Their destinies will be put against the ultimate being.
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys is the seventh Pokémon: The Series movie, and the second and final film set in the Hoenn region.
Four years ago, a meteor containing the legendary Pokémon Deoxys crashed into an icy continent. The legendary Pokémon of the ozone layer, Rayquaza, engaged it in a fierce battle which ended with Deoxys seemingly destroyed. A group of researchers witness the battle and take the crystalline remains home with them, while their young son picks up a phobia of Pokémon from the experience.
Flash forward to the present where Ash and friends arrive in futuristic LaRousse City, famed for its Battle Tower, just in time for Deoxys to be revived, block off the city from the outside and start causing chaos. They team up with the aforementioned researchers and a group of other trainers to find a way to calm Deoxys down.
This is the first Pokémon movie to not be preceded by a Pikachu short, and it perhaps shows. In North America, the movie skipped a theatrical release, premiering on Kids' WB! where it pulled in higher ratings than the network had got in the entire previous year.
It's worth noting that this is the first appearance of a Pokémon that debuted in Generation IV, that specifically being Munchlax.
The movie provides examples of:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: This movie made highly generous use of CG Pokémon, especially for the scenes involving the multiple Deoxys' and all of the robotic cubes. It looks ugly, but given that this movie was made in 2004, it isn't nearly as bad as it could've been.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The security bots go bonkers after Deoxys short-circuits them. This leads to the robotic systems of LaRousse City ending up being the final antagonist, rather than either Deoxys or Rayquaza, all three of whom are taken out of commission during the final action scene.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The original (Japanese) dub had "L-O-V-E-L-Y Yume Miru LOVELY BOY", while the English dub had "This Side of Paradise".
- Astral Projection: The green Deoxys, while stuck as just its core in a lab, can somehow use its ability to make auroras to see and hear stuff in other areas, such as Tory and his stories in the greenhouse.
- Avoid the Dreaded G Rating:
- Sort of. When it aired on Kids WB!, it had a rating of TV Y7.
- Similarly, this is also the first Pokémon movie to be given a PG-12 rating in Japan (all the previous films were rated G). The next PG-12 Pokémon movie wouldn't be released for another two years.
- Badass Bookworm: Rebecca is a nerd with a laptop that she uses for strategy, and her research is on par with the scientists in the movie. Also, she has a Metagross.
- Big Bad: Deoxys. Everyone assumes Deoxys is the villain.
- Big Brother Instinct:
- Purple Deoxys goes to enormous lengths trying to find its friend, who is technically younger than it is.
- Rafe also is protective of his two younger sisters, going so far as to stay behind with his Blaziken in a last stand in order to give the girls (and by extension, the rest of the party) a chance to escape.
- Bowdlerise: Mild example. The US release cut 20 seconds of footage from the opening fight between Rayquaza and Deoxys, mostly of the research camp being destroyed, with one researcher being buried under falling debris.
- Breath Weapon: Rayquaza's weapon in battle.
- Brick Joke: In order to revive the Green Deoxys, the citizens of LaRousse City rally around and use any means possible to bring the power back to the city. This includes Team Rocket, who, unfortunately, in an effort to keep themselves hidden, weren't informed of the operation being a success. The end of the movie sees them still trying to generate power, completely unaware that the crisis is over.
- The Cameo: Brendan shows up in the opening fighting in the battle tower.
- Chekhov's Gun: The ID cards that show up at the show's beginning prove to be the final key to shut down Larousse City's defence systems.
- Closed Circle: Soon after arriving in Larousse City, Deoxys imposes a massive barrier over the city, which even prevents the wind from blowing and thereby shuts down the electricity city-wide. This somehow also locks down the Poké Balls, preventing the main cast from using their own Pokémon and requiring most of the heavy-lifting to be done by the locals, whose Pokémon were already out.
- The Computer Is Your Friend: At the end of the movie, due to the battle between Rayquaza and the two Deoxys beating the crap out of each other (and causing major collateral damage), LaRousse City's defense system goes haywire.
- Conflict Killer: The Block Bots going out of control ends any and all conflict between Deoxys and Rayquaza, nicely side-stepping the possibility of a Downer Ending.
- Continuity Nod:
- May's main rival Drew is later revealed to be from the city this movie is set in.
- The first Pokémon Ranger special two-parter (the one set in the Battle Frontier saga) explicitly mentions Professor Lund's research in this movie.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- What's supposed to be a tag-battle at the beginning of the movie essentially becomes a 2-on-1 match, as Ash's partner Tory has no Pokémon of his own and had never actually been in a Pokémon battle, rendering him useless. Not surprisingly, the fight itself results in a humiliating loss for Ash.
- For most of the film, Rayquaza appears to be nearly evenly matched against Deoxys. However, towards the end of the film, Deoxys finally decides that it has had enough of being harassed and abandons all restraint, at which point it completely dominates Rayquaza to the point that it seems like it might well have killed it had the second Deoxys not intervened and shielded it from Deoxys's attack. Implying that Deoxys was holding back significantly for most of the film.
- When Rayquaza then tries to fight both Deoxys at once, it goes about as well as you'd expect.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After about three battles against each other, the Deoxys and Rayquaza eventually leave on good terms.
- Their rivalry is given a nod in the Generation III remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Evidently, Rayquaza and Deoxys have come to blows back in ancient history, with Deoxys repeatedly trying to go to Hoenn and Rayquaza pushing it back.
