"I heard you drew me as a Team Rocket executive?"
Lt. Surge took off his sunglasses and placed a copy of Pokémon Adventures on the signing table, a brilliant smile on his face.
Shiraishi Ritsu froze completely.
He had never imagined that something like this could happen at the first signing event of his life.
The first seventy-nine readers had all been quite normal.
How had a Gym Leader suddenly shown up as the very last one?!
"G-Gym Leader Lt. Surge?"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurried to his feet and forced a smile.
"Haha, what a coincidence! What brings you to Celadon City?"
"What? Am I not allowed to come?"
"Of course you are!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly waved his hands.
"I'm more than happy to have you at my signing!"
Seeing how nervous he looked, Lt. Surge couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"All right, kid! I'm not going to eat you!"
No sooner had he said that than Smeargle quietly edged behind Shiraishi Ritsu.
Clearly, the towering Electric-type Gym Leader intimidated Smeargle a little, too.
Lt. Surge's appearance soon caught the attention of the readers nearby.
"Wait, isn't that Gym Leader Lt. Surge?"
"The one from Vermilion Gym?"
"He really does look like him!"
"Look! He looks exactly like the Team Rocket executive in the manga!"
Several young readers who had already gotten their autographs and were about to leave stopped in their tracks.
One boy even pulled out his manga, flipped to the page where Lt. Surge appeared, and secretly compared them.
Short blond hair.
A towering build.
And that imposing expression.
Whoa!
He looked like he had walked straight out of the manga!
"So Gym Leader Lt. Surge is this tall in person..."
"He's even more muscular than in the manga!"
"Do you think he came specifically to settle the score with Masuda-sensei for drawing him as a villain?"
At those words, everyone nearby immediately fell silent.
Then all eyes turned toward the signing table.
Shiraishi Ritsu had naturally heard it too.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
You really have a way with words, dear reader!
That was exactly what he feared most right now!
Fortunately, Kikkawa Maho had already noticed what was happening.
She quickly approached, first signaling the staff to maintain order, then politely greeting Lt. Surge.
"Hello, Gym Leader Lt. Surge. I'm Kikkawa Maho, the editor in charge of Pokémon Adventures."
"Oh, you're the editor who contacted me before?"
"Yes."
Kikkawa Maho nodded with a smile.
"I didn't expect you to come today, too."
"Haha! I happened to have some business in Celadon City. I heard this kid was holding a signing here, so I stopped by to take a look!"
As he spoke, Lt. Surge pushed the manga forward on the table again.
"What, the signing isn't over yet, is it?"
Shiraishi Ritsu froze for a moment.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, huh?"
Lt. Surge tapped the manga.
"I came here today to get your autograph!"
"M-my autograph?"
"Of course!"
Lt. Surge folded his arms and said matter-of-factly, "Isn't this a manga signing? I even had one of the Gym apprentices reserve a spot for me!"
Shiraishi Ritsu looked down at the manga.
Then he looked back up at Lt. Surge.
Only after a long while did he venture a question.
"Gym Leader Lt. Surge, you like my manga too?"
"Hmph, the art's decent."
Lt. Surge answered very casually.
But he soon added, "Especially in the latest installments. The fight between Raichu and Sandslash was drawn well. You knew to have Raichu change tactics against a Ground-type opponent. You've got some ability after all!"
Shiraishi Ritsu blinked.
Was that a compliment?
"But!"
Lt. Surge suddenly raised his voice.
Shiraishi Ritsu had only just relaxed, and he immediately tensed up again.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you!"
"Go ahead..."
"Why do you always like drawing me looking so fierce, kid?"
"..."
For a moment, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't process that.
"Huh?"
Lt. Surge opened the manga and found the page where he appeared.
In the panel, he wore a Team Rocket uniform with a cold smirk on his lips, while Raichu beside him released dazzling bolts of electricity.
"Look here!"
Lt. Surge pointed at the character's face.
"Isn't that smile way too sinister?"
"And this page!"
He flipped ahead a few more pages.
"I'm clearly commanding Raichu in battle, so why did you draw me like I'm about to eat someone?"
