"Anytime…accompany?"
Kyosuke's eyes suddenly lit up, like two small light bulbs instantly ignited.
He sprang from his chair, ignoring his food and bowl, and rushed like a whirlwind to his mother, who was clearing the dishes in the kitchen.
His voice trembled with excitement.
"Mom! Mom! I want that! The one on TV!"
His mother was startled by him, turned around, and looked at him: "What is it? Don't make such a fuss."
"It's that! The Pikachu one! The electronic pet that lets Pikachu stay with me all the time!"
Kyosuke pointed towards the living room TV, his small face flushed with excitement.
Unfortunately, the show had ended, and the TV was now broadcasting the weather forecast.
"Oh, that one…"
His father looked up from behind his newspaper, adjusted his glasses, "It seems to be a new toy, right? It was shown during the show just now."
"Yes! Right! I want to buy it! Mom, give me my pocket money! I want to go buy it now!"
Kyosuke's tone carried an air of absolute determination, his small fists clenched.
His mother wiped her hands, somewhat hesitant: "This…a newly released toy, I wonder if it's expensive…"
She looked at her husband, then at her son's eager face.
"I don't care! I must buy it! Today!" Kyosuke stomped his foot, his attitude resolute.
His father put down the newspaper and sighed: "You, last month you bought that robot, and you stopped playing with it after a few days."
"This time it's different!" Kyosuke retorted loudly, "Pikachu is different! It will stay with me!"
His mother looked at her son's rare persistence and thought of the truly special yellow mouse in the animation just now, feeling a little swayed.
"Alright, alright," she smiled helplessly, "Let's go to Grandma's first, and if we see it on the way back, I'll buy you one, okay?"
"No! I want to go now! I want to take it to play with Grandma!" Kyosuke refused to back down.
"You, child…" His mother began to get a headache.
Similar scenes were unfolding almost simultaneously in countless homes across Japan at this moment.
The cries of children, the soft and persistent pleas, and the surprised and helpless discussions of parents intertwined.
A yellow craze named "Pikachu" was sweeping across the entire Japanese archipelago at an unimaginable speed.
On the streets, what should have been a quiet and leisurely Saturday morning suddenly saw groups of hurried small figures.
They tightly clutched the pocket money they had managed to coax from their parents or dug out of their piggy banks.
Their faces bore the same expressions of excitement and urgency, their goal clear—the nearest toy store.
"Boss! Boss! Do you have that Pikachu electronic pet?"
"I want a pokémon! The one from TV!"
"Are there any left?"
The toy store's glass door had just been tremblingly pulled open halfway by the owner when it was completely engulfed by the surging tide of children.
The store clerks were startled by the sudden influx, then quickly reacted, putting on professional smiles.
"Yes, yes, yes! pokémon electronic pets, latest arrival!"
On the counter, rows of brand-new packaging boxes were quickly displayed.
On the boxes were the cute Pikachu from the animation, as well as designs of several other Pokémon.
"How much is this selling for?"
"I want the Pikachu one!"
The children asked all at once.
A clerk explained loudly: "Children, for this pokémon electronic pet, we are currently releasing Set A, which contains a total of fifteen different Pokémon!"
He picked up a promotional flyer.
"There are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, the three initial partners, and also Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, Spearow, Rattata, Sandshrew, Onix, Psyduck, Goldeen, Jigglypuff, Meowth, and of course, everyone's favorite Pikachu!"
"Each box contains five Poké Balls, and each Poké Ball holds a random Pokémon."
"But please rest assured, each large box of five Poké Balls will at least contain a rare Pokémon like Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle!"
"As for whether you can get Pikachu, that depends on your luck!"
"Random?"
"Ah? What if I don't get Pikachu?"
The children made a small commotion.
This unknown excitement, however, further ignited their desire to buy.
"I don't care, I want a Poké Ball!"
"Me too!"
Small palms slapped crumpled banknotes and jingling coins onto the counter.
Meanwhile, Takuya Nakayama had just finished breakfast.
On the TV, the ending theme song of the first episode of "pokémon" was playing melodiously.
He turned off the TV, a faint smile playing on his lips, and unhurriedly got up and left.
Strolling on the street, the sun was just right.
He "happened" to pass by several large toy stores.
Without exception, long queues had formed at the store entrances, consisting almost entirely of excited children and parents with various expressions, dragged along by their children.
A clamor emanated from inside the stores, and the cash registers were bustling.
Seeing this scene, a weight was lifted from Takuya's heart.
He turned and leisurely strolled back home.
As soon as he entered the house, the phone rang urgently.
It was Director Yuyama.
"Mr. Nakayama! Mr. Nakayama! The ratings! The ratings are out!"
Director Yuyama's voice was a bit sharp due to excessive excitement.
"Our first episode had an average rating of over 30%, and a peak of over 35%!!"
Takuya showed a knowing smile: "Director Yuyama, you've worked hard. This is the result of everyone's joint efforts."
"Not at all, it's all thanks to your excellent planning, Mr. Nakayama!"
Director Yuyama's tone was filled with admiration.
"Please be sure to maintain the quality of subsequent productions."
Takuya encouraged him.
"By the way, Director Yuyama,"
Takuya changed the subject, as if suddenly remembering something.
"When we were producing the animation before, I forgot to emphasize one thing."
"Regarding the flashing screen effects when some Pokémon skills are released in the animation, especially high-brightness, high-frequency pure color flashes, please be sure to ask the production team to pay attention to control. It's best to reduce the flashing frequency, avoid using overly dazzling bright colors, or replace them with other softer visual effects."
He paused, his tone becoming serious.
"I've recently seen some foreign medical research reports mentioning that overly strong visual stimulation, especially for young children, may damage eyesight and even has a not-low chance of inducing photosensitive epilepsy. Although it's a small probability event, as content creators, we must consider all potential risks and be responsible to our audience. Especially since children are the largest demographic among our animation audience."
Takuya fabricated a plausible explanation, bringing up the hidden danger of the "3D Porygon incident" from later generations in a "prepare for a rainy day" manner.
Director Yuyama on the other end of the phone was stunned, then immediately filled with respect.
"Yes! I understand, Mr. Nakayama! You are so thoughtful! I will immediately arrange for staff to check and correct subsequent episodes! We will also adjust the completed parts as soon as possible!"
Only after receiving Director Yuyama's affirmative reply did Takuya truly breathe a sigh of relief.
The storm, as he had predicted, had been stirred up by this tiny Poké Ball, and he was sitting firmly in its eye.
However, the production line in Hong Kong would probably have to operate at an unprecedented speed.
Director Terauchi and Director Hatano must be both surprised and have a headache right now.