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Pokémarathon Parade

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

by Andrew Brown - May 16, 2011, 9:40 pm EDT

Lucario acts just like Mewtwo. Does that make him Mewthree? 

While marketed as part of Advanced Battle, the third season of Pokémon's second animated series, the 8th Pokémon movie takes place immediately after Ash returns home from Hoenn, placing the setting town of Rota in the Kanto region, and making it part of the Battle Frontier continuity. 

But enough technicalities.

In commemoration of Ash returning to Kanto and embarking on another journey in the region where it all began, this movie also features the return of Mew, the first legendary Pokémon to be showcased in a movie. It also heavily focused on Lucario, marking the first movie in a long time to reveal a Pokémon from an upcoming generation of games - as it was not obtainable on Game Boy Advance.

Somewhere north of Mount Moon is a castle town with a rich history of a great kingdom, an epic battle waged over the land and a hero named Sir Aaron who protected his queen in a time of crisis. In present times, the town holds an annual festival to celebrate the ancient traditions of the kingdom and a Pokémon battle tournament  in honor of the legendary hero. In a nearby valley is the great Tree of Beginning, which is said to be the source of all natural life for the area.

Prepare for a lot of Pokéangst in this movie

Movie 8 follows the story of Pikachu getting mistakenly abducted by Mew (allegedly a different Mew to the one in the first movie) and taken to the Tree of Beginning. Ash and his friends team up with Lucario - a recently-awoken partner of Sir Aaron who was sealed in time, and head to the tree to retrieve him. Lucario feels betrayed and abandoned that his old friend sealed him until the present time, and never misses an opportunity to comment on the futility of friendships between humans and Pokémon. He acts all brooding and tough, but his whining quickly becomes grating - he really puts the emo in PokEMOn. 

In the games, Lucario could not be obtained until Generation IV, Diamond and Pearl. Only one of them is given to the player in these games, in the form of a Riolu that must be evolved through happiness. It could, however, be bred to obtain another Riolu.

Silly hairdo and all, she is still pretty badass

Anyway, the Tree of Beginning is a sacred place for both Pokémon and nature, and it is kept safe from human invasion by its three guardians, Regirock, Regice, and Registeel (#377-380, respectively). These gargantuan guardian goliaths are relentless in their pursuit and attack of any humans who go anywhere near the valley, and the movie adaption of them is extremely cool. Even the sounds they make are ominous and intimidating.

In the games of Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, the three Regi- Pokémon are obtained after deciphering an interesting puzzle in a ruin chamber, written in the real-world language of Braille. This was the first time a new language had to be learned and translated to unlock game content in the series (unless you count reading Unown), and the games came packaged with an alphabetical Braille chart to help players translate. After solving the ruin's puzzle, three hidden caves appeared around the Hoenn region which contained one of the legendary Pokémon each. 

Ash and friends face their biggest threat yet

Back to the movie - after Ash reunites with Pikachu within a network of caverns beneath the Tree of Beginning, Lucario finds the preserved body of his old companion Sir Aaron sealed within the tree's core. It is revealed that the ancient battle for the kingdom had ravaged the land and doomed the tree, and as the only mage in the kingdom he had sacrificed his aura - his spiritual power and life force - to revive the tree and keep the land alive. Knowing that Lucario would have come too, Aaron had sealed him to prevent his sacrifice so that he may continue to live out his life in happiness.

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is actually one of the best stories in the series of movies, and if one can overlook Lucario's obnoxious attitude there's a lot to enjoy. It's also the final movie to be dubbed by the original cast members from 4Kids Entertainment, who around this time had lost their license to publish animations based on Nintendo franchises, including F-Zero and Kirby.

As part of the transition to the new company, the American DVD of this movie came bundled with the American-made special, Mastermind of the Mirage Pokémon, a double-length episode to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original Pokémon game on Game Boy. The contrast between the voices is made all the more glaring when paired back to back with the Lucario film, and the quirky animation and questionable story of the special render it largely forgettable.

Nonetheless, the main feature presentation is a worthy addition to the series and worth checking out.

Images

Talkback

CericMay 17, 2011

I remember when I saw the first one in the theatres it was a big deal for me.  I was in High School at the time so I had my Dad take me to the a showing away from where we would normally go and insisted on getting my Mew card.  I liked how the first one was in the shows continuety but, ended in such a way as to not mess with it.  That is the only one I've seen actually.

I saw the first film in theatres with a female friend. She cried when Ash died.


I remember there was a kid in front of me who kept saying the pokémon's names as they appeared on screen—"hey, kid! shut up, they say their own names!"

Ryan CannonMay 17, 2011

I always like the second generation the best for some reason...

SilverQuilavaMay 17, 2011

hehe! The Nostalgia Critic reviewed Pokemon The First Movie X)

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 17, 2011

Quote from: Ceric

I remember when I saw the first one in the theatres it was a big deal for me.  I was in High School at the time so I had my Dad take me to the a showing away from where we would normally go and insisted on getting my Mew card.  I liked how the first one was in the shows continuety but, ended in such a way as to not mess with it.  That is the only one I've seen actually.

That's basically what killed the movie for me: the ending. It would have been slightly fine in itself if they didn't get very preachy about it. Having Mewtwo erase everyone's memories by the end kind of defeats the purpose of hammering the message home. Plus, it just feels cheap.

For what it's worth, it can be enjoyed, but the constant preaching and the ending kill it.

As for my top three movies in the series:
Pokemon 4ever (which I wrote about): I really liked the story and the twist at the end. It got very melodramatic more than once, but I still like it.

Pokemon 3: Entei is my favorite of the three legendary dogs, and I thought the story was both sweet and cool, especially with the Unown (which are useless in battle but amazing in concept).

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew: Now, it's been a while since I've seen this movie but I didn't find Lucario to be THAT angsty. Mewtwo was far worse, I think, since Lucario has a good reason for feeling this way.

RABicleMay 18, 2011

12,000 words...

I don't even know what to say.

I almost cried during Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

ALSO IM VERY VERY SORRY FOR FOGETTING ABOUT MAFIA GUYS :( PWEASE FORGIVE ME!

CericMay 18, 2011

Vote RABicle

roykoopa64May 31, 2011

My friend and I watched this in the theater when it came out, it was pretty exciting. Good overview of the movie!

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