Audrey spotted Brycen walking silently behind the daydreaming Riolu and proceeded to karate chop him on the head. Riolu winced at the pain, rubbing the top of his head.
"Wake up. When I said this incident would never happen again, I meant it," Brycen pointed at the door. "Lunch is considered free time, we're going back outside to continue training."
Riolu scribbled on his whiteboard and faced it at Brycen, Audrey leaned sideways to take a glance.
*So we're skipping lunch?*
"How prepared do you think you are for the scene we're about to record?" Brycen quickly interjected.
Riolu broke eye contact from Brycen's and stared at the ground.
"I think I know your answer. Come," Brycen held the exit door open. "Let us fix that."
Realizing that Brycen was about to leave, Audrey followed alongside him to talk to him.
"Brycen!" Audrey exclaimed as she followed them out. "Is it ok if we can come and watch? I don't really know anyone else around here."
"While you are free to observe, I advise that you get something to eat first. I'll be in the backlot to train Riolu. When you arrive, don't distract Riolu. This is discipline for not preparing in time and ensuring an unnecessary cut won't happen."
Audrey nodded, Brycen accepted her response and opened the exit door. Riolu waved goodbye as he left and she waved back. When they left, Audrey turned to Ripley.
"Well, Ripley," she addressed her partner pokémon. "Let's go get something quick, ok? Something we can eat while watching."
"Sneasel, Snea!"
----------------------------------------
After a brief moment at the cafeteria, Audrey arrived at the spot Brycen mentioned with a plastic bag filled with wrapped sandwiches in her hand. She and Ripley sat on an empty bench and ate as they watched Brycen train Riolu. As Brycen was instructing the Fighting-type pokémon, Audrey took out her script and began to read it as she ate her egg salad sandwich.
Since the next scene being filmed was one of the longer ones for today, it was a good time to refresh her memory on the script. While she skimmed through her parts, she looked up when Riolu's moves were mentioned. He was copying his trainer's posture, crouching and swinging his leg close to the floor. Unsure whether it was Low Kick or Low Sweep that Riolu was practicing, she re-read the battle scene and confirmed that it was the latter.
As she read her script further, some intruding thoughts entered her head. When this movie was done, what was she supposed to do next? Acting alongside Ripley was extremely fun so far but in the end, this was just an alternative to Pokémon Contests. Audrey still remembered those front desk people and their corporate speak when they denied her request to be onstage with Ripley. The Musical Theater's unnecessary stubbornness was enough to make her rescind her reservation soon after asking for a spot.
Audrey looked back at the two actors training. Riolu was now crossing his arms in a t-shaped guard as Brycen was explaining something. Remembering how helpful they were to her cheered her up a bit. She threw away her bitterness after realizing that she was, in a way, grateful for her rejection at the theater. Ripley catching the flyer in the breeze after they left and Pokéstar Studios accepting her into the role of Sneasel Ninja was unbelievable. It was just that her original desire to be on the stage to compete was still as strong as it was when she passed through Pokéstar's bright gates.
Audrey decided to worry about the issue later, it was still much too soon to think about it. She popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth and continued to review the script alongside Ripley, who was intently listening to her words while watching Riolu train. Reading the final page of the script, the last move that he would use in the final battle was Focus Punch.
She looked up from her script to continue watching Riolu work on his next moves alongside Ripley. Judging by his bent knees and his one paw covering his other that was tightly clenched, it looked like he was now practicing Focus Punch.
"Keep building up energy!" Brycen commanded. "Don't falter now!"
Riolu looked like he was sweating underneath his fur coat, his arms were shaking from tensing his muscles to their absolute limit. As much as Audrey wanted to, she didn't shout words of encouragement, Brycen's stern words were still engrained in her head. Since his species senses emotions, she still tried to cheer Riolu on without verbal cues by pretending to throw her thoughts.
