"Wait, what?!" Josh cried into the mouthpiece of his desk phone after hearing the news from ANDREW WEISS, his scheduler. "I'm on my way!" Leaving the rest of his meal where it was, Josh rushed to the elevator and took it down to Mauville Racing Grounds' first floor. He could feel his heartbeat elevate as he sprinted toward the rear entrance, the presence of the hulking man not calming him down in the slightest. With a shrill whistle, apex predators approached Alphonse Gambino : a Hisuian Arcanine, a Kantonian Arcanine, and four Pyroar. All of them wore riding gear, perhaps the crime boss understanding their pack tactics were more intimidation than a true hunt.

"That's enough!" the Gym Leader cried, instinctively vaulting himself aboard Craggro. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten how rotund the rock-type had become, the out-of-shape Pokémon already huffing from having to absorb his trainer's weight. "We have a registration desk, you know. What can I help you with?" There was a sign of trembling from seeing how tall Al was. He was taller than Braver, a Pokémon almost uncomfortably large for him to mount! He looked the perfect size for this one, though; was the man looking for riding tips?

The Kantonian Arcanine, at first cautious at the incredibly tall man's presence, eventually warmed up to him, stepping toward him and sniffing him. The man's formality calmed the Gym Leader a bit. Though intimidating, he was professional. Josh liked professional, particularly when dealing with Gym business. "Correct. Gym Leader Devlin or Elite Ranger Devlin, but you can call me Josh if you want," he answered, amazed that he could comfortably look eye to eye even from the saddle.

"Great to meet you, Alphonse," Josh replied, accepting the handshake and feeling Craggro stumble a little from the shift in weight. The rock-type really was out of shape, wasn't he? Even his medical team assured him it would be a temporary inconvenience, as long as they routinely exercised. "Now, what can I help you with?"

It was a simple request - one he routinely accommodated through appointments. "No appointment needed," the Gym Leader answered. "Today's more or less a day to catch up after challenges. I only take challenges a few days a week, not every day. We got everything under control, and I don't have another appointment until later today." With that, he whistled for Braver, the Kantonian Arcanine bounding toward his cousin with a lot more energy than Craggro had. "This is Braver," Josh introduced the fire-type to Alphonse before explaining why he had summoned the Arcanine to the guest's side.

"Of course I can give you the grand tour. I do want to warn you, though; it would take a long time walking the place." The Gym Leader gestured toward the hulking, saddled Arcanine. "Hop on. I'll show you around!" Provided the tall man agreed to do so, Braver would let him on, and the two would be off toward the MAIN SECTOR, where the SPLIT OVAL beginner's course and the battle courts were located. One was occupied by two Gym Trainers' Zebstrika sparring with one another.

Had Al met Josh when he first became a Gym Leader back in September, the mob boss may have had a vastly different opinion of him. Now, though, experience had clearly become the source of great strength for the young racer. Seeing the goliath of a man take a seat on Braver, cleanly able to see over the Arcanine's head, was surreal. "Bigger ones are out there. The largest one I've seen is even taller than you are! Not by much, mind you, but a Pokémon like that would be great for you to have. And I bet you'll change your tune once we get going."

Not long after Al was seated, Braver able to feel the reins in the rider's hands, the two Arcanine took off around the outer concourse. The fire-types' strides became more rapid, the apparent wind turning from a stiff breeze to a roar. Even the Gym Leader slammed his visor down in the wind.

"They are both valid ways to demonstrate a bond with your Pokémon. Of course, I enjoy a battle, too, but a Pokémon race tests so much more than simple combat can," he tried to sell the criminal on the practice of Pokémon racing. The two passed east of SECTOR 1, a grassy plain dotted with some rolling hills. While most of the courses were easy, the SPIRAL weaved about almost the entire sector, its myriad of turns and other obstacles testing every possible skill a racer could learn.

Snacker leaped out of one of the aquatic courses of SECTOR 2 as the riders approached it, both Arcanine instinctively swerving out of the splash's wake. "Don't mind him; Snacker, my Sharpedo, can be a handful. Racing him is really fun, but he can be tough to control. Ready to pick up the pace?" he idly asked. Braver looked ready to kick things into high gear, though Craggro was less so.

It seemed Al and Josh had a lot in common. They both liked the same kinds of Pokémon - vicious predators. If only he knew how much differently they used theirs. The Gym Leader only let his hunt what they needed to in order to comfortably live. The mafioso routinely fed human corpses to them. "Sadly I don't think there's a Sharpedo big enough that you'd be able to fit on one. It's a shame, too. It's so much fun bouncing across the water's surface on one." He wasn't kidding, either; their AQUA JET was capable of so much thrust that they could leap out of the water and glide on their fins for far longer than a shark should be able to.

There was a reason the species was nicknamed the "Bully of the Sea".

Braver responded to the gentle command to accelerate. While it was far from full racing speed for an Arcanine, it might have felt like it to Al. The wind roared around him, perhaps getting a feel for what his daughter did. This Arcanine could run, even more so than the species was typically known for. It was clear that this Pokémon had hyper-focused training that made it deadly, both on the course and in the field of battle, like few other Arcanine were.

Josh and Craggro kept pace for a while before the Hisuian Arcanine's limited stamina ran out, the distance between them growing. Feeling the stresses growing on the out-of-shape fire-type's heart, Josh slowed his mount to a stop, slid down, and withdrew him. Whistling for one of his Pyroar, Aslan, to carry him the rest of the way around the concourse, the Gym Leader tailed Al the rest of the way to his facility's back entrance before thanking him and sending him on his way.