Episode 7: Posing with Zorua-Power!
In the city of Los Angeles, Dylan and company were on the hunt for a Pokémon. Upon arriving in the City of Angels, they encountered a Shiny Pidove of all things The group gave chase, running down Hollywood Boulevard to try and catch it.
"It's mine I saw it first!" Ashton shouted, chucking a Poké Ball at the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon.
"But you won't even use it in battle!" Dylan argued. He tossed his own ball at the Pidove, missing as well. "They're historically know for not being good at fighting."
"Then why do you want it?" Ashton asked.
"Because I think it looks cool!" Dylan shouted.
Kris got between the two and said, "Why don't I just catch it so we can get back on track?"
She pulled out a Quick Ball, giving it a curved toss with great skill. The ball struck the Pidove head-on, making the Pokémon fall to the ground.
"Alright!" Kris cheered. She then paused when the Quick Ball fell to the ground as well, not activating. "Wait, why didn't I capture it?"
The Pidove's form shimmered, breaking like an illusion to reveal a black and red fox Pokémon, Zorua. "WHAT!?" the trio shouted in disbelief. The Zorua snickered, then hopped into a nearby building via a pet door.
"Did we just get tricked by a Zorua?" Dylan asked aloud.
Well, they are known as tricksters by nature, Aurora pointed out.
"I think I'll let Vulcan have a little 'chat' with it," Ashton said, releasing her Quilava and stomping over to the door to go inside.
Dylan and Kris followed their friend to make sure that she didn't do anything rash. Inside of the building was a small appointment office, with a desk off to the side, a couch on the other side, and a door leading to the back. The Zorua was sitting on the desk, where a young man in round glasses was working on a computer.
"There you are!" Ashton shouted at the Zorua. "You're going to regret making us chase you all over the city!"
"What's this all about?" the boy asked. He glanced up from his computer and looked at the Zorua. "Did you play a trick on these people, Zorua?"
The Tricky Fox Pokémon gave a snicker, earning a sigh from its trainer.
"It turned into a shiny Pidove and we followed it here," Kris explained, grabbing Ashton by the shoulder to hold her back.
The boy sighed. "Sorry about that. She's just been restless ever since I started on our next project." He stood up and walked to the front of the desk. "I'm Luke, a film student, and this is my partner, Zorua."
"I'm Dylan, this is my partner Aurora, and my friends here are Ashton and her partner Vulcan, and Kris, our friend," Dylan introduced. "You wouldn't happen to be the same Luke that directed The Legend of the Pokémon Knight, would you?"
"Guilty as charged," Luke said with a smile.
"I remember that one!" Kris realized. "It got top honors at the student film festival here in LA. Your Zorua is an amazing actor, by the way."
"I preferred the one where the Golurk fought the Mecha-Tyranitar," Ashton said. She glared at the Zorua. "Still, you should make sure your Pokémon doesn't go around imitating Shiny Pokémon or else other people will get the wrong idea."
"Huh, she can only copy Pokémon and people she's seen before. I don't even know where you saw a Shiny Pidove," Luke said, patting Zorua on the head. "Anyway, glad to meet fans of my work! I'm working as an intern at one of the big studios at the moment while I do my studies. This building is a small film location for us students to use."
"Any big projects that you're working on?" Dylan asked.
Luke nodded. "There's a contest at my school for making a music video. The students were each given a song and then tasked to make a video for it. Unfortunately, we've run into a bit of a problem: while Zorua can imitate humans just fine, it's exhausting to have her play essentially every part for the song we were given."
"Which song did you get?" Kris wondered.
"It's called "Pose,"" Luke said. "The song is based around the Z-Move phenomenon in Hawaii."
"Aren't those just silly dance moves that make attacks super strong?" Ashton asked.
"They're not 'silly dance moves,' they're a bond between Pokémon and Trainer to bring a move to its full potential," Kris corrected. "I've always wanted to use one myself, actually."
Luke snapped his fingers. "That's it! Maybe instead of having Zorua do all the parts, I can get some more Pokémon to help out! Do you think that maybe you guys could help me out? I'm more a director than an actor."
"Sure, why not?" Dylan said.