~You can do it, Riolu!~
Riolu's ears flicked in her direction and a few seconds later, he swung his arm forward, hitting the air. The blast of the condensed Fighting TE vertebrated through the backlot, causing Audrey to hold onto her script tightly.
"Congratulations, Riolu," Brycen crossed his arms. "You learned Low Sweep and Focus Punch in record time. I don't know if it's because of your proficiency in combat or if it's just desperation."
Riolu didn't respond.
"For the next-to-last move in the final battle, Endure, it won't be necessary to know it. Since your condition at that particular point will be fine while filming, all you need to know is the posture," Brycen took out his Xtransceiver from one of his many pockets and looked at the time.
"Now, since lunch is almost over, I'll be getting prepared for the next scene."
"Brycen, wait!" Audrey hopped off the bench and revealed her plastic bag of sandwiches to the actors. "I actually brought something for the two of you! I didn't skip lunch and you shouldn't either!"
"Thank you, Audrey," Brycen grabbed a sandwich and turned to Riolu. "We'll talk more later, ok? I'll meet you three at the Castelia set."
Riolu gave a thumbs up as he fished for a sandwich with his other paw. After he unwrapped it and held it in his mouth, he began writing on his whiteboard.
*When I used Focus Punch, did you cheer me on?*
"Since Brycen told me to not interrupt your training I just mentally shouted instead. You noticed?"
Riolu nodded.
*I felt something positive behind me.*
"But why the question in the first place?" Audrey asked Riolu as the martial artist entered the sound stage. "I thought all Riolus are good at aura sensing at your age."
Riolu scribbled on his whiteboard again after stuffing another bite of his sliced potato salad sandwich.
*Not for me, it finally started working.*
"I heard that Riolus sense emotions soon after birth, maybe you're just a late bloomer. Does that mean you can't control it right now?"
Riolu nodded.
"I just want to know, what am I feeling?" She asked for fun.
*Cheerful.*
Riolu scribbled some more words.
*Now it's fascination.*
"Well, that part is obvious, isn't it?"
The two laughed.
"Should we head over to the next set now? "
Riolu and Ripley nodded.
----------------------------------------
"Wow, this Castelia set looks just like the real thing..."
Audrey and Ripley looked up at the fake towering skyscrapers. The front of the constructs were as realistic as the real thing but the backs of them were different. If she looked behind them, thick wooden planks and steel beams were the only support that the buildings had. It made sense, it wasn't like the studio was going to film whatever was behind it. The rest of the set was realistic as well with its streetlights, cars, and fire hydrants placed around the area. While they continued to gaze around the set, Riolu waved them goodbye to meet with Brycen.
"What do you think about this set?" Mr. Pokémi showed up beside Audrey, looking up at the buildings.
"It looks so real, Mr. Pokémi. It looks just like some of the streets that I passed by on my way to the audition."
"You probably went through the same street that this set is inspired by. This particular set has been used in Pokéstar Studios for an extremely long time. It was a shame that we were forced to desert it during our financial crisis but we're finally back!"
Mr. Pokémi realized the outburst he made and gave a small cough, taking out a clipboard and pen in hand.
"Alright, now I just want to explain how we're going to film the first part of scene 7. You know that your first spot is up on top of that building over there," Mr. Pokémi pointed upwards with his pen.
"I do," Audrey nodded. "Is this about how I'm going to vanish and reappear in front of Mecha Cop?"
"Precisely," Mr. Pokémi acknowledged. "I was also going to ask if you have a fear of heights."
"I don't, Mr. Pokémi."
"Good, good. So we're going to film you up there and when you throw your smoke pellet, we'll cut and begin filming again once you're at ground level, ok?"
"Got it. Are there any other cuts I should be aware of, Mr. Pokémi?"
"There is one more," Mr. Pokémi pointed at the warehouse door that the film crew were setting up. "Right before Ripley is sent through that door, we'll do a cut and refilm inside the warehouse. To the audience, it'll look like a smash cut."
