Template:Infobox Film Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (Japanese: ミュウツーの逆襲 EVOLUTION) is the third movie to be in a different reality instead of the actual timeline. It was released early in the United States during the 2019 4th of July event in the country, in theaters at Los Angeles, California.
It was released a week later on Saturday, July 12, 2019 in Japan. It's a remake of the first original film.
It is the first and (so far) only CGI-animated Pokémon movie.
Blurb
Plot
Scientist Dr. Fuji is hired by Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, to utilize his expertise in cloning in order to create a living weapon based on an eyelash from legendary Pokémon Mew. Soon after the weapon is created, it gains sentience and is named Mewtwo.
Several years later, Mewtwo has fully awakened from a long slumber in a laboratory on New Island, and learns of his origin as Mew's clone from Dr. Fuji. Infuriated that Fuji and his colleagues see him as nothing more than an experiment, he unleashes his psychic powers and destroys the laboratory, killing Fuji and the rest of the scientists. Giovanni, witnessing the carnage afar, approaches and convinces Mewtwo to work with him to hone his powers. However, after Mewtwo learns of his purpose to be a weapon for Giovanni's benefit, he escapes back to New Island where he plots his revenge against humanity.
After Mewtwo rebuilds the laboratory and establishes a base there, he invites several trainers with hologram messages to battle the world's greatest Pokémon trainer at New Island. Ash, Misty, and Brock receive a message and accept the invitation, but when they arrive at the port city, Old Shore Wharf, Mewtwo creates a storm, causing the boats on the wharf to be closed off for safety. As a result, Ash's group are picked up by Team Rocket disguised as captains on a Lapras-shaped sailboat. After the storm sinks their vessel in the middle of the ocean, Ash and his friends use their Pokémon instead to reach New Island.
Escorted into the island's palace by the woman who appeared on the hologram, Ash and the other trainers who were able to reach the island encounter Mewtwo. The woman is revealed to be a brainwashed Nurse Joy after she is released from Mewtwo's mind control. After describing his plot to use the storm to wipe out humanity and Pokémon loyal to humans, Mewtwo challenges the trainers using cloned Pokémon coincidentally modeled after the deceased friends from his childhood. Meanwhile, Team Rocket also reaches New Island and explores its inner sanctum with a Mew innocuously following them. After Mewtwo's clones effortlessly defeat the challengers' Pokémon, he confiscates them and expands his clone army. Ash chases after his captured Pikachu down the cloning lab, where Team Rocket's Meowth is also cloned. Ash destroys the cloning machine, frees the captured Pokémon, and leads them to confront Mewtwo and his clones. Mew then reveals itself and Mewtwo challenges it in order to prove his superiority.
All of the Pokémon originals battle their clones save for a defiant Pikachu and Meowth, who makes peace with his own clone after realizing the senselessness of their fighting. Horrified at the pain and anguish felt on both sides of the battle, Ash puts himself in between a psychic blast caused by Mewtwo and Mew's fighting, leading to Ash to become petrified. Pikachu tries to revive Ash with its electricity but fails. However, the tears of the Pokémon, as per a legend mentioned earlier in the movie, are able to heal and revive Ash. Moved by Ash's sacrifice, Mewtwo realizes that he should not have to be judged by his origins but rather his choices in life. Departing with Mew and the clones, Mewtwo turns back time to just before the trainers leave Old Shore Wharf, and erases everyone's memories of the event.
Back in Old Shore Wharf, the now-restored Nurse Joy has returned to reopen the Pokémon Center to shelter the trainers. The storm outside clears up, Ash spots Mew flying through the clouds and tells his friends of how he saw another legendary Pokémon the day he left Pallet Town. Meanwhile, Team Rocket find themselves stranded on New Island but enjoy their time there.
After the credits, a brief scene shows Mewtwo and the clones had flown towards Mount Quena.
