After obtaining Pikachu, Ash officially embarked on his journey of training.
Unfortunately, Pikachu was a Pokémon with a prickly temperament that didn't want to be close to humans, so after being let out, it absolutely refused to return to its Poké Ball.
It also wouldn't listen to Ash, so Ash had been dragging it along with a rope the entire way.
The pair of them, one human and one Pikachu, were exhausted.
So Ash stopped, crouched down, and said softly, "Eh? Pikachu, do you want to keep things like this?"
Pikachu lifted its chubby little face and let out a disdainful snort, "Pika."
"Do you hate me that much?"
"Pika pika."
"But, Pikachu, I really like you," Ash said. "You are, after all, a Pokémon under my care. Can't you at least listen to what I have to say?"
Pikachu didn't care at all about what Ash was saying; it raised a paw to lick its armpit.
"You've got to show me some respect, at least," Ash said, quite helplessly.
Pikachu opened its big mouth.
Ash glanced at it, "So you do have teeth. It's not that you can't talk, you just don't want to, right?"
Pikachu nodded, "Pika pika."
He opened the Pokédex, which stated that Pikachu hates tight spaces.
Ash immediately realized, "I get it now."
With that, he untied the rope that was holding Pikachu, then extended a finger toward it. "Let's get along from now on."
Pikachu raised its head, "Pika pika."
With a very haughty look on its face.
After walking for a while, Ash noticed a Pidgey ahead.
Pidgey looks like a bird and has a gentle personality. It is one of the easiest Pokémon to catch, making it perfect for practice.
Ash prepared to try and catch a Pidgey.
Who knew that Pikachu would be so uncooperative? It immediately darted up a tree, crouched on a branch with its paws hanging in front of its chest, and looked down at Ash as if mocking him.
"Pika pika. Ahhh~"
Pikachu let out a big yawn.
"Wow, is that too cute? It's cute to the point of being unfair!" Sugita Noboru exclaimed in front of the TV.
"I already knew that."
Ash was very angry, but he was also super stubborn; even without Pikachu, he wanted to see if he could catch a Pidgey on his own.
"Yes, I want to declare it loudly to the whole world!"
"The greatest Pokémon Master in the world, that's me!"
"How can someone as great as me not even be able to handle a single Pidgey?!"
Ash stood on the grass with a white sky behind him, looking exceptionally tall.
Sugita Noboru couldn't help but get excited.
Just then, the cartoon that was playing halfway through switched scenes.
An interlude BGM began to play.
On the left side of the screen was the silhouette of a Pokémon, and on the right was a line of big characters——
[????]
[Who's that Pokémon?!]
This silhouette was recognizable at a glance, because it was chubby, and had two rabbit ears and a lightning bolt-shaped tail.
Sugita Noboru couldn't help but shout excitedly, "Pikachu!"
A commercial interrupted, making Sugita Noboru scratch his ears and cheeks, feeling particularly uncomfortable.
After the commercial finished and the feed returned, the television revealed the answer:
"Pikachu!"
"Oh yeah!"
Having guessed correctly, Sugita Noboru jumped up and down on the floor in joy.
Seeing this child acting like a monkey, his mother couldn't help but cover her forehead.
"If you keep doing that, I'm going to turn off the TV."
Who would have known that after Ash tried for a long time, the Pokédex told him that if he wanted to catch a Pokémon, he first had to have the Pokémon battle.
"Ah~ how could it be like this?"
Ash felt incredibly helpless. If his Pikachu wouldn't cooperate, did that mean he would never be able to catch a new Pokémon?
Well, he could only see if he could lure a Pidgey over and then have Pikachu defeat it.
So, Ash threw a stone at the Pidgey in the bushes.
As it turned out, he didn't hit the Pidgey, but instead hit a Spearow.
Pikachu, up in the tree, was laughing hysterically.
Who would have known that once the Spearow was enraged, it didn't attack Ash first, but instead went after Pikachu.
It turns out that a major characteristic of this bird-type Pokémon is its irritable nature; it's easily provoked, and once angered, it will prioritize attacking the opponent's Pokémon.
And so, Pikachu was jumping around in the tree, dodging the Spearow's attacks. With the sound of electricity, Pikachu struck the Spearow down with a lightning bolt.
Who would have known that after being struck by lightning, this guy started calling for its companions.
Suddenly, countless Spearow rose into the air from the distance, flying toward Ash and the others in a black, swarming mass.
Seeing this, Sugita Noboru, who had been laughing happily, immediately tensed up.
Ash ran away with Pikachu, but still couldn't escape the Spearows' attacks.
