"Fifty... Forty-nine... Forty-eight..."
At dusk, dozens of young people gathered in an open-air plaza in Osaka. They looked at the huge screen above the plaza and cheered the countdown in unison.
This left Haruki (substituting for Li Gen), who was strolling by, stunned. The word "Mirai" was printed on the back of these people's clothes. It was obvious they were Mirai-sensei fans. 'Just to watch animation? That's crazy...'
"What a shame! Why do young people nowadays follow this trend?" grumbled the old man in the wheelchair Haruki was pushing. It was his father. He was in poor health, and Haruki was pushing him around: "The television station is showing cartoons in the plaza. What's so good about those things that only draw mice and cats running around?"
Haruki couldn't help but laugh. 'His father used to watch cartoons with his grandson. Recently, he was watching The Cat and Mouse Couple, which he never liked very much.'
This is normal. 'How can an old man watch animations?' However, Osaka TV's approach this time is truly surprising. It's the first time they've screened cartoons in an open-air plaza.
"The television station places great importance on Pokémon. Mirai-sensei is very capable,"
Haruki exclaimed with admiration.
"What's so good about it!" The old man cursed again: "His book The Legend of Wukong is well-written, but it's incomprehensible that a good writer doesn't write novels and draws manga!"
The older generation still prefers novels and doesn't sufficiently recognize manga. Haruki smiled bitterly.
"So, Dad, shall we go?"
"No, let's stay here. Anyway, we all came out for a walk, so let's take a look."
The old man's reply made Haruki laugh and cry. 'In fact, the old man really likes Mirai-sensei, but he doesn't admit it. Deep down, he still has some expectations for Pokémon.'
"Ten... nine..."
The young man's shouts grew louder and louder, and the countdown came to an end. The two looked at the screen, anticipating what would happen.
After the advertisement disappeared, the animation's opening song played.
"This song is good...",
Haruki praised. This song is very emotional and has a passionate touch. It sounds very energetic, and the opening image is quite good. The numerous Pokémon are dazzling.
"Why are there more strange creatures than people? Is this really an animated version of the animal world?"
"But the graphics look good."
"Those Pokémon are so beautiful! You can tell at first glance that they are not crude products!"
Next to Haruki, other passersby stopped and chatted among themselves. The start of the animation caught their attention. Haruki was also very satisfied, but he was surprised that the human characters in the animation were holding a red and white ball. 'What was that ball?'
Unexpectedly, after the opening song, there was a scene of two Pokémon fighting. The two Pokémon fought in an arena-like place, and the surrounding audience seats were filled with human figures. Then, one Pokémon was defeated, and a red and white ball retrieved it.
The camera changed. It turned out that the ball had been thrown by a human. The man retrieved the ball and threw another, and a new Pokémon appeared on the field.
"Oh, that's it!"
Pokémon means like a monster in your pocket. The ball is a tool for transporting Pokémon.
"It's incredible, this is a fighting animation!"
People became interested. 'It seemed that this wasn't a simple animal world, but an adventure world where humans could collect Pokémon and use them to fight. This was very interesting.'
But 'where was the male protagonist?'
As he continued watching, his doubts suddenly cleared. The battle scene turned out to be a television broadcast in the animation, and the male protagonist was watching television!
"This twist is perfect!"
Unexpected but reasonable, Haruki secretly praised the wonderful transition of the plot. The animation's narration began to explain the male protagonist's identity. His name is Ash, an ordinary boy from Pallet Town, and his dream is to become a Pokémon training master.
"This is a fighting animation!"
Many passionate men were excited. This is the beginning of a standard battle story. The male protagonist has a clear goal from the start and strives to achieve it.
But the girl also had fun.
"Hey, Ash is ten years old! Is that really possible?"
"Haha, it's for kids, very interesting...".
As the plot progressed, the girls liked him even more. Ash went to the research institute to look for a Pokémon, but fell asleep and had to run in his pajamas. When he arrived, the Pokémon from the institute had already been taken, and Ash could only get the last one no one wanted.
This plot was very funny, especially when Ash ran out of the house in his pajamas and opened three empty Poké Balls in a row. The entire plaza erupted in laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Ash is so cute!"
"Who told him to be late?!"
Despite this, when Ash got the Poké Ball that no one wanted and released the Pokémon inside, everyone was still impressed by the Pokémon.
"What is this? It's so cute!"
"Yellow and soft, it makes me want to hug it!"
This Pokémon is not only cute in appearance but also has a unique personality. After it came out, it didn't listen to Ash. Not only did it not join the dance, but it also surprised others, like a capricious child, very adorable.
In the plaza, some took out their phones and started taking pictures of him.
The Pokémon is called Pikachu. Ash takes it on his journey to become a Pokémon Master. Since Pikachu doesn't want to walk, Ash can only drag it with a rope.
This scene is so funny that everyone laughs non-stop, but they soon stop laughing.
Since Pikachu doesn't listen, Ash encounters other Pokémon on the way and can only catch them himself. He fails again and again, and is humiliated, while Pikachu laughs at him.
"Ash is so pathetic..."
