“Whatever you can’t do, you can do it with a Pokémon pal.”
-Ash Ketchum
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CELEBRATING 24 YEARS OF POKÉMON!
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Original release date: July 13, 2018.
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I’m all about nostalgia. I’m all about old things. I’m all about being nostalgic for old things. But here’s a question for you. Did you ever believe that it’s possible to be nostalgic for something you’ve never experienced? Think for a second. It’s definitely easier than you think. In fact, I’m gonna bet that most of you have felt what I’m talking about before.
All this talk of nostalgia is why I’m writing about this movie today. This is Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, subtitled as Everyone’s Story in its native Japan. In a calm part of the Pokémon universe, the vibrant metropolis of Fula City stands by the serene waters of a vast ocean. This city lives in harmony with the wind- it is powered entirely by wind power, with giant turbines featuring prominently in its skyline and smaller ones lining every street and atop the roofs of houses. Along the center of the city runs a massive boulevard which leads to the coastal highway that links the mainland with the amusement pier out at sea. Both locations serve as the grounds for the city’s annual Wind Festival, a celebration honoring the city’s relationship with moving air. On the last day of the Festival, the Eternal Flame is lit to summon the mighty Lugia, the Legendary Pokémon who brings the winds to Fula City every year. The Festival gets underway and the eager Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu arrive in Fula City to take part in the festivities. He soon meets some of the city’s residents, including the young, energetic Margo; the bravado-filled Callahan, his niece Kellie and her mother Mia; the embittered elderly Harriet who has a dislike for Pokémon; the timid scientist Toren and the youthful athlete Risa. Ash also learns about the old story about the Legendary Pokémon Zeraora, who is rumored to haunt the mountains behind Fula City. As the community begins the Wind Festival, Ash and his friends chase their individual goals, but when trouble erupts, the group has to work together, along with their fears and faith, to save the day.
Quick little story before we dive into today’s review. I was for a very short time a fan of the Pokémon universe. I saw a handful of episodes starting with the very first, but I probably saw no more than five before my interest in the franchise eventually died. I was barely five at the time. Many, many years passed until 2018, when I briefly revisited the franchise- and then the interest went away again until September last year, when I vowed to finish the franchise which had begun so long ago- which is as old as I am. As a matter of fact, I’m watching episodes as I’m writing this article. Anyway. That poster design you see up there caught my attention when I was looking for Pokémon art, and I immediately decided to watch The Power of Us. It’s the first Pokémon movie I’ve seen, and apparently folks say it’s one of the very best. I don’t know anything about that since I haven’t seen a single other, and I’m probably in no place to review this movie as a Pokémon fan. Or am I? I’ll start simple. From an objective point of view, The Power of Us is a good movie. Ah, geez, that sounds too simple. “Good” is too simple a word to use. I’ll take you through it slowly. As far as animation goes, The Power of Us is a beautiful movie. It was a very refreshing change from the simple- and comparatively crude- animation style from the first saga of the anime. I’m no expert, but I’d say since the days of the XY series, the franchise has embraced the usage of computer animation more and more, and the results show for it. The Power of Us uses computer animation to render wide, sweeping shots of Fula City and the surrounding countryside and traditional hand-drawn animation for its colorful cast of characters. This includes both the human characters and its very-large Pokémon cast. Everything is vibrant, colorful, detailed and oh-so-pretty. Just from this single movie, I can tell you the franchise has come such a long way from the beginning.
