The Councilwoman certainly was dressed for the occasion; Josh's wear was much more casual, a simple black tee with constellation-like art of the three Johto Beasts and an Unown-R, -E, and -S next to them. "Sharp-dressed as always, I see. While I won't be getting a beer, you can never go wrong with bar food. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for."

Once their table for two was ready, staff led them to their table near the bar proper, Josh able to catch the start of the second quarter of the Unovan football game. "I'll take a lemonade, please," the Mauville Leader ordered from the bar as he started watching the game, his eyes shifting between that and Elinor. "I've been looking forward to the Mistralton-Goldenrod game all week. It should be realll good; both teams' quarterbacks have looked great all season long. This may surprise you, but I'm more of a Blackthorn fan than a Goldenrod fan, despite being from Goldenrod."

Nearby patrons erupted into two waves of loud cheering as both teams executed some heads-up plays: the first was Goldenrod running a fake field goal they were able to convert into a scoring drive. They followed the touchdown with a kick straight the uprights, giving them a 10-7 lead. "And this is why Goldenrod has the best Special Teams in the league. They've got one gutsy coach."

The second wave was from an equally heads-up play from Mistralton that Josh had to explain. "This is a little quirk in the rules. If the receiving team's first point of contact with the ball is while the player who makes contact is out of bounds, that makes it an out-of-bounds kick. A lot of players don't know the rule, but their receivers knew the rule." Josh paused to read the referee's announcement through the television's closed-captioning system:

"Kickoff out of bounds, number 12, kicking team. Mistralton will receive the ball at the 40 yard line."

Josh turned around to pick up his glass of lemonade and sip it. "So how have you been?" he asked Elinor. "Unfortunately, our battle is going to have to wait until Aslan goes through rehab. Meteno did a real number on him. His surgeries were a success, but he's going to have to go through two months of rehab."

Josh was unsure if he had told Elinor, but he had made two vows when he came of age: at 18, he would never smoke, and at 21, he would never drink. He sifted through the beer menu, stopping at the Old Fashioned to feign interest before coming clean. "It looks like it's got good taste to it, but I don't drink. After all, doesn't the saying go, 'Don't drink and ride'? It's not only hazardous, but it's disrespectful to your Pokémon." After all, he may have to be Elinor's Designated Rider. Being a passenger on a Pokémon while intoxicated wasn't an issue, as long as whoever was at the reins was sober.

"That wasn't my only loss, though," Josh continued, pulling out a small shard of ABSOLITE. "This is all that's left of Twilight's Mega Stone. The rest of it is buried in ice. Eva Morales and illeana reyes helped me locate a new one, but it's in a really dangerous place. Going there to get a replacement is not going to be fun. But it has to be done. With how many Rocket Avatars there are, only Mega Evolution, Z-Power, and Terstallization can hope to contend with them. Primal Energy must be met with Primal Energy, after all."

His attention quickly turned back to the game as another roar came from several patrons behind him. "Yoooooo! Daniels with the pick six!" A 76-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Goldenrod a comfortable lead, and there were no penalty flags in sight. Despite an unsuccessful attempt at a two-point conversion, a nine-point lead meant that it was still a two-possession game. Goldenrod was on point defensively, two solid stops setting up 3rd down and short for Mistralton far into their own territory. A third well-placed tackle would force Mistralton to kick the football away and leave Goldenrod with great field position. "Boy, Goldenrod just looks unstoppable tonight!"

Josh smiled as he heard the Councilwoman's offer. "I'd love for you to tag along, but I have a couple of my other friends lined up for the trip already. You're absolutely on in case something comes up, though!" On a regional map, he showed him the location the planned trip was at as the two-minute warning sounded, Mistralton having kicked another long field goal earlier in the second quarter and setting up a drive that could potentially give them the lead if Goldenrod's defensive line wasn't on point.

He pointed to a small island north of Route 121 known as the Watery Grave. It was a grim island dedicated to Hoennians who perished in shipwrecks. Beneath it was an underground cave network, some of which extended beneath Lake Pyre's surface. "It's almost certainly going to require Pokémon that can dive. But I would do just about anything to make sure Twilight can fight at her full power. Not just for the Champion Assessment. But to do my part in making sure we can raze Rocket to the ground."

Josh took several more swigs of his lemonade, watching Mistralton's quarterback complete a huge pass downfield. This completely changed the dynamic of the half. Mistralton was almost assuredly getting points. The question is whether it would be three or seven. "De-fense! De-fense!" Josh chanted, starting a reverberation among football fans also rooting for the Johto team. He was certain a similar chant was going on at the distant football stadium. Ultimately, the Goldenrod team was able to hold off Mistralton's offensive line long enough for them to force another field goal as time expired in the half. "Mistralton's gonna have the ball starting the second half, but this is quite a game!" After that, their server had returned to take their order. "Any idea what you're having?" Josh asked Elinor.

