Those of you who have already seen Detective Pikachu would know that there are quite a few references to the mainline Pokemon games in it, but does that mean the film takes place in the same universe?

According to Detective Pikachu‘s writers Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez, the answer to that question is soft “Maybe”. In an interview with Comicbook.com, Hernandez explained that the two tried their best to construct Ryme City as just another place/region in the Pokemon world, one where the rules are just a little bit different from the games we are used to.

“We definitely did do it that way as like, ‘This is like maybe connected to the rest of the Pokemon world.” It’s not like we’re saying that this is an alternate universe where Pokemon and humans live side by side. This is just a different area in their known world where they decided to do things differently. We wanted to be clear that this is the same Universe as all the other Pokemon stuff, it’s just a different side of it.”

It is possible that Samit and Hernandez aren’t really in a position to confirm whether or not their film is “canon” as it is something the Pokemon Company would have the final say on. We would likely have to wait for official confirmation from the Pokemon Company to know for sure, either in a statement or perhaps a little nod to the characters in the upcoming games.

What do you think? Is Detective Pikachu canon? Let us know in the comments below!