Celadon City, manga studio.
"Koga..."
Shiraishi Ritsu held the envelope, staring at the name signed at the bottom without moving for a long while.
Beside him, Kikkawa Maho could not help laughing at his reaction.
"Mr. Masuda, what's wrong?"
"Miss Maho."
"Yes?"
"I suddenly feel like we should have chosen a different genre for our manga back then."
"Such as?"
"How about Pokémon Daily Life? Every day, the protagonist eats, sleeps, and travels with Pokémon, occasionally enters a few competitions, and everyone gets along happily."
Kikkawa Maho blinked.
"That does sound pretty nice."
"Right!"
"But Pokémon Adventures is much more popular now than your previous work."
"..."
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately deflated.
True.
If he really had to give up Pokémon Adventures, he would not have the heart to do it himself.
Besides, the manga had been running all this time, the first collected volume had gone on sale smoothly, and the signing event had achieved pretty good results too.
With such strong momentum, how could he just switch gears?
The problem was, the real-life inspirations for his manga's characters kept coming to see him, one after another, and it was getting to be a bit much.
First Sabrina, then Lt. Surge.
Now even Koga of the Fuchsia Gym had sent him a letter.
The three Gym Leaders cast as Team Rocket executives in the Kanto arc were about to complete the set!
"Mr. Masuda, why don't you read what the letter says first?"
Kikkawa Maho reminded him.
"Maybe he just wants to discuss the manga?"
Recalling his time with Lt. Surge a few days earlier, Shiraishi Ritsu thought she had a point.
Although the Electric-type Gym Leader had complained nonstop, he was actually quite interested in the manga's battle choreography.
He had even taken Ritsu to the training grounds specifically to demonstrate Raichu's true strength.
The dozens of action sketches drawn that day were still sitting on his and Smeargle's drawing boards.
At that thought, Shiraishi Ritsu finally opened the envelope.
"All right, let's see what feedback this ninja Gym Leader has."
The stationery was of excellent quality.
The handwriting was neat, its strokes clean, seemingly reflecting something of its owner's usual meticulous manner.
[Dear Mr. Masuda Senbei,]
[Please forgive this unsolicited letter and the intrusion.]
[Recently, my daughter Janine recommended your work, Pokémon Adventures, to me. Having read it, I found it quite entertaining.]
[In particular, its depictions of battles involving Poison-type Pokémon caught my interest.]
Shiraishi Ritsu paused in surprise when he read this.
"Huh?"
"What is it?"
Kikkawa Maho leaned closer.
"He doesn't seem to be planning to take me to task."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Hold on, let me keep reading."
Shiraishi Ritsu lowered his head again.
The letter was extremely courteous.
Koga first praised Venomoth's battle in the manga, saying that the author had quite a good understanding of powder moves.
In particular, the use of narrow corridors and changes in airflow to restrict an opponent's movements had something of the flavor of ninja tactics.
However, he also raised several questions.
The first concerned the use of Double Team.
[Double Team creates afterimages through rapid movement to interfere with an opponent's judgment. However, in confined terrain, consistently moving in a fixed direction makes it easy for experienced Trainers to see through the technique.]
[Have you considered having Venomoth use corners or obstacles to further conceal its actual position, Mr. Masuda?]
Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed his chin.
"Interesting."
He really had considered this question before.
The Koga in the manga was skilled in ninjutsu, so naturally his fighting style differed from that of ordinary Trainers.
Using terrain to block sightlines, then combining it with Double Team to create confusion, would indeed make it harder for opponents to determine his true position.
Especially with a Pokémon capable of flight, like Venomoth.
If he added movement at different heights, the visual effect should be quite good.
"What do you think, Smeargle?"
"Smear?"
Smeargle leaned its head over and glanced at the letter.
Although its understanding of written words fell short of a human's, it quickly grasped what Shiraishi Ritsu meant.
It picked up a pencil and drew a rough corridor beside them.
Then it drew several Venomoth in different poses at the corridor's corner.
Only one of them was actually in position to attack.
Shiraishi Ritsu's eyes lit up as soon as he saw it.
"Nice!"
