"...and that," Cheren dotted the last period of the sentence on the blackboard. "Is the reason why Fairy-types are dominant over Dragon-types, any questions?"

One student raised their hand. "How come we're learning about this? My older brother never learned about Fairy-types when he was in school."

"Well, that's because the recognition of Fairy pokémon as their own type is a fairly recent phenomenon. Pokémon Researchers in the Kalos region have decided to add the Fairy-type to their respective League's statute of pokémon types a couple years ago. While the Unova League is deciding themselves, it is paramount that you learn the strengths and weaknesses of Fairy-type pokémon regardless of our League's conclusion on the matter to give you," Cheren pointed at the student with his chalk. "An advantage over trainers such as your brother when the time comes."

The school bell rang, alerting everyone in the school building that class was momentarily over. "Seems like it's lunchtime now," Cheren shut the textbook titled 'Pokémon Types and Its Determining Factors,' With one hand. "We'll continue this lesson after lunch and I'll talk about everyone's project on pokémon abilities, ok? I also have all your tests graded and there's a few people I wish to talk with after school."

The class collectively groaned in acknowledgment as they grabbed their lunches and shuffled out of the classroom. Cheren held the door open as he greeted his students goodbye, each one responding half-spirited.

With Cheren as the last one in the room, he sighed, readjusting his loose tie. Even though it was lunchtime, he still had business to attend to. He sat back down at his desk and slid his computer closer to his desk to join a group call with all the gym leaders. Roxie, Virbank's gym leader, requested a group call of all the gym leaders earlier in the morning. The Poison-type gym leader mentioned in her text that she wanted to talk about the rise in Team Plasma activity, or as she described it, Neo Team Plasma.

It had been about two years since Team Plasma's attack on all of Unova. They had attacked after he defeated the final Elite Four, Grimsley. To Cheren, the entire incident still felt like a fever dream. Team Plasma's plan to take over all of Unova by attacking the League and all its major cities would have succeeded had it not been for Hilbert's battle against N and Ghetsis. The villain organization fell quickly after their defeat but their recent resurgence has been concerning. Hopefully, the news that Roxie was about to discuss would quell his concern.

Clicking the join link, his computer screen pulled up to a multitude of familiar faces, young and old. Many of them were trainers Cheren had battled against during his journey with his friends. Some of them were colleagues that he had never met in person before. From the surfer, Marlon, who was waxing his surfboard, to the rock star, Roxie, the reason for this group call.

Even the retired gym leader, Brycen, who was sipping a cup of tea, joined the meeting. His reputation during his career and his contribution to the battle against Team Plasma in the Unova League was more than enough to request his presence in each call. Judging by how everyone else was already here, Cheren was the last to join.

"Ah, Cheren's finally here," Clay grinned, puffing billows of smoke from his cigar.

"Sorry for being late, I can't change when lunch starts for Trainer School," Cheren readjusted his chair to show his upper body in the camera.

"Hmph," It looked like Clay shrugged but it was hard to see through the cigar's fumes. "Can we finish this soon? I got a lot of work to do down in the mines."

"Then let's start posthaste. Roxie? You're the reason why we're all here." Drayden addressed.

"I do," The Poison-type gym leader started. "It's both good and bad news. Those Team Neo Plasma goons that Virbank police and I tried to catch got away. They fled deep into Route 20 but luckily, they ran into Alder."

"What's the bad news, then?" Skyla chimed in. "It sounds like it all ended well."

"The bad news is that the Neo Plasma bastards contacted their friends by Xtransciever while running away. Their texts said to be more cautious around any League officials. Their activity hasn't been slowing down. In fact, I'm concerned that they're going to be conducting their attacks even more than before."

Clay puffed another cloud of smoke from his mouth. "If they're tryin' to be more careful, then so should we when we try to catch 'em. Easy as, right? Great, I'll be headin' out. I have an entirely new cave system that the boys and I need to mine out."

"Clay, take this seriously," Elisa chided.

"I am serious and that's my solution. I'll tell the Driftveil police to be on a stricter lookout, see y'all next call," Clay left as soon as he uttered the last word, all of the gym leaders gave a collective sign, it was the norm for Clay to leave sooner than everyone else.

