A/N: A reader on my other fic requested that I include a list of relevant Pokemon at the start of chapters so it's easier to keep nicknames straight, and I figured I should do the same here.

Rosa: Ivy (Snivy), Silk (Sewaddle)

Eleanor: Devo (Honchkrow), Inno (Umbreon), Honor (Drapion), Patty (Sneasel), Krokorok

And now for something completely different.

"Virbank has been surprisingly untouched by both Plasma and Cipher, making it one of the few parts of Unova that is still thriving. Roxie has even been able to continue her usual performances, which has been a valuable morale boost to the city's many residents. Virbank Complex has been attacked several times to pilfer items from the warehouses within, but the fighting has never spilled into the city proper."

-Unovan Crisis Gazetteer entry on Virbank City

"Like the city it's connected to, Pokestar Studios has seen little to no attention from the evil teams. The films produced here are one of the few remaining stable sources of income for Unova. It's suspected that Plasma and Cipher are leaving the studio alone purely so that they can take full advantage of it after they've made their play for control of the region."

-Unovan Crisis Gazetteer entry on Pokestar Studios

Rosa couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when she spotted the Virbank in the distance. Route twenty hadn't been nearly as straightforward as route nineteen had been, and she'd had a lot of fun exploring the route with Eleanor and their Pokemon. While they were on the route, Rosa could almost pretend that Plasma and Cipher didn't exist, but she knew that when they entered Virbank, reality would come crashing back in.

Eleanor apparently didn't share Rosa's misgivings since she sighed in relief at the sight of the gate and slightly picked up her pace, making it so it only took them a couple more minutes to arrive. Despite her rush, she halted before entering and turned around to give Krokorok an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm going to have to return you here Krokorok. People probably wouldn't like seeing Shadow Pokemon around town."

Rosa frowned slightly, not at Eleanor's apology, but that it was necessary in the first place. She knew that Eleanor was probably right about Krokorok making people uncomfortable, but the Pokemon had been out of her ball almost the entire trip since they'd left Floccesy and it had been fine. The thing that bothered Rosa the most was that Krokorok couldn't even react as she was returned to her Pokeball, leaving Honor as their only escort.

With the Shadow Pokemon returned, they walked through the gate and, after a quick check-in, stepped into a city for the first time in several days. Rosa's immediate impression was that Virbank City didn't seem damaged at all; all of the buildings seemed to be in almost perfect condition. She belatedly remembered that Eleanor had said that from what she'd read in the Gazetteer. Rosa was glad that Eleanor had the guide since even though she had been in Unova for the entire length of the crisis, there had been so much news that Rosa had stopped being able to keep it all straight in her head.

"Do you want to find a cafe or something for lunch?" Eleanor asked once they'd both had a few seconds to take in the sight of the city.

Rosa was about to agree but was interrupted when she saw a man wearing a suit excitedly wave at them as he hustled toward them. "Are you two trainers?" he hurriedly asked when he got a bit closer.

Rosa barely was able to hold back a giggle as Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows and glanced towards Honor before looking back at the man. Somewhat slowly, she answered, "Yes, why?"

"Oh thank goodness. I've been looking for a couple of trainers to help me out."

Both trainers stood straighter at that, and Eleanor quickly asked, "Has there been an attack?" While Eleanor spoke, Rosa glanced around the city again, but still didn't see anything amiss.

The man paused and tilted his head. "What? No. I need two new stars for my next movie. My name is Sydney and I'm one of the directors at Pokestar Studios."

Rosa and Eleanor both deflated at the abrupt lack of urgency. After a moment, Rosa realized what he'd said and her eyes went wide. She excitedly turned to Eleanor and asked, "Can we do it?"

Clearly not sharing Rosa's enthusiasm, Eleanor's reply came much slower. "What's the movie?"

Sydney thought for a second, then snapped his fingers. "I have just the script that would be perfect for the two of you! It's about a princess who is magically transported to a land that's controlled by an evil sorceress!"

Rosa became even more interested based on the small blurb but was quick to put the brakes on her excitement when she saw Eleanor blanch at the plot. Before Rosa could ask Sydney if he had any other scripts that could work, Eleanor closed her eyes and reluctantly said, "We'll do it."

Rosa jumped and hugged Eleanor at the same time that Sydney clapped his hands. "Thank you two so much! Are you available to get started right away?"

Rosa's stomach rumbled, reminding her that they'd had other plans. "Well, we were about to get lunch…"

"Don't worry about that. There's plenty of food at the studio," Sydney assured.

Eleanor took a deep breath and let it out before answering. "We don't have anything else, so we can go now."

"Thank you!" Sydney exclaimed and made a sweeping gesture toward the northern part of the city. "The studio is right this way!"

