"3 Days"
By: SnapDragon
"You have three days."
Rotor couldn't believe what he was hearing. Three day? That's it?
The Dreepy stuttered, his ghostly tail swishing wildly behind him, "S-sir, you can't possibly expect me to-"
"I can and I will," declared the aged Slaking from behind his gaudy, wooden desk. "You took on this job willingly, and if you're going to complain then I guess I'll just have to find someone else."
"No!" Rotor shouted. "Please, I…I need this. Just…three days? That's preposterous!" He floated closer to the Slaking, hovering just at eye level. "How do you expect me to do this with so little time? And at this time of year?"
The Guildmaster shrugged. "Figure it out. Cause if you don't, some other pokemon will. That good enough for ya?"
Rotor stared at the ape incredulously. His eyes were wide to accentuate just how shocked he was. There was but one word that could describe the Dreepy's state of mind. One word to communicate just how much disbelief he felt at that moment. No other word could compare.
Regret.
Day One:
The city of Leger was an interesting one.
With it's rising elevations, levels upon levels of pokemon-made structures, and flower pots hanging from ropes, Leger never truly stopped growing. It still is to this day. This city is what many would call a "vertical urban environment." Very rarely is there a large, flat surface for pokemon to run on.
As such, Leger City became a haven for pokemon capable of climbing it's many heights. Ghosts, birds, and the occasional agile mammal such as the Infernape line thrive here. While Gogoats, Seakings, and Aggrons hold no ground.
Leger is like this because it only has so much square space. When it was first created, a dare was formed to see how much profit could be made with so little solid ground. The answer that the now mayor came up with was not to build to build out, but to build up. Leger soon became a hotspot for opportunists and business pokemon looking to make their place in the world.
Rotor was not one of them.
The Dreepy always seemed to find himself with the shortest straw. He never intended for it to be this way, it just happened. He never even intended to come to Leger! It was his "friends" that convinced him.
"Follow us to Leger!" they had said. "There will be plenty of opportunities for us to get rich there."
What a fool Rotor was.
Now Rotor is stuck, broke, and in crippling debt. Could things possibly get worse for our hero?
Yes. They can.
His boss offered him a chance to lift the burden quite a bit if he…well, Rotor wasn't quite sure. What he had to do was convince as many pokemon as he could to come to a public assembly in three days' time. Sounds easy enough…except it's harvesting season!
The gardeners are out and about, working at every level to get as much profit out of their crops as possible. Everyone will be busy! Meaning that Rotor will have to try extra hard to find willing pokemon to come experience…something. It's even worse considering that Rotor's boss never clarified why he's even doing this in the first place.
Rotor, naturally, spent most of his first day panicking.
"Ohnonononono! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?"
Rotor frantically spun in circles all the while screaming about how stressful the situation was. It was quite stressful, which was why Rotor searched for his only reliable friend in these trying times.
Though honestly, "reliable" is a strong word.
"I think you're overreacting," Rodney the Heracross said. "Doesn't sound too bad to me." He took a large bite of his lunch. A mushroom casserole—the specialty of a certain "Breloom-themed" establishment.
"That's because you aren't the one doing it!" Rotor fumed. "It's harvesting season and everything! How am I supposed to find enough pokemon in time?"
Rodney shrugged. "Iunno. Maybe you just start asking." He took another bite of his lunch.
The Dreepy zoomed up to the Heracross' nose and got as close as feasibly possible without phasing through him. "Oh yeah, lemme just ask random strangers to come to this…I don't even know what it is! Helluva sales pitch! May as well be asking about the census!"
Rodney simply watched Rotor rant. There was practically nothing in the Heracross' eyes. One had to wonder if he was even listening. "I still don't see what the big deal is. Pokemon say yes to anything you tell them. Like this: Hey Rotor, can you get me a Kelpsey Berry smoothie with extra cream?"
"No, Rodney, I'm not doing that."
"Oh."
Rotor sighed and floated back with his belly aimed at the sky. "I guess I could just make something up. As long as my story is consistent, no one will bat an eye, right?"
"Sure, buddy," Rodney lazily said. "I'm certain that things won't go horribly wrong in the end."
