"Father, are you really going to call Gym Leader Lt. Surge?"
In the Fuchsia Gym lounge, Janine leaned over the table, watching curiously as her father looked up a contact number.
Koga nodded and set the copy of Pokémon Adventures in his hand aside.
"I heard he appeared in this manga too. I wanted to ask what he thought of it."
"But, Father..."
Janine pointed at the manga.
"You aren't planning to discuss how to go settle accounts with the author together, are you?"
Koga looked up at his daughter.
"Am I really that petty in your eyes?"
"Of course not!"
Janine hastily waved her hands, then muttered, "Still, making you a Team Rocket executive in the manga was a bit much."
Koga said nothing.
Yesterday, he had carefully read through the latest installments of Pokémon Adventures.
The battle in that narrow corridor, in particular, had left quite an impression on him.
Venomoth had used Stun Spore to block the passage, while its opponent had destroyed a vent to change the airflow and look for an opening.
That tactical design had made him quite interested in the manga's author.
As for being a Team Rocket executive...
The magazine had already stated that the story was entirely fictional, so he had not taken it too seriously.
Soon, the call connected.
"Hello! Vermilion Gym here!"
A familiar face appeared on the screen.
Tall and blond, with a broad, hearty grin.
It was none other than Lt. Surge.
"Lt. Surge, long time no see."
"Huh? Koga?"
Lt. Surge visibly paused, then burst out laughing.
"What brings you my way today? Is your Fuchsia Gym holding an event?"
"No, I just wanted to ask you about something."
"What is it?"
Koga picked up the manga from the table and showed it to him.
"Have you read this?"
The smile on Lt. Surge's face immediately turned odd.
"Pokémon Adventures?"
"That's right."
"Hahaha!"
Lt. Surge suddenly roared with laughter, even reaching out to slap the table.
"I knew it! I knew you'd see this thing sooner or later!"
Koga was a little surprised.
"From the sound of it, you already know what happens in the manga?"
"Know? That's an understatement!"
Lt. Surge casually picked up a magazine beside him.
"I even got in touch with that manga artist, Masuda Senbei! He even sent me a drawing!"
As he spoke, Lt. Surge turned the communicator so Koga could see the illustration on the lounge wall.
In the picture, Lt. Surge and Raichu stood side by side, surrounded by flashing electricity, looking thoroughly imposing.
Koga studied it carefully for a moment.
"It is very well drawn."
"Of course it is!"
Lt. Surge looked utterly pleased with himself.
"I heard that manga artist's Smeargle drew it personally. I even had someone frame it."
Janine also leaned toward the screen and could not help exclaiming in admiration.
"Wow! Father, look! Raichu looks so cool!"
Hearing someone praise Raichu made Lt. Surge smile even more happily.
However, Koga's next words froze that smile on his face.
"In that case, it seems you've accepted your identity as a Team Rocket executive in the manga?"
"Who said I accepted it?!"
Lt. Surge abruptly raised his voice.
"Looking cool is one thing! What does that have to do with making me a Team Rocket executive?"
Koga nodded slightly.
"So it still bothers you."
"Of course it bothers me!"
Lt. Surge said irritably, "Especially since that guy actually made me lose to a bunch of brats who'd only just set out on their journeys!"
"Tell me, is my Raichu really that easy to beat?"
Koga considered it for a moment.
"The trainer in the manga lacked experience, so making mistakes was normal enough. Still, having young trainers defeat powerful opponents is certainly a good plot choice."
"Koga, whose side are you on?!"
"I'm only discussing the plot."
Lt. Surge was left at a loss for words.
Beside him, Janine could not help covering her mouth to hide her laughter.
The difference between these two Gym Leaders' personalities really was obvious.
One spoke bluntly and practically wanted to confront the manga artist on the spot.
The other was as calm as if he were studying battle records of Gym challengers.
"Fine, fine!"
Lt. Surge waved his hand.
"Is that all you called me about?"
"There are also some tactical questions."
Koga opened the manga.
"But before that, I'd like to hear Sabrina's opinion."
"Sabrina?"
Lt. Surge paused, then laughed.
"What a coincidence! I called her earlier too!"
"Oh?"
"She knew about this manga ages ago. She even visited the author's studio herself."
Koga finally showed a hint of surprise.
"She went there herself?"
"Yeah!"
Lt. Surge laughed delightedly.
