The recent trailer for the upcoming major motion picture Pokémon: Detective Pikachu marks the first big-screen outing for the Pokémon series in a live-action format. Featuring a compelling storyline and a wisecracking electric mouse voiced by Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds, the movie looks set to be jam-packed full of wholesome family fun.
However, given the “catch ’em all” nature of the Pokémon franchise, what fans are really excited to see is just how many of the series’ 800+ different species will be featured in the movie. Without looking into the multitude of background decorations and signposts which sport references to everything from Lickitung to Victini, we’ve broken out our Pokédex and scanned the recently-released official trailer below to see how many actual Pokémon we can spot.
If you need a refresher first and somehow haven’t seen the trailer yet for Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, you can watch it below:
First and foremost, yes there is a Pikachu. Ryan Reynolds’ character is a landslide away from the one we know from Ash’s adventures in the anime. Detective Pikachu is an entirely different character with his own personality traits who is only related to the classic electric mouse by way of species. We meet this charming smart aleck after a brief look through the movie’s setting; Ryme City.
Ryme City is a bustling place where people and Pokémon live together in harmony. Similar to the towns and cities seen within the games, Pokémon can be seen walking among their human companions. The trailer’s opening scene shows protagonist Tim, who’s played by Justice Smith, walking onto its busy streets.
Here we get to see more Pokémon than any other single shot in the trailer. The air is littered with smaller Pokémon including Flabébé and Comfey hanging just over the head of the crowds. Higher up in the sky, several Flying types such as Pidgeotto and Emolga can be seen zipping through the skies and performing somersaults. As the scene closes, a Fearow enters from the top left-hand side.
On the ground level, the Fire starter from the original generation, Charmander, is seen walking towards the screen while a large Dotrio strolls into the distance. Between the legs of the busy crowd, a Bouffalant can be spotted making its way from the left-hand side of the screen to the right. Rounding off this scene, an intimidating Braviary is perched proudly upon a canopy. A quick cutaway gives us our first shot of classic Water type Psyduck, before the trailer reveals Tim’s first encounter with his Pikachu. It’s worth mentioning that all of these Pokémon are seen within the first 10 seconds of the trailer.
After Pikachu and Tim become acquainted, the pair heads towards a marketplace where we get to see another wave of Pokémon going about their daily business. The wide shot gives us a much closer look at Unova’s Electric/Flying type Emolga, as three of them huddle together on the roof of a stall. A trio of tiny Voltik can also be spotted lining a countertop on the righthand side of the market. Nestled into the crowd of consumers is a bright pink Audino.
The rest of the scene shows Pikachu and Tim interacting with some local people as a Charmander uses its tail to light up a wok in the background. In the final shot, a hefty Venusaur can be seen a few feet behind Audino.
The next Pokémon-laden shot shows a majestic line of Bulbasaur guiding Tim and what appears to be an injured Pikachu through a calming stream while a number of Morelull float overhead.
From here on in in the trailer, things progress quite quickly. A shot of a bemused Jigglypuff standing on a table next to a sleeping man in a cafe quickly gives way to a mighty Charizard spreading its wings and breathing fire during a Pokémon battle. A trio of aggressive Greninja from Generation Six can then be seen leaping towards the screen. It then cuts back to what appears to be the battle scene once again where a number of onlookers are taking in the fight. Among them are Pancham, Rufflet, and the last of the original generation’s Starter pokémon to make an appearance, Squirtle.
Possibly the hardest Pokémon to make out is seen during a one-second shot that shows Tim and Pikachu scattering in opposite directions to evade an explosion. Sharp-eyed trainers will spot the mischievous Normal type Aipom through the dust and rubble.
The final Pokémon to be revealed within the trailer is Mr. Mime. During a hilarious scene in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse of sorts, Pikachu tries to decipher what the Psychic type is saying before unwittingly crashing into its Light Screen.
The total count of different species seen within the Pokémon: Detective Pikachu trailer (from what we were able to find) comes to well over 20 Pokemon. There seems to be quite an amount of fan service here as the creatures are integrated into everyday life throughout the city; one can only suspect that this means there will be a lot more to be spotted throughout the full movie.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is loosely based on the Nintendo 3DS game simply entitled Detective Pikachu. The movie will be hitting theatres in the summer of 2019.