For the first time in a long time, the adult world could wait. Tonight, he was just a kid from Bandung, chasing a rainbow on a broken phone screen, with Pikachu riding on his shoulder.
His fingers, clumsy with nostalgia, typed the sacred words: Pokemon Indigo League Eps 1 Sub Indo.
And then came that scene.
The subtitle flashed: "Aku tidak peduli apakah kamu tidak menyukaiku! Pegang erat-erat!" (I don’t care if you don’t like me! Hold on tight!)
Now, at twenty-eight, courage meant replying to an email from his boss at 11 PM. Pokemon Indigo League Eps 1 Sub Indo - BiliBili
The rain. The injured, rebellious Pikachu refusing to go inside its ball. The flock of angry Spearow descending like feathered shurikens. Ash, a stupid, brave ten-year-old, throwing his body in front of a lightning bolt meant for a yellow mouse that hated him.
Arwin wasn't crying. He was just… sweating from his eyes. For the first time in a long time,
He watched Ash Ketchum—Satoshi in the original, but still Ash in his heart—sleep through his chance to get a Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander. He saw the desperate grab for the only Pokeball left, the one with a crack down the middle.