"Smash cut?"
"It's an editing trick in movies where a scene suddenly shifts to another for dramatic effect. My vision is that Riolu uses Force Palm on Ripley and launches her at the door. The camera angle changes to the inside of the warehouse, and then BAM!" Mr. Pokémi violently shook his hands, mimicking the action. "She's sent flying through the door and the battle continues! What do you think?"
"I can't wait to see it when it's complete."
"That's great to hear. As for the other cuts in this scene, there's technically one more. It's a scene where Mecha Cop is in his mindscape. I say technically since we're going to add it in editing, just wait until Brycen finishes thinking and says his next lines, ok?
Audrey nodded.
"Someone will guide you up the building soon," Takashi patted Audrey's shoulder and then Ripley's head. "Put some passion into both your lines as you've done so far and it'll be smooth sailing."
"I-I will, Mr. Pokémi!" Audrey bowed her head, flabbergasted by the sudden compliment.
Mr. Pokémi smiled and walked away to discuss with the rest of the film crew. A crew member showed up and helped Audrey up a flight of stairs that was located behind a building. After climbing to the top, she spotted a piece of paper taped to the floor with two footprints printed on it.
"You'll be standing there," The crew member explained, taking out a small black orb. "Here's the smoke pellet you'll be throwing. Obviously, it's not real but we have smoke machines that make it look like it is. Your cue to enter is when Brycen puts his right arm down after scanning, ok?"
Audrey thanked the man and stood on the edge of the building's roof with her smoke pellet in hand. The distance between her and ground level was staggering, but she wasn't feeling any fear. If anything, it was exhilarating. Looking around was a spectacle, she had a Staraptor-eye view of all of Pokéstar Studio. She could almost make out the coast of Virbank City where she got off her boat with the over energetic captain.
"Audrey, are you ready?" Mr. Pokémi's amplified voice echoed from the ground from his megaphone.
"I am!" She gave a thumbs up.
"Lights! Camera! Action!"
Looking down at the street, she could spot Mecha Cop in the middle of the street with a hand on the side of his head like he was scanning for something. When he put his hand down, the Sneasel Ninja showed herself on the edge of the building.
"Have you considered looking up?"
Mecha Cop looked up in the direction of her voice, the distance between the two didn't hide the scowl on his face. The Sneasel Ninja smirked and pointed at him with his finger palm side up.
"For a renowned cop like you, I'd expect you to be better at looking at every perspective!"
The Sneasel Ninja threw her smoke pellet at her feet and smoke suddenly emerged, fogging up the rooftop and obscuring her out of sight.
"Cut! That was great!" Mr. Pokémi aimed his megaphone to the roof. "Now just come back down and we'll continue the rest of the scene!"
Audrey walked back down the flight of stairs and stood a distance away from Brycen. A billow of smoke formed around her to prepare for the next scene.
"Scene 7, Take 2."
"Action!"
The smoke cleared as the Sneasel Ninja revealed herself to the Mecha Cop. He assumed a battle stance, hand close to his pokéball.
"Sneasel Ninja! Surrender!"
"Surrender? About that, Mecha Cop," The Sneasel Ninja began to walk idly around him. "There's a reason why I wanted to meet you here. Will you grant my last request?"
"What is it?" Mecha Cop looked with skepticism.
"Battle me!"
Mecha Cop stood deep in thought, contemplating the Sneasel Ninja's odd method of surrendering. After a few seconds of deliberating, he opened his eyes and murmured to himself.
"Real justice, that I can believe in…"
Soon after, his radio emitted static and a voice rang through.
"HQ to Mecha Cop. Arrest the criminal as soon as possible."
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
The Sneasel Ninja looked away from Mecha Cop's radio and back at his face, grinning.
"So are you ready, Mecha Cop?" The Sneasel Ninja summoned Sneasel, and both the trainer and pokémon assumed their sneaky battle posture.