"…Could it?" Rotor's aerial drifting came to a halt.
"Mmmmm nah. You're good."
Rotor narrowed his eyes at the Heracross. All he could see was a pokemon too engrossed in his meal to even look in the Dreepy's direction. It was pretty obvious that Rodney was not going to be much help in this instance.
Reliable indeed.
Rotor didn't have many other options though. He either made something up and attracted as many as he could with the lie, or be honest and attract no one. The question was: what topic should he lie about?
Quite a bit of Rotor's first day was spent searching for inspiration and thinking about his situation. He needed a topic that caught the attention of many without being too far fetched.
What could he possibly…
…
WAIT.
THAT'S IT.
Farfetch'd and their different forms!
How the leak becomes a sword…the difference in coloration…it works! An interesting topic for all the bird pokemon in Leger AND the rich nerds that populate the city. It was bound to get the attention of some of them at least. And Rotor had at least some passing knowledge of the subject. It's perfect!
Now…to actually find the suitable pokemon…
Firstly, Rotor needed something to make himself seem more official. A clipboard would work—alongside a way to keep track of who he convinces to the assembly. Paper, believe it or not, is pretty good at that. Rotor went to the store and picked up a clipboard and some paper.
Took quite a while, what with the cashier being a particularly clumsy Gulpin. Every pokemon in line in front of him was frustrated by the time they left. Rotor was much the same.
Okay, bad start. Half of the day was already gone and the Dreepy was stressed out of his mind. The good news is that Rotor could finally get to work!
His first target: a Carnivine watering their hanging plants. Rotor floated up to the grass type, clipboard in hand.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"I don't want any," they said roughly. The Carnivine was not a sir.
"Oh whoops. Sorry. Um I-I'm not selling anything, I'm just-"
"Don't care."
"It has to do with-"
"Don't care."
"Please, just-"
"Still don't care."
That one didn't go so well.
Rotor's next attempt went slightly better. After zipping down to the lower levels, Rotor tried talking to a Machoke walking to work.
The Dreepy greeted them, "Hello, Machoke. Would you be interested in-"
"AAH!" Woosh!
The Machoke had gotten surprised and tried to attack Rotor physically. Luckily, the move went right through, but the resulting punch caused the Machoke to overextend and twist their body awkwardly. They fell to the ground as a loud snap sound rang out. Rotor could only watch in disbelief as they screamed in pain, clutching their shoulder.
Was that supposed to be better? Well, not really. Rotor just can't catch a break.
Rotor promptly left the scene feeling a little guilty. Though he was more angry that sunset would be soon and he had yet to find a willing pokemon.
After a couple more failures, Rotor had nearly given up. There were no pokemon that were interested in his chosen topic. Either that, or they'd just refuse to listen to him.
Granted, he only asked like, five pokemon…but still.
"Oh Arceus, what am I even doing?" Rotor asked himself out of frustration. His attempts to do much of anything had left him utterly distraught and exhausted. Now laying on a bench, the Dreepy could hardly find the energy to keep moving…
"Excuse me sir, are you okay?"
Rotor slowly lifted his head and met gazes with a small Fennekin. Her eyebrows were lowered out of concern and her ears were drooping in much the same way. She couldn't have been older than ten.
She had more to say. "Daddy doesn't like it when I talk to strangers, but you look like you're having a bad day. Can I help?"
Rotor was perplexed to say the least. Fennekin wasn't that common in Leger. Not to mention…this one just walked up to him and started talking. That doesn't happen all that often.
Time to take advantage of this opportunity.
"Actually yes," Rotor said with a renewed, friendly grin before floating up into the air. "You can help me."
The Fennekin tilted her head. "Um, I thought you were-"
"My boss and I are running a seminar on the evolutionary differences between the pokemon Farfetch'd and their other forms. It'll be in three days time at the public assembly. Can you be there?"
Rotor momentarily wondered about the consequences for lying to a child, but he just as quickly shrugged it off.
"Uh…" The Fennekin seemed conflicted. (And rightfully so.) "I might have to ask my daddy first…"
"Great! Yes! Bring the whole family! It'll be a wonderful time!" Rotor leaned in closer and whispered, "And not boring in the slightest."
