The Pokémon Professor

By the time Jet got home from hanging out with Brian it was dinner time. He was tired from walking around all day. He had applied two other establishments aside from the research center, one of which tore his application up in his face after learning he was only fourteen.

He could smell pizza baking in the oven while he watched his little brother, Ken, and sister, Anna, (both twins of about ten years old) set the table.

"How did job hunting go?" his dad, asked, "Did you make any headway?"

"Well…" Jet told his parents about his day job hunting.

"Wow," his mom, said, "you got your license on your first try?"

His dad was less impressed, "You're supposed to be making money, not spending what little money you have on something you're not even going to use."

Jet shrugged, "Got to spend money to make money dad."

His father looked as if he was about to say something, but changed his mind and just shook his head. Meanwhile Samson, the family Growlithe, put his paw on Jet's leg and gave him a "pet me" look. Jet began to scratch Samson under his chin, which earned him an appreciative tail wag.

The phone rang and Mrs. Brown answered it.

"Hello? Yes this is his mother. Yes he's right here."

Jet's mom gave him a big smile, held out the phone and said, "It's the research center."

Jet's heart skipped a beat as he picked up the phone and said, "H-hello?"

The voice in the phone said, "Yes, this is Professor Oak from the Pallet Town Pokémon Research Center, I was Just reviewing your application and wanted to know if you could come in tomorrow at eleven am for an interview?"

Jet heart was thumping in his chest. Professor Oak? The world famous Pokémon professor? Jet knew professor Oak ran the research center; he ran several research centers in fact. He never dreamed, however, that Oak would be personally interviewing him.

"Yes sir, absolutely!"

"Good, good. I'll see you tomorrow then." Click.

Jet looked at his dad, grinning. "What was that about wasting unnecessary money on a trainer's license?"

XXX

The next day found Jet and Brian sitting in a waiting room with four other applicants. Jet was the only one out the group that got fully dressed up for the interview. Khaki's, tie, dress shoes, the whole nine. This was something Brian was not above snickering at.

"Dude you look like you're going to church!"

"Shut up, ass-wipe."

Brian however, laughed some more. Jet looked around the room; everyone looked to be about his age, all with differing levels of nervousness. Good, he thought to himself, they probably don't have much more experience raising Pokémon than I do.

Then he heard a door open behind him, and a cute, red haired chick walked in the room. She looked to be about fifteen. She had brown eyes, a nose piercing, and she wore a stripped hoodie that she wore with the hood up. Jet could see a cord that looked like it belonged to head phones leading from her pocket to her dark red hair.

The mystery girl sat down next to Jet, picked up a magazine off the table next to her, and started reading. Her legs crossed, and her foot seemed to move to the beat of some unknown song. Jet tried to think of something to say to the red head, but nothing came to mind.

Brian, Jet saw, was also intrigued by her presence. He kept trying to steal glances at her, looking away when he saw Jet watching. A fat kid who sat across from her reached over and tapped her on the foot.

The red haired girl looked aggravated to be interrupted from her music. "What?"

"Aren't Professor Oak's granddaughter?" The fat kid asked, completely unaware that he just violated the read head's personal bubble.

"Last time I checked." Said the red haired girl, indifferently.

"So," continued random fat kid without a sense of personal space, "you probably got this job in the bag, huh?"

The red head simply put her ear bud back in, and ignored him. The fat kid must have gotten the hint, because he did not persist. Then the red head surprised Jet by talking to him.

"A little over dressed for a day care job, don't you think?"

She had a smile on her face when she said it, which gave him the courage to speak back.

"You may jest, but we'll see who's laughing when I get the job."

She smiled and revealed beautiful white, even teeth. "He's hiring three people today, not one."

Jet smiled back, "Thanks, good to know."

The red head smiled yet again, put her ear bud back in, and retreated behind the magazine in her hands.

A few minutes later, a door on the far end of the room opened, and a lady peeked her head out and said, "Amy, the Professor will see you now."

The girl next to Jet stood up, and walked in to the next room with who Jet assumed was the receptionist. Amy, so that was her name.

It was another five minutes before Amy walked back out and sat back next to Jet.

"Brian Chang!"

