Pokemon: Lord of Fear

"Headmistress Lillian, do you know any reliable public welfare organizations for stray Pokémon?" Edward approached Headmistress Lillian, who was busy with paperwork at her desk. A few adoption applications were scattered across it.

This didn't surprise Edward. After all, Headmistress Lillian's Pokémon Care Center always supported adoptions, and from time to time, people came by to see if they could find a suitable Pokémon for their children.

"Public welfare organizations for stray Pokémon? Ah, is this about your movie?" Headmistress Lillian paused for a moment, and then a smile replaced the weariness on her face.

She had heard Edward mention before that his movie planned to donate one dollar from each ticket sold to organizations supporting stray Pokémon. Now that Edward had come to her, he was likely seeking advice on which organizations were trustworthy.

"Yes, it's about the idea I mentioned before," Edward nodded. He was aware of some public welfare organizations, but their reliability was always a concern.

Edward liked contributing to charity, but he detested the thought of his donations being squandered by corrupt officials within such organizations.

Although Edward had considered creating his own public welfare group, he knew it would be challenging to ensure everyone under him had good intentions. Plus, managing it would be cumbersome.

So, he wanted to consult Headmistress Lillian for her opinion.

"In that case, the Hoenn Abandoned Pokémon Care Organization comes to mind. I've collaborated with them before. They're registered with the League and are quite reputable," Headmistress Lillian said thoughtfully. Edward jotted down the organization's name, planning to have Robert look into it later.

If everything checked out, he could establish contact with them.

"By the way, Headmistress Lillian, you seemed a bit troubled earlier—anything I can help with?" Edward asked, his spirits lifted after solving the donation issue. He couldn't help but notice the concern on her face.

"Recently, there's been a surge in people wanting to adopt Pokémon. While it's a good thing, it's also..." Headmistress Lillian sighed and flipped over the application list for Edward to see.

Edward leaned in for a look and couldn't help but chuckle.

On the desk were eight adoption applications, six of which specifically requested to adopt Salamence.

"Well, it's Salamence after all," Edward remarked. Back when Salamence was still a Shelgon, there were already a few people interested in adopting it. But now that it had evolved into Salamence, the number of interested adopters had skyrocketed.

"Do they really want to adopt? I don't even want to expose their real motives," Headmistress Lillian muttered, her irritation evident as she fed the applications into the shredder.

Normally, she was thrilled when people wanted to adopt Pokémon. But seeing how they were all after Salamence, her mood had soured.

"Headmistress Lillian, this kind of thing is inevitable. Maybe you should put up a notice saying Salamence isn't available for adoption. That might deter some of them," Edward suggested with a smile. When he saw Salamence evolve, he knew it would draw a lot of attention.

After all, Dragon-type Pokémon were rare and coveted. They were difficult to train, required a lot of resources, and weren't easy to come by. Not everyone came from a Dragon Trainer family. To an average trainer, Dragon-types were a dream out of reach.

Now that a Pokémon care center had a Salamence—a fully evolved one at that—people couldn't resist rushing over to claim it.

If someone could start their journey with a Salamence, it would be a game-changer.

Even if they didn't know whether they could adopt it, they'd still give it a shot, wouldn't they?

Although the Pokémon world had many good-hearted individuals, it wasn't devoid of opportunists. Thankfully, Headmistress Lillian was powerful in her own right, and with Officer Jenny's team nearby, any trouble could be dealt with promptly. Otherwise, Salamence wouldn't be safe here.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing," Headmistress Lillian agreed, nodding. She had no intention of approving any of these Salamence-focused applications. Edward, on the other hand, she'd gladly make an exception for. He treated his Pokémon well and had a kind heart.

After a brief chat, Edward left hurriedly. He still had to copy the master film and contact theaters to prepare for the release of Death Silence. The premiere date was set for two days later.

To be honest, it felt a bit rushed, but the film's quality was solid, and the most challenging part—approval—was already taken care of. All that remained was distributing the copies to partner theaters. This was time-consuming but manageable.

Fortunately, in the Pokémon world, as long as you were willing to spend money, even deliveries could be done on the same day.

"Robert, could you help me investigate this Hoenn Abandoned Pokémon Care Organization? I'd like to see if their financial reports and reputation check out," Edward said, massaging his temples. Managing all these tasks simultaneously was a bit of a headache.

Luckily, most of the work didn't fall on him directly. The film copying, for instance, was handled by the company's staff. The studio was equipped with the necessary machines, and while copies were being made, they could also coordinate with theaters. His agent, sent by his father, was likely already working on this.

Actually, that agent was probably more than capable of handling everything.

"Certainly, Master Edward," the old butler noted the task and escorted Edward back to the company. Edward handed the approved master film to the technician, Robert, asking him to begin copying it.

"Boss, how should we handle the deliveries?" Robert asked respectfully.

"Use the League's fastest courier service. Make sure Death Silence reaches every partner theater across the League while it's still trending. Oh, and make two copies for each city. Once delivered, let them handle the rest of the copying," Edward instructed, waving a hand. Then he added, "This will save us time and reduce our workload."

Handling all the copying for every theater in the League was a monumental task. By sending two copies to each city, the workload could be distributed among the theaters themselves.

(End of Chapter)