With nighttime fast approaching, Nate and Harper left Pokéstar Studios and were on their way to a place to stay. Darkness fell over the Virbank City, a thick veil of fog shrouded the city's streets in an unearthly cloak. Streetlights, reduced to hazy orbs in the mist, fought to shine through the dense air, throwing a faint illumination across the lonely streets. The fog carried a faint smell of chemicals, The city, once a bustle of activity in the daytime, now had an unsettling silence beneath the nocturnal fog. The citizens of the metropolis trudged out of their workplace, their distant footsteps echoed through the silence. The pokémon and the Pokémon Trainer quickly made their way through the dense environment, eager to get away from the gloominess of the city.
Nate came to a stop in front of a store, the neon lights of the entrance dimly flickered the words "Stationary." The sign on the door showed that it was open, at least for a couple more minutes.
"I need to buy something real quick, is it ok if you can wait outside for a bit?" Nate asked.
Harper hopped on a nearby bench and sat down as Nate entered the store, the doorbell giving a little jingle. Harper assumed he was getting another notepad since he used most of its pages. If it weren't for his clumsy paws, he wouldn't have written so badly. Harper took human hands for granted.
He stared at his paws and clenched them. Enough time had passed where he was used to his body, and he realized he hadn't been falling over like how he did when he first came to Unova. Was that a good sign though? He saw himself as a human but everyone around him obviously didn't. Up until now, he never truly accepted that he was a pokémon, even though he looked, spoke, and used moves like one. Harper wanted to reveal his true identity but the fear of being taken away was too great. He never wanted to conform to his new life, but what other choice did he have? It wasn't like Arceus was going to change him back.
He looked up at the towering building, leaning his head on the back of the bench. The bright lights of the city skyscrapers and the fog in the air blurred the stars in the sky. Today was the longest day that he ever experienced. He recalled the days of filming in his old life, the monotony of rigging equipment every day grounded Harper's dream to be an actor. Being a Key Grip was a compromise Harper begrudgingly accepted but his yearning for something greater, the treatment he received from leadership, and the insipidness of his life onward made him reconsider. Now that he was given a second chance, Harper realized his compromise was reversed. He got a position he longed for, everyone he met was compassionate and willing to help in any way possible, and his new life was nothing but action-packed.
The downside?
He wasn't human.
Having to hide his identity on top of everything else occurring was tiring enough. Despite that, his desire to continue his role as a pokémon actor overrode his fear of being caught, if only for a short period. The urge to tell someone was slowly festering in the back of Harper's mind. Another minute passed until he heard a bell jingle. Nate walked out of the stationary store while putting a plastic bag into his bag.
"Sorry for the wait, the staff was really annoyed that I came to the store right before they closed. Asking for assistance definitely didn't help either."
Harper hopped off the bench and the two made their way through the muted streets. A few turns around some corners later, they arrived at the Virbank City Pokémon Center. Unlike its video game counterpart, Harper was amazed by the sheer size of the building. Its length and width alone took up the same space as 4 skyscrapers, the height was the same as well. Blue stained glass decorated the outside of the building as red streaks lined the edges, its colors caused the Pokémon Center to pop out from the rest of the urban environment. A pokéball logo glared brightly through the fog, an alluring sight in a dreary-looking city.
"First time seeing a Pokémon Center? C'mon, it's way cooler inside."
Nate and Harper stepped through the automatic sliding door and entered the center. Nate was right, the inside boasted much more style than the outside. The interior was much more spacious and decorated than the games could showcase. A public space with sofas and bookshelves lined with reading material was placed in one corner. Large televisions displayed the news, weather, and recorded gym battles. An entrance to a dining hall stood next to the Pokémon Center's Pokémart, its employees currently closing up for the night. A woman with pink hair sat at the front desk, typing away at her computer. Other than the Pokémon Center's staff, Nate and Harper were the only ones in the building.
"Follow me," Nate instructed. "We need to get a room from the front desk."
When they walked up to the front desk, Harper realized that he was too short to see above the desk. He cursed his size and jumped up onto the desk, sitting down on the edge. Now with a clear view, Harper saw the front desk lady's name, the words "Nurse Joy," marked in black print.
"Oh!" She gasped, noticing Nate standing beside Harper. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center! Sorry for not noticing you and your riolu earlier, it's been a long day."
"It's alright," Nate replied. "We've had a long day as well."
"How can I help you tonight? Do your pokémon need a checkup?"
"No checkup, I want to get a room for the night."
"Very well, just place your ID on the scanner and we'll prepare a room."
Nate took a wallet out of his pocket and swiped his card on the payment terminal. The device gave a beeping noise, confirming his purchase.
"Ok," Nurse Joy began typing into her computer. "Since you have a Trainer ID, the room is free for the night," She slid a key card on the desk towards Nate. "This is the room card for your room, please return it when checking out."
"Thank you," Nate said, grabbing the room card and pocketing it. "Have a good night Nurse Joy."
