Pokemon Learning League

Business Proposal

Written By

Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens with Serena, Ash, Pikachu, Cilan, Bonnie, Iris, Axew and Clemont coming into the ports of Castelia City on an early partly cloudy morning with a little sea breeze. The tall buildings of the city envelop them as they come into Prime Pier.)

Ash: There it is, guys.

(Clemont, Bonnie and Serena marvel at the tall skyscrapers of the city.)

Clemont: The architecture here is really incredible.

Serena: You said it.

(The ship docks into the harbor, the crew brings the stairs out, set them in place and they all get off. Bonnie glances over to the audience and speaks to them.)

Bonnie (casually): Oh, good morning, guys.

Dedenne: Dede.

Cilan (casually): Hello, there.

Serena (casually): Hey.

Ash (casually): Morning.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Clemont (casually): Hello.

Iris (casually): Hi.

Axew: Axew.

(They head on down Mode Street. Moments later, they come to Studio Castelia, which has a closed sign on the door. They look inside and see some of the various paintings, mobiles and sculptures.)

Serena: Some of them look really good.

Cilan: They sure do.

Serena: How about we see the rest of them later?

Ash: Of course, Serena.

Pikachu: Pika, Pikachu.

(They continue on down. Moments later, they go down Castelia Street. As they go along, they see some of the various stores on it.)

Serena: There sure are a lot of different stores around here.

Bonnie: Yeah.

Dedenne: Dede.

Bonnie: Hey, Ash. Are there any other good places around here?

Ash: Oh, you bet there are, Bonnie.

Pikachu: Pika, Pika.

(Just then, Serena's stomach grumbles. She puts her hands around it and blushes.)

Serena:Oh, I'm getting hungry.

(Iris's stomach also grumbles.)

Iris: Oh. (Chuckles.) Let's go get some breakfast.

Axew: Axew.

(They continue on down the Street. Moments later, they come to a restaurant. It has a board in the window that shows the breakfast specials for the day & some menu items and has an outdoor table set.)

Ash: Hey, how about here, guys?

(The others nod in agreement and they go inside.)

All (in awe): Wow!

(They marvel at the interior architecture, from the pillars to the cone-shaped lights hanging from the ceiling. An employee stands at the entrance. She has maroon hair in two pigtails, brown eyes, wears a blue short-sleeved uniform short with black pants and shoes.)

Employee: Hello, there. How can I help you guys out today?

Cilan: Could we have a table for six, please?

Employee: Very well. Let me show you to it.

(She hands each of them a menu and shows them to their table, which has a TV set hanging on the wall above it.)

Employee: Someone will be here to serve you shortly.

Iris: All right. Thank you.

Employee: You're welcome.

(She walks away. A few minutes later, they are served steamed rice, tamagoyaki, miso soup, onigiris, milk toast, cinnamon waffles, cinnamon muffins, apple blender pancakes fruit juice & orange juice.)

Ash: It all looks great.

Pikachu: Pika.

Cilan: All right, let's eat.

(They all start eating. As they chew, they give a really satisfied look.)

All (contently): Mmm.

Serena: This is really amazing.

Bonnie: Yeah.

Dedenne: Dede.

(Just then, Cilan sees Lex over near the entrance. The employee hands him a menu and walks him over to the table next to them.)

Lex: Hey, everyone.

Bonnie: Hey, Lex.

Lex: How are you all doing?

Cilan: We're doing fine. How about you?

Lex: I'm great.

Cilan: That's good. What brings you here?

Lex: I thought I'd come and try the food here.

Ash (understanding): Oh, okay.

(He sits down and goes through the menu. He ponders for a moment.)

Bonnie: So, where are we going to do after this?

Cilan: You'll see soon enough, Bonnie.

Bonnie: All right, then.

(They resume eating their food. Now, we pan over to Lex, who is still looking through the menu.)

Lex: Oh, that looks good.

(He puts the menu down on the table. A waiter comes over and places a glass of juice on the table. He has brown hair, blue eyes, wears a grey shirt, a black vest, dress pants and black loafers.)

Waiter: You ready to order, sir?

Lex: Yes, I'll have a Syrniki and a Baked French Toast Casserole.

Waiter: All right. Will that be all?

Lex: Yes.

