some light on why this has been so hard."

The third point was appreciated the most of all. None of the people Josh had spoken to thus far had offered to be an emotional support like Eva was. "...Thank you. You've already been more help than just about anyone else I've spoken to. I just want to put my life back together." While she seemed to be taking the situation back to the bare basics, it would prove to be an important step to, at last, getting the Master of Faster to forgive himself. "The first step to forgiveness is understanding what you did was wrong. An admission of one's own guilt."

Eva Morales

{WC: 591}
{PC: 3}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Good

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played by

BD

The Peacemaker

She / Her

January 25

Pallet Town, Kanto

Heterosexual...?

Veterinarian

Head Prof / Major

5'3'' height

My legacy is in the lives I save

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TAG WITH @dreva

POSTED ON May 22, 2023 3:15:09 GMT

freya morningstar likes this

[attr="class","eva"]

[attr="class","top"]

Her brow rises in contempt, cutting through his words before he says any more, “If only you had known?” the brows then knit into knot above her critical emerald gaze, “Would that have really changed again?” There’s only one answer, and that answer is no. It would not have.

The persistent hints towards a certain Silph did not go unnoticed. After all, who better to catch the subtle nods than the person who adored him and too was wounded in fallacies he promised her. He hurt her too, more than Josh would ever understand, but she does sympathize in that aspect. He is a powerful man, a sun, the gravity that pulls people to him is impossible to resist. It’s not until you're too close that you get burned. And when you are, you either burn to ashes or you become a sun that dwarfs him.

“Manipulation is a powerful tool,” she clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, using a finger to make a specific point, “Eris was manipulated as well,” she points out, “An impressionable young girl whose childhood was stolen by the very people that dared call themselves her family,” Eva shakes her head solemnly. She would still never forgive herself for letting Eris run away in Kanto and into the hands of Rocket, “You,” she points to Josh, “Are a grown man, manipulated by another grown man. The difference between you and Eris, is that you know better. You were raised a good man with strong morals. Everyone who has eyes can see that,” Which is true if the recent events were set aside, “Blaming someone else is easy. Holding on to the hate for that person is easy. You don’t have to forgive him, but to forgive yourself starts with letting go of the hate. It’s a poison. It’ll eat you alive. Every time you embrace that hate you give it validation. It’ll spread and without you knowing it, it will make you hate yourself,” at this point she’s speaking from personal experience.

Eva looks unimpressed with his answer to her question. She tilts her head side to side, debating whether she wants to accept the obvious answer or make him work for it, “Sure,” she decides, but if they are already on the path to forgiveness, then they have already recognized their sin, “It’s easier to forgive yourself when others have forgiven you, and for others to forgive you, you need to . . . Listen. Do you understand what I mean by that?”

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","milkcredit"]MILKY

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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7,248 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON May 23, 2023 0:07:17 GMT

The Master of Faster, though he had his own ambitions, was largely a selfless soul with the desire to see others succeed with his help. He had helped a myriad of trainers make it to the doors of the Pokémon League, ready to take the Champion Assessment and serve the League in the highest capacity an ordinary person could. More importantly, he had helped even more trainers patch critical team weaknesses, particularly in those who wanted to play out more methodical battles. Those kinds of people, those who genuinely cared for righting the injustices of the less fortunate, were exactly the kinds of people the League needed to have as Gym Leaders and other leaders within her ranks. People like Eva Morales - she was an exemplar in that regard.

There were also people on both sides of the League/Rocket aisle who were, just as the Peacemaker alluded to, manipulative. Children were particularly vulnerable to this level of manipulation, which made the situation with Eris all the more lamentable. The Avatar's remarks were true; Josh was everything the League ideally wanted their Leaders to be. Everything, that was, until the atrocity he committed. While it was a glaring blemish, it was the only rotten spot on the otherwise decadent fruit of the rider's morals and work ethic.

"...You are absolutely right," the young man dejectedly admitted. "Those morals and work ethic are part of the reason I was selected as Mauville's Gym Leader. But the Mauville Gym Leader before this happened is not the same person. The person who holds that title now is... a monster. A monster who let his greatest ambition consume him, and utilize any means necessary to make that ambition reality. It hurts, Eva. It really hurts."

Josh was a bit puzzled with where Eva was going. "I have an idea, but I'm unsure. It sounds like a feedback loop of understanding one another and just accepting one another for the people they are. Why do humans hold grudges against one another? What is the endgame of a grudge? No matter; it can't be anything good." He took a deep breath, starting to recognize perhaps not exactly where the emerald-eyed scientist was going, but the direction his thinking needed to go.

"I'm gonna stop beating around the bush. It's MATIAS SILPH . I can't entirely blame him for what I did, but I recognize that his influence was a big catalyst."

