More than two decades since Pokémon first hit American shores, the first live-action movie in franchise history, Detective Pikachu, finally hit theaters this weekend. The movie serves as a great introduction for people who had shunned the Pokémon franchise their whole lives, while also satisfying those who are even more obsessed with catching 'em all than they were 20 years ago. I fit into that latter category, by the way, which means that I really appreciated it when Detective Pikachu took the time to throw in some deep-cut references.

Now, when I say "deep cut," I don't mean something as simple as "Hey, there's a monster that isn't Pikachu!" Or "Look! There's a Pokémon on that poster back there!" Because there are tons of those, and I was constantly delighted to be able to whisper "It's ... it's ... SLAKING!" to my annoyed friend in the theater, as if I was playing one long game of "Who's that Pokémon?" with myself. I'm talking about ones that, to fully appreciate, you kind of have to know a bit of Pokémon history.

So here's a few references that you may only get if you've been playing the games or watching the anime religiously since the late '90s. I knew that spending more time on Pokémon games than I ever did on self-care or human relationships would pay off somehow.