Waiter: Very well. It'll be out to you soon.

Lex: Thank you.

(He takes the menu and walks away. Lex looks up to the TV, and gets an intrigued look on his face. He looks over to the gang.)

Lex: Hey, guys.

Ash: What is it?

Lex: Look.

(He points up to The TV and they look up. Pan up to it and see… Lance is on it.)

Lance: Hello, this is Lance from Blackthorn City in Johto and I'd just like to say: Ohayo, Unova!

(Fade out and the theme music plays over a beautiful scene of the Sun rising over Castelia City.)

Announcer: From UBS News, this is Ohayo, Unova! With David Gibson and Katie Sawyer.

(Fade in to the news desk with the anchors David Gibson and Katie Sawyer. David has brown hair, black eyes, a suit and tie, dress pants and dress shoes. Katie has brunette hair, red eyes, a work dress, stockings and flats.)

David: Good morning, everyone. I'm David Gibson.

Katie: And I'm Katie Sawyer.

David: At the top of the hour, the Champion, Alder has announced the he's going to challenge Lance the Dragon Master.

Katie: That's right. Trainers from around the region are getting ready for this big event. Not since the Unova league has there been this much hype. It's going to be a good one.

David: Yes, it will be. Later on, we'll be talking with Lance live via satellite and see how he feels about it.

Katie (inquisitively): How do you think it'll turn out, David?

David: I don't know, Katie, but I know it's going to be a lot of fun.

Katie: That's good. Now, have you ever wanted to have Pokemon Contests in Unova? Well, trainers everywhere are going nuts because it's finally coming here. Starting next month, they'll get to join in on it.

David: You know, I have to say, I've always enjoyed the kinds of combinations that could be done in them and the final battles.

Katie: You said it. Coming up, a scientist has come up with a way to enhance a Pokemon's attack power.

David: Oh, that'll be interesting, and there's been talk about the first animated Pokemon feature set to classical music in the works. Will it be a good thing? Stay tuned to find out.

(It goes to commercial. Pan back down to the gang.)

Ash (amazed): That's really cool.

Pikachu (agreeing): Pika.

Iris: That'll be an interesting battle to see.

Serena: Yeah.

(They continue eating. A few minutes later, they pay the bill and head for the exit.)

Employee: Thank you for coming. We hope to see you again.

(They leave and head on down the street.)

Cilan: So, Lex, what made you decide to come to Castelia?

Lex: I heard there's going to be an art festival coming up in a few days.

Clemont: That sounds pretty good.

Lex: Yeah, it will be.

Ash: Where are you staying at?

Lex: Oh, in a hotel on Gym Street called the Castelia Holiday Inn.

Iris: That's nice.

Axew: Axew.

(They continue on through. Moments later, they pass by a store that is selling unique Pokemon items & food. They stop and see some of the very special ones in the display case.)

Serena (intrigued): Those are some interesting stuff.

Cilan: Yeah. We'll come back later to get some of that.

(They resume on down the street. As they go on, they see many of the other places on the street. One store sells special Pokemon medicine, and another has attack mentors waiting to help out. Moments later, they come to the Central Plaza.)

Lex: What do you guys say we take a break here?

(They all nod their heads in agreement. Moments later, we see each of them are relaxing in different ways. Pan down to Ash, Serena and Iris laying on their backs and looking up at the sky.)

Ash: Doesn't this feel good, you guys?

Pikachu (agreeing): Pika.

Iris: It sure does.

Axew: Axew.

Serena: Yeah.

(They all sigh with comfort.)

Iris: So, Serena have you done anything interesting?

Serena: Yes. I just caught a Pancham.

Iris: That's great. How about you, Ash?

Ash: It's been great. There's been a lot of great places there. You should visit some of them.

Iris: Oh, okay.

Ash: Yeah. What have you done, Iris?

Iris: I've visited a new Safari Zone that opened near Cianwood City.

Ash: That's pretty cool.

Iris: Yep. You guys should check it out.

Serena: All right.

(Just then, they see flocks of Fletchinder, Pidgeotto and Tranquill flying overhead.)

All: Ahh.

(Now, we pan over to Lex and Cilan sitting on a bench.)

Cilan: How's it been going with those prank videos?