"You too!" Nurse Joy thanked.
One elevator ride and a walk through some hallways later, Nate and Harper found their room.
Nate glanced at his card. "Room 427," He looked at the placard next to the door. "Room 427, yup this is our room."
He tapped the room key card and the door lock was unlatched, revealing a neatly organized and clean room. The interior looked similar to the numerous hotel rooms Harper stayed in for out-of-state movie shoots. The bathroom was right next to the entrance of the room, with one sofa chair in the corner, an air conditioner underneath the rectangular window, a plasma TV sitting on a large horizontal cabinet, a nightstand with a lamp, and two double beds. If it weren't for a pokéball logo on the bedsheets and the large pokéball carpet in the center, it was indistinguishable from Harper's usual hotel room.
"Before I go wash up, there's something I want to give you," Nate placed his bag on the cabinet and took out the plastic bag from the stationary store.
"I needed to get a new notepad since you used a lot of pages," Harper winced at Nate's comment. "It's alright! I wanted to get a bigger one, it was pretty small anyway. I also don't want you to waste paper by asking for more every time you talk, so..." Nate pulled out a rectangle from the bag. "Ta-da! I got you a whiteboard! Here's some markers as well, they're the ones with erasers at the end."
Nate handed his gift to Harper, who received it with a surprised expression. The whiteboard had a clasp at the side that allowed markers to be attached. Harper noticed a thick piece of string that acted as a shoulder strap. Nate noticed how Harper stared at it and began explaining.
"That's so you don't have to hold it 24/7. You can sling it over your shoulder, the staff at the store gave me weird looks when I asked for a smaller strap to match your size."
It was amazing to Harper how Nate read his situation when he never did. He realized just how much paper he was going to have to ask for in the future. One whiteboard eliminated that prospect, now he could write as much as he wanted on a larger space. Harper uncapped his marker and began writing.
*Thanks, Nate. I never thought to get a whiteboard.*
Nate grinned, happy that his gift worked out. "I'm gonna go wash now, you can talk with my pokémon in the meantime, no whiteboard necessary," Nate joked, unlatching his pokéballs from his waist. He threw the two pokéballs on a bed before grabbing his bag and entering the bathroom, locking the door shut.
A Snivy and Mareep formed after leaving their pokéball, Mareep looked around for a bit and jumped on the sofa chair, settling down and began to snore soon after.
"So sleepy all the time," Snivy commented. He turned to see Harper, still standing on the carpeted floor, whiteboard and marker in hand.
"Hi, I'm Snivy! Nate's first pokémon!" He spoke in a high-pitched voice. "That's Mareep over there," He pointed at the sleeping electric sheep. "She's always sleeping unless it's time to eat or battle."
~A snivy? He's the same starter I picked,~ Nate thought.
"Uh, hey Snivy," Harper greeted, still taken back by Snivy's youthful tone. "I'm Riolu. I'm just gonna be here for the night."
"Really? I was hoping you'd join us, Nate was looking for a riolu before we fought Cheren."
~He was? Wait, that was the same strategy I did. I caught a riolu and was going to fight Cheren before... I... ~
Snivy clapped his vines together in front of Harper's face, pulling him back from his thoughts.
"Are you ok?" Snivy looked at the spot on the floor where Harper was blankly staring. "Is there something on the carpet?"
"I'm fine, it's nothing," Harper brushed off the coincidence, he jumped on the bed and sat in front of Snivy. He latched his marker on the side of the whiteboard and placed it on the nightstand. "So how are gym battles? I heard you beat Roxie from Nate."
"We did! Roxie had some Poison-type pokémon but that didn't stop me! I was all like 'woosh' with my leaves and I slammed that Koffing on the ground with my vines," Snivy thumped his vines on the bed sheets. "Mareep was also really cool! She used Cotton Spore and caught Roxie's Whirlipede and shocked him unconscious! I wish I could show you the fight but Nate said that early badge battles aren't recorded. Do you plan on battling, Riolu?"
"Nope, don't plan to," Harper waved his hands. "I'd like to be safe if I could."
"You're a weird Fighting-type."
The blunt response caught Harper off guard. "W-what do you mean?"
"I thought Fighting-types loved battles, it's in the name, fighting type," Snivy emphasized.
"I do like fighting," Harper answered, remembering the sensation from training with Beartic and fighting during the film's recording. "I just don't like it when a lot isn't at stake like a gym battle or my life."
"Was the studio not at stake? I heard they were about to shut down if it weren't for you and Nate."
That hit Harper right in the chest.
"N-not like that," Harper gave up his losing argument. "Fine, I guess I do love battles after all. I assume you love them as well?"
"I do! It's awesome to fight others and be serperior to them!"
"Don't you mean superior?"
The two pokémon laughed at the unintended pun. Mareep shifted her body, grumbling something about volume before snoring again. Harper heard a door unlock, Nate stepped out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas with small joltiks designed all over his shirt and pants.
