"Up again?"
Shiraishi Ritsu held his communicator, surprise showing on his face.
"Miss Maho, are you sure you read that right?"
"Of course I did!"
On the other end of the call, Kikkawa Maho sounded quite excited.
"In this reader popularity poll, Pokémon Adventures has made it into the magazine's top three! And according to the figures the circulation department just sent over, sales of the latest issue are considerably higher than the previous one!"
"Top three?!"
Shiraishi Ritsu abruptly sat up on the sofa.
Beside him, Smeargle, who was holding Berry cookies, was so startled that he nearly dropped the cookies in his paws.
"Smear?"
"Partner! We're going to strike it rich again!"
"Smear!"
At the words "strike it rich," Smeargle immediately grew excited.
Although he didn't know exactly how much money they had earned, he understood one thing very well.
The better the manga sold, the more money his owner received for his work.
And the more money he received, the more art supplies and snacks Smeargle could buy!
At that thought, Smeargle hurriedly put down his cookies, ran over to Shiraishi Ritsu, and gazed eagerly at the communicator.
Hearing the commotion, Kikkawa Maho couldn't help laughing.
"Mr. Masuda, don't celebrate too soon. Although the magazine ranking has risen, the publisher still needs to monitor how the next few issues perform."
"I know, I know!"
Shiraishi Ritsu nodded repeatedly.
"But why did we suddenly go up so much this time?"
"Care to guess?"
"Because the battle scenes in the latest chapters were drawn especially well?"
"That's part of it."
"Or because Red has become even more popular?"
"That too."
Kikkawa Maho deliberately paused, then said with a smile, "But judging by this issue's reader letters, there's another character whose popularity has been growing particularly fast."
An ominous feeling suddenly arose in Shiraishi Ritsu's heart.
"Who?"
"Sabrina!"
"..."
The smile gradually vanished from Shiraishi Ritsu's face.
Sabrina?
Sabrina again?!
That menace had nearly scared him into a heart attack today, and now his editor was telling him she deserved some credit for the manga's rising popularity?
"Miss Maho, don't tell me the readers all love that Team Rocket executive."
"You guessed it!"
"..."
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help looking up at the ceiling.
He suddenly felt that the readers in this world seemed a little abnormal.
Of course, thinking it over, plenty of villains in the popular manga from his previous life had loyal fans too.
It was just that things were a little different this time.
The Sabrina in the manga was a Team Rocket executive.
But the Sabrina in real life was a genuine psychic who would personally come knocking to settle scores with the manga artist!
When other people liked villains, at most they discussed them in the comments.
But him?
He had nearly been dealt with by the very person the villain was based on!
"Miss Maho, I think we should deal with the disclaimer first."
Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed between his eyebrows.
"If someone really mistakes the manga for reality, we'll be in serious trouble."
"Don't worry. The editorial department has already started making arrangements."
Kikkawa Maho stopped smiling and said seriously, "You should come to the publisher tomorrow. We still need you to approve the relevant statements, and the circulation department would also like to discuss future plans with you."
"All right, I'll come tomorrow."
After ending the call, Shiraishi Ritsu looked down at Smeargle.
Smeargle looked up at him too.
The man and Pokémon stared at each other for a moment.
Shiraishi Ritsu suddenly sighed.
"Partner, don't you think we're a little unlucky?"
"Smear?"
"We worked so hard drawing manga, and just when it finally became a hit, the person herself came knocking."
Smeargle thought for a moment, then held out a paw and pointed at the payment records on the table.
Shiraishi Ritsu followed the direction of his paw.
"What do you mean?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle pointed at his paint box next.
Shiraishi Ritsu understood at once.
"You mean, as long as we're making money?"
"Smear!"
Smeargle nodded with complete conviction.
Shiraishi Ritsu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly felt that this fellow had a very good point.
"True."
He lay back down on the sofa.
"Sabrina's already gone, anyway. We still have to keep drawing manga and making money."
At that, he couldn't help adding another remark.
"But if another Gym Leader comes knocking next time, you have to hold them off for me first."
Hearing this, Smeargle immediately hugged his paint box tightly and pretended he hadn't heard a thing.