As the three walked to Pokestar Studios, Sydney started detailing the script in excited tones, explaining that it was actually three short films instead of a full movie. Rosa would be playing a kind princess who was curiously exploring her home castle at the start of the first film. After finding a strange white door, she opens it to find herself in a graveyard confronted by a sorceress, played by Eleanor, named Bellelba. The first film is about their meeting while the second opens with Rosa being trapped in a cage, guarded by one of Bellelba's minions. The third and final film would be the big confrontation between the two of them.

"How does it end?" Rosa eagerly asked once Sydney had finished.

"That's what makes Pokestar Studios so great!" Sydney answered with an excited glint in his eyes. "Once the scene has been set, it's up to the actors to finish out the movie the way they see fit. I might give some suggestions as the director, but ultimately it's your movie and you decide how it ends!"

Sydney finished his explanation as they passed through the Virbank north gate, revealing a large complex directly north of the city proper. Rosa could see a fountain, movie theater, studio, food stands, and several other large buildings with 'Props' written on the outside. She fell behind the others as she looked around, completely amazed. She hadn't thought that any part of Unova was still doing as well as Pokestar Studios appeared to be.

"We've been extraordinarily lucky," Sydney said in a much more somber tone as he stopped and joined Rosa in looking around the area. "I know what's happening outside of these walls, so this might sound awful, but I couldn't be more grateful. Not just for myself, but for everyone that gets to see our films. I hope that our meager work can lift people's spirits enough to get them through this." Rosa smiled at Sydney's sentiment, feeling it was close to what the Smiths had said at their ranch. She was also glad to see that Eleanor seemed marginally less hesitant after hearing his explanation.

Sydney walked with Rosa and Eleanor to one of the buildings before handing them off to an assistant, excusing himself to oversee preparing the sets. The assistant didn't bother to introduce himself as he led them through the building, eventually stopping in a hallway between two doors. "These will be your dressing rooms," he neutrally told them while handing them each a small booklet. "Here's the basic script for the films along with a few ideas for where you could take the scenes. Someone will bring you lunch and your costumes shortly. Is chowder acceptable?"

"Sure," Eleanor distractedly answered while looking at the script as if it would bite her.

Refusing to let either of them bring down her excitement, Rosa happily replied, "That would be great!"

The assistant's mouth twinged to a smile for a half-second before his expression resumed neutrality. "Excellent. I'll let the caterers know right away." He spun on his heel and briskly walked back the way that they had come.

Rosa watched him leave, considering the strange turn that their day had taken. She turned to Eleanor and said, "Thanks for doing this. I think it'll be a ton of fun."

Eleanor gave Rosa a nervous smile. "I think so too. I've just never done anything like this before."

"Me neither!" Rosa said, returning the smile. "See you in a bit!" Eleanor nodded after a second, and then they both entered their respective dressing rooms. The inside of the room reminded Rosa of the room that she'd stayed in at the Floccesy Pokemon Center except that instead of a bed there was a vanity with an extra-large mirror. Rosa decided to sit at the desk instead of the vanity and started flipping through the script, growing increasingly excited as she read more of it.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on Rosa's door, and when she answered it she was greeted by a woman pushing a small cart with two trays on it. Both trays had soup bowls, some crackers, and a small fruit salad. Rosa thanked the caterer when she was handed one of the trays, and as she closed her door again she saw the woman moving down the hall to deliver Eleanor's lunch as well.

Once Rosa had returned to her desk, she eagerly took a bite of the chowder and almost melted at the wonderful flavor. There thankfully hadn't been any actual food shortages throughout the crisis, but with travel between cities being much more difficult, there wasn't much variety in terms of what food was available. Meat, in particular, had become uncommon so it had been a long time since Rosa had eaten Clamperl chowder, and it was even better than she'd remembered.

Rosa was halfway through the bowl when there was another knock on her door and she reluctantly stepped away from her lunch to answer it. The assistant from earlier was waiting on the other side holding a large black bag with a hanger coming off of the top. He unceremoniously handed it to Rosa. "This is your costume. Don't worry if it doesn't fit exactly as adjustments can always be made."

With his duty done, he rushed off back down the hallway, leaving Rosa to call a hasty "Thank you!" to his back. Shrugging, Rosa returned to her room and draped the bag on the chair in front of the mirror. While she was eager to return to her chowder, her curiosity won out and Rosa unzipped the bag to see what her costume looked like.

Inside was a dress that was mostly pink and dark purple with some white and gold accents. It was also the most ridiculously puffy thing that she had ever seen. It was absolutely awful and Rosa couldn't wait to try it on. She didn't want to risk spilling on it, so she scarfed down the rest of her lunch before moving to put it on. She hesitated when it occurred to her that it was a bit weird to change in a place that she was unfamiliar with. She didn't think that Pokestar Studios was sketchy or anything, but still.

