"Interesting..."
The lab director narrowed his eyes, staring into his empty office. There was clearly nothing there—but just moments ago, he'd definitely seen a dark, shadowy figure sitting in his chair.
"Peripheral illusion? That's not quite right. I saw it directly…" The director was intrigued now.
He didn't believe in ghosts or spirits—only science.
And in the scientific community, there was a well-known explanation: visual correction.
Typically, when a person glances quickly at a place or catches something in their peripheral vision, the brain will "auto-correct" the image—filling in familiar details.
In dim lighting, this effect is even more pronounced.
That's why, when the lights are off, an ordinary coat hanging on a rack can suddenly resemble a human figure. The more you fixate on the idea, the more real it becomes.
There was even a famous experiment where a subject was told to walk a forest trail at night. Along the way, the scientists set up various objects. The subject ran all the way to the end, convinced he saw a pair of feet dangling in a bamboo grove—someone had been murdered and strung up, he claimed.
The scientists returned to the site with a flashlight and, sure enough, located the spot the man pointed to.
But when they illuminated it—
It was nothing but a dirty white rag hanging on a branch.
The director tried closing the door again.
This time, nothing appeared.
He sighed, a little disappointed.
"I thought maybe I could write a paper about this…"
But as he turned his head, he suddenly caught sight of something in the dim hallway behind him—
Standing in the glow of the emergency exit lights… was another him.
That other self stood silently within the shadows beyond the emergency door.
His skin was an unnatural pale gray, like a corpse, but his face was nearly identical to the director's. Same features. Same expression—an eerie, half-smile.
The green emergency light flickered occasionally, casting a ghostly gleam across the figure's face.
The director stepped toward it. The doppelgänger didn't move.
As he reached the door, he found the figure still standing there. Still staring at him.
Still wearing that expression.
It was quiet. Deathly quiet.
The director slowly extended his hand, intending to touch it—
But his hand passed straight through.
The figure dispersed like smoke.
"…An illusion?"
The director licked his lips, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
His mind began racing with other possibilities.
…
"Is this guy brain-damaged or what?"
From a hidden camera inside the phone, Mewtwo watched the scene unfold, feeling completely baffled.
It had originally planned to scare the director—best case scenario, it hoped the man would freak out and flee the lab entirely.
Last time in the bathroom, it had tried to create a horror scene… only for the guy to summon a Gyarados and blow up the restroom.
This time, Mewtwo took that failure to heart and shifted tactics.
It decided to target the director's mind, planting suggestions and creating eerie visuals. Everything was set: the ominous corridor, the silent ambiance, the ghostly doppelgänger.
Any ordinary person would've been terrified.
At the very least, they'd hesitate to approach a phantom version of themselves.
But no—this director not only wasn't scared, he even tried to touch the illusion.
Now he was hauling in equipment like he was ready to write a research paper on ghosts!
Even Mewtwo was feeling overwhelmed.
"Sigh… What a pain. And now the phone can't connect to the internet," it muttered.
Though Mewtwo didn't have hair, it felt like it was going bald from stress.
It had wanted to contact Edward and ask for advice.
But the lab's signal jammers meant there was no internet anywhere. Even after sneaking the phone to the edge of the island, there was still no connection. Total blackout.
Now Mewtwo could only wonder what Edward was up to…
…
"Maybe for my next film, I should just shoot A Wicked Ghost," Edward mused, lounging in his office.
The success of Sherlock Holmes was now undeniable.
Even before Episode 2 had aired, online discussion was exploding.
Damu, who played Holmes, and Pikachu, who played Watson, were getting so many commercial offers they barely had time to breathe.
Even the company's business negotiation department was fielding new collaborations.
A few mobile games had reached out, hoping for cross-promotions.
In a short span of time, Sherlock Holmes had become Ghost Film Pictures second-biggest IP.
The top spot still belonged to Tom and Jerry—untouchable for now.
That gave Edward the breathing room to start planning his next film.
As for the script, he was leaning toward A Wicked Ghost —
A cult classic and a childhood nightmare for many. It was one of the most iconic horror films of Chinese cinema.
Of course, he'd need to adapt it.
The film's terrifying atmosphere was deeply tied to traditional opera singing. Just the eerie chants alone had once given viewers chills down their spine.
But in the Pokémon world… there was no traditional opera.
Each Pokémon region was inspired by different real-world countries, yes—but no one had ever introduced opera in this specific cultural style.
Here, performance arts leaned more toward grandiose musicals and strange, flashy shows—the kind Edward could barely understand.
"Should I rewrite the scene… or just create an opera tradition in this world?" Edward absentmindedly scratched Q's head, clearly torn.
After thinking it over, he made up his mind.
He would introduce opera to this world using A Wicked Ghost.
Who knew? Maybe people would actually like it.
And if opera took off, he could base dozens of horror films around it in the future.
…
"Boss, there's a screenwriter here to see you," Zoroark knocked on the door and entered.
Edward set down his pen.
"Talented?" he asked with interest.
Zoroark nodded enthusiastically.
He held a thick stack of papers—clearly a full script.
That piqued Edward's curiosity even more.
(End of Chapter)
A Wicked Ghost – a 1999 Hong Kong Horror Film