Welcome to the Pokémon Pit!

A downtown Vegas casino is offering people who are down and out after waking up as a pokemon the opportunity to earn a living by working in the first ever all-pokemon casino pit. Follow a young male Meowscarada new hire as he becomes part of the casino family. Let's Go Gambling!

Introduction

”It’s all about game protection. Be polite and courteous. When in doubt, call the floor.”
You mentally went through the wisdom your instructor gave you
Your first day going solo was always going to be nerve wracking, but you got this.
It’s just playing a game with people, have fun with it.
You had been going to dealer school for a couple weeks before fate decided your life wasn’t interesting enough and threw you a curveball
That came in the form of waking up one morning as a mossy, green cat shaped person
A “Meowscarada” your name tag helpfully said underneath your first name
Learning to cut chips and pitch cards was even harder with paw pads, but over time you adjusted and could handle a game like anyone else.
The audition went so well, you skipped over the usual break-in grave shift job and got hired right away at a Downtown casino
Vegas had always had dancing dealers to lure people in but this was different
The “PokerMonster” pit dodged copyright while telling people exactly what to expect
Nowhere else in the world could you experience an all-Pokémon dealing staff
The management must have spent a great deal to hire all these people together, get them trained up, and outfit the variety of body types in traditional black and whites
Surely there must have been a national recruiting effort, if not global
Given how hard it was to make a living after being turned into a Pokémon, you weren’t surprised people would take the secure paycheck and benefits
There was a Lopunny dealing Baccarat
A Quaquaval done up like a show girl dealing roulette
And for the ladies, the craps table was staffed by an Urshifu, a Toxtricity, a Thyphlosion, and even a Machoke
You were on Blackjack and carnival games tonight
On some level, you knew you were hired as eye candy
At the same time, you had always loved meeting new people, learning a bit about them, and making them feel welcome
Where else could you land a gig like this?

Get to Know the Leadership

The leadership of your casino was surprisingly open and approachable
Since they were a privately owned company instead of being beholden to share holders, things worked a bit differently
After your audition, you actually got to meet the VP of Casino Operations, Kirk Stevens
You got the sense that the VPs were willing to take on some interesting projects, as long as they understood they had to perform or risk getting cut
During your brief chat with Kirk it almost felt like he was running the Red Cross the way he felt the need to give back to the community in these uncertain times.
”I don’t know too much about these monster things, but that’s not the point. Imagine if you had people all around the world waking up and their arms had fallen off, you’d want to help them! My business is people. You want them to have a good time, so they need to be around happy people. I get happy workers who want to do what they’re doing by treating them with respect and making sure they have what they need. If I can give my people a path up where they have dignity and a way to provide for themselves, that means I’m doing something good for the world.”
Bringing the rhetoric back down to Earth, finding and hiring people turned into Pokémon who were in need and needed help was genuinely quite the task
Yes it was dealing casino games and being part of the entertainment, but where else could you be your new self so openly and keep a decently paying job?
Your first week, you'd be shadowed by your two managers
The Pit Boss, Guido, has been around since the mob days and acted like it too
No one could sweat the money they way he did
Change the dice, check for card counters, make sure the ball goes around at least three times after you wave off the table for no more bets
If he caught you mis-dealing, you’d be called out on it instantly and be taken off the game for a break
Thankfully, it went the other way too.
If he saw someone try to take advantage of you, either cheating or touching the merchandise, god help them
The rumor is that he used to be called the Roto-Rooter for what he did to cheaters in the basement
With both the Pokémon Pit and the regular pit to manage, you didn’t see too much of him around
That was why you had a specific floor supervisor David Kim, an elegant looking Gallade
He was a unique character, even among everyone else you would meet
Professionally Unprofessional is the best term you could come up with
He would run everything super well and was always available to help you out
The only problem is that he has the sense of humor of an internet comment section
”Remember, last one to come gets paid!”
”Backdoor BJ? Congratulations sir!”
”Dice off the table! No roll! We call that one the OJ - two die outside.”
”We’ve got a natural over in Bacc. Nine Nine Nine, that’s the German birth control”
”How's it going over here for roulette? Want me to check your balls? You've got to keep them clean!”
Casinos are already filled with innuendos abound but this guy could take it to a level all his own
Being honest, it was probably a good thing for the new hires
If you can deal with David, you can survive any drunk trying to be clever when he tells you it’s a 50/50 chance: “it either happens or it doesn’t!”
HR said this was a David friendly workplace and they meant it.

