The first Pokémon movie first came out in 1998 in its native Japan, with an English release the following year. There are a total of 21 Pokémon movies that have released since then, with a 22nd – a CG remake of the first film – coming out soon.

Of all these films, only a certain number of them are part of the original series as it relates to the anime. These are movies that the earliest Pokémon fans enjoyed at the start of the Pokémania craze. There are plenty of memorable scenes, characters and dynamics in these movies that younger fans missed out on.

Here are 10 things from the original Pokémon movies that kids these days won’t understand.

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10 Mewtwo Using Shadow Ball – Mewtwo Strikes Back

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One of the many Ghost-type moves, Shadow Ball isn’t particularly noteworthy and at this point fans have seen it used in the anime, movies and games so often that it may seem pretty insignificant. But Mewtwo’s use of the move in Mewtwo Strikes Back is pretty special.

The movie marks the first time the move was used, even before the Gen II games. At the time, the amount of moves fans knew about was limited to Gen I. The sheer excitement of seeing Shadow Ball being used for the first time – by Mewtwo no less – can’t be measured.

9 Team Rocket’s Heroic Sacrifice – The Power of One

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The Team Rocket Trio; consisting of Jessie, James and Meowth, are some of the oldest reoccurring characters in the Pokémon anime, aside from Ash and Pikachu. The three Rocket grunts are more integral to the story as comedic foils than they are as villains.

But they’re still fan favorites to many. The original anime just wouldn’t have been the same without their Three Stooges kind of dynamic. That’s why seeing them sacrifice themselves (or at least try to) in order to help save the day was such a memorable scene for fans.

8 How Scary The Unown Are – Spell of the Unown: Entei

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Since they were first introduced in the Gen II games, the Unown have been some of the strangest looking, most mysterious Pokémon out there. Though the Gen II games never really did all that much to help explain what they were capable of, fans got a better idea in the movies.

The movie version of the Unkown is one of their best representations. Their desire for isolation and their massive power that’s adds an extra element of terror to them. Not many fans expected to see them like that given how fairly mundane they were in the games.

7 Mewtwo’s Tragic Past – Mewtwo Strikes Back

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In the games, the player’s image of Mewtwo differs greatly from what you see on screen. The Mewtwo in the games is mysterious and an all-powerful being. While that isn’t changed in the movies, the way his backstory is presented adds a sort of tragic element to the narrative.

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Mewtwo is a pretty interesting villain in his film debut. Though his actions are definitely questionable, they all stem from Mewtwo’s desire to find purpose in life. Given his capture by Team Rocket as well as the way in which he was brought in to the world, his story is that much more heartbreaking.

6 The Weirdness of Latias’ Human Form – Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias

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Latios and Latias are an iconic legendary duo in the Pokémon universe. They both made their film debut in Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias. Of the two, the one with the most memorable role has to be Latias despite Latios playing a pretty memorable part in the story as well.

One thing Latias was able to do in the movie is shapeshift into a human form. It wasn’t an ability associated with the Pokémon, and was made somewhat weird by Latias being able to impersonate another supporting character, Bianca, on a whim.

5 How Hype Mew vs. Mewtwo Was – Mewtwo Strikes Back

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After the first Gen Pokémon games came out, Mew and Mewtwo were two of the more popular Pokémon out there. Mewtwo was the final and most difficult Legendary to catch while Mew was only made available through events.

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Both of them are incredibly strong Psychic-types. Seeing them actually go at it in the animated universe was great fan service at the time. For the original wave of Pokémon fans, this fight was one of the many memorable moments they go to experience.

4 Latios’ Sacrifice – Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias

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Despite being aimed towards a younger audience, there were times when the Pokémon anime and films tried to deal with some more serious themes. There are some instances of that in earlier films especially, with Latios’ sacrifice being a particularly memorable scene.

Throughout the film, Latios is depicted as having a very mature personality. It really allows the audience to grow attached to it as the narrative progresses. It’s this attachment that makes its sacrifice such an impactful scene in the movie.

3 Molly’s Relationship with Entei - Spell of the Unown: Entei

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Of all the early Pokémon movies, the third has to be one of the more ambitious when it comes to its narrative. One thing in particular that stands out is Molly’s relationship with Entei throughout the film. It may seem like a simple Trainer and Pokémon dynamic at first, but there’s more to it.

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The Entei we see in the film isn’t an authentic one. It’s just a manifestation of Molly’s emotions created by the Unown. In that respect, Entei served as a father figure to Molly throughout the movie. Pretty ironic considering how the Unown were responsible for her dad disappearing in the first place.

2 Lugia’s Song – The Power of One

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There are a lot of nice visuals scattered throughout The Power of One. It has that classic Pokémon anime vibe and has some pretty solid animation. Of all the scenes in the movie, one of the most breathtaking is towards the end of the film, when Melody Plays Lugia’s song.

The culmination of this scene – Lugia bursting out of the water while the three legendary birds fly around it – serves as a particularly strong ending to the film. It’s a very powerful scene, especially when you consider that the film was Lugia’s animated debut.

1 Ash Getting Petrified – Mewtwo Strikes Back

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It may be hard to find a more memorable and impactful scene in the entire Pokémon animated universe than Ash getting caught in between Mew and Mewtwo’s fight. It’s really the first time fans saw the series protagonist in a potentially dire situation.

The show was pretty low stakes for the most part. Though it seems silly to think that the writers would ax their main character so easily, the scene really sells the panic and alarm felt – particularly in how Pikachu reacts to it.

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