"Clay's right, we should try to be more discreet," Drayden declared. "Send the word out to all your gym trainers and the local police in each city. Team Neo Plasma is definitely not going to stop with their tomfoolery."

"You know, I have something interesting to mention," Brycen raised his hand. "And it relates to Roxie's incident with Team Neo Plasma."

"How?" Roxie raised an eyebrow.

"My riolu fought alongside you, did it not?"

"Riolu?" Roxie repeated. "Wait, that riolu wasn't Nate's?"

Nate? Cheren was familiar with that name, he had heard it a while back. After some quick thinking, he remembered it was the trainer who also lived in Aspertia City and who demanded a badge from him. The battle was a tough one, Nate's Snivy and Mareep were on a level playing field with his No-Badge team. Unlike other trainers who battled him, Nate came with a team with no type advantage to Normal-type. He had seen trainers try to win by having a full Fighting-type team but their arrogance was their undoing. Strategy, not brute force, was the key to winning battles, and Nate proved it.

"Indeed, it was my riolu," Brycen responded. "Nate and Riolu were spending their last day together when they helped you in your battle. Riolu is under my wing now and he's much more interesting than I originally thought."

"So he's the same one from that movie you did!" Elisa shouted excitedly. "I remember watching it and he was absolutely radiant the entire time! Brycen, I'm always willing to have a pokémon actor on my catwalk, they already know how to handle the spotlight."

Brycen shook his head. "He won't be trying fashion, Elisa. I don't want his potential wasted as a runway model."

Elisa pouted, crossing her arms as she mumbled to herself. "I'll ask again next time then, I'll get a pokémon actor on my catwalk one day."

Brycen ignored the dissatisfied fashion model and continued talking. "As for his skills, Riolu is faring well here in Pokéstar Studios. One detail that intrigued me about this pokémon was that he didn't know any moves when I first met him."

"Was he a newborn?" Skyla wondered. "He can't be though, pokémon know basic moves soon after hatching."

"Ahem, I wasn't done yet," Brycen cleared his throat. "Riolu quickly got his moves back after some guidance but that was one curiosity. The biggest element here is that Riolu can read and write."

Cheren's eyes grew wide, still trying to comprehend the former gym leader's words. The other gym leaders had the same expression on their faces. Brycen continued to talk through the deafening silence of the gym leaders frozen in their seats.

"He's an interesting pokémon. I would like to show him to all of you but he's training with my Beartic at the moment," Brycen looked away from his camera and out his window. "Seems like they're doing well so far. I intend to continue training him personally after this session ends."

"Brycen, this is big news for understanding pokémon as we know it," Cheren leaned into his computer. "How proficient is this Riolu?"

"If he could speak Unovan, it'd be as perfect as how we communicate. I recently learned from him that he has retrograde amnesia. His memory loss doesn't explain the 'humanness' he has though, and when I communicate with him it feels like I'm talking to an adult instead of a child…" Brycen trailed off the last sentence, pausing for a few seconds before looking back at his camera. "Pardon me for rambling. To summarize, Riolu is literate and he has helped quite a lot in our production for our next movie."

This was groundbreaking, Cheren's brain began to process the information like clockwork. It sounded ridiculous, a pokémon as intelligent as him using those skills in acting. Maybe Brycen understood something about the Fighting-type pokémon that he didn't.

"Brycen, I have a few more que—"

"Since this was bound to be known to the public eventually, I wanted to let my colleagues know first. I also want to request that I do not in any circumstances want Riolu to be distracted by anything outside of Pokéstar such as being used for research," Brycen coldly ended the sentence as he stared into the camera causing Cheren to flinch. Did he know that he wanted Riolu to be researched?

"Sorry, everyone," Brycen stood up from his seat and looked out the window again. "it seems that my Beartic is demanding assistance. It looks like his paw is frozen... hmph, seems like Riolu is at fault. Since I also have some business to attend to with an apartment scene shortly, I'll be taking my leave."

Before Cheren could ask any more questions, the veteran actor disconnected, leaving the other gym leaders in silence.

"You guys think he was joking?" Burgh quipped. "Because I would like to believe so."

Drayden leaned back on his leather recliner, stroking his sharp beard. "I've known Brycen for all these years and he has never said anything this insane before..."

