Ch. 26 - Chairman

"Sigh, It's been a long and eventful day. I guess I should exit the Pokemon world now." I said as I made my way to the sitting area of the Pokemon Center and exited the Pokemon World.

After exiting the Pokemon world, I was so tired that I went to sleep after eating my fill.

[Next Day]

Waking up fresh in the morning, I ate whatever I had and entered the Pokemon world.

Coming to my senses, I found myself back in the sitting area in the Pokemon Center.

'Now that I am in 'Vermilion City', I need to prioritize what I need to do first.'

'The most important things to do in 'Vermilion City' are...'

'1 - Get the Cut HM from the captain of S.S. Anne.'

'2 - Beat the Gym Leader of 'Vermilion City'.'

'3 - Get the 'Item Finder' from Professor Oak's Aide.'

'4 - Get the Bike Voucher from the chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club.'

'Everything else is secondary.'

After making a roadmap in my mind, I got up and started heading toward the exit of the Pokemon Center, but just as I passed a female NPC, she stopped me.

"The urge to battle with someone you've tangled with before..."

"Have you ever had that urge? I'm sure you have. I wanted to battle certain people again over and over, too."

"So, I've been giving these away. Please, take one." said the NPC.

[You obtained the 'VS Seeker']

"Use that device and you'll find Trainers looking for a rematch. You have to charge its battery to use it, though." After saying that, the NPC stood silent.

'That's new, I don't think I got something like this when I played the game but then again, I only played the game for fun and nothing serious.'

I looked at the 'VS Seeker' to get more information from the system.

[VS Seeker - A device that indicates Trainers who want to battle. The battery charges while traveling.]

'From what I can understand, this device will indicate if a Trainer wants to have a Pokemon Battle. And by Trainer, I should be referring to the NPCs.'

'This might come in handy as it would show me which NPC is going to force me into a Pokemon Battle, and based on that, I can avoid them if needed.'

'And if what the NPC said is true, then I can also have a rematch with the NPC trainers.'

Putting the 'VS Seeker' into the backpack, I exited the Pokemon Center.

'Let's first complete the easy task, which is to get the Bike Voucher from the chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club.'

It was easy to find the Pokemon Fan Club as there was a sign at the front of the club building that read:

<Pokeon Fan Club>

<All Pokemon fans welcome!>

After looking at the sign, I entered the clubhouse. Inside, many NPCs were sitting along with their Pokemon.

At the center was an old man who must be the chairman of the club.

Moving up to him, I interacted with him.

"I chair the Pokemon Fan Club."

{Image Of The Chairman}

"I raise more than a hundred Pokemon. I'm very fussy when it comes to Pokemon. I surely am. So..."

"Did you come visit to hear about my Pokemon?" asked the Chairman.

[Do you wish to hear about the Pokemon Fan Club's Chairman's favorite Pokemon?]

[<Yes > <No >]

'I wonder what would happen if I press <No >. Thinking back, didn't the Team Rocket grunt also act differently? should I give it a try?' curiosity and intrusive thoughts started to flood my mind.

'No, No, I can't risk losing the Bike Voucher.' dispersing the intrusive thoughts, I pressed <Yes >.

"Good! Then listen up, My favorite Rapidash, it's... Cute... Lovely... Smart... plus... Amazing... You think so?..." said the Chairman with a weird look.

Just the way he said that sent goosebumps down my body.

"Ye..." Before I could complete my sentence, he continued.

"Oh yes... it's... stunning... kindly... love it... hug it... when... sleeping... warm and cuddly... spectacular... ravishing... oops! Look at the time."

'Something is definitely weird about this old man, but what do I care? I'm only here for the Bike Voucher.'

"I kept you too long. Thanks for hearing me out." said the Chairman as he went back to his work.

'Uh? Shouldn't this old man now present me with the Bike Voucher as compensation for wasting my time?'

After waiting for a few moments, nothing happened. So I interacted with him again, but nothing happened.

'Something is definitely weird here. This is not going as how it should according to the game.' I thought.

Thinking about it, I got up and looked around the Clubhouse. Maybe to get some answers or clues about my current situation or to distract myself from the thought of not getting the Bike Voucher and actually having to save money to buy the Bike.

'Maybe this could be the reason for the difference in the price of the Bike compared to the game.' I thought as I looked around.

