A Fair, Honest Ranking of ALL 23 Pokemon Movies

0:00 [Music] For the better part of 25 years, annual Pokémon films were as certain as death in taxes. Then one day, they decided they couldn't be bothered anymore. So now we've got an awkward number of 23 films to look back on. I could go into immense detail about these and their pacing, flaws, and some of you know I'm more than qualified for the job, but to avoid myself from talking for the length of your average Pokémon film, we're just going to have fun with this. Nothing super analytical, just raw emotions, some grilling here and there, and the

0:47 stuff I enjoy will get more attention. So, if you're here to have some fun, you're in the right place. Let's give a fair and honest ranking to all 23 Pokémon films. Enjoy, everybody. I'll never hear the end of it if I didn't bring this one up. So, I'll just put this here in its own place apart from the others. For the first Pokemon liveaction film, there's many places this could have gone. And given the track record for these things, you know, video game films and liveaction adaptations, I wouldn't have been shocked if this was a total disaster. At the time, I felt it was one of the better game adaptations. The Pokémon looked true to form without being completely off-putting. And there are a couple of standout scenes I still think about. Everything to do with Mr. Mime was great, but nothing will top that bit

1:32 with this guy knocking Ditto off the building. No big desire to go back to this one. But a decent effort. Not amazing, but not bad either. Sitting at the bottom where it belongs, a movie so bad I still remember the pain from the one time I watched it. And if I can help it, I'll never watch it again. Initially, I was hyped to see it because hey, Mewtwo, we all love Mewtwo. And I knew Pokemon wouldn't make a different Mewtwo cuz cuz that's stupid, right? Yeah. Almost as stupid as OG Mewtwo being owned by that film writer's estate. How did Pokemon let that slip by? This film makes you look back on everything before it and think, "We have actually hit rock bottom." This is the fuel bitter Gen Oneers use in arguments to make what they watched look better. And you know, just this once,

2:18 I'm with them when they say, "In my day, Pokémon movies weren't complete dumpster fires." This one doesn't deserve any more of my time. Life's too short. Okay, now this one just makes me laugh. It's honestly hilarious how much of a commercial for the Hoen remakes Hoopa felt like. It just screams, "Oh, please God, buy Orus. We got to make ends meet at the Pokémon Company and 10 million won't cut it, man. Just just a few more mil before Sun and Moon drops and we'll break even." Those games rad it in as usual, but that brand synergy didn't do jack for the box office, so I hope it was worth it. There's two things here that etch it out from the other XY films. Nothing substantial, but really just for me. Seeing my guy Woba Fett send back a shadow ball at Guiritina, which if it hit would have had such

3:04 velocity it would propel his lifeless body all the way to Phoenix. And of course, hearing Reggie Gigas make sad computer noises, fulfilling the prophecy laid down 10 movies prior. And uh yeah, that's it. One word comes to mind with the X and Y movies, and that's obligation. By this time, I fell into a routine going, "Oh, yay. It's the new Pokemon movie. Let's see that World of Pokemon intro, hear the full dub theme for this season, then go full autopilot." And the cherry on top here, some higher up said, "Hey, let's add a dub score to these films again. The fans will love that. We're back in business, baby." The XY series brought me back to the show, but I was this close to jumping ship on the movies. Had they pulled a Dragon Ball or

3:51 Scooby-Doo and did by annual releases, I totally would have. No light at the end of that rock tunnel. And again, aside from their Scooby-Doo DVD movie sounding names, nothing about these films stick out to me. Meo was the least offensive. I know that much. And I think there's some love story between a robot and a hot water heater. I don't know. I'm I'm not watching these again. These can get flushed. I'm going to be blunt and upfront. I don't care about these movies one bit. I remember watching all their TV premieres and naively being excited for each one of them. But they left no impact, good or bad. Arguably, that makes them worse than Genct cuz at least that got a reaction from me. But I'd still watch one of these first before thinking about GenC again. Now, the rest Zechrom films are two movies for the

4:37 price of two, but are still the same story. That only works for the games, guys. Nice try. No shiny cannon mode Goer can save you there. The one thing I remember from the Black and White films without looking it up is the fact Iris had some weird shading going on with her hair that made her look like a tiger. I'm not even kidding. That's what stuck with me all this time. Not going to mince words here. Every Diamond and Pearl movie after Dark Cry just goes through the motions. I could watch these again, but they didn't do jack for me before and I know they won't now. That said, Sky Warrior is pretty harmless. And for the longest time, this was the one Sinno film I had never seen. Even after years of being burned by these things, I was still curious to see it. But again, did nothing for me aside from look pretty and make me nostalgic for the DP anime.

