Carrying this thread over from my Bluesky, I shall explain to you on why Eldes is a brilliantly written character in Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness.
For what little screentime he had in the game, his character actually has a lot to offer in the story he's in.
Dare I say, he was the TRUE hero of the game, and here's why:
In the beginning, during the Zook and Ardos cutscene, Eldes had not once said or done anything.
He stands between everybody while remaining on the sidelines; which reveals that Eldes is not one for confrontation, and is moreso the type to end said confrontation if courageous enough to do so.
When you encounter Eldes inside the Krabby Club at Gateon Port, he straight up tells you to leave him (alongside Greevil and Ardos) alone, right after he tells you about how "Mr. Verich" does his business and seldom takes breaks from his business trips.
This implies that Eldes is subtly dissuading you into interacting with him any further, knowing that the truth will be uncovered much quicker if you hang around with them long enough; or at the very least it'll lead to some suspicion being drawn, similarly to how Zook showed his Shadow Zangoose in public, to which Greevil has no intentions on revealing his new plans to the public at the time. In this instance, Eldes was simply trying to protect you from the dangers that was Ardos and Greevil, hence why he had now spoken up to you.
He did not want you to be harmed so early on, knowing that he had always seen some potential in you as a Trainer, hence his subtle warning. Eldes simply knew something that Greevil and Ardos would otherwise not pay very much mind to for a while- that notion being that you would become Cipher's biggest threat; if left unchecked, which was eventually proven correct.
With such a prospect being taken into consideration, it was partially why Eldes had urged you to think about the motives behind your battling to begin with, apart from him wanting to battle you from the get-go, anyways. You can see through his POV about how he feels about Cipher and its cruel methods of producing Shadow Pokemon.
When you meet him in Mt. Battle, it's instantly made clear that he is not a bad guy, or at the very least; not straight up evil. He outright says that he often questions his motives for gaining power, including his position to where he is now.
He then asks you a philosophical question about WHY you want to become stronger in the first place, before taking on the path of power. Additionally, he pondered to himself outloud about what he's fighting for, and if he's putting his Pokemon under any cruel stress. It is made clear that he is suffering from an existential crisis of sorts, concerning his identity and purpose in life.
Also, notice how he was the last one (twice) out of the Verich trio to leave / move somewhere?
This implies that Eldes (thru his noticeably slow movements and frequent tendency to lag behind on Greevil and Ardos) has some built up feelings of hesitation within his spirit.
Eldes' mind is being filled w/ many thoughts; and therefore, his slow movements are allowing him to be very thorough and mindful with his actions surroundings, allowing him to be both alert, and thoughtful to the max, by proxy.
In the Gateon Port instance ESPECIALLY, he silently scrutinizes you for a moment; until eventually leaving you be, walking away with Greevil and Ardos from behind. This could mean several things, but given all of the evidence from previous dialogue and cutscenes, this most likely means that Eldes' suspicions of you were slowly being proven correct, regarding you becoming a stronger trainer overtime; and by extension, bringing Cipher down to its knees once and for all.
At the very least, Eldes now thinks of you in a higher regard than in the beginning where you first encountered him at Gateon Port.
And then when you meet him in Citadark Isle before battling, he tells you that he knew he'd end up battling you one day, but also says that this wasn't how he'd hope to face you. Really not what he had in mind; regarding the current circumstances you two are in.
If you tell him no, he apologizes and says that the grandmaster's orders are absolute, so therefore, he can't refute them. Even though he genuinely doesn't want to fight you this way, he simply can't. He's strictly ordered to battle you against his will, hence the apology.
If you tell him yes, he lets out a rather reluctant reply, saying, "Fine, I understand. But once we begin, expect no mercy. That is my philosophy." And even before you give him a response, he tells you that if you two fight, it'd be unfulfilling and without meaning. In other words, the fight is just going to be unproductive and simply meaningless. A stalemate, if you will, where nothing good comes out of it in the end. Only the bad.
REGARDLESS of what you say to him back, you still gotta fight him either way.
Eldes is literally the right-hand man (and so is Ardos) to Cipher's grandmaster, Greevil! HIS OWN FATHER! With all the self-awareness he has, he can't just snap at his dad and tell him off about what they're doing is fucked up and that they should stop that bullshit ASAP.
Eldes has to be loyal, and by proxy, go along with the process, regardless if he likes it or not. He's locked in place, basically. There's nothing he can do to stop those ambitions, especially if those ambitions are his own father's. Even if he actively made effort to slow down the progress, it clearly wasn't enough. Things were already getting worse.
He doesn't want to betray his own family just for morality sake. Going along with it without a word was simply the safest route he could take at that time. It ain't even like he has a choice to begin with. He's a victim of his own father's system in Cipher.
Eldes is actually more of an anti-villain than anything else, because even though he's a genuinely good person who truly hasn't done anything wrong, he's guilty by mere association alone and was conforming to Cipher's policies.
He was a part of the problem!
Eldes convinced Greevil that they should both turn themselves in to the police, meaning that even though Eldes himself had not done anything wrong by his own hands, he was STILL part of the problem, and thus, he was very willing to confront those crimes and face justice as a means of repenting for his sins.
He confessed that he was never a pure person in particular. He admits that he's made mistakes and is willing to own up to them. He ain't a saint by any means, no matter how much good he does, but he’s still a good person by admitting he ended up in the wrong hands via contributing to Cipher's misdeeds.
He admitted to being wrong.
At the end of the story, he confronted both Ardos and Greevil, and managed to not only convince the latter to redeem himself, but he also prevented the explosion of Citadark Isle. Eldes is a true hero for saving everyone in Citadark Isle, AND for helping the game's main antagonist (Greevil) change his ways for the better. As much as Eldes was a kindhearted person throughout the game, he wore a lot of guilt and anguish on his sleeves, deep down.
In general, Eldes is a courteous man who wields a massive heart for both people and Pokemon.
Finally, in the post game, he's absolutely delighted to see you during the final round of the Orre Colosseum!
How fitting that he is the "true" final boss of the game! Considering that he trained in Mt. Battle before...
Even before OR after defeating Cipher, Eldes has always regarded you as a tough Trainer. Defeating him in the Orre Colosseum as its final boss only drives him into FURTHER respecting you as a tough Trainer.
With such higher regards than ever before, he confers you the role of being his "Top Rival". Taking this, alongside the conversation you had with him back in Citadark Isle before battling him, AND EVEN when you encountered him in Mt. Battle, Eldes had ALWAYS planned on battling you, and ever since Greevil had been defeated; Eldes was finally able to fulfill his wish of battling your Pokemon with the full intent of friendly dueling, as opposed to battling you against his own will, like Greevil had forced him to do back in Citadark Isle.
Personal thoughts:
Literally what I want in a man. Hits all the sweet spots for me, when it comes to characters; he's sweet and gentle, yet also remorseful and complex. He's just a solid YES for me; I eat that up FR. Also a wonderful villain, on top of that.
I just genuinely feel like the writers behind XD did a really good job establishing his character, compared to most characters in the game. Like he TOTALLY stands out, as far as writing quality goes.
You can really learn about a character's ENTIRE psychology and background, just by reading their dialogue alone.
Actions are also important when establishing a character's personality, especially with how little screentime a character like Eldes has...
And that concludes my analysis post! 🥳💕✨
