I Choose You! | The Power of Us | Secrets of the Jungle
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Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum (Satoshi)
Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto (JP), Sarah Natochenny (EN), Miguel Ángel Leal (LA Spanish)
Click here to see Ash's The Power of Us outfit
Click here to see Ash's 20th movie outfit
In the 20th anniversary retelling of the start of his journey, Ash's adventure ends up diverging a lot from the original tale.
- Adaptational Badass: Zig-Zagged. Ash has only three Pokémon confirmed (with one being released later in the film) on his team rather than the 5-6 he had in the original series. However, he adapts far quicker in Pokémon battles, allowing him to stack up numerous victories with just those three Pokémon alone and having a more consistent and skilled showing than his main series counterpart at the same point in his journey. He evolves Charmander all the way to Charizard at a faster rate and manages to retain its obedience. Additionally, Ash actually defeats Erika in a proper Gym Battle and earns the Rainbow Badge, rather than it being given to him for saving Erika's Gloom from a fire that he unwittingly help started (as depicted in the original series). Before her, he already won two other badges with only Pikachu and Caterpie. However, this Ash, though more competent in starting out than the original iteration, has yet to win either a major League Conference or become the strongest trainer in the world.
- Adaptational Intelligence: The absence of Misty, Brock, and the Pokédex means that Ash can act more intelligently despite still being not all too bright. For example, after he made the mistake of attempting to capture a wild Pidgey without weakening it first, Ash doesn't forget that lesson when he encounters Caterpie (unlike the original Ash, who simply threw a Pokéball and caught it by dumb luck, this Ash uses Pikachu to battle Caterpie and throws his Pokéball after it has been significantly weakened). Also, this Ash looks knowledgeable enough to teach Pikachu Iron Tail early in their journey.
- Alternate Self: To the main series' Ash Ketchum.
- Art Evolution: His subsequent designs look more round and soft in The Power of Us and Secrets of the Jungle. In The Distant Blue Sky special episode, however, he reverts back to his I Choose You! look.
- Breaking Old Trends:
- When it comes to Legendary Pokemon, this Ash actually tried to catch one in the form of Entei, after hearing that it was in the forest near the Pokemon Center he was in. This is not like his main series self who doesn't even consider doing so whatsoever even when befriending one (prior to Meltan in Sun and Moon, that is).
- The first post Journeys special, The Distant Blue Sky, focuses on this Ash rather than the main one, marking the first time the series explicitly gives attention to an alternate version of the character.
- The Distant Blue Sky is also the first time more information is given on Ash's father, who hasn't been mentioned since the second episode of The Original Series.
- Catch and Return: More on catching than returning, but Ash catches a lemon that a kid throws angrily at Largo in the 21st movie.
- The Chosen One: As always, but not as world-breaking this time. According to legends, whoever has the Rainbow Wing can summon Ho-Oh by placing the feather on Rainbow Rock in Mt. Tensei and receive its blessing if they are pure of heart, becoming the Rainbow Hero. Ash got the Rainbow Wing on his first day as a Pokémon Trainer and wishes to fulfill that prophecy in order to have a battle with Ho-Oh.
- Disney Death: His body is destroyed by combined blast of Marshadow's corrupt Pokémon army but Pikachu manages to bring him back from the spirit plane and Ash rematerializes without much of a scratch.
- Disappeared Dad: Subverted big time for this Ash. In the main series, Ash's father was mentioned once in the second episode, with Delia stating that he left on his own Pokémon journey, but that aside, nothing is known of the guy by the end of Ash's status as The Protagonist, besides extra material and interviews with developers of the anime but that should be treated with a grain of salt. Here, the third movie implies and later confirms in The Distant Blue Sky special that Ash's father is still around in his life.
- Four Is Death: The Post-Journey's special episode, The Distant Blue Sky, marks this Ash's fourth official appearance. It's also a Very Special Episode regarding the death of a family member and realizing the importance of taking the small comforts that may not always be there for granted and realizing the joys just to have them.
- Go Through Me: Like in the original series, Ash does this to protect Pikachu from a flock of Spearow at the beginning of the adventure. He does it again at the climax of the film against Marshadow's rampaging Pokémon army, but this time, Pikachu is unable to protect his Trainer and Ash gets killed in the process.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Realizing that Pikachu is too weak to fend off the Pokémon under Marshadow's influence, Ash puts Pikachu in his Pokéball just as the blast engulfs him. This saves Pikachu at the cost of Ash's own life.