5:22 I didn't even have much to rag on either, aside from the way they pronounce Grace Cadilla, which just made me crave Mexican food. And Arus, I've got like nothing to say on this one. Making a legit trilogy of films is a cool idea, but they barely did anything cool with the concept. Just having the time and space trio take shots at each other and everyone's out there like, "You gotta stop fighting, guys." I am going to need a lot more than that. Now, for Zorarch, I almost missed this movie when it aired on YTV cuz it wasn't advertised anywhere. I just so happened to be watching a Pokémon marathon and I saw coming up next, the new Pokémon movie. If I had anything to do that day, it might have been a Guccina situation. I didn't see the episode where Misty's Togepi evolved because someone took me to McDonald's one Saturday and like I

6:08 could go to Mickey Dolan's anytime, but I had no idea when I'd see that episode again. Sorry. Zoroa and Zorarch were the Gen 5 poster boys, but their portrayal here sucked all the hype out of the room. I found Zoroa annoying, and Zorarch never stopped her death metal screaming. And anytime I see Zorarch's name now, I have a primal urge to find a mantis and ruin its day with my power bands. This is the first Pokemon movie without certified crackhead Teeshi Shudo in the writer's chair, and he's seriously missed here. I broke my own rules and watched this one to refresh my memory before writing this entry, but I didn't need to do that. It's as middling as ever. I like some ideas here, like a young Professor Oak, the dark balls, whatever the heck this ball is. Celaby

6:54 almost dies, and seeing them try to feed it still trips me up. But that's it. Like half of the movie is these guys going on a nature walk before anything really happens. And this masked marauder, he talks a big game with his dark balls and omni droid, but he's a complete tool. A well-rounded park ranger could take this guy to the ground. Even his Pokemon blow. Maxed out Tyranitar gets sent packing by Onyx. I repeat, Onyx. And Ash ties up two Pokémon who are naturally equipped to not have that happen to them. The real reason I go back to this is for that audio commentary with the dubcast. That is a real time capsule and comes highly recommended if you've got the OG DVD lying around. I said I wasn't re-watching these, but for Manafi, I thought, eh,

7:41 I'll take the plunge. No pun intended. Then I find out it's the longest Pokemon movie, clocking in 5 minutes longer than that one Pixar film about the ocean. That was my frame of reference for movie length as a kid. 100 minutes was a big deal. There's no reason for this to be so long. It wasn't painful to sit through, but that run time still isn't earned. As long as it is, though, they couldn't spare 30 more seconds to have the end theme not get cut off in the credits. It's also weird how a spin-off like Pokemon Ranger got so much attention in a movie. I mean, I'd kill for some Stadium or Gale of Darkness rep in the show, but I guess they saw something in Ranger at the time. Big help that's doing it now. But actually talking about the film, May and Manafy are cute, I guess, and Jack's kind of fun, but that villain is another

8:27 stinker. His lasting impression was his pirate accent, which swaps to a southern draw for one line that had me bust a gut. But I was going to use my own two hands to hatch manip. Then Kyogre shows up in the 11th hour cuz someone thought, "Oh crap, this thing hasn't been in a movie yet." Uh, let it shoot a hyperbeam. That's always a winner. Growing up, I had that textbook friend who would make tall tales about Pokemon. Like how in the OE games, your Pokemon could die, but uh he can't show you because he left the game in his grandma's. Yeah. But he also told me about a film called Destiny Diosis, and the title sold me instantly. But like Deoxys itself, this film eluded me. I saw no TV ads for it, never saw it in stores, and had no regular access to a

