“Pokémon: Detective Pikachu,” the live-action adaptation of the Nintendo 3DS spinoff title from the monster-collecting franchise, is now arguably the most successful videogame movie yet. How can it not draw the fans and crowds with its inspired casting of Ryan Reynolds as the smart-aleck talking Pikachu gumshoe who befriends the son of his human partner?

This achievement is remarkable too for being realized through the adaptation of, as stated, a spinoff and not one of the mainline “Pokémon” games. But the success of the “Detective Pikachu” film may have just inspired Nintendo to announce a sequel for its source game.

Mysteries about ‘Detective Pikachu’ sequel

At the recent Pokémon Press Conference 2019 event in Tokyo this week, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company revealed a number of new and quirky additions to their massive multimedia property. One of these is the announcement of a follow-up to the 3DS’s “Detective Pikachu,” the game that inspired the recent hit movie from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara offered minimal information on “Detective Pikachu 2,” but he was upfront in saying that the former portable title has jumped platforms for its follow-up. The sequel will now be a console title on the Nintendo Switch.

Ishihara offered no further clues regarding “Detective Pikachu 2,” but some hints might be gleaned when looking back at the original 3DS game and the 2019 blockbuster it inspired.

While the film with Reynolds, Justice Smith, and Bill Nighy adapted the videogame’s plot, they decided not to follow the original’s cliffhanger ending, instead solving the unsolved mystery of the first “Detective Pikachu” on the big screen. Perhaps the Nintendo Switch sequel will address that puzzle in a similar or different way from the movie.

There is some speculation, however, that the follow-up might remake the first game instead, then tack on an actual ending rather than the aforementioned dangling thread.

Possible next clues on E3

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company released “Detective Pikachu” in Japan in 2016 and internationally in 2018, where it generated buzz from its atypical portrayal of the titular pocket monster as a talking and intelligent creature rather than the pet Pokémon fans were used to.

Also notable was the different gameplay that puts an original spin to existing NDS and 3DS detective-genre videogames, but set in the Pokémon universe. The film adaptation copies the plot of Detective Pikachu and his new partner Tim Goodman searching for his owner/Tim’s father, with alterations such as aging Tim from a teenager to young adult.

For any further info on “Detective Pikachu,” the best bet after the Pokémon Press Con is E3 2019, where Nintendo will preview its newly revamped Direct Service, plus a first peek at the upcoming Switch titles “Pokémon Sword & Shield.”
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