Edward ultimately decided to give it a try.
He took out the feather and walked over to Charizard. Under Old John's puzzled gaze, he sought the old man's permission. Once granted, he gently placed the feather against Charizard's body.
Nothing happened.
Edward even waited a full five minutes. By the time Charizard had finished the bowl of soft, porridge-like beef rice, there still wasn't any reaction. Edward scratched his head. It seemed that although the feather came from Ho-Oh, it truly didn't possess any special power. Then again, Ho-Oh's feathers, while rare, could occasionally still be found.
If they had the ability to prolong life or heal injuries, whoever picked one up would likely become rich.
"Don't be too discouraged, young man. Life, aging, sickness, and death—these are inevitable things," said John calmly, even managing to offer Edward some comfort. Edward nodded. Of course, he already understood that. Still, he wanted to try something—anything—no matter how futile, just so he wouldn't regret not trying.
In life, people shouldn't fear making mistakes. The true fear lies in regretting not having done something. Mistakes can be fixed; regrets often can't.
Edward left the restaurant, walking through the nighttime streets of Rustboro, lost in thought. He didn't even know exactly what he was thinking about—he just needed something to focus on, something to ease the unease in his heart and lift his spirits.
"Edward, there's a breaking news story. Would you like to see it?" Rotom suddenly flew out, cheerfully asking. Its large eyes showed on the phone screen, along with a series of headlines, all marked with "BREAKING."
Rotom Phones allow users to customize how they're addressed. Some go for more mischievous or unusual names, but Edward simply went with his own name—it was the most straightforward and common choice.
"What news?" Edward knew Rotom was trying to distract him, but he still asked.
Immediately, the screen popped up with several headlines:
[Galar Region Mayoral Candidate Shot During Campaign Speech – Gunman Killed After Firing Round That Hit Candidate's Right Ear]
[Fate? Candidate Survives Miraculously—Bullet Missed His Head by Mere Inches!]
[Conspiracy? Could This Be a Rival's Plot?]
A flood of headlines appeared, and Edward froze for a moment. He hadn't expected something like that. But the Galar region... He was familiar with it. The area was inspired by England, and it had long been his planned setting for filming Sherlock Holmes.
After all, Sherlock Holmes was a fictional detective who lived in London. Using Galar—which was based on the British Isles—as a filming location made perfect sense.
"Is that place really that wild?" Edward felt a bit lost. Honestly, guns weren't all that common in the Pokémon world. Not that they didn't exist—Officer Jenny units did occasionally carry revolvers or pistols—but their firepower was... let's just say, those guns were "kind" weapons.
Most of the time, the Jennys relied on Pokémon in the field. Pokémon were far more effective. That's probably why the development of firearms in the Pokémon world hadn't advanced much. The most powerful weapon Edward had ever seen was a tank. For individual use, the highest-end gear he'd seen was a rocket launcher.
Yes—there are rocket launchers in the Pokémon world.
But these were all strictly regulated by the Pokémon League, essentially impossible for ordinary civilians to get their hands on. Only highly dangerous criminal organizations might have a few stashed away. Even then, few were willing to use them, since the risks were too high and exposure too easy. Pokémon were still more reliable.
Especially Psychic Pokémon, who could predict the future and detect concealed weapons in advance—and even block bullets using Light Screen.
But for something like a public shooting to happen? That spoke volumes about how chaotic that area was. The League would surely investigate it thoroughly, given how bad the impact could be.
"Tsk, unbelievable. Sounds more like a presidential election," Edward clicked his tongue. He was reminded of how, back in his original world, when someone who was keen on holding rallies once again made headlines.
Still, seeing the news did improve Edward's mood. He felt a bit more at peace. What happened to Charizard couldn't be changed. Even if he could save it—then what? He would instantly become the center of a massive storm.
These days, who didn't have regrets? Who hadn't lost something they desperately wanted to get back? Help Old John's Charizard today, then what? Tomorrow maybe a little spider Pokémon would come asking him to revive someone. The day after, maybe a grieving hitman would beg him to bring his beloved dog back.
Life was full of regrets. If Edward helped just one person, word would spread. Soon, Rustboro would become the most densely populated city in the Pokémon world. And with that population explosion, infrastructure would be overwhelmed, houses would run out, and the world would descend into chaos.
So really—there was nothing he could do for Charizard.
But this incident helped Edward solidify his decision to film Sherlock Holmes in the Galar region. That place was full of strange occurrences. And after today's news, it had likely earned a "high crime" label—which would perfectly complement Holmes's emergence and the mystery cases he'd tackle.
Maybe this incident could even become the basis of a new case. Not that he needed to worry—Sherlock Holmes had plenty of classic cases already. There were also other great detective novels, like Murder on the Orient Express or The Invisible Guest, both excellent sources of inspiration.
Edward wasn't short on cases for Holmes to solve anytime soon.
"But casting the right actor is going to be a problem..." Edward scratched his head. He'd already decided that Giovanni would play Moriarty, and had plans to assign one of Giovanni's subordinates as his partner. But the most critical role was still Sherlock Holmes.
The character was overflowing with charm and required someone with exceptional acting skills—ideally someone who also understood a bit about deduction and logic.
"Looks like I'll need to talk to some of the big-name writers in the Pokémon world about script development. And I'll also need to speak with the Officer Jenny detective division. After all, a detective drama shouldn't be completely divorced from real-life police work," Edward mused.
Filming Sherlock Holmes wasn't going to be easy. He still had a lot to prepare.
(End of Chapter)
(Note: Early Pokémon anime did feature weapons like rocket launchers and tanks, though later seasons toned that down.)
Murder on the Orient Express - is a classic detective novel by Agatha Christie, first published in 1934. Also has a 2017 film.
The Invisible Guest - a 2016 film.