9:14 WB affiliate. So I was out of luck till like '07. I always wanted to like this film more cuz it's got quite a bit going for it. The visuals give off 80s9s anime film vibes. It's got good battles like the one where Mattie Blouse forgot how to do Toqual's voice and that scuffle in the opening snake poker blasting cheese string alien to honeycomb never gets old. But all that said, the story never grabbed me. In my mind, I think, yeah, that's a good one. But I might just be swayed by the side of Paradise song and that World of Pokemon intro with the funky CG. Not even Munchlacks here could save this for me. For 2 years of my life, this guy was an obsession. But by the time I finally saw it evolve, I had already seen Maze Munchlacks in action. Gen 4 was out. It was old

10:02 news. By 2017, the Pokemon films had beaten me down. I had no hope in my soul for a good movie ever again. If you're 20 films into a series, the best years are definitely behind you. Yet, I still dragged my butt to the theaters to watch I Choose You, and it was actually enjoyable. Something worth remembering. The first Pokémon movie I willingly rewatched since Dark Cry. Comparing it to Dragon Ball again, this is Pokémon's Path to Power, telling the tale of where it all began with some liberties taken before detouring into fun fanfiction. still kind of blows for those of us who wanted to see some ho Ash closure, but you know what are you going to do? And even the emotional stuff got me. I never wanted to see a Pokémon freeze to death saving its master while its kid cries out for it. But that's the stuff you

10:49 remember. And movie deaths only get worse from here. You know when you're watching something and you think, "Where's that scene where they have a falling out and makeup?" Pokemon movies made me think, "What sweet little creature is getting taken out and how is it going to wreck me mentally?" I choose you did what most post Dark Cry films didn't. Earn my respect and make me hopeful for the future. Remaking the first episode is one thing, but remaking the first movie is a whole other beast and in 3D, no less. I quite enjoyed this one, but reactions from everyone else were straight Venom. If it wasn't the art style, most of what I saw came from them not getting Veronica Taylor to voice Ash like they didn't do for I Choose You. These people didn't care about consistency. They just wanted that for

11:35 nostalgia's sake and nothing more. These people stopped watching the show when Zeers was selling GameCube bundles for 80 bucks. The same people who said this was ruining their childhood were doing Tex Avery Wild Takes seeing Team Rocket exist in an extra dimension. I'm not trusting you guys with my firstborn child, let alone your thoughts on a Pokemon film. Now, it ain't perfect. There's 10 extra minutes here not spent on adding stuff from the radio drama or the OVA, but it's a cool experiment regardless. Great animation. The current dubcast got a shot at an iconic project with some series vets even reprising old roles. It was a trip seeing Mewtwo Strikes Back like this. Still think the original's better, but if this was on TV or something, I'd be like, heck yeah, fire it

12:20 up. As it stands, this is how the film series goes out, and it's polarizing. It's not a bad way to go, but it doesn't have that finality to it. None of that the last Pokemon the movie kind of vibe. If those Game Freak leaks are 100% legit, Ash's retirement wasn't planned at the start of Journeys. Cuz if it was, I'm sure they'd have wanted his film career to go out with a bang. But on its own merit, it's a decent time despite being a step down from Power of Us. I said this in my old review, but going from a big diverse cast to two dudes with a language barrier between them is a major downgrade. Though, this still goes to places other films never did, like upgrading from Pokémon Death to Coordinated Human Murder. And if I had to watch this or the brunt of films

13:06 preceding it, I'd choose this film every time and even over some of the classic era films, I'll take Avatar Xan over Pokemon an day. I got Rise of Dark Cry as a birthday gift from a friend. So, part of me wants to go easy on it. But here comes a curveball cuz I like this one regardless of sentimental value. And after seeing what Pokémon movies devolved into after this, that also gives it points. Solid pacing. Alamos Town has a cool backstory. Dark Rise got a good arc. It's like an actual movie. Side characters aren't half bad either, like Baron Alberto, which if I worked in localizing, I'd have fought tooth and nail to name him Ricky. So when he turns into his ace, you'd all have been calling him Ricky Licky Licky. For music, the Arasion song is an alltimer,

