Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! marks the twentieth film in the Pokémon series. It features Ash Ketchum, and his classic story with Pikachu, in a brand new light and story.
Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! initially released in Japan July 15th, but theaters around the world received a limited release this weekend. If you haven’t seen it yet, the movie will also premiere on Disney XD November 25th.
Warning: Spoilers exist in this article. If you’re avoiding content that will spoil your experience with Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, I don’t recommend reading ahead.
The movie brought back nostalgic parts of the series along with fresh, new aspects that, needless to say, fans did not expect. The story begins with our favorite trainer, Ash Ketchum, during the beginning of his Pokémon journey. It follows the same scenario from the first episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first Pokémon television show. Ash sleeps in, missing his chance at the three starter Pokémon, and ends up choosing Pikachu as his companion. When seeing the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh in the sky, it drops one of its feathers. Ash then promises to Pikachu that they will set out on an adventure to find Ho-Oh again.
Official art of Ash, Pikachu, Ho-Oh, and the Rainbow Wing in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Strengths
New Characters
So, just like in the show, he continues his adventure growing his bond with Pikachu. This is when new characters debut. Pokémon trainers Sorrel and Verity essentially fill the roles of Brock and Misty in this film. Verity, similar to Misty, is a sassy and bubbly trainer who uses water Pokémon. Though she isn’t near as feisty and loud as Misty, she befriends Ash during his journey and immediately appreciates him as a strong yet kind trainer. On the other hand, Sorrel is an intelligent and pragmatic trainer who meets Ash after helping him aid a Charmander, whose fiery tail was close to disappearing in the rain. (Yes, that scene.) Sorrel is a significantly quieter and rational character compared to Brock’s silly antics, as his goal is to become a Pokémon professor rather than a Pokémon breeder.
Sorrel and Verity, two new Pokémon trainers in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
On the other hand, Cross, the cruel trainer who left Charmander in such a sorry state, also replaces Gary’s role in the story. Rather than being a cocky and overly-confident trainer like Gary, Cross is a ruthless trainer who’s determined to become the best trainer through strength training alone. He goes as far as to kick his abandoned Charmander when it approached him, constantly referring to weak trainers and Pokémon as garbage. He eventually conflicts Ash into doubting himself and his supportive, friendship-oriented training.
Cross, one of the new Pokémon characters in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, and his smug smirk.
As stated before, three new characters replace three of the originals, and many fans aren’t too pleased about this. But the movie is a loose retelling of Ash’s original journey and centers around legendary and mythical Pokémon from the second generation of games. I feel their additions were refreshing and much-needed, instead of returning to older characters. So, even though they filled the place of some of the Pokémon series’ most iconic characters, I feel that the story would not be the same if Misty and Brock were Ash’s allies.
A Dark and Serious Story
This leads me to another aspect of the movie that I find a strength, a serious and heavy story compared to past Pokémon movies. Now, I feel my readers should keep in mind that I have not seen most of the movies after Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, which released over ten years ago. Genesect and the Legend Awakened was the only other Pokémon film I have ever seen since then and, to be frank, it was extremely disappointing. I feel that I Choose You! did a great job portraying a classic Pokémon story with refreshingly new aspects, some of which are pretty dark.
In the film, Ash reveals to Sorrel and Verity his plans to find Ho-Oh. He then learns for Sorrel that the legend says those who find the rainbow wing of Ho-Oh are deemed the rainbow hero, which is when they decide to set off and journey as a group. Though I haven’t seen all of the Pokémon films, one can assume Ash has been the hero of the films up-to-date. That makes sense, right? Well, to burst the happy bubble here, Ash ends up losing a fight against Cross and his powerful Incineroar. On top of that, he lost with the (now evolved) Charmeleon that was initially Cross’ Pokémon, leading to a doubtful and heartbroken Ash. And after losing that battle, he even contemplates whether picking Pikachu as his starter was a good idea or not. Ouch.
