Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

The Ghost-type Pokémon stared at him, all having the same thought.

What is this human saying?

Chapter 31 Years later, when facing the streetlights, what will Izumi remember...?

Even before deciding to make his first game, Izumi had already considered making a movie.

Script, team, equipment, funding... At that time, he had absolutely no resources to make a film.

After careful consideration, Quanshu chose small-scale single-player games, which required less investment and offered faster returns.

This doesn't mean he gave up, especially after discovering that handheld consoles have a mechanism for disseminating content, the priority of making movies rose accordingly.

Movies undoubtedly have a larger audience than games.

The world's film industry enjoyed a brief period of glory, and the audiences who developed an interest in film are a precious legacy of that golden age.

Compared to games, entertainment in the form of movies is more easily accepted by the public.

Most importantly, Izumi is certain that the current film industry is in a severe slump, and the market is a blue ocean.

If someone else gets there first because of his procrastination, he'll have no one to blame but himself.

Rethinking the premise of filmmaking: scripts can be copied, teams can be recruited, equipment can be purchased...

Quanshu discovered that there was only one condition that had constrained him from beginning to end—funding.

After deducting the costs of handheld console use, training expenses, and employee salaries and bonuses, the revenue from "Plant Ghost" currently leaves him with around five million in liquid cash.

It sounds like a lot, but it's nothing compared to the tens of millions of dollars required to produce a movie in my previous life.

Although Quanshu knew that the film crew in his previous life had most likely been taking kickbacks and filling out forms haphazardly, five million was indeed not enough to make a high-quality film.

Unless he can find some ingenious ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

The bulk of a film's cost is the expensive salaries of star actors, post-production special effects, and online marketing and distribution.

The famous actor Izumi didn't plan to invite him, and he also looked down on the unknown director.

There's no need to put too much effort into film promotion and distribution, since it's rare to find someone still making a high-budget film during an industry downturn.

As for the post-production special effects, Izumi felt that if he were to completely entrust them to Porygon, not to mention whether he could complete them, the other trainer would definitely want to challenge him to a real-life offline duel.

If it turns out to be a complete newbie, given their Earthling-like physical abilities, if they can't kill them with one punch, then the deal is off.

As Izumi witnessed Ghost-type Pokémon piloting Aerodactyls through the air, a thought popped into his head—

This is much cheaper than using wires.

Each flight lasts 30 minutes and consumes one Buddha Orange Fruit. The device is foldable, can be made invisible, and can automatically follow.

Not only flight, but most of the visual effects in movies that require post-production can be achieved with the help of Pokémon.

This includes, but is not limited to, weather phenomena such as explosions, flames, lightning, and even rain and blizzards.

To further expand our thinking, props, costumes, and certain specific scenes used in filming can all be replaced by a group of shapeshifters.

Even better, Pokémon employees are incredibly cost-effective compared to human employees.

For an average person, a monthly salary of 3,000 would seem low, but for Pokémon, 3,000 can buy enough food to fill them up every day (without recruiting Snorlax).

Pokémon don't have the concept of vacation; acting with a large group of companions is probably similar to playing in their eyes.

Ultimately, isn't a movie just a large-scale game of pretend?

He recruited a large group of Pokémon to help him make a movie.

Quanshu suddenly discovered that he had a talent for saving money. Hmm, why does my neck feel a little cold?

Years later, facing the streetlights and the tightening noose around his neck, Izumi will recall that distant night when he decided to recruit Pokémon employees.

His complex inner thoughts did not affect his genuine smile.

"Would you like to work for my company?"

"Our company offers flexible working hours, five days on, two days off, and provides social insurance and housing fund contributions, including holiday subsidies and performance-based bonuses..."

Quanshu spoke with great enthusiasm, leaving the group of ghosts stunned and quite intrigued.

"Click!"

The Shadow Doll shook its head vigorously, loudly warning its companions not to trust this human.

But it noticed that its companions were staring at it with strange looks.

Stop breathing on us, brother. Don't you want to check on us? We're all still lying on the ground.

"If you are unwilling, I will have no choice but to hand you over to Miss Officer Jenny, and who knows what might happen then."

After saying that, without waiting for the ghosts to agree or not, Izumi led them to a Pokémon restaurant that was open for business.

We ordered some dishes recommended by the waiter that suited the tastes of Ghost-type Pokémon.

A dozen minutes later, several ghosts began to drool over the dishes emitting a dim glow on the table.

Aside from human emotions, Ghost-type Pokémon can also enjoy normal food.

"Crack!" What a spineless bastard!

The Shadow Doll watched its companions feasting, feeling resentful of their lack of ambition, but failed to notice that its own stomach was rumbling.

Quanshu asked curiously, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"..."

The Shadow Dolls wholeheartedly joined the ranks of the freeloaders, having never eaten anything good since birth.

Since no one is saying anything, I'll assume you agree.

Quan Shu said, "You're not allowed to play pranks on the security guards at the museum anymore. Come to me on time for meals tomorrow. The meal expenses will be deducted from your salary. I'll also find a place for the staff dormitory as soon as possible."

After informing the ghosts of his usual haunts, Izumi left and logged off in an alley.

He wasn't worried that the ghosts would run away. After having a good meal, they would come back on their own when they got hungry, just like a house cat that had gone out to run wild.

