For those partaking in the performing arts, Angel City's Poussin Hall is their Barberini Stadium. It bears the surname of one of history's most renowned Kalosian-born painters, Neville Poussin. The galluptious, circular building is a late-eighteenth-century marvel that takes up two city blocks. Large, twisted columns line the entire length of the exterior, and each one has equal distance in-between. Each column has a double drum atop a flat surface. Underneath each surface is a spiral scroll, or a volute. Atop lies a towering sculpture of Napoleon Beauvilliers and his Talonflame. It penetrates the sky with its imposing presence. The shimmering sunlight reflects off of the aged, gleaming bronze used in depicting this legendary Kalosian champion and his signature Pokémon.
Several sedans, station wagons, and supercars line the sides of Yellow Street, 17th Avenue, and Rembrandt Avenue. Amidst the throng of pedestrians, numerous people have stopped to take photos of the hall and its surroundings. Wild Pokémon, such as Oddish and Starly, frolic about in the hall's pair of lush gardens, the plants ranging from berry trees to thick bushes. The gardens lie on both ends of the concrete plaza out front. The large plaza's filled to the brim with people and Pokémon, and the BW Agency's set up information booths for a meet-and-greet.
A large group of trainers have gathered around the booth on pro circuit sponsorship, but interest in sponsoring for the entertainment industry and the art world isn't far behind. Another booth's got the Ludicolo and Tsareena performers from the most recent contest at Ferguson Competition Hall, a Rillaboom and a Scrafty having joined them. They're among the selection of Pokémon actors and actresses that BW Agency's got on hand.
The biggest booth of them all is where one can find the agency's founder and owner. Her business cards are being gobbled up like free candy.
"Heeeeey!" Hilda's infectious, ear-to-ear grin greets the growing crowd. "There's something for everybody in Hilda's Free Smile Palooza!"
She twirls a pen in-between two fingers, gesturing for her fans to come collect their autographs. Rosa, Melanie, and Ragnar are within her line of sight, and they're also interacting with their fans. Sign and sign, sign till their arms gets tired! Take photos until the sun sets! Hehe, she's so silly!
One of her fans is leaping for joy with his Combusken, the teen having pulled super rare Leon, Winona, and Wallace cards out of just three packs. His older sister is with a group of women around Hilda's age. They're elated over posters of Valen and Jacques being signed by the classy cousin duo! They've got to take photos with them too! Cards and posters are among of the many items that the vendors are carrying, which also include coloring books, art prints, books, attire featuring people like Steven and Lisia.
Hehe, those two ladies are having a friendly Steven versus Wallace debate! One's got a Metang and the other's got a Sealeo! A Lance fan with a Dragonair wants in on it, who'll come out on top?!
"Oh yeah, time to snap selfies for the 'gram!" She thrusts her hand into her red bag. "Cell phone, Expert Trainer Hilda chooses you!"
Her left hand's being held sideways above her eyes. She sticks out her index and ring fingers and turns her back towards the camera. A series of bright flashes illuminate where she's standing. Her last series of pictures got seven thousand likes, but this one will get eight thousand likes!
Her stardom on social media's a direct result of what led to today's fun and festivities. She couldn't have known that a musical idea would be her big break. Fast-forward to now, and it's such a big hit in Unova and abroad! Just look at the length of that line, it's so long that she'd fall into a "that's what she said" joke!
There are antecedents to her idea of a Pokémon Musical—Pokémon and the performing arts have been besties since classical antiquity. Embarking on a journey to learn more about the performances of Bartholomäus Johannes Mozart, Joachim Siegfried Bach, and Alfonso Vivaldi. These legendary composters awakened a force lurking within her. Theatre, contests, and Caravaggio's paintings also influenced what she concocted in the lab of smiles called her mind.
She can still envision her teenage self scribbling the idea down on a crinkled up piece of paper. There she was, a girl in her early teen relaxing in a plush chair at city hall. Her mind was a race car while her mother and grandpa were chatting with the mayor. Two to four performances, to to four groups of five Pokémon, different songs or instrumentals for each group.
By sudden chance, or by intended fate, her mother and the mayor caught a glimpse of it. The dominos of doubt began to topple one by one after that. She picked hip-hop as the main style. It still is but she later added ballroom, salsa, disco, and funk.
With help from her parents, grandparents, and Elesa, the BW Agency was born. The best Pokémon actors and performers was her original goal, but she quickly expanded it to people and added other fields. It more than paid off—many of her bestest besties came into her life thanks to the agency. One of them turned out to be her soulmate. Hehe, here he comes.
"I won't deny it, I'm a straight rider." He leans in to kiss her lips. "Your boy Valen's here."
