"Masuda Senbei, I'm waiting for your explanation."
Inside a manga studio in Celadon City.
Sabrina sat on the sofa, holding that strange-looking doll in her arms, her face utterly expressionless.
In front of her, more than a dozen paintbrushes hovered in midair, their tips pointed neatly at Shiraishi Ritsu, slowly turning with the movements of her fingers.
Shiraishi Ritsu swallowed.
He felt he must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving home today.
Oh, no, wait.
He hadn't even left home today!
Who could have imagined that quietly staying home to draw manga could bring someone this troublesome to his door?
"Miss Sabrina, please calm down. Let's talk this through."
Shiraishi Ritsu carefully raised both hands, afraid she might turn him straight into a doll if anything displeased her.
"I'm calm."
Sabrina answered evenly.
As she spoke, two more paintbrushes floated up from the desk.
Shiraishi Ritsu: "..."
Fine, whatever you say.
"Smear!"
The Smeargle hiding behind his owner couldn't help poking his head out, watching the floating brushes nervously.
As a Pokémon who drew for a living, he treasured those brushes.
If they broke, his owner would have to spend money on new ones again.
At that thought, Smeargle quietly reached out a paw, trying to pull back the brush closest to him.
But the moment he reached out, the brush deftly looped around and flew back into the air.
Smeargle immediately ducked his head back and obediently clung to Shiraishi Ritsu's calf.
How could Shiraishi Ritsu spare him any attention?
The most important thing right now was to hurry up and explain everything to Sabrina.
"Miss Sabrina, you've really misunderstood. Everything in this Pokémon Adventures manga you've read, from the characters to the story, has been artistically adapted."
As he spoke, he picked up the manga from the desk and flipped to the first few pages.
"Look, the protagonist is called Red, and he's from Pallet Town. His goal is to become an excellent Trainer, challenging Gyms and catching all kinds of Pokémon along the way."
"Of course those things happen in real life too, but the Red in the manga, his experiences, and the people he meets are all things I created."
Sabrina glanced down at it.
"And?"
"And that means the Sabrina in the manga and you in real life are two different people!"
Feeling he had finally found an opening, Shiraishi Ritsu hurried to explain further.
"For example, the Sabrina in the manga joined Team Rocket, but you're Saffron City's Gym Leader. How could you possibly go off and become some Team Rocket executive?"
"And there's Lt. Surge and Koga in the manga. They're also written as Team Rocket members, but the two real-life Gym Leaders surely haven't had those experiences either."
He made his case so convincingly that he couldn't help mentally giving himself a thumbs-up.
That explanation makes perfect sense!
As long as Sabrina was willing to accept the distinction between manga and reality, today's crisis should be resolved smoothly.
Yet after hearing him out, Sabrina asked just one question.
"Then why did you use our names?"
The smile on Shiraishi Ritsu's face stiffened slightly.
"Uh..."
"The same looks, the same names, and the same identities."
Sabrina extended a finger, and the manga automatically flipped to her first appearance.
"You even drew the way I use my psychic powers very accurately."
"And you're still saying she has nothing to do with me?"
Shiraishi Ritsu was instantly speechless.
Well, damn.
She might look icy, but her logic is pretty sound.
Thinking it over, though, she did have a point.
When he had plagiarized... ahem, borrowed from Pokémon Adventures, he had largely retained the original character designs.
Characters like Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga were naturally no exception.
And now look what had happened.
The real-life inspiration for a manga character had come straight to his door. Clearly, getting away with a simple "it's all fictional" wasn't going to be easy.
"Well, that's actually because I used some excellent real-life Trainers as references while creating it."
Shiraishi Ritsu scratched his head and decided to try another explanation.
"Since the story takes place in the Kanto Region, it's bound to involve the region's various Gyms. Rather than redesigning every character, using the actual Gym Leaders as references also makes the manga more immersive."
Sabrina said nothing, simply staring at him.
Shiraishi Ritsu hastily added, "Of course, using your likeness without your permission was indeed thoughtless of me. I can contact the publisher and add a statement in the next issue, clearly distinguishing the manga from reality for the readers."
At that, Sabrina's expression finally changed a little.
She lowered her head to leaf through the manga, then suddenly asked, "Then why did you have to make me a villain?"
Here it comes!
Shiraishi Ritsu's heart tightened.
He had known there was no escaping that question.
"One moment, please."
To prove that he had indeed given the character designs serious consideration, Shiraishi Ritsu hurried to the bookcase and dug out a thick folder.
