"Zoroark, how's the on-site coordination coming along?" Edward asked as he sat in his chair, flipping through his script. Zoroark jogged over beside him.
"Boss, overall things are going quite smoothly. It's just that there are way too many spectators around. Should we do something about that?" Zoroark panted slightly, glancing at Edward for instructions.
Edward frowned and looked around. Sure enough, the mountains and hills surrounding the set were packed with people—die-hard fans, curious locals—crowding every corner of the city. The sight gave him a headache.
They were still filming in Motostoke, because a key part of the Sherlock Holmes storyline took place there. Of course, in film and TV production, it wasn't feasible to shoot scenes in chronological order by location. It was standard practice to film all scenes in a given location before moving on.
"Ask the Motostoke Officer Jennys to help with crowd control," Edward said. He didn't like disrupting people's daily lives just to shoot a show, but if the crowd wasn't cleared out, there would be no way to continue filming Sherlock Holmes Season 2.
Zoroark nodded and hurried off to contact the Officer Jennys and coordinate with them.
Watching Zoroark leave, Edward scratched his head. His relationship with Zoroark had pretty much returned to normal. After being separated from Zoroark's body and becoming human again, Shizuka had immediately rushed off to find her parents. Edward understood her eagerness and didn't stop her. But before she left, she gave him her contact information and promised to update him when she got back.
As for Zoroark, though it had been disoriented at first by the shift in identity, it quickly adjusted. According to Zoroark, it now only retained memories from its own experiences; its memories as human Shizuka had become vague and fragmented.
"As expected of Arceus," Edward muttered. He never would've thought it possible—someone who had become a Pokémon could be turned back into a human and a Pokémon simultaneously. That was truly incredible.
"Edward, when are we starting on my script?" Giovanni walked over and asked, clearly eager.
"Mr. Giovanni! We're actually just about to begin filming your scenes," Edward replied with a smile.
And he wasn't lying. Giovanni's script had always been planned as one of the first to be shot. It was only because the Galar League had offered significant support—providing the region's most luxurious train for shooting—that Edward had prioritized filming Murder on the Orient Express first. That change of plan had slightly delayed Giovanni's script, but not by much. Now was the perfect time to resume.
"That's great. I've been looking forward to going toe-to-toe with Holmes," Giovanni said with a grin. He had read the script and was thrilled—his character and Holmes were natural adversaries. Two intellectual titans clashing across the stage of Galar. The mind games and psychological battles had captivated him.
Edward chuckled and gestured for the makeup artist to take Giovanni to get prepped. The entire production team would now focus on filming Giovanni's scenes.
Giovanni… those Rocket members around Mewtwo… have you discovered Mewtwo yet? Edward narrowed his eyes.
The situation involving Giovanni and Mewtwo was complex and delicate. But Edward wasn't particularly worried about his involvement being uncovered. After all, he had taken precautions from the start. The house he had given Mewtwo wasn't under his name—it had been purchased through a famous real estate investment group in Hoenn and was technically listed as a rental property.
Though officially rented, Edward hadn't collected any rent. So, functionally, the house had been a gift. Even if Team Rocket investigated, they would find no link back to Edward.
He had prepared for this potential risk when finding a place for Mewtwo, and it turned out to be a smart move—Team Rocket had indeed come sniffing around.
That said, Mewtwo still hadn't mentioned anything about its identity being exposed in their recent chats. So it was likely that Rocket hadn't yet confirmed who Mewtwo really was.
Edward scratched his head as he looked at the script. Giovanni's role was massive—essentially the Moriarty of the series—and Moriarty was a key character. It was likely that most of Season 2's shooting time would be spent on his scenes.
And Edward was right—filming Sherlock Holmes Season 2 did take a long time.
By the time they wrapped, half a year had passed.
Spending six months to shoot just four episodes might seem slow, but in reality, it was impressively fast—especially considering that Edward had completed all of Moriarty's story arc as well. Even if Giovanni were arrested the very next day, it wouldn't affect the series at all.
Still, Giovanni didn't attend the wrap party. Once his filming was done, he left immediately—understandable, given his responsibilities as the Gym Leader of Viridian City. His schedule was packed.
"Boss, Ms. Monica's Dollhouse is almost done with its theater run," Zoroark said during the wrap party that evening.
Edward nodded. While he had been immersed in filming for six months, the movie world hadn't slowed down. There had been new releases every quarter—some excellent, some terrible.
But only three truly outstanding films had come out during that time:
"Caped Rider", a superhero film from Pyra Studios.
"When a Pokémon Decides to Die", an art-house film from Future Studios.
And finally, "Dollhouse".
(End of Chapter)