Welcome back to Thrak Attack! What's your adventure? This week's adventure was Detective Pikachu which is an awesome live action Pokemon Movie but not the Pokemon we were expecting. Even though this movie was really well done, I believe there in the future for us in regards to another cinematic universe. The way they handled this film and the references in it are perfectly done and do set up a future for this for happening. SPOILER WARNING for Detective Pikachu, if you have not seen this please, go watch the film and then come on back! Alright let's get started with the film we received this past weekend.
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a mystery film taking place in the Pokemon World based on a video game of the same name. Tim Goodman meets a talking Pikachu after his father mysteriously passes away. Throughout the film we realize that it is actually his father trapped inside Pikachu's body although none of the characters know this until the end. The villain's plan in this film is to fuse the people and Pokemon of Ryme city together into one beings. He does this by controlling and eventually putting his mind into Mewtwo. This is where the Pokemon Cinematic Universe can begin.
Within the film, as Tim is piecing together the story he goes to the lab where Mewtwo was being kept. First, he finds out this company has been experimenting with Pokemon's evolution (such as a battle-bond Greninja and giant Torterras). 2nd, during a hologram recording, some of the scientists say that "Mewtwo was created in the Kanto Region about 20 years ago". This quote right here that takes nothing away from the story but adds to the lore is why the MCU works and is going to be the cornerstone of the Pokemon Cinematic Universe.
So here's what I have in mind... Just like the MCU has phases, Pokemon will have Generations (just like the games). Each Generation will follow a new protagonist through his/her region to become a pokemon master, just like Red in the Manga and Games, and Ash in the Anime. Each Generation will include story beats from all stories within the Pokemon lore such as the anime, manga, games, movies, generations, and origins. So here are the films I would envision for Generation 1 of the Pokemon Cinematic Universe.
Generation 1
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu- This the film that we got and will kick off the whole thing!
Pokemon: Red and Blue- Red and Blue begin their Pokemon journey and receive their new partner pokemon (Pikachu and Eevee). Along their journey, Pikachu learns to trust Red with the spearow and Ho-oh events of the first episode of the anime. Red "borrows" Misty's bike. Red, Blue, and Misty run into Jessie, James, and Meowth from team rocket in Viridian City. Mysterious scientists capture Mew and extract it's DNA before it escapes and it is revealed to be Team Rocket. Red defeats Brock and he joins the gang. The finale is Red, Blue, Brock, and Misty stopping Team Rocket from stealing the fossils from Mt. Moon.
Pokemon: Thunderstone - The gang makes it to Cerulean City and meet Misty's sisters who are total jerks. They meet Bill and realize he is experimenting with Pokemon and fuses himself with a Nidorino (ties back to Detective Pikachu). The gang gets tickets to the S.S. Anne and meets Looker and battles Blue (killing his Raticate). Team Rocket continues experimentation on Ditto's and Mew's DNA and creates Mewtwo. Red defeats Lt. Surge and does the whole Pikachu doesn't want to evolve thing (also ties back to Detective Pikachu) and that will be the finale of the second film. Blue evolves his Eevee into a Jolteon.
Pokemon: Lavender Town- The gang meets Blue mourning the loss of his Raticate next to a cubone. Team Rocket shows up and they show down in the Pokemon Tower upsetting some of the spirits, Jessie and James escape with the Cubone to Celadon City. Jessie and James meet the boss, Giovanni, in the game corner and he reveals to them his plan to catch ghost pokemon to help capture Mewtwo again. Montage of Red defeating Ericka and getting his fourth badge. They invade Team Rocket's base and meet Giovanni and defeat him as Cubone returns to Lavendar Town. They get the Silph Scope and return to find that Cubone's mother was the spirit and that because her child is finally safe, she can rest. Red defeats Jessie and James in Pokemon Tower and they save Mr. Fuji. Fuji reveals Team Rocket is after the world's strongest Pokemon and wished to harness the Power of the Pokeflute to put it to sleep. The finale of the film is the gang vowing to stop Team Rocket and Cubone joining Blue.
Pokemon: Silph Co.- The start of the film is Red defeating Sabrina and earning the next badge. Red, Brock, and Misty decide to split up and find some answers about Team Rocket. Brock returns to the museum to find out about why Team Rocket wanted the fossils, Misty returns to speak with Bill about Pokemon creation, and Red infiltrates Silph Co. Throughout their adventures; Brock learns about the mythical Pokemon Mew and how Team Rocket successfully got a sample of DNA but it escaped, Misty learns that Pokemon creation can be done but is risky business. The way human's minds and pokemon's minds work are very different (calling back to Detective Pikachu). Red infiltrates Silph Co. and meets Blue who blames Red for his misfortune and is trying to stop Team Rocket. Red eventually defeats Giovanni and receives the masterball. The finale is Giovanni trying to convince you that you're wrong and to hand over the masterball but you leave him to go find Mewtwo yourself.
