Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
Summary: People think the Pokémorphs are on the bottom of the corporate ladder at team Cypher. Well they aren't.
"Hey son, did you find a job yet?"
"No I didn't find a job yet." I replied to my father.
"Well you can't live at home forever, you know."
"I know. I know." I replied "Why can't I just train Pokémon like my older sister does?"
"Pokémon training won't pay the bills. The more Pokémon you own, the more mouths you have to feed. You need more than six Pokémon to get anywhere in the world. Look at your sister, she has 30 of those critters and she is barely making ends meet." My dad explained. "If you want to work with Pokémon so badly, work with other people's Pokémon. You can't expect all of the professors and Joys to do all the work. Even they need assistance. Here." Dad said as he handed me the classified section from The Nanab Leaf.
I halfheartedly leafed through the paper and one of the ads caught my interest:
Wanted
Industrious person to assist in care of Pokémon.
No references required.
Long term employment.
Excellent benefits with salary
Immediate opening
No experience needed
Call Joy at 555-5136 ext. 398 for a vidphone interview
"Sweet. This is perfect for someone who is starting out. I'll do it. If anything, it will get my dad off of my back." I said to myself
I run up to my room and open my closet. I realize that I forgot to do the laundry again. I grab the cleanest shirt out of my hamper and checked its freshness. "Pew. It's a good thing people can't smell over the vidphone." I said to myself. I entertained the thought of doing the interview in just my underwear. After all you can't see below the desk. I decide to go the safe route and put on a pair of jeans, just in case I need to stand up for something during my interview. Finally, I comb my hair and put on my favorite hat with the Vulpix racing logo. "Wish me luck." I say to my stuffed fox plush toy.
"TCC how may I direct your call?" a blond man with a moustache asked me
"Extension 398 please. I am calling for the interview I saw in the paper." I told the gentleman
"One moment." The screen switches to an animation of a Blissy pulling a wire with the word connecting below it.
"Hello?" The nurse asked.
"Hi. My name is Kevin and I am interested in filling the position that was advertised in the paper." I told the nurse
"Great! Now call me old fashioned, but I prefer to do interviews in person. I'll send you an application and after you fill it out you can bring it with you when you interview." The nurse explained in an almost irritatingly cheerful voice as the application starts coming out of the printer attached to my dad's vidphone.
"First, I want to know your top five favorite Pokémon."
"Well, I really like Vulpix. That is my most favorite Pokémon in the world. The other four are Ninetales, Eevee, Raichu, and Growlithe. May I ask why?" I asked with a smirk.
"I don't see why not." The nurse said with a grin.
I quickly responded with. "Why do you need to know my top five?"
"It tells us what kind of person you might be. According to my chart, you should be a clever person that thinks on his feet."
"I think that is pretty true." I quipped
"I am interested in meeting with you. Could you stop by tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. sharp. Come to the address on the application and I will have an escort waiting for you at the gate."
"Great, see you tomorrow Joy."
"Ok Kevin. Goodbye."
"Hey Dad! I got an interview."
"Well congratulations, where is it at?"
"It's really close by. I think it is in that industrial park."
"You mean the park next to the Viridian gym?"
"No, it's actually a couple of miles away from that. I am going to be caring for Pokémon."
"I don't know Kevin; I have heard reports of strange things happening around there. I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do but, I really think you should look else ware for a job."
"I'm not worried. They have guards posted around the place."
The next day, I said my goodbyes to dad and mom and began riding my bike towards the industrial park with the application neatly folded in the pocket of my clean clothes. As I approached the guard shack I noticed one of the guards give me a look that sent a chill down my spine. I brushed it off and approached the shack.
"May I help you?" A guard dressed in black asked me
"Yeah. I am here for an appointment with Joy. I have an application. Here you go." I said as I handed the printout to the guard.
The guard looked at the form and then he glanced at his watch. "You're early. She is not expecting you for another half hour."
"I know. To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is to not care about your job. I got that from some TV sitcom." I explained to the guard as I notice his partner pick up a black phone.
"Those are words to live by. Anyway you may park your bike behind the shack."
"Thanks." I replied
"I understand." I heard the other guard say before hanging up the phone. "I am supposed to escort you to your appointment. Follow me."
I followed the guard through a maze of halls and corridors until we reached a door with the name 'Joy' engraved on a plaque. He reached out with a gloved hand and pressed the button on the side of the door.
"Yes?" The speaker announced as it crackled to life.
"Your ten o'clock is here nurse."
"I see he is early, A very admirable trait. Come in, Come in."
I heard a buzz as an electric lock released the door and the guard opened it.
I walked in and helped myself to a seat after shaking the nurse's hand. The guard closed the door and stood in the room behind me.
"Welcome to TCC. Right now we are in desperate need of a janitor." Joy began to speak.
"Why? What happened to the last one?" I asked
"He was promoted to work in another area." The nurse said.
"How do you get promoted?"
"You are ambitious, I like that. All employees are given a Pokémon to, oh how should I say this um, bond with. If we see that you bond really well with your Pokémon, then you get promoted."
"Do I get to choose which Pokémon I get?"
"Sorry, but Pokémon are chosen at random. The previous janitor received a Gulpin."
"He must really like his Pokémon then."
"Yep, He started out wanting nothing to do with it. After he realized that Gulpin eat everything and anything, he started feeding it floor sweepings and he no longer needed to push around a trashcan. He was able to do his job faster, and Gulpin was able to evolve into a Swalot. They bonded very nicely."
"What happens to someone that doesn't bond with their Pokémon?"
"They are no longer allowed to work for us. The Pokémon get sent to a special center staffed by our best employees where they are taken care of."
"That's a relief. If I decide to take this job, is there any way I can choose my partner?"
"It just so happens that we just completed an inventory of the Pokémon that are not bonded with an employee. Here is a list of Pokémon we still have available. Circle six and notate your order of preference."
I can't believe it! All my favorite Pokémon are on this list! I think I am going to like it here. I circled my five favorites. Now it is time to pick the sixth Pokémon. I read the list and I realize that none of the Pokémon comes even close to my favorites. I could just circle anything but what if I end up with my sixth choice? I could just leave it blank but then I could be stuck with a Weedle. Well I think this one is a dog, a funny looking one that I have never seen in person, but it is a dog. I'll pick that one. Not that it really matters. After all, the chances of having none of my favorites here is slim to none.
"This is an impressive list you have here. I would love to be your employee. When can I start?" I asked as I handed the list to the nurse.
The nurse runs her hand through her hair and looks above my head briefly. "How does now sound to you?" The nurse smiled.
"Really?" I said as I stood up to shake her hand. "That would be-"
"So, is he out?" I asked my friend.
"He is out cold, just like you asked me to, Joy." The guard said
"Good, take him to the lab so he can be properly bonded with his new Pokémon." I said as I stood up from my leather chair.
"Which Pokémon should I retrieve?"
I looked at the special list that I prepared just for my new experiment slash employee and compared it to his list from our vidphone conversation.
"Bring me the sixth Pokémon on the list."