"You guys having fun? Glad you're getting along," Nate looked at the occupied sofa chair. "Yup, sleeping as always. Since Mareep and Snivy washed up yesterday, that leaves you," Nate pointed at Harper. "when was the last time you washed?"
If he didn't account for his human body, never. The couple at Floccesy Ranch was much more concerned for his survivability than his cleanliness. Being hired at Pokéstar Studios also never gave him the time to clean up either. Harper shrugged.
"Really? Well, let's change that," Nate took out a grooming kit from his bag. "I usually use this for Mareep but I guess it'll work out for you, c'mon, into the tub."
Harper groaned but he followed Nate's order regardless, his desire to be clean overriding his drowsiness. Nate turned the knob, hot water pouring from the bathtub faucet.
"You're lucky I showered a minute ago, it took forever for the water to get hot," Nate commented. He opened up his grooming kit and took out a bottle of shampoo with an oran berry logo.
"Can't I just wash myself in private?" Harper tried to communicate, pointing at the door. Sleeping in the same room with a kid was already awkward enough. A kid helping him wash up was even worse to think about.
"You want to wash alone? Not on my watch, the last time I left Snivy alone in a bathroom he used all of my conditioner and hair gel to try and make his tail shinier. I enjoy washing pokémon myself anyways, I used to help my friend slash rival Hugh wash his sister's Purrloin from time to time before... well..."
Harper remembered what Nate was talking about. Hugh's sister had her Purrloin kidnapped during the events of the first Black and White games. He recalled how serious Hugh became ingame when he heard someone stole one of the Herdiers and how Harper guided his player character, finding the Plasma grunt before he did.
"Anyways," Nate continued. "I'm not letting you go. Besides, this is one of our last moments for a while, appreciate it, ok?"
Harper rolled his eyes, reluctantly sitting on the tub's porcelain floor.
"That's more like it," Nate praised. "I'm gonna rinse you off first and then scrub with shampoo."
As Harper sprayed steaming water over his head with the showerhead, Nate pumped the oran-scented shampoo's contents and lathered Harper's body. The rest of Harper's cleaning continued in silence, a satisfied look on his face the entire time. The scent of orans and the heat of the water lulled him to sleep. Harper forgot the awkwardness as he closed his eyes, almost falling down onto the porcelain floor. Nate laughed as he continued washing him, cracking up at how sleepy he looked. When Nate gave a final rinse, Harper stepped out of the bathtub and stood on a towel on the floor. An urge to shake off all the excess water grew too strong, his limbs were trembling.
"Riolu," Nate slowly backed away. "Don't you dare..."
Harper dared.
"Arceus!" Nate tried to cover himself with a spare towel but he was too late, the water splattered all over his pajamas. He wiped off the water off his face, shaking the excess off his hands.
"Is this for not letting you wash alone?"
Harper gave a sarcastic look and shrugged.
"Consider us even then," Nate grabbed a hair dryer and turned it on, airing his pajamas dry. After Nate dried his pajamas, he dried Harper's fur up. With only a few remaining traces of water to dry out, the task was a quick one. Harper had never felt any more clean in his entire life, or at least his new life. The both of them left the bathroom as Nate turned off its lights. They saw that Snivy had fallen asleep on one of the beds, it looked like he tucked himself in first.
"Guess he was pretty tired as well," Nate said to himself. "I should let him sleep outside his pokéball, he usually likes sleeping in it though. Hey Riolu, you want a bed to yourself?"
He never fancied the idea of sleeping with someone on the same bed, especially one much younger than him. His bed was his private haven, even when he had to sleep with a couple colleagues in the same hotel room to cut corners in the film budget. He would just take a spare blanket and sleep on a sofa or even the floor if he had to. Harper nodded, walking over to the vacant bed. Nate carefully slid into his bed so as not to disturb Snivy and flicked the nightlight off.
"Goodnight everyone," Nate whispered in the dark.
~What a day,~ Harper thought, ~I hope it's never this hectic going forward but knowing the film industry, I highly doubt that, especially since I'm a pokémon.~
Harper drifted off into unconsciousness.
----------------------------------------
An alarm sound rang from Nate's Xtransceiver, Nate lumbered out of the bedsheets and sat at the edge of the bed, smacking his lips.
"Need to brush teeth," Nate grumbled, his mouth had a bad taste. He stood up and shook each of the three sleeping pokémon out of their slumber.
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," Nate joked. "We're gonna go eat breakfast at the cafeteria after I brush my teeth and change out of my pajamas."
Mareep's ears twitched at the mention of food, and she rolled out of her sofa chair. She dashed towards her pokéball and pressed the button, summoning her back in.
"Eager for food, huh?" Mareep's pokéball shook twice. Snivy woke up and sat at the edge of the bed, smacking his mouth just like his trainer. He trudged to his pokéball and entered it like Mareep. Riolu rolled out of his bed and onto the floor, snapping out of his slumber.
