Celadon City, manga studio.
"Miss Maho, do you think... the real Team Rocket might be reading my manga too?"
On the other end of the communicator, Kikkawa Maho fell silent for a few seconds.
"Mr. Masuda, what suddenly made you think of that?"
"It just struck me as a little strange."
Shiraishi Ritsu sat at his worktable, looking at the unfinished character sketch of Giovanni on the desk, his expression unusually serious.
"Think about it. Pokémon Adventures is already being sold in plenty of cities across Kanto. If ordinary Trainers can buy it, Team Rocket members can buy it too."
"That's true."
"And that collector just happens to be especially interested in Giovanni's storyline."
Kikkawa Maho thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe he just likes the villains in the manga. Weren't plenty of readers fond of Gym Leader Sabrina a while ago?"
"Let's hope so."
Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed between his brows.
The problem was that he knew a few things Kikkawa Maho didn't.
In the real world, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga were all Pokémon League-certified Gym Leaders, completely different from their identities as Team Rocket executives in the manga.
But Giovanni's situation was a special case.
On the surface, that man ran the Viridian Gym, but behind the scenes, he controlled the real Team Rocket.
When Shiraishi Ritsu first created the manga, he had been focused solely on recreating the exciting story he remembered. It had never occurred to him that the leader of Team Rocket himself might read it someday.
Now that he thought it over, he was practically asking for trouble.
"Mr. Masuda?"
"Hm?"
"Do you know something?"
A little more puzzlement crept into Kikkawa Maho's voice.
Shiraishi Ritsu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly laughed it off.
"I just draw manga. What would I know?"
"Then why are you so worried?"
"I'm afraid they'll think I made Team Rocket look too embarrassing and come complain!"
"..."
For a moment, Kikkawa Maho actually had no idea how to respond.
Only after a long while did she say helplessly, "Mr. Masuda, surely Team Rocket doesn't have a department specifically for handling manga complaints?"
"Who knows?"
Shiraishi Ritsu sighed.
"What if they think they look too bad in the manga and insist on having a chat with the author? What am I supposed to do?"
Kikkawa Maho pictured the scene and finally couldn't help laughing.
"Have too many Gym Leaders been coming to see you lately? Is it making you paranoid?"
"Possibly."
Shiraishi Ritsu admitted it quite sincerely.
"Miss Sabrina already gave me a scare once, after all."
Jokes aside, Kikkawa Maho didn't completely dismiss his concerns.
The man who called himself a collector was indeed a little odd. He had repeatedly asked about the author's private address and was willing to pay a high price for unpublished original pages.
That behavior already went beyond an ordinary reader's curiosity.
"How about this?"
She picked up a pen and wrote a few lines in her notebook.
"I'll have the publisher review how author information is managed. From now on, anyone asking for your contact details will have their messages passed along through the editorial department."
"And the unpublished pages."
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately added.
"Especially anything involving Team Rocket. Make absolutely sure none of it gets out early."
"You can rest assured about that."
"Also, we need to be careful when shipping the original pages. Ideally, the same designated staff member should receive them."
"That's fine."
Kikkawa Maho agreed readily.
"But, Mr. Masuda, are you thinking of going on hiatus again?"
"..."
Shiraishi Ritsu fell silent for a moment.
"Am I really that unreliable in your eyes?"
"You did bring it up yourself last time."
"Ahem, that's all in the past."
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly changed the subject.
"The manga is so popular right now, and the collected volumes are coming out too. How could I bear to go on hiatus?"
"That's good, then."
Kikkawa Maho sounded noticeably relieved.
"If that man comes to the publisher again, I'll keep an eye out. You should be careful lately too. Contact me right away if anything suspicious happens."
"Got it!"
After ending the call, Shiraishi Ritsu set the communicator aside and let out a long breath.
He lowered his head and looked over his worktable.
Scattered drawing paper, character designs, story notes, and the Team Rocket Secret Base Smeargle had just finished drawing.
Before, looking at these things had only made him think of manuscript fees and readers' reviews.
Now, there was another layer of concern.