He pointed at one of the panels.
"Here, we can first show the opponent's frontal view, making readers think Venomoth is still up ahead."
"Then, on the next page, we suddenly change angles and reveal that it's already circled around to the side!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded excitedly.
Watching them from the side, Kikkawa Maho could not help laughing.
"Mr. Masuda, have you forgotten that you were worrying about Gym Leader Koga just a moment ago?"
"Ahem!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly wiped the smile off his face.
"Work is work."
He continued reading.
The second question concerned combinations of moves used by Poison-type Pokémon.
Koga felt that although Venomoth's use of Stun Spore in the manga was brilliant, it sometimes relied too heavily on blockades formed by the powder.
Against Pokémon capable of dispersing the powder or possessing the corresponding immunity, this tactic would easily be restricted.
He also specifically mentioned that ninja combat emphasized adapting to changing circumstances.
The same move could produce vastly different effects depending on the timing and terrain.
Reading this, Shiraishi Ritsu could not help nodding.
"This Gym Leader really knows his stuff."
Kikkawa Maho did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Mr. Masuda, he's a Pokémon League-certified Gym Leader!"
"I know."
Shiraishi Ritsu smiled.
"But the questions he's raised are all pretty interesting."
When he used to play the games, he was accustomed to judging battles through movesets, type advantages, and turn order.
Only after he began creating manga had he gradually combined that knowledge with real-world terrain, distance, and ways of moving.
Koga's suggestions could fill in precisely some of the gaps in those details.
Especially the parts concerning ninja tactics.
Shiraishi Ritsu felt he could certainly draw on these ideas in the future to give the Koga in his manga a more intimidating presence.
Of course, whether that would satisfy the man himself was another matter.
At the end of the letter, Koga had also specifically written:
[As for the characterization of the figure modeled on me in your work, I have read the publisher's relevant statement. Since this is a fictional story, I shall refrain from commenting for now.]
[If it is convenient for you, I hope we will have an opportunity to speak in person someday.]
[Koga, Fuchsia Gym.]
After finishing the letter, Shiraishi Ritsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness!"
"Well?"
Kikkawa Maho asked with a smile.
"It looks like Gym Leader Koga is easier to talk to than I imagined."
Shiraishi Ritsu set the letter on the desk.
"At least he didn't open by asking why he'd become a Team Rocket executive."
Kikkawa Maho nodded.
"In that case, how are you going to reply?"
"I'll have to give him a proper answer, of course."
Shiraishi Ritsu thought for a moment, then continued, "He is a Gym Leader, after all. If he's willing to take the initiative to discuss the tactics in the manga, that shows he really is interested in the work."
"Good."
Kikkawa Maho nodded in satisfaction.
"Prepare your reply first. Once you've finished, just give it to the publisher to send."
She looked up to check the time.
"I still have to go back and organize the statistics from today's signing, so I'll leave you to it."
"Thanks for all your hard work, Miss Maho!"
"And don't forget to submit your pages on time!"
"I know!"
After seeing his editor off, Shiraishi Ritsu returned to the worktable with Smeargle.
He picked up Koga's letter again and read it carefully once more.
Then he dug his plot notes concerning Koga in Pokémon Adventures out of the cabinet.
Come to think of it, Koga did have quite a substantial role in Pokémon Adventures.
As an important Team Rocket executive, he was proficient in ninjutsu and skilled at using Poison-type Pokémon.
Whether in covert operations or direct confrontations, there was plenty of room to work with.
Especially in battle scenes centered on ninja tactics.
If drawn well enough, they could absolutely establish him as a memorable villain.
"Partner, we've got work to do!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle immediately put down the cookie it was holding and came over.
Shiraishi Ritsu picked up a pencil and drew a few simple lines on a sheet of rough paper.
"Let's study some ninja movements."
"Things like pushing off walls to jump, and suddenly changing direction."
"Smear!"
Smeargle immediately perked up.
These scenes brimming with a sense of speed were its favorite things to draw.
Compared with dull mechanical backgrounds, ninja movements were clearly more to its taste.
So it picked up its brush and quickly drew Koga in a ninja outfit.
