Read the eBook Prequel to the Detective Pikachu Game for Free

03/23/2018 10:31 am EDT

Detective Pikachu fans can read one of the sleuth Pokemon's earliest adventures for free for a limited time.

Nintendo is releasing Detective Pikachu today for the Nintendo 3DS, giving players in North America and Europe their first chance to see the grumpy, coffee-swilling Pokemon in action. To celebrate the game's release, Nintendo has released a eBook prequel to the game, which is free to read on the Apple iBook, Amazon Kindle, and Rakuten Kobo eBook store for free.

Detective Pikachu: Episode 0 - Eevee's Case features Detective Pikachu helping an Eevee find out who messed up its yard. The prequel also serves as a quick way to introduce some of the main characters of the game, including Detective Pikachu, Amanda Blackstone, and Tim Goodman, Detective Pikachu's future human partner. The prequel also nicely sets up the central mystery of the Detective Pikachu game - the mysterious disappearance of Tim's father (and Detective Pikachu's old partner) and Detective Pikachu's subsequent amnesia.

The eBook is only 25 pages long and should be a pretty quick read for readers both young and old. It's also entirely written from Detective Pikachu's perspective, so readers can get a unique look into the mind of the world's greatest Pokemon detective.

Detective Pikachu is a unique mystery game set inside the Pokemon world. Pikachu doesn't battle his way through mysteries, but uses his wits and unique ability to understand both humans and Pokemon to solve cases. Players will work their way through several mysteries in Ryme City while trying to unravel why Tim's father disappeared and how Detective Pikachu originally lost its memory. The game consists of nine different chapters, so most players will be able to playthrough the game in just a few days.

Detective Pikachu is also being adapted into a live-action movie, starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Detective Pikachu. Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora, and Chris Geere are also set to appear in the film. The movie is being directed by Rob Letterman and will be released in 2019.

Detective Pikachu is now available in the United States, Japan, and Europe and costs $39.99.

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