Poké-Month: Pokémon 2000: The Power of One (Part 1)

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

Although there’s been over 20 animated Pokémon movies by now, I only really know the first four, as I owned them on VHS back in the day. I have spotty recollections of seeing the films featuring Pokémon from the third generation, but that’s about it. However, the four films I do know hold a special place in my heart, mainly out of nostalgia – things might be a little different when I look at them with my grown-up eyes.

Needless to say, Lugia is the Legendary
taking centerstage for this feature.

In particular, I haven’t seen today’s film in years. Pokémon 2000, also known by its full title, Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One, also ALSO known by its original Japanese name, Pocket Monsters the Movie: The Phantom Pokémon: Lugia’s Explosive Birth… boy, that’s a mouthful. Anyway, it’s the second film made for the anime, set during the Orange Islands arc, which took place in the period between the series in Kanto and Johto, due to the delayed release of Pokémon Gold and Silver. More Gen 2 Pokémon appear in this film, including Lugia, the only Pokémon not created by Game Freak; it was instead created by Takeshi Shudō, the original director of the anime, for this film, and then it was integrated to the games. Lugia even became the box mascot for Pokémon Silver!

But we’ll talk about the games later. Today, we talk about the movie. How does it fare now with over 20 years of hindsight? Let’s find out. (And yes, for the record, I’m going by the 4Kids dub.)

Who’s that Pokémon weirdo??

First subsection title in and I’m already snarking. That’s a new record! Things are looking good.

The movie begins as a Prophecy is read to us:

“Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice and lightning,

Lest these Titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash;

Though the waters’ great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting

Alone its song will fail, thus the world shall turn to ash

O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three

Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea”

And it is read to us by a scholar in a room filled with pieces that belong in a museum. The man’s computer AI signals that he is approaching the location of the Titan of fire, Moltres. Yeah, um, a quick aside: 4Kids’ dubs have been mocked for a long time, though some of their decisions can be justified as an attempt to appeal to a wider audience – by removing religious iconology, as an example. For one, they seemed terrified of referring to anything as a God in a kids’ movie, hence why the beasts at the center of this film’s conflict – Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Lugia – are referred to as Titans or Guardians throughout. Understandable? Yes. Annoying? A tad.

When your script forgets to mention the name
of your main villain...

Through the AI, we also get a refresher on who the other Titans are, in case anybody wasn’t up to speed. The scholar is actually a collector. The guy… er… what’s his name again? Oh, right, it’s not told a single time within the runtime. Official novelizations give it as Lawrence III. Okay, do we know anything else? Hardly; the best we get in the script is that he began his collection with a rare Ancient Mew card, the same given to North American moviegoers who saw the film in theaters. A booklet handed to Japanese moviegoers reveals that Lawrence (whose Japanese name is Gelardan)’s mother died, but that’s where the trail ends. Personality-wise, later scenes reveal that he’s too laser-focused on growing his collection to bother with morals, and setbacks barely inconvenience him. As well, it seems that he believes himself to be the one who can fulfill the prophecy… if only because he’s after the Beast of the Sea, which he believes to be Lugia.

He climbs to a higher floor of his observatory in a rising throne and looks down to the world… below…

What the shit?!? Where did he get… Scratch that. HOW did a collector manage to obtain an airship so massive? This puts other villains to shame! Ghetsis would gaze upon that flying fortress and froth at the mouth with envy! Do we ever find out why he owns this thing the size of a small village? Nope! This dude is one big missed opportunity after the next, and is one of the most baffling, underdeveloped villains I’ve ever seen, even though he’s a movie-level threat.

Need I add that the quality of the animation
is downright stellar?

Oh, and this thing is equipped with big guns that can shoot elemental bullets, too; Lawrence attacks Fire Island with ice blasts, causing the mighty pissed Moltres to come out. The agile bird tries to avoid the blasts, but is hit and weakened. The fortress releases metallic circles that surround the Legendary, then trap it within themselves by a sort of force field.

