Generic Pokemon Title

Jobless on a bench

Getting a job is easier than many people think. All you have to do is walk up to a store or office, ask if they have a job opening for a guy that knows a lot about computers, and hope that they don't kick you out because you have holes in your clothes and a poison type pokemon glued to your back.

Maybe I should put Fanny back in their ball?

I still don't know if they're a male or female...

"-and don't come back!" A shout interrupted my thought process before I was once again kicked out of the workplace.

Who knew getting a job when you aren't dressed to impress could be so hard?

"Sal?" Fanny asks as we once more start our search for the mystical treasure known as financial stability. "Sorry Fanny, We're gonna have to keep searching-" A loud grumble interrupts me, as I feel my stomach twist in hunger "-on second thought, Begging on the side of the road sounds like a good idea right about now. Just need a cardboard sign that says 'Need Food' and we're all set."

...

I drag myself to a nearby bench, and a flock of small yellow birds flies away as I approach and take a seat.

"Sala?" Fanny crawls from behind my back so they're seated on my legs as I lean back on the bench. A few of the yellow birds fly back and start pecking the floor and jumping around.

"Wattrel?" One of them says as it lands on the backrest of the bench.

"I need a job, food, and money, you know?" I tell the bird, it simply tilts its head at me, staring forward with its large dopey eyes, not a thought going through its small bird brain.

"So like, if you know anybody who has trouble with computers and is hiring, like, point them my way or something?" I ask the bird before leaning forward and placing my head in my hands. Fanny crawls up my legs until they're resting under my chin, my head above them.

"Who am I kidding, you're a bird, you probably don't even know what money is." I groan into my hands as I slowly slid down the bench until only my head is on it, the rest of my body on the floor, using the bench like an uncomfortable backrest or pillow.

The Shiny Salandit in my care climbs up to sit on the bench before it stands right on top of my head. Leaning forward a bit so it can look me in the eyes from above before it slapped my forehead with its tail, a mischievous glint in its smokey purple eyes.

It slapped my head with its tail again before weakly pushing my head off the bench.

Now I'm lying on the dirty floor, my Pokemon lying on its side on the bench, its chin held up by a small arm, striking a pose as if it owns not only the bench it pushed me off but the entirety of the small park we found ourselves sitting at.

"Sal Salan Dit," It said as it stretched its tiny reptile body on the bench, trying to take in both as much sunlight from the sky and amusement from my current predicament.

Maybe I should have skipped Fanny? Get a shiny starter that isn't a poison type?

Nah, I'll just get used to their shenanigans sooner or later.

I try to take a peek at Fanny as I weakly lift my head from the ground, only to instead be met face-to-face with what I could only describe as Marvin the Martian if he didn't have a body.

"Falinks!" It yelled, followed by five lighter "Links!" as it stared at me.

"Trooper, Did you find something?" a young woman calls out before the sound of steps quickly getting closer is heard.

Pushing myself off the ground to not embarrass myself further by being seen by a human being, I sit back on the bench, ignoring Fanny's weak attempt to push me off of it again.

Soon the source of the footsteps appears from behind a bend in the form of a teenage girl that seems to be around my new age, that is 17, wearing a black track outfit with yellow highlights near the cuffs of the jacket. Her long black her tied in a messy ponytail on the top of her head with two long bangs parting over the sides of her face, highlighting her fiery orange eyes.

As soon as she spots me, or more likely, my disheveled appearance, or shiny Salandit, she pauses. Takes a long look at me, before opening her mouth and asking,

...

"Are you okay?" The girl asks, And I know that although I know she's probably trying to be nice, I can't help but feel weird having a total stranger ask me that question, because "No, I'm not okay"

She looks at me a bit more before taking a seat on the other side of the bench, leaving a salandit-sized gap between the two of us.

"Do you want to talk about it? My dad always says that talking about our problems makes us feels better," She said softly as she looked down at her knees, likely too embarrassed to look me in the eyes.

I take a moment to think about what she just said, should I talk to her, a random stranger, about my problems?

I feel a nudge on my thigh, I look down to see Fanny pushing me, their purple eyes locked on to mine as they push my leg.

As the shiny salandit pushes me, both Physically and metaphorically, I nod my head.

"I'm homeless," I start, my left hand reaching out to pull Fanny closer to me, holding them in a soft one-armed hug, "I don't have a job, I don't have money, I don't have food" And I keep talking, "I'm good with computers but nobody will hire me because I look and smell like shit," And I continue to talk, "But I can't buy clothes or a shower because I don't have money because I don't have a job which I don't have because of the previous reason,"

And as I ramble about what's going on with my situation, how I'm low on cash and have to sleep on a bench, using Fanny as a heat-pack to keep myself warm through the night, the girl just sits there, listening to my problems, not interrupting when I accidentally go off-topic, not chastising me for being a crybaby.

She just keeps quietly listening.

...

After what feels like an hour but was probably just ten minutes, I stop talking and hug Fanny a bit closer.

"Okay," The girl begins to say as she stands up from the bench, stretching her shoulders and twisting her back loose, "I know a place that's looking for a computer guy just like you. The pay isn't much but it comes with employee living quarters," She leans down and stretches her legs, her fingers reaching for her toes as she bends her knee, "So follow me," She says as she jumps up from her crouched stretching position and lands on her feet with her back straight.

"Because I can get you a job," And the closed eye smile she's giving me right now will probably be stuck in my head for the rest of my life, with the sun reflecting off her hair, the small beads of sweat on her brow, and the bright shine from her teeth.

I think I might cry.

She grabs me by the hand and pulls me up from the bench, Fanny quickly climbs back onto my back before we get too far, and she starts dragging me out of the park and deeper into the bustling streets of the tourist town.

"Oh, I never got your name did I?" She suddenly stops and turns to look at me, a look of shock on her face if her wide eyes and shrunken pupils are anything to go by. A complete one-eighty from her demeanor not even ten minutes ago.

"Dishon," I respond, "My name is Dishon."

"Dishon huh? Nice to meet you, Dishon," She smiles as she practices saying the name a couple of times, most likely to remember it better before she looks me straight in the eyes and says,

"My name is Dendra,"