The place Josh was taking him after they got him patched up looked like a bar and grill he had seen several times since he lived here. Having not ever really went in himself, with helping raise his seven other siblings. So time never happened for him to get here. However, this place seemed like somewhere Nico would love to go. Or at least, Nico's grandfather might drag him in here.

"I've lived here forever and never been inside." He felt silly he had never came in here. "Steak fries? Yum. They got wings? I could totally use a beer after all the stuff we went through." He laughed, hoping Josh didn't mind him grabbing a beer to take the edge off things. "Besides the fries, what do you recommend, bro?" He was grabbing the menu, glancing over it. "Blazakin wings... wonder how hot they are."

Josh Devlin

Like almost every building in Fortree, the bar was crafted around several tall, hollowed-out trees. The room they were in was in the center of one such tree. The décor looked so natural yet so modern at the same time; Fortree was truly a marvel of Hoenn. This was part of the beauty he had vowed to protect after he escaped from Mirage Island that fateful day in July. "Whenever I travel, one of the things I look forward to most is bar hopping," Josh spoke as his eyes shifted toward coverage of a race involving one of the professionals he watched rise up the ranks back when he was in Johto. It seemed they would start on the pole position in the heat they were assigned to.

"Oh I'm sorry, I got distracted. Could you repeat that, please?" Josh apologized. If Matt was kind enough to repeat, he would answer, "I love to compare bars' steak burgers. You can never go wrong with a patty, some cheese, some barbecue sauce, and a bun. This place is the best in town. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for. That's why I go bar hopping; not the drinks, but the food. You can never go wrong with bar food."

His friend mentioned wanting to order wings. "If it were me, I would get them a little on the milder side. I can't handle spicy food as well as most people, though, so...if you're feeling adventurous, go for it." He paused as Twilight took a step toward Matt, her expression stoic as always. "I'm not a beer drinker myself. It's a personal thing and a civic thing. I told myself when I came of age, I would never drink. Don't want to know my limit."

Josh continued his conversation with Matt after placing their orders. "Plus, riding under the influence is more than just a moving violation in some regions. I haven't read up on Hoenn's code about it; that's more the domain of a police officer than a Ranger. Speaking of which, how's your Ranging been going?" He detached a Poké Ball from his belt and held it in his right hand.

"Well, I don't plan on riding around drunk. So I'm good."

Rarely he got a drink, and after today, he thought he deserved it. Glancing over the menu more, he glanced up as the waitress dressed up as a Dustox came by. Matt only blinked for several moments. It was a cute outfit, he never understood the need to have girls dress up like that at sport bars.

"Yeah, an ale and the Blazakin wings, please." The waitress nodded, turning towards Josh, tilting her head at him, waiting for his order. Matt waited for Josh to finish ordering, before he glanced at the screen. Seeing the race going on, he frowned a bit at it. He may have had a passion for racing, but he never wanted to reach that type of competitiveness... he was planning a life out, after all. With his boyfriend.

"Thanks for bringin' me by the way."

Josh Devlin

The waitress' getup didn't make Josh smile like it did Matt; while it did the first time he came, he slowly got used to it with how frequent of a patron he was. "I'd like a half-pound steakburger with the veggies on the side, an order of steak fries, and a lemonade, please. Oh, medium-well, please." He typically got his steakburgers well-done at other places, but well-done here was a bit too done for his tastes. Once both had placed their orders, she took their menus from them and would be right back with their drinks. It didn't take more than a few minutes to return with a tall glass of lemonade and Matt's ale. The two were warned it could be a bit of a wait for their food due to a large birthday party.

"You're welcome, Matt," Josh calmly replied, his attention drawn to the Pokémon race being broadcast on one of the flat screens. Goldenrod City's Snake Road course was brutal. Crafted around the largest park in the city, it lives up to its name, the course's back half full of whiplash-inducing, back-and-forth turns that tested the riders' physical mettle more than the Pokémon that ran. "Four crash-outs already? Geez. That's why I'm scared to race professionally. They have to go on so many unfair tracks."

Crash-outs were commonplace on the most difficult tracks the circuit had to offer, and the course was extremely long, with lap times well over three minutes. There were already several crash-outs in the first lap, and he was certain there would be more once boost laps began.

Knowing their food might take a while, Josh decided he would be better off revealing the true reason for their meal here. His eves shifted from the race to Matt. He raised his right hand above the table and set down the Poké Ball he had palmed previously. "So Matt, on one of my Ranger trips around Fortree, I caught a Pokémon I thought I was looking for. When I made the capture, the Pokémon wasn't what I thought it was...and a catch-and-release just didn't feel right. Then I thought about what happened earlier." He slid the Poké Ball across the table. "It's yours. Open it. On the floor between the tables, but open it."

Matt frowned at the crash outs. "Yeah, doesn't sound fun." He said, watching the screen. Not something he wanted to go pro in, for sure. Plus he knew Nico would worry about him. He was already going to worry with him wanting to become a ranger. Conversations he was not thrilled to have, at least hoping Nico got it.

"Huh?"

Having gotten lost in his thoughts, he blinked at the pokeball offered to him. "Bro." Going to take it, he released it onto the floor like he was instructed. Seeing the beautiful Absol come out of it. Matt looked a bit baffled, why was.. aww.

