Brief Summary
In this inaugural episode of the "Pokemon Gotta Watch Them All" podcast series, Danny and his crew (Dante, Chris, and John) kick off by watching and discussing "Pokemon: The First Movie." They share their initial impressions, favorite moments, and dissect the plot, fun facts, and animation. The hosts also introduce a weekly challenge where they pick a Pokémon from the movie, and viewers vote for their favorite on Twitter.
- The podcast series will cover every Pokémon movie, ranking them and discussing various aspects.
- The hosts share their favorite Pokémon movies and discuss their expectations for the series.
- They introduce a weekly challenge involving Pokémon from each movie, engaging the audience through Twitter polls.
Intro and Introductions
Danny introduces the new podcast series, "Pokemon Gotta Watch Them All," where he and his crew will watch and rank every Pokemon movie. He encourages audience participation and introduces the crew: Dante (aka Shuriblur), Chris (aka Princeton), and John. Each member shares their current favorite Pokemon movie: Danny's is "Pokemon 2000," Dante favors one of the originals up to "Pokemon Forever," Chris likes "Pokemon 3: The Spell of the Unown," and John prefers "Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai."
Initial Impressions and Movie Fun Facts
Before diving into the plot, the hosts share their initial impressions of "Pokemon: The First Movie." Chris appreciates the animation quality and the movie's message, while Dante notes a new perspective and some critiques despite enjoying it. They discuss their experiences watching the movie in theaters or renting it from Blockbuster. Danny shares fun facts, including the movie's gross earnings of over $31 million during its opening weekend, competing with major films like "Saving Private Ryan," "Titanic," and "Toy Story." Worldwide, it grossed $163 million, with just under $86 million in North America.
Plot Discussion: Mewtwo's Origin and Giovanni's Involvement
The discussion begins with Mewtwo's awakening in a laboratory, surrounded by scientists, revealing his origin as a clone of Mew. The scientists extracted Mew's DNA from an ancient slab to create Mewtwo, aiming to make him more powerful. Giovanni intends to use Mewtwo as the world's most powerful Pokémon. The hosts discuss the differences between Mewtwo's creation in the movie versus the manga, where Blaine was the scientist involved and had a closer connection to Mewtwo. They also touch on how the anime and movies have different continuities. Mewtwo, questioning his purpose, destroys the lab. Giovanni then appears, offering to help Mewtwo control his powers and become partners, leading Mewtwo to join him temporarily.
Plot Discussion: Mewtwo Strikes Back and the Invitation
Mewtwo, after growing tired of Giovanni's control, destroys his lab and flies to New Island. The title card appears: "Pokemon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back." Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Brock are relaxing when a trainer challenges Ash to a battle. During the battle, a Donphan, a Johto Pokémon, is revealed. A Dragonite then delivers an invitation to the "world's greatest Pokémon trainer" to a special event on New Island. Team Rocket attempts to capture the Dragonite but fails.
Plot Discussion: The Storm and Arrival at New Island
Ash and his friends head to a Pokémon Center to travel to New Island, meeting other trainers, including Fergus, Niesha, and Corey. A storm brews, and a trainer with a Fearow attempts to go around it but fails. Ash and his friends sail to the island, accompanied by Team Rocket in disguise. The storm intensifies, and everyone is knocked into the water, but Ash, Misty, and Brock make it to the island.
Plot Discussion: The Cloned Pokémon and the Battle
Upon arriving, the trainers are greeted by a hostess who asks them to release their Pokémon. The hosts discuss translation errors in the movie, such as Corey calling his Pidgey a Pidgeotto and Fergus misidentifying his Pokémon types. Mewtwo appears and challenges the trainers, revealing his cloned Pokémon. Team Rocket discovers Mewtwo's cloning lab. Mewtwo's cloned Pokémon battle the trainers' Pokémon, with Mewtwo easily winning.
Plot Discussion: The Climax and Mewtwo's Change of Heart
Mewtwo captures all the Pokémon, clones them, and prepares for a final battle. Ash intervenes, trying to stop the fighting, but is struck by psychic energy and turned to stone. Pikachu's sadness and tears cause all the Pokémon to cry, and their combined tears revive Ash. Mewtwo, witnessing this, realizes the value of their bond and the irrelevance of one's origins. He decides to erase everyone's memories of the event and teleports them back to where they were before.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Mewtwo erases everyone's memories and flies away with the cloned Pokémon. Ash sees Mew flying in the sky, and the credits roll. The hosts discuss the movie's ending, its themes, and its impact. They debate whether the memory wipe was a form of time travel or simply teleportation. They conclude by ranking the movie as number one so far and introducing a Pokémon poll challenge for the audience to participate in on Twitter. Danny picks Mewtwo, Dante picks Alakazam, Chris picks Meowth, and John picks Squirtle.