It contained early character design drafts for Pokémon Adventures.
There were sketches of Red, Green, and Blue, as well as locations such as Viridian Forest and Mt. Moon.
Naturally, they included designs for the Team Rocket executives.
Shiraishi Ritsu spread several drawings across the desk and pointed at Sabrina's character design. "Look, in an adventure manga, the protagonist is bound to encounter all sorts of enemies on his journey."
"Those enemies can't be too weak, or the story won't be worth reading."
Sabrina listened quietly.
"Especially the major villains. They have to be strong enough to put pressure on the protagonist."
Shiraishi Ritsu's words flowed more and more smoothly.
The moment he started talking about creating manga, he perked right up.
"Take the Psychic type, for instance. Psychic powers themselves are very well suited to manga. Moves like Confusion and Psybeam have excellent visual effects."
"And Psychic-type Pokémon often have a wealth of tactical options, which can create plenty of exciting battle scenes."
"As for you, Miss Sabrina, as the Saffron Gym Leader, your strength is quite famous throughout the Kanto Region."
At that point, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help giving her a thumbs-up.
"Think about it. A Gym Leader with powerful psychic abilities, a cool, striking presence, and unfathomable strength appearing in a manga could make readers feel pressured just by standing there!"
"A character like that would work incredibly well as a major villain!"
He nodded in satisfaction after finishing.
Even he found that speech quite persuasive.
Yet the atmosphere in the studio seemed to have taken another wrong turn.
Sabrina slowly raised her head.
"So..."
"Because I'm relatively strong, you drew me as a villain?"
"Uh..."
Shiraishi Ritsu opened his mouth.
"You could put it that way."
Sabrina nodded.
"Very good."
The next second.
Whoosh!
Three paintbrushes suddenly shot toward Shiraishi Ritsu!
"Holy shit!"
Shiraishi Ritsu nearly fell out of his chair in fright.
The tips stopped abruptly a few centimeters from his forehead, hovering there in a perfectly neat row.
Shiraishi Ritsu held his neck stiff, not even daring to breathe heavily.
Smeargle was so frightened that he grabbed his owner's leg, even tucking his tail between his legs.
Sabrina watched him expressionlessly.
"Say that again?"
"No, no, no! You misheard!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly waved his hands.
"What I meant was, a powerful Trainer like you could become an extremely popular character no matter what role you played in the manga!"
"Really?"
"Absolutely!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly pulled out the reader survey results that had come with the previous few issues.
"Look, these are the character popularity votes readers sent in. Your character hasn't been around for long, but quite a few readers have already said they really like you!"
Sabrina glanced at the tally sheet.
Her name was indeed there.
It was just that protagonists like Red and Green still ranked above her.
After looking for a while, Sabrina suddenly asked, "Why would they like a villain?"
Shiraishi Ritsu breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, a question in my area of expertise!
"Because whether a manga character is appealing has no direct connection to whether they're a villain."
"Some villains are powerful, with their own goals and convictions, and they're even more popular than the protagonists."
"Of course, those are only characterizations in the manga. In real life, you're an outstanding Gym Leader, and my work will absolutely never change that."
Sabrina gave him a thoughtful look.
Shiraishi Ritsu seized the chance to add, "And I can guarantee that the Sabrina in the manga has some very exciting storylines coming up!"
"What storylines?"
"Well..."
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately found himself in a bind.
He couldn't just tell her that, according to the plot of Pokémon Adventures, she would later fight the protagonists and even get caught up in more dangerous events, could he?
Wouldn't that just get him beaten up again?
"That involves future installments, so I can't give spoilers yet."
He forced himself to explain.
"But I can guarantee that you'll look incredibly cool in the manga!"
Sabrina stared at him for a few seconds before finally turning her attention back to the manga.
The brushes hovering in the air finally settled slowly back onto the desk as well.
At the sight, Shiraishi Ritsu's anxious heart finally eased a little.
Thank goodness.
At least my life is safe for now.
Yet Sabrina's next words made his newly relaxed nerves tighten all over again.
"What about Giovanni, then?"
"Huh?"
"Viridian City's Gym Leader, Giovanni."
Sabrina flipped back to the earlier page and pointed at the man sitting behind a desk in the manga.
"Why did you make him the leader of Team Rocket?"
The corner of Shiraishi Ritsu's mouth twitched.
How did we circle back to this again?
Sabrina continued, "Is he also suited to being a villain because he's strong?"
"M-more or less."
