"Boss, were you just playing a game with that Poliwrath just now?" Zoroark glanced at Edward as he asked, to which Edward shook his head. No way was he playing some kind of Magikarp-throwing game.
"Actually, this kind of behavior is pretty common among Poliwrath. They enjoy playing a game where they toss Magikarp around. Some of them even compete to see who can throw their chosen Magikarp into a Gyarados first," Zoroark said casually without even lifting his head. Edward's mouth twitched—if that were actually true, then this world really was something straight out of fantasy.
Still, he couldn't help but be reminded of something he'd once seen in a documentary from his previous life: in certain regions, lemurs would deliberately capture venomous millipedes and lick them.
Scientists initially thought this was predatory behavior, but further research revealed that the lemurs were actually getting high from the toxins—comparable to humans enjoying mint or hallucinogens. In the end, this was classified as a kind of peculiar behavioral quirk in the animal kingdom.
Or like how some albatrosses, affected by environmental destruction and overfishing, couldn't find proper mates and ended up forming long-term pairings with members of the same sex. The more one learns about the animal kingdom, the more one realizes just how bizarre and psychedelic nature can be.
So, when you put it that way, a Poliwrath collecting a Magikarp and using it to play some twisted throwing game—stimulating it until it evolved into a Gyarados and then taking pride in it like a war trophy—it really didn't seem that far-fetched at all.
"But how do you know this?" Edward looked at Zoroark with curiosity. He'd never heard about this before. It wasn't the kind of thing people usually paid attention to, right? So how did Zoroark come across such an obscure bit of information?
"I have a bachelor's degree in Pokémon biology. I even worked under a renowned Pokémon biology expert for a while. That research paper was actually my submission back then," Zoroark said matter-of-factly. Edward looked a bit surprised. So Zoroark was multi-talented after all?
"Then why didn't you stay in that field?" Edward asked, growing more curious. He knew his secretary was a bit of an academic—the stack of certificates was proof of that—but he hadn't known about Zoroark's previous work experience.
Now that he thought of it, it was because of Zoroark that he'd downloaded that Pokémon League Anti-Fraud App, which was still sitting unused on his phone.
"After that?" Zoroark put down his phone. Edward saw that he'd just been watching a gacha animation—it looked like the poor guy had gone back to pulling cards again.
"After that, the guy got drunk one night and tried to get me to transform into a Gardevoir and perform some kind of footplay fetish stuff. So I sent him straight to prison," Zoroark said with a shrug. Edward's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
At the same time, the gacha result came out on Zoroark's screen—white and gray light, the standard disappointment. Zoroark didn't even flinch. It seemed like he'd already become numb to it. No matter what game he played, his pulls always went to the guaranteed pity limit—over and over, endlessly, eternally. He never once pulled a rare card without hitting the pity counter.
Edward rubbed the bridge of his nose. He hadn't expected Zoroark to quit his job over something like that. Still, he couldn't really wrap his head around the strange fetish systems that existed in the Pokémon world.
Maybe it was because Pokémon were such a unique species that people in this world had developed some... highly specific preferences. For example, the Machamp Maid Café in Rustboro City—the founder of that business was an obsessive Machamp-maid enthusiast who apparently loved seeing Machamps dressed in maid outfits.
Edward had also seen online posts about people obsessed with Muk—yes, Muk—and even some bizarre photos of people lying in Muk's sludge like it was a waterbed. Who knew whether those people had developed some kind of immunity to Muk's toxins from prolonged exposure?
All he could say was, in this world of Pokémon, there really wasn't a single species without a fanbase. No matter how niche or obscure, someone out there loved them.
"Boss... you're not into that kind of thing too, are you?" Zoroark asked, giving Edward a suspicious look.
"Relax. I have no interest in Pokémon that way." Edward looked back at him with a blank expression. Was this guy just bored out of his mind? How could he possibly be attracted to a Pokémon? Not even Zoroark, let alone Gardevoir or Tsareena or any other "fan-favorite" Pokémon. Edward just saw them all as his partners.
"Good. That puts my mind at ease~" Zoroark said with a mischievous grin. Edward just shook his head—this guy really was a bit of a clown.
By the time night fell, the company's props team and filming crew had already arrived. Edward led the Spearow trainer and several employees into the Petalburg Woods, and they began setting up to shoot the next short film.
Since the short film was relatively simple in content, Gengar's appearance was only needed for the final jumpscare moment. As for that moment...
"Hurry up, hurry up! Where's the logistics team?!" Edward shouted urgently. Just moments ago, the Spearow had been flying around carefree. But following the script's progression, it entered the designated location and encountered Gengar's jumpscare.
The sheer shock caused the Spearow's heart to practically stop, and it plummeted from the sky, falling straight toward the forest below.
Even for a Spearow, falling from that height would be fatal.
That's why Edward was so anxious.
"Relax. It's fine." Gengar's calm voice echoed out. It emerged from the shadows, holding the little Spearow gently in its massive hands. The bird had its eyes closed and wasn't responding at all. If it weren't for its steady breathing, they might've already been rushing it to a Pokémon Center.
Edward let out a long sigh of relief.
But then his eyes drifted toward Gengar, and his expression turned complicated. The Gengar standing before him was nothing like the few-hundred-pound fatty he'd seen before. Now it stood tall and lean, clad in a sleek purple-black suit made entirely from ghostly energy. Its long legs looked like they were nearly 130 centimeters on their own.
"Did Gengar suffer some kind of emotional trauma or something?" Edward muttered, tugging at Zoroark and whispering quietly.
"There aren't any other Pokémon here... Maybe it's spring fever?" Zoroark mumbled back under his breath.
Gengar's face darkened. It had worked hard to mold its energy into this form, damn it!
Do they think this physique just came out of nowhere? He'd put in effort to look like this. Yet here these two were, whispering behind his back like middle schoolers.
"Hey, do you think maybe it's got a crush on someone? Like... Spearow?" Edward's imagination started to run wild.
"I... I don't think—I mean, what if it's me?" Zoroark muttered, cold sweat beginning to bead on his face at the horrifying realization.
Just then, a hand appeared on both their shoulders. A black, veiny hand filled with ghostly energy.
Both men froze.
They turned their heads in unison and were greeted by Gengar's deadpan, menacing expression.
"Ladies and gentlemen, before we eat, let me just clarify one thing," Gengar said in a voice brimming with dramatic flair. "Tonight, there are no vegetarians at this table."
Edward's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Well... the animal kingdom is already weird enough. So it really shouldn't be too surprising that Pokémon—an even more intelligent species—would have their fair share of bizarre, whimsical behavior, right?
(End of Chapter)