Harper snuck from fence post to fence post, keeping enough distance to listen to the suited man's conversation.

"I'll find ze right pokémon for ze role before I return, so make sure ze movie set is ready by zen! We shall make zis movie magnificent!" The man ordered, shutting his phone off and stuffing it into his pocket.

The man began walking over to the ranch couple who were continuing their work on the stablehouse. Harper realized that they were fixing the same wall as yesterday before he showed up covered in wounds. Winston and Willow sat nearby, observing the herd of Mareep that grazed near the fence.

Harper hid behind a barrel, peeking over the side with one eye. Reed and Meadow turned their heads, hearing footsteps behind their backs.

"Mr. Stu Deeoh!" Reed exclaimed as he stood up from a crouched position. "What brings you back to our ranch?"

Reed took off his glove and extended a hand over to Mr. Stu Deeoh, who in response extended his. Both men gave each other a firm handshake and let go.

"Oh, please, just call me Stu. You see, simplicity 'as its own charm." He requested, turning over and giving a handshake to Meadow.

"I was just in ze neighborhood, and I just wanted to thank both of you again for allowing my Pokéstar Studios to film 'ere. Your generosity is truly appreciated."

"Of course Stu, we were more than happy to let you use our ranch," Meadow said as she looked at Reed. "Floccesy Ranch in a short movie, what a dream come true. I don't want to sound biased but 'Pokémon Farm' is my favorite from your studio."

"Ah, zat's great to 'ear!" Mr. Stu Deeoh chuckled with a big grin on his face before it slowly changed into a small frown.

"Is something the matter, Stu?"

"Sorry, I never wanted to bring any gloominess over 'ere." Mr. Stu Deeoh said while looking at the sky. "Hearing your opinions cheered me up, but I don't think it's enough to save Pokéstar Studios. It's a challenging situation."

"What do you mean? Is something bad happening?"

"Something very difficult indeed. We don't 'ave enough budget to keep ze studio afloat for much longer. We only 'ave enough for one last film since our last film was such a flop. Who decided on a romance film with a Jynx without my approval anyway?" Mr. Stu Deeoh explained as he shook his head side-to-side.

"Ah, my apologies for rambling on about zis. It's just that ze movie currently in production 'as great potential, but we don't 'ave the perfect pokémon for ze main role and our current 'uman main role is, as you say, not ze best. 'e was our only choice for ze role since other movie studios stole our star actors and actresses. Curse Pokéball Pictures." he grumbled as he shook his fist.

"Gee, Stu," Reed sighed. "Is there anything that we can do to help?"

Realizing the conversation was about to end soon, Harper stepped out of his hiding spot and slowly walked toward the couple.

"Riolu!" Meadow called out. "Feeling good enough to walk already?"

Mr. Stu Deeoh turned around and looked down, making eye contact with the bipedal jackal.

"Oh. My. Arceus," he crouched down, observing Harper as he whispered to himself. After a minute of incoherent mumbling, Mr. Stu Deeoh promptly stood up with a wide smile.

"This Riolu is ze perfect pokémon for ze movie!" He cried out as he turned to Reed. "Is zis Riolu yours?"

"Nope. Our herdiers found him in the forest. He forgot his memories and was injured but we treated him right and proper."

"He's perfect for ze role! I was in search of a pokémon zat would work as a partner and was a Fighting-type. Who knew zat coming back to Floccesy Ranch was ze perfect occasion?"

Mr. Stu Deeoh gave a hearty laugh before looking at Harper. "So what do you think, boy? Do you want to become an actor?"

Harper nodded furiously.

Mr. Stu Deeoh laughed again from Harper's immediate response. "Ah, why, thanks for ze positive attitude! I'm feeling so much better already! We must go now! Moviemaking can't go on without someone in front of ze camera!"

Reed and Meadow leaned towards Harper, both prepared to say their goodbyes.

"We talked with the police and they're looking for the attacker, be safe, ok?"

Harper quickly hid the grimace on his face, knowing that they wouldn't find the attacker or any attacker at all.