"I'd love to help out," Kris added.
Ashton shook her head. "No way you're getting me to do those dance moves."
"Come on, Ashton," Dylan pleaded.
The blonde looked away from her friend, looking down as Vulcan nudged her leg, then sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll help. But only because you asked me to. I'm not going to enjoy this…"
"Great!" Luke clapped his hands. "If you follow me, I'll take you guys to the stage where we'll be filming."
[***]
The main part of the student film studio was that of a typical movie set, with lights, cameras, and stagehands all on deck to help with filming. The main "stage" as it were consisted of a large green screen for actors to perform in front of. Luke explained to the trio that they would be using their own Pokémon to perform alongside, with Zorua using Illusion to fill in for any types they couldn't cover.
"Now then, we don't need your Pokémon to perform any moves and accidentally damage the equipment," Luke explained. "Just do the Z-Move pose and we'll add in the effects in post."
"Technology is wonder, isn't it?" Kris sighed.
"Whatever. Let's just get going," Ashton muttered.
"So, what Pokémon do you guys have?" Luke asked.
Dylan, Kris, and Ashton all let out their Pokémon. "We've got a Lucario, Noibat, Quilava, Clefairy, Skarmory, Croconaw, and Eevee."
"Woah, a Shiny Eevee!" one of the cameramen said upon seeing Sera.
"Yep. She's a special gift I got from a Gym Leader," Kris said.
"That covers Fighting, Flying, Fire, Fairy, Steel, Water, and Normal," Luke said. "We don't want to double up on types, and I can offer Zorua for Dark, Golett for Ground, and Larvesta for Bug. Zorua will transform so we can have a Poison, Rock, Ghost, Electric, Psychic, Ice, and Dragon type."
"You guys won't have to do the main dance, just the Z-Moves," a stagehand said. "Zorua is more than happy to be the main focus of the rest of the video."
The Zorua in question then went over to a nearby soundboard, pressing a button to start the music.
"Alright guys, just follow the song to match each move," Luke said.
(Song: "Pose- Pokémon Sun and Moon Ending Theme 1")
(English Lyrics/ Cover by hyperjacob96)
Burning everything with flames, like an Inferno Overdrive!
Ashton and Vulcan took to the stage. She moved her arms in a waving motion upwards, then brought down her right arm with palm facing forward her left arm holding her right. "At least this one kind of looks cool," she admitted.
"Lava!" Vulcan cried, imitating its trainer's pose the best he could.
Shocking everything like a Gigavolt Havoc, leaving everyone paralyzed!
Dylan watched as Zorua transformed into a Luxio and joined him on stage. "Electric it is," he said. Dylan brought his arms to the side before swinging them around, creating a makeshift lightning bolt. 'Luxio' gave a growl, imitating firing off a lightning bolt.
Scary like a Never-Ending Nightmare! Hear these spooky ghostly laughs!
Zorua then transformed into a Haunter, with Ashton doing the pose. She crouched down and brought her hands close to her face, slowly weaving her way up before thrusting her hands apart in a spooky pose. "These one feels kinda silly," Ashton said.
'Haunter' responded by letting out a scream, spooking Ashton and making her fall over. She grumbled to herself as Zorua returned to normal, snickering the whole time.
Fighting for the top! Like an All-Out Pummeling, leave your opponent's smashed!
Let's do this together, Aurora said.
Dylan and Aurora brought their arms to their sides in a karate stance before punching forward rapidly, ending in a big punch. Aurora even put off a bit of aura at the end for extra emphasis.
Cold like a Subzero Slammer, making you shiver and shake al day!
Dylan also did the Ice Z-Move, with Zorua becoming a Glaceon for the film. Sera perked up at the sight of an Eevee-lution. Dylan brought up his hands in a cross in front of his face, advancing the gesture upwards three times before throwing his arms outwards and bringing them back together in front of himself. 'Glaceon' acted like it was blowing frost from its mouth.
Poisonous like an Acid Downpour, making your body corrode away!
"Time to do our best, Zorua," Kris said as the Tricky Fox Pokémon transformed into a Croagunk. The two did the pose, bringing up one hand over the other and waggling their fingers before getting low and moving their arms outward.
