No, it’s not Pikachu.
As the co-star of Detective Pikachu alongside Ryan Reynolds, it hardly comes as a surprise that Justice Smith is himself, a self-professed Pokémon fan. The actor has confirmed as much in past interviews but not until now, has the lead in The Pokémon Company’s first live-action picture revealed which ‘Mon is perched at the top of his own personal list of favourites. Spanning two decades, a countless number of games and boasting more than 800 critters to choose from, whittling the roster down to just a single individual is a herculean task, though Smith, it seems, has had no such trouble.
To celebrate the impending release of Detective Pikachu, Smith sat down with Pokémon.com to discuss both the film and his overarching history with the franchise, a back and forth that inevitably led to the most important question of all.
Smith’s character Tim Goodman is already a retired Trainer by the events of the film. Having since hung up his Poké Balls and currently on the hunt for his missing father, Tim teams up with Reynolds’ world-class Pokémon detective to discover his whereabouts. As the undisputed mascot of the entire franchise, Pikachu’s role in the film is to be expected, but had he been given the choice, Smith would have gone with a different Pocket Monster altogether.
When posed the question of which Pokémon he’d choose to have as a partner in the real world, Smith answers: “I mean, Pikachu is iconic, but my favorite Pokémon – my go to – is Totodile. He was my starter Pokémon in Pokémon Gold. Also, his evolutions are really cool – Croconaw and Feraligatr – and Water-type Pokémon are one of my favorite types, too.”
Well, there you have it, folks – Totodile has just earned himself a high-profile adorer, but will the water starter make an appearance in Detective Pikachu? We’ll finally get those answers and more come May 10th, when the long-awaited video game adaptation hits North American theaters.
In the meantime, be sure to let us know via the comments below which Pokédex entry is your all-time favourite!
