Chapter 7
As time passed, many things changed.
Before Ryan realized it, one year had already passed.
It was now May 1, 1995.
Ryan had turned 11 years old.
He was born on February 1, 1985, but his life had become very different compared to normal children.
Even though many things had happened, his school life continued normally.
His friends Rachel, Chandler, and Raj were still with him every day.
Among them, Rachel and Ryan had slowly begun to like each other more and more. It wasn't something they openly talked about. After all, they were still kids.
But everyone around them could see it.
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The Rise of the Manga
In this one year, Ryan's life had changed dramatically.
Because of the success of Pokémon, Dawn Publishing soon released Naruto and One Piece as well.
At first, these two series were not as famous as Pokémon.
But as more chapters were released, readers slowly began to appreciate their stories.
Naruto attracted readers who liked action and emotional stories.
One Piece attracted readers who loved adventure and world building.
Soon all three manga began climbing the popularity rankings.
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Increasing the Release Speed
After one month of publishing Pokémon, Ryan made a bold decision.
He decided to release three chapters every week.
At first this schedule was very exhausting.
But as time passed and he became more skilled, his drawing speed improved greatly.
Eventually he became capable of drawing two chapters every day.
Because of this, all three manga began progressing very quickly.
Readers loved the fast pacing.
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Ryan's First Earnings
When the first payment arrived, Ryan's parents opened a bank account for him and deposited all his earnings there.
By that time:
Pokémon had released over 50 chapters
Naruto had released around 40 chapters
One Piece had released around 35 chapters
With the contract of $3000 per chapter, Ryan had already earned roughly:
$375,000
This did not include royalties from volume sales, which were already beginning to generate additional income.
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Expansion Across Countries
Three months after Pokémon's release, Dawn Publishing expanded the manga distribution.
The magazines were now sold not only in New York, but across:
the United States
Japan
the United Kingdom
and other countries where Dawn Publishing owned branches.
The manga began selling like hot cakes.
Soon Pokémon became extremely popular among children.
Because of this popularity, Dawn Publishing signed a licensing deal with Hasbro to produce Pokémon toys just two months after the manga's release.
The franchise was growing rapidly.
However, even though Ryan was the creator, no one in the public knew his identity.
He wanted to keep his life normal.
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A New Idea
Around the fifth month after Pokémon's release, Ryan made another major decision.
He wanted to create a Pokémon video game and a handheld gaming device.
When he first told his parents about this idea, they immediately rejected it.
"You're still a kid," his father said.
"You should focus on school and manga."
But Ryan did not give up.
After repeatedly explaining his idea and showing them his plans, his parents finally agreed.
However, they would supervise the project closely.
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The Birth of Nova Tech
Using the money he had earned, Ryan established his first company.
Nova Tech.
The company was still very small.
At the beginning, he recruited about 10 employees.
The team structure looked like this:
1 receptionist
1 financial manager
3 software programmers
5 hardware engineers
Each employee received a salary of $3000 per month.
Ryan himself handled many tasks as well.
Since he had been a mechatronics engineer in his previous life, he had knowledge of both programming and hardware systems.
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Building the Game
The handheld device was difficult to develop.
But the Pokémon game itself was easier.
Ryan began working with the three programmers to build the game.
Two months later, the game was almost complete.
However, the handheld device still had many technical problems.
The hardware engineers struggled with battery life, screen compatibility, and performance issues.
Even Ryan had difficulty solving some of the problems.
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Breakthrough
After many failed attempts and long nights of work, the team finally succeeded.
On April 29, 1995, they completed the first working prototype of the handheld device.
Everyone in the office celebrated.
They tested the Pokémon game on the device and searched for bugs.
When the testing was finished, Ryan decided to give everyone a short holiday.
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May 1, 1995
Today was Saturday.
Ryan and his team usually held meetings on weekends because he still had school on weekdays.
Even his three friends were present today.
Rachel, Chandler, and Raj had come to visit Nova Tech during the holidays.
Ryan looked at the small handheld device in his hands.
This was only the beginning.
Many bigger plans were waiting ahead.
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(To be continued in Chapter 8)