-[ Clears throat ]
Is the mic on?
Where do you want me to look? Here? Here?
Okay. [ Clears throat ]
I mean, we all did it.
You'd do anything to get the right shot.
I once camped outside of a gym
for a week just to get their photo.
When they're that famous, you'll do anything.
♪♪
-Today's assignment -- photograph the elusive Pokémon.
♪♪
-There was nothing wrong with
what we were doing to those Pokémon.
Everyone was in on it.
I mean, Blockbuster would let us print our best shots.
Our parents would let us spend Christmas
taking photos of Pikachu all day.
I mean, it was a big business.
-Hi, my name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm a Pokémon trainer.
♪♪
I was just a kid, you know?
This weird professor pulled me in
and told me to help him with his research.
I had to take this baby Pikachu and travel around the world,
making it fight other Pokémon.
-I remember meeting Ash when he came to my gym
and fried all my water-type Pokémon with his Pikachu.
What Ash was putting that Pikachu through was grueling.
But we all knew even back then that Pikachu would be big.
We just had no idea how big.
-I didn't expect this little Pikachu
to win every tournament for me.
Stadiums would sell out to see him,
and back in the '90s, everyone was crazy about him.
Pretty soon, his face was everywhere --
in movies, trading cards, toys, bed spreads.
-I don't think Pikachu saw a cent
of the money that was made off of him.
-And then they came to me with this offer
for something called "Pokémon Snap."
[ Chuckles ] And it was an offer I couldn't turn down.
♪♪
-"Pokémon Snap" basically gave paparazzi
full license to harass those Pokémon anytime, anywhere.
Oh, and Pikachu was always their main target.
-I mean, I was on Team Rocket at the time,
and people thought what we did was cruel.
But these paparazzi would just not leave us Pokémon alone.
Heck, by always kidnapping Pikachu,
we were doing him a favor.
-It didn't matter if he was at the beach surfing
or healing at a Pokémon Center.
The paparazzi just wouldn't leave him alone.
-You know, Pikachu had never been the Poké Ball type,
but he started staying in one for days on end
just...refusing to leave.
-I was with them that day in the forest.
We were just having a picnic with Jigglypuff,
and all of a sudden, this guy comes out
and starts hurling apples with us.
-With "Pokémon Snap," you wracked up the most points
if you caught Pokémon in interesting moments.
I mean, realized pretty quickly the best way to get a reaction
was to throw apples at them.
It was pretty sweet.
-I think the pressure finally got to Pikachu.
He was battling and training nonstop for Ash.
He was getting blamed by all these religious groups
for being a violent role model for kids.
He snapped, and pretty soon
he was throwing Thunderbolts everywhere.
-It was all we could've asked for.
It was the money shot.
I mean, the Pokémon loved the attention.
They were the stars.
He never asked us to stop taking pictures of him.
He always just said, "Pika, Pika."
-"Pika, Pika" directly translates to "I'm so happy."
-"I live in pain. I live in pain. When will this pain end?"
That's what "Pika, Pika" meant. -Look, we were young, okay?
And like a lot of other kids, I was trying to make
some extra cash doing research for that professor.
He sent me to a volcano to get pictures of a Charizard,
and I almost fell in lava.
-Why would a research professor force young children
to harass Pokémon and take pictures of them?
-Okay, well, when you put it like that,
you make it sound so evil. [ Chuckles ]
-I've tried really hard to talk Ash into
letting Pikachu out of his guardianship.
Or at least give him some of the money he made off of him.
-Look, I'm not perfect, but I'm his trainer.
We're best friends, and I've known what's best for him
since I was 10 years old.
-Eh, you got to look for the subtle clues
when Pikachu shows up in recent photos or projects.
-All of the recent games where he's calling for people to "Go,"
or "Let's Go," or even asking for a "Rescue Team,"
they're all cries for help.
"Detective Pikachu"?
He's literally telling us to put the clues together.
-I know things haven't been easy for Pikachu,
but I hope he can get out of his guardianship
and be able to look after his own health and wellness soon.
-And what do you think of Pikachu appearing
in the "New Pokémon Snap"
on the Nintendo Switch? -The what?!
♪♪