Pokemon Lord of Fear

Giovanni left in a hurry.

Edward didn't mind it much. For someone like Giovanni, not being busy every day would be the real surprise. As a Gym Leader, he would often have challengers showing up at his door, and on top of that, he also had to handle various assignments from the Pokémon League.

It was already quite a demanding job on its own. And if something happened in the city or area under his jurisdiction—like an accident or natural disaster—the Gym Leader would also be required to step up for emergency rescue work.

For instance, when the rockslide occurred over at Mt. Chimney, which trapped hundreds of people, it was the Gym Leader of Lavaridge Town who were dispatched to conduct the rescue operations.

Not to mention, Giovanni wasn't just a Gym Leader—he was also the boss of Team Rocket, meaning he still had responsibilities and matters to take care of on that front too.

"But speaking of Team Rocket..." Edward rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and his mind turned to the notorious Team Rocket trio.

Team Rocket certainly had its fair share of talent. In the anime, they even had high-ranking officers, and in the Special manga series, some Gym Leaders were revealed to be Team Rocket executives, showing how powerful and widespread the organization could be.

But to Edward, those people weren't worth much attention.

In the entire Team Rocket organization, the only ones who managed to earn Edward's interest were Giovanni—and, surprisingly—the trio of Meowth, James, and Jessie.

These three could truly be described as the Tom and Jerry of the Pokémon world—unpredictable and capable of anything. Competing in contests and winning, inventing bizarre but functional gadgets—it was all within their skill set. They had followed Ash's journey from Kanto all the way to Galar, appearing more frequently than any other antagonists in the entire Pokémon anime.

They may have started off as pure villains, but over time, this trio had evolved into more like "charming" villains, becoming quite popular among fans.

Their capabilities were undeniably unique. If Edward could bring them under his own command and have them working for him, there was no telling what kind of strange and useful applications they might have.

That said, Edward couldn't be sure if the trio would perform as well under his banner as they did in the anime. After all, their quirky genius may have been something that bloomed specifically due to their chaotic journey alongside Ash.

They didn't seem to have any intention of quitting Team Rocket, either.

Edward shook his head with a smile—oh well, he'd leave it up to fate. The Rocket trio's talents in invention and absurd resilience might've been amplified by their long-standing role as comic relief, always getting blown away but never giving up.

Forcefully recruiting them might not be of much use to him anyway—especially when Devon Corporation already had more than enough skilled researchers and developers in its ranks.

With that thought set aside, Edward returned his focus to filming Sherlock Holmes—the official title he had decided on for his drama series. It was a simple and direct name, using the iconic detective's own name as the title.

The first season of Sherlock Holmes would consist of three episodes, each around 100 minutes long—making it quite lengthy compared to most TV dramas. But even then, this was already the most condensed version Edward could manage.

A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles—these three classic cases from the original Sherlock Holmes stories were slowly taking shape under Edward's direction. With substantial investment from various companies, the drama series was crafted with meticulous attention to detail, aiming for nothing less than excellence.

Edward had spent a full three months filming Sherlock Holmes, and during this time, One Missed Call had officially completed its theatrical run.

"One Missed Call barely managed to surpass the one billion mark in box office revenue—though only by a slim margin." Edward remarked as he reviewed the financial report in hand. He was sipping tea as he read. Filming for Sherlock Holmes was already complete; all that remained was the dubbing and post-production editing. Actor Daniel had already received his full payment.

On the day filming wrapped, Daniel had gotten himself thoroughly drunk at the wrap party. Even so, he still stumbled over to Edward to thank him over and over again. Edward's hand was practically held hostage that night by Daniel's repeated handshakes—it was funny and awkward at the same time.

From the passionate tone in Daniel's voice and the trembling in his words, Edward could tell that the actor's gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.

"Boss, the outside world is already calling you the only director in history who has made two films that have broken 1 billion with both of his debut films." Zoroark said with a laugh.

Edward rubbed his temples at the mention. Two one-billion-grossing films right out of the gate? Was that even worth bragging about?

He remembered a famous actress from his previous life who had her first film break 5 billion. And with the second film—a weight-loss drama—it almost pushed her two-film total to 10 billion in revenue, overshadowing even the most prestigious veteran directors.

So honestly, Edward wasn't particularly impressed by his own one-billion performance.

That said, considering that the highest-grossing film in the current Pokémon world was Memoirs of the Dream Master, which had topped out at 3.5 billion, it wasn't surprising that Edward's ten-billion result was getting so much attention.

"Should I try making a movie that really stirs up people's emotions?" Edward mused to himself.

The two films by that actress in his past life were both emotionally powerful. Edward personally preferred the first one—he couldn't relate to the second film, so he never bothered watching it.

But the more he thought about it, the harder it seemed to create an emotionally resonant horror film. While some horror films could convey the greatness of maternal love or evoke sympathy, they just didn't reach the level of emotional depth found in works that focused solely on human emotions.

"Tell the post-production team to be extra careful with the editing this time. Be meticulous—and give them triple overtime pay." Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. Emotionally charged storytelling wasn't really his forte anyway.

The filming of Sherlock Holmes was partly an experiment—to see whether suspenseful dramas could generate fear energy. If it worked, it could open up a new genre of storytelling options for Edward.

"Got it, boss," said Zoroark, jotting the instruction down before heading out to run some errands. Meanwhile, Edward leaned back in his chair.

The box office success of One Missed Call had been driven in part by the cross-promotion with the smartphone product line, which brought a lot of buzz. In the end, Edward reaped a total of 100,000 Fear Points from the film's success.

But unlike with Dead Silence, this time he only received three items as rewards.

The first one was—unsurprisingly—a half of a Master Ball. But it was literally just one half. The other half was nowhere to be found, so for now, Edward just kept it as a display piece.

The second item was a passive skill that made it easier for viewers to immerse themselves emotionally into movies and dramas.

Edward was quite pleased with that. The more immersed the audience became, the more Fear Points he could collect. And since the effect worked on a visual level, Edward tested it himself—if he focused hard enough while watching, it really did feel as though he were inside the movie.

As for the third reward:

[Strange Invitation Letter: A peculiar-looking invitation letter. The name on it has become illegible. Disappears upon use. Effects unknown.]

That was the reward—a purple-red invitation letter, exquisitely crafted, but the text on it was smudged like ink that had been soaked in water, rendering the writing completely unreadable.

So Edward had no idea what it did.

"Oh well." After a moment of contemplation, Edward decided to use the strange invitation letter. There wasn't much point in holding on to something that might as well be a scrap of paper. Using it could at least lead to some kind of interesting outcome.

(End of Chapter)

Note from author: Since the drama series is quite long, I'll be speeding up the writing pace a bit.