"Awake now?" Nate snickered. Riolu gave an annoyed stare, walking to the room's exit and grabbing his new whiteboard on the way, ready to leave.
"Just give me a few minutes, ok?"
After some time, they left their room, making sure they didn't forget anything. Nate returned the room key to the front desk and entered the Pokémon Center's cafeteria.
The aroma of diverse cuisines wafted through the air, luring trainers to partake in the morning ritual of shared meals. Expansive glass windows allowed natural light to shine into the cafeteria. Long rows of tables and chairs were filled with hungry patrons and their pokémon, a mosaic of the sounds of pokémon, conversations, and the clatter of plates and utensils created a lively atmosphere.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Welcome to the Pokémon Center's Cafeteria!" A staff member greeted Nate. "Just the two of you for the morning?"
"I have two more pokémon with me," Nate summoned Snivy and Mareep out of their pokéballs.
Nate gave his Trainer ID to the staff member, paying for the four of them. Nate had more than enough to pay for an extra pokémon. His victory money from Roxie was transacted to his account recently; he had forgotten to grab it the day he won since Roxie asked him to find her father soon after the battle. Thankfully, Pokémon gyms were able to digitally send Pokédollars to Trainer IDs.
"Thank you for your patronage, enjoy your meal!"
The group made their way through the entrance and found an empty table in the corner.
"We should go get our food now that we have a table to ourselves. Go get what you want, just don't stuff yourselves silly."
Nate dropped his bag on his seat, marking their spot. He and his pokémon split up to find what they wanted to eat. The cafeteria was divided into different sections, each one showcasing breakfast cuisines from different regions. The Kanto/Johto section had what looked like soup, curry, and jelly-filled donuts. The Unovan section was as Unovan as it could get, scrambled chansey eggs, sandwiches, and cereal with a moomoo milk dispenser at the side. The Kalosian section was packed with bread and pastries as the Alolan section displayed what was called "Slowpoke Loco Moco." There was even a section for all kinds of pokémon specific food. Common berries such as oran, rawst, leppa, and pecha were organized in different bowls. Poffins, Poké puffs, and Pokéblocks were stacked neatly on top of each other.
Nate decided to go easy for the start of the day, he grabbed a croissant and some scrambled eggs. He was the first to sit back down at their table, Snivy and Mareep followed soon after. Since Mareep didn't have hands, Snivy's tray overflowed with their favorite berries and poffins, dry and sweet respectively. Riolu was the last to arrive and curiously, he didn't pick anything from the pokémon section. His tray consisted of just toast and some cheri jam.
"You like human food more than pokémon food?" Nate asked.
Riolu nodded as he placed his tray down. The group ate their food in silence, the sounds of the cafeteria continued. When Riolu finished his first piece of toast he grabbed his whiteboard.
*What's your plan when you leave?*
"Well, when I get to Castelia, I really want to challenge the next gym leader, Burgh. I should probably train my team though," Nate looked at his Snivy and Mareep, busy chowing down on their food, unaware of Nate's conversation about them. "I also want to get another member on my team as well, I want to find a Sandile over in Route 4."
Riolu nodded. He wiped the whiteboard and wrote another question.
*You think the premier is going to go well?*
"Going by the attitude of the director and the rest of the crew members, I think it will. Our performance was already a step above Liam's."
Nate continued to converse with Riolu, forgetting about his tray of food. He was going to miss talking with a pokémon who could respond that wasn't a yes or no.
The group left the Pokémon Center, stomachs full and feeling content. Nate summoned Snivy and Mareep back into their pokéballs after Riolu wrote that they wanted to go back in.
"Let's go to the studios now, the premiere is gonna start soo—"
Nate was interrupted by an individual bumping into him as they ran. The person skidded to a halt and looked back, noticing who it was they ran into.
It was Hugh.
"Nate!" He shouted. "Thank Arceus you're here, I found some Team Plasma members running to the ports! I think one of them was the grunt who tried to kidnap Herdier!"
Nate and Riolu looked at each other and nodded, the both of them knew what to do. Nate and Riolu followed Hugh to the Virbank Ports, running through the streets and crossing corners. As they ran, Nate pulled up his Xtransceiver and alerted the police to their location. An authoritative figure was going to be needed, the threat of the last Team Plasma was serious and any attempt at their reformation had to be stomped down. When they arrived, they noticed Roxie blocking off the entrance to the harbor, stuck in a standoff against three Team Plasma members.
"So you're Team Plasma? What is it you want here?"
"That's right!" One grunt fumed. "We're here to take a ship by force to Castelia! Two years ago, we were betrayed by our king and hero! Despite our failure to take over Unova, we persevered! We're Team Neo Plasma and we're taking you down!"
"That's gonna be tough for all of you," Roxie nagged, looking behind the Plasma members. Nate, Hugh, and Riolu made their presence clear, sandwiching the villains between the gym leader and Pokémon Trainers.
