As a Manga Artist, Going to Lavender Town for Reference Made Sense, Right?

On the road from Saffron City to Lavender Town.

"Mr. Masuda, look! This part is so cool!"

Ash held up a copy of Pokémon Adventures and called excitedly to Shiraishi Ritsu behind him.

"Red actually had Poliwhirl jump into the water first, then launch a surprise attack! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Pika pika!"

Pikachu, perched on his shoulder, leaned over for a look too.

Carrying his travel bag, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help laughing at that.

"You've been reading for half the morning. Haven't you had enough?"

"Of course not!"

Ash answered without a hint of hesitation.

"How did I never know there was such a fun manga before?"

"Then you'd better thank me."

Shiraishi Ritsu smiled. "This is the first collected volume. I brought it along specifically as a reference while gathering material."

"Hehe, I'll give it back when I'm done!"

Ash scratched his head and went back to reading.

As it happened, Shiraishi Ritsu had only discovered after setting out that day that Ash had been thinking about Pokémon Adventures all along.

Not long after they left Saffron City that morning, he had started asking about Red from the manga.

Ash had become even more interested after learning that Red also came from Pallet Town.

Both came from Pallet Town, both loved Pokémon, and both dreamed of becoming great Trainers.

Compared with Ash, though, Red's adventures in the manga were clearly much more perilous.

That made Ash all the more engrossed.

"Oh, right, Mr. Masuda!"

He suddenly raised his head.

"Will Red enter the Pokémon League tournament later in the manga?"

"Whether he will or not is a secret for now."

"Huh? Another secret?"

Ash looked disappointed.

Shiraishi Ritsu spread his hands.

"If I told you the whole plot ahead of time, where would the fun be?"

"Good point."

Ash thought for a moment, then couldn't resist asking, "Will Red catch a Charizard later, then?"

"That's a secret too."

"What about Dragonite?"

"Secret."

"What about Legendary Pokémon?"

The corner of Shiraishi Ritsu's mouth twitched.

"Are you trying to ask me about the entire rest of the manga?"

"Hehe!"

Ash gave an embarrassed laugh.

Beside them, Misty finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Can you put the manga away for now? We're still traveling!"

"There's nothing wrong with reading while I walk!"

"You nearly walked into a tree just now!"

"That was because Pikachu suddenly moved!"

"Pika?!"

Pikachu froze, then smacked Ash's cap in a huff.

"Pika pi!"

You were the one who wasn't watching where you were going!

Watching this, Shiraishi Ritsu laughed so hard he nearly lost his grip on his travel bag.

Sure enough, Ash in real life was even more entertaining than in the anime.

At noon, the group stopped to rest in a small grove beside the road.

Brock deftly took out his portable cooking gear and began preparing lunch.

"Everyone, take a break. We'll keep going after we eat."

"Okay!"

Ash immediately closed the manga and went over to Brock.

"What are we having today?"

"Vegetable soup and the rice balls I made this morning."

"Awesome!"

Smelling the food, Pikachu perked up too.

Shiraishi Ritsu found a flat spot to sit down, while Smeargle set down his art bag and began organizing the sketches he had finished that morning.

He had barely stopped working the whole way.

A Pidgey resting by the roadside, a Mankey leaping among the branches, and an Oddish lying on a rock sunbathing had all found their way into his sketchbook.

The most amusing of them was a picture of Ash chasing after his windblown cap.

After looking through them, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help laughing. "Partner, you really do draw everything."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle raised his head proudly.

To him, all these movements were valuable reference material.

Brock came over carrying a serving of Pokémon food and stopped when he saw the drawings in the sketchbook.

"These are really good."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle immediately perked up.

Brock crouched down and carefully looked through several drawings.

"This Pidgey in particular-the way its wings spread looks very natural. Do you often observe wild Pokémon like this?"

"We didn't have many chances before. We only recently started going out specifically to gather reference material."

Shiraishi Ritsu took the sketchbook Smeargle handed him and turned to a sketch of a high-speed movement.

"The last time I talked with Gym Leader Lt. Surge, I realized there's quite a difference between Pokémon actually moving and what you draw from imagination."

Brock nodded.

"That's true. Many of a Pokémon's habitual movements are related to its body structure."

As he spoke, he glanced at Smeargle.

"By the way, Mr. Masuda, besides having Smeargle draw manga, do you train with him too?"

"Yes, though we only recently started again."

Shiraishi Ritsu was a little embarrassed.

"I used to think it was enough for him to focus on drawing. Later, I realized sitting around every day without exercise wouldn't do either."

