Prompt 19: Rose

"Arrrrgh! It's all just so frustrating!" Elesa leaned back in her chair, tapping one heel against the tiled floor as she flipped through the fashion catalog in her lap. "Can't have anything nice, can I?"

"Nope." Emmet sat just a ways away from his friend, one hand stroking the fuzz along his Galvantula's back. Elesa had invited him to a meetup with Gym Leader Burgh to discuss outfit inspirations behind a fashion show that was due to premier at the end of the month. The topic? Bugs. Lots and lots of bug-themed outfits. Emmet didn't really have an eye for fashion. He had only come because Elesa had begged him to and because it had been a long time since he had last spokén with Burgh. "Commuters can be… quite rude, Elesa. You should know this by now."

"Well, I know that! But I mean, half of the comments I received for these specific dresses-" she pointed a thumb at five colorful dress designs- "were nothing but negative criticism. Like, I get that normal people wouldn't wear them, but I got literally no constructive criticism! Everybody was just bagging on them. It really brought down my mood, you know?"

"And that's why we are here to speak with Burgh?"

"Yeah." Elesa sighed, one hand resting against her head. "Burgh's the only guy I know that gets what fashion is about. I just want his secondary opinion before I move onto the next step in actually getting these clothes onto the runway."

"Aren't your gym trainers models too? Have they seen your designs?"

"They have as a matter of fact! They're particularly fond of my designs for the Leavanny and Vespiquen line. Scolipede too. I'd be surprised if they disliked them."

The door to the large studio both had been sitting in was swung open, Gym Leader Burgh striding in as an entourage of bug-type pokémon followed him. Clad in his usual colorful getup, Burgh bowed and gestured for his pokémon to disperse. Upon sighting both Emmet and Elesa waiting for him, Burgh fixed his messy hair and strolled over, a pleasant smile upon his face as he proffered both of them freshly-cut roses. Elesa's was yellow. Emmet's was white.

"I thought I would be expecting you at around this time, Elesa." He shook Elesa's outstretched hand, his eyes seeming to brighten when they landed upon Emmet. "Ah, and of course, you're here as well, Emmet. What brings you here? I thought you didn't like Castelia all that much."

"I don't," Emmet admitted truthfully, keeping his eyes inside the studio and not on the dizzying view directly outside the window of Burgh's art gallery. "I am escorting Elesa today." Emmet nonchalantly shook the hand Burgh proffered his way, gesturing for the man to take a seat directly beside him. "It is good to see you, Burgh." In a lowered comment, Emmet whispered, "Talk to me later. I have something for you."

Burgh's eyes narrowed, his own smile widening. "Oh? Really? A gift just for me? Why, you shouldn't have! What did you bring me- "

"Can you two stop flirting over there?"

Emmet immediately choked on his spit and swiveled to glare at Elesa. "We are friends, Elesa."

"That's true. We're fellow bug-type enthusiasts. Nothing more." Burgh then grinned mischievously, setting one hand upon Emmet's shoulder. "Ah, but it would be fun to do that prank from years back."

Emmet blinked, carding his fingers through his hair. "The one where people thought we were dating when we coupled together during Accumula's Annual Bug Hunt a few years ago. I am familiar. Those were… strange times."

"The press can be so easily manipulated," Burgh reminisced. "It's always fun when you get to mess with them." Burgh then cleared his throat, crossing his legs. "Ah. But Elesa. I'm here for you. And on such short notice. What can I do for you, honeycomb?"

Elesa immediately launched into her woes, showing the gym leader each and every bug-related design that she had come up with in the span of numerous months, both on paper and on a digital tablet that she had brought with her. Emmet was quite fond of a few of them.

One design featured a Butterfree skirt design with a flowy silver and back hem that lengthened in the back. Elesa had also designed a sharp-looking shirt and slacks combo- red and black- that was inspired by Scizor. Emmet's personal favorite had been a red and white vest with silver curling patterns etched into the leather, inspired by the Volcarona lineage. It reminded him all too much of when Elesa had first started her modeling gig and had forced both Ingo and Emmet to model her designs.

"What do you think, Burgh?" Elesa asked plainly. "Should I fix these or move them into the second stage and make prototypes of them? I know you're not a fashion designer, but you are a great artist."

Burgh clicked his tongue. "Flattery will get you nowhere. But. Hmm. Well… to be honest, all of them are wonderful." Burgh picked up the curling dress mimicking a Leavanny, his eyes softening. "You did such a wonderful job in incorporating pokémon designs- picking out dominant features too. I think these will do well on the runway." He then took another look at the modifiable designs featured on Elesa's tablet. "Of course, you can also accessorize. Personally, if you're going for bug-type apparel, I think you should incorporate some undertones of things like flowers, pollen, and nectar to better sell the idea."

"Like these roses?" Emmet was careful to handle the barbed stem of the rose Burgh had given him.

"Yes, you're precisely right. And Elesa? I wouldn't listen to your naysayers so quickly. Some people just don't possess an artful eye like we do."

Elesa huffed, smiling. "Okay… Okay, I'll take that into consideration. Gosh, that's a load off my mind. You have no idea how many people sent me comments telling me that they could come up with better designs using artificial intelligence which by the way is banned from being used in contest entries."

Burgh's expression immediately soured. "AI? Eugh." The man leaned forward in his chair, fiddling with the stem of his own yellow rose. "I don't hate AI. It's a lovely tool to build off of. It's just that too many people think that they can replace the sheer ingenuity of humans with the likes of a machine that- frankly- doesn't even know how to draw hands or feet correctly."

"AI is useful to some degree," Emmet agreed, nodding his head. "AI serves a biiig help in the subway for the WiFi trains. Keeps our challengers sharp and quick on their feet. But I could never think of replacing human-to-human battles with only artificial battles. They are not serious and they are not fun."

"Yeah. Seems like not only a decade ago, AI didn't even exist. Can you believe it?" Elesa's eyes shot down to her designs. She frowned. "Who knows? Maybe AI will take over designing fashion in the future. The more we develop it, the more it seems to worm its way into every nook and cranny and niche."

Burgh made a strangled noise in his throat, carefully discarding his rose as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "You remind me all too much of a saying I give to my art students and myself whenever we face an art block."

"Well, I'm facing a design block right now," Elesa commented snidely, turning her yellow rose in her fingers. "Let me hear your speech, Burgh. Give me some inspiration." Elesa then brightened, pulling out her phone. "No, hold on. Let me get this on a recording. I get way too many of these blocks. Just one moment."

Burgh only smiled, his eyes narrowed to slits as he steepled his fingers together. And when Elesa finally pulled up her phone- having accidentally tabbed over to her live feed- Burgh seized the opportunity and grabbed at Elesa's phone, his eyes manic. "...This is a message to all artists out there. If you draw, if you paint- Whatever you do, listen," Burgh launched in, his tone breathless. "The next time some AI bro or keyboard warrior comes to your comments and is like 'I could do better with AI, I'm a real artist'- Do you know how you should respond?" He looked directly at Elesa as he spoke, his teeth flashing as he smiled. "Draw them pregnant." Another long pause. "You have that power. This is not a threat of violence," Burgh chuckled, picking petals off of his rose as he stared directly into Elesa's bewildered gaze. "This is a promise."