“Coming.”
Naoki responded without much reaction, falling into step with the conversation as naturally as if he had always been part of it.
Going by the starting identity setup, this man was almost certainly a colleague from the same department.
Alvin quickened his pace and drew up beside Naoki, glancing down at his wristwatch with a deepening frown.
“Less than ten minutes until clock-in.
If we drag our feet any longer we’re done for.
Supervisor Sato has been cracking down on attendance lately.
A few poor souls got their performance bonuses docked last month just for showing up a few minutes late.
We cannot be next.”
As he spoke, Alvin’s eyes swept briefly over Naoki.
The lack of reaction didn’t particularly surprise him.
Naoki had always kept to himself, quiet and solitary, rarely exchanging more than a few words with his colleagues.
Still, for a reason he couldn’t quite place, Alvin had the distinct impression that something about Naoki was different today.
The thought vanished before it could take shape.
They were about to be late.
Alvin turned and picked up his pace.
Naoki followed.
They moved along the street together, and before long the Paldea League headquarters came into view at the end of the road.
It was an impressive building, clean white architecture shaped by the distinct character of the region, with landscaped rest areas for Pokémon tucked between its structures at every turn.
The people passing through its gates were either League staff in formal attire or Trainers carrying themselves with the polish of the elite.
Naoki looked up at the building.
This was the most concentrated point of power and resources in all of Paldea.
The kind of place countless Trainers spent their careers trying to reach.
“One minute left.
Thank the stars, we actually made it!”
Alvin exhaled with relief and hurried with Naoki toward the clock-in terminal.
Then a cold, measured voice cut through the air ahead of them.
“Dragging yourselves in at the last moment.
It seems the two of you have been letting yourselves go.”
A lean, stern-faced middle-aged man stood at the gate, brow furrowed, his sharp eyes moving over them both.
“Supervisor Sato!” Alvin went rigid.
“Thirty seconds remaining.” Sato’s expression did not shift.
“You are formal employees of the Paldea League.
If you cannot manage something as basic as punctuality, what exactly do you think the League’s regulations exist for?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely!” Alvin laughed nervously, clocked in as fast as his hands would allow, and grabbed Naoki by the arm, pulling him straight toward their desks.
This feeling, Naoki thought.
Pure wage slavery.
Not far away, a weathered-looking man in a suit, briefcase in hand, watched the scene unfold and let out a quiet sigh.
The adult world.
Never changes.
He watched the two junior staff disappear into the building, then turned and walked toward the business division entrance.
That was Rika, one of the Elite Four, heading off to her own domain.
“Made it.” Alvin dropped into his chair with a long exhale.
Naoki located his own desk and settled in.
The Paldea League’s human resources division was a back-office administrative department.
It did not send its people out on field assignments the way the business division did, but that hardly made the work light.
Attendance tracking for League staff, qualification reviews for new Trainers, filing Trainer records, cataloguing Pokémon data, coordinating across League departments…
Naoki, well-practiced in the art of wage slavery, slipped into the rhythm of it without difficulty.
He processed registration files for new Trainers across the Paldea region, entering them into the system one by one, while quietly turning his situation over in his mind.
For every other player, Pokémon was a game.
For him, a man with no way out, it had already become something else entirely.
He had to actually live here.
The HR division salary was not low, but it only just covered his own living expenses.
If he wanted to catch and raise Pokémon, that money was nowhere near enough.
No prospects.
That was the honest assessment.
Quitting and finding other work?
Out of the question.
Setting aside whether he could even become a Trainer, without a salary he would struggle to eat.
And the free food and lodging at Pokémon Centers that featured so prominently in the anime applied only to licensed Trainers.
Even then, no Trainer could live off a Pokémon Center forever.
Poké Balls cost money.
Pokémon food cost money.
Money.
Naoki turned the problem over quietly.
The most important thing right now is finding startup capital.
Enough to become a Trainer.
Once registered as a full Trainer, the Pokémon League offered financial support to help Trainers develop.
That was worth something.
Since there was no obvious way to earn in his current circumstances, perhaps the answer was to look toward the players out there exploring the world right now.
Naoki made up his mind.
He opened the player panel with practiced ease and began slacking off in full view of his colleagues.
Then a notification popped up on the screen.
Notice: You have one opportunity to change your display name.
Once changed, your display name will appear automatically on the forum and world channel.
Other players will not be able to see your real name.
Useful.
That would save him considerable trouble and made concealing his identity much easier.
As for what name to use, he gave it a moment’s thought and settled on something quickly.
Your name has been changed to: Larry.
Larry.
One of the most famous wage slaves in the Pokémon world, juggling multiple roles within the Paldea League simultaneously, serving as a Gym Leader, an Elite Four member, and a business division head all at once.
Naoki figured they were kindred spirits.
Both wage slaves, both grinding away under the same sky.
In some sense, a perfectly matched pair of unfortunate souls.
He opened the forum and began searching for what he needed.
His plan was straightforward.
Sell information.
Every player on this forum was still in the early stages of exploring this world.
There was enormous amounts they did not know.
For players with money to spare, the right information could save them from countless wrong turns.
He scrolled through the posts.
Fellow Eevee lovers, isn’t Eevee just the most adorable thing?
I helped an NPC a few days ago and he gave me an egg as thanks.
It hatched into a little Eevee and I am completely done for, this thing is too cute.
New player asking for help.
I was exploring out in the open world and somehow triggered a hidden quest, and now I’ve joined an organization called Team Rocket.
These people keep telling me to go steal other players’ Pokémon.
I don’t want to do bad things, what do I do?
“Oh?”
Naoki’s brow lifted.
He tapped the post and read through it.
The author was a player called Moon.
During a chance encounter while exploring, she had run into Team Rocket members who recognized her potential and recruited her into the organization on the spot.
On top of that, the organization had given her a partner Pokémon, a supply of Poké Balls, and a stock of Potions.
Naoki’s eyes moved through the replies below.
Amon: Wait, there are hidden organizations in this game?
Child of God: No way, that organization is incredibly generous.
Iron Fist: This might actually be an opportunity for players.
The Pokémon League is currently the largest and most resource-rich organization out there, which also means joining it gives each individual player only a tiny slice of what’s available.
For now, this sounds like a good thing.
It did not take long for other players to reach the same conclusion.
They began asking Moon how to join the hidden faction, with some offering to pay substantial sums for the information.
Reading through it all, something tightened quietly in Naoki’s chest.
If players could join the villainous organizations…
Team Rocket.
Team Aqua.
Team Magma.
Team Galactic.
Team Plasma.
Team Flare.
That meant when the major story events and main plot arcs eventually unfolded, there would be direct conflict.
Player against player.
Players against the Pokémon League.
Players were the fourth calamity.
Never to be underestimated.
If capable players joined an organization like Team Magma, then compared to how the original story played out, Maxie’s plan to use Groudon to expand the landmass stood a dramatically higher chance of succeeding.
The shape of this world could change entirely because of it.