"Perfect timing, now we're even," She observed. "Each of us gets to take one of you down."
Hugh glared at the villain group, clenching his fists in anger. "I'll never forgive you and Team Plasma! You go on about 'saving' pokémon by freeing them from trainers but that's a complete lie! You're nothing but pokémon thieves!"
Hugh released his Tepig, one of the grunts summoned a Timburr and the two began fighting. Roxie followed soon after with her Whirlipede against another grunt's Pidove. The last member looked at Nate and smirked after recognizing Nate.
"I remember you and your friend back there, perfect time to take revenge for defeating me at the ranch."
"You deserved to be defeated! The couple at the ranch did nothing wrong to justify their Herdier from being stolen! Riolu, you ready to battle?"
Riolu nodded, taking his whiteboard off and tossing it to the side, raising up his paws in a battle stance.
The Team Plasma grunt threw his pokéball at the ground, and a patrat materialized out of it.
"Patrat! Use Crunch!"
Patrat lunged towards Riolu, jaw wide open as its teeth glowed with Dark TE. The move connected with the jackal's arm, catching him off guard. He gave a cry of pain and locked Patrat's head to his chest with his injured arm and proceeded to punch it with his free paw as if he were dirty boxing. A few punches loosened Patrat's grip and it jumped back, dodging Riolu's remaining punches. Before Patrat could recover from the consecutive non-move head blows, Nate shouted a command.
"Riolu, Ice Punch his torso and slow him down!"
"Use Tackle!"
Riolu charged up his paw with ice and dashed towards the rodent. Patrat ran at Riolu, covered in a white haze as it tackled. Riolu narrowly dodged by swerving downward and slammed a firm right hook on Patrat's lateral, small icicles froze its fur where Riolu hit.
"Why did you miss, you vermin!" The grunt badgered. "Use Sand Attack and Tackle after!"
Patrat held the spot where Ice Punch hit in pain and forcefully kicked the ground. Sand particles flew into the air, hitting Riolu before he could block his eyes. Patrat followed up Sand Attack with Tackle, running and bashing its shoulder on Riolu's chest. The jackal was launched a few feet to the ground. Riolu quickly got back up from the attack, growling in anger as he charged Normal TE, residuals from Patrat's attack clung to him. Nate saw Riolu's signal and commanded another attack.
"Riolu! Dash in front of Patrat and use Force Palm!"
Riolu's Normal TE condensed to his legs and ran up to Patrat in the blink of an eye. He turned his paw upside down and slapped it onto Patrat's chest, blasting Fighting TE soon after. Patrat was launched backward, past its trainer, and landed on the side of the harbor, inches away from falling into the water.
"Fuck! Patrat wasn't even in bad condition like last time!" The grunt aimed his pokéball at the fainted Patrat, bringing it back to its container. "How are you guys doing?" He asked his Neo Plasma members. His hope of a group victory was shattered when he witnessed Roxie's Whirlipede used Rollout on Pidove. Hugh's Tepig burned Timburr with Flame Charge, its wooden pillar blackened by the fiery attack. Both enemy pokémon fainted at the same time, the grunts looked at each other in confusion, angry at each other for losing.
"Tch," One of the members scoffed. "I can't believe we lost to a couple of kids."
"I'm not a kid!" Roxie retaliated. "I'm just short!"
"Bitch, do you think we care? Let's make a run for it!"
The three grunts ran off into the streets of Virbank, pushing Nate and Hugh on the ground as they passed by.
"You're not getting away from me this time!" Hugh snarled, leaving Nate and Roxie behind as he chased the villains. The moment Hugh turned a corner, a policewoman drove up on her motorcycle from a different street and walked up to Nate and Roxie.
"We were notified by someone near the Virbank Ports, what's the matter?" The officer asked.
"Officer, three Team Plasma Members ran away from us after trying to steal a boat," Nate explained. "My friend is chasing them right now, he's wearing a red and white jacket and has blue hair, they should be near him."
"Team Plasma? I thought the League took them down."
Roxie confirmed Nate's words when the officer didn't believe him.
"Ma'am, I'm the gym leader of Virbank City and every word he said is true, call for more officers and find his friend. They're probably trying to escape through Route 20 as we speak."
The policewoman heard Roxie and nodded, listening to her command, and grabbed the circular walkie-talkie on her chest. As she requested backup, she ran back to her motorcycle and sped off to Route 20. Nate, Roxie, and Riolu gave a deep sigh, relieved that the battle for now was over.
"After I saw my father come back from Pokéstar Studios yesterday, I wanted to come to the ports the next day to apologize for yelling at him. This was not where I imagined where I would thank you, especially because of this battle," Roxie held her hand in front of Nate. "Regardless, thank you, Nate, for bringing my father back and fighting these Plasma pushovers."