- Hero of Another Story: Being the Alternate Self to the main series' Ash Ketchum, he is instead the protagonist of the movie continuity.
- I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: As he was enjoying his meal near the end of The Distant Blue Sky, he starts crying Tender Tears, but he, along with the audience, doesn't know the exact reason why. Missing his father might have had something to do with it.
- In Spite of a Nail: Ash still fails to wake up on time, gets a disobedient Pikachu as his starter, gets a flock of Spearow angry at him and forging a permanent bond with his partner in trying to save him from said flock, catches a Caterpie, raises it to a Butterfree before it gets released, rescues an abandoned Charmander that evolves all the way into Charizard, and is implied that he's going to catch a Heracross. He still winds up coming into conflict with Team Rocket in spite of the circumstances behind their encounter being changed.
- Made of Iron: He fell down steel stairs twice and didn't get a single bruise.
- Missed Him by That Much: In The Distant Blue Sky, Ash was supposed to meet his father at the Pokémon Center, but missed him by five minutes.
- Mythology Gag: In The Distant Blue Sky, Ash winds up with a gift from his father—his hat from The Original Series.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Ash Ketchum in the main series would never wish he had another starter other than Pikachu. So when this Ash, after losing badly to Cross, starts musing if he would fare better if he had Squirtle instead of Pikachu, it is treated as a horrifying corruption with the Rainbow Wing losing its colors and Marshadow subjecting Ash into a dream-like world where no Pokémon exists.
- As mentioned under Heroic Sacrifice, Ash recalls Pikachu to save him. While he's considered doing so in the main series before when things get dire, this is the only time he's actually gone through with it.
- Point of Divergence: In this universe, everything played out as it did in the main timeline until the Spearow attack. Not only did Ash fail to bump into Misty (whose absence is never explained), but when Ho-Oh appears, Ash and Pikachu are healed by one of its feathers. Doing so causes them to not bother going to the Viridian City Pokémon Center for treatment, thus avoiding meeting Team Rocket (at least at first) and sparring the Center from destruction. He doesn't meet Misty or Brock or catch of his Pokémon from the show aside from Caterpie and Charmander, and surprisingly starts out much better than he did in the main universe by successfully defeating at least three gyms using only two Pokémon.
- Signature Headgear: His hat (also known as Partner Cap in the games) is essentially the original Pokémon League Expo cap with a Sun and Moon-stylized "L" symbol in the center. It is the only clothing gear that remains unchanged in Pokémon: The Power of Us.
- Supporting Protagonist: In The Power of Us, he has to share the spotlight with everyone else this time around.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: As in the original anime, Ash and Pikachu initially don't get along at all.
Pikachu
Pikachu
Voiced by: Ikue Otani (JP) note
Ash's starter Pokémon and main partner.
- Adaptational Badass: In the anime, Pikachu only learned Iron Tail once Ash journeyed to Hoenn during the Advanced Generation series. Here, Pikachu already knows Iron Tail and puts it to good use. Pikachu's also a more consistently powerful battler and more eager to jump into the fray much quicker than the original series counterpart at the time.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: While Original Series Pikachu was prone to give Ash problems (like refuse to battle, or even side with other characters against Ash), even after they become friends in the first episodes, this version is loyal to Ash soon after they defeat the Spearows, with their only serious fight being after Ash's first defeat to Cross. Even after, Pikachu forgives Ash when he shows he's really sorry about his petty behavior.
- Alternate Self: To the main series' Pikachu.
- Angst Nuke: After Ash’s supposed death, Pikachu unleashes a gigantic Thunderbolt blast in a moment of Unstoppable Rage so powerful it clears every cloud in the sky.
- Berserker Tears: Sheds them when he realizes Ash is dead, complete with a huge Thunderbolt that mirrors the one it gave the Spearow flock.
- Say My Name: Screams "PIKAPIIIIII~" as he mourns Ash's death.
- Suddenly Voiced: When Ash asks why Pikachu wouldn't go into the Pokéball despite being a safe cover from the Pokémon energy blast, Pikachu suddenly replies in human language.
