"Boss, have you seen the latest movies?" Zoroark asked excitedly.
Edward rubbed his temples and lazily leaned back in his genuine leather seat.
"I have. You're talking about Jester 2, right?" he replied calmly.
At this moment, Edward was on a plane headed for the Kanto region. On the Indigo Plateau, a special open area had been designated for his film shoot. The construction team was already in place, waiting to build a spaceship set according to Edward's specifications.
This trip, he planned to oversee the ship's construction and arrange the interior layout for filming.
It had been a week since Edward officially took the reins of the Devon Corporation.
In that time, he had been constantly juggling affairs from both Devon and Ghost Film Pictures. Though it had felt overwhelming at first, he had gradually adapted and was now handling things in an organized, efficient manner.
Fortune continued attending school every day and only stayed at the library for self-study on weekends. According to Fortune, it aimed to finish its undergraduate coursework as quickly as possible, then transition directly into graduate studies. That way, it could stay close to Edward and pursue its graduate degree while working.
Edward was fully supportive. Once Fortune graduated, he planned to hand over Ghost Film Pictures to it as training. Edward himself would focus solely on directing, no longer needing to personally manage the company.
After learning about his trainer's intentions, Fortune quietly began studying business management and aimed to earn a double bachelor's degree.
Once Edward confirmed with Kennedy that there were no urgent matters requiring his direct attention at Devon for the time being, he decided to head to Kanto and prepare for filming Alien—the sooner, the better.
"Yeah! I heard Jester 2 is a total disaster. Good thing I didn't watch it!" Zoroark said with relief.
Edward curled his lips slightly. This guy was lucky, indeed.
Jester—a very unique film. The first movie had been a massive hit, with excellent box office results. The production company had seemingly learned from its earlier mistake—"let the original team handle the sequel; executives should stay out of it." So Jester 2 was again produced by the same creative team.
In theory, if the same team made Jester 1 so well, Jester 2 should have turned out fine.
After all, Jester was based on a comic, and they could have adapted plenty of content from the source material—brilliant crimes, madness, psychological thrillers. There were so many directions to explore.
But unfortunately, Jester 2 turned out to be a complete flop. Even one of the more reputable movie rating companies in the League gave it a D—an almost unheard-of score. For comparison, even Signora Web, another superhero spin-off that was panned, managed a C+.
Audience ratings were equally dismal.
One person giving a low score could be subjective. But when an entire crowd gives it low marks, the problem lies with the movie itself.
"The whole film felt incredibly dull. There were no emotional highs or climactic moments. Jester's character wasn't nearly as compelling as in the first movie—he just seemed like a weakling," Edward commented bluntly.
He had even sacrificed his precious evening rest to watch the film. Afterward, he couldn't sleep all night, wondering how the original team could make such a failure.
Could it be that all sequels were doomed?
"Doesn't sound that bad…" Zoroark muttered, sounding intrigued.
Edward rolled his eyes.
People are just like that.
Even when others say something is terrible, they just have to see for themselves.
"Maybe some people will like it. But so far, very few do," Edward yawned and pulled out two fear candies—one for Q, who was resting on his head, and the other for the dazed Duskull beside him.
Duskull happily accepted the treat, popped it in its mouth, and resumed its idle spacing out.
"I didn't get one…" Boss Gengar appeared with a resentful look.
Edward twitched his mouth and tossed one to Gengar, who grinned happily and vanished back into the shadows.
Boss Gengar had been hired as a special effects artist—after all, only Boss Gengar could accurately create that black, silent void of outer space.
Zoroark was capable as well, but it couldn't block sound. And if wind noises or other sounds accidentally got recorded, it would be a huge problem for a perfectionist director like Edward.
So Boss Gengar was recruited to handle VFX and accompany him on this shoot.
"I still want to watch it…" Zoroark rubbed its hands together.
Edward didn't reply.
People never learn until they hit the wall themselves.
Let Zoroark go watch it—one viewing, and it'll be speechless.
"Oh right, Boss—Mismagius from Petalburg Forest wants to speak with you about something," Zoroark added hastily as it remembered.
Edward raised a brow. Mismagius?
He hadn't seen Mismagius in a long time.
After A Wicked Ghost was filmed, the theme park saw a surge in popularity. Petalburg Forest had since become a unique attraction. While visitors still came daily to experience the thrills, it wasn't nearly as bustling as during the film's initial success.
And once Alien finished filming, the spaceship set would remain on the Indigo Plateau as a new attraction for the Kanto region. Edward wouldn't be able to reuse it elsewhere.
"I got it," Edward nodded. He could already guess what Mismagius wanted to discuss—likely the park's future development.
After getting used to the comfort and prosperity brought by that burst of horror-themed fame, those Ghost-type Pokémon must have found it hard to return to their old ways.
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go back.
Looks like he'd have to find them a new path. Technically, they were employees of Ghost Film Pictures.
As the plane descended through the clouds, Edward looked down upon the towering Mt. Silver a massive mountain range dividing the Kanto and Johto regions.
His expression became a little complicated.
After all, this was the place where the legendary new trainer, Ash, first emerged—also home to the League's strongest criminal organization, Team Rocket.
Truly a land of heroes and villains.
"I have a feeling this is going to be fun," Edward said with a small smile.
(End of Chapter)