At the Same Time

All right, this post concerns something that isn't quite related to Pokémon, but there is a neat story that surrounds it and is quite related to Pokémon. I will start with that story. Years and years ago, while searching on the Internet for Pokémon images, I happened upon a neat image that was only named as "pic25.jpg" and gave no further indications as to its overall relationship. The last time I fed the image through Google's Image Search, it failed to bring up the image elsewhere (let alone one of a better or higher resolution), and the last time I fed the name of the picture file, the image never came up. It must mean that the image is rather rare.

However, I can still vividly describe the image. The image contains Ash and his Pokémon from the early part of the Johto saga, sitting at the top of what is a grassy hill. They are all looking up at the night sky full of stars. Curiously, those stars in the night sky are also arranged in "constellations" that represent particular Pokémon, which is indicated by outline images of the Pokémon around the constellations. I personally think it's a powerful image, one that speaks to the richness of the Pokémon world, even back then when there were only a couple hundred of Pokémon species. That led me to think of a particular song I had been listening to at that time:

Think of all the love
Pouring from our hearts
At the same time
Think of all the light
Our love can shine around this world
At the same time...
-- "At the Same Time", Barbra Streisand

The quoted part seems to echo a spirit that goes beyond the image. The attachment that Trainers have to their Pokémon can be a very noble thing indeed, and is surely something shared by the multitude of Trainers. Altogether, this might just be able to light up the world, just like how the night sky filled with stars does the same. And if that night sky contains many constellations of many Pokémon, some of which might belong to certain Trainers - including those of Ash, who is watching from down below - then it probably really is true. Through the Pokémon in the night sky, the attachment of all Trainers to the pours out and shines the world, as per the lyrics.

Unfortunately, I've been unable (perhaps not yet able) to recover my copy of this image. And yet, the vividness of it remains in my mind, as per the above description. It's only helped and reinforced by the song that happened to be present at that point. While the song itself may never have, or was intended to have actual connections to Pokémon, personal circumstances happened to make it that way. It's probably a good thing, and considering the song itself and Pokémon, it may be helpful to think of them all... at the same time.

One year ago: Shiny Lugia Obsessions
Two years ago: A Passion for Red