Any job you have in the real world is most likely a job in the Pokémon world. I mean, someone has to work retail in Celadon’s department store. Someone has to work in the factory to make Pokéballs, and someone has to be a scientist to figure out how to make potions and antidotes work. Of course, then you have the nursing jobs at Pokémon Centers and working at the police station with Officer Jenny because there’s always someone trying to steal Pokémon and use them to rule (or destroy) the world. But if you could be those things in the real world, you probably want to do something different in the Pokémon world. Luckily, there are a ton of other jobs that are more Pokémon-based.

My real world job has to do with money and math, and all I can think of is how inflated the Pokémon world’s economy must be. I think I would like to step away from the equivalent of my real world job if I were to exist in the Pokémon world. Granted, I certainly have enough experience in retail, so perhaps I would end up at some Pokémart. Working at a specialty shop – like one for Pokéballs or evolution stones – would be interesting. Customers for specialty shops would be more interesting than general stores!

I agree. It would be interesting to work in a specialty shop like that. Similar to working in a pet store in real life. I know for some it’s just a paycheck, but you’d think you’d get to learn more and have some knowledge on the animals they care for. If you worked at a store that sold evolution stones and items then you’d probably get to learn a lot about the different ways Pokémon evolve and what makes them tick and how it makes them stronger. There’s a lot of thought and feeling that goes into it, too, as we know from Ash’s Pikachu and Dawn’s Piplup.

Absolutely! Trying to help trainers make the right decisions for them and their Pokémon would be an important, but fun, job. To go along with that, I wouldn’t mind also working in a Day Care center. Not necessarily as a breeder, but someone who would help babysit others’ Pokémon to keep them happy and healthy. It’s a throwback to when I worked at a dog day care facility years ago!

I think that’s what I’d end up doing. I’m a petsitter and caregiver in real life and would love to be a “Pokémon sitter” for people, assuming people go on vacation without their Pokémon… which they don’t. I guess that wouldn’t work at all, but being at the Day Care or working on a Pokémon Ranch or something would be delightful. I also think I’d probably still be a writer in some form. Maybe not a journalist, per se, but probably make Pokémon listicles for the internet like how Lucy does in the Detective Pikachu movie.

Hey, some people might. Remember the Pikachu’s Vacation short before the first Pokémon movie? Imagine working at a little resort only for Pokémon while the trainers go off and do their own thing. Being a writer wouldn’t be bad at all, and I wouldn’t mind making listicles either, haha! I think I would enjoy doing more profile pieces, though – interviewing trainers, like gym leaders or Elite Four members or being a journalist reporting on various phenomena in the world. It would probably be a bit dangerous, but it would be exciting. Alternatively, to take that down a notch, being a Pokémon photographer wouldn’t be bad. Perhaps not a wild Pokémon photographer, but one that specialized in portraits.

True, we could totally take care of people’s Pokémon while they’re suntanning on the beach. Doing interviews and such would also be fun. I’d probably run a Pokémon podcast, educating people about different species and then interviewing trainers and gym leaders here and there to go more in-depth for my audience. I also thought of Pokémon photography for my next option. I love taking photos as a hobby, even though my camera never leaves my backyard and I have a million pictures of House Sparrows. But I love using my pets as guinea pigs to learn more about camera and I think it’d be fun to take photos of people and their Pokémon for their Christmas cards. Basically, it sounds like I’d still be doing what I do in real life in the Pokémon world. It would just be all Pokémon related.

That all sounds fantastic! It is fun to realize that our real world jobs could translate well enough into the Pokémon world. It wasn’t too difficult to think of how we’d fit into the Pokémon world if we did not become trainers – although that would be a very viable option – and it is funny how many of our choices have to do with learning more about Pokémon species themselves, what with podcasts and evolutionary items and caring for them while their trainers are away. For a major career, I honestly wouldn’t mind working under a professor if I did not choose to travel and battle with a team.

Being a professor doesn’t sound bad at all, but I don’t know if I could handle that. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to handle so much traveling that the Pokémon trainers have to do, but I think I’d choose that first. Then I could go above and beyond and become a gym leader or maybe even work my way up to being an Elite Four member or even the Champion. Of course, my first choice would still be learning more about Pokémon and educating others about them all the while caring for them as best I can.

If we were thinking of this question years ago, we probably would have been like, “Yes, I want to be the very best,” and wish to become trainers like the main characters of the anime and video games. I wouldn’t have minded being a battler, still wouldn’t, I think, but I’m old enough now to realize that I would prefer to be in a typical NPC role. We’ll be those tutorial guides, the ones passing down knowledge or helpful items with our partner Pokémon beside us, and I’m absolutely okay with that.

Kris

Kris is the older sister of the pair, and has been playing video games since she was able to read. She was introduced to the gaming world mainly by her uncles with the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 consoles.

As a child, she wanted to grow up to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, but instead she works a typical 9 to 5 office job. Much of her other time is spent pet-sitting, writing, and role-playing shenanigans in tabletop RPGs.

Rachel

Often seen as the second player, Rachel grew up watching Kris play video games before she was old enough to pick up a Nintendo controller herself. Now she only sometimes gives Kris the hard bosses to defeat.

In real life, Rachel is a full-time pet sitter and part-time storyteller. She writes game reviews for Pure Nintendo Magazine, and is working on creating her own video game.