*Modeling agency

*4th floor; Makeup

~ Sylveon

I was silent on the way back down. Why does every girl I meet keep touching me?

My face does not have a sign that reads,'Free touches specifically on the face or chest for free hugs.' Only Eevee is allowed to do that.

Hopefully things are somewhat better in makeup, even though I've never worn any in my life.

The elevator doors opened to complete chaos. Pokemon we're all scrambling around trying to apply makeup on a Tropius.

A Gloomy for a Swanna. An Espeon for an Umbreon. And a Skitty for a Wailord.

I felt sorry for everyone.

"Hey! Ribbons!"

I turned to see a Togetic waving me over. I walked past all the makeup artists carefully trying to get past and to not get in the way. Once I reached her she tightly grabbed my face, enthusiastically examining every inch of it.

"Eek! Are you the Sylveon I'm going to be working with? If I knew you were going to be this handsome I would have introduced myself sooner! Oh I'm sorry that's rude. Hi my name's Nia and I'm going to be both your makeup artist and fashion designer. Nice to meet you."

"Uh nice to meet you too, Nia."

"Sorry about me touching your face like that. I got excited because as a makeup artist I get to work on a new facial structure and apply makeup on it. Your face is like a new canvas to me. But I promise I'll keep the face touching to a minimum."

"Alright...I guess."

"Go ahead and take a seat and I'll get your clothes and makeup ready- Oh wait wait! On second thought, wait here so I can get your clothes and give them to you to change into before putting on the makeup."

She left to a long row of outfits to find one for me to wear. I simply shook my head in amusement.

First impression of her is that she is peppy, incredibly straightforward and nervous. She came back about a minute later and handed me a suit which I quickly changed into.

Nice fit. A little tight in the shoulders but doable. It was an all black dinner suit.

I stepped back out and Nia shrieked in delight upon seeing me.

"Perfection Sylveon! Now let's get you in your makeup and looking good!"

I sat down in the chair nervously as she expertly applied makeup on my face.

"First time wearing makeup?"

"Yes. I don't know how to feel about this. I only put on cologne in the morning."

"I see. That's normal. Makeup is usually seen as a girl only thing. But if females get to look fabulous why not males too?"

"I suppose so."

"Okay now hold still. I'm going to apply some faint eyeshadow on your eyelids."

I did as she said and nearly laughed because it tickled.

"There we go."

I managed to keep it together. I felt so tempted to laugh.

"So whose the lucky girl?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean well I figured since your wearing cologne and you have a big smile on your face must mean you have a girlfriend."

"Yes I do. Her name's Eevee."

"Done. Is it alright if I see a picture of her before the shoot?"

"Sure."

I took out my cellphone and pulled out a picture of the two of us at the park.

"Aww she's so pretty. You two look perfect together."

"Thank you."

"How long have you two been together?"

"10 months now."

"I hope you two can last. Now Sylveon are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The 'photo shoot' was in the next room next to makeup, which turns out it was actually a private fashion show. Best design and performance would be advertised. During an in-the-dark fashion show. Luckily there was no audience just judges.

We went in order with Swanna going first, Umbreon following, me, Tropius, and then Wailord last.

The theme was color and vibrancy, and honestly we all looked good.

Swanna was wearing a pastel pink dress, and used Flash to make herself glow. Umbreon went next wearing a galaxy suit and used Night Slash to match the theme of space.

I felt a little overshadowed from their experience and underdressed in my black suit. But Nia said it had a surprise so I had no idea what was in store for me.

That along with vague instructions to keep my head forward and done a serious expression. And to make sure my ribbons flowed behind me.

"Sylveon you're up!"

I took a deep breath before walking onto the boardwalk trying to look serious.

That's when the lights went out and my suit glowed on and off in different colors.

The judges stared in awe so it must have been working. One attack was allowed to beautify yourself so I used Fairy Dust.

My ribbons flowed behind me like the wind and I shined bright like an ethereal being.

I looked at the models before me to see their response, and Swanna was clapping clearly impressed and Umbreon just had his arms crossed.

I sat down with them to watch the next two models. Tropius barely stepped out when she suddenly tripped and half her dress ripped.

We all sat there in stunned silence as she stood up looking very embarrassed. She flushed red and ran off the boardwalk in tears.

"Is she okay? What do you think happenned?"

I asked Swanna.

"Hard to say. Probably an error in the design. Models are supposed to be able to walk without any trouble. If she doesn't continue she may be removed from the program."

The Umbreon said nothing and sat there with his arms still crossed. Tropius did not return and the show continued without her.

Wailord wore a boat costume and he made his performance hilarious. He used Bubble Beam and controlled it really well.

After the show was over the judges came up to us and showered us with compliments.

"Celine! Muah! Beautiful as always! You were an angel today! Drake! Strong performance as always! You're powerful and valorant! Sylveon! You were a literal ray of sunshine! Such elegance! And Wailord! You demonstrated both humor and tenacity! Excellently done!"

We took more photos, posing many times and keeping up the serious facade. When we finished we were sent back to the makeup room.