"Ok, Reed. I don't know how I'll ever repay you but I will."

Reed smiled, satisfied with his answer despite the language barrier. Meadow dropped to her knees and gave him a hug.

"Stay safe and be the biggest movie star for us, ok?" She said as she tightened her hug.

Harper grunted, unable to speak due to his lungs feeling they were about to be crushed. Meadow let go, standing back up as he started to breathe heavily. Winston and Willow walked up soon after, both licking his cheeks.

"You be careful out there, son."

"We don't want to see you covered in injuries ever again, ok?"

Harper grinned at the Herdiers. "Of course. Next time you see me, it'll be on the big screen."

He turned to Mr. Stu Deeoh and began walking out of the ranch, both waving back to the two ranch couples.

After Harper lost sight of the ranch on the horizon, he looked up at Mr. Stu Deeoh.

"So, what's the movie about?"

"Ah, so you're curious about Pokéstar Studios aren't you?"

~Oh right, people can't understand me.~

"Well, my little riolu, Pokéstar Studios is the most famous movie studio 'ere in Unova! I myself built it from the ground up. Our movies 'ave always captivated our audience, and we want to continue zat goal forever and ever!"

Mr. Stu Deeoh continued walking before coming to a steady halt and turned to Harper, kneeling down on one knee and placing his hand on his shoulder.

"I know I asked if you wanted to be an actor in my movie already, but I just want to ask again. You want to be a world-famous star?"

Harper gave a thumbs up, flashing a fang while grinning.

"Fantastique! Let us make 'aste! I'll show you around ze studio!"

Mr. Stu Deeoh resumed his brisk pace, Harper following suit. Virbank City and Pokéstar Studio were now within view. Just a bit further till his second shot.

----------------------------------------

"Holy shit, this place is bright."

Pokéstar Studio's name was on the dot. Everywhere Harper looked, there was something glowing bright to hurt his eyes. The path took a golden sheen, its edges neatly dotted with floor lights. Each section of the pavement had engravings of people and pokémon's names with their hand and paw prints. One name stood out to him as he stepped over the Walk of Fame.

~Brycen, why does that sound familiar?~

As he continued walking, Harper saw multiple vanity vans and storage warehouses. A large model of a bridge stood out to him, looking oddly similar to another bridge back in the old world.

"Ah, I 'ave observed your keen interest in ze Skyarrow Bridge model, non?" Mr. Stu Deeoh exclaimed, walking over to the bridge replica. "Zis was a crucial scene in a monster movie featuring a Tyranitar! Ah, those were ze glory days..."

Mr. Stu Deeoh stood still, entranced in his past memories until Harper gave a tug on his pants, waking the man up.

"Oh, where are my manners? Pardon moi, Riolu. Ze soundstage should be just around ze corner."

The both of them made their way to a large structure, the top decorated with LED lights and colorful artwork. The sign depicted a ginormous, mecha dinosaur fighting against a superhero as a UFO hovered over the both of them. The place was practically screaming, "I'm a sound studio!"

"Zis is the spot, Riolu," Mr. Stu Deeoh announced as he pointed his arm toward the building. "Here, we create all our best movies and 'ave our actors and actresses shine brightly in their roles. I know you'll do just ze same."

Harper smiled in response, the praise he was receiving already in the past hour exceeded the amount he got back in his past life. Mr. Stu Deeoh opened the door, letting Harper in first, before walking in himself.

When Harper entered the sound studio, he was met with a cacophony of creative chaos. The studio crew paced from one spot to another, checking the equipment before moving on to the next. He could somehow sense the tension in the room. The desperation to keep movie production going and to not lose their jobs hung firmly in the air. The fluorescent lights shone brightly onto the set, which resembled a theme park. A merry-go-round and a mini Ferris wheel were placed to the side, both in the middle of technical repairs by staff.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Mr. Stu Deeoh and Harper made their way through the set, stepping over cables that snaked through the floor like an ekans until they were behind an aged man, clothed in a brown suit and hat.

"Director Sergio! I 'ave found ze perfect pokémon!"

