Chapter 36: The Offer of the Week

Thank you to my new Patrons: Failure Ninja, NDF 07, Neil Swan, Cristopher Lee, AskAskNOT, Griffus, Jared, ThetaSigma, Vinicius Silva, Ityaboytrav, Guisarme, Seba, GenericKane, TofueatingCat, Matthias Gerhards, M B Smith, Kevin, karl, Kevin, Kenny Kassongo, James R Woolbright, Alek M, Tae Correia, Yuval, Journey_Man Mike, SouthMonk

-/-

The cleaning of the Ponyta stables might have been just a small step for a hobo, but it had been a large step for Hobokind. The Stinky Hobo, with his two badges, could now afford the occasional haircut in addition to other necessities.

One should note here that what Stinky Hobo considers necessities is very different from what other people consider necessities. A man who has been rejected by society and forced to wander the earth with nothing but the clothes on his back, if even that, naturally has very different standards than most people who are gainfully employed and living in a town where the minimal living standard is at least owning one's house.

No, the Stinky Hobo was able to fulfil his desires with expired food, second-hand clothing, a tent and some miscellaneous items.

However, now that the Stinky Hobo had gained a somewhat reasonable amount of money per month, he was starting to grow more and more greedy. 'If this was how good my life looked like on two badges, then how would it feel if I had three?'

It was here that the Stinky Hobo decided to continue his journey to Saffron which was a short walk southwards from Cerulean.

Unfortunately, I must report here that according to the Stinky Hobo, the fighting-type gym of Saffron was not very interested in allowing a human without a Pokemon to take on their gym challenge. The venerable leader of the gym, master of the Tyrogue line Keng had the Stinky Hobo beaten within an inch of his life and thrown out of the city for daring to besmirch the name of the gym with his presence.

Unpleasantness aside, the Stinky Hobo managed to drag the broken sack of bones he called a body to Celadon, where he licked his wounds and was assigned a task more reasonable than fighting 17 different martial arts practitioners and two Mankey.

Unfortunately, it was here that the Stinky Hobo got a job which was not immediately suited to his talents. He had received the task to catch some Oddish for the gym who would then train them into Gloom which would then be used to produce perfumes. 

The issue in this task is naturally that due to his smell, Pokemon went out of their way to avoid the Stinky Hobo, which made catching the Oddish a bit of a dilemma.

The Stinky Hobo went out into the forest but found no Pokemon, he laid traps but found no success, but where innovation failed, money succeeded.

Having stayed for six months in Celadon living the life of a vagrant, the Hobo had saved enough money to simply purchase the requisite Oddish from another trainer. The task had never had a time limit and so the Stinky Hobo succeeded once again due to his ingenuity and his ability to calculate that the money spent now on completing the mission would be repaid by the heightened stipend within the year.

-/-

An "enter" resounded from within, and Miss Elvis went behind the desk, nodded to Joey, and sat down.

The Youngster shrugged and put his hand on the round bronze door handle, pushing inwards with more force than necessary as he'd expected it to be heavier. The handle slipped out of his fingers, and the door smashed against the wall behind it, causing him and the principal to wince.

"Sorry about that," Joey said awkwardly and pulled the door back, noting a slight indent in the wall. They really should have installed some stoppers...

The portly principal with the handlebar moustache laughed awkwardly and bid him to sit down in a leather-padded wooden chair. 

Joey sat down as he looked around the office. It was a nice office, very old style, cool, with lots of polished wood and old tomes. The wall behind the principal was simply one large pane of glass from which he could glimpse the edges of the battlefields that Joey had been at previously. A good position to be in if one ever wanted a sneak peek at the progress of the students.

"Jonathan, I'm quite glad you finished early enough so we could have a little chat," the principal began.

"Just call me Joey," the Youngster said, taking off his blue cap and running his fingers through his sweaty hair. It was quite a hot day, but thankfully, autumn would be over soon, and winter would start. Then, when it was winter, he would be able to complain that it was too cold.

"Joey then," the principal began with a small smile. "You're quite the impressive Youngster. I actually track the trainer profiles of everyone we hire for a job. I think it's quite unprecedented how far you've gotten in just eight months. You weren't slacking on the theoretical either, as I saw that you scored second out of everyone in the exam. Third place of all time."

Joey wondered where exactly the man was going with all of this. Had he just brought him here to compliment him? No, Joey was getting the feeling that he was getting buttered up for something. Not that he minded. He puffed out his chest and leaned back in the chair confidently. 

