Remember when Legendary Pictures announced that the first-ever live-action Pokemon feature film would be based on the game “Detective Pikachu”? Did you scratch your head and think “what game”? You weren’t alone, but that’s being taken care of, Nintendo announced today.
The original Detective Pikachu game was released in multiple parts on the Japanese 3DS eShop in early 2016. It concerns a boy named Tim searching for his missing father, and getting some unexpected help from a talking electric rodent. Now the game will finally be in English, but alas, Nintendo doesn’t have the budget to cast Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu’s voice (perhaps they can afford Danny Devito??) As for the story, I’ll let Nintendo explain it…
When he arrives in Ryme City looking for his missing father, little does Tim know he would meet a Pikachu, but more amazingly a Pikachu who he could communicate with. There’s more to this Pikachu than a detective hat – he’s one lovably gruff, tough-talking sleuth, with a taste for good coffee.
This Pikachu claims that he worked with Tim’s father, and the two pair up to discover his whereabouts. Together, Tim and Detective Pikachu will encounter a number of mysteries in Ryme City and will need to talk to witnesses and gather their testimony in order to discover the truth. Cases that would be impossible for Tim to solve alone can be cracked with the help of this Pikachu, because he is able to obtain vital clues and information from other Pokémon.
And there’s more — there will be an amiibo, one that towers over the rest. The Detective Pikachu amiibo will come out on the same day as the game and reach over 13 cm in height, nearly twice as tall as the standard Pikachu amiibo. Used with the game, the amiibo lets players view all the short video clips from the chapters they’ve completed, some of which may contain hints to help them solve future chapters. (Those who don’t have the amiibo can just use YouTube.)
Detective Pikachu will be out on the 3DS in America and Europe March 28.