THANK YOU

Dear All,

As you may have heard by now, I have decided to step down as a member of the Elite Four. This decision I do not take lightly, nor do I feel it is appropriate to get into the midst of the exact reasons as to why I decided to step down. However, I will say that it has been a decision I’ve thought of for some time, and that ultimately I believe it is for the best that those who are in power are willing to step down when they believe that the future is better without them clinging on to it.

With that being said, I will be honest in saying that I have some disagreements with the League, but no particular member of the leadership was the reason behind me stepping down outside of my own choice.

I believe, and still to this day, believe that the single greatest attribute that defines a person is their volition.

Their strength of will and character in the face of adversity is a lesson I’ve tried to embody in both my gym and elite four challenges, and that I believe is a pivotal skill to teach to those who wish to make it to the absolute top of any skill, let alone Pokémon battling.

Many of the public once laughed at the league for promoting Melody Miro and myself for being musicians who happen to also be Elite Four members. But I don't think they understand the commonalities between the two.

Melody and I have risen to the top of our respective entertainment industries, and therefore, we understand what it takes to make it to the very top of a respective career.

To reach the apex of any career, you only need to understand this: Almost nothing in the world can resist the persistence of the human spirit.

Talent, inborn or not, is nothing compared to the human soul. Our desire, patience, and confidence in our own abilities play a much larger role in any success than sheer inborn quality. Things will yield if we strike it with enough force.

It is this spirit that causes Pokemon to be drawn to us, to follow us, to want us to lead them. They are drawn to our charisma, our force of will and direction.

Your birth comes along with a set of traits and skills that make you unique. It has a natural assertive energy to it. Your task is to nurture it, to find what it is, to maintain and make it flower.

What weakens this force, what makes you doubt its existence, is the force of social pressure and conformity.

You want to fit in to the group. You feel what makes you different is embarrassing, or painful. Your parents, your schools, your friends, your partners, act as a counter force and may seek to drive you into safe and comfortable lives that are lucrative. If they become strong enough, you lose contact with all that you are, your inclinations modelled on those of others.

To those of you who continue to seek strength, the first step is always inward.

Find out your inner voice, clear away what your peers may say, seek an underlying pattern and understand it. Then from there, you can branch out. You will recognise it by the childlike sense of wonder you find within you. Everything clicks into place and you can move from that point from your own. You have nothing to create, you just need to dig and refine what it is you have buried.

Rebel against forces that have pushed you from your true path. Feel anger and resentment at those who want to put onto you an alien vocation. Mock the need for attention and approval, if required.

For me, it has taken a process of 30 years, but I am fortunate to have come to this point.

I will continue to make music, and will continue to seek mastery over Pokemon battling. For now though, my role in the Elite Four is at its end.

I would like to thank dahlia goode, Melody Miro, Laurence Anderson, Elinor Anderson, and everyone else who has supported me throughout my brief tenure. I hope that we will keep in touch.

Thank you.

- Callan