What was the first animated feature film in the Pokémon film series?

The first animated feature film in the Pokémon film series was Pokémon: The First Movie.

The film was released in Japan on July 18, 1998, under a Japanese title translated as Mewtwo Strikes Back. It was directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and centers on Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon who challenges ideas about identity, creation, and purpose.

The international English release used the title Pokémon: The First Movie and arrived in North America in November 1999. It was accompanied by the short film Pikachu's Vacation, which helped make the theatrical event feel like a larger Pokémon celebration.

The film is sometimes confused with Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, a 2019 computer-animated remake. Evolution retells the first movie's main story, but it is not the original first entry in the animated film series.