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Bizarre Pokémon game Detective Pikachu is real, out next week in Japan

We had no clue.

Nintendo has officially unveiled Detective Pikachu: Birth of a New Combination, a 3DS game starring a crime-solving Pikachu who wears a Sherlock Holmes-style hat.

It's been more than two years since an early tech demo for the title was glimpsed - all the way back in October 2013. It showed an actor mo-capping facial animations while Pikachu nattered away in Japanese.

The trailer below - which, believe me, is extraordinary - shows the walking, talking Pikachu and his human companion solving crimes.

Detective Pikachu will launch via the 3DS eShop on 3rd February in Japan priced 1200 Yen (£7.10) for three weeks, then 1500 Yen (about £8.80) thereafter.

The subtitle suggests this will be the first part in a series. We're asking Nintendo UK for more details now - including when we'll see the game here in the West.

Watch on YouTube

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