Since that day's 'three-point agreement' with Teacher Kinoshita, Kyosuke seemed like a changed person.
In class, he no longer secretly fiddled with his electronic pet; instead, he tried to straighten his small back, and his gaze was more focused than before.
The Chinese class that used to make him restless no longer seemed so boring.
The rustling sound of his pencil across the homework book became the most reassuring background noise for him at that moment.
Only in the evening, when the sunset's afterglow dyed the window frames a warm orange, after he meticulously finished the last stroke of his homework and had it checked by his mother, would he solemnly take out his Pikachu from his schoolbag.
The yellow electric mouse on the screen, under his careful nurturing, showed increasingly lively feedback with each interaction, and its small, black-bean-like eyes seemed even more sparkling.
"pokémon" Episode 3 aired as scheduled.
After a not-so-intense struggle between Satoshi and his Caterpie against the relentless Team Rocket, a dazzling white light suddenly erupted from the small Caterpie's body.
When the light faded, the originally frail Caterpie had surprisingly transformed into a Metapod, entirely emerald green and hard as a gemstone.
When the anime's ending song played, many children who owned Caterpie electronic pets almost immediately jumped off their sofas.
They rushed in unison to their schoolbags, or to some long-forgotten corner.
Those children who had once been frustrated by drawing the "weakest" Caterpie, and even put them away, now had a spark of hope rekindled in their eyes.
They carefully held out the red and white Poké Ball, blowing away any dust that might have accumulated on it.
Their fingers trembled slightly as they pressed the power button.
The screen lit up, and the familiar pixelated Caterpie was still there, emitting a "goo-goo" electronic sound.
Just as disappointment began to surface, some sufficiently meticulous, or rather, sufficiently "dedicated" players, keenly noticed a subtle difference.
After a period of interaction, their Caterpie, just like in the anime, also flashed with evolutionary light and evolved into Metapod!
This discovery, like a stone dropped into a calm lake, instantly stirred ripples among the children's small circles.
"Mine! My Caterpie also turned into Metapod!"
Surprised shouts echoed from various corners of homes.
It wasn't just the Metapod owners.
More children, including Kyosuke, also began to notice that at the very bottom of their respective electronic pet screens, a thin black line had quietly appeared at some point.
That line was very inconspicuous, like a shadow at the edge of the screen.
But upon closer inspection, the length of each person's black line seemed to be different.
Kyosuke stared at the faintly visible black line at the bottom of his Pikachu's screen, his small brows slightly furrowed.
He reached out a finger and lightly touched the cold screen, as if wanting to wipe away that line.
What exactly was this?
The next day back at school, this small discovery immediately became the hottest topic during break time.
"Did you see it? That thing at the bottom of the screen!"
"Saw it, saw it! My Charmander has it too, a little longer than yours!"
"My Squirtle seems to be the shortest…"
The children gathered together, chattering and discussing, their small faces full of curiosity and confusion.
Kyosuke also joined the discussion; he showed his Pikachu to Kobayashi.
"Look, Pikachu has it too, but it doesn't seem very long."
Kobayashi stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"Could it be… battery?"
A girl guessed.
"No, no, isn't there a special icon for battery?"
Another boy immediately retorted.
All sorts of guesses circulated among the children, but none could truly explain the meaning of that mysterious black line.
An invisible undercurrent quietly surged within the pokémon player community.
Until the end of that month.
The latest issue of the anime information magazine "Animage" quietly appeared in the most prominent positions at various newsstands.
The cover was a poster for the latest anime, its vibrant colors attracting the gaze of every passing child.
And within the magazine's inner pages, a special report on "pokémon" electronic pets prominently occupied several pages.
Among them, a bolded headline, like a thunderclap, exploded in the hearts of all players— "The Secret at the Bottom of the Screen! Experience Points and the Possibility of Evolution!"
The report, with text and illustrations, revealed the true purpose of that mysterious thin black line—it was the experience bar!