On the Job Training

Day 3 of working with Guido and David
”Listen up Junior. I’m an old man in a bambino’s world so I know how to survive in the biz.”
”Trust the old man. He’s survived the bimbo world!”
”Go ahead and deal to our three guests here.”
Some of your new coworkers were helping you practice on a blackjack table
Ace / 5 / 2
Facedown for the Dealer
17 / 15 /

BOOOOM

Catlike instincts made you jump, nearly ripping the felt with your claws
Embarrassed but calmed down, you looked at what made the noise
One of the technicians dropped a crate on the ground
”No, No, NO! You gotta work on that”

“I’m sorry about the table”

”No, not that, do you realize what you did? You looked away from the game and left it exposed. Cheats will cause distractions like that to see who looks. Now they know you’re weak and can try to get one over. Some will try to grab chips right outta the tray.”
”If you’re exposed, someone will try to grab your assets!”
”Quiet you. I’ve seen it before. One guy drops a glass on the tile to make a shattering sound, his accomplice on the table that just got dealt a blackjack slips an extra 100 under his wager and we’re out an extra $150.”
”Don’t let them sneak in a black to fuck you.”
”This wiseguy’s gonna get himself killed talking like that… Anyway. You’re doing good. I just gotta put you through your paces. Everyone has a target on their ass -“
”Like a tramp stamp”
”- and we don’t want you to fall victim to any tricks. I’ll leave you with big mouth here to wrap up.”
Guido left for the main floor, clapping his technician conspirator on the back as he walked over
”I joke around, but only because you’re doing really well. Everyone fails that test the first time, it’s just part of learning. You’re handling your change and a new job really well. I can’t deal much anymore with these arms but I can see you’ve got it under control.”

“Maintain eye contact during a BJ session, I guess?”

”Ha! You’ve got it! Get to know these three and run the shoe, then head on home. Great work today!”

Getting to Know the Crew

The dealer sitting on first base was a rather chubby Zangoose, Lauren.
”I remember my first dealing job at the SLS after the rebrand. Was I ever nervous! I had a guy martingale a $5 table minimum to the $1000 table limit over the course of a half hour, make it back to even, start another martingale, and then get stuck with not enough money to split his Aces. I was like, ‘oh my gosh, sir, is there someone I can call?’ worried about him going broke. It was only later in the break room that I learned he was a regular high limit player who liked to do that for the thrill and would play for $500 a hand normally.”

Wow! You really do meet all kinds of characters is this job huh?

The young meowscarada was listening intently as the cards flowed from the shoe
Lauren had clearly been dealing the longest time of anyone here and had even been a relatively early transformation victim
David said she was the go-to for advice for anyone looking to take their game to the next level and you could see why
Being able to follow a conversation while moving the cards and chips was the key to any dealer’s success
Being able to do so without accidentally marking a card with a claw tip or grabbing the wrong number of chips with a puffy pink paw pad was even harder.

“I’ve got to ask, you’ve been dealing for a while right? Even after your change?”

"Yep. Trained on every single game, including high limits and European roulette”

“How do you manage to do that with your claws? I’ve still got to pay attention with these things.”

"Two things. I found one of those rotary nail files for dogs works really well for me. Keeping a rounded tip prevents accidents. And two, aren’t you part cat? I thought those could retract their claws?”

“That’s good advice, I hadn’t thought of it. And no, try as I might, these seem to be permanent. I’m a grass type so do you think these are supposed to be like thorns or something? My fur is kind of mossy.”

”I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I make do with mine, and I don’t even know how to do my nails like you girls do!”
That was Jeffrey. A tall imposing Incineroar, who still had a goofy lovable air about him.

“I’m not a girl. I’m a guy like you. My name is Alex, short for Alexander.”

”Oh, geez. My apologies. I’m so sorry. Shame the universe decided to turn us into Japanese characters huh? If we were living in a comic book universe, I bet things would be different huh? As a kid I always liked DC and Marvel equally and never got the rivalry.”

“No harm done. Just another thing to live with. I never read many comics.”

”Yeah, I was always a bit of a nerd. Makes being turned into a jock cat all the more confusing. Makes talking to people a bit easier though. I just sort of pretend like I’m an entertainer and I feel myself get better at it. A neat trick that works for me is to play the bad guy representing the “house” so the players feel like they’re defeating me when they win! It just starts to come naturally to me! You should try it!”

“You don’t happen to know what a ‘heel’ is do you?”

”No, why?”

“No reason.”

There was that instinct thing popping up again.
Apparently some people felt strong urges to act like the pokemon they had been turned into?
You hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary so far.
Just something to keep an eye on, I guess.
Oh you felines and your claws. I guess not everyone can be so lucky as to have feathered hands… I’m only kidding. I genuinely love your handsome style and can’t wait to work alongside you. We’re starters from the same game aren’t we? I’m sure our fans will love that!”
Roxanne. The fabulous, flamboyant Quaquaval lady.
Every single time you had seen her so far, she was always clad in some kind of showgirl styled elaborate costume.
If it was an act, she never knew when to drop it. If it was Pokémon instinct taking over, then it was confused about what culture it was supposed to represent.
During an aside with David, he assured you that this was her natural self.