Characters
Human
- Ash
- Misty
- Brock
- Jessie
- James
- Gary Oak (cameo)
- Giovanni
- Nurse Joy
- Officer Jenny
- Dr. Fuji
- Corey
- Neesha
- Fergus
- Miranda
- Raymond
- Team Rocket Grunts
- Trainers
- Scientists
- Mother and daughter (ending credits)
Pokémon
- Ash's Pikachu
- Ash's Bulbasaur
- Ash's Charizard
- Ash's Squirtle
- Misty's Staryu
- Misty's Psyduck
- Misty's Togepi
- Brock's Vulpix
- James's Weezing
- Team Rocket's Meowth
- Gary's Arcanine
- Gary's Nidoking
- Giovanni's Persian
- Raymond's Donphan
- Raymond's Machamp
- Raymond's Drowzee
- Raymond's Venomoth
- Raymond's Pinsir
- Bruteroot
- Corey's Pidgeot
- Corey's Sandslash
- Corey's Rhyhorn
- Corey's Hitmonlee
- Corey's Scyther
- Shellshocker
- Neesha's Dewgong
- Neesha's Wigglytuff
- Neesha's Vileplume
- Neesha's Ninetales
- Neesha's Rapidash
- Fergus' Gyarados
- Fergus' Golduck
- Fergus' Seadra
- Fergus' Tentacruel
- Fergus' Vaporeon
- Fergus' Nidoqueen
- Mother and daughter's Eevee
- Team Rocket Grunts' Tauros
- Mewtwo
- Fearow
- Dragonite
- Mew
- Charizardtwo
- Venusaurtwo
- Blastoisetwo
- Pikachutwo
- Bulbasaurtwo
- Squirtletwo
- Psyducktwo
- Vulpixtwo
- Meowthtwo
- Pidgeottwo
- Sandslashtwo
- Rhyhorntwo
- Hitmonleetwo
- Scythertwo
- Dewgongtwo
- Wigglytufftwo
- Vileplumetwo
- Ninetalestwo
- Rapidashtwo
- Gyaradostwo
- Golducktwo
- Seadratwo
- Tentacrueltwo
- Vaporeontwo
- Nidoqueentwo
- Kingler (Trainer's)
- Wingull (ending credits)
Cast
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Ketchum | Rica Matsumoto | Sarah Natochenny |
| Pikachu | Ikue Otani
| |
| Misty | Mayumi Iizuka | Michelle Knotz |
| Brock | Yūji Ueda | Bill Rogers |
| Narrator | Unshō Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons |
| Togepi | Satomi Korogi
| |
| Jessie | Megumi Hayashibara | Michelle Knotz |
| James | Shinichiro Miki | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Fergus | Hiroyuki Yoshino | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Corey | Hiroshi Kamiya | Ed Paul |
| Neesha | Ayane Sakura | Lisa Ortiz |
| Miranda | Sachiko Kobayashi | Lisa Ortiz |
| Raymond | Raymond Johnson | |
| Mewtwo | Masachika Ichimura | Dan Green |
| Mew | ||
| Giovanni | Kenta Miyake | Ed Paul |
| Officer Jenny | Chinami Nishimura | |
| Nurse Joy | Chika Fujimura | Alyson Rosenfeld |
| Dr. Fuji | Minoru Inaba | Billy Bob Thompson |
Differences from the Original Movie
- In the original movie, Team Rocket disguises themselves as vikings when they take Ash and his friends on a boat to New Island. In this movie, they disguise themselves as captains on a Lapras-shaped sailboat.
- The post-credits scene for the original movie only showed Mew flying to New Island. However, this movie's post-credits scene shows Mewtwo and all of the clones flying to New Island.
- When Ash is petrified in the movie's climax, he turns into black stone instead usual gray rock.
Trivia
- This is Misty's first full appearance in a Pokémon movie since Pokémon Heroes.
- This is Brock's first full appearance in a Pokémon movie since Pokémon - Zoroark: Master of Illusions.
- Pokémon: The First Movie is the first traditionally-animated film in general to have a computer-animated remake, not counting Disney's The Lion King (whose remake is technically a live-action/computer-animated hybrid, although the only live action part is the opening shot of the sunrise).
- Unlike the English dub of the first original film, the English dub of this film has Sarah Natochenny, Michele Knotz, Bill Rogers, James Carter Cathcart, and Ted Lewis reprise their English roles of Ash, Misty, Jessie, Brock, James and Meowth, and Giovanni respectively from the current anime seasons while Dan Green reprises his English role of Mewtwo from Mewtwo Returns.
- Ted Lewis and James Carter Cathcart also reprise their roles from the original movie (Corey and Fergus respectively).
- Rodger Parsons also reprises his English role of the series' narrator respectively (making him one of two English-language voice actors for so far to reprise their roles from a traditionally-animated film in a computer-animated remake alongside James Earl Jones, who reprises his role of Mufasa in 2019's The Lion King).
- This is the first Pokemon movie to stream directly on Netflix in the US instead of being released in selected theaters or broadcast on TV.
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