“I choose you!” This catchphrase is one of the most iconic in the world of Pokémon, but Detective Pikachu gives that phrase a whole new meaning in retrospect. Because its setting, Ryme City, is so different from the rest of the Pokémon world, this simple phrase starts to take on a whole new meaning.
In the games and the anime, variations of that phrase are used all the time, but mostly in the context of battling. Trainers call out their Pokémon to send them into a fight. In the main setting of the movie, Ryme City, battling is relegated to illegal matches. Instead, people and Pokémon are more like pets or companions, making “choosing” one much different in this version of the world.
While the phrase “I choose you!” isn’t directly said in the movie, it’s referenced at the beginning. When Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is trying to catch a Cubone early in the movie, he talks about trying to get it to choose him. At this point, Tim isn’t in the middle of Ryme City and their revolutionary way of treating Pokémon. This still makes it a good catch on a rewatch, knowing that his idea of choosing a Pokémon is going to be a lot different later on.
The Pokémon series has always been a little weird about its main game mechanic involving humans making animals fight each other. It seems that the Pokémon enjoy battling, but it’s still hard not to make connections to real-world dog fighting. In that context, saying “I choose you!” in the anime comes across as scary: the Pokémon is being chosen to go into battle, where it could be badly injured.
In Ryme City, people with Pokémon companions are choosing a partner. Pokémon help people in their day-to-day lives, using their particular skills in whatever way they can. It’s almost like having a pet who’s also helpful to you. Instead of the dread of being sent out into battle, “I choose you!” tells the Pokémon that they’re wanted for who they are, rather than how powerful they are in a fight. This is never addressed directly in Detective Pikachu, since the catchphrase “I choose you!” isn’t spoken aloud. Instead, it’s only implied by the emphasis placed on just how different Ryme City is from the rest of the Pokémon world. It’s there, but just under the surface.
While it’s a subtle change, Detective Pikachu manages to take one of the iconic catchphrases from the series and give it a whole new meaning. Instead of choosing a soldier for battle, saying “I choose you!” as a trainer in Ryme City means that you’re choosing a partner or companion. Making the city somewhere that Pokémon are partners rather than used all for battles changes a lot about the world of Pokémon, even down to what its big catchphrases mean.
Next: What To Expect From Detective Pikachu 2