"I always wondered why Riolu had that whiteboard before we fought those grunts," Roxie mumbled.

"C-can we change the subject, please?" Skyla interrupted the group's external thoughts. "All of this is overwhelming enough so we can ask Brycen another time. Is there anything else we can talk about?"

"Uh, sure," Marlon finished waxing his surfboard, leaning it on a wall and sitting back down. "Things in Humilau are looking good. The Marine Tube connecting to Undella Town finished construction recently, so we can..."

Cheren drowned out the voices speaking in the call, the information bombshell that Brycen dropped still clung to his psyche. Brycen had an extraordinary pokémon in his team and is using him for movies? An idea sprung up in Cheren's head, there was a way to figure this riolu out without taking him away to study. It'd take some effort but his plan would work perfectly, it would be seamless with Pokéstar's movie production and Brycen wouldn't question a thing. Cheren waited for the Water-type gym leader to finish talking to cut in the conversation.

"Sorry, everyone. There's a teacher that wants to discuss their next lesson with me." Cheren quickly disconnected from the call and rummaged through his desk, pulling out desk drawers and searching through each compartment. "I swear I left it here earlier today... there it is."

Cheren grabbed his Xtransceiver from behind a folder filled with his students' graded tests that he planned to return after lunch. He dropped the folder on his desk and dialed his friend. Within seconds, a cheerful girl with blonde hair appeared on the screen, the background looked like the laboratory she usually resided in.

"Hello? Professor Juniper's assistant, Bianca here."

"It's me," Cheren deadpanned. He didn't even know why Bianca started with that every time. She wasn't calling from a telephone, she only needed to look at her screen to see who it was.

"Hey Cheren!" Her cheery voice rang through his watch. "How are you? Why'd you suddenly call? Did you miss me?" Bianca continued to ask questions making Cheren unable to interject with the reason why he called in the first place.

"I'm not calling to make small talk," Cheren stated when Bianca briefly stopped talking like catching her breath. "There's something I want to ask."

"You? Asking me a question?" She jested. "I thought you were the teacher?"

"It's not an academic question. I want to know if there's any association made between Professor Juniper's Research Team and Pokéstar Studios."

"Wait, what?" Bianca paused in confusion, taking a moment to process the question. "What kind of question is that? Pokémon research and entertainment are two completely different things. Like, why send a professor to a movie set?"

"Do I have a reason for you, Bianca."

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

"...cut!" Mr. Pokémi motioned. "That's the one!"

Audrey sighed with relief, she had spent the entire morning and early afternoon filming herself sneaking through a prison set over and over again. If she had to creep over the same brick walls one more time she would've lost her mind. It didn't help that Mr. Pokémi kept halting recording since he wanted her to be sneakier. Despite finding the repeated advice annoying, Audrey followed it because he was the director, and she was there to make his vision come alive.

"I've received word that Amie is doing her makeup!" A film crew member announced through the bustling set. "Let's set up the next scene right now!"

Earlier this week, Mr. Pokémi notified the entire staff that Amie would be coming later today, and production would be dependent on her arrival time. Seeing as Amie was doing her makeup right now, it seemed like this filming session was going to be much longer than Audrey had originally thought. She didn't know how to feel about a female lead who was more skillful in acting than her. Thankfully, knowing that Brycen — a veteran actor with twice or thrice as much experience — welcomed her with open arms soothed Audrey's nervousness.

She headed towards her designated seat and allowed Ripley to come out of her ball. Ripley pulled her chair towards Audrey and sat down, wanting to be closer to her trainer. The Pokémon Coordinator smiled as she scratched the back of the sneasel's red ear feather. This prison-break scene was definitely the most boring to act since she wasn't with Ripley or battling against Riolu. Since the Fighting-type was spending the majority of his free time training with Brycen, the past couple of days have been pretty dull. Hopefully, the next scene would satisfy her need to show off because the scene she spent the last couple of hours on did not help in the slightest.

"I'm here, everyone!" Audrey shifted her gaze to the entrance of the soundstage and witnessed a woman with blue hair, who seemed to be around her age, burst through the door. A sewaddle clung onto her shoulder, munching on a large leaf. The woman's eyes wandered the set, looking for someone through the crowd of film crew members.