She ended up sending out Ivy, and when the Pokemon materialized she asked, "Can you watch the door while I put this on?" Ivy didn't respond right away, instead staring at the dress with wide eyes. Rosa giggled at her reaction, pulling the Snivy's attention back to Rosa, and she nodded as she turned around to stand next to the door. With that taken care of, Rosa began the slow process of getting into the unfamiliar costume. When she was finished, she was surprised to find that it was an excellent fit. Based on Ivy's reaction when Rosa told her she was done, the Pokemon must have thought it looked good as well.

A few minutes later a woman arrived, and there was a flurry of things going on as she did Rosa's hair and makeup. She apparently didn't agree with Rosa's assessment about the costume's fit since she made several adjustments by pinning several things to make it appear just a little bit better. When all things were said and done, Rosa looked into the mirror and was surprised to find the very picture of a princess, complete with a tiara, staring back at her. She profusely thanked the woman, who gave her a warm smile, said that Rosa should head to the set, and then left.

Rosa had stolen a few glances at Ivy during the process and had seen the Pokemon become progressively more bored, so Rosa asked, "How do I look?" Wanting her to see the entire thing, Rosa gave a little spin, which was surprisingly fun while wearing the poofy dress. Ivy's eyes widened at the display, and Rosa smiled when Ivy used her vines to give a rough approximation of a thumbs up. "I think it looks really good too! Let's go then!" Rosa excitedly said as she headed for the door, being sure to grab Silk's Pokeball on the way out.

As soon as she opened the door to the hallway, she heard Eleanor's voice asking, "Are you sure you don't have any Pokemon I could borrow?" Rosa looked toward the voice and couldn't help but softly giggle when she saw Eleanor in her own costume with Honor at her side. Rosa had never seen her mentor wear anything except t-shirts and shorts, which made the long purple and black gown that she was wearing seem incredibly out of place. She also had a long black wig on her head, though the wig's color was almost the exact same as Eleanor's normal color. Finally, Eleanor looked a bit taller so Rosa decided that she had to be wearing heels that were hidden by the gown.

Eleanor didn't turn around at the sound of Rosa's reaction, instead keeping her full attention on the Pokestar Studios employee she was talking to. The man in question gave Eleanor an apologetic smile. "Right now Pokestar Studios is a human-only operation. It was decided to move all of the Pokemon we used to use for movies off-campus so that Plasma and Cipher don't come here, thinking that we're easy targets. That's why Sydney was so excited to find the two of you. But I don't understand what the problem is. I was told that you're a dark specialist so your Pokemon would be perfect for the role."

In the week or so that Rosa had known Eleanor, she had never seen her mentor get angry or even annoyed a single time. However, there was clear frustration in her voice as she replied, "That's why I don't want to use my Pokemon if I'm going to be playing an evil witch. Dark types have a bad enough reputation as it is."

Rosa glanced down at Ivy before walking down the hall toward them. "Why don't we switch teams for the movie? I'd love to work with Eleanor's Pokemon!"

Rosa had to stifle another giggle when Eleanor turned around, revealing the dark and dangerous-looking makeup that she was wearing, which was a sharp contrast to the relieved look she gave Rosa. "That would be perfect. Thank you Rosa." From behind Eleanor, the man opened his mouth as if he was going to argue but then closed it, wisely deciding not to say anything.

"No problem! It'll be fun!" Rosa replied with a smile.

The man coughed. "In that case, I'll lead the way to the set." Rosa and Eleanor started following him, though it was immediately obvious that Eleanor wasn't practiced in moving in her costume, so Rosa made sure to walk slowly. After they returned Ivy and Honor, they exchanged Pokeballs and Rosa started to consider what Pokemon she would use for which film. She eliminated Krokorok from consideration right away, since although being in a movie might be a good experience and help open her heart faster, an emotionless Pokemon wouldn't make for a very good actor. She decided to skip over Devo for a similar reason because she had never seen Eleanor's starter be anything except serious.

Rosa was still considering her options when they arrived at a massive room that contained three different sets spread out across the room. The first two sets were smaller than the third, and they were of a castle hallway and a graveyard with several dead trees. The last set was a large dungeon that Rosa recognized as the scene for both the second and third films. Among the many people flitting across the room putting the final touches on things, she spotted Sydney talking to the assistant from earlier.

The assistant said something to Sydney, and the director immediately turned around with a wide smile when he spotted Rosa and Eleanor. "Ladies, you look amazing! Are you ready to get started?"

"Yep!" Rosa happily exclaimed, and Eleanor echoed her a second later without the same forcefulness.

"Excellent," Sydney said, then focused on Rosa. "We'll be shooting the scenes in order today, so we'll get started with your castle scene first."

