Chapter 217: Do I Look Like a Gentleman to You (Membership Extra - )

Chapter 217: Do I Look Like a Gentleman to You (Membership Extra Chapter)

The video continued playing.

After several months of work, everyone finally finished filming the movie titled Light of the Diamond.

Of course, Asher hadn’t been sitting around doing nothing during that time either.

He specifically approved a budget to renovate a dedicated screening hall for the Cultural Department.

Not only was a massive projection screen installed, but every seat had been replaced with a genuine leather recliner capable of automatically adjusting its angle.

Even the ceiling had been fitted with a full surround-sound system.

"Daddy."

Elaria stood at the entrance to the screening hall, looking at the outrageously luxurious setup in front of her with a somewhat complicated expression.

"Isn’t this a little excessive?"

"Excessive?"

Asher leaned against the doorframe with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"This is the first movie you’re releasing as Minister of the Cultural Department. Wouldn’t it be strange if you didn’t have a proper screening hall for it?"

"But this chair..."

Elaria pressed a button on the side of the armrest.

The backrest immediately reclined, the footrest rose, and a blanket even popped out from inside the armrest.

"Doesn’t it have a few too many functions?"

"Not at all."

Asher’s expression didn’t change.

"Whenever I’m stuck in a four-hour meeting, chairs like these are the only thing keeping me alive."

"But Daddy, don’t you spend meetings sleeping?"

"Sleeping requires a comfortable environment too."

"The premiere invitations have all been sent out."

Diantha walked in through a side door with a list in her hand.

"Champions from every region, Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, Pokémon Professors, high-ranking League officials, along with several retired veterans—everyone we could invite has been invited."

"What about Steven?" Asher asked.

"He got here three days ago."

Diantha pointed outside.

"He pitched a tent in front of the screening hall because he said he wanted to claim the best seat."

Asher froze for a moment.

The truth was, every seat in the screening hall had already been assigned in advance.

He just seemed to have forgotten to tell Steven.

Oh well.

Steven had already waited out there for three days.

Might as well let him keep waiting.

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

"Wait, I just want to ask one thing—is this seriously a movie made by a ten-year-old?!"

"Elaria makes a movie, and her dad builds an entire screening hall just for her. What was I doing when I was ten? Wrestling a Caterpie in my backyard."

"Didn’t you tell us that story before? I’ve actually been wondering—who won, you or the Caterpie?"

"I won, but before it left, Caterpie used String Shot on me. I still haven’t forgiven it."

"Man, you’re really something else!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Steven]: As expected of my Brother Asher! He’s truly the greatest daughter-doting father under heaven. Look at this setup! Who could possibly compete?!

[Asher]: Mm. I like what Steven’s saying. Keep going.

[Valerie]: This isn’t all Asher’s doing, though. Diantha clearly put a lot of effort into making the movie too. And judging by this scale, this premiere might actually be bigger than some of her own movie premieres.

[Diantha]: Hehe, it’s my daughter’s first movie. Of course her mother has to go all out~

[Elesa]: Diantha isn’t even pretending anymore.

[Misty]: She never was.

[Dawn]: By the way, this movie is being shown simultaneously in five different regions! Hoopa’s rings are seriously amazing!

[Iris]: Hoopa is the real MVP of this entire episode! No matter what Elaria wants to do, she just has to tell Hoopa and it’ll be handled in minutes!

[May]: It can summon Legendary Pokémon whenever it wants, take Elaria anywhere in the world, and now it can even help broadcast a movie worldwide—Hoopa really is the ultimate assistant!

The scene changed.

It was now the day of the premiere.

Across Kalos, Alola, Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, Hoopa’s golden rings appeared simultaneously in the sky.

On the other side of each ring was another ring positioned inside the Cultural Department’s screening hall.

This way, people throughout all five regions only had to look up to watch the movie.

Meanwhile, inside the screening hall, all of the invited guests had already taken their seats and were waiting for the movie to begin.

Before long—

The lights dimmed.

The massive projection screen lit up, and the opening music began playing through the surround-sound system.

The title of the movie slowly appeared across the screen—

Light of the Diamond.

The opening shot was a panoramic view of the Diamond Domain.

Diancie sat upon her throne directly beneath the Heart Diamond, her eyes closed as though she were listening to a sound that only she could hear.

The narration had been personally recorded by Diantha.

Her voice was gentle yet carried clearly throughout the hall.

"Deep beneath the surface of the world lies a kingdom protected by the Heart Diamond. There lives a group of Pokémon unknown to most of the outside world. Under the protection of the Heart Diamond, they rarely venture beyond their homeland."

"However, one day..."

The Dark Ore King—

A man wearing a silver-gray coat, with his hair styled even higher than a Staraptor’s stood in the center of the Diamond Domain’s sacred temple, holding the eternally glowing Heart Diamond high above his head.

"Hahahahahaha!"

His laughter echoed beneath the temple’s domed ceiling.

"This diamond is mine!"

Behind him, Wallace—who had been hired as his bodyguard—elegantly flicked his hair.

"Boss, you’ve gotten what you wanted. Isn’t it time to pay me the rest of what you owe me?"

"What rest?"

"...Boss, don’t tell me you’re planning to stiff me?"

Wallace’s expression stiffened.

"There’s an old saying in our line of work: A gentleman’s word is his bond."

The Dark Ore King looked at him.

"Do I look like a gentleman to you?"

"..."

Faced with the Dark Ore King’s shameless refusal to pay him, the deeply insulted Wallace immediately sent out Milotic in an attempt to restrain Steven.

Unfortunately, he was no match for the Dark Ore King’s Metagross.

With a single blow—

Wallace was sent flying straight off the cliff.

Meanwhile, back in the Diamond Domain—

The moment the Heart Diamond was taken away, every Carbink simultaneously lost its vitality.

Diancie knelt alone in the now-empty temple, unsure of what she should do.

But for the sake of her people, she ultimately decided to venture into the outside world alone and retrieve the Heart Diamond.

The scene then shifted to the traveling painter Elaria and her assistant, Lillie.

The two were currently sitting beside a stream, sketching the scenery.

The camera slowly moved closer.

Once Diancie entered the frame, the movie transitioned into a dialogue scene where she explained everything that had happened, from the theft of the Heart Diamond to the condition of her people.

After hearing the entire story, Elaria immediately decided to help Diancie recover the Heart Diamond.

The movie continued.

With Diancie leading the way, Elaria and Lillie soon arrived at the entrance to the Dark Ore King’s hideout.

At that moment, the Dark Ore King played by Steven was sitting in the middle of a massive pile of ores.

He held the Heart Diamond up toward the light, admiring its facets from every angle.

"Give that diamond back!"

Elaria took a step forward.

"That’s a sacred treasure of the Diamond Domain. If you take it away, every Carbink there will lose its vitality!"

"Heh. What a meddlesome little girl."

The Dark Ore King dramatically swept his cape aside.

"What does it have to do with me if a bunch of Carbink lose their vitality?!"

He raised the Heart Diamond.

"Do you have any idea how perfect this diamond’s structure is?! I’ve studied gemstones for thirty years, and I’ve never seen a crystal of this quality before!"

"It’s mine!"

"Mine!!"

With negotiations clearly having broken down, Elaria and the others decided to send out their Pokémon and battle the Dark Ore King.

Unfortunately—

His Metagross was simply too powerful.

The two sides fought for a full three hundred rounds.

And even then, neither side managed to gain the upper hand.

...

TL: Thanks, MadProphet, for the Tier 3 membership!