"No, like I said, I think they both have serious issues," Shalin agreed with the masked lady. "But there is a minimum guarantee of safety that is needed for Hoenn to thrive as a region. Rocket does not offer that minimum threshold. The freedom they desire is on the level of anarchy. That's why I've formed a... reluctant alliance."

Indeed, by taking on the position of Captain, she was walking a political tightrope. Of course, the Captains were less politically involved than, say, Gym Leaders or upper management, but they were still required to uphold the League's dogma... or at least appear to.

"I've seen them unite when the region needs them most. If you follow current events, I'm sure you heard about the time Hoenn itself was threatened by a meteor," she recounted, the first time she had experienced true horror in the region. Little was she aware that would pale in comparison to what would happen to her home... and to her...

Her true political stance was, of course, one she could not adopt in an official capacity. She was a Captain. One of Head Ranger ollie morales 's most trusted staff. She had to be united with her peers against Team Rocket. Even small seeds of doubt, if expressed using a public platform, could be construed as insubordination, resulting in the loss of her position.A position she could not afford to lose, for she would be financially unable to take care of her vast numbers of Pokémon. "It's... far more complicated than you make it sound," Shalin replied. "If it were that simple for Hoenn to change, she would have by now. One wishes to rule with an iron fist, and one seeks to protect her people from that very iron fist."

Recounting the meteor falling, she told Absinthe of the day her and her Beedrill fought against Elisabeth Fiorelli in Littleroot. "They're capable of working together when they know they'll both be wiped out. If both sides didn't work together, Hoenn would have turned into a five hundred thousand degree oven. When there is an existential threat to the entire region, they'll work together. Other than that, you're correct. It's a sad paradox, really."

Such was the tragedy of endless war. Neither League nor Rocket nor Hoenn's population were the beneficiaries. There seemed to be no benefit to the years-long territory war. All it did was upend lives. She would discover that firsthand soon enough. "The only way this war even ends is by one side taking a great risk: refusing to work with the other in a situation, like Meteno, where both sides risk being wiped out by a threat even greater than each other. It's the classic prisoner's dilemma."

After watching Absinthe battle the Fletchinder, Shalin let out a big yawn. "Can't believe how late it's grown. Think I'm gonna head back home soon." Perhaps one of the last times she would even have a home to return to...