Shiraishi Ritsu lowered his head and took a closer look.
Hmm...
He did look pretty fierce.
But what was wrong with that?
Didn't a villain need to feel a little intimidating when he appeared?
"Gym Leader Lt. Surge, please let me explain."
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly said, "Lt. Surge plays an important villainous role in the manga, after all, so his expressions are slightly exaggerated."
"I know!"
Lt. Surge waved a hand.
"It's manga. It's not like I don't understand it!"
He tapped one of the panels.
"What I mean is, can you draw me looking a little cooler here next time?"
Shiraishi Ritsu: "..."
He slowly raised his head.
"A little cooler?"
"Yeah!"
Lt. Surge answered as though it were only natural.
"Look how well you drew Raichu, all crackling electricity and presence!"
"As its Trainer, I can't be wearing a villain's face every single time, can I?"
At that, he even deliberately straightened up, folded his arms, and struck a pose he thought looked very imposing.
"Like this! What do you think?"
Looking at the muscular blond man before him, Shiraishi Ritsu finally understood.
So this Gym Leader had come all this way today not just for an autograph, but to give him pointers on how to draw him?
"Haha..."
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help laughing.
"Gym Leader, that's quite a unique request."
"What's unique about it?"
Lt. Surge grinned.
"If a character in the manga is based on me, then of course you've got to draw him looking imposing!"
Shiraishi Ritsu nodded repeatedly.
"That makes sense. That makes sense!"
At least this meeting was much more relaxed than his experience with Sabrina.
And judging by Lt. Surge's attitude, he really had read Pokémon Adventures carefully.
Having a real Gym Leader approve of the manga's battle choreography made him somewhat happy.
"But, Gym Leader."
After some thought, Shiraishi Ritsu still added seriously, "Lt. Surge in the manga is a fictional character, after all. There won't be any major changes to his relationships with the other characters for the time being."
"I know that."
Lt. Surge snorted.
"I read the explanation letter the publisher sent ages ago."
He glanced at Shiraishi Ritsu.
"Relax. I didn't come here today to make you change the whole manga."
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good!"
"But I still think it's a bit of a shame that Raichu lost to a bunch of brats in that battle."
Lt. Surge rubbed his chin.
"When you get the chance later, you've got to draw its true strength!"
"No problem!"
Shiraishi Ritsu answered without hesitation.
As for the specific arrangements, that would naturally depend on the story going forward.
Kikkawa Maho finally relaxed beside them.
She had originally worried that Lt. Surge would challenge the manga's characterization at the event.
Now it seemed that this Gym Leader was clearly more easygoing than she had imagined.
"Masuda-sensei, since Gym Leader Lt. Surge is here for the signing, you should finish his autograph first."
"Right, right!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly sat back down.
"Gym Leader, what would you like me to write?"
Lt. Surge thought for a moment.
"Just make it out to Lt. Surge!"
"You got it!"
Shiraishi Ritsu picked up his pen and carefully wrote his pen name on the manga's title page.
[To Gym Leader Lt. Surge: May every Pokémon battle be a spectacular one!]
[Masuda Senbei]
After he finished, he pushed the manga over to Smeargle.
"Partner, your turn!"
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle had long since grown impatient to get started.
Especially since Lt. Surge had praised Raichu's battle scenes several times just now.
It had worked so hard to finish all these drawings!
Of course it was happy to have someone appreciate its work.
Smeargle took a paintbrush from its backpack and studied Lt. Surge carefully.
Then it looked at the Poké Balls at his waist.
"Smeargle?"
Lt. Surge immediately understood what it meant.
"Haha! Want to see Raichu?"
"Smeargle!"
"Sure!"
Lt. Surge took a Poké Ball off his belt.
"Come on out, Raichu!"
A red light flashed, and a powerfully built Raichu appeared beside the signing table.
"Raichu!"
As soon as Raichu landed, it looked around curiously.
It showed no nerves at the sight of so many strangers, merely twitching its long ears.
"Wow! It really is Gym Leader Lt. Surge's Raichu!"
"It looks just like it does in the manga!"
"This Raichu looks so strong!"