"Amie!" Mr. Pokémi extended his hand forward to her. "It's great to see you and your pokémon again!"

Amie shook the director's hand. "It's great to see you too, Takashi. I spent a while in makeup, I'm not late, am I?"

"Not at all! You came at the perfect time! We were just setting up the battle scene that you'll be acting in with Audrey!"

"Audrey? Is she the new Sneasel Ninja?"

"Indeed, and she's right over there!" Mr. Pokémi waved his hand towards the actress. Suddenly being in the conversation, Audrey gave a small wave to the two. "The two of you should acquaint yourselves! Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare the next scene with the others," Mr. Pokémi bid farewell and departed, leaving the two actresses to converse with other staff members. Amie approached Audrey and picked up a chair, sitting beside her. Sewaddle climbed off her shoulder and made its way towards Ripley.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"So," She asserted. "You're the new person they hired for the Sneasel Ninja."

"Yeah, I am."

"And how are things for you so far? A new actress like yourself must be having difficulty here."

"I'm actually doing better than I thought I would thanks to Brycen and especially Riolu. He's helped me a lot with how moviemaking works."

"The same Riolu that replaced the Heracross partner for Mecha Cop? He guided you around?"

Audrey nodded.

"Odd... but at the same time it makes sense. He's Brycen's pokémon after all, and Brycen is a veteran here. Speaking of..." Amie turned her head from side to side. "Where are they right now?"

"Brycen isn't here for filming today since he and Riolu already acted in the prison break analysis scene yesterday. He also said that he needed to join some call in the afternoon so he'll be here eventually."

She looked over at Ripley, who was playing around with Sewaddle's leaf hood as the Bug-Type was playing with her ear feather. The two pokémon seemed to have quickly become friends in such a short timeframe.

"So that's your sewaddle for the fight sequence?"

"Yup, we've been together for a long time," Amie smiled at Sewaddle, the Bug-type looked over and beamed back. "We've been side characters for movies since the very beginning and the role of Pollyanna suited us perfectly because Takashi wanted a pokémon partner that seemed weak but was a powerhouse in disguise. I didn't like the backhanded compliment at first but now it's something funny to look back on."

"Does your Sewaddle have a name?"

"Never needed one, you don't see a lot of Sewaddles where I live. The script never mentioned if your Sneasel had a name, did it?"

Audrey shook her head. "Nope, and her name's Ripley."

"So you're the kind of person who names their pokémon."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just making an observation."

Audrey and Amie sat in silence as they looked at the film crew reorganizing equipment and changing the set. What used to be prison grounds was now an ordinary apartment living room complete with a sofa, coffee table, and a plasma TV. Audrey took out her script and reviewed it like she always did, observing the set with what happened in each line as she read.

"Why're you reading the script? You forget your lines?" Amie joked.

"N-no! I like reading it when I have free time," Audrey hurriedly stuffed her script away in a folder.

"I'm messing with you, Audrey. Actors are usually full of ego and think they have their lines memorized in one reading. Looking at you reading like that, it's like you're doing this for fun."

Audrey sat still.

"Wait, you're really doing this for fun?"

"Well, sorta. I was a Pokémon Coordinator before I left Sinnoh. Since Unova didn't have contests like back home, getting a main role for this film was the next best thing."

"So if there were contests in Unova, you'd prefer to do them instead?"

"Definitely, but I won't forget everyone here for the opportunity they gave me."

"What are Pokémon Contests like to a competitor like you?

"It's the most exhilarating thing ever! I especially love it when the other competitors and their pokémon have their jaws wide open when I use my signature move to impress the judges. I have Ripley freeze the ground with... well... ice... and we both slide on it!" Audrey held an imaginary sneasel above her head. "While we're on the ice, I hold her in the air and she uses a really weak version of Blizzard so it instead creates snowflakes in the entire contest hall. Letting everyone in the crowd enjoy the snow always impresses the judges."

"You're very passionate about this. Why'd you leave it all behind?"

"It's because of my dad, he's the new manager for the Haxorus Hoopsters, do you know them?"

"The Haxorus Hoopsters? I think I heard of them when I was in Nimbasa at the... what was it called again?"

