"Mr. Masuda, do you really not take part in Pokémon battles yourself?"
Celadon City's public battle arena.
Faced with the young Trainer's question, Shiraishi Ritsu found himself at a loss for an answer.
Take part in battles?
Come to think of it, when he had first transmigrated into this world, he really had seriously considered becoming a Pokémon Trainer.
Back then, his head had been full of challenging Gyms, collecting Badges, and ideally even winning a Pokémon League tournament.
But in his very first official battle, a roadside Trainer's Rattata had beaten him so badly he began questioning his life.
From then on, he had gradually come to recognize a cruel fact.
Knowing type matchups and move effects in a game did not mean he could command a Pokémon to defeat an opponent in reality.
Especially when his Starter Pokémon was Smeargle.
"Well..."
Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed his nose and said with a smile, "I took part a few times before, but later realized I was better suited to studying battles."
"Oh, I see!"
Understanding dawned on the young Trainers.
To them, since Masuda Senbei could design such exciting manga battles, he surely had plenty of practical battle experience too.
Naturally, Shiraishi Ritsu was not going to volunteer that his most glorious achievement was trading blows with a Rattata and still losing in the end.
"Smear!"
Just then, Smeargle suddenly cried out beside him.
Shiraishi Ritsu turned his head.
Smeargle was staring at the Pidgeotto on the field, enthusiastically imitating the movements it had made when using Quick Attack.
He first took two steps back, then abruptly sprinted forward.
But he failed to control his speed and nearly crashed headfirst into a nearby bench.
"Hey! Watch out!"
Shiraishi Ritsu quickly reached out to stop him.
Smeargle steadied himself, looked up at the Pidgeotto a short distance away, then down at his own paws.
His eyes were filled with envy.
Shiraishi Ritsu froze briefly.
He suddenly remembered that although this fellow had become his chief artist, he was still a Pokémon, after all.
And a Smeargle with a special move, at that.
"Partner."
"Smear?"
"Do you want to try battling too?"
Smeargle hesitated for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
Looking at him, Shiraishi Ritsu suddenly smiled.
"All right, let's head back and look into it!"
The next morning.
A public training ground for Trainers in Celadon City.
Dressed in sportswear and holding a notebook, Shiraishi Ritsu stood at the edge of the field.
Smeargle, meanwhile, wore a little athletic headband and was diligently warming up.
"Start with five laps around the field!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle eagerly set off running.
On the first lap, he was full of energy.
On the second lap, his pace slowed a little.
By the third lap, he had started constantly looking back at Shiraishi Ritsu.
Before finishing his fourth lap, Smeargle stopped in place, panting, and plopped down on his bottom.
"Smear..."
Shiraishi Ritsu did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Is your stamina really that bad?"
Smeargle raised his head indignantly.
That's because I spend every day drawing manga!
Shiraishi Ritsu thought about it and felt that was a fair point.
Lately, the workload for the serialization of Pokémon Adventures had been growing heavier and heavier.
Apart from eating and sleeping, Smeargle spent most of every day sitting at his workbench.
Sometimes, to meet a deadline, he barely moved for several hours straight.
If this continued, his physical fitness really might suffer.
"Looks like we'll have to schedule some daily training from now on."
Shiraishi Ritsu wrote a few lines in his notebook.
"But don't worry. We're not challenging Gyms or entering any big competitions for now."
"Smear?"
"It's mainly to get some exercise and learn a few ways to protect yourself along the way."
Shiraishi Ritsu crouched down and said earnestly, "If we run into trouble again someday, you can't expect me to carry you and run every time, can you?"
Smeargle lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Then he raised a paw and pointed at his tail.
"Smear!"
Shiraishi Ritsu understood.
"You want to learn moves?"
Smeargle nodded vigorously.
"All right!"
Shiraishi Ritsu stood up, finally showing a little of a Trainer's presence.
"Then let's start with your signature move!"
Sketch!
As Smeargle's most special ability, Sketch could copy moves other Pokémon had used and turn them into skills he truly mastered.
However, this ability also had its limitations.
Smeargle had to seize the right moment after the other Pokémon actually used a move and successfully use Sketch on the target.
Simply watching its movements or drawing the move on paper would not let him learn it directly.
Moreover, every successful Sketch consumed the Sketch move he currently knew. The copied move would occupy a move slot, and Smeargle was likewise limited to knowing at most four moves at once.
To use Sketch again, he would have to wait until he gained another opportunity to use it later on.
"So we have to choose the first move carefully."
Shiraishi Ritsu opened his notebook.
When playing the games in his previous life, he had liked giving Smeargle all sorts of powerful moves.
Spore, Extreme Speed, Swords Dance, and even some Legendary Pokémon's signature moves.
But reality was completely different.
With Smeargle's current physical fitness, even if he successfully Sketched certain powerful moves, he might not be able to use them proficiently.
More importantly, how could he simply find Pokémon with powerful moves whenever he wanted?
"Let's start with something simple and practical."
Shiraishi Ritsu quickly made his decision.
"Quick Attack!"
This was a Normal-type priority attack that allowed a Pokémon to rapidly close in on an opponent.
Although it was not particularly powerful, it suited Smeargle very well at present.
At least he would have one more way to respond when facing danger.
