Well, this was the second movie to come out. While not as gothic or serious as the first, it still came off well, although it was close. Warner Brother's "One person can make all the difference" theme was really ruining it for me. Oy. Well, at least the cards were better. Ancient Mew sucks as a game card, but it's the ultimate showpiece. Foil on both sides, with special text and art just for that card. The three extras, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are much better battle cards, but are not foiled. Articuno, as usual, is the best of the three, as there's not much risk involved. Zapdos has backlash, but still a powerful attack if you're lucky. Moltres, well, it's Moltres. Most of the time, the Moltres cards suck. This one has you discarding all your Energy Cards if you're not careful! Anyway, on with the actual movie.
After some boring trailers (the only one worth seeing was Chicken Run.) the movie finally started. As usual, it started with the Pikachu mini-movie. I was expecting the good time I had watching Pikachu's Vacation, but this was not to be. Since there was no narrator, nothing was explained. All the voices spouting one after the other was annoying since we have no idea what they're saying. The worst dub mini-movie yet. There were only two good parts. The Bellossom dance, which was pretty cool, even if they dubbed Poliwhirl wrong (for the billionth time), and that Elekid played an active role. If you read my bio, you can see that Elekid's one of my Top 5, so of course I loved it when Elekid was on screen. Too bad the rest of the mini-movie sucked. Oh, and the summary: Togepi gets lost in this secluded Pokémon land, and Pikachu & co. try to save it. They meet up with Elekid and find that a bunch of Exeggcute mistake Togepi for their lost egg. A storm arrives, and Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Marril, Elekid and Pikachu help out the Exeggcute nests. The Exeggcute find their lost egg when the storm ends (thanks to a Dragonair.) and Pikachu & co. leave.
On with the main movie. There is an ancient legend that if the Gods of Fire, Ice, and Lightning are captured, the world would be destroyed, as not even the Beast of the Sea could defeat them. Thus, the world would turn to ash. An evil collector named Lawrence III wants the beast of the sea, and proceeds to Shamouti Island. There he captures the first bird, Moltres, without much trouble. Some Ice Bombs and electric rings quickly do the fire bird in. His computer tells him about Zapdos and Articuno, so he heads off in his giant airship. With all three birds he can have his prize: Lugia.
Meanwhile, Ash & the Ashettes are riding an actual boat instead of Lapras (Where do they get the money for these things?) and they decide that the Pokémon could use a little exercise. The captain, Marin, agrees, and all the Pokémon, sans Snorlax and Charizard, are released. Pikachu, however, can sense a powerful force coming. A storm hits, and the boat is sent off course, as well as Team Rocket, who had been following the trio in their Magikarp sub. The boat crashes on Shamouti Island while Team Rocket crashes into a cliff. Ash & co. get out, and are instantly visited by a bunch of natives. One of the natives, Carol, is good friends with Marin, and she says that she can't perform in the ceremony, so her sister, Melody, will. Melody isn't too keen on it though. When Marin tells them that Ash is a Pokémon Trainer, the natives get restless. They explain the legend and Melody gives Ash a "welcome kiss" which upsets Misty. Melody thinks Misty is Ash's girlfriend, then his sister. Eventually, they all get to the dinner party, where Melody explains that Ash is the Chosen One. He must gather the three glass orbs from Fire Island, Lightning Island, and Ice Island tomorrow. Ash, being Ash, decides to start tonight, and he & Marin set off.
Meanwhile, in Pallet Town, Ash's mom is watering her plants, when Oak stops by on his bike. A very quick rainshower passes over, then it snows. Finally, a huge group of Diglett pass by, taking Oak's bike with them, being followed by a flock of Pidgeys. Oak and Delilah Ketchum are confused, and head to the lab. Back in Shamouti, the storm becomes too rough, and the boat Ash & Marin are on loses its rudder. They crash on Fire Island, and Pikachu goes running off. Misty, Melody, and Tracey race off to find them, with Team Rocket sneaking on board. They crash on Fire Island, where Marin says that Ash went ahead. Melody pulls up a sail and the group goes up the stairs. Ash gets to the top and finds a statue with a glass ball. He pulls it out and a flame starts going. He puts it in his pocket as Team Rocket arrives, followed shortly by Misty & co. The gang is about to leave when Zapdos arrives. Pikachu uses its eletric power to talk to Zapdos, and the trainers find out via Meowth that Moltres has disappeared. The reason why shows up, as Zapdos is drained of energy by the airship, and Lawrence captures the humans and Zapdos.
