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If Sam had known beforehand the absolute wild bullshit he was about to experience through this job, he would have heavily considered the interview for Pokemon handler at the Musical Theater instead. He originally chose Gear Station because he was a fan of the Subway Bosses and appreciated the work they did for the community.
Not because he had a crush on them as a teen. Absolutely not. Don’t listen to his sister’s slander.
Don’t get the wrong idea, Sam was absolutely ecstatic to be hired as a trainee depot agent. Anything would beat his last job. His new one didn’t have much to do with the trains themselves, sadly, but he was being trained to help out in case of an emergency. His expertise was made useful in the battle portion of the subway. Working with Pokémon in a real battle facility was a dream come true!
Still… if he had known…
It wasn’t until his second interview that things got… weird.
“Sorry about the wait, Mr Adler,” Said the senior depot agent leading Sam through the employee-only hallways of Gear Station, “We had quite a few people make it to the second interview, but I’ve got a good feeling about you!”
Sam tried not to fidget as he followed the older man- Ramses, he’d introduced himself- deeper into the station.
The first interview went great, in Sam’s opinion. It was done by someone else, though, so he didn’t know what to expect of Ramses. The man was intimidating, but had a kind face. He seemed nice, at least.
“I-it’s no problem, sir!” Sam managed to say before the silence stretched too long.
Ramses laughed, “You can drop the sir, kid. Just Ramses is fine. Ah, here we go.”
The two stopped in front of a nondescript door.
“The bosses are waiting to interview you in here. Break a leg, kid!” Ramses said jovially before turning to walk away.
It felt like Sam’s heart stuttered in his chest.
“W-Wait!” He yelped. Ramses thankfully paused and turned back. “Th-the bosses? As in… the subway bosses?”
Ramses smiled knowingly. “The very same. Don’t look so nervous, kiddo, the bosses are the best! Trust me, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” With that, the older man continued his leave, but not before tossing one last quip over his shoulder.
“That is, unless you’re afraid of ghosts.”
What?
With that ominous statement, Ramses disappeared around a corner.
Was Ramses just pulling his leg? Maybe he meant Ingo’s ace, Chandelure. Yeah, definitely. There was no way he knew about their phobia.
Sam was terrified of ghosts. Not ghost-type Pokémon, of course! He was quite fond of all Pokémon types. It was the concept of human ghosts that freaked him out. Just knowing that anywhere at any time, the spirit of some John Doe could be watching him… it gave him the willies.
Surely the subway wasn’t haunted. Right?
Sam stood there for a few moments, trying to psych himself up.
“They’re just a couple of Pokémon trainers!” He muttered to himself. “Like you! Just- just far more skilled. And in charge of an entire battle facility. And might become your bosses if you don’t fuck this up…. oh, dragons…”
Sam really really wanted this job. He couldn’t go back to customer service at the Pokémart where his talents were wasted and people were needlessly rude. Just happening to see that Gear Station was hiring was a godsend. The battle subway didn’t often hire, mainly because no one ever quit. Sam wondered if the new opening had anything to do with Ingo’s recent month-long disappearance? If so, he hoped the older twin was okay at least. Still, Sam didn’t think he’d sent an application so fast in his life.
He’d heard so many great things about the benefits and stellar work environment of Gear Station. Hell, just like everyone else, he’d seen that viral video that went around a while ago of Subway Boss Emmet vocally eviscerating someone after they discriminated against one of the depot agents. The actual bigotry wasn’t recorded, but considering the ensuing beatdown, it must’ve been rough. Sam’s admiration for the Bosses only grew after that.
Working and battling with Pokémon was his passion, what he wanted to do for a living, not just a hobby. He’d gone to trainer school, had a license and everything! He was perfectly qualified for this job. So what if he was going to be working under two of the most powerful and well-known trainers in all of Unova. Big deal.
It was a very big deal.
The sound of the door opening right in front of their face snapped Sam from their spiraling, and they couldn’t help but jump a foot in the air and clutch at their racing heart.
“Ah! There you are.”
Sam froze and slowly looked up.
There stood Subway Boss Emmet, looking down at them from the good foot of height he had on Sam. Holy shit. He was much taller in person than they’d thought he would be. Emmet had a kind smile on his face, which helped put Sam at ease somewhat, but their heart continued to pound despite the scare passing.
