Early the next morning, Edward arrived at the venue. Today was the final day of the Tom Tree Contest, and he had to admit—the Hoenn League's efficiency was impressive.
If this had been a reality show or some other program with this kind of viewership and advertising revenue, they probably would've dragged the final out for a full week.
But considering how busy the Champions were, Edward could understand. If you kept all the regional Champions tied up in Hoenn for a whole week, every other region would probably start falling apart.
Soon, under the passionate narration of the host, the Champions from each regional league arrived on stage. Finally, the official Champions of each region entered, each wearing the emblem of their league. Only Lance, who held the Champion title for both Johto and Kanto, wore two regional emblems.
"What's today's Contest format?" Edward yawned, rubbed Q's head, and turned to ask Zoroark beside him.
"Boss, today's format is: each regional Champion will draw lots, then pick a finalist to challenge. Winners draw lots again, and the final two will face off to determine the overall champion." Zoroark replied while flipping through a small notebook.
Edward nodded. "Draw lots, huh? That's pretty fair."
"Wait a minute—there are nine contestants, but only eight Champions. Is Lance going to face two people?"
Edward noticed something strange.
There were now nine officially recognized regions in the Pokémon League—from Kanto to Paldea. However, due to some lingering historical issues between Kanto and Johto, both regions currently shared one Champion: Lance.
Yet both Kanto and Johto had regional champions advancing to this Contest, which meant there were nine contestants.
Zoroark didn't reply. He just smiled kindly at Edward.
Edward looked at Zoroark's warm gaze, fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and pointed to himself.
Zoroark nodded.
"…You're telling me I'm the ninth Champion?"
Edward looked confused. He didn't mind participating, but shouldn't someone at least have told him?! Wasn't this a bit too random? Was this world really just a massive improv troupe?
"Boss, the organizers sent you an invitation last night," Zoroark coughed lightly.
Edward's mouth twitched. Come to think of it, he had received an invitation when he got in the car yesterday…
But as the heir of Devon Corporation and owner of Ghost Film Pictures, Edward received a ridiculous number of invitations every day. As a result, he rarely paid any attention to them and usually just tossed them aside.
"Whatever. It's not like this needs much preparation anyway." Edward shrugged.
But then a problem came to mind—he only had two Pokémon with him: Mimikyu and Gholdengo, both Ghost-types.
And since Q was timid and introverted—although you couldn't tell during battle—it would probably be better to send out Fortune
Edward looked toward Fortune.
Since joining his team, Fortune rarely stayed inside a Poké Ball. He was usually free to roam around. And ever since he started preparing for university entrance exams, Edward had been giving him more support.
Edward was well aware of his own situation. Because of his system, even though his golden cheat wasn't very intrusive, it still required him to shoot movies and TV shows regularly. That left little time for managing Devon Corporation.
But the company was a family business. His father was getting older, and letting him keep working without a break felt cruel. His older brother Steven was… incredibly unreliable.
Which meant Edward had to take over.
Recently, Fortune had shown interest in economics, so Edward had the idea to train him academically. If Fortune studied economics in college, he might become Edward's personal secretary at Devon Corp, helping to ease the workload.
His father's current secretary, Mr. Kennedy, was incredibly capable, but he had worked with the old man for years and would likely retire alongside him. So, Edward needed someone new to assist with company matters.
"Fortune," Edward patted the shiny golden head of the Gholdengo.
Fortune looked up at him with wide, curious eyes.
"In a bit, I'll need you to come on stage with me and… just perform something simple. Nothing big." Edward smiled.
Fortune glanced at the battle arena, then gave a small nod.
Seeing Fortune's calm expression, Edward felt quite satisfied. Having one socially anxious Pokémon on the team was already enough. If Fortune had the same personality as Q, it would've been a real hassle. Luckily, Fortune was cheerful and easygoing.
As the stage was being set for the lottery draw, Edward had a sudden thought.
It was a competition, after all. If he went up and lost right away, it'd feel kind of frustrating. Everyone has a competitive streak, after all.
"Fortune, can you… turn your coins back into the form they were in before you evolved?" Edward suddenly asked, thinking of something.
Zoroark visibly tensed beside him.
He hadn't forgotten that the coin Fortune used to carry before evolving was… radioactive.
With a strange clinking sound, Fortune's body began to subtly change color.
At the same time, the Geiger counter clipped to Edward's belt started going absolutely berserk. Zoroark leapt away in alarm.
"Stop!! Quick, change back!! Elder Fortune, withdraw your divine powers!!" Edward shouted, hair standing on end.
Fortune blinked in confusion but obediently reverted to normal. The Geiger counter fell silent. Zoroark sat down again—but now three full meters away from Fortune.
Edward's mouth twitched as he checked the Geiger counter.
4.2.
He inhaled sharply.
According to the manual, this reading was already close to the danger zone. Any higher, and it would start to cause harm to human bodies.
In other words—
This shiny, innocent-looking Fortune… actually possessed intense radioactive power.
If the world ever introduced Nuclear-type Pokémon, please call him The Great Prophet.
(End of Chapter)