"…That's some production value."
Kalos Champion Diantha smacked her lips as she watched the massive explosion on the giant TV screen, along with the injured people and Pokémon caught in the aftermath.
Today was the premiere of the second episode of Sherlock Holmes, and Diantha had been waiting in front of her television well ahead of time. Naturally, she also had the live stream open.
Though the TV experience was better, some people just enjoyed watching others react to the same content they were watching. It had to be said—people's hobbies nowadays were pretty peculiar.
[So this episode is just explosion after explosion?]
[Art is an explosion!]
[That building over there—doesn't it look like the one the champion just gave a victory speech in?]
"But what I find more interesting," Diantha murmured, curling her long legs beneath her and lounging lazily on the plush sofa, "is the ancient culture setting added by Director Edward. It's quite exotic."
[Agreed! These symbols and characters are really fascinating.]
[Feels mysterious. Kind of reminds me of the culture from Kanto.]
Some viewers noticed the unique details embedded in this episode.
For the second episode of Holmes, Edward had retained the core of Season 1, Episode 2 from Sherlock Holmes, but made several tweaks to the setting. One of the most notable was the subtle introduction of a "Huaxia"-inspired culture—Huaxia being an analog to ancient Chinese civilization.
Although there was no official "Huaxia" region in the Pokémon world, there were occasional traces of it—like the existence of traditional herbal medicine. In the games, herbal medicine was cheap and effective but extremely bitter, and overuse would lower a Pokémon's affection.
Edward planned to build out a whole Huaxia universe. So in this second episode, he adjusted several aesthetic elements based on Huaxia's traditional design. The original version of this story arc had some stereotypical portrayals that he chose to revise—introducing elements like traditional opera as early worldbuilding.
"…Actually…" Diantha paused and pursed her lips but ultimately didn't finish the thought. She rested her chin on her palm and kept watching.
As a Champion, Diantha was privy to certain secrets.
The League had recently begun negotiations with a previously uncontacted region—vast, ancient, and filled with Pokémon. Details were scarce, and she had only learned of it by accident. Otherwise, even she wouldn't know.
With the broadcast of the second episode concluded, Sherlock Holmes once again surged in popularity online. More viewers joined the discussion—some even breaking down the episode frame by frame, analyzing everything from visual composition to dialogue. At this point, many were treating it as a cinematic production rather than a TV series.
And to be fair, they weren't wrong. Edward had filmed each episode like a feature-length mystery, with full runtime and a complete case each time.
One trending topic on a certain story-sharing app topped the hot search list:
"How do you interpret the shadowy figure at the end of Sherlock Holmes Episode 2?"
[Long story short, I'm in Galar, just got off the plane, no vested interests here. Not going anonymous.]
[Everyone's watched Episode 2 of Sherlock Holmes and once again praised the great detective and our adorable Watson. But at the very end, a mysterious silhouette appeared, casually dismissed the villain of the episode, and donated all the money from a rogue gang's account.]
[Some key details here:
1. That gang wasn't obeying the figure in the shadows—you can see this from frames (jpg.1~6).
2. I looked up the charity the shadowy figure donated to—it actually exists!
3. Here's a screenshot of the site (jpg.7).]
[And guess what? The charity was founded by none other than Director Edward. It's registered under Ghost Film Pictures. Talk about an ingenious bit of product placement.]
[Not only did he advertise his own foundation, but he also used the moment to build up this shadowy figure's character, hyping up the mystery to max level.]
[I mean, seriously—who is this person who can just casually donate over 20 million to charity? What kind of power and resources does he command?]
[And as for the legality? Please—before he hit the donate key, there was clearly a business card next to the laptop. It belonged to a known money laundering firm.]
[So yeah, illegal money became legal after laundering. But let me be clear: this is fiction. In real life, money laundering is a crime. Don't break the law.]
[Also, that shadowy figure is clearly a major behind-the-scenes boss. They've set his character up beautifully—hope they don't drop the ball later.]
The number of likes on that comment kept skyrocketing.
Meanwhile, in his office, Kode was sorting through a list of financial aid requests sent in from various hospitals. The phone outside his office was ringing nonstop, and the donation numbers on the foundation's account were steadily climbing.
Yes, the embedded charity advertisement was drawing some controversy—but any public figure would generate controversy. Discussion was better than obscurity. At the very least, people were now aware of the foundation and were starting to donate.
Even if each person only gave a small amount, it would add up—grain by grain, a mountain is formed. And with that, more people could be helped.
"…Chairman, we may need to start hiring," a young woman burst into the office, a stack of documents clutched in her hands.
With the foundation's sudden rise in visibility, the number of aid requests had skyrocketed. Kode looked at the ever-growing pile of files and the constantly churning fax machine and turned pale.
"We'll… have to be careful with recruitment," he muttered, tucking the spoon in his hand back into his pocket.
He didn't even have time to play with spoons anymore. Tragic.
And that was saying something—for an Alakazam, playing with spoons was practically his favorite pastime.
(End of Chapter)