The squeeling of dragon scales didn't go unnoticed. But he was still focused on counting his qualified Pokemon. Josh offered to spend some time to look for Pokemon to fill out his ranks. The blonde simply nodded. He wouldn't mind a Weavile...and maybe a few others. Josh then mentioned a creative tradition. That...could be tough. Nodding again, Raju had to imagine the number of Pokemon hunting the gym leader had to do just to match all the possibilities. Or visits to breeders. Finally came the offer of the sparring match. Or rather, the acceptance of Raju's previous offer. "I've still got energy to spare. How many do you want to use? Big Bert might need to rest for a bit, but by the time I switch out Borrito for Rollin, get back, and if we do a six versus six, he'd be the last one I use and should be recovered then."

If not a long battle, he did have others to qualify as well. Jigawatt still packed a punch, having been one of his first Pokemon. Typhon has proved to be a powerhouse as well. Mage was an interesting one to be sure, and could very easily catch someone off guard. Samurai didn't know Aqua Jet yet, but they were also a physical bruiser...he had enough to handle things. He just needed some variety.



Josh Devlin

The assurance of using the tracks to practice was good. Rollin would need the practice. Well, all of his Pokemon would need the practice to get used to the courses. Thankfully, a rideable pokemon wasn't necessary. Raju breathed a small sigh of relief at that. Until the next part of the comment was stated. Raju held up his hands and started to count, muttering quietly, though maybe loud enough for Josh to hear. "Big Bert the Tauros, Jigawatt the Kilowattrel, Samurai the Golisopod after I teach it Aqua Jet, Rollin the Cyclizar, Mage the Zorua, Typhon the Gyarados..." He stopped at six. Shellgore the Cloyser wasn't going to win any speed contests. Borrito the Excadrill wasn't the fastest, but also wasn't the slowest, merely average. Even if he could probably control the pace of a fight as a hard hitter.

Snow White the Amaura likewise wasn't winning any speed contests. Brownie of course wouldn't be winning anything like that either. "I...think I need to catch and train a couple more. I have six that fits the criteria, and that's only after I teach Samurai Aqua Jet. I can change my team out to bring all six of them in for a battling test, if you'd like..." Well, he just needed to trade out Borrito for Rollin, then he'd be golden and ready for that part of the test. It was still slightly concerning to him. Two more fast Pokemon for a varied team/partners for any kind of more traditional challenge would be perfect for him. But he also had to balance between gang member and their needs and the gym's needs and requirements.

Josh Devlin

Raju nodded. "You've mentioned that before..." The blonde may not always have the sharpest of memories, but he did remember that. Still, he blushed and shrunk a little from the compliment. To him, it wasn't really that hard. He one hundred percent agreed that he needed to learn the course more in depth, along with thier obstacles. The first question was an easy one. "Yes, though not always the most gracefully. He's best on courses with few obstacles and few turns. Or if there are any, they're like the ones on this course. Some work with my Cyclizar would be better for more complicated courses." Big Bert was a bruiser, preferring sheer force and speed over finesse. He was definitely more of the traditional fighting architype. That said, he could still give a challenger a good run on the racing front.

The second question he kind of already answered. "Rollin still needs some work. But we're on it. I do have a question regarding the battles though. Do they have to be Pokemon that you can ride? Or can they just be speed-based pokemon or have moves that can control the pace of a fight?" That could make all the difference. If you control the pace of a fight, you can determine the outcome so much easier.


Josh Devlin

Once the line was crossed, he saw that the gym leader was slowing down, and so did they. Granted, it took a bit longer for them due to how much weight Big Bert threw around. A single lap? Did he get mistaken on something? Josh started to give them lots of praise, causing Big Bert to raise his head high and making Raju turn pink from embarrassment. "Just makeshift races. Paldea is a very diverse region. There's hills and cliffs everywhere. And my...previous situation made me take an interest in martial arts. The phsyical part doesn't bother me..." Raju was tough as nails. And there were checkpoints for healing and everything too.

In a more official capacity, it may be a lot different. This was training. All the training in the world may help, but nothing beats an actual race or whatever activity you were training for. He didn't ever wanted to be weak again. Hense the commitment. "I also work in security. It wouldn't be good if I was physically weak. People rely too much on their Pokemon anyways."


Josh Devlin

He slipped in! That said, Josh let off a Quick Attack on the large Ninetales. Wait...wasn't boosting moves not used until the second lap? Well, maybe Josh was bending the rules because this was a test. Either way, holy shit! "Flame Charge, let's go!" Big Bert's horns glowed red as flames erupted all around the bull and his trainer. Their gallop got faster, though still not near as fast as that Ninetales. The only good thing was that they'd exit right behind them. Trailing behind the duo was now a trail of burning hoof marks that got snuffed out by the dust.

