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230px-SpellOfTheUnown poster 7891

Pokémon 3 the Movie: Spell of the Unown, known as Pocket Monsters: Lord of the Unknown Tower in Japan, is the third Pokémon film.

During a discovery in some far-off ruins, Professor Spencer Hale is sucked into the realm of the Unown, who then appear to his young daughter Molly. The Unown make Molly's wishes come true, and the Pokémon transform the mansion into a crystal palace, finally creating an Entei as Molly's father.

Meanwhile, Ash and his friends arrive at Greenfield, and they are caught up in the mission to save Molly. However, it gets worse, as Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum, is kidnapped by Entei in order to have her as Molly's mother. Now Ash, Misty, and Brock must not only save Molly, but Delia as well.

Tropes used in Pokémon 3 include:
Cquote1

 Delia: "You should be ashamed of yourself Entei!"

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Meowth: You think we're gonna get a bigger part in the next movie?

Meowth. after the Rocket Trio saved Ash: If anything happened to you, we'd be out of showbusiness!

Cquote2
    • Doubles as a Funny Aneurysm Moment, seeing as what role they did get in 4Ever. [1]
    • This is also the explicit reason for their temporary Enemy Mine. If anything happened to Ash and Co., the show would end and [quote] "they'd be out of showbizness."
  • Catch Phrase: Entei has two, "If that is what you wish." and "I am happy that you are happy."
  • Curb Stomp Battle: Molly vs Misty and Brock. Though the only reason for that is because she's essentially cheating.
    • Ash's team vs Entei, too. None of them stood a chance. Charizard was an exception, as he was able to put up a good fight, but Entei and the Unown stacked the odds waaay high against him, due to Molly wanting Entei to win and the Unown magnifying the power of her imagination.
  • Darker and Edgier: Compared to the last film. This one is definitely more psychological (which is not a word commonly associated with Pokémon), and has far more creepy antagonists in the shape of the Unown. Also Entei comes dangerously close to killing Ash's Charizard at the end of their fight.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Some websites (Serebii included) actually went on to list Charizard as one of the three featured Pokémon alongside Entei and the Unown. He's even on the cover image above!
  • Disappeared Dad: What started the plot.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: During the climax, Ash trying to convince Entei to "let Molly go," and Entei not wanting to hear any of it. [2]
  • The Dragon: Entei
  • DVD Covers Spoil: For those who paid attention to the Johto season corresponding with this movie, Charizard appearing for the climax would've been a surprise [3]. But then he appears (see above) on the DVD cover fighting Entei...
  • Empathic Weapon: The Unown; they create entire worlds throughout Molly's home based off images from a storybook she read, and they respond violently to her emotions. By the end of the movie, the Unown have gone out of control.
    • Entei too, to an extent.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: Molly finds out she can't control the Unown anymore when she decides to quit, and they turn on her.
  • Fighting a Shadow: Molly creates a pair of dopplegangers (one as a young adult, the other as a tween) to fight Brock and Misty, respectively.
  • Fisher Queen: The Unown have turned Molly into this for her crystallized hometown.
  • Fluffy Tamer: Teenage!Molly's Pokémon all fit this trope. Justfied, since, again, little girl.
  • Funny Background Event: While Ash and company are talking to Team Rocket about their Villainous Rescue, Charizard turns around to listen in on them.
  • Genre Savvy: Seeing news footage of his trainer instantly alerted Charizard that he might get in trouble again.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Upon seeing the Unown for the first time, James states that he "hasn't seen this many strange letters since the time [he] placed a personal ad."
    • Brock's dialogue with teenage Molly in their battle can be seen as rather flirty. He is trying to distract her, though.
    • Pikachu "hugging" Delia.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Entei was created to be a father figure/guardian to Molly (or more specifically was based directly on her actual father). Once the Unown go out of control, they threaten Molly's own life, and Entei goes against them to protect her.
  • Heel Face Turn: Molly and Entei, after their defeat.
  • Hey, That's My Line!: almost in verbatim, even, but lighthearted in tone.
Cquote1

 Jessie: I'd say to prepare for trouble, but you're already in it!

James: That's right.

Meowth: Hey, don't steal my line.

