By
Tom Russell
Published 19 minutes ago
Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering all things Classic TV from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi.
Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the Classic TV team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time.
Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check.
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When the live-action Pokémon movie Detective Pikachu hit theaters in 2019, fans had a wild mix of opinions. Among the many shows, movies, and games in the Pokémon universe, Detective Pikachu still stands out as one of the most divisive. It sparked a fierce debate about whether the franchise could survive, or thrive, outside its animated roots.
On paper, Detective Pikachu had everything going for it: a massive production, dazzling visual effects, and real-world settings that brought Pokémon into live-action with cinematic style. However, while its visuals were impressive and it grossed an impressive $433 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), the movie largely missed capturing the core essence of what’s made Pokémon so beloved for decades.
Still, the idea of a live-action Pokémon adaptation isn’t dead. Far from it. What the franchise needs if it wants to evolve beyond animation is the right medium: a series. A live-action TV show could return to the emotional heart and long-term progression that define Pokémon, delivering its magic in a way a movie never could.
The Perfect Pokémon Live-Action Adaptation Is A TV Show
A Series Format Lets Pokémon Breathe And Grow
A TV show offers what a movie simply can’t, but a franchise like Pokémon absolutely requires: time and room for growth. The heart of Pokémon has always been about trainers forging lasting bonds with their Pokémon, evolving over time, growing stronger through experience, challenges, victories, and failures.
That gradual sense of progress (the evolving friendship, the training arcs, the emotional highs and lows) is embedded deep in the Pokémon games and the anime. A film by nature condenses everything. It forces choices like which characters get screen time, which Pokémon matter, and which arcs get trimmed. That compression risks reducing relationships to clichés or momentary set-pieces.
However, a TV show, even a live-action one, gives space for layered storytelling. Imagine a season that follows a rookie trainer’s journey: capturing a starter, struggling through early battles, experiencing heartbreak after a loss, rebuilding trust with their team, and maybe training for something bigger like a regional league, a grand tournament, or a personal quest.
Each episode of a live-action show could spotlight a different Pokémon, its growth, its quirks, and its bond with its trainer. Viewers would watch that bond deepen. They’d live through victories and setbacks. They’d grow attached. That kind of emotional investment can only arise over time.
Moreover, a live-action Pokémon show can mirror the structure fans know and love from the games. It could mirror the anime's format of episodic adventures that contribute to a longer arc. Trainers traveling, exploring new environments, facing different challenges, discovering new Pokémon, evolving them, forming teams, and preparing for bigger contests, are key to the magic. That sense of journey, exploration, and gradual mastery underpins what makes Pokémon resonate.
Beyond emotional bonds and pacing, a show offers the opportunity to integrate multiple Pokémon from across the generations. Another live-action movie might be tempted to focus only on fan-favorites or the newest, trendiest creatures. In a series, there’s room for variety: classic first-generation Pokémon, oddball lesser-known creatures, and brand-new species. Trainers could forge relationships with unexpected team members, giving both longtime fans and newcomers a richer experience.
A well-crafted live-action TV show could also allow a deeper exploration of essential Pokémon themes like friendship, trust, responsibility, growth. Shadows could linger longer: what happens when a Pokémon is injured? When a trainer loses? When relationships strain? A live-action Pokémon show could reflect the messy, challenging path of growth, not just the highlight reel.
A live-action series has the potential to deliver true-to-roots Pokémon storytelling full of progression, bonding, and growth in a way that honours what makes the franchise special, rather than compressing it into a two-hour spectacle. This inarguable truth makes television the perfect format for a Pokémon live-action adaptation.
Detective Pikachu Was The Wrong Game For A Pokémon Movie
The Mystery Format Distorted What Pokémon Is Really About
The first big live-action Pokémon adaptation, 2019’s Detective Pikachu, opted for a mystery premise, a decision that felt more like a marketing move than a tribute. Choosing the world of Pokémon and telling a detective story might make for a flashy Hollywood concept, but it doesn’t align with the core of what makes Pokémon so beloved.
Detective Pikachu delivered some glimpses of what could have been, such as the underground Pokémon battle scene, the opening where the young trainer Tim (Justice Smith) attempts to catch a Cubone. Those moments captured a sliver of the franchise’s spirit. However, they remained isolated. The rest of the movie revolved around solving a crime, which pushed many iconic Pokémon elements to the background or turned them into accessories to the mystery.
The heart of Pokémon is not crime-solving. It’s adventure. It’s companionship. It’s the excitement of catching a new Pokémon, watching it grow, evolving through trials, and ultimately striving to become a champion. The movie sidestepped much of that. By focusing on a crime mystery story, Detective Pikchu turned Pokémon into props for a genre rarely associated with trainers and gyms.
A more faithful debut would have adapted a classic game, something akin to Pokémon Red or Pokémon Blue. It would have spotlighted what matters: the journey of a trainer and their Pokémon. A movie version of a game’s journey might still struggle to include the full breadth, but it would at least begin with the foundation: capturing, training, evolving, battling.
Instead, Detective Pikachu set a precedent. It suggested that Pokémon needed Hollywood tropes to appeal to mainstream audiences. In doing so, it risked turning a deeply emotional, growth-centered experience into a novelty. That approach might draw in casual viewers, but it fails the fans who have loved Pokémon for generations.
Ultimately, the choice to make the first live-action Pokémon movie a detective romp was a misstep. It overshadowed the essential elements of the franchise and replaced them with a format that, by design, ignores growth, progression, and the soul of being a trainer.
Will There Be Another Pokémon Live-Action Adaptation?
Netflix’s New Live-Action Series Could Be Pokémon’s Second Chance
Rumors have swirled for years that a new live-action Pokémon project is still alive, this time in the form of a TV series. According to various reports (via Variety), Netflix remains committed to what could be the next big adaptation of the franchise. That’s hopeful news for anyone dissatisfied with Detective Pikachu.
The Netflix project reportedly has Joe Henderson, co-showrunner of Lucifer, attached as writer and executive producer. Given Henderson’s track record with character-driven, serialized storytelling, that could point to a live-action Pokémon adaptation that values depth, progression, and emotional arcs, rather than flash and spectacle.
As of now, concrete details remain scarce. There’s no official word on casting, plot direction, or a release timeline. The secrecy suggests Netflix is quietly shaping the adaptation, possibly with an eye toward capturing what the franchise has always excelled at: stories rooted in the bond between trainer and Pokémon.
If the series does materialize, especially under the right creative vision, a live-action Pokémon show helmed by Netflix has a real shot at fulfilling what Detective Pikachu only hinted at. A TV series could give room for slow-build trainer journeys, team evolution, and emotional weight that resonates. It could reintroduce classic themes, familiar mechanics, and beloved Pokémon without sacrificing realism.
This long-awaited Netflix series could be the live-action Pokémon adaptation fans have actually been waiting for. After the misstep of Detective Pikachu, this might finally be the way to bring the world of Pokémon to life on screen, but with all its heart intact.
Pokemon
Created by
Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
First Film
Pokemon: The First Movie
Latest Film
Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
First TV Show
Pokémon
First Episode Air Date
April 1, 1997
Current Series
Pokémon
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Detective Pikachu
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