The Pokémon anime has a long and storied history, with over 1000 episodes, several movies and a load of different spin-offs and specials. With any large franchise comes strange curiosities and oddities that, while not well known, present a unique take on the beloved source material. The Pokémon planetarium films are the epitome of Pokémon curiosities.
As the name suggests, the Pokémon planetarium specials were designed to be shown in planetariums across Japan. There have been seven different planetarium shows to date, with the latest one launching last year. These shows all feature the same general format, with Ash and Pikachu taking part in a space-themed adventure. These films are usually shown as a double feature, with the second show being an educational tour of the solar system, presented by the planetarium's tour guide. This second show changes from venue to venue and season to season, often focusing on the stars that can be seen locally that season.
However, while the format is always similar, the specials have changed a lot over the years. The early planetarium specials like 2004's Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation Planetarium The Challenge from the Skies were simpler, featuring only Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. These early films also had much simpler animation, with most of the show using barely animated slides. The second special was 2006's Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl Gather Around! The Pokémon Planet Center, which built on what came before it. It wasn't until 2008's Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl Gather Around! The Pokémon Star Festival that the cast expanded to include Ash's traveling companions. This short follows Dawn, Brock and Ash on a trip to a Pokémon Star Festival, which turns out to be a Team Rocket trap.
By the time 2011's Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! The Armillary Sphere of Light and Shadow was released, the show had gone through a massive upgrade. The shows now fused 2D animation with CGI backgrounds and featured slightly more developed stories that better integrated Pokémon and education. This film featured Team Rocket kidnapping Pikachu, forcing Ash to learn the secrets of a strange armillary sphere to rescue his friend. This trend of improvement continued with 2014's Pocket Monsters XY The Space Debris, which featured a warning about space debris and the problems it could cause. And 2018's Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon Planetarium featured a story about Ash and friends trying to view a solar eclipse while Team Rocket bothers them and tries to steal Pikachu.
The latest special, Pocket Monsters Planetarium "The Message from the Aurora," debuted at the Toyohashi Planetarium on August 29, 2020. This special sees Ash and his friends hunting down the legendary Aurora Pokémon Suicune, a Pokémon that is rumored to appear whenever a new solar cycle begins. The gang travels to a snowy research base to learn more about the auroras, but when Team Rocket appears and attempts to catch Pikachu, Ash and his friends must act quickly to stop them while also tracking down Suicune.
These specials have unfortunately never been released to home media, likely because of their format. They are designed to be shown on large planetarium domes with the audience viewing from a distance, and thus they look strange when viewed on a regular monitor or TV screen, as the perspective is all wrong. And, while they do a fantastic job of merging Pokémon with space science, they are a little too light on Pokémon action for them to be of interest to anyone but the most dedicated Pokémon fans.
The Pokémon planetarium specials are interesting curiosities that show just how popular Pokémon is as a franchise, as it's considered a safe choice that will appeal to many visitors all across Japan. It is also fascinating to see how the writers combine real-world educational content with a Pokémon story. This is even more impressive when you realize how fantastical the Pokémon world can be at times. On top of this, the idea of watching anime in a planetarium is fascinating as it could allow animators and writers to do many unique things. Maybe one day, a brave studio will release an anime film that uses this unique setting to its fullest.
