"Are you a Pokémon Trainer too?"
Sabrina set down the drawing in her hands and looked up at Shiraishi Ritsu.
At the Psychic-type Gym Leader's question, Shiraishi Ritsu paused briefly, then nodded.
"I suppose so. I did want to become a professional Trainer once."
"Once?"
"Yeah. Later, I realized I probably didn't have the talent for it, so I switched to drawing manga."
Shiraishi Ritsu spoke quite openly.
After all, there was nothing to hide.
When he had first transmigrated to the Pokémon world, his head had been filled with challenging Gyms and entering the Indigo Plateau Conference. He had even dreamed of standing on the champion's podium someday.
Unfortunately, reality had delivered a resounding slap to his face.
Forget challenging Gyms-back then, he hadn't even managed to beat an ordinary Rattata.
Even now, Shiraishi Ritsu found it rather embarrassing to think about.
"Then where's your Pokémon?"
Sabrina continued asking.
"Right there."
Shiraishi Ritsu pointed at Smeargle beside him.
"Smear!"
Hearing its Trainer call it, Smeargle immediately raised its head and obligingly waved a paw.
Sabrina's gaze shifted to it.
Naturally, she knew about Pokémon like Smeargle.
A Normal type, skilled at painting, capable of learning other Pokémon's moves through its special move, Sketch.
However, these Pokémon usually had rather limited combat abilities, and raising one into a powerful battle partner required a great deal of effort.
When it came to painting, though, Smeargle truly did have an exceptional natural advantage.
Sabrina looked down at the manga pages on the table.
Although she rarely read manga, she still had a basic appreciation for art.
The pages on the table were excellent, whether in their character proportions, the details of their movements, or the composition of their scenes.
Especially the Pokémon battle scenes.
Those movements, so full of speed, looked ready to leap off the page the next second.
"Did it draw all of these?"
Sabrina asked.
"Of course!"
The moment his partner came up, Shiraishi Ritsu perked up.
"It might be a bit greedy with food, and it sometimes likes to slack off while working, but once it picks up a brush, it's a genius!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle immediately cried out in protest.
Who was slacking off?
Its Trainer was the one who kept changing the story at the last minute, making it redraw pages it had already finished!
Shiraishi Ritsu pretended not to hear and kept boasting. "Take this page, for example. It finished all the character movements and backgrounds in less than half an hour."
"And look at this linework. Isn't it beautiful?"
Sabrina looked where he pointed.
In the picture, a Kadabra was raising its spoon, with bits of rubble suspended around it by psychic powers.
The delicate lines captured Kadabra's expression vividly, and even the reflection on the spoon's surface was handled just right.
Sabrina couldn't help taking a few extra looks.
Her own main Pokémon was a Kadabra, so naturally, she understood this Pokémon better than the average reader.
To draw Kadabra so vividly, this Smeargle really did have skill.
"It's well drawn."
Sabrina offered a mild appraisal.
"Smear!"
Smeargle's eyes immediately lit up.
It loved hearing people praise its drawing skills more than anything!
Shiraishi Ritsu smiled too.
At last, a little good news today.
At least Sabrina hadn't turned him and Smeargle into dolls over the Team Rocket uniform.
Just then, however, the doll in Sabrina's arms suddenly poked its head out.
"Hee-hee, what an amazing little doggy!"
The doll blinked its big eyes and studied Smeargle curiously.
"Did you draw all these pretty pictures?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded proudly.
The doll immediately clapped its hands.
"Amazing! Amazing!"
As it spoke, it leaned halfway out of Sabrina's arms, seemingly wanting a closer look at the drawings on the table.
Watching this, Shiraishi Ritsu's smile stiffened slightly.
This doll...
It really was creepy no matter how he looked at it.
As someone familiar with the Pokémon anime, he naturally knew what was special about the doll beside Sabrina.
According to the anime's setting, Sabrina had become obsessed with training her psychic powers as a child, gradually shutting away her emotions.
And this talking doll before him was closely connected to her suppressed childhood personality.
Remembering what Ash and his friends had gone through in the anime sent a chill down Shiraishi Ritsu's back.
Especially the experience of being shrunk and locked inside a dollhouse.
He had absolutely no desire to experience that himself.
So, when the doll took an interest in Smeargle, Shiraishi Ritsu's first reaction was to hurry and find a way to keep this little terror happy.
"Um... Miss Sabrina."
"Hm?"
"Since you think Smeargle draws well, would you like it to paint a proper portrait of you?"
