“Cut the crap, Callahan. I just paid to get your office rebuilt, and I see you're already attempting to break down the door. I'm not paying for it a second time.”

“Madam, would you have preferred I take the blunt of that wild Pichu's assault personally? We can replace doors, but there's only one me in the entire world.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I wake up every day thankful for how unique you are. And how there's nobody else like you. Thank god.” He started to close the door as she talked, but she wasn't about to let him get out of his share of the chores today.

“HEY! Where do you think you're going!? You work for me, and I say we don't need any paperwork done today. We need all the help we can get in planting this crap. Don't tell me you're too sick or too frail to get out there.”

Drat. He'd get out of this somehow. He wasn't a sucker. He sighed and opened the door again, this time all the way.

“You know, Miss PK, I would absolutely love to help.. perform manual labor.. for free.. but you know, I overheard that little nurse, what was her name, Poppy? You see, she told me about this terrifying ailment called heat stroke, and well, the symptoms seem to match up with what I'm feeling right now. At this very moment.”

“Callahan, who would believe YOU of all Pokemon could get heatstroke? I want to see you out there planting with them in five minutes, or I'll.. I'll..” She couldn't think of a good threat to use on him. Did he even use the money she paid him with? He actually enjoyed paperwork, too, so there was no use in threatening him with that. She thought of something.

“I'll have all of your personal books removed from that office and sent back to your home, as you have no need for personal items while you're on the job.”

He thought about that for a moment, then smiled. “I am afraid that will not be necessary, as you will find me out there in under five minutes with the rest of the peons, happily planting away. Should you change your mind and decide my skills would be best utilized back in my office, please feel free to contact me again.”

As he happily strolled out of the building in the direction of the gardening fields, she felt a sense of dread. He seemed too happy to fulfill her request, even if she did threaten to take away his precious books. What was he going to do? Whatever. She'd deal with his antics as they came up, as she had better things to take care of right now. She wished it wasn't so damned hot.

It was hot, and it was getting even hotter. The temperature may have been around ninety degrees beforehand, but within a few minutes it felt as if it was in the triple digits. Pokemon started slowing down, and many of them started to become agitated. Poppy and her squad weren't enough to supply water to everyone in this kind of heat. They just weren't prepared for it. Arguments started to break out about what tree should go where, how many seeds to use per row of dirt, where the rocks should go. Trivial stuff that would normally be worked out rationally in regular conditions. Even PK started to feel annoyed, and while she generally enjoyed the warmth, this was just too much.

“WHY IS IT SO HOT? I HATE IT!” Her outburst startled a few Pokemon that were resting by the fountain in the middle of the village, and it dawned on her.

Callahan. She had forgotten what happened the last time he was allowed outside, and why he was generally considered a hermit. She ran over to where he was working (which was no small task, given the heat).

“CALLAHAN! Get your ass back inside!”

He dropped his small potted plant in shock. “But, boss! I was just instructing the Pokemon here on the best way to plant these.. what are they? Berry bushes?” He gestured to the Pokemon he was supposedly teaching, who didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Or to anything, really. They were simply laying down in grass, attempting to cool themselves off by whatever means they had, be they makeshift fans made out of their tails or by pouring water over their heads. It wasn't working.

“Yeah, yeah, WHATEVER, just get back inside your office! I don't care what you do today, just STAY INSIDE!”

“Whatever you say, boss! I do think my way of planting bushes would have turned out best for the village, though.” He grinned and, before PK could even get a chance to respond, ran at full speed into his office, slamming the door behind him.

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Part 2 of "event 6 suckers" by
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