It had been a long time since Eva Morales and her ultrafast Patron had saved the region from being obliterated by the meteoroid, yet there were plenty of reporters, independent historians, and others still wanting to talk to League officials about it. The ones targeted most were those who had high profiles and were present on that horrible day. Perhaps the most accessible of them was Josh Devlin , Mauville's Gym Leader and a racing celebrity that was perhaps a bit too eager to speak to the press.

Stepping out of the Mead and Meadow after having lunch there, Josh clicked one of the Poké Balls on his belt open, from it emerging a Ninetales that stood a little taller than the man himself. A saddle and bridle adorned the fire-type fox, the Leader quick to take a seat on the Pokémon's back. He was about to take off for Littleroot when he remembered he had an interview to go to. Coaxing his vulpine steed to turn around, the duo made their way to the large booth. "Sorry I'm a little late - wanted to catch the end of the Veilstone-Lilycove game. It's important for the playoff race," the Leader apologized as his Ninetales, Mystic, tilted his head toward Yannick and any Pokémon that may have been at their side.

Josh semi-awkwardly leaned down, Mystic nearly stepping on Yannick's foot to get the fox's rider close enough to accept the handshake. Neither seemed to mind the cold, the fire-type functioning as a living space heater. "Veilstone couldn't convert on a 4th-and-2, then Lilycove took a knee a bunch of times to end the game. It was a close one, though! All Veilstone needed was two more first downs to get into field goal range."

When asked if he was a Mauville football fan, Josh guffawed. "Mauville hasn't had a football team in a while," he answered a bit more loudly than he wanted to. "They just don't have the talent to compete with the current PFL teams, and it's been harder to maintain one of the 32 slots in the league since the barrier dropped about a year ago."

Yannick's crew seemed excited to meet Josh, particularly Grace. "Thanks," the Gym Leader replied. "Most of my racing these days is done at my Gym, taking challengers. Between Ranger duties and that, I just can't grind the Silph Cup like I used to. I'll still race in both the majors in Hoenn, but I just can't make it to one big race a week like I did before taking up the mantle." The Gym Leader would, of course, have no objections to being mic'ed up. This was the same old song and dance for him. "I would like to stay on Mystic's back for the interview. If that's not feasible, then I understand."

Celebration was very important even in times or war. Morale was important to keep high, and having a thriving sports scene gave Hoenn's brave soldiers, generals, Gym Leaders, and higher-ups something to look forward to when they returned from the line of duty. It was just as important of a job as defending Hoenn in the first place. After all, what good would defending Hoenn be if those fighting the war didn't have a home to return to?

Clearing his throat, Josh prepared for the camera to roll, Mystic fanning her tails. "Directly. It affected all of us. When the Meteno event happened, an invisible barrier trapped everyone in Hoenn from last July until the day the meteor was destroyed. I had originally planned on only vacationing to Hoenn for two weeks. The barrier went up the day after I arrived." Mystic looked attentive, never having heard the story before. Josh had captured the Ninetales long after the apocalypse had passed.

The Gym Leader had to be careful about what he disclosed; even a year later, there were still many details about Meteno that the League forbade him to discuss, including what he knew when. Even now, Rocket could use such details to compromise the League's ability to respond to emergencies without being sabotaged. "There's only so much I can say about how I personally learned about it, being a Gym Leader. NDA and all."

The horrible memories of being separated from his family came rushing right back to Josh. He couldn't even tell them that he wouldn't be coming back until after the League figured out how to communicate through it to the outside world. "It did. Like I said, I had planned on staying for a couple weeks, but it wound up being a few months. And by the time it went down, I had already been a Gym Leader for over two months. I was committed to life here by then."

It wasn't that Josh didn't want to talk about some of the inner details about Meteno. He felt it was wrong of the League to keep things under wraps so long after the event. Perhaps there were operation details that jeopardized military secrets and couldn't be released as they were. A written report with redactions might be more of what YANNICK SOLETTE was looking for.

The Gym Leader took a deep breath, Mystic shifting about to try to relieve Josh of some anxiety of recounting his awful memories of last year's seemingly annual apocalypse. It had been over a year since the last world-ending event. They were overdue for one.