Sabrina looked up.
"A portrait?"
"Yes, one drawn just for you."
Shiraishi Ritsu quickly took a clean sheet of drawing paper from the table.
"The previous picture wasn't quite appropriate, so this is a good chance for it to draw another. You could pose with your Pokémon. It would make a nice keepsake."
Hearing this, Smeargle immediately raised its head.
It also thought there had been something wrong with the last picture.
After all, its Trainer's face had nearly gone white with fright when he saw the Team Rocket uniform.
It couldn't get the drawing wrong again this time!
Sabrina considered it for a moment.
"All right."
With her permission, Shiraishi Ritsu immediately sighed in relief.
"Did you hear that, Smeargle? Make sure you do a good job this time!"
He deliberately leaned close to Smeargle's ear and added in a low voice.
"Remember, whatever you do, don't draw that letter R!"
"Smear!"
Smeargle patted its chest.
Don't worry!
That was an accident!
Only then did Shiraishi Ritsu nod in satisfaction and set the paper before it.
"Miss Sabrina, which Pokémon would you like in the picture with you?"
"Kadabra."
"You got it!"
Shiraishi Ritsu deftly dug out the earlier character design sheets and handed Smeargle the reference drawing of Kadabra.
"Draw it like this, but you can adjust the pose. Miss Sabrina should stand in the center, with Kadabra beside her. Saffron Gym would be best for the background."
Smeargle picked up its brush and nodded earnestly.
This time, it was clearly much more cautious than before.
It first sketched the figures' outlines on the paper, then adjusted their proportions, only beginning to refine the details once it had settled on the composition.
Shiraishi Ritsu stood beside it, offering suggestions from time to time.
"You can make the hair look a little more natural."
"Raise the spoon in Kadabra's hand a little."
"Yes, just like that. The background doesn't need to be too complicated. Just bring out the Gym's distinctive features."
Smeargle listened attentively.
The man and Pokémon were already well practiced at working together. Often, Shiraishi Ritsu only needed to say a few words for it to know what adjustments to make.
Sabrina sat quietly on the sofa, watching them work.
She had originally thought that creating manga simply meant having Smeargle draw whatever its Trainer wanted.
But after actually watching the two work together, she realized there were many details she had never known about.
Although Shiraishi Ritsu's drawing skills were average, he had very clear requirements for the composition, the characters' movements, and the overall atmosphere.
Smeargle, meanwhile, always understood his ideas quickly and refined them in its own way.
Occasionally, the two would even argue a little over some detail.
"Doesn't Kadabra look a little too fierce here?"
"Smear!"
"I know Psychic-type Pokémon are powerful, but we're drawing a portrait. We're not asking it to fight."
"Smear, smear!"
"All right, all right, you've got a point. Let's just change it a little, then."
Watching this, Sabrina found it strangely novel.
This young man, who had been sweating profusely in fear of her just a little earlier, was much calmer once he began discussing manga.
A little while later, Smeargle finally put down its brush.
"Smear!"
Finished!
Shiraishi Ritsu hurried over for a look.
Then he nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice, very nice. This one's much better than the last!"
On the paper, Sabrina stood quietly in the center of Saffron Gym's arena, wearing her usual red dress.
Her long hair fell naturally, her gaze calm and cold.
Beside her, Kadabra held up its spoon, with several small bits of rubble floating around it.
In the background, light streamed through the windows high up in the Gym, lending the entire picture an air of mystery.
Especially Sabrina's eyes.
Smeargle had captured that cold, distant air with remarkable precision.
Even Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help marveling at how absurdly talented this fellow was at drawing.
"Miss Sabrina, would you take a look?"
He handed the drawing over.
Sabrina took the portrait and looked down at it.
A moment later, her gaze settled on the face of the girl in the picture.
It really was very well drawn.
She could even say it looked a little more refined than the reflection she usually saw in the mirror.
Yet, for some reason, looking at that cold face in the picture suddenly stirred a strange feeling inside her.
Was this how she had always looked to other people?
Sabrina said nothing.
Instead, the doll in her arms spoke first.
"Huh?"
It tilted its head and stared at the drawing for a long while.
"Why isn't she smiling?"
Shiraishi Ritsu froze.
"Huh?"
The doll pointed at Sabrina on the drawing paper.
"She doesn't look happy at all!"
"A girl this pretty must look lovely when she smiles, right?"
As she spoke, the doll even made an exaggerated smiling face.
"Just like this, hee-hee!"
The corner of Shiraishi Ritsu's mouth twitched slightly.
