"It's been a while, Miss Takako. How's your leg?" Edward asked with a friendly smile as he looked at the woman standing before him.
Upon hearing his words, Miss Fuji immediately bowed her head and apologized anxiously.
Although Takako had gained some fame recently, she was very self-aware—she knew perfectly well why she had become well-known. Thanks to her breakout role in Kayako, she had been labeled as a "specialist in horror films." And while some actors might dislike being typecast, Takako didn't mind it at all. In her opinion, fame was fame, and as long as she could earn money from it, she was satisfied.
Still, she knew that the reason she'd been able to become famous in the first place was because of Edward. So, whenever Edward called for her, she would always respond eagerly and enthusiastically.
This time, however, she hadn't been able to come immediately because she was in the middle of shooting a public service advertisement. Ironically, during that very shoot, she ended up injured—sometimes, life really did have a twisted sense of humor.
"I'm fine now, Director Edward! I'm doing much better—I can act again!" Takako said excitedly.
Edward chuckled lightly and didn't question her further. Since she claimed she was recovered, he wouldn't press the issue. As long as her injury didn't interfere with filming, that was all that mattered.
With that settled, Edward arranged meetings with several other actors and even hosted a small cast gathering, giving everyone the chance to chat, exchange ideas, and discuss the script together. It was a good way to build rapport among the team.
After the get-together, Edward returned to his room. The filming progress for The Grudge 3 was going smoothly—at least for now—and the script had already been finalized, so Edward felt quite at ease.
When he entered his room, however, he was surprised to find Zoroark sitting at a desk, hunched over, writing something with intense concentration. The sight made Edward curious, so he leaned closer for a peek—only to realize that Zoroark was actually writing a script.
"Zoroark, what kind of script is that?" Edward asked curiously.
Maybe it was because Zoroark had been working alongside him for so long, but this scene still felt surreal. The idea that his Pokémon had not only learned how to write but was also trying to compose a screenplay was absurd and yet, somehow, it also made perfect sense. After all, Zoroark had always been highly intelligent and quick to learn.
Even Secretary Kennedy had complimented Zoroark more than once on its outstanding performance.
"Eh? Boss, it's that old script I wrote a while ago—remember? The one about the Cataclysmic Pokémon?" Zoroark replied, still writing as it spoke.
Edward blinked in surprise, then his expression softened with realization. Oh, right—Zoroark had once drafted a story called Cataclysmic Pokémon. But because the original version had quite a few issues and needed refinement, Edward had told Zoroark to go back and improve it.
(TN: I forgot what was title of the movie written by Zoroark.)
After that, Edward hadn't heard anything more about it. He had assumed Zoroark had lost interest and given up halfway. But seeing this now, it was clear that Zoroark hadn't abandoned the project at all—it had been diligently rewriting it.
This discovery piqued Edward's interest. He leaned forward and took a closer look.
"This time, I changed a few things," Zoroark explained nervously. "Now, instead of a natural disaster, the Pokémon are mutated because of nuclear pollution. But as I kept writing, I realized the plot was becoming too large in scale—it would be difficult to make it into a movie. So, I switched gears and started adapting it as a TV series instead. Boss, could you take a look for me?"
Edward smiled faintly and nodded. He didn't mind giving it a look—after all, helping Zoroark was no trouble for him, and he was genuinely curious to see how well Zoroark could write.
If the script turned out to be good, he might even consider turning it into a series. Who knew—perhaps this could even give birth to a new original IP.
…
[Earlier in story, when the newcomer Lewis took over as a member of Jenny Police Squad, he encountered an attack from a Crawdaunt mutated by nuclear radiation. Lewis never imagined that one day he would experience the joy of flying, although this kind of joy wasn't what he wanted to experience.]
Just moments ago, a powerful tremor suddenly shook the underground shelter, making Lewis's heart lurch. He instantly realized what it meant. The Crawdaunt from outside had dug its way underground and reached this very spot!
Without hesitation, Lewis tried to evacuate the shelter immediately.
But the Crawdaunt moved too fast. Before he could even release his partner Pokémon, Blazefang, a tremendous force struck from below, launching him straight into the air.
'That damned crustacean bastard—!' Lewis cursed as he looked down at the monstrous Crawdaunt below.
But right now, his priority was survival.
He realized he was soaring through the air, and beneath him, the mutated Crawdaunt was clawing its way out from under the shelter.
The structure's construction materials were quite durable, so while the Crawdaunt managed to pierce through, it didn't break the entire thing apart—chunks of debris and concrete still clung to its massive shell.
As a result, the creature now looked bizarrely like a gigantic hermit crab wearing the remains of a bunker as armor.
"Blazefang!" Lewis shouted, unable to afford a single wasted second. If he hesitated, he'd fall to his death. He grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it toward the remains of the shelter attached to Crawdaunt's shell.
He aimed deliberately so that Blazefang would appear on solid ground—the wreckage—because after all, a Growlithe couldn't fly.
[Mutated Crawdaunt detected. Defeat the target to earn rewards based on your contribution.]
"Huh? What the hell is this?" Edward blinked in confusion as he read the line. Just as he was starting to get immersed in the story, that one line popped up like a system notification—and immediately broke his immersion.
For a second, he honestly wondered if he had somehow traveled back to his past life and was lying in bed reading a web novel again.
"Ahem, boss," Zoroark coughed awkwardly, "didn't you tell me to add some overpowered 'cheat system' elements? You said audiences would find that more exciting. So, I added a golden-finger system, just like you suggested."
Edward's mouth twitched. So, this was my fault, huh?