The clubhouse was relatively small but had a cozy design. There was a small bookshelf and two signs hanging on the wall.

I looked at the bookshelf and the signs.

The first one read:

<Let's all listen politely to other Trainers!>

While the second one read:

<If someone brags, brag right back!>

Looking at the second sign, I noticed something strange. There was something like a piece of paper peaking from behind the second sign.

I took a quick look at the Chairman and other NPC who were busy with their own activities.

I carefully pulled out the paper, which happened to be a Photo.

[You found a Mysterious Photo (Quest Item)]

All I can say after looking at the Photo is that I will be needing more than just Bleach to clean my eyes.

It was a photo of the Chairman along with his Rapidash and his other Pokemon engaged in rather questionable activities.

'Who would have thought that the Chairman of The Pokemon Fan Club likes to be dominated and that too by Pokemon.'

Just as I was about to put the photo back, a notification came.

*Ding*

[New Quest]

[Quest - Taste Of Old Man {Unique}

Description - You have stumbled upon the secret of the Chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club. You can choose to confront the Chairman about this, and you might get something in return, or you can choose to stay quiet about it.

Reward - Depending upon the Chairman

Deadline - Before the end of the day.

Failure - None]

[<Accept > <Reject >]

'Ah, So that is how I am going to get the Bike Voucher. I would need to blackmail the old man to get it.'

'No wonder he was talking in such a way. All I can say is that everyone has their own taste.'

Clicking on the <Accept >, I made my way back to the Chairman who was engaged in a talk with another NPC.

I tried to interact with him, but similar to last time, nothing happened, so I took out the photo and quickly flashed it in front of him.

Just as I did that, the color of the old man's face changed instantly as his expression turned serious.

"Where did you get that?" he asked me in a serious voice as he tried to snatch the photo from my hand.

"I don't know, you tell me? Is this yours?" I said back to him while putting away the photo.

"That is a private photo, give it back."

"Yes indeed it is, but what do you think will happen if I showed it to everyone present here."

"Don't you dare."

"Oh, I wonder what they would think? The love of Chairman of the Pokemon Fan Club for the Pokemon is more than what meets the eye."

"Sush, stop talking."

"They will know how the Chairman is in sexual relations with his Pokemon and how he likes to be dominated by them. Now that I think about how you even do that, you and Rapidash."

"Wait, don't tell me, I don't want to know." I said before he could speak.

The Chairman went quiet for a moment, and after some time, he took something out of his Pocket.

"This is a Bike Voucher. You can take it to the Bike Shop in 'Cerulean City', and you will be able to exchange it for a Bicycle free of charge."

"I want you to have this in exchange for the photo and keeping quiet about it."

[Do you agree to exchange the 'Mysterious Photo (Quest Item)' for 'Bike Voucher (Unique)']

[<Yes > <No >]

There is no point in choosing <No > as I'm doing this to get the Bike Voucher, So I pressed <Yes >

[You have extorted a Bike Voucher from the Chairman]

[You gave the Mysterious Photo (Quest Item) to the Chairman.]

"I knew I shouldn't have placed it behind the sign, but I thought no one reads them." said the Chairman as he took the photo.

"Sign, I was meaning to put it somewhere else tonight. What bad luck."

'That explains the deadline, the old man was going to put the photo somewhere else tonight and he would have found it missing since I took it.'

'The only reason I was able to successfully blackmail him was because of the surprise and the presence of other NPCs.'

'Now that I think about it, I remembered hearing in my previous world that it is normal for a person and a Pokemon to be in relation in the Pokemon World.'

'So, I was only able to succeed because the old man didn't expect anyone to find the photo and because of that he couldn't think straight and ended up giving the Bike Voucher in exchange.'

'If I hadn't completed the quest by the end of the day then the old man would have found out that the photo is missing and he would have come up with something to save himself.'

'Or I could be wrong and the deadline was part of the quest created by the Pokemon World for no reason.'

Leaving the Chairman to lament about his situation, I exited the Clubhouse.

"Now, I can 100% say that even though this world is similar to the Pokemon games, it is not the same, and there are many hidden things in it. But if this world is not the same as the Pokemon game then why do the people of this world act as NPCs."

"Why do they have scripted dialogues? Did the Chairman have scripted dialogues of the blackmail situation too? or did he acted independently?"

The more I thought about it, the more puzzling it became.