Cquote2
  • Hero Antagonist: Entei is actually one of the nicest characters in the series, it's just that he happens to be loyal to an increasingly insane Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Entei
  • I Reject Your Reality: Molly can psychically bend reality to match the one in her head, but even when she can't, she insists that hers is correct. A good example of this is that when Misty tells Molly that if she stops what she's doing, she can have real Pokémon and real friends. Molly's response is to conjure three crystal Pokémon and yell "I already have real Pokémon!"
  • It's Personal: So far the only movie for it to be for Ash.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Entei again; justified in that he is a creation of the Unown based off Molly's thoughts and memories (and more specifically, her father), and he exists solely to protect her and keep her happy.
  • The Kid with the Remote Control: Molly Hale. Unknowingly, whatever she wanted, the Unown would make into reality, including the ever-loyal Entei.
  • Leitmotif: The five-note trumpet bar that accompanies Entei.
  • Lucky Translation: When Molly uses the Unown tiles to spell out "Mama and Papa and Me together", she's actually spelling out her own name, ミー Mii. It just so happened that they romanized it to "ME" allowing them to use the scene without having to do any visual edits.
  • Lull Destruction: Molly spelling out her name and the names of her parents with Unown tiles has her talking about how they look just like letters, and that she can spell out her parents' names. In the Japanese version, she remains silent until afterward, when she cries about missing her father.
  • Megaton Punch: The Teddiursa that Molly uses in battle against Brock knows DynamicPunch, which it uses on Vulpix to devastating effect.
  • Missing Mom: It's vaguely implied that the Unown are responsible for the disappearance of Molly's mother, hence Spencer Hale's persistence in researching them. The end credits show Spencer returning home to Molly with her mother in tow, suggesting the defeat of the Unown also brought her back as well.
  • Mission Control: thanks to the Girl of the Week conveniently giving the gang a Pokégear, Professor Oak was able to maintain radio contact with them. His first order of business: telling Ash off for foolishly taking things into his own hands.
  • Momma's Boy
Cquote1

 Ash: Entei! You took my mother — NOW WHERE IS SHE?!

Cquote2
  • Nakama: It was at its most obvious in this movie.
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Entei explicitly states he can become stronger as long as Molly wishes it. Molly also uses this trope, as she is able to create the Pokémon that she needs in battle and gives them whatever move she wants.
  • Obliviously Evil: The Unown. They know damn well what they're doing, but it's clear they don't have any concept of the fact it's "evil".
  • Older Alter Ego: The Unown create crystal bodies for Molly as an adult and preteen respectively when she battles with Brock and Misty.
  • Plot Tailored to the Party: Molly faces down the Power Trio in three separate Pokémon battles, explicitly invoking this trope.
  • Product Promotion Parade: The song-and-dance in the back-alley funhouse, which serves solely to introduce the new mons.
  • Pun-Based Title: There are two different meanings in the dub's title "Spell of the Unown", which, some will find actually brilliant.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: You. Are. MAMA!
  • Reality Warper: The Unown, and Molly by extension.
  • Remember the New Guy?: Ash and Delia knew the Hales prior to the start of the series. Mysteriously they had never been brought up before, or since.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: The Unown.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Some of what Molly does of her own free will is borderline sociopathic.
  • Undying Loyalty: Entei towards Molly.
  • Villainous Breakdown: When Molly is in emotional turmoil over what to do when Ash comes to take his mother back and set everything right, Entei (who can naturally feel what she feels) goes berserk and tries to kill Ash. It's made worse by Ash telling Molly that Entei is an illusion and not her real papa:
Cquote1

 Entei:I AM Molly's real father...as long as SHE WISHES!

Cquote2
    • Not just that. As she starts crying and getting angry, the whole room starts producing crystal spikes, in order to try and isolate her from what is causing her anger(Ash and his mother trying to take her away). Eventually, the emotional turmoil gets so confusing, as she can't decide whether to stay with Entei or leave with Ash and causing Entei to disappear, thus the reason of the turmoil, the Unown go berserk and starts cristallizing the whole field, so out of control that they won't even follow Molly's will.
  • Villain Protagonist: Molly is pretty much the central protagonist of the movie but from Ash and co's perspective, she's the main antagonist since she's the one willingly creating the conflict.
  • Walking Wasteland: Entei can crystallize anything he touches.
  • Water Is Air: Thanks to Molly's Unown-granted powers, her battle with Misty is underwater, but states she shut off the drowning hazard beforehand.
  • We Need a Distraction: Brock, and then Misty, serve as distractions so Ash can reach Delia. Their teams get beaten down by Molly's crystal (read: hax) Pokémon.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Molly, at Grade B, but only as a little girl.
  1. having to work together with the worst kind of villain there is; Jessie even got to be a Distressed Damsel!
  2. separation issues
  3. except for that brief scene in the Charicific Valley