"The Nimbasa Small Court."

"That's the one," Amie snapped her fingers and pointed at Audrey. "So you had to move because of your parents? Why not tell them that you wanted to stay in Sinnoh?"

"Because I found out about the Musical Theater's rules after we finished settling down and now I can't move back because my family's staying here and they don't want me to leave Unova and now I'm here acting for a movie and I don't know if I'll ever get to compete ever again an-"

"Woah, easy now," Amie patted her back. "Seems like you've had a lot of stress."

"Arceus, I'm so sorry," Audrey tilted her head down and hid her face in embarrassment, realizing that she spilled out her contained emotions in front of someone she just met recently... again. This was the second time she had done this, the first time being Riolu, but this somehow felt worse and she didn't know why. Was it because he was a pokémon and Amie was a human? Did that make a difference? Now she was feeling worse for making the comparison at all. With her peripheral vision, she saw Amie awkwardly scratch her cheek, somewhat unsure how to comfort her. A few minutes of silence later, she spoke up again.

"You know, I've never seen a Coordinator become an actor with their pokémon in Pokéstar Studios before."

"Really?" Audrey uncovered her face and glanced up at Amie.

"Yup, you're already aware of how there's no Pokémon Contests here in Unova so of course someone with talent like yours would be hired here," Before Amie could continue talking with the blushing Audrey, she looked over her shoulder to see the exit doors open wide. "Oh, hey look! They're here!"

Brycen and Riolu entered the soundstage, this time not in their costumes. Brycen was in his iconic half-worn blue kimono and Riolu's fur looked ruffled, likely from the training he was undertaking. Ripley hopped off her seat and ran to Riolu, Sewaddle still hanging onto her head. As the three pokémon talked with each other, Brycen walked up to Audrey and Amie.

"Amie, long time no see."

"Same to you, Brycen."

"And how has your moment away from acting been?"

"Great, I needed the time to get away from it all, I found a job as a model in Nimbasa while I was away and I think I'm going to stick with that. This is going to be my last film here."

"While it's sad to hear that you will be ending your acting career, I am happy to hear that you have found a better calling," Brycen looked at Audrey and Amie's chairs and how they were situated next to each other. "Have you both already gotten to know each other?"

"Y-yeah," Audrey answered "She's a bit judgy..." Amie gave an amused gasp, putting her hand on her chest in phony shock "...But she's nice. I also didn't know that this was going to be her last movie."

"That's because I didn't tell anyone else until now," Amie replied. "I'm going to tell Mr. Pokémi and Pokéstar that I'm done for good."

"Make the most of your last day in Pokéstar Studios and enjoy it to the fullest," Brycen imparted before turning to Riolu. "Let's go, Riolu. We don't want to distract them too much from their upcoming film session."

Riolu's ears perked up and swiveled in Brycen's direction. He waved goodbye to Ripley and Sewaddle and walked alongside the actor to the other side of the sound stage.

"That Riolu's pretty cute with that whiteboard," Amie pointed at the little jackal. "Does he like drawing or something?"

"Well, not really. He actually wr—"

"Everyone get to your places! We're starting in three minutes!" Mr. Pokémi interrupted Audrey through his megaphone.

"Seems like it's time," Amie finger-gunned as she walked away. "Just have fun while we're acting, ok? Because I sure will."

Audrey nodded.

The two actresses walked onto the set after they summoned their pokémon back to their pokeballs, Mr. Pokémi waved for them to come over to him. "So Audrey, we'll be doing a separate filming session with a stunt double where the Sneasel Ninja acrobats up the building so you can focus on the battle at hand, ok?"

Audrey nodded, she was worried that she would have to keep climbing up the same fire exit stairs continuously until the director was satisfied. Knowing that the physical activity wasn't her responsibility eased her mentality.

"We'll start at the part where you're looking through the apartment window, ok? Your spot's right over there," Takashi pointed towards the fake window.

Audrey walked over to her spot and gave a thumbs up, Amie did the same soon after.

"Brycen! You're ready with the phone?"

Brycen held the phone in his right hand in the air, signaling that he was well-prepared. Mr. Pokémi nodded and pointed at the crew member holding the slate.

"Scene 16, Take 1."

