1st Pokeball - An Unwelcome Prank

[unbroken_chain]

The camera feed snaps on suddenly, revealing a creature somewhat like a fox staring directly into it before winking and placing a finger to its lips. It snaps to attention as a young-sounding voice calls out from behind it.

"Okay, Zoroark, time for rehearsal! Today it's Brycen-Man, okay?"

The outline of the fox-like creature - Zoroark? - shimmers and distorts, resolving into a strangely-dressed man. It walks away from the camera and takes up a stance across from a young girl in an equally outlandish outfit, who clears her throat before drawing herself up and pointing directly at the masked man the fox turned into.

"Hold it! The Messenger of Truth and Ideals, Riolu Girl, is here! Stop right there, Brycen-Man! I cannot allow your mischief!"

The masked man laughs at this. He snickers so hard, in fact, that the illusion drops, leaving Riolu Girl staring at him, completely unsure of what's so funny. Still snickering, the fox points at the video feed with one finger, the masked girl looking in that direction. Her eyes wide behind her mask, she scrambles for the table the COMP is resting on.

"AAAA! That's not funny, Zoroark!"

Staring directly into the video feed, she starts babbling frantically.

"You didn't see that! NOBODY SAW THAT. THERE WAS NOTHING TO SEE."

Comments

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[saudadist]

[ Well that was . . . certainly an interesting sight. Though for Lucy, "interesting" equates to "secondhand embarrassing," so it's not really much of a win for Kotoha. ]

Aren't you a little too old to be playing stupid games like that?

[ Lucy, you're just jealous because you never got to do anything like that. ]

[unbroken_chain]

On the one hand, she saw her rehearsing. On the other, Kotoha WILL NOT STAND FOR YOUR SLANDER.

"Hey! Okay, I admit that the Brycen-Man trilogy was kind of niche, but it still has fans! And Mr. Deeoh is planning on releasing a remastered Blu-Ray edition soon!"

[saudadist]

A moment of silence goes by, and the look on her face doesn't even change. The only visible change is her eyebrow ticking upward just a hint, and her frown grows deeper.

"Are you serious..."

[unbroken_chain]

Kotoha reaches up and removes her mask.

"No, I'm Kotoha."

She gives a little grin at the incredibly lame joke before continuing.

"But, you know, just because Pokewood Studios doesn't exist here, that doesn't make me any less of an actress, you know? It's like anything else - if you want to keep your skills sharp, you have to practice."

She throws an annoyed glance off-camera in the direction of Zoroark.

"Even if someone is too busy playing PRANKS to help out..."

[saudadist]

Her eyes narrow slightly, not quite a wince but perhaps close, as if that joke was actually physically painful. She only just barely suppresses the urge to sigh, and her attempt isn't that effective since she sighs anyway.

"I doubt that creature being focused would help."

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[terminally_clever]

[wut]

...What are you even doing. What was it - Konoka?

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[unbroken_chain]

"Geeze, it's Kotoha, Ko-to-ha!"

Kotoha takes the mask off and pouts a little.

"And I was rehearsing. You know. Because I'm an actress?"

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[terminally_clever]

Kotoka, right.

[She's either trolling or honestly doesn't care what her name is. Or maybe a little of Column A and a little of Column B.]

So your movies are rehearsed in front of a live studio audience? Isn't that a little unorthodox?

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[unbroken_chain]

"Not normally, but Zoroark thinks he's a comedian."

A slight pause.

"For someone so cute, you sure aren't interested in people, huh?"

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[terminally_clever]

I fail to see what my appearance has to do with something like that.

[Video]

[capitalbackup]

[Despite what was just shown, Miyako's more interested in the girl's creature than the content.]

...What kind of creature is it?

[Video]

[unbroken_chain]

Kotoha's already removed her mask, but at this question she practically preens - for a Trainer, interest in their pokemon is the greatest icebreaker!

"Oh, he's a Zoroark! I received him as a gift from Rood of the Seven Sages."

With that, she casts a sly glance over to where Zoroark is still snickering.

"Of course, at the time he was still a little baby Zorua..."

That does it - Zoroark stops snickering to scowl at Kotoha.

[Video]

[capitalbackup]

[So this girl is a type of demon tamer? But hm, need to ask more questions.]

Are Zorua and Zoroark demons?

[With all of her studies and knowing about demons, Miyako can say the species names somewhat easily. They're foreign on her tongue, but after hearing Kotoha's pronunciations, she picked it up.]

[Video]

[unbroken_chain]

"No, they're Pokemon. Completely different thing."

A slight pause.

"Oh, and my name's Kotoha. What's yours?"

[Video]

[capitalbackup]

Miyako Hotsuin.

[Pokemon, huh?]

What are the differences between Pokemon and demons?

[square_cubelaw]

"I'm still not sure what I just saw."

[unbroken_chain]

"NOTHING. You saw NOTHING."

At that, Kotoha realizes she's still wearing her mask and quickly whips it off and hides it behind her back. As she shoots a nervous smile at the camera - mask? what mask? - she takes in the features of the person she was just talking to and an expression of mixed confusion and wonder pass across her face.

"...excuse me, are you a talking Golett?"

[square_cubelaw]

"Am I a talking what?"

Robo is wondering if something's been lost in translation here. He's going to let the whole mask thing go.

"I'm Atomic Robo Tesla, and I'm a talking robot if that's what you mean"

[unbroken_chain]

"...huh."

Okay, so he's not a ghost robot, just...a regular robot. How about that.

"...wait, Tesla?"

[square_cubelaw]

"Yes, like Nikola Tesla. It's a long story."

And there are so many strange things he wants answers to. First on his list.

"What is that other thing in the room with you?"

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[shadowsher]

[ Though he's not quite sure what he just saw, Mikale feels like he needs to say something. It's his fault for watching this long, right? Even if he smiled a bit at his antics he now feels intensely guilty. ]

Uuhh, no no. No you're really talented! Wh-what I saw was great?

[unbroken_chain]

"Well of course it was great, I'm a professional!"

She takes off the mask and pouts a little.

"That doesn't mean I want people to see me rehearse!"

[shadowsher]

A professional?

[ At her age? Mikale finds this impressive. He must be the presence/indirect presence of someone really talented. ]

Oh, right, sorry, uhh... Are you working here? Doing a show or something?

[unbroken_chain]

If you ask her, she'd be the first to say she's a genius - although you'd be wise to take that claim with a grain of salt.

"Nah, I'm just doing this so I don't get too rusty. Even natural talent like mine doesn't mean much if it's not supported by hard work!"

[shadowsher]

I see...That's still admirable.

Who's Riolu-Girl? TV show character?