When he is notified that the gang is aboard, Lawrence explains that he is a collector and is capturing the Legendary Birds. But, he turns out to be a complete idiot and lets the humans free. (Why? I have no idea.) Melody comes across a tablet and explains the legend to the gang. Deciding that the birds should be let free, Ash calls out his main 4 while Team Rocket calls out Arbok and Weezing. The combined power of Charizard, Squirtle, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur break Moltres's cage and the firebird frees Zapdos, who repays him back by shocking him. The two birds escape and start wrecking the airship so much that it crashes on Lightning Island. The gang escapes, and Ash finds the second glass orb, which surges with electricity when he touches it. The trainers find the boat, and Team Rocket opens the life raft, just in case. They try to escape, but fall and are about to crash into the ice when a sudden water twister catches them and throws them back onto Shamouti. A strange song is playing from the tornado, and Melody reconizes it. The gang escapes as the boat is trashed. There they meet Slowking, who tells Ash to place the orbs on the statue. He still needs the Ice Island orb though. Articuno gets in the brawl as well, but before all three can destroy Earth, a giant tornado appears. And inside it is the Guardian of the Sea: Lugia.
Oak & Delilah meet with Professor Ivy and race towards Shamouti. Oak explains that an imbalance of power between the three birds is causing a huge weather phenomenom, creating a giant current under the sea. Pokémon from around the world are gathering to try to stop this impending doom to happen. Lugia, meanwhile, battles the three birds valiantly, but ultimately is beaten and falls back into the sea. Melody tries playing her special song, and Lugia is revived. Lugia explains that Ash needs to get the final orb, for he is the Chosen One. Misty says that it's in the Legend: "The world shall turn to ash." Ash agrees and starts out, but he can't get there by foot. However, using a piece of metal from the boat, he rides across there with Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur providing the power. Meanwhile, the chopper the Professors were riding in crashes above the gang, and land near Team Rocket, who were thrown off by the first twister. They come up with a plan of action. Charizard, Pikachu, and Lugia battle the birds, who are trying to stop Ash, when a giant ice cliff appears. Ash can't get over it (never mind the fact that Charizard can FLY.) but who comes up but a particular trio in a converted holofoil. It's Team Rocket!
Team Rocket say that they can't steal from anyone if the world is destroyed. They'll be out of work! The trio successfully make it to Ice Island, where Ash gets the last orb. However, Articuno and Moltres drop by and destroy the holofoil. Articuno is toasted by Moltres and falls, beaten. Ash and Team Rocket climb over the top and run down the mountain. Lugia comes along and offers Ash a ride, once again not thinking of Charizard. Team Rocket hangs on by Lugia's leg. However, Lugia can barely outrun the two birds. Below, hundreds of Pokémon are coming via the now frozen ocean. Meanwhile, Lugia still barely avoids Zapdos's strikes, when Jesse realizes that they are weighing Lugia down. They agree to let go, even though they will die when they hit the ice. They do it anyway, and prepare to "protect the world from devistation," when they land in water. The Pokémon made a hole in the ice for them!
With the added weight reduced, Lugia easily outflys Zapdos and Moltres, who fall from exhaustion. It's home free from there, but Lawrence shoots his Electric rings and captures Lugia. The bird won't go down, and Hyper Beams the airship to pieces. However, Lugia's strength is gone and falls into the sea. Ash has fainted and floats to the surface. (It's amazing that neither the orb or his Pokédex are lost.) Misty swims out to save Ash, while Tracey brings them in via rope. Ash regains his strength, and places the last orb in. Melody plays her song, and the whole temple fills with glowing water. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are revived, as is Lugia, as the "churning beast of the sea" rises from above the depths. With everything right again, Lugia asks for Ash to ride it, as the four birds celebrate. Later that day, during the sunset, Lugia leaves as Professor Oak and Ash's mom finally arrive. She scolds him for risking his neck, and tells him that she worries every day for him. Thus, everyone returns to the main portion of the island. Tracey doesn't seem to notice that Professor Oak is there, and everyone leaves Marin stranded on Fire Island. Lawrence searches among the wreckage and finds his Ancient Mew card, the thing that started his collecting journey. Later, Team Rocket comes up from the water, angry that no one saw them be heroes for once. Slowking points out that the audience saw them be heroes, and they decide to become good guys. However, to be sure the boss doesn't find out, they'll make their own service. But they need money, so they'll steal it. The end.
Well, I thought the movie was dubbed a bit better than Mewtwo Strikes Back, but the whole "one person" theme was really getting to me. I mean, Ash needed help in every single way! They shoulda stuck with the orignial title: Revelation Lugia X. Still, it was an enjoyable movie, even if Youngstown made "Pokémon World" utter crap. At least there's no "Brother, My Brother" in the middle of the action! Also, the changing of Gods to Titans was stupid. I mean, people say God all the time on kids shows! Plus, the Japanese version didn't have the whole "world turns to ash" thing. According to the original, just about any Pokémon trainer could have gotten the orbs. If Gary had been in Ash's place, he could have searched for the orbs as well. Oh well. Also, Lugia's voice sucked. This ain't Mewtwo, so give him a different voice. ::Sighs::
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