Which Pokémon Movies are CANON

[Music] the Pokemon movies are always an interesting topic of debate not on whether they're good or not cuz let's be honest most of them kind of suck but whether or not the movies are can into the main anime timeline or not not what this can in mean Canon is basically the term used to describe something that is official to the source material is it truly part of the anime or does it not count I've been thinking about this question a lot lately because I've been including the movies as part of my rewatch of the entire Pokemon anime now sure most people these days would write off the movies as non-canon but back in the day the movies used to heavily tie into ashes journey so in this video let's figure out which Pokemon movies are truly canon to the anime and which ones are not I'll also be going over exactly when these movies take place for those of you who also want to include the movies in your re-watch of the enemy to start off let's get the obvious out of the way movies 20 21 22 and 23 are all non-canon of movies movie 20 started the trend of taking place in an alternate universe whereas goes on a completely different journey than the one we're used to so obviously this doesn't fit in the enemy like at all I guess if you want to include it in an anime rewatch this should go all the way in the beginning even before the first episode as a what-if scenario before diving into Ashley's actual journey now even though the other movies are non canon as well interestingly enough they could fit into the enemy but I'll save that for later for now though I think it's best to go in chronological order so let's go to movie one this movie is 100% canon this is probably the most canon a movie has ever been since we get multiple anime episodes teasing and building up to the movie for example episode 63 features a debut of Mewtwo as Giovanni uses it to battle Gary and we see this in the movie we also have episode 65 or Mewtwo escapes and destroys the original Team Rocket headquarters just like he does in the beginning of the movie so yeah there's no doubt in my mind that this movie is canon and we all know this but when does it take place this is the interesting part as there are three possible time frames this movie could fit the first one is between episode 66 and 67 I say this because these two episodes take place right after Mewtwo's escaped and has Ashe visiting seafoam islands in the beginning of the movie we see Ashe in the gang hanging out by the ocean so it could be that they're still at seafoam at this point the second placement is between episode 72 and 73 this is because there's a brief time scape of about three weeks before the league in episode 71 and 72 to one day before the league in episode 73 so the movie could easily fit in this timeframe the last placement is the most likely to be honest and that's between episode 69 haha and 70 episode 69 haha has ash and friends take part in a movie and by episode 70 the movie they filmed is already done so it's likely that there was a brief time scape of a few weeks where the first movie could have happened there's also the fact that these two episodes are movie related a few trends you'll notice in this video is that one Pokemon movies always released in July - the movies can usually fit within the episodes near its release and three the enemy has this sort of gimmick where they try to have movie related episodes take place around the same time a movie is released for obvious reasons episode 69 and 70 aired in November of 98 not in July when the first movie premiered but you gotta take into account the fact that thanks to our little friend porygon one year prior the Pokemon anime was put on hiatus for four months and what do you know if the four-month hiatus never happened the episode would have aired the same month the first movie premiered in July so I think we have our winner next is a movie - this movie is also canon this is thanks to episode 220 in it were introduced to silver the baby lugia action misty Noah - lugia is by then and even mentioned that they've seen one in the orange islands that's a direct reference to the movie as for his placement I have it right after episode 105 as that's the episode that Charizard finally obeys - and we see him being obedient in the movie movie 2 actually premiered just a few days before episode 105 so it kind of spoiled Charizard listening to ash oops movie 3 in episode 263 and unknown gets separated from his friends a national gang recognize it the only other time they've seen an unknown to even know what it is is in movie 3 therefore this movie is also canon a really good way to figure out where the movies could take place is sunlight got everyone's teams with in the movie they usually reflect the same Pokemon everyone has within the episodes near the movie's release when it comes to movie three it could honestly take place anywhere between episode 154 where Ash catches Noctowl an episode of 165 were Brock Zubat evolves into golbat I personally just watched it after episode 155 since that was the episode to come out right before the movie's premiere Mewtwo returns although not technically a movie I feel like I should still address this special as it is a sequel of sorts to the first movie but that's not enough to confirm its canonicity to do that we'll have to look at Emma sewed 115 of advanced in this episode Jessie uses me out in a pokemon contest and hasn't make an ice sculpture of Giovanni Brock says it looks awfully familiar and that's cuz he's seen Giovanni before the only time Brock has seen Giovanni was in the Mewtwo returned special so this has to be canon more proof can be found in movie 