"In recognition of you as my archenemy, challenge accepted!" Mecha Cop grasped his pokéball and faced it towards the thief. "Let's finish this, Sneasel Ninja!"
Mecha Cop threw his pokéball in the air, summoning Riolu. The two protectors of justice also enter battle postures. Both sides stand still, waiting for the other to start the battle. A few seconds pass by, and both hero and villain shout their commands at the same time.
"Sneasel! Quick Attack!"
"Use Force Palm, Riolu!"
Sneasel snaked towards Riolu in a dark blue blur. The blue jackal tried to track the Dark type's trajectory but her blinding speed was too much. In a flash, Sneasel punched Riolu's sides with the blunt ends of her claws. Riolu grimaced at the pain, he scowled at her and began to charge up Force Palm. Sneasel instinctually backed away out of fear of the super-effective move but Riolu ran towards her and swung his arm forward to her che-
"Cut!"
Riolu halted, his Force Palm dissipated as he limped his arm down. Ripley sighed in relief, falling to the floor. With the arm he used for Force Palm, he held it towards the sneasel. Ripley grabbed his hand and stood back up.
"Alright! We're doing the warehouse scene next! Move all the equipment and we'll proceed from there!"
"Ripley, are you alright?" Audrey asked.
"Snea, Sneasel," She nodded and pointed at Riolu, who was pretending to write on his paw.
"Right! I'll go get your whiteboard!"
When she returned, Riolu scribbled his response.
*She said her legs gave away after I stopped using Force Palm.*
"Well, she's right to be a little afraid. What you did to her during the first scene would've scarred me."
"Riolu," Brycen addressed. "Now would be a good time to discuss your ability."
"Should I go? This might be a bit private for you..."
"Ri, Riolu," Riolu waved his paw, signaling not to.
"Seems like he's ok with you listening in. Let's go sit down first, it looks like it's going to take a while to set up the equipment inside the warehouse."
Audrey could hear the film crew setting up the warehouse scene from where she was standing. Some of them were moving cameras, light stands, and other props through the doorway. Audrey looked back at Brycen and nodded, following him to a group of directors' chairs.
----------------------------------------
~I kinda wish this chair had "Harper" written on it instead of "Riolu", but I can't really do anything about that...~
|[Elation]|
"Woah! They have our names on them!" Audrey gazed at the chair with her printed name on it. She sat down and turned backward to continue admiring her name.
"Is that one mine?" Ripley pointed a claw at the chair next to Audrey's.
"Yup," Harper answered. "It's got your name on it as well."
Ripley hopped up onto her seat and sat down. After forcefully leaning on the chair's back, it began to tilt backward. Audrey swiftly grabbed the top of the chair and broke Ripley's fall, the Sneasel awkwardly smiled at her trainer.
"You're welcome," Audrey stood Ripley's chair back up.
"It's standard for someone with a major position in the film's production to have their own chair like this." Brycen sat down carefully so as not to crumple his trenchcoat. "Now, Riolu, tell me what's been going on so far about your ability."
*I started to intensely feel emotions when I heard Audrey falling in the first scene.*
"Oh Arceus," Audrey blushed and put her hands on her face. "I'm still so sorry about that. I messed up my very first time acting, I don't know what to say."
"Don't be sorry, Audrey. It was the harness that caused it, not you." Brycen emphasized. He turned to Riolu. "Continue."
*Before all this, I felt emotions for brief moments around me but they were so weak I thought it was just how I felt.*
*After Audrey's fall though, I've been feeling the emotions of everyone close to me like you guys.*
"Close to you in a literal sense, like a few feet in front of you?" Audrey spoke out.
Harper shook his head.
"Close to people like us?"
Harper nodded.
"That's odd," Brycen closed his eyes as he rubbed his chin. "I've never heard of a riolu sense like that before..."
