"My Pokémon is a bit timid, so it might not be very suitable for a battle," Edward said with a slight smile as he looked at Nemona. He understood that she was eager for a battle, but the problem was that Q had never fought Nemona before, and Edward was worried it might get too worked up in the heat of battle and end up sending Nemona's Pokémon straight to the Pokémon Center.
After all, the last time Q battled, it had ended up sending Gholdengo—who was still just a Gimmighoul at the time—straight to the hospital.
It wasn't as though Edward had never tried battling before. In fact, in the Pokémon world, battling was as natural as saying, "Hey, want to play a round of cards?" back in his past life.
But during that particular battle, Q had gotten too fired up and ended up sending not only the poor Bug Catcher's Pokémon but the Bug Catcher himself to the hospital. From that day forward, Edward had largely steered clear of battling.
Because Q was timid by nature, it tended to become overly agitated when battling. And once it got riled up, it would go overboard—so much so that it could half-kill not only the opponent's Pokémon but the trainer as well.
Moreover, over the past few weeks, Q had consumed quite a number of Fear Candies, with each candy boosting all of its stats just a little. Now, Q had become something truly terrifying.
"Ah, that's a real shame," Nemona said, a little disappointed. She had thought she might get a chance to battle the world-famous director Edward. That definitely would've been an unforgettable experience.
But since Edward was unwilling, she wasn't going to force him to accept a battle either.
Just as Edward was about to make some casual small talk and then leave, the Poké Ball at his waist trembled—and then, in the next moment, Q popped out of it.
Its entire body was shaking with excitement as it stared intently at Nemona.
Edward's mouth twitched slightly.
Q wanted to battle.
"How about… we have a battle after all?" Edward looked at the excited Q, then glanced at Nemona and asked tentatively.
Nemona instantly pulled out a Poké Ball in response, causing Edward to cover his face with one hand.
As expected, everyone in the Pokémon world was a battle maniac.
At Naranja Academy, there was a specially designated battle arena. Edward and Nemona headed there, but upon arriving, Edward discovered that the arena was mostly empty. Only one familiar Champion was already present—Geeta, standing beside a smiling Clavell.
"Oh my, Director Edward, I heard you were going to battle Nemona, so I brought Champion Geeta along," Clavell said cheerfully. Edward offered an awkward smile, though he felt it might actually be a good thing to have Clavell and Geeta there.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry about too many people watching.
Geeta looked at Edward with curiosity. She knew very well how strong Nemona was—without a doubt, a Champion-level Trainer. But this world-renowned director, Edward? Despite being the heir to the Devon Corporation and the younger brother of the Hoenn Region Champion, there wasn't much information about his own battling history. That made her curious, which was precisely why she had come to observe.
Zoroark, who followed Edward, was watching with interest too. This was the first time it had seen its boss actually engage in a Pokémon battle. That alone was worth a double take.
"Mr. Edward, I'll be giving it my all!" Nemona said, her tone becoming noticeably more serious the moment she stepped onto the battle stage.
Edward scratched his head. He had only intended to let Q blow off some steam—just to fulfill the promise he had made to it earlier.
"Alright," Edward replied as he tossed out a Poké Ball. The next second, Q appeared on the battlefield, trembling with excitement as it raised its head to stare up at its opponent.
Goodra.
Edward's expression became a bit… complicated.
Nemona had clearly reviewed Edward's Pokémon beforehand. Yet she still sent out a Dragon-type like Goodra, even knowing it had a type disadvantage? Was she underestimating him? Geeta's face turned serious—Nemona was being overconfident.
While it was true that type disadvantages were common even among Champions, deliberately sending out a Pokémon that was weak against your opponent's known type wasn't exactly a wise move.
"Mr. Edward, my partner Goodra is—" Nemona began, her voice full of confidence. Even if this was a type disadvantage battle, as a Champion-level trainer, it was normal for her. She was still confident in her abilities.
But in the very next second, a powerful burst of radiant light erupted.
The light was so blinding that Nemona instinctively shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she found a barrier of light standing before her.
A sharp cry echoed across the battlefield. As the light faded, Nemona saw that her Goodra was already lying motionless on the ground—defeated. On the other side, Mimikyu still radiated with lingering traces of a powerful Fairy-type move.
Dazzling Gleam!
Clavell looked mildly astonished, while Geeta glanced at Edward with an analytical eye. This director… had trained his Pokémon very well. That Dazzling Gleam was no joke.
Nemona stared blankly for a moment, then took a deep breath and bowed slightly.
"Mr. Edward, I apologize. I underestimated you earlier," she said, her tone now serious. She had clearly underestimated Mimikyu's strength, but that would not happen again!
From that moment onward, the battle lasted a full twenty minutes. Afterward, Edward calmly returned his Pokémon to their Poké Balls and headed toward the nearest Pokémon Center.
"Boss, I didn't expect your battling skills to be so impressive," Zoroark said in mild astonishment as it walked beside Edward.
The battle between Edward and Nemona had only lasted three rounds. Apart from Goodra, Nemona had only used two other Pokémon—a Normal-type Lokix and a Skeledirge with a bone-like motif. Both were defeated by Mimikyu.
Shortly after, Nemona admitted defeat. She believed Edward only had two Pokémon with him, so she'd limited herself to using just two as well. Goodra didn't really count, since it had fainted instantly upon entering the field.
The defeat had happened so quickly that Nemona was momentarily stunned. But the takeaway was clear: Director Edward's Pokémon were undeniably powerful.
Even with a type disadvantage, the speed at which her Pokémon were knocked out was shocking.
"I actually don't battle all that much," Edward said, maintaining a calm demeanor. And he really meant it.
He had gotten his fill of battling on his Gameboy in his last life. Nowadays, he preferred the joy of simply living alongside his Pokémon companions.
Of course, increasing his strength was still important. After all, Hoenn wasn't exactly the most peaceful region. Getting stronger was part of making sure he could protect himself.
As things currently stood, unless he encountered a gang ambush or a boss-level threat like Archie, Edward didn't have much to worry about. And even if he did run into Archie, the outcome wouldn't necessarily favor the latter.
And besides, Q had finally had its fill of battling. That meant Edward wouldn't need to worry about its battle cravings for a while.
"Let's finish filming the movie as soon as possible and go back," Edward said, stretching his arms lazily. The plot of One Missed Call had almost fully advanced by now. Next, he needed to return to Petalburg Forest to film some additional exterior hospital scenes.
While he was at it, he'd also revamp the puppet theater. Now that The Dead Silence had cooled off, it was time to refresh the stage and prepare something new.
(End of Chapter)