As much as Lars lathered his steak fries in salt, Josh probably put a little too much barbecue sauce on top of his patty. He preferred it over simple ketchup for just about everything except fries, and these fries were seasoned enough that they didn't need any. "...You're not wrong," he answered. "But not yet. I'm not ready for it. I have a scar on my chin that serves as an everlasting reminder of the ride." If Lars were to look, it was obvious that the scar was from skin tearing during the maddening acceleration Raikou was capable of. "This happened when I asked Raikou to use EXTREME SPEED. It was the most humbling experience of my life."

He laughed at the prospect of getting another Raikou ride alongside Kyle. "Maybe if he changes his mind about racing me with that Entei of his," he said in between bites of his Houndstone Steakburger, which was a little more done than he would have liked, but it still tasted quite good. "I definitely wouldn't ask him for just another solo run out of the blue, though." His smile turned into a grin. "I'd love to go for a flight with you on the Mirage in conditions that aren't... war. How's Articuno been since the war, anyway? It's probably loving the cold weather in western Hoenn."

Josh pondered the game state and the skills of both teams. "It's really hard to say. Goldenrod was in a commanding position just a few minutes ago, and now they're behind. I think it's largely going to depend on what happens on this drive. Goldenrod needs at least three on this drive, preferably seven or eight." After two huge passing plays that elicited loud cheers from Josh and surrounding football fans, the Goldenrod football team was stopped short on third-and-goal, forcing the kicking unit to come out and flick one between the uprights. It was a three-point game, but Hammerlocke had the ball and the lead in the fourth quester. "An interception would sure be nice here, but I don't think they'll ever throw the ball. When you're in the lead and in the fourth quarter, all you want to do is eat time off the clock."

Josh was getting close to the end of his food as the Galarian team continued their stall tactics. "It's well within the rules, though, and the clock stops running on any penalty flag. All they have to do to avoid a flag is make sure they snap the ball when the play clock hits one, and never run a pass play or run out of bounds. That way, the game clock stays moving the whole time, and they can eat up 40 seconds a play. Complicating matters is that both teams still have all their timeouts, so they'll be able to stop the clock three times each."

While it was difficult to tell exactly what the penalty was from visuals and closed captions alone, Josh seemed happy about it. "Heh, I don't think Hammerlocke got the snap off in time." The refs confirmed his suspicion with their announcement of the penalty:

"Delay of game, offense number 18. 5 yard penalty, loss of down. It's third down."

"Yup, that's what I was talking about," the racer smiled, going back to Lars' question while the next play ran. "This is going to sound crazy, but it was from riding Raikou. I think it happened when I asked him to use EXTREME SPEED. The acceleration from it was just something my body couldn't handle. When I rode him at his very fastest, I had very little feeling in my legs or arms." The hubris of that day weighed on him once more. "I just... it makes me feel like a moron, really. To think I could handle speed like that." By the time he was paying attention to the game, Hammerlocke had been stopped on third-and-long, forcing them to punt the ball back to Goldenrod. "They've got decent field position, plenty of time on the clock, and all their timeouts. This is still a game."

"...Hubris is a perfect word to use," Josh agreed. "But I'm not giving up after coming this far. I want to do what I can to be ready for it next time." While he wasn't completely ignoring physical limits, he mentally admitted for a human to be mounted on a Pokémon traveling at that kind of pace might have been pushing them. He had already suffered a minor injury from it. And yet, he wanted to keep pushing himself. He really did worship Raikou, didn't he? "This is gonna be a big ask, and I know I asked about it on that awful day, but now that Hoenn's in a relative lull... do you think... they would entertain me flying on them in... not such stressful, world-ending conditions? I think I'm a bit better adapted to their PRESSURE now than I was before. Being around Kyle helped a lot with it." He tried to mask the identity of the Composed in the public place, yet convey his desire.

