Early the next morning, Edward was woken up by the old butler, who immediately started helping him get dressed and washed up.
"Young Master Edward, you're attending the opening ceremony today. Would you like to change into a formal outfit?" the old butler asked, nagging a little while having the maid Pokémon Indeedee assist Edward with his clothes.
"Yeah, I should. It's a formal occasion after all." Edward rubbed his eyes and yawned.
With over ten million registered participants, this year's Tom Tree Performance Contest was destined to become a milestone in the history of the Pokémon League. Edward didn't want to appear on stage in casual wear while under the watchful eyes of so many, so changing into a formal outfit was necessary—not just out of respect for others, but also for himself.
The outfit, while stylish and classy, was a pain to put on. Even with help from Indeedee, it took quite a while. But once dressed, Edward looked at himself in the mirror and was fairly satisfied.
After breakfast, he got into the butler's car, holding Q in his arms and looking out the window.
Beside him sat Fortune, reading a book. Fortune had officially decided to apply for Hoenn University, the largest university in the Hoenn region, so it was currently in full-on exam prep mode.
Even though Fortune was studying, its strength was steadily increasing. With one Fear Candy a day, its power was climbing rapidly. Edward glanced at Fortune and quietly pulled out a Geiger counter—the radiation levels it showed were very low.
"Nuclear radiation… it's harmful to both self and others. But since Fortune is a Ghost/Steel-type Pokémon, it seems mostly unaffected." That thought flashed through Edward's mind. Still, the official Pokémon League would never allow Fortune to enter battles carrying anything radioactive.
After all, most Pokémon have no resistance to nuclear radiation. If a battle ended with Pokémon falling ill due to exposure, who could tolerate that?
That's why Edward routinely checked Fortune's radiation levels.
"Shaah~" Q yawned, curled up in Edward's lap, and suddenly sat bolt upright, body stretched out as it peered out the window. Edward followed its gaze—the car had arrived at the contest entrance.
At the entrance stood Headmistress Lillian with a scarred-up Salamance beside her. She was holding a sign that read "Go Edward!" The sight made Edward feel oddly embarrassed.
As soon as Edward stepped out of the car, the cheers of the crowd surged into his ears, echoing in his head.
"Edward! Edward!"—That was still manageable.
"Tom Tree! Edward! Tom Tree! Edward!"—This chant made Edward suspect that the crowd supported naming a giant tree split down the middle after him.
What dominated the scene even more were the constant camera clicks. Edward smiled and waved to the crowd. In his arms, Q curled into his shoulder, terrified, peeking at the crowd with just its eyes.
Fortune followed behind Edward, its gleaming gold appearance stealing who-knows-how-many rolls of film.
The next moment, another car pulled up behind Edward's. Out first came Zoroark, followed by the actor playing Tom—a very theatrical Persian.
The moment they appeared, the entire venue fell into a brief silence, then instantly erupted into thunderous cheers loud enough to scatter the clouds. Screams and shouts of "Tom!" rang out as the Persian stepped forward and performed a formal bow.
Then a small Rattata popped out. It had been dyed a brownish-yellow and also happily bowed to the crowd.
"Jerry! Jerry!" the chants grew louder and louder. Media shutters clicked furiously, almost overheating from overuse.
"Boss, our timing was perfect, right?" Zoroark trotted over, smiling as he left the two stars behind to be photographed.
"Mhm." Edward nodded, glancing over at Tom and Jerry. These two had now become some of the most recognizable Pokémon stars in the world. At the very least, their popularity rivaled that of some Legendary Pokémon.
A sense of inexplicable satisfaction filled Edward's heart. Watching two of his hand-raised Pokémon become global stars filled him with pride. He finally understood why so many people loved simulation games—this kind of accomplishment was unparalleled.
After signing new contracts, Edward no longer had to worry about any unnecessary disputes with Tom and Jerry.
Soon, Tom and Jerry walked over and greeted Edward respectfully. They both bowed like professionals, and Edward chuckled as he led them into the contest venue.
Today was the first day of the contest, during which each region would decide its champion. The second day would involve battling alongside those champions. For now, Edward was only here to attend the opening ceremony.
At that moment, two trainers hurried over—Tom and Jerry's trainers.
"Good morning, Mr. Edward!" they greeted warmly. Edward smiled and chatted with them briefly.
During the conversation, he casually brought up the topic of pay and company benefits. Though he appeared relaxed, he was actually testing their intentions.
Money moves hearts.
The old saying goes, "Men die for wealth, birds for food." Even in the Pokémon world, this held true.
Edward admitted that while many people in the Pokémon world were pure-hearted, not everyone was. If they were all so innocent, then why do criminal organizations exist? Why do Officer Jenny squads still need to maintain law and order?
When signing the initial contracts, Edward had instructed Sara to draft them flawlessly—airtight from a legal standpoint. But the thoughts of employees still concerned him.
Fortunately, the responses from the two trainers were satisfactory. Even if they were hiding other thoughts, at least outwardly they expressed full satisfaction with the current company benefits and pay.
Zoroark followed silently behind Edward.
This boss of mine… young, but already so scheming.
(End of Chapter)