Butterfree
Caterpie-Metapod-Butterfree (Caterpie-Trancell-Butterfree)
Caterpie voiced by: Rikako Aikawa
Metapod voiced by: Rikako Aikawa (JP), Sam Black (EN)
Butterfree voiced by: Rikako Aikawa
The first Pokémon Ash caught.
- Adaptational Badass: Unlike the anime where Caterpie put up no resistance to being caught, this one gave Pikachu a challenge. He also won many battles against the likes of Pinsir, Primeape and Fearow, something that Caterpie from the original series struggled with even as a Butterfree. Most visibly demonstrated with Pinsir, which Caterpie defeated. By supplexing it.
- All Webbed Up: Knows String Shot and is very effective at it, ensnaring targets from Ash Ketchum (on their first encounter) to a troop of Primeape. Notably, Caterpie retains this move as a Metapod, something that the original series did not show.
- Alternate Self: To the main series' Caterpie/Metapod/Butterfree.
- Ambiguous Gender: Averted, unlike the original series. Taking advantage of Gen IV's gender differentiation, the movie indirectly confirms that Butterfree is male by giving the Pink Butterfree two dark scales on her lower wings, a trait only found in female Butterfree.
- Foregone Conclusion: Considering that Butterfree from the original series was Ash's first Pokémon to be released, it was inevitable that the same happened here.
- In Spite of a Nail: Much like his main counterpart, Ash still has to let him go in order to mate with a Pink Butterfree.
- Rite of Passage: As the first Pokémon caught, he serves as a marker for Ash's progression as a trainer, especially when Ash has to finally let him go to be with the Pink Butterfree.
- Status Effects: As a Butterfree, he knows Sleep Powder and uses it to put a bunch of angry Primeape to sleep.
Charizard
Charmander-Charmeleon-Charizard (Hitokage-Lizardo-Lizardon)
Charmander voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Billy Bob Thompson (EN)
Charmeleon voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (JP), Billy Bob Thompson (EN)
Charizard voiced by: Shinichiro Miki
A Pokémon abandoned by Cross who, after being saved by Ash, joins his team.
- Adapted Out: His original trainer Damien does not appear, and is replaced by Cross.
- Adaptational Badass:
- Charmander evolves at a faster rate than the original series.
- He also learns Seismic Toss as a Charmeleon, whereas in the original series he didn't learn it until he evolved into Charizard.
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- He was the second Pokémon Ash caught. In the original anime he was the fourth, whilst the actual second caught Pidgeotto and third caught Bulbasaur were Adapted Out in the movie series along with the fifth caught Squirtle.
- As mentioned above, he evolved at a faster rate than in the original series. In the original anime, he spent a good chunk of episodes as a Charmander before evolving.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Charmeleon (and later Charizard) actually stays loyal to Ash after evolving, unlike the main series.
- Alternate Self: To the main series' Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard.
- Composite Character: Charmander's story borrows a bit from Ash's Infernape arc in Diamond and Pearl, namely encountering his former trainer as Ash's opponent several times before finally winning the last battle as payback for being called weak.
- In Spite of a Nail: He still gets mistreated by his original trainer before joining Ash's team, much like his main counterpart.
- Our Dragons Are Different: While he's not technically a Dragon-Type, Charizard certainly resembles a dragon, and he learns Dragon Rage after evolving.
- Save the Villain: He is willing to protect his former trainer from Marshadow's rampaging Pokémon army despite the fact that Cross cruelly abandoned him and was responsible for the Marshadow disaster in the first place.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He doesn't appear in the next batch of movies set after I Choose You!, despite being in Ash's party.
Others
Verity
Verity (Makoto)
Voiced by: Shiro Sato (JP), Suzy Myers (EN), Azul Valadez (LA Spanish)
An energetic and tomboyish trainer from Twinleaf Town.
- Action Girl: Not in the same vein as Iris, but Verity has no problems leaping around and getting her hands dirty.
- Composite Character: As the other examples show, she's Misty with a splash of Dawn.
- Disappeared Dad: Considering she has a mother yet it is never mentioned who her father is.
- Identical Stranger: According to
Word of God, Verity's mother is not Cynthia despite the woman in the picture looking like her. - Making a Splash: Both her Pokémon are Water-types.