I found out Swanna's name was Celine and Umbreon was Drake. And Wailord was sometimes called Beam.

During our lunch break I saw Tropius from earlier getting yelled at. They left her with a firm warning because judging from the look on her face it wasn't very good.

I felt sorry for her so I gave her my lunch to try and cheer her up. She managed a weak smile and honestly it was really depressing to watch her.

She muttered a quiet thank you and left.

"That was sweet of you Sylveon. Tropius always struggled with modeling and after what happenned today it's probably harder on her. I'm sure you can sympathize with her."

"Well after watching her, it's just so sad. And I want to-"

"You're wasting your time kid. She's a lost cause."

We turned to see Drake had finally spoke.

"A lost cause because she had an accident? Or are you saying that because you dislike her?"

"You don't become a model caring about everyone else. You have to do the best you can do. If everyone in the world cared about others instead of themselves they aren't getting anywhere in life. If you can't make it alone why bother to try so hard?"

"Everyone has potential. No one should be left alone because of something they're lacking. They need support and skills to make it to the top on their own terms. Not left aside because no one gives a shit about them."

"You obviously have a lot to learn. But don't worry kid. You will."

Drake said before walking away his words burning into my mind like fire.

"He didn't used to be like this. Drake was once like Tropius at some point. He had to work hard to get where he is now. He used to help others get to the top but this industry is tough to make it in when you worry about others. He lost a lot of his passion in the process and focuses more on the job. He's only harsh because they remind him of himself. We all have a story. I wouldn't take his words too harshly. He's a lot nicer than he appears."

"If that's true he shouldn't say things about Pokémon like that. We should all stick together if we all want to help each other improve. It's not a competition it's a choice."

"I guess that's fair. Anyways onto more happier subjects, why don't we get to know each other better? That way we can 'stick together'. So to speak."

I laughed gingerly and wasn't at all opposed to the idea.

"Haha, sure why not?"

After chatting with Celine for about half an hour I found out a lot of things about everyone working here.

Celine was Lv 28 and Drake was Lv 29. Wailord was the oldest at Lv 45 and Tropius was Lv 35. Celine has been working here for the past five years along with Drake. How long Wailord has been she had no idea. And Tropius was a new edition since last year to support her family at home.

Drake was also dating his designer Espeon, and from Celine's tone she was being supportive but clearly fancied him.

And then she told me something about our boss I never expected.

Voire was Lv 35 and 15 years ago, before she was in charge of the company, she had dated one of the staff members.

He had broken her heart by cheating on her because she wasn't pretty enough. And she hasn't dated anyone since then and works hard on the company every day.

It's like Celine said. We all have a story.

After our chat and a long day of shooting pictures my first day was finally over. Nia's work was the best one and one of my pictures would be featured on the front page of a magazine.

I felt a little embarrassed about it and I wasn't sure if I was ready to one day see my face on a magazine.

But I knew Eevee would be stoked.

I sent her a selfie of me wearing the suit, and I got a lot of happy responses from her. I laughed at all the emoji messages from her on my phone.

"Who are you talking to?"

I turned to see Celine giving me a smug look.

"My girlfriend Eevee."

"Aww you have a girlfriend? Aww! How long have you guys been together?"

"10 months now. She- She's amazing."

I showed her the picture on my phone from the park and she smiled approvingly.

"She's beautiful. She's the one you saved during the 10 Days of Fire right? That Eevee?"

"Yeah..."

I guess it's no surprise pokemon know. What we did was on a nation wide livestream.

"I hope you know you two are heroes. Don't ever forget that."

"Thank you. We just don't like talking about that event. We barely escaped with our lives and is scarred us both. We both appreciate everyone worshipping us for what we did but we both want to forget it happened. But I guess that won't happen anytime soon. It's been rough for both of us to get used to. It's rough when your remembered for something you both just want to be forgotten."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. I have to go my girlfriend's waiting for me outside."

"If it's not a problem can I say hi to her?"

"Of course. She'd love to meet you."

Celine couldn't stop giggling at meeting my girlfriend and I chuckled as I looked at Eevee's perplexed expression. They got along pretty well and chatted for a bit. Celine waved us both goodbye and I walked out with Eevee.

"Celine is so beautiful. You're so lucky to be working with models like her. And soon your picture is going to be featured on a magazine. I'm so proud of you. I know that can't to have been easy Silver."

"It wasn't. And I'm not sure I'm even ready. But I am excited for what the future holds."

"I'll save the first picture of you I find on my wall. I promise."

"Now I'm even more embarrassed."

"Why?"

"Because it's you. Wanting to save my pictures."

"Well you should be happy I want to save them Silver. So how dare you."

"I'm kidding. I'm just a little shy that my girlfriend wants to save pictures of me like I'm her idol."

"Well I want to support you. And honestly because I'm sure you look hot in the pictures."

She flushed pink and I chuckled before kissing her cheek.

"Ah you know I love you Eevee."

"I love you too Sylveon."

She said as she held my paw and giggled into my arm.

"Want to go see a movie?"

"Sure let's go."