Although Xingye had considered opening an Odd Jobs, he did not have the ability to do so yet. After all, he was human, and it was hard for him to earn the trust of ordinary Pokémon.
Besides, if he wanted to get it running, he first had to build a reputation. Only then would Pokémon come knocking for help. That would probably take quite some time.
There was also the issue of manpower. Other Odd Jobs had the classic three people and a dog setup, while he could not even gather that many people. He could not even scrape together enough Pokémon.
"Maybe I could hire Pokémon?"
The thought suddenly appeared in Xingye's mind, but he quickly discarded it. He could not even afford rent, so where would he get the money to act like a boss and pay wages?
It would be better to use his own Pokémon. He would only need to give them some spending money to have fun in Kabukicho. How easy would that be? So did he still need to catch Pokémon?
"My head hurts. Why is reality so cruel?"
This was like starting a business from rock bottom. The difficulty was enormous, but if he succeeded, the returns would be just as terrifying.
"So is there a way to quickly find Pokémon with troubles and make a name for myself at the same time?"
As Xingye said this, his gaze instinctively dropped to the floor—or rather, to the first floor below.
Places like izakayas probably had plenty of people drinking away their worries. As long as he spotted someone sitting alone at the bar, he could pretty much pick them out every time.
And this was also a great place for information to spread. Drinking always came with chatting, making it perfect for getting the Odd Jobs' name out there!
"Boss Slowking, I still have to rely on you!"
"Cyclizar?"
At six in the evening, Xingye prepared to begin his stakeout. At last, he saw what Kabukicho looked like when it awoke from its slumber.
As more and more Pokémon arrived from afar, the shops along the street opened one after another, lighting their signs and preparing to welcome customers.
Slowking had just opened the door when he saw someone waiting outside. Confused, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Eating and drinking."
"Do you have money?"
"If I don't, I can put it on tab!"
"I'll let you run a tab for one month at most. Including what you had yesterday, if you don't pay it back when it's due, I'll have Ceruledge cut out your kidneys. Understand?"
"...Understood."
Xingye's mouth twitched. This guy really said something as terrifying as cutting out kidneys with that goofy face of his. Still, it was only a month. As long as he managed to land a few jobs, he could pay it back.
Upon entering the shop, he and Cyclizar were the first customers. The only one he could see was Ceruledge wiping down tables, who even looked up and swept a glance their way.
"Those eyes are still terrifying..."
Xingye felt that this guy had a story, but it was probably best not to approach him casually for now...
Sitting at the bar with Cyclizar, he called out to Slowking, "Boss Slowking, warm up two bowls of wine for us, and bring two plates of fennel beans."
"Kids aren't allowed to drink!"
"Then just bring some snacks to go with drinks, something filling. And two cups of room-temperature Moomoo Milk."
"What kind of place do you think this is?!"
Though he said that, Slowking still went to prepare their order. After all, every visitor was a customer.
While they waited, Cyclizar watched the mascot Slowpoke on the bar as its tail swayed back and forth, its gaze following every movement.
Then, with great interest, it reached out and slapped at the tail, but missed. So it kept trying, only for the tail to evade every time with another sway.
"I know its tail is delicious, but don't actually bite it."
Xingye gave it a reminder. Just then, a cute bipedal fox with yellow-and-white fur suddenly walked in from outside the izakaya.
The fur around its waist grew into the shape of a skirt, while its lower legs looked as though they were clad in black stockings. A signature twig was tucked into its fluffy tail, the kind that made one want to give it a good rub.
"Delphox? So cute..."
Xingye's attention was immediately drawn to it. He quite liked cute Pokémon with a girlish, little-sister-like vibe. They seemed as though they would be very comfortable to hug while sleeping, stirring up a desire to protect them.
"Huohu~"
Delphox gave a soft cry, probably saying, "Alola~" But it seemed somewhat downcast. Even when someone stared at it with a strange look, it merely glanced over and did not pay him any mind.
