The system chime sounded again immediately after.
[Congratulations, Host: You have obtained the Advanced Film Production Module.]
Kairos's eyes lit up, and he opened the module's detailed description at once.
The film production module's capabilities were almost absurdly powerful. It required no screenplay, no cast, no special effects team.
Kairos simply needed to visualize the specific scenes, plot direction, and musical rhythm in his mind, and the module would extract his memories and inspiration directly, generating a virtual-reality film with flawless picture quality and perfect emotional rendering.
Both the realism of its environments and the subtlety of its characters' expressions would reach an absolute standard of perfection; right on the heels of this, the system issued a brand-new quest.
[New Quest: Produce a Film.]
[Objective: Move people. Inspire in the audience an extraordinarily powerful sense of resonance and emotional response.]
[Reward: To be determined based on the actual reception following the film's release. Time Limit: Seven Days.]
Kairos stared at the three words "move people" in the quest objective and fell into thought.
In the world of Pokémon, what kind of story could truly touch the heart? It certainly wasn't simple battle and bloodshed, but rather the bonds and sacrifices that transcended time, that transcended the boundaries between species.
Almost instantly, an extraordinarily iconic title surfaced in his mind.
He had it.
That one. That was the one to make.
Kairos stood up immediately and made his way back upstairs to the study to begin working in seclusion.
Just as he turned to leave, the shadows in the corner of the room stirred, and Marshadow slipped out from within them.
It stared at him, thoroughly baffled.
"You're going to shut yourself in that room again?" There was a faint note of complaint in Marshadow's voice.
It had already figured out that this particular human was a complete workaholic, busy with one thing or another every single day, without even enough time to hold a conversation.
Kairos nodded and tossed out a casual reply.
"Yeah, I've got something urgent to get done."
Marshadow pursed its lips.
"I sensed it just now. Lord Ho-Oh's faith energy has recovered a little over this period, but only just a little. You made me a promise before. When exactly are you planning to keep helping the Lord restore that faith?"
Kairos paused and looked back at Marshadow.
"Don't worry. Once I put this film out, I'll get right on it. I promise."
With that, he pushed open the study door and walked in. The door clicked shut behind him.
One day later.
World One.
Cynthia was in the middle of a livestream.
She was playing Pokémon Emerald.
On screen, her character stood before one of the most brutally difficult facilities in the Battle Frontier.
Cynthia's focus was absolute. She had been grinding her team's levels relentlessly lately, and after considerable effort had caught an extremely rare Mudkip, raising and evolving it all the way into a Swampert.
The Mega Stone was already equipped.
The live chat was full of people urging her on.
"Bamboo Orchid, go ahead and battle! I want to see what Mega Swampert actually looks like."
"It's got to be incredible. All that muscle just radiates raw power."
"Come on, come on, I can't wait any longer."
Cynthia glanced at the comments and smiled softly. She was curious about Swampert's Mega Evolution form herself.
She moved her character toward the NPC inside the facility and prepared to initiate the battle.
The battle screen loaded, and she sent out Swampert straight away.
Just as she moved her cursor toward the special button for Mega Evolution and was about to press it, without any warning whatsoever, the entire game screen froze. Then the game window was forcibly minimized.
On the screens of Cynthia and every viewer watching her stream, a massive black panel appeared simultaneously, occupying half the screen, with bold golden text emblazoned across it.
[System Notice: The first Pokémon theatrical film is now officially available.]
[Click here to watch now.]
Cynthia sat frozen, her hand suspended in mid-air over the mouse.
The live chat went dead for a second, then erupted in a frenzy of scrolling messages.
"A theatrical film? What is this?"
"Why did the game freeze? Was this notification sent to the entire server?"
"A film? Kairos actually went and made a movie? That's quite the pivot."
"Are we watching this or not? I was waiting to see Mega Swampert and now there's some random ad interrupting everything."
Cynthia kept her eyes on the text for a long moment.
Given that it came from that mysterious game developer, there was no way it could be anything careless or half-hearted. Her curiosity was thoroughly hooked. The game could wait, but a worldwide premiere like this wasn't something she could afford to miss.
"Everyone, hold on a moment." Cynthia said softly into her microphone.
She decided to watch this so-called film together with her audience.
She moved the mouse and clicked the button to confirm.
The stream's picture went dark immediately. A deep, ominous rush of wind came through her headphones. The film began playing on its own. The image slowly brightened.
What came into view was an ancient battlefield, utterly devastated.
The sky was blanketed by dense storm clouds, cast in a suffocating shade of dark crimson. Across the land, fires raged and thick smoke billowed without end. Two armies clad in heavy metal armor were locked in ferocious combat across the ruined terrain.
But this was no ordinary human war. Among the soldiers' formations, enormous Pokémon unleashed terrifying attacks.
Massive Aggron charged through enemy lines like tanks, while Houndoom spewed jets of scorching flame, reducing whole ranks of soldiers to ash. The explosions produced by clashing attacks were deafening. The sheer realism and visual impact of it all was overwhelming.
The viewers in the live chat were completely stunned by the grand scale of this opening.
"They're at war? Pokémon fought alongside humans in battle?"
"The visuals, the sound design, same production values as always. This battle scene looks terrifyingly real. I can actually feel the carnage."
The camera swept rapidly across the battlefield before coming to rest on a hillside.
A Pokémon stood there with its eyes closed. Its body was a deep blue-black, its head shaped like a dog's, and sharp bone spines jutted from the backs of its hands. A faint blue glow radiated from its body.
Lucario's eyes snapped open, and it spoke with urgent telepathy.
"The war has begun. And the scale is enormous."
Comments flooded the chat immediately.
"What Pokémon is that? Does anyone know?"
