Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew — the film that brought aura into the series

It's the film that brought aura into the Pokémon world, and made Ash more than just a Trainer. Released in Japanese theaters on July 16, 2005, Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew continues the Advanced Generation series with a tale of chivalry, betrayed loyalty and a Bavarian castle. It's also one of only two feature films in the saga whose title creature is neither Legendary nor Mythical. In France, it arrived on April 9, 2008, on DVD, with a collectible Mew card in the box.

Contents

• July 2005: the third film of the Advanced Generation series
• Rota, Cameran Palace and the Tree of Beginning
• The plot: a tournament, a staff and a kidnapping
• Lucario: a star that's neither Legendary nor Mythical
• Mew, the golems and an event distribution in three waves
• Ash guided by aura, Kidd Summers and Sir Aaron
• Production, music and the return of the Belgian dub
• Reception: 4.3 billion yen, second only to Miyazaki
• April 9, 2008: the French release, with a Mew card in the box
• The legacy: aura, Lucario and a popularity that has never faded
• Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

July 2005: the third film of the Advanced Generation series

The eighth feature film hit Japanese theaters on July 16, 2005, right on time for the saga's summer release slot. Its original title, ミュウと波導の勇者 ルカリオ, means "Mew and the Hero Guided by Aura: Lucario". The official French title is Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew — the order of the two stars is reversed compared with the Japanese, which put Mew first.

It's the third film of the Advanced Generation series, tied to the eighth season of the anime. Ash is still traveling with Brock, May and Max, as in the two previous films, with Pikachu, Grovyle, Corphish, Swellow and Phanpy on his team. The complete guide to the Pokémon movies places this installment within the overall structure of the saga.

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At the helm, Kunihiko Yuyama and studio OLM, for a film of about 101 minutes, one of the longest in the saga. Unusually, it was already in preparation before the seventh film was finished. It wasn't accompanied by a Pikachu short, as the saga had dropped the formula after the sixth installment.

A hint about the film's tone: it's one of the franchise's few feature films to have received a PG-12 rating in Japan, whereas the previous ones had stuck to a general-audience rating. The story does indeed open on a war between two armies, and doesn't shy away from the consequences of the betrayal at the core of its plot.

Rota, Cameran Palace and the Tree of Beginning

The film is set in the kingdom of Rota, around Cameran Palace. The building is directly inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, according to the production diary published at the time by the film's team: pale turrets, inner courtyard, ballroom — the reference is openly acknowledged. It's the most overtly European setting in the entire saga.

Rota lives by a legend, and that legend is what opens the film. Centuries earlier, a knight called Sir Aaron is said to have ended a war between two armies through the power of aura, leaving behind an honorary title, that of Aura Guardian, and a staff kept at the palace. Every year, the kingdom honors his memory with a festival and a Pokémon battle tournament.

A detail gamers spot right away: the two armies in the prologue are red and green, a reference to the two original Japanese versions of the game series, the ones the whole franchise grew out of, covered in our feature on Pokémon Red and Blue. The wink goes unnoticed on first viewing, but it's entirely deliberate.

The second major setting is the Tree of Beginning, a living formation at the heart of the mountain. It's a whole organism rather than a place: it defends itself, regenerates whatever it absorbs, and is guarded by the three golems, Regirock, Regice and Registeel. This way of tying a rare creature to a sanctuary and a local belief is a constant of the Pokémon world, described in our feature on regional legends and mythologies.

The plot: a tournament, a staff and a kidnapping

The group arrives in Rota for the hero's annual festival. Ash wins the battle tournament and is granted, for one day, the title of Aura Guardian, period costume included. He's now allowed to hold Sir Aaron's staff — and it's when he takes it in hand that he hears a voice no one else can hear.

🏅 As winner of Rota's battle tournament, Ash is Aura Guardian for just one day, period costume included; our Pokémon pins stay on your jacket a lot longer than that.

Out of the staff emerges Lucario, sealed inside it for centuries by its own master. In its eyes, Sir Aaron is no hero: he's the man who locked it away and abandoned it on the eve of the battle. The film thus sets up its real subject within the first half hour, and it isn't a rescue story but a story of broken trust.

Meanwhile, Mew has slipped into the palace, changing its appearance at will, and heads off carrying Pikachu and Team Rocket's Meowth to the Tree of Beginning. Ash then has only one way to get them back: follow the only being able to read auras, in other words precisely the one who can't stand humans.

The expedition that follows is the heart of the film: the mountain, the Tree's defenses, the three golems, and a mistrust that slowly crumbles between a boy and a Pokémon. The ending is one of the most discussed in the entire saga, and we'll stop here so as not to give anything away.

Lucario: a star that's neither Legendary nor Mythical

This is the film's most clear-cut distinction. Lucario, the creature it's named after, is neither a Legendary Pokémon nor a Mythical Pokémon — something that would happen only once more in the saga, with Zoroark in 2010. Every other feature film gives top billing to a rare creature, as detailed in the guide to legendary and mythical Pokémon.

