Recap / Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Tim Goodman is a young man working for an insurance company in his hometown. While all of his peers have gone on to become Pokémon trainers, Tim has no interest in pursuing such a goal, having been forced to give up on his dreams of becoming a trainer when his mother took ill while his father, Detective Harry Goodman, left for Ryme City and drifted apart from him. His mother's subsequently passing away further disillusioned him from becoming a Pokémon trainer, or having anything to do with Pokémon.

One fateful day, however, he receives tragic news from Hideo Yoshida, a lieutenant in the Ryme City police department: Harry Goodman had died in a car accident. Tim makes the journey to Ryme City, a unique metropolis where Pokémon exist alongside humans as equals, and concepts such as Pokémon trainers or Pokémon battles are considered obsolete. He makes his way to Harry's apartment, along the way encountering and getting grilled by Lucy Stevens, an amateur reporter for Ryme City's local news, about the circumstances surrounding Harry's death. After dodging her probing questions, he enters Harry's apartment to collect his father's belongings, finding that Harry had always kept him in mind and wanted him to come to Ryme City to live with him and reconnect...

While looking through Harry's apartment, Tim comes across a strange phial marked "R" and opens it, releasing a strange gas that he opens a window to ventilate. Shortly afterwards, he notices someone...or something...rummaging through his apartment. When he goes to investigate, he finds the intruder to be a Pikachu wearing a deerstalker cap. To his utter shock, the Pikachu speaks, and Tim can understand him! Pikachu, similarly, understands what Tim says!

As both are reeling from the shocking discovery that they can communicate, they are suddenly attacked by a pack of rabid Aipom, driven into a blind frenzy by the gas Tim accidentally unleashed. After the two make their escape, they make their way to a coffee shop to discuss what happened, as well as become acquainted with one another. Pikachu explains that he was Harry's partner, as proven by the inside of his cap having Harry's name and contact information. Unfortunately, all of his memories of the past, including a case they were working on, were gone. Pikachu, nonetheless, is resolute that Harry was still alive, and entreats Tim's help: since Tim could talk to humans, Pikachu could communicate with Pokémon, and they could talk with each other, they would make the perfect team to investigate this mystery. Tim is reluctant, but agrees to help Pikachu.

The two reach out to Lucy, who is trying to advance her career beyond mere fluff articles. Lucy points them in the direction of Ryme City's harbor, where the two make contact with Harry's informant, a Mr. Mime. They interrogate the Mr. Mime about the "R" phials, which Mr. Mime explains came from "Roundhouse", an underground Pokémon fighting arena.

Tim and Pikachu make their way to "Roundhouse", where they are confronted by Sebastian, a patron of the arena whose Charizard lost in a previous fight with Pikachu. Sebastian offers information on "R" in exchange for a rematch. The fight doesn't go quite to plan, due to a combination of Pikachu forgetting how to use his electric attacks and Sebastian giving his Charizard a dose of "R". As Tim rescues Pikachu from being thrashed, Sebastian accidentally breaks all of the phials of "R" he was carrying, unleashing a cloud that causes nearly every Pokémon at the arena to go berserk. Sebastian hastily explains that he got his "R" from someone he knows only as "the doctor" before running away. Tim and Pikachu make their escape as well, only to be apprehended by Ryme City police.

Yoshida uses his connections to get Tim off the hook, but admonishes Tim for what he believes to be acting out in grief over his father's death. When Tim tries to explain that he believes Harry to be alive, Yoshida shows him surveillance footage of the car crash that claimed Harry's life, leaving both Tim and Pikachu crestfallen. Tim bemoans never having tried to reconnect with his father until it was far too late, but Pikachu assures him that Harry would've been proud of his son. The two set aside their differences and agree to solve the mystery of Pikachu's amnesia.

The two are approached by "Ms. Norman", the aid of Ryme City's founder, Howard Clifford. Howard, a physically ill and infirm man who espouses a belief that Pokémon can help humanity evolve, explains that his son Roger is tied to the disappearance of Harry Goodman and Pikachu's amnesia. Displaying a holographic recording of the night of the crash, he reveals that Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon created from the DNA of the legendary Mew, had attacked Harry's car. Harry survived, but was subsequently abducted by Mewtwo, who was also the one responsible for wiping Pikachu's memories. Howard further explains that Roger, whose influence over Ryme City is all-encompassing, had been engaged in dangerous research to capture and control Mewtwo. The answers to all of their questions, about Harry and Pikachu, could be found at the secret research facility where Roger conducted his immoral experiments.

