Mr. Mime and Rhydon

For today's performance, they had dragged a small player piano out to the park with them. It was a working antique, but the day was too nice for it to be ruined and it was too bulky for anyone to steal. It was made of wood and gears, requiring a good winding so that it would play. And it was such a pretty thing, with carvings of balloons and stars on all sides. In a box, there were over a dozen reels, so they had plenty of songs to let it play. And as a definite plus, it was an actual object.

The main reason that was a plus was that the two performers were a pair of Mr. Mime. They had a massive arsenal of items for their show: bananas, boxes, ropes, ladders, tin cans, paint cans, paint brushes, eggs, keys, doors, signs, and so on. However, these items were all imaginary. If they wanted to use them in a show, they would have to conjure them up by miming the items. The item wouldn't stick until someone watched their act and believed it. Then, the item was there for continued use until put away. It would still be invisible, though.

And they would have to remain silent throughout the performance. It was a point of pride for a Mr. Mime to be able to get by without ever speaking. Sometimes, it was difficult; getting the shopping done could be an ordeal if the shopkeeper wasn't used to them. There were some of their kin that held that they could speak if not in a performance. Not this pair. They never spoke if they could help it, not even by telepathy. Of course, they had their own way of speaking silently with each other.

Next to the piano, they placed a cheerfully painted sign (a real visible one) that said, 'Pete and Patty's Street Antics! Please donate so our show can keep running.' Next to it, they put a (real) coffee can for donations in. They loved showing off their skills, but it was hard making a living and keeping a regular act going.

Patty picked out a new music reel, then replaced it while Pete turned the crank to give the gears energy. It was a market day, so the piano was to lure shoppers into pausing to watch, then to drop off a few coins. As she got done before he did, Patty pulled out an imaginary hairbrush and brushed through her springs of curly red hair. An actor, even one of pantomime, had to keep looking good.

Once Pete flipped the switch, the player piano began belting out another tune. He clapped his hands, then waved out to Pokemon to get them to stop and watch. After thinking on what to do, Patty dropped down and picked up a nothing. Shape to be a round sphere… and large. She lifted it up, and then bounced it on the ground to catch again.

Before long, another audience formed, including a Rhydon that was wearing a red silk scarf around his neck. That scarf, with the white diamond pattern on the ends... normally, it was a bad sign. But she was pleased to see it this time, as he must have evolved recently. When Paul had been a Rhyhorn, he had been a terrible audience member because he didn't believe. He'd never been bright enough to have the imagination to figure out their pantomimes, and so his disbelief would extinguish so many invisible items. According to the books, his kind grew smarter upon evolution. So would he believe this time?

She continued bouncing her item until Pete turned to her. Indicating that she had a spherical object that was light, she tossed it to him. He winked and caught it, then tossed it back by holding it in one hand, then bumping it with his fist from the bottom. She watched it in surprise, then hurried back a few steps to push it back with her hands.

"Oh, you're playing volleyball!" one of the young members of the audience called out.

Pete grinned at that and tossed the ball back to Patty. And when she went to hit it, it had weight this time. It was real because it was believed. Jumping up, she indicated to her partner that she wanted to pull a juggling routine. He nodded, caught the ball and held it, then put it down to pick up another 'ball' while she did the same.

"Can you make a beach ball?" a young Piplup asked.

Sure enough; Patty nodded, then made sure to indicate that her new ball was larger than the volleyball, but lighter. A beach ball.

"You two are still at this every day?" Paul the Rhyhorn asked. "I don't get how… ow, hey!" He flinched and rubbed his face.

Patty and Pete grinned at each other. He had felt it; their disbeliever had felt one of their imaginary objects. As several more Pokemon came to see what was happening, the kids laughed. "You got hit by a basketball!" the Charmander said gleefully.

Paul looked puzzled. "Wha-what? That… that did feel like a basketball."

"And she's got a beach ball," the Piplup said, causing the ball in Patty's hands to form.

Pete waved at Paul, indicating where the basketball had ended up. Toss it back, he was motioning for. Toss the ball back. Then he would see.

Hesitating, the Rhydon looked at the spot. "I'm not sure about this. I mean, you guys never had any real objects before."

