The episode opened with a fast-paced flashback montage, accompanied by a faint echoing shout:
"Watson!"
A Pokémon howled in pain. People in investigator uniforms were directing a battle. This opening immediately captured Diantha's attention as she stared at the screen with curiosity in her eyes.
Next, a Pikachu suddenly sat upright in bed, panting heavily. Though its fluffy body looked adorable, there was a faint sorrow in its eyes.
"Looks like this Pikachu is named Watson," Diantha deduced reasonably.
The Pikachu stood up—it seemed to have some trouble with one of its legs—and soon arrived at a therapist's office, receiving a consultation. The therapist suggested Watson start a blog and write about his daily life, but Watson refused.
"There's nothing worth writing about."
As the camera zoomed in on Watson's deep, reflective eyes, the opening theme began to play. The title Sherlock Holmes appeared on screen.
"This theme is surprisingly catchy," Diantha commented, stretching. Usually, TV dramas have long opening themes with various visuals. But just as she stretched—
—the theme ended.
Diantha blinked in confusion.
[LOL Diantha's expression is priceless]
[Shortest OP I've ever seen]
[Honestly, unless it's a banger, I skip most OPs anyway]
[+10086]
Diantha chuckled helplessly but quickly became absorbed in the show again.
A man dragged a suitcase, smiling as he chatted with his wife on the phone—seemingly a happy moment. But in the next instant, he was seen frantically popping pills, collapsing on the floor, and convulsing violently until he died.
His wife was heartbroken, insisting that her husband was an optimistic man—not the suicidal type.
"That look in his eyes… It means someone must've forced him to take the pills," Diantha muttered, making a quick deduction.
Then came a rainy night. A young man, around eighteen, trembled as he took the pills while holding an umbrella. He died too. His case made the newspapers.
Soon after, Galar's Deputy Minister of Transportation also died—again, after taking pills.
By this point, Diantha's curiosity was fully piqued. Why were these people taking pills? Were they being forced? What was the killer's pattern?
The Galar Police Department held a press conference. With multiple similar deaths and now a high-ranking official among the victims, the case quickly became a national sensation.
As the reporters bombarded the police with questions, everyone in the room suddenly received a mysterious text. This scene only deepened Diantha's curiosity. The last reporter asked a question, and the chief impatiently said, "Don't kill yourselves." But after his assistant whispered something to him—realizing the reporter was from a major news outlet—he changed his tone and gave a more official answer.
Diantha smiled knowingly at that.
But then the camera shifted again—back to Watson.
Watson, hobbling on a little cane, looked a bit dopey but cute. He ran into an old Pokémon friend, and during their conversation, he brought up needing a place to live. Coincidentally, the friend mentioned that someone else had just spoken to him about needing a roommate.
The story continued to unfold.
"…Ah, I must say, this new character is truly… unique." Diantha said, her expression a bit odd as she watched a man on screen whipping a corpse with a riding crop.
[This guy screams 'alpha male' energy]
[LOL even I get what the female doctor was hinting at]
[Never seen this actor before—why not cast someone more famous?]
Sherlock Holmes gave off a strong first impression: weird, eccentric, and socially unaware.
But when Holmes and Watson met for the first time, things quickly escalated. Holmes asked a question out of nowhere, Watson was startled, and their mutual acquaintance smirked knowingly—all of which captured the audience's attention.
Holmes even began explaining his living habits, which only made Watson more confused. He began to suspect that his friend had spilled personal details—but the friend swore he hadn't said a word.
"So how does this man know all that?" Diantha's full attention was now locked onto the TV.
Although the opening scenes had felt a little jarring and vague, they effectively set up Watson's background. Then, the string of bizarre deaths created intrigue. And now, this mysterious and strange man—Sherlock Holmes—had fully hooked her.
Thankfully, Edward didn't play the "riddle-master" card. Holmes soon explained how he deduced that Watson had come to see the apartment. He also revealed where they would meet again and demonstrated a brief moment of deduction. As he left, he finally introduced himself:
"Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street."
As the plot progressed, Holmes' character became more defined, and the concept of deductive reasoning was formally introduced through Watson's own online searches.
When Holmes and Watson finally shared a cab ride to the crime scene, Holmes openly detailed how he had deduced Watson's background and recent experiences—leaving Diantha wide-eyed in amazement.
She even glanced at her phone.
"You can tell that much from just someone's phone?" she whispered. Suddenly, she didn't want to be friends with Holmes anymore. Having a friend who could instantly uncover your secrets—without you even knowing how—was… unsettling.
[I suddenly don't want to use my phone anymore]
[Forget that—I don't want to wear clothes anymore]
[Officer Jenny: Let's shut that nonsense down now!]
[Deductive reasoning? This Holmes guy is definitely the real deal.]
Of course, since Watson was played by a Pikachu, Edward had made some adjustments to the plot to ensure the logic made sense within the Pokémon setting. The changes helped the story flow naturally.
"Even though I've only seen the first part, I can already tell—this won't be some mediocre drama. In fact, it's going to be exceptional." Diantha said, already halfway ready to pop a bottle of celebratory champagne.
(End of Chapter)