Harper waited for Brycen to continue talking, anxiously looking at the others as the former gym leader sat in deep thought. Emotions from Brycen suddenly spiked, causing a brief tingle in Harper's feelers.
|[Unease]|
|[Concern]|
|[Worry]|
This did not feel good.
A few seconds passed, and Audrey gathered up the courage to slowly reach over Brycen's shoulder. Right as she stretched her index finger to tap, he opened his eyes and turned to her, causing Audrey to freeze in place.
Brycen looked at her, and then her finger. "What are you doing?"
"N-nothing," Audrey blushed, quickly leaning back to her seat. Brycen adjusted his chair to face Harper and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I may have a reason why your ability as a riolu to feel others' emotions has finally occurred now, but I need an explanation from you first."
Harper raised an eyebrow.
"I feel like enough time has passed where I can safely ask," Brycen's face shifted into a stern look. "If you know why, tell me the cause of your reaction back when we watched 'Riolu-Kid' in the van."
How was Harper supposed to answer that question? Whatever answer he could come up with would surely expose his true identity. He still couldn't trust Brycen completely even if he had been helpful to him so far. Even though the ex-gym leader retired from his position, he still had influence in Unova's Pokémon League. If he found out the truth, Harper would likely be sent away. On top of that, Harper couldn't just tell Brycen that he was still traumatized from the movie set explosion. The way it cooked his flesh, the pieces of metal lodged in his body, the shockwave bursting his eardrums, how th-
"Riolu, are you ok?"
Harper looked up at Brycen, realizing his paws were trembling again. Audrey and Ripley were behind Brycen, looking confused and worried over his shoulder. He shook his paws awake and grabbed his marker, trying to ignore the burning sensation on his skin.
*I don't know.*
"Hmm, this might be a bit tough to figure out then. Your curious lack of moves when I first met you made sense after Beartic charaded it to me," Brycen pointed at his head and then made an "x" shape with his index fingers. It was oddly similar to how Harper tried to communicate with Nate before he began writing. Brycen put his arms down and held his hands together, looking Harper deep in the eyes. "Riolu, do you have PTSD?"
Harper pointed at his whiteboard again. *I don't know why I do, but I do.*
"I see, now I have a conclusive idea about your condition. Whatever injured you before our first meeting is likely the cause. Something is limiting your full potential as the emanation pokémon."
*It's supposed to be stronger?*
"With effort, you should be able to be selective of who you want to read, not just those you are close to."
*How do I train that?*
"Patience, meditation, training. You will get better as time passes but you must be willing to commit to it."
Harper nodded. He was more than eager to stop invading the privacy of how someone felt.
"Seems like our conversation is coming to an end," Brycen said as a crew member approached them.
"We're ready for the next part," The man said.
"Good," Brycen stood up from his seat. "Let's finish this scene."
----------------------------------------
"Do you have to hit me with an actual Force Palm?" Ripley asked, looking at Harper and the warehouse door with dread. The entire film crew was waiting inside the warehouse as the stars of the movie stood outside, waiting for the director to start filming.
"Takashi's words," Harper charged his paw with Force Palm, shifting his posture. "He wants a real move to launch you through the door, sorry about this,"
Ripley tensed up her muscles, preparing for the hit. "You owe me. How about you eat a sweet poffin with me? I still don't believe you like them."
"Like I said, I tried them before. I hate sweet food."
"I need to see it to believe it."
"Fine," Harper groaned. "Just one."
"Two," Ripley raised her two claws.
"No."
"I'll make it three then," She raised another claw on her other paw.
"Fine, two."
From within the warehouse, Harper and Ripley heard Takashi's words muffled through the door.
"Action!"
"Now or never, Riolu."
Harper rushed at the sneasel and angled his attack, launching her through the center of the door.
"Don't stop there!" Mecha Cop shouted. "Follow Sneasel and keep attacking!"
Harper jumped through the sneasel-sized hole and closed the distance between the two.
