As it happened, the premiere for Cleavon's films – just one for all three – was in Hollywood.
It wasn't in a particularly prestigious theatre in Hollywood, since Cleavon was more of an art film director than anything, but it meant a trip there for everyone involved in the films.
Which probably would have been a lot more expensive if most of them hadn't had Pokéballs.
"There is enough room in there for everyone to watch, right?" Pikachu asked, as they disembarked. "Some of the actors are quite… big. Ho-Oh especially, but he's not the only one."
"I think it'll work," Ash replied, thinking. "Maybe they'd need to sort of sprawl over a lot of the upper seats in a kind of cuddle pile, but it'll probably work…"
"Ah, there you are!" the director called, waving them over. "You know, I only recognized you by the Pikachu and Riolu. That makeup job was astonishing."
"I don't really get how they did it either," Ash admitted. "Though I think it's something about… it was on their agenda to learn?"
"I'm fairly sure it was about gender, but that could be wrong," Pikachu mused, then shook his head. "Anyway… so a premiere is where we watch the movie before anyone else, right?"
Ash passed that question on, and Cleavon nodded. "Yes! That's right, it's an old tradition, plus it means that you might spot the occasional catastrophic mistake just in time for last minute editing."
He smiled. "I've been saved by that one once myself!"
"Imagine that," Misty said.
As it turned out, the only screen was a bit larger than they'd been expecting, and only a mild bit of squeezing managed to get everyone into positions where they could watch the film.
Pikachu and Riolu did have to share a seat, though – and they weren't the only ones – while Mewtwo just opted to float over Ho-Oh's head right at the back of the screen.
The first movie to come up was the futuristic corporate spy-war one, which had only Pokémon as actors but which did have subtitles, and which began with a cold open where Riolu walked up to the back door of a large office building.
Arbok slithered out of the shadows, and the subtitles appeared as he spoke.
Run along, pup, they read. This isn't a hostel.
I'm not here for charity, Riolu replied. I'm here because there's a debt to pay off.
Ash started sniggering.
"Really, Riolu?" he asked, turning to the seat next to him.
Riolu looked embarrassed. "Honestly I wasn't sure if you were going to get that."
"I don't understand all the spoken language, not without Aura to help," Ash said, lowering his voice. "But those subtitles aren't the words you're actually saying, are they?"
"...no," Riolu confirmed. "It's two movies in one, and the other one's a comedy."
Up on the screen, meanwhile, the Riolu who was in the film raised his paws. "Look," he said, while the subtitles said something else entirely. "I've washed my paws, I even used soap, so can I come in?"
"You think I'm a fool?" Arbok replied. "Those paws aren't the ones you're going to be walking on! Are you going to do a handstand all the way up the building, or am I going to have to ask you to come back with shoes and a shirt?"
He raised himself up, hissing. "I don't think you've got permission to be here at all, in fact. Well? Out with it! What are you actually doing here?"
"Have you ever considered personal injury insurance?" Riolu asked, taking two paces before launching himself forwards to attack. His first blow knocked Arbok backwards, and the Poison-type twisted as he landed before springing back upright.
"I knew it!" Arbok declared. "Well, you'd better scram, or you'll be a Willy Loman and no mistake!"
"A what?" Riolu replied, darting out of the way of a shower of Poison Stings. "I don't know that slang."
"Well, then you won't be Happy about it either," Arbok snorted, slithering forwards, then attacked three times before slamming his tail down. "Biff! Bam! Kerpow! And that's the death of a salesman!"
Riolu dropped down out of the shadow of a nearby road sign. "You do know I'm over here, right?"
"What?" Arbok repeated. "Oh, that's not fair. That sign says Give Way, so why didn't it?"
"So…" Ho-Oh said quietly, leaning over towards Mewtwo. "I'm not sure I follow what's going on."
Do you mean the subtitled plot or the spoken one? Mewtwo asked. Because there's two.