Hilda interlocks her left fingers in-between his right fingers. She strokes his cheek with her other hand, her eyes locked onto him. That Team Skull jacket shouldn't fool anyone—he's a giant Lillipup underneath. His smile oozes what a sweetheart he is. Hehe, she was blushing like crazy when she first caught him cooking his favorite meal! He was also a driving force in the agency's growth, the coach who led the players into lifting her up and encouraging her. It kept her trekking down the trail, and it later led to her great successes as a trainer.
"You're my hero, Val-Val," Hilda whispers in a mellisonant tone. "As long as you're by my side, there's no dream's out of reach for me."
"Heh, implying anything was ever out of reach for you," he quips with a lopsided smile. "Your skills are on par with how lively and beautiful you are."
"The giant flirt in my mom's acting course turned out to be the one for me." Her right fingertips are in front of her lower lip. "Who'd have thought?"
"It happens." Valen shrugs, his smile now placid but amused. "You never know who your soulmate's gonna be." He wraps an arm around Hilda's midsection. "We can fall in love in mysterious waaaays." His voice carries a smooth, melodious tone.
"That's my Val-Val!" She winks and wags a finger. "Only you can handle Rosa and I!"
"Oui." He closes his eyes and takes a bow. "Le vaillant roi et chevalier est honoré."
"You're lucky that we understand Kalosian." Hilda bops both of his cheeks. "I want to be the very best, like no one ever was!" She raises a fist above her head. "To have the best performers, the best artists, the best trainers, I could go on and on and on! That's my real test and my cause!"
"You will travel across the land, finding talent far and wide!" Rosa's bubbly voice can be heard in the near distance. "Teach the world to understand the talent that's inside!"
There's the other ray of sunshine, the trotting is less noticeable due to the commotion around them. That being said, not many can radiate the exact same level of energy as these two. They can make a Slaking get up and dance.
Before Rosa can jump on his back, he attempts to sweep an arm around her midsection. His Wrap attack misses, but her Wrap attack scores a direct hit. She finishes him off with a Double Kick and a Triple Kick. Ahhhhhh, he's soooo terrified that he kissed her on the lips.
"Bonjour, Madame Rosa." He'd bow again, but her feet bops are too powerful.
"They wonder how I do what I do!" Stars twinkle in Rosa's eyes. "Wherever Rosa goes, free smiles come too!" She leaps off of Valen and strides next to Hilda. "Tee-hee, he's been my biggest inspiration before you even knew who he was."
Hilda waves a hand in a playful, dismissive manner. "Girl please." She raises her chin, her eyes are closed and her smile's smug. "Thee can't toucheth this."
"Carefully observe and acquire knowledge." Rosa bends her elbow halfway, and her palm faces the sky. She closes her eyes, reciting, "What light through yonder window breaks?" Harmony and dramatic seamlessly blend in her voice and tone. "Has a king and knight come to sweep the queen off of her feet?
Rosa and Hilda catch Valen analyzing, and they decide he's analyzed enough. They pull him along, weaving their way through the throng as they make their way inside. Most of the squad is already present.
The interior's lavishly decorated, but that's the norm for many of these venues. Like the stadiums of the same era, the hall's interior is covered in marvelous buon frescoes by the Calvanian Fresco School. The Kalos motifs are heavy throughout the works, the subjects ranging from AZ grieving over the loss of Floette to the invasion of Kalos by Siscian Galar. The panels that the frescos were painted on are separated by a series of various ornate patters, which also surround all of the openings into corridors and other areas.
Classical-like sculptures and fancy furniture meticulously dot the hall's enormous main lobby, and no room here is without the aesthetic of Parfum Palace's interior. The sculptures range from a reproduction of Donatello's Zygarde to Steven Stone's The Geologist At Work, the figure in the latter holding a stele with a Xerneas relief.
Many of the large tables are veneered in tulipwood and have giltwood frames with a gleaming gold finish. The legs of each table are connected by a relief of Solgaleo's face, with Lunala spreading its wings behind its counterpart. The reliefs on the frames have intricate ornamentation of Steelix and Gyarados that extend from top to bottom. Each table is accompanied by a trio rosewood chaise sofas with yellow upholstery and outswept legs with feet resembling Arcanine paws.
No matter where you look, it's like Dialga yanked a magnificent structure from antiquity and brought it into the present. Not before stopping in the 1700s, specifically during the twilight of the Rococo and the rise of Neoclassicism.
Sassy laughter and a poke to the head is all he needs to know that's Skyla here. Guess she wants to fall back with him. She just jumped on his back and has her arms wrapped around his neck. It's been a while since she's done that.
Kris is gushing with Melanie over the latter's newest jacket…and their necklaces? Kris has one of those Botticelli necklaces Wallace put out. She's more over the moon than usual—Silver just grunted upon her saying his name. …Is that why Silver took off without telling anybody? In any case, Incoherent grumbling is the only response she's getting from Silver.
