Young Entrepreneurs

“Thanks for your business. Come back anytime!”

Tipper waved to a departing Mienfoo as she drifted off into the square and bobbed his head behind the counter. Today was one of the better days on the job: not too busy to be overwhelming, not too slow to be boring, and no fights or arguments in the square in front of the shop to scare off customers.

At the same time, he wasn’t really sure why he was in such a good mood since nothing about the day felt all that spectacular. Perhaps it was his surroundings. Sure, it wasn’t Noe Town, but there had been a bit more to do in Post Town than he’d realized. The earthen top of the hill that the Swanna House was built into turned out to be a great place to watch the clouds or stargaze during breaks, and the pool next to the shop helped keep the temperature cool during hotter days. The whirring of the windmills, while smaller, kept Post Town feeling a bit like home and letters from Mom had recently been coming in. The other shopkeepers also proved to be a bit more pleasant to talk to than he expected, even Cofagrigus.

He never would’ve imagined he’d be saying this back on the day when he first arrived in Post Town, but Tipper thought he was starting to like this place.

“Ampharos! The exit for the highway’s off to your left!”

Tipper blinked to attention after hearing Quagsire’s voice call out through the square and turned to see the Water-type at the mouth of the Swanna House. Tipper turned along the length of the stream, where there, on the bridge was an Ampharos poking his head up and looking around before giving a flustered paw at the back of his head.

“Ah right! Silly me! I’ll just be off… that way,” the Ampharos said. “Though do consider my offer, Quagsire! I, Ampharos, the Dashing Wanderer, eagerly await your response!”

The Electric-type drifted off through the square and straight for the counter of Tipper’s shop…

Thump!

“Whoops, sorry!”

A bit too literally for the counter of his shop. Tipper stumbled back as the Electric-type careened into it, before the Electric-type turned and carried off as if nothing had happened, seemingly blissfully unaware of all sense of direction. Tipper blinked and stared after the ‘Dashing Wanderer’ as he bumped his way along past the gate to Post Town.

The Kecleon turned back towards his display, where much to his annoyance, he saw that the Ampharos’ collision had knocked a few odds and ends down.

“Ugh, seriously?”

He stooped down and began to put the fallen wares back on their shelves, only for his ears to prick as footsteps came to the front of the shop.

It was Quagsire, staring after the stranger with a hand at his mouth. Tipper cocked his brow and traded glances between the Water-type and the gate of the town. He knew that Quagsire was… eccentric to say the least, but something about the Ampharos’ words stood out to him.

“Quagsire, what was that all about?” Tipper asked. “What was that ‘offer’ that Ampharos gave you?”

“Oh, Ampharos there offered to buy my plot of land just east of town,” Quagsire explained. “He said he was, hmm, looking for a place to set up an Expedition something-or-other.”

Tipper briefly paused and cocked his head back at the Water-type.

“I didn’t know that you owned land, Quagsire.”

“Hmm, well, I suppose I don’t really come off as the landowner type. But I do, yes,” the Water-type replied. “It’s just east of town, with a bit of space waiting for someone to build on it. He offered me 100,000 Poké for it.”

Wait a minute… 100,000 Poké? Tipper didn’t know anything about what real estate was like out here on the Mist Continent, but he was pretty sure that even in Air’s hinterlands, it was hard to get plots of land anywhere close to a town for that sort of money.

… Unless it was a plot off in the middle of nowhere like those ones that he heard being hawked as ‘Friend Areas’ back home. In which case, even if land prices had ticked up a bit in recent years, 100,000 Poké was surely highway robbery.

The Kecleon hesitated briefly, before curiosity got the better of him.

“Say… is that plot close to here, Quagsire?

“Mm-hmm, it’s just across the highway from the entrance into town.”

Tipper didn’t remember seeing anything special on the other side of the road while coming into town, but he supposed the location was right for a plot with an asking price like that. Why, he and his father could probably build a cottage for when Mom came over and turn around and flip it for a profit whenever it came time to move on.

Hmm…I wonder if maybe… He turned his gaze back to Quagsire, and cleared his throat.

“Actually… my dad and I might be looking for land ourselves, and it’s about time for my midday break,” he said. “Do you have some time to show it to me?”

