The game between Goldenrod and Hammerlocke was already heated, Josh sipping on his lemonade as he waited for Lars to show. They had a reservation, so he would not have an issue making it back to where the Master of Faster was at. He may have been able to see Josh pump a fist at Goldenrod's head coach throwing a red flag from the sideline onto the field. "This is a good challenge," Josh was conversing with other Goldenrod fans about a close play.

"Goldenrod is challenging that the result of the previous play was a completed pass," Josh read the referee's statement on the big television's closed-captioning system. While the officials were making their decision, the Hammerlocke touchdown pass was replayed from various angles. The catch itself was clear; the receiver had maintained control of the football despite staving off two Goldenrod defenders.

"Oh there you are, Lars," Josh waved toward the Head Ranger, taking his eyes off the game just long enough to greet him. Viewing the replay from several angles, it wasn't clear from every angle that both the receiver's feet landed in bounds. It was a tense couple of minutes before the officials came onto the field again.

"After reviewing the play, the ruling on the field stands. Goldenrod will be charged with their first timeout. Touchdown Hammerlocke!" An eruption of booing came from nearby patrons from what was clearly a blown call after close examination of the replay. The game's casters cited it too, with a rules analyst explaining there was insufficient evidence to overturn the call. He didn't agree with the call, and neither did the Burning Maw's patrons.

"Lars, this is why people complain about PFL refs inserting themselves into games. That was a bullshit call and everyone knows it." Trying to get his mind off the game, Josh picked up the menu and started reading it. He was probably just going to get a steakburger, but he wanted to make sure nothing else caught his attention. Especially appetizers. He had a light lunch today in preparation for the evening, after all!

---

Laurence Anderson

1ST QTR 3:32
GOL 7
HAM 10
BALL: GOL 20

{WC: 349}
{PC: 2}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Ares           Charizard       Good
Snacker        Sharpedo        Good
Nitro          Gogoat          Good
Janus          Espeon          Good
Kokusho        Hydreigon       Good

It did not take long for the server to return with their drinks. "I need more time to figure out what I'm having to eat. What about you, Lars?" Josh asked. Regardless, their server would return later when they were both ready to order. "As much as I'd love to have a Zombie Cocktail with you, I just don't drink. I like to joke at my Gym that alcohol and 200 miles an hour don't mix."

"Yep, you're right," Josh chuckled as Goldenrod slowly marched the ball downfield, their possession extending into the second quarter. Hammerlocke's four-man rush was one Goldenrod's quarterback didn't see coming on third down, forcing a fumble that the Johto team's offensive line barely recovered. They would have to kick a field goal and settle for three points. "That could have easily been returned for a touchdown," Josh breathed a sigh of relief, the game now tied.

"You're not wrong. Unova is the only region in the world that calls true football soccer," Josh confirmed as he took the first swig of his lemonade. A little more tart than he was used to, but not bad! He mixed in a sugar packet or two to sweeten the yellow drink to his liking. "So what's been new? A lot has happened since--"

Josh was interrupted by a loud cheer as on the very first play of Hammerlocke's possession, one of Goldenrod's defensive tackles caused the Galarian team's quarterback to drop the ball, leading to a Goldenrod fumble return for a touchdown and their first lead of the game. "And Lars, that's called a scoop and score."

---

Laurence Anderson

2ND QTR 12:04
GOL 17
HAM 10
KICKOFF

{WC: 269}
{PC: 3}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Ares           Charizard       Good
Snacker        Sharpedo        Good
Nitro          Gogoat          Good
Janus          Espeon          Good
Kokusho        Hydreigon       Good

It seemed the Alto Maren was not terribly familiar with Unovan football. It was a complex game. Even scoring was a bit complex. "I'll try to explain it in the easiest terms I can," Josh sighed as the referee's yellow flag indicated a penalty on the play.

"Offsides, defense number 21. Five yard penalty, repeat second down," came the head official's announcement after a Goldenrod defender jumped over the line a little too quickly.

"So how it works is the team with possession of the ball has four plays, or 'downs', to advance the ball ten yards. If they advance the ball that ten yards, they get a fresh set of downs to work with. If they don't get ten yards, then the other team gets possession." He paused to listen to Lars' question. "Correct. There are three ways to score. If you take the ball all the way to the opposing team's end zone, that's a touchdown, and is worth six points, and after you can either kick the ball for an extra point or try to run one more play into the end zone for an extra two points. If you can kick the ball through the yellow uprights behind the end zone, that's a field goal and is worth three points. If your team is on defense and you down the ball in the possessing team's own end zone, that's a safety, which is two points for the team on defense."

As the two sipped on their drinks and the teams traded possessions of the ball, Josh's eyes lit up. "Right. Did I tell you kyle lopez got me the best birthday present ever earlier this month?"