Rosa whips out her phone, Kris and Melanie will be joining her and Hilda. He offers to hold the bag full of novels Melanie's got from the nearby bookstore, to which she happily accepts.
Silver uses this photo session as a chance to scurry away. He uses it to pat Silver on the back for a job well done. Silver's escaped yet another close call, for Kris is still talking fashion with Melanie. His deep breaths are so heavy that he sounds like his Aggron after a night partying with the dragons.
Valen folds his arms and exchanges a smirk with Skyla. "Should Silver feel flustered, it is evidence of an approaching Kris."
"There is no escaping Kris." Skyla giggles with a playful wink. "Give up."
Ragnar wants to fall back with Skyla and him, eh? That's cool in his book.
The eyes of all five dragons glisten with excitement at the rows upon rows of attire in these fancy cabinets. All of it is for them and the other Pokémon to choose, and those Pokémon are already making their choices. Without a second thought, the dragons leap towards the fancier attire and began the super serious process of becoming dashing dragons. The humans know how cool dragons are, why else would they paint them on the walls?
A row of fedoras has mesmerized Valen's Salamence. He doesn't care if wearing a fedora is silly to the humans because he's a dragon. Checkmate. He's just received a squeal of approval from Rosa's Milotic. How can he say no to such a gorgeous Pokémon?
Hydreigon, Garchomp, and Dragonite stare each other down. It's time to prove who's the most dapper between the three. Hydreigon heads towards the bowler hats, Garchomp's ready to crown himself, and Dragonite wants the top hat and monocle.
To Silver's Kommo-o, it makes more sense for the humans to do this for themselves instead of going to those places called clothing stores. He's dumbfounded why Melanie's Dragonite is laughing over his comment. What he said makes perfect sense, he learned it from his trainer. Why is Dragonite saying that's the problem?
Hydreigon happily roars that he's made his decision. He tells Kommo-o, Dragonite, and Garchomp that it doesn't matter what he wears, because he'll be the most dapper of them all. Dragonite and Garchomp scoff at this, asking if Hydreigon's using Sleep Talk.
Salamence's too busy flirting with Rosa's Milotic—she absolutely adores the sunglasses that Valen's helping him put on. The humans would call Valen a wingman, even though humans don't have wings.
"You've got this," Valen whispers to Salamence. "Show em what a classy dragon you are."
Valen's doesn't seem too sure about a dragon wearing a fedora, but it makes his Salamence display his doofy grin. Good enough for him, plus the romance between Salamence and Milotic is adorable.
Rosa and Hilda trot toward their respective dragons, wasting no time in helping them put on their attire.
"Super Hydreigon and King Garchomp are ready to own the show!" they cheer "Go, go go!"
Melanie high fives her Dragonite, who's already put on his top hat and monocle. Dragonite uses his height to tease her, to which she chuckles at.
"Looks like number five's up to his hold tricks." Melanie looks to her right with her hands on her hips. "Kommo-o's still waiting."
Valen walks next to Melanie and throws an arm around her midsection. "We all know why." She pulls her closer. "Right?"
"You just wanted a hug from a fashion queen like me." Melanie chuckles and wraps her arms around him. "You aren't slick, doofus."
Jubilation may've commandeered the room, but it's all fun and games until Silver endures the absolutely terrifying situation of...being around his crush and wondering if he should've worn the infamous purple suit. It's truly a catastrophic calamity for big tough Silver to have a soft spot for his crush. Not even Kommo-o poking him can snap him out of this state.
He's not blushing, he ingested too much hot sauce earlier. No, she shouldn't call him Sil, and she should refrain from calling him Silvey. Please stop repeating the latter because that's the cuter p-it's not cute at all. He can't even verbally object—he's a Dark-type and her smile's a Fairy-type.
Humph, what a load of nonsense he just said! Even so, type advantage is far from everything in a battle, so maybe he's got a chance to evade em-
"Come on, join me for some fun!"
Silver fumbles with his black and red jacket, his grunts becoming more apparent with each one. His long, red hair brushes up against his upper back, his eyes are fixated on the paintings above.
Oh joy, she's wrapped an arm around his neck. For the love of Lugia, don't take pictures with him' He already has a swarm of Butterfree in his stomach! Why is it always him?! Even in Johto, it was always him!
He shuts his eyes, scowling while rubbing his hair. Ragnar and Jacques are jabbing him with their elbows, egging him on to ask her out. Even the dragons are laughing at him. Thanks a lot, you annoying...ly cute-shut up already. No room for fake Silver around here.
Still, he wishes he had Valen's smoothness and ability to accept that he's a dor-NO!
"If I wasn't Silver, I'd wish to be Valen."
"If I wasn't Valen, I'd also wish to be Valen."
