Magic City
"If I remember correctly, it should be right here..."
Wearing a pair of blue hot pants that showed off her long, slender white legs, Emily Thompson tilted her head and stared at the store in front of her.
She double-checked the address on her phone. The location was definitely correct.
The store's exterior looked stylish and high-end.
But the name her friend had sent was clearly "Maya Pet Store." Why did the sign say "Pokémon House Pet Store"?
And what was that white-and-gold alpaca-like cartoon logo next to the name? She had never seen it before.
"Whatever, I'll just go in and take a look."
Emily pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Welcome!"
A clear, friendly male voice greeted her as soon as she entered.
"Hi," Emily replied, looking curiously at the person behind the counter.
It was a handsome young man around twenty years old, dressed simply with a clean, approachable vibe. A small name tag on his shirt read: **Ethan Brooks**.
She quickly scanned the store. The space was decently sized, the floors were spotless, and the décor was minimalist and modern.
But… this didn't look like a pet store at all.
A question mark popped up in Emily's mind. Even if it was the cleanest pet store in the world, shouldn't there be at least one pet visible?
"Um… excuse me, is this actually a pet store?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, it is," Ethan replied with a warm smile. "Please, have a seat."
He led Emily to the small lounge area. She was his first customer of the day!
"Thank you," Emily said politely as she sat down, then added with obvious suspicion, "But… there aren't any pets in your shop?"
"That's right. We only opened two days ago, and our store is a bit special. The pets we sell are quite unique," Ethan explained patiently.
"Unique pets?"
Emily blinked. Common pets were cats, dogs, birds, and fish. What counted as "unique"?
She immediately thought of exotic or dangerous animals like snakes or spiders, and her face paled slightly. She really didn't like that kind of pet.
"Sorry, I think I'd better go check out other stores," Emily said, standing up quickly. "I don't want to keep a pet right now."
"Wait, please don't misunderstand!" Ethan said hurriedly. "The pets here aren't what you're thinking."
Emily paused and turned back to look at him.
"What I mean by 'special' is that the pets I have here have never appeared on the regular market before," he continued sincerely. "Would you like to take a quick look? It won't take much of your time."
"Emmmm…"
Emily blinked a couple of times. The clean-cut, polite young man had made a good first impression.
"Alright… but I'll be honest upfront—I'm just looking. If I don't like it, I won't buy anything."
"Of course! I think you've made the right choice by coming here," Ethan said enthusiastically.
"Pfft—" Emily couldn't help but chuckle and cover her mouth. "You don't have to be so formal. We're probably around the same age. It feels weird when you keep calling me 'Miss.'"
"The customer is always right," he replied with a grin. "Here, you can use this."
He picked up a sleek, tablet-like device from the counter and handed it to her.
"This is the Pokémon Pokédex. Even though the store isn't very big, we have many different kinds of pets. Right now, we don't let customers choose directly—instead, it's a random selection. I've always believed that the perfect partner is decided by fate."
"Pets are meant to be our most sincere companions and friends. So, who will your friend be? Why don't you give it a try?"
Although his explanation sounded fancy, it basically meant she could only do a random draw and couldn't pick freely.
"Haha, that's actually pretty interesting," Emily said, clearly intrigued now.
She took the Pokédex and tapped the big "GO" button on the screen.
The screen immediately began flashing rapidly, with black silhouettes of different shapes spinning across it. Even though they were just shadows, some of the outlines looked incredibly strange—one even resembled a winged dragon from Western mythology.
After a few seconds, the spinning slowed and finally stopped.
Both Emily and Ethan leaned in curiously.
*Please be something cute*, Ethan prayed silently. *Not Rattata or Ekans…*
The customer had already made it clear she didn't like crawling pets.
"Boss, is this the one?" Emily asked, tilting the device toward him.
The image showed a cute turtle-like creature with a big round head, a blue body, and a red shell on its back.
Ethan let out a sigh of relief. *Thank goodness—it's Squirtle.*
"Yes! You're really lucky," he said with a bright smile. "This little guy is called Squirtle. He's an excellent and reliable partner, especially perfect for a beginner like you."
"He looks super cute! Can I see him right now?" Emily asked excitedly.
"Of course. Just give me a moment."
Ethan gave a small polite nod and walked toward the back of the store.
A minute later, he returned holding a small blue turtle.
"Is this him?" Emily's big eyes sparkled as she stared at Squirtle in delight.
He was even cuter in real life. His round head, big watery eyes, and curious expression were incredibly charming.
"Yes, this is Squirtle," Ethan said, gently rubbing the Pokémon's head. "Squirtle, do you like this young lady?"
"Jenny! Jenny-Jenny~"
Squirtle blinked, then waved his short little arms happily and let out a crisp, adorable cry.
"Huh? Turtles make sounds like that?" Emily was momentarily stunned, but the sparkle in her eyes only grew brighter.
"Wow—does he actually understand you?" she asked in amazement.
"He's very intelligent. Even though he can't speak human language, he can understand what you want to express," Ethan explained as he carefully handed Squirtle over to her.
Emily took the little turtle happily and gently poked his smooth bald head and chubby cheeks with her finger. His skin felt surprisingly soft and nice to touch.
"Does he have any unique tricks?" she asked curiously.
"Squirtle, why don't you show the young lady your special move? Use Water Gun!"
Ethan picked up a disposable paper cup from the side and tossed it into the air.
"Jenny—!"
Squirtle puffed up his cheeks, then shot out a precise, powerful stream of water that perfectly hit the spinning cup in mid-air.
Emily was completely stunned.
This adorable little blue turtle could actually shoot water like a water gun?!