I have an really stupid idea.
What if Larry is battling as gym leader and elite 4 member as a form of de-stress.
Like, he used to work in the leagues legal team, but had developed an burn out syndrome.
The only thing that seemed to help him was battling and being around his Pokémon.
Geeta not wanting to lose him, then gave him the position as gym leader.
He soon became too strong landing him in the elite 4.
He seemed to be happy, but then he started to hide himself again, as not many trainer came to the league.
So he was given his gym leader position nack, but he had to train different Pokémon.
It helped a lot with his mental state, till his old colleagues and the boss of his department reached out to him for help.
Him being a bit of an doormat led to him helping out, till he was basically back in business.
Geeta only knows about his 2 battle jobs and thinks him suiting up helps him feel safe