AllMovie

Pokémon, the lovable little characters who have become favorites in video games, TV cartoons, comic books, and toys, comes to the big screen with this animated feature film. In a fantastic alternate universe, there are 151 different varieties of the creatures called Pokemon, each with its own unique talents. Many humans attempt to capture the Pokemon and train them; the top trainers can teach the critters how to capture and train other Pokemon, making them Pokemon Masters. Ash Ketchum is one of the leading Pokemon Masters, and with his friends Misty, Brock, and Pikachu (a Pokemon with electrical powers), he discovers Mewtwo, a super-powered Pokemon created through biological engineering. Mewtwo has powers of which a mere Pokemon can only dream, and when he uses his skills to create even more super-Pokemon, Ash and his Pokemon friends must join forces to battle for survival. A major box-office success when released in Japan in 1998, Pokemon the First Movie was accompanied for its 1999 U.S. release by a 22-minute short subject, Pikachu's Vacation.