Approach warily

You warily approach the door on the right, trying to determine some way to open it, but suddenly… “Wah!” Once you get close, it slides into the wall, allowing you inside. Marvels of modern technology! …Not really. You’re plenty familiar with automatic doors, you’re just used to them being labeled as such. That’s all. You definitely weren’t surprised at all.

Stepping inside, you see a similar pair of doors on the other side of the building and a counter running along the right wall. It has safety glass running up to the ceiling like you’d expect when talking to a bank teller, and a curtain behind the glass to conceal the back of the building. Though it’s wide enough to accommodate several people, only one middle-aged man stands behind the counter currently. Dressed in a navy blue uniform fitting of some sort of guard, the man looks very official and very bored. That is, until he sees you.

Adopting a rather cheerful expression, he motions you over to the counter and practically glues his eyes to your hips as you walk. “ID please,” he prompts. You retrieve your ID and hand it to him, and he pops it into a machine on the counter which gives a high-pitched chime in return. He pulls it back out and hands it back to you, stating, “Looks good. That’ll be $50, miss.” Uhh… You only have $25.

“I, uh, I’m not sure what that’s for? I’m just trying to go to Vermilion City and I can’t really afford that…” you stutter out in confusion.

The man wears a slightly annoyed expression as he replies, “That creates somewhat of a problem. The pass to get into Vermilion City is $50. If you can’t pay, I can’t let you through.”

Insight Check: Failed!

You beg him to let you through, explaining that you’re a trainer trying to collect gym badges and asking if there’s any way he can help you out or defer the cost until later. After enough prodding, he finally caves. How could he resist helping a beautiful maiden like yourself, anyway?

“Okay, okay… Let’s see here, you’re a trainer then, right? How about this: We’ll have a pokemon battle, one pokemon each. If you win, I let you through free of charge. And it probably comes back to bite me, too, with my luck…”

You look up at him with renewed hope. What a kind man! “Thank you so much!”

“Hey, don’t go thanking me yet. If I win, you have to take my shift here at the counter while I take a break. And then I still let you through, cuz I like ya,” he says with a grin. He’s not just a kind man, he’s a hero!

You start to tear up as you ask, “But is that really okay? I don’t know how to do this job, and I’m not really dressed for it either…”

He waves your concerns off. “It’s an easy job, I’ll have you trained in ten minutes. And we have a uniform in the back that should fit you, don’t worry.”

Wiping your eyes dry, you declare, “Thank you! I won’t need it though, because I won’t lose!”