Pokémon Apokélypse is émonApokéa 2010 fan-made short film directed by Kial Natale and produced by Dylan Innes and Lee Majdoub. Based on the Pokémon franchise, the storyline takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. Intended as a fan-response to "the common trend of 'dark and gritty' reboots of popular franchises", the film was meant to give a mature spin on Pokémon and be in the same vein as work seen on parody website CollegeHumor. The creators initially intended to reveal the film at the Vancouver Anime Evolution convention, it was not shown due to technical difficulties. Instead on September 14, 2010, it revealed online via a teaser segment distributed through emails sent to various media outlets, which presented itself as a recording of a "secret movie trailer screening" for a film in development. The full film followed shortly thereafter, posted online on September 20.
The result of almost two years of work, the film follows Ash Ketchum and his friends years after the events of the original anime series, and their struggle against criminal organization Rocket Industries. Deciding on using the subject of Pokémon after considering several possibilities such as Grand Theft Auto and Dragon Ball Z, the producers were surprised by fan reaction to the material. Despite praises for the content, they have stated they have no intention to produce a full-fledged film.
The initial "leaked" preview was met with skepticism and criticism, with Crave Online in particular recalling the trend of past video game-inspired films being of poor quality. Kotaku and Topless Robot in particular noting that the preview did it a disservice by hiding the charm of the completed project, which by comparison was met with very positive reception. GamesRadar called it "amazing", and stated that the content was "good enough for grown ups"; in a further discussion, they added they were impressed by the quality of the work, and how it addressed the similarity between the games and dog fighting. Other sources such as The Escapist and Game Informer also heavily praised the production, with the former lamenting that such a concept would never officially appear from Nintendo.
Synopsis
Structured as a trailer for a non-existent film, Pokémon Apokélypse is set in the fictional Celadon City, and takes place several years after the events of the original anime series. The plot focuses on Ash Ketchum (Lee Majdoub), a Pokémon Trainer who commands creatures called Pokémon to battle other Trainers' Pokémon to advance within a league setting. Formerly a global sport, it was long since outlawed due to outcries of animal abuse, and instead continued in underground arenas, where the fighting became much more brutal. Despite warnings by his friend Brock (Kial Natale), Ash takes part in the battles with his Pokémon, Pikachu. When approached by Giovanni (David Quast), the head of Rocket Industries, with a bribe to throw his next fight, Ash turns the offer down. In response, Giovanni threatens Ash's former mentor Professor Oak (Richard Toews) and girlfriend, Misty (Rebecca Strom). Deciding to keep them safe, Ash accepts the bribe, and Pikachu is nearly killed in the match.
Quickly regretting his actions, Ash revisits Giovanni and returns the bribe money, declaring himself out of the league. Enraged, Giovanni declares Ash and his friends dead, and sends his minions Jessie, James (Julia Lawton and Gharrett Patrick Paon) and Meowth to carry out the retribution. As a result, Oak is killed, Pikachu and Misty are assaulted, and Brock is tortured. With the help of Pikachu, Brock and Misty, Ash goes after Giovanni and aims to take down Rocket Industries (including Mewtwo), declaring he will not stop until he has "caught them all".
Cast
Lee Majdoub as Ash Ketchum
Ikue Ōtani as Pikachu (voice clips) Kial Natale as Brock Rebecca Strom as Misty Julia Lawton as Jessie Gharrett Patrick Paon as James David Quast as Giovanni Richard Toews as Professor Oak Sahaj Malhotra as Nurse Joy Katherine Atkinson as Officer Jenny Jason Lee Fraser as Team Rocket Grunt Tanner McCoolman as Team Rocket Grunt Taylor Enobuc James as Team Rocket Grunt Derek Cheng as Team Rocket Grunt