Unsheathing two daggers with serrated, curved blades, Jack glanced over to Nome's avatar, the VR headset tugging slightly on his head in the real world. Huh, she must be pretty new to these types of games, he thinks to himself as he turns back to the gyarados rising up ahead of them. Jack was excited when Nomi Sato had agreed to an interview about her work as a brewer, but meeting her in person and trying out the new demo of "Clash Fantasy" was an even bigger surprise. Definitely a two-for-one special in the blogging world.

"No worries," he calls our to her reassuringly, though if his virtual avatar was equipped with sweat glands he would definitely be sweating. Either this game was seriously hard if you started out against a gyarados, or the demo team was pulling out all the stops to drum up hype before release. Either way, he was sure the crowd around them at the mall was watching the battle on screen with high expectations.

"Do you have any buffs or protection spells? We're probably going to need them!" he calls out before hitting a button on his controller. With a cheesy poof sound effect, the lanky avatar dressed in skin-tight black leather fades into translucence before disappearing. He wasn't sure if Nomi could still see him as he circles around behind the massive pokemon in stealth form but hopefully she was ready with some type of spell. He decided not to call out to her, in case the game designers had coded sound detection into the pokemon AI.

He leaps at the pokemon's back, reappearing suddenly as he slashes into the gyarados. Landing on the pokemon, he pulls both of his daggers high overhead, readying for a double thrust but the pokemon roars and dislodges Jack, causing him to fall prone besides its slashing tail.

Naomi Sato

Somewhere in the distance, Nomi could hear a crowd of murmuring voices, and she remembered - quite suddenly - that they were not in a gloomy seaside cave being accosted by an angry Gyarados but, in fact, standing in the Slateport Central Mall donned in VR headsets and surrounded by excited onlookers. Jack has a reputation to maintain, Nomi reminded herself. He’s a popular blogger. I better not embarrass him in front of all these people!

Swiftly, the young brewer gathered her wits and watched as Jack made a daring attack, leaping deftly onto the fearsome Pokémon's back. Just before he could strike, however, the Gyarados knocked him back to the ground, then raised its tail to crush him. “I don’t think so!” Nomi shouted, and without thinking too hard about it, activated one of her spells: shield of hope. All of a sudden, the crystal on the top of her wooden staff began to glow, and a shimmering translucent barrier surrounded Jack as the Gyarados’ tail came crashing down on top of him. However, instead of flattening the blogger, it merely bounced off the shield, doing zero damage. The far-off murmuring voices she’d heard before roared loudly - the sound of cheering - and she couldn't help but smile. I’m getting the hang of this, she thought, realizing that her nerves had turned to excitement.

“Hold on, I’ve got another idea!” She exclaimed, quickly scanning the rest of her spells. She spun her staff around in a graceful arc, then slammed it into the ground, knocking a few pebbles into the air. She held out her hand and cast ray of weakness. A sickly green light engulfed the Gyarados, and the Pokémon thrashed and snorted in irritation. “Allright, Jack, stab him with your daggers! They should do more damage now!” She called out.

She hoped that, this time, Jack wouldn’t miss.

PKMN HUNTER[break]Naomi Sato + jack wainwright

[break]Nomi's look inspired by FFXIV White Mage

As the ray of weakness hits the gyarados, Jack is already moving. Shadowstepping back into his invisible state, he dashs directly in front of the enormous pokemon, readying his daggers. With an upward leap, he slashs into the pokemon's stomach with two twin tears that paralleled one another up the abdomen. "Oh good, not too gory then," he calls to Nomi as pulsating red lines appear where he had slashed the gyarados rather than jagged bleeding wounds with innards spilling out.

With a wild roar, the gyarados slapps Jack with its tail, sending him careening past Nomi. Jack's haptic vest and controllers constrict around him briefly, vibrating with the semi-realistic feeling of being struck. Giving himself a shake, Jack grips the controls as his character stands up and returns to Nomi's side. The crowd around them murmurs, obviously impressed, though with the gyarados rather than the two players.

"So how's the beer business going," he asks the woman wryly as the gyarados opens its mouth and begins charging a massive hyper beam attack.

Naomi Sato

"Beer business?" Nomi echoed Jack, confused, heart racing from the thrill of battle. The developers have done a stellar job making this feel real, she thought, realizing Jack's question was a perfectly reasonable one to ask while playing a game. This wasn't actually a life or death situation, realistic though it felt.

As she just barely dodged her avatar out of the way of the oncoming hyper beam, Nomi answered, "Oh, it's going well! I recently dropped off my first big Slateport City order. A bar called Howling at the Moon, do you know it?" She deftly twirled her wooden rod above her head, the crystal emitting a bright golden hue this time. A warm aura, soft and gentle, surrounded Jack, and she watched as his health bar returned to full. He'd been hit twice by the Gyarados now, and it had taken quite a toll on him.

"If you go there, you'll be able to try my specialty Slateport sea-salted Gose, as well as the first in my Rollout IPA series - they'll get stronger each time: session, single, double, triple! - and my new Pilsner," she continued proudly. "You promised to review my beer, Jack, remember?"

The Gyarados, stuck in the recharging phase of hyper beam, would not be able to attack for one round. Nomi hoped Jack would be able to take full advantage of that.

PKMN HUNTER | Naomi Sato + jack wainwright

[break]Nomi's look inspired by FFXIV White Mage

Jack grins at Nomi's confused response to his question, though he realizes no one can see it hidden behind his VR headset. The haptic suit around him provides a tingling sensation as Nomi's healing spell washes over him. Good, at least we're not going to get slaughtered in front of an audience, he thinks to himself.