Brian gave Jet a nervous smile, and headed into the next room. It took Brian three times longer than Amy before he came back out again. Jet's heart was pounding with anticipation. But the lady called out a different name.

It was another hour and a half when Jet was the only one who has yet to see the professor. Whoever was being interviewed now should be out soon, and then Jet could get his chance.

Sure enough, the fat kid walked out the room looking smug, and the receptionist called, "Jethro Brown."

Jet stood up, feeling more nervous than he ever did in his life, and walked into the next room.

"Just go straight into his office, hun."

Doing as he was told, Jet moved forward, opening the door with the plaque that said,

PROFESSOR OAK

"Come in, and have a seat."

Jet sat down. The first thing he noticed was how weird it was seeing someone that he saw on TV in real life shuffling through some papers. The second thing he noticed was the live Pikachu sitting on Oak's desk.

The Pikachu looked extremely grumpy. When Jet sat down, The Pikachu gave him the grisly eye. Jet smiled at it, and the Pikachu rolled his eyes. Jet held out his hand and asked it, "May I?"

Pikachu considered him for a moment, and sighed and gave it a look that said, if you must. Jet reached out and scratched the Pikachu behind the ear. Evidently he must've found Pikachu's weak spot because its attitude changed immediately.

It hopped on Jet's lap and almost purred as he scratched the Pikachu's belly.

"Huh", Professor Oak said, "that Pikachu usually doesn't like people."

Oak considered Jet for a moment, and then began talking again. "It says here that you have just received your trainer's license yesterday, is that true?"

Jet' heart sank, I knew I should've gotten one earlier. He then nodded and said, "Yes Sir."

"It also says that you received a very high score on your exam. Impressive, considering most never pass it on their first try."

Jet felt a little ray of hope, "I'm a very quick learner, sir."

"Indeed."

Oak continued shuffling through papers before having Jet confirm that the information on the application was correct.

"I see you have no recent criminal charges… no work experience…" Oak seemed to be talking more to himself at this point, reading through Jet's papers all the while.

The professor than set the papers down on the table, and looked up at Jet. "Do you have any Pokémon at your house?"

"Umm, yes sir." Jet began nervously, "My mom has a Growlithe named Samson. She bought him as a puppy to help protect the house when my house got robbed three years ago. I feed him and walk him every day."

Professor Oak nodded, "Would you say that you have a positive relationship with this Growlithe?"

"Oh, yes sir. But then again, Samson likes everybody."

Jet suddenly realized that befriending an already friendly Pokémon probably wouldn't much impress Professor Oak. No doubt he was looking for an applicant who would be able to handle the most unruly of Pokémon.

Oak however, smiled again. He then asked, "Tell me about an experience in your life in which you had a difficult problem to solve. What steps did you take to solve this problem, and what were the results?"

Jet thought back; that's a hard ass question. It didn't help his cause, either, that the longer he sat their thinking, the more nervous he got from not being able to find a suitable answer. This, in turn, made it all the more difficult to concentrate.

Oak, who seemed to understand Jet's mental struggle, said, "Perhaps an experience from school? Perhaps maybe a project?"

Jet nodded. He thought yet again, and then said, "Well, when I was eight there was this bully at school who use to take my lunch every day. My dad, when he was younger, used to be a boxer. I asked him if he could teach me how to fight. I thought he would be mad, but he was the happiest I've ever seen him.

"So every day after school me and my dad would spend three hours practicing. It was usually a one hour workout, and two hours shadow boxing. My best friend, Brian, would practice with me a lot. We would spar all the time.

"By the time summer vacation was over and I went back to school, I was sure I was a good enough fighter to defend myself. Dan, the bully I told you about, tried to shake me down for my lunch money. I said no and then he tried to fight me.

"You see, I didn't know it at the time, but Dan had been taking karate lessons since he was five. So He still ended up kicking my-" Jet hesitated and then said, "butt. I didn't go out without a fight though. Ever since that day Dan never tried to take my lunch again."

Professor Oak laughed, "Certainly an original story." Jet smiled as well. Professor Oak scribbled something on a piece of paper and then asked, "Do you always solve your problems with violence?"

