Pokémon, but cultural invasion

Chapter Forty-Eight: Moments of Change

“Nick, don’t do that. You’re not like them.”

Who are you referring to?

Judy's smile faded. "What I mean is, you're not the kind of Pokémon that relies on stealing."

Nick raised his voice an octave: "Do you want the kind with a gag and handcuffs?"

"Do you need to use fox repellent spray? I noticed you had that little bottle with you the first time we met."

Nick questioned, "Are you afraid of me? Do you think I'll go crazy?"

He raised his hand, claws outstretched: "Do you think I'd try to eat you?"

"what!"

The sudden rise in pitch caused Judy's right hand to instinctively rest on the fox repellent spray.

"I expected that."

Nick scoffed, "I thought someone actually believed me."

"You'd better not choose a Pokémon like us as your partner."

He handed Judy the completed police job application and left without looking back.

"No...wait a minute..."

Judy grabbed her watch and rushed toward Nick, but was blocked by a group of reporters.

...

The film ends abruptly, concluding with Nick's misunderstanding and disappointment.

"Snapped!"

Guangtai turned on the lights and saw that everyone looked dazed, as if they were still immersed in the movie they had just watched. He was quite satisfied.

"The screening of Tingxiang has now come to an end. As you can see, this is a semi-finished product, and the remaining parts are still being filmed."

"Is this gone?"

The female disciples in the audience raised questions.

"Uh..."

After reciting his prepared remarks, Guangtai was momentarily at a loss for words, his brain, which was not good at being in the public eye, completely shut down.

Did Nick and Judy make up later?

How will the story end?

"This won't be a tragedy, will it?"

The disciples, engrossed in the captivating story, eagerly questioned why the story had to end so abruptly before the misunderstanding was resolved, causing them great anxiety.

The moment the screen went black, many people's blood pressure spiked.

"this and that..."

Guangtai stammered.

"Mr. Izumi, my dojo members seem very interested in how the story ends. Would you mind giving them a hint?"

Lijia maintained her polite smile.

But Izumi felt no warmth as usual; her dark pupils held an unvented annoyance.

He could understand; anyone would feel uncomfortable being stopped by an inch.

Quanshu said confidently, "Ladies and gentlemen, Nick and Judy's story has a happy ending."

"Tingxiang is making intensive preparations for the follow-up filming, and we believe that the full version of the film will be available to everyone soon."

One of the disciples, unwilling to give up, pressed on, "How long exactly?"

"Cabbage, that's so rude," Lijia scolded.

Startled by her mistake, Ganlan sat down. She had never seen such a captivating film before, and the itch to find answers to her heart's desire overcame her reason.

Rika turned to Izumi and said, "I'm sorry, my disciple acted impulsively."

"It's out of the way."

"..."

Izumi noticed that Rika was still staring at him. Well, this girl was no pushover either.

"If all goes well, the full version will be shown at the premiere in mid-August."

Having received a definite answer, Lijia's smile became even more captivating. She exclaimed, "Tingxiang's film has completely exceeded my expectations; it's unbelievably excellent."

"As agreed, I will invite other gym leaders from the Kanto region to the premiere."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Rika."

The spring tree nodded slightly.

Mid-August happens to be the period of the Quartz Conference, a holiday for gym leaders.

The disciples, still wanting more, left one by one, and the two began discussing the location for the premiere.

The premiere requires invitations to various mainstream media outlets and some movie fans. In addition to showing movie clips, there will be interactive sessions with the creative team and interviews with the actors.

Quanshu didn't intend to make it that complicated. In today's declining film industry, it was already good enough that major media outlets were coming to visit the gym leaders.

At that time, we'll just need to organize interviews, add some points, and have some interactive sessions with the fans of Tingxiang Games.

After discussing it, the two decided to hold the premiere in Golden City.

The reason is simple: Rika doesn't think she can persuade Naz to come, but if she stays in Golden City, Naz might come and take a look.

"Looking forward to Tingxiang's new movie."

After finalizing more details, Rika saw Izumi off as she left the Rainbow Dojo.

She had a strong feeling that this film was a powerful remedy for the film industry.

Either the film industry will be revived, and other film companies will spring up like mushrooms after rain, emulating Tingxiang's success.

Either the film industry takes its last breath, or Tingxiang's films wipe out other small production companies.

After watching him leave, Lijia made a phone call.

"Hey?"

...

As soon as they left the Yuhong Dojo, Izumi and Mitsuyasu saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance of the flower market.

"Poké Balls are tools for enslaving and mutating Pokémon!"

"Liberate Pokémon, give Pokémon freedom!"

Several people dressed in blue and white clothing with "X"s drawn on their hoods shouted slogans to attract the attention of passersby.

"Guangtai, let's go."

Quanshu tugged at Guangtai, who had stopped to watch the spectacle; there was nothing interesting about the religious organization.

"Wait a minute."

A white glove was draped over Quanshu's shoulder.

?

The Fallen Leaf Dojo, a gym.

A muscular man in a green vest was doing a push-up with one hand, his body trembling as he rose and fell.

With each push-up, the bulging veins on his arms revealed taut lines, and the muscles in his back writhed as if twisted into a tight knot.

"Master, Yuhong Dojo would like to invite you to Tingxiang's movie screening."

Mascher wiped the sweat from his nose and said coldly, "Movies? I'm not interested."

"Alright, I'll refuse Yu Hong on your behalf."

"and many more."

As if remembering something, Ma Zhishi asked, "Who else did Yu Hong invite?"

"I'm not sure about that, but it will be held in Golden City."

Golden City...which means that Sabrina might participate.

Ma Tsz stopped what he was doing and slowly stood up.

“I’ve changed my mind. Get me a dress.”

"Yes."

?

Hualan City.

"Rika, um, sure, I'm free that day."

While soaking in the hot spring, Xia said lazily, "I've actually filmed a movie in Hollywood, you know, but I didn't appear on screen at all."

?

Dark Grey City.

"I understand. I will participate."

Xiao Gang hung up the phone.

He is meticulous; if it were a regular invitation, he would have just mentioned it in the group chat.

Since you called personally, there must be a reason.

?

Red Lotus Island.

"Haha, thank you for inviting this old bone, Director Lijia."

Bob laughed heartily.

"Unfortunately, my recent research is at a critical moment, and I'm really unable to get away. I'm sorry."

?

Changqing City.

"Om——"

"Om——"

"Om——"

The landline phone vibrated back and forth in the empty room.

The cloaked humanoid creature stretched out its grayish-white arm and picked it up.

"Hello, is this Gym Leader Sakaki?"

"I am Rika from Yuhong Dojo."

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

...

Lijia was puzzled; the call had been connected, but no one spoke.

Sakaki is a cold-faced middle-aged man, not the type to play pranks.

It’s weird.

“Zirui...zilan...zilan..."

A muffled static tone came from the microphone, or perhaps it was someone speaking.

"Sakaki, your phone is broken."