Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! revisits the formative bond between Ash and Pikachu through a feature-length adventure rather than a standard television episode. Its alternate-reality approach gives familiar beginnings a fresh shape, while the journey, fantasy, and Pokémon encounters preserve the series’ welcoming sense of discovery.

At 97 minutes, this is an approachable entry for younger viewers, families, and anyone curious about Pokémon without committing to a long series. Fans of travel-focused adventures and friendship stories may especially enjoy its straightforward emotional appeal and theatrical scale.

On the day Ash Ketchum leaves Pallet Town to begin his journey as a Pokémon Trainer, he meets Pikachu, a headstrong Pokémon who is reluctant to trust him. After witnessing the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh in flight, Ash and Pikachu make a vow to meet it again, setting them on a journey through unfamiliar regions.

As they travel toward the summit of Mount Tensei, Ash and Pikachu form a partnership while meeting fellow travelers Verity and Sorrel. Their quest to find Ho-Oh brings them into conflict with the challenges of the wilderness and the demands of becoming a stronger Trainer.

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! was created by Satoshi Tajiri and produced by OLM. Kunihiko Yuyama directed the film, with a screenplay by Shoji Yonemura. It was loosely adapted from the first episode and much of the first season of the Pokémon anime, while placing its story in an alternate timeline.

The 97-minute film premiered at Japan Expo in France on July 6, 2017, before opening in Japanese theaters on July 15, 2017. It is the twentieth film in the Pokémon anime series and the first entry in its alternate-timeline trilogy.

The saved record classifies this entry as manga, while its linked installment identifies the corresponding work as a one-part anime movie released in 2017. Within the Pokémon screen franchise, Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! is a reimagining of Ash and Pikachu’s beginning rather than a continuation of an earlier film storyline. It revisits their first meeting, departure from Pallet Town, and shared sighting of Ho-Oh, drawing loosely on the anime’s first episode and elements from its first season.

As the twentieth Pokémon anime film, it also marks the opening of an alternate-timeline film sequence. Its setting and character lineup therefore should not be treated as a straightforward extension of the main television continuity. The film retains the franchise’s central partnership and journey structure while presenting a revised route through Ash’s early adventure, with new companions and a different version of events. It is best approached as an alternate beginning for the movie continuity, not as a standalone story unrelated to Pokémon or as a remake of the original television series in its entirety.