- Meaningful Name: Her English name is a nod to Lake Verity, a significant location in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl that's close to her hometown of Twinleaf.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A tomboyish girl who trains water Pokémon and has insecurities regarding her family, much like Misty in the original series.
- Utility Party Member: Aside from Piplup, she also has Lapras in her party. She sends it out when her group needs to cross a lake.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: The reason why Verity went on a Pokémon journey in the Kanto region is because her mother is a famous Pokémon trainer and she could not live up to her expectations.
Sorrel
Sorrel (Souji)
Voiced by: Kanata Hongou (JP), David Oliver Nelson (EN), José Luis Piedra (LA Spanish)
A young trainer from Veilstone City aiming to be a Pokémon Professor.
- Flat Character: Not him, given his status as Mr. Exposition. His Lucario, though... Make a Drinking Game and take a sip whenever it's not sitting, walking, or standing around doing nothing. His assumed ace gets less scenes than Verity's Piplup even after the trio travels together.
- The Medic: He is able to make medicine for rain-stricken Charmander, though he admits it tastes bitter.
- Mr. Exposition: As an aspiring Pokémon researcher, Sorrel is well familiar with the myths and lore behind Legendary Pokémon. He tells Ash and Verity the legend of Ho-Oh and the Three Beasts, and the prophecy of the Rainbow Hero.
- Noodle Incident: Meeting Lucario restored his faith in making friends with Pokémon...and that's it. Ironically, the cataclysm for his lack of faith has more explanation.
- Posthumous Character: His family's Pokémon Luxray, who died warming him from snow.
- The Power of Friendship: After his family's Luxray froze to death, he distanced himself from Pokémon as he feared he would lose them until he met his Lucario. Sadly, he offers no more explanation about this encounter than the incident, ironically.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A serious young man who acts as the voice of reason between Ash and his female companion, is knowledgeable about Pokémon in general and has a goal that involves the study and care of Pokémon, much like Brock in the original series.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mistakenly calls Ash out on leaving Charmander in the rain until Verity tells him that it was abandoned by another trainer.
Cross
Cross
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (JP), Billy Bob Thompson (EN), Héctor Mena (LA Spanish)
An arrogant trainer who believes strength is everything and aims to become the ultimate Pokémon master. He is Ash's main rival in the movie and is the former owner of Charmander.
- Cats Are Mean: His main Pokémon is Incineroar, a Heel-Wrestler tiger that fights with no mercy.
- Composite Character: He's a combination of Gary (Ash's rival during his travels through Kanto), Paul (believes a Pokémon's strength is everything, will release them if they fail to meet his expectations, and even released a Fire-type starter Pokémon that Ash later captured), and Damien (Charmander's previous owner who abandoned him for being weak).
- Evil Redhead: Subverted. He has orange hair and a Jerkass. But in the end, underwent a Heel–Face Turn.
- Evil Virtues: Despite starting as an arrogant jerk, the foil for the good-natured Ash, Cross actually shows some desiderable traits for a Pokémon trainer.
- The Ultra Moon Pokedex index for Lycanroc Midnight form states that They will only listen to orders from Trainers who can draw out their true power. There's no doubt, and it's made evident in the climax, that Cross trained his Lycanroc as good as he could, even bonding with him.
- Cross actually has every bit the passion of Ash Ketchum, just he utterly lacks, or rather lacked, his kindness, playing favorite with his best Pokémon and throwing away the weakest.
- After his Heel–Face Turn he accepts to part in a civil way from Ash Ketchum, expressing the desire to have a better, less anger-fuel rematch.
- Flat Character: His Incineroar has no characterization beyond only appearing for battles. His Midnight Lycanroc has more, but it's not enough to write home about.
- Foil: To Ash, in the same vein as his Expy Paul. Both aim To Be a Master, but while Ash treats his Pokémon with love, Cross does not prioritize bonding with his own Pokémon and sees strength as more important. He's also a foil to the main series version of Ash in a different way. Both saw Ho-Oh early in their journey but didn't receive a Rainbow Wing. Cross grew to resent this and train for strength alone, but for Ash it was an inspiration to explore and meet new Pokémon.
- Freudian Excuse: He also saw Ho-Oh, but it never left a Rainbow Wing for him like it did Ash, which led him to train Pokemon for strength alone.
