Looking for Work

Hu Yang was delighted, but he kept his expression neutral. After politely saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, he took Cramorant out for a bowl of ramen.

He had assumed that Pokémon League currency had the same purchasing power as yen, but when it came time to pay, he discovered it was actually closer to RMB.

He only had 480 Poké Dollars on him. After the ramen, he was down to 470.

I need to find a job, Hu Yang thought.

As for becoming a Trainer... he could wait until he had money.

After eating, Hu Yang spent 140 Poké Dollars at a street stall on a hoodie and a pair of khaki pants, then took his newly bought clothes to a hot spring bath and cleaned himself up.

Once he was clean and refreshed again, he recalled Cramorant into the Master Ball and returned to the police station alone.

He watched outside for a while. After confirming that the Officer Jenny from that morning was not there, he strode inside and said to the Jenny manning the front desk, "Hello, I'd like to register my identity. Is this the place?"

Officer Jenny looked up at the sound. When she saw who it was, her expression immediately turned a little strange.

Hu Yang's heart skipped a beat.

The next second, she asked, "Didn't you say your friend needed to get identification?"

Hu Yang suddenly found it hard to breathe. At that moment, he hated the setting where every Officer Jenny looked exactly the same.

He couldn't tell them apart!

Forget it.

No more pretending. He was coming clean!

"Actually, that friend I mentioned was me..."

Next, he made up a backstory for himself involving parents who hated human society.

"Then why did you say it was your friend?" Officer Jenny asked, confused.

Hu Yang took a deep breath and made up an excuse. "Because before they died, they told me not to trust anyone in the human world."

"I see..." Officer Jenny had been on the job for many years and had encountered people like that before. She took out a form from a drawer and asked, "Your name is Hu Yang, right?"

"That's right. Hu Yang, like the poplar tree." Hu Yang accepted the form, filled in basic information such as his age and gender, then handed it back.

Officer Jenny uploaded the information to the Hoenn database. A moment later, she handed him an identity card similar to an ID card. "All done. You're now a legal citizen protected by the Pokémon League."

"Thank you." Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

The identity problem was solved. Next came the job problem.

After leaving the police station, he began looking into Petalburg City's situation.

In the Pokémon games, Petalburg City was the first town with a Gym that players reached. It was also Dawn's hometown.

But unlike the small town in the games, which only had a few buildings, the real Petalburg City was no smaller than a fifth-tier city in his old world.

"Petalburg Gym... its Gym Leader was Norman, who used Normal-types, right?"

Pokémon Ruby had been released several years before he was transported here, so he could no longer remember some of the game's details clearly.

But challenging Gyms was still far too distant a prospect for him, so he only stood outside the Gym for a few moments before leaving.

Along the way, Hu Yang saw plenty of job advertisements posted on storefronts and Electric-type poles.

"Blue Sky Pokémon Cafe: Seeking one coffee-making employee. Requirements: good communication skills and professional coffee-making skills. Weekly salary: 700 Poké Dollars."

"Melemele Restaurant: Seeking three cleaners. Main duties include sweeping floors and organizing and washing tableware used by customers. Requirements: hardworking. Monthly salary: 5,000 Poké Dollars."

"Voyage Advertising Company: Seeking ten advertising planners. Requirements: proficient in software such as Photoshop and Word. Advertising majors preferred. Monthly salary: 6,800 Poké Dollars."

"Petalburg Pokémon Elementary School: Seeking two teachers. Requirements: deep understanding of Pokémon ecology, familiarity with the specific information of every Pokémon, love for Pokémon, and prior experience as a Trainer or Breeder preferred. Monthly salary: 6,000 Poké Dollars. Staff dormitories and three free meals a day provided. Interested applicants may go to the school for testing."

No educational requirements?

Hu Yang's gaze stopped on the fourth job listing.

Meals and lodging included, with a monthly salary of 6,000. Of all the jobs he had seen, this one suited him best.

And he happened to meet their requirements.

After giving it some thought, Hu Yang followed the address on the advertisement to the Pokémon Elementary School.

When he explained why he was there, the female teacher responsible for receiving applicants gave him a doubtful look. "Are you even ten years old?"