"Why are you surrendering in this manner?!" Harper shouted. "If the Sneasel Ninja wanted to turn herself in she would've done so already!"
Ripley stood back up amongst the scattered splinters of wood. "Like the greats before us, you gotta end with a..." She formed multiple Icicle Spears and sent it flying in his direction. "...BANG!"
Harper dodged the large icy needles one by one, each crystal piercing the ground where he was previously. As he dodged Ripley's continuous stream of Icicle Spears, Mecha Cop and the Sneasel Ninja kicked open the warehouse doors at the same time. The hero stood on the left side and the villain on the right. They rushed to their pokémon's side and shouted their command simultaneously.
"Fall back!" Mecha Cop and the Sneasel Ninja shouted together.
They stopped fighting and turned their heads to their trainers, jumping to their side, awaiting their next order.
"Up until today, I was trapped in a mechanical framework of justice," Mecha Cop tapped the side of his head. "You've woken me up, Sneasel Ninja..."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The moment I labeled someone as a criminal, I didn't see you as what you were, a human. I respect you and your request but you remain a thief. I cannot forgive your crimes... But if you pay for your crimes and redeem yourself, then..."
"Say no more!" The Sneasel Ninja grinned. "Sneasel! Us—"
A cluster of footsteps rumbled in the distance and in an instant, a horde of riot police officers entered the warehouse and surrounded the two trainers and pokémon.
"Mecha Cop!" An officer shouted through his helmet and behind a riot shield. "We're here to catch the Sneasel Ninja at once!"
"Stop!" Mecha Cop turned away from the Sneasel Ninja and waved his hands at the new visitants. "Even when facing a villain, it's not fair to interrupt a one-on-one pokémon battle! For shame!"
Every member of the Riot Police murmured to one another and then looked down to the floor in shame. The Sneasel Ninja looked around the circle of shields and smirked.
"Everybody wants a free pass to get away with unfair things like that. After all, what you call justice is..." The Sneasel Ninja pauses. "Obsolete."
"That's not true! Whenever, wherever, and whoever makes the effort to do the right thing-he or she can be a champion of justice! You know what, Sneasel Ninja? You're no exception yourself."
"How old-fashioned of you to think that way."
"Then let this mindset of mine defeat you, Sneasel Ninja!"
"Cut! That was great!" Takashi jumped out of his chair and clapped his hands together, urging everyone to move. "Let's get back outside now, quickly! I want the emotions of this scene to stay strong after we finish moving everything! Don't let the flame die out!"
As Takashi demanded, the film crew moved all their gear back to the city streets, this time much faster than when they moved everything in.
"This is the part where we pretend to fight a bit more, right?" Ripley asked.
"Yeah, Takashi said that the sound design team is going to add some sound effects during editing since he wants some of our battle to occur offscreen for the camera angle. After he says cut, we wait a moment and then you launch me back out to the street."
"Now that is something I'm going to enjoy," Ripley grinned ear to ear, charging up Ice Punch.
"Since you're hitting me back, that counts as payback, right?"
"Nope," Ripley turned her Ice Punch-charged fist forward and backward, admiring the glistening frost encasing it. "Ice energy isn't that effective on you so it doesn't count. Oh wait, I should add another two poffins for that final move you're gonna use on me."
"Wait that's not fai—"
"Action!"
Harper turned to the warehouse door where Takashi's voice came from and slowly turned back to Ripley. His eyes met with a wicked glance. He could swear that he heard her snicker as she dashed in and punched him in the face.
Harper flew out the warehouse door and fell onto the street asphalt. Ripley ran out shortly after with Mecha Cop and the Sneasel Ninja soon after.
"Riolu! Get closer with Quick Attack and hit Sneasel's legs with Low Sweep!"
Harper sprinted with speed faster than the eye could catch, stopping next to Ripley and swinging his stretched leg into Ripley's. She fell to the ground, almost faceplanting herself by interrupting her fall with her claws.