The article explained in detail that when the experience bar was filled through a certain method, specific Pokémon would usher in that exciting moment from the anime—evolution!
And the key to making the experience bar rise was not feeding, interacting, or mini-games, as the children had guessed.
The answer was beyond everyone's expectations.
Hidden within the electronic pet was a miniature—pedometer!
The report, between the lines, also cleverly conveyed Takuya Nakayama's "meticulous efforts" under the guise of the "development team."
The reason this function was not explicitly stated in the initial instruction manual was to prevent players from "grinding" steps with an overly utilitarian and goal-oriented mindset.
Instead, it was hoped that they could, like true Pokémon Trainers, inadvertently promote the growth of their Pokémon through natural companionship and daily activities.
After all, a Pokémon adventure is inherently full of unknown surprises.
Takuya Nakayama sat in his office, holding the "Animage" magazine between his fingers.
Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting mottled light and shadow in his deep eyes.
Seeing the section about the "development team's original intention" in the report, a nearly imperceptible smile curved his lips.
Everything was under control.
This magazine was like a spark dropped into boiling oil.
After the initial surprise and sudden realization came an irrepressible excitement.
Those players who had already fortunately evolved Metapod became the earliest "living examples."
"I knew it! I walk home from school every day, about two kilometers!"
A small boy with glasses proudly announced in class, his Metapod being the best proof.
"My mom wouldn't let me take the bus, turns out she was helping my Caterpie!"
Another girl also suddenly realized.
One vivid example after another, like dye dropped into water, quickly spread, clearly outlining the connection between the pedometer and Pokémon evolution.
For a time, the streets of the Japanese archipelago quietly underwent a change.
In the morning, the roads that should have been occupied by various modes of transportation now had groups of small figures hurrying along.
They no longer clamored for their parents to drive them, nor did they complain about the bus being too slow.
Instead, they would occasionally look down at the small Poké Ball on their wrist or hanging around their neck, their eyes filled with anticipation.
In the evening, parks and school playgrounds were also much livelier than usual.
It wasn't just children.
Some office workers who were accustomed to sitting for long periods also began to leave their offices during lunch breaks, pacing around below their company buildings.
They claimed it was for health, but the slightly vibrating Poké Ball in their pockets exposed their true intentions.
An elderly woman with white hair leisurely walked her lively Shiba Inu in the park.
Unlike before, the Shiba Inu's collar now had a small, red and white Poké Ball attached.
The dog happily ran and jumped, and the Poké Ball swung with it, the experience bar on the screen slowly increasing at a visible rate.
The old woman watched with a smile, as if seeing her Rattata showing off after evolving.
Members of the school's track and field and long-distance running teams became the envy of their classmates overnight.
Their already impressive amount of exercise now directly translated into rapidly increasing experience bars on their electronic pet screens.
"Look! Takahashi's Charmander, the experience bar is almost full!"
"Tanaka's Wartortle just evolved yesterday!"
To see their Pokémon evolve sooner, the team members trained even harder.
Within the club, a unique "experience bar competition" even formed, and the atmosphere on the training ground was unprecedentedly enthusiastic.
Kyosuke naturally also threw himself into this "national walking" craze.
After school, he no longer rushed home to watch anime; instead, he volunteered to help his mother run errands and buy things at nearby stores.
One more step meant Pikachu's experience bar would increase a little more.
This direct connection between effort and reward brought him joy.
His affection for Pikachu also quietly grew from simple play and possession to a sense of responsibility for "working together to become stronger."
He began to anticipate what exciting changes would occur when that black line beneath Pikachu's screen was completely filled.
Teacher Kinoshita stood by the office window, quietly watching the students on the playground running with even more vigor because of their electronic pets, a slight smile involuntarily gracing her lips.
She looked down at the electronic pet with a Meowth sticker on it, which was in her desk drawer.
"It seems my Meowth should also take some walks."