13:51 and who would have thought it would show up in Pokemon Sleep years later. I don't play Pokemon Sleep, but that is still awesome. I also liked the We Will Be Heroes dub opening after hearing season 10's Christopher Walkin rap single. This was so good for the ears. And kudos to them for using it for season 11's intro with 100% less guys shouting dark cry. That should have just been left for living in the shadows, which still cheesy. Yeah, but I'll forgive it there. Just cuz when someone says the phrase live in the shadows, I can't not follow it up in my head without of dark cry. I was always a bit late to these films as a kid cuz well, I never knew when they came out. Heroes was a blockbuster rental, which my family hardly ever did, but it made this

14:38 special weekend rental feel even more so and more finite. Like, why can't we just buy this? You know I'm coming back to this. You can spare the 20 bucks. Ma, love the setting of the place. How when the fossil Pokemon unleash hell, it turns into Jurassic Park. And we got the first legit Pokemon death in the series, which had me thinking as far as the show goes, Ldios was extinct more than the actual extinct monsters we saw earlier. When Tobias Sim went out in the Cinno League, one of the many thoughts going through my head was, "No, no, no, you're dead." The dub also has this blue tint over everything that wasn't there before. And I'm rightfully going to get flogged for this, but I thought it looked kind of cool. Like, when I think heroes, I just think of the color blue. And I'm aware of all the stuff the dub changed. I know Annie and Oakley aren't rocket agents and don't owe Jesse ice

15:24 cream. I know the subtitles think Toadile speaking English, but I still liked it. What are you going to do? Am I going to show up in the news like Poketuber gets decimated for liking imperfect dub? Cuz of course, that's how I'd go out. I see people toss this movie aside, but I have always always enjoyed Gerach. People come up to me on the street telling me Deoxys is better and I'm like ho ho ho better than Wo. My brother got it for his seventh birthday on the way out of the grocery store like right at checkout for peanuts and it gave us hours upon years worth of entertainment. It's also taking all my restraint to not bring up Got to Dance cuz shorts don't count. But oh man, that's great, too. I love the roadside carnival setting, Butler and Diane's relationship, how it

16:11 turns into a road movie halfway in, and a monster movie by the end. This act against God was not advertised anywhere. And sort of like Ente in movie 3, you expect the real deal. But this thing's at least 10 times cooler than Bass or even Primal Groudon. And when I see a dodgy Gen 3 bootleg or ROM hack, I always get the urge to say, "That creature's not Groudon." If we're just talking end themes though, this film has everyone beat. It doesn't get better than Make a Wish. Just saying the name gets me emotional. Hearing this as a kid and having the song go from English into the fabled language that is Japanese and then into a bilingual duet, that is when life truly began for me. Don't come at me with your bad Gerra takes either. I won't hear it. I I'll just get Gerra to

16:56 get rid of the problem. I may have seen Gerra a hundred times, but Lucario is a close second on the rewatch scale. And for years, I saw it as the last truly great Pokemon film. This may have been the first time I cared more about characters other than Ashen Co. where I said, "This isn't just the Lucario movie. This is Lucario's movie." And yeah, that's been the case from the start, but I truly realized that here. Lucario's got a good arc, which ends with the second ever anime death. We get parallels to him and Sir Aaron with Ash and Pikachu coupled with a flashback to episode one. And you know, other anime pull the remember when we first met card a lot, but Pokemon hardly did back then. So seeing it in a movie felt extra special. The concept of aura debuted here, which paid off like

17:43 we wouldn't believe when Ash got his own Lucario years later. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Reggies. Whoever it was who said, "Make them sound like the machine uprising we all fear." I hope they're chilling on a yacht somewhere to this very day. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, both online and off, most people in my circles told me this wasn't a good film. Like, it was practically beaten into me. After that, I ragged on it, too, if only just to fit in. But with age, I learned not to care what others think. I like it. That's all that matters. I also like thinking about the time it came out and what it meant for other kids. the ones who begged their parents to take them to the theaters to see the biggest thing in their lives up to that point. And God help them if their kid had friends who like this garbage. The nostalgia of