Lex: Very well. Some of them have been really crazy.

Cilan (intrigued): Really?

Lex: Oh, yeah. Everyone's come up with some of the wackiest things to do, but it's a lot of fun.

Cilan: That's good. By the way, are you going to show one of your models at the festival?

Lex: Of course. It's back at the hotel.

Cilan: That's good. I'll bet it's going to be good.

Lex: It will be.

(Now, we pan over to Bonnie and Clemont playing with their Pokemon. Bonnie searching around for Dedenne.)

Bonnie (playfully): Now, where did you go?

(She looks around the field. Now, we do a dolly shot behind a tree to find Dedenne hiding underneath it.)

Dedenne: (giggling) Dede.

(Now, we cut to Bonnie scoping near the tree.)

Bonnie: Hmm.

(She ponders for a moment and gets an idea. She looks behind the tree, looks up it, then down below it and spots it on the lower trunk.)

Bonnie: Ah-ha!

(She gives it a little tickle on the belly. Then, it runs up on her shoulder and snuggles her on the face. Now, pan over to Clemont and Luxio with some targets set up.)

Clemont: All right, Luxio. Hit many of these targets as you can.

Luxio: Luxio.

Clemont: Okay. Luxio, use Discharge!

(It charges up and releases a large amount of yellow electricity at the targets, hitting them and knocking them down.)

Clemont: Great job.
Luxio: Luxio.

(Bonnie and Dedenne come over to them.)

Bonnie: Hey, Clemont. How's the practicing?

Clemont: It's going well.

(Luxio nods its head and Clemont goes over to the knocked down targets. As he sets them back up, Clemont spots a young man named Mark Todman, who is thinking about something. He has red hair, amber eyes, is around Cilan's age, and is wearing glasses, a blue t-shirt, beige pants, has six PokeBalls on his belt and has black sneakers.)

Bonnie: What's wrong?

(He points over to Mark.)

Bonnie: Oh. What do you think he's doing?

Clemont: Let's go see.

(They walk over to him. Mark sees them coming over.)

Mark: Um, hello there.

Clemont: Hi. I'm Clemont.

Bonnie: I'm Bonnie, and this is Dedenne.

Dedenne: Dede.

Mark: Nice to meet you both. I'm Mark Todman.

Clemont: I was wondering, what are you thinking about?

Mark: It's just an idea for a new television show.

Clemont: I see.

Mark: Yeah. I'm going to try to pitch it to the UBS network executives sometime tomorrow.

(Ash and the others come over to them.)

Ash: What's going on over here, you two?

Bonnie: Oh, yeah. Mark, these are the rest of our friends.

All: Nice to meet you.

Mark: Thanks. Same to you.

Bonnie: He was just about to tell us his idea for a new show.

Serena: Really?

Clemont: Yeah. (He turns to Mark.) So, what's the show about?

Mark: It's basically a game show where you have to answer general questions about Pokemon in the first two rounds. Then, in the next two, you have to guess the price of some items. Finally, when it comes down to two contestants, they have to put in a final showcase battle and whoever's the victor wins the prize of their choice.

Ash: That's cool.

Mark: Have you made anything to show to them?

Mark: Yes. (He goes into his bag and pulls out miniature sets and a written treatment.) I have highly detailed miniature sets, the location, a series treatment written out and I have the budget worked out.

Lex: Well. You really know what you're doing.

Mark: Thanks.

Lex: If I can give you one suggestion, how about writing out a business proposal?

Mark: All right, but how is one written out?

Lex: Well, let me show you.

(He pulls out the Pokepilot from his pocket, turns it on, looks through it and pulls up an example of one proposal.)

Lex: To start with, you write out an executive summary. Include an overview of some of your achievements and accolades. After that, state the objective of your proposal and make sure it's written in a specific & measurable way.

(As he explains, a section of the proposal gets highlighted and animated images move to the words on the page.)

Cilan: All right, now what?

Lex: Next, compose a market analysis section. In this part, you describe the competition in great detail, as well as provide information about their product & service offerings, the target markets, their strengths & weaknesses and the market share. Also, highlight any growth segments you've found through research.

Mark: Okay, what's the next part?

Lex: Now, you describe your idea. When doing this, bring up what the idea is about, why the reader should be interested in it, when you plan on doing it, where it's going to be done and who's your target audience.

