- 887
- #1
This thread used for Amateur rank for Shelby Sirènes.
“It’s the rule kid,” he repeated, “you can’t leave Dovenport without a pokemon.”
“Couldn’t I just work the beaches in the city?” Pip asked, straining for a loophole. They’d managed to make it twenty-seven years without being personally and solely responsible for a pokemon. It seemed ridiculous that a bit of fine-print on their employment contract should succeed where Mémère had failed.
“Your contract requires if. Even if the bosses were going to be okay with someone working at the local beaches without being able to respond to possible unexpected dangers-”
They started to interrupt, but the official held up a hand to stop them.
“Dangers that require a pokemon – I’m sure you could haul a person back to shore, but you’re not going to be able to fend off a sharpedo with your backstroke.” The man preemptively countered. “As I was saying.” He cleared his throat. “Even if the bosses were going to be okay with it at the local beaches, it absolutely would not be okay outside of the city, and your contract specifically includes providing services at research and exploratory sites. Those will require you to have a pokemon, no exceptions.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
“I suppose…” the Fairlight HR officer hedged, “there might be a job for you at one of the private facilities. I don’t know how much work there would be at those though. Definitely not enough to constitute full time employment.”
Pip seriously considered this. Maybe there was an indoor pool or something? They knew the island didn’t exactly have a booming population, but there had to be a rec center or something, right? How hard would it be to support themselves here on a part-time lifeguard’s salary? They hadn’t realized as they were preparing to come here exactly how much life on the island seemed to revolve around doing odd-jobs for the various organizations on the island.
Maybe they should have done slightly more research before packing up their entire life.
The officer shuffled around Pip’s paperwork, organizing it into a neat pile in front of himself and reviewing some of the information there. “I’m not sure why you’ve applied for this job anyway. It says here you’ve got a degree in Marine Biology.”
“Masters.” Pip clarified, sheepish.
“A masters. You know they’ve got plenty of oceanic research projects going on here? It’s a few pay-grades higher than lifeguard too.”
“The… uh, the application process was shorter.” They mumbled. Honestly, they’d been in such a rush they just selected the first posting from the list that they’d met the qualifications for. Besides that, they’d seen that the research positions offered by the URA had stressed that staff would be provided with a pokemon while they waited for their personal team to make it through quarantine. They hadn’t realized that all of the jobs included that bonus.
“Oooookay.” The man was clearly just about run out of patience for dealing with Pip. “Just take the pokemon, kid. You can’t hardly do anything on this rock without one, and it’s free. Why are you fighting this? Most people would be happy to get a pokemon they didn’t have to pay or work for.”
How could they explain their situation without coming off like a total nutjob? I, a grown adult, ran away from home in order to avoid their great grandmother forcing them into a career in water-type specialty training? That, despite it being their literal job, that being in the water with pokemon made their skin crawl, and if they had their own pokemon they’d have to do it even more than they already did?
Before they could formulate a response, the man spoke up again.
“No more arguments. Just go to the Enrichment Center and pick one up – I have other people to see. You weren’t the only one who arrived on that boat, you know.”
Sweat was gathering on their neck. “I-”
“Now, kid.”
Pip smiled awkwardly at the man, nodding as they stood up. “Of course. Thank you.”
“You’ll be messaged your work schedule. I don’t want to hear that you’ve shown up to work without a pokemon. You might as well put that education of yours to use too. They’re still learning a lot about these Nauwillian pokemon.” He cast a glance at the door. “The URA keeps a board on what kind of information they’re looking for. Last I heard they’re eager for observations about all of these critters.”
“Thank you, sir.” Pip said again, maintaining the awkward polite smile. They got up and started moving towards the door with the air of someone walking towards their own grave. It wasn’t that they didn’t like pokemon. They liked pokemon just fine. They’d maybe even, sometimes, considered becoming a proper trainer. It was just… there was only one type of trainer they were really allowed to be, and that came with some things they’d like to avoid.