"Right, the barrier. A day after I arrived in Hoenn, an invisible, bottle-shaped barrier made travel in and out of the entire region impossible. Material, ethereal, astral. It was impossible to leave or enter Hoenn. The first public statement about it was in late July if my memory serves correctly. People started living like it was the end of the world after it happened. And it wasn't just the barrier. It was the meteor, too. Remember in school how they taught you about the asteroid that wiped out all the fossil Pokémon? It was almost that big."

The question triggered one giant flashback to the day Josh defended the shrine of the Johto Beast from would-be robbers thanks to help from then-Council Elinor Anderson . "It still is. And it was all a freak accident," the Gym Leader answered. "You see, I had applied for a Minor League Gym in the weeks leading to that. She convinced me to go down the path of a Ranger. I got approved for both at the same time. After two months, the League asked me if I wanted to fill in for John Sullivan , who stepped down from Mauville Gym last September. I've been there since."

The weight of responsibility didn't truly hit Josh until after he received the defense plans to prevent Meteno from crashing into Hoenn. "I thought Gym Leaders were responsible for things like assisting the city mayor and taking challenges. There's so much more to it than that, but I've been able to handle it... barely." There was also having to answer to some of the highest government officials in the land, including one he did not get along with.

The months, weeks, and days leading up to the projected impact were lavish, no one expecting to live past the impact date of November 18, 2022. "People took all their vacation days from work. Lavishly spent money they couldn't afford to in anticipation of the end of the world. Even Hoenn itself put on a celebration called Splashfest. Had live music, a surfing contest, and many other things to get the meteor off everyone's minds. I learned how to ride a Mantine then. The whole situation was awful. People put themselves into financial ruin because they thought everyone in Hoenn was dying that day."

It was a minor miracle none of Josh's Pokémon died the day Eva Morales and her Patron destroyed the meteor. The lives of his Absol, Skarmory, and Espeon flashed before their eyes that day. "Now I can't be entirely forthcoming, as not everything about Meteno has been declassified yet. I just want you to be aware I won't be able to answer all your questions."

It was far worse than Yannick ever imagined. Josh had the answers at the time. He just couldn't give them to the public. With Rocket waiting in the weeds, no one outside the organization able to tell for certain the identity of every person on the inside, the League had to hold their plans fast until the very last moment. At the time, he disagreed with how the League handled it, but as he matured in his position as Mauville Gym Leader, he understoo the need for secrecy even if he did not like how the crisis was handled. Ultimately, it took divine intervention completely out of the League's hands to stop te meteoroid.

Even if he didn't have to answer to Hoenn's people, he had a large number of Pokémon to answer to, which was part of what committed him to his position as Gym Leader. His property was enormous, and his Gym's business model was reliant on the League's subsidy. Without their financial support, he would have to scale back his Gym substantially, letting go of both employees and Pokémon under his care. He loved every single one of them. He could not bear to let a single one of them go.

"Exactly," the Gym Leader nodded. "It's not like we can take our wealth with us past The Border and into paradise when the Great One calls our name."

There indeed were severe limits on what the Gym Leader could disclose about the Meteno operation, Josh having to do some mental gymnastics to adequately answer the reporter's question without violating internal agreements. "We had a plan backed up by our scientific knowledge. All our studies suggested our plan was viable and would work. All we could do was rely on our discoveries and our theories backed up by our knowledge. There were, of course, nerves about being wrong, but we were confident that it would work." Josh felt Mystic's fur stand on end as his vulpine steed faintly glowed a purple-pink, a tiny wave of EXTRASENSORY power pressuring his rider's brain. "Mystic, you okay?" he asked, turning his head away from the microphone.

Josh held his head for a few seconds before shaking it. What was that discharge? He might have to get Mystic checked out at a Pokémon Center soon. She rarely discharged psychic waves that strong without reason. Once he was feeling better, Josh faced forward again.

"First off, we were just happy to be alive. If we failed, everyone and every Pokémon in Hoenn was going to die. The cleanup afterward was such a mess. I can't imagine the financial burdens of people who spent money beyond their means in the days leading up to the meteor. We have to clean up after them, too."

There was a way for Hoenn to be better prepared. Ultimately, the League and Team Rocket had to cooperate to keep Hoenn from becoming a hunk of space debris. "This needless war needs to stop. If the League and Team Rocket cannot reach an armistice, then the next disaster will."