Music in media: One Day by Omoinotake

If someone told me the apocalypse's upon us, I would believe them without fail and deliver the scene before me as evidence. Stained tiles become the sleeping ground for countless products and toppled shelves, some of their friends still standing but unable to fill their voids, others so full of themselves it's as though they stole from the rest and are thick-skinned about it. The freezers, at least, still function, and whatever food items and drinks within them stay chilled to the bone, optimally protected from the ravagers.

Meta clings onto me as we drag ourselves across the underground supermarket of the resort while Matsuba and Hayato go through the shelves looking for ingredients. Kaspar's Houndoom, Belphor, now walking on two legs rather than four, as she did when they first met, pushes him as he sits in a trolley, sweeping any perishable edibles in sight into his embrace, making a ruckus in the dead space. Yeah, he'd be the first to die in an apocalypse.

"Why did he tag along in the end?" Meta asks as he deposits me twenty bags of flour into our trolley.

I shrug and brush my fingers across a tin of biscuits. "I'm starting to think buying food for a hungry Mellow is his excuse to let loose his inner child."

"There's no inner child." Meta dumps ten of the tins onto the bags of flour. "He's still a child."

"Hold on. Is this the right flour?" I check the bag and sigh. "We need tempura flour, not plain flour."

"What're we making anyway?" Meta replaces the bags of flour after we make a detour and laughs sheepishly.

The beauty of wedding banquets lies in its variety. Not just the variety of dishes, but also that of cooking styles. Certain food are a must, like kazunoko, or herring roe, which symbolise fertility and prosperity. For this feast, we'll use fresh Luvdisc roe to go with some fresh sushi. The whole course will be sumptuous with just as much care and attention put into the little details as I usually do with my bentos. If it's food from the heavens that you want, then you must know I'm the head angelic chef in heaven's kitchen. Arceus is so glad I'm born into this world, I know. Clever enough to put me in Johto so I get to cook for awesome people without having to face jealousy from some retired triplets in Unova who respect me deep inside too.

We're done shopping in a jiffy and return to the kitchen, though it's a little cramped given the number of Pokémon running around hauling pots and pans or throwing ingredients and preparatory dishes left and right. Matsuba's Ghost-types temper the stove blazes with Will-O-Wisp or Sunny Day to sun-dry the fish roe. Hayato's bird Pokémon, experts at Plucking berries, engage in taste tests with him taking the lead or provide better ventilation. Kaspar's Pokémon, bonded by their love for Electric-type moves, play around with the appliances available to expedite freezing processes of certain dishes as well as the dessert. Kaspar, on the other hand, leaves halfway to entertain the guests for a while before feeding Mellow some premium honey he found. Meta uses Double Team to arrange the plates as I whip delicacy after delicacy of minimalism, sometimes helping me should I require an extra hand or more. Despite the time crunch, we hardly succumb to pressure, but savour every passing moment with love and optimism. In about two hours and a half, we wrap up and clean the area, ensuring it's spotless and leaving the dishes in special devices courtesy of Meta's big brain that allow for the food to retain their freshness for an infinite amount of time. His duplicates Transform into these various devices to accommodate the masterpiece of the century while the original Meta links his slimy arm in mine and we head outdoors where the wedding's held in front of a shrine, a combination of traditional and modern aspects from all parts of the world.

I dip a hand into my backpack when Meta pokes his head inside and asks about the envelope in a fukusa containing ¥30000 I'm grabbing. I tell him it's goshugi, that it's customary to give money in odd number, or the lucky number eight, as gifts at weddings, wrapped in a fukusa cloth or, for the lack of one, a silk scarf. We inch to the reception booth, greeting Lucy the Pike Queen with a grin. She's here to substitute Greta who's gone back to lather some makeup on Medicham while helping her out with the bridal dress.

"Aomine Kyo. Meta." She slides a glance over our faces and produces a hearty laugh. "Will the tabloids be attending the wedding too?"

The Ditto shoves the goshugi into her hand and croons, "Are you implying that Frontier Brains aren't attractive enough? Boohoo, the tabloids don't want you anymore."