“Did you want me to tell you a bit about your options?” It was nice of him to ask, but…
“Eh… no. I know which one I’ll be taking.” Pip smiles awkwardly. “Thanks again. See you around.”
“Couldn’t I just work the beaches in the city?” Pip asked, straining for a loophole. They’d managed to make it twenty-seven years without being personally and solely responsible for a pokemon. It seemed ridiculous that a bit of fine-print on their employment contract should succeed where Mémère had failed.
“Your contract requires if. Even if the bosses were going to be okay with someone working at the local beaches without being able to respond to possible unexpected dangers-”
They started to interrupt, but the official held up a hand to stop them.
“Dangers that require a pokemon – I’m sure you could haul a person back to shore, but you’re not going to be able to fend off a sharpedo with your backstroke.” The man preemptively countered. “As I was saying.” He cleared his throat. “Even if the bosses were going to be okay with it at the local beaches, it absolutely would not be okay outside of the city, and your contract specifically includes providing services at research and exploratory sites. Those will require you to have a pokemon, no exceptions.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
“I suppose…” the Fairlight HR officer hedged, “there might be a job for you at one of the private facilities. I don’t know how much work there would be at those though. Definitely not enough to constitute full time employment.”
Pip seriously considered this. Maybe there was an indoor pool or something? They knew the island didn’t exactly have a booming population, but there had to be a rec center or something, right? How hard would it be to support themselves here on a part-time lifeguard’s salary? They hadn’t realized as they were preparing to come here exactly how much life on the island seemed to revolve around doing odd-jobs for the various organizations on the island.
Maybe they should have done slightly more research before packing up their entire life.
The officer shuffled around Pip’s paperwork, organizing it into a neat pile in front of himself and reviewing some of the information there. “I’m not sure why you’ve applied for this job anyway. It says here you’ve got a degree in Marine Biology.”
“Masters.” Pip clarified, sheepish.
“A masters. You know they’ve got plenty of oceanic research projects going on here? It’s a few pay-grades higher than lifeguard too.”
“The… uh, the application process was shorter.” They mumbled. Honestly, they’d been in such a rush they just selected the first posting from the list that they’d met the qualifications for. Besides that, they’d seen that the research positions offered by the URA had stressed that staff would be provided with a pokemon while they waited for their personal team to make it through quarantine. They hadn’t realized that all of the jobs included that bonus.
“Oooookay.” The man was clearly just about run out of patience for dealing with Pip. “Just take the pokemon, kid. You can’t hardly do anything on this rock without one, and it’s free. Why are you fighting this? Most people would be happy to get a pokemon they didn’t have to pay or work for.”
How could they explain their situation without coming off like a total nutjob? I, a grown adult, ran away from home in order to avoid their great grandmother forcing them into a career in water-type specialty training? That, despite it being their literal job, that being in the water with pokemon made their skin crawl, and if they had their own pokemon they’d have to do it even more than they already did?
Before they could formulate a response, the man spoke up again.
“No more arguments. Just go to the Enrichment Center and pick one up – I have other people to see. You weren’t the only one who arrived on that boat, you know.”
Sweat was gathering on their neck. “I-”
“Now, kid.”
Pip smiled awkwardly at the man, nodding as they stood up. “Of course. Thank you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Pip said again, maintaining the awkward polite smile. They got up and started moving towards the door with the air of someone walking towards their own grave. It wasn’t that they didn’t like pokemon. They liked pokemon just fine. They’d maybe even, sometimes, considered becoming a proper trainer. It was just… there was only one type of trainer they were really allowed to be, and that came with some things they’d like to avoid.
“Did you want me to tell you a bit about your options?” It was nice of him to ask, but…
“Eh… no. I know which one I’ll be taking.” Pip smiles awkwardly. “Thanks again. See you around.”
Last edited by a moderator: