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SYFY WIRE Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Pokemon merch is everywhere in Ryan Reynolds' new Detective Pikachu TV spot

By Matthew Jackson
Pokemon Detective Pikachu Justice Smith

Pokemon merch is all over our world, and has been for a couple of decades now. Walk into any store where toys of any kind are sold, and you're bound to see Pikachu's cute yellow face somewhere. When we cross over from our world into the fictional realm of Pokemon depicted in Detective Pikachu, it turns out not much has changed.

Warner Bros. dropped a new TV spot for the film — which follows a young former Pokemon trainer (Justice Smith) who's trying to solve a mystery with the help of a Pikachu who can somehow speak only to him (Ryan Reynolds) — this week, and while it doesn't tell us anything about the plot that we didn't already know, it does help illuminate even more of this vast world. One of the great lures of Detective Pikachu is its place in history as the first live-action Pokemon film, and that means much more than just showing us CGI versions of our favorite pocket monsters (Hello, herd of Bulbasaur!). It also means we get to see how humanity lives alongside Pokemon, and that apparently includes just as much tie-in merch as we have in our world, right down to special Pikachu beds.

The TV spot also brings us back to that footage from the most recent trailer that shows off a full-sized Pikachu parade balloon in the middle of the city, something anyone who's watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will no doubt recognize from our world as well. What's next? Everyone has Pikachu keychains and phone cases and pajamas? Probably. We'll find out for sure when Detective Pikachu hits theaters May 10.