"Of course," Nate returned the handshake. "You should thank my friend, Hugh, as well. He's just as good as me in a battle."
"I know that too well, he showed up after you left my gym without any reservation, demanding a fight. I humored him after my concert and I lost. Speaking of your friend, I should go help the police in catching those grunts. Bye-bye, Nate."
Roxie ran off into the city, leaving Nate and Riolu behind. Nate knelt down to Riolu and took out a potion from his bag.
"Sorry for not healing you sooner, hold up your arm so I can spray it."
Riolu held his injured arm up, wincing as the bite mark throbbed in pain. As Nate sprayed the potion, the bite mark quickly sealed up, leaving no trace of open flesh behind.
"Does it hurt anywhere else?"
Riolu shook his head, walking over to the whiteboard that he had thrown aside.
*I don't. Thanks, Nate.*
Nate looked back at the battle Riolu fought with Patrat. Now that he thought about it, Riolu's use of what looked like Quick Attack into Force Palm was ingenious.
"When you finished off Patrat, I told you to run up to him and use Force Palm and you did with Quick Attack. I didn't even think of applying a move like that, how did you do that?"
Riolu gave a look of confusion, he wrote his answer and showed it to Nate.
*I used Quick Attack?*
"You didn't notice?" Nate was just as confused as Riolu. "You charged Normal TE on your legs and used Quick Attack to face the Patrat."
*I was trying to summon Fighting TE.*
*I don't know Quick Attack.*
"But you do now, did Patrat's use of its Normal TE affect you somehow?"
Riolu shrugged.
"That's probably the best answer we got," Nate glanced at his Xtransciever, his eyes grew wide open.
"Shit!" Nate exclaimed. "We're late for the premiere! Riolu, we need to go now!"
Nate stood up and threw his potion back into his bag. Riolu flung his whiteboard over his neck. The trainer and pokémon made a mad dash through the city streets, dodging the city populace as they ran on the sidewalk.
----------------------------------------
"Damn it! Door's locked!"
Nate and Harper were stuck outside of the Pokéstar Studios' theater, the doors were locked.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Nate called out to the front booth.
No response.
Harper tugged Nate's shirt, pointing at his whiteboard.
*Everyone's inside already, they're already showing the movie.*
"You're right, but I really want to see it..."
Nate shuffled to the curb of the sidewalk and slumped on the edge. Harper sat next to Nate on the concrete curb.
"If those Team Neo Plasma members didn't show up," Nate stressed the word "Neo". "We would've been in the theater right now. I wanted to see 'Riolu-Kid' for what it was supposed to be and not like that test screening yesterday. Guess all we can do is wait."
It did suck. Harper wanted to see the movie as well. He got to see the behind-the-scenes but that was only a part of it. Harper only got to see the makings of the movie from filming the scenes, not in the other aspects like VFX and sound design. The test screening only showed the raw footage with some rough editing. How did a movie in the pokémon universe work when it was complete? Is it the same as Hollywood? Is there anything different?
Harper and Nate sighed in defeat, hands on their chins and elbows on their knees, sulking in front of the theater. Time passed, and Harper heard feet shuffling from behind the theater doors. The doors burst open soon after, and a large crowd of people spewed forth.
"What a fun short movie!"
"I should bring my kids next time, they love superheroes."
"Riolu-Kid was so charming!"
"The combat was so fast and cool! His riolu was so strong!"
Everyone continued to chatter as they left the theater, unaware that the stars of the movie sat on the curb. When the last group of people dispersed, Mr. Stu Deeoh emerged from the theater doors and noticed the two actors sitting on the ground.
"Nate! Riolu!" Mr. Stu Deeoh beamed. "Where 'ave you been? Zee movie was a success!"
"Sorry, Mr. Stu Deeoh," Nate apologized. "We got caught up with some Team Plasma members."
Mr. Stu Deeoh stopped his usual bubbly expression at the mention of the terrorist group. He walked up closer to Nate and pointed a stern finger at his face. "And you 'ave dealt wiz dose good-for-nothing scoundrels, 'ave you?"
The shift in the mood in the studio owner's personality unsettled the two stars. Harper somehow felt a burst of unease emanate from the trainer.
"Y-yes sir. Me, my friend, and Virbank's gym leader defeated them all, the police should be rounding them all up now."
The good news cheered Mr. Stu Deeoh up, his face returning to his usual smile as he clapped his hands twice. "Very good to 'ear! It's good zat zee police are diligent in catching dose villains, zey caused my studio troubles unbound when zey brought their propaganda to our doors."
Harper called back on Layla's conversation about Team Plasma, and how they spread the news that Pokéstar Studios was forcing pokémon into their roles. Now that he thought about it, the Team Plasma in this world was far more ambitious than their game counterparts. The games only mentioned the liberation of pokémon from trainers and their human homes. It would make sense that Team Plasma would attack any organization other than the League that used pokémon in any fashion.
