Although Archie and Maxie managed to escape, Edward didn't take it to heart at all. Those two guys might have been the powerful leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua when they had Pokémon, but now that they were without them, they probably couldn't even beat ordinary people in a fight.
At the moment, Edward was at an amusement park.
Originally, he hadn't planned on coming here, but he couldn't resist—Toshio was just too adorable. When the little boy looked up at him with those big pleading eyes, Edward couldn't say no. He ended up bringing Toshio out for a day of fun at the park.
"Say, Kayako… you and Toshio seem to really like staying here these days, huh?" Edward asked as he glanced at Kayako beside him. She was waiting in line with Toshio, who was completely fascinated by the roller coaster—he'd already gone twice and still wanted more. Edward, on the other hand, didn't mind. At this point, he had long become immune to things like roller coasters.
Kayako hesitated for a moment before replying softly, "Mm. Actually, I originally wanted to reincarnate back into this world."
Her ultimate goal had always been to find a pregnant woman and reincarnate into her womb—so she could live again in this world. But Kayako had never been able to let go of her son, Toshio.
Toshio was innocent, that was what Kayako believed deep down. That was also why she hated that madman Takeo Saeki so much. If she had really cheated on him and conceived Toshio with Kobayashi, she wouldn't have been so furious. But the truth was, she was innocent—utterly innocent—and that made her rage burn even hotter.
Edward nodded. He knew about this already. After all, The Grudge should have ended long ago—right when Kayako reincarnated.
But that series had just been too successful. In the horror film world, it stood side by side with The Ring, so the producers kept milking it for sequels to make more money. At first, they even added new ghosts, but later it went completely off the rails. The American version wasn't bad, at least for the early films, but after that it lost Kayako entirely and devolved into pure gore-fests.
Speaking of The Ring, Edward suddenly had an idea. That film, so famous even in his past life had left behind many iconic elements, the most memorable of all being Sadako herself.
"But back then, I couldn't stop worrying about Toshio," Kayako continued, her tone turning cold as she recalled her past. "And every day I was tormented by curses and resentment. I knew I couldn't go on like that, so before I completely lost my mind, I prepared myself for reincarnation."
Just then, it was finally Toshio's turn. Overjoyed, the boy pulled both Kayako and Edward onto the roller coaster with him.
Edward scratched his head. He hadn't expected reincarnation to have such complications for Kayako. Still, he couldn't help wondering—if she became human again, would she retain her former powers as an evil spirit? If she did… that would make her a walking weapon of mass destruction—wherever she went, people would die.
After one ride, Edward calmly stepped off the roller coaster, while Kayako and Toshio continued happily running around the amusement park.
No one else around them realized that this mother and child in ordinary clothes were actually the infamous ghosts from The Grudge. But thanks to Toshio's adorable looks, he was quite popular with the girls who passed by. Every time someone praised him, Kayako's expression would become proud and gentle—clearly, Toshio was her greatest pride.
"By the way, Miss Kayako," Edward suddenly asked, "in your world… is there a legend about someone named Sadako?"
He was reminded of something—Japan had once filmed Sadako vs. Kayako. It was a terrible movie, but the promotion had certainly caught people's attention. After all, these two were arguably the most famous Japanese ghost women in the world.
"Sadako? Ah, you mean the one from the cursed videotape? I've heard of it, yes—but I've never seen it," Kayako said with a small shake of her head.
Of course she'd heard of it. Before all this, she had been just an ordinary housewife.
In Japan, many housewives spent their days cleaning, cooking, caring for their children, and preparing lunch boxes. Maybe that was why infidelity rates among them were notoriously high.
But Kayako was an exception. She had never been unfaithful. Even though she had feelings for Kobayashi, she had buried them deep within her heart and confined them to her diary. She had remained loyal to her husband to the very end.
Edward's eyes lit up. A new idea was forming in his mind. He was planning to visit Kayako's world again, not just for sightseeing, but also to study the legend of Sadako firsthand, and observe her methods of killing. That could give him some fresh inspiration for his next movie—The Ring.
In Edward's opinion, The Ring was an excellent horror film, though it had its share of flaws. The early parts weren't particularly scary—it relied mostly on sound design and atmosphere to build psychological fear. The ultimate fright came in that one unforgettable scene: Sadako crawling out of the television.
He had to admit, the film's success owed a lot to its era. Back then, televisions were the heart of every household. Anyone with a decent income owned one. That's why the idea of a ghost crawling out of your TV struck such a deep chord of fear and awe.
But now, in the modern Pokémon world with smartphones and computers everywhere, televisions weren't nearly as central to daily life. Under those circumstances, Edward wasn't sure if The Ring could have the same terrifying effect.
That uncertainty was why he hadn't started filming it yet. So, this time, he planned to go to Kayako's world to see things for himself. Her world was also set in a modern era, so Edward wanted to study how Sadako could still evoke fear in that kind of society.
Just then, Zoroark came running toward him. "Boss! Carrie is finished filming!"
Edward, who was sitting on a bench watching Toshio and Kayako take the drop tower ride, raised his eyebrows. "So fast?"
