With a script writer for a film, there’s always a tough situation of needing to get approval on some ideas when it comes to working with a studio. Maybe the writers want to go in a different direction than what the studio had in mind? Maybe the writers want to make alterations to a certain character or event? In speaking with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu co-screenwriter Benji Samit for our podcast, “A Wild Podcast Has Appeared”, we discovered that there was one Pokemon appearing that he wouldn’t take “no for an answer” on.
When Benji Samit was given the opportunity to created this world of Ryme City, he had one stipulation when it came to writing the film:
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“Gardevoir had a cool moment. There were so many different, all the different drafts along the way… Truth be told, our favorite, we’re happy that our favorite did make it in and that is Psyduck. Truly on day 1 our first meeting on this project it was before Psyduck was involved with it and we came in and I think the first thing we said to the producers was, “Psyduck needs to be in this movie, needs to be Lucy’s Pokemon partner and he will be the comedic breakout character.”
Psyduck has been a part of the Pokemon series since the first generation, being portrayed in the anime as a bewildered creature who stumbles his way through any given scenario. Though his evolutionary form of Golduck is much more threatening and appears to be more intelligent, Psyduck will always remain the more popular of the two and certainly managed to come away as one of the breakout stars of Detective Pikachu.
As the potential for another visit to Ryme City seems more less assured, it should be interesting to see if the writers have further “Pokemon demands” moving forward. We’d be hard pressed to think of a more lovable, albeit goofy, Pokemon than Psyduck but time will tell!
What are some of the Pokemon that you’d like to see make an appearance in live action that haven’t yet? What did you think of Psyduck in Detective Pikachu? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is now out in theaters, and you can read our spoiler-free review of the film here. 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.