2024-01-12: Exchange of Goo-ds
- Cutscene: Exchange of Goo-ds
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber
- Where: Energy Nede - Kanto Plains
- Date: 2024-01-12
- Summary: Jacqueline finds herself in a bit of a slump, perplexed by trying to figure out what exactly she can sell to the people of Nede. She pushes through it - and in the process, makes a new friend...
Jacqueline Barber has encountered a problem. Not a capital-P Problem, thankfully - no, the problem she's been dealing with is more personal. Namely... she's been finding it rather difficult to get business started on Energy Nede. It's wholly different from her experiences up to this point - trending toward large store buildings and branch establishments with only the occasional family-run store, rather than an established tendency toward setting up and running an impromptu shop out of stalls. Not that this doesn't happen... but even those need to be arranged far in advance, and in designated areas. She's up against a level of competition she's never had to deal with before. Starting over again in Glenwood and Meribus, and then again in Spira, were both difficult... but she's found it more difficult still to find her footing here.
And of course, beyond that, there's another issue. Medically, the people of Energy Nede are pretty well-taken care of... curatives are in no short supply, and, she has to admit, are probably already better suited to deal with the issues they might face than anything she can provide, and more plentiful. And everyday goods are both cheap and mass-produced, putting a stop to growth in that direction.
It's been quite the conundrum! Life is difficult for a businesswoman in a world where everyone already has all they could ever want.
So, lately... she's begun to set up shop alongside the routes usually frequented by trainers. It's easier if she can provide a service where they usually can't find it. She presents her usual array of goods, though pared down to what might interest someone on the go, as well as a few Pokemon-focused curatives made from local ingredients. Berry blends, for healing, treating sicknesses, and tending to ailments... That's helped a little, at least. All in all...
...Business has been slow, but at least it's been going.
Today, it's a day like any other. She's set up shop on the side of a route, making the occasional sale from curious trainers passing by. Her goods are arrayed out before her, and on the corner nearest to her, her Spearow sits. Jacqueline has continued to steadily befriend the bird, and has worked her way up to being allowed one (1) scritch on the back of the neck before Spearow gets testy. It's not much, but she'll take it.
And so, right now... Jacqueline sits, head propped up with one hand with a book on the stall in front of her. At least it's been a good opportunity to catch up on her reading. ...Except...
Jacqueline feels eyes on her. ...No, that's not /quite/ right - but she /does/ feel like someone or something is watching her. That it has for a while. She looks up from her book, into the tall grass on the other side of the road. She sees a brief glimpse of something dark blue scurrying shyly back into the grass. She watches for a moment - then, goes back to her reading.
A day passes.
Once again, Jacqueline has set up shop. Her eyes occasionally stray back up to the grass, then back down to her book. Today seems like it'll be another uneventful one...
...And then the grass rustles.
Swaying unsteadily as it moves, a dark blue slime with various odd-and-ends visible within its translucent body emerges from the tall glass. Jacqueline closes her book, watching it carefully, and even the napping Spearow becomes a bit more alert.
It lurches to a stop in front of her stall. It's movements aren't... aggressive, though. Jacqueline relaxes - just a bit, not all the way. She offers the slime a smile.
"...Can I get you anything?" Jacqueline offers after a moment. ...And in response, the slime burbles. It sways forward, just a bit, indicating a piece of decorative jewelry on sale. And then, its body shifts, rotating. It sways forward again, letting a small, card-shaped slip of plastic slide out of its body and onto the stall.
Jacqueline blinks. She stares incredulously for a moment, then down at the rectangular trinket. ...It takes a second - and then, there's a gasp of recognition. That card... it's shaped a lot like the cards used to store and exchange FOL. The material and actual details are different, but to an unfamiliar eye... Jacqueline stares at the slime for a moment, offering it a small smile.
"...You've been watching me trade, haven't you? You think..." She considers... and then, nods. Things like this don't happen every day. She might as well go along with it. "Alright. I can accept this."
She picks up the requested piece of jewelry, offering it to the slime. It accepts it carefully and then, with what /sounds/ like a pleased burble, retreats back into the tall grass. Jacqueline watches it go - and then laughs to herself.
"At least I've made one customer happy today." She says to herself.
Over the next few days, the slime - called Commurk, apparently, according to the locals - visits again and again. What was once a one-off event repeats. What it asks for is different each time, and what she receives is similarly different - more trinkets, some berries, and one time it even offered her one of the nutrient-full spheres it produced(which was quickly claimed by Spearow after the transaction).
Jacqueline would have never guessed that her first repeat customer on Energy Nede would be a passing slime. She'd come to appreciate its visits. Sure, she didn't make any money off of them... but it was reward in its own right.
And then, one day...
The Commurk sways out of the tall grass like normal, and Jacqueline offers a beaming smile in greeting.
"Hello again. Do you see anything you like today?" She greets. The slime comes to a stop in front of her stall. There's a questioning burble. It almost seems to pace in front of her stall, studying all of the goods she has on offer, its own swirling slowly, almost pensively, as if in thought.
"Take your time. ...Unless there's something else on your mind?" Jacqueline asks. She's met with a considering burble, and then - it sways forward, depositing something onto her stall.
...It's a Pokeball.
Jacqueline looks at it, then back up at Commurk. It waits, watching her - this time, it's not asking for anything in return. ...The significance of the offering of a Pokeball isn't lost on her. She picks it up.
Spearow, too, watches intently.
"...You're sure about this?" Jacqueline asks. Commurk burbles affirmatively... and then, she smiles. "...Alright, then. Let's become fine business partners."
She tosses the Pokeball lightly, and Commurk makes no effort to avoid it. The ball opens, drawing it inside - and takes no time at all to light up with that pleasant 'ding'. She stands up, walking over to the front of her stall and picking up the Pokeball.
"...Welcome to the team. I'll teach you everything I know." Jacqueline says.