"Don't you think that manga artist has some nerve? He even dared to make Sabrina a villain!"
Koga glanced down at the manga.
"In that case, why don't we invite her to join the discussion?"
"Good idea!"
Lt. Surge perked up.
"We can ask her how well those psychic battles in the manga were drawn!"
And so, using the communication system linking the Gyms, the two contacted the Saffron Gym.
Saffron Gym.
"Kadabra, that's enough training for today."
Sitting at the edge of the training ground, Sabrina gently raised her hand.
Several metal training targets floating in midair slowly settled onto the ground.
Kadabra put away his spoon and walked over to her.
Just then, a Gym staff member brought her a communication request.
"Gym Leader, Mr. Koga of the Fuchsia Gym and Mr. Lt. Surge of the Vermilion Gym would like a three-way call with you."
Sabrina looked up.
"What do they want?"
"They said they wanted to discuss a manga."
"..."
Sabrina fell silent for two seconds.
Then she nodded lightly.
"Put them through."
Soon, the communication screen beside the training ground lit up.
Lt. Surge's broadly grinning face was the first to appear.
"Haha! Sabrina, we meet again!"
Sabrina remained expressionless.
"What do you want this time?"
"I'm not the only one looking for you this time!"
Lt. Surge moved aside a little, revealing Koga on another screen.
"Look, Koga's here too!"
"Sabrina, sorry to bother you."
Koga nodded politely.
Sabrina glanced at the two of them.
"Go ahead."
Lt. Surge did not beat around the bush and simply held up the manga.
"This thing, of course!"
Sabrina's gaze lingered on the magazine cover for a moment.
"Pokémon Adventures?"
"Right!"
Lt. Surge said eagerly, "All three of us ended up as Team Rocket executives in the manga. What do you make of that?"
"The manga is fictional."
Sabrina answered very calmly.
"I know it's fictional!"
Lt. Surge scratched his head.
"But all three of us are Gym Leaders, after all. Why did we have to be made into villains?"
Koga took up the conversation.
"I think the author may have chosen these people with their respective battle styles in mind."
"Psychic powers, Electric types, Poison types, along with their different personalities, certainly make it easy to design distinctive opponents."
Lt. Surge frowned.
"Then he could've made us the protagonist's friends!"
"You can write to the author with suggestions."
Sabrina spoke coolly.
Lt. Surge immediately had nothing to say.
Write a letter?
He'd already called the guy!
And the guy had still made him a Team Rocket executive!
Koga, however, did not dwell on their roles and soon steered the conversation toward Pokémon battles.
"Sabrina, I'm very interested in some of the tactics in the manga."
"For example, in that recent corridor battle, the author handled Stun Spore and the changes in airflow quite well."
Sabrina nodded lightly.
"Yes."
"However, I think Double Team could have been used more flexibly."
Koga turned to the relevant panels.
"If Venomoth had used the corner to block its opponent's view before using Double Team, it should have been more effective."
"That makes sense!"
Lt. Surge grew serious for once.
"I thought so before, too. This manga artist knows quite a bit about battling, but some parts still favor the protagonist too much."
"Especially that Raichu battle!"
The moment he mentioned Raichu, he perked up.
"After running into Sandslash, I clearly knew to switch to Iron Tail and even took precautions against Dig, but he still made me lose in the end!"
Koga smiled.
"At least the author didn't have Raichu keep using Thunderbolt against Sandslash."
"Of course!"
Lt. Surge slapped the table.
"Ground-types are immune to Electric-type moves. If he got even that basic fact wrong, I'd be the first to object!"
They discussed the tactics in the manga for a while.
Koga paid more attention to how terrain and moves worked together.
Lt. Surge had quite a few opinions about the pacing of battles and on-the-spot commands.
As for Sabrina...
She sat there quietly the whole time.
Occasionally, she nodded or offered a brief reply or two.
She seemed to have little interest in the manga at all.
"Sabrina."
Lt. Surge finally couldn't resist asking.
"Why haven't you been saying anything?"
"There's nothing to say."
"Haven't you read the manga, too?"
"I have."
"What about the latest issue?"
Sabrina nodded.
"I read that, too."
"Oh?"
Lt. Surge's eyes lit up.
"What did you think, then?"
Sabrina fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Venomoth used Stun Spore in the corridor. The opponent changed the airflow by breaking a vent, then took advantage of the confusion caused by Double Team to look for an exit."