Speaking of coming a long way, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, as we know, are the mascots of the franchise, and they’ve grown by leaps and bounds since their origins in Kanto. In The Power of Us, Ash sports an entirely new outfit and travels with just his Pikachu, with neither any other Pokémon nor any traveling companions. This provides a fresh start for the heroes, who carry nothing with them from the past, not even any mention of past experiences or acquaintances. Why? The Power of Us is the second movie in the alternative continuity established in Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, the original reboot movie released to celebrate the movie’s 20th anniversary three years ago. This reboot was a loose retelling of Ash’s original journey through Kanto, albeit with different companions and different major experiences. Fair enough. But to me, The Power of Us is a far better reboot as far as concepts are concerned. This movie refreshes absolutely everything. It takes us to a beautiful, new location in an unknown part of the Pokémon world. Fula City is such an awesome place, with its awesome architecture, San Francisco-influences, its Wind Festival and its assortment of Pokémon. The movie introduces us to a completely new cast of characters, including and especially the new Legendary Pokémon Zeraora, who plays a central role in the story. The plot also follows these new human characters, and invites us to become engaged with every single one of them. Callahan lies compulsively only to make his niece Kellie happy and impressed. Harriet bears a strong dislike for Pokémon as a mask for her grief over losing her beloved Pokémon pet in a disastrous fire many years ago. Toren is a brilliant scientist but struggles in finding support thanks to his anxiety and fear of public speaking ruining his presentations. Margo is a girl with a big secret- she is forced to hide her friendship with Zeraora, who officially does not exist in anything but the false rumors told about it. Risa faces the possibility of being forced into retirement as an athlete thanks to an old injury, but she nevertheless agrees to visit the Wind Festival to catch a Pokémon for her own injured brother, Rick. The Power of Us was noted as being more capable at telling multiple storylines, being able to juggle several more effectively than all, if not most of the ones that came before it, and even if you don’t get attached to this cast of characters, you will at least find most of them relatable and worthy of sympathy.
That’s one reason why I enjoyed The Power of Us so much. This movie bridges the gap between old and new fans. For a former one-time old-timer like me, Ash and Pikachu as the mascots of the movie hurl us back to the original glory days of the franchise- and in the current mainstream anime continuity. For the newer fans, the movie avoids featuring old characters like Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, Serena, Bonnie, Clemont or any of Ash’s former traveling companions, as most of the franchise’s target audience today will be too young to know who they are. Nostalgia can only be used as a weapon against the nostalgic. However, the three Team Rocket idiots do return. As for the Pokémon featured in the movie, they are an assortment if I’ve ever seen one. The Power of Us features 142 different Pokémon. Some of them are commonly-seen; others are old favorites; some are new ones with a young history and still others have not been seen for many years. In this way, old fans’ nostalgia will be rewarded with glimpses of old icons and new fans’ interest will be stirred by the wild collection of new Pokémon they may not have seen yet. This is how The Power of Us uses its position as a bridge between two generations of Pokémon fans as a key part of its appeal. It’s definitely a part of its classic franchise, but also offers so much that is completely new and different. It’s been said that many of the previous Pokémon movies were very much like longer episodes of the anime that they were based on, and followed a similar format, too. The Power of Us is not based on any particular chapter of the anime, but it still follows the format. Ash and Pikachu travel to a new part of the Pokémon world. They meet local characters and their Pokémon. Trouble eventually erupts, there’s a Pokémon battle or two, and at the end all’s well again and our heroes make their way to the next place they’re headed to.
The Power of Us brings us to a part of the Pokémon world that is truly unknown. We don’t know which region it’s set in, although it’s strongly suggested to be Unova. Fula City is such a refreshing place, with no generic design as was common particularly in the early years of the anime, but with a very unique character- the Wind Festival being a key part of the plot. Its characters are appealing and they all play a part in contributing to our heroes’ victory in the end. That’s another thing I loved about this movie. Ash and Pikachu aren’t the biggest, nor the only, heroes. Every one of the characters found themselves involved for a reason, and they all contribute to solving the conflict thanks to their unique skills. In fact, to a certain extent, you could cut Ash and Pikachu from the movie entirely and it would still be a nice story. A new tale about a new place featuring new characters. That’s why The Power of Us is such an effective “reboot,” and is a perfect movie for a fan like myself. I know just enough- and not enough- about the franchise to have both my nostalgia and my nascent interest spiked. It’s in a way very similar to, say, Star Trek Beyond. This experience was refreshing and nice, and was free of any comparisons to most other source material thanks to how new and different it is.
As I continue my rediscovery of the Pokémon franchise, The Power of Us is definitely a chapter that I will never forget. So many episodes and movies of the anime are so easily forgettable, and every time I finish an episode, there’s a quiet voice telling me that I’ll probably never revisit it again. But The Power of Us enjoys an appeal that will continue to reward fans who return to it thanks to its refreshing and different formula. Its cast is memorable and funny, its writing is efficient, complex yet simple, and its story wraps up neatly, with Ash and Pikachu leaving Fula City at the end to continue on to their next adventure. Ah, what am I saying? The Pokémon adventure never ends- it has continued and refreshed every couple of years for more than two decades. I’m glad to have the franchise back in my life. I hope it doesn’t slow down anytime soon.
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THEATRICAL RELEASE TRAILER
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At the Movies: Aston's Reviews! 
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