The best Pokemon movies encapsulate everything that makes this monumental franchise great. Fans of Pokemon are drawn to the games’ focus on friendship and companionship, as your trainer treks through the world alone with only your little monsters for company. Additionally, every Pokemon region from Kanto to Paldea is packed with deep lore, which makes the game world feel as real as our own.
As Pokemon celebrates its 30th anniversary, it’s a great time to spotlight one of the many ways in which Pokemon innovated in the realm of entertainment – its movie adaptations. Though other franchises had been adapted to the screen before Pokemon: The First Movie in 1998, the franchise’s consistent cinematic presence over the last few decades cemented the viability of video games as adaptable IP and has given us some of the best anime movies of all time in the process as well.
The 10 best Pokemon movies, starting with…
10. Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
Year: 2005
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
Despite having one of the best premises out of any film on this list, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is also one of the most ponderous. It flies out of the gate with an incredible piece of worldbuilding, giving us insight into a Medieval Pokemon society where two kingdoms are at war. In the midst of the battle, Lucario is trapped in a gem by his master, in what he assumes is a betrayal of his kingdom, and pops out hundreds of years later when Ash receives possession of it.
Lucario is smoldering and reserved, just as cool as he needs to be to add that sense of mystery to the story, but he’s as interesting as the rest of the film is flat as a Stunfisk. Mew’s side quest of kidnapping Pikachu and Meowth feels like a waste of one of the best Pokemon, and Ash and the gang don’t have a ton of interesting things to do. Still, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew has a lovely representation of Ash and Pikachu’s relationship, which is impossible to resist.
9. Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us
Year: 2018
Director: Tetsuo Yajima
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
The Power of Us has excellent visuals and some scorching action, but its narrative is as confused as a Pokemon locked into battle with a Golbat. The film introduces so many new characters when Ash arrives in Fula City, all of whom have something completely different going on. On one hand, you have Callahan, a phony veteran trainer who lies to impress his niece. On the other hand, you have Risa, a track runner who is discovering her passion for Pokemon for the first time.
Risa’s journey is much more compelling and endearing than Callahan’s, whose full motivations never feel clear and warranted. These are just two of the many threads this film tries to carry, in addition to building lore about beloved Pokemon like Zeraora and Lugia. There’s some really fun and interesting stuff here, it’s just muddled in with a lot of Wooloo fluff.
8. Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Year: 2019
Director: Rob Letterman
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
Pokemon’s first and only live-action Hollywood outing is a solid time at the movies. Whenever Hollywood gets hold of a beloved property from the ’90s, a certain level of nostalgia-bait is necessary, meaning so much of Detective Pikachu’s story is taken heavily from Mewtwo Strikes Back. However, there’s plenty here that feels fresh, mainly due to the noir story structure, the celebration and inclusion of all generations of Pokemon, and really charismatic lead performances.
It’s an odd decision for the first live-action Pokemon movie to be an adaptation of a 3DS game nobody really talks about, but it actually turns out to be a stroke of genius. That mystery framework is inherently cinematic; the movies have been doing this for decades, and they know how to make these things entertaining. It all becomes a bit of a messy, gloopy CG-fest at the end, but it’s really difficult not to be charmed by Detective Pikachu.
7. Pokemon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back
Year: 1998
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
For those of us who immersed ourselves in the Kanto region both through our Red and Blue cartridges and the weekly doses of Pokemon adventure through the anime, Mewtwo Strikes Back will always carry an aura of heavy nostalgia. Revisiting it all these years later does reveal some flimsiness in the storytelling and some complete nonsense in the dialogue, but The First Movie is not without its merit.
Its biggest boon is its visual style. The anime of this era was just so beautifully tangible and textured. You just can’t beat those hand-painted backgrounds. This means that The First Movie is never not entertaining to watch, even when the story isn’t delivering the most complex and cohesive ideas, you’re still having fun. And whether it’s due to nostalgia or not, that big emotional climax at the end still tugs on the heartstrings.
6. Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai
Year: 2007
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Hulu, Prime Video (Rent)
The reliance that the early Pokemon movies develop on CGI is a bad thing, with The Rise of Darkrai being the only exception. Don’t get it twisted, there are still some shots here that look as out of place as an Abomasnow in Sootopolis City, especially when we get a look at the Space and Time Towers that play a key role in taming a great battle between Palkia and Dialga. However, the visuals of this city disappearing into another dimension and the manifestation of Darkrai’s powers that conjure trippy nightmares are depicted beautifully and make up for the shoddy CG used elsewhere.
Outside of that bit of visual flair, The Rise of Darkrai doesn’t fall too far from what you’d expect from a Pokemon movie, lacking a sparky new character or insight into the lore makes it stand out from the rest. The goal here was to mount a stunning spectacle, which it achieves while still falling short of the heights that other films on this list were able to accomplish.
