"Director Edward… I have a somewhat presumptuous request."
Inside the private lounge, Edward stared at the man before him, a little puzzled by what he had just heard.
Earlier, Cynthia had invited him for a light drink, and Edward had naturally agreed. After all, this was Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. Establishing a good relationship with her might prove invaluable in the future, especially if he ever needed help dealing with Team Magma or Team Aqua.
What he didn't expect, however, was that Lance would also be here.
"Champion Lance, please go ahead and tell me." Edward responded politely. He still remembered how Lance had been the first to openly support the proposal about screening short films for wild Pokémon during the meeting earlier today.
"Ah, well… it's like this. My, um... here, take a look at this video," Lance said as he handed his phone over.
Edward took it, still confused, and watched the video that started playing on the screen. In it, a Dragonite was enthusiastically splitting trees in half at high speed. It would chop one down, then move on to the next, looking thoroughly delighted with itself, almost like it had discovered some new form of joy.
Edward recognized the familiar appearance of the trees being cut and then looked at the row of split trees behind the Dragonite. Suddenly, everything made sense.
Sigh.
"My Dragonite knows how to use a computer to watch videos. I never really paid attention to it before, but not long ago I discovered—completely by accident—that it's started chopping down trees… using its crotch." Lance rubbed his face in distress, looking utterly hopeless.
"At first it was non-stop chopping, but after I said something about it, it's now settled into a habit of cutting down one tree a day."
Cynthia gave Lance a sympathetic glance. The two of them were on good terms and often discussed training methods for Dragon-type Pokémon, which is why she'd helped arrange this meeting with Edward in the first place.
Edward finally understood Lance's real intention. He wanted him to help—perhaps to talk to Dragonite or offer a solution. But honestly, if even a champion-level Trainer like Lance couldn't do anything about it, how could Edward possibly be of help?
Still, after thinking it through, Edward figured he could do something subtle—like sneaking in a message in the next animated short. Maybe, for example, in the scene where Tom ascends to heaven, the reason he ends up there could be revealed to be his tree-chopping antics. Perhaps Tom would then be sent back down to atone for his "sins" by planting trees. That might send a message.
After all, these Pokémon had picked up this crotch-based tree-chopping technique from Tom and Jerry. So maybe they could be corrected through a new episode of Tom and Jerry.
"Champion Lance, here's the idea..." Edward briefly explained his plan. Lance agreed almost immediately. He had thought along similar lines—if Dragonite had learned it from Persian, then Persian could also be the one to teach it a lesson.
With that matter more or less resolved, Edward ended up chatting casually with Lance and Cynthia for a while. The atmosphere was light and comfortable, and the three of them had a pleasant conversation.
During that time, Edward also learned something that truly shocked him—Cynthia was actually a fan of his films.
That revelation left Edward a little dazed. Directors rarely became famous compared to actors, unless they had several major works under their belt. In the international scene, there were only a handful of truly renowned directors. Edward had never imagined that, with just two films, he'd already gained fans—especially one as high-profile as Cynthia.
After having a few drinks and a pleasant evening, Edward finally said his goodbyes and headed home. He took a shower and, without a second thought, collapsed onto his bed.
The next morning, he continued attending the Pokémon High Council conference, just as he had for the past two days. And on the third day, the same thing happened again.
"I've really had enough of this…"
By the time the third day's meeting ended and the entire Pokémon High Council Summit was officially concluded, Edward finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He slumped tiredly into a chair and rubbed his temples.
After three days of meetings, Edward felt as though he couldn't open his mouth without spewing bureaucratic jargon.
He couldn't say anything without sounding like a walking press release.
Everything was "in the best interest of Pokémon rights," and his sentences were now formatted like: Four main bullet points, each with twelve sub-points, and each sub-point divided into four sections.
He even considered, half-seriously, whether he could run for President of the Pokémon League if he applied that same tone all the time.
"Edward, how was your first experience attending this kind of meeting?" Giovanni asked with a cheerful smile as he walked alongside him.
"Ugh, don't even get me started. I'd rather be sleeping at home for three days and nights straight." Edward shook his head. Over these past few days, he'd grown to have a pretty good rapport with Giovanni. By now, they could be considered acquaintances—perhaps even friends who could chat comfortably.
However, the more Edward interacted with Giovanni, the more he felt that this man was really suited to playing Professor Moriarty.
If Pikachu is Holmes's Watson, then surely Professor Moriarty could have a Pokémon sidekick too. And when the two masterminds faced off, their Pokémon could go head-to-head as well.
"You'll get used to it. Every time the Pokémon League holds one of these High Council meetings, there's actually a lot that gets decided," Giovanni said smoothly, with a gentlemanly and reserved tone.
Nothing in his demeanor suggested that he could possibly be the ultimate villain.
"Mr. Giovanni, I've been thinking recently about filming a suspense-themed detective series, and I feel like there's a particular role in it that would suit you very well. Would you be interested in hearing about it?" Edward looked at Giovanni and asked carefully. He wanted to gauge Giovanni's interest before casting anyone else.
Giovanni's curiosity was instantly piqued. He had originally wanted to take part in one of Edward's film projects anyway. Even though this was a television series, and in a genre Edward had never done before, Giovanni still found the idea intriguing.
Edward quickly jotted down a brief character outline. After all, it wasn't easy to fully describe a character like Moriarty in just a few lines, so he only summarized the personality, background, and role.
Giovanni read it over.
[Professor Moriarty: By day, a university professor, wealthy businessman, and philosopher. He has published several respected academic works and enjoys a solid public reputation. However, behind the scenes, he is secretly the head of the region's most powerful criminal organization. Amoral and heartless, he is a brilliant high-IQ villain and the protagonist's arch-nemesis.]
Giovanni's hand instinctively tightened around the paper.
Isn't this basically me?
His public persona was that of a Gym Leader, someone deeply involved in philanthropy, with a bit of personal wealth and quite a bit of fame in both Kanto and Johto. But in secret, he was the boss of Team Rocket, the biggest criminal organization in the region.
Giovanni cast a quick glance at Edward, then shook his head internally. No way.
Edward was just a director—he was from Hoenn and had never even been to Kanto or Johto. There was no possible way he could know Giovanni's true identity.
Not just Edward—even Lance didn't know he was the leader of Team Rocket.
"This character… definitely sounds like a challenge," Giovanni murmured, pressing his lips together. His rational mind was telling him not to take the role, but the character was just too… perfectly tailored.
The idea of not playing the role actually made him feel itchy all over.
"But why choose me for this role?" Giovanni couldn't help but ask.
"Because you give off a kind of aura that matches this character really well," Edward replied with a smile. There, that's my excuse. Aura. Vibes. Purely metaphysical.
Of course, Edward couldn't just say: "Because I know your real identity as the head of Team Rocket, so I thought of you immediately."
(End of Chapter)