- Deus ex Machina: Thank goodness Munchlax evolved just in time for Ash to use it as a stepping stone to reach the head Block Bot.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Munchlax.
- Easily Forgiven: Purple Deoxys attacks a city, kidnaps its residents and causes major property damage, this is okay though because it did it for its friend.
- Final Battle: Between Rayquaza and Deoxys. Technically, it can extend to Green Deoxys and Purple Deoxys vs. Rayquaza, but by then the Deoxys don't care anymore and just keep running away.
- Healing Factor: Deoxys, given proper focus when one of Rayquaza's Hyper Beams blows away the purple one's side, and it almost casually regenerates it.
- From a Single Cell: As long as the core of Deoxys exists, it can replicate and restore itself.
- Homage: The film's plot is very reminiscent of The War of the Worlds, a film adaptation of which also came out in the US in 2005.
- Kid Amid the Chaos: Would you want your child in Tory's shoes during that stampede?
- Nerds Are Sexy: Rebecca.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: The cores of the Deoxys are this. The purple one took a point-blank Hyper Beam from Rayquaza at the end of their first fight that disintegrated the rest of its body and sent the core tumbling into the icy sea where it remained for four years, and it emerged upon sensing a reaction from its fellow green Deoxys likely thousands of miles away with virtually no issues whatsoever.
- No Communities Were Harmed: LaRousse City is based on Vancouver, particularly locations on the former site of Expo 86.
- Non-Malicious Monster: The purple Deoxys is eventually shown to be this. Its actions of shutting off the power, kidnapping the city's remaining people and Pokémon, and fighting Rayquaza were all just attempts for it to get interference out of the way and find its friend.
- Not-So-Imaginary Friend: Tory has one, which is revealed to be a projection of the green Deoxys.
- One-Man Army: Deoxys don't need an army, they are an army.
- Poor Communication Kills:
- The whole movie is set in motion because of a Poor Communication Kills when Rayquaza assaults Deoxys because it thought Deoxys was invading. Though given that Deoxys' method of travel can be the equivalent of a Colony Drop, its fear is understandable.
- Also, most Pokemon on the planet seem to speak a shared language. Deoxy's origins in space prevent it from communicating with Rayquaza like a common pokemon would.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter:
- Plusle and Minun, and the little pair are just cute enough to help Tory get over his fear of Pokémon.
- The Spheal in the beginning, Munchlax, and, for some, the helper robots can count, too.
- Rousseau Was Right: No one in this movie is wholeheartedly or intentionally bad.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Max pulls one of these for laughs after one of the new male leads in the film tells a very shocked May that he thinks she's cute.
- Shapeshifting: Deoxys can change between various forms at will. In an aversion to Early-Bird Cameo, this does not include the Speed Forme (debuted in Emerald, which this movie predated).
- Ship Tease:
- When James gets kidnapped by a Deoxys, Jessie shuts her eyes, shields her eyes, and blushes, as if she does not want to watch him go.
- When Ash is seconds away from clocking Tory in the face, May rushes up to him, pleads with him not to, and brings herself very close to him: her hands are on his shoulders and their faces are mere inches from each other. Once she does, Ash immediately calms down.
- Shoot the Hostage: When Ash gets grabbed by a Deoxys clone, he immediately orders Pikachu to shock him. This gets the clone to let go.
- Shrinking Violet: Tory, at the beginning of the movie. Since he's afraid of Pokémon, he also doesn't interact much with their Trainers.
- Sickly Green Glow: Subverted with the block robots, which turn dark green when they go out of control.
- Sinister Surveillance
- Some Kind of Force Field: Professor Lund says this when the boat he's on runs into the Deflector Shields that Deoxys has erected around the city.
- Starfish Language: Deoxys communicate via aurora. The reason it turned off the power and was herding people is because all the electromagnetic interference was getting in the way of it calling out to its friend.
- Stepping Stones in the Sky: Ash and Pikachu getting to the head surveillance robot to stop the out-of-control security system.
- Strong as They Need to Be:
- Rayquaza and Deoxys are both legendary Pokémon with Rayquaza being a bit bulkier but here Deoxys can instantly change between its competitive balance forms at will, its signature move that it spams is supposed to get weaker after each use but here it remains just as strong and it also has incredible healing abilities. Oh and it can create an army of clones pretty much instantly without any apparent effort.
- Rayquaza fires off hyper beam after hyper beam with no breaks in between.
- Walking Techbane: Deoxys, as per its abilities.
- Who's on First?:Meowth: What's a passport?James: Well I have no idea what kind of a pass he's talking about, but Meowth, please stop calling me sport!
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Tory is terrified of Pokémon because of an incident that happened when he was younger (he was caught in the middle of a Sealeo and Walrein stampede). Until he rescues Plusle and Minun from their falling death, and in the end seems to have finally gotten over this fear, and implies he's adopted the two.
- Wind Turbine Power: Larousse City is powered by wind turbines, but Deoxys' forcefield blocks out the wind from reaching the turbines, forcing Ash, his gang, and their new friends to find a way to manually spin the turbines' blades to provide enough electric power to revive Deoxys' companion.
- Zerg Rush: The "flood" of security robots that overwhelm Rayquaza and the two Deoxys.
