The Truth Unraveled

The gym had certainly seen better days.

There wasn't a soul in Mauville that would stop former Gym Leader John Sullivan when he was on a warpath, and he certainly looked... less than happy.

Most believed it was due to the gym's state. And while it certainly didn't do his mood any favors— the particular target of his ire was another.

He hadn't forced Josh to come to the gym to make him break his statutes— he wasn't petty. He would cover for any problems that came from this.

No, what he wanted was for the man to see the consequences of his actions before the league's cleanup crew swept it all away and left behind nothing but the bad memory.

Visuals left stronger impressions.

After walking through the destruction that had been wrought on his former stomping grounds, he finally found the other man, surrounded by his pokemon and staring at a pile of sands.

He sort a guess at what those were.

He stopped his march a respectable distance away, folding his arms behind his back and waiting in silence. His raging impatience seemed to cool off before the other man's obvious anguish— enough to allow him whatever time he needed to gather back his bearings in silence.

"All of this goes back to Eris," Josh lamented, the quadrupedal Zeraora trying everything he could think of to console his trainer. Gesture wasn't going to help him, though. He needed time. Time to vent. Time to make amends with the League, with those he had wronged, and with himself. The latter of those would be the most challenging, as the Gym Leader strove to be as close to perfection as possible. He was one to dwell on small mistakes for far too long.

Standing and turning around, he saw the face of John Sullivan , the Avatar and former Gym Leader. It was the person he had inherited the Gym from. With his security team "sabotaging" surveillance, Josh and Doug could meet at the forbidden property without repercussion or evidence from the League.

Taking a seat on Raikiri's back, Josh coaxed the mythical cat into walking toward the bug trainer. "Thanks for making it here," he greeted the military expert. "There's nothing that will bring Shawn back. Nothing that will bring back those who died as a result of this attack. And I have no one to blame but...myself." Anyone familiar with internal League matters, especially since Doug was CC'd on the restitution email, would know exactly why Josh said what he did.

All over some legendary Pokémon that wasn't even alive for sure anymore.

The Truth Unraveled

Real talk with Josh Devlin

"No. Richards' death is on Westcliff's hands." He said, waiting for the young man to gather his bearings. "Regardless of what happened, Westcliff's actions were monstrous, and he must be put down."

He turned his gaze beyond the gym leader, wandering over the destruction waged by dorian westcliff. It was not the first time he saw the man's handiwork, and it would probably not be the last, either.

Bastard.

"... But enough of that. There'll be a time for mourning, and a time for revenge." He said, turning back to Devlin. "Right now, I just want answers. I've heard what happened from Eris Halla herself— what she could bring herself to say without breaking down, that is."

He crossed his arms, staring at the master of faster in the eye.

"She's a friend as close as family to me. So trust me when I say, this is one of the hardest things I've ever done." He said, jaw clenched. "I wanna hear things from your perspective— and I wanna know who put you up to the task."

He was pulling on patience and understanding he frankly did not have. He didn't know where he was loaning it from, but he knew it would have to be paid later down the line.

The shifting of the Avatar's eyes away from Josh let him breathe a little easier, though it was largely being seated on the Zeraora's back that kept him as calm as he was. It was natural for the child to take things as hard as she did. She had a clear attempt on her life, and by a well-known League representative at that. "So many friends that cross the lines of war..." Josh gasped, not feeling any better upon the revelation that Eris seemed to have many allies on both sides of the aisle. "And I want to also preface that this, too, is up there with the hardest things I've had to go through." With it being well after dark, the two were the only ones on the property. Josh felt comfortable sharing full details with the colonel, even details he was not privy to.

He mentioned the name of a high-ranking Officer in Mauville City, one that was overseeing Eris' transfer operation. "It all started with that simple, rote transfer. I was given the assignment because of my reliability and my proven ability to catch escapees if things got out of hand. After all, there's none faster in Hoenn than me." Except Eva Morales , that is; there was no beating the Skylord in a contest of speed, but it was speed so impractical that it could only be used in extremely open spaces.

"You've heard this whole story before in the email, so I won't repeat myself. I'll tell you the why, and it's embarrassing, even painful, for me to say," the Gym Leader continued, trembling. "Ever since Meteno, I've admired what you, Katherine Fairburne , and others like you do for the League. I want to fight Rocket alongside you. I really do." A sniff broke his thoughts apart.

Had Doug at some point discovered Josh's RONDEZ VIEW OF LUV route, it would have been clear to him that his Gym Leader successor, like the two before him, sought Avatarship. While his intentions were well and good, the sheer ambition and determination he had consumed him, turning him into a monster that only cared about his chase of Raikou, casting aside all else.

Even Mauville Gym.

"It's no secret by now, and all thanks to that damn Macro Cosmos phone game, that I've wanted Raikou to choose me. When I learned what likely happened to him in the war, I was devastated. I had been chasing Raikou for fourteen years. You can only imagine how I felt when I found out that Raikou is best case scenario MIA, worst case scenario dead."

The Truth Unraveled

Real talk with Josh Devlin

"That right." He said dryly, keeping a tight lid on his emotions as he stared at Josh.

Did he realize what he was doing? He couldn't tell if the braggadocio was something that came naturally to the young man or if he was trying to annoy Doug.

Didn't matter. He took in the name given, burning the syllables of the Mauville based officer into his head.

There went a man's career.

Rondez View of Luv? He had only started dahlia goode's route in that game— and dropped about a minute in after feeling scummy. Given what everyone kept saying about the routes, it seemed as though he should've tried to play more often.

It came and went and his blood was left boiling under his skin, as ever. For whatever reason, Josh was possessed by an obsession with one of Johto's legendary 'dogs'. It wouldn't have mattered to Doug, if the fact hadn't been the reason they were both here now.

"Okay." He said simply, arms crossed over his chest. "Now help me understand. What. Happened. How did Raiko's circumstances lead to escalation?""