Silver didn't mean to blurt that out, but whatever. "You're no help."
"I'm aware."
Heh, Silver shouldn't groan when he brought it upon himself. At least the others found it funny. Skyla's cracking up the most, guess laughter's about to take off...that sounded better when he didn't mentally say it to himself.
…Wait a sec, does Silver realize that his behavior around Kris is nearly the same as his own around Rosa and Hilda a few years back? What about the fact that he accepts his dorky side?
Who knows, but it's almost time for the show to start. Excitement's raging inside of him but he vows not to be bubbly. He's not cute, he was never cute, and he'll never be cute. Refuting a false hypothesis doesn't count as denial.
Strobe lights flash neon colors in a synchronized pattern that's on loud and catchy instrumental. A jumbled concoction of tapping echoes as the audience brush past each other to find a good spot to sit, passing the throng who've already taken a seat. Several people gesture toward the snack and drink vendors who've just entered.
The seating area's large enough to hold over a half a million, and the main stage could snugly fit over a dozen Wailord side by side. In-between the main stage and the backstage lies an extravagant and elevated platform. This is where the nobility once sat and stood in awe of the majestic performances, it's now where trainers of the participating Pokémon and those accompanying them reside. Surrounding them are buon frescoes of opera, orchestra, and dancing Pokémon shows. The intricate ornamentation patterns that separates the paintings are the largest and most extravagant in the entire hall.
Rosa, Hilda, and the others have already made their way to the platform. Rosa grins with her eyes closed, and her arms are bent upwards in front of her sides. Hilda's got the same facial expression, but she's jumping up while tapping her palms together.
They catch Valen slapping his mouth shut. It's desperate attempt to stop his bubbly side from leaking out. He barely succeeded but they'll let him off the hook this time. Lisia's show-stopping entrance is about to kick things off.
The four Tsareena spin and raise their arms. Lisia swoops down in-between them on her Altaria, then leaps onto her knees. She rockets back up and waves at the roaring audience.
"I'm so so so EXCITED!" Lisia squeals, clapping her hands as she jumps around. "I've never hosted one of Hilda's musicals before!" she spins. "It's time for our first group of performers!"
Lisia extends her right hand out towards the stage's entrance. Salamence, Hydreigon, Garchomp, Dragonite, and Kommo-o stride onto the stage, extremely proud over their attire. This is what happens when the squad pulls up looking fresher than a ripe Oran Berry.
Salamence's confident that none of his fellow Salamence can pull off a black fedora and sunglasses as well as he can. He's also got what the humans called a saxophone prop wrapped around his neck. He laughs at Dragonite's attempt to tip his purple top hat, which nearly falls off. Dragonite plays it off by pretending to adjust his red tie and monocle.
Kommo-o's rocking this samurai helmet "like a boss." That's how Hilda described it and he liked it. This armor's a good match—he learned about matching outfits by observing Kris.
Hydregion wishes that his smaller heads could have black bowler hats too, but at least he gets to wear three blue bowties and a cape. Upon hearing Hydreigon call himself a superhero, Garchomp waves his right fin in a dismissive manner. He uses his other fin to point towards his golden, crown-like hat and his red robe.
The human crowd and their Pokémon are eager to see them bust a move. Their dance moves impressed everybody at Rosa's twenty-first birthday party so they've got this performance in the bag. Their trainers are stoked to see them strut their moves…except for Silver to some extent. He's not the type to show excitement…usually…Kris might throw his world into a Whirlpool attack.
"Warm up time!" She points toward the DJ and snaps her fingers. "Hit it!"
A smooth, catchy hip-hop beat with an electronic sound echoes throughout the main stage. Hydreigon leads the pack by extending his left and right heads in front of him. Garchomp and Salamence follow his lead with their fins and talons respectively. Dragonite and Kommo-o extend their hands, now they're all in the groove. Each dragon raises up their respective appendages up while they jump backwards in a side to side motion. They jump forward and repeat this in rapid succession, laughing like a bunch of dorky friends as they do so.
After a few minutes pass, the beat stops playing. The dragons cry out in excitement over the round of applause and the cheering crowd. The DJ prepares to play the second song, but Lisia cannot wait more than a minute or two. What's coming is her favorite song, and she can't stop herself from jumping.
Lisia places her left hand on her hip. "Here comes the main course!" She winks and holds her right hand sideways. "Three, two, one, hit it!" She sticks out two fingers in front of her forehead. "'Meloetta Records, Ni-City!'"
The blaring hip-hop beat's made up of rhythmic clapping, an electronic bass, and a trumpet-like melody. It's upfront, it's proud, and even the Pokémon in the crowd can't resist the urge to dance.
