Music in media: You're Beautiful from the "Pretty Woman" musical

14 January, Friday, 1:15 p.m. | Winter

The subway bentos Ingo and Emmet provided were delicious, to say the least. The mentaiko cheese tamagoyaki was the best when coupled with fried gyoza and fragrant rice peppered with black and white sesame seeds, with a side of picked radish. The meal gave Rae the energy boost needed to face Elesa whom she was ready to meet, as Cheren and Lenora said.

"What about Icosa and Prof. Juniper?"

"Focus on the battle ahead." Cheren pointed at the glitzy building near the entrance of the amusement park.

Inside was a catwalk and fashion show, lit by spotlights of various colours. Neon streaks shifted about on the walls and the crowd beneath the stage would brush against each other, dance and sing along to the funky stereo music. It was like being in a kaleidoscope.

"Are we in the right place?" Rae squeezed her way through to the front, her four Pokémon tailing her swiftly. Each time she apologised, she realised the people and Pokémon in her way didn't seem to mind, for she was a child and couldn't see much from afar. She was glad the citizens of Nimbasa were accepting. Behind her, Cheren and Lenora were caught up in a flurry of fans who sought their autographs and haters who hurled slurs at them. She was happy to not be so famous after all.

A cough in a microphone fizzled throughout the space, followed by two slow claps. A lady wearing a tight crop top beneath an electric yellow coat that reminded Rae of puffy smoke. Her blue-yellow striped shorts gave her the impression this was one lady who didn't mind the judgment from the handful of salacious men and women in the crowd. She raised her chin a little and the long extensions tied in two diamond patterned braids from her short black hair swung like pendulums. Her fashion sense was unique. Rae had never seen anyone wear ballet flats, needless to say, a red and a blue one, intentionally mismatched to showcase the dual polarity of magnets, just like her headphones which had cone-shaped spikes protruding out of the ear pieces, the right spike red and the left spike blue. Even her nail polish followed the theme to the T, red on her right hand, and blue on her left.

She beamed at the crowd and winked. "We had a great morning with Ken and Karen, didn't we? They were such a Deerling couple! I wonder if we'd have a model of the hour for our 24/7 fashion show! Maybe someone Fletchling for a change?"

"That's Elesa for you," said Lenora before waving to the lady. "She's very self-conscious of her image. People were saying she's a cool, distant beauty so she's trying to be fun by making puns. They've... improved."

Cheren shook his head. "Skyla still throws shade on her for that, I believe."

"Now, that's a heavy phrase, Cheren. They're practically sisters."

"Even though one can zap the other to death?"

"That's not the point."

Rae broke their moment by asking if she should volunteer herself, though it wouldn't be fair as she wasn't exactly a fledgling Trainer. Lenora replied that she saw no issue with Rae going for it since the girl was participating in the Gym challenge with Pokémon she hadn't had. Her Unovan Gym run could be seen as a reset.

"You'll bedazzle them," Lenora added as a word of encouragement.

Rae checked in with her Pokémon. All of them seemed enthusiastic, save for Zorozoro. Perhaps it was because he was rather new to the team.

A pretty face bobbed down into her vision and she squealed. Elesa giggled. "I've not seen a young girl like you around here before. From the looks of it... You're Johtonian... You do look familiar, however... Magnemite you be Aomine Rae?"

Rae nodded and looked at the two Normal-type specialists for support. Elesa complimented them, then gave Cheren feedback on his stiffness and lack of a better fashion sense. Then, she reached her hand out for Rae to hold before pulling the girl up onstage, her Pokémon clinging to her hip in a line, enacting an adorable scene that brought warm and fuzzy feelings to the audience.

"That settles it! Give it up for Aomine Rae from Johto! She'll be our model of the hour!"

Rae swept her eyes across the zealous crowd. Her? A model? Ken and Karen, she could understand. They were good-looking despite their arrogance and the way they judged her among the crowd, arms crossed and lips tightly pursed.

A model brought Rae backstage and selected an indigo chiffon bateau neckline designer dress for her. The laced sleeves reached a little past her elbows. The dress had a velvety feel and Rae liked the white dots peppered from the halfway down because they reminded her of an Azumarill, which was cute. Next in order was some light makeup, nail clipping and a new hairstyle: a chignon knotted using a chain of Clamperl pearls.

"You're beautiful," said the model to her. "Go on! Elesa awaits you!"

Rae slipped into the aquamarine heels provided and walked onstage. For a while, it felt strange, like she was truly in the shoes of a model and not herself, till it came to her that she was a model now. People whispered among themselves when she made her appearances. They pointed fingers, gasped, looked away, snapped pictures, held onto smug grins... Cheren and Lenora gave her encouraging smiles, as did her Pokémon, including Zorozoro. Ken and Karen, sticking to the far end of the hall, resigned to looks of boredom. She must look mediocre to them.

"Give me a twirl," said Elesa as her index finger spun in circles while facing downwards. She broke into a grin when Rae was done. "Gourgeist."

Ironically, Rae never considered the Ghost/Grass-type Pokémon to be gorgeous, only freaky.

Like Rae, Elesa had changed into a new suit. She now wore opera gloves that graduated from orange to white and switched her spiky headphones for a classic white pair with an orange circle dominating each ear cup. A yellow torc shaped like the sun with two lightning bolts guarding both sides of her neck in mirror images rested boldly above her strapless dress: white cups with black and white upside down Vs pointing upwards above a dark blue one-piece that went slightly below the hips; a fancy silhouette strapped to her waist by yellow curved strips, the colour scheme of a Room, also a Pachirisu, coincidentally also that of a Dunsparce, with two bright blue bolts of lightning protruding from the hip, and at the bottom of the hem was a yellow arc with a pointy head, resembling the outline of a Rotom's head; a yellow sleeve-cut accessory joined at the back. It was her latest fashionwear known as her Rotom Sygna Suit, a gift from a designer based in a faraway region called Pasio.

