As history has proven time and time again, sometimes you need to look at a franchise and go, “What’s the weirdest thing that I can do with it, and yet still be successful with?” Well, The Pokemon Company, after all its many successes, had that idea back in 2015-2016 when they asked themselves, “Hey, what if we made Pikachu a detective, had him be a coffee addict, and sound like a grouchy older man?” Yeah, that may not sound like a success, but people liked the idea of a “Detective Pikachu,” and that is why seven years later, we’re getting Detective Pikachu Returns.
This was announced during the latest Nintendo Direct, and it has everything you would expect for a true sequel to the game. You’re back in Rhyme City, and Detective Pikachu is still paired with his partner Tim Goodman. It’ll be their job to solve mysteries involving Pokemon and humans and understand the truths presented to them via the clues they find.
An interesting setup to the game is that it’s “Pokemon Friendship Week” in Rhyme City, where the mayor is trying to promote the good relationships between people and the city’s Pokemon. As we all know, events like this never go wrong. Nope. Never, not once, do they backfire on those who set it up.
You get what we’re going for, right? It will go wrong, and it’ll be up to Tim and Detective Pikachu to figure things out.
One thing you’ll notice immediately in the trailer is that there are lots of new Pokemon from the recent generations that are present in the city. Remember, the first game was made in 2016, which was years before some of these generations came out. As a result, you’ll want to keep an eye out for who might show up and who might be guilty of certain crimes as a result.
But, it won’t simply be finding out who’s behind certain crimes. Sometimes you’ll need to work with the Pokemon of the city to overcome obstacles and get clues. Plus, things will get even weirder when Mewtwo shows up! You know, the world’s most powerful Pokemon?
Oh, and yes, Pikachu still sounds like an adult who a crabby attitude, and it really makes us wonder how people liked the first game. But hey, we won’t judge them too much.
You can check out the trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns below, and you can get the game when it releases on Switch on October 6th.