The Trouble with Tabloids

(an instrumental of "Only the Beginning" plays as the word "Previously..." appears onscreen.)

Niji(voiceover): Previously, on "Kochou and the Beautiflies"...

(We see Kochou and Mizuirochou hugging)

Niji(voiceover): After several weeks in TV land, Mizuirochou wasn't feeling very happy in her new position. (we see Mizuirochou playing her harmonica again) Kochou felt the same way, although he didn't really show it at first. (We see Kochou thinking hard) After some encouragement, Kochou decided to sing about what was bothering him-- Mizuirochou being gone. (we see scenes from the "Something is Missing" sequence). The song seemed to lure Mizuirochou back, and the band was reunited. (We see Kochou's and Mizuirochou's joyful reunion)

Today we do some damage control--the Rockets are really getting personal now!


Episode 30: The Trouble with Tabloids

(Kochou speaks as we look out on Jubilife City at night)

Kochou(voiceover): Our adventures in Jubilife were not over yet...in addition to two more days worth of shows, we were unaware that we were also going to have to do some damage control...

(We look in on the gang's penthouse overlooking the city. While most everyone is helping with cleaning the living room, Whitney is about to settle at a desk with a yellow book. Closer examination reveals the book's title: MY DIARY.)

(Niji notices Whitney preparing to write and flies over, where she perches on Whitney's chair)

Niji: Whitney? Aren't you going to help us out?

Whitney: I've already finished with dusting the furniture, so I'm writing in my diary for a bit. (she begins writing on a blank page in the book) It's my nightly tradition...if I don't write at least one entry in it, the day just isn't complete!

Crystal: Sounds like me getting a massage every night! (winks at Niji)

May: And me taking a hot bath!

Whitney: My diary's special...I've written in it every night for five years now! (the boys admire the number of written on pages in the book) And before you ask, Ash; yes, your Gym match against me is in it!

Ash: May I--

Whitney: But you'd better not read it! (Ash sweatdrops as he returns to picking up trash off the floor)

Brock: You know how girls are about their diaries...they guard them with their lives!

Ash: Really...

Whitney: Let's see here...Dear Diary... (begins to write again as music begins)

Kochou: Who do I turn to, when I'm feeling bad...
Whether I'm happy, angry or sad?
It's you, Dear Diary,
It's true, Dear Diary,
With you, Dear Diary,
You set me free...

I write down my feelings one by one, (one by one)
Cause writing down my feelings sets me free!> (Whitney closes her eyes as she writes)
It's just between you and me. (Ash tries to take a look at Whitney's entry, but is shooed away)

Personal secrets, (Dear Diary)
Where can I share them? (Dear Diary)
Ongoing problems, (Dear Diary)
Where do I air them?
It's you, Dear Diary,
It's true, Dear Diary,
With you, Dear Diary,
You set me free...
When it's just you and me,
Just you and me, Dear Diary! (Whitney finishes writing as music ends)

Whitney: There! (she closes the book and puts it away)

Niji: Perfect timing, too...we have a show to do!

Whitney: We do? (everyone abandons their cleaning supplies and rushes to get ready)

Niji: Yes...we can't keep Misty waiting! (Whitney gets up from her chair and dashes to her room to get ready. May, meanwhile, leads off the transforming)

May: Ready! (her watch glows red) Red wings of Fire, it's time to fly! (as May says "it's time to fly", she draws a circle of red light around herself with her hand, which bonds to her normal clothes. A red shirt with sparkling swirls appears on her top half, followed by silver buttons. Next, the light on her shoes forms red high heels, followed by a red miniskirt studded in rubies. Finally, a halo forms around May's head, turning her hair red and flying into her hands, where it turns into an electric guitar)

Akaichou: Haeru wingu, Akaichou yo!