Hu Yang was speechless. He decided that from now on, he would tell people he was already twelve. The reason he looked so young was simply because he developed late. "Teacher, just give me a try and you'll know."

The female teacher opened her mouth. Still unconvinced, she thought it over and reported the matter to the principal by Electric-type phone. The principal quickly gave a response with only four words: "Let him try."

"All right, then. Follow me." The teacher stood up.

Hu Yang followed behind her and soon arrived outside a classroom.

By then, the area outside was already crowded with people applying for the job, most of them young men and women between seventeen or eighteen and their twenties.

The teacher said, "They're all here to apply for this position, but we only need two teachers."

That's brutal, Hu Yang thought silently.

"You came just in time. The test is about to begin." As she spoke, the teacher said to the crowd, "Everyone, get ready to enter the examination room!"

Only then did Hu Yang realize that he had come in such a hurry that he had forgotten to bring a pen.

The teacher noticed it too. She seriously suspected that this kid was here to mess with them. "Are you serious?"

Hu Yang: "..."

At that moment, a freckled girl beside him smiled and held out a pen. "Use mine!"

"Thank you." Hu Yang sighed in relief and reached into his pocket for money. "How much?"

The girl smiled shyly. "You don't need to pay. Are you here to apply for this job too?"

"Yeah." Hu Yang nodded gratefully.

"Then good luck!" The girl patted his head.

Hu Yang felt incredibly awkward. Damn it, he wasn't really a ten-year-old kid!

He treated others as equals, but everyone else treated him like a ten-year-old child.

Hu Yang was deeply depressed.

Soon, the test began.

The employment test was divided into three parts. The first was a written test, mainly assessing the applicants' knowledge of Pokémon types and habits.

For example: "What counters Ghost-types?" and "What are the three starter Pokémon of the Hoenn League, and what are their evolved forms?" and so on.

Hu Yang answered smoothly. As someone who had been transported here, questions like these naturally posed no difficulty for him.

The second part was an on-site assessment.

In front of the examiners, applicants had to identify a Pokémon's injuries and select the Berries capable of treating them from a pile.

The applicants were divided into five teams and entered the rooms in groups of three for testing.

Hu Yang was assigned a Swellow. He stepped forward to inspect its injuries and found a barely noticeable wound on its left wing. He also caught a faint burnt smell.

A burn?

No. If it were a burn, Swellow would not be lying on its side without moving.

Moreover, Swellow's body was twitching faintly. It was difficult to notice such tiny movements without getting close and observing carefully.

So it wasn't a burn. It should be paralysis.

With that thought, Hu Yang used his cheat ability on it.

[Species: Swellow ♂]

Type: Normal, Flying

Ability: Scrappy

Base Stats: 455 (HP: 60, Attack: 85, Defense: 60, Special Attack: 75, Special Defense: 50, Speed: 125)

Known Moves: Peck, Quick Attack, Air Slash, Brave Bird, Aerial Ace

Current Mood: Confused

Physical Condition: Paralysis (Electric-type paralyzed and unable to move)

Friendship: 0 (You don't know it, and it doesn't know you)

Just as he had expected.

To treat paralysis, he needed a Cheri Berry, along with a Persim Berry to cure confusion.

Hu Yang turned around. This time, even without using his cheat ability, he could find the needed Berries in that pile.

He fed the two Berries to Swellow one after the other, then stepped aside and said, "All done."

The applicants nearby and the proctor were shocked. They instinctively glanced at the clock on the wall.

Less than two minutes had passed.

That fast? How had he done it?

Unlike the applicants, the proctor knew that the Pokémon used for the test had more than one abnormal condition.

This was a trap they had deliberately set. Anyone who was not careful could easily mistake the Electric-type scorched areas on the Pokémon's body for burns.

There were also countless types of Berries. Most people were more familiar with the Pokéblocks made from them.

Other than professional Breeders, outsiders found it difficult to distinguish the specific effects of different Berries, much less identify the right ones from a pile after only one glance.

From that alone, the proctor could tell that this boy was extraordinary.

He asked in surprise, "Are you a Breeder?"

If they recruited a Breeder, the school could advertise that it had a professional Breeder teaching there. They would never have to worry about failing to attract students again.