"Smeargle..."

Hearing that, Smeargle silently lowered his head.

He really did love holing up in the studio to draw.

If Shiraishi Ritsu hadn't insisted on taking him out for exercise lately, he probably could have kept living that life of eating, drawing, and sleeping every day.

Brock smiled.

"You don't actually need to start with anything too strenuous. Smeargle already works hard drawing every day, so you can begin with stamina and basic movements."

"Things like jogging, moving short distances, and maintaining his balance."

Shiraishi Ritsu nodded earnestly.

"That's what I've been arranging lately too."

"And he just learned Quick Attack a little while ago, so I'd like him to get more familiar with that move."

"Quick Attack?"

Brock was a little surprised.

"Smeargle has already mastered that move through Sketch?"

"Yes, he learned it from a Pidgeotto."

Shiraishi Ritsu smiled and patted Smeargle's head.

"But he still can't use it consistently. Sometimes, once he gets going too fast, he can't even stop himself."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle immediately protested.

He'd clearly improved a lot lately!

Brock laughed at that.

"Then you can practice sudden stops and changes of direction in an open space. Don't rush to push his speed higher."

"Good idea!"

Shiraishi Ritsu hurriedly wrote down the suggestion.

He had studied a great deal of material on Pokémon battles before, but when it came to daily training and caring for his partner, he really still lacked experience.

Brock had once served as the Pewter Gym Leader and was also very good at caring for Pokémon.

Talking with him more would let him learn quite a lot.

"By the way, Brock."

Shiraishi Ritsu suddenly grew curious.

"Are you planning to keep being a Gym Leader in the future?"

"I don't have any plans to for now."

Brock shook his head.

"I want to become a great Pokémon Breeder, so I'm planning to use this journey to learn more about the habits of different Pokémon."

"A Breeder, huh..."

Shiraishi Ritsu nodded.

"Then maybe I could ask you to look over Smeargle's training plan sometime."

"Of course."

Brock readily agreed.

"But you'll have to get him into a regular routine first."

Shiraishi Ritsu immediately fell silent.

He looked down at Smeargle.

Smeargle looked up at him too.

The man and Pokémon stared at each other for a moment, then both looked away.

A regular routine?

On that subject, neither seemed to have any right to criticize the other.

After lunch, everyone rested in the shade.

With his fill of food and drink, Ash took out the manga again.

Pikachu lay beside him, stretching out a little paw to help hold down the pages.

Misty lay on the grass, enjoying the rare peace and quiet.

Just then, a Pidgey fluttered down from a nearby tree.

"Pidgey?"

Brock looked up.

"Oh? A wild Pidgey came over."

Shiraishi Ritsu looked over too.

The Pidgey was small, with neat feathers, and showed little wariness after landing.

Smiling, Brock took a few Berries suitable for bird Pokémon from his backpack and placed them on a nearby rock.

"Here, have some."

But Pidgey only glanced at the Berries.

Then, it actually hopped over toward Ash.

"Huh?"

Ash was so engrossed in reading that he hadn't noticed at all.

The Pidgey tilted its head, its gaze fixed on the manga in his hands.

At that moment, Ash happened to turn to an early part of the first volume.

In the panels, Red and Green encountered a mysterious pink Pokémon.

That Pokémon had a tiny body, large round eyes, and a long, slender tail.

"Wow, Pikachu, look!"

Ash pointed excitedly at the picture.

"This Pokémon is so cute!"

"Pika pika!"

Pikachu leaned in for a look too.

The Pidgey beside them, however, suddenly stopped.

It tilted its head, seemingly studying the pages even more intently than Ash.

Ash turned a page, and Pidgey shuffled two steps closer.

Shiraishi Ritsu happened to turn his head and saw this, and he couldn't help laughing.

"Why isn't this Pidgey eating? It's more interested in the manga instead?"

He stood up, ready to go over and take a look.

"Little one, do you like Pokémon Adventures too?"

But before he could approach, Pidgey suddenly spread its wings.

Flap, flap, flap!

It flew up onto a branch, then swiftly swept through the woods and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Pretty quick to get away."

Shiraishi Ritsu sat back down, feeling a little regretful.

Brock didn't pay it much mind either.

"Maybe it was just drawn to the colorful pictures."

"Could be."

Shiraishi Ritsu nodded with a smile.

"Looks like even wild Pokémon are interested in our manga."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle was delighted to hear that.

It even began seriously considering whether it should draw a few illustrations specifically for bird Pokémon in the future.

As for why that Pidgey had been staring at the manga, no one gave it any thought.