Even if they run away, there's nothing to lose.

The next day, Quanshu excitedly prepared to go to Xiaogang to collect his mission reward, but was told by the apprentice that the master was temporarily away for a day due to a mission assigned by the alliance.

Feeling utterly bored, Quanshu returned to the game city.

After deciding to make a film, he began to recall and write the script.

I still remember the general plot of many movies, but I've forgotten most of the specific scenes and unimportant lines.

"I have absolutely no filming experience. How about I film a short drama first to practice?"

Quanshu was worried that his lack of experience would lead to failure, and it would be a pity to waste all the money he had worked so hard to earn from making the game.

The development of film in this world has stagnated, so naturally short dramas have not been born.

However, there are stage plays performed, which are quite popular.

Circuses that tour the world still exist, unlike in the previous life when they had completely disappeared.

Why are there so few people at the arcade today?

"They've probably all gone to the neighboring city of Cerulean to watch the afternoon's underwater ballet performance."

As I passed the front desk, I overheard a staff member, Gu Zong, chatting with a guest.

"I've heard about the ballet performances at Hualan Dojo, are they really that good?" the guest asked curiously.

Gu Zong gave a knowing smile: "Everyone has different aesthetic tastes. I can only say that there is a high artistic element involved."

"Unfortunately, I have something to do this afternoon and can't go, so there's no use having the ticket."

He sighed, "If this were a few years ago, you'd have to fight for these tickets, and you might not even be able to get them."

Gu Zong looked at the customer: "If you want to see it, I'll sell it to you cheaply."

"how much is it?"

"The original price was 150, but I'll sell it to you for 128, even if it's a bit of a loss."

"Damn it, why don't you just rob someone?"

The passenger boarded the plane, grumbling and cursing. He thought he could win two or three thousand by gambling with 128.

Izumi remembers that the underwater ballet at Cerulean Dojo was one of the most popular stage plays in the Kanto region.

I happen to have some free time this afternoon.

He knocked on the counter: "Are the tickets still available? I'd like to buy them."

Chapter 32 Xiaoxia: This is simply me

To travel from Phantom City to Cerulean City, you only need to take the Maglev train, which runs along Route 3 and Route 4, and the entire journey takes two hours.

The train sped across the fields, and Quanshu, holding the salt stone treasure, watched the scenery outside the train window rush past.

The flock of Tauros was alarmed and roared at the train from a distance.

Large swarms of kapok balls, shuttlecock fluff, and shuttlecock flowers floated in the sky, with ladybugs faintly visible among them, traveling with the gentle breeze.

Such a scene is rarely seen on Earth, a world of steel jungles.

After getting off at Hualan Station and transferring to the subway, a magnificent building with a semi-transparent roof and a geometric aesthetic soon came into view.

The pale blue glazed tile roof is stunning in the sunlight, easily evoking images of the clear and vast ocean.

On the way, Izumi looked up information about the Cerulean Dojo, which was not much different from what he remembered.

Several years ago, when water ballet was at its peak, Hua Lan Dojo was ordered to rectify its practices by the league for indiscriminately distributing badges.

It is said that new trainers who arrived in Cerulean City at that time would automatically receive a blue badge, which caused the value of the blue badge to continue to decline.

In the end, even the league couldn't stand it anymore and suspended the gym's operations, requiring a re-evaluation of its qualifications.

After some time, Xiaoxia took over the position of head of the Hualan Dojo from her three older sisters, trying to make it great again.

Unfortunately, she failed.

Because of his excessive force in training newcomers, he was nicknamed "Savage Bass" at home, and people's impression of Clarence Dojo remained from his ballet days.

Even today, underwater ballet performances still exist, but they are nowhere near as popular as they once were.

Quanshu entered through the main gate, but after wandering around for a while, he still couldn't find the battlefield.

The giant pool used for the performance occupies the largest area, and the tiered seating around it can accommodate tens of thousands of spectators.

Twenty minutes before the performance was scheduled to begin, a number of people were already scattered in the audience seats.

With a purely art-appreciative mindset, Izumi decided to find a good spot to critically observe the work.

Next to what he considered the best viewing spot, sat a young man with reddish-brown curly hair.

The boy was looking down, fiddling with the camera hanging around his neck.

Quanshu couldn't help but admire his dedication to art; he was probably too embarrassed to take the photos.

As the performance began, the huge rectangular glass pool rose higher and higher, even exceeding the audience seating area, where one could see the azure sea rippling overhead.

The strength of this transparent glass is undoubtedly cutting-edge technology in the Pokémon world.

Today's theme for the underwater ballet is "The Little Mermaid's Holiday".

Izumi doesn't quite understand line dancing or choreography, but it's very big, very white, and has a high artistic element.

The three mermaids at the head of the group, Sakura, Iris, and Peony, would elicit loud cheers every time they jumped out of the water.

No matter what world you're in, people's pursuit of a better life has never changed.

Quanshu sighed.

Halfway through the performance, he looked up and seemed to see a figure on the top floor of the dojo.

"Excuse me, bro, I need to use the restroom."

The brown-haired youth raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "Are you going to the restroom? I'm too embarrassed to call you out on it."

"Go."

He continued taking pictures with his camera.