Pokemon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior is the 11th film in the Pokemon franchise, and it was released to Japanese theaters on July 19, 2008. The film made its premiere in the United States with an airing on Cartoon Network on February 13, 2009, and this was followed by a DVD release on March 31, 2009. Giratina and the Sky Warrior is the only Pokemon film to be distributed by Universal in the United States.

Pokemon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior
Directed by: Kunihiko Yuyama
Written by: Hideki Sonoda
Starring: Rica Matsumoto, Megumi Toyoguchi, and Yūji Ueda
Run Time: 96 minutes

At the beginning of the film, the Legendary Pokemon Shaymin is caught in a battle between Dialga and Giratina. Giratina had sensed Dialga’s presence while in the Reverse World, and entered the real world to try and capture Dialga. During the fight, all three of the Legendary Pokemon are catapulted into the Reverse World. A man named Zero watches what unfolds. During the battle, Shaymin absorbs a dark gas and uses its “Seed Flare” ability to tear a hole in the Reverse World. Shaymin escapes, as does Dialga. However, before Dialga escapes, it fires a laser at Giratina. Giratina ends up in a time loop and is trapped in the Reverse World. Shaymin, meanwhile, falls into a river when it returns to the real world.

Ash, Brock, Dawn, and their Pokemon have lunch in a small seaside town. They are interrupted by the arrival of Shaymin, who is very dirty after its travel. They discover that Shaymin is sick, and they take the Pokemon to the Pokemon Center. After Shaymin recovers, it uses its telepathic abilities to talk to Ash and his friends. Shaymin tells the group it needs to get to a flower field and rejoin its friends. Before they can get very far, Team Rocket captures Shaymin. As they try to rescue Shaymin, a portal to the Reverse World opens, which sucks in Team Rocket, Shaymin, Ash, Dawn, and some of their Pokemon. Brock is left behind.

In the Reverse World, Ash and Dawn are reunited with Shaymin. They also meet Newton Graceland, a scientist studying the Reverse World. Newton explains a little bit about the Reverse World, and he helps Ash and his friends return to the real world. The rest of the film follows the adventures of Ash and his friends as they try to get Shaymin back to its friends in time.

Pokemon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior has an interesting story to tell, and Shaymin is just so adorable in its Land Forme. I will admit that the whole Reverse World aspect is a little on the strange side, but I still enjoyed the overall story that was being told in the film. Although I have to admit that while Giratina may be the title character of the film, Giratina isn’t nearly as memorable as Shaymin. In a lot of respects, I think that Shaymin ultimately steals the spotlight from Giratina over the course of this film.

Like Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai, Pokemon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior was released as a single disc. Another similarity this release shares with Pokemon: The Rise of Darkrai is the fact that there are no special features included on the disc.

Even without any bonus features, this DVD should still be in the home video collection of anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of the Pokemon anime.

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