Verdanturf was fairly close to Lavaridge where his family lived, so sometimes Josh liked to venture out there to pick up some groceries that were a bit harder to find in Lavaridge. Though today he had heard apparently there was a bake sale going on, so he was definitely going to pick something up for his family. And he was a bit of a foodie himself, so he wasn’t going to pass up a chance to try a few treats!

A man with a fashionable hairdo appeared to have laid out some pies, jams and other berry-based foods at a stall, and it was definitely eye-catching. And nose-catching too! Maybe there'd be some Unown cookies or something too? But it was fairly clear that this place was popular to a fault, and even Josh could see that the man was struggling. He was clearly exhausted, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep it up much longer. So instead of approaching from the front, he had approached from the side to indicate he wasn’t a customer.

“You look like you’re having trouble. Do you need help laying everything out?”

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The more he looked at it, the worse the situation looked. The man couldn’t even talk to him for two seconds before being assailed by another customer. What in the world had Josh just gotten himself into? Scratching his head sheepishly, he told himself that he had offered his help, so he was going to have to just do it.

“Josh” he replied calmly as he approached and looked to the boxed items. “Tell me where you need what to go, and I’ll try to memorize them and get them out. Not my first time manning a booth.”

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He nodded his head as he reached over and took his hand, with a deceptively firm grip at that. “Good to meet you, Taro. Let’s get to work.”

Pulling off the leather trainer’s jacket and placing it behind the stall, it would reveal that while he wore a businessman’s dress shirt, his body was muscular and toned, clearly someone used to heavy lifting. Which would be good for the task at hand. Once instructed, he got to work. The heft of the goods was surprising, but he adjusted quickly as he placed them to and fro. Between working on a Pokemon ranch during childhood and in helping to sell his mother’s goods during the start of RaiCorp, he had plenty of experience here.

“I’m surprised at how busy it is. Is this a normal turnout?”

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Well, on the bright side, it seemed like it wouldn’t take too long for them to finish up. A half hour wasn’t long, though he was sure it was going to feel like it considering the high speed they were going to have to act at in order to get this done. So he knew he was going to have to steel himself. Items continued to be placed with speed and precision, and not much seemed to distract the blonde from his task. He understood the rush as well as anyone.

Of course, conversation helped to take away the sting a bit. He smirked a bit when he mentioned the “communication system of aunties and grandmas of a small town”. That sounded familiar, alright. “I’ve seen that even over in Lavaridge. But it’s been a long time since I have seen this kind of rush for something that isn’t part of a larger chain” he admitted in turn. “Are you normally working here, or are you helping out like I am?”

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“Considering the packs are as hot as a Blast Burn, I’d wager their freshness probably helps” he joked in turn. Things started to settle down at last, and by Arceus he was exhausted. But he powered through, knowing that it would be over sooner or later. Though he was surprised to hear that this was Taro’s first actual bake sale. His eyes widened in surprise at that. What in the world kind of goods were these, or what kind of advertisement had happened, for that kind of turnout?

“That’s incredibly impressive” he pointed out. “No wonder you were understaffed for this. The turnout is amazing considering this is your first go at it.”

The final 15. All that was left to do was clean up. Soon enough, they got it done, and the blonde leaned against the stall as he caught his breath. He couldn’t remember a stall being this busy since the first time his mother had come out with one of her experimental inventions to sell back in the early days. Thank the gods that muscle memory had kicked in.

To his surprise, the man offered a box of pastries. He considered refusing, as he was just trying to help, but he knew it’d be impolite. He took it with a grateful smile. “Thank you, I’m sure my family will love it” he thanked him in turn. Somehow he doubted the man wouldn’t have lasted, considering the work ethic he’d seen. He was clearly just being modest. “Perhaps I’ll drop by to help out again sometime if it comes to it. It looks like you’re going to need it.”

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