---

Laurence Anderson

2ND QTR 7:10
GOL 17
HAM 10
2nd DOWN & 5
BALL: Goldenrod 39

{WC: 279}
{PC: 4}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Ares           Charizard       Good
Snacker        Sharpedo        Good
Nitro          Gogoat          Good
Janus          Espeon          Good
Kokusho        Hydreigon       Good

Josh laughed at Lars' reaction to the PFL's scoring system. It was certainly odd not being able to score exactly one point... well, easily, anyway "Not quite. There is a way to score exactly one point, but it's only happened once in the history of the PFL and college football." He listened to Lars' explanation. "I don't follow it, but yes, those sound like the rules of soccer to me," the Mauville Leader replied. "PFL rules for overtime are interesting in the playoffs. Normally after 15 minutes of overtime without a score, the game is over in a tie. In the playoffs, both teams are guaranteed one possession. If both teams score the same number of points on their first possession, then untimed play continues until a team scores."

As the two minute warning sounded after Goldenrod held Hammerlocke to a field goal, making it a four point game, the server returned to take their orders. "I'll have your Houndstone Steakburger, no lettuce or onion, medium well, with a side of steak fries, please." Once the server had left after Lars placed his order, Josh began to share an unforgettable story.

"The experience of a lifetime. When I spoke to him after losing horribly to Entei at the Battle Arcade, I had asked him if, to help prepare for my pursuit of Raikou, I could go for a ride on Entei's back with him." By now, Josh's intent to chase Raikou was well-known, thanks to his Gym's decor and his faux-pas at the Ranger meeting.

---

Laurence Anderson

2ND QTR 2:00
GOL 17
HAM 13
4th DOWN & Inches
BALL: Hammerlocke 36

{WC: 255}
{PC: 5}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Saber          Manectric       Good
Ares           Charizard       Good
Snacker        Sharpedo        Good
Nitro          Gogoat          Good
Janus          Espeon          Good
Kokusho        Hydreigon       Good

"That's something I wish the PFL would do to break ties, especially in the postseason," Josh brought up during the halftime show as Goldenrod scored another touchdown at the very end of the half, extending their lead to 11 points. "If the game is tied, have the teams do a shootout-style contest with two-point conversion attempts. That's a lot less tiring for the players than unlimited overtime play until someone scores." Lars' remarks about Kalos' soccer team reminded Josh of his favorite team. "Reminds me of how Blackthorn, my actual favorite team, has just never been able to defend a title. Title defense is always hard." He ignored Lars' comment about how he wanted his meal prepared. Everyone had their own preferences, right?

Josh smiled as he noticed Lars blinking in disbelief. "Unfortunately, Entei didn't like the idea of anyone riding on his back other than Kyle. He also told me about how Raikou and Suicune died in the Kanto war. Entei was supposedly the only survivor among the Beasts. Finding that out made me cry. I wasn't crying for long, though. I'm unsure how he did it, but he was able to summon, from what I'm assuming is the Great One's flames, a familiar that looked exactly like Raikou. So we went back to my old Racing Grounds, where my Gym used to be before I got promoted to the Major League, and I... I got to ride Raikou!" His smile very quickly turned into a shit-eating grin, ready to share the experience in excruciating detail.

---

Laurence Anderson

HALFTIME
GOL 24
HAM 13

{WC: 257}
{PC: 6}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Resheph        Dragonair       Good
Ulysses        Dewgong         Good
Illumina       Lanturn         Good
Braver         Arcanine        Good
Yosei          Salamence       Good
Janus          Espeon          Good

"No, they don't," Josh nodded, chuckling at Lars calling the sport handegg. He wasn't wrong, either; the oblong ball and very little kicking made Unoval football a hell of a misnomer. "Did you watch the Hammerlocke-Castelia game? I'm guessing you didn't, but that went to double overtime, and there were so many injuries just from exhausted players getting sloppy after having to play two extra periods." Surprisingly, Lars was half-right about kicking balls through the yellow uprights. "Yes, that's called a field goal. Often times if a team is within 35 yards of the end zone and it's fourth down, they'll try to kick a field goal to at least get three points. In overtime, that's all it takes to win."

Josh nodded again. "Sadly, yes. Entei was the only survivor of the war. And he's a lot more skittish around people than I expected from a Pokémon that supposedly interacts with them and joins them on a semi-routine basis, according to Johtonian tales at least."

As Lars mused about Josh getting to live his dream, he started daydreaming about reliving the unforgettable experience. "It was nothing short of intense. It's something I'll treasure for the rest of my life." He remembered just how high the speedometer got on Josh Dragomir 's gadget and shared the number with the Head Ranger. It was wild sounding, to say the least. "If you've ever been on a roller coaster before, Raikou's takeoff is like that, but instead of the peak g-force lasting for a second or two, this went for... a second or ten. Or fifteen. It was hard to tell. Feels like your limbs are being squeezed from within. And when he EXTREME SPEEDs... that..."

---

Laurence Anderson

3rd QTR 9:09
GOL 24
HAM 16
2nd DOWN & 12
BALL: Hammerlocke 40

{WC: 283}
{PC: 7}

NAME           SPECIES         STATUS
Resheph        Dragonair       Good
Ulysses        Dewgong         Good
Illumina       Lanturn         Good
Braver         Arcanine        Good
Yosei          Salamence       Good
Janus          Espeon          Good