Brock: Ready! (the watch glows green again) Green wings of the Earth, it's time to fly! (as Brock says "It's time to fly", he draws a circle of green light around himself with his hand, which bonds to his normal clothes. The top half of him becomes a silver shirt, followed by a sparkly green jacket with silver trim. The camera zooms to his lower half, where black pants with green trim appear, followed by silver emerald studded shoes. A green halo forms around Brock's head, turning his hair black. Finally, he grabs ahold of the halo and straightens it out, leaving a pair of drumsticks in his hand as the light fades)

Midorichou: Haeru wingu, Midorichou yo!

Crystal: Ready! (her watch glows blue) Blue wings of Frost, it's time to fly! (as Crystal says "it's time to fly", she draws a circle of blue light around herself with her hand, which bonds to her normal clothes. A blue shirt with silver sparkles appears on her top half, followed by aqua Beautifly earrings on her ears. Next, gold sandals studded with aquamarines appear on her feet. A blue halo envelops Crystal, making her hair grow and braid itself. The light then flies to her hand, where it becomes a harmonica.)

Mizuirochou: Haeru wingu, Mizuirochou yo!

Whitney: Ready! (her watch glows yellow) Yellow wings of Lightning, it's time to fly! (as Whitney says "it's time to fly", she draws a circle of yellow light around herself with her hand, which bonds to her normal clothes. A yellow shirt forms on her top half, which gets studded in topazes. The bottom half forms a pale yellow skirt that also gets topaz studded; and a pair of yellow shoes form on her feet. A yellow halo envelopes Whitney, turning her hair yellow and making it put itself up in a ponytail as Whitney rides a wave of piano keys)

Ierochou: Haeru wingu, Ierochou yo!

Anabel: Ready! (her watch glows purple) Indigo wings of Night, it's time to fly! (as Anabel says "it's time to fly", she draws a circle of indigo light around herself with her hand, which bonds to her normal clothes. Her shirt turns silver and gains indigo sparkles, followed by her capris lengthening and gaining silver trim. Next, a halo of indigo light forms around Anabel's head, making her hair lengthen as indigo shoes with amethysts on the soles appear on her feet. Finally, the light flies to her hand, where it forms a bass guitar.)

Aiirochou: Haeru wingu, Aiirochou yo!

Zoe: Ready! (her watch glows orange) Orange wings of Light, it's time to fly! (as Zoe says "it's time to fly", she draws a circle of orange light around herself, which bonds to her clothes. Her shirt turns orange with black trim, and her jeans turn into sparkling orange slacks. Next, her shoes turn orange with a sun emblem on them. Finally, the light flies into her hand, where it forms a saxophone. Her hair also lengthens to shoulder length)

Orenjichou: Haeru wingu, Orenjichou yo!

Ash(holds his hand in the air, then sings in a noticeably older sounding voice): Ai-yai-yai, I'm your little Beautifly! (Ash's hand begins to glow and swirls of gold surround it) Green, black, and blue; make the colors in the sky!

(MUSIC-"Beautifly" (instrumental))

(We see a glowing outline of Ash's body against the background of Beautifly wings and gold fireworks. As Ash hangs in this position, his torso begins to glow purple, and a silver, gold and purple shirt appears on him. Next, a silver, gold, purple, and green checkered jacket appears over that in a flash of purple. Next, we look at Ash's legs as sparkling black pants with gold trim appear on his legs in a flash of blue, and silver and gold swirled shoes appear on his feet. The view next shifts to Ash's head, where we see his eyes finally open. His normally black hair begins to lengthen and turn silver. A white rose appears in the right pocket of the jacket, which the young man holds in one hand as he poses for the audience.)

(Music cut)

(The yellow book on the table gains a new title: "Ierochou's Diary". As the rest of the band files out the door, Ierochou takes one last look at the book and smiles before departing)

(We fade to the scene of an arena somewhere in Jubilife, where a large crowd has gathered.)

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen...Kochou and the Beautiflies!