Any underwater expedition would be by its very nature dangerous. One of Josh's strengths as a Ranger was his planning. He had accounted for all sort of common and even uncommon scenarios that could come up. That didn't reduce the danger any, though; that Josh would likely be riding his Dragonair, Lanturn, or other water Pokémon through cold, underwater tunnels that never saw the light of day. "You can't get much better than a Lanturn for that kind of environment. Illumina is reliable, even if I don't get to use her often."

Josh fumbled through the restaurant's dinner menu one more time. He had been having steakburgers all weekend. They were good, but that was going to be a lot of pounds he would have to work off next month. Another, similar menu item caught his mind. "So this Ritual Raven combo," he asked the server, "so this is like a turkey burger instead of a beef burger?" He got confirmation that it was indeed a turkey burger drenched in barbecue sauce with his choice of cheese melted on top. "Works for me. I'll have one of those, steak fries as my side. Elinor, you want my cole slaw? I'm not going to have it."

Once the two had ordered, Josh's attention turned back to the game. The entire third quarter had been quiet, with both defenses playing extraordinarily well. Both teams' quarterbacks played like those on college teams, trading field goals until late in the third quarter, when a messy play changed all prospects for Mistralton's drive that was in jeopardy. "Flags everywhere..." Josh remarked as the play was reviewed from several different angles while the officials deliberated among themselves as well as Mistralton's head coach. When the were done, the head official came onto the field.

"There are three fouls on the play, all by the defense. Holding, defense number 59. That penalty is declined. Holding, defense number 82. That penalty is declined. Personal foul, face mask, number 82. That penalty is accepted. It will be 15 yards from the spot of the foul, automatic first down."

Josh grumbled, along with many other fans. The face mask penalty was warranted, but still disappointing. "You can't grab the face mask. It's a player safety issue, and comes with a big penalty. With these players running and tackling each other for an hour, you have to make sure they're protected. And you just can't grab a player's face mask like that. This penalty is going to cost us points."

Elinor's concern for the players on the field was warranted; after all, they wore all kinds of protective gear beneath their jerseys. "It's honestly harder handling the football and the big hits. Players are protected as much as reasonably possible." He paused to recall his younger years. "I played flag football in school a little bit, but not tackle football like in the pros." He let out a whoop when he saw Goldenrod's defense hold Mistralton's offensive line to a field goal, tying the game up with the end of the third quarter to come. This was turning into far more of a nail biter than Josh expected to be. With how busy the place was in the heat of the important playoff game, he anticipated their meal might take a while. Therefore, he started to share a story with Elinor.

"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you I finally got to meet with the Top Champion and talk to him after my Battle Arcade run. It isn't in the way I wanted to, but I got to live my dream!" Josh smile grew, particularly focused on recounting details from his encounter as the game went to a commercial break following a costly holding penalty that left Goldenrod deep in their own territory, all the way back at their 10 yard line. "It was nothing short of unforgettable."

Josh, losing track of what was going on in the football game, gushed to Elinor about his experience riding Raikou, emphasizing not just how exciting it was, but how humbling it was being paralyzed for the entire duration of the Beast's EXTREME SPEED. He even went as far to share the mind-blowing top speed Raikou reached during the sprint. For one whose only experience racing Pokémon was with a Steelix, it may have been difficult for Elinor to wrap her head around just how fast Raikou was.

"It's not quite over yet," Josh interjected. "I would say I've lived enough of my dream to be satisfied if the rest of it doesn't come to fruition. I got to meet and even ride Raikou. But I still want to befriend Raikou, and not just for myself. For the League." He closed his eyes and collected his thoughts. "History is on my side, though; John Sullivan and Katherine Fairburne are both on AQUA. They were both Mauville Gym Leaders. But with the only Raikou I knew not having survived the Kanto war, I just can't chase something that might not exist. Maybe he's out there. Maybe there's another Raikou that roams Hoenn. But until I have a lead, my time is better spent in service to the League in other ways."

His discussion had gone on so long that their food had come, and the football game was in a critical state. Mistralton had the lead, and Goldenrod realistically had only one possession left, returning a kickoff to around the middle of their own territory just as the two-minute warning sounded. "A field goal sends this to overtime, and a touchdown wins it for Goldenrod. LET'S GO GOLDENROD!" he shouted, clapping his hands to try to start a cheer.