Jet realized his mistake in telling his story, "N-no sir! That was the first fight I ever got into. Well-" Jet corrected himself, "the first serious fight."

Professor Oak scribbled yet again. Jet felt thoroughly annoyed with himself, Me and my big mouth.

Pikachu, meanwhile, repositioned himself on Jet's lap so Jet was scratching its side. It gave a long, lazy chaaaaa as he did so.

Oak cleared his throat and said, "Name a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty for someone else."

Jet was able to answer this one a little easier than the other one, "Well, I taught my little brother and sister how to read when they were four.

"I would read to them every night. My sister, Anna, asked if I could teach them to read. So I just kind of.. did." Jet finished lamely.

Oak scribbled yet again. He then looked Jet in the eye and said, "One more question. Why should I give you this job when you have never raised a Pokémon of your own?"

Jet was afraid of this question, but he had an answer prepared, "I've read your paper about the art of raising Pokémon. You said that new trainers should keep in mind that respect for every individual Pokémon, as well as the confidence and patience to raise them, can be just as important as experience. I personally believe that I have these qualities.

"You go on to say," Jet continued, satisfied that Oak looked impressed by Jet knowing his work, "that while the bond between a Pokémon and their original trainer is sacred and irreplaceable, the individual Pokémon trusts in the leadership and dedication of the trainer for its own wellbeing. You say that if the trainer doesn't display these qualities and breaks that trust, then the bond between trainer and Pokémon will also break.

"Vice versa if one was to come along who isn't the original trainer," Jet gestured at himself, "comes along and displays these qualities along with a deep sense of affection for said Pokémon, then that trainer can form as deep a bond with that Pokémon as they would had they have captured the Pokémon in the first place, making them the original trainer."

Oak gave Jet a big smile, "I see you are well versed in my work."

Jet nodded, Yeah, I read that paper last night just for this interview, fast learner indeed.

Professor Oak scribbled once more on his paper and asked, "Do you have any questions of me about the position?"

Jet thought for a moment, "No sir, I read up on the position last night."

Oak nodded and said, "Excellent, just wait outside with the others, I'll make the announcement about my decision shortly."

Jet went back in to the waiting room and sat in between Brian and Amy, who were chatting freely. When Jet sat down Brian asked, "So, how did it go?"

Jet scratched his head, "It was kind of hard to tell, but I think I impressed him towards the end."

Brian smiled, "I hope we both get this job, working here won't be the same without you."

Amy leaned over and said, "So, Jet huh? You trying to be a Pokémon master like your friend over here?"

Jet shook his head, "I haven't got near the amount of dedication. I once saw this guy try to catch a Rattata with his bare hands."

Brian laughed, "I still got the scars to prove it too. Good times."

The three of them talked and laughed for about ten minutes, mostly about this years' regional Pokémon league coming up soon. When the Pokémon Professor walked in the room however, all went quiet.

"I have reached my decision. Thank you all for applying, but I only have three positions open. First I would like to congratulate my granddaughter Amy. I know for a fact that if anyone was qualified for this job, you are."

Amy smiled appreciatively at her grandfather before he continued, "My second choice, Brian Chang. I must say, I was most impressed with your in-depth knowledge about Pokémon and their capabilities. Also, I applaud your enthusiasm."

Brian stood right up shook Oak's hand and said, "Than you sir, you won't regret this I promise!"

Oak nodded and continued, "My final choice, Mr. Jethro Brown. I pride myself on being able to see the potential in young trainers. Let me tell you, if you work hard and hold on to your principles, I see great things in your future."

Jet felt a surge of pride as he, like Brian, stood up and thanked the Pokémon Professor, shaking his hand all the while. As the rest of the applicants begrudgingly left one by one, Oak gave Jet, Brian, and Amy instructions to be at the Research Center at 9 am the next morning.

Brian and Jet left the building, Brian being beside himself, "I can't believe we got the job! Oh man, wait until I tell everyone about this one! And did you see that girl Amy? Talk about smoking hot! And dude, she knows so much about Pokémon. I think I'm in love bro!"

Jet laughed and shook his head. He had just now noticed how nice of a day it was. He couldn't believe that his dad said getting a trainer's license was a waste of money.