# Unsettled Detective Pikachu Unsettled Detective Pikachu is a reaction image pulled from a May 2019 promo clip for the live-action Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film, in which Pikachu side-eyes Psyduck's nervous rambling. The screengrab took off on Reddit within days of the promo dropping, powering a run of r/dankmemes and r/memes posts that captioned the worried face over scenarios about dangerous classmates, misfiring Marines, and dying helicopter engines. ## Origin The source clip came from a promotional video Ryan Reynolds posted on May 1st, 2019 for the live-action Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film, in which Pikachu voiced by Reynolds listens to Psyduck's anxious muttering and gives him an unsettled sideways look[1]. According to Know Your Meme, the promo passed 7.6 million views within a month of upload[7]. The earliest known meme use of the screengrab came on May 12th, 2019, when Redditor MeowMeowImAKitty posted it to r/dankmemes with the caption "When you notice the quiet kid that sits next you brought a duffel bag to class"[2]. The same user cross-posted the image to r/MemeEconomy that same day, pitching it as a format to invest in, where it pulled more than 1,500 points at 98% upvoted over four days[3]. - **Platform:** YouTube (source clip) / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** MeowMeowImAKitty (earliest known meme poster) - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview The format works as a close relative of the older Unsettled Tom reaction image, swapping the cat for Pikachu's pinched, sideways glance from the film[7]. A caption sets up a situation that pivots from mundane to alarming in a single sentence, and Pikachu's face delivers the dawning dread[2]. Captions tend to follow the "when you notice [thing]" phrasing that defined r/dankmemes templates in mid-2019[3]. Common setups include stories about a quiet classmate acting off, a coworker or squadmate crossing a line, or a passenger realizing something mechanical just went very wrong[5]. The image is almost always cropped tight to the yellow face so Pikachu's worried eyes carry the punchline. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Unsettled Detective Pikachu? It is a reaction image macro taken from the 2019 Pokémon: Detective Pikachu film, showing Pikachu giving Psyduck a worried sideways look[1]. ### Where did Unsettled Detective Pikachu come from? The still was pulled from a May 1st, 2019 promotional video posted by Ryan Reynolds[1], and first turned into a meme by Redditor MeowMeowImAKitty on May 12th, 2019[2]. ### What does Unsettled Detective Pikachu mean? It reads as dawning dread, used with captions where a situation flips from normal to alarming in one sentence, in the mold of the earlier Unsettled Tom format[7]. ### How do you use Unsettled Detective Pikachu? Pair the cropped Pikachu face with a "when you notice [thing]" caption describing a scenario that just took an unsettling turn, like a classmate's duffel bag or a helicopter engine cutting out[3][5]. ### Is Unsettled Detective Pikachu still popular? Its peak was the week of the Detective Pikachu film release in May 2019, when posts cleared tens of thousands of upvotes on r/memes and r/dankmemes[5][6]; it is still cited as a classic Reddit reaction image from that period[7]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo1YKTvM2Uc]() 2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/bnqywu/its_always_the_quiet_ones_you_have_to_look_out_for/]() 3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeEconomy/comments/bnrq2z/i_invested_everything_into_detective_pikachu/]() 4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/comments/bolexc/hmmm/]() 5. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/bp7t7t/damn_is_it_me_or_is_it_getting_hot/]() 6. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/bpcglj/oh_yes_every_time/]() 7. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/unsettled-detective-pikachu]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/unsettled-detective-pikachu Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library