One Of The Best Pokémon Stories We've Ever Seen Isn't A Real Movie, But It Should Be

"Pokémon" movies all tend to have similar stories, mostly following a human trainer (frequently Ash) saving the world from someone evil, and then using his Pokémon to help save the day. Sure, there is some variation, and different movies touch on different genres: one's a kaiju movie, another is a Tarzan story, there's a detective story, and there are several movies about threats to the space-time continuum. But even the best "Pokémon" movies place their focus on the human rather than the Pokémon.

That's how the franchise is, and to paraphrase Pedro Pascal's Maxwell Lord in "Wonder Woman 1984," the franchise is good! But it can be better. The reason for this is simple, and it makes sense: You need to have a human protagonist the audience can relate to, and that captures the dynamic of the anime and the games that kids buy in addition to watching the movies. But to be better, all the "Pokémon" franchise needs to do is to take a page out of one single piece of advertisement for "Pokémon Legends: Z-A" and deliver what could easily be the best sports movie in years, because this ad already delivered it in just four minutes.

The short film was released as if it was an actual pro wrestling match, with the YouTube release simply titled "FULL MATCH: Hawlucha vs. Machamp!" It delivers just what it advertises, a fantastic wrestling match between two Pokémon. Except it's also much more than that. In barely four minutes, we get a fantastic wrestling fight between Hawlucha and Machamp, and also teases for a larger rivalry and a story beyond what we're seeing, all in beautiful animation. This thing is wild, and it rules. The fully animated short isn't just the best sports story of 2025, but it should be the blueprint for the next great "Pokémon" story.

The short follows a Hawlucha entering a wrestling ring ready for a fight. He's accompanied by his trainer, but the star is definitely the Pokémon. He's confident and cocky, perhaps too much so. Hawlucha is here to challenge the reigning champion, a Machamp — who, again, gets the star treatment rather than his human trainer.

The short is gorgeously animated, and it has some cool visual flourishes to represent the moveset from the games, with punches or blocks represented as overlay graphics on top of the Pokémon. Like any good sports movie, there is a dramatic arc here, focusing on Hawlucha's cockiness, which gets the better of him as he easily gets distracted and allows Machamp to perform a high-flying drop from the top rope on the luchador Pokémon. All seems lost, then we get a flashback.

The short flashes back to when Hawlucha and his partner first looked at a shiny trophy and decided to start fighting. Quickly, though, Hawlucha started getting engrossed by the attention and the glory. He gets more into the theatricality and the performance, rather than fighting. His focus on flexing makes him lose over and over. Still, his partner is by his side, so he keeps trying.

But then, Hawlucha's trainer unleashes their secret weapon — a Mega Evolution that turns Hawlucha into a Rey Mysterio-liked masked luchador, with a shiny cape and everything. (Yes, the whole thing is just an ad to let gamers know Hawlucha is getting a Mega Evolution. But at least it's a good one!) With newfound confidence and strength, Hawlucha delivers a suplex that gives him the victory over Machamp. All this in four minutes.

Now, I'm not saying the people controlling the "Pokémon" franchise should make a wrestling movie (even if that would rule), but they should definitely follow the blueprint of this short and make a movie that's centered on a Pokémon rather than the trainer. Granted, we've seen shorts and episodes of the anime that focus on the Pokémon and don't feature humans — the original "Pokémon: The First Movie" was released with a short film about the Pokémon on vacation that barely featured Ash and company, but they are mostly side stories.

At its core, this franchise is an underdog sports story and a road trip story. Imagine a movie that is not about a human sending little critters to fight to near-death for their own glory, but rather one about the specific Pokémon seeking to become the very best, like no one ever was. We could get a "Karate Kid" that doesn't try to be two movies in one, but rather focuses on a Hitmonlee joining a dojo led by a human and then joining a karate tournament. Or what about an underdog boxing movie like "Rocky," but one that follows a scrawny Machop in a gym full of Machamp? Imagine how that movie could have Machop evolve during the training montage to show his progress until he reaches the final fight and finally becomes a Machamp to win it all. That would go hard.

It doesn't even have to be a sports movie, either. "Pokémon: The First Movie" could have avoided the Ash story, and rather than show the 10-year-old turned to stone and die before Poké-tears revive him (really), it could have stuck to its Frankenstein inspirations and focused on Mewtwo going on an existential journey. Whatever the case, we have the blueprint to the next great "Pokémon" movie, and it's all thanks to little luchador Hawlucha.