Raju and BB burst out the small path and almost bulldozed out the track! Raju kept a firm grip to keep himself from getting flung off when they hit the rail, giving it a hell of a huge and long dent as they corrected themselves. That did give Josh a bit of a lead and allowed the others to catch up, but they were again almost at full speed again. Even if they had to scrape along the outside of the track, especially on that gentle curve. If one looked at BB, and was observent, they might have seen a small twinge of a bovine grin. He hadn't let loose like this in a long time, and was loving it!

Josh Devlin

The slope downward didn't bother them at all. Though admittedly, at about midway through, Big Bert did have to put on the brakes a little due to risk of toppling head over heels that would surely crush the smol man. That did, however, put him last. Not that it mattered, they'd proven that they could go faster than the rest and catch up easily. With a jump down to get a head start from the their braking slide, they were off and quickly catching up to the rest of the pack like he'd anticipated. It wasn't the speed that bothered Raju on that hill, it was the risk of them going faster than his big Tauros's legs can go. They'd had one close call back in Paldea, they didn't need another.

The second gentle curve was coming up. The blonde manuevered more towards the inside, already turning, knowing that they'd be on the outside anyways. Once the curve started, they were drifting to the outside, just as expected. Just not near as bad as the first one. Now it was just getting to that narrow path! With the outrageously loud sound of Big Bert's hooves on the track, they barrelled towards it! One of the other riders immediately got out of the way and stayed on the normal track, already seeing where Raju and his big bull was heading. It was a race to just get in there now! If anyone got in front of him, they'd have to worry about getting trampled over...somewhat. Raju and Big Bert might be brutes, but they would be perfectly rule abiding. They'd certainly give them a scare though!


Josh Devlin

Raju and BB took off like a bullet! Despite his large size and species, Big Bert had speed and endurance in spades. Then again though, Josh probably trained all of his Pokemon specifically for racing. What BB lacked was reaction time and sharp turning. He'd be more likely to just barrel through any hurdles than to jump over them. Even with the gentle left turn, both Raju and Big Bert tried to do it more to the inside wall, but failed...miserably. They were on the outside wall. Granted, their speed and size easily made them well within and maybe slightly ahead of the pack. Once the straight shot came, then man and Pokemon started to drift a bit to the inside wall. And once they started to move, it seemed they had the other racer's eyes on them too.

Nobody wanted to get directly in front of them. If Raju did his research right, the first lap was when no boosts were allowed. So for now, Raju's goal was to try to make it to that backstretch, that smaller route, and be the first into it. Big Bert was large enough to block the passage...he thought? It was hard to tell this far away, even when they were lining up. Even if he wasn't first to get into that shorter route, whoever was ahead of him better made sure they were hightailing it out of there. Big Bert had a bad habit of running just about anything over.


Josh Devlin

When Raju arrived, there were three other men beyond Josh, with a Zebstrika, Stoutland, and Houndoom next to them. The bowl cut blonde waved back at the gym leader. Who mentioned splitting off into groups to work with the more tenured trainers, but also wanted to see their skills first. The dark haired man led them to one of the race tracks, a big oval. Towards the back stretch was two lanes, an inside and outside one, with the inside one being narrower. That part could both be a boon and a total loss...he'd have to be the first one through with Big Bert.

A simple race, huh? That was easy enough. Taking out a pokeball, he released his Blaze Breed Tauros, the giant black steed rearing up with a roar and slamming his hooves down, making quite the large dust cloud. Big Bert was named that for a reason. Even among other Tauros, no matter the kind, he was gigantic. Something else to note was the blood red bull ring in the creature's nostrils. Some people thought it cruel to do such a thing to any Pokemon. But Big Bert wanted it because he thought it looked cool. More so since Raju made his earrings at the top of his ears look good. And who was he to deny his big beasty this? He had given him plenty of warning that it would hurt, but the literal bull didn't care. For he had wanted to be closer to his trainer.

After a leap and finishing a crawl over the big guy's back, Raju held onto his mane. "We're ready." With an intense look, both young man and Pokemon looked absolutely terrifying. Going to where the starting line was, the bull pokemon dug a little with his one hoof and lowered his head. Oh, he was ready!

Josh Devlin

Raju arrived bright and early. Wearing his traditional black outfit, he came in with a full team of six. His Kilowattrel named Jigawatt, Paldean Tauros Blaze Breed named Big Bert, Typhon that was a Gyarados as his training partners for the racing courses here. While all three would also do well in the battle arena, he also brought with him Samurai the Golisipod, Borrito the Excadrill, and Mage the Hisuian Zorua for the battle arena. If Josh wanted him to switch, he already prepared for that possibility. The gang member entered the premises that he was told, about ten minutes early. Waving at the receptionist, she smiled back at him and paged Josh that he was there.