- Heel–Face Turn: After accidentally corrupting the Rainbow Wing, he manages to get Lycanroc to snap out of its possession by Marshadow and helps fight off the other Pokemon.
- Hypocrite: He claims that the strong deserve everything, and the weak should be cast aside. But when Ash defeats him in the battle for the Rainbow Wing, Cross still believes he should be the one to meet Ho-Oh, completely disregarding his own beliefs.
- Jerkass: There isn't really a traditional human villain in the movie, so this guy is there to be a humongous jerk.
- Kick the Dog: Or rather, Kick The Charmander.
- Might Makes Right: His entire philosophy revolves around this: as long as you have power, nothing else matters. He even says this word-for-word in his last battle with Ash.
- Noodle Incident: He notes that the day he obtained his Lycanroc, it bit him.
- The Perfectionist: He has incredibly high standards for his Pokémon, to the point where he'll abandon those who don't live up to his expectations.
- The Social Darwinist: He picks only the strongest Pokémon for his team, releasing those he ultimately deems to be weak.
- Savage Wolves: He owns the wolf-like Midnight Lycanroc, which ends up possessed by Marshadow in the climax and becomes part of its rampaging army.
- Sore Loser: After Charizard defeats Incineroar, he steals Ash's Rainbow Wing and tries using it to summon Ho-Oh.
- Take That!: One could interpret Cross's character as a jab at overly-competitive Pokémon players who only care about using the strongest Pokémon.
- Uncatty Resemblance: His eye shape and cat smile, wild orange hair and red and black clothing make him resemble his ace Incineroar.
- You Bastard!: Cross is every bit what a Competitive Player is while playing every single Pokémon game strategically. But while the strategically oriented player is incensed for it, Cross is painted as the Heel, if not the outright antagonist of the story.
- Catching multiple Pokémon of the same type to release the weakest and the ill-natured? Check.
- Grinding your Pokémon mercilessly and end up boxing or releasing the ones not living to your standard as soon as you can get the hands on something better and/or get a Ditto with perfect IV and rebreed your whole adventure team with perfect pups? Check.
- Always choosing strength over friendship? Check.
- Basically, Ash is the kid every competitive or strategically oriented player used to be when the first movie aired, Cross is what 20 years of competitive gaming did to him. Feel old yet?
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Releases Pokémon he deems to be weak, such as Charmander.
Bonji
Bonji
Voiced by: Arata Furuta (JP), Mike Pollock (EN), Ferso Velásquez (LA Spanish)
An old researcher who has been chasing Ho-Oh for 20 years.
- The Hermit: He's been traveling alone in search of Ho-Oh around Mount Tensei.
- I Choose to Stay: While Ash and friends return back to civilization at the film's end, Bonji remains back at Mount Tensei waiting for the next Rainbow Hero.
- Miniature Senior Citizen: He's fairly weathered and is just as short if not shorter than our ten-year old protagonists.
- Mr. Exposition: His book covers the various legends regarding to Ho-Oh and the Rainbow Hero, including what happens when a Rainbow Wing is touched by someone with an evil heart. He himself explains Marshadow's role in the movie.
- Mythology Gag: The hat he is wearing is Red's original hat from Generation I, complete with a leaf badge symbol at the left corner. Kinda fittingly given that he's been searching Ho-Oh for the past 20 years, which happens to be a year after the franchise debuted.
- The Nose Knows: Bonji can literally sniff out the presence of Ho-Oh, best demonstrated when Ash arrives with the Rainbow Wing.
Team Rocket
Team Rocket
Jessie/Musashi voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara (JP), Michele Knotz (EN), Diana Pérez (LA Spanish)
James/Kojiro voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Carter Cathcart (EN), José Antonio Macías (LA Spanish)
Meowth/Nyarth voiced by: Inuko Inuyama (JP), Carter Cathcart (EN), Gerardo Vásquez (LA Spanish)
A trio of no-good criminals consisted of Jessie, James and a talking Meowth. They've been trailing Ash and friends in the hopes of capturing rare and valuable Pokémon, but are always a step behind and often find trouble waiting for them instead.
