Edward scratched his head, feeling genuinely confused as to why this girl was suddenly showing hostility toward him for no reason. Out of sheer puzzlement—and perhaps a hint of impoliteness—he glanced at the girl a few more times, but aside from confirming that she was indeed quite beautiful, nothing else stood out.
He could be absolutely certain of one thing: he had never seen her before. Truly, not even once.
After firmly establishing that fact in his mind, Edward stopped paying her any attention. Instead, he shifted his gaze forward, studying the large bell of the Bell Tower with curiosity.
Beside him, Shelly was feeling a little helpless. She desperately wanted to leave—this kind of crowded, high-profile place didn't suit her personality at all. But she couldn't just run away; she had her mission from the organization to complete. So, she could only force herself to stay put, even putting on the act of a shy young girl in hopes of drawing Edward's attention.
Unfortunately for her, Edward had absolutely no intention of looking at her. He had already sent a message through his phone to Zoroark, telling it to bring the League investigators over. Since Shelly had chosen to approach him directly, then she had no chance of escaping anyway. After all, as a high-ranking Aqua Team executive, it was impossible for her not to have left behind some traceable evidence.
Once the League investigators examined her thoroughly, they would almost certainly uncover the truth.
"Now then, the starting price for the bell is five million!" the auctioneer announced.
Edward hadn't even lifted his paddle yet before someone immediately called out twenty million.
The bidding escalated rapidly, with prices climbing higher and higher until they soon surpassed eighty million. Edward watched this unfold with a detached expression. He had to admit, that was an astronomical figure. Still, he figured that many of these bidders were likely buying it not as a collectible, but as something to study.
Because… what if?
What if the bloodstains on the bell really were Ho-Oh's?
Legends spoke of Ho-Oh possessing the miraculous power to revive the dead. If one could study its blood, perhaps even immortality could be achieved.
In truth, even in the Pokémon world, humanity's pursuit of eternal life remained as fervent as ever. For the wealthy in particular, there was nothing more desirable than living forever, healthy and unaging. That was why, even though the League officially prohibited such research, there were always people willing to take risks and test the law—all for the lure of profit.
"One hundred million!"
With this wild shout, the other bidders fell silent. The voice belonged to an elderly man, accompanied by a beautiful young woman standing beside him.
Edward cast a brief glance in their direction.
He recognized the old man as the founder of a technology company in Hoenn, a billionaire worth tens of billions, a man with both status and wealth.
"Brother Edward, don't you want it?" Shelly asked sweetly in a coquettish tone.
Edward shivered violently, goosebumps breaking out all over his skin. That "brother" she called him—it was just too forced, too cloying.
"No need. It's just a bell," Edward waved her off casually.
A hundred million? Of course he could afford it. Two hundred million, even three hundred million—if it came down to money, Edward was never afraid of losing.
But in his eyes, spending such a fortune on a bell was pointless. It would be far better to donate a hundred million to a charity fund, helping more people survive and continue living their lives. That, Edward felt, was truly worthwhile.
A man sitting in front overheard Edward's words and thought for a moment that he was just bragging. He turned around to see who had spoken—but when he recognized Edward Stone, he quickly sat back down without another word.
As the heir of Devon Corporation, Edward naturally had the qualifications to say such things.
When Edward said he didn't want it, nobody could accuse him of being unable to afford it.
"Hmph, fool."
The scornful remark rang out loud and clear. But just as it was spoken, the auctioneer was enthusiastically declaring the bell's final sale, so most people didn't notice.
Edward, however, heard it distinctly. The one who had spoken was that blonde girl. She even noticed his gaze on her, gave him a sidelong glance, then let out another cold snort before crossing her arms and stomping off angrily.
Edward blinked in bewilderment.
"Could it be… does Edward like that type of girl?" Shelly wondered in confusion. She sized up the blonde. Pretty, yes. Cute, too. But…
Shelly puffed out her chest slightly in confidence. She still believed she had the advantage.
"Hmph!"
The blonde girl suddenly turned and glared at Shelly. The look startled Shelly for a moment, but the blonde immediately stormed off without another word. Shelly shrugged—this wasn't the time to ponder such things anyway. Her mission from the organization was what mattered most.
With that in mind, she prepared to throw herself into clinging onto Edward.
But before she could act, Edward suddenly slipped an arm around her waist. Shelly froze for a split second, then quickly put on a bashful, delicate expression.
Yet almost immediately, she realized something was wrong.
When Edward's hand touched her waist, he also deftly tugged away her belt of Poké Balls.
"It was in the way," Edward said with a sunny smile.
Shelly bit her lip lightly, adopting a pitiful, vulnerable look. She was just about to say something when she suddenly felt a chilling aura.
As a high-ranking Team Aqua admin, Shelly trusted her instincts. She twisted her head—and was immediately met with a heavy punch. She tried to dodge, but Edward held her down firmly.
"You set me up!" Shelly roared in fury, glaring at him.
Edward casually wiped his hand and ignored her outburst.
He felt no sympathy at all. Anyone who had risen to executive rank in an organization like Team Aqua was guaranteed to have blood on their hands.
"Thanks for your help," Edward said as he tossed the belt of Poké Balls toward the League investigators.
One officer caught it, produced a device, and within moments, all the Poké Balls went inert.
"Stone! You bastard! Team Aqua will never forgive you!" Shelly screamed in a frenzy.
Edward paid her no mind. To him, this charity auction had been a complete success: he had bought something interesting, been entertained, and even captured a high-ranking criminal along the way. Perfect.
Leaving the gala, Edward climbed into a car. Zoroark drove him toward the airport. But as they pulled away, Edward suddenly felt a strange presence.