"What even is this...?"
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help muttering.
"All I did was draw a manga. Why is someone investigating me?"
Beside him, Smeargle was sprawled over the table, carefully coloring an illustration.
Hearing its Trainer's complaint, it raised its head curiously.
"Smear?"
Shiraishi Ritsu reached out and patted its head.
"It's nothing. We might have landed ourselves in a little trouble."
Smeargle tilted its head.
"A little trouble?"
"Some people might want to talk to us about the manga."
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded at once, seemingly finding it no big deal.
Looking at its innocent expression, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help laughing.
"Of course you're not scared."
"When Miss Sabrina came over last time, she even praised your drawings in the end."
"And me? I nearly got turned into a pincushion by paintbrushes!"
Remembering what had happened that day, Smeargle immediately shrank back.
Then it started snickering.
Shiraishi Ritsu glared.
"You're still laughing?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle hurriedly lowered its head and pretended to be working diligently.
Shiraishi Ritsu shook his head helplessly.
What a heartless little thing.
Over the course of the afternoon, Shiraishi Ritsu gave the studio a quick tidy-up.
In the past, to make drawing more convenient, he had often left unfinished original pages piled on the sofa or coffee table.
Thinking about it now, he really did need to develop better habits.
So he specifically cleared out a lockable cabinet to store completed manga pages that had yet to be delivered to the publisher.
He also sorted the character designs and story outlines separately, putting them into labeled folders.
As for the discarded drafts, he gathered them all into a cardboard box.
Watching its Trainer bustle about, Smeargle came over to help on its own initiative.
Its way of helping was just a little unusual.
Shiraishi Ritsu had barely straightened one stack of original pages before Smeargle came running over with another stack of drawing paper in its arms.
"Smear!"
"Put them over here."
"Smear!"
"Wait! Those are the storyboards for next month. Don't put them with the discarded drafts!"
"Smear?"
"And this one! This is a finished original page!"
After nearly an hour of fussing about, the studio finally looked considerably tidier.
Shiraishi Ritsu clapped his hands in satisfaction.
"Not bad!"
"Our original pages are all money from now on. We need to keep them safe."
Smeargle wholeheartedly agreed.
It even brought over a sheet of paper on its own and drew a huge prohibition sign to put on the cabinet door.
Underneath, it also drew an angry Smeargle.
Shiraishi Ritsu grinned at the sight.
"What does that mean? You'll fight anyone who dares touch the original pages?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded solemnly.
Shiraishi Ritsu looked at its little frame and really couldn't bring himself to dampen his partner's enthusiasm.
"All right, then. I'm leaving the safety of the original pages to you!"
Smeargle immediately puffed out its chest.
It was clearly quite pleased with this new assignment.
It even made a special trip back to the worktable, picked up a paintbrush, and began creating a new piece.
At first, Shiraishi Ritsu paid little attention.
Until, a little over ten minutes later, Smeargle suddenly held a sheet of drawing paper up in front of him.
"Smear!"
"Hm? Finished?"
Shiraishi Ritsu took the drawing.
The next second, he burst out laughing.
The person in the picture was none other than himself.
Except Shiraishi Ritsu, who usually wore a loose jacket and often sported a head of messy hair, had now changed into an imposing black bodyguard uniform.
A suit, a tie, sunglasses, and even a pair of black gloves.
A small Smeargle badge was pinned to his chest.
Beside him stood Smeargle, also wearing sunglasses, its arms crossed and its expression solemn.
It had even taken care to write a few large, crooked words at the bottom of the picture.
[The manga studio's strongest bodyguard duo!]
"Hahahaha!"
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Why did you draw me like this, you little rascal?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle began gesturing very earnestly.
In its view, as long as its Trainer put on this outfit and added a pair of sunglasses, he would look especially dangerous to mess with.
Then those people looking for trouble might run away the moment they spotted him from a distance!
"You mean I should dress like this and go out to scare people?"
Smeargle nodded repeatedly.
"What about you?"
"Smear!"
It patted its own chest.
Protecting its Trainer, of course!
