Amor had come to Mossdeep to check in on the building he had bought, which was basically just another home for him. So when he saw that there was some event at Nimbus he got curious, and went into the bar. Apparently there was some sports game happening, and everyone was engrossed in the match. For his part Amor knew very little about sports. At least complex ones, which is what appeared on the screen from his perception. He had some time to kill so he ordered a whiskey on the rocks, and then looked for a place to sit. Seeing a familiar head of dark hair with an Espeon next to him. Amor just chuckled, and sat down in the middle of the bench to give his Pokemon room to move should they want.

"I did not take you for the bar drifter kind of person Mr. Devlin. Though I have been surprised by many people lately, so perhaps I shouldn't be." A charming smile on his lips as he took a sip of his alcohol, and looked to the screen that the Gym Leader was so engrossed with. "Is this an important game or something? Everyone here seems to be on the edge of their seats about it." He asked the question curiously hoping for an explanation.

Josh Devlin

Josh wasn't expecting Amor Rose to sit down next to him. "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" he greeted the Sinnohite. "I think I remember you. Amor? You were one of my last challengers before I left for vacation." He smiled at Amor's remark about being a bar drifter. "I've been hitting up different ones in Hoenn every day. You see, I don't frequent bars for the beer. I frequent them for the food. There's not a steakburger, pizza, or pasta I've been disappointed with at any bar in the region. It ain't cheap, but you get what you pay for."

"It's the start of the Unovan football playoffs," Josh answered. "My whole family back in Johto are pretty diehard Unovan football fans. What the rest of the world calls football, Unova calls soccer. It's closer to rugby than real football." The Gym Leader's eyes glued to the screen, Veilstone had the ball deep in Heahea territory. "Come on, Veilstone, one time. Heahea is the number one team in the league, and I'd rather not have to see Goldenrod deal with them. Though I'm from Goldenrod myself, I'm actually a Blackthorn fan myself." An eruption of cheers came from the back of the bar as Janus' forehead jewel started glowing, both of them able to feel excited emotions from the Espeon. Josh's fistpump was followed by a frown as he noticed yellow penalty flags all over the corner of the field. "This better not be against Veilstone." The sound of booing drowned out chatter as the official came onto the field with the result of the flag.

"Pass interference, offense, number 88. Ten-yard penalty, replay second down."

"Noooooo! That is not pass interference!" While Josh couldn't hear the game's commentary directly, he could read it via closed captioning. The call really could have gone either way. "I swear, these damn refs love inserting themselves into games..." He got so into the game that he didn't even realize his table was ready. It took three calls for the waiter to get his attention. "Oh, I'm sorry! Lead the way," he apologized, withdrawing the psychic-type.

Amor was just listening to Josh ramble on about the sport that was on the screen, and he had no idea what any of it meant. Sports were not in the cards for him to learn on top of his numerous other hobbies. However if it was something that excited Mr. Devlin he wasn't here to be a scrooge, and ruin the mans merriment. Despite most of the things the man said going completely over his head, he just smiled, and nodded a little. Agreeing at points he thought were appropriate, and saying "Oh I see..." at other points. It was a tactic that had allowed him to stave off the anger of numerous women before hand, so he was sure that it would work on this Gym Leader.

"You are correct in that I was your latest challenger, was a good match." Though he didn't elaborate further, as there was no need to talk about something like that for now. "I will have to agree with you though, on the food if nothing else, most bars make pretty good food." When the mans table was ready, Amor just inserted himself in a seat with him as well when they got to it.

"So Gym Leader, Sports Fan, Bar food connoisseur. Do you have any other interesting hobbies that others don't know about? I find I'm learning much about others since we have currently survived the end of the world." He said with his normal charming smile.

With mere seconds to play in the first quarter, Veilstone's head coach decided to send their kicker out for a 35-yard field goal attempt. The brown, oblong ball sailed off the athlete's swung leg and through the uprights, both referees in the end zone raising their hands to indicate the kick was good. "We're on the board. It's not seven, but at least it's three."

