All the Pokémon Movies, Ranked.

Hello everyone. Given the recent DVD and Blu-Ray release of Pokémon the Movie I Choose You, I thought I would do something I've been wanting to for a while for Valentine's day. I thought I would rank all the main Pokémon movies. Anime News Network did something similar a bit ago; but to say I had issues with their list was putting it mildly. Heck, my dissatisfaction with their style was one of the main catalysts for starting this blog. So, rather than lump them all together, I thought I would use a simpler numeric ranking. Some of my choices might surprise you, others will not. So, here is my ranking of all the Pokémon movies.

20. Pokémon Jirachi Wishmaker

This film is still my least favorite entry in the series, even though it's not the worst film I've covered here. That, and it wasn't the film that ended my initial fandom either. That goes to The Legend of Thunder. It's basically an episode's worth of material and stakes stretched to an 80-minute runtime; nothing more.

19. Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea

As the last film of the Advanced Generation, it was a similar film to the Jirachi one; but a much better one to end on than they started; even considering how some fans feel, and the unpleasantness about the voice actor change at the time. It also helps that the film had more action than the Jirachi film; and it was a fun swashbuckling adventure on the high seas that definitely seemed ripe to cash in on the success of Pirates of the Caribbean at the time.

18. Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life

As the final film in the initial DP "trilogy," I found it to be enjoyable even though it's definitely not my favorite DP film. It definitely took a lot of creative license with Arceus, but the film was definitely bolstered by a unique take on the premise; some good animation and how cruel Marcus was as a villain. That, and referring to Pokémon as "magical creatures" reminds me of that Let's Play of the hilariously-bad Vietnamese Pokémon Crystal translation.

17. Pokémon: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction

A solid film to start off the XY series; it's not perfect, but still a lot of fun. I can definitely recommend viewing the full movie on the DVD or Netflix, since the initial airing on Cartoon Network cut some parts from the movie for time.

16. Pokémon: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages

While not everybody likes this movie as part of the XY series, I still found it to be a very solid way to spend 78 minutes overall. It may be thin on plot and characterization, but it does have some slick action and nice animation, video game-like CGI notwithstanding.

15. Pokémon: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel

I still ended up enjoying this movie a lot more than I thought I would when I first heard about it. The film had plenty of creative settings and good animation on the battle scenes, and it made good use of the Pokémon they had at their disposal.

14. Pokémon The Rise of Darkrai

This was a good movie to lead off the Diamond and Pearl films with, and I'm glad it featured one of my favorite monsters of Generation IV. It was also one of the darkest films they did up to that point; being the first main film to be rated PG by the MPAA (not counting Mewtwo Returns, probably going to do another ranked list for the side story anime in the near future). The animation also helped make it a great start to the DP "trilogy", and it was one of the films that helped me get back into the series a teenager.

13. Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior

Even though I can understand how some people feel about the liberties this movie took with Shaymin, I feel that Giratina was done justice here; and I definitely enjoyed the film's counterpart to the Distortion World from the games, the Reverse World. There were also very fun supporting characters with Newton Graceland as well as the villain; Zero. ... My next Code Geass R2 recap will be next and I have some choice words for it.

12. Pokémon Destiny Deoxys

This movie is definitely a big improvement over the Jirachi movie, and an overall better film for the Advanced Generation. As the first film to forgo the Pikachu shorts in favor of giving more attention to the film's proper runtime; it was a worthwhile film that not only put Deoxys and Rayquaza in big roles, but LaRousse City has to be one of my favorite settings in the franchise.

11. Pokémon: Kyurem VS The Swords of Justice

As someone that still has the same positive mindset towards Generation V that I did when I first experienced it, this was a fun movie because of how wild it got; and I really enjoyed Vic Mignongna's voiceover as Keldeo.

10. Pokémon 4Ever


This film is one I have seen many times since I was 10, and it still fascinates me after all this time. Despite all the heat it got at the time, it's better than many live-action video game movies in that time frame. I will address the new developments for Detective Pikachu later, since I still have more to do.

9.  Pokémon Heroes

As the final film of the original series, it was a good one to go out on. Again, it's much better a video game movie than the filmography of Uwe Boll or the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie (the animated reboot might be fun, we'll see).

8. Pokémon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened

Forget the haters: I like this movie, and I still submit it's better than most people would have you believe. I found it to be a solid film to help Generation V transition to Generation VI; and I rather like the setting's design. I know it has a lot of similarities to its seniors all the same, such as the next entry.

7. Pokémon The First Movie

I was addicted to this movie when I was younger, and in hindsight; I still submit that it works in a similar fashion to the 1986 Transformers movie or the first two 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films; taking a silly concept and making it work in a darker context. While I still concede the Japanese version is the superior film, it's still a big cult film as a whole for me.

6. Pokémon: Zoroark-Master of Illusions


This is easily my favorite of the Diamond and Pearl films, and was a good one for them to go out in as it transitioned to the Black and White films. Zorua and Zoroark are among my favorite Unova monsters, if not my favorite; since I'm considering revising my favorite lists again as I await more news on what Game Freak has planned for the Switch entry.

5. Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Of all the films adapted from the Advanced Generation, this was the one that delighted me the most. It's the movie I credit with reigniting my fandom of the franchise, and giving me my first taste of my favorite Pokémon.  It's also a film that manages to blend a surprisingly good story with good use of a medieval fantasy theme. Definitely prefer that to Black Clover (don't plan on doing that anytime soon, my ears need a break from Asta's shouting).

4. Pokémon 3 The Movie 

I suggested a while ago that the respect for the original anime series may come more from the movies than the TV series, and this film is a good argument for that. As the final film original head writer Takeshi Shudo was directly involved with before his retirement and passing in 2010; it's a good example of the series at its best. I first saw it when I was 9, and it's been in rotation ever since.

3. Pokémon The Movie 2000

My personal favorite of the original three films, which managed to take a lot of the ideas introduced in the first movie and expand on them. It was also a film that had some of the best animation of the series up to that point, and Lugia being introduced to me well before I played Pokémon Silver was a real treat. I will address Lugia potentially being in the new movie this summer later; since I need more information. So, that probably won't be until after my 400th post; at least.

2. Pokémon the Movie Black: Victini and Reshiram/White: Victini and Zekrom


With almost seven years having passed Generation V came around, I still appreciate the elements it brought to the series; and simply don't identify with the trend of denigrating it others have taken to as of late. One of the things I enjoyed them doing for their first film was a dual-release film. It may not be on the level of "Inception" or "Sliding Doors", but it does a good job at having subtle differences between films. One of the things I enjoy must about the medium is finding little details hidden in each frame, and these movies are great example of that. They used to be my favorite entry, but they've finally been displaced as of 2017 by the next choice.

1. Pokémon the Movie I Choose You

As a way to bring the series into a new generation and to celebrate past successes, this is easily my favorite Pokémon movie in years. With a story that honors the franchise as well as paints a picture that helps open a bright future for the series (including another film with a similar concept opening later this year), it's easily a film that I will happily re-experience with my Blu-Ray for ages; even after I leave this blog behind.


So, as I work on my next recaps (they are a surprise for Pokémon day, my next Code Geass R2 recap and my 400th post) and other assignments I have, I wish you all a Happy Valentine's day, Ash Wednesday and year of the dog all at once. That will be all for now. See you, space cowboy.