With one down and three more to go, a satisfied Lawrence moves on to the next.

Just another Orange Islands adventure (?)

Misty, Tracey, and of course, Ash, the hero.

Cut to the heroes on a boat around the Orange Islands. Ash and his best friend Pikachu of course, but also Misty, always loyal; Maren, a film-only character who drives the boat, plus she has some knowledge of the area; and Tracey Sketchit, frequent punching bag of the fandom.

The deities of fiction weren’t kind to Tracey. The anime built him up as capable to devise a strategy on the fly by seeing how an opponent Pokémon behaves. He likes to draw in his free time, in case his name didn’t make that obvious. The guy is smarter than he looks, but he’s hardly had a chance to show his worth. He isn’t the most memorable of characters, to put it that way. He was a part of the team for only about 30 episodes, less than any other traveling companion Ash has had.

He did get a handful of episodes to shine in
during the anime, but not enough to stick
in the mind of fans.

He also had the thankless job of introducing the concept of rotating companions as he replaced Brock, a fan-favorite, during the Orange Islands arc (in part, allegedly, because of a perceived potential controversy that ultimately didn’t happen). The concept would fly better with the introduction of May and Max in time for the Gen 3 Advanced series. Personally, I’m rather indifferent to the guy; I stopped watching the anime before he showed up, so I’ve only seen him here (and his cameos in other Pokémon films). The anime doesn’t seem to care much about him either, as he hasn’t been seen or heard of in several hundred episodes.

Better call everyone back before
we lose them in the storm!

The way between islands is long, so we get a roll call of the trainers letting their Pokémon out of their balls. They’re being followed by Team Rocket, still trying to steal Pikachu, and traveling in a Magikarp-shaped submarine that fools nobody. However, as they approach a shore, a storm manifests. The Pokémon aboard, Pikachu included, instantly sense something wrong. The waters grow restless, so the trainers call back their creatures and brace themselves. The boat gets pushed off-course by the current, now heading towards Shamouti Island, located in the middle of the region of the Orange Islands. The Rocket submarine gets caught in a school of panicked Magikarp and follows along, but crashes into a cliffside.

Nothing like a cool breeze during a hot
summer, am I right?

The fish aren’t the only ones behaving erratically for no apparent reason. Professor Samuel Oak and Delia Ketchum, Ash’s mom, witness flocks of Flying-types leaving Pallet Town, followed by a flash rain, then snow in the middle of summer. Oh, and a large aurora borealis up there. Even land Pokémon are going nuts, as shown with an entire crowd of Diglett fleeing in one direction, and the Ketchum family’s Mr. Mime panicking. Well, Delia, it looks like the unforgettable luncheon will have to wait, there are more pressing matters.

(Reference the Simpsons meme without doing the more obvious gag – check.)

A bad time for customs

The trainers’ boat has washed ashore on Shamouti Island, and everyone’s fine. However, they quickly meet the locals – a group has showed up on the beach in bird masks. Thankfully, one of them, Carol, recognizes Maren and unmasks. The island is preparing for the Legend Festival, which takes place that evening. Carol’s younger sister Melody (Carol, Melody… I see what they did there) will act the part of the festival maiden, though she doesn’t seem too keen on honoring the tradition.

Yeah, it's just a tourism thing, but they stick to it!

Ash is introduced as a Pokémon trainer, which everyone cheers to. As it turns out, the festival needed a trainer to honor. He gets the whole “Chosen One” spiel from the elder of the village, only to then be told that it’s an act they put on for tourists. Melody’s interest is similarly sparked, and she takes an opportunity to tease Ash, making Misty jealous. (Oh, and the dub flubs by having Melody say Misty’s name without ever hearing it beforehand. Just a detail.)

Despite the weather, the festival goes without a hitch. Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Tracey attend the dinner that night, where Melody, in ceremonial garb, plays the prophecy’s song on an ocarina. Y’know, between this and the Legend of Zelda series, I feel Nintendo would make a killing if they started selling ocarinas. After her song, the girl approaches Ash and gives him a quest: The trainer must gather three glass spheres, one from each of the three islands where the mythical birds reside, and bring them back to the shrine on Shamouti to “restore the balance”.

It’s supposed to be a part of the show surrounding the Legend Festival, and therefore, not too risky. But with what we know is happening concurrently… yeah, that’s gonna go wrong fast. The weather is bad, the sea is dangerous, and the Pokémon are behaving unnaturally. Has nobody picked up on that? It’s not exactly the right time for a quest like this!

You come back with that cap right now!

As for Ash? He’s an idiot like usual, so he thinks he really is the “Chosen One”, so he wants to go right away, regardless of people telling him to wait the next day. And Maren, who should be wiser, decides to go along and take Ash on that trip, that same evening. You drive the damn boat! You literally just washed ashore hours ago! You’ve seen how the sea is right now! Misty refuses to join on the quest, but it’s a moot point; Pikachu steals his trainer’s hat and runs, forcing Ash to go either way. That cap is a limited-edition Pokémon League prize! He’s attached to it! He has to follow! Right, right, he’s attached to Pikachu too…

I don’t think boats can do that

"Oh good, what are the twerps up to again?"

Once again, Maren braves the storm with Ash and Pikachu, heading towards Fire Island. The guardian of the shrine, a talking Slowking, looks on with worry. Back on Shamouti, where a strong rain is falling, Melody is feeling guilt over choosing Ash for the quest, with how the weather’s gotten. She elects to go after him using her sister Carol’s boat, and Misty and Tracey tag along. They run off just as Team Rocket arrives to the pier – and of course, those three know that wherever Ash’s companions are going, Ash and his prized Pikachu may be there too, so they sneak aboard and hide under the dinghy’s tarp.

I should find more excuses to talk about these
three more often. They're so much fun.

Meanwhile, the news report on the weather, which is going nuts on a global scale. Reports indicate that the climate disruption is caused by an undersea current, a phenomenon never seen before, that originates from the Orange Islands – namely, the area of Shamouti and the Fire, Ice and Lightning Islands. The area is told in folklore to be the origin of life on the planet. Even Oak and Delia are watching from the former’s lab.

That would be a problem with a normal boat.
This, however, is NOT a normal boat.

Shaken by the storm, Maren’s boat loses its rudder and is thrown onto the island. Well, that’s one boat we’re not gonna see again. Pikachu runs towards a staircase carved in the stone of the mountain, with Ash on his trail. It’s not long until Melody’s boat arrives as well, though it crash-lands onto a rock, with Team Rocket sent flying as a result. They'll be fine, they're used to it. However, the boat is equipped with a retractable sail and somehow, Melody is able to control it so it’ll land on the ground. And then, again somehow, the wind is strong enough to push that boat up the carved staircase. Yeah, I don’t care how different physics can be in the Pokémon world, this defies all logic. Even with a strong wind and a sail, I doubt this would be possible. Heck, Melody even finds time to tease Misty about her relationship with Ash while she accomplishes these physics-defying feats!

Even if that boat could do that, I doubt its
bottom would make it usable at sea after
getting shredded so much.

In his flying fortress, Lawrence admires his first catch of the day, with Moltres doing the bird equivalent of swearing like a sailor. I don’t know why, I picture the three elemental birds in this movie as complete foul mouths, who squawk obscenities at the collector and to each other. The megalomaniac is aware of the unbalance of power he has caused across the islands, but seems completely oblivious to the fact that the storm raging, as foretold by the goddamn prophecy he recites every five minutes, may have been caused by his capture of the fire bird. His computer spots Zapdos flying over to Fire Island…

"Poor Moltres, you seem so miserable."
(bird-speak) "F@@@@K YOOOUUUU!"

I’ll continue this in Part 2.