Ash, fighting alongside Pikachu, in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
So, it’s clear that this story tackles some morals and lessons we’ve seen in past Pokémon stories, but the movie itself isn’t comedic in the slightest. I can count on my hand how many times I laughed at something that occurred in the movie or character dialogue. The intended audience might not have caught the dark parts of this film (as a child behind me was cheering and happy the entire time). But during a flashback, Sorrel’s had a family Luxray that helped raise him as a child. After finding himself lost and on the ground during a snowstorm, his Luxray falls asleep next to him to keep him warm, just for Sorrel to wake up and find him frozen (presumably, to death). An emergency team pulls away a crying, child Sorrel away from his Pokémon. Basically, I’d be a big liar if I said I didn’t tear up at this part. And that’s just one of the many tearjerking moments in the film.
Soundtrack
I feel that the movie’s soundtrack, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! Music Collection, was a fantastic aspect of the movie. It was symphonic, moving, and sounded absolutely awesome thanks to the theater’s speakers. It featured renditions of the Wild Pokemon Kanto battle, the classic “Come Along” and “Today’s Pokémon Curiosity” tunes from the Indigo League, and more. Remember Entei and Ash’s fight in Pokémon 3: The Movie? That same fight theme is used when Ash fights Entei in I Choose You! Cool, right? It was enjoyable recognizing these remastered versions of some nostalgic songs. You can check out the full soundtrack here.
Ash and Pikachu in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
So, regarding the movie’s strengths, I Choose You! was a refreshing new take on some original Pokémon adventures. It included some new characters, what I would consider a darker and more interesting story, and a nostalgic, loveable soundtrack. Though I’m not too savvy with the topic, I felt the animation was also great in this film. It was crisp and exciting, it made the fights significantly more enjoyable to watch than some of the older Pokémon films. I look forward to seeing more of this in future Pokémon movies. Now, onto the weaknesses.
Weaknesses
Team Rocket
From my personal experience with Pokémon films, I have always enjoyed Team Rocket’s shenanigans. Whether it’s their ridiculously funny puns or breaking the fourth wall, I have always found them to revert back to their classic personalities in the movies. So, with that, I was initially excited to see that they were in the film. But in I Choose You!, not only did they contribute absolutely nothing to the story, the puns they spewed were uncreative one-liners that I couldn’t even understand half of the time due to the voice acting.
I am a 21-year-old woman who has lesson plans to be building, and here I am complaining about how disappointed I am with Team Rocket in the Pokémon series… But ANYWAYS.
Another aspect I liked about Team Rocket in the past films is how they have assisted Ash and his gang. They are never the primary antagonist in the films I have seen, so they have helped the main characters conquer whatever evil or dark power they are faced with. But not in I Choose You! Unfortunately, whenever they showed up, they were blasted away almost instantly in their “we’re-blasting-off-again” fashion, so their screentime was significantly shorter than past movies. Needless to say, I am disappointed with Team Rocket in I Choose You!
Run, Team Rocket. Run from all the sense of comedic value you have.
Marshadow’s Purpose
Now… Marshadow is ultimately considered the antagonist of this film, okay? Not Team Rocket. Not Cross. But Marshadow. This relatively new Pokémon made its first film appearance in I Choose You! and many fans were excited for this.
Ash has to take Ho-Oh’s rainbow wing to this spot on Mount Tensei, a mountain that Ash and his crew have to trek. This is all because he’s the chosen one, the “rainbow hero.” Makes sense, right? After being savagely defeated in a fight against Cross, Ash runs off to the woods and starts to severely doubt himself, saying that he should have picked Bulbasaur or Squirtle instead of Charmander or Pikachu. (I hate to break it to you Ash, but I doubt Bulbasaur couldn’t have done much against Cross’ Incineroar. Sorry, bud.) So, after this, Marshadow puts Ash to sleep, and when it does this, the rainbow wing turns dark. Ash then has a dream where he wakes up in a world without Pokémon. Instead of waking up to see his poster of the starter Pokémon, it’s poster of cars, and he attends a regular school that has nothing to do with Pokémon. When he realizes something is wrong (that Pikachu is missing), he comes to his senses and wakes up, and the rainbow wing returns to normal. Marshadow then vanishes, doing absolutely nothing until they reach the mountain.
