What was the first Pokémon film released internationally?

Pokémon: The First Movie was the first Pokémon film released internationally. Its full English title is Pokémon: The First Movie—Mewtwo Strikes Back, and it centers on the genetically created Pokémon Mewtwo.

The film was released in Japan in July 1998 and reached North American theaters in November 1999. It adapts ideas from the Pokémon games while presenting an original story about identity, creation, and the consequences of treating Pokémon as tools for combat.

The main feature was accompanied in theaters by “Pikachu’s Vacation,” a short film focused on Pikachu and its friends. The theatrical package helped establish Pokémon as a major cinema property rather than only a video game and television franchise.

Pokémon: The First Movie is sometimes confused with Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, a later computer-animated remake released in 2019. The remake retells the first film’s central story but is not the original theatrical movie.