"Midway through the battle, Koga changed Venomoth's flight altitude, trying to block off the path again."
"In the end, Red spotted a gap in his opponent's movements and arranged in advance for a Pokémon to wait near the corner."
Sabrina paused briefly at that point.
"But there's a problem with the command in the third panel on page sixteen."
"If Venomoth had simply put some distance between them, the next attack wouldn't have been so easy to predict."
The communication screen suddenly went quiet.
Koga looked up.
Lt. Surge froze, too.
The two exchanged a glance.
Then they both turned to Sabrina.
"..."
Sabrina seemed to realize something as well.
She slowly closed her mouth.
Lt. Surge was the first to react.
"Wait!"
He abruptly picked up the magazine beside him and flipped to the latest issue.
"Page sixteen... third panel..."
Once he found the corresponding scene, his eyes widened.
"It really is right here!"
Koga also lowered his head to check.
Sure enough, Sabrina even remembered the exact panel location.
Lt. Surge suddenly started laughing.
"Hahaha! Sabrina!"
"What?"
"Didn't you have no interest in manga?"
Sabrina remained expressionless.
"When did I ever say that?"
"The way you were acting just now, you obviously couldn't be bothered to discuss it!"
"..."
"And you even remember the page and panel numbers!"
Lt. Surge grew more amused as he spoke.
"Don't tell me you've been following Pokémon Adventures every day?"
Koga also looked thoughtful.
"It seems Sabrina has studied this work quite closely."
"I just browse it casually."
Sabrina answered coldly.
Just then, the doll in her arms suddenly poked its head out.
"Heehee!"
The doll said with a grin, "Sabrina even reread the previous issue yesterday!"
"..."
Sabrina looked down at the doll.
Lt. Surge froze at first.
Then he laughed so hard that he leaned all the way back.
"Hahahaha!"
"So you like this manga that much!"
Even Koga couldn't help smiling.
Sabrina's expression grew colder and colder.
She reached out and pressed the doll back into her arms.
"Did you need anything else?"
Lt. Surge hurriedly waved his hands.
"Wait! I'm not done asking questions!"
"Then save them for next time."
"Huh?"
Beep.
The call ended.
Sabrina vanished from the screen.
Lt. Surge stared at the darkened screen, stunned for several whole seconds.
Then he couldn't help bursting into laughter again.
"Hahaha! That girl!"
"She clearly loves it, but she just won't admit it!"
Koga gently shook his head.
"Lt. Surge, you seem to have gotten a little carried away just now."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Lt. Surge brushed it off.
"She can't do anything to me with her psychic powers over a communicator, can she?"
No sooner had he said that than-
He suddenly remembered the rumors about Sabrina's psychic powers.
His smile gradually faded.
"...She probably can't, right?"
Koga didn't answer.
Beside him, Janine was already laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight.
After the three-way call ended, Koga picked up Pokémon Adventures again.
Although Lt. Surge spoke bluntly, he had offered quite a few valuable insights into Electric-type Pokémon tactics.
As for Sabrina.
Her familiarity with the latest issue clearly far exceeded that of the other two.
A manga had actually brought three Gym Leaders from different cities together to seriously discuss Pokémon battles.
Koga had truly never imagined such a thing before.
"Father."
Janine came over.
"What do you think of this manga?"
"It's quite interesting."
Koga closed the magazine.
"The battle designs in particular show that the author has quite a solid knowledge of Pokémon."
"Will you keep reading it, then?"
"Of course."
Janine immediately smiled.
"It looks like you've become a fan of Pokémon Adventures too, Father!"
Koga didn't deny it.
He simply opened the copyright page again, his gaze settling on the author's name.
[Masuda Senbei.]
What exactly had this young manga artist experienced to understand Pokémon moves, Abilities, and battle habits so clearly?
And why had he thought of making three real-life Gym Leaders into Team Rocket executives in his manga?
Koga was quite curious about that.
He put the magazine away and turned to his daughter.
"Janine, in a few days, once things at the Gym settle down a little, I plan to visit Celadon City."
"Celadon City?"
"Yes."
"Father, what are you going there for?"
Koga smiled.
"To visit a manga artist."
Janine's eyes immediately lit up.
"Masuda Senbei?!"
Koga nodded gently.
"I'd certainly like to meet someone who can draw Pokémon battles so realistically."