"Got it!" Rosa answered and moved to follow the director to the castle set, pausing only to flash Eleanor an excited grin along the way. There were still a few final pieces that needed to be finished before they could start filming, so Rosa had some time to think once she got into position. The script hadn't given her much direction for the first scene, but it was a really simple one, so she wasn't worried about it.

When the preparations had finally finished, Sydney's voice echoed across the room. "Quiet on the set! Rosa, are you ready?" Rosa answered with an excited thumbs up, then moved back into position and forced the smile off of her face. There were another few seconds of silence before Sydney called, "Action!"

Rosa made a show of looking up and down the long hallway before gliding toward the wooden door closest to her. The script had said that narration would be added over the scene later on so she didn't need to worry about saying any lines. When she reached the door, she opened it and peered inside, only to shut it immediately. The inside of the fake room was incredibly sparsely decorated and she had a feeling that it wasn't supposed to actually be shown on camera. When no one told her to stop, Rosa figured that she hadn't messed up and continued onto the next door.

The second door that Rosa came to was another wooden door and this time she made sure to only open it the slightest bit before closing it again. The third door that she came to was painted pure alabaster white and appeared to be made out of metal instead of wood. She feigned surprise, taking a half-step back from the unusual door. After furtively looking up and down the hallway again, Rosa slowly reached for the door's handle and opened it. This time she didn't need to fake her surprise when she found a small room with nothing except for bright green walls on the other side. She wasn't sure what they were going to replace the greenscreen with, but she pressed on and walked into the weird green room.

As her dress finished passing the threshold into the room, Rosa heard Sydney call, "Aaand cut!" Rosa wheeled around and was glad to see that the director and Eleanor were both smiling at her. "Great job! That was a strong enough performance that we won't need to do another shoot. The portal effects just need to be added, but our special effects guys will take care of that." Sydney abruptly turned around and twirled his right pointer finger in the air as he loudly announced, "Everyone to the graveyard for the next scene!"

While everyone else bustled to the next set, Eleanor made her way over toward Rosa, still walking noticeably slower because of her dress. "That was a good start."

"I didn't really do much," Rosa said with a small shrug that made her entire dress shake. "It was still a lot of fun. I can't wait for the next one though since it'll have a lot more going on!"

Eleanor gave her a strained smile. "I hope I don't mess it up. I've never done anything like this before," echoing what she'd said before they'd gotten into their costumes.

"Sure you have!" Rosa replied this time with utmost surety. She'd had plenty of time to think while she'd been getting ready and had an idea regarding Eleanor's nerves. "It'll be just like battling in front of a crowd. Except they're not actually there. And they'll be paying attention to us instead of our Pokemon." Realizing that she was losing control of her metaphor, Rosa switched tracks. "Anyway, let's just have fun!"

Eleanor looked far from reassured, but Sydney called them over from the graveyard set. Her mentor still hesitated so Rosa flashed her another smile and lightly pulled her along. When they reached the set, Eleanor was brought forward to stand in the middle of the fake graveyard while Rosa was told to stand at the edge of the set.

While some of the Pokestar employees fussed over Eleanor's hair and makeup with some final adjustments, Sydney approached Rosa. "You did great with the first scene, but for this one, remember that you just went through a mysterious portal and have no idea where you are."

Rosa nodded enthusiastically, feeling her hair bounce. "Got it!" Sydney nodded to himself and then looked over toward Eleanor. He must have been happy with what he saw since he gestured for everyone else to leave the set. Before the filming could start, Rosa gave Eleanor another encouraging smile and was relieved when Eleanor returned it.

Rosa closed her eyes and took a deep breath to get ready. The moment that 'action' was called, she snapped her eyes open and loudly gasped. "What was that odd portal? What is this place?" She hoped that she hadn't overacted that and pressed on, making a show of looking around the set. When her eyes fell on Eleanor, she jumped slightly, pretending that she hadn't seen her before. "Who are you? Where are we?"

For several long seconds, Eleanor didn't react and Rosa was afraid that she had gotten stage fright. Finally, she moved, raising one arm to reveal a black and red hand fan that Rosa hadn't realized that Eleanor had been hiding in her long sleeves. Eleanor flicked open the fan and moved it in front of her face in order to start laughing haughtily from behind it.

Rosa almost fell into giggles at the over-dramatic laugh but managed to maintain her shocked expression. She repeated one of her previous questions, adding a stammer this time. "W-who are y-you?"

Eleanor stopped laughing and looked down at Rosa imperiously. "I am the queen of the land of enchantment, and you are the little Buneary that has wandered into my trap. I needed a new servant and I'm thinking that you will do just fine."

Rosa gasped at the casual declaration and turned around. "The door is gone!" That hadn't been listed in the script, but given that there really wasn't a door behind her, she figured it was fine. They had been told to improvise anyway and that seemed like a fairly harmless addition.

