Welcome back to Pokemon Movies in Review, a weekly recap of the entire Pokemon cinematic universe. This week we’re revisiting Pokemon: The Movie 2000 - The Power of One, a sequel that surpasses the original in just about every way possible. Pokemon 2000 hit US theaters in July 2000 and, like Mewtwo Strikes Back, was a commercial success and a critical failure. While it only made half of what the first film did during its domestic run, Pokemon 2000 tells a more thematically cohesive story that raises the stakes so dramatically it makes Mewtwo Strikes Back feel like a TV special. As Team Rocket says in their motto, (for the first and only time in any Pokemon movie), “Prepare for trouble like you’ve never seen / And make it double, we’re on the big screen.”
Pokemon 2000 is the story of Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, the legendary bird Pokemon that make their home on the Lightning, Fire, and Ice Islands. The film opens with a reading of the Shamouti Prophecy:
“Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, lest the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea.”
A wealthy Pokemon collector named Lawrence III uses his weaponized airbase to locate each of the legendary birds and capture them. Lawrence intends to fulfill the prophecy by capturing all three birds in order to summon “the water’s great guardian,” Lugia. As the self-described world’s greatest legendary Pokemon collector, Lawrence is willing to sacrifice the world in order to capture Lugia.
The villain captures Moltres right at the start using electrified rings rather than a Pokeball, which immediately causes drastic weather changes that stir up Pokemon all across the world. Pokemon from as far away as Pallet Town start traveling to the Orange Islands as violent storms begin to rage across the region. If Lawrence is aware of what capturing Moltres has done to the world, he isn’t phased by it.
Ash, Pikachu, and his friends arrive on Shamouti Island around the same time to find the residents (conveniently) celebrating the annual Legend Festival, where they symbolically re-enact the prophecy. Ash is selected to play the role of the chosen one and sent off to collect the Orbs of Fire, Lightning, and Ice and combine them at the Shrine of Shamouti. It seems like this is just part of the festivities every year, but thanks to Lawrence III, Ash won’t be collecting the Orbs symbolically, but rather to fulfill the prophecy literally.
Ash first travels to Fire Island to retrieve the Fire Orb but is surprised to encounter Zapdos there, rather than Moltres. Zapdos tells Pikachu that it has taken control of Fire Island in the absence of Moltres, and that lightning shall rule over fire. Just as Ash collects the first orb, Lawrence III shows up in his airbase and captures Zapdos, Ash, and all of his friends.
Aboard the ship, Lawrence proudly presents his collection of legendaries to the heroes. Disgusted by his hubris, Misty condemns Lawrence for capturing Zapdos and Moltres. “The way you talk, it’s like Pokemon are just things to collect, like dolls or stamps,” she says. “What kind of trainer are you?” Lawrence explains that he is not a trainer, but merely a collector. His obsession started with a single ancient mew card — the same card audiences received as a promo when attending the first Pokemon movie in theaters — and now hunts legendaries. “Legendary Pokemon have always been my passion,” he says. “And soon, my collection will be legendary.”
At this point you might be thinking, hold on, what happened to “gotta catch ‘em all?” Casting the villain as the collector certainly puts the audience in an uncomfortable position. How can they tell us we shouldn’t treat Pokemon like dolls and then sell us so many Pokemon dolls? It echoes the lesson of Mewtwo Strikes Back, which taught us that violence is wrong and all life is valuable despite the fact that making Pokemon fight each other is, y’know, what playing Pokemon is all about. It’s made all the more resonant by the fact that Lawrence started as a Pokemon card collector. The first, and only time that Pokemon cards have existed in-universe.
I watched this scene while side-eying my ever-growing collection of Pokemon cards, merch, and memorabilia — some of it quite valuable — and wondered… have I become Lawrence?
Of course, Lawrence is willing to watch the world burn to get what he wants, so clearly he represents a much more selfish and misguided collector than you or I. In fact, given what Pokemon card collectors have experienced over the last year, Lawrence is an almost prescient figure in Pokemon lore. Within the current context, Lawrence represents all of the scalpers, day traders, and opportunistic buyers that, like Lawrence, are driven by greed rather than a love for Pokemon.
The Pokemon TCG market was hit with a massive influx of buyers in mid-2020 driven by content creators who had a vested interest in quickly inflating the market. By paying exuberant prices for vintage cards and packs, interest in Pokemon cards exploded and values skyrocketed. Soon, new sets were just as sought after as vintage, and it didn’t take long before scalpers took complete control of the market.
Like Lawrence, a great many who entered the hobby as a get-rich-quick scheme did not have a love for Pokemon. They were interlopers who disrupted the entire ecosystem. Both they and Lawrence are only concerned by how rare and valuable their acquisitions are. They horde these valuable Pokemon, but they don’t seem to know (or care) about how it’s affecting everyone else.
When Lawrence is eventually defeated and order is restored, all he has left is his Ancient Mew card. He looks at the card and realizes that his love grew out of control and turned into greed. He vows to start over with the card as his guide. You can read this moment as a soft setup for Lawrence’s eventual return to villainy, but I think the card reminded him that the true value of Pokemon isn’t the size or rarity of your collection, it's the personal connections you make.
Pokemon: The Movie 2000 is a bigger, better movie than Mewtwo Strikes Back in almost every way. It’s got more action and adventure than the original, and it makes a greater effort to move the story forward in a way befitting of the big screen. Not only is Ash a hero, but he becomes the chosen one in an ancient prophecy. Misty finally acknowledges her feelings for Ash, and Team Rocket discovers that being good feels a lot better than being bad, ending the film with a dedication to heroism going forward. Even if none of these things carried forward into the next episode of the show, they’re still the moments that make the movie special.
While Pikachu doesn’t get to be the emotional spine of the film like he was in the first one, there’s still some moments that still make my heart swell all these years later. When Lugia flies Ash back to the Shrine of Shamouti to combine the orbs, he sees an endless sea of Pokemon gathered below them. Lugia explains that they want to be here in case they are needed. “What can they do to help?” Ash asks Lugia. “They are not sure,” he says. “And that is why they are here. That just one Pokemon could help the world would be worth the journey for thousands of them any day. But this day, the one that can make all the difference is you.”
The “chosen one” story is admittedly tropey, but this moment gives the Hero’s Journey a touch of Pokemon magic. The Power of One is really the power of any one — be it one person or one Pokemon. We all have the potential to make a difference as long as we try. It’s a simple message, but a clear one. Pokemon 2000 is an enduring classic that’s even better today than it was 20 years ago. Its representation of Lawrence and the dark side of fandom is prophetic, and its message is timeless. The only downside is that it’ll make you think twice about catching a Legendary Pokemon. After all, if a Pokemon has the power to control the weather, maybe it’s best to just leave them be.