(The crowd roars as Kochou appears onstage)

Kochou: Hi there, Jubilife City! How is everyone tonight? (wild cheers) It's great to be here, and I especially want to thank Jubilife TV for having us. (more cheers) So, first thing I wanna do is introduce my cotarie...so can I get a little groove going in here? Just snap your fingers like this... (he starts to snap in a rhythmic tempo. Before long the entire crowd is snapping) Okay! Just keep doing that...that should give our drummer something to work with....come on, Midorichou!

(Midorichou appears in a green spotlight, improvising a beat to the audience's snapping)

Kochou: Aw yeah...now let's add in some bass, Aiirochou...

(Aiirochou appears in a deep blue spotlight, improvising a solo over the drums and snapping)

Kochou: And now we'll add in a dash of guitar, with some help from Akaichou here...

(Akaichou appears in a red spotlight, improvising a solo over the bass, drums, and snapping. Kochou helps by adding in his own guitar riff as well)

Kochou: And while we're at it, let's throw in some keyboards to the mix, shall we, Ierochou?

(Ierochou appears in a yellow spotlight before a digital piano, improvising her solo over both guitars, the bass, the drums, and the snapping)

Kochou: And for the finishing touches, a little sax and a little more beat!

(Mizuirochou appears in a light blue spotlight, adding her solo to the others. Orenjichou is nearby the drums in an orange spotlight, shaking a tambourine to the beat)

Kochou: Howsat for a great recipe for a groove? (wild applause) Keep snapping, okay? (the band continues to play the song as the scene fades back to the room. At first, all is quiet--before Anya leads the Rockets inside! A quick look in the hallway reveals an open window, presumably where the Rockets entered)

Anya: And here's where Beauty-boy and his crew hangs out when they're not playing....

(Meru, meanwhile, spots the diary on the table)

Meru: Hey guys! One of the Beautiflies left their personal diary just sitting here!

Yami: Ooh, I wanna read! Maybe it's got some deep, dark secret inside that we can use to ruin Beauty-boy!

Kage: Calm down, Yami...we'll read it once we all get comfy. (he pulls up a chair and makes himself comfortable. He invites Meowth into his lap as his comrades all sit down. Once everyone is seated, Yami takes the book from Meru)

Yami: Okay...let's see here... (she opens the book to a random page and starts reading) "Christmas 2006--Today's weather, snowy; currently feeling: awesome..."

Kage: So, what happened that Christmas that was so interesting?

Yami: I'm getting there! (she continues reading) "Dear Diary: This year was the best Christmas ever! Kochou got me a pretty sled, so we abandoned the video games everyone else got to play in the snow...."

Anya: So she got a sled for Christmas...whoop-de-doo...

Yami: Let me pick a different one here... (she thumbs through the book a little) Here we go..."Sixteenth day of May, 2007--Today's weather, light rain; currently feeling: disappointed..." (the others perk up) "yet hopeful."

Kage: You had me on "disappointed", so what was she disappointed about?

Yami: It says... "Dear Diary: We had planned to go have a picnic in the park today, but it rained, again. Can't we have some sunny days for a change?..."

Meru: I was hoping for something a little more horrific than a rainy day...

Anya: Keep looking, Yami; the deep dark secrets have to be in there somewhere!

Meowth: I will admit dat dese are interesting...

Yami: I'll try one more... (she thumbs through the book again) Fourth day of June, 2007--Today's weather, very hot; currently feeling: refreshed...Dear Diary: After Akaichou nearly overheated last night, Kochou suggested giving her an ice bath to cool down...it was so hot today...

Other Rockets: HOW HOT WAS IT???

Yami(still reading the entry): It was so hot today that the heat on Akaichou's body made the ice become steam...

Meru: I remember that was during the heat wave Kanto had this summer!

Anya: That was mildly interesting, but not as scandalous as I hoped...is there anything resembling big fights or broken hearts?

(Yami thumbs through the diary again)

Yami: There's some stuff about fighting in here, but not of the caliber you'd want...