“Well, come on in. Let’s get this train rolling!”
Sam quickly scrambled into the room after Emmet. It was a simple office with a few comfortable-looking chairs in front of a large and imposing desk, behind which the other twin sat. Ingo was soon joined by his brother, who leaned down and whispered something into his ear. Sam tried not to let that make him even more anxious.
Once the two were seated next to each other, Sam was able to finally take a look at the twins he’d admired for so long.
Odd… they didn’t look entirely identical like Sam had thought. For one, Ingo was visibly paler than Emmet. Almost to a sickly degree. Maybe the new job opening really did have something to do with his disappearance if his health was affected by it. Another glaring difference was the silly-looking goatee Ingo sported while the younger twin had a triangular soul patch on his chin. That was new.
“So!” Boomed Ingo, startling Sam again.
God, why was he so jumpy? He wasn’t usually this nervous!
“Your resume is quite impressive, Mr Adler!” Ingo continued, glancing down at a stack of papers he had on the desk in front of himself and Emmet.
“I agree! Verryy impressive. You’re definitely qualified for this position.” Emmet agreed.
Sam felt his heart soar at the compliment. He couldn’t help but grin and squirm a little in his chair with excitement. He couldn’t help it! He’d looked up to Ingo and Emmet ever since they opened the Battle Subway and showed the world their might! Sam was just a teen at the time, though it really wasn’t that long ago.
“Th-thank you, sirs! I just felt like my talents were being wasted, and I think I can really grow here in the Battle Subway! Getting a job here has been a dream of mine for ages! I just adore working and battling with Pokémon. Using the subway system as a battle facility was a stroke of genius. Not only does it encourage use of public transportation, but it adds a whole new challenge to battling with the movement of the cars. Not to mention that trains are just really cool and—“
It was only after far too long that Sam realized he was rambling and quickly snapped his mouth shut. Oh dragons, one compliment from his idols had him unable to control his motor mouth. How unprofessional could he be? They wouldn’t want a childish chatterbox as a depot agent, surely-
Ingo suddenly got to his feet and slammed his hands upon the desk, much to the detriment of Sam’s already jumpy heart. He yelped and pressed his back against the cushion of the chair before reluctantly looking up at the much taller man with trepidation.
Ingo’s conductor’s hat cast a shadow over his face, obscuring his eyes, but his ever-present frown made Sam’s nervous brain jump to so many negative conclusions, despite knowing that was just his normal expression. It could have just been nerves, but he swore that the pressure in the room was growing even more stifling. Sam frantically began running his previous words over in his head, wondering what it was he said that offended the older boss.
Then, Ingo clapped his hands together loudly, causing Sam to flinch again, before tilting his head enough that the nervous man could see that his eyes were wide and practically shining. Wait. They were shining. What the fuck they were glowing-
“BRAVO!!” Ingo shouted, “That’s exactly the kind of attitude we want for our employees here at Gear Station! To be completely honest, your application was the most promising of the bunch. You’d be surprised at how many reporters turned one in so they could sneak into the station. Leeches, the lot of them. Anyhow, I heavily considered hiring you without the second interview, but Emmet insisted we go through the proper channels-“
Sam could only stare as Ingo went off on a tangent about all the glowing points in his resume, and how he couldn’t wait to put him to work and and and-
“W-Wait… does that mean?” Sam could only dare to hope.
Emmet chuckled, reaching out to pull his excited brother down back into his chair. Ingo did eventually sit down after a moment of tugging, but did not halt his continued rambling. He was now dissecting Sam’s Pokémon team and predicting how he would fare against the usual trainers that challenged the subway.
“Yes, you’re hired, Sam.” Emmet said plainly. “When can you start?”
The rest of the interview went by in a daze for Sam. He answered a few questions about his availability and any needed accommodations (and wasn’t that unusual. A boss asking about accommodations after already having hired someone. Not before.) and then he was sent on his merry way with a start date for next week.
As Sam left the room in a daze, he heard Emmet say,
“Ingo, you nearly started floating away again. Please conduct your safety checks!”
Weirdest interview. Ever.