"I'd really like to see just how good your movie actually is."
While Edward and Steven sat together in a theater watching a film, in the Unova Region, a man muttered to himself, gripping his movie ticket tightly.
This man's name was Frank Doyle, a self-media blogger known for his sharp critiques. He especially loved reviewing trending movies—whatever was hot, he would jump on it. With over a million followers, he had made a name for himself online.
But this time, he came to the cinema with a specific agenda.
He was determined to savagely review Edward's latest film.
Edward, a rising star in the Pokémon world's film industry, had directed several movies with stellar reviews. Some even hailed him as the leading figure of the horror genre. But Frank scoffed at such praise.
To him, horror films were unworthy of serious attention—neither artistic, nor big-budget, nor technically refined. They relied on cheap jump scares and outdated tropes. In Frank's view, they were garbage cinema.
"I have to put a stop to this unhealthy trend and return the film industry to a cleaner state!"
Staring at the ticket for A Wicked Ghost, Frank took a deep breath, his eyes burning with determination.
Of course, that burning passion had nothing to do with the fact that he had previously contacted Ghost Film Pictures asking for a promotional fee—and was flatly rejected.
With righteous fury, Frank marched into the theater and took his seat. He looked around at the surrounding couples, curled his lip, and dug into his popcorn. This time, he was determined to tear the film apart, to make it look utterly worthless—he'd show Ghost Film Pictures what happens when you offend a critic.
"Spirit Summoning game? How ridiculous," Frank sneered at the opening scene. Seriously? In this day and age, they're still using spirit summoning as a plot device? But he didn't say much more.
After all, this was an established industry trope.
In horror films, someone always had to do something stupid—disobey warnings, poke the paranormal, do the one thing they were told not to—otherwise, there would be no story. If everyone just stayed home and behaved, horror movies wouldn't exist.
Frank watched intently. He had come to find faults, and a good critic needs to back their criticisms with substance. Mindless ranting wouldn't win over readers—it would only make him a joke.
"Once again, no Pokémon. Tch," he noted mentally. These so-called ghosts would probably crumble against a single Pokémon.
He had already noticed this trend in Edward's films—Pokémon never appeared in them. In previous horror hits like Dead Silence and One Missed Call, there was no trace of Pokémon, almost as if they didn't exist in Edward's cinematic universe.
But then—
Chu Renmei appeared in the bathroom scene. Gengar tried to attack her… but she completely ignored it and drowned its trainer in the toilet.
Frank immediately sat up straight.
Wait, Pokémon? Seriously?
Then came the scene where Chu Renmei tore a Machamp to pieces. It left Frank stunned. Edward's new film really included Pokémon.
Now he was confused.
Throughout the movie, the scare sequences left Frank deeply unsettled. He had come in ready to criticize the movie for "ignoring Pokémon," but with their presence now confirmed, that line of attack no longer worked.
By the end, Frank found himself mentally scattered.
He was trying to come up with some good criticisms, but A Wicked Ghost, judged purely as a horror film, was undeniably a success.
It was terrifying. Some elements were hard to fully grasp, but they carried a disturbing and eerie undertone that deeply unsettled the viewer.
Even Frank himself got jump-scared multiple times, nearly tossing his popcorn onto the person sitting in front of him.
"This movie was way too scary…"
As the crowd exited the theater, Frank followed behind a couple, still frantically thinking of angles to criticize Edward.
"Yeah, good thing we didn't bring the little ones." the man beside him sighed in relief.
Frank froze for a moment.
["A Wicked Ghost" is actually good? Frank breaks it down scene by scene!]
[Hey everyone, it's your guy Frank. Edward's new film A Wicked Ghost has just hit theaters. As a professional film critic, I went straight to the cinema to give you my take.]
[First, the positives: It's clear that Director Edward took feedback from online discussions and added new elements to address various criticisms. In doing so, however, it somewhat muddied the film's authorship—who really made this movie? Perhaps Director Edward should consider paying a fee to the "inspiration providers."]
[Now for the negatives:]
[A classic issue—Edward doesn't seem to consider the diversity of his audience. The film is simply too scary and totally unsuitable for children. It might traumatize young viewers and leave them with lasting psychological damage.]
[Moreover, Director Edward doesn't take minority representation into account. There are several extremely subtle but offensive jabs at minority groups hidden within the movie. As a viewer, I found these moments very uncomfortable.]
That night, Frank's review was published—and quickly went viral, marked with a "HOT" tag, indicating it had attracted a lot of engagement.
Frank was thrilled. If it continued to trend, his commercial value would rise, and with that, his potential earnings!
But what he didn't expect was…
When he opened the comment section, it was flooded with criticism—of him.
"Are you nuts?! What, should Chu Renmei be played by a man now?"
"Huh? HUH?! Are there really people who bring kids to horror movies??"
"You're all missing the point. Frank probably wanted Chu Renmei to be played by an Apache attack helicopter-identifying neutral protagonist!"
"Honestly, I really liked the film. That creepy singing was bizarrely captivating. Love from the Kalos Region~"
(End of Chapter)
TN: Kinda racist chap so trimming this chap a bit.