In the drawing, Koga had one foot planted against a wall, his body tilted slightly, his cape streaming behind him with the movement.
In the next panel, he had already leaped into the air.
In the third, Venomoth flew out of the shadows behind him.
Viewed together, the drawings actually gave the impression that the action was unfolding before their eyes.
"Beautiful!"
Shiraishi Ritsu could not help clapping.
"But we can make this part a little faster."
"Smear?"
"Look, there's no need to draw Koga's whole body in the second panel."
Shiraishi Ritsu picked up a pencil and drew a box beside the rough draft.
"Just a close-up of his feet, emphasizing the moment he kicks off the wall."
"Then cut straight to a wide shot of him in midair in the next panel!"
Smeargle lowered his head and mulled it over for a while.
Then he adjusted the composition again.
This time, the action flowed noticeably better.
The character had just kicked off the wall, and in the next panel, he was already airborne. The visual impact was quite good.
"Yes! That's it!"
Shiraishi Ritsu smiled in satisfaction.
"He's a ninja, after all. He needs that feeling of appearing and disappearing without a trace!"
Smeargle was very pleased with himself, too.
He even took the initiative to design a sequence of panels in which Venomoth used Double Team to cover Koga's movements.
After looking them over, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help remarking.
"Partner, you're really getting better and better."
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle raised his head proudly.
Shiraishi Ritsu added with another smile.
"But today's drawings don't count as extra overtime."
"Smeargle?!"
The smile vanished from Smeargle's face.
He raised his tail indignantly, nearly drawing a huge X across Shiraishi Ritsu's draft.
"Hahaha! Just kidding!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly took out a Berry cookie.
"Here, your reward!"
Only then did Smeargle put away his paintbrush in satisfaction.
That evening.
Shiraishi Ritsu finally began writing his reply in earnest.
He first thanked Koga for his interest in the work, then answered his questions about Double Team and powder moves one by one.
As for certain practical combat details he had yet to fully grasp, he didn't pretend to know what he didn't.
In particular, he frankly stated that he hoped to seek further advice on how Poison-type Pokémon moved through complex terrain.
Finally, he made a point of adding a few lines.
[If it is convenient for you, Gym Leader Koga, you may contact me through the Shonen Adventure editorial department in the future.]
[I very much look forward to an opportunity to discuss Pokémon tactics.]
[Masuda Senbei.]
Once he finished, Shiraishi Ritsu carefully folded the letter and put it in an envelope.
"All done!"
He stretched in satisfaction.
"I'll ask Miss Maho to help mail it tomorrow."
Smeargle sat beside him, sorting through the ninja action sketches he had finished that day.
Hearing his trainer's words, he raised his head and excitedly held up one of them.
"Smeargle!"
In the picture, Koga stood on a rooftop dressed in ninja garb, while the Venomoth beside him quietly spread its wings.
Shiraishi Ritsu glanced at it and said with a smile, "This one's good, too. If we really meet Gym Leader Koga someday, we can give it to him."
At that, he suddenly remembered what had happened with Lt. Surge a few days earlier.
The Electric-type Gym Leader had also been quite satisfied when he first received his portrait.
It seemed Smeargle's artistic skills were close to becoming their studio's diplomatic tool.
"Partner."
"Smeargle?"
"I've realized that if we get another complaint from a Gym Leader in the future, sending a drawing straight over might solve quite a few problems."
Smeargle nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Just as Shiraishi Ritsu was about to put the reply in his backpack, a voice suddenly came from outside the window.
"No need to mail it."
Shiraishi Ritsu's movements abruptly stopped.
Smeargle instantly raised his head, too.
The voice was steady and calm, and sounded as though it came from right outside the window.
Shiraishi Ritsu slowly turned his head.
On the previously empty windowsill, a figure dressed in dark ninja garb had appeared at some point.
The man stood there quietly with his arms folded across his chest.
The night breeze blew past, gently stirring the hem of his clothes.
Shiraishi Ritsu's eyes widened.
"Y-you're..."
The man glanced at the envelope in his hand and gave a slight nod.
"I'm already here."