New ‘Detective Pikachu’ Promo Makes Clever Police Nod

Detective Pikachu recently aired a brand new sneak peek TV spot which featured a few more quick glances at how Pokemon make the transition to real life, and fans have noticed one clever gag from the original series.

As spotted by @_Flashparadox_ on Twitter, the reveal of Snubbull working with a police officer is a small shout-out to the fact that Snubbulls were used by the police officers in the original series.

In the newest TV spot for the film, there’s a quick glimpse of Ken Watanabe (who stars in the film as Detective Yoshida) sitting next to a Snubbull. The Snubbull’s a little weary of Watanabe touching it, so it’s definitely a much saltier relationship than fans are probably expecting. Doesn’t mean it’s any less hilarious. While the Kanto adventures featured Growlithe as the Pokemon partners accompanying police, once Snubbull was introduced during the Johto era they began popping up in its place.

Snubbull are also used as the Pokemon’s world version of show dogs, due to their cute nature, so there’s a chance they’ll be used this way as well. But given how large the new Snubbull seems to be in relation to a human being, there’s a chance that its role in the series will be much different than in the original series.

Directed by Rob Letterman, and co-written by Nicole Perlman, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is currently scheduled for a release on May 10. The film stars Ryan Reynolds (as the voice of the titular Pikachu), Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Khary Payton, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse, Chris Geere, Rita Ora, and Omar Chaparro.

The official synopsis for Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reads as such:

“The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery.

Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City—a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world—they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.”