The Great Passage

by Shion Miura

Majime picked up on her misgivings. He gave an embarrassed laugh. “Usually things are more organized here. The problem is that just as we were finishing up Wordmaster proofs, we had to start editing the Sokéboo Encyclopedia, so everything’s been at sixes and sevens.” At sixes and sevens? He actually uses that expression? The oddness of it struck her. As she was pondering it she stood with a stupid expression on her face and failed to reply. Then she realized he had just said something even stranger than “sixes and sevens.” “Sokéboo?” she parroted, thinking she might have misheard him. “That’s right.” He looked at her quizzically. “Don’t you know Sokéboo?” Of course she did. Socket Booster, aka Sokéboo, was a video game and anime series popular with children and adults alike. Ten-year-old Socket Booster traveled the universe, befriending all manner of creatures on the planets he visited. The creatures of the universe were of every imaginable shape, ranging from adorable to grotesque, and vivid in coloration. Some of them were more popular than Socket Booster. Even Kishibe, who had never played the game or seen the anime, was familiar with several of the characters.

Pokémon