Today was the earliest that Mattea Gack had been awake, even earlier than when he was in school by two whole hours! The young man was walking down the relatively pristine alleyway that led to the backdoor of Poké-Servante Café, where he was now employed.
Gack pushed the door’s handle down, the faint rattling of the mechanism within letting him know it was open. And with that, he enters the building.
The small hallway was relatively lit, the brick walls bearing a white coat of paint, giving the rustic look a hint of professionalism. Shutting the door behind him, he turns to face the time clock on the wall. The old-fashioned mechanical time management device with an analogue clock fit in well with the traditional theming of the Kalosian-inspired café.
Picking up the only card in the holder connected to it, Gack inserted it into the slot, clocking himself in at 7:48 in the morning, making him twelve minutes early for his first full day on the job.
“Bonjour, Mattea,” The man heard the familiar but still alien voice of Chelle the Cinccino, one of the two café managers. She wore the same frilly maid uniform from the last time they met. He learnt that Régine (Chelle’s trainer and the other manager of the establishment) was responsible for making such fancy-looking clothes for the employees.
“Oh, hey Chelle,” Gack greets the co-manager of the café, being nonchalant to the tidbit that he could understand her. “Hope you don’t mind that I’m early for my first proper day here,”
“Not at all,” Chelle shook her head whilst jumping herself up onto a floating counter beside the time clock “I’m more surprised how well you’re used to hearing me speak,” Ever since that fateful day when Gack was hired, part of his initiation included him gaining the power to understand and speak Pokémon fluently, a fact he learnt when after getting out of his ‘uniform’ and hearing a Pidove that loitered around his apartment waiting for him to throw out some bread.
“Yeah, when your neighbours have a noisy Houndoom, you kinda get used to hearing pokémon speak…” Gack nervously chuckles, receiving a smile from the normal type in return.
“Well, at least you’ve got accustomed to part of your new job~” She spoke with a formal informality. She jumps back down from the counter. “Come, we got a lot to do today~” gesturing to Gack to follow her, which he does.
“Oh, and apologies that we had to cut your initiation early the other day,” Chelle talks as she walks past a sharp-dressed Machoke carrying a bag of coffee beans. Despite the idea being that the human would start working first thing, a sudden lunch rush made that impossible for anyone to show him the ropes, leading to him having to wait until today to work.
“It’s alright. Honestly, the the delay let me look up on some stuff I’d have to learn” He mentions to her, following her through an open door to another familiarity flung at Gack’s senses.
The two enter the staffroom where Gack was first hired. The nutty, earthy aroma of freshly ground and brewed espresso wafted from across the room, its source being a personal barista machine and a cup of joe in an elegant porcelain cup upon a saucer.
Discomfort waved over Mattea Gack when he set eyes on the warm beverage. He knew its purpose already and there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Walking up to the counter, he lifts the saucer to his chest, gently gripping the delicate handle of the cup.
“Well, let’s get this over with…” The piping hot beverage met with the partially reluctant human, who drank it down in a singular sip. The bitter flavour was an enjoyable nostalgia to him, but that would be the only part that he would enjoy…
His form shrunk considerably the moment he placed the cup back on the counter. Pitch-black fur sprung from his skin and covered his body which underwent a major metamorphosis. Mattea’s ears grew by tenfold and shifted towards the top of his head, suiting the lagomorphic form he was in the middle of obtaining. Finally, with blackness filling in the whites of his eyes and a cottontail springing from his behind and pitching a tent in his now unwearable clothes. No longer, human, Gack the Lopunny doffed his shirt and stepped out of his undies and trousers.
“You know, you could’ve taken your clothes off before transforming” Chelle comments, watching the Loppuny pick up their attire, blushing from the faint embarrassment of being naked, but not at the same time thanks to the fur
“I-I didn’t feel comfortable stripping in here…” Gack said, his…or more accurately her voice being higher pitched to suit the curvaceous female rabbit body she now flaunted.
“What’s the matter, Worried I might take a peak?” The voice of Régine causes Gack to jump and lose grip of her clothes, almost hitting Chelle with them.
“B-Boss!” Gack turns to face the lilac-haired lady whose alchemical prowess was responsible for his transformation.
“Oh you know I won’t~” The way she spoke was much like the Cinccino she ran the place with, but had a more sultry tone rather than slightly bubbly, didn’t help how she ended her speech with a wink, signifying she enjoyed watching her special blend do its magic. “But it’s good to know that you’re here early though, gives us more time to help get you prepared for your first day,” Regine stood one side of the doorframe, whilst Chelle went to the other, guiding the lop-eared rabbit Pokémon to her next destination.
“Come, let’s get you into your uniform,” With that, Gack got ready to follow her new bosses. She was oddly enthusiastic to see what fancy hand-tailored suit she would wear whilst working in the café…
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“I should’ve realised this earlier…” Gack looks at herself in the mirror,
wearing a frilly, Kalosian maid uniform with a skirt that hid her feet from view, complete with an apron and bonnet just as frilly wasn’t what Gack was expecting at all. Expectations of wearing a butler’s getup, with sharp coattails and a decorative watch in a breast pocket were quickly snuffed out when the human-turned-Lopunny remembered what else got changed when he drank that transformative coffee
“Oh hush now. You look magnifique, Mattea~” Régine comments on the dress she spent the week sewing, feeling joyous pride at how the couture complimented her employee’s curvaceous bunny form.