18:30 others is kind of fascinating like that. This movie is that perfect blend of real stakes mixed with fun and adventure wrapped up in a cheese-filled dub package and a soundtrack of artists who I only care about for their work right here with apologies to M2M and Vitamin C. I know this thing word for word, but if someone within earshot wants to give it a watch, I'm dropping everything to do it cuz I know it's going to be a fun time. One fateful 2004 afternoon, I swung by the bargain bin at Zeers or something and got myself a Georgia the Jungle Tape and Pokémon 2000. Living up to their original meaning, was that ever a bargain? To me, 2000 always felt like a summer movie. Yes, I know it came out during the summer, but with the tropical island setting and the outdoor

19:17 festivals, it feels wrong watching this in the dead of January. And if the last movie had big stakes, well, now the whole world's in on the action. Every Pokémon coming together for Mother Earth, even though they're clueless on what they can even do. Only guys who can't get with the program are the legendary birds who just want the other birds to get off of their lawn and maybe snatch theirs when no one's looking. It's downright hilarious how much they can't deal. It's like when a male robin sees his reflection during mating season. And poor Lugia. This trio master gets no respect. The minute he shows up, the birds go into kill mode and kick him when he's down. Still, Lugia of all Pokémon should have known not to use protect more than twice in a row. You can spam arrow blast or Lugia beam all day, but you really should have kept

20:03 future sight on hand. You are mama. Going from worldending stakes to a story about parent and child, but I say it still feels like the grandest scale the films took by that point. General consensus will tell you it's the best Pokémon film, and I can see why. I love how everyone gets involved here. Brock and Misty square up. Ash's mom gets a big role. Tracy gets a line, which is more than can be said for 99% of his screen time after this. Then there's that full battle in the opening. Something already rare for the show alongside the best Pokemon Johto cover. I swear the movie could have been just this battle and I'd have been satisfied. There's also Charizard swooping in by the end to fight Ente. And they made me think Unknown was something worth wasting a

20:50 Master Ball on. Though I blame Don Lefontaine's trailer narration for that. You know, more mysterious than Mew, more powerful than Lugia. Now that's how you false advertise. For years, it was also the highest rated Pokemon film on Rotten Tomatoes at a whopping 20%. Back when most adults hated Pokemon with a white hot passion. And I mean, they still do. But nowadays, those adults are Pokémon fans, so jokes on them. If this was how the film series ended, I'd think to myself, you know what? There's no better way to end it. Power of Us gave me everything I didn't know I needed. People will tell you a series has to be a certain way, and if it dares branch out, they go, "Pokemon's not XYZ. It shouldn't try to tell an actual story and make me legit care."

21:37 Well, for your sake, I hope you don't ever write for something I like. I I'll train Gerach to get rid of the problem permanently. There's no legendaries killing each other, no talking Pokémon, little battles, Ash doesn't die. It's just got people from all walks of life coming together, and Pokémon happen to be there. Who knew that was the winning formula? And who knew they had it in them to double down on the Pokemon deaths? I want the name and phone number of whoever said, "Hey, let's show Snubble get barbecued." I used to think this thing was dumb and now I just ball my eyes out seeing one. Even with other films having nostalgia on their side, as powerful as Vitamin C's Vacation may be for me, Power of Us comes out on top every time. Shame we'll never see if the films could get any better than this,

22:23 but honestly, I don't think they could. Best Pokemon film ever. Hey there guys, thanks for watching. I really hope you enjoyed what you saw. If you did, feel free to give this video a like, share with a friend, subscribe, check out my social media pages, my Patreon page where you can see videos like this before they go live. All that stuff I always go on about. Speaking of the Patreon, I'd like to give a special shout out to Lars Nisswan for his support. It really does mean more than you know. Thanks so much. And tell me, what are some of your favorite Pokemon movies? Or conversely, what are some of your least favorite Pokémon movies? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. I'd love to read them. And with all that said, I'll see you next time for another installment in

23:11 this month of Pokémon. Catch you later. [Music] [Applause] [Music]