"Mr. Edward, I was wondering—where are the movies and short films you mentioned?" Yanister asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
He could hardly contain his excitement, especially after the finance department had informed him that five hundred million had been deposited into their account. At this moment, Yanister felt like flying straight to Mt. Chimney and showing a film to the wild Pokémon there.
Yanister never would've guessed that this Edward was actually affiliated with the Devon Corporation. No wonder Devon is the leading enterprise in the Hoenn region—their transaction speed was simply astonishing.
"As of now... I haven't brought too many original reels with me, just this one. The rest I'll have my company staff deliver at a later time," Edward said, pulling out the original copy of "Lights Out" from his bag and handing it over to Yanister.
Yanister curiously received it—it was a disc, completely blank with no writing on it.
"May I take a look?" Yanister asked, to which Edward gave a noncommittal response.
So Yanister brought Edward to one of the break rooms within the Environmental Improvement and Maintenance Department, where they proceeded to play Lights Out.
The short film was just a little over two minutes long, so it ended fairly quickly. However, after the viewing, Yanister's gaze toward Edward became rather strange.
What kind of person was this?! Yanister had absolutely not expected that the film Edward wanted to screen was actually a horror film. Even he had been startled while watching it.
If not for the fact that he often encountered wild Pokémon jumping out suddenly during his fieldwork—and occasionally got pranked by Ghost-type Pokémon—he might've let out a scream right then and there.
Initially, Yanister had assumed Edward would be playing some kind of promotional advertisement or public service announcement, but it turned out to be a horror short? Was that really appropriate to screen in the wild? Knowing the temperament of wild Pokémon, Yanister suspected that if he played this short film at exactly 11:00, by 11:02 the screen might be smashed to pieces.
In a more extreme scenario, he could even be on the receiving end of some "enthusiastic greetings" from the wild Pokémon.
Yanister hesitated, opening his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. Considering that Edward had already transferred the money—directly and without delay—five hundred million at that, Yanister chose to keep his opinions to himself. After all, as long as the financial backer was happy, that was all that mattered.
"Ahem... Mr. Edward, this short film of yours—I think it's very... interesting. I'll be heading over to Mt. Chimney shortly to screen it," Yanister said, deciding to provide excellent service to this wealthy patron. He was determined to ensure Edward felt that his five hundred million had not been spent in vain.
"Thank you," Edward replied with a satisfied nod.
Mt. Chimney—yes, Edward was familiar with that place. It was a tourist zone, although only a portion of it was open to the public. Other areas remained inaccessible, generally only ventured into by elite trainers training their Pokémon. The density of wild Pokémon in that region was notably high.
After bidding farewell to Edward, Yanister stared at the original film copy in his hand with a rather peculiar expression. Still, he went to make a backup copy of the disc, handed the task instructions to his secretary, and then took one of the copies with him. Mounting his Skarmory, he took off toward Mt. Chimney.
Yanister was a man of his word—once he decided to do something, he did it.
Naturally, Edward also noticed Yanister flying through the sky. Clicking his tongue, he remarked, "This Yanister guy really is efficient. He says he's going, and off he goes. I wonder what kind of feedback this film will get from wild Pokémon?"
Edward felt genuinely excited. If he didn't have other matters to attend to, he would've gone out into the wilderness himself to screen the movie.
"Father still hasn't returned," Edward muttered with a touch of helplessness. Right now, he was handling some of the affairs of Devon Corporation himself, which made him incredibly busy.
While none of the tasks were particularly urgent, Edward had begun to sense that more responsibilities were gradually being placed on his shoulders. The matters he was being asked to manage were slowly increasing in importance.
This left Edward with lingering doubts. Just what was his father up to? Could it be related to the legendary trio of Hoenn he vaguely remembered? After all, his father had suddenly brought up mega evolution and expressed a desire for Edward to master it—something he had never mentioned before. The whole situation seemed off.
"Young Master Edward, here are some documents that require your attention," the old butler said as he handed over a thick stack of files. Edward felt a bit dizzy just looking at them.
Was this the amount his father handled daily? That seemed unlikely. After all, Uncle Kennedy was around to help, and surely he took care of part of the workload. Unlike himself, who had to manage everything personally. His father was clearly trying to train him, so relying on others wasn't an option.
[Devon Corporation Research Department Funding Request]
Edward glanced at it. Good heavens, just this one request for increased research funding came to a staggering 64.7 billion!
Still, without hesitation, Edward approved it.
Devon Corporation's rise to dominance in the Hoenn region, crushing all competition and becoming the leading enterprise, was largely thanks to the technological achievements of its Research Department. Funding requests from that department were practically never denied.
[Personnel Appointment Plan for the Marketing Development Department]
[Devon Corporation Holiday Benefits Proposal]
[Improvement Plan for New Energy Vehicles for the Upcoming Paldea Region Future Auto Show]
Edward flipped through one document after another. Though it gave him a bit of a headache, he remained focused, reviewing each proposal carefully and making appropriate decisions before passing them on to the butler for further handling.
While Edward was occupied dealing with all sorts of internal affairs within the company, Yanister had already been flying for most of the day. His pace wasn't especially fast, as he had to constantly scan the ground below for anything unusual while flying.
Forest fires, illegal logging—these were all matters the Environmental Improvement and Maintenance Department handled, despite technically being outside their core duties. After all, most of the time, their department was stationed in the wild.
"Thankfully, poachers aren't as brazen as they used to be. The League's anti-poaching crackdown really did produce some results," Yanister said as he sat atop his Skarmory, sweeping the terrain below with his binoculars.
Once Mt. Chimney came into view, Yanister didn't stop. Instead, he continued flying onward.
Though Rustboro City is relatively close to Mt. Chimney, the volcano itself falls within the League's open-access zone. Thus, Yanister kept going until he reached a more remote section of Mt. Chimney, a place rarely visited by people. Only then did he slowly descend.
"Hopefully that guy isn't around—otherwise things could get complicated." Yanister returned his Skarmory to its Poké Ball and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The searing heat made it feel like he'd stepped into a sauna.
Quickly, Yanister descended the mountain. As he made his way down, the temperature gradually dropped. When he finally reached the forest, Yanister let out a sigh of relief.
He then took out the projection equipment he had prepared in advance, and selected an open space just outside the woods to set everything up.
There was some movement in the forest—soon, a few Bug-type Pokémon poked their heads out, followed by several Zigzagoon scurrying into view.
They looked warily at Yanister at first. But once they recognized him as a familiar face, their caution faded, and they curiously turned their attention to the screen.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Am I right? Translation say meteor volcano but isn't Mt. Chimney the only volcano in Hoenn?)