Salamence leads the pack, and they start by doing the robot dance. He falls back for Hydregion, easing into a sliding motion with his feet. Garchomp, Dragonite, and Kommo-o waste no time in joining Salamence. They thrust their bodies in all directions while moving back and forth. Rinse and repeat, time to spin like true draconic gentlemen. Salamence, Dragonite, and Garchomp tip their hats for extra swag, whatever that word means. Human language can be really weird.
"Strut it, strut it!" Lisia bends forward, swaying her body from side to side. "You've got this, you cool dragons!"
This jam by Curtis is so so so so so CATCHY and FUN! Eeeek, look at those Eevee and Vulpix in the crowd! They're trying to dance with the dragons! That Pikachu and Chikorita are following the dragon's movements too! So so so CUTEEEEE!
Hydreigon's throwing his two smaller up like he don't care! Salamence just spun and winked at Rosa's Milotic and she's squealing line a fangirl! Look at Garchomp, Dragonite, and Kommo-o owning the dance floor!
"Do these dragons rock or what?!" Lisia twirls twice, her eyes gleaming and her grin ear-to-ear. "Come on, don't be shy about it! You know you want to go clubbing with them!"
The audience roars in elation, causing the dragons to let out elated roars or cries. Hydreigon also does his usual happy dance.
In the section that he's watching the musical from, Valen spots his Luxray dancing with Hilda's Umbreon. They're in-sync with each other and the dragons. Nearby, Gengar keeps vanishing and re-appearing to roll on the ground. He does that at random intervals for some unknown reason.
Skyla's snapping her fingers to the beat. Jacques isn't in a dancing mood, but he can't help but tap a foot. Rosa and Hilda snap a few photos of themselves dancing, and Skyla joins them for a few more. Afterwards, Hilda and Rosa catch Valen off-guard by wrapping their arms around his neck and midsection respectively.
"'Yeah yeah, they've got smooth moves, they're using Dragon Dance a-gain, yeah yeah!'"
Their melodious voices make him feel fuzzy inside, but he's also mystified by their apparent need to make him dance with them. He loves the warmth he feels when their arms are wrapped around him, but why the lean forward, the swaying, and the twirling?
Even though the sheer power of Rosa and Hilda's grip renders him powerless, free hugs are free hugs. He's absolutely, positively, one hundred and sixty nine percent not cute, but he'll never say no to an nice hug from the crazy wholesome minds.
Oh? Lisia's invited Rosa's Milotic to come onto the stage to dance with Salamence. Milotic didn't even let Lisia finish before she began dancing with him. Milotic waves her body vertically and Salamence waves his body horizontally. Encore's been used on the audience's Eruption and Milotic's eyes sparkle like Rosa's diamond-lace necklace.
"That's my boy," Valen compliments. "Well, our boys in this case." His Salamence got mad game and nobody can change his mind.
Melanie's Pyroar and Scizor has Jacques' Tsareena giggling over their less than stellar attempts to follow the dragon's movements. Silver's Zoroark fares better in impressing Melanie's Absol, but the former's now blushing. Jacques' Sylveon twirls so much that she becomes dizzy. but her Greninja teammate helps her out.
Gardevoir's cackling alerts everybody to a new version of an expected situation. Silver's plopped himself onto a seat, refusing to dance with Kris. Heh, he's doing this while Kris refuses to ask directly. They won't even look at each other. Melanie's leaning towards them with her hands on her hips, her playful smile saying it all. Leaf's teasing Kris with a wink and giggle, while Ragnar eggs Silver on via nudges from his elbow.
Silver's Feraligatr and Kris' Meganium have other plans, adding an extra layer of awkwardness. Feraligatr bows like a knight in front of his queen. Meganium giggles and kisses Feraligatr on the cheek. Feraligatr leaps up and tries to show off his moves, but he trips over himself. At least Meganium's Vine Whip broke his fall.
His Typhlosion introduces herself to Meganium and fist bumps Feraligatr. It doesn't take long for Feraligatr to blush upon something that Typhlosion says to Meganium. Where has he seen that before?
"Silver's a Drapion and Kris is a Hippowdon," Valen comments. "Silver can't say no when confronted by Kris."
It's nice to know that he's not alone in being rendered powerless by a grip from a bubbly lady. Like Rosa and Hilda, Kris is too wholesome to take advantage of her special someone's inability to say no.
Chilling with the Pokémon in the backyard with a good book. These contour chairs in the patio never cease to be comfortable and relaxing. All that Valen needs now is sunshine, and he's not talking about the one in the sky. Nor is he talking about one.
They just got home about twenty minutes ago, but he was already reading his two in-depth books on Poussin in the morning. Excitement's an understand after today's musical. All four of those performances were amazing.
Text messages from Rui-what. His lips part halfway, and his blinking's rapid. Is that…her Suicune…howling along to the song played? Now Wes is texting him, he should've expected the words "help me" from the guy. That text came at the same time Rui sent a picture of herself sticking her tongue out. It's nice to see them working together to mend their relationship.