"...both," Ho-Oh decided.
All right, so, the subtitled plot is the serious one, Mewtwo explained. It's set in a sort of vague future where people – that is, Pokémon – have mechanical enhancements hidden in their bodies. Riolu was trying to get revenge on a corporation for what happened to him, but while he was there one of their experimental AI frameworks escaped and uploaded itself to his enhancements. The rest of the movie is Riolu trying to avoid being taken down by the corporation or recruited by their rivals, while aiming to break the grip the other AI framework has on the corporation and stop it from taking over the world.
"I… think I see," Ho-Oh decided, a little dubiously. "And the spoken one?"
Riolu starts out as a salesmon trying to get into the building to give them a business card, and meets a Porygon who wants to get into reporting, Mewtwo explained. Eventually he realizes he forgot to leave the business card, so he's mostly just focused on that while Dexter is mostly focused on getting a really good scoop.
"I don't think I understand movies very well," Ho-Oh admitted.
I'm not really used to thinking in those terms either, but I was convinced, Mewtwo said. Then there's that Jessie convinced me to include my photo in the credits.
Ho-Oh gave him a startled look. "Really?"
Apparently they're going to use it as prima facie evidence that I'm not actually dangerous, Mewtwo explained. Of course, they didn't use the words, it took them about ten minutes to express the same basic concept.
He frowned. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how they're going to finesse it so they're using proof they were clearly involved in establishing in the first place, but after what they've managed I suspect they'll be able to do it…
After that came Pokémon in Love, which was largely the same as it had been last time around. A bit more polished, and involving Psyduck actually knowing what in the world he was doing, which was an improvement – and without any subtitles at all, because Cleavon was interested in telling a story without the use of words. Just letting what was shown on screen, in actions and expressions, do the talking.
Ash wasn't quite sure, but from the way Pikachu kept trying not to break out into giggles he suspected that the Pokémon speech amounted to another comedy film.
Still, it had done well last time, if Ash remembered right, and it'd hopefully do well this time.
"Okay, I'm curious," Arbok said, early in the third and final movie on the docket. "How did they do that one?"
"Do what now?" Meowth replied. "Oh, da whole magic thing?"
"Yes, obviously," Arbok retorted. "That's what was on screen at the time."
"You didn't get involved in dat stuff?" Meowth asked, a little confused. "Oh, I guess you were bein' all of those unexpectedly well-read mooks an' stuff in the future movie. Anyway, it's a mix of camera trickery stuff and sleight of hand stuff, and… stuff," he waved vaguely. "There's a Pokémon actually doin' the attack, they're just out of sight and the camera's angled so the attack seems to come from them, then when a magic spell thingummy hits the target we actually had it hit a Barrier or whatever. Then it just, you know, didn't actually set the actor on fire… there's all kinds'a special effects tricks, you just ain't normally able to discuss them two-way with the Pokémon, so extra cool stuff happened 'cause they could do what might normally be runnin' a bit of a risk."
"I see," Arbok said, nodding. "And that bit where the psychic attack just bounced off the Dark Knight completely?"
"Oh, dat's Ash under the helmet," Meowth shrugged. "An' his hat's under the helmet too I guess?"
Meowth vanished for a bit after the movies, saying something vaguely about how he was lookin' for some kinda closure, only to rejoin the Rockets before their flight back to Kanto empty-pawed and saying that he wasn't sure what had happened to Meowzie.
"It's funny, ya know?" Meowth asked. "I just wanted to see how she was an' let her know that I'd got over that whole… ain't able to use attacks, thing. I wasn't even sure if she'd remember me, but… you know, da heart is a funny thing."
Some distance away, a cat wearing a headband adorned with a stylized heart design sneezed.
"Are you all right?" Janine asked.
The ninja-Meowth shrugged her shoulders. "Probably just hayfever," she said. "I'm still not used to all the flowers in Kanto."
A languid stretch. "Well, it's better than living on the streets, that's for sure."