But thinking about it carefully, he realized that yes—he had said that before. The first version of Zoroark's story hadn't been very satisfying, and he'd advised adding some high-energy, power-fantasy elements. Otherwise, adapting it into a drama would have been difficult, requiring far too much directorial skill to make it engaging.
Although Edward was confident in his own directing abilities, Zoroark's case was a bit different.
"Alright, fine. Let me keep reading," Edward sighed, picking up the script again. He decided to finish it first and then judge whether it was worth investing in. If it turned out decent, he might fund a short web series version of it as a test run.
Web dramas were a curious genre. Most featured unknown or amateur actors, and their quality could vary wildly—some reached the level of cinematic productions, while others were so poorly made that they caused secondhand embarrassment.
In his previous life, short dramas like The Return of the Strongest Mercenary or Family Feuds of the Rich and Powerful had dominated online platforms—outrageous, melodramatic, and dripping with "power fantasy" tropes. Despite their ridiculous plots, they had huge audiences, precisely because they were fast-paced, brainless, and satisfying to watch.
This world had similar content too, though Edward had never paid much attention to it. As a film director, he had little reason to care about web drama trends.
…
[Mutated Crawdaunt detected. Defeat the target to earn rewards based on your contribution.]
Suddenly, a golden frame materialized in front of Lewis's eyes.
He froze. "What… what is this? A golden finger?"
Before he could process it, Blazefang barked sharply, then leapt upward, catching Lewis mid-fall. Lewis quickly grabbed onto the dog's thick fur for balance.
Blazefang swung its tail, propelling itself toward a nearby rooftop, then bounded from building to building, using each jump to soften their descent.
When they finally landed, Lewis rolled across the rooftop several times to absorb the impact and stopped just short of the edge, clinging to the side for dear life.
He barely managed to pull himself up again, panting heavily.
'That damn thing…' he growled through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his arms. He turned to glare at the Crawdaunt in the distance.
From this close, he could see it clearly—and now he finally understood the true despair of facing a mutated Pokémon up close.
The Crawdaunt towered seventeen meters tall—about the height of a six-story building. It might not sound that tall on paper, but to a man of one meter eighty, it was a mountain of muscle and armor.
'But that thing earlier…' Lewis muttered, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as his gaze shifted back to the golden frame floating before him.
It wasn't a hallucination. It was real. The text displayed exactly what he'd seen before—a reward system that calculated bonuses based on how much damage he inflicted on mutated Pokémon.
No wonder he'd never activated any "cheat" before—it turned out he needed to get close to a mutated Pokémon to trigger it!
'Now this… this is getting interesting,' Lewis grinned, licking the blood from his lips.
Blazefang barked worriedly, rubbing its head against his face.
"I'm fine, Blazefang. You wanna blast that bastard with me?" Lewis said with a trembling smile. His body was in pain, but his adrenaline was surging, numbing the sensation. His heart pounded furiously.
Blazefang growled in excitement, its tail wagging. Clearly, it was eager for the fight.
'Good boy,' Lewis said, patting its head. 'You've got guts.'
At that moment, a loud voice rang out nearby.
"All units! Hold that Crawdaunt back! Don't let it approach the evacuation shelters!"
Lewis turned toward the sound and saw a woman in an Officer Jenny covered in dust and grime barking orders. Several Pokémon surrounded her, attacking the Crawdaunt from different angles.
When Lewis spotted her Electivire, he immediately recognized her.
Jenny Chase the captain of the Petalburg Police Division.
'Damn it,' Lewis muttered. 'If I don't hit this thing now, I'm gonna lose my chance.'
He clenched his fists, staring at the Crawdaunt's massive body. As a Fire-type, Blazefang would have a hard time against a Water-type enemy, and worse, the creature's radioactive shell made close combat dangerous.
It was like trying to punch a porcupine—impossible to hit without getting hurt.
'I don't have the power to take it down directly,' Lewis thought, narrowing his eyes. 'I need another way… maybe if I can slow it down.'
His gaze shifted to the Crawdaunt's leg joints.
Despite its mutation, the monster still retained the basic structure of a Crawdaunt—just massively scaled up. If he could target the injured leg, he might restrict its movement.
"Blazefang, see that wound on its leg? The one covered in mud?" Lewis said, licking his lips.
Blazefang blinked, confused. It didn't see any wound.
That was because the injury had been caused earlier by Norman's Slaking's Mega Kick. The joint had cracked, and the local special operations unit had taken advantage of it—but after the Crawdaunt burrowed underground, mud had covered the wound again, making it difficult to spot.
'Didn't expect that damn thing to be so smart,' Lewis muttered, patting Blazefang's head. He could already see Norman's team rushing toward them from the distance. If they arrived, his chance would be gone.
So, he made his decision.
Lewis slapped Blazefang's head sharply, and the Pokémon suddenly—
…
"…Wait, suddenly what?" Edward frowned.
"Ah… I haven't figured out what happens next yet," Zoroark admitted sheepishly, coughing into its paw.
Edward sighed, utterly speechless. "You haven't even written the ending yet?"
Zoroark scratched its head awkwardly.
"Do you actually want to film this?" Edward asked with a teasing smile.
Zoroark looked left, then right—then quietly nodded. It clearly did. After spending so much time by Edward's side, the desire to try directing something of its own had taken root.
"In that case," Edward said with a smirk, "finish the script first. Once you're done, show it to me. If it's good enough, I'll let you start small—with a short web drama. How's that sound?"
Zoroark's eyes lit up instantly. It nodded vigorously.
"Alright then," Edward said, chuckling. "We'll see what kind of director you can become."
(End of Chapter)