16 because ash recognizes Mewtwo although his memory was erased in the first movie Mewtwo allowed Ash and his friends to keep their memory in Mewtwo returns but more on that Mewtwo stuff when I get to movie 16 its placement should be between episodes 178 and 179 as this is the way it was aired on TV movie four for this world we're gonna have to take a look at Emma sewed 155 of the advanced series this mark Celebes first appearance in an anime episode however ash and Brock already knew what it was the only time they've seen one prior to this is in movie four therefore this movie is canon this movie can take place anywhere between episode 199 or chicory devolves into bay leaf and episode 208 when asked reaches olivine city for the first time it can't really happen any time after Ash's first visit to olivine since he takes a ship to sea in wood which directly leads into the next episode and right after that is when the world island saga begins I like to think that this movie is followed by episode 206 because it starts out with ash in the gang in a huge forest with the lake similar to the final setting of the movie this is probably why it was the episode to air right after the movie movie 5 this is another movie that is canon this is cuz of diamond and pearl episode 189 we all know this one Tobias and Zara Latios after his dark Rey is defeated and both ash and Brock recognizes the only time a lot eels has appeared before this episode was in movie five so there you go that means the LA tales from the movie is caning so you never know guys as you can still catch her no yeah I doubt it this movie can be watched anywhere between episode 247 or Misty's Poliwhirl evolved into politoed and episode 257 where ash gets the larva Tuareg honestly I think the best placement for this movie is the placement for when it was released between episode 256 and 257 this is cuz both episodes take place in aquatic location I do not think it was a coincidence because the fifth movie takes place in all Tamar a city that's literally all about water so it's possible they stopped by there between the two episodes movie six now many fans would say this is the point where the Pokemon movie started to not be canon but ironically enough it's you know Vash the forgetful one that disproves this as in black and white episode 132 we get Georgie's first anime appearance since the movie and - actually remembers it it's literally a blink and you'll miss it kinda moment but as soon as she's Jirachi he's shocked and says that's and then gets cut off by the Pokedex this brief literal two second moment implies that actually does remember what a Jirachi is it's just that black and white likes to keep details like this minimal and vague so they can stay consistent with the idea that this is a reboot of sorts and asked you to remember anything even though Charizard comes back but okay I'm getting off-track point is ass remembers Jirachi even though black and white wants to cover that up so movie six is canon now the placement is actually a bit interesting the movie aired between episode 34 and 35 of advanced but it can't take place there because the gang was at slave port city for Mays first contest I believe it's meant to take place right after episode 36 which is the episode Team Magma attacks the oceanic museum and the one with a gang finally leaves sleep or in this episode Team Magma are you know doing their thing trying to summon their Lord and Savior Groudon and we even see a silhouette of it in a fantasy sequence this seems like the perfect foreshadowing and setup episode for the movie since in it Butler's goal is to resurrect Groudon with jirachi to prove Team Magma wrong so there you go after episode 36 movie 7 loulou city the main setting of the movie is later revealed to be jews hometown and episode 180 of the advanced series so this makes the location canon but maybe that's not enough to prove that the events of the movie are so our next evidence can be found in episode 171 of advance where solana uses professor Long's deoxys research for hermitian the very same research and character from movie seven so this is definitely canon although movie seven came out between episode 85 and 86 of advanced this movie best fits after episode 86 in episode 85 ashe defeats Winona and gets his sixth gym badge the following episode 86 picks up right after that as we see Ashe looking at his badge as he usually does after getting one plus episode 86 is another movie related episode which is the perfect fourth wall breaking wink to let you know that it's about time to watch the movie movie eight now this movie without a doubt is canon this is cuz movie a introduced the concept of aura and Ash's ability to use it well in diamond and pearl it's brought up again specifically in episodes 56 and 71 now I might not be enough for some but thankfully there's episode 66 of diamond and pearl in this episode we have Lucario's episodic debut but also Ash recognizes in the only other time ash is seen one is in movie a this movie takes place pretty early into ash's battle frontier run based off his team and the even aired between a bushel 134 and 135 have advanced this is the perfect placement honestly as 134 is when misty leaves a group and it's right before the battle factory in episode 135 the mastermind of Mirage Pokemon I'm not doing this one fine the mastermind of Mirage Pokemon is a special specifically made by the Pokemon company international to celebrate pokemons 10th anniversary because it was created over here in the West it wasn't actually part of the enemy its 100% non-canon are first in the timeline but doesn't really count this thing is so non-canon and bad that