"Action!"

The Sneasel Ninja stopped at a window and looked inside. The interior of the apartment room was neatly decorated with the usual living room furniture. She looked at the clock hanging above the door, it read 5:00 AM. The inside looked so neat and tidy, what a shame that its inhabitant wouldn't be here to keep it that way.

"Time to capture Mecha Cop's sister! Tee he he!" The Sneasel Ninja laughed.

The Sneasel Ninja fiddled with the window's lock, unsuccessful in unlocking it.

"Alright, that's it."

The Sneasel Ninja broke the lock and threw it behind her back. She opened the window and snuck through. As soon as the window closed with a faint thud, the lights flashed on, causing the Sneasel Ninja to be temporarily blinded. She instinctively covered her eyes with her arm. After her eyes adjusted, she saw her target standing in the hallway alongside a sewaddle.

"Tsk!" The Sneasel Ninja grabbed her pokéball and released her sneasel. "This girl also uses pokémon?!"

"Oh, you're the one my big brother was talking about," Pollyanna looked up and down at the hooded figure. "A petty thief, the Sneasel Ninja," She scoffed at the last words.

"So what? Now I'll capture you!"

"I have to warn you, I'm pretty strong 'cause I've been training with my big brother," Her Sewaddle hopped off her shoulder and stood firmly, ready to battle the invaders.

"Heh! Like that'll change anything!"

"I'll beat you and show my big brother how cool I am!"

"Well, you can't be cool when you have such a cute pokémon here. It would be a shame if my sneasel were to... use Scratch on it!"

Without a second thought, Sneasel lunged towards the Bug-type and swiped her claw. Sewaddle ducked underneath the attack but the tip of her leaf hood was sliced clean off. Pollyanna covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

"How dare you!" Pollyanna fumed. "Use Flail on Sneasel now!"

The Bug-type waddled towards Sneasel and moved erratically. She thrashed into Sneasel and knocked it backward.

"S-sneas, Sne!"

Sewaddle responded to Sneasel's outcry by using Flail even harder. The two pokémon engage in close-quarters combat and roll around the living room, bumping into everything. Books fall out of bookshelves, plates clatter off the dining table, and miscellaneous items are thrown all over the room. Sneasel grabbed a TV remote and tried to whack Sewaddle but it slipped from her grip and was flung into the TV, breaking its screen.

"... Sn... eas... el!"

The Sneasel Ninja stared at the rampage at hand, trying to find the right time to call out a move. She was so focused that she failed to notice her main target sneaking from behind. Pollyanna suddenly grabbed the Sneasel Ninja's arm with both her hands and triumphantly cried out.

"I can stop you with the defense skills I learned from my big brother. Police judo! Hyah!"

Pollyanna grappled the Sneasel Ninja into the air and slammed her on the laminated wooden floor. The petty thief yanked her arm away from her tight grip and crawled away as fast as she could.

"Eeeek! You're just like your brother," The Sneasel Ninja got back up after moving further away from Pollyanna. "You should battle with pokémon!"

"Oops," She gave an awkward grin. "I forgot. I got upset, and without thinking, I used... Humph!" Pollyanna crossed her arms. "I've also learned strategies for pokémon battles from my brother!"

"Then show me! They'll only be ineffective against me!"

"I'll show you the results of my special training!"

Sneasel grabbed Sewaddle with both arms and threw her across the room in a desperate bid to escape Flail. Sewaddle yelped as she hit the wall, the impact causing the hanging clock to fall and break.

"Sewaddle! Just hang on! You'll be fine!"

Sewaddle slowly got back up and glared at Sneasel with murderous intent. The caterpillar was not going to let the damage to her leaf slide. Sneasel wore a mischievous grin as she licked a claw, eagerly anticipating to cause the bug more trouble.

"Oh, really?" The Sneasel Ninja goaded. "You should check your ego at the door!"

"You should check your own ego! My brother told me justice always prevails!"

The Sneasel Ninja first chuckled at Pollyanna's response, later turning into a maniacal laughter. "That's incorrect! The winner is always right, even if it is the villain. That's reality!"

"That's a lie!" Pollyanna protested.

"Oh, you'll see."

