Admitting

It had been almost 5 years after Team Plasma had been disbanded for good. The Heroes of Unova had moved on, now living in Kalos to fill up the pages of their Pokedexes. By then, they'd probably forgotten about Team Plasma- even N, the ex-leader, had moved on. It didn't matter anyway. He would've done the same thing.

With a long sigh, the man sighed as he strolled through Nimbasa City. Ghetsis shuddered as a cold gust of wind blew. He no longer wore his robes and began to wear jumpers and trousers. Though, a thin jumper wasn't really helping against the cold of winter. He'd began to wish he'd at least brought a coat or something that was warmer. But he didn't think of that.

Depression had gotten to him recently and he was a heavy drinker; he'd even thought about suicide. There was nothing that he could do for this God forsaken world any more. When he ran Team Plasma, he had something to do, even if it was for his own greed. But now... He was worth nothing. The Seven Sages continued their lives as normal, even after being in prison for a few years. Ghetsis didn't even have a family to turn to. No friends. He'd even released his Pokemon because he felt they'd be better without him. His Hydreigon remained by his side, of course, but was always in its Pokeball or in the PC.

It was 1AM at this point. The grey-green haired man sat down on a bench, outside of Nimbasa's theme park. He pulled out a small flask of vodka from his trouser pocket, taking the cap off it and drank the remainder of it. He'd been drinking most of the day, so it was nearly empty. I need to get more of this stuff. Ghetsis thought to himself, grumbling a bit.

"Ghetsis?"

The feminine voice surprised him, and he was even more surprised to see the city's Gym Leader, Elesa. She smiled as she sat down next to him. "I haven't seen you in a long time." The blonde said, looking at the ex-Plasma. She smelled like roses- probably her perfume or deodrant. She wore a large, cream-coloured coat and her typical tank shirt with black leggings. Ghetsis merely nodded in response, putting the empty flask of vodka back in his pocket, which made her look a bit puzzled.

"I never knew you drank." She spoke with a little bit of a confused tone. The man nodded, staring at the floor. "Why do you drink?" Elesa asked after that. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to be into that kinda thing-"

"I have depression. I'm kind of addicted to it right now." He cut her off, sighing. "I don't know why I turned to it. I just did." He was now resting his chin in the palm of his hand, staring into space. Before she could ask any more questions, he continued. "I have no one to turn to. No family. No friends. I released my Pokemon a long time ago. I shouldn't even be here. Everyone in this region hates me."

The Gym Leader was quiet for a few moments. "I believe you should be here. Everyone deserves a second chance." Elesa replied casually, shrugging. "I don't mind talking to you if you ever feel lonely. I don't really hate you for what you did... Yes, it was evil but I'm sure many people are over it by now." She added, before patting him on the shoulder. "I wouldn't dawn on the past to much. It only causes things like depression. I would know."

Ghetsis glanced over. "How so?"

Elesa rolled up her coat sleeve, revealing scars up her arm and wrist. "I used to be a self-harmer before I became a model. I suffered from anxiety and anorexia. I used to look at people and think 'why can't I be beautiful like them?'... It made me really unhappy with my body, so I self harmed as a way of discipline every time I thought I ate to much or messed up." Her eyes watered up a bit, but blinked back the tears as she continued. "Now that I think back on it... It was really silly. I never should have done it. I even regret it now because I have all these ugly scars on my arm."

The scarlet-eyed male was stunned. He would never expect a gym leader to be a self-harmer, especially since Elesa seemed so confident with herself. "I would never had guessed that a person such as yourself would have had such a dark time in your life." Ghetsis responded, feeling a little bad now.

Elesa nodded, rolling her sleeve down again. "Yes, not many people expect it..." She sniffled a little, wiping her eyes. "Oh, gosh, I've just embarrassed myself... I-I'm sorry." She apologized somewhat frantically and laughed nervously, wiping the eyeliner that ran down her face.

"It's fine." Ghetsis assured, flashing a quick smile at her. "I think you should go home now. It's really late." He advised and the gym leader nodded.

"Yes, I will be on my way now..." She sniffled, reaching to wipe the last of her tears but was stopped by the man, who wiped them away for her. She smiled sheepishly, blushing just a little.

"Thank you, Elesa." He spoke, smiling a little back. "I will be taking my leave now, too."

"Thank y-you too... Ghetsis."

With that, the two began to walk in opposite directions, heading home for the night. They glanced back at each other once or twice, waving just a bit, but remained silent. Ghetsis released his Hydreigon, who was happy to finally be out of its ball, but grunted when it was commanded to fly back to P2 Labratory.

The gym leader stopped, watching the dragon-type fly in the moonlight. You could only just make out its bright red eyes that glowed in the darkness. It really did make her smile.

Thank you.