I’ve recently revisited the Pokemon films and was surprised at how good they are! Apart from capturing some serious nostalgia, they have great stories with positive messages about friendship and never giving up.

After watching movie after movie, I’ve compiled this list on which ones are best, ranked.

Pokemon 4Ever

This is a really solid entry into the list of early Pokemon movies, and Celebi makes for a pretty compelling central Pokemon of the film. What’s more, there’s some really cool time travel stuff handled deftly, as well as a intriguing backstory revealed about one of Pokemon’s most iconic characters (no spoilers here).

The only thing that holds this film back is the CGI behemoth that takes up a big part of the third act. While it serves the plot, perhaps a different technique would have been more effective here. I also wouldn’t have minded getting to see more about Scuicune during this film and how he relates to Celebi.

Once again, Ah hardly uses his Pokemon apart from Pikachu – something which seems to become a trend after the initial three movies. Regardless, it’s as solid movie with strong characters and beautiful animation certainly worth checking out on your return to the Pokemon movie franchise.

The Power of Us

Given it’s a newer entry, it would be fairly easy to overlook this film. But it’s a mistake to do so. This is easily one of Pokémon’s best films and in many ways has a stronger story than the films higher up on the list.

Unlike the other films on this list that heavily focus on Ash, The Power of Us is true to its title, being made up of an ensemble cast of beautifully fleshed out characters, each complete with their own unique backstories.

At times, the attention to world building around the characters seems to transcend normal Pokémon levels and I actually felt like I was watching a Shinkai film.

The characters almost solely drive this film while the plot is harder to follow. But with such real feeling characters, who really cares where the poisounous smoke came from or why Zeraora is hiding in the woods?

In the nostalgia side of things, however, this film has plenty going for it, taking place in a town highly reminiscent of the Johto region and even Pokemon 2000. Lugia pays our main characters a visit. I don’t know how much more Pokemon core you could get than that!

The only reason this movie is a bit farther down on this list is that it feels less like a Pokemon movie at times given its focus on peripheral characters and less on Pokemon or even Ash. While that’s really refreshing from a cinematic storytelling perspective, hardcore Pokemon fans might enjoy some of the more Pokemon/catching/battling/lore focus of the movies higher up on this list.

Pokémon Heroes

There’s a handful of movies that could go at this point of the list, but the best of them is Pokemon Heroes.

Pokemon Heroes is remarkable among Pokemon movies for a few reasons. First, it’s the last Pokemon movie to include the series core (and arguably strongest) trio of Brock, Ash, and Misty.

Just as important, however, is the setting of this film. It takes place in a beautiful city that closely resembles Venice. And the movie astutely begins with a crazy race through its canals, showing how the city’s setting is every bit as much a character in the story as the characters themselves.

It’s also nice that we get to see Ash branch out a little from his close friends, striking up a close relationship with another mysterious girl.

Mewtwo Strikes Back

In many ways Mewtwo Strikes Back is the most iconic of the movies. It grossed the most at the box office, and going to see it in theaters was a huge event.

That being said, it’s not quite as great as some of the other films on this list, despite having so many iconic moments that encapsulate the Indigo League era of Pokemon.

The main thing that holds it back is the super odd “Pokemon shouldn’t fight” message that’s the focal point of the second half of the film. In a world primarily focused on training and battling, that sort of logic doesn’t hold up to a first grader’s scrutiny.

Still, the opening credits where Ash battles with each of his iconic Pokemon versus other well known Pokemon from Kanto, followed closely by a Dragonite soaring into frame carrying a messenger bag, is probably the single best sequence in any Pokemon movie to date.

Pokémon The Movie 3

This Pokemon Movie stands apart from the rest because of how small the stakes seem in comparison to the usual “end of the world” fare we get in these films. Here, we’re just dealing with the fate of one girl.

In some ways, this film feels like something out of Stranger Things, and it works. You get drawn into the little girl’s dream world and worry about her in a way that feels more convincing than some nebulous threat to Pokemon-kind.

That being said, the absolute best part of this film is the showdown between Charizard and Entei. It’s easily one of Charizard’s best moments, and the last time we see him as a regular character in the Pokemon movies.

Pokémon 2000

Pokemon 2000 has everything you want from a Pokemon movie without some of the baggage that made the first movie drag at parts.

Here’s what made this movie great:

Fantastic setting.
All of Ash’s most iconic Pokemon make an appearance.
Big consequences on the table.
Set in the Orange Islands which is the most underrated part of the anime.

The grandness in this film felt pretty real because of the mystic environment the Orange Islands create. And while it didn’t gross as much as the first Pokemon movie, in my memory it was the final Pokemon movie to be an “event” film – something people eagerly anticipated seeing in theaters.

Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You

Last but not least, and a somewhat controversial pick, of all the Pokemon movies I’ve seen, Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You stands out as the most complete. It has everything all of these other movies have and a little more.

It’s a beautiful retelling of the original Pokemon story, only done more susinctly. We get to meet new characters with their own backstories, and get to witness a more concise story arc for Ash’s Charizard than that which we saw in the movie.

We also get to see the rise and growth of Pokemon’s most iconic relationship all in the course of one film: Pikachu and Ash. There are some incredibly touching moments in this film between those two, including an “It’s a Wonderful Life” sequence where we get to see what life would have been like for Ash if there were no Pokemon. And jokes on all of us because his life is just normal human life, and it sucks!

If you’ve been away from the Pokemon film franchise for a while like I had been before rewatching all of these then I couldn’t recommend a better Pokemon film to get you back into it than I Choose You.

The Best Pokémon Movies, Ranked