Lucy grits her teeth. "If you have time for idle chatter, what about a battle? We can—"

"We can settle this another day. Please, let's not ruin the wedding." I step between the duo and pull Meta away. Once we reach a safe distance from the woman screeching and howling at the booth, almost scratching a hesitant couple, I smack Meta's blobby ass. "The heck was that for?"

"That," Meta says as he gets to a bench overseeing the flowering stage set before the Luvdisc shrine, "is how you deal with snakes. Sit. The wedding ceremony's starting soon."

I swear a Pokémon capable of Transform is full of surprises, be they pleasant or horrid. As I hide my face in hot shame, Matsuba and Hayato join us, talking about the cool cellist in charge of the wedding music. How do you tell if someone's a cool dude when they're wearing a Teddiursa suit and playing the cello? The answer's laid out for you.

The other guests take their seats, including the Frontier Brains, immersed in small talk, the most noticeable being a scowling Lucy stuck between two talkative men who look like an old man and his great-great-grandson. We missed the introduction part of the wedding thanks to catering service things, held for the family and relatives of both parties. Now comes the ceremony where close friends are brought into the picture.

A hand on my shoulder prompts me to look behind at a lilac-haired woman exuding a mysterious aura. She smiles like she's penetrated the bits of frustration towards the wedding and suite arrangements, though she comments on something else entirely.

"It's your first time attending a wedding," she says and extends a hand. "Anabel, the Salon Maiden around here. Back when Scott didn't give up on his dreams, and in future when he goes back to them."

"Kyo. Aomine Kyo. But I'm sure you know us." I stare over her shoulder where flickering cameras gather, wondering which of them is the stalker the Ivory Tower sent for us. "This isn't why you're striking up a convo, right? You don't look like the kind to start small talk."

"I'm not like Lucy." Anabel jabs a thumb at the bench adjacent to hers in which the Pike Queen's on the verge of splitting hairs. "The paparazzi's for us. Scott wants some publicity for the Battle Resort before he converts it back to the Battle Frontier again. This wedding's a great opportunity."

Matsuba frowns. "Weddings are a private affair."

Anabel raises a brow at him. "The Ivory Tower knows no privacy either, I believe. Besides, many things here have been influenced by Unova so there's all this modern touches. Oh, it's starting soon."

Scott picks up the microphone and announces for the bridegroom to enter. Heads roll towards the resort doors gradually opening to reveal Kaspar holding hands with Mellow, both donned in matching tuxedos and perfumed, walking down the red carpet, down the pristine steps, towards the flowery path between the benches. Shortly after, Greta makes her appearance with Medicham in a conventional white dress with a veil, the poor Pokémon trying not to trip over her high heels or step on her long dress.

Scott goes over the oath quickly. Given that both parties are Pokémon, it'd be weird to hear them speak vows to each other. Yes, humans want a share of understanding even in the conjugation between Pokémon so anything that detaches humans from their companion species will be removed, making the ceremony shorter than it already is supposed to be.

"May the bridegroom now present the ring to the bride." Scott doesn't hide his sheer excitement, supposedly the one thing he's done right so far. Mellow kneels on one knee, enhancing the height difference between the Teddiursa and Medicham, and slots the ring into her finger. She smooches it, along with his hand that still rests on hers, and giggles. Everyone gushes at the scene. Then Medicham's veil is lifted, and our hearts break the limit of happiness known to humanity.

Thereafter, we transit to the little garden where we throw petals and feathers at the newlyweds to welcome them as Medicham held onto her bouquet and the two Pokémon beamed throughout the fluffy path we've paved for them, demarcated by our bodies. The brief period between the ceremony and the reception leaves us socialising with other guests and drinking a little, helping ourselves to some hors d'oeuvres. Of course, we capitalise on this opportunity to talk to the cellist.

He's a fan, apparently. "I've collected all the merch there is on the official website. I love your chemistry and I'm so glad to be here! I can't believe I'm meeting you! I think I can rest easy now! Are you filming now? Cool! Cool!"