Luckily Eleanor picked up on it and scoffed. "Well of course it is. I wouldn't let my new pet get away that easily. And Sewaddle will ensure that you do not." Eleanor moved the arm that wasn't holding the fan, tossing a Pokeball that she literally had up her sleeves. Rosa expected Silk to appear on the ground in front of Eleanor, so she was legitimately surprised when she didn't see him after the usual flash of red light. "Wrap her up."

Almost too late, Rosa spotted Silk in one of the fake trees near Eleanor preparing to use String Shot. Rosa made a loud 'eep' noise as she jumped out of the way of the attack, something which wasn't exactly easy while wearing a poofy dress. Thankfully, Silk hesitated slightly before using String Shot so the strands narrowly missed Rosa. Glad that the scene wouldn't be cut short because of her mess up, Rosa rifled through the folds of her dress to find one of the Pokeballs that Eleanor had given her. She hadn't known where she was going to carry them until she had discovered that there were hidden pouches in the dress that were perfect for holding Pokeballs.

She grabbed Patty's Pokeball before Silk could fire another round of String Shots and tossed the ball on the ground in front of her. The script had included a note to call their Pokemon by their species name instead of a nickname to keep this less confusing for the audience, so Rosa called, "Sneasel, use Icy Wind on those trees!" Rosa looked back to the tree Silk had been in to point him out to Patty, but was surprised to see that her Pokemon had vanished.

Another strand of String Shot came from a different tree and Patty immediately turned toward Silk's new location while taking a deep breath. Since Rosa hadn't seen this one coming ahead of time, the second attack hit her, creating strands of webbing that anchored her dress to the ground. While Rosa worked on trying to free herself without ripping the dress, Patty unleashed a large blast of cold air, making the fake trees sway dangerously. While the wind hadn't been as intense as Devo's Whirlwind had been on the day that she'd met Silk, Rosa was still surprised to see that Silk didn't even budge.

Eleanor laughed behind her fan again. "I was hoping that this would at least be entertaining, but it appears I was incorrect. You might as well give up now." Rosa looked up from trying to free her dress to glare at Eleanor, but the 'sorceress' just shrugged. "Very well. Sewaddle, deal with her Pokemon next."

"We'll never give up!" Rosa called across the graveyard defiantly. "Sneasel, climb the tree and get up close!" Silk fired another round of String Shots at Patty, but she easily dodged the attacks on her way to Silk's tree.

"Since the princess fell into one so easily, set a trap for her Pokemon as well," Eleanor ordered, though Silk didn't seem to understand what she meant. After a second of indecision, he fired a much larger String Shot between several of the trees, away from Patty, to seemingly no effect.

Rosa pretended to continue to struggle to free her dress while watching the battle. Patty started to climb the tree that Silk was in, but she was forced to move much slower than usual so she wouldn't break the set-piece. The fact that it was supposed to be a dead tree meant that its mediocre construction actually made things more realistic. Patty was forced to use Icy Wind several times to push away String Shots as she climbed, making her progress even slower.

When she finally reached the branch that Silk was on, he quickly fired off a String Shot at a different tree and pulled himself out of Patty's reach. Patty began jumping from branch to branch after Silk but was forced to halt mid-stride when she reached one of the String Shot traps that had been set up earlier.

"Cut through the strands and keep going!" Rosa called up to Patty. She didn't think it was a particularly great plan, but it was fine if it didn't work. While the script had said that Rosa was supposed to lose the first battle, she was surprised to find that she didn't think that she would have to fake the loss. Eleanor's experience had allowed her to create a situation where it was possible that she would win without having to use a single damaging move.

Patty swung her claws through the mess of strings in front of her, clearing the way toward Silk. There were some small strands that stayed stuck to her claws, but Patty didn't worry about that and leaped to the branch that Silk stood on. Rosa noticed the strands of webbing on the branch too late to call out a warning, and when Patty moved to continue her approach, she fell forward onto her face instead. Wasting no time at all, Silk fired another few rounds of String Shots at Patty, wrapping her entire body to the branch.

"It looks like Sneasel is all webbed up," Eleanor said, lowering her fan so that Rosa could see the smirk on her face. Pausing to put emphasis on every word, she added, "Just like its trainer." On cue, Silk turned toward Rosa and fired several more String Shots toward her. Rosa gave a not entirely fake shriek as the strands began to cover her. Thankfully, she only had to endure a few seconds of that before Sydney called for the end of the scene.