After entering, it looked around as though searching for someone. However, Slowking and Ceruledge had both gone to the back to prepare someone's dinner and were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Delphox lower its head slightly, its mood becoming even more dejected, Xingye frowned—but quickly returned to normal. Resting a hand on the bar, he said casually, "You're a customer, right? Boss Slowking and the others are in the back. Just call out to them."
"Huohu..."
Only after hearing him speak did Delphox notice him again, finally realizing what was wrong. A human? Why was there a human here?
Xingye cleared his throat, adjusted himself, and smiled. "Alola~ I moved in yesterday. I live upstairs from the izakaya."
"Huohu~"
Delphox responded quietly, lowering some of its guard at the same time. After all, anyone who could live upstairs must have a good relationship with Boss Slowking.
Seeing this, Xingye kept smiling, further easing its vigilance before softly asking, "It seems like something is troubling you. This izakaya is a place for humans and Pokémon to share their everyday worries. Would you like to tell me about it? Maybe I can help."
Hearing that, Delphox grew even more puzzled. It could not understand what this human was doing, but since he had asked like that, after hesitating for a moment, it decided to explain what had happened.
After all, humans could not understand Pokémon language. He really was a good person to vent to...
Just as it was about to sit at the bar and begin sharing its troubles, Slowking floated out with several plates using psychic power. After delivering them before Xingye, he noticed Delphox.
"Slow~"
"Huohu~"
Seeing Slowking come out, Delphox greeted him and no longer intended to continue venting.
At that moment, after telling Cyclizar to stop playing around and get ready to eat, Xingye ate while saying to Slowking, "Boss Slowking, when you talk, can at least one of you use human language? Let me hear what you're saying."
"Humans really are troublesome! Eat properly when you're eating. Why do you talk so much?"
Slowking did not refuse, merely grumbled before looking at Delphox again and asking with concern, "I haven't seen you come by for days. Did something happen? You're so down. You're nothing like your usual self."
"Huohu..."
"You're quitting?"
"Hu..."
"I see. That trainer of yours finally remembered you were still in the backyard? You should be happy about that, shouldn't you?"
Delphox's expression changed slightly at Slowking's question. It seemed to have something it wanted to say, but after a long silence, it still could not say it. In the end, it forced a smile and nodded.
"Is that so..."
Slowking seemed to understand something, but he did not press further. Instead, he took out a lollipop and put it in his mouth, turning his head aside as he said, "Be careful on your way back. Come visit when you have time. Don't let my shop get too lonely."
Delphox nodded, then gave another soft cry. "Huohu..."
"You want to stay and help out for one last night? Fine, but since you're quitting, there won't be any pay. Go on."
"Huohu!"
Having received permission, Delphox immediately perked up, its earlier gloom swept away. Perhaps because this would be its last time working, it became especially serious about it.
Watching it run toward the back, Xingye, who had listened the entire time, remained expressionless. As he ate, he casually asked, "An employee at your shop?"
Slowking wore much the same expression. After biting the lollipop to pieces, he slowly replied, "More or less. It has worked here for two and a half years. It can't come every day, and sometimes it even shows up with injuries... But I hadn't seen it for over half a month, so I thought something had happened. Still, it looks quite energetic now."
"Quite energetic..."
Xingye glanced at Delphox, who had changed into a maid outfit and come back out. It happily went to greet the Machoke and Gurdurr who had just entered the shop. It certainly was energetic. He could not deny that.
By then, he had finally finished dinner. He stood up, patted Cyclizar—who had already wolfed down its meal and gone back to swatting at Slowpoke's tail—and said, "Let's go. Get some rest early. We still have to visit Nae-chan tomorrow morning."
"Cyclizar~"
Cyclizar stopped playing and left with him. But just as they reached the entrance, Slowking looked over with a calm expression and slowly said, "I don't know what you're planning, but you'd better not meddle in things that don't concern you. Especially since you're human. Trouble can easily find you."
"What would I do..."
As he spoke, Xingye looked back with a smile and continued, "I just want to go back and get to sleep early."
Before you continue