He turned—and saw the blonde girl sitting right beside him, staring at him from the corner of her eye.
"You—Zoroark, what's going on here?" Edward stammered in shock. He hadn't felt the car stop at all. How had she gotten in?
"Boss, I… I don't know how this lady appeared," Zoroark admitted nervously. It hadn't sensed a thing. Worse, the girl radiated a terrifying pressure—just like the one it had once felt when facing Groudon.
"You and your whole family are photographers!" the girl spat suddenly, before vanishing into thin air.
Edward sat there dumbfounded.
Photographer?
Ho-Oh?
Holy crap.
So, the blonde girl was Ho-Oh?!
Not only that—she could even read minds. Edward was at a loss for words. Were all the Legendary Pokémon this bored and petty? He had never even considered that she might be Ho-Oh.
No wonder she had looked at the bell with such disdain, calling the billionaire a fool. Clearly, those bloodstains weren't Ho-Oh's at all.
Shaking his head, Edward couldn't help but chuckle. These Legendary Pokémon sure were amusing. But it seemed he'd need to be extra cautious around them from now on—especially if he ever ran into another one that could read minds. That would be a real headache.
"Phew… whatever. Zoroark, did the company release the trailer yet?" Edward decided to change the subject quickly.
After all, Ho-Oh might still be nearby. Better not say too much.
"Yes, boss. As you instructed, the trailer was only released today," Zoroark replied at once.
"Today, huh?" Edward nodded. He pulled out his phone while the car continued smoothly toward the airport.
Opening the PoképokéTV, he navigated to his company's account. Even before clicking, he noticed the account had already amassed over thirty million followers. On that platform, such a number was an extraordinary achievement.
"Looks like the operations team is doing a good job," Edward murmured with satisfaction. Having once been just an ordinary netizen in his past life, he fully understood what that kind of popularity meant.
At seven o'clock that evening, their account had uploaded a new trailer—titled Haunted House for Sale! Its thumbnail was of a grinning meme cat inside a lavish-looking mansion.
Edward tapped play and watched silently.
[Here we go again—the kind of video you can't escape from at night!]
[Damn it! I thought it was a new Tom and Jerry episode!]
[Watching this alone is terrifying.jpg]
The scrolling comments made Edward smile. Yes, this was the familiar atmosphere he loved.
Though he already knew the prank setups behind the scenes, watching others panic was still a whole different kind of fun. Seeing the poor janitors scared out of their wits, he couldn't help but wear a pitying grin.
The trailer itself revealed almost nothing about the actual film's plot. Instead, it featured harmless but terrifying gags. For example, an older cleaning lady climbed into the space above a cupboard to dust. The tension built as though something monstrous might suddenly crawl out. But in reality, she found nothing—everything was perfectly safe.
Only after she finished and climbed down did she discover the cupboard door shut tight. From outside came an eerie rustling, like something crawling.
She tried to push the door open—just enough to see a pair of glowing red eyes staring back. The woman fainted on the spot.
The comment feed erupted in laughter, mixed with questions like [Wait, is this even safe?]
Almost immediately, the company account replied reassuringly: [Emergency medical treatment was provided, along with generous compensation
The mood instantly shifted, with people joking that they wanted to volunteer to be scared too.
The entire video was lighthearted fun—until the very end.
When the house finally fell silent and empty, the camera lingered on a corridor door. Slowly, it creaked open into utter darkness. Nothing could be seen—then, without warning, the door slammed shut with a thunderous bang. Blood-red letters appeared across it:
The Grudge.
Edward had originally considered keeping the original name, Ju-on, but in the end he decided against it. For his intended audience, The Grudge was easier to understand, carried the same sense of dread, and would stick more firmly in people's minds.
And with that, the trailer ended, the comments exploding with warnings of "High-intensity scare!"
Edward felt very satisfied. Sure, a jump scare only worked the first time, but it was enough.
Curious, he opened the comments section. The top-liked comment read: "Damn it! My keyboard broke when I smashed it from fright. Pay up!"
Others wrote:
[ know Ghost Films built its brand on horror, but mixing humor with sudden real terror like this is genius.
['The Grudge'—such an ominous word. It means resentment so strong it becomes a curse. So, is the new movie about curses?]
[Wait… are these exact scare scenes going to appear in the film? That would ruin it, since we'd know everything already.]
"Not bad. For a horror film, the best compliment is that it's scary," Edward nodded to himself.
He chuckled, though, at how some people had actually guessed the film's central theme just from the title. Sharp ones, indeed. But so, what if they knew? Everyone already knew how Kayako appeared, yet the Grudge sequels still drew screams by the theaterful.
Sure enough, buzz about The Grudge quickly spread. Most agreed it was Ghost Films next project, though debate raged about what direction the movie would take. Critics and haters seized the chance to accuse Edward of being washed up, claiming he now relied on gore and shock value.
Edward couldn't care less. He already had plenty of accolades under his belt—only one thing still eluded him: the Best Picture award.
By now, the car had reached the airport. Zoroark arranged for staff to return the car while it accompanied Edward onto the plane bound for Rustboro.
Settling by the window, Edward gazed at the night sky and yawned.
That was when he noticed it—outside, soaring in the dark, was Ho-Oh. The legendary bird stared directly at him, eyes filled with disdain, before vanishing into the distance as if it had never been there.
Edward's lips twitched. This Ho-Oh… really…
"Forget it. Next time I shouldn't let my mind wander like that. But wait… does that mean Groudon can also sense my thoughts?"
He quickly glanced at the Poké Ball resting quietly beside him. Thankfully, Groudon showed no reaction.
If it really had sensed his many jabs about its inability to fly, it would've caused a scene long ago.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Edward leaned back in his seat.
(End of Chapter)