Marshadow, secretly following Ash, in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Keep in mind that Marshadow was later referred to as a “guide” to guide the rainbow hero to Ho-Oh, but doesn’t do much to guide them aside from putting Ash in a bad dream. Instead of guiding Ash, it followed him, until they reached the top of the mountain. But surprise! Cross is there! And he loses to Ash, to no one’s surprise. Refusing to accept his loss, he steals the wing and places it on the rainbow rock or whatever it was called. But because Cross is not the rainbow hero and has evil in his heart, Marshadow appears and turns almost all the Pokémon in the area evil.
This is what confused me. Marshadow was ultimately a neutral character doing its job, and because the ritual was messed up, it had to erase everything and find a new rainbow hero. This was stated by Bonji, an old historian who Ash met up with on Mount Tensei. But… After messing up with ritual, Marshadow couldn’t just take care of Cross. What was previously considered a guide ended up destroying everything around it. Marshadow was never described as a negative or evil figure, it was described as a guide for the rainbow hero, and would watch the hero place the rainbow wing atop the rock. That’s it. Despite this, Marshadow caused harm to both Ash and other Pokémon. No further context was said about this, which was the final fight of the movie, and I found it very odd and confusing.
So, because Cross had to mess everything up, Ash dies… Yeah. That happened. AGAIN.
Pikachu’s Voice
Not too big of a surprise, but Ash “dies” (for like… the fourth or fifth time) in a Pokémon movie. When Pikachu is about to be blown away by many Pokémon targeting it, Ash jumps in front of Pikachu, and lays down beside it. Ash asks Pikachu why it won’t go into its Pokeball for safety, and that’s when Pikachu replies in a human voice, “It’s because… It’s because I always want to be with you.”
Pikachu, beside Ash, in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Now, if you know Pikachu, it never goes into its Pokeball, but it does right before the enemy Pokémon attack. When Pikachu is released from the Pokeball, sparkles float off of Ash, and he’s transparent as he passes away. Obviously, Ash ends up coming back, yadda yadda, he doesn’t legitimately die in the story.
But needless to say, the voice was a huge surprise and very off-putting at first. Videos have been circulating online (with pirated footage, might I add), of the movie scene including the audience’s reaction to it. But to everyone that was cursing and yelling: really? Do you not see the abundance of kids in the theater with you? Come on, grow up and do what I did. Discourse about it when you leave the theater.
So, that’s exactly what I did. I would consider Pikachu’s voice my biggest complaint only because it was such a big surprise during the climax of the film. But let’s get one thing straight. It was likely that Pikachu wasn’t actually talking. It was Ash’s last moment before being destroyed by the attacking Pokémon, I’m sure what we all heard was a hallucination on Ash’s part. Another fan theory is that the rainbow wing allowed Ash to hear what Pikachu was saying before passing away.
Another look at Ash and Pikachu from Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Either way, Pikachu’s voice was soft, high-pitched, and feminine, which was another huge complaint from fans. But considering Pikachu is normally voiced by a woman anyways, this honestly isn’t much of a surprise to me. That doesn’t make it any less off-putting, though. Cinematically speaking, the scene makes sense, but to fans that haven’t heard Pikachu utter a single word of English, it was definitely an interesting surprise. Regardless, the scene was terribly sad, and let’s be honest: We weren’t crying because Ash died. We were crying when Pikachu cried.
Conclusory Words
So, in conclusion, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was well worth the money. It was a nostalgic rendition of an older generation of Pokémon, but with new aspects such as more recent Pokémon (including Lycanroc, Incineroar, and Marshadow), new characters, and more. It had a beautiful soundtrack and wonderful animation that made its serious, engaging story enjoyable to watch. But, in my opinion, Team Rocket’s painful one-liners, the lack of context behind Marshadow’s purpose and role in the story, and Pikachu’s voice were all characteristics that didn’t contribute positively to the film. But this doesn’t change the fact that Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was entertaining and, in my opinion, a must-see for Pokémon fans.
If you saw the movie in theaters, you got an exclusive Ash’s Pikachu card. Good stuff.
The movie is no longer in theaters, but fans can check it out on Disney XD Saturday, November 25th. It will have two showings: one at 10:00 AM and one at 6:00 PM (local time). If you’re a fan of the Pokémon series, I would highly recommend checking it out. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Thanksgiving weekend than with a full tummy and Pokémon films.
Have you seen this film? What are your thoughts on it? Feel free to share with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear.