After a chaotic brawl, Pikachu was severely injured, covered in wounds, and lay on the ground unable to get up.
Heartbroken, Ash quickly hugged Pikachu and jumped into the water.
A Gyarados brushed past them underwater, and then Ash was fished out by Misty, who was fishing by the river.
Misty was a tomboyish girl with an orange ponytail, a head taller than Ash.
Seeing the dying Pikachu in Ash's arms, Misty was furious and immediately slapped him twice.
"Take him to the Pokémon Center quickly! Hurry!"
So, Ash borrowed Misty's bike, placed Pikachu in the front basket, and pedaled frantically toward the hospital.
Seeing this, Sugita Noboru felt a pang of anxiety.
Oh no, what should I do? Pikachu is so badly hurt, he has to hold on!
He clenched his fists, cheering for Pikachu.
Heavy rain began to fall from the sky, and the road turned muddy.
Lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the entire scene in a stark, blinding white.
Beneath the dark clouds, a flock of Spearow flew low, showing no signs of giving up their pursuit.
Ash was riding his bike, his brows furrowed and his face full of anxiety.
However, under the Spearows' relentless attack, just as Ash rode over a slope, he fell into the mud, bike and all.
Sugita Noboru's heart skipped a beat.
No way, right?
Behind him, a large flock of Spearow came flying over.
"Hurry, Pikachu!"
Ash crawled forward two steps, placing his hand on the badly injured and dirt-covered Pikachu, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
"How could it come to this, Pikachu?"
He took the Poké Ball from his pocket and said to Pikachu, "You go inside."
"I know you hate going in there, but if you stay inside, you might have a chance to be saved."
But Pikachu remained unmoved, just lying on the ground, staring blankly at Ash.
It was in this moment that it seemed to understand the heart of the boy before it.
"Hurry," Ash said urgently, "please get inside, leave the rest to me."
He placed the Poké Ball in front of Pikachu, then stood up and opened his arms, shielding Pikachu.
Ash turned his face toward the oncoming Spearow, trying to grab their attention, and shouted loudly, "Hey! Do you know who I am?"
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town!"
"I'm going to be the world's number one Pokémon Master!"
"I won't lose to you guys!"
"I'm going to defeat every single one of you!"
While shouting, he said to Pikachu, "Hurry and get in, get into the Poké Ball quickly."
Thunder crashed in the sky, and the Spearow dove down.
Ash was just about to be swarmed by them, his life in danger.
At that very moment, the entire scene suddenly slowed down.
On the ground, Pikachu struggled to stand up, then ran and leaped onto Ash's shoulder.
On the right side of the frame was a huge flock of Spearow.
And on the left, Pikachu leaped lightly off Ash's shoulder.
Crackle, crackle~
Lightning exploded.
The entire screen was filled with flowing electricity, then turned into a sheet of white.
Seeing this, Sugita Noboru was completely stunned.
So moving.
Too moving.
Ash was truly good to Pikachu, and this act of risking his life to protect Pikachu really touched Sugita Noboru.
Although he was only 10 years old, Sugita Noboru could also understand this strong bond.
After the lightning passed, the weather cleared up.
On the ground was the bicycle scorched by Pikachu's electric discharge just moments ago.
Bicycle: ???
Pikachu and Ash were both lying on the ground, covered in wounds.
The chubby electric mouse opened its eyes and let out a soft "Pikachu..."
Ash, in front of it, also opened his eyes and smiled with relief to see that Pikachu was okay.
Thank goodness!
Sugita Noboru also danced around on the floor.
Both Pikachu and Ash were okay!
And that lightning just now was really too cool!
As expected of the protagonist's Pokémon, Pikachu is truly amazing!
Just then, starlight sprinkled from the sky.
Looking up, they saw a giant Ho-Oh flying by.
Seeing this scene, Ash was stunned.
This Pokémon couldn't even be identified by the Pokédex; there were still many Pokémon in this world that had yet to be discovered and known.
As Ho-Oh flew into the sky, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the azure sky.
This Pokémon couldn't even be identified by the Pokédex; there are still many undiscovered and unknown Pokémon in this world.
As Ho-Oh flew into the sky, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the deep blue heavens.
"This is just the beginning of the Pokémon story."
"Pokémon are also known as Pocket Monsters."
Ahead of the young boy Ash and Pikachu, there are still many mysteries and adventures in the world of Pokémon waiting for them.
But having said that, Ash and Pikachu are now covered in wounds; does a bright tomorrow await them, or is it darkness?"
What kind of future is it that he hopes for?
"You won't miss the next episode, will you?"
With this, as the ending theme played, the first episode of Pokémon came to an end.
