My Thoughts on: Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior (2008)

My ongoing quest to watch all of the Pokémon has now brought me to Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior. This was the 11th Pokémon film in the series and serves as the follow up to Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai from the year before. In this story, Ash and company (Dawn and Brock), find themselves accompanying an adorable hedgehog Pokémon named Shaymin to a special flower garden, while having to avoid the mysterious Giratina and a power-hungry individual known as Zero (who has an unhealthy interest in Giratina’s powers).

I was curious to see exactly how this film tied in to The Rise of Darkrai and was very pleased with what I found. Far too often, stories feature earth-shattering battles, only for a sequel to show the world operating as if nothing happened in the previous installment. Giratina & the Sky Warrior is nothing like that. This story makes clear that the battle between Dialga and Palkia had consequences so severe that Giratina felt obliged to get involved and hunt down Dialga himself to let the legendary creature know exactly how he felt about it. That appears to be the overriding message of this film, that actions have consequences, even if we can’t see them.

Beyond that, I couldn’t help but notice that the story arc with Zero trying to capture Giratina held more than a passing resemblance to Lawrence III and his plot to capture Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno in Pokémon: the Movie 2000. Zero even has a floating vessel to get around in just like Lawrence III did. Granted their motives for doing so are somewhat different, but at their core Lawrence and Zero are both trying to contain legendary Pokémon creatures. I’m not saying this similarity is bad per se, I just find it curious that Zero and Lawrence III are somewhat similar. To be fair, a little similarity here and there is to be expected, when you have a film series as long running as Pokémon, some plot elements are bound to repeat themselves.

I also have to talk about my favorite thing in this entire film: Shaymin!! For years I thought Vulpix was my favorite Pokémon but it seems I’ve been missing out all this time. Imagine my delight when I discovered a hedgehog-like Pokémon like Shaymin exists. She’s so cute it’s almost unbearable, and she can shape-shift too! I know now, if Pokémon were real, I would have a Shaymin. That being said, I’m pretty sure they’re called “gratitude Pokémon” sarcastically, because my goodness did Shaymin have an attitude! That being said, I still love Shaymin.

The Reverse World, to put it mildly, was a mind-trip. It almost felt like being dropped into an M.C. Escher painting (well, maybe not EXACTLY like one, but close enough). I kind of love how casually Ash and his friends take being dropped into parallel dimensions, since this is the second film in a row that something like this has happened to them.

On a final note, I couldn’t help but notice that the story of Giratina & the Sky Warrior essentially ends on a cliffhanger, as the film all but states that Giratina is off to search for Dialga (presumably to continue their fight). While you couldn’t really tell that the story begun in The Rise of Darkrai would be continued, Giratina & the Sky Warrior makes it pretty obvious that the story isn’t over. On that note, I look forward to the ongoing adventures of Ash and company, and I’m curious to see how the fight between Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and whoever else gets involved, turns out.

In conclusion, I really liked Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior. It carries on the story begun in the previous film, it has one mind-trip of a location in the Reverse World, and it has a pretty enjoyable story too. Definitely recommend it!

Let me know what you think about Pokémon: Giratina & the Sky Warrior in the comments below and have a great day!