Janine decided that probably meant everything was okay, since the Normal-type didn't seem concerned.
All right, Mewtwo broadcast. I know that some of you are going to have to go back by air for one reason or another, especially Team Rocket because they came here by their own jet, but anyone who wants a trip home by teleport should come over here. I'm going that way myself and I'm open for passengers.
Ash held up his hand, taking off his hat, and a moment later his vision wavered like he was looking through water.
Then he was back in his room in his house in Pallet Town, sitting on the bed.
"Wow," Ash said, impressed. "Hey, Pikachu, look, he even made my bed! Now that's showing off."
"Actually, that was me," Mimey corrected.
"Oh, right, sorry…"
Back at Pallet Town, the routine of training resumed.
Ash had several Pokémon to work with, by this point – even discounting both Mewtwo and Ho-Oh, neither of whom were likely to turn up at the Indigo League for several very good reasons, he still had over a dozen Pokémon to work with and all of them would have to be in good shape for the League.
Which meant rotating their training around, and keeping them rotating, and making sure anyone who could handle self-study was while focusing on different Pokémon each day for one-on-one work… which was what was going on with Riolu and Ivysaur, one afternoon, as the Fighting-type ducked away from a shower of Razor Leaf attacks before hurling an Aura Sphere back.
"Razor Leaf spray!" Ash called, and the spray of leaves burst the Aura Sphere.
"That's a rare Pokémon you've got there," someone called, and Ash looked up to see who'd spoken.
They were instantly familiar, as they would be to any aspiring Pokémon Master who'd grown up in Kanto. Bruno, the stoic Fighting Master of the Elite Four.
"You mean Riolu, right?" Ash checked. "I know you're a Fighting specialist… I think you are, at least…"
"That's correct," Bruno confirmed. "And yes, I've heard that people are surprised about my team of Pokémon."
He folded his arms. "I believe that you can be a master of Fighting and Rock and Ground types, all at once! They're all about strength, and that's my speciality."
"I guess that makes sense," Ash said, thinking. "I know Cynthia doesn't have a single Type she focuses on, she just has a collection of strong Pokémon…"
"Indeed," Bruno confirmed. "To become a member of the Elite Four, you must have a single specialist type, but it is not required to have a team solely of that type."
He walked down the hillside. "I'm surprised at your reaction to me. You are training for the Pokémon League, yes?"
"That's right," Ash agreed. "But I guess… you're a trainer, and I'm a trainer. So we should be able to talk about Pokémon together, right?"
Bruno chuckled. "Hah! I like that attitude."
"But since you are a member of the Elite Four," Ash added. "I wondered… what kind of advice would you give someone like me?"
That made Bruno pause.
"Hmm," he said. "That's a good question."
He was silent for almost a minute, then held up a hand.
"As a battler, my style is to catch strong Pokémon," he said. "Because, as a trainer, my view is that trainers and Pokémon should care for each other. Strong Pokémon enjoy battling, and any Pokémon can be cared for by a trainer."
"What about Pokémon who are weak to start with?" Ivysaur asked.
"Ivysaur's got a point," Ash said. "What about Pokémon that are weak to begin with, and only get stronger when you care for them? Like my Charizard – he actually got abandoned and left to die by his old trainer…"
"A strong Pokémon is one who wants to become stronger," Bruno answered. "Because they are the ones who put in the effort required to become stronger."
Then he shrugged. "I think? I will be honest, you don't get a special course on being wise…"
After Bruno had left, Ash sat down.
"It's funny, really," he said. "I never really noticed it before, but I really did get more comfortable with talking with people like… Elite Four members. Champions, even. And I barely even noticed it until I met Bruno again."
"We've already changed the world," Riolu pointed out. "Is it surprising that you've changed as well?"
AN:
Another very heavily changed chapter. The Bruno stuff is all new additions, too.
Modifying this chapter was… probably the single main reason I wanted to do this rewrite.