From its surprising cast to the slightly risque PG rating and its innovative shooting style, there are more than a few things you should probably know before you pick up your ticket to Detective Pikachu.
Here's all the background you need on the world-famous Pokemon, the movie's unique setting, and more.
If you're not familiar with the world of Pokemon, you might want to brush up before you head into Detective Pikachu.
Known as Pocket Monsters in its home country of Japan, the series of video games came to the United States in 1998 with Pokémon Red and Blue for the Nintendo Game Boy, and sold more copies than any other Game Boy game besides Tetris.
These blockbuster beginnings laid the groundwork for a massive multimedia franchise, which continued on to the Game Boy Advance all the way up to the Nintendo Switch, with plenty of spinoffs and tie-ins coming in along the way.
Between video games, movies, TV shows, a popular trading card series, and more, Pokemon has secured its spot as the highest-grossing media franchise of all time.
But it all starts with the games.
In the main game series, players take on the roles of Pokemon trainers, capturing wild animal-monster hybrids that roam the world.
These weaponized pets then get used in battles with other trainers players encounter along their journeys, as well as competitive gym leaders, elite trainers, and even evil gangs and corporations, from Pokemon Red and Blue's Team Rocket to Pokemon Sun and Moon's Team Skull.
But for the most part, the games have always come down to one goal — getting out in the tall grass, hunting for Pokemon, and catching them all.
