Howard Clifford

Howard Clifford (Japanese: ハワード Howard) is the main antagonist of . Howard is the founder of Ryme City and father of Roger Clifford. He was portrayed by Bill Nighy.
==History==
As a younger man, Howard became the founder of Clifford Industries, which grew into a massive conglomerate under his visionary leadership. Despite his great wealth, however, he was diagnosed with a degenerative disease that would soon leave him wheelchair-bound. Upon receiving this diagnosis, he resigned his position within the company and passed it to his son Roger, then set out on a journey of the world in search of a cure for his condition. His research led him to the conclusion that if humans could evolve into the best versions of themselves the same way Pokémon could, it would solve such issues. When he returned, he used his vast fortune to establish Ryme City as a utopia where humans and Pokémon could live together as equals.
However, unbeknownst to the outside world, Howard's benevolent front masked far darker intentions. He secretly established the and funded the research of Pokémon neurologist Dr. Ann Laurent to manipulate Pokémon evolution and mind control. To fulfill his ambitions, he hired detective Harry Goodman to track down , who had escaped from the Kanto region twenty years prior, so it could be experimented on by Laurent's team. Harry helped Howard's men capture Mewtwo, but discovered the truth about his plans and helped Mewtwo escape the lab. Because of this, Howard ordered Harry's assassination at the hands of his genetically modified , but Mewtwo intervened and saved Harry. Outside of Howard's notice, Mewtwo merged Harry and his together, creating .
Harry's son Tim Goodman received word of his apparent death and traveled to Ryme City from Leaventown to place Harry's affairs in order. En route aboard a train, he and the other passengers viewed a public service video detailing Howard's history and the creation of Ryme City. Tim also read about the car accident that apparently claimed Harry's life in one of Clifford Industries' products, the Clifford Post newspaper. The next day, Tim and Detective Pikachu went to the headquarters of Clifford Industries' news network CNM, where they found Howard and Roger recording an advertisement for the city's upcoming Pokémon parade. Howard ended up in an argument with his son over the commercial's script and left the studio accompanied by his , who ed into a stagehand to assist him.
Howard next appeared when his assistant, Ms. Norman, brought Tim and Detective Pikachu to his office following their involvement in an incident at the underground battle ring the Roundhouse. He explained his philosophy on evolution to them by evolving his into a , then revealed that he already knew about Tim, Pikachu and their research into the R gas. When they questioned how he knew these things, he revealed a holographic recording of Harry's accident that confirmed his survival but implicated Mewtwo as the culprit. Furthermore, Howard claimed that Harry was working for him on an investigation into R's source, which he claimed to have been masterminded by Roger. Howard told Tim and Detective Pikachu to find Mewtwo if they wanted to find Harry, but warned them to beware of Roger, who was supposedly in control of the city's police and news media.
After Roger recaptured Mewtwo, Tim raced back to Ryme City with Lucy Stevens to warn Howard of his son's actions, only to discover Howard wearing the neural link headband developed by Laurent. Realizing too late that Howard was the mastermind of the conspiracy, Tim was powerless to stop Howard from merging his mind into Mewtwo's body. Now empowered with all of Mewtwo's abilities, Howard revealed the truth about his plan: in order to 'cure' all of humanity of their natural flaws, he had Laurent develop the neural link and R so he could use Mewtwo's psychic powers to merge humans into the bodies of their R-afflicted Pokémon. Howard left Tim to be dealt with by Ms. Norman, who had been disguised as Roger when Mewtwo was captured, and set out to expose all of Ryme City to the R contained in the parade balloons. As he carried out his plan, Detective Pikachu appeared and engaged him in battle across the city. He was temporarily stunned by Pikachu's , but recovered and captured Pikachu, admonishing Tim's partner for believing he could defeat Mewtwo in battle. Detective Pikachu countered that he wasn't trying to defeat Howard but merely stall him, causing Howard to notice Tim about to remove the neural link from his human body. He was unable to prevent Tim breaking the link, forcibly separating him from Mewtwo. His plan for humanity's evolution was subsequently rendered a failure when Mewtwo reversed the fusions he had carried out.
Howard was last seen having been apprehended by the police and escorted away in his wheelchair.
==Moves used as Mewtwo==
==Pokémon==
===On hand===
===Experimented on===
===Escaped===
==Voice actors==
==Trivia==
* Howard's Ditto, Ms. Norman, may be named after Keith Norman, a character who appeared in the . Ms. Norman's role is similar to Keith's, wherein they act as the main henchman for the true mastermind of the R conspiracy.
==Related articles==
Category:Movie characters
Category:Detective Pikachu characters
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