With the help of Lucy and her partner, Psyduck, Tim and Pikachu make their way to the research facility beyond the city's limits. Within, they find the chamber where Mewtwo was kept, and from whence Mewtwo escaped. Holographic recordings revealed that the researchers, including the "doctor" Ann Laurent, discovered that when exposed to the "R" gas, a Pokémon becomes susceptible to psychic manipulation. Furthermore, Harry was responsible for capturing Mewtwo in the first place.

Just as they uncover these shocking truths, Tim, Pikachu, Lucy, and Psyduck are attacked by a team of genetically-augmented Greninja. After making their escape, their lives are further imperiled by earth upending itself, the surrounding forests growing off of the shells of titanic Torterra. Pikachu is gravely injured and near death, but Tim manages to get help from a wandering pack of Bulbasaur, who guide Tim to a ravine where Pikachu could be healed.

It is here that Mewtwo greets Tim and restores Pikachu back to full health. Mewtwo shows Tim and Pikachu a vision of what happened at the research facility, revealing that Pikachu had sabotaged the containment pod that Mewtwo was trapped in. Before Mewtwo could reveal all that transpired, however, Roger captures Mewtwo and makes off with it.

Pikachu, believing he betrayed Harry and was a danger to Tim, runs away. With Ryme City in danger, Tim and Lucy return to warn Howard as Pikachu returns to the site of Harry's car crash. There, he finds a water shuriken from a Greninja, revealing that Mewtwo wasn't the one responsible for the crash! This also proves that Howard's holographic recording of the car crash had been doctored...but to what end?!

Tim returns to Ryme City to warn Howard, only to find him wearing a neural-link helmet with a captured Mewtwo nearby! Howard doses Mewtwo with the "R" gas and uses the neural-link helmet to transfer his consciousness into Mewtwo's body, freeing himself of the shackles of his ailing body in his own perverse attempt to evolve himself. He sets out into Ryme City as it holds a parade to celebrate the city's founding, and uses the "R" gas concealed in the parade floats with Mewtwo's immense psychic powers to forcibly transfer the bodies and souls of the city's human population into the surrounding Pokémon, while Howard's augmented Ditto, who disguised itself as Roger and "Ms. Norman" while the real Roger was left bound and gagged in a nearby closet, attacks Tim.

Pikachu returns as Howard ravages the city, and fights him, while Tim fends off Howard's Ditto with some assistance from Roger. In spite of regaining his ability to use electricity, Pikachu finds himself unable to defeat the possessed Mewtwo...but he didn't need to. He only needed to distract Howard long enough for Tim to remove the neural-link helmet from Howard's head, breaking his control over Mewtwo.

With a wave of psychic energy, Mewtwo destroys the "R" and restores the citizens of Ryme City back to their rightful bodies. As Howard is arrested, Roger hires Lucy as a full-time reporter, vowing to fix the mistakes his father made. Crisis averted, Mewtwo finally reveals the truth behind what happened to Pikachu and Harry that fateful night: after capturing Mewtwo, Harry had a crisis of conscious and instructed Pikachu to sabotage its containment pod to free it. Howard sent Greninja assassins after Harry, causing the car crash. With Harry dying, a desperate Pikachu begged Mewtwo for help. Mewtwo had long held humanity in disdain, but came to realize through Harry's selfless deed that not all humans were as evil as it thought. As such, it had transferred Harry's mind into Pikachu's body: Pikachu was Harry, Tim's father, all along! The process of fusing Harry and Pikachu caused the amnesia, but Mewtwo is able to undo the fusion and restore Harry to his original self.

Some time later, Tim prepares to return back to his hometown when he is approached by Harry. Having finally come to appreciate all that his father had done since coming to Ryme City, Tim decides to stay in the city instead and help Harry and Pikachu in their work as a detective.