Although Edward had come up with a massive variety show competition, he had no intention of being the host. He would only appear as a special guest judge during the finals, where he would select the main cast for the second season of Sherlock Holmes.
"Boss, you're really not going to be a judge? But this whole thing was your idea!" Zoroark looked at Edward with a face full of disbelief.
Edward glanced at Zoroark, then shook his head. "To be honest, I really don't have any interest in being a judge."
He signed his name on the document in front of him. As Ghost FIlm Pictures expanded its IP, more and more collaboration proposals were coming in. Per Edward's request, every proposal had to go through his personal approval—otherwise, there might end up being some really bizarre partnerships.
Just like the one currently in his hands: a well-known umbrella brand in the Pokémon world wanted to do a crossover with Sherlock Holmes and release an umbrella that could "never be deduced open." Edward felt his scalp go numb. Creative? Sure. Sensible? Not at all.
"I can live with it when it's just advertising," Edward muttered as he fed the document into the shredder. While some of these eerie brand collabs had strong payouts, he ultimately declined, out of consideration for his company's IP image and long-term branding.
"What about the casting for Sherlock Holmes?" Zoroark asked. Since Edward would only appear as a guest judge, what if the final contestants didn't meet his standards? Zoroark knew very well how picky his boss was.
"I'll just watch it on TV," Edward replied, looking at Zoroark as if it had asked a silly question. He wasn't going to be on the judging panel, sure—but he could still watch and evaluate the performances from the comfort of his home.
Edward was very particular when it came to casting. Good acting skills weren't the only factor—an actor's aura and first impression were just as important. Some people naturally gave off a villainous, dangerous vibe, making them perfect for antagonist roles. Others had faces that screamed "righteous hero"—not ideal for villain roles, no matter how good their acting was.
Actors had their comfort zones. Stepping out of them could be incredibly difficult. Edward recalled how some actors in his previous life, who always played patriotic war heroes, would suddenly try to play villains—audiences simply couldn't accept it.
So when choosing actors for Sherlock Holmes, Edward prioritized whether they matched the character's image in his mind. If they didn't, he wouldn't cast them as leads—but he might still offer them supporting roles.
Zoroark stuck out its tongue and ran off. Edward didn't think much of it and casually picked up his phone.
It had just buzzed with a message—from Giovanni. The Team Rocket Boss congratulated him on the second season of Sherlock Holmes and asked if there would be a role for him, so he could coordinate his schedule in advance.
Edward hesitated for a moment.
Technically speaking, Moriarty wasn't supposed to appear in this season. As the ultimate villain, Moriarty's presence was meant to be special—bringing him out too early would dilute the impact. And if he showed up and got "killed off," then future plots would become problematic.
In Sherlock, after Moriarty's death, the writers kept inserting secret schemes and backup plans he left behind—eventually introducing a genius younger sister with incomprehensible intellect, who could manipulate Sherlock and Mycroft with ease. It all started to feel forced and ridiculous.
Edward had originally not planned to have Giovanni appear this season.
"But…" Edward tapped his fingers on the desk.
Ash had already begun his journey. Would Giovanni's true identity get exposed? If it did, inviting him back for filming would be out of the question.
Even though Moriarty in Season 1 had been in disguise and his real identity wasn't revealed, recasting the role would still cause some disruption. Edward thought about how even the change of Dumbledore actors in Harry Potter had been spotted immediately by sharp-eyed viewers.
"Forget it. I'll just shoot all of Giovanni's scenes in advance," Edward decided, rubbing his temples. That way, even if Giovanni's identity got revealed in the future, it wouldn't matter—and might even boost the show's popularity.
Just imagine it—#1 Trending Topic: "Team Rocket Boss's True Identity Revealed! Guess Who?"
#2 Trending Topic: "Team Rocket Boss's Final Film Role in the Entertainment Industry"
The marketing potential was chef's kiss. Edward could even toss in a few horror scenes to milk the fear points out of the audience.
So, Edward replied to Giovanni:
[Mr. Giovanni, you do have some scenes. I thought it would be too much trouble to keep disturbing you, so I'd like to film all of your scenes in one go. Would that be possible for your schedule?]
Giovanni replied quickly:
[No problem. I can just request vacation leave.]
Seeing that reply, Edward felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel curious—why was Giovanni so obsessed with acting? Was he planning something in Hoenn? Maybe expanding his market?
But what kind of criminal organization sent their boss personally to open a new territory? Wouldn't they send subordinates first?
"I don't get it…" Edward shook his head.
Still, Giovanni would barely have any free time while filming, so there shouldn't be much to worry about.
Just then, while Edward was browsing through some actor profiles—specifically those who had been eliminated—he came across a list.
Although the candidates had been rejected, Zoroark had kept their résumés… and by sheer chance, Edward happened to glance at three familiar names.
Meowth, Jessie, and James.
"…The adorably charming villain trio is here, huh?" Edward suddenly got an idea.
He decided to increase the difficulty for Malamar by giving him a set of bumbling sidekicks. At the same time, this would help lighten the otherwise grim, death-filled tone of the mystery series.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note:
Last night, I argued with my neighbor until 3 a.m.
Why? Because they were up late, loudly bragging at their door, keeping me from sleeping.
I tried to reason politely at first. Didn't work. In the end, I lost my patience and started yelling back.
TN: Lmao, poor author.