Rosa carefully used her unstuck hand to move several strands out of her face. When her vision was once again unobstructed, she grinned and exclaimed, "That was awesome!" She watched as Eleanor visibly relaxed, but that only lasted for a moment before she started hurrying over to Rosa as quickly as she could without tripping over her gown. Meanwhile, Silk started to crawl over toward Patty to help her out, but he had only moved a few inches before she easily snapped her bindings. When Silk stared at her, Patty shrugged and then smoothly jumped to the ground.

Patty ended up beating her trainer to Rosa's side and began the process of carefully cutting the String Shot strands off of her dress. "Thanks Patty!" Rosa said before turning her attention to Eleanor with a bright smile. "I thought you were nervous at the start there, but you were so amazing!"

Eleanor gave her a light smile and chuckled. "I was definitely nervous the entire time. But when you suggested treating it like a battle, it made me realize that I could use my usual trick. Normally when I'm nervous in a battle, I think about one of the trainers that I've watched on tv and try to act like them."

"It really worked! I'll have to keep that in mind for the future," Rosa said, having a pretty good idea of who she would be emulating if it came to that. A thought occurred to her and she asked, "So who were you acting like for this? I've never heard of anyone who would be like that in a battle."

To Rosa's complete surprise, Eleanor's face flushed at her question. "That was actually the villainess in a cartoon that I watched when I was a kid." Rosa giggled at that and Eleanor joined in after a second.

They had moved on to praising their Pokemon for a job well done when Sydney bustled over to them. "That was an excellent scene and an even better battle! We're ready to move onto the third scene if you are, Rosa."

"Sure!" Rosa exclaimed as Eleanor helped her stand back up. After thanking her mentor, Rosa started making her way to the dungeon set while Eleanor and their Pokemon stayed back with Sydney. When she got to the set, one of the stagehands helped her to get into the large cage that she would be starting the scene inside.

Just out of Rosa's reach was a table with several Pokeballs that were supposedly the ones that had been taken from her after being captured. The script had suggested that she hide the Pokeball of whichever Pokemon that she wanted to use in the scene in her dress as if it had been missed. As they finished setting up the scene, Rosa reminded herself to grab the prop Pokeballs at some point so that she would be able to believably use any of Eleanor's Pokemon in the final scene.

"Alright, positions everyone!" Sydney said as the last of the stagehands scurried off the set. Rosa ungracefully dropped back to the ground and closed her eyes. There were a couple more seconds of quiet before Sydney called, "Action!"

Rosa stayed where she was for a bit longer before she groaned and slowly sat up. She looked around the fake dungeon with wide eyes and attempted to scoot backward, only to stop when her back collided with the bars behind her. A scratchy male voice filled the room. "Oh? You're finally awake?"

"Who's there?" Rosa asked, once again doing her best to sound nervous. When there wasn't an immediate reply, she shakily rose to her feet and absently tried to brush some of the dust off of her dress. The attempt didn't accomplish much, especially because some of Silk's strands of thread had stayed stubbornly attached.

"I am mistress Bellelba's trusted warden, and I'm here to keep an eye on you," the voice finally said. Rosa immediately spotted the large green mechanical doll in the middle of the room that the script had mentioned, but she kept looking around the room as if she was trying to find the speaker. After a few seconds, the voice took on an annoyed tone. "I'm right here!"

Rosa darted her eyes back to the plush creature and exclaimed, "You're a doll?!"

"I am not a doll!" it replied, vibrating angrily.

"Oh, um, sorry. What are you then?"

There were several seconds of pregnant silence before it finally admitted, "Fine. I'm a doll. But I used to be a regular Kirlia," it added quickly.

Rosa dramatically brought a hand to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Did Bellelba turn you into one? What's going to happen to me?!"

The doll did an odd little hop on the ground. "My mistress said she needed a new servant, so nothing will happen as long as you behave."

"That's not going to happen, because I'm going home!"

The former Pokemon vibrated again at Rosa's declaration as it laughed derisively. "How are you going to do that while you're stuck in there?" Rosa didn't respond and instead reached into the folds of her dress to pull out a Pokeball. The doll's laughter ended abruptly and with sudden panic in its voice declared, "But I took all of your Pokemon!"

"You missed one!" Rosa said triumphantly as she tossed Honor's Pokeball through the gap between her cage's bars. "C'mon out Drapion!" When Honor materialized in front of the cage, he turned to look at the doll and clicked his claws at it menacingly. The doll made a loud 'eep' noise in the face of the much larger Pokemon and clumsily started hopping away. Rosa couldn't help but giggle at the sight before remembering what was going on and asked Honor, "Can you help me out of here?"

With utmost care, Honor used his claws to snip at the top and bottom of several of the bars until there was enough room for Rosa to slip out. The moment that she was able to do so, Rosa darted out of the cage and snatched the Pokeballs that had been sitting on the table next to her cage, stuffing them into her dress. Turning back to Honor, she said, "Time to start looking for a way back home!"