- Adaptational Comic Relief: They were always comic relief villains in the original series, but they had their moments of seriousness as a major threat and as characters. But thanks to being reduced to glorified cameos, this incarnation of Team Rocket is just comic relief, only there to provide levity from the more heavy moments of Ash's journey. They don't even talk to Ash at all and instead exist in the background, stalking him and making goofy quips. Downplayed in The Power of Us and especially Secrets of the Jungle.
- Adaptational Wimp: Not that they were all that capable in canon, but here they get beaten by wild Pokemon easily and never once engage Ash in battle. Ash does chase them down in The Power Of Us but they get away.
- The Artifact: The only reason they are even in the movie despite contributing nothing to the story is because it wouldn't be a Pokémon movie starring Ash and Pikachu if their recurring arch-nemesis that is the trio didn't make an appearance. Averted in the next two movies where they play main roles.
- The Chew Toy: Nearly their entire role in the movie is to be hilariously beaten up by the Pokémon that Ash and friends just barely escaped. Downplayed in the next two films.
- Demoted to Extra: They appear sporadically through the movie, but they never personally interact with the heroes in any way like they do in the original anime. The next two films give them major roles.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Jessie's Wobbuffet makes an appearance with Team Rocket in the Meowth hot-air balloon during the credits, despite the fact that Jessie only got him in a trade mix up during the Johto saga in the original series.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle, they're completely horrified by Dr. Zed having been the one who killed Koko's parents and as such, anonymously release footage of what Dr. Zed did to the authorities and get him arrested.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: They've been following Ash and friends in the hopes of capturing rare and powerful Pokémon, but always find misfortune waiting for them.
- Unknown Rival: They never confront Ash face to face despite looking for the same Pokémon, and it's not even clear if Ash knows they exist at all. However, Ash does recognize them in The Power of Us, showing that he's met them at least once by that point.
- What You Are in the Dark: In Secrets of the Jungle, they anonymously release Dr. Zed's confession video where he reveals he killed Koko's parents when he was a toddler to the authorities simply because the man has no regards for ethics or welfare.
Marshadow
Marshadow
Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (JP), Nathalie Gorham (EN)
A mysterious Pokémon that appears with Ash sometimes during his journey to Mt. Tensei. Legend has it that it serves as a shadow guardian, making sure that the Rainbow Wing is not at the wrong hands.
- Ambiguously Evil: Marshadow's motives are not clear until the very end of movie. It also sends Ash into a nightmarish Dream Land without Pokémon. But that event also made Ash realize the errors of his ways, and Marshadow does not attempt to interfere further. Turns out, according to Bonji, that Marshadow is merely observing Ash to see if he is pure enough to hold the Rainbow Wing. This turns tragic, however, when Cross steals the Rainbow Wing from Ash and attempts to summon Ho-Oh himself but thanks to his impure heart, the Rainbow Wing gets corrupted beyond what Marshadow is able to fix and Marshadow begins to attack everyone on sight, which indicates that the Rainbow Wing itself may have an effect on it and is basically the one thing keeping it good and stable.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: After getting affected by the corrupted Rainbow Wing, it absolutely mops the floor with Pikachu.
- The Watcher: Its purpose is to judge whether a trainer has a good enough heart to summon Ho-Oh at Mt. Tensei.
Ho-Oh
Ho-Oh
The Legendary Rainbow Pokémon that Ash saw on his first day of his journey. Unlike the original series, a single feather known as the Rainbow Wing falls from Ho-Oh and ends up in Ash's hands. Ash and Pikachu vow to meet and battle Ho-Oh one day, kicking off the main plot of the movie.
- Ascended Extra: Ho-Oh had a minor role in the main series, being the first Pokémon beyond the original 151 seen in media and a symbol of Ash's journey in the original series. Though there have been hints to a larger subplot, Ho-Oh never got a bigger appearance beyond brief cameos, was never featured in any of the previous Pokémon movies, and was quietly dropped off while other Legendaries took its place starting with Diamond and Pearl. This movie changes all of that by making the main story be about Ash and Pikachu finding Ho-Oh again.
- Point of Divergence: The reason why this Ash's journey is radically different from the main series? Ho-Oh dropped a Rainbow Wing as it was flying over Ash. The Rainbow Wing fueled Ash's desire to see it again rather than treat it as a special moment, and thus he took a different path than the Ash from the main timeline did.
