Inside the Saffron Gym in Saffron City, Kanto.
"Kadabra, use Psychic."
In the center of the training field, Kadabra raised the spoon in its hand, its eyes glowing a faint blue.
The next second, three heavy metal training targets floated up simultaneously and slowly rotated in midair.
Sabrina stood at the edge of the field, her gaze fixed on Kadabra throughout.
"Kadabra!"
Kadabra gently waved its spoon, and the leftmost metal target immediately accelerated, circling around the other two targets along a predetermined path.
The entire process was very smooth.
Sabrina nodded in satisfaction.
"Very good. That's enough for today."
Once training ended, Kadabra withdrew its psychic powers, and the metal targets slowly settled back onto the ground.
Sabrina turned and headed toward the lounge.
As soon as she pushed the door open, she noticed an extra package on the table.
"Gym Leader."
The staff member responsible for handling the Gym's affairs approached.
"The publisher in Celadon City sent some new sample issues, along with a few reader letters."
"Reader letters?"
Sabrina paused.
"Yes."
The staff member explained, "Editor Kitsukawa from the publisher said in her accompanying letter that quite a few readers have been discussing Miss Sabrina in the manga lately. Some of the letters were addressed to that character. They asked the senders for permission and selected a few to send over."
Sabrina did not answer immediately.
Of course she knew which manga they meant.
"Pokémon Adventures."
Ever since she had visited Celadon City a while ago and met the manga artist named Masuda Senbei, she had received several sample issues from the publisher.
At first, she had only wanted to confirm that the work included the agreed-upon clarification.
Then...
Sabrina lowered her head and glanced at the magazine on the table.
All right.
She had indeed read a few issues after that.
But there was no need to tell anyone else about that.
"Leave them there."
"Yes, Gym Leader."
After the staff member left, Sabrina sat down on the sofa, holding her rag doll.
She picked up the latest issue first and deftly flipped to the pages of "Pokémon Adventures."
The new installment still revolved around Team Rocket.
Red and the others encountered new trouble while investigating Team Rocket's activities, and several executives appeared one after another.
The battle scenes drawn by Smeargle were as spectacular as ever.
Especially one page featuring a psychic battle.
In the panels, Kadabra used Psychic to seize control of objects thrown by its opponent, then used Confusion to change their direction.
Everything from the characters' expressions to their movements when executing moves was drawn in considerable detail.
After looking for a moment, Sabrina suddenly frowned slightly.
"This could be faster."
She reached out and tapped the panel.
In her experience, if Kadabra completed its psychic lock-on in advance, it could easily take control the instant its opponent acted.
The command in the manga was a little slow.
Still, considering the difference in combat experience between the two sides, that handling was reasonable enough.
Sabrina continued turning the pages.
Before she knew it, she had finished the entire installment.
She stared at the "To be continued next issue" on the final page and fell silent for a moment before placing the magazine on the table.
"Hee-hee!"
The rag doll in her arms suddenly poked its head out.
"Sabrina, you finished it again!"
"Mm."
"Was it good?"
"It was all right."
"That's what you said last time, too!"
Sabrina looked down at it.
But the rag doll only laughed more happily.
"But you read to the end every time!"
Sabrina picked up an envelope beside her, her face expressionless.
"You're rather talkative today."
"Hee-hee!"
The rag doll clearly did not take the warning to heart.
It lay in Sabrina's arms, peering curiously at the reader letters.
"Sabrina, hurry and see what they wrote!"
Sabrina opened the first letter.
The handwriting on the paper was somewhat crooked, clearly belonging to a young child.
[Hello, Miss Sabrina!]
[I'm a Trainer living near Saffron City, and I'm ten years old.]
[I've been reading "Pokémon Adventures" lately, and my favorites are the Psychic Pokémon in it!]
[Even though Miss Sabrina in the manga is a Team Rocket executive, she's really amazing!]
[I want to become a powerful Psychic-type Trainer too, and I hope that one day I can beat my opponents as easily as she does!]
At the end of the letter was a drawing of a round, plump Abra.
It did not look quite right; it looked more like a yellow Berry with pointed ears.
Sabrina looked at the drawing, her gaze lingering for quite a while.
Ten years old.
Under Pokémon League regulations, children that age could already officially begin their journeys as Trainers.
She had received plenty of similar challengers before.
But when those children stood before her, most were intimidated by the atmosphere of the Saffron Gym.
Some were so nervous they could not speak before they had even sent out their Pokémon.
Sabrina read the letter again.
She had originally thought that portraying her as a Team Rocket executive in the manga would give readers a bad impression of her.
She had not expected that there would actually be children who wanted to become Trainers like her.
"Sabrina?"
The rag doll leaned closer curiously.
"This child really likes you!"
Sabrina said nothing. She carefully folded the letter and set it aside.
Then she opened the second one.
[Hello, Mr. Masuda!]
[I really love Sabrina in your manga!]
[Even though she always looks so cold and rarely speaks, she has such a commanding presence whenever she appears!]
[Especially when she's commanding Kadabra. She's so cool!]
[I hope we'll get to see more storylines about her!]
After reading it, Sabrina's eyebrows shifted slightly.
Looks cold?
Rarely speaks?
She could not help lowering her head to look at the character portrait in the magazine.
Smeargle had indeed drawn her manga counterpart as very cold.
Especially those eyes.
Just raising her head a little was enough to make the other characters in the panel nervous.
Sabrina stared at the portrait for a while.