"All in a day's work," he said cockily.

"Have you already thought about what you will be doing for next year when you set out on your trainer journey?" the principal asked. "In terms of stables and sponsorships?"

It was an interesting question, one that Joey had considered for quite a long time now. As a trainer, he was facing several structural financial issues. While lodging and healthcare would be free as long as he was in an area with a Pokecentre, the same could not be said for nutritious food for his Pokemon, technical machines and other equipment he would need. 

The list also included clothing, training equipment, a tent, repels, health potions, and antidotes. Joey was receiving a stipend based on the number of badges; however, he would need more Pokemon for each additional badge. The amount was fixed as always insufficient to thrive on laziness. The League wanted to incentivise trainers to battle and financially punish those who weren't good at it. Similarly, if the trainer population was too rich from just the stipend, they wouldn't do the jobs that needed to be done around the towns they visited.

In this way, one obviously couldn't rely on the stipend to succeed. In a way, Joey actually had an advantage as a youngster. He stayed in the city for a year before going on his journey, meaning he could save up some money. Living for free at the orphanage meant that he never had to camp out, which meant that he didn't need to sustain the necessary supplies. He'd been saving since day one, although he had put everything on the bet, which increased his savings even more. The way things were now, assuming the expected journey costs with the monthly stipend and with Joey's current savings, he could actually do the entire thing without taking on jobs or even battling. He even had enough for a few technical machines here and then.

However, the main issue lay in the fact that Joey's battling strategy was actually a financial loss already now with three badges. It would only get worse later. After all, he didn't usually fight battles he was very sure of winning. As he gained more badges, this would become financially ruinous. As a youngster with zero badges, he hadn't lost a single Pokedollar when losing against Michelle, the ace trainer. Now, he would maybe lose about 70. This meant that if he wanted to upkeep his strategy of gaining experience, he would have to do a few jobs to offset the losses.

Additionally, one of the biggest expenses that a trainer had to pay for was stabling, which became a necessity once they had a roster of more than six Pokemon. Pokemon were not always easy to handle, and the ones trained for battle were not always the safest to be around. This meant that whatever organisation ran any singular stable had to hire highly educated and professional caretakers while also, in some cases, importing truckloads of food. 

This meant that just as much money as a trainer was spending to travel, they were likely at the same time spending to stable whatever Pokemon they might not have on hand. If they ever broke a ten Pokemon roster, they were likely to start spending more on stabling than they were on the journey.

That was why certain sponsorships were very sought after. Professor Oak, for example, offered stables and regional starters to the top three academic scorers in Pallet Town. Gym trainers who interned with a gym for one year before going on their journey received a similar offer.

Joey had none of these options locked in; however, he was planning on going to Pallet Town when his journey started to convince Professor Oak to sponsor him... Not just for the stables in this case, but also for the Pokedex, which was still a very rare device that not many had access to at the moment. Joey couldn't participate in the trainer exam anymore, but surely Professor Oak would recognize his genius. If that didn't work out, he could just go with the revolutionary strategy of not catching more than six Pokemon. Then, depending on his results in the Indigo conference, he could get a sponsorship from a company or perhaps even the League.

"I don't really have any worries in terms of sustaining a roster of six. However, I don't have any stables or sponsorships currently secured for when that changes," Joey said after considering his answer. "If nothing comes along, I might just stick to a six-Pokemon roster for the time being and simply think about it in terms of ensuring the quality of my team instead of the quantity."

The principal nodded. "There have been many attempts to figure out the optimal team size to assure type coverage for generalists while also taking into account the need to actually train the Pokemon one has. The result has always tended to be somewhere around the number nine since that means one can switch out half of one's team every few months, and the Pokemon still spend the majority of their time with their trainer instead of without. It comes to exactly three months a year without, in fact, if the trainer spends the winter break with all their Pokemon.

Joey nodded. That made sense to him; he never really understood the anime, where Ash caught twelve Pokemon a region and then never took them with him. Considering that Pokemon were feeling and thinking beings, they likely wouldn't appreciate being put on timeout for basically their entire career except for the year in which they were caught and maybe the conferences. Although, maybe spending one's time with friends at a large ranch like the one that Professor had wasn't that bad of a life. The food was covered, the care was covered, and one could battle with the other Pokemon there, considering that everyone there was in some way trained to do so.

