Memes / Pokémon Detective Pikachu

:o

Being a movie based on a spin-off game in a long-running franchise with a video game series, card game, and anime series, it's only natural a Live-Action Adaptation would create a lot of memetic content.

• Many fans are comparing the live-action Bulbasaur to Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.
• In a Call-Back to a meme from the source material, expressing disappointment that Danny DeVito is not voicing Pikachu.^Explanation Back before that game was localized, there was a joking petition to have the actor in question be Pikachu’s dub voice actor, which quickly became a Running Gag for the fandom. Even the official Twitter page for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia mocked the meme following the release of the trailer.
• Deadpool (2016) references (and references to Ryan Reynolds's filmography in general) are, of course, abundant.
• Due to the first trailer debuting on the same day that Stan Lee passed away (November 12, 2018), a few people have joked that the trailer was somehow responsible.
  • In a similar vein, people joking that the trailer was strategically released to completely overshadow the Toy Story 4 teaser trailer. Even more hilarious is that the next Toy Story 4 trailer came out just a day later in what seems to be an effort to take back the spotlight.
• Pikachu's facial expressions (especially this one◊, dubbed the "Same Energy" face) have seen a number of edits and drawings involving them. Some of them bring in the "Surprised Pikachu" meme from the anime, which'd popped up a couple of months before the first trailer was released.
  • Similarly, pointing out the resemblance between Pikachu and Dustin◊ from Stranger Things based on brief shots of both characters.
• German Pikachu^Explanation While all the dubbed trailers used a stock "Pika Pika" for Det. Pikachu, the German trailer had the voice actor dub this part over... which makes no sense, considering that it would mean more work for the voice actor and it sounds extremely wrong, some comparing it to a 30-year-old trying to imitate Pikachu. Although it does bring the vocal effect closer to the original game. This was fixed in later trailers, and also the final movie.
• "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!":
  • The sudden PG-rated swearing is so jarring and hilarious that it's encouraged practically everyone to exaggerate Detective Pikachu as a Sir Swears-a-Lot. The fact that he shares a voice actor with a certain famously foul-mouthed character may also have something to do with it.

    Anime Pikachu getting hit by an attack: pikaaaa cha >_<
    Detective Pikachu getting hit by an attack: ow shit god damnit what the hell son of a bitch that hurt like a motherfucker augh right in the cock.

  • Every frame of that shot where Pikachu is begging to be released has been compared to the "LET ME IIINNNN" meme from The Eric Andre Show.
• Pairing up the appearance of Mewtwo to Etika's reaction to Mewtwo's reveal in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U has been pretty common.
• Pikachu Dance^Explanation Based on a post of someone claiming to leak the entirety of the movie on Twitter, with the leak turning out to be a looped animation of Det. Pikachu dancing. The internet had a field day letting him dance to all kinds of tunes, mostly unfitting ones.
• The curse is broken!^Explanation Critical Dissonance aside, audience reception to the movie is mostly positive, and it's being hailed for defying Video Game Movies Suck after receiving a "Fresh" designation on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Pikachu in the children's seat.^Explanation When Lucy drives Tim and Pikachu to the laboratory, Pikachu sits on the backseat with Lucy's Psyduck right next to him. This makes him visibly nervous, but some people used this picture to express disappointment or concern, with a fitting caption alongside of it.
• A pair of images of Pikachu taking a sip out of a cup has been floating around. Often followed with these lines as caption:
  Pikachu: I can stop whenever I want. These are just choices.
• Pikachu's "Whoa. Did you just understand me?" is often used in context of being understood in unexpected situations.