So Today, Junichi Masuda Signed (And Confirmed?) My Art of the “Leaked” Sun & Moon Final Starter Evos

Here’s the story:

My friend and I recently came to Japan as a study abroad we had been planning for a few years now. So far, we’ve had quite a bit of fun livin’ it up in Tokyo, seeing what we could, but nothing compared to what we did today. The other day, my friend messages me, telling me that Junichi Masuda, a long-time director for Pokemon, would be holding a lottery-based signing/meet-and-greet on Sunday at the Tokyo Skytree Poke-Center. My first thought was, “We probably won’t get selected for such a big event.” But hey, why not go?

So we get there at the time of the lottery, and the line is long as HECK, not that we expected any less. There were kids, adults, and older folks abound, all with their 3DS’s, Pokemon plushes, hoodies, Pikachu ears, etc. We all waited there for about another 20 minutes, until suddenly, the line started zipping down. Halfway through the line, it stops again. I’m wondering why before my friend shouts (in a low Japan-friendly voice) “It’s MASUDA!!!” Sure enough, Masuda is standing several yards away talking with folks down the line. Eventually, Masuda walks up next to us, and tells everyone to gather around for a picture. Me, standing right behind Masuda for the picture, he could probably feel my fangirling aura. Aaanyways, we finally get to the front of the line, where the lottery is being held. Essentially, you press a button on an iPad, and either you get it or you don’t. First up is my friend. He goes up, presses the button, and whaddya know, he gets it! I’m thinking, “Man, if he got it, I might just too!” … Yeah, guess again. Seeing that “ざんねん” on the screen certainly wasn’t the highlight of my day. Still! It was time to plan my friend’s meeting with Masuda!

At this point, we had about 3 hours to kill before the signing, and we were trying to think of what to do. That’s when it hit me. For a while, I knew I wanted to draw something for Masuda to sign, me being an artist and all; I just didn’t know what. But then I thought, hey, he’s doing this for Sun & Moon, right? Well, why don’t I ask the man a question about the games. Mainly, are these starter leaks real?? For those unaware, there is a very convincing set of leaks for the designs of the final starter evolutions in the game. With all the evidence to support their authenticity, they have been all but officially confirmed. I figured, even if I could get him to make a face that might say something after seeing this drawing, my trip was worth it. So I got to drawing. After about an hour of hastily putting the drawing together (and running out of pencil lead..) we were able to make it back in time for the signing.

The Pokemon Center was packed with people crowded to see the signing. Luckily, since my friend had a pass, I got a good view of the signing. Plenty of folks went up, some nervous kids, a guy in a mismatched Pikazard costume, and even an ecstatic mom with her less-ecstatic baby. But I noticed something with all these people, they weren’t allowed to get anything but a card signed! I started to get worried, was this expertly crafted plan of ours doomed to fail? Had Masuda seen through our ploy? Well, the time had come, and, unlike everyone else, my friend went up to the table, drawing in hand. Meanwhile, excited, I tried filming the scene over a crowd of people (it didn’t turn out so well). My friend nervously approached the table, started talking to Masuda, then after a minute, showed him the drawing. Masuda looked at it for a minute, probably not yet realising what he was looking at, and then he smiled and started laughingly asking my friend about it. The room was pretty loud, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but after another minute, Masuda shook his hand, they took a picture, and I ran over to see what had just frickin’ transpired.

My friend explained to me the situation as best he could: He went and introduced himself to Masuda, told him he was a study abroad student and whatnot, and then went in to tell him about the drawing. After Masuda saw it, he laughed and asked “Your friend made this? He’s pretty good!” He then pointed to the starter evolutions and told him something. Now, my friend isn’t great at Japanese, but I’ve taken it for a few more years than he has. One word we able to figure out he said for sure was “deru”, which is the verb to “come out”. Obviously, our unbiased translation was something akin to “these haven’t been officially released yet”. Of course, this is no confirmation. Not even a confirmation that he said what my friend thought he heard. So, basically, if we believe hard enough, Masuda confirmed the leaked final evos!







TL;DR: We tried to get Masuda to confirm the final evo leaks at a signing, and he kinda delivered??



By elstrawfedora - Oct 16, 2016