Detective Pikachu.
Yep.
Here we are joking in a recent discussion that this strange and frightening idea was
dead and gone when all of a sudden we get a brand new trailer declaring it alive!
Well there might not be a murder mystery but that won’t stop us from putting the old
Analysis Machine on the case!
Let’s see what secrets and hidden details we can discover in this unique Pokémon spin-off!
And a special thanks once again to solarsaturn9 on Reddit for his help with translating the
trailer!
The trailer begins with a live action sequence showing off Pikachu reenacting a handful of
detective tropes.
The big question is whether any of these sequences are reflective of Detective Pikachu’s story;
in particular the one where Pikachu is checking to see if the boy, Tim Goodman, is ok.
Is this how the two of them will meet in the game?
Or is it something more low-key than that?
What’s interesting is that Tim has a much more western look to him than most Pokémon
protagonists.
And that’s reflected in his rather common name.
With the obvious Sherlock Holmes vibe that the game is trying to evoke, it’s possible
that Rhyme City, where Detective Pikachu takes place, will be inspired by London.
But then there’s Pikachu himself and his facial animations.
This is a pretty big step up from what we’ve seen before.
Pikachu is no longer a horrifying amalgamation of human and Pokémon.
It really feels like he is emoting much more clearly now.
Throughout the trailer, we see Pikachu get mad, try to charm someone, appear unsure,
get excited, cry, look smug, and even confident.
It’s an impressive range of emotions that do indeed stand out.
In fact, the entire idea behind Pikachu talking is close to Meowth from the TV show.
But Pokémon have only spoken like this in the Mystery Dungeon series and even then never
with humans.
Like the show, Pikachu can serve as a translator between people and Pokémon.
The trailer even emphasizes his uniqueness by having a normal Pikachu in one clip.
The gameplay of Detective Pikachu is described as a Cinematic Adventure.
Exactly how much control players will have is not clear at all.
But we do get a sense of what Detective Pikachu will do during the game.
In one scene, we see a Fletching fly toward a young woman at a desk with some kind of
letter.
Could this place be Pikachu’s office and is the young woman his secretary?
At the same time, there seems to be a subplot involving coffee.
Tim mentions how his father really likes coffee and so does Pikachu.
It’s rare for any Pokémon protagonist to mention their father.
Could that be the reason Tim is working together with Pikachu; to find his dad?
Either way, Pikachu seems to be somewhat distracted as he absently declines milk with his coffee.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear what the pair does next.
Because it has less scenes, we believe that the two of them go to another office.
We can see them walking past a different young woman at a desk in a completely new place.
Within the office itself, we see Pikachu telling Tim to stay focused and that they should investigate
the room at once.
What kind of clues they’re looking for, we’re not sure, but the desk does have some
interesting items.
First is the child-like smiley face behind Pikachu.
This could indicate that they’re looking for an adult since it’s possible that his
or her child gave the picture to them as a present.
Then there’s the cordless phone.
It’s rare to see anyone use home phones anymore which indicates that this is indeed
a work office.
Perhaps it’s a teacher and the picture was a gift from a student?
Going a bit further, could the fact that we don’t really see cell phones or more modern
technology indicate that the game will take place slightly in the past?
The other big location is a park which may be part of an entire campus.
There the duo discover a passed-out Ambipom near a fountain.
After checking on him, it appears Pikachu starts an investigation and begins pacing
in front of the fountain.
Eventually, he figures it out and declares, “I’ve got it,” while the fountain and
the Pidoves punctuate his point.
We then believe Pikachu gets chased by the Trevanent who may, somehow, be the culprit
in all of this.
Another scene shows Pikachu in front of some rubble insisting that even if they were to
fight, the odds wouldn’t be in their favor.
Could this work like Meowth too?
Where the effort to learn human speech considerably lowers their battle ability?
It’d be another interesting connection.
Whatever happens, Tim ends up comforting Pikachu who finally breaks down and cries.
After the hug, Tim sets down Pikachu who is still surprised that he survived.
He’s holding a feather, which may belong to the Murkrow that he talks to in another
sequence.
And could Murkrow be the Emelia that Pikachu refers to at another point?
The rest of the scenes are a bit more haphazard.
One shows Tim and Pikachu going to a café and even being served by a Ludicolo.
Another shows them walking down the street together which may be when Pikachu says that
Tim would make a good detective despite Tim responding that he really isn’t a detective.
That would mean that this case could be their very first together.
And in the end they team up, capping off the day by looking into the night sky while sitting
on the hood of a car.
Pikachu even remarks how strange it is that they make such a good team.
Ok, we’re almost done here, but there are some background elements that we’d like
to point out.
In the scene where Pikachu appears angry, you can see another Pokémon in the background
which we believe to either be Shinx or Luxio.
The next scene has something similar with a woman standing in front of the Pokémon-themed
shop with what we think might be a Furfrou.
Of course, it’s quite blurry so we can’t say for sure.
Finally, during the clip where Pikachu is being chased by Trevenant, you can see a Shuckle
shell just off of the path.
It looks he got scared and hid!
Detective Pikachu has a lot of fascinating elements to it.
And it’s no doubt a strange idea for a Pokémon spin-off.
Fortunately, it won’t be long until we can see for ourselves just what this game is all
about.
We’ll be sure to show off as much as we can when it’s released in Japan on February
3rd.
Of course, let us know if we missed anything in the comments.
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