Tipper’s jaw dropped as he looked around at the sprawl of sandstone rises and arid earth. Sure it was a bit empty, but the plot just kept going on and on in every direction he looked. He thought that Quagsire was going to let go of some little field big enough to grow a few berry bushes, not a space like this.

“Quagsire, you said this place had a bit of space!” the Kecleon exclaimed. “This place is bigger than Post Town’s main square!”

Quagsire tilted his head and brought a hand to his chin with a quiet hem and haw to himself.

“Yes, well, I suppose I always have been one to understate things,” Quagsire said. “Though as you can see, there’s quite a bit of need for, hmm… development to add some more creature comforts.”

Tipper didn’t see how that would be hard. Why, there was a stream running straight through the plot! There was plenty of room for building a family cottage. He and his parents could even move the store here and build a bigger location if Kecleon Market signed off on it, with plenty of space to spare for subletting or renting to others!

He turned to Quagsire and cocked a brow in disbelief. Quagsire was really going to let this all go for 100,000 Poké? Was there something he was hiding about it?

“Okay, what’s the catch with this place?” he asked. “Is the soil bad or something?”

“Well, it’s a bit arid and annoyingly—er… refreshingly empty, but no catches otherwise,” Quagsire replied. “I’d actually been considering a few offers I received and was hoping to make a decision in the next day or two.”

Tipper blinked in reply and looked around. Sure, 100,000 Poké wasn’t trivial, but if he and his father could get in word to the Regional Manager or to someone up the chain, it wouldn’t be hard at all to convince Kecleon Market to invest in the property. It could be the break of his career!

“I mean, you can do better than 100,000 Poké, Quagsire,” Tipper insisted. “I mean, that’s not a trivial sum of money, but if my dad knew about this, I’m sure he’d give a better offer through Kecleon Market-“

Quagsire’s mouth briefly curled down, before he cut in with a stern tinge to his voice.

“They’re welcome to make an offer, but I probably wouldn’t accept it,” he replied. “Money isn’t the primary consideration for me deciding which offer I’ll accept, otherwise I’d have sold this plot a long time ago.”

Tipper bit his lip and trailed off briefly. Did Quagsire have an attachment to this land or something? Since he hadn’t expected him to react like that to offering to get his employer involved…

“I… see,” the Kecleon said. “Though what are you looking for from an offer in that case?”

“I’m looking for someone who will hold onto this land for a long time and help grow it along with Post Town,” the Water-type explained. “With the way Pokémon keep coming and going, what Post Town and the places nearby need most is someone who can be there to look out for it for the longer term.”

“I mean, Kecleon Market would be able to do that quite effectively-” Tipper began.

“Emphasis on someone, Kecleon,” Quagsire interrupted. “As in an actual Pokémon, and not a business. Would you or your father be staying here for the longer term?”

Tipper hesitated and pawed at the back of his head. It would’ve been so easy to just say ‘yes’ since he and Dad were going to be here for at least a year. But with the way that Quagsire had asked the question, he was getting the feeling that ‘a year’ wouldn’t cut it for him.

“I mean, we’re supposed to be around Post Town for the foreseeable future?” Tipper replied. “I guess Dad’s always going around to those Mystery Dungeons hunting down inventory, but we’d planned for Mom to come and live with us and she does need a place to stay.”

Quagsire didn’t say anything for a while, before he shook his head and started off for the path back to the highway.

“That’s, hmm, less investment than I was looking for,” he said. “I’m sure that you and your family would build a nice cottage, but I’m looking for a buyer who’d be able to use the entire plot, even if it’d take a while.”

Tipper winced internally. A part of him thought that he should’ve just told Quagsire what he wanted to hear, while another part figured that it was a bad idea to get on the bad side of a one-time lawmon, especially one who’d been genuinely helpful since arriving in Post Town. He glanced up in time to see Quagsire had stopped on the way back to the highway, and was looking back at him.

“Don’t get me wrong, Kecleon. I’m not opposed to selling you and your father this land, and if you two make a personal offer outside of your employer, I’ll consider it,” he said. “It’s just that you’ll be up against some stiff competition.”

Tipper… wasn’t sure how he and his father would be able to square away at least 100,000 Poké on such short notice, assuming Dad was even interested in buying property in the area so soon. But still, it was genuinely a great opportunity, and with a chance to have someplace more permanent to stay… surely it was at least worth seeing if his father was interested.

“I’ll… see what I can do.”