"My brother is right! I'll prove it to you! Sewaddle! Sticky Web at Sneasel's feet!"

Sewaddle gathered webbing in her mouth and shot it where Pollyanna commanded. Sneasel attempted to flee the incoming attack but the bug's fibers latched onto her feet before she dodged in time.

"Now use Struggle Bug!"

With an enraged look on her face, she raised her damaged leaf and sliced Sneasel's body. Sneasel cried out in pain as she whipped her arms around, trying to stop Sewaddle from attacking further.

"Heh, you're quite good... Sneasel! Hit Sewaddle with Metal Claw and cut through the webbing!"

Sneasel stopped flailing and raised her arm up, her claws began to turn shiny and metallic as she focused Steel TE into them. She bashed Sewaddle's body with a swing of her arm and launched her across the room. Smirking, Sneasel destroyed the sticky trap and casually discarded the webbing, the diced strings descended to the floor like leaves in the wind.

"I'll give you one last chance to give up, Pollyanna," The Sneasel Ninja motioned her hands towards her. "There's no point in getting yourself and your pokémon hurt..."

Pollyanna stood in thought, the Sneasel Ninja was unsure if she was considering the offer or was thinking of a plan to escape. A moment later, Pollyanna regained focus and pointed at the villain.

"I'm Mecha Cop's little sister! I have to be strong! Pol in Pollyanna is the same as Pol in Police! I won't let myself be captured by the likes of you!"

"Sew! Sewaddle!"

"I'd like to break that belief! Sneasel! Use Icy Wind!"

"Sewaddle! Shield yourself with your leaves and Skitter Smack through it!"

With what remained of her leaf hood, she covered the front of her body the best she could and dashed towards Sneasel. She took in a deep breath and blew freezing air through her mouth, frost accumulated in their vicinity and Sewaddle was heading straight through it regardless of the damage. Ice shards rattled and cracked on Sewaddle's body but the leaves protected her head. Sewaddle struck Sneasel right in the face and toppled her to the floor.

"Blow Icy Wind again while Sewaddle's close!"

"Use Bug Bite!"

Sewaddle opened her jaw wide open and clamped it down on Sneasel's shoulder. Sneasel grunted in pain but ignored it and took a deep breath.

"Finish it with Razor Leaf!"

Sharp leaves materialized and floated around Sewaddle's head before they began to spin slowly in place, gathering speed with each passing second. Sneasel took in another deep breath, taking advantage of Sewaddle's delayed attack. A moment later, Icy Wind and Razor Leaf hurled towards each other at the same time. The leaves spread the air-bound frost all over the living room. Pollyanna and the Sneasel Ninja cover their eyes from the cold. When the haze dissipated, only one pokémon stood in the aftermath of the attack.

Sewaddle stood victorious on Sneasel's body, head up high as it smiled with pride. The Sneasel Ninja gave an exasperated look at her Sneasel, then at Pollyanna, then at her Sneasel again, finally sighing at the end.

"I lost to such a starry-eyed girl..."

"See?" Audrey beckoned Sewaddle to return to her side. "Justice always prevails! My brother was right!"

"Hee he he!" The Sneasel Ninja chuckled. "It hasn't prevailed just yet! Your scrap brother has failed to capture me for good and you won't either!"

The Sneasel Ninja summoned Sneasel back into her pokéball and dashed for the window. "Tell the Mecha Cop that I'll be waiting for him in the heart of Castelia City! We'll conclude this feud once and for all!"

Before Pollyanna could make any resistance against the thief, the Sneasel Ninja hopped out of the window. The Sneasel Ninja's footsteps clanged on the metal exit stairs as she fled from the scene.

"That scoundrel! I should've held her down while I had the chance! I need to tell my brother the news right now!"

Pollyanna walked over to the corner of the living room and picked up a landline phone off the ground, placing it back on the table. As she dialed up her brother's secret phone number and held the phone to her ear, Sewaddle crawled down her arm and onto the table, looking up with concern in her eyes. A couple of seconds later, Mecha Cop picked up.

"Deciphering caller. Identified as Pollyanna. My sister, is there a problem? This number should only be used in emergencies."

"Big problem! The Sneasel Ninja broke into my house and tried to kidnap me as a hostage!"