The moment the words had left her mouth, Sydney's voice called out, "Cut!" Rosa was surprised by the sudden end to the scene and when she looked over toward the center of the large room, she saw that Eleanor and Sydney were walking toward her. The director coughed awkwardly. "When I wrote the original script, I didn't expect the escape to go that easily."

"Oh! Umm, sorry," Rosa said, belatedly realizing that most trainers that traveled around this part of the region wouldn't have a Pokemon as capable as Honor.

"It's fine," Sydney assured her with an easygoing smile. "We'll just combine this scene with the last one and bring it down to two films instead of three. And speaking of, are you two ready for the big climax?" Rosa nodded eagerly and was glad to see that Eleanor did the same, her previous nerves seemingly gone.

With the final scene also being in the dungeon, there were only a few changes that the stagehands had to make, moving things around to make it look like a new location. While they worked, it occurred to Rosa that it wouldn't make sense for her to switch Pokemon now that they were just extending the scene. She'd planned to use a different Pokemon for each film, but since it didn't look like that would be an option she vowed to apologize to Inno later.

When everything was ready, Rosa started to walk back to the set with Honor, but Sydney stopped her. "When we start the shot, I want you to move around for a bit like you're sneaking and trying to be quiet. At some point, I'll call 'stop' so that we can get Eleanor onto the stage. Normally we would have a Pokemon Teleport her, but since that's not an option we'll just have to add some effects in post. That all sound good?"

"Got it!" Rosa said before moving back into position on the set. She crouched over as if she was trying to be quiet, and when action was called she and Honor slowly started to move down the length of the set. Unfortunately, her posture meant that her dress scraped on the floor, further dirtying the badly disheveled garment. Sydney's call for Rosa to stop came while she was mid-stride, but she was fairly pleased with how she was able to halt in place.

While Rosa and Honor stood frozen in place, Eleanor rushed onto the set in front of them. When she was in place, she took a deep breath before taking a moment to adopt a self-assured and haughty expression. As soon as action was called a few seconds later, Rosa let herself practically trip before yelping and jumping up in surprise, hoping that it was a believable reaction to something she couldn't actually see.

"I thought I heard some Rattatta scurrying around down here," Eleanor said imperiously. "You're trying my patience girl. Give up now or else things will get messy."

Rosa took a moment to regain her composure before answering. "No! I talked to that Kirlia you forced to be your guard. You kidnap Pokemon and make them your slaves!"

A smirk slowly grew on Eleanor's face. "Perhaps the same could be said of all trainers."

"Your words are as empty as these halls! No Pokemon needs a trainer like you!"

"What is a Pokemon?" Eleanor asked rhetorically as she lazily threw Ivy's Pokeball in front of her. "Most of them are too hopelessly useless to be anything except servants. But enough talk, have at you!" Honor stepped in front of Rosa while Ivy waved her vines threateningly, but Rosa hesitated, busy trying to remember what Honor's moves were. Eleanor took advantage of Rosa's uncertainty to order, "Use Growth and then take out that oversized bug's legs."

Eleanor's wording jogged Rosa's memory and she called out, "Drapion, fight back with Pin Missile!" Ivy briefly glowed green and then started to swing her vines at Honor's stubby legs. Even with the extra power from Growth, Ivy was barely able to push Honor before being forced to retract her vines to avoid the lime-green needles that shot out of the gaps in Honor's armor.

"Leaf Tornado," Eleanor calmly ordered. Ivy was hit in the stomach by a few Pin Missiles but Honor's attack was quickly blocked by the mass of leaves that erupted from Ivy's collar. Rosa couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that the move she had spent most of the previous day working with Ivy on was being used against her. Honor didn't seem particularly bothered by the attack, though he soon gave up on using Pin Missile when the leaves completely blocked their view of Eleanor and Ivy.

Even after taking a few seconds to think, Rosa couldn't remember any of Honor's moves that would help when their target wasn't visible. Quickly switching to Inno, she called, "Find them with Swift, Umbreon!" While Inno couldn't ignore the Leaf Tornado as well as Honor, the flurry of Swift stars that she created instantly pinpointed Ivy's location. "Great job! Now get in there with Feint Attack!"

Inno's outline blurred as she followed her previous attack, jumping directly into the mass of swirling leaves and disappearing from sight. Rosa anxiously watched for several seconds until all of the leaves in the air abruptly fell to the ground, revealing Ivy using both of her vines as she struggled to push Inno away from her. Rosa cheered at the sight, excitedly shouting, "You can do it," as Inno started to slowly step closer and closer to Ivy.

On the other hand, Eleanor harrumphed as she stared at Ivy. "I was under the impression that you were stronger than a pampered princess's mutt, but perhaps that isn't the case." Still straining against Ivy's vines, Inno softly whined in protest. Ivy's reaction to the criticism was to narrow her eyes and redouble her efforts, forcing Inno to grind to a halt.