Pokemon: Legendary Trio- Red defeats Koga for the 6th badge and makes his way to Cinnabar Island to find the Laboratory where Mewtwo was created. When he arrives he see's the destruction that Mewtwo has caused and see's Blaine (revealed to be the scientist who created Mewtwo). Misty and Brock also were brought to the Island due to their quests and the realize they need some heavy hitters to take on Mewtwo. Red defeats Blaine for the 7th badge and he convinces Red to challenge the final gym leader. Misty and Brock go to catch the Legendary Bird Trio only to find that Blue has beaten him to it and has failed. Red goes to challenge the final gym leader only to find out it's Giovanni and he has recaptured Mewtwo and has attempted to train him as his own Pokemon. The finale of the film is Mewtwo escaping leaving Red and Giovanni to die only to be saved by Blue, Brock, and Misty.
Pokemon: The Elite Four- Red, Brock, and Misty travel to the Indigo League so that Red can challenge the Elite Four. He defeats all four (Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance) and finds out that someone else also beat the elite four just before him. The final challenger is Blue, you defeat him and he is devastated. You have beaten him at every turn but he steps down as champion and accepts the responsibility of being the Viridian City Gym Leader. Misty and Brock also decide to return to their gyms and resume their responsibilities after Red replaces Misty's bike. The finale is Red getting a mysterious note from an anonymous Pokemon trainer who says to meet him at Cerulean Cave. Red and Mewtwo finally face off only to be stopped by Mew during the fight. Red begins to use the Masterball but eventually decides not to use it and allow Mewtwo to go forth and live out his life. The ending of Red's saga is him climbing Mt. Silver to contemplate his actions and wait for someone to come save him.
So that's what I think would make a great start to cinematic universe. I know this seems more like a series but when we get into Generation 2 and beyond it starts to become more spread out and create various stories that all thematically tie in together. This would be Generation 1 focusing on Mewtwo's story arc and would make his appearance in Detective Pikachu that much more meaningful for general audiences to go back after watching these films and seeing him helping out the people for once rather than putting them in harms way.
What do you think of this idea? Do you think this would work? Or could it work? I would love to hear your thoughts on what would be a better option or if we should leave Detective Pikachu be as a stand alone film. I think this would be an amazing adventure though, which you should all keeping going on!
All the Best, Ross
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a mystery film taking place in the Pokemon World based on a video game of the same name. Tim Goodman meets a talking Pikachu after his father mysteriously passes away. Throughout the film we realize that it is actually his father trapped inside Pikachu's body although none of the characters know this until the end. The villain's plan in this film is to fuse the people and Pokemon of Ryme city together into one beings. He does this by controlling and eventually putting his mind into Mewtwo. This is where the Pokemon Cinematic Universe can begin.
Within the film, as Tim is piecing together the story he goes to the lab where Mewtwo was being kept. First, he finds out this company has been experimenting with Pokemon's evolution (such as a battle-bond Greninja and giant Torterras). 2nd, during a hologram recording, some of the scientists say that "Mewtwo was created in the Kanto Region about 20 years ago". This quote right here that takes nothing away from the story but adds to the lore is why the MCU works and is going to be the cornerstone of the Pokemon Cinematic Universe.
So here's what I have in mind... Just like the MCU has phases, Pokemon will have Generations (just like the games). Each Generation will follow a new protagonist through his/her region to become a pokemon master, just like Red in the Manga and Games, and Ash in the Anime. Each Generation will include story beats from all stories within the Pokemon lore such as the anime, manga, games, movies, generations, and origins. So here are the films I would envision for Generation 1 of the Pokemon Cinematic Universe.
Generation 1
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu- This the film that we got and will kick off the whole thing!
Pokemon: Red and Blue- Red and Blue begin their Pokemon journey and receive their new partner pokemon (Pikachu and Eevee). Along their journey, Pikachu learns to trust Red with the spearow and Ho-oh events of the first episode of the anime. Red "borrows" Misty's bike. Red, Blue, and Misty run into Jessie, James, and Meowth from team rocket in Viridian City. Mysterious scientists capture Mew and extract it's DNA before it escapes and it is revealed to be Team Rocket. Red defeats Brock and he joins the gang. The finale is Red, Blue, Brock, and Misty stopping Team Rocket from stealing the fossils from Mt. Moon.