5. Pokemon 3: The Movie
Year: 2000
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Apple TV (Rent)
What allows Pokemon 3 to stand out amongst so many of the other films on this list is its immediate emotional pull. The movie’s cold open is a direct play for the heartstrings as we see five-year-old Molly torn away from her only parent by the legendary Unknown. Her search for a father in Entei and a mother in Ash’s mum is just as sad as it is ridiculous. Those two tones fight each other throughout the film, with Pokemon 3 taking some wild swings.
Molly’s grief after her father is banished to a pocket dimension by the Unknown manifests a palace of ice that consumes the Johto region and a version of legendary mon Entei that believes himself to be her father. It’s ludicrousbut adds so much to the film, as anything feels like it could happen at any moment. Pokemon 3 largely delivers on that promise, with some unfortunate lulls in the story but also some really astute battle animations along the way.
4. Pokemon: The Movie 2000
Year: 1999
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
By the time the second Pokemon feature film came to be, the franchise had already surpassed the word ‘phenomenon’ and had become something else entirely, which reflects in the noticeably increased budget of this film. The first big indicator of that budget is the score, a grand walloping symphony that drives the action from the film’s opening moments, as we’re introduced to the villain of the piece, Lawrence III.
Despite not packing the emotional punch of the first film, Movie 2000 makes up for it in both expanding the lore of the Pokemon universe and giving us a dastardly villain to hate. The way the story links the legendary birds, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, from Gen 1 to Lugia from Gen 2, is the kind of wonderful worldbuilding that Pokemon fans are always on the lookout for. You can’t help but get riled up when you see Lawrence III torture these mythical beings, making his ultimate demise all the more satisfying.
3. Pokemon 4ever
Year: 2001
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Apple TV (Rent)
It’s cool that they made a Pokémon version of Princess Mononoke. The influence of the Studio Ghibli classic is unavoidable, from the forest setting to the lake of life that heals all wounds, and the protector of the forest becoming a hulking destroyer once corrupted by mankind. In the process, 4ever makes some really cool lore additions about Celebi’s role in the cycle of the forest and the connection between different species of Pokemon.
The movie also takes on a different structure to many other films on this list, opting for more of a chill vibe in the second act despite its time-bending story. The second act doesn’t progress the plot much, but is really pleasant to sit with. So many of these Pokemon movies feel like they’re rushing towards the ending, so it’s refreshing to have something that immerses the audience in this creature-filled forest. It’s very beautiful-looking too, except for the horrific CG-laden final battle that is.
2. Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You
Year: 2017
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Prime Video (Rent)
This alternate timeline version of the first season of the Pokemon TV series (aka one of the best anime of all time) is much more than your average remaster. While the animation quality evolves significantly, the deviations in the story serve the characters and the world of Pokemon extremely well. In this version, Ash and new sidekicks Verity and Sorrel look to track down the legendary Ho-Oh, who has christened Ash as a chosen one. While many stories struggle with the well-trodden nature of messiah narratives, that kind of mythbuilding is central to what gives Pokemon its identity, and it plays brilliantly into lore from Gold and Silver.
In the midst of the truncated narrative, we still get time to sit down and get familiar with our new Brock and Misty replacements, including a harrowing backstory for Sorrel, which depicts an actual Pokemon death on screen. Other standout moments include a bold dream sequence where Ash finds himself in our Pokemon-less world, reflecting how deeply his purpose is linked to his friendship with Pikachu. The film can feel like it rushes through some character arcs, but is still one of the most complete-feeling Pokemon movies on this list.
1. Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys
Year: 2004
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Where to watch: Apple TV (Rent)
Destiny Deoxys is a perfect balance of everything that makes Pokemon great. In the film’s prologue, you get an Earth-shattering battle between Rayquaza and Deoxys, two of the best-designed legendaries with some insane lore attached to them, going blow for blow with intensely beautiful animation to match. As the film progresses, we get the softer side of what people love about Pokemon, the cute, minute interactions with these fuzzy creatures that immerse us in a universe we are desperate to live in. These two tones could clash, but Destiny Deoxys does an excellent job of tying them together thematically.
Deoxys and this film’s new human character, Tory, go on very similar arcs. Deoxys is on a mission to rescue another of its kind, while Tory looks to overcome a fear of Pokemon. Both are on a journey to cure their loneliness, reflecting the core of the best Pokemon games where these six creatures in your team are your only company for most of the adventure. Destiny Deoxys is a sci-fi epic about the value of connection, and what’s more Pokemon than that?
If you are an anime fan head over to our guide on all the new anime heading our way next.
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