At last, his food was cool enough to truly dig into. "Doesn't beat the Beautifly & Dustox in Fortree or the place I got my steak fries from at the Ranger potluck, but it's still really good. You truly can't go wrong with bar food." As he finished about half his burger, the racer flung his hands up in reaction to the game. "Go, go, go!" he cried with a mouth half-full of food as he watched Goldenrod's received break two tackles and run the ball all the way to the other side of the field for a critical touchdown. "Let's go Goldenrod!" It was the first time in a long time they had the lead. With the extra point kick being good, Hammerlocke needed a touchdown of their own, and fast. Time was running out as the visiting team kicked the ball away to a Hammerlocke football team pressed for time.

To Josh's surprise, Lars seemed accommodating of the request. In his eyes, it seemed unlike the Head Ranger to "pointlessly" let the Mirage stretch its wings. It seemed like Josh would simply have to be patient. He had been patient with Raikou for years. What was a little more time to be able to fly on the Ice Phoenix's back in an environment that wasn't life threatening? "I thought you two were really close with each other. Why is that? Is the Mirage okay?" Josh asked, looking concerned.

His concern quickly dissipated as the fans around him roared over Hammerlocke's quarterback looking deep, heaving the ball almost as far as he could. Their receiver caught the pass far downfield, down the sideline, but it was ruled an incomplete pass. After jawing at the refs for a bit, the home team's coach threw the red flag.

"Hammerlocke is challenging the ruling on the field of an incomplete pass," was the referee's announcement as the officiating staff entered the booth.

'That was a hell of a catch," Josh gasped, swallowing the bit of patty he had in his mouth and watching the slow-motion replay, even frame-by-frame as the announcers talked about it. "...It's close, but I think he landed with both feet in bounds. Lars, this could determine the whole game."

"How could I forget?" Josh replied with a nod as the refs deliberated. "I've gotta go to this shipwreck island with a couple buddies to get a new Absolite after Kyurem broke the one I had." He listened to the Head Ranger's story, and it was a terrifying one. "...Can you still feel them? That they're alive? I know your kind have a special connection to them." The single worst thing that could happen to an Avatar was their Patron going missing. "It was Kyurem, wasn't it?"

Their discussion was interrupted by the referees delivering the results of the challenge.

"After reviewing the play, the receiver's right foot touched the out-of-bounds line while making the catch. Therefore, the ruling on the field of an incomplete pass stands. It's fourth down. Hammerlocke will be charged with their second timeout."

A loud wave of booing boomed from football fans all around them. He couldn't imagine how loud it had to be in the stadium itself. "That, Lars... that was a gift to Goldenrod. Maybe the evidence wasn't conclusive enough to overturn the call." With their backs to the wall on fourth-and-long, Hammerlocke's quarterback heaved the ball downfield as far as he could, players from both teams reaching into the air to try to catch the last-ditch-effort pass. "...Interception," Josh called what happened as the two-minute warning passed. "And that's gonna be ball game. Goldenrod can just take a knee four times and waste the rest of the clock."

Taking a knee four times in a row was exactly what Goldenrod did, letting the play clock wind down to one second each time. With zeroes on the game clock as fourth-and-16 came, Josh raised both his arms. "Goldenrod's going to the Ultra Bowl!" he cried, along with many other excited fans.

Once the bar had cleared out after the end of the game, Josh listened to Lars' story as he, too, finished his meal. Before he could respond, their server came back. "Just the check's fine. Great food. I'll have to come back another time."

As the restaurant staff member was getting his change, Josh's jaw opened. "Wow. And you two have known each other for how long?" he asked. "I remember it, too. Kyurem. Maybe you two aren't as cold-immune as you thought." Granted, this was divine-strength cold he was talking about. "It's like Saber and I. We're so close to one another that we're not sure we could go on without one another. It's almost like... almost like the late Raikou's spirit is inside him or something."

The challenge system was actually nothing like Lars described. "So how a coach's challenge works is they get two of them per half. If they think a call on the field is wrong, they can throw their red flag to have the refs review it. If the call doesn't get overturned, the team who called the challenge gets charged with a timeout."

Once he received his change, Josh stood up and slid his chair in. "Gonna watch the big game? It's coming up soon."