"I heard about that from Layla," Nate recalled. "Every pokémon actor here is here out of their consent. It's like Team Plasma didn't even do their homework."
"That's precisely zee point, my boy. Zey use lies and stir zee emotions of zee masses, it was a dark time..." Mr. Stu Deeoh closed his eyes and shook his head. "But enough about zee past! I'm sure Team Plasma won't return now zat zee last remaining members 'ave been caught! Zee two of you! Zee movie was a 'uge success wiz our first audience!"
"How much so, sir?"
"Enough to release it to every theater in Unova! If we make enough from zat, Pokéstar Studio is well on its way to making a full feature of 'Riolu-Kid!'"
Harper noticed Nate's face grimacing in pain at Mr. Stu Deeoh's enthusiasm, he wasn't eager to ruin the optimism with bad news. Regardless, Nate took in a deep breath and spoke up.
"Mr. Stu Deeoh? There's actually something I need to tell you, it's about my role."
"What eez eet, Nate?"
"I know I accepted your offer to take the role of 'Riolu-Kid' but I can't delay collecting my badges any longer. Please forgive me for the inconvenience I'll cause," Nate tilted his head down, his visor blocking his eyes.
If there was something no one liked in the movie industry, it was anything that interrupted the ebb and flow of production. Studio crew not showing up, actors and actresses running late, props and film equipment going missing or broken. Before his first death, the numerous occasions Harper faced from his last director were enough to learn that quickly. Mr. Stu Deeoh was an easygoing old man but by his austere reaction to Team Plasma and what he would do for his Studio to stay afloat, he hoped the studio owner would stay nice.
Mr. Stu Deeoh stood in silence. Nate remained in his apologetic stance, fearing that moving would elicit a negative reaction.
"How old are you, Nate?" Mr. Stu Deeoh sighed.
"16, sir."
"I remember when we first met in zee theater zat you wanted to be Unova's Champion."
"Not want, sir. I will become Champion," Nate's voice grew with confidence.
Mr. Stu Deeoh chuckled. "If you're set on zis decision, I will not stop you. You're young and I shouldn't stop you from your dream."
"Thank you, sir. But without me, how will Pokéstar Studios continue?"
"Don't worry, my boy. Judging by zee profits from our first audience alone, we 'ave made a killer short movie," Mr. Stu Deeoh looked over Nate's shoulder. "Speaking of zee audience, anozzer one is coming by."
True to his words, a horde of people showed up, crowding the front booth. Nate and Harper narrowly dodged the mob as they pushed through. Shouts from the crowd echoed around the lot, demanding for tickets. Everyone pushed one another as they waved cash in their hands.
"Word spreads fast, doesn't it?" Mr. Stu Deeoh remarked, stepping away from the stampede. "I shall take my leave, I must get the paperwork to showcase zee film to ozzer theaters. Zis is goodbye for now, Nate. Just know zat if you return, zee studio and I will welcome you wiz open arms."
"Thank you, Mr. Stu Deeoh. I won't forget the opportunity you've given me."
Mr. Stu Deeoh smiled. "Before I go, since you weren't able to see zee film and I doubt zere's going to be any seats open for a while, I'll 'ave a copy of zee movie sent to you. Where are you 'eaded next?"
"Castelia City, you can send it to the Pokémon Center there. Can you also send another copy to Aspertia City? I want my mom to see it as well."
"Zat I shall do, and Riolu?" Mr. Stu Deeoh grabbed Harper's attention.
"Brycen should be at 'is vanity van, 'e's taking a well-deserved break. You know where zee vans are?"
Harper nodded.
"Good to 'ear. Farewell to zee both of you."
Nate waved goodbye as the studio owner left the lot. When he was out of sight, Nate turned to Harper, a melancholy look in his eyes.
"So... I guess this is goodbye, Riolu."
After an awkward silence, Nate spoke up again.
"Y'know, when I first saw you, you had this strange stare on me. I only remembered it just now, why did you look at me like that? Was there something on my face?"
How was he supposed to respond to that? He never expected Nate to bring it up, or hell, even remember at all. Harper never thought Nate would remember their first interaction in the theater that way. Should he lie again and pray he fell for it? Constantly having to hide his identity and narrowly escaping the reveal of it was getting to him. He was getting tired of making up lame excuses and fooling people who did nothing but help. Harper was also unsure of how everyone would react if they did believe him. Would they lose trust in him? Send him away like how he imagined? Locked up and sent to whatever the pokémon's government equivalent is? Despite the fears he felt, the stress that silently accumulated burst open.
Enough was enough.
Harper grabbed Nate's jacket and led him to a quieter section of the studio.
"Woah! Where're you taking me?"
Harper didn't respond, he continued to drag Nate through the movie lots until they arrived at a familiar scene. The same Castelia set from Harper's training and his bonding session with Nate remained untouched.
"The Castelia set? You want to say goodbye here? That makes sense."