Both Elesa and Rae would use one Pokémon each. Elesa was adamant on having it be the case since the battle with Ken and Karen exhausted two of her Pokémon, and Rae thought it wasn't so bad a proposition after all. Despite the attention she received upon being Champion in Johto as well as her journey in Unova thus far, she had never gotten any eyes on her simply because she dressed well. She preferred comfort to elegance and right now, she was not in the least comfortable. The good news was that Emolga with the Volt Switch and Zebstrika, Elesa's ace, weren't her opponents this time round.

No, it was a Pokémon that originated from Sinnoh, motor in reverse, the twisted Rotom.

The crowd roared as the Pokémon made its appearance. Rotom was a great choice to showcase Elesa's fun side, for the Pokémon was well-known for its mischief.

Rae turned to her Pokémon and wagged her finger. Zorozoro stepped out of the line, his head proudly raised. And once again, attention.

"What in the world is that?"

"That's a freaking Zorua! It looks so sick!"

"An abomination! A disgrace to Zorua and Zoroark!"

Rae kneeled down to cup Zorozoro's ears. Any more of that rancid jeering and the Pokémon would no doubt be intoxicated with malice.

"Your Zorua's special." Elesa winked.

"He is," Rae said as she levelled her gaze with his. "Let's do this without malice, okay?"

Zorozoro yapped, though she knew he could give her no guarantee. He wasn't known as the Spiteful Fox Pokémon for nothing.

Rae patted Zorozoro's back and motioned for him to gear up across from Rotom. His wisps shook as he raced onto the centre of the stage.

"Zorozoro, start it off with Hone Claws!"

Elesa puffed up her chest. "Shock Wave!"

Zorozoro swiped his claws against one another and leapt to dodge the jolt of electricity.

"Huh..." Elesa frowned, then snapped her fingers. "Why don't we make it interesting? We watch them battle without giving orders!"

"But—" Rae's voice was stuck in her throat. This mightn't spell well for Zorozoro! Yet she couldn't weasel her way out of this, not when Ken and Karen were being all hawkish at the moment. After some deliberation, she conceded to the Gym Leader's suggestion.

The game of trust began with Rotom unleashing a Shadow Ball that dissipated into tinier blobs as soon as it came into contact with the Hisuian Zorua's skin. So much calm that had previously seemed impossible, Zorozoro now exuded, with a devious smile that screamed adorableness. Rae sensed his Nasty Plot coming up before he returned the favour with a powerful Shadow Ball of his own. Rotom barely dodged the sphere, shadows clinging onto the two bolt-shaped ends of its body. With a whimper, it let loose another Shock Wave that Zorozoro deftly ducked.

For some strange reason, Rae felt the battle would end shortly.

And it did, when Zorozoro bore his fangs and the wisp atop his head soon morphed into an identical form of Rotom. Blood-chilling energy pervaded the hall. It was as though the winter season, which had thus far been bearable, flared up and threw a temper tantrum. Red-white wisps coiled around Rotom and constricted it till its delicate cries grew hoarse.

"Stop, Zorozoro! That's enough!" Rae leapt towards him and embraced him. The wisp immediately changed into her face and snarled at her.

"Rae!" Elesa shrieked as the crowd screamed. Ken and Karen gasped and dashed out of the hall. Cheren and Lenora crept up the stairs to the stage, their eyes trained on Rae and Zorozoro. When they were about halfway there, Elesa regained her voice, not without a shroud of fear, and screamed for Rae again.

The girl, nonchalant of the chaos rippling throughout the hall, whispered for Zorozoro to stop. She did not see Icosa and Professor Juniper rush towards the stage. She could not hear anything but her fast, hard heartbeats and Zorozoro's.

Elesa returned Rotom and calmed the crowd down by having the DJ play some disco funk, then turned her attention to Rae. The girl was colder than a Cryogonal. Yet she was still alive.

"I'm here, Zorozoro," mumbled Rae as the wisps tightened around her waist. "I-I'm here. And I'm sorry. I..."

Swift gale slashed the wisps and removed the Hisuian Zorua's hold on Rae when Icosa summoned Exploud and had it use Whirlwind. Zorozoro whined as he was forced to return into his Poké Ball. Icosa shook Rae's light frame and smiled, bearing the iciness of her frostbitten state under the tips of his fingers.

"You're beautiful, Rae," Icosa breathed. "You should dress like this from now on."

"Don't joke now. This is a serious situation," chided Cheren.

Icosa shrugged and faced his mentor. "I'm taking it very seriously."

He slipped an Aspear Berry into Rae's mouth and waited as the frost melted away.

"C-Cold..."

"It's okay. I'm here now. I said I will protect you," mumbled Icosa as applause rang throughout the hall.

Elesa gave Rae the Bolt Badge and commended her for her efforts and her compassion to her Pokémon. She supported Rae as they both walked down the runway and bowed, Rae still shivering and uneasy.

Elesa walked her out of the hall with the rest of the crew in tow and apologised to Rae. Rae didn't mind. She thought she understood her new friend a little bit more.

"How about this?" Elesa asked when the music returned to normal and she caught Icosa striking the badge against the Relic Crown. "There's a musical theatre here in Nimbasa. Make a trip there and relax a little. Wynaut, yeah?"

Besides, there was a musical soon to be showing in the theatre. A musical about the history of Unova that sought to explain the story behind the Relic Crown.

The next task of the day was hence set.