Pokémon: The Power of Us, known in Japan as Pocket Monsters: Everyone's Story, is the 21st Pokémon: The Series movie by OLM Incorporated, the first to be directed by Tetsuo Yajima, and the first to be written by Shuji Umehara and Aya Takaha. It was released on July 13, 2018.
While it takes place in the same universe as the previous movie and features Lugia like Pokémon 2000 did, the story is vastly different. It also features the third mythical Pokémon from Generation VII, Zeraora.
Once a year, a "wind festival" is held in Fula City, the city where people live together with the wind. On the final day of the festival, the legendary Pokémon Lugia will appear and give the people the blessed wind, a promise said to date back to the distant past. Risa, the highschooler and Pokémon rookie. Callahan, the braggart that just can't stop telling tall tales. Toren, the timid researcher that lacks confidence. Harriet, the old eccentric that hates Pokémon. Margo, the mysterious little girl that hangs around in the forest all by herself.
While they're participating in the festival, Ash and Pikachu meet these five companions by pure coincidence. Each of them has their own worries on their mind, and are unable to take a step forward together with their partner Pokémon, but when they meet each other, the cogs of destiny start turning...
Will the promise with Lugia be kept? And just what is the true identity of the mythical Pokémon Zeraora? Everyone's friendship, both people's and Pokémon's, will now cause a miracle to occur.
It was the final Pokémon film to feature Unshō Ishizuka as the narrator before he died less than one month after its release.
Followed by Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution (though that film does not take place in this continuity) and then by Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle, which serves as a sequel set in the same continuity.
The Power of Us provides examples of:
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Ash has rounder features, larger eyes, and a softer outline, giving him a more bishonen-esque look. It's in stark contrast to the more angular designs pre-Sun and Moon, including the previous movie.
- Alternate Continuity: It takes place in a separate continuity from the anime, though it is in the same continuity as the previous movie.
- Art Evolution: Continues from the evolution of the previous film and the anime prior to the Sun and Moon series reverting to a more cartoonish style; notably, the shading and character design has been stepped up even compared to the previous films.
- Big Eater: Pikachu and Ash arrive at a wind festival... and immediately go for the food.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Risa being a long-distance runner comes in handy when she is the only one who can put the Eternal Flame back in place before dawn.
- The precious box Harriet keeps on her while her home is being ransacked by Pokémon is the key that activates the propellers on the wind plant.
- The Lum Berries Team Rocket were selling become key to a new antidote after the first one fails.
- Ash's compassion for Pokémon, first shown when he frees the rampaging Tyranitar from the cords around its neck during the catching contest, ends up being very useful in befriending the similarly-enraged Zeraora.
- Close on Title: Whilst the film's title shows up near the start of the film, it appears once again during the closing narration.
- Cross-Referenced Titles: The last Pokémon movie to feature Lugia was titled The Power of One.
- Deuteragonist: While the story has an ensemble cast, Risa and Margo have the most story focus, aside from Ash himself.
- Expy: Harriet is this to Sorrel from the previous movie. The main crux that completely separates both of them being too similar is the fact that unlike Sorrel getting over his dead Luxray through getting another Pokémon, Harriet didn't, and her pain from losing her Snubbull eventually lead to her hatred of all Pokémon.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Harriet's Snubbull is seen being consumed by an explosion at the old power plant. Despite expectations, this was not censored in the English dub.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Zeraora's reason for hating humans comes from the fact that, in the past, a forest fire decimated a whole mountain region, but humans ran away and left Pokémon to die in the fire. While Zeraora saved as many as it could, it grew angry at them, which only got worse when humans found out about its existence and poachers tried to capture it.
- Insult of Endearment: Harriet angrily calls the Pokémon following her "scamps" early on. Later, though, she uses the term more affectionately.
- Mythology Gag:
- Lugia's theme from the Japanese version of Pokémon 2000 returns as a Recurring Riff for Lugia's appearances.
- Togepi using Metronome to help save the day? Misty's used it quite a bit in the anime (including The Power of One), but this time Harriet and Callahan see it plain as day and are shocked at a giant Hydro Cannon coming from the little egg.
- No Antagonist: Notably lacks a Big Bad unlike most other movies, and the suspense is driven by the Fula City's festival going awry when characters' actions have unintended consequences. Team Rocket did throw in a spanner by causing a natural disaster, but they did it by accident and remain as a minor inconvenience who still indirectly help the main characters anyway.
- Noodle Incident: Ash mentions that Team Rocket are always causing trouble, showing that this version of Ash actually had some encounters against them after I Choose You.
- Production Foreshadowing: Risa's strong relationship to her Eevee seems to be a deliberate tie in to Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, and the trailer featuring her Eevee was released before said games were officially announced.
- Revisiting the Roots:
- Pulls elements from 2000 and Heroes, as well as having a lot of Generation II Pokémon featured prominently. As mentioned, the English dub's subtitle even references the subtitle of Pokémon 2000, The Power of One.
- Toren as a shy, green haired person whose partner is a Chansey is very similar to Cheryl from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
- Safety in Indifference: Harriet's reason to hate Pokémon sterns from the fact that her Snubbull died in the past trying to retrieve keys for the plant during the burning forest incident.
- Sequel Non-Entity: Ash's Charizard from I Choose You! does not appear or is mentioned at all in this film. This leaves Pikachu as his only partner.
- Shrinking Violet: Toren is described as timid and lacking confidence in himself.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Margo was prominently shown in promotional material than the other named characters in later trailers due to her relation with Zeraora, who is an important key character in the movie.
- The Stinger: Two of them. First there's Risa coming back to visit her brother in the hospital at which point it's revealed that he was the announcer of the PokéRun Channel program that's been seen throughout the movie as well as Ash and Pikachu running towards their next adventure, and the second which is a brief teaser for the next movie featuring Mewtwo's voice asking "Where am I? Who am I" and a CG shot of Mewtwo's eyes opening. The latter isn't seen in international screenings.