*I lied.*
"Lied?" Nate asked. "Lied about what?"
*Everything. I can't hold it in anymore.*
*Since you're leaving and I don't know when you're coming back, I just need to tell someone.*
Nate sat down on the ground, crossing his legs and matching eye level. "I don't think you're lying about anything bad. You did nothing but help me this entire time, you're not a bad pokémon."
*That's the problem.*
"What is?"
*I'm not a pokémon.*
"You're not making sense, Riolu," Nate's voice grew with denial. "Of course you are, you're a riolu, my eyes aren't lying to me."
"I was a human."
*I was a human.*
Harper spoke the sentence he wrote down on his whiteboard, emphasizing each word, and pointing at them with his marker. He knew that all Nate heard was, "Ri, Rio, Ro, Lu," but he didn't care.
"I lied about having amnesia."
*I lied about having amnesia.*
"I lied about my injury."
*I lied about my injury.*
"I'm not who you think I am."
*I'm not who you think I am.*
Nate was overwhelmed by Harper's written words, still unwilling to believe the jackal. "Then, who are you, Riolu?"
*I have a name, it's Harper.*
"Harper?" Nate thought aloud.
It was the first time Harper heard his name aloud in his new life. It was relieving to hear it with his ears, he continued writing.
*My full name is Harper Moore, and I'm not from here.*
"Like from Unova? Then what region? Your name sounds Unovan."
*I'm not from this world.*
*I died from an explosion and I showed up here, that's why my chest is scarred.*
"You died from an explosion, Rio— er... Harper? How?"
*There's a reason why I wanted to be here at Pokéstar Studios*
*I wanted to be an actor in my past life but I was stuck as a Key Grip.*
"Key Grip?"
*I was the person in charge who rigged all the cameras, lighting, and other equipment that needed lifting.*
*Before I died, I was working in an action movie when the director set off the detonator for a bomb.*
*I was in the range of the explosion. When I woke up, I was in the forest near Route 20.*
Nate, who had been sitting straight the whole time, flopped to the ground, back flat on the concrete.
"This is too much."
Harper sat next to Nate's head, holding the whiteboard parallel to his face.
*Do you believe me?*
"Ri- Harper, there's a reason why everyone was shocked at your literacy. Only hyper-intelligent pokémon like some Psychic-types can understand language, and even then it's basic language. It's nothing like how humans communicate with each other."
"This isn't natural."
*I wanted to tell someone this for a while and I trust you.*
"I'm happy that you trust me but this is fucking crazy. To answer your question, I do believe you. No pokémon would ever be this skilled at reading and writing and lie with this level of detail. You mentioned that you weren't from this world, what do you mean?"
*I was from a world where Pokémon was a video game. Before I died, I was playing it.*
"Now I don't want to believe you. If you were playing the game before you died, does that mean you know everything about Unova?"
Harper had played Pokémon Black as a child but never had the chance to try the sequel. His mother saw the box cover for the two games and never bought it for him, saying they were basically the same thing. The price inflation of the cartridge later prevented him from getting a physical copy when he grew up. He resorted to emulating, which was faster and far cheaper.
*I only know what happened in the past games, I was playing this one for the first time.*
"I see..."
A moment passed.
"Wait," Nate sat up. "How old are you?"
*Mid-30s.*
"Oh sweet-" Nate palmed his face with both hands. "You're like double my age and I've been treating you like a kid. Holy shit, I even gave you a bath. Why didn't you say anything!"
*I did, I pointed out to tell you I wanted privacy.*
"Me and my stubbornness," Nate muttered. "I can't blame you for that. Oh Arceus, I even asked if I could hug you after I already did."
*It's fine.*
Another moment passed.
"So... what are you gonna do now, Harper? Or should I say, Mr. Moore?"
*I'll just stay here. I'm happy here even though I have to hide my true self.*
*Also, never call me Mr. Moore again.*
"Sure thing, Mr. Moore," Nate complied.
The two chuckled, and the tension between the two eased up. Nate leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky. Harper wrote a sentence down.
*Thanks for believing me, I hope you keep this a secret.*
"I will, if anyone heard that a completely literate pokémon existed, they would kidnap you immediately."
~Wow, my assumption was correct.~
"Don't worry, Harper. I won't say a word about you, we both have dreams we want to achieve, don't we?"
Harper nodded.
"I should go now, my next gym badge is probably collecting lint in Burgh's pant pocket. I also want to get a new partner for my team."
Nate rose to his feet, only to pause and extend his hand in front of Harper.
"See you whenever Harper. It was only for a short while, but I had a lot of fun."
Harper placed his paw on Nate's hand and shook. "Goodbye, Nate."
Nate walked off to the studio exit, likely on his way to meet Roxie's father for a boat ride. Harper remained in his seated position, staring blankly into the sky. Whoever said that sharing a burden would help was definitely correct. Even though Nate was gone, Harper now had one person who he could be himself with.
That was more than enough.