Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Plot

In the legendary past, before the creation of Poké Balls, an Aura-guiding Pokémon called Lucario senses two rival armies about to clash near Cameran Palace in the Kanto region. He telepathically informs his master, Sir Aaron, through a nearby crystal just before being attacked by three Houndoom. During the battle, Lucario is temporarily blinded, but is still able to use his Aura Sphere to defeat the Houndoom - sensing their movements with his Aura abilities.

The Queen of Cameran, Lady Rin, decides it is right to die with her people, so Aaron leaves on his Pidgeot to meet up with Lucario, but is attacked by a rival group of Skarmory on the way. Aaron tells Lucario that he is leaving and will not be coming back, and when Lucario tries to go with him, he is automatically sealed in Aaron's staff. Pidgeot returns to the queen with only Sir Aaron's staff, and the queen realizes that Sir Aaron must have sacrificed himself by using his own Aura to stop the war. Since then, he was revered as a hero, and only his staff remained for his legacy.

Many years later, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, May and Max arrive at Cameran Palace to celebrate the life of Sir Aaron. Ash competes in a Pokémon battle tournament, and wins against a Trainer named Kidd Summers and her Weavile. That night, there is a royal ball, and as the winner of the tournament, Ash is rewarded with the title of "Hero of the Year" and the privilege to hold Sir Aaron's staff. Team Rocket join the dance too, but Meowth runs off to follow Kidd, who reveals herself as an agent, performing research on Mew, which is known to appear at the palace.

Ash and May's Pokémon run off into the attic of the palace to play. However, Kidd's two Weavile attack when Mew joins in. Mew teleports away with Pikachu and Meowth, and Max finds out what has happened. In the ballroom, Ash watches the fireworks display, unaware of what is happening to the Pokémon. Suddenly, Lucario is freed from the staff after one thousand years due to Ash's Aura having a close resemblance to Sir Aaron's. Lucario is very confused about what has happened since the time he was sealed, and goes to search for answers.

Max informs the rest of the group that Pikachu and Meowth have been taken, while Team Rocket overhear him. Lady Ilene, the current queen, says Mew has a tradition of showing up at the palace and taking toys to its home at the Tree of Beginning. Ash and the rest (including Kidd, who Brock finally realizes is famous) head off to the Tree of Beginning with the help of Lucario (Team Rocket follows by hiding in Kidd's trunk).

On their journey, they find a Time Flower (which allows the finder to look at images of the past) and meet a Bonsly which hitches a ride with the group. That night, Ash recalls to Lucario how much he and Pikachu have been through, such as on their first day together when a flock of Spearow attacked him, and Pikachu leaped to save Ash. Lucario scoffs at the story, saying humans can never be trusted after his apparent betrayal by Sir Aaron in the past. Ash gets mad and tackles Lucario, but ends up losing in the brawl, upsetting Lucario far more. Max tries to cheer the Pokémon up with some chocolate, which Lucario is unfamiliar with.

The next morning, Lucario encounters the same area where he was sealed in the staff. A Time Flower reveals Sir Aaron trapped him and flew away, making everyone believe Lucario in saying that he was, indeed, betrayed. Ash apologizes to Lucario for his behavior the previous night and begins to cry; Lucario asks Ash to promise that he will not desert Pikachu like Aaron deserted him.

At that moment, a Regirock attacks, and everyone runs into the Tree of Beginning. Ash and Lucario split up, with May, Max, Brock, and Kidd heading a different direction. Ash ends up getting attacked by a Regice that blocks their path, so he and Lucario decide to backtrack. Meanwhile, everyone else is attacked by a Registeel, and red blob "antibodies" produced by the Tree begin devouring May, Max, Brock, and Team Rocket as if they are a disease.

Ash finally reunites with Pikachu and meets up with Meowth and Kidd. Kidd tells Ash that his friends have been swallowed by the giant cells. Soon, Ash and Kidd get attacked as well, after sending their Pokémon out to safety, while Registeel stops Lucario from saving them. All of Ash's Pokémon cry over their Trainers' apparent deaths. However, Mew decides to talk with the Tree, using its powers to bring everyone back and inform the Tree that humans aren't trying to harm it.

Mew, after its performance, becomes badly ill. Finding that the Tree is dying due to its immune system going into shock, Ash, Kidd, Mew, and Lucario run into the heart of the Tree. They find a crystal with Sir Aaron in suspended animation, and a Time Flower showing that the legend was true - he sacrificed himself, using his Aura to end the ancient war at the cost of his life.

