At the beginning of
Detective Pikachu, Tim Goodman was totally opposed to adopting a Pokémon. In an early version of the live-action
Pokémon film, however, Tim was apparently going to be partnered with an Arcanine.
A concept artist who worked on
Detective Pikachu, by the name of RJ Palmer, recently shared some new pieces which include realistic designs for Arcanine. The artist's tweet (via
Gamefragger) reveals the original plans for the tiger-like Pokémon creature.
“Arcanine was originally going to be a much bigger part of Detective Pikachu. So this stuff is from very early on my work for the film. It was going to be Tim's Pokemon so I gave it the tongue sticky out thing my doofus cat does. What's not to love, its a horse sized liger-dog.”
Who knows how Arcanine being included in such a substantial way would've changed the film. You'd think it would've affected Detective Pikachu's inclusion and Tim's overall arc. As it stands, Arcanine only featured in the background of some shots, often out of focus.
Check out the tweet and concept art below: