"Hmm?" Edward stood inside the Pokémon Center hospital, slightly surprised as he glanced to the side—he truly hadn't expected to see Hana in a place like this.
She was here in the hospital too, holding a bag in her hands, which seemed to contain a lunchbox.
Edward spotted her at the payment counter of the Pokémon Center hospital, watching as she took out a small, tightly-wrapped bundle from inside her coat. She then stuffed those tightly-wrapped pokedollars into the payment machine.
"Mr. Edward, your Pokémon has been fully healed," said Nurse Joy, interrupting his train of thought. Edward smiled politely, received the Poké Ball, and thanked her sincerely.
Q had sustained some injuries—after all, it was a battle, and getting hurt was inevitable. The Pokémon Center, being under the jurisdiction of the League , offers a certain degree of free treatment. This was considered one of the most beneficial policies from the League .
However, if the injuries were too severe or if the Pokémon had developed some unusual illness or condition, then additional costs would apply.
After retrieving the Poké Ball, Edward took another glance toward the payment counter—Hana had already left. She was briskly walking toward the elevator, and from her hurried expression, she seemed quite anxious.
Edward felt a bit curious but quickly looked away again. It wasn't good to pry too much into someone else's private matters.
When he returned to his hotel, Edward received a text message on his phone.
[Edward, Dad's coming home soon. Bring back some local souvenirs from the Paldea Region.]
It was from his older brother.
He was probably afraid Edward would forget, so he had sent a timely reminder.
"Souvenirs, huh?" Edward scratched his head. When it came to souvenirs, the first thing that popped into his mind was a variety of small trinkets and gift items.
But given his father's personality and preferences, as well as his brother Steven's particular tastes, Edward figured that instead of flashy and decorative gifts, perhaps a nice rock would actually be the best souvenir.
And in the Paldea Region, there should be plenty of rocks to choose from. Edward believed the most likely place to find unusual or rare stones would be inside the Paldea Crater—only, he wasn't quite sure whether that place led to the future or the past.
"I'll look into it later," he murmured to himself, deciding that once tomorrow's filming work was finished, he would go check out the local markets, ask around, and hopefully find a couple of interesting stones to bring back. That would surely make both his father and older brother happy.
Edward was very familiar with the personal tastes of these two family members.
"Oh right, Gholdengo..." Edward suddenly remembered another of his Pokémon. He summoned Gholdengo, and the Pokémon greeted him with a cheerful wave.
Edward chuckled and patted Gholdengo on the head. It felt cold—completely devoid of warmth. After all, Gholdengo was a unique Pokémon composed entirely of coins.
"How about we call you Fortune from now on?" Edward suggested, looking at his golden Pokémon. He thought the name Fortune suited it quite well. Gholdengo gleamed like gold from head to toe. Although names like "Richie" or similar had crossed Edward's mind, upon further consideration, he felt that Fortune was a much more fitting and elegant choice.
Gholdengo made a string of chattering, metallic noises in response—it seemed quite happy with the new name. Edward touched his face thoughtfully.
Well, if Gholdengo liked the name, then Fortune it would be.
Although naming a Pokémon like Gholdengo "Fortune" might seem a bit odd to some, people these days named their Pokémon after all kinds of strange things. Edward had even heard of someone naming their Pokémon after characters from anime they liked.
"Q, come out and join Fortune for some Fear Candy," Edward said, releasing Q as well. But the recently treated Q appeared listless, letting out a soft cry when he saw Edward.
"You little rascal, why do you always enter 'sage mode' after every battle?" Edward said, a little helpless. After each fight, Q would always fall into a sort of post-battle lethargy or calm.
"Kyu~" Q called out again and crawled to his feet, eagerly walking toward Edward.
"I'm telling you, Q—next time you battle, try to hold back a little. You knocked Miss Nemona's Goodra clean unconscious." Edward sighed as he pulled out the Fear Sustenance Creator machine, deposited 2000 Fear Points into it, and began making candy while talking.
Just as the machine finished, Edward turned around, ready to feed the candy to Q and Fortune—but the moment he turned around, he froze in place.
Because right in front of him… was a magnificent and surreal space.
A waterfall flowed upward from the ground into the sky, merging into an inverted lake suspended high above. The sound of the water crashing echoed thunderously. In the sky above, upside-down trees floated with roots reaching toward the clouds.
Before Edward could even react, a massive Pokémon slowly descended from above.
There wasn't even a visible path, yet the creature walked as if stepping on invisible staircases. With each heavy step, it came closer and closer.
Edward stared in bewilderment—he recognized it immediately. It was Giratina.
Although its form was massive, the distinctive design made it unmistakable.
The immense size, the oppressive presence—it could only be one thing. This was Giratina, the Lord of the Reverse World. According to legend, Giratina was the shadow or opposite of Arceus itself.
Edward could only stand there, wide-eyed, as Giratina approached… and then, it took the two Fear Candies straight out of Edward's hands. The next moment, the entire bizarre and surreal dimension vanished—and in its place was the interior of the hotel room once again.
"Wait, did it just mug me…?" Edward blinked in disbelief. He could still clearly remember what had just happened—he just hadn't expected this bastard Giratina to straight-up steal from him!
"Kyu?" Q tilted his head and looked at him curiously. Edward's mouth twitched.
Seriously, who the hell was he supposed to file a complaint with?
"Huh? What's this?" Edward suddenly felt something in his hand. He looked down—there was a new item there. A dark-colored stone, shaped in an extremely peculiar way, yet with perfectly smooth, clean-cut surfaces. It had been cut into a 64-faced polyhedron.
Edward was sure he hadn't been holding this stone before, which meant—Giratina had given it to him?
That seemed to be the only reasonable explanation.
"So… Giratina gave me a rock in exchange for my two Fear Candies? Wait, no—it's already stolen several from me before!" Edward stared at the mysterious stone and scratched his head, confused.
If he brought this thing home and gave it to his dad, his dad would probably be thrilled, right?
But before that, he needed to inspect it further—to see if the stone had any other uses. After all, it was highly likely that this rock had come from Giratina's Reverse World, making it an item of considerable research value.
With that thought in mind, Edward took out his phone, snapped a picture of the stone, and sent it to both Steven and their father.
(End of Chapter)