Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back May 2026

The clones weep. The originals weep. And then—in a moment that still raises eyebrows—Pokémon tears resurrect Ash. It’s not science. It’s not even clear fantasy logic. It’s emotional alchemy: grief as proof of connection.

That line—spoken by Mewtwo after watching his cloned Pokémon defend Ash’s petrified body—is the quiet heart of Pokémon: The First Movie . Beneath the flashy battles and the controversial “Pokémon fight until they collapse” spectacle, the film asks an unusually heavy question for a 1999 kids’ movie: What makes a person real? pokémon the first movie: mewtwo strikes back

Mewtwo is a creature born entirely of human arrogance. Cloned from the mythical Mew, kept in a tube, fitted with armor to suppress his rage, he’s given no childhood, no home, no name except a laboratory designation. His first conscious act is destruction. His second is nihilism: if he was made to fight, then all Pokémon—and by extension, all beings—must exist only to prove their strength. He builds a storm-lashed island arena to test that theory. The clones weep