He instinctively looked at Sabrina.
The girl remained expressionless, seemingly showing no reaction to the doll's words.
However, Shiraishi Ritsu noticed that her fingers tightened slightly around the drawing paper.
"Well..."
He was just about to explain when Smeargle beside him had already made a move.
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle picked up another sheet of drawing paper and called out to the doll.
Then it began drawing again.
This time, Smeargle did not use the aloof portrait from before as a reference.
It first carefully studied Sabrina's face, then recalled the smile the doll had just made, adjusting the figure's expression little by little.
Shiraishi Ritsu had initially wanted to warn it not to do anything rash, but seeing how serious Smeargle was, he left it undisturbed for the moment.
A few minutes later.
Smeargle held up its newly finished portrait.
"Smeargle!"
Shiraishi Ritsu took the paper and glanced at it.
Then he froze slightly.
The girl in the picture was still Sabrina.
Long, jet-black hair, a beautiful red dress, and that familiar Kadabra beside her.
The only difference was the hint of a smile on the girl's face.
Her smile looked utterly natural.
Her eyes curved slightly, and the corners of her mouth turned gently upward.
Her formerly aloof air softened with that smile.
Even the Kadabra beside her looked much more approachable than before.
"Pretty!"
The doll immediately began clapping excitedly.
"This one's pretty! This one's pretty!"
Shiraishi Ritsu, however, did not join in.
He looked at Sabrina and found the girl staring motionlessly at the picture.
She did not speak for a long time.
The studio gradually grew quiet.
The occasional cries of Pidgey came from outside the window, and the afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains, leaving a small, bright patch on the tabletop.
Sabrina reached out and gently touched the cheek of the girl in the picture.
That smiling face was utterly unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar that she herself could barely recognize it.
Yet as she kept looking, she vaguely felt that she seemed to have worn an expression like that once.
That had been a very long time ago.
So long ago that she could no longer remember when she had last smiled from the heart.
"Why is she smiling?"
Sabrina suddenly asked.
Shiraishi Ritsu paused.
He looked at the drawing, then at the doll in Sabrina's arms.
Then he said with a smile, "Because Smeargle thinks you would look lovely smiling, I suppose."
"Smeargle!"
Smeargle nodded vigorously.
It clearly agreed wholeheartedly with its Trainer.
Sabrina looked up at it.
Smeargle immediately grew a little nervous and hastily ducked its head.
Fortunately, this time, the girl did not use her psychic powers.
She merely lowered her head again and looked at the smiling portrait.
Only after a long while did she softly speak.
"It's drawn very well."
Her voice was as cold as ever.
But Shiraishi Ritsu distinctly felt that the suffocating pressure in the studio seemed to have finally eased somewhat.
He hurried to strike while the iron was hot.
"Miss Sabrina, since you like them, please take both pictures as gifts!"
"Gifts for me?"
"Of course!"
Shiraishi Ritsu said with a smile, "You're the first Gym Leader to visit our studio. It's only right that we give you a couple of portraits."
Smeargle nodded repeatedly beside him.
Although the two pictures had taken it quite some time, it felt that was well worth it as long as they satisfied the frightening customer before it.
Sabrina did not answer immediately.
She placed the two pictures together and looked them over, then carefully put the smiling portrait on top.
"Then I'll accept them."
Shiraishi Ritsu was immediately overjoyed.
There's hope!
It looks like there's finally a chance to resolve today's trouble peacefully!
However, he had clearly celebrated a little too soon.
After putting the portraits away, Sabrina picked up Pokémon Adventures from the table again.
The smile on Shiraishi Ritsu's face instantly froze.
Seriously?
Again?
Sabrina opened the manga, her gaze settling on one of the pages.
In the panel, she wore a Team Rocket uniform and stood before several subordinates, looking haughty and superior.
Sabrina looked at it for a moment, then suddenly raised her head.
"Masuda Senbei."
"Yes?"
"I don't like the Sabrina in the manga."
Shiraishi Ritsu's heart lurched.
Sabrina continued:
"She clearly has such powerful psychic abilities, yet she still takes orders from other people."
"And why does she make those stupid decisions?"
Shiraishi Ritsu opened his mouth.
"Well... the plot calls for it, after all."
Sabrina stared at him for a few seconds, then set the manga back on the table.
"Next time, don't draw me as such an idiot."
Shiraishi Ritsu: "..."
Wait!
Miss Sabrina, what do you mean by that?
Are you planning to keep reading it in the future?!