The film also came out more than a year before the generation Lucario belongs to. This is where audiences first discovered four Generation IV Pokémon: Lucario, but also Bonsly, Mime Jr. and Weavile, while Diamond and Pearl wouldn't come out in Japan until September 2006.

These four creatures have something in common, and it's no coincidence. They're exactly the ones that had been slipped ahead of time into a third-generation game, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, where they appear as statues to unlock; Lucario even gives its name to the game's highest rank. The film and the spin-off game thus served as a joint showcase for the next generation.

Finally, the film gave Lucario what would become its lasting reputation: aura as a subject in its own right, not just a visual effect. Its pre-evolution, Riolu, doesn't appear here — it would arrive with the games — but aura reading is established precisely enough for the series to draw on it for years.

Mew, the golems and an event distribution in three waves

Mew takes the second billing in the title, and the film plays on its ability to transform. Every form Mew takes on screen matches a Pokémon Ash is, was or will be close to — Ho-Oh, glimpsed in the very first episode, Mime Jr., whose evolved form his mother owns, Team Rocket's Meowth, and an Aipom he would only get much later. The nod is only noticeable on a second viewing.

Like the sixth film, this one came with an in-game distribution, and it was spread over three years. A Mew nicknamed Hadou was distributed in Japan in 2005, a "MYSTRY" Mew in the United States in 2006, and an "Aura" Mew in Europe in 2007. It was a level 10 Mew with the Synchronize Ability and the moves Pound and Transform.

The golem trio got its own event as well. Regirock, Regice and Registeel were distributed in Japan in 2005 under the nickname Hadou, at level 40, with the Clear Body Ability and an identical moveset for all three. That fits their role in the film, where they guard the Tree of Beginning; our feature on legendary trios and duos looks at what this trio stands for.

This setup became the saga's signature from the sixth film onward. One feature film, one star creature, one distribution in the games of the day: here the reference games are the third-generation ones, Emerald first and foremost, released in Europe on October 21, 2005.

Ash guided by aura, Kidd Summers and Sir Aaron

The film's contribution to the main character is considerable, and it was taken seriously afterward. This is where Ash is revealed to be able to sense and use aura, an ability the series went on to reuse several times, most notably to reseal a Ghost-type Pokémon that only he could approach. The feature on his journey covers those episodes.

The film then draws on a gallery of brand-new characters. Kidd Summers, an adventurer and explorer backed remotely by her partner Banks, is conducting her own investigation into Mew and drives the second half of the film. She's the one who brings the technical means the group lacks.

The court of Rota completes the picture. Lady Ilene opens the tournament and bestows on Ash the title of Aura Guardian, while Queen Rin, the princess of the kingdom of old, appears only in the prologue and in visions of the past. Sir Aaron, for his part, is present throughout the film without ever being alive on screen: he's a character told entirely through Lucario's memories.

👑 Queen Rin, the princess of the kingdom of old, only shows herself in the prologue and in visions of the Rota court's past; our Pokémon necklaces put that kind of courtly finery around your neck, no flashback required.

One last word on the film's place in the Pokémon world. During the end credits, Kidd Summers explores Forina, the valley from the sixth film, and runs into Butler and Diane there — one of the few direct bridges between two feature films in a saga that doesn't have many.

Production, music and the return of the Belgian dub

The soundtrack was given particular care. The film's string section was recorded on June 11, 2005, by the Koike Strings ensemble, giving the feature a fuller orchestral texture than its predecessors. Music supervision for the international version went to John Siegler.

The French opening theme is titled Invincible, and here the film is an exception within its series. It's the only feature film of the Advanced Generation era to open with the current season's theme, used without any remix. The international end theme, We Will Meet Again, is performed by Jim Malone; as with the previous films, the songs were not dubbed into French.

On the dubbing side, this film marks a turning point for French-speaking audiences. It's with this film that the series' Belgian dub returns, after two feature films handed to a different studio that let the Pokémon say their names in English. It's also the first film in which Philippe Tasquin voices Meowth, replacing Nessym Guetat, who left after the eighth season.

The film also closes a door on the English-speaking side. It's the last Pokémon production dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, and the franchise's first feature film not to get a VHS release in North America, a format then on its way out. In Japan, by contrast, it was the last film in the saga released on VHS.

Reception: 4.3 billion yen, second only to Miyazaki

The Japanese run was long and solid. The film stayed in theaters for six weeks, from July 16 to August 26, 2005, topping the animated film chart for almost that entire period, and ranking second across all categories over its first two weekends.

The final figures put it very high. The feature had already taken in 4.11 billion yen by September 2005, for a final total of 4.3 billion yen in gross theatrical revenue — the second-highest-grossing Japanese film of the year at the domestic box office, behind Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki, released the previous year and still in theaters. It's the tenth-best result of the twenty-three feature films in the movie series, above the average of 3.94 billion yen per film.

