Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

Thinking back to how Xia was able to participate in a new game demo event a while ago, while she, a seasoned gamer, was stuck at home watching, Lijia couldn't help but sigh.

Sometimes I really want to stop pretending, lay all my cards on the table, tear off the disguise, and tell everyone that she's actually a hardcore gamer.

If she were there, it wouldn't have been so easy for Qishu to take first place.

"move."

Xiaoxia still doesn't understand why Quanshu urgently asked her to invite Axing to the movies on Navigator.

With the movie being so popular, Ah-Xing might have already gone to see it in Asakusa City.

But who cares? Izumi has seen plenty of things she doesn't understand. Her priority is to enjoy the movie experience.

The two of them, along with the clueless Ah Xing, had already chosen seats in the theater beforehand.

As the venue officially opened, the chattering crowd took their seats, and the movie was about to begin, Mewtwo, draped in a cloak, appeared at the back door.

He walked in openly and honestly, and no one noticed.

"He felt confident he could win the bet, which was likely due to the confidence the movie gave him."

Mewtwo couldn't understand it; it was present for the first half of the movie's filming and had even read the script.

Although they are all clones, the humans cloned in the movie have no resemblance to Him in the slightest and have no connection to Him.

Even if this movie changes people's views and makes them sympathize with the plight of clones, it will never extend to Him.

The movie is fictional, the characters are made up, but the wildfires caused by His escape from the research institute are real.

Only someone who confuses reality with fiction and has an excessive amount of sympathy would empathize with a cloned Pokémon.

Based on Mewtwo's observations of humans, such people are definitely not in the majority.

He lowered his cloak and sat discreetly in the corner, waiting for the curtain to rise.

...

Galer region, Miyamon city.

Mary crossed her arms and said irritably, "In Spiketown, let alone movie theaters, even normal shops are almost gone. And you still have the nerve to drag me to see a movie?"

She believed that the responsibility of revitalizing their hometown should not be entrusted to Nie Zi, otherwise Jianding Town would be doomed.

"There's nothing wrong with watching a movie before embarking on a trip, is there?"

A faint smile appeared on Nie Zi's pale face: "Homiga and I were in charge of the film's soundtrack, and we wanted to see what the final result would be."

"What if our Gasball Band becomes a hit? Fans will be lining up all over Spike Town."

Mary was well aware of her brother's musical abilities.

Embarking on a journey, winning the league championship, and returning in glory to revive Spiketown only strengthened her resolve.

At the cinema entrance, Mary unexpectedly spotted Lurina, the renowned and beautiful model.

She usually works as a model in Gongmen City, so I never expected her to come to the movie theater.

For no apparent reason, Mary thought that if she could become a popular idol, reviving Spiketown would be a piece of cake.

She stretched out two fingers, pressed them against the corners of her mouth, and forced them upwards to create a stiff smile.

Unfortunately, because she couldn't even manage a smile, she was destined never to step onto the stage of the Grand Prix.

...

Unova Region, Flying Cloud City.

"What a coincidence! Want to go in and watch a movie together?"

Wanlong spotted Xiaojuer in the corridor and waved enthusiastically.

Xiaoju came to watch the movie because fans strongly recommended "Wonderful Night" to her after the preview event, saying she had a very good experience.

She suddenly realized that the game producer who invited her was more outstanding than she had imagined; no wonder Lulina had agreed to his invitation.

Thinking that she might have more in common with her fans, Xiaoju bought tickets for the new movie.

I never expected to run into Wanlong in the movie theater, and the Sinnoh champion next to her.

Having participated in the "Chef King Competition" together, Xiaoju'er is not unfamiliar with Cynthia.

Why does this Sinnoh champion keep going to Unova?

"Thank you."

She sat down with the two men.

The edges of the large screen were covered by a dark curtain, and the seats, which rose in tiers along the slope, were all occupied.

The sounds of conversation, children crying, staff reminders, and heavy footsteps all blended together.

Xiao Ju frowned; she was used to the bright stage lights and the deafening cheers.

They are not used to the nearby noise and the gradually darkening environment.

Fortunately, this terrible situation only lasted a short while.

As the last light went out, the large screen at the front lit up without warning.

Everyone seemed to be choked at the same time, and the noisy screening room sank into a sea of ​​silence.

The flickering light and shadow seemed to possess some kind of magic, silencing all sounds.

In the past, she would always see crowds waving glow sticks and shouting her name. Now, standing in a silent crowd, Xiaoju felt a sense of disbelief.

The speakers in the screening room played a soothing duet of piano and organ.

She looked up and saw a lake reflecting a crescent moon, with a float thrown in, splashing water everywhere.

The camera pans upwards along the fishing line connected to the float, revealing a Zoroa fishing on a crescent moon.

As the camera zooms out, the crescent moon becomes the last stroke of the character "乡" in the two large characters "庭乡".

The audience then realized that this was the first time they had ever seen a production company add a special opening sequence to the beginning of their film.

The screen went dark, and a few seconds later, thunder rumbled, followed by the sound of raindrops pattering against the roof of the carriage.

"I've reached the age I envied as a child, but I haven't become the person I envied as a child."

A torrential downpour of leaden gray rain washed over the neon-lit city, turning it into a blurry mist.

An old-fashioned tram slowly travels between towering giant buildings.

Through the water droplets of various sizes rolling down the glass, you can see a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase, staring blankly at the passing scenery outside the car.