Anya: No broken hearts, either?

Yami: Nope, more like loving hearts.

Meowth: If dere's no big fights or broken hearts in dere...we'll just have to make some up to damage Beauty-boy's rep!

Anya: Yeah! I love a scandal!

(music begins as we look at the Rockets on PCs, typing fake diary entries and compiling them into a fake diary)

Anya: Scandal, I love a scandal! (A juicy, juicy scandal)
Wherever it is, I'll track it down, (we see Anya as a detective following footprints)
And spread it to everyone in town! (A juicy, juicy scandal)

Scandal, I love a scandal! (A juicy, juicy scandal)
Scandal, I love a scandal! (A sight too hot to handle)

When I'm on the scent, there's no stopping me!
There's no way you're gonna hide from me, no! (we see Anya surprising Kochou, who is hiding behind a wall)
I'll get the goods on you,

My ear is to the ground; (we see Anya with an ear to the ground)
And once I've got the goods on you,
I'll see it gets around! (we see people whispering down a line)
I love a scandal!

Scandal, I love a scandal! (A juicy, juicy scandal)
Servin' it down, and spyin' it out!
There's just something I love about a scandal!
I love a scandal!
I love a scandal!

(The Rockets laugh as Yami concludes the last fake entry)

Yami: Try and make some colors in a stormy sky, Beauty-boy! (the Rockets depart with the fake diaries. We notice, however, that Ierochou's diary is left hanging open on the table)

(Later, the gang returns, energized from another successful show. But their happiness is shortlived...)

Ierochou: Ah, another show in the books... (she hears the phone ring and runs to answer it) Hello?...this is she...what? I would never do such a thing! Never ever! Okay...good bye. (she hangs up)

Midorichou: Who was it?

Ierochou: Some guy wanting to know about a supposed fight Akaichou and I had...

Akaiachou: I don't look mad to you, do I?

Ierochou: There was that time I broke your binoculars...

Akaichou: We knew that was an accident... (the phone rings again) I'll get it... (she answers the phone) Hello? No, Ierochou would pay for her own jewelry, not steal it! Never has stolen anything, never will. All right, good bye.

Kochou: Now what?

Akaichou: Now they want to know about a supposed collection of stolen jewels Ierochou has...

Mizuirochou: On top of that, "Totally Stars" claims she's depressed... (gestures to the TV screen, which has the headline "Yellow Beautifly Has the Blues?" on it) but I haven't seen Ierochou act depressed....

Kochou: If she really was like that, we would know something was wrong! (continues making notes about the story.)

Aiirochou: It's going to be tough now these "scandals" have broken out.

Orenjichou: The Ierochou we know would never do any of that stuff!

Midorichou: And never has!

(Suddenly, Niji notices the open diary on the table)

Niji: I think whoever started these rumors read Ierochou's diary, then blew the accounts inside way out of proportion! (At this, Misty rushes inside)

Misty: What's this about Ierochou?

Kochou: Someone read her diary and started some nasty rumors about her!

Misty: Really, like what?

Ierochou: That Akaichou and I are now mortal enemies...

Akaichou: That she's a jewel thief...

Misty: Of course not!

Aiirochou: And that she's fighting depression...

Misty: Since none of those claims are true and the media claims they are, we have two options to win back the public's trust: Continually deny everything every time the issues come up....

Midorichou: Which would get annoying and frustrating after a while...

Aiirochou: Midorichou's right...

Misty: Or we could go on TV ourselves and publically deny every charge.

Kochou: Exposing the lies in public sounds good to me...so can we call up the TV station?

Misty: Sure! (she picks up the phone and dials a number)

(The scene fades to the inside of a TV studio a few days later. The lights come up on the set of a talk show as the show's theme song begins)

Female announcer: With the recent rumors of Beautifly keyboardist Ierochou rocking the music world, some have called the claims questionable. Others refuse to believe the band's repeated denials until Ierochou herself says they are false. So are the rumors true? Find out on The Sora Leonknight Show!

