Emolga

Bright bulbs cast a harsh glow around her, intensified by the large mirror on the vanity. Sara the Emolga had the left side of her wing membrane over her face while she curled up away from the mirror, but the light managed to pierce through. Around her were the sounds humans walking around briskly, a hair dryer running, busy bits of speech, Pokemon fussing over preparations, and a large fan blowing at high speed trying to keep things cool. She could smell fur shampoo, make-up, talcum powder, the light bulbs, and several types of perfume. It was strange, to be living out her dream but dreaming of being back home.

It seemed so long ago, although it must have barely been a moon phase since it happened. She had once lived in a forest, sleeping in the tops of trees, soaring high over the ground, and playing with her friends. Out there, the natural light of the sun and moon was the main illumination, and the smells were mostly that of leaves, with hints of fruits, flowers, earth, nuts, and humans. Sometimes she flew into the city where humans lived; it was on one of those trips that she discovered the theater. It seemed so glamorous from outside, with happy Pokemon coming out with their Trainers praising them, wearing various accessories that made them much more than ordinary Pokemon. And some of the Pokemon would become so beloved that they had many fans, surrounding them to get a picture, pet them, or say how wonderful they looked. Sara wanted to be a star like that.

And then she got a chance, with hardly any warning. She had been on the ground, seeking out some nuts that had fallen there, when a well dressed man came up and signaled her for a battle. She went with it and faced off against a Cinncino that wore a green silk scarf and a green head bow. Hoping that it was one of the theater regulars, Sara let herself get caught. She knew she would miss her friends in the forest, but the theater was her dream.

The man turned out to be the owner of the theater, and he wasn't capturing her for himself. No, he had gone out seeking Pokemon for a special promotion, from out in the wild like her, and from breeders and adoption agencies. He was offering them up for adoption to Trainers who wanted to participate in the musicals and similar competitions but didn't have the means or the right Pokemon to go out into the wild to search for them. At first, it seemed perfect for her. She'd get to show off her potential as a star and she could get a Trainer who would be interested in continuing to let her act. What could go wrong with that?

An awful lot could, she had discovered. At her first performance, someone thought she would look cute with a big glittering gold cape. And it was cute, until Sara discovered that she couldn't take off from the weight of it. It also dragged behind her, causing a problem when a Golett stepped on it. At the next performance, she'd been given a cowboy hat that was too big for her head and caused her to stumble into other Pokemon when it fell over her eyes. But that clumsiness paled in comparison to the time she had been given an umbrella. Everyone had laughed at her when she had fallen into it and broke it, even though it hurt.

And that wasn't considering the times her fellow Pokemon actors tried to make her look bad in order to better their chances of winning or being adopted. After getting out of that umbrella, she had slipped on a puddle intentionally left by a Jellicent. They had had to take her to the Pokecenter afterward to make sure she was okay.

And whenever anyone came up to the owner and asked to have one of the promotion Pokemon, it was never her being asked for. This was the last performance too, the last night she had a chance to be adopted. If no one wanted her, then she'd be released back into the forest. It would be nice to be back home after this terrible week, but then she probably never get a chance like this again to be a Pokemon star.

"Oh Sara, pretty girl," one of the humans said. The woman sat in a stool by the vanity. "What's the matter? Come on, cheer up. Or at least put on a happy face for the last performance."

She uncovered her face and got onto her feet, but didn't feel much like cheering up. She wasn't sure if she wanted to keep this up, as acting was much harder than she thought it would be. But if she went back to the forest, she'd probably be an ordinary Pokemon for the rest of her life. While she wondered, the woman crushed over her short fur with a small brush.

"Good thing we got you cleaned up earlier," the woman said. "Now let's make you nice and pretty. I think a neck bow would be nice. Let's see." She picked up a strip of yellow cloth and gently tied it around Sara's neck into a bow behind her head.

"Olem," Sara said quietly, clutching the woman's fingers at one point. She was trying her best, wasn't she? She wasn't a klutz in the trees, so it was mostly getting used to the items. Could she have smaller accessories tonight? So she could put her best efforts into it.

The woman smiled, stroking the Emolga's yellow cheeks. It caused a little spark, but not enough to deter her. "Nervous tonight? Don't worry; we've got one of the best actors around leading tonight, so he can handle anything that comes up. And you know what would look darling on you? I've found a little tiara, but the other Pokemon I've been dressing up tonight won't look as sweet on it as you would. Here." She pulled a little gold tiara; sparkling red jewels were set into the front of it. It clipped onto her fur in a hidden way, so hopefully it wouldn't slip off. "That's almost... I know, let's try on some slippers."

that took some time, as the theater had quite a collection of little slippers for use by Pokemon actors. The woman dressing her wanted some red ones, but they had to try several pairs before they settled on a pair light enough that Sara felt comfortable with and the right color that the woman felt satisfied. Then the theater owner called a warning that the show was starting in a few minutes and everyone had to be ready.

As always, that caused the hustle of backstage to increase greatly. Sara tried to keep out of the way while making her way to the waiting area. While she could glide around, the ceiling wasn't that high and some of the taller humans and Pokemon didn't like her flying near their heads. And there were an awful lot of Pokemon actors for this particular performance. There were the Pokemon being given away in the promotion as well as some of the theater regulars. The former were all nerves, tense and apt to start squabbles if pressured, while the latter were smug and confident, teasing the newcomers. By staying on a shelf, Sara managed to keep out of most of it.