Suddenly, Valen's silly grin lights up his face. Screw it, he can't contain his excitement any longer. "That was a lotta fun!" He raises his fists in front of his shoulders. "We've gotta do it more often!"
The other Pokémon laugh with Salamence, who happily closes his eyes. The dragon soars towards Valen and nudges him. He wants head pats and he wants them now. Valen's more than happy to oblige.
It's also time for Team Skull's Valen to state the obvious. "I'm proud to be Hilda's number one fanboy, and I'm Rosa's-"
Trotting makes him slap his mouth shut and show off his best impromptu impression of a Charmeleon's face. His squeaky yelps are drowned out by Rosa's giggling and Hilda's tittering.
Oh no, they caught him acting bubbly! Rosa's Milotic is giggling with her body wrapped around Salamence, that's why Salamence's looking around in a panic!
Only Hilda exits in the back door—Rosa has a different type of business to attend to. Gotta paint 'em all. Milotic's squealing suggests that Salamence is bragging about how cool of a dragon he is.
"Ready or not, here I come!" Hilda carefully lays out a large sketch on the table. "I want Pokétopia Park to have a Battle Frontier!" Eevee Rangers action figures will protect the sketch from the mild wind.
Instead of sitting on a different contour chair, she plops herself onto Valen's lap with the energy of a dozen Lillipup. It wasn't her best idea—she accidentally sends both of them and the chair dropping onto the patio.
Aieeeee, she's such a klutz! Please tell her that she didn't damage the contour chair! What if Valen's smile vanishes because the chair got damaged?!
Slowly, Valen rises onto his feet. He offers Hilda a hand, and she grabs it without hesitation. As he helps her up, both blink with a wide-eyed expressions. Their confusion quickly gives way to laughter and a series of bops to each other's forehead.
Valen picks up the undamaged chair and places it upright. "Was that necessary, you kook?" He re-takes his seat and pulls Hilda onto his lap. "Don't take me down with you."
"Hehe, you got me!" She tilts her head towards the sketch. "Check it out, queen's orders!"
The outline is in the shape of a Starmie, the red jewel-like area being a information center, a lounge, and a food court in one. The tips of Starmie's back stars contain the facilities, and they've already gotten their names: Battle Studio, Battle Temple, Battle Pavilion, Battle Ziggurat, and Battle Basilica.
Hilda's smile becomes a bit sheepish, and her gaze wanders away from him. "I wonder if I can pull this off." She fidgets with her fingers, and her tone's slightly diffident. "Lisia's had roles in big projects, but I've never tackled anything of this magnitude before."
"Guzma had doubts about his fashion brand, but look where he is now." He rubs her head. "Even if this doesn't work out, you'll have other chances to pull off more amazing feats."
"…Right, you've told me this in the past…so I wouldn't throw in the towel."
Hilda rests her head on his upper chest, his warm touch massaging her mind. She kisses him on the lips and it turns into a session. The intense passion grows with each slow connection of their lips, and warmth commanders the air around then.
"Thank you for everything," she whispers. "Really...I didn't think I'd find anybody...much less someone like you."
"Through trial and tears, our bond remained the same," he hums into her right ear. "You and Rosa are the sunshine that makes my day."
She'd like to hold him tight for hours, but she'll settle for any amount of tender, tranquil silence. The tingling from his tender touch, the relaxing warmth of his hugs, what more does she need?
That's not the only story she's been told as encouragement. Rosa and him also told her about a trainer who discovered a Velázquez portrait of King Galahad I in the year 1845. Nobody believed him but Samuel Johnathan Stone got the last laugh. Twice, thanks to the Rembrandt painting he stumbled upon.
Even if such a big idea doesn't work out for her, she'll still try to carry on in the long run. That's just how she rolls. In the meantime, Raihan better watch his butt! Rosa and her will defeat him in a selfie battle on his home turf. Hehe, maybe it'll be a showdown between Raihan, Rosa, and Expert Photographer Hilda!
"If you do set up shop in Galar, Loïc's willing to help too."
Hilda's eyes light up. "Did Loïc ask Nessa out yet?!" She leans so close that their noses almost touch. "Tell me!"
"Their first date went great but that's to be expected from my smooth cousin."
"Awesomeeeeeeee!" She clasps her hands under her chin. "Tell him I said thanks and congrats!"
"Will do."
"I also know what you're contemplating—I'll always be there to help you!" Another lean, her forehead touching his forehead. "You'll hit a home run for sureeee!"
Gah, so much for not blushing! He shouldn't get flustered around his two girlfriends, but he can't help it! They're so adorable and gorgeous! And those smiles, those pure and wholesome smiles!