And judging from how Gack was blushing, it was safe to assume she’s on the same wavelength as the multi-talented lady. Doing a dainty twirl, Gack then looks at Régine
“Y-You think so?” Gack felt unsure how to feel about finding this whole getup cute. This fact was especially bizarre given how she wasn’t usually a girl or a rabbit. But something about being called ‘Magnifique’ was a strange source of dopamine she’d enjoy having more of. Maybe when serving customers she’ll get more!
“Oh, I know so,” Régine adds, gently feeling her black-furred hand. “I made sure this dress would perfectly suit this pretty form of yours,” She smiles, recalling how they had just enough time to get Gack’s measurements before she had to depart. But I didn’t know you’d wear it so well! Plus the fabric it’s made from is special, you can wear it as a human too and it’ll fit perfectly~” The idea of her wearing a maid outfit on the way to work was quite embarrassing, but the partial rush of crossdressing was forming in her mind.
“M-Maybe not…” Gack replies with pure uncertainty, almost like she’s lying about her true intentions.
“But, there’s one problem still…” The lady made the rabbit cock her head in confusion. Could it be she had forgotten something whilst donning it, like the apron knot?
“It’s your fur colour,”
“M-My fur colour?”
Gack winces from the thick tail-like brush of a Smeargle tickling her nude belly. She was trying not to laugh as her white underbelly was painted a chocolatey brown. She sits on what was akin to the bed you’d find in a GP’s office, but much comfier
“Oh don’t worry, dearie. You’ll get used to this feeling” The Smeargle, he learnt was named Peinture spoke with the same accent as Régine, who watches from a sofa whilst sipping at her morning latte.
“I-I get why I need my fur dyed, but is this the only way we can do it?” She asks her boss, stifling a laugh as more of her body is coloured.
“Buying dye suitable for pokémon is quite costly,” Regine explains, swirling the milky coffee in her hand. “Plus, Peinture is well-skilled at his job too, you should see how he dyes my rose when I’m in the mood to be a roserade~” Peinture nods at the praise the lady gave him, looking at her whilst moving onto Gack’s legs.
“Anything for my wonderful wife~” His reply almost made the rabbit sit up in surprise.
“W-Wait, you’re also a-”
“Yes, Peinture is much like you~” Régine answers for her husband, allowing them to work with little distraction. “My sweet artist was always fascinated by what it felt like to be a pokémon. So I made him a potion that grants him a permanent form of his favourite pokémon~” She was happy to explain this bizarre factoid, receiving a pleasant smile from him.
“Well, not always. Would’ve been quite the story to see a Smeargle kissing his wife-to-be at the alter, no?” With a pleasing chuckle, using his tail-brush to now colour her cuffs the proper creamy colouration she should have.
“Now, flip over, we still have your back to do~”
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Mattea Gack delicately spooned steamy, frothy milk into a double shot of espresso. After all that foam was in the cup, she poured the rest into the cup, only spilling a slight bit. After placing a dusting of cocoa powder atop it, she places the freshly made cappuccino on a saucer and onto a tray with a slice of strawberry shortcake.
“Merci, Mattea~” The Snivy maid she saw when first coming in thanked her for their work, using a set of vines to carry it over to a table close by.
“Wonderful job for someone who’s never done barista work before,” Régine congratulates her, receiving a smile from her employee. “Though you did spill a little still,” She points to a stain on the counter, cleaning it with a nearby cloth.
“S-Sorry, I’m just getting used to the heat of the jug still,” Gack mentions, apologising for the mess she had made, but was still happy that she was taking to this almost like a duck to water.
“That’s alright. You can’t be perfect at first~” Placing her hands together, she looks at the front of house with delight, then to the Lopunny. “Now then, do you remember all my pokémon staff’s names?”
“Well…There’s Chelle, she’s the co-manager with you. The Snivy is Croissant. Gardevoir is Gaston. Machoke is Victor and our sous chef is Meringue,” Gack points at a prettily dressed Armaldo who was assisting a human chef with making exquisite meals for the cafégoers.
“Wonderful~” Régine softly claps in amazement at Gack’s memory. “And do you remember FIFO?”
“First In First Out. If I ever have to grab stuff from the pantry or fridge, I have to ensure I grab the oldest first and put the second oldest forward. All new stock always goes at the back,”
“Excellente!” Another solo round of applause came from her, happy to see how great of an employee Gack will be. “Here, for showing yourself to be such a model employee~” Régine handed her about 500 pokédollars as a bonus for answering her questions with no hesitation.
The awe on the rabbit’s face as she held the money was prominent. She had never got a bonus from part-time jobs before.
This was the moment she knew, she was going to do wonderful as a Lopunny at a maid café.