As the second quarter kicked off, Heahea to receive the football, Josh's attention turned back to his former Gym challenger. "The ones that last the longest tend to be the best," the Leader mused. "Many of my challengers don't even last more that a couple minutes. If their eyes can't follow the battle, then they don't deserve a Badge. It's that simple."

Asked to withdraw Janus before moving to the seating area, Josh obeyed the bar's regulations, the two seated near, but not directly next to, a group of raucous football fans that he suspected were more than a bit tipsy. A server was there right away to take any orders for drinks or appetizers. "I'll start with a lemonade, please." Once starters had been taken, Josh took the time to answer Amor's question.

"Past or present? I've had a lot of things I used to be hardcore into but have had to give up. For one, before being asked to be a Major League Gym Leader, I used to be a semi-professional Pokémon racer, working as a Pokémon Ranger during the offseason to pay the bills. Even got all the way up to Elite. And that's why Mauville Gym is a racetrack. But now that I'm a Gym Leader full-time, I'm very limited in the amount I can help them. I do just enough work to maintain my certification in the event the League kicks me to the curb."

He listened to the man speak about his experiences as a Ranger, and the like. Amor gingerly sipped his drink as he listened, and nodded along.

"I see, that's quite impressive honestly. Though I think you could help the Rangers more than you think, aren't most Gym Leaders responsible for the City they live in? I mean if Mauville was in danger I don't think you'd just be sitting idly by. You would probably open up with that special move of yours." Amor said in good natured fun. The Gym Leaders strength was no joke that much was for sure, and he knew that the city was in good hands, which was good news to him, since he was invested in their power plant.

"So what are your plans now that the world hasn't ended? Any exciting events planned like that Silph Cup I've heard some whispers of? If you do host another race, I wouldn't mind partaking in it, or sponsoring it. Would be fun to let Draco stretch his wings out against other fast pokemon once in a while." He said with an easy smile as he hadn't ordered anything more yet. It was nice to just enjoy the simple conversations of another every once in a while.

Josh Devlin

The more Josh got to thinking about it, the more his job as a Gym Leader and his job as Mauville's Top Elite were intertwined. "...You're not wrong," he answered. "The question is, which one? There's also the THOUSAND CUT JOUST which you didn't get to see." While it wasn't a Z-Move, more a tactic that involved clever use of QUICK ATTACK chains, it sure felt like a Z-Move to less skilled trainers. "Of course, your little field of ice stopped that joust cold. That, really, was won you--"

A huge uproar came from tables around him, bringing Josh's attention back to the football game. He had been passively paying attention to it, but didn't truly realize what was going on until he saw Heahea's formation on a 4th-and-long. Their offense had completely fooled Veilstone with a trick play resulting in a touchdown. "Wow, they really caught Veilstone snoozing. There was no one within 10 yards of that Heahea receiver. I gotta give credit to their head coach; you gotta have guts to run a fake punt like that. But when it works..."

During a commercial break after the extra point attempt, Josh couldn't help but chuckle at Amor's phrasing. "Yes, actually. The Silph Cup is going to be not just one race next year. We've got multiple races planned, including one in March with flying Pokémon. A lot of details are already on the PSPN website. The location isn't finalized yet, but I can let you know it won't be at Mauville."

By the time the server returned with their drinks and any appetizers Amor may have ordered, it was already the two-minute warning, with Veilstone in possession of the football after Heahea scored another touchdown. It would take a couple of big plays to get into scoring range with so little time on the clock and no timeouts left. "Think I'm gonna go with the Cloud Nine Half-Pounder, no onion or lettuce."

At the mention of a move that he didn't get to see, he just chuckled a little, but before he could make a comment a huge uproar shook the establishment, and he thought for a moment. While he didn't know what was going on, he was absorbing everything that Josh Devlin was saying to him piecing together bits, and pieces of this strange game. While normal sports weren't bad, Amor preferred battling over all else. While he didn't often view it as a sport, once he had started his gym challenge, he began to see the appeal of the large Galarian Stadiums. Perhaps he would attempt to work with Remiel Calcifet to build a stadium like that here in Hoenn, for some sort of spectacle.

It was sure to be profitable in the long run, though he wouldn't be able to build it in Lilycove, due to their being nowhere in the city for him to build it. Though somewhere adjacent to it would be nice. Regardless of that he listened as Josh talked about his next upcoming race, and at that he perked up a bit.