Chill out, you ding dong. Act cool, act cool, pretend like nothing happened just now.
"Err...um...you wanna watch something?" He gulps and repeatedly pokes two fingers together. "Or play some video games...eh heh...heh...heh." He sighs with his arms dangling by his sides. "Why am I such a dork?"
She titters, deciding to let him off the hook this time. Now then, she could yank him along to her gaming and action figure room. He'd sit in her cool throne chair, she'd sit on his lap, and they would have lots of fun. However, the warmth in the air's now ripe with the move Eruption. She's not talking about Groudon in its famous movie franchise.
"How strong is your Vital Throw now, hm?" She slowly rubs her thumb across his chin, her sultry gaze moving up and down. "Sometimes, I like my favorite boy to be bad."
Hilda's not about to get the jump on him this time. "Challenge accepted," he whispers into her right ear. "You're no match for me."
His husky tone gives her a Shock Wave, and her smile gains a hint of risqué. Her other hand's now stroking his upper chest.
"Let's see you try dethroning me, bad boy."
"Gladly." He lowers his tone and strokes her hair. "A Charm attack should weaken you enough for a Vital Throw."
"I like the sound of that, but it's almost dinner time." Hilda straightens out her posture and clasps her hands behind her back. "We'll settle this later today, you fine boy."
"I'd figured you delay your defeat."
Salamence, Milotic, and the other Pokémon observe Valen and Hilda enter the house while laughing. They love to see them happy, but they still don't understand why Valen talk attacks like that with Rosa and Hilda.
There's no pool table in the house, so why not make the billiard room a painter's studio? That's what Rosa wanted to do for some time, but it got pushed back to more urgent matters.
Rosa hums as she moves a paintbrush with precision. Little by little, each stroke of the brush brings her latest work to life through the vibrant pigments. She briefly stops to wave at Gengar—the jubilant Ghost-type is eagerly waiting to see the finished work.
Rosa would like to paint a sitting portrait at some point, just like they did in the past. She tends to rely on her imagination and the many art books she has access to. In this case, it's the portraiture history book and the Holbein book she got Valen for his birthday many years ago. Both books lie on a walnut desk, and they've been opened to display the same color photograph. Of course, she takes great care to avoid getting paint on any books.
Heinrich Holbein's Portrait of Sir Endymion Beckett is the work Rosa's chosen to base her latest work on. The inspiration came from seeing the work in person again—both photos were provided by the Calvanian Museum of Art. Beckett, the Earl of Wedgehurst, sat in a lavishly decorated interior for this work. His vibrant vermillion clothing pop out of the work, and it's so intricate that even the ornate Flygon pattern of the table fabric is clear as day.
From the walls to Lisia's clothing, the textures of everything have been depicted in Holbein-like aesthetic to the best of her proficiency. Her Altaria's balancing a ball atop her heard while relaxing on a vibrant blue rug. The Pokémon's reflection visible in the pellucid water within her bowl. Both trainer and Pokémon have the rich, lifelike sheen she loves applying to her works.
"Tee-hee, Lisia's going to love the end result!" One hand on her hip, her other hand sideways with two fingers sticking out. "She's awesome like Roooosa!"
The Rosa Train has unloaded a Snorlax-sized load of energy into the studio, buuuut it's not just her! Lisia's energy is popping out of this portrait! She loves to take tons of photos, but painting's soooo much fun!
For personal reasons, the most important decorations within her studio are the painting prints on the walls. The largest one, A Street in Agate Village, is one of several Orre landscapes by a predecessor of hers. Keith Whitley was the defacto leader of the Unovan Impressionists, having trained under Monet and other leading Impressionists from Kalos. He also dabbled in Classicism, Romanticism, and Realism. Learning about him and his artistry inspired her to paint in various styles and mediums.
Jeremiah Aiden O'Connor's A Scenic Journey depicts a trainer and his Rillaboom trekking the gorgeous Éirish countryside where ancestors of hers once lived, and where a few relatives still live. Jasper Vermeer and Domingo Velázquez hailed from the other two regions that her heritage originated from. Vermeer's Trainer With a Pearl Earing is her favorite work by the artist, and it's the same story for Velázquez's Two New Trainers.
"I should do a triple world tour and visit Paldea, Alkmaardam, and Éiru one day." She ventures into a sea of nostalgia. "They made my imagination go wild as a kid."
Unova's represented by Tobias Cole's Sunrise Over Floccesy Town. The town's still a farming community, making it a cool insight into how the area was back then. Rounding it out are Raphael's The Ultimate Weapon, Caravaggio's The Battle of Geosenge, Rembrandt's Landscape with Deino, Zweilous, and Hydreigon, Titian's Truth and Ideals, and Leonardo's Lady With a Mienshao.
