Tora and Suzuki's suspicion

[Taito Ward, Tokyo, Japan]

Here, in Taito Ward, Tokyo, Japan, lies the traditional Japanese mansion of Sazama Suzuki.

Within the serene confines of this traditional Japanese mansion's garden, a bamboo grove stands tall. In the training area, an elderly man dons a keikogi, the traditional Japanese martial arts attire. With grace and precision, he wields his gleaming katana through the air, performing a series of deliberate movements.

After sheathing his katana, the elderly man positions himself before the bamboo grove. With unwavering focus, he unsheathes his katana and slices it through the bamboo, cleanly splitting it in two. 

He then carefully wipes the katana blade before returning it to its scabbard.

Inside the room, an elderly woman wearing a hakama observes the scene through the opened sliding door. 

Afterward, the elderly man steps into the room where the woman in the hakama resides and sits in quiet contemplation.

The elderly woman is Kumiko Suzuki.

Kumiko gazes at her husband, who enjoys a cup of tea at the chabudai, a Japanese traditional low stung table. A warm smile graces her face as she inquires, "Husband, your birthday is approaching. What would you like for the celebration this year?"

Sazama remains silent, sipping his tea thoughtfully, and then, with determined eyes, he responds, "Men shall don kimonos, women shall wear hakamas, and my grandsons should be attired in keikogi, for I wish to witness them partake in katana drills."

Kumiko smiles affectionately, saying, "You always yearn for such occasions."

Sazama responded to her words, "No, this time I'd like them to compete and determine who excels at a particular skill."

Kumiko displayed a hint of surprise and asked, "You're planning to initiate a competition this time?"

Sazama nodded and declared, "I'd like to see who can achieve the highest score in Super Mario!"

Kumiko couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "I thought it was something more serious, but it's all about your new hobby." She couldn't forget how engrossed her husband had become in Super Mario.

Sazama simply nodded and added, "The one who achieves the highest score will receive a reward of 10 million yen from me."

Kumiko burst into laughter at her husband's playful extravagance.

---

Meanwhile, in Shin's office, he received a call from his mother who informed him that his grandpa's birthday was fast approaching.

It was set for July 30, 1991.

Although Shin hesitated a bit, he ultimately agreed. However, he couldn't help but wonder why his father had chosen to invite him this time, considering he had missed his grandpa's birthday celebration the previous year without an invitation.

Shin welcomed Takuza into his office, and they began discussing their future business plans.

With a smile, Shin inquired, "Mr. Yamamoto, given that your company specializes in trading cards, have you already drafted a plan regarding Pokémon cards?"

Takuza eagerly nodded, saying, "I do! Pokémon's popularity has soared recently. In fact, Nippon TV has even ventured to create their own anime with a concept similar to Pokémon."

Shin smiled upon hearing this and remarked, "Well, it's not surprising. Asahi TV's soaring ratings have surely sparked some envy in others..."

---

As the popularity of Pokémon continued to surge in Japan and across Asia, Nippon TV and other television networks found themselves threatened by Pokémon's immense success.

Initially, they may have underestimated Pokémon's potential and expected it to be a flop. However, they were now alarmed by their own dwindling ratings and the sudden ascent of Asahi TV, which had once been a fledgling network.

Nippon TV's envy of Pokémon's ratings led them to create an anime with a similar concept, but it turned out to be a financial failure as the ratings didn't meet the network's expectations.

Akimitsu Ishizawa, the CEO of Nippon TV, was in contemplation when his male secretary entered his office with news, saying, "Boss, Tora Entertainment has expressed interest in a collaboration!"

Akimitsu Ishizawa was slightly taken aback and responded, "Really?" Upon seeing his secretary nod, Akimitsu Ishisawa perceived this as an opportunity to compete with KiShin's Pokémon.

"Very well, I'll arrange a meeting to discuss the collaboration," Akimitsu Ishizawa said thoughtfully as he rose from his seat.

---

[Tora Corporation]

[Conference Room]

President Taro Ikeda remarked, "Pokémon has remained remarkably popular. I never expected the anime to maintain its popularity long after its initial release."

One of the executives nodded in agreement and added, "Collaborating with Japan's number one channel network to brainstorm ideas for a competing anime seems like a solid strategy."

President Taro Ikeda nodded in agreement, recalling the words of Tora's Chairman. Observing that some of the executives might not fully comprehend the significance, he stated gravely, "The reason I'm so keen to compete with the Pokémon anime is because of something the Chairman told me..."

The other executives exchanged curious glances, with one asking, "What did the Chairman say to you?"

President Taro Ikeda nodded and explained, "The Chairman mentioned to me that KiShin's Pokémon anime might make its way into the world of video games..."

Upon hearing this, the executives were taken aback, with one of them exclaiming in surprise, "This is..."

And another expressing concern, "That's quite alarming..."

"It wouldn't be surprising at all, given the anime's immense popularity in Japan, for it to become one of KiShin's best-selling video games," one executive concluded.

President Taro Ikeda solemnly commented, "They've done it before with 'The Legend of Zelda' anime, so it's quite reasonable to expect that they'll adapt it into a video game..."

However, one of the executives expressed doubt, saying, "But we haven't received any confirmation from KiShin about their intentions to adapt it into video games..."

Another executive responded confidently, "No, I'm about 99 percent certain that KiShin will indeed adapt Pokémon into video games..."

One of them chimed in, "That's true... KiShin is, after all, primarily a video game-focused company, unlike us, who aren't as focused on video games."

Another executive added, "Nevertheless, we can't deny the substantial profits that video games have been generating for us so far..."

President Taro Ikeda nodded and explained, "That's precisely why we've partnered with multiple animation studios to create an anime following a concept similar to Pokémon. This way, we can eventually adapt our own anime into video games..."

---

Meanwhile, just like Tora Corporation, Suzuki Electronics was also planning a similar venture. Suzuki had decided to collaborate with the TBS and NHK TV broadcasting channels for this endeavor.

They also suspected that KiShin was actively preparing to eventually adapt the immensely popular Pokémon anime into video games.

Their preparations were so extensive that the Suzuki Group decided to dispatch some of their highly skilled individuals, including programmers, to infiltrate KiShin and gain access to its confidential information. However, as of now, they had not succeeded in breaching KiShin's defenses.

KiShin had remained a private company, making it difficult for Tora and Suzuki to obtain any reliable information about its operations. The relatively small KiShin company had proven to be exceptionally adept at safeguarding its sensitive data, which led both Tora and Suzuki to believe that surreptitiously inserting their own talented personnel into KiShin was a sound strategy.

For them, if they couldn't surpass KiShin through fair competition, they were willing to resort to espionage.

In reality, it wasn't just KiShin that was under scrutiny; both Tora and Suzuki had been engaging in mutual espionage against each other.