Chapter 154: A Wild Pokémon’s Movie-Going Experience

The director of this Martial Bear Brothers movie was actually somewhat well-known in the industry. He used to be best known for producing high-grossing films on low budgets. But ever since Edward burst onto the scene, that title had been taken away.

Although the director's films had mixed reviews in terms of word of mouth, their box office performance was generally reliable. So, Edward decided to keep the investment proposal for now and observe a bit more before deciding.

…

["Missed Call: The Haunting," Director: Spielberg, Budget: 10 million]

Edward's expression immediately became rather odd.

Missed Call: The Haunting? Take away the word "Haunting" and it's basically just Missed Call. It was clearly a blatant attempt to ride the coattails of a popular title—an especially shameless one at that. Sure, other companies piggybacked on hot trends too, but not usually this blatantly.

But when Edward saw which company was producing it, he relaxed a bit.

Sanctuary Pictures.

A legendary company in its own right—but for all the wrong reasons.

This was a company infamous in the film industry for sloppy production, shameless trend-chasing, and being utterly brazen. Their specialty was skirting copyright issues and relentlessly capitalizing on trending topics—milking every popular film for all it was worth.

Every blockbuster in the Pokémon world had been followed up with a "spiritual clone" by this company.

For example, if the market had a hit called Town Champion, they would release Town Gym Leader within two or three months. The themes were similar, the poster designs nearly identical, and the plot was just a watered-down version. If the original movie was like a flagship smartphone, then Sanctuary's version was like a budget youth model.

Yet somehow, they always managed to legally dodge copyright infringements. And over time, they'd come to be seen as something of a peculiar presence in the industry.

"This is just like that company from my past life," Edward muttered. "Someone makes Pacific Rim, and they release Atlantic Rim."

Movies from this studio were notorious for their inconsistent performance. A good one could bring in huge profits, while a bad one would flop so hard no one even remembered its name. Investing in them was like a game of Russian roulette—high risk, high reward. But Edward wasn't interested.

Even if the investment amount wasn't large, he couldn't risk headlines like:

"Director of One Missed Call Personally Endorses Missed Call: The Haunting!"

No thank you.

After reviewing the list, Edward ultimately chose to invest in two films by directors with good reputations, then quickly put the matter out of his mind and turned back to his own projects.

…

The editing of Sherlock Holmes was progressing steadily. But due to the ongoing Tom Tree Contest, Edward had told the editors to take it easy. He had already rescheduled the film's release to after the contest.

It couldn't be helped. The Tom Tree event was absolutely dominating in popularity—it was like a global celebration, reminiscent of the Olympics from his previous life.

However, unlike those past-life Olympics, the Tom Tree Contest would be free of all that politically correct posturing and baffling artistic opening ceremonies. Edward had already seen the opening ceremony plans—it would just be him and the Tom actor going on stage and doing a tree-splitting routine with a crotch-splitting stunt.

And that's it.

Simple, clean, and effective.

Releasing Sherlock Holmes during this time would only hurt its potential, so Edward decided to hold off until after the tournament wrapped up.

….

"Now the number of registered participants has already surpassed 1.5 million... This number is just..." Edward clicked his tongue. What was even scarier was that it kept climbing, even shocking him a little.

But Edward also knew this growth wouldn't last. Once all the interested participants had signed up, the numbers would level off.

The Hoenn League had cunningly created an official website, featuring photos of some popular contestants. Surprisingly, the number one spot wasn't held by any Champion—it was the actor playing Tom, the one and only Tom himself.

With an overwhelming number of votes, he firmly held first place.

What really surprised Edward was the second-place candidate.

"I have to admit, in this kind of situation, Miss Diantha really does have an advantage." Edward rubbed his chin. The fact that Diantha was second place caught him off guard, but considering she was a major celebrity, it made sense. Her massive fanbase made her a clear favorite.

Following her were Leon, Cynthia, and then Alder—who had the lowest ranking among Champions.

There were also some completely unknown participants. Edward even spotted a Shedinja in the lineup, which left him momentarily speechless.

Can a Shedinja even split a tree...?

"Sigh, forget it." Edward shook his head. He decided not to worry about it. As long as the event continued generating massive profits for his company and avoided any negative publicity, it was all good.

…

As July's heat faded, a slight coolness entered the air. Summer was slowly ending. At the same time, a new episode of Tom and Jerry was released online.

Its views skyrocketed instantly.

A new, popular character—Jerry's second cousin—had officially entered the Pokémon world's audience view.

…

Meanwhile, in the forest near Mt. Chimney...

"This... is really just a magic trick, you know..." A dirt-streaked Yanister nervously stared up at the massive apex Volcarona, who was flapping its wings and watching him with compound eyes that gleamed intensely. He swallowed hard.

He had just come here to deliver the short film, after all. Edward's Tom and Jerry had always been extremely popular among wild Pokémon populations.

But he hadn't expected this. Just remembering the last time made Yanister's stomach churn.

"Time to watch the new episode of Tom and Jerry!" Yanister clapped his hands and took out a loudspeaker, shouting loudly.

Immediately, the whole forest came alive with excitement.

Yanister ignored the ruckus and focused on setting up the big screen.

As soon as the screen was ready, a whole crowd of Pokémon began emerging.

A Treecko wobbled out carrying a pile of berries. Then a Sceptile dragged out a massive leaf and laid it in the center with practiced skill. The Treecko instantly placed the berries onto the leaf.

Yanister twitched at the corners of his mouth. These little guys had even figured out how to snack while watching a movie.

(End of Chapter)

TN: Hi, I just posted a new Pokémon novel in my patreon, its free so please check it out. I posted 5 chapters of it but if you guys feel lazy you can also check my profile here but it only has 1 chapter of it to give you guys a taste. I'll start posting on it next week so that I can mass update.