(The audience applauds as Sora appears and waves to the crowd.)

Sora: Thank you! Thank you, Icy; and thank you, Thora. (pets the Shiny Pikachu holding the cue cards) Over the last week, an annonymous source has reported some highly dubious claims about Ierochou, keyboardist for Kochou and the Beautiflies. Some blindly take the claims to be true, while others have called their accuracy questionable at best. But the best way to find out their accuracy is to ask the subject herself. With that, please welcome my guests today; Kochou and the Beautiflies.

(Half the girls in the audience scream as the band comes onstage. Ierochou opts to sit in the chair facing Sora while the Beautiflies sit in places around her)

Sora: Okay, Ierochou, we're all aware that you guys have been through a rough week repeatedly denying these rumors...

Ierochou: Yes...all the claims depict me as a person I am not, and given just how fast a rumor can spread today; we've had to resort to drastic measures to save our reputations.

Sora: I understand that the rumors came from your personal diary?

Ierochou: Yes...the tipster somehow read my private diary, and then took what I wrote way out of context. So I say to the audience and all our fans: Allow me to set the record straight, because I am not who these rumors say I am.

Sora: On that note: let's examine the rumors one by one...#1: Mortal enemies with Akaichou after a big fight?

Ierochou: Akaichou and I have had arguments in the past, but all were resolved in a resonable amount of time. Furthermore, none of these arguments were of the caliber the rumor describes. (the word "FALSE" appears over the rumor)

Sora: One down, now for #2: Rock star by day, jewel thief by night?

Ierochou: No...if I wanted my own jewels, I would pay for them myself; not steal them. (the word "FALSE" is stamped on the rumor)

Sora: And the last one...Yellow Wing with the blues?

Ierochou: I have had my share of rough times, as we all do; but I have not felt depressed to my knowledge. If I needed help through a dark time, I would have my friends to support me. (she gestures to the Beautiflies as the audience cheers and the word "FALSE" is stamped on the rumor. Ierochou hugs Kochou in jubilation)

Sora: So there you have it, folks--those rumors were pure lies after all!

(Kochou speaks over the audience's cheers)

Kochou(voiceover): The appearance on "The Sora Leonknight Show" was the one thing the press and our fans needed to see to know those rumors were false and we were speaking the truth. Although it took several days of denials before that, I knew all along that Ierochou was none of those things. Before long, the whole rumor mess faded from the public eye, allowing us to focus on our next show...

(Music begins as we see Kochou and the gang on a stage before a cheering crowd)

Kochou: Imagine me,
Free from care,
Light as a feather,
Floating on air;

Imagine me,
Can't you see
How lovely it would be?

Imagine me,
Breezing through
Never a worry, nothing to do

Imagine me,
What a lovely fantasy.

Everythin's goin' my way,
Everythin's rollin' along,

No pain, no strain,
I can't complain!
Life is a happy song,

Imagine me,
Coasting by,
Solvin' my problems,
Easy as pie.

Life is simple as ABC
Baby, just imagine me
Imagine me, (Imagine me)
Imagine me... (the crowd roars as Kochou bows)

(an instrumental of "When Tomorrow Comes" plays as the word "Next..." appears on screen)

Ierochou(voiceover): Next time, on "Kochou and the Beautiflies...."

(We see Kochou gawking at a shorter version of himself with white hair)

Ierochou(voiceover): Someone's going around claiming to be Kochou, but Misty's not convinced--she decides to challenge this imposter to a contest! (we see the imposter and the real Kochou before a crowd on a stage) But first, we have to find this imposter first! (we see the gang chasing the imposter) But I know that Misty would much rather hear this...

Kochou: I'll never let you down...

Ierochou(voiceover) Over this... (we hear the imposter butchering "Rock n' Roll Forever" for a moment) Can we unmask the imposter? Stay tuned!