"That is enough, I'll make sure to keep my eyes peeled for the sign-ups at the very least." He spoke easily, because he really did want to race in the next one. Would be another nice accolade to have to his name if nothing else. Fame wasn't all bad, but he wanted something other than his company to bring him that fame, and infamy.

"I'll have what he is having." He pointed to Josh when the waiter began to ask him for his order. Amor didn't really frequent places like this, so he had absolutely no idea on what was good, or not. So he was just going to trust that Josh did, and if he didn't then Amor would pay the price for it, when his stomach yelled at him later on.

Josh Devlin

TLDR
Amor just engaging in some small talk, learning about sportsball!

Unovan football was a strange game indeed; there was a reason every sports network that covered it had rules experts handy. Even the section on penalties went on for pages and pages. It had to be strange to some: a game where the rules were a reference document instead of being meant to be read from cover to cover. Ultimately, Heahea was able to keep Veilstone's offense from running the ball out of bounds to stop the clock. With no timeouts left, the Sinnoh team was forced to kick a field goal to end the half, leaving them trailing the Alolan team 14 to 6. "It's still a one-possession game. Veilstone can tie it up if they score a touchdown and go for a two-point conversion. And they get the ball after halftime."

With the halftime show on, Josh could direct his full attention back to Amor. "I imagine with how many people will try to participate, there are gonna be time trials this season. They time you for two laps around the course, one without boosts and one with. That's how they determine who gets to race." The mention made Josh's mind wander: what if he didn't become a Gym Leader? Would he have been able to make it as a pro racer? It was a deep, multifaceted question. After all, his experience as Gym Leader had greatly improved hs racing skills.

Given how many people had come to the pub to watch the game, Josh expected there to be quite the wait for his supper. He didn't mind, though; any sports bar he had been to had good food and would be swamped during football season. "You won't be disappointed," Josh reassured Amor. "I've been to many places like this throughout the region, and they've all been good." With the game returning from the halftime show, Josh's eyes shifted back toward it, watching Veilstone receive the second-half kickoff. They needed good field position to tie this game up!

A set of time trials? Now that sounded interesting at the very least, a place to qualify before being able to do the actual race at the very least. It would help weed out those that weren't found worthy enough for the main event, which meant more competitions that he could partake in. So he was very interested in that. Not minding his food taking a while to come either he just listened idly to the sounds of the pedestrians around him.

"Well I hope at the very least I'll make the cut. I'm sure there are going to be people from all around that have tons of fast pokemon. It will be fun to compete against them." He said easily, he was getting a lot of good information from the Gym Leader, and for a moment he wondered how he would react if he found out that he was having a casual conversation with a Rocket. It would probably go poorly. That would be one of many regrets he would have to carry forward, to have to hide a part of himself from not only from the man across from him, but from so many others.

To choose to live the way he did was necessary at least in his point of view from the grand scheme of things. Regardless, everything was necessary at the very end of the line. Perhaps he was a bit lost in thought as he sighed a little to loudly. Shaking his head he smiled easily at his compatriot.

"Sorry about that, was just thinking a bit to much."

Josh Devlin

Competing in the Time Trials was quite different than in the actual races; the biggest difference was in the time trials, each team of Pokémon and rider ran the course solo. "What makes it difficult is you have to run the same Pokémon in the race that you did in the time trials. It means your Pokémon has to be adept at navigating the course both by itself and alongside traffic." The larger the field was, the more of a concern traffic would be. It was part of what made full capacity, thirty-team races so exciting.

"With your Dragonite, I'm sure you would," Josh shrugged; Amor's confidence was well-placed. While Dragonite were typically difficult to control, any trainer that could get used to how they turned would have a virtually limitless supply of Dragon Energy to fuel almost supernaturally fast boosts from EXTREME SPEED and the like.

As their waiter returned with a refill on Josh's lemonade, the Leader let out an instinctive, negative shout as another roar came from nearby patrons who were watching the football game together. One of Heahea's cornerbacks stripped the ball away from Veilstone and forced a fumble, another defender picking it up ans running the other way with it. Performing a pair of spin moves to evade tackles, the home team ran the ball all the way to the other side of the field for a defensive touchdown. With the following kick squarely going between the uprights, it left Veilstone trailing by 15 points. "Amor, that's what they call a scoop and score."