Shiraishi Ritsu: "..."
What a great partner!
Truly, what a great partner he had!
The next morning.
The Shonen Adventure editorial department, Celadon City.
Shiraishi Ritsu had just entered the office with Smeargle when he saw Kikkawa Maho sitting behind her desk, a large stack of documents piled in front of her.
"Mr. Masuda, perfect timing!"
She looked up and beckoned to Shiraishi Ritsu.
"Take a look at this first."
Shiraishi Ritsu took the documents.
On top was a disclaimer prepared for publication in the magazine's next issue.
It mainly stated that Pokémon Adventures was a fictional manga, and that its characters, organizational affiliations, and related events had all been artistically adapted and did not represent the actual experiences of real people.
It particularly emphasized that the Team Rocket executive identities appearing in the manga had no connection to real-life Gym Leaders.
Shiraishi Ritsu read it carefully twice, then nodded in satisfaction.
"This works."
"We're also planning to address the relevant questions separately in the reader Q&A section."
Kikkawa Maho took out another document.
"As for the misleading character profiles already in circulation, the publisher will contact the relevant channels to have them corrected. Any future promotional materials involving portrayals of real people will also need to be reviewed."
Shiraishi Ritsu nodded.
This matter really did need to be handled seriously.
After all, while he could keep drawing the manga, he didn't want to suddenly receive a complaint letter from some Gym Leader one day.
And he wanted even less to experience a roomful of paintbrushes flying at his head again.
After both sides approved the disclaimer, they discussed some distribution details.
Once they had more or less finished, Kikkawa Maho suddenly brought a cardboard box out of a cabinet nearby.
Thud!
The box landed on the desk with a dull sound.
"What's this?"
Shiraishi Ritsu was rather curious.
"Reader letters."
"This many?!"
He glanced down.
An entire box!
Kikkawa Maho explained with a smile, "These have arrived over the last few issues. Quite a few were written specifically for Pokémon Adventures."
Shiraishi Ritsu immediately became interested.
Back when his Naruto and One Piece had appeared in short-form trial publications, there had been reader letters too, but pitifully few.
Now he had actually received an entire box.
It really was a rather extraordinary feeling.
"Can I take a look?"
"Of course. They were prepared for you in the first place."
Shiraishi Ritsu picked up a letter at random, opened it, and began reading.
[Hello, Mr. Masuda! I'm a reader from Viridian City. I'm eleven this year, and my favorite Pokémon is Charizard!]
[Your manga is really good, and Red is my favorite!]
[Will Red catch a Charizard in the future?]
After reading it, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help smiling.
"This kid has pretty good taste."
He set the letter aside and opened a second one.
[Masuda Senbei, why is Green always so calm in the manga? I want to become a Trainer like him too!]
The third letter.
[Big Sister Blue is so smart! I hope there will be more stories about her in the future!]
The fourth letter.
[Who's stronger, Red or Green? My friend and I have been arguing for three days!]
Shiraishi Ritsu read with great interest.
Some of the questions were childish, but others were quite interesting.
A few Trainers had even seriously analyzed the tactics in the manga, pointing out difficulties that might arise when using certain moves in reality.
Shiraishi Ritsu set those letters aside separately, intending to study them carefully when he got back.
However, as he continued going through them, the tone suddenly changed.
[Mr. Masuda! Miss Sabrina is so cool in the manga!]
[Especially the scene where she commands Kadabra in battle. I've reread it so many times!]
Shiraishi Ritsu blinked.
Then he opened another letter.
[Although Miss Sabrina is a villain, her psychic powers are really amazing! If I become a Trainer someday, I'll definitely catch a Kadabra!]
The next letter.
[Executive Sabrina from Team Rocket is my favorite! Will she have more battle scenes in the future?]
As Shiraishi Ritsu looked at the letters in his hands, his expression grew increasingly strange.
Good grief.
These readers...
They really had turned Sabrina into a popular villain?!
Seeing this, Kikkawa Maho smiled and pulled an envelope from the box.
"There's this one too. Take a look."
Shiraishi Ritsu opened the envelope.
Inside was a hand-drawn illustration.
