Detective Pikachu Returns was announced back in June, set to launch on October 6. And a new Pokemon Presents stream has given us a better look at gameplay. It turns out you can ride Growlithe... as Pikachu.
Aside from travelling on horseback (dog back? 'mon back? who knows?) we got a look at how the detective work actually comes together. Tim Goodman talks to the people, Pikachu to the 'mons. You then have a case notebook full of clues to puzzle together and crime scenes with evidence scattered about for you to take pictures of. Of course, this is Pikachu we're talking about, so he doesn't take it as seriously as he should. There's a missing person Pikachu. Lives are at stake. Every second counts. But he makes himself a fake moustache and eyebrows anyway.
Growlithe is far more than just a mount you can ride around town--her nose detects suspects. In execution, this means you have a green foggy trail of people stink to chase down. Darmanitan meanwhile can smash down walls and open up new pathways. Hardly subtle for a detective, but then again, we spent the entirety of Judgment wailing on baddies with Takayuki Yagami.
The trailer also revealed what case Pikachu and Tim Goodman are working to crack--the disappearance of Tim's dad, Harry. And of course, only Tim can understand what Detective Pikachu is saying, since normally 'mons just shout out their own name or eight-bit sound effects. We're also introduced to Tim's mom and sister, Irene and Sophia Goodman respectively. Luckily, neither of them are missing. We just have one family member to track down.
In the sequel to the fan-favourite 3DS mystery game, we also meet Tim's college friend Rachel Myers, whose father--Howard--is the mayor. We saw him in the first trailer announcing "Pokemon Friendship Week". In the new trailer, there's a better glimpse at some of the more intimate details of the world, like the High Hat Cafe, a famous coffee house. We see Pokemon singing and lounging about there, so clearly they're more than just pets and subservient fighting animals.
The end of the trailer also teases "another big mystery unfolding in the city", seemingly separate from Tim Goodman's dad going missing. But odds are these two cases are tangled together and will lead to the same conclusion. If you've seen the Detective Pikachu film, you'll have a good idea about how all of this plays out. But if you're going in blind and don't want any spoilers, maybe hold off on watching it for now--it's a similar story of Tim teaming up with Pikachu to find his dad Harry.
Detective Pikachu Returns launches on October 6, 2023.