What is the title of the first Pokémon theatrical film?

The first Pokémon theatrical film is titled Pokémon: The First Movie.

Its full English title is Pokémon: The First Movie—Mewtwo Strikes Back, while the Japanese title translates as Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. The film was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and first released theatrically in Japan on July 18, 1998.

The story centers on Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon created from research involving Mew. Mewtwo invites trainers to New Island, where the film explores cloning, identity, and whether origins determine a creature's worth.

The English-language release arrived in North America in November 1999 through Warner Bros. It is often confused with the later 2019 computer-animated remake, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution. That remake revisits the same broad story, but it is not the original theatrical film.