The only time to watch this masterpiece is immediately following _Pikachu's Vacation_.

"We do have a lot in common. The same Earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what's the same instead of what's different... well, who knows" Alongside Simba talking to his dead father, seeing Pikachu trying to wake up Ash who is turned to stone never fails to make me tear up. It might still be trauma from when I was a kid but I loved Pokémon when I was young and never skipped a game. Even now I'm knee deep into Pokémon Violet. I guess I still love these little creatures. Anyway with Ash becoming the best Pokémon trainer on the planet and him only being in a handful episodes left I thought it was time to rewatch the first Pokémon movie. It has already been 25 years. Can't believe time goes by this fast. For me this one still holds up. There are many errors in the dub but I don't care. It is all the nostalgic feelings I love when I watch this. I must have seen this one up over 100 times by now. With many watches when I was between the ages of 10 and 12. I think I drove my parents crazy watching this movie so many times, over and over. It is still fantastic that you can walk up to 98% of the people out there show them Pikachu and they know who it is. I wonder how more life there is in it after Ash leaves the anime. If we are still getting new movies (haven't seen any of them outside of the first two) but I do believe the games will continue to come and go. So yeah, this was one hell of a fun rewatch and I wonder what is in store for Ash these final few episodes. Ps. the first Pokémon theme song is still the best tv tune ever made.

_"The human sacrificed himself... to save the Pokémon. I pited them against each other, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all share deep inside."_ *mew* _"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life... that determines who you are."_ Love live old Pokémon. I will always remember you.

This movie... is now 20 years old... fuck, I feel old. Feels like just yesterday I was watching the DVD's for the classic Pokémon movies, I mean, before they got rid of Misty and Brock. I've since seen this movie on the big screen, watched Pokémon GO get released, and now a live action Pikachu movie go into production. The memories I've had with 4Kids, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! are experiences I will never forget. I stopped watching after the fifth movie and 4Kids stopped dubbing, but I still look back on this with a fondness. I may grow up and mature, but I'll always hold a little place in my heart for this series. It's so weird now to refer to these movies as classic or more than ten years old, let alone twenty.