Combat sports weren't Josh cup of tea; when he was young, he did have a brief stint in a Johtonian martial arts program, courtesy of Cianwood Gym, where he earned his fifth and final Badge there. Olivine's Gym was just too much for his team to overcome. With the skills he had now, he was confident he could qualify for the Johtonian Champion Assessment. With him emigrating to Hoenn, though, he would no longer be eligible for that region's Champion Assessment. His Badges from that region would be worthless to anyone in an official capacity, but they held many dear memories to him.

"Evening," Josh greeted the Galarian as he sat down. "It's the latter," he smiled. "I promised my parents back in Johto that when I turned the legal smoking age, I'd never smoke, and when I turned the legal drinking age, I'd never drink." Additionally, since he was dressed in his blue Ranger uniform, having recently finished the requisite December patrol hours he had neglected earlier in the day, it would not look good for his reputation as one of Mauville's Elites to be intoxicated. "Besides, haven't you heard that 200 miles an hour and drinking don't mix?" he chuckled at his own quick line.

"Then I'm sure I need no introduction, sir," Josh's smile continued as his eyes shifted back toward the game. He was amazed that several minutes had passed and there was still no score. Hearthome's defense had stripped the ball away from the Wyndon quarterback on a brutal tackle that somehow didn't draw a Roughing the Passer penalty, then went three-and-out on their gifted possession, forcing them to punt the ball back to Wyndon. "What about you? I haven't seen you around. Then again, I don't frequent bars in the evening usually. I go in the afternoons. With me not drinking, I'm here for the food and the PFL action. You can't go wrong with bar food. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Ever been to the Beautifly & Dustox in Fortree? It's the best sports bar in Hoenn, and one of the reasons I love the route from Mauville to Fortree so much."

About halfway into the second quarter, Josh's server returned with his nachos and mild cheese dip, ready to take food orders. "I'll have the Moonblast steakburger combo, medium well, no lettuce or onion, please." Once Remiel had placed his order, he looked at the size of his appetizer. "You're welcome to have a few; there's no way I'm going to eat all of this." His eyes briefly shifted to the Sinistea before him. "Wow, I've never seen one that looks like that! Must be really rare!" His eyes shifted back to the game. "Can you believe it? Almost halfway through the second quarter and no score. These defenses are too good. What a snoozer this game's been!"

"Yep!" Josh gave a casual thumbs up. "The one, the only, the Master of Faster!" It was such a tacky title, but it suited the Leader greatly, and it rolled off the tongue well! "Great to meet you, Remiel!" he answered, accepting the handshake. "I haven't been able to take a trip to Galar yet. They've got a damn good ball club in Wyndon. I'm sure you're rooting for them in tonight's game. Look, they just put up the first score of the game," he enthusiastically said, though he was rooting for Hearthome. Wyndon's defense was the best out of the PFL's thirty-two teams.

"Already had supper?" Josh asked as he took the first bite out of his steakburger, which was more on the medium side than the medium-well he preferred. With PSPN's commentary booth analyzing the first half and no action to watch, Josh could pull his attention away from the game at last. "About the only time I go bar hopping like this is during the PFL postseason. Nothing like good bar food over some great playoff games. My Gym keeps me so busy that I can't watch as much of the regular season as I used to."

That kind of conversation absolutely was not one to be having over dinner. He took a break from his steakburger to down the first few steak fries on his plate. "Phew, these have a real kick to them!" He took a big drink of lemonade to try to tame the overly spicy flavor, requesting a refill just as the halftime show was ending. Hearthome was to field the kickoff starting the third quarter, down a field goal in a very defense-dominated game.

"Right. Unovans call our kind of football 'soccer' if I recall. If you're familiar with rugby, it's close to that but with a different set of rules, mostly designed to protect players. Injuries happen like in any sport, but they're a little less frequent than with rugby players." With that, the kick went flying, and only time would tell how far Hearthome would be able to return it before being stopped by Wyndon's Special Teams.

It seemed that Wyndon and Hammerlocke were rival teams, much like Goldenrod and Blackthorn were in Johto. "it's too bad that Wyndon and Hammerlocke will never play each other in the PFL, unless they meet in the Ultra Bowl," Josh likewise lamented. "They're in separate conferences. Unlike in other sports like baseball and basketball, each team only plays once a week outside the playoffs. It's one of the few team sports to not have inter-conference play at all. You could get your wish, though; it's still possible for Hammerlocke and Wyndon to play in the Ultra Bowl's bronze match. This is the first season the PFL has done a third-place game." What an exciting matchup that would be, seeing a match largely dominated by Special Teams due to how strong both teams' defenses were.

As the teams exchanged three-and-out drives, Josh had downed around half of his sandwich while slowly working away at his steak fries that were a bit too spicy for him. A little less kick, and they would have been absolutely perfect. He would have to try another side next time he came to the Verdanturf establishment. "I have a friend that's into that sort of thing, too. Does the name Shalin Nariya ring a bell? She has a small expeditionary startup out of Petalburg. Takes adventurous clients to the wildest places in Hoenn. There are nights where she won't stop texting me about them when I'm trying to get paperwork done for my Gym. It's agitating."

It seemed Remiel was a sports enthusiast, just not familiar with the intricacies of Unovan football. "That's basically it. On every possession, the team who has the ball gets four tries, or 'downs', to advance the ball ten yards. The other team's defense tries to stop them from doing that. If the team with the ball fails to advance the ball ten yards after fourth down, then the other team gets the ball. Of course, most of the time, you'll see the kicker come out on fourth down to either punt the ball away, or if they're close enough to the end zone, kick a field goal. That's how Wyndon got three points earlier."