"Huh?
Is it over already?"
Sugita Noboru looked unsatisfied.
How despicable, to leave such a major cliffhanger in the very first episode, especially when Pikachu hasn't even recovered yet.
"Huh? Is that it?"
Sugita Noboru looked like he hadn't had enough.
It was so mean to leave such a huge cliffhanger in the very first episode, especially when Pikachu wasn't even better yet.
He wanted to see the next episode right away!
On the way to school on Monday, the classmates around him were all discussing the latest episode of "Pokémon: Original Series" aired on TV Tokyo.
"I choose you, Pikachu!"
"No, Pikachu is mine!"
"Pikachu is mine! You guys, bring out your Pidgey; I'm going to defeat you!"
"Mine is the real Pikachu, you guys are obviously Spearow!"
Everyone was imitating Ash from the anime, pretending to throw Poké Balls.
Seeing this, Sugita Noboru couldn't help but smile.
He jogged a few steps, quickly joining in the enthusiastic discussion among his friends.
"Pikachu is really cute."
"Yeah, I wish Pokémon like that actually existed in real life."
"Heh heh, who knows, maybe they do? Should we go hiking this weekend?"
"Yeah, yeah! I want to go catch butterflies!"
"I want to catch longhorn beetles!"
"It's almost August, there aren't any butterflies left! How about we go catch squirrels?"
"You can't catch squirrels; squirrels are protected animals!"
Everyone chimed in one after another, having a great time.
The Pokémon anime produced by Kyoto Animation aired on TV Tokyo and achieved a 10.4% rating on its first day.
It also garnered good word-of-mouth, with countless viewers who watched the animation expressing great anticipation for what the next episode would be like and what kind of Pokémon would appear.
In schools, everyone was actively discussing whether Pikachu would talk.
What exactly did its "Pika-pika, Pikachu..." mean?
Some people even dedicated themselves to researching it.
A 10.4% rating on the first day of broadcast was quite good, although it was still far from the 19% rating in the previous life.
However, a large part of the reason for the high ratings of the animation in the previous life was that the game had been released beforehand, having had nearly a year of buildup and accumulating a significant fan base.
In this life, it was the other way around.
Aoki Haruhi hoped that the Pokémon anime would first accumulate popularity and then feed it back into the game.
After all, the real money was in the game.
"However, it's about time to start marketing the game."
This time, Aoki Haruhi brought along the head of the Marketing Department, Kazuma Takahashi, and invited the major distributors in Tokyo out for a meal, taking the opportunity to introduce Takahashi to the bigwigs.
The purpose was to help Kazuma Takahashi get up to speed faster, so that the future marketing and promotion work could be completely handed over to him.
Aoki Haruhi and Hattori Yuji and the others were old acquaintances, so they chatted very freely and happily.
After accepting the gifts and finishing the meal, Hattori Yuji and the other bigwigs said their goodbyes and left.
Halfway through the car ride, following standard practice, he threw the Pokémon game cartridge into the trash.
Before throwing it away, Hattori Yuji took one last look at it.
The handheld cartridge was significantly smaller and quite cute.
With the Pokémon pattern on it, it was somewhat hard to let go of.
However, after a moment of hesitation, in order to ensure the game would sell well, Hattori Yuji still tossed it into the trash.
As for the latest Sega GP handheld that came in the gift box, Hattori Yuji kept it.
After reaching an agreement with the distributors, the period from July to early August was the promotional phase for Pokémon.
This time, Pokeni was extremely well-prepared; not only did they produce a wide variety of posters, but they even created TV commercials.
These were aired on various television stations.
In some small roadside diners and electronic stores, there were televisions for customers to watch.
Many passersby couldn't help but stop in their tracks when they saw Takuya Kimura on the screen.
In the scene, Kimura was leaning against a wall playing a game on Sega's new handheld console.
Then, in the next second, he fell from the clouds into a patch of tall grass.
Right behind him, a gigantic Gengar launched an attack.
Kimura immediately started running at full speed.
A flash of lightning streaked across; it was Pikachu.
Following a quick camera pan, Kimura returned to reality.
"Eh? Pokémon?"
He patted the large Pikachu plush toy at his feet, pouted earnestly, and said,
"I want it!"
Then, a line of large text appeared on the screen—
[August 21st, New Pokémon Game]
[Waiting for you to play!]
"Wow, so cute, right?" the girls on the street said, their eyes lighting up.
"Whether it's the male actors or the Pokémon, aren't they just too cute?"
"Wait, is this actually a game?"
"I thought it was an animated movie."
"Oh no, I'm hooked. I want to play this game."
"Me too."
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