Pokemon: Thunderstone - The gang makes it to Cerulean City and meet Misty's sisters who are total jerks. They meet Bill and realize he is experimenting with Pokemon and fuses himself with a Nidorino (ties back to Detective Pikachu). The gang gets tickets to the S.S. Anne and meets Looker and battles Blue (killing his Raticate). Team Rocket continues experimentation on Ditto's and Mew's DNA and creates Mewtwo. Red defeats Lt. Surge and does the whole Pikachu doesn't want to evolve thing (also ties back to Detective Pikachu) and that will be the finale of the second film. Blue evolves his Eevee into a Jolteon.
Pokemon: Lavender Town- The gang meets Blue mourning the loss of his Raticate next to a cubone. Team Rocket shows up and they show down in the Pokemon Tower upsetting some of the spirits, Jessie and James escape with the Cubone to Celadon City. Jessie and James meet the boss, Giovanni, in the game corner and he reveals to them his plan to catch ghost pokemon to help capture Mewtwo again. Montage of Red defeating Ericka and getting his fourth badge. They invade Team Rocket's base and meet Giovanni and defeat him as Cubone returns to Lavendar Town. They get the Silph Scope and return to find that Cubone's mother was the spirit and that because her child is finally safe, she can rest. Red defeats Jessie and James in Pokemon Tower and they save Mr. Fuji. Fuji reveals Team Rocket is after the world's strongest Pokemon and wished to harness the Power of the Pokeflute to put it to sleep. The finale of the film is the gang vowing to stop Team Rocket and Cubone joining Blue.
Pokemon: Silph Co.- The start of the film is Red defeating Sabrina and earning the next badge. Red, Brock, and Misty decide to split up and find some answers about Team Rocket. Brock returns to the museum to find out about why Team Rocket wanted the fossils, Misty returns to speak with Bill about Pokemon creation, and Red infiltrates Silph Co. Throughout their adventures; Brock learns about the mythical Pokemon Mew and how Team Rocket successfully got a sample of DNA but it escaped, Misty learns that Pokemon creation can be done but is risky business. The way human's minds and pokemon's minds work are very different (calling back to Detective Pikachu). Red infiltrates Silph Co. and meets Blue who blames Red for his misfortune and is trying to stop Team Rocket. Red eventually defeats Giovanni and receives the masterball. The finale is Giovanni trying to convince you that you're wrong and to hand over the masterball but you leave him to go find Mewtwo yourself.
Pokemon: Legendary Trio- Red defeats Koga for the 6th badge and makes his way to Cinnabar Island to find the Laboratory where Mewtwo was created. When he arrives he see's the destruction that Mewtwo has caused and see's Blaine (revealed to be the scientist who created Mewtwo). Misty and Brock also were brought to the Island due to their quests and the realize they need some heavy hitters to take on Mewtwo. Red defeats Blaine for the 7th badge and he convinces Red to challenge the final gym leader. Misty and Brock go to catch the Legendary Bird Trio only to find that Blue has beaten him to it and has failed. Red goes to challenge the final gym leader only to find out it's Giovanni and he has recaptured Mewtwo and has attempted to train him as his own Pokemon. The finale of the film is Mewtwo escaping leaving Red and Giovanni to die only to be saved by Blue, Brock, and Misty.
Pokemon: The Elite Four- Red, Brock, and Misty travel to the Indigo League so that Red can challenge the Elite Four. He defeats all four (Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Lance) and finds out that someone else also beat the elite four just before him. The final challenger is Blue, you defeat him and he is devastated. You have beaten him at every turn but he steps down as champion and accepts the responsibility of being the Viridian City Gym Leader. Misty and Brock also decide to return to their gyms and resume their responsibilities after Red replaces Misty's bike. The finale is Red getting a mysterious note from an anonymous Pokemon trainer who says to meet him at Cerulean Cave. Red and Mewtwo finally face off only to be stopped by Mew during the fight. Red begins to use the Masterball but eventually decides not to use it and allow Mewtwo to go forth and live out his life. The ending of Red's saga is him climbing Mt. Silver to contemplate his actions and wait for someone to come save him.
So that's what I think would make a great start to cinematic universe. I know this seems more like a series but when we get into Generation 2 and beyond it starts to become more spread out and create various stories that all thematically tie in together. This would be Generation 1 focusing on Mewtwo's story arc and would make his appearance in Detective Pikachu that much more meaningful for general audiences to go back after watching these films and seeing him helping out the people for once rather than putting them in harms way.
What do you think of this idea? Do you think this would work? Or could it work? I would love to hear your thoughts on what would be a better option or if we should leave Detective Pikachu be as a stand alone film. I think this would be an amazing adventure though, which you should all keeping going on!
All the Best, Ross
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