Eva Morales

{WC: 403}
{PC: 4}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Good

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played by

BD

The Peacemaker

She / Her

January 25

Pallet Town, Kanto

Heterosexual...?

Veterinarian

Head Prof / Major

5'3'' height

My legacy is in the lives I save

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POSTED ON May 30, 2023 17:02:50 GMT

MATIAS SILPH likes this

[attr="class","eva"]

[attr="class","top"]

Eva shakes her head, leaning forward once again, “I don’t see a monster, Josh,” she vaguely motions up and down at him, “What I see is a man trying to right a wrong. That’s not what monsters do. That’s an unfair label you’ve seared upon yourself,” a label that could easily be changed.

Patience is one of her virtues, and she patiently waits while he sorts through what she had to say. He doesn’t understand, because he doesn’t take the time to think about it, to listen to what she’s said so far.

“It’s no secret you’re the kind of person that values what others think of them. A noble thing, but selfish in a way,” she admits with a shrug. Placing your own happiness and worth on the shoulders of others is a responsibility they don’t deserve, “So in your case, to forgive yourself you need to listen to what others have to say about you,” she pauses briefly for effect, locking eyes with the Gym Leader, “I forgive you.”

She twitches at the sound of his name, looking way suddenly to trace the corners of her office followed by a longing glance skyward for the strength of her patron, “You can’t blame him at all,” she corrects, “You’re an adult. An adult trusted because of who you are. You let a grown man manipulate you. A mistake but now you’ve learned. Trust your morals, your gut, and you’ll be ok,” her gaze flicks back down to him, “MATIAS SILPH is not perfect” her soft voice holds a subtle sense of longing, “But he’s a good man,” she’s bias, of course.

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","milkcredit"]MILKY

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON May 31, 2023 4:41:27 GMT

The Peacemaker got her moniker for a reason. Her proven conflict resolution skills could make even the most bitter of rivals coexist. Compared to many of the conflicts she had resolved since being chosen by Rayquaza, this internal one was a cakewalk. It was as though the Avatar had some unknown power that made Josh see his inner conflict for what it truly was: a self-imposed expectation that he could always do better. A self-imposed expectation that his best was never good enough. He expected near-perfection of himself.

Though she was a doctor of science and not a psychiatrist, it sure seemed like it with the wisdom that came out of her mouth. It was these kinds of people, those that could stand strong, both externally and internally, that the benevolent gods looked upon. While those they chose were not without weaknesses, the ones they did chose had something in common: they worked to patch their weaknesses and become stronger. Josh had not done that; for the past thirteen years, he had hid in his own self-pity.

Avatar or no, there was no room for that kind of thought in war-torn Hoenn.

"Projection," was the first word that came out of his mouth. "I think projection is the word that best describes what you're trying to say. Am I close?" Instead of trying to read between the lines and twist the words of others, what was so difficult about just taking people at face value? "And just doing away with projection... preconceived notion... prejudice..." Thoughts raced through Josh's head at the mention of Eva's forgiveness.

"Trusted..." After hearing that word, despite having blighted the life of a child she held very near and dear to her, she still trusted him? How could she forgive him, given what he did? He wanted to say something to that accord, but his immediate thoughts would only prove Eva right of his projection problem. It was obvious from his body language that he was struggling to come up with a response. "Attempting to understand what you, Matias, or anyone else is thinking just feeds the very demon I want to slay. The demon of projection. It's probably for the better that I just accept forgiveness rather than try to understand it. Thank you."

Eva Morales

{WC: 379}
{PC: 5}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Good

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played by

BD

The Peacemaker

She / Her

January 25

Pallet Town, Kanto

Heterosexual...?

Veterinarian

Head Prof / Major

5'3'' height

My legacy is in the lives I save

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3,894 posts

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TAG WITH @dreva

POSTED ON Jun 2, 2023 20:38:56 GMT

[attr="class","eva"]

[attr="class","top"]

It took a little while, but they got there. As Josh filters through his own thoughts out loud, the soft smile tugging at her pink lips grows wider. Eventually, she leans back in her chair, satisfied with her coaching and the Gym Leader’s crooked path getting there.

“It’s easier said than done - I know,” she would not play down the difficulties Josh would continue to face both within himself and what he may experience from others as they all recover from this mess, “But . . . I believe you can do it,” his determination as a Gym Leader would come in handy with repairing his relationship with himself and those around him.

Eva reaches for a pen, idly tapping it and spinning it in her fingers, “I think I’ve given you enough to think about for now. My door is always open if you have any trouble or anything else you’d like to discuss,” with that, she gives him permission to leave unless he wishes to address something else.

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","milkcredit"]MILKY

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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7,248 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin