- 🌅 Menu 4 Nostalgia: The Scent of That Summer. The Day the Childhood Hearts of SHOWA and HEISEI Revived in the Palms of Our Hands
- 🎬 Scene 2: The TSUUSHIN CABLE and the Great War of "Cuteness" vs. "Coolness"!?
- 🎬 Scene 3: Unforgettable "Adventures of Those Days"
- 🎬 Scene 4: The Moment a 20-Year Dream Came True in the Palm of the Hand
🌅 Menu 4 Nostalgia: The Scent of That Summer. The Day the Childhood Hearts of SHOWA and HEISEI Revived in the Palms of Our Hands
Menu 4 Nostalgia: The Scent of That Summer. The Day the Childhood Hearts of SHOWA (Note: The Japanese imperial era from 1926 to 1989) and HEISEI (Note: The Japanese imperial era from 1989 to 2019) Revived in the Palms of Our Hands🦕 Pokémon: Google Sensei Niantic PokémonGO
🎯 Theme: 
Scene 1: The Sunset Sky at Dusk and "Red and Green" (Note: Referring to Pokémon Red and Green, the original 1996 release pair in Japan) in Our Pockets
Scene 1: The Sunset Sky at Dusk and "Red and Green" (Note: Referring to Pokémon Red and Green, the original 1996 release pair in Japan) in Our Pockets
hisui...Still, even though that summer of 2016 was full of trouble... somehow when I remember it, my chest tightens deeply inside, and I get such a warm, nostalgic feeling.
kotoYes. That evening air that enveloped the park... the smell of KATORI SENKO (Note: Traditional Japanese spiral mosquito-repellent incense coils) drifting from somewhere, and the sound of cicadas. It felt as if we had time-slipped right back into 'that summer vacation of those days' when we used to run around completely engrossed.
Dr FuukaI understand... Back when it transitioned from SHOWA to HEISEI, when we were still little kids. It was that time when we shoved the thick GAME BOY into our pockets and ran all over the place dripping with sweat, indeed.
DSK-o1Oh yeah! We'd gather at a friend's house, peering into that tiny black-and-white screen! When the batteries were running out and the screen grew faint, we'd desperately tap the console and stuff (laughs). Gazing up at the sky, I seriously fantasized, 'How great would it be if there were really Pokémon in this tall grass,' WAN!
NNM-007I, ATAI (Note: A casual feminine first-person pronoun 'I'), had someone buy me 10-yen FUNMATSU JUICE (Note: Nostalgic powdered juice packets sold at Japanese penny-candy stores) at a DAGASHI-YA (Note: Traditional Japanese old-fashioned neighborhood penny-candy and snack store), I wonder. With my paw pads turning red, I used to play engrossed until the sun went down... It is a warm memory, I wonder 
Dr FuukaOh! Japanese DAGASHI (Note: Inexpensive, nostalgic retro Japanese candies and snacks traditionally aimed at children)! It's rustic, yet even for me, born in America, it tastes strangely nostalgic! Tiny snacks you can buy for a few tens of yen... truly the SOUL FOOD that nurtured the hearts and stomachs of Japanese kids, indeed!
VatshuWOOOOOF! I love things like SAUCE KATSU (Note: A popular bite-sized breaded cutlet snack soaked in savory-sweet Worcestershire-style sauce) and those IKA-YAKI (Note: Chewy dried and seasoned squid snacks coated in sweet tare sauce) drenched in sweet sauce, WAN-O～～!!
NNM-007What on earth is this, I wonder. Nowadays I, ATAI, try not to eat anything unless it is for beauty, but whenever I see DAGASHI, my hand just reaches out for it, I wonder... The power of DAGASHI is terrifying, I wonder. This is bad, I wonder. If only there were an 'Adult Fresh Salmon DAGASHI' for ATAI, it would be the absolute best, I wonder
DSK-o1Te-TEYANDEE! (Note: A classic EDOKKO exclamation expressing disbelief or defiance) Gack-gack! Don't sweat the small details! DAGASHI is all delicious when lumped together, WAN! Once it's in your mouth, it's all the same, anyway!
📝 Summary Analysis
When was the last time you looked up at the sunset sky and bit your lip, thinking, "I don't want to go home"?
The chorus of cicadas, the smoke of KATORI SENKO (mosquito incense coils), and the smell of the DAGASHI-YA (traditional neighborhood snack and candy store) you rushed into while clutching small coins. And the weight of the thick GAME BOY shoved into your pocket. In 1996, every one of us who was once a child was genuinely journeying into "another world" expanding inside that small black-and-white LCD screen.
That dusk when, while tapping the fading screen as if in prayer as the batteries were running out, we looked up at the sky, wondering, "Will a Pokémon jump out of real tall grass someday?"
The year 2016, when "the passion of those days," tucked away deep inside our hearts as we grew into adults, revived once again alongside vivid scenes.
The chorus of cicadas, the smoke of KATORI SENKO (mosquito incense coils), and the smell of the DAGASHI-YA (traditional neighborhood snack and candy store) you rushed into while clutching small coins. And the weight of the thick GAME BOY shoved into your pocket. In 1996, every one of us who was once a child was genuinely journeying into "another world" expanding inside that small black-and-white LCD screen.
That dusk when, while tapping the fading screen as if in prayer as the batteries were running out, we looked up at the sky, wondering, "Will a Pokémon jump out of real tall grass someday?"
The year 2016, when "the passion of those days," tucked away deep inside our hearts as we grew into adults, revived once again alongside vivid scenes.
🎬 Scene 2: The TSUUSHIN CABLE and the Great War of "Cuteness" vs. "Coolness"!?
Scene 2: The TSUUSHIN CABLE (Note: Game Link Cable) and the Great War of "Cuteness" vs. "Coolness"!?
Calsto-OORecollecting! At that time, there was neither Wi-Fi nor online battling! To trade Pokémon, it was necessary to physically connect the consoles directly with a TSUUSHIN CABLE (Note: Game Link Cable)! When there was a connection issue, cleaning the connectors by blowing 'foo-foo' with your breath was the O-YAKUSOKU (Note: An established unspoken routine, rule, or trope in Japanese culture) since the FAMICOM (Note: Family Computer, the original Japanese name for the Nintendo Entertainment System) era!
hisuiAhaha! Even though the instruction manual said 'Do not blow foo-foo,' everyone went 'foo-foo,' didn't they. Because saliva would spray and end up breaking it instead～～ (laughs). Connected by that short cable on park benches or shrine precincts, while saying 'Let's battle!', Dad apparently sat face-to-face like that too.
VatshuWOOOOOF!! While connected by the cable, my friend's face was right nearby, WAN-O! It was clumsy, but so close, and so very warm, WAN-O～～!!
FrankiieBACHI-KOON! 
️ (Note: Frankiie's signature catchphrase expressing an electrifying, energetic spark) That's right, O! Directly connected not just to the other side of the screen, but to the 'friend's smiling face' right in front of us... That was our foundational experience, WAN! That must have been what Dr. John Hanke wanted to create, WAN. That also led to the feeling of nostalgia in Pokémon GO, WAN.
️ (Note: Frankiie's signature catchphrase expressing an electrifying, energetic spark) That's right, O! Directly connected not just to the other side of the screen, but to the 'friend's smiling face' right in front of us... That was our foundational experience, WAN! That must have been what Dr. John Hanke wanted to create, WAN. That also led to the feeling of nostalgia in Pokémon GO, WAN.kotoCome to think of it... when a regular PIKACHU appeared on the screen for the very first time, just that alone made us so thrilled and happy that we could jump for joy, didn't it. Well, Pikachu's cuteness is the strongest, both then and now! 
Still, my eternal OSHI (Note: One's most favorite, cherished, and supported character) Pokémon is definitely HAKURYU (Note: Dragonair) after all! That mysterious, elegant form... it resonates with KIMONO (Note: Traditional Japanese garments). Beauty truly is the strongest, both then and now!
Still, my eternal OSHI (Note: One's most favorite, cherished, and supported character) Pokémon is definitely HAKURYU (Note: Dragonair) after all! That mysterious, elegant form... it resonates with KIMONO (Note: Traditional Japanese garments). Beauty truly is the strongest, both then and now!
hisuiThat's so like you, Koto-nee, loving KIMONO! As for me, my OSHI is definitely ROKON (Note: Vulpix)!! Those curled six tails and that adorable cry... It was so cute that I carried it around forever without ever using an Evolution Stone! 
Cuteness truly is the strongest after all
Cuteness truly is the strongest after allNNM-007Wait just a moment, I wonder! When it comes to elegant beauty and cuteness, ATAI's (Note: A casual feminine first-person pronoun 'I') 'bewitching PUCCHIN PUDDING (Note: A legendary Japanese packaged custard pudding famous for its rich jiggly texture and the little plastic tab snapped to drop it onto a dish) body' is superior, I wonder! Rather than Pikachu, Hakuryu, or Rokon, shouldn't you be catching ATAI with a MASTER BALL (Note: The ultimate, 100% guaranteed capture Poké Ball), I wonder! ATAI is the strongest, I wonder
DSK-o1TEYANDEE! (Note: A classic EDOKKO exclamation expressing disbelief or defiance) What are ya saying! I, an IKI (Note: A traditional Japanese aesthetic concept of chic, sophisticated coolness) EDOKKO (Note: A person born and raised in old Tokyo/Edo, known for a spirited, sharp-tongued, yet warmhearted nature), am 100 times cuter and everyone's idol, WAN!! An IKI cool guy is the absolute best, WAN-O!
rintaroWhat are you saying! Surely nothing can rival this refined, sleek cuteness of WAGAHAI (Note: An archaic, self-important first-person pronoun famously used in Natsume Soseki's classic novel *I Am a Cat*)! No matter who looks at it, WARE (Note: A majestic, archaic first-person pronoun 'I') is number one, NYA!
VatshuWOOOOOF!! A word like 'cute' doesn't suit me at all, WAN-O! I am always 'the coolest (Cool)', WAN-DA-HO～～!! Rather than Pikachu's JUUMAN VOLT (Note: Literally '100,000 Volts,' the Japanese original name for the move Thunderbolt), my full-speed charge is way more electrifying, WAN-O～～! An IKEMEN (Note: Japanese slang for a remarkably handsome, cool guy) is the best, WAN-O! I will always blast forward coolly, WAN-O～～! Wiki Wiiki Vroom-vroom～～, O!
hisuiFufu, everyone thinks they are number one, don't they (laughs). Everyone is the best.
📝 Summary Analysis
Even though the instruction manual warned in red text, "Do not blow air on it," why did every single one of us blow on the connectors?
In an era when neither Wi-Fi nor online existed, we physically connected each other's consoles with a TSUUSHIN CABLE (Game Link Cable) of just a few tens of centimeters, enthusiastically battling and trading face-to-face in shrine precincts and on park benches. There was a "real warmth" that was not merely data moving back and forth, but where friends' laughter and breathing mingled.
And then erupted the endless debate over our OSHI (favorite): was it "beauty," "cuteness," or "coolness"? Who was the partner you vowed in your heart, for the first time in your life, "I will definitely go on an adventure with this one"?
In an era when neither Wi-Fi nor online existed, we physically connected each other's consoles with a TSUUSHIN CABLE (Game Link Cable) of just a few tens of centimeters, enthusiastically battling and trading face-to-face in shrine precincts and on park benches. There was a "real warmth" that was not merely data moving back and forth, but where friends' laughter and breathing mingled.
And then erupted the endless debate over our OSHI (favorite): was it "beauty," "cuteness," or "coolness"? Who was the partner you vowed in your heart, for the first time in your life, "I will definitely go on an adventure with this one"?