Shiraishi Ritsu looked at the imposing Smeargle in the drawing, then at the little fellow in front of him who was shorter than the table, and laughed so hard his shoulders shook.
"Partner, if you really had skills like that, we wouldn't have lost to a Rattata back then!"
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle immediately grew unhappy.
Why bring up old history!
He snatched back the drawing in a huff and added several large words beside Shiraishi Ritsu's cartoon likeness.
[Priority protection target: Shiraishi Ritsu]
Then he pointed at himself.
[Bodyguard captain: Smeargle]
After reading it, Shiraishi Ritsu laughed even harder.
"All right, all right, Captain Smeargle!"
"My safety is in your hands from now on!"
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle nodded in satisfaction.
Still, he clearly hadn't forgotten his role as an artist.
Having just accepted his appointment as bodyguard captain, he sat back down at the worktable and continued drawing the manga pages he had yet to finish that day.
Watching his busy figure from behind, Shiraishi Ritsu's smile gradually softened.
Come to think of it, when he had first transmigrated to this world, he had dreamed of becoming a powerful Pokémon Trainer.
Instead, he had suffered a crushing defeat in his very first battle.
Only after discovering Smeargle's artistic talent had the two stumbled into creating manga.
Now, Pokémon Adventures had gained more and more readers, and its first collected volume had been successfully released.
He was getting closer and closer to the goal he had first set.
He also wanted to buy a big house and give Smeargle a dedicated studio.
He also wanted to travel to other regions and see those familiar Pokémon and sights.
More importantly, he wanted to keep drawing manga.
The story of Pokémon Adventures was far from over.
"Oh, well."
Shiraishi Ritsu stretched and sat back down at the worktable.
"No use thinking so much. Let's finish today's pages first."
Hearing this, Smeargle immediately raised his brush.
"Smeargle!"
"There isn't much to do today. We just need to finish those pages of the Team Rocket Base."
Smeargle glanced down at the storyboards.
Complicated mechanical backgrounds again.
The smile immediately vanished from his face.
"Smeargle..."
Shiraishi Ritsu chuckled at the sight.
"Don't play pitiful! You only promised this afternoon to protect the original pages, and now you don't even want to draw them?"
Smeargle glared at him, but finally picked up his brush and got to work.
The man and Pokémon returned to their familiar routine.
They discussed the plot, revised the storyboards, and occasionally exchanged a few words of argument over the angle of a particular panel.
By evening, several excellent manga pages were finally completed without a hitch.
Shiraishi Ritsu admired their work in satisfaction, and his worries eased considerably.
Whatever that strange collector's background really was, there was no need to scare himself right now.
He had already taken the necessary precautions.
If problems arose later, he could find a way to deal with them then.
Eight that evening.
Shiraishi Ritsu took Smeargle out for dinner.
By the time they returned to the apartment, the hallway had gone quiet.
As he took out his keys, he opened the mailbox beside the door.
The publisher occasionally sent materials here, so he checked it every day.
Today, there were only two things in the mailbox.
An advertising flyer.
And an ordinary white envelope.
"Hm?"
Shiraishi Ritsu picked up the envelope.
There was no stamp on it, nor any sender's name.
Only a few neatly written words.
[To: Masuda Senbei]
Shiraishi Ritsu frowned.
Strange.
They actually addressed it directly to my pen name?
Although a few acquaintances nearby knew he drew manga, the people who sent letters here were almost always publishing staff.
"Did Miss Maho send this?"
He muttered under his breath.
Smeargle leaned closer curiously.
"Smeargle?"
"It's nothing. Just a letter."
Shiraishi Ritsu opened the door, walked into the studio, and casually tossed the advertising flyer aside.
Then he opened the white envelope.
Inside was just an ordinary sheet of stationery.
There was no signature.
Nor was there any extraneous content.
Shiraishi Ritsu unfolded the letter and looked down at it.
One glance was all it took for the smile to vanish from his face.
In the center of the stationery, a single sentence was written in neat lettering.
"Masuda Senbei, do you really think everything you draw is just a story?"