While the kids protested in their favor, Patty decided that she wanted to try something. A proof that their powers were real (as long as no one disbelieved). She spun the beach ball around in her hands; hopefully the kids at least believed it was sturdy. Then she twirled around to get the attention of the audience. The trick also wouldn't work if others weren't watching it.

They were watching her now, helped by Pete pointing. Patty then set her invisible beach ball on the ground. She pressed down on the top, indicating that it was of a good size. Thankfully, it felt strong, with good air pressure. She placed her hands firmly in place, then the Mr. Mime flipped herself up into a handstand on top of the beach ball. Expertly, she flipped herself again so that she was sitting upright and facing the audience. It might appear that she was levitating with her Psychic powers, but that wasn't right. She was using those powers to make an imaginary object real enough to sit on.

At that, the kids and the newer audience members clapped and cheered. Paul stared at her. She got a sense that he wasn't sure if he should believe this, but he couldn't deny what he was seeing. To enforce his belief, Patty made a bowing gesture. It caused her to come off balance on the ball a bit, so she then widened her eyes and made a frantic motion to get centered. The kids laughed, but it was worth it to get Paul to believe.

"I don't get it," he said, scratching the side of his head. Now that he was going around on two legs instead of four, he could do that. "You never seemed to be doing anything real before."

Pete made a lavish arm spread to call attention to himself, then invited Paul to come over. This would be such fun, Patty thought. Now they could make the Rhydon a part of the show instead of getting things ruined by him.

"Um, I guess," Paul said, then started to walk over. Unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten about the basketball and promptly tripped over it, falling onto his face. The kids laughed and one of them cried out that he would get it.

After going over to help him up, Pete brought Paul into their staging area. He had the Rhydon stand in one spot, then stepped back and held his hands spread out. Oh, he was going to pull the famous wall trick. Remaining balanced on the beach ball, Patty watched as her partner made to push against a wall that wasn't there in between him and Paul. He then leaned forward on the wall, looking to the Rhydon. Then… this was a tricky move while the wall was unformed… Pete shifted his weight so that he supported himself with one hand on the imaginary wall while he rapped on it with his other hand.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked. He moved to touch Pete's hand. However, enough of the audience believed in the wall that it was there to stop him. "Hey, where'd this wall come from?" the Rhydon asked, causing laughter while he hit the imaginary wall with his fist. "What kind of trickery is this?"

"They're always doing tricks like this," the Charmander child replied, then tossed the invisible basketball over to her. Patty caught it, made sure to keep balanced on the beach ball, then started bouncing the basketball against the ground.

The Rhydon hit the wall again; he snorted. "Well it's just an invisible wall. It can't be all that sturdy. I'll knock it down like I do any other!" He stepped back, then lowered his head so that his horn was pointed at the wall.

Patty watched in interest. The strength of a Mr. Mime's wall was tied to how strongly it was believed in and how strong the Mr. Mime was. While they had a still growing audience, was the belief enough to withstand the impact of a Rhydon? They could break down walls of brick easily, if she had heard right.

On the other side of the wall, Pete pushed himself back and stepped away. While his posture seemed nonchalant, even daring Paul to try his luck, Patty could feel that he was mentally bracing himself. A wall made by both of them could take such a hit and remain. Pete was doing his best to believe that a wall made by him alone could also.

The Rhyhorn grunted, then slammed his whole body, horn-first, into the wall. Remarkably, it held, forcing Paul to stumble back instead of burst through. From the look on Paul's face, it had been close. The wall was heavily cracked now. But as they were still acting, he smiled it off, then walked over, gently touching the wall.

"Owwww," Paul groaned, holding onto his horn. "Geez, what's that wall made out of?"

Pure imagination, Patty thought, smiling at her partner. Pete blew her a kiss. They would celebrate tonight at having converted a disbeliever. For now, he turned back and slapped the wall. Then he sneezed as it collapsed, kicking up dust.

…

Emerald entry: A Mr. Mime is a master of pantomime. Its gestures and motions convince watchers that something unseeable actually exists. Once believed, the imaginary object does become real.

Rhydon Platinum entry: Standing on its hind legs freed its forelegs and made it smarter. It is very forgetful, however.

Writing pantomime is strange and a bit tricky. But I do like mimes. The really good ones are incredibly skilled.