Pokémon Heroes
Pokémon Heroes is the fifth movie in the Pokémon series, complimenting Pokémon: Master Quest (the last season of Pocket Monsters in the Japanese version). The original Japanese version was released in theaters July 13 2002, and the English adaptation saw limited theatrical release on May 16 2003 , before making its way to video on January 2004.
To date, Heroes is the shortest Pokémon film, and just under 20 minutes for Camp Pikachu. In America, it is also the lowest-grossing of all the Pokémon films, and the only one not to make one million dollars at the American box office. Some say that part of the reason for the failure is the drastic reduction in production values since 4Ever, incorporating elements from the the Pokémon Live musical).
Camp Pikachu
The story behind this short revolves around the Pichu brothers as they attempt to find a train back to the big city. Along the way, they are helped by six of Ash Ketchum's and Misty's Pokémon (Pikachu, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Phanpy, Corsola, and Psyduck), and a Wynaut. Meanwhile, Meowth and Wobbuffet are hiking in the back country.
Along the way, they sit around a campfire, where the older Pichu brother, along with Wynaut, scare the younger brother with the help of a Duskull. They also encounter a Volbeat, who guides them to a mill where they could stay the night.
Latias and Latios
The premise of the movie revolves around the city of Altomare, modelled heavily after Venice. Annie (Zanna) and Oakley (Rion), two Team Rocket spies (in the English version - in the original they were not associated with Team Rocket), plot to steal a mysterious Soul Dew and use it to activate the so-called defense mechanism, an ancient artifact with the power to destroy the city if it fell into the wrong hands. Annie and Oakley also plan on finding and capturing the legendary guardians of Altomare, Latias and Latios, for Giovanni. This is no easy task, for the two Guardians have the ability to render themselves invisible and disguise themselves as ordinary humans.
Meanwhile, Ash Ketchum and company are in Altomare, participating in an annual race that is taking place there. Ash and Totodile manage to spin out, but are mysteriously saved by an invisible Latias, which propels Ash to the lead only to lead him astray in the final turn and giving Misty and Corsola the victory. As Ash and company enjoy their stay at Altomare, Ash and Pikachu find themselves separated from Misty and Brock, when they encounter a girl (or rather, Latias disguised as a girl) about to be harmed by Annie and Oakley. Ash helps the girl away to safety, but the girl urges him on to another place. Ash is reunited with Misty and Brock, but the girl mysteriously disappears.
The group then visits the Altomare museum, where the curator, Lorenzo (Bongore), fills them in about the history of Altomare. However, Ash notices that a girl resembling the girl he had saved was also there, and, as he chases after the girl, finds himself in a secret garden in Altomare, where she reveals herself to be Bianca (Kanon), Lorenzo's granddaughter, and good friends to Latias and Latios (hence the reason that Latias had taken her form earlier). There, he learns of the Soul Dew: it is an artifact that was created at some point in the distant past, when Aerodactyl and Kabutops were terrorizing villagers, when a Latios gave his life to save the town. Lorenzo says that the Soul Dew should not be removed from its spot within a fountain in the garden.
That night, however, Annie and Oakley manage to steal the Soul Dew, and manage to capture Latios in the process, but Latias manages to escape. They also manage to capture Bianca and Lorenzo attempting to stop them from activating the defense mechanism. Annie and Oakley manage to activate the defense mechanism, and with it, proceed to lock down the entire town. Realizing that this power could be used to take over the world, Annie goes power mad, and revives Aerodactyl and Kabutops. Meanwhile, Ash confides to Misty and Brock about Latias, and agree to help her. However, as iron bars began to form, locking people within their homes, Misty and Brock find themselves trapped, unable to leave the Pokémon Center. However, they do manage to send Crobat, Corsola, and Politoed to help Ash if he ever were in trouble. Ash, Pikachu, and Latias manage to defeat Aerodactyl and Kabutops, and get to the museum, where they rescue Bianca, Lorenzo, Latios, as well as stop the defense mechanism. However, their celebration was short-lived, as the Soul Dew, being out of the water for too long, is destroyed, and Altomare finds itself defenseless as the water suddenly recedes and advances, threatening to destroy the city. Latias and Latios try to save the town, and Latios, like his father, is killed in the process, creating a new Soul Dew.
With the town saved, Ash and company leave Altomare to continue their Pokémon journey.
Cast
| Character | Japanese voice | English voice |
|---|---|---|
| Satoshi / Ash | Rika Matsumoto | Veronica Taylor |
| Kasumi / Misty | Mayumi Iizuka | Rachael Lillis |
| Takeshi / Brock | Yuuji Ueda | Eric Stuart |
| Pikachu | Ikue Ootani | Ikue Ootani |
| Latias | Megumi Hayashibara | Megumi Hayashibara |
| Latios | Masashi Ebara | Masashi Ebara |
| Zanna / Annie | Uno Kanna | Megan Hollingshead |
| Rion / Oakley | Yumiko Shaku | Lisa Ortiz |
| Bongore / Lorenzo | Gutch Yuzo | Eric Stuart |
| Kanon / Bianca | Fumiko Orikasa | Lisa Ortiz |
| Older Pichu Brother | Yumi Touma | Yumi Touma |
| Younger Pichu Brother | Satomi Koorogi | Satomi Koorogi |
| Nyarth / Meowth | Inuko Inuyama | Madeline Blaustein |
| Sounans / Wobbuffet | Yuuji Ueda | Tara Jayne |
| Narrator | Unshou Ishizuka | Philip Bartlett |
Trivia
- There are cameo appearances of the main legendary Pokemon from the previous four films: Mewtwo, Lugia, Entei and Celebi. They are not in physical form but are shown in drawings or carvings. Mewtwo, Lugia and Celebi are all drawings seen in the chase after Bianca/Latias and Entei is seen when Team Rocket witness the water rushing out of Altomare, as a carving on a wall.