it shouldn't have existed so let's pretend like it doesn't but I guess if you want included in your enemy re-watch it best fits after episode 157 of advanced in mastermind of Mirage trash Pikachu uses the move volt tackle which is learned in episode 115 but that's the same episode Mei gets her Eevee egg and since we don't see her traveling with said egg in da this probably takes place after it hatches in episode 157 now let's move on from this movie 9 this one is our first maybe movie these are movies that could be canon but there's just not clear enough evidence to support its canonicity or debunking manaphy doesn't really make any major anime appearances after this movie so we still haven't got any references to this movie ever happening the only sorta hint is with chats on it makes its debut in the movie under the ownership of phantom the episodes air right after this movie was episode 184 of advanced which also features a chat time in this episode ash doesn't recognize this Pokemon but Brock and Max do it's conflicting cuz Brock and Max being the smart ones of the group are typically knowledgeable about Pokemon that clearly never existed so this could just be one of those moments if that's the case and this is Ash's first time seeing a chat hot then the movie should take place right after this episode but if this movie were to take place before the episode it would explain why Brock and Max know of it but wouldn't really make sense for why ash would say who's that Pokemon so honestly this is very vague and there's not enough evidence to go on I say movie night should go right after this episode to avoid any weird contradictions movie 10 this movie is canon movie tena is absolutely canon because not only did Ashley gang know what a dark part was in episode 104 of diamond and pearl but the same lunar wing that dawn gets in the movie is seen in this episode the movie premiere between episode 39 and 40 of Diamond and Pearl however in episode 40 the gang mentions how awesome it would be to meet de algún Palkia so obviously they haven't yet it seems like this was meant to be a bit of foreshadowing for the movie since that's when they encounter them so it should take place right after this episode movie 11 now this is where things get interesting because movie 11 is the sequel to movie 10 but that's not really a solid reason for why this movie is can in this movie features the debut of regigigas but it isn't really specified whether or not that gang recognizes it in episode 129 of Diamond and Pearl so that's why we have to look at episode 168 in this episode ash in the gang meet Marley who's caring for ashaming and what do you know they know what a shaming is the only other time they've seen one is in movie 11 making this movie also canon this movie can take place anywhere between episode 85 when gligar falls into high school and episode 100 when Tortuga wolves into grotto just don't interrupt the summer camp arc it premiered between episode 86 and 87 so that's actually just fine movie 12 now you might think this movie is also canon because it's a follow-up to the previous two movies but interestingly enough there's not enough evidence to prove this movie as canon so it is a maybe there's also not anything in this series that contradicts this movie so it's not not canon if that makes sense our kiss is one of the new pokemon introduced in the movie but it's only other appearances in another movie so that doesn't help Heatran also the abuse in this movie and even returns the diamond and pearl episode 169 but it's not really specified if the gang remember it or not interestingly enough though Team Rocket are the ones who recognize Heatran but in the movie they don't go back in time with Ashe to where they could have met one they've never seen it on screen at least so there's that this movie has a few possible placements no matter what it has to happen after episode 133 as that's when Ashe leaves lake acuity with his newly evolved Monferno it can happen between that and episode 138 as that's when the totally festival arc begins it could also happen right after that arc ends in episode 141 but the latest has to be before episode 143 as that's when dawn gets her cyndaquil so anywhere between those two episodes it's fine movie 13 now this movie is getting a big fat maybe for me the only new pokemon in this movie ours or wall and Zoar warg but because black and why Ashe is supposed to have a fresh start it's very ambiguous as to whether or not Ashe recognizes these Pokemon both times when these Pokemon debut in the anime silent is the one who cuts in and says what Pokemon it is before Ash even has a chance to say anything so yeah we just don't know now it's play something this interesting the movie premiered between episode 183 and 184 of diamond and pearl but that's right in the middle of the sino league so it has to happen before it here's the thing though after ash wins at the sunny shore gym they're traveling by boat directly to the Sinnoh league but in the movie they aren't really doing that yet so this movie should take place between episode 177 the end of the Grand Festival and 179 before the sunny shore gym battle this is the last time ash in the gang travel by land in the diamond and pearl series cuz every time after that it's by sea movie 14 these movies are 100% non-canon yay our first ones leave it to black and white I tell ya we're not counting mastermind first off there's two movies that already raises some red flags cuz both definitely can't be canon and it kind of wouldn't make sense for one to be canon and the other one to be the fake one what would be the point of making two movie versions then oh now if you