The fire type tapped her paw against her chin as she thought. "Hmm…I guess. My parents never let me do anything," she grumbled.
Good enough for me. "I assure you, it will be fun for the whole family. Can I have a name?"
"Uh Jeri."
"Jeri! Great! Got it!" Rotor excitedly jotted her name down.
Yes! This is going well!
"Okay!" Rotor continued. "3 days time, public assembly. Be there."
"Um-"
"See you soon!" And just like that, Rotor sped off, a big grin plastered across his face. He didn't even bother to look back; he was too excited!
Yes, yes, yes! I got one! I got one!
Rotor was so excited that he spun around the city for an entire hour. An hour that left him utterly exhausted. So much so that Rotor decided to turn in early. More pokemon would be out and about and open for questioning tomorrow.
Oh yeah, Rotor's got it in the bag.
He went to sleep that night more confident in his abilities than he had in the last…few years of his life. There was no way that things could get worse from here.
Day 2:
To be fair, things didn't get worse on day two. Rotor's attempts to inspire interest in others went well.
Like so.
"Excuse me sir, would you be interested in viewing a seminar that goes over the regional differences between Farfetch'd and their two forms?"
"…You're in my house," mumbled the Rillaboom.
"Yes, but would you be interested?"
"How did you get in here?"
"Is that a yes?"
"…I'll…consider it."
"Great! Thanks!"
Rotor asked for their name, told them where it would be, then zoomed outta there! Another one secured!
Some went…less good.
"Excuse me, ma'am, would you be interested in-"
"Aaaah!" screamed the Swanna. "A g-g-g-ghost!" She fired off a vicious Water Gun before Rotor had the chance to say more, narrowly missing the ghost dragon. As Rotor flew away in panic, he wondered why this kept happening to him…
The rest of day two went more or less the same. He either secured another potential candidate or was nearly killed in one way or another. So in other words, it went well. Better than yesterday at least.
Rotor went to sleep that night once again confident that everything would turn out alright. Tomorrow will be even better!
Day 3:
Day three could be characterized by the lack of hope and distinct feeling of dread seeping into Rotor's very soul.
It rained. There goes a large portion of the potential pokemon that Rotor could talk to. The ones that were around preferred to stay inside. Not a problem except for the fact that one too many instances of Rotor entering houses unprompted…might've put him on a watch list? Alongside that, Rotor's list of confirmed attendees was…shoddy to say the least.
Most of the pokemon he talked to weren't that interested but put their name down anyways. And the few that were genuinely interested…won't get what they want. Rotor almost forgot that he has lied to basically all of them.
After failing a few times and getting all soggy, Rotor met up with Rodney again. The poor Dreepy needed a break.
"I just don't know what to do," the ghost dragon said. "I made a huge mistake, didn't I? Oh geez…"
"Oh it can't be that bad," the Heracross replied. "Not your fault you didn't know what to tell those poor schmucks. At least you're getting paid for it."
"…Yeah, but still…" Rotor was too tired to float so he laid on his back and looked at the underside of the umbrella above him. The rain droplets hit the azure blue cloth and drip…drip…dripped off onto the ground below. The table was cold.
Is Rotor a bad pokemon? Was what he did justified? These sorts of questions swam through his mind like a school of Magikarp. Slow and very obtrusive. He hated it.
None of this was his fault. Rotor was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had to join a guild to pay the bills and now he's doing the guild master's busy work. Believe it or not, Rotor wanted to get away from that kind of lifestyle. He wanted to be the kind of Dreepy that escapes the "ammo for a Dragapult" lifestyle and become a Dragapult himself. A shame that that just never worked out for the Dreepy.
Rotor sighed wistfully.
"You okay, Rotor?" Rodney asked, sounding at least a little concerned.
Rotor turned his head to face the bug type. "…No, not really," he muttered.
"Again, I think you're overreacting. Who cares that you lied; you're just doing what your boss told you to do."
"Yeah…"
Rodney rested his chin in his hands. "Would it make you feel better if I went and watched it tomorrow?"
Rotor moved his head to look back up at the umbrella. "It would help," the Dreepy said tiredly.
