Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction Review

Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction feat

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Pokémon event day in London. The event was a fun day out, showcasing the new Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire games for 3DS (you can read our review of the game here), and the new Pokémon TCG expansion pack, Phantom Forces (and you can read our review of the new Pokémon TCG Online iPad port here). There were also some painting and photo-ops with Pikachu for the kids, and a little Santa Pikachu plushie to boot. The best part and main feature of the event was the UK Premier of the new Pokémon movie, Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction - slated for a February 2015 home release in the west.

Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is the seventeenth Pokémon movie to date, ahead of next year’s Pokémon the Movie XY. At 110 minutes long, Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is no short little skit – it’s a full-blown, feature-length movie and it’s actually very good.

Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction obviously centers around the latest addition in the National Dex, Pokémon #719 – Diancie. Diancie is a member of the new Fairy Type of Pokémon, introduced last year in Pokémon X/Y (you can read our review of the game here). Diancie is also member of the elite set of Pokémon possible of Mega Evolution – also introduced in Pokémon X/Y.

Diancie gives her new friend a diamond

Diancie gives her new friend a diamond

Keeping with the Pokémon X/Y theme, this movie is set in the Kalos region. The film starts with our heroine, Princess Diancie, playing Hide and Seek with trio of Carbink bodyguards. She is cornered by a fourth, the elder Carbink Daii, who scolds her for not taking her job seriously enough. The Diamond Domain – her kingdom – is powered by a massive Heart Diamond, and this Heart Diamond is dying. Only Princess Diancie is capable of creating a new one, and saving the Carbink in her protection, and the sooner she stops messing around, the sooner the problem can be put to bed.

The problem is that Princess Diancie is not yet strong enough to perform the deed which must be done, with her diamonds quickly dissolving into nothing. Disheartened, she doesn’t see how she can ever save her kingdom. Ever the wise Carbink, Daii sets her on a mission of the highest priority - to seek out the legendary Pokémon Xerneas. Xerneas, you learn, is the powerful Fairy Pokémon from the box of Pokémon X. This Life Pokémon once used its Fairy Aura to save all life in Kalos, and it can be used again to awaken Diancie’s sleeping powers.

This may all seem very juvenile at the moment, but Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is a movie which you will be able to enjoy no matter your age; whether you are watching it with your kids, or watching it because you love Pokémon, I guarantee that if you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll love this film. After a short prologue we meet some of our old friends, including Ash and his loyal Pikachu, and our old frenemies, Jesse and James (Meowth, that’s right!). What ensues is absolute hilarity.

Some thieves try to kidnap Diancie to force her to make diamonds for her. Diancie in her naivety doesn’t know what a thief is, but politely declines their offer. Ash saves the day, as you’d expect, and teaches Princess Diancie what a friend is – another word she had never heard before.

This movie is both funny and sweet in all the right places. It has some moments of epic cuteness, like watching Pikachu offer Diancie a Pokepuff at a restaurant, but instead of going overly saccharine as anyone would worry with Fairy Type anything, Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction actually has its fair share of comic horror. Xerneas has a counterpart, Yveltal. Yveltal, the Pokémon on the front of Pokémon Y, is hell-bent on destruction and almost wiped out all life in Kalos until Xerneas stepped in and sealed it away. Now whomever should disturb Yveltal’s slumber and open the Cocoon of Destruction – well Arceus have mercy on their souls. The only problem is that in order for Diancie to get to Xerneas, she must cross the pass of Yveltal and pray she doesn’t wake it up…

Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is a tale of friendship which children and adults alike will all enjoy; it’s well worth watching (feel free to use your kids as an excuse to watch the movie), and it really shouldn’t be passed up. Educational for kids and heart-warming for grown-ups, Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction is a must-see when it comes out for home release next February.

Nic Bunce

Nic Bunce

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A South African born, London raised Brit living in London. Studied Microbiology at the University of Leicester, and taught English in Japan. Jack of all trades... and we know how that idiom ends.
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