August and Blue stepped into Cedon Game Corner.

  Unlike the near-empty, desote atmosphere in the games, the casino before August was lively—borderline chaotic.

  Office workers in white shirts, heavily made-up women, and balding middle-aged men with weary faces all sat before the slot machines, yanking the levers from time to time, their eyes glued to the screens. With every spin, their faces flickered between excitement and disappointment.

  Desire and greed intertwined, forming the scene before August.

  Beyond the packed slot machine section, he also noticed a few cw machines and arcade cabinets nearby. Only a handful of students pyed them, making the area feel deserted compared to the bustling slots.

  "First time here, guests?"

  As August scanned the room, a casino attendant approached with a polite inquiry.

  "That obvious?" Blue feigned curiosity, pying the role of a tourist.

  The attendant smiled. "Regurs usually go straight to the counter to exchange for tokens."

  Frequent visitors had a clear purpose—none of them would be wandering around aimlessly like the two of them.

  "What's the exchange rate for tokens?"

  "Fifty tokens for one thousand yen, five hundred for ten thousand yen."

  After stating the rates, the attendant discreetly observed August’s expression. Seeing no reaction, he added, "We also offer bulk purchase discounts. If you exchange one hundred thousand yen at once, you'll receive a limited-edition token box as a bonus."

  Blue turned to look at August, her gaze carrying the silent question one might ask their boyfriend.

  Without hesitation, August waved his hand grandly. "We'll take a hundred thousand yen worth of tokens!"

  He exuded the aura of a wealthy spender.

  After all, this was official business—he could cim it as an expense!

  Hearing this, the attendant's smile grew even more enthusiastic.

  A first-time visitor immediately spending a hundred thousand yen? A VIP for sure! While he wouldn’t get a commission, handling such transactions still counted toward his performance, meaning a bigger bonus at the end of the month.

  Swipe card, payment complete.

  August didn’t even need to walk to the counter—the attendant personally fetched the token box for him.

  "If you're looking for something rexing, I recommend the Pokémon Gachalore, a game simuting Pokémon capture. Or you might enjoy the test rhythm game imported from Sinnoh featuring Kricketune’s melodies," the attendant suggested.

  "Of course, if you're looking for more excitement, I highly recommend our casino's signature attraction—the slot machines!"

  "Since our grand opening, Cedon Game Corner's slots have always been a customer favorite. One particurly lucky pyer once won enough tokens to exchange for a Dratini with just twenty coins!"

  The attendant emphasized the slots, luring August with tales of overnight riches.

  Who knew how many people had fallen for this pitch, getting addicted to the slots and losing everything?

  August saw through the ploy immediately. But he wasn’t here just to py—his real goal was to uncover evidence that this pce was a Team Rocket hideout.

  Jumping straight into slot machines wouldn’t get him any useful intel.

  So he turned to Blue, pretending to seek his girlfriend’s opinion.

  Blue instantly understood his intent from his gaze. Acting sweetly, she clung to his arm and said, "Darling, slot machines aren’t my thing. Let’s go py the cw machines first!"

  The attendant was speechless.

  You bought five thousand tokens, and you’re only going to py cw machines?! Aren't you at least a little tempted by the thrill of the slots?

  That’s Cedon Game Corner’s signature attraction!

  What’s fun about cw machines and rhythm games—things you can find anywhere?!

  But as an attendant, he couldn’t object. Holding back his disappointment, he could only watch as August and Blue walked toward the cw machines.

  ...

  August inserted another token into the cw machine, gripping the joystick with intense focus.

  Yet, just as the cw ascended, it loosened its grip.

  August smacked the machine in frustration. "Damn it! Aren't these things supposed to have a guaranteed win after a certain number of tries?"

  He had already spent a hundred tokens on this machine.

  And still, not a single plushie!

  "Maybe… we should stop? It’s not like we’re losing too much," Blue approached, trying to calm August, who was clearly getting obsessed.

  August turned to look at her—

  And immediately saw that her arms were overflowing with plushies, barely able to hold them all.

  "….."

  If he remembered correctly, she had only taken thirty tokens earlier…

  With just thirty tokens, she had won this many plushies, while he had spent a hundred and won nothing?

  Could it be… that he was just terrible at this?

  August’s expression wavered.

  The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

  No. Impossible. Absolutely not!

  Cw machines were a simple matter of pressing a button!

  He must have just been unlucky.

  Unwilling to give in, August inserted another token.

  Ten seconds ter—

  Plop.

  The plushie slipped from the cw once again.

  August stared in silence at the Slowpoke plushie lying behind the gss. His expression shifted through various emotions.

  Then, after a long moment of contemption, he finally came to a realization.

  "I figured it out!"

  This had to be Team Rocket’s doing! They must have rigged the cw machine’s probability settings against him—this was all part of their scheme!

  Truly despicable, Team Rocket!

  With this in mind, August picked up the token box beside him. "You’re right. Let’s call it a day."

  Losing a hundred tokens? Pocket change.

  But he would remember this grudge against Team Rocket!

  Seeing August finally give up on battling the cw machine, Blue sighed in relief.

  "Where to next? The leisure section doesn’t have much else to do," she said.

  This was their agreed-upon code—meaning she had found no clues about Team Rocket in this area.

  August figured the real lead was likely at the front counter. But since the attendant had taken the initiative to exchange tokens for him earlier, he hadn’t had the chance to approach it himself.

  After a moment of thought, he decided to burn through all his tokens. That way, he’d have a legitimate excuse to head to the counter for more.

  And the fastest way to spend tokens?

  August’s gaze nded on the slot machines. Countless people had lost their fortunes here—burning through his remaining four thousand tokens should be effortless.

  With that in mind, August decred, "Let’s try the slots!"

  He was curious to see just how rigged Team Rocket's machines were.

  Blue, still carrying her mountain of plushies, quickly followed.

  ---

  T/N: oh apparently you can use yen or pokemon dolr either works!