Critics also gave it a reception unusual for the franchise. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the American Anime Awards, where it lost to Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Few Pokémon films have been recognized outside the family circuit.

Its reputation has held up over time. In a poll held in February 2021 by the official Japanese Pokémon movie website, it was voted the favorite feature film of the entire Advanced Generation series, ahead of the period's three other films. The Nordic countries, for their part, never dubbed it: it was simply skipped in Finland and its neighbors.

April 9, 2008: the French release, with a Mew card in the box

In France, the film never went through theaters or any notable TV premiere. It came out directly on DVD on April 9, 2008, nearly three years after Japan, with a bonus collectible Mew card slipped into the case. The release paired it with a TV special from the franchise, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon.

📀 This eighth film never played in French theaters: it went straight to DVD on April 9, 2008, with a collectible Mew card in the case; our Pokémon blankets are made for a catch-up screening on your couch.

For once, this date puts it back in roughly the right order. The sixth and seventh films had arrived together on May 16, 2007, in a three-DVD box set titled Les Aventures des Pokémon , which also contained the fourth; the eighth followed eleven months later, and the ninth would arrive on June 18, 2008. From there, the French sequence makes sense again.

The reminder is still needed, though, because the confusion runs deep. Only the first three films in the saga had a proper release in French theaters, on April 5, 2000, December 20, 2000 and June 13, 2001. All the later ones came via DVD, then TV and streaming, with two exceptions: I Choose You! was shown in theaters from November 5 to 17, 2017, and Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel got special event screenings on November 22 and 23, 2025. The fifth film even came out nearly two years before the fourth.

The rule to remember applies to the whole catalog: the Japanese date shows the film's real place in the saga, the French date only when it reached us. The complete guide to the Pokémon movies brings all of these dates together.

The legacy: aura, Lucario and a popularity that has never faded

The film's main contribution is a concept, and it has lasted. Aura, introduced here, became a lasting part of the anime: it has come back in several arcs, always tied to Ash or to Lucario's line, and the film was made explicitly canon by a later episode in which only Ash can act, thanks to this ability.

Lucario, for its part, has gone far beyond its original feature film. Having become one of the most popular Generation IV Pokémon, it received its Mega Evolution in the Kalos era and has stayed in the franchise's spotlight ever since. Our feature on Mega Evolutions explains what this form really changes for it.

Finally, the film signals the end of an era. It's the second-to-last feature film to bring together Ash, Brock, May and Max: the ninth, which closes the Advanced Generation series, keeps the same foursome while shifting the story toward the Pokémon Rangers, before the saga moves into the Diamond and Pearl era and its mythological trilogy. Our overview of the Pokémon generations lets you follow that shift on the games side.

Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the exact French title of the eighth Pokémon movie?
  Pokémon: Lucario et le Mystère de Mew (Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew in English). The original Japanese title means "Mew and the Hero Guided by Aura: Lucario" and so put Mew first; the French version reversed the order of the two stars. Some covers and listings shorten the title to Lucario et le Mystère de Mew.
• When was the film released in France, and in what format?
  On April 9, 2008, straight to DVD, without a run in French theaters. The release included a bonus collectible Mew card, and the film came paired with the TV special The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon. Its Japanese release dated back to July 16, 2005, nearly three years earlier.
• Why is this film important for Ash as a character?
  Because this is where he's revealed to be able to sense and use aura, an ability previously unknown in the series. The film actually introduces the very concept of aura into the world of the anime. The series later reused this ability several times, which made the film canon.
• Is Lucario a Legendary Pokémon?
  No, and that's what makes the film stand out. Lucario is neither Legendary nor Mythical, which makes this feature one of only two in the saga whose title creature is an ordinary species, along with Pokémon—Zoroark: Master of Illusions, released in 2010. Mew, on the other hand, is indeed a Mythical Pokémon.
• Which Generation IV Pokémon appear in the film?
  Four: Lucario, Bonsly, Mime Jr. and Weavile, shown more than a year before the Japanese release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. They're exactly the same four species that had been added ahead of time to the spin-off game Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, as unlockable statues.
• Was there an event distribution tied to the film?
  Yes, and it was spread over three years. A Mew nicknamed Hadou was distributed in Japan in 2005, a MYSTRY Mew in the United States in 2006 and an Aura Mew in Europe in 2007: a level 10 Mew with the Synchronize Ability and the moves Pound and Transform. The golem trio, Regirock, Regice and Registeel, was also distributed in Japan in 2005, at level 40.
• Where does the film take place?
  In the kingdom of Rota, around Cameran Palace, whose architecture is inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. The second half of the film moves to the Tree of Beginning, a living formation guarded by the three golems Regirock, Regice and Registeel.

In short