Making you lose all your focus, like a Shattered Psyche broke your mind!
Ashton watched Zorua become a Gardevoir before going into the pose. "No funny business this time," she warned. The two brought their pointer fingers to their heads like they were thinking before thrusting an open palm forward as if casting psychic powers.
Keeping things simple with a Breakneck Blitz! Nothing can keep you confined!
"I want to do the next few!" Kris said. Sera cheered as it got to perform, running around her trainer as she performed. Kris brought her arms to the side before moving her left arm upwards, then bringing both arms in to form a literal 'Z-Pose' in front of her body.
"I bet this was the first Z-Move invented," Kris speculated.
Leaving you soaked like Hydro Vortex! Feel the splashing of these waves!
Kris brought out Alpha for the Water Z-Move, the Big Jaw Pokémon happy to assist her partner. The two imitated moving water, waving their arms like that of a Hula dancer.
"The Water Z-Move was probably also invented early on," Dylan said.
Growing like the flower of a Bloom Doom! Feel the light of the sun's shining rays!
Kris and Zorua, now Bellossom, did the Grass Z-Move next. They crouched down and brought their hands together, standing up and throwing their arms out like a tree growing from the ground.
Shaking and breaking the earth below! Feel the Tectonic Rage!
"Alright Golett, do your best!" Luke gave a thumbs up to his partner.
Kris nodded to the Automaton Pokémon as they began, both of them doing a spin before placing one hand on the ground and throwing the other in the air.
Flying up high like a Supersonic Skystrike! Making the sky your stage!
"Noibat!" Vex cried as he got his turn to shine.
Dylan flapped his arms like a bird, crouching low before jumping up with a fist in the air like a superhero. "This one is pretty fun to do," he stated "It's kind of like being a superhero." Vex agreed, flapping his wings like he was performing a Gust attack.
Icky and gross like a Savage Spin-Out! Hear the buzzing of these bugs!
Kris looked at Larvesta as it crawled over. She brought her arms up like a mantis before making an upwards chopping motion. "I'll be honest, I don't really get this one," she said. "I get the mantis motion, but why the upward strike?"
"Maybe it's supposed to be like a Syther?" Ashton suggested, shrugging.
"But you'd think a Syther would swipe downwards, not upwards," Luke said, thinking about it.
Rugged and rough! Hear me rumbling down, like a Continental Crush!
Dylan and 'Larvitar' did the Rock Z-Move next. They did a muscle flexing pose before crouching down into a strongman pose.
"I think you need more muscle to make this one work," Ashton joked, with Kris laughing a bit.
Everywhere you look there's darkness! There's no escaping this Blackhole Eclipse!
Ashton eyed Zorua as they did the next pose. She leaned over before pulling herself back up and throwing both arms above her head like claws. "This one is basically just the Ghost move!" she noted.
"Yeah, they are kind of similar, aren't they?" Luke said.
Drilling through things like a Corkscrew Crash! Better watch out for when it hits!
"Skarmory!" Azrael cried as he flapped his wings.
"Make sure you don't scatter Spikes everywhere," Ashton commanded. She pounded her fists together before thrusting them forward, like a person wearing heavy gloves.
Hear the roar of this Devastating Drake! Destroying everything in sight!
Dylan stood with Zorua, turned into a Dragonite, as they did the next pose. They brought their hands together in front of them before opening them up like a dragon's maw.
"I wanted to do this one," Ashton sighed.
Cute, but formidable, like a Twinkle Tackle! Feel the power of the Fairy's light!
"No way, I'm not doing this one," Ashton said, shaking her head. "You can't make me."
"But it's for Luke's video," Kris said.
"We just met the guy," Ashton argued.
"You're the only one with a Fairy type at the moment," Dylan said. "Just do once and we'll never ask you to do it again."
Ashton gave a big sigh. "Fine, but you owe me for this." She and Halley made a heart with their hands in front of them before bringing their arms up and making a fairy pose.
"Bring your foot up," Luke directed.
Ashton gritted her teeth in a 'You guys owe me' grin as she completed the pose, Zorua snickering at how out-of-character the pose was for Ashton.