want some actual concrete evidence then look no further than black and white episode 110 where the gang meets end they have a talk about the universe and Aries restaurant and Zekrom and iris makes a statement about how she would love to meet them someday this implies she hasn't meaning these movies never happened doesn't matter the version not just cuz they're not Canon doesn't mean you can't enjoy these movies so let's look at the possible placement movie fourteen premiere between episode 39 and 40 of black and white this is right in the middle of the nimbus of town club battle tournament arc so it can't really fit there I believe it's meant to take place right before episode 38 which happens to be another movie related episode and fun fact if the team rocket versus Team Plasma two-parter wasn't cancelled this episode would have come out right after the movie so I'm pretty sure this was the intention now one last thing about movie 14 and this is a personal preference but I always go with the Zekrom version considering sacrum is the legendary Ash sees when he arrives to Unova it's the version that makes the most sense honestly the anime might have gone absolutely nowhere with his plot line but at least we have the movie to satisfy our Ash and Zekrom team-up desire that's my own head Canon at least movie 15 so this one will be getting a maybe for me there are zero references to the movie in the enemy and none of the new Pokemon appear in an anime episode to help confirm or deny this I'm serious Purim kobali on Virizion taarakian and Calvillo do not make a return appearance that's not in the movie so there's not much to say here the movie was released between black-and-white episode 87 and 88 but it can't take place here at this point ash in the gang are in eastern univille with dawn so that doesn't fit considering there's only univer pokemon in this movie it most likely takes place in western Unova as eastern Unova is where all the previous gen pokemon start to show up again so this movie has to happen before ash meets with cynthia at virbank city i say the best part for this movie is right before episode 82 and it's another movie related episode at pokey star studios movie 16 this one is definitely canon this is thanks to the teasing and foreshadowing done in the anime leading up to the movie in black and white episode 110 we see n discovering the genocide research left over by Team Plasma and the number sort of 119 we see a flashback of on the exact same genocide from the movie escape team plasmas Castle so there's no question that this movie is canon also a little extra detail that I brought up earlier um hache knows what a Mewtwo is after their first encounter ash is like you're also getting cut off by Mewtwo's introduction similar to the Jirachi episode this is implying that Ash recognizes the Pokemon even though it's not the same one from the first movie and u2 returns I always like this little detail now although most movies placements are close to the theatrical release this one is a bit further away the movie was released between episode 133 and 134 black and white during the deckle or Islands arc if you remember that existing the thing is though Ash's official character bio for the movie states that he's still traveling in Unova during the movie so that means it can take place anywhere near its release the latest it can take place is long horrible sort of 123 as that's when the gang leaves Unova I think that's the best placement because it happens right after the team plasma arc so this movie is sort of like a team plasma dlc in a way movie 17 just like most movies the way to figure out its canonicity is by seeing if the main cast wreck his Pokemon introduced within the movie while episode 41 of XY features xerneas after its movie debut but that gang doesn't know what it is this might not be solid evidence as the episode could take place before the movie so we need a bit more well later on in episode 123 we get carbines anime debut a Pokemon that also played a big part in movie 17 yet nobody recognizes it either that's two separate instances so that pretty much confirms that movie 17 is non-canon this movie was released between x/y episode 35 and 36 but the thing is this movie is meant to take place a bit after that the movie features ashes of all fletchinder and froakie's new leader and cut but those don't happen til episode 36 and 38 whoops and because shortly after those episodes we get the sick of more summer camp arc where the gang encounter xerneas I think this episode should be used as a bit of foreshadowing before the movie so I think the best placement for movie 17 is right after episode 42 when the summer camp ends movie 18 just like movie 15 there's not enough evidence for this one sure there's legendaries galore but this doesn't really tie into the anime episodes or anything Hoopa is the only new pokemon and it hasn't appeared since then so this one is gonna be a maybe it's placement can be anywhere between episode 76 where ash gets lloyd back and never saw 85 where braixen gets that stupid ribbon on its stick because it doesn't have one in the movie the best placement for me is right after episode 78 which is you guessed it another movie episode movie 19 now at first I could have swore this movie was canon the biggest reason is that in the opening sequence we see a lawn facing Kirino which happens during episode 123 of XY this actually makes it super easy to place the movie goes right after that episode however just because we see anime events within a movie doesn't mean it's canon one of the biggest red flags is the fact that we see squishy become complete zygarde in the movie um excuse me