So far, the promotion for Detective Pikachu has done a surprisingly good job of winning over skeptics, or at the very least, convincing folks that it won’t be quite as misguided a project as some feared it would be. What’s more, the impressive marketing for the first live-action Pokémon movie continues today with a preview for a new trading card set which will release on April 5th.
Seen in the gallery down below, the first three cards that have been unveiled are Detective Pikachu (of course), Charizard GX and Greninja GX. What’s interesting though is that they don’t depict the creatures as drawings, like usual. Rather, they use the likeness from the upcoming movie, which means that we’ve now got our best look yet at how Charizard will appear in the film and we’ve gotta say, he looks pretty badass.
In addition to that, also announced were special Case File sets of the cards and a Collector Chest, which obviously has quite a few goodies inside. For more, here’s the full rundown on all the sets:
Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu Case File—Contains one promo card featuring Detective Pikachu, one metallic coin inspired by Detective Pikachu, two Detective Pikachu booster packs, and one additional Pokémon TCG booster pack.
Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu Charizard-GX Case File—Contains one foil promo card and one foil oversize card featuring Charizard-GX, four Detective Pikachu booster packs, and two additional Pokémon TCG booster packs.
Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu Greninja-GX Case File—Contains one foil promo card and one foil oversize card featuring Greninja-GX, one pin featuring Greninja, five Detective Pikachu booster packs, and two additional Pokémon TCG booster packs.
Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu Collector Chest—Contains seven Detective Pikachu booster packs, two additional Pokémon TCG booster packs, one collector’s pin inspired by Detective Pikachu, and one Pokémon notepad and sticker sheet, all in a sturdy metal case.
It definitely sounds pretty sweet, and while we wouldn’t blame you for feeling unsure about Detective Pikachu (this is a video game movie, after all) at this stage, we must admit that the first trailer makes it appear as if the franchise’s long-awaited jump to live-action cinema will turn out to be a lot less awkward than most probably expected.
In any case, the studio seems to be pretty confident in what they have, as we already know that a spinoff’s in the works, with rumors that they’re planning to spawn a whole new cinematic universe from Detective Pikachu as well. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to on the big screen then, and it all begins on May 10th, when the much anticipated flick heads into theaters.