Pokémon

Pokémon were the titular characters of the game Pokémon Go. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

Robert Zierath was a fan of Pokémon as a child. (PROSE: The Schoolboy's Story)

While infiltrating the Tokyo branch of Harmony Shoal, the Twelfth Doctor created a distraction by flooding the downstairs floor with the creatures. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

Behind the scenes

Pokémon (short for "Pocket Monster") is a Japanese video game franchise. The series primarily revolves around the task of capturing the titular monsters and having them battle each other.

Pokémon Go, a free-to-play augmented reality game that allowed players to effectively capture Pokémon in "real life", was launched in 2016.

Pikachu is a Pokémon, and acts as the mascot of the franchise.

Coincidentally, Ms Delphox, the character featured in 2014's Time Heist, shares her name with a Pokémon introduced almost a year prior in Pokémon X and Y.

The long-running Pokémon anime series currently airs on Disney XD in the United States. It also previously aired on the UK version of the channel.

A live-action Pokémon film, titled Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, was released in 2019. The film featured Bill Nighy as Howard Clifford, and Josette Simon made a brief appearance as Tim Goodman's grandmother.