Josh was not unfamiliar with charity events. Before he became a Pokémon racer, he was quite the hardcore video gamer, so much that he had been selected to perform at the largest game-related charity event in all of Johto. Twice. Both times, he had elected to pick up volunteer shifts at the event to pay for his ticket, rather than buying a ticket himself. Those were times when money was a lot tighter; his career in Pokémon racing let him live a wealthy lifestyle, but not the extravagant lifestyle of a CEO.

Josh's experience with past charity events such as this one landed him a desk job-like task at the event. His job was not to interact with donors and physically take donations, but to process them in a computer system. His tasks included reading and vetting donation comments before they were posted to a website, making sure every donation was entered into a ledger, and recommending specific donations and donation comments to be displayed on a ticker in the Pokémon Center. A staff member at the event led Josh to his station and showed him about the system he would be navigating.

DONATION

WHERE TIME IS JUST AS GOOD AS MONEY

“THANK YOU,” fernando recounts with a slight bow of his head.

a box of spare bedding and blankets are added to the pile as he navigates to where josh is stationed. he places the bag next to him, reading it off so that he can more easily enter it into the computer system.

“two heavy duty blankets. one light blanket. one mattress cover. from shivy…. sama o?”

he makes no comment about the weird name but the pace at which he recites it showcases his confusion.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Josh Devlin

While Josh was responsible for entering physical items received at the Pokémon Center into the ledger, he was also responsible for processing monetary donations from the website. In the wake of the Darkest Day, there were a lot of them; the tragedy that ended countless lives and brought to light just the severity of the crisis Hoenn was in caused the generous wealthy to open their wallets wide.

"The donation comment for these blankets and mattress cover is so cute. You should read it if you have a moment," Josh asked his coworker as he entered the items into the system. He looked for a nametag on the older man but didn't immediately see one. "I'm Josh," he briefly introduced himself, scanning the list of recent donations for either large amounts or one with heartwarming comments. Preferably ones that contained both. "What about you? May as well chat to make our shift go faster."

DONATION

WHERE TIME IS JUST AS GOOD AS MONEY

“CUTE,” fernando repeats, as if in disbelief or incapable of comprehending. “hm…”

“silph,” he introduces himself. he extends a hand, if only out of courtesy.

“fernando silph.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Josh Devlin

Josh firmly accepted the man's handshake. The man's name immediately sounded familiar. "...Silph? As in the same Silph that sponsors the Silph Cup, Hoenn's racing circuit?" Josh asked, his productivity dipped quite a bit as he realized he was working alongside one of Hoenn's biggest celebrities. Well, at least as much as an ultrarich businessman could be a celebrity. He wasn't one to follow financials, but wouldn't be surprised if Silph Co at this point had reached a market capitalization of one trillion PD. By now, they were almost certainly the largest conglomerate in the world.

"My career path owes a lot to you, Mr. Silph." He didn't dare use the man's first name. "Josh Devlin. I was a professional Pokémon racer before I picked up the mantle at Mauville Gym and moved my craft there. I still compete on occasion, but my Gym duties don't leave me with the time to enter every single event." Skimming a few donations, Josh recommended a 1,000 PD anonymous donation and 2,000 PD anonymous donation for showcase on the charity's website. While the message wasn't as touching as the previous one, he could not ignore it on generosity alone. "You follow much of it?"

DONATION

WHERE TIME IS JUST AS GOOD AS MONEY

“AH, INDEED.”

the SILPH CUP, as illustrious as it is and will be, is one of many endeavors. the fact fernando shows any signs of recognition speaks stories about itself. his attentiveness to his own brand name would seem almost obsessive due to silph co.’s wide reach but he glosses over it with equal parts of just nodding along.

“a pleasure to meet you, mr. devlin.”

putting a face to a name forces a smile to his face. while the world of pokemon racing, no matter how professional, sparsely registers his attention, hoenn’s gym circuit proves otherwise.

“i haven’t had time for much, sadly, with all these meteno matters. however, i’ll be sure to give it a watch next time i see your name mentioned.”

more goods pass hands, and he sets a paper bag of canned goods on the counter.

“i take it you do quite well for yourself, no?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Josh Devlin

Josh's nerves shot way up. It was almost though he was a different person around the elite, ultrawealthy businessman. "I...I think it would do the Silph Cup a lot of good if you were the ceremonial starter for the championship event later on. It wouldn't be until the middle of next month. If you can't make it in person, even a prerecorded video would go a long way."

"As is to meet you." Understandably, Mr. Silph would be busy with the meteor, as he was a Gym Leader. "That's probably the thing I'm looking forward to least next week. Technically I'm still in the Minor League for six more days. Then I get sworn in as Mauville's new Gym Leader. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gym was packed when John Sullivan passes the torch--er, hands the reins over to me."

That was a rather large canned goods donation the Silph Co. executive sent his way! He frantically entered the list into the ledger before continuing his conversation. "Between my career earnings and what will be a substantial pay bump to the Major League, yes. I wouldn't say I'm rich, but I don't struggle to get by. Let's just say I have... disposable income. Speaking of the Major League, aren't you also a Gym Leader? Might have to stop by and check out your Gym! I don't do the Gym Challenge anymore, but I'd love to at least look."

DONATION

WHERE TIME IS JUST AS GOOD AS MONEY

“HM,” is neither a promise that he will or an outright denial. instead, fernando shuffles through his pocket to pull out two business cards. he hands both, stacked on top of one another, to josh. one has the pristine eggshell white of his silph co. fame while the other is a more generic league title card.

“send me an inquiry on what you need and i’ll see what i can do.”

regardless of how josh handles such an offer, the conversation moves on. “mauville’s gym has quite the reputation. cait alfric, Katherine Fairburne, and John Sullivan were each gym leaders of another caliber, relative to their eras. you have big shoes to fill, mr. devlin.”

once the cans are entered, he stacks them away, carefully and uniform.

“let me know when you decide to stop by. once the meteor is handled, trainers such as you will be imperative to helping use return to normal.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Josh Devlin

And with entering that last batch of canned goods into the ledger, Josh's shift had come to an end. This was a heartwarming way to spend an afternoon, and he had made an important connection with one of the future Hoenn Racing League's biggest sponsors. "Will do, Mr. Silph! Expect an email in the coming days." He, too, offered to exchange his League card with the businessman.

Indeed, Josh had some big shoes to fill. "Katherine Fairburne ? As in the standing member of the Elite Four? Wow, I really am quite the successor. I'm a bit nervous about it, but I will try not to disappoint." The step from the Minor League to the Major League was akin to the difference between high school sports and college sports. The difference between Silver League and Gold League was equally large. "Admittedly, it's going to be a radical departure from how Leader Sullivan had the place set up. It's moving to the outskirts of town. You might have an idea why."

It seemed the Slateport Leader was welcoming to at least giving the new Leader a tour. "Probably won't be until after the meteor is handled. But I look forward to it." With that, he checked out of the donation station and left the Pokémon Center.