In the end, Edward still returned a total of 170 million Pokédollars, keeping only 30 million for the project.
However, even with just 30 million left, Edward still felt that he probably wouldn't be able to use up all of it.
"What's the highest salary an actor in the League has ever been paid?" Sitting in a temporarily rented office, Edward suddenly thought of an interesting question, so he pulled out his phone and looked it up.
Soon, the search results popped up.
The first result was an old acquaintance—Diantha. Her highest acting fee reached 10 million League coins.
Second place was... "Huh?" Edward rubbed his eyes. He truly hadn't expected the second-highest-paid actor to be none other than Leon? And just one glance at the photo confirmed that it was indeed the champion from the Galar region.
A champion whose career practically looked like a cheat code, Leon had maintained a perfect record since the beginning of his competitive battling career in Galar. His highest acting fee was 9 million League coins—just one million less than Diantha.
"These League champions… their prices aren't actually that high." Edward scratched his head. In this world, actors' pay didn't seem to be especially outrageous. It was rare to see situations like in his previous life, where someone with no real acting ability could earn tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions—just by relying on their looks.
This was one of the main reasons why Edward felt the 200 million investment amount was overkill.
Although he knew Diantha had acting experience, he honestly had no idea that Leon did too.
"Actually, thinking about it, it's not all that surprising. After all, Leon is the guy who sells ad space on his cape." When Edward thought of Leon's usual style, he realized that it wasn't that out of place for him to act in movies. After all, Leon was focused on raising the competitive level in Galar and even went on to create a Battle Tower later on.
Among all the champions, he was definitely one of the most devoted and diligent.
If the price was right, Leon probably wouldn't mind acting in a movie.
Still, Edward had never considered hiring these two champion actors.
The reason was simple.
The moment the audience saw Diantha or Leon, they'd likely be pulled out of the movie's immersion. It would feel like the next second they'd pull out their championship-tier Pokémon teams.
At that point, what's the point of filming a horror movie? Might as well turn it into an action blockbuster.
Or just rename it: "One Missed Call: The Years When Ghosts Were Hunted by Two Champions."
So, Edward simply skipped over those top-tier actors.
"Let's go ahead and send out the casting call." Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and said to Zoroark. Zoroark nodded immediately and went out to handle it.
Once Zoroark left, Edward started mentally planning the casting choices for the film's male and female leads.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to stress over. For the female lead, the requirements weren't too high—passable acting skills and a pleasant appearance. It would be ideal if she appeared more delicate or fragile. That way, when she's haunted by a ghost, the sense of tension would be more palpable.
The male lead, who helps the heroine, should have a more rugged or tough image. Again, solid acting skills were key.
The only troublesome role was the vengeful spirit in One Missed Call—Mimiko Mizunuma.
According to the story's background, Mizunuma suffered from asthma and had started engaging in bad behavior from a young age—bullying her younger sister while pretending to be innocent.
One time, after bullying her sister again, their mother left with the younger sibling, and Mizunuma suffered an asthma attack and died at home. Thus, she became a vengeful spirit.
So, to ensure the storyline made sense, Edward needed to recruit a child actor.
As for filming locations, those were easy enough to handle. Most of One Missed Call takes place in urban settings. The team would just need a railroad track scene, and they could convert the Western-style mansion in Petalburg Woods into a derelict hospital. Just shift it from being a puppet theater to an abandoned medical facility.
The rest of the film's scenes would be more or less straightforward.
"Suddenly, everything's gotten so busy all at once." Edward stretched lazily and turned to look around.
This temporary office had been cleared out for Edward by the film company they were working with. Originally, it had served as a prop storage room, so the space was cluttered with all sorts of strange and unusual items. Edward even spotted some swords and impressively realistic firearms.
"These could be sold as high-end collectibles. If I remember correctly, there have even been movie props that were sold as merchandise before, and for high prices too." Edward fiddled with a finely crafted skull. The skull even opened up like a box—it was something he'd found in a large storage container.
Opening it up, he noticed that the inside was carved with mysterious symbols, suggesting it had once been used as a prop in a supernatural or mystical-themed film.
"Boss, the casting calls have been sent out." Zoroark came walking in. Edward nodded and placed the skull back into the box.
But as he was doing so, the skull accidentally knocked into something underneath. Before Edward could react, a pile of miscellaneous items jolted into the air and clattered loudly to the ground.
At that moment, Q—who had been resting in a Poké Ball at Edward's waist to recover from jet lag—suddenly burst out. Its eyes locked fiercely onto the container that had just been disturbed.
Then Edward saw a pale purple Pokémon leap out from the pile, letting out a strange, eerie cry.
A wave of dark purple energy slowly began to emerge—it was the Ghost-type move Astonish, and the Pokémon unleashed it directly at Edward.
"Grahh!!" Q let out an enraged scream. The next second, its body expanded rapidly, and ghostly energy surged out like a tidal wave, crashing violently toward the mysterious Pokémon.
The creature cried out in pain, collapsing weakly to the floor, completely incapacitated.
Nearby props were blown aside by the overwhelming ghost energy, crashing heavily into the walls. Even the skull Edward had just been holding shattered into pieces.
Zoroark looked at Q in surprise.
But Q didn't hold back at all. Still furious, its shadow extended threateningly. Edward quickly scooped Q up to stop it from continuing the assault. The Night Shade move had been enough. If it followed up with Shadow Sneak, the poor Pokémon might actually be killed right there.
"Q, calm down. I'm okay." Edward gently patted Little Q in reassurance. Its small body was trembling. That was one of Q's flaws—it would become overly aggressive in battle due to its cowardice, choosing to eliminate threats with overwhelming force before they could strike back.
Even after all these years of raising it, Q still hadn't fully overcome this tendency.
When it was frightened or excited, it often went overboard.
Q anxiously scrambled up Edward's chest, making sure he was alright before finally curling up contentedly in his arms.
Meanwhile, Edward glanced helplessly at the fallen Pokémon.
Now that he could see it clearly, Edward finally recognized what it was.
"A Gimmighoul…" Edward scratched his head. He hadn't expected to find a Gimmighoul hiding in the pile of props in the corner of this storeroom.
(End of Chapter)