"Sneasel! Take his Riolu down with Dark Pulse!"
With her body oddly still, Ripley turned her head at Harper and opened her mouth. Dark Pulse charged up and was blasted from her maw, multiple black orbs of energy with a purple outline flew towards Harper. One orb connects and explodes in a haze of darkness, the rest follow soon after, colliding with every part of his body. Harper stood as the dark fog dispersed, standing strong with a body block protecting his face.
"What?!" The Sneasel Ninja exclaimed. "He used Endure without your command?!"
"This is it! Use Focus Punch!"
Harper bent his knees and clenched his paw as his other paw grasped over it as he did during training. As he took a deep breath, the Sneasel Ninja's face turned into desperation.
"W-what are you doing?!" The Sneasel Ninja sputtered. "Use Triple Axel on Riolu before he charges up the move!"
Ripley dashes and jumps forward with her leg, her foot frigid with Ice TE. Harper ignored the rapidly approaching Sneasel and continued to focus on his move.
"You made a fatal mistake, Sneasel Ninja!" Mecha Cop declared. "This victory is mine!"
"Thanks, Sneasel," Harper grinned. "Now I can attack without approaching you."
"Oh n—"
Harper sidestepped, feeling the air chill as Ripley missed. He threw his fist over her leg and struck Ripley's face, causing her to fall to the ground like a sack of bricks. Silence hung in the air, only broken by the Sneasel Ninja sighing and summoning her back into her pokéball. After pocketing the pokéball, she raised her hands in the air in defeat.
"I guess that's that," The Sneasel Ninja shrugged. "Maybe you were right, Mecha Cop. This justice of yours is what I should truly look for."
After recalling Harper back into his pokéball, Mecha Cop opened an arm compartment and unhooked the handcuffs from his launcher, latching them on the Sneasel Ninja's wrists.
"Mission accomplished," Mecha Cop led the Sneasel Ninja to a police car. "Now, Sneasel Ninja, it's time for you to pay for your crimes. Ready to turn over a new leaf?"
"Thanks..." The Sneasel Ninja gave a genuine smile.
"Now zoom the camera angle out... keep going... and... Cut!"
Harper and Ripley were released back out after Takashi ended the scene. Audrey left and guided the set medic back to the sneasel with a potion and some berries in hand. As the medic applied medication on Ripley's cheek, she grabbed some berries from Audrey and handed an oran to Harper.
"Here," Ripley shook the berry in front of his face and smirked. "This is your favorite, right?"
"Far from it, but thanks."
Takashi walked up behind the group, clapping his hands. "You guys did great!"
"Thank you, Mr. Pokémi," Brycen looked at Takashi's face and raised an eyebrow. "I know that expression, Mr. Pokémi. Was there something wrong?"
"No, no no," Takashi waved his hands in denial. "This film session was perfect but we can make it perfecter! Give it more pop!"
"Are you implying we do a reshoot?"
Takashi nodded.
"Mr. Pokémi? Which part are we redoing?" Audrey pointed at the rooftop, the street, and the warehouse in succession. "Not the entire battle again, right?"
"Oh, definitely not. The battle from beginning to end was amazing!" Harper noticed Ripley sighing with relief at the director's words. "I just want to improve the delivery of some of the lines," Takashi said as he waved his hands, signaling them to follow him. "Watch the dailies and you'll see what I mean."
"Dailies?" Audrey looked at Harper.
*It's the raw footage of a shoot. They're usually seen the day after filming but they're sometimes watched soon after.*
Takashi led the group over to the small television screen that was installed on the set's largest camera. After some fiddling with the controls, he brought up the scene when the riot police charged in.
"Everything up to here was great but take a look here," Takashi sped up the recording and paused, Audrey was within frame. "When you're talking with Mecha Cop here, give a more smug attitude. Brycen, I know your character is part robot, but give your dialogue more humanity. This is the final scene and Mecha Cop has come to terms with his motives. And as for you two," Takashi pointed at Harper and Ripley. "Try to look more in character while your trainers talk to each other. Give dirty looks, react alongside your trainer, and stuff like that, ok?"