how later in the anime it's established that bullseye guard cores have to be an agreement in order to combine and use all their cells how is this possible in the movie if by then z2 was still on their team players capture this completely contradicts what's shown in the enemy let's be honest complete zygarde was cooler there too the next nail in the coffin moment can be found in Sun and Moon episode 127 in this episode Lily introduces the gang her father's McGee earner but ash doesn't recognize it to him this is his first time seeing one well considering McGee Erna a pokemon that was a big part of the movie wasn't recognized by Ashe that tells me that movie 19 is non-canon now that I've gone over all of those movies that brings us back to all the au ash movies and although all of them are non canon they can still somewhat fit into an anime re-watch I've already used movie 20 as an example on how you can kind of watch it before everything else but let's take a look at all the others prepare to be surprised movie 21 the power of us started the trend of continuing the journeys of au ash but keeping him in a self-contained story and what I mean by that is that there are no references to what other journeys this ash has been on or what pokemon e has in this movie is just Ash and Pikachu on a random adventure this might seem like it'll make it hard to place the movie because of how isolated it feels but I actually found the best spot I believe movie 21 could fit between the final episode of X Y and the first episode of Sun and Moon there's no direct transition between these two series so this movie could easily just be considered as a fun a one-off adventure Ash went on between regions also movie 21 so art style is often regarded as a perfect blend between X Y and Sun and moons art style so this movie could be a good segue between the two series and it makes the art style transition a little less jarring movie 22 what makes this movie non-canon is the fact that there are a few changes made that weren't in the originals like adding a few more scenes with Charizard a few new interactions and having some of u2's clone Pokemon used moves that didn't exist back then however most of the original movies story remains intact so it can honestly be watched over the original if you so choose and in all honesty in some ways I sort of prefer this version over the original plus when you think about it it doesn't really matter what version you watch because in the end the Mewtwo does erase everyone's memory anyways and finally movie 23 this is the latest Pokemon movie and based off the Hat we can tell that this is still a you ash the Alpha he wears in the movie is clearly based off of Ash's outfit in Pokemon journeys so it kind of makes sense to try to fit this movie somewhere near that series and since this looks like another standalone journey for ash thanks to the exclusion of gold I think this movie best fits somewhere before Ash ends up meeting goal and working under Professor Suri's so just like movie 21 I see movie 23 being a good series transition this time taking place between the end of Sun and Moon and the start of Pokemon journeys it seems like another good fit that wouldn't really caused much confusion since there's no direct transition between Sun and Moon and journeys so we can just treat this like an adventure Ash had before meeting goal so there you have it 12 cannon five possibly cannon an eighth nod cannon were you surprised what the final outcome this just shows that a lot of these movies are canon and are considered to be a true part of Ash's journey it seems like especially during the first four generations this was the intention but by the time we get to Gen 5 & 6 that's when things start to get very questionable and contradictory maybe that's why they went with the alternate universe approach starting gen 7 with the long history the Pokemon anime has and all the different movies and writers over the years it probably gets harder and harder to track all the important details and make it fit with whatever is currently happening in the series and with all the good things I've been hearing about movie 21 maybe this was the right choice but anyways I hope this video was able to clear any confusion you had about the Pokemon movies caning and I hope this helps with your anime rewatch if you ever plan on doing one now if you excuse me I gotta catch up on some anime episodes myself I promise I'll get some movie 21 eventually this video is sponsored by Ray Khan these are the everyday e25 earbuds and are the best model yet with six hours of playtime seamless bluetooth pairing more bass and a more compact design that gives you a nice noise isolating fit they even come in some cool colors ray con earbuds started about half the price of any other premium wireless earbuds which is a big deal and it sound just as amazing as other top audio brands you know ray cones are great for working from home working out and listening to music or podcasts like the anti poke bros so go to buy rake on Comm slash Romeo's 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Channel: Lumiose Trainer Zac

Views: 1,115,566

Rating: 4.9095778 out of 5

Keywords: Pokémon Anime, Pokemon Movies, Pokemon Anime Timeline, Pokémon Journeys, Pokemon 2019 Anime, Ash Ketchum, Lucario, Legendary Pokémon, Pokemon the Movie, Pokemonthe Movie coco, Zarude, Celebi, Mewtwo, Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, Pokemon Anime Canon, Pokemon Sun and Moon Anime, Lumiose Trainer Zac, Pokemon Movie, Pokemon Movie Ranking, Pikachu the Movie, Korrina

Id: q4nPRVnWiMQ

Length: 26min 16sec (1576 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 21 2020