As he listened to the rules of the next cup, he nodded as he began to formulate strategies of how to overcome, any and all of the obstacles that they may face. Their food had finally arrived, and Amor began to devour it as if he had been starving for days. Which was definitely not the case, but with his recent activities he had built up quite the appetite. He had been meeting with more people lately, and that meant he had been getting home later, and not eating his usual dinners. After all he didn't let his staff stay up late to wait on him even though they would, he just didn't feel like running them ragged. However this food was good, and it hit the spot just right for him.

"What is a scoop, and score?" He said with a mouth filled with burger, and fries. If anyone didn't know him, they would never guess that this man who stuffing his face, was the owner of a prestigious company, and could probably just buy this place if he wanted. The normal calm, collected, and composed Amor was nowhere to be seen as he simply at this delicious food in front of him. "And make sure to give me the dumb guy explanation. I know many things, but sports like these as I said before. Not my forte." He nodded to Josh as he turned a curious gaze to the game that was playing for the first time since he entered, and actually gave ti his attention.

The food causing him to wind down a little bit, so he could actually focus on other things. Though hopefully his companion wouldn't think him rude as he happily nommed through any, and all explanations he received. Mr. Devlin did seem to have a knack for pointing out good food.

Josh Devlin

Josh took the moment of reprieve between the two to enjoy his meal. While it wasn't up to the quality of some of the other places be had been over the long week, it still hit the spot. "Phew!" he breathed a deep sigh. "These steak fries have a little too much seasoning, don't you think?" He paused to sip his lemonade and cool off the inside of his mouth. "I like the flavor, there's just too much of it!"

"You thought about trying to take Hoenn's Champion Assessment?" Josh asked Amor, again thinking about their Gym match... or from his perspective, a non-match. "I've got mine slated to start in late winter, but I've heard it's a really long process." When he saw the Heahea scorer's name, he smiled. "That kid's from Ecruteak. Can't believe he was a fourth-round draft pick, and he's got more defensive yards than anyone else in the PFL. Hall of fame material, easy."

As Veilstone slowly marched the ball down the field, the visiting and underdog team running their eleventh play of the drive, Josh explained it as simply as he could. "Sure, I'll try to break it down. The scoop part of a scoop and score is when the offense fumbles the football and the defense recovers it, and the score part is when the defense runs the ball all the way to the other end of the field for a touchdown. It's often a huge shift in momentum." It took almost the rest of the quarter, but ultimately the underdogs were able to get the ball all the way down the field and score six. "I agree with this call; I think you have to go for two here and make it a one-possession game."

At the mention of him taking the Champion's assessment he thought for a moment. Shoveling more food down his throat so he could talk properly he thought about it.

"I think once I get enough badges I might. Being able to call myself one of the strongest trainers around, does sound pretty nice. Though you can say that anyways, but not many people believe it, but with this it would have some backing behind it. Besides after attaining Champion, battling against other Champions sounds fun as well. We'll see how the rest of my Gym Challenges go though. Currently I have two more lined up. The Fortree Leader Alexei Ivanov, and a new leader who I think I am the first challenger of. Her name is Johanna Joy." If he managed to defeat both of them then he would be halfway to being able to take on the assessment. Though that was if he made it through the interview process, which he didn't know if he would or not.

"Should I come out ahead, I look forward to testing my mettle against the full might of the Elite Four. I know most of them have Legendary Pokemon, and I wish to challenge them at their best. That way there is no wiggle room for anyone to say that they took it easy on me." Which of course was an incredibly tall order, but he felt that he could do it. It would take research, and preparation, but those were two things that he was good at if nothing else.

At his explanation of the maneuver Amor nodded as he downed his drink, and then ordered a Negroni for himself wanting to test it out.

"I'm going to guess that you are rooting for the HeaHea team?" Came the curious question as he sipped on his drink, and munched on the few fries that he had left over.

TLDR
Prompts fulfilled