The blonde just waited then until she gave him directions on where to go to meet his new boss. In this job at least, not his regular duties as part of the Orthrus Gang. Again, he saw that one Pokemon all over the plus. And Raju thought that he could be one persistant bastard...this was obsessive. The thought crossed his mind the last time he was in the building, but maybe there was something wrong with the gym leader...


Josh Devlin

Raju waited nerviously for the typing to stop. Why did those keys sound so bloody loud to him? And why was there so much typing?! What else was there that Josh needed to type so much?! If that was all the questions he had, what else was there to do or say?! Thankfully, it didn't last too long, and the dark haired man came to a conclusion. Raju perked up when he heard email and days to go through orientation. Did that mean that he was accepted?! Raju was no stranger to training, so that was fine. Scheduling he'd have to work something out with the Club Olympus owner. Also standing up, and with his hand clamy due to sweating from sheer nerviousness, Raju took the handshake. "Thank you sir. I do need to talk to some people, but I should know something well before Friday. I'll email you back." With that, he walked out. The next few days were going to be interesting. He'd never done anything like this before, but he was also kind of excited too. And maybe a tiny hint of dread.


Josh Devlin

Seemed the answer somewhat resonated with Josh. Granted, it was against an organization, not someone you know. And supposed to be able to trust. Although...what did that mean? The fact that he was able to track down the Orthrus Gang from very little and years afterward showed that he had talent as a trainer? How?! Raju was so confused. After some more typing, Josh asked another question. The blonde nodded in confirmation. He did indeed have Pokemon for the sky and sea for racing. "Yes. Jigawatt you've seen before. Typhon, my Gyarados, would be good for water courses. He even knows Dragon Dance to increase his speed. Jigawatt also knows Agility." And Quick Attack, but he wanted to replace that move with something else. His Kilowatrel was huge even by Kilowatrel standards. So long as the water course was large enough, Gyarados would be fantastic.


Josh Devlin

Raju started to hold onto Brownie. Yep, he was sweating even harder now, no matter the temperature of the room. There was no real choice as a Gym Trainer. It was both, or no dice. That was fine. Big Bert was quick and powerful, and Jigawatt was much the same, just a distanced fighter compared to the close range destruction BB can do. Some of his other Pokemon would also be good fighters, even speedy enough to embody the gym and its theme. Samurai and Typhon particularly. Though Shellgore and Borrito could be good for the opposite...to suddenly switch styles in the middle of combat. The compliment did make his cheeks light up with a blush.

As he waited for the next question, Josh was typing and clicking. Just what was it that he was on? What was he putting down? This did not help his anxiety! The next question sure as hell didn't help matters any. Particularly since they were related to each other. "My most difficult moment of failure was failing to protect my mom from my dad. I'd rather not go into too many details, let's just say that it led to me being sent to my aunt's. At the same time, my greatest moment of personal success was tracking down the person that saved me, and thanking them." He didn't often approach people. He was more likely to throw a fist at someone than actually talking to them.



Josh Devlin

Raju wasn't too surprised that he had a file. He came in legally from Unova, then settled down here in Mauville after coming in from Slateport. He shook his head. "I was too young to have a Pokemon in Unova, and when I moved with my aunt in Paldea, I was too busy helping her out. I have battled a few trainers that earned one or more badges from the gym leaders there, and won most of them. There was one battle that stood out most, not necessarily because I lost, but due to other reasons..." That loss was an interesting one...it was the closest Pokemon battle he'd had. Either he'd won handily or he'd lost handily, typically by those that had six to eight badges.

Either way, Josh then went on to ask about what position he wanted, listing off a few. "I could be security, I do much the same at the Host Club. But I would like to be a Gym Trainer, specifically one for racing. While I'm still training my own recently caught Cyclizar, I do have a Paldean Blaze Breed Tauros that'll do nicely right now. I don't know how much you paid attention back on the route when we first met, but I was able to handle the speed that your Cyclizar was using, even when it was using Quick Attack." His own status as a martial artist and posessing more reaction speed and skill than strength helped. Even though he did have a surprising amount of strength for someone his size.

Once that was done, Josh was typing up a storm. After adjusting the plushy, and Raju fidgetting with Brownie in his lap, the gym leader spoke again. More standard questions. "I have experience riding Pokemon. Both makeshift races and more liesurely rides. Cyclizar, obviously, but I've also ridden Paldean Tauros. More specifically, the Blaze Breed that I have, Big Bert. I want this position to help me grow as a person. I'm...not good with words...I'm more of a guy of action than anything..." He felt like shrinking back inside the chair, and couldn't even maintain eye contact in any shape or form.


Josh Devlin