🎬 Scene 3: Unforgettable "Adventures of Those Days"
Scene 3: Unforgettable "Adventures of Those Days"kotoStill, there are plenty of other EMO-I (Note: Japanese slang derived from 'emotional,' evoking nostalgic, touching, or sentimental feelings) memories from those days too, aren't there. For example... the heart-pounding memory of charging into the pitch-black IWAYAMA TUNNEL (Note: Rock Tunnel, a notoriously dark cave in the original games) without having the HIDEN MACHINE (Note: Hidden Machine / HM, an item teaching permanent field moves) for FLASH, groping along the walls and getting lost!
Dr FuukaI understand! What's more, only during such desperate situations, the red battery lamp of the GAME BOY would start fading out...! I used to hold my breath and pray, 'Please! Let the power hold out until I write a REPORT (Save) (Note: Writing a report, the Japanese in-game terminology for saving the game)～～!', indeed! Even so, not making it in time and having to redo everything was the DEFAULT (Note: A Japanese loanword used to mean the standard, routine outcome) The KUSAIHANA (Note: Gloom) that I went out of my way to make my companion was gone 
The KUSAIHANA (Note: Gloom) that I went out of my way to make my companion was gone hisuiWhy KUSAIHANA～～!? Fuka-san is so cute～～
Fuka-san is so cute～～DSK-o1As expected, HITOKAGE (Note: Charmander) is the only choice for a companion, WAN! As for me, I single-mindedly raised only the partner chosen first (like Hitokage) all the way to Level 100, and the rest of the team members were things like single-digit level POPPO (Note: Pidgey), WAN! Once I decide, it's straight-ahead play, anyway! (NOUKIN: Japanese slang combining 'brain' and 'muscle,' meaning pure brawn over brains)
FrankiieBACHI-KOON! ️ (Note: Frankiie's signature catchphrase expressing an electrifying spark) That's a classic ARU-ARU (Note: A relatable, shared universal experience), WAN-O! Also, I genuinely believed in that mysterious urban legend that 'MYUU (Note: Mew) is under the truck at the SANTO ANNU-GOU (Note: S.S. Anne),' my excitement wouldn't stop, and I wandered around for dozens of hours; when I couldn't find it, I became sad, but looking back now, it's an overly EMO-I memory, O! It was the magic of pure KUCHIKOMI (Note: Pure word-of-mouth communication among children) from an era without the internet, WAY!
️ (Note: Frankiie's signature catchphrase expressing an electrifying spark) That's a classic ARU-ARU (Note: A relatable, shared universal experience), WAN-O! Also, I genuinely believed in that mysterious urban legend that 'MYUU (Note: Mew) is under the truck at the SANTO ANNU-GOU (Note: S.S. Anne),' my excitement wouldn't stop, and I wandered around for dozens of hours; when I couldn't find it, I became sad, but looking back now, it's an overly EMO-I memory, O! It was the magic of pure KUCHIKOMI (Note: Pure word-of-mouth communication among children) from an era without the internet, WAY!📝 Summary Analysis
The pitch-black IWAYAMA TUNNEL (Rock Tunnel) into which you charged without having learned FLASH, only to fall into despair. As you moved forward groping along the walls, the battery lamp mercilessly began to blink red. Do you remember that tense moment when, straining every nerve, you prayed, "Please, don't turn off until I WRITE A REPORT (save the game)...!"?
In an era when there were neither walkthrough sites nor SNS, rumors were whispered in the corner of the park. After school, the countless wasted efforts spent searching the screen until it was worn out were a "sweet magic" belonging only to children, something that could never be experienced in today's efficient games.
Whether it was the extreme adventure of raising only the partner chosen first up to Lv100, or the days when the sun set while chasing urban legends—imperfect, reckless, and deeply cherished precisely because of that, here is "our adventure tale."
In an era when there were neither walkthrough sites nor SNS, rumors were whispered in the corner of the park. After school, the countless wasted efforts spent searching the screen until it was worn out were a "sweet magic" belonging only to children, something that could never be experienced in today's efficient games.
Whether it was the extreme adventure of raising only the partner chosen first up to Lv100, or the days when the sun set while chasing urban legends—imperfect, reckless, and deeply cherished precisely because of that, here is "our adventure tale."
