What was the title of the first Pokémon animated movie?

The first Pokémon animated movie was titled Pokémon: The First Movie.

The film was first released in Japan on July 18, 1998, under the Japanese title Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. Its story centers on Mewtwo, a genetically engineered Pokémon who challenges human ideas about identity, origins, and power. Ash, Misty, and Brock are drawn into Mewtwo’s plan after receiving an invitation to a mysterious Pokémon battle.

The English-language release used the longer title Pokémon: The First Movie—Mewtwo Strikes Back. It opened in North America in November 1999 and became a major theatrical success, helping establish Pokémon as a film franchise as well as a television and game property.

The movie is sometimes confused with Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, a 2019 computer-animated remake. The remake is not the original film; it retells the first movie’s central story using modern 3D animation.