"The new champion is so handsome~" Walking down the street, Vincent Stone heard everyone around him discussing the newly appointed champion.
Just as he had expected, the hottest news across the Hoenn region right now was the birth of the new champion.
Even the buses on the street were plastered with posters of the new champion, featuring Steven Stone's signature Metagross, looking mighty and imposing. It must have taken countless poses to select that perfect shot.
"Big bro has become the champion now, so does that mean the disaster in Hoenn is approaching?" Vincent stretched lazily, his mind drifting to the two Legendary Pokémon from the games that had nearly plunged the entire Hoenn region into catastrophe.
Groudon and Kyogre.
Thinking about it carefully, Team Aqua and Team Magma's shenanigans seemed to have started right after his brother became the Hoenn champion.
Based on past experience, they would probably head to Mt. Pyre first to obtain the Red and Blue Orbs, using their power to awaken the slumbering Legendaries.
"So, as long as we keep an eye on the Red and Blue Orbs at Mt. Pyre, things should be under control."
Vincent relaxed a little. In the games, players could capture Legendary Pokémon, but in reality, doing so was far from easy. Even the appearance of a Mythical Pokémon was enough to cause a stir in the League and draw public attention.
If someone actually managed to capture a Legendary, they would truly be the chosen one.
Following the text message from Butler James, Vincent found his company—a business still in the process of changing its signboard. Several employees were already waiting nervously at the entrance.
The moment they saw him, they immediately swarmed over with warm greetings. Vincent also learned their roles, but he didn't dwell too much on personnel matters.
That was the job of the professionals his father had assigned. His task was to focus on making films and assembling his movie team.
So, without delay, he gathered the relevant staff and headed straight to the conference room.
"This time, what we're going to do is shoot a movie." Vincent wrote the title of his first film on the board: Dead Silence.
The employees below exchanged glances before breaking into enthusiastic applause. No matter what the new boss said, clapping was the correct response.
This was the social etiquette every working adult had to master.
In the Pokémon world, aside from trainers, there were countless ordinary workers. It was their collective efforts that built this magnificent world.
"Pass around the script for this film." Vincent handed out the copies he had prepared, then settled into his executive chair, pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a sip.
Although he had watched plenty of horror movies in his past life, including classics like Dead Silence multiple times, Vincent knew that a direct copy might not resonate well due to cultural differences.
For instance, in his adapted script, the first jump scare—where the unlucky protagonist receives a creepy doll—was reimagined using his own Pokémon, Mimikyu.
"Boss, won't using Mimikyu as the horror doll feel a bit out of place?" A man raised his hand to ask. Vincent glanced at his name tag: [Jin]. He remembered that this guy was a screenwriter.
"So, this Mimikyu isn't a Pokémon. It's just a doll." Vincent had already considered this issue.
In the Pokémon world, because Pokémon were so commonplace, people didn't feel much fear toward them—unless one was actively slaughtering people in front of them.
Otherwise, it was like an ordinary person seeing an orange tabby cat in a horror movie. Their first reaction would be, "How cute."
"I see." Jin nodded and continued flipping through the script.
As a screenwriter, he could tell how gripping this story was. It avoided the dullness of lengthy everyday dialogue right from the start.
Jin also realized that his new boss seemed to be making a horror film.
But why was it titled Dead Silence?
Didn't "dead silence" mean complete absence of sound?
Yet, the thrilling plot kept Jin glued to the pages.
When the supposedly immobile Mimikyu doll suddenly turned its eyes—which theoretically shouldn't move—to glance at the woman holding it, Jin held his breath. He could almost feel those black, beady eyes staring at him from the page.
As he read further, witnessing the series of terrifying events triggered by Mimikyu, the woman's shock, her vomiting blood, and then the abrupt cut to the male protagonist returning home, hearing his wife's voice, only to pull back the white cloth and find not Mimikyu but his wife with her tongue cut out—Jin felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He instinctively looked up, wanting to say something to distract himself, only to see a Mimikyu perched on the new boss's shoulder, its Pikachu like disguise slightly tilted, the black eyes behind the ragged cloth seemingly fixed on him.
Jin broke out in a cold sweat.
"Finished reading?" The new boss looked at him. Only then did Jin realize that the Mimikyu was actually his boss's Pokémon.
"Not yet, I just got to the part where the protagonist's wife has her tongue cut out." Jin forced an awkward smile.
As a screenwriter, being scared into a sweat by a script would be utterly embarrassing if word got out in the industry.
Vincent raised an eyebrow. He had been observing his employees, all veterans of this old film company. Seeing how absorbed they were in the script pleased him.
This world was too dull, especially its horror films, which still relied on cheap jump scares with no creativity.
"Little Mimi, how about you play the lead role?" Vincent chuckled, poking his Mimikyu's cheek. The Pokémon nuzzled his finger affectionately before letting out an indistinct, slightly raspy cry.
(End of Chapter)