Chapter 116 A Terrible World

The streetlights, flickering on and off, were squeezed out and pulled away by the rushing night, disappearing into the clanging of the railway tracks.

The middle-aged man stood in front of the tram door, staring blankly at the two observation windows filled with condensation.

One of the windows reflected his tired face.

A receding hairline due to work fatigue, stubble that's hard to shave, dark circles under the eyes from long hours of overtime, and the slight feeling of exhaustion unique to office workers after get off work...

The thunder and rain suddenly intensified, and the gale-force winds, carrying the rain curtain, pounded against the roof of the tram, creating a series of crisp, piercing sounds.

Hiroshi Nohara was thirty-five years old at the time.

A line of small white text appeared on the right side of the screen.

Viewers who have seen "Night of Wonders" immediately recognized that it was another of Izumi's favorite niche protagonists.

Previously, he was at least a trainer who gave up halfway, but this time he has completely degenerated into a middle-aged office worker.

Xiao Ju sat up slightly. The sound of thunder and rain echoing in the screening room was so vast and real, completely different from her online movie-watching experience.

But she knew she was sitting in the crowd, and outside the movie theater, the sky was clear and blue.

The discrepancy between her hearing and cognition caused goosebumps to rise on the back of her hands.

However, the immersive white noise began to slowly fade away the next second.

"I've reached the age I envied as a child, but I haven't become the person I envied as a child."

As Hiroshi's inner monologue is revealed and the camera zooms in on him, another observation window on the car door reveals a dreamlike, warm spring scene.

A melodious and soothing harmonica sound gradually emerged along with this illusory scene.

Under the clear sky, a little boy wearing a sun hat clung tightly to his father's clothes as he sat on the back of a bicycle, the bumps on the muddy road dispelling his drowsiness.

The little boy looked up and saw his father's back and the two fishing rods he was carrying on his shoulders.

The father turned around, and they were chatting and laughing as their bicycles rode along the edge of a paddy field planted with rice seedlings, a beautiful hunting swallowtail butterfly flying overhead.

In the distance, one can see lush green forests and low-lying villages.

On the big screen, there are two glass windows: one depicts a street in a cool color, weathered by wind and rain, and the other shows a rice paddy under a clear sky in a warm color.

Amidst the misty haze, the boundary between reality and illusion seemed to be reduced to just the doorway between the two car windows.

The melodious harmonica music drowned out the rustling wind and rain.

The illusory scenery began to change, and a boy was riding a bicycle with one hand and eating an ice pop with the other by the paddy field.

The chrysanthemum leaves lay obediently in the front basket of the bicycle, slowly swaying their leaves overhead.

The rice seedlings in the paddy fields have blossomed with heavy ears of rice.

The next scene shows only bare rice stalks left in the field after the rice harvest.

The boy pushed his bicycle, walking side by side with the blushing girl.

A light snow began to fall. This time, the girl was nowhere to be seen. The young man had a somber face, and Yueguiye pushed the cart with a rattan whip beside him.

Later, the young man boarded the tram and put on a suit, shirt, and tie.

She was reprimanded by her boss, vented her frustrations to her colleagues over drinks, and also met someone she could love for a lifetime, leading to marriage and children.

The illusory scene is like a book, with the pages turning faster and faster.

Moving house, work-related socializing, working late into the night, attending a funeral—the protagonists in the scenes, from youth to middle age, increasingly resemble the man lost in thought.

The last image shows him sitting in the spot where his father used to ride his bicycle, taking his son through that familiar rice paddy.

"beep--"

The tram's horn sounded as it arrived at the station, the melodious harmonica music abruptly stopped, and the scene, somewhere between reality and illusion, became fragmented.

The middle-aged man got off the bus with the bustling crowd and stepped into the bitter wind and rain.

The incessant sounds of wind and rain that began at the start of the film once again filled the audience's ears.

The stark contrast between cold reality and warm memories is so striking that it's hard to forget.

Not to mention ordinary viewers, even professionals who came to learn were stunned.

They're still figuring out the montage technique used in the opening of their last film, and this time they've come up with another one: memories intertwined with reality.

What struck them even more astonishing was what they saw at the tram station next.

The flight attendants in uniforms are not human, but rather Psychic-type Pokémon.

With a simple gesture, the Dream Eater used its telekinetic power to pick up the passenger's phone that had accidentally fallen onto the tracks.

As the train approached the station, Gardevoir raised its hands and pushed passengers who were too close to the safety line.

They had walkie-talkies clipped to their waists, and were talking incoherently, clearly well-trained.

The camera follows Hiroshi as he walks out of the station. On the roadside construction site, a strong man carries a steel bar as tall as himself, while an old construction worker pours cement into a mixer.

Electric Monster, holding a pointer, charged shared electric bikes along the sidewalk.

The traffic police officer in charge of directing traffic is an octopus-clawed martial arts master with a police badge pinned to his shoulder.

Even taxis waiting at red lights on the street often have humanoid elves in the driver's seat who are capable of driving.

Humans and Pokémon mingle together in this bustling metropolis filled with skyscrapers, indistinguishable from one another.

Viewers are used to the roles of trainers and Pokémon, and suddenly seeing Pokémon working and living like humans makes them feel lost.

It's common for Pokémon to assist humans with work, but having them work overtime in the rain at night raises suspicions of exploitation.

But as the movie continues, viewers soon discover that this exploitation and oppression is not discrimination against Pokémon.

It is this city that is equally oppressing every person and exploiting every elf.