"Number nine, that sounds optimal," Joey commented. "Of course, that depends if one even meets nine Pokémon that fit the team. Also, one can always meet the perfect match after one has already captured nine Pokemon."

The principal waved his hand in the air. "Of course, theory is always different than practice. In fact, I would say that we have yet to strike a perfect balance between those two at our school. However, as you have probably noticed, we are currently offering an alternative that is more safe than exciting, so in that sense, we are doing our job. The issue is simply that being a trainer also involves traveling and that those who don't undergo the crucible will be at a severe disadvantage when facing those that did."

The Youngster nodded. "Just the eight battles against the gym leaders are enough to make a clear difference in experience, let alone the whole trip and all the people one meets along the way."

"I agree, although I am sure that there are those talented enough that they could gain enough strength even in a school environment," the principal said blithely.

Joey didn't necessarily agree... Although, saying that with enough talent, there could be one person... Didn't they have schools in Alola that taught battling? Those ended up doing quite well if he remembered correctly. He wondered what the differences were in comparison to the Poketech Institute.

"The issue is that studying theory eats a lot into training time. Also, not battling gym leaders doesn't give one a clear sense of progression or something to strive towards," Joey observed.

"True. However, did you know that the Pokétech Institute has a stable where we keep all of the Pokemon of the students and the extra members of those who go on a journey after the conference?" the principal asked with something else in his voice. Was it suggestiveness?

Joey shrugged. "I assumed so. After all, considering the number of students you have and that each one of them should have at least three Pokemon to participate in the first round of the conference in the end. You require a lot of space to house all of that and all the Pokemon you're training to give away. Because the initial investment in building this Institute also consisted of several loans, I imagine you're also willing to let trainers pay for the service," Joey said while spreading his fingers, wondering where exactly this conversation was going. Was the principal trying to sell him on the idea of using the Institute for its stables? 

Joey would personally prefer Professor Oak's ranch simply because of the accomplished trainers that let their battle-hard Pokemon stay there. It would give whoever he benched a big opportunity to spar against a variety of opponents.

The principal blinked in surprise, probably at the fact that Joey knew anything about the financial situation of the Institute.

"Yes indeed. It's not easy starting a project like this, even if it is supported by the League. It is also why we have not been offering that many scholarships as of yet since we are rather reliant on the tuition fees. However, recently, we have reached a partial break-even point at which the board decided that it is about time we start offering scholarships to outstanding individuals so that they can represent the school and heighten its prestige. In fact, you, unfortunately, took your exams just a tad too early; starting this academic year, we will be offering a fully paid four years of schooling to whoever places first and second in the Youngster theoretical."

Out of politeness, Joey didn't mention that even if he had been offered such a position, he wouldn't have taken it. Rather than stagnating for four years in one place, he preferred traveling. Four years... As a youngster, he could have already participated in three conferences by then.

"Alas, it is too late at the moment, but it is interesting to hear that others will in the future have opportunities that I did not," he said diplomatically.

It was here that the principal smiled slightly. "Well, we shouldn't cross out things that needn't be crossed out. Simply because one doesn't study here doesn't mean one can't become an affiliate," he said. "Quite frankly, considering your battle against Surge, I'm surprised you do not already have a sponsorship. After all, simply because you are using Pokemon that are not popular does not mean that you will not go far."

It was here that Joey realized what the game was. Although, rather than being offended that it was being played, he was actually quite flattered. While he had gotten a thread about him on the forums, there hadn't been a single institution that recognized his achievements. Unless one counted Ruth, he guessed.

"It certainly is a prestigious Institute, although that is partially due to the pedigree of the parents of the children here," Joey said politely. "And I am very glad that you were so forward to consider betting on the future success of those already shining when young. A lot of companies are not so forward-thinking and prefer spending more to poach those who are already successful. However, as we both know, this leads to the general stagnation of those young people who are not being given opportunities and do not fly as high without them.

"I'm very glad we agree on this point," the principal said with a tight smile. "Let's cut right to the chase; how would you like to be sponsored by the Pokétech Institute?"

-/-

AN: HAH, I bet none of you expected this chapter lollll. Raise your hand if anyone expected this plot twist. Raise it again if it wasn't totally fucking foreshadowed. I am a genius. (Inbefore someone tells me that this was a shit chapter for a very obvious reason, then I am dumb).

Anyway, most of you will probably be going on summer vacation soon, so ennjoy that :)

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