Detective Pikachu series

The Detective Pikachu series (Japanese: ピカチュウ Great Detective Pikachu) is a series of cinematic action-adventure developed by Creatures. The series includes two games and several adaptations, including a live-action film, an animated short, a graphic novel, and multiple novelizations.
The premise of the series involves the titular and his partner Tim Goodman, who is uniquely able to understand Pikachu's words. The duo collaborate with both people and Pokémon to solve mysteries, and search for Tim's missing father Harry Goodman.
The series has two distinct continuities: one for the original game and its sequel, and one for the .
==History==
The first game was initially revealed, though not yet named, in an documentary featuring Tsunekazu Ishihara aired on October 28, 2013. The game would be officially announced on January 26, 2016 as Detective Pikachu – Birth of a New Duo, which contained the first three chapters of the story, and would only be released in Japan. On January 12, 2018, a full version of the game titled and containing all nine chapters was announced, including an international release. A prequel book, Detective Pikachu: Episode 0—Eevee's Case, was released with the game on March 23, 2018.
A live-action movie loosely based on the first game, titled , was also released on May 10, 2019. While the movie's premise is very similar to that of the first game, its events diverge significantly. 
Development of a second game would be announced at the May 2019 Pokémon Press Conference2019 Pokémon Press Conference - The Official Pokémon YouTube channel (retrieved June 21, 2023), however no further information would be released until 2023, where the game was revealed with a trailer as Detective Pikachu Returns in the June 2023 Nintendo Direct. The game would release worldwide on October 6, 2023. Shortly afterwards on October 25, 2023, an animated short using the second game's character designs, Detective Pikachu & the Mystery of the Missing Flan, would be released online.
==Gameplay==
The player, as Tim Goodman, explores 3D environments, where they can examine objects and interview witnesses (both human and Pokémon) for information about a mystery in the area. Notes about the case are recorded in Tim's notebook, and can be accessed at any time. can discuss the case with Tim, and will ask questions that require making deductions from the evidence and testimony Tim has gathered. Answering these questions correctly will trigger events that advance the story. Some chapters additionally have confrontation scenes, where Tim gathers all of the suspects of a case together, and dramatically identifies the culprit while explaining his findings.
The games use a large amount of fully-voiced cutscenes to tell their stories. Some cutscenes have s, where the player must press a button with specific timing for Tim to perform an action, such as landing a jump, throwing something, or catching something.
==List of games==
Gen.	Image	Title	Japanese title	Platform 	Release date 	Release date 	Release date 	Release date 	Release date
Gen.	Image	Title	Japanese title	Platform 	Japan 	North America 	Europe 	Australia 	Taiwan
 	 	— 	 	Nintendo 3DS eShop	February 3, 2016	— 	— 	— 	—
 	 	 	 	Nintendo 3DS 	March 23, 2018 	March 23, 2018 	March 23, 2018 	March 24, 2018 	March 23, 2018
 	 	 	 	Nintendo Switch 	October 6, 2023 	October 6, 2023	October 6, 2023	October 6, 2023	October 6, 2023
===Other software===
Gen.	Image	Title	Japanese title	Platform	Release date				 	
Gen.	Image	Title	Japanese title	Platform	 				Android	May 2, 2019 (Worldwide)
==List of animated adaptations==
Feature 	Japanese debut 	English debut
Detective Pikachu & the Mystery of the Missing Flan	October 25, 2023	October 25, 2023
==List of live action adaptations==
Poster	English title 	English release 	American distributor 	Japanese title 	Japanese release 	Japanese distributor
 	'' 	May 10, 2019 	 	名探偵ピカチュウGreat Detective Pikachu 	May 3, 2019 	Toho/
 	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.	Summary: When ace detective Harry Goodman goes missing, his son, Tim, and Harry's former Pokémon partner, , join forces to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together on an epic adventure through Ryme City, they uncover a shocking plot that could destroy the whole Pokémon universe.
==List of graphic novel adaptations==
Movie continuity:
* POKÉMON Detective Pikachu (graphic novel)
==List of novel adaptations==
Game continuity:
* Detective Pikachu: Episode 0—Eevee's Case
Movie continuity:
* POKÉMON Detective Pikachu Movie Novel
** Detective Pikachu: Story of the Movie (British novelization)
==In the TCG==
In 2019, a special TCG expansion based on the live-action film was released, titled Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu.
Cards from this expansion were uniquely not viewable or markable as owned in Pokémon TCG Card Dex until they were scanned. Once scanned, the cards would unlock screenshots from the movie's trailers that players could save to their device's camera roll.
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Detective Pikachu
ja:名探偵ピカチュウシリーズ