🎬 Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us (2018)
Part of Pokémon
"Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us" is the twenty-first feature film in the long-running Pokémon anime series and the second installment in an alternate continuity trilogy that began with "Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!" in 2017. Released in 2018, the film takes place in Fula City, a coastal metropolis built around the legend of the mythical Pokémon Lugia, who is said to have granted the power of wind to the city's founders. The story weaves together the perspectives of five different characters — including Ash and his Pikachu — as they each confront personal struggles and ultimately must work together to avert an environmental catastrophe threatening the city and its annual Wind Festival.
Unlike many earlier Pokémon films that center heavily on a single legendary Pokémon, "The Power of Us" adopts an ensemble narrative structure, giving significant screen time to original characters such as a young athlete, a compulsive liar, a researcher suffering from stage fright, and an elderly woman who dislikes Pokémon. The film was produced by OLM and Wit Studio, marking a visual departure with a slightly softer, more painterly art style compared to the main anime series. It was directed by Tetsuo Yajima and written by Eiji Umehara and Aya Takaha.
The film is ultimately rooted in the Pokémon video game franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri, which debuted on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1996. While the movie's specific plot and characters are original to the anime continuity, the entire world — its creatures, mechanics, and mythology — originates from the games. The alternate timeline established by "I Choose You!" and continued here reimagines Ash's journey from the beginning, diverging from the long-running television series canon to tell standalone stories accessible to new viewers while still rewarding longtime fans with familiar Pokémon and themes.
Pokémon is a media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, first released in 1996 by Nintendo and Game Freak. The franchise began as a pair of role-playing video games for the Game Boy, which introduced the concept of creatures called Pokémon that humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train to battle each other for sport. The games are set in fictional regions inspired by real-world locations, each with unique species of Pokémon, and involve the player collecting badges, thwarting villainous teams, and becoming the Pokémon Champion.
The Pokémon video game series has become one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, with core installments on every Nintendo handheld console. The games' mechanics, including type matchups, evolution, and trading, have become iconic. The franchise expanded into a global phenomenon encompassing an anime series, trading card game, movies, toys, and more. Its themes of friendship, discovery, and adventure have resonated with audiences worldwide, making Pokémon a cultural touchstone since the late 1990s.
The Pokémon film collection is a long-running series of animated features that extends the adventures of the globally beloved Pokémon anime. Originating alongside the television series in the late 1990s, the films initially served as companion pieces to the ongoing narrative, following Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu as they encountered rare and legendary Pokémon in cinematic, self-contained stories. The early entries, beginning with 'Pokémon: The First Movie' in 1998, captured the peak of the late-90s Pokémon phenomenon and became a staple of the franchise's multimedia expansion, often distributed internationally by Warner Bros. during the anime's original broadcast run.
Over the decades, the collection evolved in tandem with the video game generations, with each film typically showcasing the mythical or legendary Pokémon introduced in the corresponding game release. This structure allowed the movies to function as both standalone adventures and promotional showcases for new creatures, while maintaining a consistent focus on themes of friendship, coexistence between humans and Pokémon, and the wonder of discovery. As the anime's continuity progressed through regions like Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and beyond, the films mirrored these settings and introduced a rotating cast of supporting characters alongside the perennial heroes.
A significant shift occurred in the late 2010s when the film series began to depart from the main anime timeline. Starting with 'Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!' in 2017, the collection embraced a reboot approach, retelling and reimagining Ash's origin story in an alternate continuity. This creative direction continued with subsequent entries, including a CGI remake of the first film, allowing the collection to explore nostalgic narratives while appealing to both new audiences and longtime fans. This period marked a transition from being direct extensions of the TV series to more experimental, standalone cinematic experiences.
The Pokémon film collection stands as a testament to the franchise's enduring cross-media legacy. With over two dozen theatrical releases spanning more than two decades, it has consistently delivered family-friendly adventures that reinforce the core values of the Pokémon world. While individual entries vary in critical reception, the collection as a whole remains a culturally significant component of one of the most successful entertainment properties in history, offering a cinematic entry point for each new generation of trainers.
The Pokémon anime series, which began in 1997, closely followed the journey of Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu through various regions over more than two decades. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the anime, the filmmakers embarked on a new creative direction, establishing an alternate continuity separate from the long-running main series.
This new timeline revisits the origins of Ash's journey but diverges significantly, introducing new companions, different story arcs, and a fresh take on familiar events. It allowed the creators to retell the beginning of the Pokémon adventure for a new generation while offering a nostalgic yet novel experience for longtime fans.
The films in this continuity are characterized by a focus on the core themes of friendship, the bond between humans and Pokémon, and the spirit of adventure, unburdened by the extensive continuity of the main television series. They stand as a thematic trilogy, each exploring different aspects of the Pokémon world and the relationships within it.