"Caught on I like canines?" He teased Josh, before going to nod. "Thanks dude, I love him. Beautiful." Offering his hand out fo rthe Absol, he watched them approach and sniff his hand. A raised brow came, before they nudged his hand and Matt petted them. "Now what am I gonna call you?"

Josh Devlin

This Absol seemed a lot more affectionate than the emotionless one Josh had on his squad. Of course, being the star combatant of his team, the racer's Absol was still incredibly valuable. All of his Pokémon were. Like he had said to Matt multiple times, every Pokémon, even ones of the same species, had their own unique personalities, just like people did! "I got the idea after the crash." When Matt mentioned he was a dog lover, he might have been able to catch a quizzical look on his friend's face, though it was very brief.

Josh always thought of Absol as more of a feline Pokémon. "Actually no. I didn't know you were into canines specifically." He paused to give his friend time to prepare for what he was about to say. "Now please don't take this the wrong way, Matt. Arcanine are some of the hardest Pokémon to handle in all of Pokémon racing. They're notorious for their extremely high speed, but they aren't very controllable. It's why you don't see them on the circuit too often, except at the very top of the professional level. Their skill set is...very unwieldy for most courses. I wanted you to have a Pokémon that was...more appropriate for your skill level, that's all." The Gym Leader was showing signs of nervousness; perhaps he was worried about being too harsh or belittling of his friend?

Matt had to hold back a sigh from the oncoming scolding. But he was doing his best to take with a grain of salt. Slowly nodding, he was listening to him, even if it hurt his pride. Not going to offer any excuses though, Josh just took his job seriously.

"Not sure how I'll handle riding something that small, but I'll give it a shot." Petting the absol some more, he still needed a name. Hmmm, he looked off in thought, missing the waitress bringing their food and setting it down to flutter away back to the other customers.

"Ace. I'll call you Ace."

Ace nodded in approval, going and curling up at the foot of the seat Matt was in. "Hope Nico likes you." Looking back to Josh, he grinned widely at the food. "Never gonna get over being able to eat this all for myself."

Josh Devlin

Josh was asked to recall his Absol as their server came in with their two meals and another glass of lemonade to replace the one he had gone through. He recalled the white Pokémon to allow the server to get to his seat and set his plate down. Nothing like a big juicy burger and a pile of steak fries to celebrate with. "They do give you a lot here. Fills me up just perfectly, though!" He folded one of the thick steak fries into his mouth; they had a mild kick to them, just how he liked it. "Always wanted to take a trip out to Castelia City. It's the second biggest city in the whole country, only second to Lumiose City."

The center of Josh's steakburger had just a dash of pink. It was cooked to perfection. Deciding to put just lettuce on his burger this time (no onions or tomato - wasn't in the mood), he sank his teeth into the barbecue sauce and cheese-covered patty. "Heavenly" was the only word out of his mouth. "If you need a birthday or Christmas gift idea, a gift card to this place is always good. It's too bad it's almost a two hour ride from here to where I'll be stationed in a couple weeks."

Josh laughed at Matt's name for the Absol. "Hah, one of my high school buddies is also named Ace! He works security for a Johto subsidiary of POG Bank. He's a bit of a hothead but is a good person overall. Loves fire Pokémon and dragon Pokémon even more than I do." He hadn't spoken with the musclehead since leaving for Hoenn. Might be a good idea to at least text him.

Josh's eyes shifted toward the television again as worked on the second half of his burger. "Oh, the championship heat is starting!" He saw some fierce-looking Pokémon at the line, including a Hydreigon; it appeared the finals was to be an aerial race with some nasty-looking mandatory pole locations. There was even a narrow triple mando that would require Pokémon with large enough wingspans to fly on their sides to pass the obstacle without penalty. Just as the race was starting, their waitress returned to check on them. "Separate checks, please," the more experienced Ranger requested. "Need a box, Matt?"

Matt started to absentmindedly eat the food. Downing the wings like they were not even that hot. Eyes glued to the screen as he watched the races. Before he finally paid attention to the fact he was covered in hot sauce. Cleaning himself up and swigging his beer, he nodded at Josh.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Gonna take some of this home to my boyfriend." He knew Nico would LOVE these hot wings. Reading over the check, he put out the money plus a tip on the counter. "Maybe I should tell my parents about this place, they rarely get out. I could offer to babysit and let them go out for a chance."

He knew for a fact his parents would love a break from seven kids.

"Thanks for bringing me and for Ace."

Josh Devlin

"One box for Matt here, please," Josh asked the waitress after he finished up his sandwich. He had just a few fries left, which he enjoyed while watching the championship heat of the Goldenrod race. There were a surprising number of crash-outs on the final lap as racers were prepared to risk not finishing the race at all to take home the trophy. Josh likewise left a generous gratuity. Most places he tipped using their standard tip, but he always left a little extra here for the fantastic customer service he always got. "Change is yours," Josh let the waitress know as she closed their tab.

He turned back to Matt. "And that's why this place is so packed on weekends. Word of mouth advertising truly is the best kind, and it's free." After the live broadcast had ended and gone to the post-race show, he stood up. "Ace will be a valuable friend and ally for you. Absol are great for learning racing fundamentals. You have any questions, you know how to get ahold of me." With that, he walked with Matt to the exit, releasing and mounting Twilight as soon as he was outside. It was no short ride back to his hotel room.