Her studio's a relatively simple set-up, but it more than does the trick. Those prints loom over a stack of canvases and a numerous paintbrushes organized on a walnut desk. Several dozen pigments have been painstakingly organized in an ebony shelf. Some are sorted by color, while others have been grouped into the palettes of individual artists.
A second ebony cabinet contains a trove of ceramics from all over the world. Reproductions of Ancient Kasmenestian red-figure and black figure vases, the Draconid Empire's dragon bowls, the Ishtarian Empire's lavishly decorated gold dishes, cast bronze jars from the Taizhou region, gotta rep 'em all.
The top shelf contains the largest ceramic and her personal favorite: a ceremonial jar from the Uttara Pushya region is the largest ceramic. It depicts the eight-armed Gigantamax Machamp from the region's mythology. The artist lavished it in various shades of shimmering gold, and its arms contained items that range from a dagger to a basket of ripe berries. Three "normal" Gigantamax Machamp, representatives in said mythology, round out the remaining sides.
She's a big social media star, and is known enough to have merch featuring her. She'll keep on using her popularity for the greater good and to make people smile. That's why this studio will demonstrate how art transcends time and brings people from all walks of life together. The originals of most of these paintings and ceramics be found in Calvanian Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Gallery of Art, and The Aspertia Gallery.
Oh, silly her! She has to go clean up! She needs place her apron and gloves in the basket! Time to zoom down to the second floor! Zoom zoom zoom!
The tapping of her trotting down the stairs creates a rhythm. The sound of water launching out of a faucet can be heard less than a minute later. A few more minutes pass, then Rosa trots back up the staircase.
She takes a seat in her lavish, throne-like chair, grabbing two books off of the small walnut table on the right. Time to relax and read writings by Leonardo, Alberti and Cennini. Leonardo's writings have been her most consulted guide for drawing and painting for many years. Alberti's writing has been consulted multiple times, and Cennini's writing has helped her with painting in a medieval-like fashion. She's both unorthodox and traditional and she's proud of it.
She narrows her eyes and points sideways with her thumb sticking out. Decisions, decisions, flipping page after page. Which one of the remaining two ideas should the queen paint next? Should she add more to her queue? She want to paint lots and lots and lots and lots of landscapes, people and Pokémon.
Tee-hee, trotting and tittering! That means Hilda's coming! Valey's trying to be all mysterious and cool, but there's no escaping Rosa!
She leaps out of the chair, just as Valen and Hilda enter the studio. "Hiiiii!" she bows and twirls. "Roar, welcome to Rosa's Stupendous Studio of Shining Smiles!"
"Heeeey, that's a great name!" Hilda jumps with her palms folded. "And a great painting!"
"Two balls of fluff."
Valen hones in on the latest masterpiece by a masterpiece. Extreme realism is what Holbein brought to the world of portraiture. The potency of the verisimilitude in a Holbein results in a sensation that the portrait has come alive.
Does he even need to say how good of a job she did? Her attempt to channel Holbein's style is remarkable. Lisia looks like she's about to pop out of the painting and spin. Her face has a glow to it, but it also oozes the confidence of a naturally talented performer. She's got one leg in front and one leg bent. The left leg's relaxed, but the right leg's tense. This is a clear indicator of contrapposto.
"Whatcha think, hmmmm?"
"I like it!" Hilda high fives her. "Keep on rocking!"
"Good job." Valen rubs her head. "Keep it up."
Rosa's studied all of the Old Masters with intensity and a deep affection for art, and it's more than paid off. Nobody in the contemporary art world. channels the Old Masters better than she can. Yes, he is biased towards her. Yes, he has the proof to back up his claim. He lives up to his moniker of number one fanboy.
"Sooooooooooooooooooooooo, did you put that painting print up on the master bedroom's wall?"
He'd question why she's leaning so close to him while giving him her trademark adorable face, but the keyword here is adorable. There is no escaping her adorableness.
"Yeah, it's chilling with its friends."
"Woo-hoo, I want to celebrate the gathering of painting besties!"
Rosa twirls around and yanks both Valen and Hilda out of the room. Tee-hee, look at their silly surprised faces! They know it's time to prepare dinner! Today's special is garlic parmesan pasta and Unovan pizza!
This was my first attempt at writing a Pokémon Musical. I hope you liked it! Any thoughts, comments, and what Pokemon ship team you're on would be appreciated :)
What did you think of the interactions? How about the scene with Rosa in her studio?
A small portion of Hilda's backstory was mentioned in Identity, so returning readers may recognize those bits.
The story about the trainer and Velázquez was inspired by Laura Cumming's The Vanishing Velázquez. The nonfiction book's about John Snare, a bookseller in 19th century London who thought he had discovered a Velázquez portrait of Charles I. Unfortunately, it wasn't and the real portrait has yet been found, assuming it still exists.