"What?!" Mecha Cop bellowed. "Where is that thief now?!"

"I beat her in a pokémon battle but she escaped at the last minute. She said she wants to fight you for a final time in 'the heart of Castelia.' "

"I cannot believe that the Sneasel Ninja had the audacity to try and kidnap my sister! I shall capture her at once! I shall notify the World Police to send protection to you to prevent this from ever happening again!"

"Brother, there's no need, I was able to defend myself with ease thanks to your training!"

"Is that so? Then we shall train even harder in the future to ensure an easier takedown next time in the name of justice!"

"For justice!" Pollyanna beamed as she pumped her fist in the air

"Keep zooming in on her... and... cut! Great work, everybody! We'll take a short break before we go back and see if we need to rework anything! I'll look at the dailies and see if we need to refilm some parts."

"Phew," Audrey exhaled after standing back up from behind the fake window. She'd been sitting behind it the entire time after she jumped out of it during filming and her legs were about to feel pins and needles. Audrey leaned on the windowsill as she stretched her legs one after the other, straightening them as much as she could. She knew this wasn't the last time she'd be acting today, so she'd better take advantage of this break as much as possible.

Audrey released Ripley after she stretched her left leg so the set medic could heal her up. As the medic did their job, she felt a tap on her waist. Audrey turned to see the little Fighting-type that helped her around all the time with a plastic water bottle and an oran in his hand. Riolu tossed the berry to Sneasel and the bottle to Audrey then started writing on his whiteboard.

*Hi, Audrey. It's been a while.*

"Hey, Riolu! I haven't seen you in a few days!" Audrey bent her knees and patted his head. Despite his fur not being as well-maintained as Ripley's, it was still incredibly soft to the touch. If she could keep petting, she would if it weren't for Riolu's paws waving her hands away.

*It's because of training. If I had the time I would've watched the film's production as it continued.*

Audrey cracked open the water bottle and drank a third of it, wiping her mouth with her arm when she finished. "Are you trying to say that you wanted to see me act?"

Riolu broke eye contact with Audrey, looking sideways as he stood still. She didn't even need a written response to know the truth, this must be how Brycen reads him.

"You don't need to worry since you didn't miss much. I'm actually happy you didn't see it, to be honest. Man, the scene we did before this one was boring, the battles and scenes with you are more fun."

"More fun than what we did back there?" Amie suddenly appeared behind Audrey, leaning forward with her hands behind her back.

Audrey quickly turned around and waved her hands in denial. "N-no! This battle was also really fun!"

"I'm messing with you again," Amie chuckled while lowering her arm, allowing Sewaddle to crawl towards the set medic who had finished taking care of Sneasel. "I'm glad that you're the actress for the Sneasel Ninja since the actor for the last one didn't have that... what's the word..."

*Sleaziness?* Riolu held his whiteboard high with one paw.

"Woah! You can write?" Amie leaned forward towards Riolu, observing his penmanship. "I thought you had that to draw."

*I can if you want.* Riolu proceeded to draw a rudimentary imitation of a clapperboard, filling in the black sections of the slate with scribbles. Amie, Audrey, and their two pokémon burst into laughter at the finished product. Riolu turned the whiteboard back and forth, confused at their reaction. The drawing looked like two crude rectangles with rounded edges and scribbled Zebstrika stripes.

"Stick to writing," Amie wiped a tear from her eye. "Looks like a three-year-old drew it."

Riolu glared as he erased his drawing with his arm. *Fine.*

"Darn, lost my train of thought thanks to Riolu's bad drawing," Riolu looked at Amie with an offended expression. "Where was I... oh right! Audrey, you had the sleaziness that the Sneasel Ninja needed. The last guy had the role down but he missed that one factor. If this was the last time I acted, which I don't think it is since I see Takashi walking towards us right now, then I'm glad you were the one I acted with."

Blushing, Audrey and Amie were approached by the director, who proceeded to explain what they needed to prioritize for the reshoot. Amie's complement lingered as she listened to Mr. Pokémi's words, it made her feel bubbly inside. She was used to compliments when she accepted her awards in contests and the words of encouragement from the audience but this felt different, perhaps it was the context she received them.

She was thankful for everyone in Pokéstar again.