Presale

Two weeks before the release of "Mewtwo Strikes Back," all Pokémon Center simultaneously announced that they would stop issuing movie invitations. This left many players who hadn't had a chance to participate feeling regretful, while those who had already received invitations felt a special sense of superiority.

The final promotional campaign before the film's release began unexpectedly one morning a week before the premiere.

Overnight, all the giant posters around the Pokémon Center were replaced. There were no movie stills, no promotional slogans, only one wall... a densely packed photo wall composed of countless Pokémon heads.

In the very center of that photo wall, in front of it, was a black silhouette.

It sat upright in its executive chair, its back to everyone, exuding a chilling sense of oppression.

Below the silhouette, a line of large, blood-red characters seems to be a final message to every Pokémon.

"Having received your invitation, will you come to face Mewtwo Strikes Back on July 22nd?!"

At first, passersby simply stopped to look out of curiosity, assuming it was some new art design. But soon, some people noticed something was amiss.

"Wait a minute. That avatar looks like... Bulbasaur?"

"Next to it is an ID number and name— 'Bulbasaur-kun '? That's such a corny name."

In the crowd, a little boy carrying a schoolbag, who had just finished school, subconsciously looked up and glanced around.

The next second, he seemed to be nailed to the spot, his eyes widening suddenly. In that ocean of thousands upon thousands of avatars,

He spotted that familiar figure at a glance.

A pixelated Pikachu, followed by a string of numbers he types every day.

"Pikachu ----ID:00250640401---" His classmate leaned over and read it aloud.

"It's mine." The little boy's voice trembled as he pointed a finger at the small image on the wall. "It's my Pikachu!"

"You're kidding! How could that be!"

"It's true! Look at the name! ' Electric Mouse '! That's the nickname he gave his Pikachu!" another classmate shouted.

The little boy's face flushed instantly, half with embarrassment and anger, and half with barely suppressed excitement and pride.

He puffed out his chest, as if his Pokémon made it onto some kind of Koei.

Such scenes are playing out simultaneously in front of Pokémon Center across Japan.

Sega used the geographical location of the data upload to precisely project local players' Pokémon information onto the corresponding GG cards.

Countless players found their own surprise amidst the "treasure hunt" crowds, and soon the topic of "My Pokémon on the wall" became a common topic of conversation at schools.

Many friends have made a pact that the first thing they'll do during summer vacation is go see <Mewtwo Strikes Back> together.

Just when everyone thought the publicity campaign was over and they were only waiting for the movie to be released, the final blow quietly fell the day before the release.

Without any prior warning, the joint announcement from Toho and Sega was like a bombshell, instantly igniting the entire public discourse on July 21st.

All viewers who purchase tickets to the movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back" can participate in a lucky draw by presenting their ticket stubs.

The first prize is a limited edition Mewtwo Virtual Pet.

Of course, other prize levels also have corresponding peripheral prizes.

When the announcement was displayed on television news, in newspapers, at Pokémon Center, and in front of movie theaters, no one initially realized the seriousness of the problem.

Limited edition? There are plenty of limited edition Pokémon items, this one is just one more.

Until someone focused their attention on that crucial number.

Quantity: 50.

"Fifty? I didn't misread that, did I? Fifty nationwide?"

"Look at the next sentence! Just like the Mew you got when the Mega Drive was released! Never to be reissued!"

Countless office workers on field assignments and students on summer vacation wandering around thought of "Yu".

Mew Virtual Pet, the one that fetched astronomical prices on the secondhand market and remains Mew in the hearts of countless players!

Now, they want to recreate a myth in the same way.

Mewtwo, known as the strongest Pokémon, is the absolute protagonist of this movie.

Its oppressive atmosphere, conveyed through that black silhouette poster, has been deeply imprinted in everyone's mind.

What does it mean to possess Mewtwo?

"This is insane! Is Sega doing it again like they did with the Mega Drive release?!"