But then again, it made sense. Carrie wasn't a long story—the plot mostly centered on three settings: her being bullied at school, the prom, and her home life. If the actors had solid performances, the filming progress would naturally be quick. And since it was a movie rather than a TV series, production time was much shorter.
"Alright, send it to post-production for editing. Once it's done, let me see the final cut." Edward clapped his hands and stretched. Although he had already made up his mind to visit Kayako's world, he planned to finish filming Shutter first. It wasn't a particularly difficult project—most of the shots were easy, and the few that needed special effects could be handled by Pokémon. Edward was confident he could complete it within a month.
But for now, he would wait until Toshio had finished playing.
Once Toshio was done, Edward immediately began shooting Shutter. The filming went very smoothly. Since he only hired actors with solid acting skills, the performances were sharp and convincing. In just three weeks, the entire film was done.
"Isn't that a little too fast?" Edward muttered, scratching his head. But in truth, it wasn't unreasonable—after all, it was a horror movie, and all the shooting locations were in Canalave City.
Three weeks later, the editing team also completed Carrie and sent the master copy to Edward for review.
"Let's watch it together," he said to Zoroark.
Zoroark instinctively shook its head. It really didn't want to watch another movie written by its boss—especially knowing the kinds of scripts Edward liked to make.
"Relax, this one's not scary," Edward rolled his eyes. "Carrie isn't a horror film—not really. Well… unless you count that big massacre at the end as scary."
"Are you sure about that?" Zoroark asked skeptically.
"Positive," Edward said, nodding with exaggerated seriousness.
Only then did Zoroark reluctantly stay to watch. Still, it looked uneasy.
But as the movie started, its expression slowly changed—from tense, to casual, and finally to furious. If it hadn't been in the middle of watching the film, it probably would've jumped through the screen to beat up those bullies tormenting Carrie.
That was because Edward had added a new twist: Carrie wasn't just bullied by humans, but by Pokémon too. Since Ralts was playing Carrie this time, it made perfect sense to include Pokémon in the story.
When Carrie finally snapped and unleashed her powers, Zoroark actually clapped and cheered—before awkwardly sitting back down under Edward's strange look.
Not long after, the movie ended.
"So, what do you think?" Edward asked casually. He wasn't focused on the plot he was more concerned with the cinematography, pacing, and performances. After all, he had written the script himself, so the story didn't interest him much.
"It was really good," Zoroark admitted after thinking for a moment. "But… the first half was too depressing."
"If the first half isn't depressing, the second half won't feel satisfying," Edward said with a wave of his hand. "Carrie's story only works because of that buildup."
When audiences watched Carrie being bullied, misunderstood, and oppressed by her mother, it naturally stirred up empathy. Even if people hadn't experienced something so extreme themselves, they could still relate to the feeling of being wronged—and that alone made the film powerful.
After all, everyone in the world carries some kind of pain or grievance. Nobody is entirely free from it. That's why Carrie could so easily strike a chord in people's hearts.
And when that tension finally snapped, Carrie's rampage—and the cruel fates of her tormentors—became the perfect release. It was cathartic, almost gratifying to watch.
Edward was quite satisfied. Ralts' acting had been superb, and the other performers were great as well. The directing was solid. He was confident that once released, the film might draw some criticism but would definitely make a profit.
"Alright, send it for approval. Once it passes, schedule the release." Edward yawned and glanced at his phone.
Three weeks had passed. Inner Senses's daily box office growth had slowed down, but its total gross had surpassed four billion. That was still an impressive achievement.
However, it was unlikely to reach three hundred fifty, and the system only granted him three more lottery draws.
He had collected around 300,000 fear points so far, but reaching 400,000 might prove difficult.
"Looks like audiences are getting used to horror movies now…" Edward sighed, scratching his head.
In this Pokémon world, the general public's fear threshold had definitely risen—partly because of him. The real issue, though, was probably that he had made too many horror films, numbing his audience's nerves.
"Guess after finishing Shutter, I should take a break," he muttered. "Let the audience rest for a while—then I can scare them again later for even more fear points."
"Alright then, time for a lottery!"
Without hesitation, Edward hit the draw button.
[You received: Movie World Travel Voucher]
[You received: Immersive Touch (Basic)]
[You received: Immersive Smell (Basic)]
"…Huh?"
Edward blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected anything new, yet here were two completely unfamiliar rewards. What was the difference between these and the Master-Level Cinematography skill he already had?
He checked the first item Movie World Travel Voucher. He tucked it away with satisfaction. That would be useful later, especially since he'd already planned to visit Kayako's world. Having an extra one could come in handy for future trips to other movie worlds too.
[Immersive Touch (Basic): Your films will allow audiences to experience a faint sense of physical contact during viewing.]
[Immersive Smell (Basic): Your films will allow audiences to perceive certain smells within the movie. The stronger the scents during filming, the more vividly they'll be reproduced.]
"…Wait, what? So now people will be able to touch and smell the actors on screen?" Edward exclaimed.
That was… interesting, to say the least. It reminded him of those so-called "five-sense movies" from his previous life.
Of course, those had been complete nonsense—cheap theater gimmicks where someone blew wind in your face whenever a scene showed a storm. Ridiculous stuff.
But this? This might actually be the real deal.
(End of Chapter)