"I do know Howling at the Moon!" Jack exclaims in surprise. "That's my new favorite bar and the owner is one of my mates. I wrote a great piece on it for my blog," Jack explains excitedly. Without warning he pops a Potion of Fluid Strikes and his action speed doubles, highlighted in bright green on the game's HUD.

"What a unique beer, that will definitely make for a great review. I didn't forget," he says to Nomi before his character rushes into a flying leap at the recharging Gyarados. Jack's avatar makes several quick movements, ending in a flashy pose. Lighting strikes down from the sky, wreathing around both of his daggers. As he descends from his leap, he crashes into the gargantuan pokemon to perform a double-stab attack with his lightning-aspected blades. The Gyarados roads in pain and begins to pulse with shades of muted red. He skids to a halt besides Nomi once again, smiling even though he knew no one could see.

"You're bringing so much excitement to the Hoenn beer scene, plus some much needed innovation. I'm so hopeful for your success," Jack practically beams. "Now's your chance," he gestures to the critically wounded Gyarados, "Got any flashy spells to finish him off?"

Naomi Sato

Nomi felt herself blush beneath her VR headset as Jack complimented her, and was suddenly glad that nobody could see her real-life face right now. I blush too easily, she lamented inwardly. "Jack, that's kind of you to say," she replied, pleased. "Brewing has certainly been fun. If I get a job in a lab like I've been hoping I will, I'll definitely still brew beer on the side." The Gyarados roared in pain, and Nomi's attention snapped back to the game again; they needed to take full advantage of the Gyarados's weakened state, and quickly!

Now, to check her spell list...

Something caught her eye all of a sudden: a flashing symbol in the bottom left-hand corner of the HUD. A small bar had filled up fully, and was now solidly gold, and the words Ulti Burst Ready! were glowing and flashing above the bar. She furrowed her brow beneath her equipment, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Just go for it! It's got to be something good, right? She tapped it, and felt an immense power flow into her, causing her avatar to also glow gold. The crystal on her healing staff began to charge, and she realized that it was now her turn to do something akin to the Gyarados' hyper beam.

"Let's use the Ulti Burst!" Nomi called out to Jack. "I think we can do it at the same time! It seems to be some kind of special finishing spell."

Distantly, she noticed that a hush had fallen over the mall crowd that was observing their match. Things had become eerily quiet, as if everyone was waiting with baited breath. She hoped she and Jack wouldn't let their spectators down. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt sweat trickle down the back of her neck. We've got this!

PKMN HUNTER | Naomi Sato + jack wainwright

[break]Nomi's look inspired by FFXIV White Mage

Jack's chest vibrated as the golden glow of the Ulti Burst spell flowed into Nomi. Soon his haptic suit is vibrating with the energy of the spell as well as a crystalline chime indicating that the charging was complete. Energized by the expectant hush that had fallen over the crowd, Jack activates the spell. Suddenly, Jack and Nomi explode with an aura of scintillating light nad Jack's haptic suit rumbles audibly as it shakes. Jack launches into the air before Nomi, his daggers crossed into an X above his head. The crystal on Nomi's staff lets loose a beam of pure energy that slams into the daggers, slicing into hundreds of ribbons of opalescent light on the gleaming blades. For the briefest moment, the ribbons of power hang in the air before streaking forward and slamming into the Gyarados in an explosion of light, sound, and color. As the light fades, the pokemon lets out one final cry before slumping over with an earthshaking crash and fading from view.

As Jack pulls off the VR headset and turns to Nomi, his arm extended for a celebratory fist-bump, the crowd goes wild.

Naomi Sato

"WE DID IT!" Nomi yelled triumphantly, ripping off her VR headset so she could properly beam at Jack, cheeks flushed and strands of pink hair sticking to her sweaty forehead. She met Jack's fist bump, pleased to see a mix of adrenaline-fueled excitement and pride grinning back at her. Around them, the crowd was going absolutely wild, and the massive television screen broadcasting the game for the audience depicted the words VICTORY in flashing green letters. The sounds of the crowd were much louder now that her headset had been removed, and Nomi felt momentarily deafened.

"Well done!" One of the game promoters congratulated them, walking up to retrieve their equipment. "You're the first pair to beat this boss. Impressive! I'll be right back with your participant swag bags."

"Thanks for encouraging me to try this out," Nomi turned to Jack, finally able to hear herself again as the crowd around them began to disperse. "It was WAY more fun than I'd expected! I can totally see why you like to play video games when you're not traveling around, Jack. I already want to play again!"

PKMN HUNTER | Naomi Sato + jack wainwright

[break]Nomi's look inspired by FFXIV White Mage

Grinning like a fool, Jack feels buoyed by Nomi's exuberance. "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll give us a discount on the game when it releases and we can play together more," Jack winks at Nomi but pitches his voice loud enough that he is sure the promoters will overhear him as they gather the swag bags. Jack steps from the platform and into the rapidly dispersing crowd that begins to flow back out into the mall but turns to Nomi with a smile.

"You know, I still need to do that beer review and the vibe at Howling is pretty great. Would you be interested in meeting up again sometime?" Jack asks even as he feels a tinge of warmth grow in his cheeks. "I'm sure an interview with such a cutting edge brewer would go over great with the beer review when I publish it," he adds quickly. Soon their participant rewards arrive and the pair say their farewells, going their separate ways from the demo platform. Jack looks back and Nomi's departing form and smiles.

Naomi Sato