🎬 Scene 4: The Moment a 20-Year Dream Came True in the Palm of the Hand
Scene 4: The Moment a 20-Year Dream Came True in the Palm of the HandkotoThat is precisely why... in the summer of 2016, when people saw PIKACHU standing all alone on the roadside of their familiar streets through the camera of their smartphones... so many people's hearts trembled, didn't they.
Dr FuukaYes... It revived together with EMO-I (Note: Japanese slang derived from 'emotional,' evoking nostalgic, touching, or sentimental feelings) memories! 'Ah, across 20 years of time, we have now jumped inside that black-and-white screen.' For us, who had grown up and were chased by daily realities, it was a miraculous moment when we were brought back in an instant to 'the boys and girls of that summer vacation of those days,' indeed.
rintaroHmph... The humans who usually work with serious faces were peering into their smartphones with sparkling eyes like children. Even to the eyes of WARE (Note: A majestic, archaic first-person pronoun 'I'), it wasn't a bad face, NYA.
NNM-007An unfamiliar adult kindly told me in the park, 'There was a FUSHIGIDANE (Note: Bulbasaur) over there,' I wonder. We smiled at each other a little shyly... and it was as if the whole world had become a giant 'secret base,' I wonder
DSK-o1Even after becoming adults, our childhood hearts had not disappeared, WAN! Everyone was doing that 20-year-long 'checking of answers' together...!
NNM-007Hmph. DSK, Vatshu, and all the men never grow up no matter how old they get, I wonder. Is ATAI (Note: A casual feminine first-person pronoun 'I') the only one who grows up, I wonder
hisuiI wonder if I can have that kind of experience when I become an adult too?
VatshuWOOOOOF!! No matter how old we get, adventure can be started anytime, WAN-O! The scent of that summer lives forever in our hearts, WAN-O～～!! GOOGLE-SENSEI (Note: An affectionate Japanese honorific term personifying Google as an all-knowing, revered teacher), Niantic, and Pokémon reminded us of that, WAN-O～～～! I will continue to blast forward from now on, WAN-O～～! Wiki Wiiki Vroom-vroom～～!
*DOYA-A...!! (Note: A Japanese expression and onomatopoeia conveying an intensely proud, triumphant, smug face)*
*DOYA-A...!!
(Note: A Japanese expression and onomatopoeia conveying an intensely proud, triumphant, smug face)*
📝 Summary Analysis
In July 2016, the world changed overnight.
The moment you looked into your smartphone screen, on top of the usual familiar asphalt, PIKACHU, whom you dreamed of on that black-and-white screen, was standing quietly—when you witnessed that sight, you surely remember the indescribable tremor that ran through the depths of your chest.
Adults wearing suits dashed out into the city, shyly exchanging smiles with strangers in parks at night, saying, "There was a FUSHIGIDANE (Bulbasaur) over there." A miraculous summer when, transcending race and generations, the entire Earth transformed into a giant "after-school and summer vacation secret base." It was the most luxurious "answer-checking of our childhood hearts," received by us who had fought through reality for as long as 20 years.
No matter how old we become, the fire of adventure dwelling in our hearts will never go out—let us go now to confirm once again the scent of that day and the truth of that joy.
The moment you looked into your smartphone screen, on top of the usual familiar asphalt, PIKACHU, whom you dreamed of on that black-and-white screen, was standing quietly—when you witnessed that sight, you surely remember the indescribable tremor that ran through the depths of your chest.
Adults wearing suits dashed out into the city, shyly exchanging smiles with strangers in parks at night, saying, "There was a FUSHIGIDANE (Bulbasaur) over there." A miraculous summer when, transcending race and generations, the entire Earth transformed into a giant "after-school and summer vacation secret base." It was the most luxurious "answer-checking of our childhood hearts," received by us who had fought through reality for as long as 20 years.
No matter how old we become, the fire of adventure dwelling in our hearts will never go out—let us go now to confirm once again the scent of that day and the truth of that joy.