Gradually, everyone felt sorry for the male protagonist. 'Why doesn't Pikachu listen to Ash? They get nervous and want to know how Ash can subdue Pikachu.'
Pikachu doesn't listen to Ash. The two soon face danger. A group of Spearows chases them, and Ash promises to protect Pikachu. But Pikachu listens and speeds up to run ahead without any emotion. It doesn't care about Ash's safety behind it.
"Too much!"
Many people are outraged.
But the next event was unexpected. The Spearows targeted Pikachu as their main objective, catching up to him and besieging him. When Ash ran towards him, Pikachu was already covered in wounds.
Ash picked him up and ran. They ran towards a cliff, and the Spearows were close. Ash took off his hat and jumped without hesitation.
"What a man!"
"Well done, Ash!"
many exclaimed. 'Such a male protagonist is powerful enough!' Haruki was also very excited. This is, without a doubt, a battle animation. The male protagonist has a strong personality.
But the crisis was not resolved. After Ash reached the river bank, the Spearows caught up with him. He borrowed a bicycle from a "passerby," put Pikachu in the basket, and ran like crazy.
At that moment, the animation's sky turned gloomy and thunder rumbled. Ash kept pedaling the bicycle, while the Spearows chased him. On a steep slope, the bicycle flew off and Ash and Pikachu fell to the ground.
It started to rain, and the Spearows were about to fly over. Ash slowly got up.
He took out the Poké Ball.
"Pikachu, get in! I know you hate going in there! But only if you stay in there can you be saved!"
"Hurry up, get in. Leave the rest to me."
Ash placed the Poké Ball next to Pikachu and ran backward. He opened his arms and faced the Spearow in the rain to prevent this irritable flock of birds from harming him.
The background music at that moment is very moving. Ash faces the Spearow alone. A lightning bolt illuminates the scene, and everything turns black and white. He stands alone on the ground, and thousands of birds flock towards him.
Thousands of people exclaimed.
Haruki was surprised and suddenly remembered a passage from The Legend of Wukong:
"Wait! At that moment, the dark sky was suddenly split by a huge lightning bolt."
"Sun Wukong jumped and pointed the golden hoop at the sky. Come!"
At that moment, his figure, illuminated by the lightning bolt, is still frozen in legend thousands of years later.
Exactly the same, Ash, with his back to the Spearow, looks like a male protagonist!
At that moment, Pikachu slowly got up, looked at Ash's back, the Poké Ball next to him, and ran towards Ash.
Under the rain and lightning, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder, passed him, and pounced on the flock of Spearows.
"Pika~chu!"
With a scream, Pikachu's body suddenly burst into a golden light that pierced the sky, cut through the rain, and struck the flock of Spearows.
The flock of Spearows was chased away, and Ash and Pikachu also fell to the ground.
Then, the rain gradually stopped, Ash woke up from the coma, carefully picked up Pikachu, dragged his wounds to the treatment center, and the background music played. "Pokémon...".
The narration slowly narrates the worldview. In the end, the animation camera shows a town surrounded by rainbows. Pikachu licked Ash in his arms and greeted him. This scene made thousands of people wipe away their tears.
"How moving! Is it really an animation? The story and music are beautiful! I can't even watch TV series of this magnitude!"
"Yes, if anyone dares to say this is the animal world, I will definitely beat them up. These Pokémon are as intelligent as humans. My children will love Pikachu."
"Ash is so handsome! I love his bravery!"
"Mirai-sensei is fooling us with tears! What kind of animation is this for children? It's passionate, lyrical, mysterious, and has battles. The animation is made like this; it's simply great!
The crowd was furious. Pokémon is so good, with beautiful Pokémon, a mysterious world, and unknown adventures, that people can't stop.
"The first episode is so classic..." A young man shouted: "Mirai-sensei is not going to give any other cartoons a chance!"
"When you mention it, I seem to remember something... Wait, did the artist of NHK's popular The Cat and Mouse Couple make a bet?"
"The one named Kaze, and those S5, hahaha... I want to see how they end up!"
"A true masterpiece!"
There were constant cheers in the plaza.
"It's incredible, the visual effects are great, the music and background are classic, and they're all original songs, all composed by Mirai-sensei!"
"Mirai-sensei is omnipotent..."
"Don't miss the next episode!"
"You can't miss it!"
"Who would miss it!"
"I want to see the next episode!" the passersby shouted, a little excited. This animation is not for children. Its appeal is so strong that even adults can adapt to it.
"It's very affectionate and fair, very similar to Mirai-sensei's style!"
"I underestimated Mirai-sensei; he's a genius like a monster!"
"Hey, what are you talking about! How can a monster describe Mirai-sensei? He can write novels, manga, music, and now he has an animation... How can he be a monster!"
Listening to the conversations around him, Haruki felt a little uneasy, opened his mouth, and wanted to express his opinion.
"It's incredible!"
But the one who said this was not him...
Haruki turned his head in amazement, then his eyes widened, staring at his father in astonishment: the old man, lying in the wheelchair, stood up excitedly!
- - - -
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