Iris: All right, what else?

Lex: Next, write out a financial analysis section. For this one, outline the projections for the revenues and expenses related to your idea, and also include a projected return on the investment.

Serena: And what's left?

Lex: Finally, you include a call to action. What you want to do is create a sense of urgency by providing a deadline for when the reader should respond and provide your contact information, as well.

Ash: Gee, writing a good proposal can be tricky.

Lex: It is, which is why I'm going to show you something.

Bonnie: Okay, Lex.

Dedenne: Dede.

(Pan up to an upper panel show a blank document divided up into different sections.)

Lex: You guys ready?

Ash: Yeah.

Pikachu: Pika.

Lex: All right, then. Here, this woman is going to propose a new kind of Pokemon medicine to a company. What do you think her description is going to be?

Cilan: It's going to talk about what she's done before for others and mention that she wants to help troubled trainers with Pokemon training.

Lex: All right, Cilan. Now, how do you think she'll talk about the competition in here?

Iris: She'll talk about the kinds of medicines the other companies have out that have a similar effect, the services they provide and bring up their strengths and weaknesses.

Lex: Good one, Iris. How do you think she'll describe her idea?

Clemont: She'll state it's for a new kind of Rare Candy, it's for any trainer, she'll start on it in a few weeks, and it'll all be done in her hometown and tells them that if they pick it up, it'll be more convenient for trainers.

Lex: Very well, Clemont. Now, what's her financial analysis?

Mark: She outlines the cost of it, how much they could make from it and how much of the investment they'll get back.

Lex: Okay, Mark. Lastly, what sort of call of action should she give?

Ash: She gives them a month to respond and gives the company phone number and the address.

Lex: Very good, Ash. Great work, guys.

Mark: Thank you, Lex.

Lex: No problem, Mark.

(He turns off the Pokepilot and puts it back in his pocket.)

Lex: So, Mark, you ready to do it?

Mark: Yes, I am.

Serena: That's good. Let's see if the viewers wants to do it before we get started.

Clemont: Okay, then. (He glances over to the audience.) You guys want to do it? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, all right.

Mark: You guys do this a lot?

Cilan: Yeah, we do.

(Dissolve to a new blank document.)

Bonnie: Okay, let's do it. What do you think he should talk about at the beginning? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) Some of what's he done so far and what's he looking to do with his idea. Sure, why not.

Ash: Now, how should he describe what the competition has? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) What other game shows are being produced, what they have to offer and what their strengths and weaknesses are. All right, then.

Serena: Okay, how do you think he should describe his idea? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) He should talk about what it's about, where it's going to be set at, why they should do it, who the main audience is and when he's going to do it. All right.

Cilan: Now, what should his financial analysis state? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) How much it'll cost, what could be made from it & how much of the investment they'll make back. Very good.

Iris: Finally, what should be his call to action? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) Tell them to respond in a few months and give them the studio phone number & address. Okay.

(Dissolve back to the gang in the plaza, and Serena casually speaks.)

Serena: Thanks a lot, you guys.

Mark: Thanks for that suggestion, Lex.

Lex: You're quite welcome.

(Mark puts his stuff back into his bag.)

Bonnie: Say, Mark. You want to come and relax with us?

Mark: Of course I can.

(Moments later, they resume what they were doing.)

Mark: Really? That's pretty interesting.

Lex: Yeah, it is. It wasn't easy building it, but it was all worth it and it came out great.

Mark: So, which one are you working on now?

Lex: I'm currently working on a life-size model of a Milotic.

Mark: Oh, that's cool.

(Ash comes over to them.)

Ash: Hey, Mark. You want to do some training?

(He thinks for a minute.)

Mark: Sure thing.

(They all turn to the audience.)

All: Thank you, guys.
Pikachu: Pika.

Axew: Axew.

Dedenne: Dede.

(Dissolve to moments later, where Ash and Mark are doing some training, Bonnie and Iris are playing with each other and the others are laying out on the grass.)

Clemont: Well that was an interesting episode. Did you enjoy it? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, okay. We'll see you next time.

(They all casually wave goodbye the audience and they continue relaxing. We pan up to the sky, and it then irises out, ending the episode.)