"It can speak through telepathy? That's so cool."
Cynthia sat at her desk, and something in her gaze sharpened.
She recognized this Pokémon. That was Lucario, extraordinarily rare, and she had come across records of it in the most ancient texts of the Sinnoh region. It was said to be a remarkable Pokémon with a unique gift.
The scene shifted.
Lucario sprinted through a battlefield thick with smoke and ash, charged into a vast castle, and ran toward a man in a blue cape and hat.
"Sir Aaron! At this rate, the Tree of Beginning will be engulfed by the fighting!" Lucario cried out in desperation.
The camera closed in. The man named Aaron wore an expression of profound heaviness. He gazed out at the distant flames, his eyes filled with anguish and resignation. "I know. But there's no time left."
Aaron turned and looked at Lucario. The resolution in his eyes was absolute, as though he were saying his final farewell.
"I have abandoned this city. I will not be returning."
Lucario's eyes flew wide with disbelief, and it lurched forward.
"Sir Aaron! Why? Where are you going?"
Aaron did not answer. Instead, he raised the staff in his hand, its tip set with a large blue crystal.
He looked at Lucario and said quietly:
"Forgive me, Lucario."
A blinding blue light burst from the staff and instantly engulfed Lucario.
"No! Sir Aaron! What are you doing!" Lucario struggled violently within the light, but it was no use.
In the last moment before being sealed inside the staff, Lucario's eyes were filled with despair and incomprehension.
"Why would you do this? Sir Aaron, you've betrayed me."
The light faded. Lucario was gone. Aaron looked down at the staff in his hand and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Then the image showed Aaron riding atop a great Pidgeot, flying toward a towering ancient tree shimmering with mysterious light in the distance. "Wait for me, Tree of Beginning."
The somber flashback sequence ended there.
The live chat exploded instantly, flooded with outrage on Lucario's behalf.
"So the opening is basically: this thing called Lucario, at the most desperate moment, gets betrayed by the trainer it trusted most?"
"That's so tragic. It clearly cared so deeply about the city and that man Aaron, and it just gets sealed away."
"That Aaron is a coward who abandoned his post and ran. He left his own city behind."
Cynthia watched the screen, her brow furrowing slightly.
Her instincts told her things weren't as straightforward as they appeared. In her experience, the look in Aaron's eyes at the end was nothing like what you would see on a deserter. That combination of resignation and resolve looked far more like someone preparing to go to their death.
"It doesn't quite seem that simple," Cynthia said softly into the mic. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Let's keep watching."
She was already completely drawn in.
A dazzling sequence of light and color swept across the screen.
The film's title slowly materialized at the center of the image.
"Pokémon the Movie: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew."
More questions rolled through the chat.
"What's Aura? That word sounds strangely familiar."
"Can the streamer explain? You definitely know."
Cynthia gathered her thoughts and spoke into the microphone.
"Aura is actually a very special ability. According to ancient texts, it's a form of life energy that exists within every living being.
Those who possess this ability, whether human or Pokémon, can sense the emotions of others, and can even communicate and fight without relying on words or language.
But the specifics are unclear even to me, because this ability has nearly vanished from the world entirely."
After Cynthia's explanation, the viewers' anticipation for the film climbed even higher.
The film reached the eight-minute mark.
The clock on screen began spinning at a rapid rate, its hands blurring into a faint streak. The camera pulled up high into the sky, looking down over the land below.
The transformation of the world over centuries unfolded in just a few seconds. The ancient ravaged battlefield grew over with dense forest, and crumbling walls were rebuilt and restored.
The scene cut to the modern city of Rota.
A brilliantly sunny day, with light pouring down over a magnificent castle.
Several young figures appeared in the frame: Ash, Pikachu, May, Brock, and Max. They were walking through a lively street while the townspeople, dressed in ornate traditional costumes, greeted them warmly.
"Welcome to Rota!"
May looked around at everything, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Wow, it's so lively here!"
Brock held up a travel guide and grinned.
"Today is their annual Aura Festival, held in honor of the legendary hero Aaron who saved the kingdom."
The viewers had no idea who these main characters were, but their attention was immediately drawn to the small yellow creature perched on Ash's shoulder.
"Oh! That's Pikachu! So cute!"
"That Pikachu looks so full of personality. Is it the main character?"
"The boy with the cap in the middle looks a little goofy, honestly."
"That guy next to him with the squinting eyes... wait, can he even see where he's going?"
The camera cut to the grand stage in the plaza in front of the castle.
Queen Ilene, dressed in a magnificent gown, sat alongside the palace steward in the elevated viewing box.
The host raised a microphone and announced to the crowd:
"Now, we will hold our annual battle tournament. The winner will be chosen as the successor to the will of the Aura Guardian, Aaron!"
A thunderous cheer erupted from the audience below.
At that moment, the camera swept briefly and almost imperceptibly through the crowd.
Three figures in conspicuous disguises were mixed in among the people. Jessie, James, and a Meowth who walked upright. They were crouched behind a stall, peering through binoculars at Ash and the Pikachu on his shoulder.
The appearance of these three figures sent the live chat into an absolute uproar.
Because when Cynthia had been playing Pokémon Emerald earlier in her streams, she had personally gone up against these three self-proclaimed Team Rocket members in the game.
"Oh my god, it's them!"
"Team Rocket's trio! How did they end up in the movie?!"
"It's all connected! Characters from the game are making cameos in the film! This developer is playing some kind of incredibly long game!"
"This crossover is unreal!"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise.
She still clearly remembered the moment she sent those three blasting off in the game, and the line they shrieked as they flew: "What a terrible feeling!"
"Those three... they actually appear in the film?"
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