"There, Xia, that's a good girl!" Josh gently pat the head of his Zangoose, the normal-type on all fours. He had just finished securing her saddle to her back, excited to hop on the fierce-looking cat ferret the size of a Rapidash. Xia crouched, letting the Gym Leader easily swing aboard. It would take a little getting used to, the Zangoose's body wider in back than in front, but he could get used to being on a Pokémon like this. Xia's purr rattled Josh, making his hair stand on end.

As Masha called out to Josh, he gently tugged on Xia's reins with his left hand. causing his mount to turn around. Before him was a young lady that reminded him of one of his his best friends, Shalin Nariya . She looked just as sweet. "...Yes, Gym Leader Devlin, but please, just call me Josh," the rider answered. "Can I help you?"

In his eyes, the populace gave Josh more credit than he deserved, though that was largely his self-deprecation speaking. It was a problem he needed to address before he could become a Champion. He was afraid of going too far and coming off as arrogant. Finding a balance between the two would be the key to becoming a Champion of Hoenn.

His smile grew as he saw the young lady's cheeks turn flush. "It's okay, it's okay!" Josh repeated, the rumble of Xia's purr making his hair stand on end. "What are you looking for help with?" He would help Masha to the best of his ability, just like he did anyone that walked into the Gym.

Masha's gestures were telltale signs of spiking nerves. It was times like these where Josh disliked how imposing he came off as. He looked confident, intimidating, and seemingly fearless. That he was riding a fast-looking Pokémon didn't help matters either, he imagined, Masha needing to look up just to make eye contact. "Xia, stay right here," he gently asked the Zangoose, hanging her reins neatly upon the hook of her saddle before sliding off and touching the ground.

"A ghost-type trainer?" Josh asked. "We actually have a ghost-type specialist here, but she only works part time. I'll have to check her schedule. There's no one better with ghost-type Pokémon than Elise Calcifet . She even has her own Minor League Gym about ghost Pokémon, but it's only open part time." With how empty that labyrinth seemed to be, despite having a wonderful premise for a Gym, he felt she could use some business.

He dodged the question for now. "...What's your name, young lady? I think I missed it." He didn't miss it; she just never said it. He wanted to make it come off as a mistake he made, rather than a fault of Masha's. Softening the blows to others at his own expense. That was how he operated.

Not ready to meet her yet? Elise was such a nice, brave girl, willing to try just about anything. She may have been the only person in Hoenn brave enough and talenter enough to go Z-Move racing with Josh, what with her now im possession of a Zeraora after the tournament. It was a feat that would take the duo of Gym Leaders well past supersonic land speeds for as long as the well-honed Z-Move lasted.

How could she not be ready to meet one so outgoing and nice?

No bother. When she introduced herself, Josh picked up Masha's pangs of confidence. "You sounded a lot more like yourself there," he complimented, taking a step back to rub his hand across Xia's white fur. "Great to meet you, Marya. Gym Leader Devlin, but please, you can just call me Josh," he returned the introduction with one of his own.

With Masha's confidence growing, Josh could get to her question. "It's just like working a new position. You'll be nervous. You'll make mistakes. I made all kinds of mistakes when I opened Mauville Racing Grounds... what, almost a year and a half ago?" Had it really been that long? His Gym, when it first opened, used to be the laughingstock of the region. Now it was one tough Gym, many League hopefuls saving it for later in their careers.

"Take it from my experience. The best way to learn to be confident... is to embrace falling. As they say in show biz, fake it 'til you make it. It's better to be confidently wrong than shakily right. Everyone's wrong from time to time. Even I still get things wrong. As you learn from your mistakes, you'll grow more confident. And what's the best way to make mistakes you can learn from? Try new things." He was no psychologist, but his own experiences spoke volumes.

"Masha it is," Josh acknowledged. The way her eyes bounced back and forth between him and his Zangoose gave Josh the notion that she was truly interested in him and his large Pokémon that he had clearly put a lot of time and effort into catching and raising.

"Hoo," Josh exhaled. "Where do I even start...?" he mused aloud. "It's a long story. Do you want me to start when I came to Hoenn, or before that, even? If you want to go all the way back to my Johto days... that was a long time ago." As many Pokémon as he had on his Gym grounds, there was one very special to him.

With a shrill whistle, one of them came running to his side: a Manectric that was just a little taller than Josh himself was. While he wore riding tack, the electric-type's was quite distinct from the rest. His saddle was shaped like a purple thundercloud, its tall cantle billowing in the rear. If Masha was familiar with Johtonian folk lore, she might recognize it as the same shape as the thundercloud the legendary Pokémon Raikou carried on its back.

"This is Saber," Josh gestured toward the proud-looking electric wolf who seemed a little too eager to bounce around. He had the energy of an Electrike despite being grown up. "We've been friends since I was ten years old."

"You're good! Twenty-five," Josh corrected. It was an age of significance for Hoenn, the age that it was preferred for the region's Ranger Captains to be. There were, of course, some exceptions. Some of their Captains were younger after proving their exemplary performance as Elites.

Saber sniffed Masha, trying to get an idea of how friendly she was. With a smile running across his snout, he sat down next to her. "I think he likes you! Wanna saddle up and see the sights while I tell you my story? It's gonna be a bit of a long one."

Regardless of whether she agreed to hop on the electric wolf, he would start from his Johto days. "Since I was a young lad, before I could even own a Pokémon legally, I had dreamed of being the world's greatest Pokémon racer. That's why I asked for Saber for my tenth birthday. I used him to catch Pazuzu, who is now a Pidgeot, and those were the only Pokémon I had for years." If Masha looked closely, she might be able to see a Pidgeot flying overhead. Not overly large, but larger than most.

"After I graduated high school, I got involved in the Pokémon racing scene, and quickly advanced to semi-pro status. I wasn't wealthy doing it, but I could stay afloat and enjoy what I did. Then I came to Hoenn a little over a year and a half ago for a one-week vacation. I couldn't have come at a worse time."

Josh was a little disappointed, but tried not to show it; more than anything else, he loved sharing the thrill of riding Pokémon with those who visited his Gym. It wasn't for everyone, though; going fast enough to make travel by Pokémon worthwhile required great core strength. "You might recall that back in the summer of 2022, travel to and from Hoenn was made impossible because of an invisible barrier surrounding the region, with a meteor headed on a collision course here. I took a vacation here, intending to stay for one week before returning to Goldenrod. My plane landed the day before the barrier went up. Needless to say, the whole thing forced me to move to Hoenn against my will."

It was a harrowing series of months: people lived extravagantly, well beyond their means, in anticipation of the region being wiped off the face of the planet by a hunk of space rock the size of a skyscraper. Splashfest, the biggest summer festival Hoenn had ever taken on, was coming back to him. Come to think of it, he needed to go for a swim with Kopala, the Mantine from that event, didn't he? That would be on his to-do list once the water got warm enough. Stupid climate change from Kyurem, ruining all his fun. "Then after a couple months, John Sullivan stepped down as Mauville's Gym Leader, and the League was looking for a replacement. I got several recommendations to take the position, and that's how I got to be the Leader here."

Saber was as obedient as a house dog Pokémon, despite his immense size. He appreciated the scritches Masha gave, though it was uncertain how she would handle the static coming from his mane.