We thank him. He picks a three-coloured feather from his fur and requests an autograph. His username is the coolest thing ever. I mean, xosacredskyox is a username without numbers in it so it doesn't pass off as a bot account, and the confidence to call yourself sacred? Nice one, Sky. Though, irony is having a preference for Ground-types when your name screams affinity with Flying-types.

"I still like you, Hayato." Sky does his best to convince the Gym Leader, but his words are starting to lose their charm. Just before he gets a earmark from Hayato, someone pulls him away for a long chat on music theory. Thank Arceus.

"He's interesting." Matsuba clicks the Follow button and we do the same. The screen switches out from a grey lock to a colourful photo album featuring Sky and the sky, sunrises and sunsets from all around the world, a shot on benches at a park, a dango stick, a bottle of saké...

"Hold on," I mutter. "This saké's from Aoi Yoake and the date... He was at the Bakeneko Festival!"

"He doesn't have the Johtonian accent," Meta states. "A fan visiting Johto and learning our culture?"

"Aren't you from Kanto yourself?" Kaspar snickers and wraps a hand round the Ditto.

"You should be with Mellow," Meta mumbles and shoos him off with a floppy limb.

"Whatever. Just make sure you enjoy yourself." Kaspar walks off to accompany the newlyweds.

The time for reception dawns upon us almost immediately. We stream into the ballroom as Meta's clones Transform into waiters, surprising the wits out of Scott. To impress him further, Meta refashions the ballroom's plain wallpapers into starry ones. When the man is satisfied and leaves us to our own devices, Meta complains about his superficiality. Then he pops back in again and goes on and on about how he's ready for "the best food porn in my life" that is sure to "put me into a beautiful coma" and that he'll "wake up feeling as refreshed and young as a newborn baby". He returns to his seat when Mellow and Medicham enter, donned in traditional clothing, honouring the practice of oironaoshi, making rounds and socialising with the various Pokémon belonging to all sorts of legendary trainers in the room. This tradition of changing clothes several times during a wedding dates from the fourteenth century and symbolises the bride's readiness to return to everyday life, though no one has a clue how it's supposed to apply here.

Meta says there's going to be an after-party later for the Pokémon only, and he promises he will keep everything a secret. Scott dips his head in between us two and wags his finger, then begins a spiel on the importance of honesty and a relationship without secrets, that any relationship with secrets, or even one secret, will destroy the diamond-hard foundation of trust both parties have agreed upon when they first forged the bond together. Meta and I laugh it off and tells him to leave, for the appetiser is coming soon.

Matsuba picks up the personalised card given by the two lovely parents of the Pokémon and reads it whenever Scott drops by. Hayato sips the refillable tea with a raised pinky the moment a tuft of hair emerges from the gap between Meta and I. They both stop when the appetiser arrives, the fruit of our labour dazzling in our eyes, and Scott, on taking in the three tamago sushi with Luvdisc roe on top and scattered as garnish on a trail of vinegar, returns to his seat at last. Not before promising he will be back because he loves spectacular trainers and popular trainers and we fit his standards just fine.

He doesn't pester us throughout the reception. He digs in and munches nonstop from the simple appetiser to the clear miso soup with silken tofu and seaweed, steals a glance at us (we lower our heads when we sense his incoming attention) and gets back on track with his feast. He still pines for us when sashimi is served, the dash of Octillery ink on raw, thinly-sliced fish Pokémon making Kaspar's Octillery, Reaver, crave human blood. Scott only tosses us to the depths of oblivion starting from the vegetable dish. A tenet of our food culture is that a meal must include multiple cooking techniques so the unveiling of one dish after another that are prepared with different techniques captures his attention. Look at him, a grown man deprived of his culture, too influenced by Unova thanks to the takeover that first begun with Elesa's global fashion tours.