"Am I that scary?"
"Yes!"
The rag doll answered without hesitation.
Sabrina: "..."
It even began earnestly imitating her.
The rag doll straightened up and tried hard to put on a serious expression.
"Kadabra, use Psychic!"
After speaking, it even copied Sabrina's usual manner and gently raised one hand.
Unfortunately, the rag doll's arms were simply too short. No matter how one looked at it, it had little dignity.
As Sabrina watched it, the corners of her mouth seemed to move slightly.
"Stop fooling around."
"Hee-hee!"
The rag doll burrowed back into her arms.
Sabrina continued opening letters.
The third, the fourth, the fifth...
Most of their contents revolved around the manga.
Some liked Sabrina's psychic powers, some liked her cold personality, and one reader had even specifically analyzed her coordination with Kadabra.
There was even a girl from Lavender Town who earnestly asked in her letter:
[Miss Sabrina, do you have to practice Calm Mind many times every day to become a good Psychic-type Trainer?]
[I just caught an Abra, but it sleeps all day.]
[How can I get it to train with me willingly?]
Reading this, Sabrina finally felt somewhat helpless.
Abra naturally spent a very long time sleeping.
For a Trainer who had just caught an Abra, the most important thing was to first understand its habits, then slowly build trust.
Simply demanding that it spend more time training would not necessarily produce good results.
At this thought, Sabrina instinctively reached for the pen on the table.
But just as her fingertips touched the pen, she stopped.
What am I about to do?
Write training advice for a child I've never met?
"Sabrina!"
Noticing her little movement, the rag doll immediately grew excited.
"Do you want to write back?"
"No."
"Liar!"
The rag doll pointed at the paper and pen in front of her.
"You were already getting ready to write!"
Sabrina put the pen back where it had been, her expression blank.
"I merely noticed it sitting there."
"Then how about writing back to them?"
The rag doll suggested enthusiastically.
"These children all really like you!"
Sabrina did not answer.
She picked up the letter from Lavender Town again and read it carefully.
Then she straightened the other letters and placed them together.
The rag doll waited for ages without receiving an answer, so it could only hug Sabrina's arm and give it a shake.
"Sabrina, Sabrina!"
"What is it?"
"Are you happy?"
Sabrina lowered her head to look at it.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because so many people like you!"
The rag doll pointed at the letters on the table.
"You always used to think everyone was scared when they saw you, but now so many children want to become Trainers like you!"
Sabrina fell silent.
She truly had never imagined that a manga portraying her as a villain would lead to this.
Although the Sabrina in the manga was very different from her real self, the psychic powers, Kadabra, and the sight of a Trainer battling earnestly that those children liked all existed in reality.
She looked again at the sheet of stationery with Abra drawn on it.
The drawing was really ugly.
It was nowhere near as good as that manga artist's rough sketches.
Still, quite a bit of care had gone into it.
After a while, Sabrina gently raised her hand.
"Someone, come in."
The lounge door was soon pushed open.
"Gym Leader, what can I do for you?"
Sabrina pointed at the letters on the table.
"Put these away for me."
The staff member paused in surprise.
"These reader letters?"
"Yes."
"Should I put them in the Gym's general correspondence files?"
Sabrina thought for a moment.
"Keep them separate."
The staff member nodded.
"All right. I'll prepare a dedicated folder."
Sabrina glanced again at the topmost letter, which had come from Lavender Town.
"Also, send a message to the publisher."
"Go ahead."
"Tell them they can sort out the questions about Pokémon training and send them to me."
The staff member looked surprised.
Sabrina rarely took the initiative to handle reader letters unrelated to Gym business.
Now she was actually willing to answer these children's questions?
"Gym Leader, do you mean..."
"I'll take a look."
Sabrina's tone was calm.
"If there are any suitable ones, I can reply."
"Understood!"
The staff member hurriedly wrote it down.
Once the staff member had left, the rag doll immediately began clapping excitedly.
"Wonderful!"
"Sabrina's going to write letters to her fans too!"
"I'm only answering training questions."
"Hehe, I know!"
The rag doll smiled especially happily.
Sabrina could not be bothered to argue with it anymore and picked up the manga on the table again.
After turning two pages, she suddenly noticed a colorful flyer tucked into the back of the magazine.
Red, Poliwhirl, and Bulbasaur were drawn on it.
Below the picture were several lines of eye-catching text.
[Special signing event for volume one of Pokémon Adventures!]
[Original creator Masuda Senbei and special artist Smeargle will be there in person!]
[Venue: Celadon City Central Bookstore]
Sabrina looked at the flyer, her gaze lingering for a moment.
Masuda Senbei.
That manga artist who said she was powerful, so she was suited to being a villain.
And that Smeargle with its remarkable drawing skills.
Sabrina suddenly remembered that when she had last left Celadon City, Smeargle had even given her two portraits as a special gift.
In one of them, she even wore a very natural smile.
Those two paintings were still carefully stored in her room.
"Sabrina?"
Noticing that she kept staring at the flyer, the rag doll poked its head out.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
Sabrina put the flyer back into the magazine.
Yet, a little while later, she took it out again.
The rag doll blinked, then suddenly asked with a giggle:
"Sabrina, do you want to go see that manga artist too?"
Sabrina did not answer.
She looked down at the venue listed on the flyer.
Celadon City.
It wasn't all that far from Saffron City.
Besides...
Masuda Senbei seemed to be planning a signing event.