To find a suitable practice partner, Shiraishi Ritsu specifically contacted Kaori, the Trainer he had met yesterday.
Kaori was the owner of that Pidgeotto.
Upon hearing that Masuda Senbei wanted Smeargle to Sketch Quick Attack, Kaori agreed without hesitation.
"Don't worry, Mr. Masuda!"
Kaori patted their chest.
"My Pidgeotto is already very proficient with Quick Attack!"
"Sorry for the trouble, then."
Both sides moved to the center of the training ground.
Pidgeotto spread its wings and stood on the other side of the field, brimming with energy.
Smeargle gripped his tail tightly and studied his opponent.
"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack!"
"Pidge!"
With a cry, Pidgeotto abruptly accelerated, its body becoming a swift blur as it charged toward the training dummy ahead.
Bang!
The training dummy shook from the impact.
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately shouted, "Smeargle, now! Use Sketch!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle raised his tail and swept it toward Pidgeotto.
The special paint on his tail tip traced a streak through the air.
However, his movement was still a beat too slow.
The paint streak had barely formed before it lost its target, failing to complete Sketch.
"It failed?"
Kaori was somewhat surprised.
Shiraishi Ritsu was not particularly disappointed.
"That's normal. It's his first time."
He looked down at Smeargle.
"Did you not get a clear look just now?"
"Smear..."
Smeargle nodded dejectedly.
Pidgeotto was simply too fast.
When drawing, he could accurately depict all sorts of Pokémon movements, but facing such a fast-moving target in person felt completely different.
"It's all right."
Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed his head.
"Let's not rush to use Sketch. Watch carefully a few more times first."
During the training that followed, Kaori had Pidgeotto demonstrate Quick Attack repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Shiraishi Ritsu worked with Smeargle to study its starting posture and its movements after completing the attack.
They also took a proper break partway through.
Smeargle took out the sketchbook he carried with him and drew Pidgeotto's movements frame by frame.
He was already highly attuned to such movements.
As he observed them more and more, the once-blurry process of moving at high speed gradually became clear to his eyes.
"We're about ready."
Shiraishi Ritsu closed his notebook.
"Partner, let's try again!"
Smeargle nodded earnestly.
Kaori directed Pidgeotto to get ready again.
"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"
The familiar voice rang out.
Pidgeotto accelerated once more.
This time, Smeargle did not rush to swing his tail.
He watched Pidgeotto's movements intently and swiftly raised his tail when it finished its attack and its body had just come to a stop.
"Smear!"
His tail tip traced a complete, distinctive pattern in the air, pointing precisely at Pidgeotto.
The next second, the pattern turned into light and sank into Smeargle's body.
His body trembled slightly, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly asked, "Did it work?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded excitedly.
It could feel that it had already mastered that way of dashing forward and launching an attack.
Sketch, which had originally occupied the move slot, was also replaced by the new move after the successful copy.
"Yes!"
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help clenching his fists.
"Partner, give it a try!"
Smeargle immediately turned around and took a stance facing the open training area ahead.
It first lowered its center of gravity slightly, then pushed off hard.
Whoosh!
A figure shot forward.
Although its speed was nowhere near that of Kaori's Pidgeotto, it was already a considerable improvement over its ordinary running just now.
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle cried out excitedly.
It turned around and used Quick Attack again.
Whoosh!
This time, it ran to Shiraishi Ritsu's side.
Then it dashed toward the other side of the training ground.
Back and forth it went, simply unable to stop.
"Hahaha! All right, all right!"
Shiraishi Ritsu called out with a laugh, "Slow down! Don't use up all your stamina at once!"
Kaori stood nearby, equally amazed by what she saw.
"So Smeargle really can learn other Pokémon's moves through Sketch!"
"Of course."
Shiraishi Ritsu nodded with a smile.
"But learning it is only the first step. It'll take plenty more practice to use it skillfully."
As he spoke, he looked at Smeargle again.
"Partner, you did great today!"
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle raised its tail proudly.
For it, today was clearly a day worth celebrating.
Ever since Shiraishi Ritsu had started creating manga, it had been a long time since it had seriously trained for Pokémon battles.
Now that it had finally mastered a new move, it was naturally beside itself with excitement.
But excited as it was, it soon remembered its favorite thing to do.
Painting!
Smeargle suddenly lowered its head to look at its tail.
Then it seemed to have an interesting idea.
The next second.
Quick Attack!
Smeargle swiftly dashed past Shiraishi Ritsu.
At the same time, it actually tried raising its tail, hoping to leave a few lines on the drawing board beside the training ground while moving at high speed.
"Hey! Wait!"
Shiraishi Ritsu was startled.
"You little rascal, you just learned Quick Attack, and you already want to paint while running?!"
Smeargle failed to control its movements properly.
Its tail dragged crookedly across the drawing board, leaving a long green streak.
It stopped and looked at its work, somewhat dissatisfied.
Shiraishi Ritsu, however, suddenly froze.
He lowered his head to look at the streak of paint, then looked back at the posture Smeargle had taken during its dash.
A moment later, his eyes gradually lit up.
"Wait..."
"Partner, that move you just made..."
Smeargle turned its head in confusion.
"Smeargle?"
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help smiling.
"I just thought of a really cool manga panel!"