“You have fans?”

"Oh yes, we all do, and you will too with that classy masquerade mask. The girls will be breaking down your door. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to be a star. I don’t know how you feel about your change, but I honestly think this was the best thing that ever happened to me! I love every minute of being this fabulous!”

“Well I hope your optimism rubs off on me.”

”In that case, I’ll give you a tip. Every day you wake up, shower, and haul yourself down to work, you have a choice to make. Do you want to be average and just go along to get by, or do you want to make today the best it can be and help everyone else find the joy in it too? All you have to do is give someone a smile and tell them you’re glad to see them, it goes a long way!”
”Wow! Miss Roxy did you have that prepared or something?”
”She’s not wrong kiddo, just don’t burn yourself out. You don’t have to give 110% every day.”
”You know, because you can’t give more than 100%, that means if you say you give 110%, you were really only giving 92% when you said you were giving 100%”
What a crowd to be a part of.
If you were unsure before, you were certain now
This was the right choice
You were never going back to before.

The B Team

Your first week went off without a hitch
No more training wheels and no more dealing to your co-workers
Time to show 'em what you're made of
Granted, that also meant you would have to start getting scheduled for shifts now
The “PokerMonster” pit was not 24/7 like the rest of the casino
It came down to who was trained for which games and worked which shifts
10am to 6pm was the “midday”, 6pm to 2am was “swing”, and 2am to 10am, normally the “graveyard” shift, was closed completely
During orientation, it was explained that this was a “keep your own tokes” position.
If you gave excellent service and someone on your table who tipped handsomely, you got to keep all of what you earned
Alternatively, if you were a sourpuss or got some real cheapskates, you might not make much more than minimum.
This led to an interesting strategic decision: do you go for the midday crowd when regulars come in with a smaller budget but are looking to build relationships ? Or do you go for the swing shift when the high rollers play and the crowd gets a bit looser?
You decided it was necessary to try both and get a feel for the clientele
Knowing how to deal all the major games meant you always had a spot at any table
The unusual hours didn’t bother you as much as you expected it would
Whether that was some cat-napping feline instinct or the result of having a messed up sleep schedule while going to school would have to just be left as a mystery of life
You swear you didn’t used to knead and fluff your pillow this much either, but that’s probably nothing to worry about
Joining a morning “coffee and craps” table during your a trial shift meant you got to meet more of your coworkers more closely
You were always drawn to craps because of the camaraderie and excitement of the table
Plus, a fully staffed game had four dealers working so the time went fast when you could riff off each other to entertain the players
You were third base with a couple guys standing on the hook
The boxman was a dapper Meowth named Joey, overseeing the game from a tall barstool setup for him to stand on
He seemed to be a crowd favorite with the dice players.
Working the other side of the table was a tall, surprisingly lanky Urshifu wearing a vest, Rodriguez dealing a couple on the straight out
”Six, Point of Six. Five-one to get it done. Odds for you ma’am?”
His accent was thick but ambiguously latino
Apparently, he was the new hire just before you, and had been recruited from a rough part of town
His stature and demeanor gave him the sense of a resolute brick wall
No one but a fellow dealer would notice his hands shaking as he cut out change
and finally, a Lopunny, Sarah, was working the stick and trying her best to sell the table on prop bets
Was she really wearing a playbunny outfit, or was that just how a sleeveless dress looked on her?
”Hardways? Horns? Hops?”

”Yeah I bet you know all about the hops! Give me a three-way red.” one of your players offered as he tossed three chips to the center

For a second, you thought of saying something, about respecting the dealers and making comments like that
She answered first, glaring with surprisingly hard eyes, but pulling a cutesy pose
”If you really, want to see me hop, I’ll need some kind of carrot on a stick”

”Fine. Dollar each on the hardways for the crew.”

Her voice was naturally mellifluous, but you swore you almost heard a sigh or grunt before she started talking
Whatever it was, the customers didn’t notice
You got the rest of your players taken care of and their bets all set up
”Dice out. Hands up!” the rabbit girl annunciated as she pushed the cherry candy cubes across the luxurious black felt of the table over to your side of the table
A woosh, a clack and a cheer immediately followed

”Hard six winner. Three and a Three”

Edit

Pub: 11 Nov 2025 05:57 UTC

Edit: 20 Nov 2025 06:03 UTC

Views: 23