Pikachu stars as a senior detective in newly revealed Pokemon game

Over our years of knowing Pikachu both as a mascot and a party member, we've never been particularly impressed by his investigative work. That's set to change in a new Pokemon title which casts the electric mouse as senior partner at a detective agency, Siliconera reports.

The new game was revealed in a Japanese television show earlier this week. In it, players work work alongside Pikachu to solve mysterious cases, using the 3DS touch screen to search for objects of interest.

But it would be kind of tough to work complex cases with a partner who can only say his own name, right? Well, Pikachu can talk now. And not just in cute, non-grammatical sentences--he's a grizzled, cynical gumshoe and he speaks like one. We're not kidding.

The Pokemon Company aims to complete the game within two years, and we can only hope that this strange new take on the monster-battling series will make it outside of Japan.