If you recognize me, you will see that I am an enormous fan of Pokémon. However actually, I by no means realized simply how deep it went.
I’ve mentioned the collection for years, even when it was a part of the 2025 TV schedule and different occasions when it wasn’t. The franchise is beloved for a lot of causes, from the anime to the video games to, in fact, its films. One movie that I am certain many followers of all ages are conversant in is Pokémon: The First Film.
Launched in 1998 (the literal 12 months I used to be born), the movie has cemented itself in popular culture over time and, in fact, within the hearts of Pokémon followers in every single place.
Nevertheless, because the it is out there to observe free of charge on YouTube by means of the official Pokemon channel, I made a decision to test it out for the first time since 2023, and realized simply how a lot this film taught me about loss of life at a younger age. What do I imply by that? Nicely, hold studying to search out out.
I’ve All the time Liked The Film
Sure, I like Pokémon, clearly, however I’ve to say that Pokémon: The First Film might be my favourite of the franchise’s film.
There have been quite a few movies within the Pokémon franchise. Most of which had been made for tv or launched in Japan after which dropped at America for distribution on Cartoon Community or elsewhere. For me, lots of the movies I appreciated had been from the generations I grew up with.
Technology 3 and 4, which frequently concerned The Rise of Darkrai, Lucario and the Thriller of Mew, and extra.
Even so, I feel The First Film is a type of movies that surpasses any movie out of your era of Pokémon. It is the defining movie of the kind of content material we prefer to see from the franchise, the place it is primarily happy-go-lucky, however it’s not afraid to discover darker themes.
As we get older, we notice that a few of the films we loved as youngsters comprise grownup subjects that we did not absolutely grasp on the time. And loss of life may be very a lot part of that, in addition to the evolution of life.
However the matter of loss of life and life did not come from Mew-Two and the clones of all of the Pokémon for me. It got here with Ash.
Nevertheless, I Assume Ash’s ‘Dying’ Is The Second I Realized What Dying Actually Is
Does Ash really die within the film? No, he would not. I imply, it is Pokémon. We do not actually see folks die on this franchise. It is made for teenagers; it is one of many finest anime collection to begin with. This is not Assault on Titan.
Nevertheless, the closest we actually get is when Ash is turned to stone in The First Film, when he places himself between a psycho blast that Mew-Two despatched in direction of Mew. It petrifies him, after which, in fact, we see the traditional scene of Pikachu crying over Ash’s physique and attempting to convey him again to life by surprising him with electrical energy.
Watching this as an grownup, I notice that this was the second that I discovered as a baby what loss of life really was. That we’re not all meant for this mortal coil endlessly.
The concept that Pikachu would not see not solely his coach once more, however his good friend and companion, was one thing that hit me exhausting, and I do not suppose I ever really understood that till now. After watching this movie, I started to understand that life really does come to an finish, and generally it is due to our personal selections.
Understand that the primary time I watched, I used to be about eight years outdated, and it was on my brother’s outdated VHS tape. Nevertheless, that also hit me exhausting, and it is solely now that I’ve realized simply how important it’s.
The Pokémon Crying Set Off One thing In Me As A Child
There are various moments inside the franchise the place it is easy to see how somebody may turn into emotional over a specific scene. Ash lastly profitable the championship was a significant one, which got here many years after this movie. Watching Ash set Butterfree go is one other instance I may use.
However to me, seeing each single Pokémon cry set me off.
I do take into account myself a reasonably emotional individual. I’ll cry at absolutely anything. Nothing actually scares me as a lot anymore, not even one of the best horror movies, however crying? Give me an emotional loss of life in any darkish anime, and I can be sobbing for hours.
Nevertheless, I feel this was the origin, this anime film that actually advised me that each form of species may really feel this sense of unhappiness; this grief that surpassed even human emotion, and traveled into these Pokémon who did not even know who Ash was, simply because Pikachu felt this intense grief for him.
That is the form of critical storytelling I wasn’t actually anticipating from Pokémon, and one thing I solely perceive now.
The Reality That They Introduced Him Again From Stone Erased That Trauma
I feel one of many greatest issues aboutThe First Film is that Ash doesn’t keep lifeless, as we all know. The Pokémon anime continued, and he spent twenty-something years being a perpetual pre-teen along with his buddy, Pikachu.
I genuinely imagine that due to that, I blocked it out. My thoughts was so overwhelmed with the concept of grief that, as a result of Ash was introduced again from stone, I ended up simply blocking out the truth that I actually discovered about mortality from a Pokémon film.
However I am nearly glad I did. That may have ruined the collection for me as a baby, and I could not have turn into the fan I’m at the moment. I now have a minimum of a higher respect for it than I ever did earlier than.
I am Type Of Shocked A Pokémon Film Is The One That Did It
Genuinely, like…I actually did not suppose this can be the film to do it out of every little thing that I’ve watched in my life.
I am a self-proclaimed cinephile who has watched a few of the most wicked movies of all time as a result of I simply wished to see what the fuss was all about. I’ve wasted hours viewing over-hyped horror films. I’ve seen a few of the finest movies that’ve gone on to win essentially the most prestigious awards within the film trade.
But the one movie that touched me in the case of mortality and loss of life was Pokémon: The First Film. That is hilariously heartfelt in so some ways.
I feel it is simply type of a testomony to the ability of what we watch as youngsters – one thing we do not perceive till we become old. We could not suppose that this one present or film formed us into who we’re at the moment. However as we revisit mentioned exhibits or films, every little thing begins to click on into place.
And I am happy with it. Go little me for locating that connection.
Even so, it makes me wish to revisit older films/exhibits that I’ve liked and see the connections I made due to them about life after I was a child. It could be time for an additional marathon.