Cries of amazement immediately rose from the crowd.
Shiraishi Ritsu's interest was piqued as well.
Raichu looked far more powerful in real life than it did in the manga.
Its tail with the lightning-bolt-shaped tip and its thick limbs, in particular, made it clear that it had undergone years of training.
Smeargle's eyes positively shone.
It circled partway around Raichu, carefully observing its anatomy and movements.
Then it immediately sat back down and began drawing in earnest.
Lt. Surge watched with considerable interest.
"Haha! So this is the Smeargle that draws manga?"
"That's right."
Shiraishi Ritsu introduced it with a smile.
"Our studio's chief artist!"
"Smeargle!"
Without even lifting its head, Smeargle was already sweeping its tail rapidly across the paper.
In just a few minutes, a beautiful illustration of Raichu gradually took shape.
In the picture, Raichu stood with both feet planted firmly on the ground, its body leaning slightly forward and electricity flashing from its cheeks.
Its long tail rose behind it, the lightning-bolt shape at its tip especially striking.
Smeargle had even deliberately chosen a slightly low angle to make Raichu look more imposing.
Only after finishing the final few strokes did it hold up the paper in satisfaction.
"Smeargle!"
Lt. Surge took it, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh!"
He admired it carefully for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
"Now that's my Raichu!"
Raichu leaned over beside him to take a look as well.
"Raichu!"
It was clearly very pleased with its portrait, even raising its paws excitedly to strike a pose much like the one in the picture.
Smeargle was even happier.
It picked up its paintbrush and added a tiny Smeargle head in the bottom-right corner.
Lt. Surge laughed even more heartily when he saw it.
"Hahaha! You little fellow, you've got quite a head for business!"
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle proudly puffed out its chest.
Shiraishi Ritsu watched from the side, thoroughly amused.
"Gym Leader, if you like it, it's yours."
"Oh? That generous?"
"Of course!"
Shiraishi Ritsu waved a hand with a smile.
"You came all this way for my first signing event. I had to give you some sort of souvenir."
Lt. Surge nodded in satisfaction.
"All right! I'll take it, then!"
As he spoke, he carefully tucked the Raichu illustration into the manga.
Then he looked at Shiraishi Ritsu again.
"Masuda Senbei."
"Yes?"
"You really do have some talent, kid."
Shiraishi Ritsu paused in surprise.
"Thank you for the compliment, Gym Leader!"
"But..."
Lt. Surge suddenly grinned.
"I hear you know quite a bit about Pokémon battles?"
Shiraishi Ritsu's heart skipped a beat.
How did the conversation suddenly turn to this?
"Well... I know a little."
"I read a few of the battles in your manga. The tactics really were good."
Lt. Surge reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"Especially that part where Raichu fought Sandslash. Even I found that interesting."
Shiraishi Ritsu was just about to offer a few modest words when Lt. Surge continued:
"But no matter how exciting you make it look on paper, it's still different from a real Pokémon battle!"
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately had a bad feeling.
"Gym Leader, you're not going to..."
"Hahaha! What are you thinking?"
Lt. Surge saw through his worries at a glance.
"I'm not about to drag that Smeargle of yours into a serious battle with my Raichu."
"Phew..."
Shiraishi Ritsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness!
With Smeargle's current strength, he would already be quite satisfied if it could win a single friendly match between novice Trainers.
Actually facing Lt. Surge's Raichu would simply be asking for a beating.
Fortunately, Lt. Surge clearly had no such intention.
He looked down at the illustration in his hand, then glanced at Smeargle packing up its art supplies beside him, and suddenly gave a hearty smile.
"If you like drawing Pokémon battles so much, how could just reading manga be enough?"
"Huh?"
Shiraishi Ritsu looked up in confusion.
Lt. Surge reached out and patted the Poké Balls at his waist.
"As it happens, I've still got time today!"
"Don't you and Smeargle want to draw more realistic battle scenes?"
"Then come with me!"
Shiraishi Ritsu froze.
Lt. Surge raised the Raichu illustration in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice drawing. Come on, once the signing's over, I'll show you how real Electric-type Pokémon battle!"