"Alright, that's a wrap for today's shoot."
As the transformed head of Natsumi'—courtesy of Ditto—rolled to the ground, Edward clapped his hands, officially bringing an end to the day's filming.
All things considered, today's shoot went fairly smoothly. The only issue was the segment set in the TV station, which still needed some careful refinement. Otherwise, it would be difficult to achieve the cinematic effect that Edward desired.
The crew began packing up props and clearing the set, while Zoroark, in high spirits, came walking over.
Edward gave it a sidelong glance.
This guy seemed way too happy.
"Zoroark, how's the actress playing Natsumi doing?" Edward asked, casting a curious glance at his Pokémon.
Zoroark's lips curled into a smile, the joy in his eyes practically overflowing.
"She was really scared—but after getting paid, she seemed pretty pleased." Zoroark replied with a grin.
Edward nodded slightly, then scooped up Q, who had already dozed off on his lap.
Q stirred slightly but quickly drifted into an even deeper sleep.
"Zoroark, do you know much about history?" Edward asked casually, responding with occasional nods to the staff passing by and greeting him while keeping his eyes on the bustling set.
"History? Not a whole lot. Why?" Zoroark tilted its head, looking genuinely confused.
Edward gave him a glance and handed over his phone.
"Take a look at this."
Zoroark accepted the phone and glanced at the screen—and for a brief moment, Edward noticed Zoroark's expression freeze.
[Breaking News: Champion Cynthia's New Discovery! A Fragment of an Ancient Pokédex from a Distant Era!]
Reported by: Local Sinnoh News – Sinnoh Region Champion Cynthia recently discovered research materials believed to date back to ancient times. These documents appear to have connections with the long-lost Hisui Region.
Edward had come across this piece of news while filming, and the moment he saw it, he had paused the scene and ordered a retake of the Ditto-head-drop shot.
As for how they managed to get Ditto's head to fall off—that was simple. They just used two Dittos working in tandem, with a cloth or costume strategically covering the seam in the middle. The result was surprisingly effective. While the trademark "beady eyes" of Ditto did make the shot feel a bit off, the scene could be completed in a single take. The plan was to fix everything else with post-production effects.
"Pokémon existing in ancient times isn't really all that surprising, is it?" Zoroark chuckled, his tone lighthearted and natural—so natural that there wasn't a single hint of anything unusual about it.
"That's true. It's said that Pokémon appeared long before humans, but back then people referred to them as monsters or beasts. I just wonder what kind of Pokémon used to live in the Hisui Region..." Edward mused aloud.
Zoroark simply smiled without replying.
Edward didn't press the topic further. With the shoot now finished, it was time to check in on that Pokémon—Gimmighoul.
He made his way to the Pokémon Center, and before long, he arrived at Gimmighoul's recovery room. The little creature was still unconscious, its tiny eyes shut tightly.
"Nurse Joy, is Gimmighoul really that badly injured?" Edward asked, a bit confused.
Sure, Q's attack the other day had been a little heavy-handed, but the Pokémon Center's medical tech was top-of-the-line. Why would Gimmighoul still be unconscious after so long?
"Each Pokémon is unique," Nurse Joy replied professionally. "Different types recover at different rates depending on the nature of their injuries."
However, there was a strange expression on her face as she looked at Gimmighoul—one that Edward couldn't quite decipher.
"It's just… this little guy's condition is a bit more unusual than normal." She paused, then gestured for Edward to follow her down to the first floor. Zoroark followed too, clearly intrigued.
What happened next was even more unexpected.
Nurse Joy solemnly opened a storage cabinet and carefully retrieved a small metal container. She handled it with the utmost caution and then opened it slowly to reveal a tiny metal box inside.
A very small metal box.
Edward blinked in confusion.
What did this have to do with Gimmighoul's unconscious state?
"While we were treating Gimmighoul yesterday, we decided to clean out its treasure chest," Nurse Joy explained, her tone unusually serious. Edward, catching her mood, couldn't help but stand a little straighter and adopt a more respectful demeanor.
Zoroark twitched its nose but didn't catch any odd smells.
"In Gimmighoul's chest, we found a black coin," Nurse Joy continued, pointing toward the box—where that mysterious coin now lay, secured inside.
Now, finding a coin in a Gimmighoul's possession wasn't exactly groundbreaking. These little creatures were famous for hoarding coins. In fact, evolving Gimmighoul into Gholdengo required collecting 999 Gimmighoul coins. Almost every Gimmighoul carried a stash of them.
There was even a popular saying in the Paldea region describing someone's extraordinary luck:
"You must've stumbled across a Gimmighoul coin vault!"
But still… a black coin?
"When we removed that black coin, it triggered an automatic alert," Nurse Joy went on. "After conducting further tests, we discovered that it was a coin made of radium nitride."
Edward's eyes widened. Zoroark immediately grabbed his arm and took a step back.
Radium nitride? Radium?!
"This thing is radioactive?!" Edward exclaimed, visibly shaken.
What kind of Gimmighoul was this?! They should rename it Deathghoul at this point!
To think the coin it had treasured all this time was made of radium, one of the most potent radioactive elements known. Even Edward, with only limited scientific knowledge, knew that much.
"Yes," Nurse Joy said with a grim expression. "We suspect that the little guy somehow found a piece of radium and mistook it for a valuable coin. Due to the nature of the element, the exposed radium likely reacted with air and formed radium nitride, which is what led to the appearance of the black coin."
"Fortunately," she continued, "it was stored under layers of other metallic coins that acted as a barrier, shielding against the radiation. That likely minimized the immediate danger."
Nurse Joy's explanation came all at once, overflowing with technical jargon, leaving Edward reeling from information overload.
He rubbed his temple.
Sure, he knew a little about radium, but only just enough to recognize its danger.
"So… the reason Gimmighoul hasn't woken up yet… it might be because of the coin it was carrying?" Edward asked, barely holding himself together. The thought of having unknowingly carried a piece of radium into a hospital made him want to go get a full-body scan immediately.
"It's a possibility," Nurse Joy answered diplomatically.
Of course, like any professional medical personnel—or customer service rep—she wouldn't commit to absolutes. Getting someone like her to say words like definitely or absolutely was practically impossible.
Edward closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
He had originally wanted to capture this little guy and raise it into a full-blown Gholdengo, a veritable money-making Pokémon. But now a new, rather unsettling thought crept into his mind.
What if its evolution—Gholdengo—also carried high levels of radiation?
What if, instead of becoming a cash cow, this thing turned into a walking nuclear hazard?
(End of Chapter)