The sound of engines resulted from Josh opening up his Gym's racing challenges to those with Starmobiles. While they weren't common, the few that showed up with them had given his maintenance crew fits. They were used to having to patch gaps and bumps caused by claws, paws, and the occasional small tire mark from a Cyclizar. The types of repairs needed to undo the damage caused by a Starmobile skidding and squealing made the Leader's eyes roll; at this rate, he would have to hire a maintenance crew, and he desperately wanted to keep his headcount below fifty. Once he hit fifty employees, he would be considered a large employer, which same with its own legal can of worms.

A can of worms that his recent hire, Cecilia Brooks , might need to help him solve.

Locking his office and taking his boxed lunch next door to the female's third-floor office, he knocked on the door before twisting the knob. "Afternoon," the Gym Leader waved. "Starmobiles sure get loud, don't they?" he remarked, seeing if there was a good place for him to sit down, eat, and see how she was doing in her new position.

Cecilia looked up from her laptop screen, blinking as if emerging from a dream. She rubbed her temples absently, the light from the viewing platform casting harsh shadows across her face. "Oh. Mr. Devlin. Good afternoon." Her words stumbled over each other, fatigue softening her usually precise enunciation.

She glanced around hastily, realizing she hadn’t even removed her coat yet. Papers spilled haphazardly across the table, bearing scribbled margins where legal jargon collided with caffeine-fueled ruminations on existential dread. Not exactly her most professional look.

Gathering herself, she smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt as she stood. "Apologies for the clutter. I’ve been engrossed in the liability waivers from yesterday's incident," she explained, keeping her tone neutral despite feeling exposed by his sudden appearance.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as he mentioned the noise level, trying to discern whether he expected her to share an opinion on gym matters or was merely making idle chit-chat. "Yes, it's quite something. Much louder than the average courtroom, though perhaps we’re competing with different kinds of roaring."

Josh Devlin

Though Josh appreciated Cecilia's work ethic and respect, he was not one for formalities. "No need to be so uptight! Josh is good by me," the Gym Leader insisted, emphasizing the camaraderie needed for a good employer-to-employee relationship. He didn't seem concerned about the girl's mess at all. "Tell me about it. You and Dan are true treasures around here." Though it was the Gym Trainers and the Leader himself that got press time, Cecilia had an equally important job: keeping the lawyers off his case when someone slipped through his safety protocols.

Josh missed the peace and quiet before the discovery of the Revavroom Starmobile. "You would have loved it here before those things became more popular among highly skilled trainers," he added, watching Entei the Gouging Fire gallop across a distant course, the legendary-adjacent Pokémon under the guise of a living, horned fireball. "Normally, the loudest it'll get down there are a bunch of hooves and paws pounding against the ground, not a deafening motor running." The only kind of motor he preferred to let run on his Racing Grounds were those of feline Pokémon. It was one of the reasons Josh preferred big cats as steeds, even for distance travel.

Their purrs kept their riders awake.