When Edward returned home, he saw Fortune reading a book. Nearby, a large pile of completed and even graded test papers was spread out on the floor. Edward had good eyesight and immediately noticed the score—93 points out of 100.
"Fort, even though exams are coming up, you still need to balance work and rest, you know?" Edward walked over, handed over a cup of fruit tea, and gave a gentle reminder. Q sitting on Edward's head also nodded in agreement.
"Kyuuu," came a strange series of sounds from Q. Edward couldn't understand it, but judging by Fortune's expression, it was clear the little guy got the message. Fortune was usually pretty obedient, after all.
Edward checked his phone. The entrance exam date for Hoenn University's independent enrollment was set for tomorrow.
In other words, tomorrow was the day that would determine whether Fortune could get into university.
"Alright, don't worry too much. As long as you don't bomb the test, getting in shouldn't be a problem," Edward reassured him. As long as Fortune didn't perform too poorly, Edward could always just donate a building or something to smooth the way. Getting Fortune admitted would be easy.
Fortune nodded seriously. He understood what Edward meant, and it helped him relax a little. Still, he wanted to get a good score—to make things a little easier on his trainer. Although, truth be told, Fortune knew his trainer was ridiculously wealthy.
Edward pulled out his phone again and looked through Hoenn University's admissions guide, including the tuition fees and accommodation info.
As the top university in the Hoenn region, most aspects of the school were pretty standard. However, there were some unique rules for Pokémon students.
For instance, Pokémon attending Hoenn University could choose to live on campus or commute from home. On-campus living meant full-time enrollment, with dormitory assignments and Pokémon attending classes on their own—basically the same as human students. Commuting just meant they'd live off-campus, with no major differences in the curriculum.
"Four years, huh?" Edward looked at the academic plan. College typically lasted four years unless the student kept skipping grades, passed various assessments, and completed their thesis defense—then they could graduate early.
That route was usually reserved for top students or Psychic-type Pokémon. Those with powerful intellects could easily finish ahead of schedule. There was even a legendary case of a Gardevoir graduating in just six months.
Edward glanced at Fortune again. He wasn't worried about Fortune's attitude toward learning. He just didn't know if Fortune could pass those kinds of tests. If not, then Fortune would be in for the full four-year ride. Still, this was Fortune's dream, and Edward wouldn't stand in the way.
Once Fortune graduated, he could even start learning how to run the company. That way, Edward could finally lighten his own workload a bit.
After comforting Fortune, Edward went back to writing his script. He needed to finish planning out Moriarty's arc before filming, including how to wrap up the character properly. Then, he could insert it into the Sherlock Holmes series—and finally let Giovanni finish his scenes. Edward had no idea when Giovanni's true identity might be exposed, but when it was, it'd be a huge headache.
So, if he could finish filming all of Giovanni's parts before that happened, it'd be a major win.
Just as Edward was focused on his writing, he suddenly felt the ground shake.
"An earthquake again?" Edward jumped up in a panic, grabbing Fortune and Q before rushing out of the room. The old butler jogged over and, seeing that Edward was already on the move, quickly led him out of the mansion.
The tremors lasted just a moment—then everything settled down.
"What's going on? Two tremors in such a short time?" Edward was puzzled. The League hadn't issued any warnings, and just like last time, the earthquake's magnitude wasn't very strong.
One could be a coincidence—but two in a row? It was enough to make people start wondering.
"Young Master, the League has reported a magnitude of 4.3," the old butler said after checking the latest update. Edward nodded. If it had been stronger, things could've gotten ugly. Since things outside had calmed down, Edward went back inside, still uncertain about what was going on.
Back in his room, he checked to see if anything had been damaged—only to notice something strange.
Groudon.
It had moved again.
Edward stood silently in front of the display case. He wasn't a superstitious man, but this… this was getting weird. The last time there had been an earthquake, that Groudon-like stone had moved one step. And now, after another earthquake—it had moved again.
A bold idea formed in Edward's mind.
Could this weird-looking stone, which looked exactly like Groudon, actually be Groudon?
Maybe Groudon's movements were being mirrored by the stone—and those movements were what triggered the earthquakes?
But… wasn't Groudon supposed to control weather, not cause earthquakes?
Edward was confused, but he decided to test it.
He opened the display case and picked up the stone. It still looked the same—just a stone shaped like Groudon. Cold and heavy in his hand. Nothing special.
Then, Edward tried moving the little Groudon forward a step.
Nothing happened.
"…Did I overthink it?" Edward scratched his head. Makes sense—if such a tiny rock could control Groudon, he might as well go tell the League, "Hoenn is under my command now."
Still, there was another possibility: the rock might be a projection of Groudon. Everything Groudon did was reflected in the stone. That… wasn't impossible.
"I guess I've caught Groudon, huh." Edward half-joked as he tossed a Luxury Ball at the little Groudon figure.
It wasn't the real Groudon, sure—but it looked the part. With some clever editing and special camera angles, he could easily create a scene that made it look like he caught Groudon.
But then something unexpected happened.
The Luxury Ball actually absorbed the little Groudon stone—then landed softly on the carpet.
"…?" Edward blinked in confusion.
The Luxury Ball twitched once—then the capture light turned green.
Edward knew what that meant.
Capture successful.
"Wait, what… What the heck did I just catch?" Edward muttered in disbelief.
This was just a rock, wasn't it? Not even a Rock-type Pokémon—he was certain of that; it had been tested.
Which raised the real question:
What exactly had he just captured?
(End of Chapter)