Pokémon: The Movie 2000 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One
Japanese Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kunihiko Yuyama
Produced by	Choji Yoshikawa Yukako Matsusako Takemoto Mori
Screenplay by	Takeshi Shudo
Starring	See below
Music by	Shinji Miyazaki
Cinematography	Hisao Shirai
Editing by	Toshio Henmi Yutaka Ito
Studio	OLM, Inc.
Distributed by	Toho
Release date(s)	July 17, 1999 (1999-07-17) (Japan)
Running time	82 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	$30 million
Money made	$133.9 million

Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One is a 1999 Japanese animated fantasy film and the second movie in the Pokémon anime franchise. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, the film stars the voices of Rica Matsumoto, Ikue Ōtani, Unshō Ishizuka, Mayumi Iizuka, Satomi Kōrogi, Tomokazu Seki, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin-ichiro Miki, Inuko Inuyama, Kouichi Yamadera, Chikao Ōtsuka, Kotono Mitsuishi, Akiko Hiramatsu, Takeshi Kaga and Masatoshi Hamada.

The Power of One has two parts: the feature presentation and a 20-minute preceding short. The events of the film take place during the second season of Pokèmon: Adventures in the Orange Islands, where Ash, Misty and Tracey enter Shamouti Island. While there, they discover the three legendary bird Pokémon, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno. Meanwhile, a collector named Lawrence III attempts to steal the three Pokémon to awaken Lugia, which proves dangerous for the legendary Pokémon, Lugia, and Ash himself.

The film was released in Japanese theaters on July 17, 1999. The English version was produced by 4Kids Entertainment and licensed by Warner Bros. was released in the United States on July 21, 2000. The Power of One earned less at the box office than its predecessor, Pokémon: The First Movie, but was still a financial success and received better reviews upon release.

Plot

Pikachu's Rescue Adventure

As in Pikachu's Vacation, all of the faces of the main human characters are unseen. When Togepi wakes up to see a group of Ledyba flying by it yawns and falls back down a hill and falls down a dark hole, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Marill, Venonat, and Psyduck give chase and find themselves in a giant tree that once was Pikachu's old home. With help from Pikachu's new friend, Elekid, the Pokémon find Togepi but he has been mistaken for an Exeggcute egg. The Pokémon head off into the depths of the tree to find the missing egg, meeting a trio of dancing Bellossom along the way. A severe storm hits the area and Pikachu and his friends try to protect the Exeggcute eggs from being blown away. The grass Pokémon lend a hand and Snorlax saves everyone with his great strength. The storm fades when a Dragonair appears and calms the storm while a Chansey appears, revealing she had the missing egg all along. The eggs are reunited. Exeggcute suddenly evolves into Exeggutor with the assistance of a Leaf Stone. Pikachu and his friends say farewell to Elekid and the others and head back to their trainers. Meanwhile, Meowth tries to find his way to a campsite but ends up getting caught on Pikachu's mishaps and gives up.

The Power of One

Lawrence III, a Pokémon collector, strives to make a legendary prophecy occur. His plan to capture the legendary birds Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno will ultimately lead to the capture of the "Beast of the Sea" Lugia. Lawrence sets out in his flying hovercraft to the heart of the Orange Islands to capture the three legendary birds, referred to as the Titans of Fire, Ice and Lightning. He successfully captures Moltres, but this upsets the balance of power the birds have over the world's climate. Weather across the world begins to go haywire, alerting countless Pokémon to the change. Ash Ketchum and his companions Misty and Tracey Sketchit get caught in a freak storm, and are washed ashore on Shamouti, set in the centre of the Orange Islands. Learning that the island festival celebrating the legend is about to begin, Ash is selected as the festival's Chosen One by a girl named Melody, the festival maiden.

At the festival's banquet, Melody explains to Ash he must retrieve three crystal balls from each of the legendary birds' islands and take them to Shamouti's shrine, guarded by a talking Slowking, where Melody will end his task by playing the festival's song, actually the song of Lugia. Ash immediately sets out, led by the troubled Pikachu. Taken to Fire Island by sea captain Maren, Ash and Pikachu find Moltres' treasure, but are interrupted by Team Rocket. Misty, Tracey and Melody arrive via Melody's multi-purpose boat, followed by Zapdos who has come to claim the island. Lawrence appears overhead, attacking and capturing Zapdos as well as Ash and co. accidentally. Meanwhile, Professor Oak, Professor Ivy, and Ash's mother Delia Ketchum fly to the islands but their helicopter crashes on Shamouti. Lawrence frees Ash and the others and attempts to capture Articuno, accidentally awakening Lugia in the process. Trying to foil Lawrence's plans, Ash and the others free Moltres and Zapdos who escape and bring down Lawrence's hovercraft.

Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres engage in all out war, trying to destroy each other. Ash and co. manage to escape, gaining Zapdos' treasure in the process, and are transported back to Shamouti by a mysterious water spout revealed to be Lugia. Lugia at first tries to stop the battle, but is outmatched by the birds' powers combined against it. Telepathically it then explains the birds and the weather can be stopped by the legend's Chosen One, actually Ash in reality. Ash agrees to go to Articuno's island to get the final treasure, but his progress is halted by the legendary birds. Team Rocket arrive on a speedboat made from a dingy and the helicopter's discarded propeller, wishing to save the world in order to continue their villainy. The group race up to Articuno's shrine and retrieve the treasure, but before they can escape, the legendary birds appear. They destroy the speedboat before Articuno is knocked out by Moltres and Zapdos. Lugia rescues Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket, but Team Rocket heroically jump into the sea upon realising they are slowing Lugia down. Lawrence tries to catch Lugia, but Lugia uses its Aeroblast attack to destroy his airship and take out Moltres and Zapdos before collapsing into the sea.

Misty and Tracey rescue Ash and Pikachu, who venture to Shamouti Island's shrine and place the final treasure with the others. Melody plays Lugia's song, ending the storms and bringing peace to the legendary birds. Lugia rises from the sea, bringing the true Beast of the Sea with him, an underwater current that has been altering the climate. Later, after the birds returned to their islands, Lugia departs after thanking Ash. Delia and the professors arrive. Delia, having witnessed her son's actions, asks him to be more careful which he complies with. Lawrence laments his decisions, deciding to start his collection again. Team Rocket reach the island a day later and are told by Slowking that the audience saw their heroics; the trio contemplates changing their ways but ultimately decide to stay the same when they realize their boss might not like the idea.

Cast

Legacy

Herman Cain, a former Republican candidate for President of the United States, quoted lines from the Donna Summer song multiple times throughout his campaign. He first used them in his official campaign announcement, mis-attributing them to the closing song of the 2000 Olympics. He made the same mistake at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on June 17, 2011. During an August debate, Cain again quoted the lyrics, this time attributing them to a poet. In a December interview with GQ, Cain acknowledged that the song came from a Pokémon film, but reiterated that he heard it during the close of the 2000 Olympics and stated that he had not previously known that it had originated in this film. However, "The Power of One" was not played during the Olympics' closing ceremony.

During Cain's announcement that he would be suspending his presidential campaign, he again quoted these lyrics, acknowledging that they came from a Pokémon movie.

See also

In Spanish: Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One para niños