Pokemon Lord of Fear

Edward had never imagined that the biggest change he would bring to this world would actually begin with its ecological environment.

"I suggest naming it 'Tom Tree.'"

This was the most upvoted comment under the video.

The second most upvoted comment was:

"I suggest naming it 'Split Tree.'"

It was just a few hundred likes away from surpassing the top comment, and the sight of that made Edward break into a cold sweat. After all, he had secretly bought over ten thousand likes for the first comment, thinking that would be enough to secure its lead. But now it seemed the situation wasn't very stable. He would have to buy more.

Edward absolutely did not want a situation where, whenever people saw one of those trees that had been split open from the middle, they'd all start shouting " Split Tree! Split Tree!" That would leave him completely speechless.

"But this guy being able to split a tree like this... I have to admit, he really put effort into it," Edward muttered as he watched the video showing a large tree split straight down the middle. He then glanced at the massive form of a Golurk, the culprit in the video.

Although Golurk was a Ghost-type Pokémon, its standard weight was 330 kilograms, and that was no small number.

A creature weighing 330 kilograms managing to split a tree in the exact same style as Tom from Tom and Jerry—that truly was a kind of talent.

"Boss!" Zoroark hurried in.

Edward looked at it curiously. "Didn't you just leave? Why are you back already?"

Zoroark handed over a file.

Edward took it and gave it a glance.

[Notice Regarding the First Ever "Tom Tree Performance Contest" in the Hoenn Region]

As decided by the Hoenn Regional League President and the meeting committee, in light of the viral trend sparked by Tom and Jerry among wild Pokémon populations, it has been agreed...

….

Inside the conference room of the Hoenn Regional League, the president sat at the head of the table, addressing the assembly of representatives with a proposal:

"Today's agenda—hosting the First Annual 'Tom Tree Performance Contest' to boost economic and tourism development in the Hoenn region. What are your thoughts?"

One of the senior representatives, the head of the Finance Department—an old man with silver hair—frowned slightly and asked, "What exactly is this 'Tom Tree Performance Contest' supposed to be?"

He had already glanced at the proposed budget for the event, and it was not a small amount. From the perspective of someone experienced in organizing public events, the projected budget for this performance contest was quite substantial.

The head of the Tourism Department, a woman, softly began to explain:

"This idea stems from a phenomenon sparked by the release of a short animated film titled Tom and Jerry by Hoenn's own Ghost Film Pictures. The short has surpassed 100 million views online and has received extremely positive reception even among wild Pokémon communities."

She was the one who had originally proposed the event.

"Lately, we've seen a growing trend within our region where wild Pokémon and even trainer-owned Pokémon are imitating Tom's famous crotch split move from the film. And ever since the PokéCulture Expo, this trend has begun spreading to other regional leagues as well. Each of these tree-splitting videos is gathering an astonishing number of views and comments..."

She laid out a long list of analytics and data to support her proposal.

One by one, the assembly members began to nod. Just as she said, videos featuring the "tree-splitting" gimmick, regardless of the Pokémon involved, were drawing in massive engagement.

"Which led me to think," she continued confidently, "since 'splitting trees' has already become a hot trend and a viral phenomenon, why don't we capitalize on this opportunity? If we hold the event in Hoenn and invite Director Edward and the Persian who plays Tom, it will surely stimulate our region's economy and tourism revenue."

She spoke with assurance.

Each regional League was responsible for managing its own finances. Although the Pokémon League HQ held centralized funds, those were mainly used for subsidies, disaster relief, or developing newly discovered regions. Hence, each region needed to be financially self-sustaining.

As the Minister of Tourism for Hoenn, she was naturally invested in this issue. But Hoenn didn't have many standout landmarks. Its biggest attraction was Meteor Falls, and beyond that, there was only the Pokémon Contest circuit.

And yet the Contest circuit couldn't compare to the Tom Tree phenomenon in terms of widespread appeal. So, when a viral sensation finally emerged under her jurisdiction, there was no way she was going to let it go to waste.

"I think Minister Juliae's idea is quite feasible," said the President, voicing her support. "Public sentiment is clearly favorable. If the event is well executed, it could even become a recurring source of revenue for Hoenn."

After all, if something is embarrassing, but done by a single person—it's embarrassing. But if it's done by a crowd, it becomes fashion.

"But isn't it a bit monotonous? I mean, it's just splitting a tree with the crotch. That's the whole thing?" another minister questioned skeptically.

"Yet those videos are nothing but that," Julia replied with a shrug. "Just different Pokémon performing the same crotch-split motion, and still raking in massive engagement."

Even brand-new accounts uploading just one tree-splitting video could easily break 100,000 likes. What did that tell you? It told you this was the hot trend.

There was now even a dedicated section on the Eternal Trend Video Site for these crotch-splitting videos. If they didn't capitalize on this now, they'd be dumber than a Slowpoke.

So, with 70% in favor, 10% opposed, and 20% abstaining, the proposal was passed.

…

"Wait a second... Guest attendees include Steven Stone? My brother? Why is he going?" Edward was visibly shaken.

He wouldn't have been surprised if Steven's name showed up in a list of people busted for illegal mining, given his obsession with digging. But Steven always applied for proper excavation permits, so he never technically did anything unlawful.

Still, Edward was very surprised.

As far as he knew, his older brother had absolutely zero interest in splitting trees with his crotch.

It was like seeing Yao Ming squatting at the starting line of a 100-meter Olympic sprint—pure absurdity.

"Boss, you're also on the list of invited guests," Zoroark reminded him. "As is the actor who plays Tom the Cat."

In fact, Jerry had also been invited.

"Mhm, I know. I figured as much the moment I saw the title of the document." Edward replied calmly.

As the scriptwriter and owner of the production company, there was no way he could skip out on this. It was his responsibility to attend.

Fortunately, in the meantime, Tom and Jerry had released two more original episodes thanks to the hard work of Ada and the rest of the team. Though sadly, neither had quite reached the same level of discussion or virality as the earlier episodes.

A bit of a shame—but still progress.

 (End of Chapter)