Josh's office building was small and only three floors. Real estate in Mauville was expensive, and most of the Gym's budget went to constructing the sprawling Racing Grounds just outside city limits, featuring two dozen intertwined courses that made the possibilities for Gym Challenges limitless. The waiting room was a love letter to the Johto deity Raikou, a fantasy of his childhood and an eternal reminder of how aiming for the stars nearly caused his life to irreversibly spiral downward.

Following directions from SHELLY SPIEL, the receptionist on duty, Damian would have made his way to a large third-floor office that had clearly been used as storage for a mainframe computer in years past. The south-facing windows gave the best view of the Mauville Racing Grounds below. ARAVAN ESCHER was at the main battle court, the tall young man who dyed his hair blue administering a challenge with several of Josh's water Pokémon, including a vicious Sharpedo that mentally shredded a poor Machoke's mind with his PSYCHIC FANGS.

Only one of his Pokémon was out and about in the server room converted to office, but it was one very precious to Josh: a Zeraora with a saddle covering much of his back. Walking around on all fours like a feral cat rather than upright like many of the rare Pokémon's kind did, he let out a lion-like purr as Josh waved the candidate, @daiman, to approach the desk.

Memorabilia of the legendary Pokémon Raikou was scattered everywhere: figurines, plush, and the like were neatly arranged throughout. Though the most valuable part of the collection on display was a single copy of every officially-produced Raikou trading card printed in the past two decades, his most precious was a 12-inch Raikou plush that sat on the corner of his desk, its condition indicative that it had been loved and cuddled with for quite some time.

"Morning, Damian," Josh greeted the young giant not too much older than he was. The Gym Leader shot him a quizzical glance when he noticed Damian had come to his interview in sleep clothes. While his great physique was a great boon, that he didn't bother coming at least in office attire was an equally big bane. "Have a seat," he gestured toward one of the two office chairs on the other side of the desk before clicking and clacking on his keyboard, pulling a copy of the Gym's internal interview form to take notes on. "So from what I understand, you're interested in a position at Mauville Gym, correct?"

Clacking at his keyboard, Josh noticed the lack of specifics of Damian's experience in his sheet for the candidate. When the Leader noticed he was stroking the Raikou plush, especially without his permission, he took his hand off his mouse to slide the adorable yet savage-looking facsimile of his favorite Pokémon closer to himself. He went off-script briefly to ask one follow-up question. "Congratulations on graduating! I noticed you didn't list that on your application. What was your degree in?"

Josh would note Damian's answer before continuing with the questions he asked every candidate. "I pulled up your League file, and I noticed you do not possess a single Hoenn Gym Badge. Do you possess any Badges from other regions?" Gym Badges were an important measure of Trainer prowess respected worldwide. One of a Gym Leader's responsibilities was to make sure they only handed out Badges to those who were truly worthy.

For someone with a college degree, he wasn't very professional; how did he expect to get a white collar job when he couldn't demonstrate people skills to the Leader? The Badges didn't quite matter to Josh as much as the lack of engagement he was receiving. Did this graduate truly want a job? After receiving an answer, he would continue on. "A lack of Hoenn League Badges will not disqualify you from consideration. Which position or positions were you interested in filling?"

Biology was a field that was tangentially important to Pokémon racers. Studying the physiology of Pokémon was important to learning which ones excelled at the three pillars of racing. Those three pillars were the speed to outrun the competition, the endurance to make it through the entire race, and the cornering to maintain that speed during sharp turns and other obstacles that modern courses were filled with.

The other questions seemed to go over Damian's head. Was he even paying attention. The question about out-of-region Badges wasn't as important. "Being a Champion, while something great to aspire for, certainly isn't for everyone. Even being a Gym Leader comes with being stalked by the paparazzi at times. As long as you enjoy being with your Pokémon, and they're enjoying what you do together, everyone wins."

With that aside wrapped up, Josh directed things back on track. "Now, which position or positions were you interested in?" he repeated himself, a little more slowly the second time for emphasis.