Then came the applause of the audience as the theater owner came out onto the stage. "Welcome everyone, to the grand finale of our Search for Friendship Week! We have a magnificent show for you tonight, an impromptu piece starring our wonderful new friends of the stage, as well as our special guest lead, the wonderfully talented and magnificent Theodore Orwell!"

Theodore was an impressive human, with corn blond hair that hung loose down to the middle of his back and very fancy clothes of dark blue and shimmering silver. He walked onto the stage from the other side, taking the microphone from the owner as they passed, nodding to each other. With a wave of his hand, he instructed the musicians to stay playing as he sung the first couple of lines of a song. Then he waved for the Pokemon to join him on stage.

For the first number, the movement on stage was somewhat chaotic. There had been no practice for the Pokemon, never was. Added on top of that, there were over a dozen Pokemon on stage as well. Normally, there were just four or five. Sara spent much of her time using her static to keep herself aloft, above the action. When the spotlight came on her, she would shake some sparks from her cheek pouches and do some simple gliding tricks. Theodore managed the stage action with remarkable grace, keeping up his singing while using hand signals to deflect some overeager Pokemon from wasting their energy on the first song, or to direct uncertain ones into trying to interact with others. Once, he smiled and waved up at her to come down lower, but that attention didn't last long as he had to direct the bubbly warble of an Elgeym trying to sing along.

When the song ended, Theodore then began talking to the Pokemon on stage. "I am a bard, you know, one who travels the land to spread music and joy in the name of the muse Meloetta," he said. "Let me hear how you sing."

Sing? She hadn't sung before, didn't think she had the voice for singing. Sara hardly ever spoke up during the musicals, as the music and calls of the other Pokemon would drown her out. From overhead, she watched as Theodore got several of the Pokemon to sing. Some were great, making melodies as nice as the orchestra instruments; some were awful, being screechy and with no tune. The human seemed to be looking for something, maybe something to help figure out this improv show.

Then the Elgeym, which had been called to sing first but not for long as it liked, got bored and noticed Sara keeping out of reach. It raised a hand and sent a small subtle attack close by her. As the air trembled around her, the Emolga had to struggle to stay in the air. One of her slippers fell off her foot and dropped onto the stage. She squeaked, although not enough to be heard by any but the Elgeym. this couldn't be good; a Trainer who liked the theater wouldn't like a Pokemon that lost her accessories! And it seemed like a sign that this show would be bad like the others.

"Now what do we have here?" Theodore asked, noticing her slipper. He picked it up, making her feel even more embarrassed. Sara thought about going far above the stage where the others couldn't see her. Between the currents and her static, she should be able to manage it. But then the human actor said, "It's a pretty and elegant little shoe, something like a princess would wear. Is there a princess around here?"

for a moment, she still felt afraid and wanted to get out of this. What if she messed up and got laughed at again? But this could be her chance to be a star, if only this once. Sara decided to drift downward, closer to the others.

"Ah, there you are," Theodore said, holding out his free hand. She landed on there; it was tough to grip even though the slipper was flexible, but she managed to find a secure spot. "Let's get this back on then, unless one of you others think you can wear the Cinderella shoe." There were some laughs, but she held up her foot so he could put the red slipper back on. "There you go, pretty as ever. But you seem so sad. Poor little princess. I wonder who you are and what happened to you."

Did she look sad? Her ears were held low and she was more focused on trying to stay on his arm than looking any particular fashion. Out in the audience, a few kids called out her name.

"Sara, is it?"

She nodded, then rubbed at an itch on her nose.

"Let's see if we can't cheer you up then. We're all friends here and we can do that, right?" He glanced around at the other Pokemon on stage.

Whether acting along or authentically feeling kind, the others agreed. The show turned out fairly nice after that. Theodore eventually moved her to his shoulder most of the time, half-directing the other Pokemon and half going along with whatever they were doing. At one point, he tried to get her to sing a song about why she might be sad. She didn't like how that came out, even when the microphone could pick up her small voice. But the audience seemed forgiving, taking it as a part of her 'character act'. When the show came to a close, she made sure to seem happy (because she was happier) and discharge lots of little sparks from her cheeks.

At the end of the show, the Pokemon that were a part of the promotion were kept on stage, while the few others got called back. The theater owner came on stage to pass out the Pokemon that had already been requested, letting their new owners come up to claim the Pokeball and Pokemon. In the middle of this, Theodore interrupted to ask, "Has any one made a claim for Sara here?"

"No, not yet," the owner said. She flicked an ear at this. Maybe someone in the audience would be interested in her now.

Or someone closer. "If that's so, then I'd like to adopt her," Theodore said. "My daughter would love her."

"Of course, that'd be wonderful," the owner said.

Sara chirped an agreement.

Theodore smiled, but then stepped back and lifted her closer. "And I know of a movie that could have a part for you. But it's not supposed to be in public knowledge yet. We'll see."

A movie? She wasn't sure what he meant, but hoped it was something like the theater. Then she could still be a Pokemon star.

…

Emolga White entry: They live on treetops and glide using the inside of a cape-like membrane while discharging electricity.

This is not based off the Pokemon Musical; it's based off what an NPC says about the Pokemon Musical. Originally, it had been all human actors, but then Pokemon got on stage a few times and charmed the audience enough that it became all Pokemon actors instead. Although something like what happens here, with a good improv actor and Pokemon, would be rather more interesting to me.