"My invitations - my photo wall. Were they just appetizers all along?"

"What am I going to do? I was only planning to buy one ticket for myself!" A high school student received this message from a friend who was out shopping, speaking through a public phone. Shaking his head, he was racking his brains trying to figure out how to increase his chances of getting Mewtwo. "I've got it! Buy tickets for Mom, Dad, and Grandpa too! The whole family can go!"

The phone lines to book tickets at major cinemas were instantly overwhelmed with calls, the busy signals seeming to mock everyone who was too slow.

The ticket seller noticed the sudden increase in ticket buyers since noon and learned that they were all there to buy tickets for the movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back".

But some rich kids actually did something inhumane: they booked out the entire venue, buying up tickets for the biggest hall, all for that one ticket stub that might win Mewtwo.

This made the already tight supply of tickets for <Mewtwo Strikes Back> even more scarce starting at noon.

The young players who were smug about having their Pokémon on the wall yesterday have now lost all sense of superiority, replaced by an unprecedented anxiety.

The owner of "Electric Mouse," the little boy, was clutching his pocket money, crowding with his classmates in front of the movie theater ticket window. The long queue made him anxious.

"Damn it! I should have bought the tickets yesterday!"

"Who would have thought there was such a trick!" His classmate was also sweating profusely. "Fifty prizes—there are thousands of people in our school, the odds of winning are smaller than getting struck by lightning!"

The little boy didn't speak, but stared intently at the crowd in front of him, his palms sweating so much that the name "Yukichi Fukuzawa" was sticky.

He suddenly felt that the invitation, which read "Will you come to face Mewtwo Strikes Back?", had taken on a completely new meaning.

This is not only a questioning of the movie characters, but simply being able to watch the movie is already a huge challenge for these players.

The office of the manager of Toho Cinemas Shibuya Cinemas was filled with smoke.

The manager was worrying about the dismal pre-sale figures for several art films when his office door was suddenly kicked open.

"Manager! Phone! Ticket office! Everyone's gone crazy!" A young ticket seller rushed in, barely able to speak.

The manager frowned and slammed the report on the table, "What's all the commotion? What's going on? Speak slowly, is it really necessary to be in such a hurry?"

"No way! The phone hasn't stopped ringing, it's all orders for <Mewtwo Strikes Back>! Some people are even calling to ask if they can book Hall 1 for three days straight!"

"What?!" The manager jumped up and snatched the movie schedule from the ticket seller's hand. The schedule, which listed "Sold Out" next to "Mewtwo Strikes Back," included all the movies in the largest theaters.

Before he could react, the landline phone on the table rang.

"This is Toho Distribution Department." A hurried voice came from the other end of the phone, "How's it going on your end?"

"Director, Hall One has just been completely bought out. I'm now—"

"No need to say anything more!" the director interrupted him. "Those lunatics at Sega have really messed things up for us! Now, notify your theaters to immediately allocate every available screening slot to <Mewtwo Strikes Back>, and cut the screenings of those half-dead movies to the bare minimum! Immediately! Also, open pre-sales for all prime-time screenings for the next three days right away!"

"Yes!" The manager hung up the phone, his palms burning. He yelled towards the door, "Poster team! Take down the posters for that romance movie outside theaters 3 and 4! Replace them with <Mewtwo Strikes Back>! Ticketing department, immediately print tickets for the prime-time screenings the day after tomorrow and the day after that, and get them to the box office to start selling them right away. Put up signs at the box office too, so the audience knows we can already buy tickets for the following days!"

The entire theater instantly transformed into a high-speed war machine.

However, the newly added sessions, like water thrown into the desert, evaporated instantly.

The ticket office had already started calling out several times for more staff to help with ticket sales.

At 10 p. m. the night before the premiere, when cinema staff wearily hung up signs saying "Tickets for tomorrow and the day after are sold out," the entire Tokyo cinema fell silent.

The cold lettering of the sign was reflected on countless disappointed young faces.