In case you want to hear what Pikachu sounds like when he’s speaking words that are English and don’t sound like “pika pika,” Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You! is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Released originally in Japan in the summer of 2017, with a small theater run in America near the end of 2017, Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You! was finally released on Blu-Ray and DVD in February of 2018. This release allowed the world as a whole to view and hear what might be one of the strangest Pokemon moments of all time.
Pikachu not only talks in English (and the languages of the respective countries where this movie was released dubbed) for the first time, but explains to Ash Ketchum why he doesn’t want to go into a Pokeball. If you missed out on this bizarre moment, you can check it out below.
Of course, we were recently given the trailer for the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie, which features Ryan Reynolds voicing the electric mouse, but the Pikachu above was the first to do it!
Other than the spectacle of hearing and seeing this happen, you might not find much enjoyment in the rest of the movie. Sitting at a Rotten Tomatoes score of 43 percent (although the fan score is a bit higher at 67 percent) and an IMBd score of 6.5 out of 10, the movie failed to reach the critical success the creators were likely hoping it would.
In short, Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You! serves as a retelling of the first season of the original Pokemon show, with some creative liberties in regards to the legendary Johto bird, Ho-Oh. Whereas fans of the show got just a glimpse of the bird at the end of the very first episode, Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You! incorporates the legendary Pokemon into the story of the movie.
We won’t spoil how that’s done, but if you’re curious, you can check it out now on Netflix.
About the author