Shiraishi Ritsu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"As you know, Mr. Giovanni is the Viridian Gym Leader, so he must be incredibly strong. A character like that would certainly carry a lot of weight as the final villain in a manga."
"And look, he even has a Persian by his side. What a distinctive image!"
"So you know Giovanni?"
"Of course not!"
Shiraishi Ritsu answered at lightning speed.
That, at least, was the truth.
He had indeed never met Giovanni in real life.
Sabrina seemed a little puzzled. "Then how did you know he has a Persian?"
Shiraishi Ritsu's heart lurched.
Oh no.
I let something slip again!
However, he soon came up with an explanation.
"You can look that up! Mr. Giovanni is a Gym Leader, after all. There are plenty of public profiles and news reports about him."
"Besides, before I started drawing the manga, I consulted plenty of Pokédex material."
At that, Shiraishi Ritsu hurried to steer the conversation toward the creative process.
"Look, as the leader of an organization, he can't exactly make every appearance holding a Magikarp, can he?"
Sabrina: "..."
The rag doll in her arms suddenly giggled.
"Hee-hee, a bad guy holding a Magikarp! That's so weird!"
Shiraishi Ritsu took the opportunity to laugh along.
Still, even as he laughed, he had begun seriously considering whether he should adjust how he promoted the manga going forward.
After all, Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga were one thing.
At least those three real-life Gym Leaders had not actually joined Team Rocket.
Giovanni was another matter entirely.
In the anime, that guy really was the boss of Team Rocket!
Shiraishi Ritsu suddenly realized that when he had drawn the Team Rocket storyline based on Pokémon Adventures, he seemed to have overlooked a rather serious problem.
The manga had already begun gaining popularity in the Kanto Region.
Then, could the real Team Rocket see it too?
If Giovanni discovered that some manga artist had drawn his secret identity into a manga...
At that thought, Shiraishi Ritsu could not help shuddering.
I'm doomed.
How did drawing this manga turn into a threat to my life?
"Masuda Senbei."
Sabrina suddenly spoke, interrupting his runaway thoughts.
"Yes?"
"What are you afraid of?"
Shiraishi Ritsu nearly jumped out of his chair.
"N-no! Nothing!"
Sabrina looked at him.
"You've been sweating this whole time."
"That's because it's hot!"
Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly picked up the glass on the table and took a sip of water.
Sabrina glanced out the window.
The afternoon sun shone brightly over Celadon City, and a breeze brushed past the windowsill. The temperature inside was actually quite comfortable.
Still, she did not press the matter.
The girl closed the manga, picked up the character design sheets on the table, and casually leafed through them.
Seeing that her attention had finally shifted, Shiraishi Ritsu could not help secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
But just then, Sabrina suddenly stopped.
She pulled a drawing from the folder.
In the picture, a Kadabra held up its spoon, with pieces of rubble floating around it under the control of Confusion.
Beside it were several notes handwritten by Shiraishi Ritsu.
[Psychic-type Pokémon's control through Confusion: emphasize changes in the target object's movement while suspended in the air.]
[Kadabra has flexible methods of attack. It can use Confusion to restrict an opponent's movements, then combine it with other moves to attack.]
[Battle scenes should convey the Trainer's judgment of when to use moves.]
Sabrina studied it carefully for a few moments.
Then she flipped through several other drafts.
They contained design details not only for Kadabra, but also for Psychic-type Pokémon such as Abra and Alakazam.
There were even highly detailed descriptions of how different moves would manifest in actual combat.
These notes had naturally been written by Shiraishi Ritsu.
As a veteran player who had played every generation of Pokémon games and studied all kinds of battle strategies, he always liked to organize the relevant types, moves, and tactical characteristics before drawing his manga.
Only then could Smeargle draw more exciting battle scenes.
Of course, he also knew that games and reality differed, so these materials mainly served as creative references.
But Sabrina clearly did not see it that way.
Looking down at the words on the paper, she felt a little curious about the young manga artist before her for the first time.
"You know a lot about Psychic-type Pokémon?"
"A fair bit."
Shiraishi Ritsu answered casually.
"I've studied quite a lot of material on Pokémon like Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam before. Psychic moves have plenty of variations too, so they're pretty interesting to use when designing manga battles."
"Studied?"
Sabrina repeated the word.
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
Shiraishi Ritsu had yet to realize the problem.
Sabrina set down the drawing, fixed her gaze on him, and suddenly asked:
"Masuda Senbei, are you a Pokémon Trainer too?"