"I swear, Mr. Stu Deeoh. I prefer you don't call me by my first name," He turned around to face Mr. Stu Deeoh. Sergio looked down, seeing Harper give an awkward wave.

"Wow, Mr. Stu Deeoh. You really did find a 'mon for the role," Sergio began looking at Harper's appearance, his eyes moving up and down before locking onto his chest area. "So what's with the burn mark?"

"Ze people who healed 'im did ze best zey could, but it's all right either way. Nothing our VFX team can't edit out, right?"

"They better get bonuses then, the team's already worked their asses off in our past movies," Sergio sighed as he began flipping through his clipboard. He landed on the final page, turned the board around, and showed it to Mr. Stu Deeoh. The board was out of reach for Harper to read, but whatever was written changed Mr. Stu Deeoh's facial expression.

"We only have enough in our budget to shoot a two more shots and do a test screenin'."

"And zat's all we'll need to make Pokéstar Studio rise to its former glory, Director Sergio! I trust Riolu to you, so if you'll excuse me, I 'ave other movie matters to attend to."

"But Mr. Stu Deeoh, this is the only movie in production righ— and he's gone."

Before Sergio could finish his sentence, Mr. Stu Deeoh was already out the door.

He sighed to himself, muttering about needing a smoke break before looking at Harper.

"What moves do you know?"

Harper, taken aback by the sudden question, didn't respond. What moves did he know? All he knew was that he was a Fighting-type and that the riolu evolutionary line were empaths. Harper cursed himself, angry that he didn't play his run of Black 2 further.

"Oi, you gonna show me or what? We're kinda runnin' low on time," The director impatiently tapped his wrist.

Harper shrugged, shaking his head as he raised his arms.

"You don't know? What, did you forget how to use Force Palm or somethin'?"

Sergio got his answer when Harper shook his head.

"Damn it, I wouldn't have chosen you if the studio weren't so desperate for talent right now. I'll find someone who can train you, stay over there," Sergio pointed to a bench that sat next to the craft service station.

After Harper sat down, he noticed the food in the craft service station. The station was divided into two sections, one for people and one for pokémon. The human side had the usual. Cold-cut sandwiches, chips, and carrots with ranch were spread out on the table. The pokémon side, however, piqued Harper's interest more. Berries and miniature poffins decorated the table, it was like a rainbow in food form. The smell of berries hit Harper's enhanced canine nose, the sweetness already making him start to drool. Just as he was about to grab the closest berry, Harper heard a shout from across the room.

"Oi, Riolu! Get over here! I got someone to help you before we start filming."

Harper shook off his instincts to chow down on the berry and walked over to the director, who was currently talking with someone.

When Harper came to Sergio's presence, he realized who he was talking to. The stranger wore a thick, light blue kimono, his right arm exposed. He wore an eye mask and his long hair was tied back in a ponytail, sticking upward into the sky. Harper realized why he remembered that name on the Walk of Fame.

It was Brycen, the gym leader from the first Black game.

Harper remembered battling against him as a kid. Brycen's Beartic always gave him trouble against his unprepared and underskilled team. His Serperior was the only one that was a high enough level to compete but the type disadvantage didn't care for that. His childhood strategy of carrying five other pokémon with an overpowered starter worked until Brycen showed up.

~Why is he here? Does something happen in Black 2?~

"You took a while," Sergio remarked. "Brycen, this is the Riolu that'll be takin' the main role alongside Liam. Somehow, he doesn't know any moves so I was hopin' that you could teach him. Knowing you, you're the best one for the job."

"A Riolu, not knowing any moves? This is an interesting case," Brycen leaned close to Harper. "According to the script, you need to know at least two moves. One to fight against a pawniard and another to fight a vullaby. I have to get ready for filming so I can't help, but my Beartic can teach you in my place. Follow me, you don't want to train in the way of the studio crew."

Harper and Brycen stood in an abandoned outdoor movie set. It was modeled to look like an average street, eerily similar to New York City's.

"We were about to start filming a criminal movie here before the studio fell into hard times. If this movie goes well, maybe we can start filming again."