Rosa suddenly noticed that Ivy's vines were starting to glow softly. For a second she thought it was odd that Overgrow was activating since Ivy hadn't taken much damage, but then she realized that the glow was bright white instead of green. Inno started getting pushed further back, but Rosa barely noticed since she was entranced by her starter.

Ivy's body slowly grew longer, making her head raise up further from the ground while also extending her tail. Her collar was the next thing to change as it straightened out while another prong appeared on the top of her head. The only thing that didn't grow was her arms, which shrunk slightly. Finally, the light illuminating the dungeon slowly faded, revealing that her green coloring had lightened very slightly as a Servine.

"She evolved!" Rosa exclaimed in amazement, not even caring as Ivy used a vine to trip Inno and bring her crashing to the ground.

Somehow Eleanor was able to stay in character and only a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "It appears my trust wasn't misplaced. But now Servine, it's time to put this princess in her place."

Inno had returned to her feet and looked more than ready to continue, but Ivy's evolution had brought Rosa out of the excitement of the battle as she realized they needed to end the scene at some point. She didn't want to marr Ivy's evolution with a defeat, but she also didn't want to give the film the tragic ending of the princess losing to the evil sorceress. An idea suddenly occurred to her and Rosa called out, "Wait!"

Eleanor gave her a bored look. "What is it? Are you finally ready to surrender and make this easier for everyone?"

Rosa emphatically shook her head, making her hair fly around messily. "I just," she started to say but decided that wasn't the right approach. Switching tracks, she asked, "How long have you had Servine?"

Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed at the abrupt question. "Several years," she answered after a second and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

Rosa barely held back a grin, relieved that Eleanor had given her the exact answer that she'd been hoping for. She took another second to formulate her next sentence, wanting to make sure that she said phrased it correctly. Her eyes fell on Ivy and Inno while she thought, and saw that the two were still in the middle of their mock battle, but neither were trying particularly hard so as to not take attention away from their trainers. Having finally decided what she wanted to say, Rosa carefully spoke. "Pokemon like Snivy and Sewaddle usually evolve soon after being caught. If it took years for your Servine to evolve then maybe you should rethink how you train them."

"What would you know of such things?" Eleanor snapped but stopped short when she looked down at Inno. She grunted, and when she spoke again, a little of the hostility had bled out of her voice. "What are you suggesting?"

"If you turn the guard back into a Kirlia and let everyone who wants to leave go, I'll stay behind and help you train the Pokemon who decide they want to stay. Then you wouldn't need to kidnap anyone else ever again!" While Rosa wished that she had more time in order to come up with a more compelling argument, she hoped that the desperate offer seemed more realistic than a long speech would have been.

For several long seconds, Eleanor didn't respond to Rosa's flimsy proposal. Finally, she asked with a neutral voice, "And, if I were to accept, what would you get out of this deal?"

"Maybe I could visit home sometime?" Rosa asked with a hopeful voice but frowned even as she finished speaking. Even to her, it didn't seem like that was a strong enough reason. As she struggled to quickly think of something else, everything around them faded away from her attention, leaving only Rosa and her mentor. Looking at Eleanor in that light gave Rosa a sudden idea and she grinned before blurting out, "And you could teach me magic!"

A smile slowly grew on Eleanor's face. "Ah, the real reason finally comes out. I find these terms… acceptable. Servine, leave that poor mutt alone. It appears we have some household affairs that need to be taken care of." Ivy gave Eleanor a meaningful nod before retracting her vines, making Inno trip slightly. Eleanor then returned her attention to Rosa, who had been standing still, unsure of how to react. "What are you standing there for? It would seem that we both have lessons to start."

Rosa's smile grew. "Yes ma'am!"

The words had barely left Rosa's mouth when Sydney's voice echoed in the large room. "Cut! That's a wrap!" Applause filled the room, but Rosa didn't pay any attention to it and dashed forward to hug Ivy the moment she was allowed to break character. She was still wrapped up with her Pokemon, muttering congratulations when the director jogged over to their side. "Ladies, that was wonderful! An evolution in the middle of a scene and an ending that not even I had thought of! I just know that people will be clamoring for a sequel once this hits the screens! I know we just finished, but can I count on there being a second movie in the future?"

Rosa looked up from Ivy at the beaming director, then turned to Eleanor, ready to beg her mentor to agree. To Rosa's surprise, Eleanor looked excited by the idea and smiled back at Sydney. "We would love to do another sometime."

A/N: Well, that chapter definitely got away from me, but hopefully it was enjoyable enough.

Thanks to Star (quarknova on this site) for betaing. Next we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program with Chapter 9: Black Sludge