Preview M23: Koko

[Flynn]

Toho just announced their lineup for 2020, which included the up-to-this-point-unannounced "Pocket Monsters the Movie 2020", "the first all-new Pokemon movie in 2 years".

Expect something a bit more concrete than this soon.

Premieres July 10th.

 

[Silktree]

I guess it might as well feature Go (maybe Koharu) since the series isn't limited to any setting.

 

[DynamicFusion]

View: https://twitter.com/DogasusBackpack/status/1205381683601526785

 

[Timaeus]

If it isn't something to do with Galar then I doubt I'd have much interest in it.

 

[SammyW27]

If it isn't something to do with Galar then I doubt I'd have much interest in it.

Heck, the Show is barely even something to do with Galar, so Arceus only knows what this Gen's movies will be (again)

 

[Kyriaki]

They'd probably continue what they've been doing with M20 and M21. I have a feeling that the Mewtwo 3D movie is just a one-time thing for fanservice.

If it's not about the Galar legendaries, then I hope they continue on the reboot movie series and do something with Entei/Unown.

 

[Silktree]

I'd be the last person to say no to anything to do with the Unown, but they don't need AU Ash for that. It made sense in 2017, and they obviously didn't want to incorporate all the SM cast into a movie. But the current series has very few limitations to speak of. Are they that eager to replace Go with another character already?

The teaser also implies that the art style will be very close to SM and PM.

 

[Beatsy Ray]

I'm guessing it will be about Zacian and Zamazenta as we see them in the OP. Personally I'd like the films to keep doing they're own thing though, I thought M20/21 were a massive step up from the previous films and I'm just sick of the legendary film plot formula. I get the feeling that the current series is going to be flooded with legendaries as it is (Mew, Lugia, and Ho-oh in the first 9 episodes) so they could easily just insert the Zacian/Zamazenta plotline into the show to give the films more freedom. I doesn't look like they're doing that though because they specifically said they were trying to avoid any 2+ episode story arcs. Unless Zacian and Zamazenta will be treated as an overarching plotline for the whole series and only be featured sporadically, like the lake trio in DP.

 

[Henry Suarez]

I'd like an AU movie but set in Galar.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I'm still hoping that they'll keep the AU movie format. I think that having the movies just go in their own direction without being tied down to the current series really helped to make I Choose You and The Power of Us so refreshing. I like the idea of the movie still being set within Galar though. I don't think covering the whole plot with Zacian and Zamazenta could work for a movie. Maybe if they spread it out over the course of a couple of movies like they did with the first three DP movies it could work, but I don't know if they'd go in that direction.

 

[Pokemondude1999]

Would this be Pokemon's last ever movie?

 

[Silktree]

1. The SwSh mascots being on the series poster (hence the opening) makes it likely that they will be featured in the anime itself, although that doesn't rule out a movie role. Their potential is pretty limited - fight Eternatus and/or a bunch of Dyna/Giganta forms. The end.

2. The AU movies stood out for focusing more on the characters than the legendaries, but there is no reason why an AU is needed for that.

3. Common sense dictates that this isn't the last movie.

 

[DynamicFusion]

It's a Pokemon Movie, literally 95% are unwatchable. AU almost saved it just for the 3D CGI Remake to come back.

 

[Hidden Mew]

It's a Pokemon Movie, literally 95% are unwatchable. AU almost saved it just for the 3D CGI Remake to come back.

I wouldn't say that that many Pokemon movies are unwatchable. There are some Pokemon movies that I dislike or find boring, but I can't really say any of them are unwatchable for me at least.

 

[P_S_B]

It's a Pokemon Movie, literally 95% are unwatchable. AU almost saved it just for the 3D CGI Remake to come back.

Some of them are varying degrees of awful but the only ones that are actually unwatchable are Manaphy and Hoopa. 2/22 isn't quite 95%.

 

[Treble's Knight]

Just basing off how Go is casually like "I'm going to catch Mew" and he and ash freakin' took a ride on the back of a Lugia in the second episode, they are definitely going to feature the legends a bit more in the series. Because of this, I do think we might end up seeing them going AU again for this film, and likely the next couple ones too. I mean if Ash and Go are already casually running into legendaries, then what's so special about giving the new legends a nice movie with Ash and Go?

And I would like to see them continue to do the AU movies. The Power of Us was hands down my favorite Pokemon movie in a long time. So I'd be really excited to see what they could bring to the table with another AU movie. Because the series doesn't focus around Galar all the time, I could easily see them deciding to base this movie in Galar.

 

[Silktree]

Does this teaser really scream an AU to you? It's roughly the same art style as the current series, whereas the AU movies were noticeably different than SM (especially Movie 21).

One thing that stands out is that Pikachu is alone, so if the teaser means anything at all (the 2018 one certainly did), maybe we'll see more of Pikachu's backstory. There could be two time periods with the plots converging in the climax.

I mean if Ash and Go are already casually running into legendaries, then what's so special about giving the new legends a nice movie with Ash and Go?

So you want a movie about Ash and brand new characters casually running into legendaries? That was absolutely the case even in Movie 21. An AU movie boils down to removing Go, nothing else. I suspect that what a lot of fans actually liked about Movie 21 was the writing, directing and maybe art style (the latter isn't coming back); those things are not tied to an AU.

 

[DynamicFusion]

I wouldn't say that that many Pokemon movies are unwatchable. There are some Pokemon movies that I dislike or find boring, but I can't really say any of them are unwatchable for me at least.

I feel that most of them are meh or bad.

 

[Konja7]

I like AU movies. So, I don't have problem if they continue that.

I also don't have problem if it is a movie in the current continuity. However, I don't know wha could be the focus.

I'm guessing it will be about Zacian and Zamazenta as we see them in the OP. Personally I'd like the films to keep doing they're own thing though, I thought M20/21 were a massive step up from the previous films and I'm just sick of the legendary film plot formula. I get the feeling that the current series is going to be flooded with legendaries as it is (Mew, Lugia, and Ho-oh in the first 9 episodes) so they could easily just insert the Zacian/Zamazenta plotline into the show to give the films more freedom. I doesn't look like they're doing that though because they specifically said they were trying to avoid any 2+ episode story arcs. Unless Zacian and Zamazenta will be treated as an overarching plotline for the whole series and only be featured sporadically, like the lake trio in DP.

Zacian and Zamazenta will likely appear in the series. After all, they appear in the first poster (along many other Legendaries).

About their appearance in the opening, I don't know if is because Ash and Go visit Galar region (and it will change when they visit other regions) or it could be other reason.

 

[Silktree]

They will most likely get a two-parter with some foreshadowing. They could run into them in that forest first.

Honestly, using them for a movie would be pretty contrived as it would turn it into a Dynamax/Gigantamax fest.