Hu Yang was delighted, but he kept his expression calm. After politely saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, he took Cramorant out to eat a bowl of ramen on the street.
He had originally assumed that Poké Dollars in this world had the same purchasing power as yen, but when it came time to pay, he discovered they were worth RMB.
He had a total of 480 Poké Dollars on him. After the noodles, he only had 470 left.
He needed to find a job. Hu Yang thought.
As for becoming a Trainer... that could wait until he had some money.
After eating, Hu Yang spent 140 Poké Dollars at a street stall on a hooded sweatshirt and khaki pants. Then, carrying his newly bought clothes, he went to a hot spring bath and washed up.
Once he was clean and refreshed again, he recalled Cramorant into the Master Ball and returned alone to the police station.
He first watched outside for a while. Once he confirmed that the Officer Jenny from that morning was not there, he swaggered inside and said to the Jenny at the front desk, "Hello, I'd like to register my identity. Is this the right place?"
Officer Jenny looked up when she heard his voice. The moment she saw who it was, her expression immediately turned strange.
Hu Yang's heart skipped a beat.
The next second, she asked, "Didn't you say your friend was the one who needed identification?"
Hu Yang suddenly found it hard to breathe. At that moment, he hated the fact that all Officer Jennys looked exactly alike.
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 did not understand.
Hu Yang took a deep breath and blurted out, "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?"
"Yes, Hu Yang, like the poplar tree." Hu Yang took the form, filled in basic details such as his age and gender, then handed it back.
Officer Jenny uploaded his information to the Hoenn database. A moment later, she handed him an identity card resembling an ID card and said, "All right. You are now a legal citizen protected by the Pokémon League."
"Thank you." Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
With the identity issue settled, the next problem was work.
After leaving the police station, he began looking into Petalburg City's actual situation.
In the Pokémon games, Petalburg City was the first town with a Gym that the player reached. It was also Dawn's hometown.
But unlike the tiny town with only a few buildings in the games, the real Petalburg City was already no smaller than a fifth-tier city in his old world.
"Petalburg Gym... its Gym Leader seemed to be Norman, who used Normal-type Pokémon?"
Since Pokémon Ruby had been released several years before he transmigrated, he could no longer remember some of the game's details clearly.
But challenging Gyms was far too distant a prospect for him right now, so he merely looked at the Gym from outside for a while before leaving.
Along the way, Hu Yang spotted plenty of job advertisements on storefronts and utility poles.
"Blue Sky Pokémon Cafe: One coffee maker needed. Requirements: strong interpersonal skills and professional coffee-making skills. Weekly salary: 700 Poké Dollars."
"Melemele Restaurant: Three cleaners needed. Main duties include sweeping floors and organizing and washing customers' used tableware. Requirements: hardworking and able to endure hardship. Monthly salary: 5,000 Poké Dollars."
"Voyage Advertising Company: Ten promotional planners needed. Requirements: proficient in software such as Photoshop and Word. Advertising majors preferred. Monthly salary: 6,800 Poké Dollars."
[Petalburg Pokémon Elementary School: Two teachers needed. Requirements: deep understanding of Pokémon ecology, familiarity with detailed information on every Pokémon, love for Pokémon, and preference given to those with Trainer or Breeder experience. Monthly salary: 6,000 Poké Dollars. Staff dormitories and three free meals a day provided. Interested applicants may come to the school for testing.]
No educational requirements?
Hu Yang's gaze stopped on the fourth advertisement.
Room and board 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 in the advertisement and arrived at the Pokémon Elementary School.
After he explained why he was there, the female teacher responsible for receiving applicants gave him a suspicious 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 because he developed late and had a baby face. "Teacher, you'll know once you test me."
The female teacher opened her mouth, still doubtful. After thinking it over, she reported the matter to the principal over the phone. The principal quickly gave his answer, only four simple words: "Let him try."
"All right, then. Follow me." The female teacher stood up.
Hu Yang followed behind her and soon arrived outside a classroom.
At that moment, the hallway was already crowded with applicants, most of them young men and women between seventeen or eighteen and their twenties.
The female teacher said, "They're all here to apply for this job, but we only need two teachers right now."
That was brutal. Hu Yang thought silently.
"You came just in time. The test is about to begin." The female teacher turned to the crowd and said, "Everyone, get ready to enter the examination room!"
Only then did Hu Yang realize that he had come in such a rush that he had not brought a pen.
The female teacher noticed as well. She was beginning to seriously suspect that this kid had come to mess with them. "Are you serious?"
Hu Yang: "..."
At that moment, a freckled girl beside him smiled and handed him a pen. "Use mine!"
"Thank you." Hu Yang sighed in relief and reached into his pocket for money. "How much?"
The girl smiled shyly. "No money needed. You're 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 was not actually a ten-year-old kid!
He treated others as peers, but everyone else treated him like a ten-year-old child.
Hu Yang was deeply depressed.
Soon, the test began.
This employment test had three parts. The first was a written examination, mainly testing applicants' understanding of Pokémon types and habits.
For example: "What counters Ghost-type Pokémon?" and "What are the Hoenn League's three starter Pokémon, and what are their Evolutions?" and so on.
Hu Yang answered smoothly. Naturally, none of this was difficult for a transmigrator like him.
The second part was an on-site assessment.
Applicants had to identify a Pokémon's injuries in front of the examiner, then find the Berries capable of treating it from a pile of Berries.
The applicants were divided into five teams and entered the room in groups of three for testing.
Hu Yang was assigned a Swellow. He stepped forward and examined its injuries, noticing an inconspicuous wound on its left wing and catching 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 slightly, though the movement was so subtle that it would be difficult to notice without getting close and observing carefully.
So it was not 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: Paralyzed (electrocuted and unable to move) Friendship: 0 (You don't know it, and it doesn't know you)
Just as he had expected.
For paralysis, he needed a Cheri Berry, along with a Persim Berry to treat the confusion.
Hu Yang turned around. This time, even without his cheat ability, he could find the corresponding Berries among the pile.
He fed the two Berries to Swellow one after the other, then stepped aside and said, "Done."
The other applicants and the examiner were stunned. They instinctively glanced at the clock on the wall.
Not even two minutes had passed.
That fast? How did he do it?
Unlike the applicants, the examiner knew that the test Pokémon had more than one abnormal condition.
They had deliberately set a trap. Anyone who was not careful could easily mistake the electrically scorched areas on the Pokémon's body for burns.
Furthermore, there were countless kinds 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. Let alone finding the exact ones from a pile after only taking one look.
From that alone, the examiner could tell that this young man was extraordinary.
He asked in surprise, "Are you a Breeder?"
If they recruited a Breeder, the school could advertise that it had professional Breeder instruction. Then they would never have to worry about failing to attract students again.
Before you continue