Remiel was right, though; the PFL rulebook was thick and complex. Very few players even knew the rules, and some of the best moments in the sport came from players knowing obscure rules and taking advantage of them. "Oh, they're gonna get Wyndon on a late hit here," the Leader remarked, yellow flags flying onto the field. The slow motion replay indeed confirmed that the Wyndon safety indeed tackled Hearthome's ball carrier while out of bounds. "You can't tackle somebody while they're out of bounds. That's a big-time penalty." The referee's announcement confirmed what the announcers said and what Josh agreed with.

"Personal foul; unnecessary roughness, number 9 on the defense. 15 yard penalty, automatic first down."

Josh shook his head. "That's so upsetting if you're a Wyndon fan, because now Hearthome's in field goal range. Penalties like that will get you." They showed the replay one more time from a different angle, and Josh noticed the Hearthome running back had his other hand in the defender's helmet area. "...Did they miss a face mask? Almost looks like a face mask to me."

"I'm not surprised," Josh replied, "as she's a bit of a recluse. She lives outside the city, but she does good work. There's nowhere in Hoenn she can't take you." The only problem was she was a bit hard to contact. "I'll send her an email so she can know you're a potential client. She's usually pretty quick about responding to them as long as she's in a place where she gets a signal." Though her home in Petalburg Woods had enough of a signal, the truly remote places she went to were simply too far away.

"My whole family's big into Unovan football," Josh responded to Remiel's chuckle with one of his own. "I have, but only Goldenrod games, and only because I was local to Goldenrod. I'm waiting for my immigration papers to process before formally moving to Mauville." The process of getting his citizenship changed would be long and trying. He had been going about it for almost a month now, having to coordinate between the Johtonian and Hoennian governments. Each process seemed much slower than it needed to be, with far too much red tape. He was looking forward to being considered a naturalized Hoennian citizen, though!

At last, Josh's Moonblast Steakburger combo has arrived; those steak fries looked long, thick, and well-seasoned. "Oh wow, this is a half pounder," Josh observed aloud, surprised to see how much he was getting. "I was expecting a third pounder. The rest of the chips are yours; I'll be too full to finish them." With that, he made a cut right down the middle of it and took his first juicy bite, grilled to nothing short of perfection.

After scoring the first touchdown of the game, Hearthome had the lead, and were poised to get good field position on their next drive, pending a stop on a third-and-long on Wyndon's side. "They really have Wyndon on the ropes now after that sack by Hearthome," Josh remarked, his smile growing. "If this becomes a two-possession game, Wyndon might not have enough time to score two touchdowns. If they convert this, though..."

Remiel's assessment was true; Shalin went places even formal professionals wouldn't go. "I'll make sure to get this to her," Josh assured him as he intently watched the third-and-long. "Thanks. I look forward to the prospects of dual cit--" With pressure coming, Wyndon's quarterback threw down the middle of the field, their open receiver catching a dropping the ball! Josh gasped in anticipation. In a wild scramble, Hearthome's defensive line recovered, loud cheers filling both the restaurant and the distant stadium as the defender weaved around the offensive line and only able to stop them at Wyndon's 1-yard line. It did not take long for Wyndon's head coach to toss the red flag onto the field. The referee confirmed the challenge.

"Wyndon is challenging the ruling on the field of a fumble recovery by Hearthome."

"I dunno about this one," Josh remarked, feeling the tension in the air as he watched the slow motion replay of the exchange. "Did he have control? This really could go either way. The recovery was clear, but it's a matter of whether the receiver had control." Even the commentators felt it was too close to make a definitive call. There was a bobble in the receiver's hands, but was it definitive enough evidence?

As the refs reviewed the footage, Josh pondered Remiel's question. There was one easy answer. "No one other than kyle lopez . He's the reason I even became a Gym Leader in the first place. He scouted me for the Minor League, then got me my position in Mauville's Gym Leader. More importantly than that, he let me live my childhood dream to meet and ride Raikou." It was a day he would never forget. "I could gush on about the experience all night, but I'm more invested in the game now." After he took another bite out of his steakburger, the refs came back on the field.

"After reviewing the play, it has been determined that the receiver did not maintain possession of the football. Therefore, it is an incomplete pass. Wyndon keeps the ball, fourth down."

Josh was in disbelief. "Wyndon caught a real break there. Now they can punt the ball and trust their defense."

Josh accepted Remiel's handshake. "Great to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other again. I look forward to seeing you at Mauville Racing Grounds!" With that, he waved goodbye and took a whiff of the remnants of Remiel's WINTER'S KISS. It smelled great, but alas, his career path involving Pokémon racing made drinking too risky of a proposition in any capacity.

As Josh finished his meal and the server came with his check, the two-minute warning came, with Wyndon in possession deep in their own territory. Hearthome was still up by four points, meaning Wyndon needed a touchdown on this final drive. The ambient noise in the restaurant grew as the game came down to the final play after some great clock management by the Galarian team. Roaring Wyndon fans' arms flew into the air, both in the bar and in the stadium as one final completed pass sealed the game with the clock reaching zeroes.

Wyndon was going to the Ultra Bowl.

"Wow, what an exciting game," Josh sighed as he counted out cash to pay his bill, leaving a generous gratuity for the great service he had received. After a great meal and an exciting football game, he departed the noisy bar and left the sleepy town of Verdanturf, heading to the Pokémon Center to retrieve one of his many Pokémon mounts to take back to his home in Mauville.