THE Pokemon The anime shocked fans in 2022 by officially retiring the character of Ash Ketchum after almost 25 years as the series' main protagonist, starting a rebooted story starring new characters in Pokémon Horizons. However, the series had attempted a reboot several years earlier and was not as successful as Horizons.
THE Pokemon The anime has always reinvented itself every few years, swapping out Ash's Pokémon party and traveling companions to make room for new Pokémon and new friends as he travels the world. By far the most dramatic of these was Black and whitewhich saw Ash parting ways with Brock after over a decade of traveling together, as well as some resets for Ash and Pikachu's characters. However, there was also a complete reboot that the series attempted in 2017, starting with the movie Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Pokémon's Big Reboot Launched an Alternate Continuity
The special film began an alternate continuity trilogy
Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was created to commemorate the Pokemon 20th anniversary of the anime in Japan and as such took things back to the beginning to give fans a chance to meet Ash Ketchum again. Although the film draws heavily on the original continuity by reusing important events such as Ash and Pikachu's meeting, Butterfree's goodbye and Charmander's discovery, it also differed significantly as Brock and Misty are absent from the film, replaced by two new temporary companions, Verity and Sorrel. .
This placed the film's focus squarely on Ash and Pikachu's relationship, and the altered continuity was justified by Ho-Oh giving Ash a rainbow wing during his first sighting, a special item that shows a trainer is destined for greatness. . The film also included the Alola Pokémon Marshadow in a prominent role, following Ash around and causing a lot of trouble for the young trainer. The film culminates with Ash and Pikachu finally challenging Ho-Oh, although the conclusion of their match with the Rainbow Pokémon is not shown.
I choose you! it wasn't the only film in this continuity, however. The next two main Pokemon films, The power of us and Jungle Secretsare also set in this continuity and follow this version of Ash, who is shown traveling without any permanent human companions. When Ash retired from the main anime, it was decided that he would also retire from the films, and so a special episode, titled “The Distant Blue Sky”, was released to serve as an epilogue to this alternate continuity.
Pokémon Legacy the Movie: I Choose You!
The reboot film was not well received and failed to make an impact
As the first Pokémon movie to hit US theaters in quite some time, I choose you! received seriously negative reviews from critics, who didn't really understand the film and considered it childish and unoriginal. Many fans were also unhappy with the film for excluding Brock and Misty, wondering how the film could truly be a celebration of the anime if two of its most prominent characters were inexplicably cut. Verity and Sorrel didn't really endear themselves to fans, having little to no backstory or goals of their own that they were actively working towards.
The biggest controversy revolves around the film's climax. As Ash is near death, he hears Pikachu speak to him, explaining that he won't enter a Poké Ball because he always wants to be together. Having Pikachu speak in clear language was met with laughter by many, killing the mood of the scene and essentially ruining the entire ending. Others simply found this strange and uncomfortable, and it was particularly egregious in English, as Ikue Ohtani was used in all of Pikachu's dialogue except the English sentence, causing the voice to suddenly change in a jarring manner.
Ultimately, despite being aimed at longtime fans of the series, the film failed to please almost anyone. The following film, The Power of Us, was better received, scoring substantially higher on Rotten Tomatoes (71% versus 33% for I choose you), and Jungle Secrets ended the trilogy a little weaker (60%). The films performed well at the Japanese box office but were not very successful internationally, perhaps explaining why the alternate continuity came to an end along with the main series.
Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was in some ways an experiment, but in other ways firmly rooted in the past, and this may explain why this Pokemon the film was not successful with anyone.