"I'll make that fox into a scarf," Ashton said through clenched teeth.
"And that's a wrap!" Luke called, turning off the music. "Thanks for the help guys. Is there anything that I can help you with for all you've done for me?"
"If you could tell us where the local gym is, that would be nice," Ashton said.
Luke scratched his head. "Funny thing is, the gyms here in LA are on a reservation system, so it could be weeks or even months to get into one for a battle. There is a cruise with notable trainers, but tickets for those can be expensive…"
"Oh money isn't a problem for us," Kris said. "Ashton won it big when we were in Vegas."
"She also got banned from a casino because of it," Dylan sweat-dropped.
"Halley is just that good. They couldn't handle by luck," Ashton said proudly, her Clefairy waggling her finger in happiness.
[***]
After saying goodbye to Luke and his film crew and wishing him luck on the contest, the trio headed down to where the cruise ship was. The S.S. Volcanion was said to have been owned by a wealthy businessman from France before it was sold off to become a luxury cruise ship. Ashton was able to buy the trio tickets to get on the ship, which was set to sail to Hawaii where they hoped to find another gym to take part in.
"This cruise should take about fourteen days to get there," Kris said, reading about it on her Pokégear.
"I also only got us one-way tickets, so we'll have to pick another mode of transportation to leave," Ashton said. When the two gave her a look, she held up her hands in defense. "Hey, just because I have a lot of money right now, doesn't mean I'm going to spend it all in one place! I at least got us all a nice set of rooms to sleep in."
"There's going to be quite a few high-profile people here," Kris said. "There's bound to be one of them certified to give out a gym badge or two."
"We can also take this time to train or Pokémon for tougher battles," Dylan said. He looked over at Sera, the Eevee perched on Kris' shoulder. "I bet we can even find some Move Tutors to teach our Pokémon, or even some evolution stones for Eevee."
Sera hopped onto the ground, then started glowing as it suddenly changed shape. The three humans stared in shock as the Eevee became a Sylveon.
"It evolved!?" Dylan and Ashton said in surprise.
"Oh, I didn't tell you guys," Kris said, picking up Sera. "Sera here is descended from Red's Espeon, which was famous for being able to switch between different evolutions when it was an Eevee. Sera has the ability as well!" The Sylveon gave a cry as it glowed again, turning back into an Eevee.
Ashton stared dumbly, then her eye started to twitch. "You mean to tell me that we had another Fairy type we could have used, but you made me do the dumb Fairy pose and humiliate myself on camera anyway?"
Dylan and Kris both backed up as Ashton's anger radiated off of her. "Uh… maybe…?" Kris said slowly.
Ashton had fire in her eyes as she let out Vulcan. "I'm going to Blast Burn you, Kris!" she shouted, chasing the blue-haired girl up onto the cruise ship.
"It really wasn't that bad!" Kris shouted back, running for her life. "Alpha, get out here and protect me!"
Dylan watched as the two girls ran off, then sighed as she looked at the luggage they left behind. "I guess I'll just carry all this on myself…" he said.
As the trio boarded the S.S. Volcanion for their cruise to Hawaii, a peculiar-looking Pidove flapped onto the boat, its feathers giving off a sparkle as it went inside.
Author's Note
Credit to the English lyrics for "Pose" goes to hyperjacob96 on Youtube. It's a really great cover of the Sun/Moon anime JP closing song!
This chapter focused on Luke, a character from the Black/White era of the anime where he served as a way to showcase the Pokéstar Studios aspect of those games. While he is from the anime, I will say that Ash Ketchum will NOT be appearing in this story. I don't have anything against Ash, but since he's the anime equivalent to Red from the games, I'll be using Red over him for this story. Just imagine that if any anime characters appear in this story, that their plots from the show played out about the same, minus Ash being there.
Sera being able to change into the different Eevee-lutions is from the Pokémon Adventures manga, where Red had an Eevee that could do the same thing. Since Sera is descended from the Eevee, she inherited that ability from her parent.
Also, you've gotta wonder what that oddly-colored Pidove is up too. I guess you'll find out soon as our heroes head out on the high seas!