Taking Photos

When Roy stepped onto the stage, faint cheers rose from the audience.

Compared to the stunned silence that had greeted his Ghost-type Pokémon the first time, things were changing for the better.

Some people had even come specifically to see a Ghost-type Pokémon. That surprised even the elderly man on the judging panel.

Ever since the Pokémon Coordinator Association was founded, Pokémon Contests in Hoenn had never quite caught on.

What people really loved was Pokémon battles: moves clashing and Pokémon fighting at close quarters.

That was why he had incorporated battles into the contest and brought in big names to draw attention to the Rookie Cup.

The day before, Roy's gentlemanly behavior had stood in sharp contrast to his identity as a Ghost-type Pokémon Trainer, sparking a wave of discussion.

To capitalize on it, he immediately had the Rookie Cup's official channels promote Roy, putting together several highlight clips of him.

Roy had become a minor celebrity at the Rookie Cup as a Ghost-type Pokémon Trainer, which would also make it easier for him to earn Popularity Points.

That put Roy in a good mood.

Of course, Roy's good mood did not extend to the trainer facing him. Anyone could see that Litwick was a Fire-type Pokémon, giving it an advantage over his Vileplume.

"Vileplume, use Stun Spore!"

Fine yellow powder burst from Vileplume's mouth and drifted toward Litwick.

He could only gamble that Litwick would be paralyzed, then have Vileplume follow up with Poison Powder and let the status conditions finish it off.

But when it came to status conditions, Roy knew his opponent was outmatched.

"Litwick, block it with Fire Spin!"

The flame atop Litwick's head whirled into a vortex and surged toward the yellow powder.

Fire Spin swept up Vileplume's Stun Spore. Some powder still drifted toward Litwick, but too little reached it to cause Paralysis.

Meanwhile, the flames carrying the Stun Spore engulfed Vileplume, dealing continuous damage and restricting its movement.

"Litwick, use Hex!"

"Lit!"

Several ghostly shapes emerged from the flame atop Litwick's head. They shot through the fiery vortex and struck Vileplume, dealing another heavy blow to its already dwindling health.

In the end, the sustained damage from Fire Spin finished Vileplume off.

Roy lived up to expectations and won easily. Litwick gained a level from defeating Vileplume, reaching level 30.

Wallace said nothing when Roy returned victorious. It would have been a miracle if Roy had lost that matchup!

When Roy learned who his next opponent was, he breathed a sigh of relief. He would be facing a level 29 Linoone.

If its trainer had not run into Roy, he would almost certainly have made it to the finals.

But he had drawn Roy, whose Pokémon was a nightmare for Linoone. Its Tackle, Headbutt, Fury Swipes, and Covet could not hurt Litwick at all.

Worse, when Linoone got close, Litwick hit it with Will-O-Wisp, inflicting a Burn that halved the damage of its physical moves.

Linoone's Pokémon Trainer was so furious that he raised his hand to file a complaint, stopping the match.

"Judges, I'm reporting my opponent for cheating! He must be using some kind of item. My Pokémon can't hit his at all."

The judges were speechless. Then again, Ghost-type Pokémon were so obscure that many basic Pokémon books had removed the type altogether.

Professor Oak, seated in the center of the judging panel, finally explained that Ghost-type Pokémon were immune to Normal-type moves. Only then did Linoone's trainer understand what had happened.

Many spectators who had not known that either let out a collective "Oh!"

The battle resumed.

But while he had listened to the explanation, Linoone had continued taking Burn damage. It had now lost nearly half its health.

Even more frustratingly, Sand Attack and Mud-Slap were the only moves in Linoone's repertoire that were not Normal type.

Still, both were Ground-type moves, giving them an advantage against Litwick's Fire typing. He might not lose yet.

"Linoone, use Mud-Slap!"

Linoone gritted its teeth against the searing pain of its Burn. Earthy yellow clumps of energy formed in its paws, and it hurled them at Litwick.

Litwick calmly dodged left and right, avoiding all three clumps of mud.

In the end, Litwick combined the lingering damage from Fire Spin and Will-O-Wisp with Ember to win again, securing Roy a place in the Rookie Cup finals.

Roy was not especially happy about the victory.

The good news was that he had reached the finals. But the Mightyena Pokémon Trainer and the Umbreon Pokémon Trainer had also beaten their respective opponents and advanced.

There was a very good chance he would face one of them tomorrow.

Still considering his tactics, Roy returned to the nearly empty contestants' room. Only sixteen contestants remained, and just as everyone was about to leave...

"Everyone, wait a moment!"

Mary, who had just been hosting, entered the contestants' room with a cameraman. He was Dai, her colleague at Great Zijing Television.

They were there to photograph the finalists for tomorrow's promotional posters.

"Roy, wait a bit. We'll take your photos last."

Despite standing closest to Mary, Roy was placed at the very end of the line.

Wallace thought Roy was being treated differently because he was a Ghost-type Pokémon Trainer. In a show of solidarity, he patted Roy on the shoulder and said he would stay and have his own photo taken last too.

The other contestants each had a single photo taken and were free to leave.

Before long, it was Wallace and Roy's turn.

Wallace was about to strike a pose with his Starmie when the photographer's camera clicked twice. That was it.

The photographer indicated that Wallace could leave.

Wait... that's it? I haven't even struck a pose yet!

"No! Take another one!"

After Wallace insisted several times, the thoroughly irritated photographer picked up his camera and snapped two more pictures at random. That finally satisfied him.

Roy was the last one left.

Wallace had expected Roy's turn to be just as quick. But when Mary brought out outfit after outfit for Roy to change into, he sensed something was off.

There were even clothes Litwick could wear?

Weren't they just supposed to take a couple of quick shots?

Then Wallace watched the scene unfold.

Following Mary's directions, Litwick stood on Roy's shoulder and struck pose after pose. They changed into different outfits and kept shooting.

Roy and Litwick spent half an hour being photographed from every angle.

Wallace could only stare, speechless. So he was the one being treated differently.

No, it was him and all the other contestants who had been treated differently.

What surprised Wallace even more was that Mary, the host, was a Litwick fan!

I'm not upset. I'm not upset.

Breathe...

To preserve his good mood, Wallace took a deep breath, said goodbye to Roy, and left the contestants' room. He went with Adam to the reception room at the Rustboro City Pokémon Center.

After ten sets of photos in different styles, even Roy had had enough. Still, he did not want to pass up a chance to earn Popularity Points.

"Mary..."

"Roy, you can call me Big Sis."

"Big Sis Mary, would you photograph other Ghost-type Pokémon too?"