When Natsui arrived at the coffee shop next to the Athlete's Village, Alexia and two colleagues wearing 'Lumiose Press' vests were already waiting at the entrance.
Compared to her solo effort during the Indigo Conference, where she traveled overseas with just her two Pokémon to conduct interviews, this time Alexia, had clearly come prepared with a professional team.
"Mr. Natsui, it's been a long time!" Alexia said with a smile, extending her hand as she saw him.
"Hello."
Natsui shook hands with all three of them in turn, then smiled at Alexia. "Miss Alexia, sent to Johto again this time? It seems no league conference can escape your presence. You must be busy."
"Can't be helped, it's part of the job."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Natsui entered the coffee shop, welcomed by the three.
To ensure a more elegant and relaxed environment for the interview, and to avoid interruptions, Alexia had booked the entire coffee shop. Apart from them, only one employee was tending the counter.
Natsui sat down on the sofa, and Alexia placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. Her two colleagues began setting up their equipment.
After aiming the camera at Natsui and arranging the microphone, lights, and reflector board, they gave Alexia an 'OK' sign.
Alexia nodded and sat down opposite Natsui, crossing her legs neatly.
The movement couldn't help but draw Natsui's gaze to her legs. Alexia wasn't just pretty; she had an excellent figure as well.
Especially in her tight pants, the shape of her legs was fully displayed.
It was just a quick glance, and before she could notice, Natsui discreetly looked away.
"Mr. Natsui, shall we begin?" Alexia asked, not having noticed his brief glance. "It's okay if you're nervous. This is a recording, not a live broadcast. We can edit out any parts you're not happy with later."
"No problem, I'm ready."
Seeing Natsui's calm demeanor, Alexia smiled slightly. "Alright then, let's start."
The camera started rolling, and Alexia turned to face it. "Welcome, viewers, to our coverage of the Silver Conference. I'm special correspondent Alexia. Today, we are honored to have a special competitor with us, the champion of the previous Indigo Conference and a familiar friend—Mr. Natsui!"
The camera turned to Natsui, who smiled and waved.
"Hello to all the viewers in the Kalos region. I'm Natsui. It's great to see you all again."
After Natsui's greeting, Alexia smiled and asked her first question. "Regarding this Silver Conference, do you have any expectations or goals?"
"Goals..." Natsui answered without hesitation. "Naturally, the further I go, the better. I think... I should at least try to match my results from the Indigo Conference."
Hearing his words, Alexia couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Match his Indigo Conference results?
He was the Indigo Conference champion. Doesn't that mean he's just saying, in a roundabout way, that his goal is to win the Silver Conference championship too?
He's certainly... not modest.
Compared to the reporters outside, whom he didn't know well and worried might misquote him, Natsui had been very cautious and formal in his answers. But Lumiose Press wasn't some tabloid focused on gossip, and Alexia was trustworthy. Therefore, he didn't need to be so overly diplomatic when answering her questions.
That explained his two completely different attitudes when facing the outside reporters versus Alexia.
Although Alexia didn't know what Natsui was thinking, she was very satisfied with his answer.
After all, audiences preferred interviews that were a bit more witty and humorous. No one wanted to watch stiff, formulaic Q&As where the answers seemed predetermined.
It showed that Natsui wasn't just handsome, but also not a rigid or overly serious person.
And who wouldn't like a competitor like that?
Next, she asked many more questions, and Natsui continued to answer them all in a relaxed tone.
They had a pleasant conversation, and the exclusive interview lasted nearly twenty minutes, ending with Alexia being very satisfied.
At the end, at Alexia's request, Natsui brought out Dragonite, Scizor, and Tyranitar—the three Pokémon he had used in the qualifying round—and took a few photos with them. These would be used for the video and cover image of the interview and news report.
Everything went just like the previous interview.
Except this time, the two were more familiar with each other, and Natsui handled the process much more smoothly.
...
Once everything was finished, Natsui said goodbye to Alexia and headed to the Silver Stadium to meet up with Erika and the others.
After all that, he felt completely drained and had lost interest in everything. The feeling was far more mentally and physically exhausting than commanding Pokémon in battle all day.
If he could, he would rather deal with Ash's Pokémon every day than participate in shoots and interviews like this again.
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