RATED I FOR INSANITY: Weird hair, Brycen, Sabrina, and piggies.

Yes, I know this is generally not how Sabrina is portrayed, especially by the anime and manga. But when we saw her in Pokestar Studios, we had to put her in there...in our own way.


The talent scout led an excited Nate right to the place he'd wanted to see most of all when he'd started his journey. Nate, in turn, dragged Rosa across town in an attempt to cheer her up. It was a lost cause: She'd changed her mind halfway out of the gym. She struggled, swore, threatened, and otherwise put up a magnificent fight, dead set against being in anything ever again without her consent. The scout was concerned, but Nate refused to let his friend darken his mood.

"I've only ever filmed your battles," Nate said, dodging what would have been a well-aimed fist. "I honestly thought you knew."

"Maybe I am overreacting a little," Rosa admitted, giving up the struggle. "I just might lose all my nerve when battling if I know there's a camera recording every move I made..." A sudden thought struck her, and her mood quickly flipped from 'calm' to 'horrified.' "You didn't record my first battle with Cheren, did you?"

"Um..." Well, that didn't sound good. "I turned it off before I found out you hallucinated, so it's not like you have too much to be embarrassed about."

Rosa looked back at the talent scout, who hadn't noticed his discoveries had fallen behind. "But I don't have to be in any production not directed by you, right?"

"Not unless you want to."

Her answering smile was more relieved than ever, and she pulled her hand from his grip to follow him of her own free will. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, she decided. She didn't have to be in anything, and maybe she'd meet a few movie stars.

What could possibly go wrong?


Once they reached the studio, however, things got weird pretty fast. While the talent scout was going on and on to a director, praising Rosa's battle skills, the kids looked around at the studio, taking in the crew of strange people and their even stranger Pokémon.

In one corner of the room, a masked man stood with a cup of coffee in one hand and a Grumpig plush toy in the other, paying no attention to the new arrivals or the confused looks he was getting. A pair of young women chattered away, incomprehensible to the amazed children, as they went to go be extras in whatever was being filmed. A third woman, speaking with a thick accent that Rosa could barely understand, was congratulating a team of actors for a job well done as they started to head back to the main hall for break.

"Brycen!" the director shouted, getting Grumpig-man's attention. Rosa could see the man clearly, now, and she quickly covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. He was wearing what seemed to be half a bathrobe for a shirt, and a very strange-looking mask. He was probably an actor, she realized, in costume. "Come and meet the little monsters that have been brought to our studio. I am told the girl is exceedingly talented in battle."

Brycen's only response was to hold up the toy, which confused Nate even further. "I'm babysitting," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Well, put it in her dressing room. I'm sure she won't mind."

"You don't know her, do you?" But Brycen set the plush toy on a chair and came forward, studying the two children. "What's wrong with their hair?"

"Who knows?" the director said, shaking his head. "But look past that, Brycen. The girl has been said to have incredible battling skills. The boy...I believe he is her pet."

"I'm her agent," Nate corrected, fighting the impulse to hiss at both of them. "Rosa doesn't get to do anything unless I say so."

"If you insist," the man said, before returning his attention to Brycen. "Do you think she will be a suitable replacement for the captain?"

"If she can follow a script, I'm sure she will play the role much better." Brycen seemed to want to put the whole memory of the previous attempt out of his mind. It kind of made Nate curious as to how the captain's attempt went.

The director turned to Rosa. "Can you read, miss?"

"Yes, but shouldn't you actually hire a professional instead of some nobody off the street?"

"That's what I said," Brycen stated, but the director looked embarrassed.

"Because the original actress had problems. So, why not brighten up the screen with a new face?"

"Can't you have just faked the battle to make it look like her Pokémon won?"

"No, no! You see, these Pokémon like to battle! Anything but real action won't satisfy them!" The director looked back at her. "What do you say?"

"Just one short film?"

"Just one short film."

"With Brycen?"

"Yes."

Rosa looked up at the masked man, clearly nervous. But anything that would have been said was lost when a voice carried across the studio, sounding precisely like a deranged four-year-old.

"Brycen," the voice called, and Rosa whimpered and tried to hide. "Brycen? Where did you go?" There was a pause, then a woman's laughter. "Man, I sound creepy. Are you my mummy?" she quoted, back to her childish voice.

Brycen looked as though the woman's mere presence was a great annoyance, or perhaps just her obscure references, but he picked up the Grumpig plush and handed it to her without a word, receiving a slight smile in response. The director, too, noticed her, and brightened up.

"Ah, yes!" he cheered, taking her hand. "This is another actor who has lost the hero of her movie! Perhaps, while one of you works with Brycen, the other could partner with Sabrina?"

The woman, Sabrina, gave the pair a curious look over the toy's head. "Who are the kids, and what's wrong with their hair?"

"A question many would like answered," the director said, nodding wisely. "Well, then. I'll be off!"

And he was gone.

Rosa thought Sabrina seemed much less intimidating when holding the toy, and dared to speak. "Aren't you a little old to be playing with dolls?" she asked, locking her eyes on the Grumpig.

"Aren't you a little short to be...doing whatever it is you do?" Seeming to realize the stupidity of the question, Sabrina quickly explained that the Grumpig was just a memory of her home. "A friend of mine gave him to me as a joke birthday gift. I suppose I just didn't want to part with him."

"Don't you have a part to play, Sabrina?" Brycen asked, and she shrugged.

"I forgot how to pronounce my character's name again," Sabrina admitted. "It's Queen...something that starts with a B. Belladonna? Bethany? Maybe it's Queen Bananabellabongo, I don't know."

"Bellelba," Brycen corrected, and Sabrina gave him a skeptical look.

"Have you been reading my scripts?"

"One of us has to."

Rosa calmed even more, witnessing their mock-arguing. "You guys are pretty good friends, aren't you?"

"Just good friends," Sabrina stated, catching the direction Rosa's thoughts were heading. "Don't go shipping us."

Nate cleared his throat, reminding everyone that he was still there. "While this is fun and all, can we do something actually important? Like, oh...watching Rosa and Brycen in action on the big screen? It's a short film, after all. I'm sure she can handle it."

"I'm not," Rosa objected, but maybe Brycen would help her out. He seemed nice enough.


"Perfect!" the director called, as soon as Brycen spoke the final line. The cameras stopped rolling, Brycen dropped his villain act, and Rosa/Riolu Girl sighed in relief. "Perhaps Rosa could find a bit more confidence in herself, but that will be good enough. The film should be out in the test theater tomorrow -"

"And we should be halfway to the next town by then," Rosa interrupted. "Tell us how it went if you ever see us again. Come on, Nate," she added, noticing her companion seemed to be reluctant to leave. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt sleeve to keep him with her and not here in the studios. "You'll be back someday."

"I guess..."

But it was her turn to drag him along, helped some by her Pignite. She had no idea where she was going next, but it couldn't be too bad.

Until, of course, she noticed that there seemed to be something off about Virbank City.