Edward stood behind the woman with Zoroark by his side, and his gaze naturally fell upon her as well.
The woman wore clothes that had clearly been washed many times—the originally blue fabric now faded to a whitish hue.
"Yes, ma'am, as long as you meet the application requirements, you are eligible to apply," the receptionist explained with a warm smile from behind the information desk. She then informed the woman of where to go to process the application. The woman expressed her gratitude and left hurriedly.
Edward stepped forward, and the staff member at the information desk gave him a standard professional smile, displaying eight perfectly white teeth.
"Hello, I'd like to ask, where is the Communications Office in the Paldea Region?" Edward asked politely.
In the Pokémon League system, communications services were generally managed directly by the League.
"Hello, the Communications Office is on the third floor," the staff member answered with a smile. Edward thanked her and quickly made his way to the third-floor office.
However, after a brief conversation with the personnel there, Edward left somewhat disappointed.
It turned out that changing the default ringtone to the one from One Missed Call was possible—as long as the funding provided was sufficient, the telecom providers were willing to promote it. But whether customers would actually choose that ringtone was something entirely out of the providers' control.
"I was still thinking too simply," Edward muttered, shaking his head. It seemed that boosting the popularity of One Missed Call via default ringtones might not be very feasible. Still, there were other possibilities to explore—like playing the ringtone in theaters to create the desired atmosphere.
"Boss, are we going to start casting auditions now?" Zoroark asked as it followed Edward closely. Edward nodded in response upon hearing the question.
"Right now, our goal is to finish filming One Missed Call—that means holding auditions and scouting for filming locations. All of that can proceed in parallel," Edward said, stroking his chin in thought.
This visit to the Paldea region was primarily for the filming of his new project, One Missed Call.
Zoroark immediately pulled out its phone to contact Deck. On the other end, Deck had just secured a partnership with a local film company in Paldea. The terms had been negotiated, and now all that was left was for Edward to go over and sign the contract.
Just as Edward stepped out of the League's office, he saw a large crowd gathering on the street, calling out excitedly.
Listening closely, Edward realized that the crowd was shouting someone's name... Iono?
"Boss, I think that's Iono, the Gym Leader from Levincia City," Zoroark said, seeing more clearly now. From its perspective, it could already make out the girl at the center of the crowd.
Edward raised an eyebrow. Of course, he had heard of Iono—the Electric-type Gym Leader from Scarlet and Violet. Her public persona was that of an online influencer. What surprised him was that he had run into her the moment he arrived in Levincia City.
"Zoroark, you've seen her show before?" Edward asked, intrigued as he looked at the Zoroark beside him. He hadn't expected Zoroark to be so familiar with internet personalities.
"Boss, I'm your secretary now—please don't underestimate my professional awareness," Zoroark replied with a smirk, pushing up an imaginary pair of glasses with one claw in a rather smug manner.
Edward's mouth twitched slightly. Zoroark really did have a unique personality. "Come on, let's not keep Deck waiting," Edward said, waving his hand. Even if Zoroark's personality was a bit eccentric, it was still a very competent secretary.
Just as Edward finished speaking, a taxi pulled up right in front of him. Edward turned in surprise to glance at Zoroark, who gave him a slight, knowing smile.
This taxi had also been pre-arranged by Zoroark.
Edward didn't say much more and got into the vehicle. It took them to the address Deck had mentioned earlier over the phone.
"Boss, I thought you'd invite Miss Iono to star in the film," Zoroark teased as it opened the car door for Edward after they arrived.
"Iono?" Edward stepped out of the car and glanced ahead at the sign that read Levincia Dreamworld Film Studio.
Iono's image flashed briefly through his mind.
She was certainly attractive—one of the most popular young streamers in Paldea, with a sizable fanbase. Not only that, but she was also quite capable as a Gym Leader.
However, her true expertise was clearly in streaming. She had a unique talent for hyping up crowds and maintaining viewer engagement.
Most importantly, she was a high-profile influencer.
Casting her in One Missed Call could be beneficial for the movie's promotion within the Paldea region.
"We'll see. She might not be interested in acting," Edward said, still planning to evaluate the actors from the auditions before making a final decision.
After entering the film studio with Zoroark, Edward saw Deck waiting for them. He took the contract and read through it carefully. To his relief, the contract was straightforward and fair—no hidden clauses, and the pricing was reasonable. So, Edward went ahead and signed it.
This particular agreement stipulated that the studio's staff would assist with the filming process. However, Edward retained full creative control over the shoot, and the studio would not take part in profit-sharing.
"Zoroark, how much was our budget for this shoot again?" Edward turned to Zoroark to ask.
Previously, Edward had used money from the card his father had given him to fund productions. But now, they could run things directly through the company account.
"Boss, after your production plan was made public, we received investment offers from ten different companies. The total investment came out to be two hundred million Pokédollars." Zoroark said, handing over a document.
Edward took it and gave it a glance.
Wow.
Exactly ten companies—nine of them were the major film companies from each of the Pokémon League's nine regions. The tenth? It was none other than the Pokémon League's own official film production studio.
But Edward knew this sort of thing was unavoidable. If he wanted his movie to be screened across all League regions, he'd have to make some concessions.
"Two hundred million, huh…" Edward clicked his tongue. Was this a joke? How was he supposed to spend that kind of money?
One Missed Call was a horror movie. How expensive could it possibly be? Horror films were usually low-budget productions. The only exceptions were those large-scale zombie apocalypse types of movies. But this one? Edward had estimated that the final cost wouldn't even reach ten million.
Even if they went all-out and maxed everything—equipment, actors, effects—at most, it might hit thirty million.
Two hundred million was just… excessive.
Were these people overestimating him? Two hundred million Pokédollars was no small investment.
It seemed like Edward would have to return a portion of the funding based on the proportional investments—otherwise, dealing with the aftermath would be a real headache.
(End of Chapter)