A montage video plays, showcasing the newlyweds' recorded video call sessions with translations done by Meta, which are intentionally inaccurate at some moments out of cheekiness, giving their conversations a more romantic slant than it actually qualifies for, inserting some inside jokes known only between the Pokémon community. After the video containing well, video calls, a replay of how Mellow spams Attract on Medicham leaves her wanting more during their first encounter. Conventionally, what follows is a speech given to and from the newlyweds, but because, again, this is a wedding between Pokémon, this part is omitted to protect the pure minds of humans. Definitely not because Scott is better at rating good food than rating his own work.

The simplicity of taro, pickled radish and shiitake mushrooms is succeeded by a more complex fragrance of grilled Alomomola with a slice of yuzu citrus to go with. Alomomola is an underrated Pokémon, known for its heart-shaped body and palindrome of a name, only recognised in romantic events, so it's often the go-to fish Pokémon at weddings. Thing is, there's more to this Pokémon, for its bittersweet scent already makes it a better healer than Nurse Joy and eating Alomomola is said to heal one of all worries and sorrows as well as any physical conditions. The sourness of yuzu invites a fantastical amalgamation into the mouth which will linger till the vinegar dish with radish sliced paper-thin and wrapped around Kingler meat to look like a recently-bloomed flower, the yellow hepatopancreas of the Kingler taking centre stage as the nectar.

"We make a good team." Hayato rejoices at the mouthfuls of Kingler meat he's had. We're lucky to have found some frozen Kingler in the supermarket of the apocalypse and frankly, I wasn't expecting to find such a treasure.

Just in case you're wondering, the Pokémon do consume the same menu as us, and we made sure none of them are eating their own kind or any kinds they're not open to add to their diet. We prize the Pokémon far more than the human guests so extra attention has been put in for them to enjoy the feast too. It's during this dish that the next change of clothes take place and Mellow and Medicham return in fancy clothes, Mellow sporting a monocle to go with his cobalt blue blazer, Medicham wearing a Honchkrow's bonnet to match with her red gown, the costumes handpicked by each other's Pokémon friends.

Next up, we have the chawanmushi, a steamed egg custard that contains some mushrooms and Luvdisc roe, also pieces of turnip cake. The last course is always rice and miso soup, but we spiced things up a little by adding chili to the miso soup and giving it a yinyang symbol appearance coated in red and white, which are auspicious colours, and tying the cheese omurice with a green onion.

Then comes dessert in the form of Hondew Berry and fresh cider, manually de-seeded Grepa Berry and caramelised panna cotta. It's the right amount of sweet without overwhelming the senses, with the Grepa Berry bringing a tinge of sourness into play. But nothing beats the tall wedding cake Mellow and Medicham cut and distributes, the sponge cake sandwiching Rawst Berries for an enhanced cooling effect. It's inappropriate for Pokémon to be smashing a barrel of saké here so they stuck to the modern approach, which is a bonus, really, because we don't have drunk Pokémon releasing attacks on the people and Pokémon and we don't need drunk humans and their embarrassing schticks.

The wedding ends on a good note. For the humans, it's ended, but the Pokémon go for the after-party.

This is just one day, yet it's been as tiring as it's fulfilling. Having the Pokémon gather in the ballroom and kicking us out is definitely the way to go. Thankfully, Scott is considerate enough to open up rooms for his other guests and prepare the facilities for use.

"So!" Greta taps Kaspar's shoulders when we laze around at the lobby. "Have you reached a conclusion?"

He nods. "I've discussed with Mellow. Well... It won't be easy for me, but I know you and everyone else will take good care of him."

Greta scratched the nape of her neck. "It would've been easier if we didn't cling to our own passions, but you must stay in Johto and I must remain in Hoenn at the end of the day."

"I know. I will still visit once in a while." Kaspar pulls me, Matsuba and Hayato in for a hug. "We will."

"Does this mean..." I trail off, afraid to complete my sentence. It's not like Kaspar's releasing Mellow into the wild, but the separation will take a toll on him, even if he chooses not to admit it. This isn't something one can suppress easily. Loss isn't like that.

*Yes," Kaspar says. "We have one more day with Mellow."