Anana walked over to Gunpowder and put her hand on his thigh. "It's OK, dearie. It's tough to start out. That gentleman is also known for being.. not so much of a gentleman. Now, chin up!"

Despite her kind words, Gunpowder refused to stop moping. She made a 'hmph' noise and walked out of sight. She wasn't gone for long, since Gunpowder could hear the sound of a crate sliding across the hard floor. Just then, he felt something get planted atop his head. He looked behind himself to see Anana standing on top of the box.

"There! This seems to always cheer people up. Here, take a look," Anana said with a gleeful smile and a mirror in her hand. On his head was now the most ridiculous hat he had ever seen. It was a big, flowery purple sombrero that said "ANANA" across the top. Due to the symmetry of her name, it was clear even to Gunpowder what it said through the reflection. He couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight of his own misery.

"See, sweetie? I knew it would help! Your punishment for being sad for something that isn't your fault is to wear this hat. After all, the image of my business is important, and this hat just screams 'me'!" Anana snickered to herself as well. Gunpowder knew she was mostly just joking, but he really appreciated the efforts. She always treated him like this.

Dong ding!

Another customer. Great, Gunpowder thought to himself. Another chance to mess up, but this time in front of my boss. Anana's face lit up.

"Come on in, I've got everything you could possibly need! Make yourself at home!"

She looked up at Gunpowder, urging him to lean forwards so that she could whisper to him. "Let me handle this one, dear. If you watch me, you'll learn a great deal about how to handle customers." She hopped off her throne atop the crate and cheerfully went to assist the customer.

Anana handled everything quickly and elegantly. Not only did she know exactly what the customer wanted without having been told, the small talk she made elicited laughter from said customer. Gunpowder was giving her his full attention, but he just couldn't see himself replicating what was just done. He just wasn't a Pokemon-Pokemon.

After concluding the business transaction, Anana held herself high, a big smile across her face. Gunpowder knew the real reason she took the reins. She wanted him to learn how to handle customers better, sure, but more than that she wanted to show off. Gunpowder had known her for long enough to figure that much out, at least. She was good at hiding it.

“See? It’s not so bad! You just have to stay positive!” Anana could definitely tell Gunpowder was all but positive, and her face reflected this. Never had a smile turned upsidedown so quickly. “Come on, Gunpowder. You look like you’ve got something else on your mind today. What is it?”

“It.. It be nothin’, OK? I just don’t think I be able to do this yet, s’all. Can we trade jobs fer today? I promise I’ll get good at this, but.. just not today, aye?”

Anana stared into the very depths of Gunpowder’s soul. She knew he was hiding something, but she also knew there was no sense in prying. If he wasn’t going to say, nothing would change that. She let out a sigh of defeat.

“Fine, fine. Go help Fabian in the back with counting inventory,” Anana said rather dismissively. Before she had even finished, she had found something much more interesting to fiddle with on the shelves to pass the time until the next customer came in. I can’t really count, Gunpowder thought to himself. Bad time to mention it, though. Not like there’d ever be a good time. Anana probably thought he was an idiot.

====

Part 2 of an unnamed Gunpowder story by

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