"Alright." Rodney suddenly stood up from his seat and turned to leave. "I'll be there. See you at the public assembly!"
As Rotor waved the Heracross away, he reflected on the fact that he didn't feel any better, nor did he feel like he made any progress.
…
…You know what? Maybe he's right.
A ghostly swoosh sound played out as Rotor pushed himself off the table and into the air. He became incorporeal to avoid the rain, flying past the falling liquid on his way back into the open.
I'm getting paid for this. So what if I lied? I gotta get out of this debt somehow!
For the remainder of Rotor's last day, he used every trick up his sleeve to win over the interest in others; going so far as to construct new lies he felt that would better suit the pokemon in question.
Because the more pokemon he managed to convince, the more likely Rotor would be paid more.
Hahahahaha! Nothing can stop him now!
Judgement Day:
Rotor's teeth chattered as he watched the pokemon fill the stands of the public assembly. Despite it being his goal, seeing so many pokemon made him quite nervous. More and more pokemon started showing up, and as time went on, the attendees became restless.
They talked. They asked why the other was here. Some outright left. A few he recognized stayed. Jeri, Rodney, even the Rillaboom that threatened Rotor with a restraining order. Rotor almost felt touched had it not been for the ever rising dread in his stomach.
Behind the stage and the large, red curtain, Rotor's boss and his assistants were preparing to perform. What they were actually planning on doing was a mystery to Rotor. He didn't want to know; the Dreepy was already panicking enough.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Dreepy said as he flew down to the ground, "are we going to be starting soon?"
The Jynx he was addressing didn't look in Rotor's direction as she replied. She was too busy putting on some strange looking makeup. "Should be."
Rotor floated there expecting more to be said, but it seemed that that was all he was going to get.
After a bit more waiting, a Lickilicky with a particularly lispy voice walked out from behind the curtain and onto the stage. His face was covered in messy but colorful makeup. Rotor watched from above, out of sight and with bated breaths.
"Ladiesss and gentlepokes, welcome to the first official Leger circus!"
The what?
And then the curtain opened.
There his boss was: dressed like a clown, riding on a unicycle, and juggling four red balls.
Rotor's jaw dropped.
The sight left the crowd speechless, their confused clamorings drowned out by the sound of the circus music. All of them were too shocked to get up and leave.
The Slaking continued to juggle as a Copperajah walked the tightrope above him while balancing a long stick. To the left of the Slaking, on the stage, the Jynx from earlier…breathed fire. An Ambipom was swallowing blades on the other side…for some reason.
The sight was so surreal and out of left field that the Dreepy was genuinely amazed for a moment.
Then it all went wrong.
The Copperajah got spooked by the fire, quickly losing their balance and falling onto the stage floor. The ensuing crash caused the Ambipom to choke and spit up the blades. Said blades flew across the stage and pinned the Jynx to the wall by her hair and dress. The Slaking, Rotor's boss, was launched off his unicycle and into the crowd. He flew headfirst and managed to get his head lodged in between the bleachers…right in front of little Jeri.
She screamed. Everyone screamed. All of the audience ran from the scene just as quickly as they arrived.
Rotor's jaw never closed.
Soon, the stage was quiet, and all that could be heard was the sound of the groans of the performers.
…And the sobbing of his boss.
Welp. That went horribly. Guess I'm not getting paid.
"Hey! You, Dreepy!"
Rotor looked down. The Jynx, despite still being pinned to the wall, was trying to get his attention. He flew down to see her. "Yeah?"
"Here." A small bag jingled as it hit the ground. "Boss told me to pay you when we finished…so here."
Rotor looked at the bag incredulously. "Wha…? But-"
"Take it or leave it. And help me outta here while you're at it."
Rotor floated down to pick up the bag, his eyes sparkling. It was so heavy that he could barely lift it. But it was his. All his.
"YAHOO!"
Rotor did a flip in the air. And another. And another.
"I did it! I did it! I did it!"
"That's great, kid. Now can you please-"
Rotor didn't hear anymore of what she said. He was too busy flying off into the city, bag of money in his hands. He was so excited that he disregarded everything else.
Finally! Something went right for Rotor!
(Now to account for the rest of the debt…)