Lucario realizes that he can restore the Tree by using his Aura powers in the same way Aaron did in the past. Due to his similar Aura, Ash uses Sir Aaron's gloves to help as well, despite both knowing they will die in the process. As the Aura Sphere gets larger and much more powerful, Lucario knocks Ash back and demands to finish the rest. The Tree is restored, and Mew is also restored back to health, but Lucario only has little time left. A Time Flower is found once again showing Sir Aaron saying goodbye to Lucario as he dies, and sharing that Lucario was more than his pupil, he was his closest friend, and that he hopes to meet Lucario again someday. Lucario begins to cry at seeing his master's final image, saying to himself that he failed his master. Ash holds Lucario's paws and says that he proved to be as good a Guardian of Aura as Sir Aaron. Lucario finally passes away, thanking Ash for encouragement, while knowing that Sir Aaron is waiting for him.

Ash and Kidd meet May, Brock, and Max outside, who realize Lucario is not with them. After explaining the situation, Brock mentions it is hard to believe Lucario is gone, but Ash says, "He isn't gone... his Aura is with me".

In the credits sequence, it is shown that Ash and friends return to the palace and are rewarded by Lady Ilene; Lucario and Sir Aaron share a chocolate bar in their distant place after death; Kidd leaves and meets with Butler and Diane from a previous film; and Ash and his friends continue on their journey.

Aura

Aura (波導, Hadō, literally Wave Guidance) is the type of energy that Aaron and Lucario are sensitive to. In defensive aspects, Aura allows a level of clairvoyance to help Lucario know about other moves, while he could also search out his surroundings without opening his eyes. In offensive aspects, it can create small, but powerful energy spheres. (This is how Lucario uses its Aura Sphere move.) Aaron is not seen in the movie displaying any offensive capabilities with Aura. Aura is connected to the Tree of Origin due to Aaron's sacrificial attempt to transfer his Aura into the tree and Mew, so that harmony could be spread across the region, thereby ending the war. Ash can also use Aura, but it is very undeveloped and needs Sir Aaron's Aura-enhancing gloves to put it to good use. He can attempt such a feat because his Aura is similar to Aaron's, and has been seen using the ability in future episodes of the series.

According to an official Japanese pamphlet, every object in the world exhibits oscillation. Wave Guidance is supposedly a manipulation of this oscillation. The Aura is based on the actual parapsychological phenomena of Spiritual Auras.

The Lucario seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl exhibited the same telepathy and "Aura vision" seen in the movie, and is likely based on Sir Aaron's Lucario. The usage of Aura has also made several appearances in the anime, while multiple Pokémon can use Aura-based moves in the games.

Box office

The general screening of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew in Japan ran for 6 weeks from July 16 to August 26, 2005. Source:

1. July 16–17: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
2. July 23–24: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
3. July 30–31: 2nd overall, 1st domestic
4. August 6–7: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
5. August 13–14: 3rd overall, 2nd domestic
6. August 20–21: 4th overall, 2nd domestic
7. August 27–28: 7th overall, 4th domestic

Since premiering on July 16, 2005, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew has made 4.11 billion yen (approx. US$36 million) in box office sales. This number was tallied from box office receipts from the premiere to Sept. 25. Approximately 3,930,000 viewers saw the movie during its run.

The final box office tally is 98.3 percent of the sales of last year, but with the last three movies all consistently passing the 4 billion yen mark, it is considered a market success. The slight market loss is attributed to stiff competition at the box office from other anime films running at the same time.

Home media

The Japanese original version of the movie was first released on Japanese DVD on December 22, 2005. The English dub made its worldwide DVD debut in Australia on August 16, 2006, with the US release following on September 19, 2006 by VIZ Media. While the Australian DVD has only one disc with slideshows as the sole extras, the North American DVD set comes with the re-dubbed The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon special (with the Sarah Natochenny version) included on the 2nd disc as a bonus feature, as well as a 'Making Of' feature on the first disc along with sketches similar to the slideshows on the Australian DVD. However the Australian DVD has a widescreen presentation while the American release does not. The North American single DVD was also released on September 24, 2013.

The film has yet to be released on DVD in the United Kingdom although it has been released on the UK iTunes Store.

Australia

United Kingdom