In the picture, Sabrina wore a black Team Rocket uniform and stood atop a raised platform, with Kadabra floating beside her.
Although the drawing skills fell far short of Smeargle's, considerable care had gone into the characters' expressions and movements.
There was also a line written in the bottom right corner.
[Dedicated to the coolest female psychic executive!]
Shiraishi Ritsu: "..."
He rummaged through the box some more.
To his surprise, he found quite a few similar works.
Some readers had drawn Sabrina together with Kadabra, some had designed new outfits for her, and others had drawn a whole series of battle scenes from the manga.
Someone had even written to ask whether the publisher would release Sabrina merchandise in the future.
Shiraishi Ritsu put down the letters, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Miss Maho, is Sabrina really this popular?"
"Of course!"
Kikkawa Maho smiled and said, "You may not have noticed, but in the character discussions for the last few issues, Sabrina has become one of the supporting characters getting the most attention."
"Even though she's a villain, a lot of readers find her very charming."
At this point, Kikkawa Maho added something else.
"However, the publisher won't release merchandise featuring a real Gym Leader's likeness without permission. We'd have to sort out the licensing first."
Shiraishi Ritsu nodded, his gaze returning to the readers' letters.
To be honest, he had originally prepared himself for the worst.
After Sabrina had come knocking, he'd even worried that readers might boycott the manga over it.
He hadn't expected the situation to turn out to be the exact opposite.
Sabrina, a villain in the manga, had actually become a major draw for readers.
Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help rubbing his chin.
"Do you think... if the real Sabrina saw these letters, she'd be a little happier?"
Kikkawa Maho thought for a moment.
"Probably?"
"Really?"
"After all, so many people like her."
Shiraishi Ritsu fell silent for a moment, picturing that icy face from yesterday.
And those paintbrushes floating beside his head.
He suddenly felt that things probably wouldn't be that simple.
"Forget it. I'd better not just take these over and show her."
"Why not?"
"I'm afraid she'll see that line about the 'coolest Team Rocket executive' and come back to settle the score with me."
Kikkawa Maho froze for a moment, then couldn't help laughing aloud.
Shiraishi Ritsu, however, couldn't laugh.
He even suspected that from now on, he'd have to prepare an apology letter in advance every time he drew a new villain.
Meanwhile.
Saffron Gym, Saffron City.
In the spacious training room, Sabrina had just finished Kadabra's daily training.
"Kadabra."
Kadabra put away the spoon in his hand and stood quietly to one side.
Sabrina nodded slightly, then returned to the lounge with her doll in her arms.
A newly delivered copy of Shonen Adventure lay on the table.
It was the latest issue, purchased by the Gym staff according to her earlier instructions.
Sabrina picked up the magazine and casually flipped through it.
She had originally only wanted to see whether that manga artist named Masuda Senbei had added a disclaimer as agreed.
She soon found the relevant material in the front pages.
Sabrina read it carefully.
Once she confirmed that the publisher had explicitly stated that the manga had no connection to reality, her expression softened a little.
"At least he kept his word."
The girl spoke softly.
Then she turned to the serialized installment of Pokémon Adventures.
On the page, Red was going through a new adventure.
The familiar characters, exciting Pokémon battles, and scenes painstakingly drawn by Smeargle led Sabrina to read a few more pages without realizing it.
She had only intended to leaf through it.
But as she read, she actually began to care a little about what happened next.
Especially the psychic battles in the manga.
Smeargle had vividly depicted control through Confusion, the execution of moves, and the coordination between Pokémon.
After reading for a while, Sabrina even began seriously considering whether there would be a better way to respond if it were her own Kadabra.
By the time she came back to her senses, she had reached the final page of the installment.
"..."
Sabrina stared at the words "Continued next issue" at the end, her brows knitting slightly.
How could that be all?
Just as she was about to turn back to the earlier pages, the doll in her arms suddenly poked its head out.
"Hee-hee!"
The doll looked at her with a smile.
"Sabrina, Sabrina!"
The girl glanced down.
"What is it?"
The doll pointed at the magazine in her hand, smiling happily.
"You like this story, don't you?"
Sabrina didn't answer. She merely closed the book, her face expressionless.