Everyone nodded.
"Great! Let's continue filming!"
----------------------------------------
The remainder of the day was composed of reshoots of every scene where the main characters spoke to each other. When Harper thought it was over, Takashi subverted his expectations by demanding that they also reshoot the scenes earlier in the morning. As he was the director and the sun hadn't set yet, no one denied his request. His method of filming was odd, first filming a rough outline and then refining it with more retakes.
It was an exhausting day, similar to how Harper's old work life was when he was still a Key Grip. Despite the similarity, the demanding nature of acting filled him with gratification.
He was finally in front of the camera.
He was the one being filmed, not the one doing the filming.
Takashi tapped his megaphone and ended the day with four words. "That's a wrap, everyone!"
The entire film crew applauded, pleased with the success of their day's work. Everyone eagerly began to pack up the movie set, ready to go home as soon as they were done. Harper tugged Audrey's costume.
Audrey looked down. "Hey, Riolu. What do you want?"
*We should ask him about the beach scene before he leaves.* Harper pointed at Takashi.
Audrey nodded and made her way to Takashi. "Mr. Pokémi? Riolu and I have a question to ask."
Takashi turned around. "And what would that be?"
"For the beach scene, are we going to a real beach?"
"I've been meaning to tell you later during production, but yes! Pokéstar has been planning a filming session for that very scene at a real location."
"Is it Undella Town?"
"We'll be recording at Undella Town and Humilau City," Harper felt a jolt of excitement from Audrey and Ripley. "Since it's the most demanding scene in terms of preparation and equipment, we'll be filming it last. In the meantime, we'll be doing the other scenes like we've done so far over the coming days, we just need to wait for Amie to come back."
"Amie?"
"She was the one who had the role of Mecha Cop's little sister, Pollyanna, before our financial crisis. Amie quit due to personal reasons at the time but was willing to come back if we contacted her agent when things were stable."
*So is Amie here now?*
"Right now, no. You remember Juliet, right? Well, she contacted Amie's agent after the release of 'Riolu-Kid' and they responded that they were on their way here. We haven't heard from them since so we might have to wait a few days before we film the apartment scene."
*So what's the plan in the meantime?*
"Other than the beach battle, I'm hoping to film the remaining scenes in succession assuming that Amie arrives in time. I'll make sure that someone notifies all of you with call sheets the day before filming."
"This seems like the perfect time to continue training, Riolu," Brycen joined the conversation. "Beartic and I will be training your moves further. I will also help focus your empath skills."
Harper nodded.
"Well, it seems like you're all prepared for what's to come now. I'll be taking my leave now, thanks for all your hard work today!" Takashi waved goodbye as he left the set.
"So we are going to Undella!" Audrey resounded. "And Humilau as well! I get to see two of Unova's famous beaches!"
*Humilau?* Harper wrote. He had never heard of that city before in the first version of Black and White. Was it a new location in the sequel? He'll never know, he never played much of the second game.
"Humilau City is far up in the northeastern part of Unova," Audrey broadly pointed in the direction where it was. "Both cities are vacation spots but people usually go to Undella to relax and Humilau to have fun, and we get to go to both!"
"Audrey..." Brycen interrupted. "We're going there to film, it's not for a vacation."
"Right..." she slumped her shoulder but quickly perked back up. "But at least I get to see it!"
"You are right in that regard, I never had the time to visit Undella," Brycen commented. "In any case, as much as I would like to make small talk, I have a riolu to prepare for our battle on the beach. We'll start training in 15 minutes, ok?"
Harper raised a thumbs up. He didn't want to make any more mistakes on set and his previous training session with Brycen didn't fail him. He'll never figure out a pokémon move by himself ever again. This was another step forward towards his goal as a true actor.