"I'm sorry, but no one has told me what kind of movie we're making here in the first place."

"Alright, Riolu. I'll let Beartic take over for now. Go, Beartic!" Brycen shouted as he threw a pokéball high into the air.

~Why do I bother conversing with people,~ Harper thought as the pokéball opened up. A huge, bipedal polar bear with icicles for a beard materialized, air beginning to condense near his fur.

"You heard from your pokéball, you know what to do."

Beartic grunted, giving a single nod. Brycen smiled, patting the side of his arm as he walked to his vanity van.

The immense stature of the ice bear put too much pressure on Harper. His childhood memory of him didn't help either.

"Hey kid, no need to be nervous. I'm not gonna eat you," Beartic chuckled.

"I'm not a kid."

"You look like one and you sound like one, you're a kid. Anyway, let me ask you something. Is it true you don't know any moves?"

"Yes," Harper sighed, unable to prove his true age. "Apparently, I have memory loss from my injury a while ago. Forgot what moves I had or how to use them."

The lie dug into Harper's self-respect but he didn't show it.

"Apparently?" Beartic tilted his head but he shook his assumptions away. "I'll take your word for it. This is your first time acting as well but I only have enough time to teach the moves."

"Wait," Harper interrupted, raising his paw. "I don't even know what kind of movie I'm going to be in."

"No one told you?"

"No one, I tried asking Mr. Stu Deeoh and Sergi—"

"Mr. Pokémonski."

~Pokémonski?~ Harper imagined his full name. ~Interesting last name.~

"Yeah," He continued. "I asked both of them but they don't understand me so..."

"Well, I guess I'm the one telling you then. I'm not in the movie but Brycen is and since I'm his pokémon, I get to see the production. You're going to be taking the role of a superhero's pokémon."

"Superhero?"

"Indeed, a superhero," Beartic repeated. "I heard the human you'll be acting with isn't the best, but they're still moving on with production. The title of the movie went by 'Riolu-Man of Justice vs. Brycen-Man' if I remember."

Beartic clapped his thick paws together. "Ok, enough talk. Since you're fighting a Steel-type and a Flying-type, I'll teach you a Fighting-type and an Ice-type move. It'll be enough to get you through filming."

Beartic gripped his right paw as ice crystals began collecting around its fur. A pale blue glow emanated as he jabbed the air. A small blast echoed as the temperature slightly dropped. Beartic started to explain as he shook off residual ice shards from his fists.

"That's Ice Punch, you're not an Ice-type but since it's like a Fighting-type move, you can learn it fairly quickly."

Beartic placed his left paw in front of Harper's face.

"Punch."

"What?"

"You heard me, punch my paw. No holding back."

Harper looked back in his memories, the days when he helped film a karate film. There was a training scene when the main character was throwing punches on a wooden dummy. Remembering the fighter's posture, he slid his right leg behind him, tensing his arm as he twisted his hip. A meaty thud reverberated as his fist landed on Beartic's paw, shockwaves coursing through Harper's arm.

"Not bad, kid. You even had a rough idea of posture. I'll show you Ice Punch again, remember how cold it is as I strike."

Beartic threw another punch, once again dropping the area's temperature. Harper's body gave a slight shiver.

"All right, now you try. Imagine ice around your fist as you charge energy into it."

~Energy? Oh right, I'm a pokémon now.~

Harper closed his eyes and clenched his fist, imagining frost accumulating on his fist.

~My hand is cold, it's as if it's in an ice bucket. I'm in a snowstorm and I don't have gloves.~

Deep in his thoughts, Harper continued to imagine cold scenarios until Beartic spoke up.

"Hey kid, open your eyes. Don't lose your focus though."

Harper slowly opened one eye, and a bluish-white light similar to Beartic's glowed from his paw. Ice surrounded his fist but it didn't feel encased, it felt like a chilled hug more than anything.

"Perfect," Beartic commented. He raised his paw in front of Harper again. "Another punch, same as last time."

Harper threw another punch, similar to his previous one. The impact was stronger, pushing Beartic's paw back a little bit.

