"Rose, Leon, the ten year plan and why it couldn't wait another day"

One thing I felt was incredibly rushed in SWSH was Rose's sudden and very unreasonable turn to the dark side. That one arc was crammed in there at the last minute and pretty poorly executed from a storyteller perspective. Yet, after a month of research and a lot of thought, I have finally figured out why it made complete sense for Rose and was necessary for the plot. Hear me out:Rose's PlanFirst: That plan was not a spur of the moment thing. Rose's planning went back over ten years. Somewhere around that time, Rose must have discovered that the energy source that his business empire was reliant on would one day run dry (i.e. the dens would produce less and less Galar particles). He also discovered that there was a pokemon that could put whatever produced those particles into overdrive. He could contain it, but not control it.But what if there was a trainer, talented enough to control Eternatus, loyal enough to Galar to not abuse its power and just susceptible enough to aid Macro Cosmos?Enter Leon. He is an incredible talented trainer, charismatic and naturally competitive. His parents are currently busy with their newborn baby, so he would probably look for a guardian. Rose takes him under his wings and tosses the ten year old into the world of professional sports. Leon thrives and Rose can build another successful brand around his champion.He of course makes sure that Leon learns how important he is to Galar. There is a reason his official attire is designed after a king. It also helps that, like all pro athletes, Leon is built up and received as a modern day hero.Now in comes the player, a challenger who could actually pose a threat to Leon's championship title. This title is what defines him as Galar's hero. And for Rose's plan to work, Leon has to be very conscious of the fact that he holds this title.So now it's the day before the title tournament. It's actually the last day that Rose can set his plan into motion, because tomorrow, some nobody with no relation to Rose whatsoever might hold the title. So he calls in Leon and tells him about how in 1000 years Galar will suffer an energy crisis and that they had to act now etc. To Leon this of course doesn't make any sense and he decides to compete the next day regardless. Which is what Rose had probably wanted all along.Then it's the opening ceremony and Rose hijacks the podcast to say only three sentences. One of them is a particularly vindictive jab against Leon. He basically calls him out in front of all who watch, blaming him for what happens.Leon will now stop at nothing to get Eternatus back under control, which is exactly what Rose wants. After all, it's Leon's fault as well as his responsibility. How his stance towards his former mentor is right now, Rose cannot know. What he does know is that Leon knows about his motivations with the energy crisis, even if Rose is imprisoned.He calculates, that if Leon manages to catch Eternatus, his place as Galar's hero is cemented and his word unquestioned. And as he had been subtly trained for ten years, he'll turn to Rose or Oleana for guidance what to do now. That way, Macro Cosmos can continue existing, Galar has all the power it needs and it will be squarely placed in the had of an unquestioned hero instead of a faceless company.In short: Release Eternatus at exactly that point, when the one person, that is simultaneously able to control it and dependent on me has to do what I want. Then this person, now an unquestioned hero in the public eye will come to me for guidance, thus ensuring the future for my business (or Galar).This to me is the second worst instance of child grooming ever depicted in the pokemon franchise and I'm incredibly happy that Rose was only interested in the future of either Galar or Macro Cosmos.Why it didn't work and how they crammed Leon's character arc in itThe plan didn't work out in the end, since Leon failed in catching Eternatus. He probably did the lion's share of the work, but Leon had a substantial character flaw that had been hinted at during the entire game: He is self-reliant to a fault.During the game we often see Leon dismiss our and Hop's offers to help him. I believe he genuinely does not do this because he wants the glory for himself, but because he firmly believes that he is the only one competent enough to do things. But, because the power of friendship is always victorious, it is actually Hop and us who manage to finally catch Eternatus.Now that Leon has to admit that he has equals on his powerlevel, his allegiance to Rose, who propped him up as the only hope and put him under immense amount of pressure, starts to crumble.Leon later admits that he had become too closed off and needs to work on establishing a steady relationship with a rival he can butt heads with.I've thought long about why Leon seems so much more mature when he takes over the Battle Tower, even though his general nature hasn't changed. It's because he's way more tranquil and balanced, now that he can concentrate on what he loves, instead of putting himself under constant pressure. That sentiment is shared by his mother, who stated that he finished a meal with them for the first time in ten years after he lost the title.A quick side note about sponsorsLeon isn't sponsored by any brand under the Macro Cosmos umbrella, which I always found strange. Then I realized that Leon, the League President's darling, doesn't need sponsoring. It was probably a good way for Rose to give him a sense of agency, with having to negotiate the sponsorship deals himself.Also, Raihan is played up as Leon's rival. Though I've always had the feeling this was a very one-sided rivalry. Raihan is sponsored by Macro Cosmos. Not the power sector that basically runs his Gym, but the branch's banking sector. (I personally would have loved if Raihan was sponsored by the insurance, because a guy who approves having three different weather effects around old artifacts must be a blast to insure.) But this could be a hint at how Rose might have sensed that Leon was getting to closed off and tried to establish a rival for him. via /r/pokemon https://ift.tt/2R2XnS9