"Damn, my paw feels a little numb," He began rubbing one of the pads.

"Sorry..."

"Don't be, this is great!" Beartic exclaimed as he ruffled Harper's head. "A non Ice-type learning Ice Punch this quickly? We're making great progress. Just give me a couple more Ice Punches, try to summon it faster."

After he smoothed the fur on his head, Harper started imagining his fist in an icy grip and punched again.

Thirty minutes passed, and Harper's fists were beginning to turn pale underneath his fur. The constant summoning of ice made flexing his paws somewhat difficult. Beartic seemed to notice, later asking about his condition.

"Hey kid, you ok?"

"Yeah," Harper replied as he rubbed his fists together. "They're just really cold."

"Heh, I assume they would be. Guess we should stop with ice punch then. You already got the hang of it. Now, let's move on to our next move."

Beartic began to look around the area before locking his eyes on a large, wooden prop next to a trash bin. When he dragged it to the center of the movie set, he turned it over to Harper.

"The next move you need to know is something much more suited to your evolutionary line. It's a Fighting-type move called Force Palm. While I do know some Fighting-type moves such as Focus Punch, I'm not a Fighting-type. You'll learn this faster than I would be able to."

"You don't know Force Palm?"

"It's a move I wanted to learn, but can't. At least I know the method to learn it."

"Most Fighting-type pokémon learn this pretty easily but Riolus learn this the fastest. Has to do with their ability with aura. You have aura control?"

Before Harper could respond, Beartic waved his hands.

"Right, memory loss. You probably don't remember it. It's ok though, I was going to teach you anyway."

"For Force Palm, most users collect Fighting-type energy into their palm and blast it out with force. For you though, since you can work with aura, you would combine both Fighting-type energy and aura together. It deals decent damage internally and it's a great move to use in close combat situations."

"I don't even know how to use my aura."

"It's fine, you'll get the hang of it at some point. Maybe you'll remember how to use it when you get your memories back."

"Yeah… anyways, how do you use Force Palm?"

Beartic shifted his position into a fighting stance, legs spread out and his paw flat facing in front of him.

"Copy my stance and place your paw on the board."

Harper did as Beartic said, shifting his posture to match his. He placed his paw on the plank of wood.

"So, now what?"

"As I said before, collect energy into your palm, and right as you push into your target, expel it. If you learned Ice Punch this fast, you'll get Force Palm just as quick."

"I hope so," Harper muttered as he closed his eyes. If summoning ice was done by imagining the sensation of coldness, what did he need to think of for Fighting-type energy? He opened his eyes again and looked back at Beartic.

"How do I summon Fighting-type energy?"

"Since Fighting-types revel in competitions and overcoming odds, the best way to summon its energy is to think of those kinds of scenarios."

~Competitions? I never fought in any compet—~ That's when Harper realized. He never fought in physical battles, he fought in another sense. The years of futile auditions to obtain a role against hundreds of other participants. His goal to become an actor was hampered by cruel judgment wherever he stepped foot in.

No more.

A flurry of energy rose from Harper's body, surprising Beartic.

"Nice job, kid! Just focus all of that into your palm!"

Harper concentrated, feeling the Fighting-type energy surround his body slowly, but surely flowing into his paw. In a couple of minutes, he had succeeded.

"Now just push and let go!"

When Harper pushed his palm into the plank, it immediately burst into hundreds of wooden pieces.

"Perfect! See, what did I tell you? You're a natural!"

Harper fell to the floor, legs giving out from all the energy he just ejected. He stayed in a seated position, catching his breath.

"That felt so refreshing, why did it feel so refreshing?"

"Fighting-type pokémon love the thrill of a battle, and you're no different. Fighting is a form of relieving stress, did you have any pent-up or something?"

"I guess so," Harper answered, looking down at his two paws.

"Seems we still have time before Mr. Pokémonski comes to pick you up," Beartic looked up at the sun. "What do you say we take a short break and then try the two moves again, faster this time?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Harper responded, feeling better than he ever did in his entire past life.