Here's my ranking:
1) The Rise of Darkrai
I really liked how this was the first movie where we had mascot legendaries battle each other, and oh man, I think they nailed it. It really felt like the stakes were high, both legendaries demonstrated how fearsome they are, and you even gained a sense of their emotions (Palkia's especially). It also had a really great caste of characters such as Alice, Tonio, and Baron Alberto (he's funny). Darkrai was also one of the best written most likable characters in all of the Pokemon movies. I loved how we were initially made to believe Darkrai was a villain, but as the movie progressed, it became clear Darkrai was a hero and the reasons why it did its heroic acts tie in with a really sweet backstory.
My favorite Pokemon, Gallade, also made his anime debut in this movie, and I loved his scene when he notified Ash and company about Darkrai's presence; he was even the only one to notice Darkrai in a cool scene when he Psycho Cuts an entire tree in half.
Also, the Church-bell Oracion scene was one of the best scenes I've watched in a Pokemon movie. So beautifully composed. The soundtrack for this movie was pretty great overall.
2) Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
Another really enjoyable movie. Lucario was an awesome character throughout it, and I loved how his relationship with Ash played out. The other prominent human characters were enjoyable too.
They were also plenty of sad moments. The scene when Ash & his friends were devoured by the tree's "white blood cells" was heartbreaking, especially with Pikachu's reaction. Lucario's death was also pretty sad, but it was a proper ending for him considering how he finally found solace in what he had to do.
3) Giratina and the Sky Warrior
An awesome movie overall. I liked how this movie was a continuation from the last movie (that trilogy concept was pretty cool for its time), especially when they explain how Giratina tied into the whole conflict. The poor thing was getting mad at Dialga and Palkia for polluting its home thanks to results of their battle, and it only wanted Shaymin so that it could clean the Distortion World via Seed Flare. Even though I can understand why he's seen as a generic villain to some, I enjoyed Zero as a villain because he actually did succeed with his goal for a brief period of time, has a neat backstory, and almost killed Giratina. Shaymin was a neat character, mainly in its Sky Forme though (I will admit it was rather annoying in its Land Forme), and it was the movie when Shaymin became one of my favorite Pokemon. The Distortion World was cool too, and so was the soundtrack.
4) Pokemon Heroes
Latios and Latias were great characters throughout it, and I loved the movie's environment. Latios's death was pretty sad too.
5) Jirachi Wish Maker
Jirachi was a sweet character, and I really liked the attention Max got in this movie. The villain was enjoyable too, especially for his backstory and his history with the movie's major female lead.
6) Arceus and the Jewel of Life
The movie was wasted potential in that it relegated the hyped up Dialga vs Palkia vs Giratina vs Arceus battle into a side plot and made the "travel back in time to prevent the disaster" cliche the driving story for the rest of the film, not to mention Marcus was a let-down for a villain (when he first appeared in that one scene standing beside Damos, it was so obvious he was the real bad guy and was hypnotizing Damos to do his bidding), but other than that, I actually enjoyed this film. Damos and Sheena were awesome characters, and Damos's bond with Arceus was very sweet and touching, which only made the scene when Damos reaching Arceus's heart to revive him more memorable than it already was. I also enjoyed the scene when Sheena calms down the Creation Trio and explains the reasons as to why they battled in the first place. Even Arceus was an enjoyable character that demonstrated how he is the god of Pokemon, barring his awful voice aside.
7) Zoroark: Master of Illusions
I
hate Grings Kodai, the movie's main villain, with a burning passion. One of my least favorite characters in all of Pokemon, he is a sadistic man who only wants Celebi's power so that he can continue having visions of the future in order to keep his business afloat, even if it means destroying all vegetation of Crown City. In terms of what he does in this movie that makes him so despicable, he terrorizes Crown City by using Zoroark's illusion powers to turn itself into Entei, Raikou, and Suicune just so he can evict everyone away in order to easily hunt down Celebi without anyone following him, but that's not even the worst of it:
- He almost strangles Celebi to death, to the point the Pokemon gets seriously injured.
- He spies on Ash and company using his own technology
- Later in the movie, he kicks Zorua like a little puppy similar to those animal cruelty videos you might find online
- He basically kills Zoroark towards the end of the movie.
And oh man did I love his retribution by the end of it all! The real Entei, Raikou, and Suicune block his path, Zoroark gives him one final illusion that ultimately causes him to fall off the stadium and fall unconscious for a period of time, wakes up only to find his true motivations get exposed on public television thanks to Karl and Rowena secretly filming it an earlier scene, and then the police arrest him shortly afterward. Talk about the perfect punishment! Fun fact: he actually died from falling off the stadium in the movie's manga version.
If I really hate a villain and am beyond satisfied by his retribution by the end of it, I'd say this shows why M13 has one of the best villains of all the Pokemon movies. It really does a good job showing how threatening and despicable of a villain Kodai is with the way he acts and the means he takes to achieve his goals. Heck, even his motivations make sense.
Aside from Kodai, other aspects I enjoyed in this movie was when the real legendary beasts intervened, the plot twist that Rowena was only working undercover for Kodai just so she could collect all data on him, and her and Karl being enjoyable characters overall. Zorua and Zoroark were also cool characters, and the scene when Zoroark died was really sad (the way how it created an illusion of its home in its final moments only made it even more sad). It was nice to see Celebi come to its rescue.
8) Pokemon 4Ever
Once again, another movie that has a great villain that you are made to despise who also feels very threatening at the same time, and the scene when Celebi dies was another high point. Suicune and Samson Oak were enjoyable characters too.
9) Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea
I really liked the mother-daughter bond that May and Manaphy developed throughout the movie, and Jack Walker is one of my favorite side characters in any Pokemon movie: great personality, plenty of badass moments, and a nice backstory regarding why he became a Pokemon Ranger. Even the Phantom was an enjoyable villain.
The one complaint I have about this movie is that Kyogre ended up being wasted potential. For a Pokemon that was well-advertised leading up to its release, it only appeared at the very end in that cool scene when Manaphy commands it to stop Phantom, but I wished it played a bigger role than that.
10) Spell of the Unown: Entei
It was nice to see Delia have a major role for once where she becomes a major driving point for our main villain. The whole fantasy setting was pretty good, and so was Entei, but yeah, the Unown battle drags on for a while. I'd say this is the point in my list where we reach the movies that I feel more in-between toward.
11) Destiny Deoxys
The movie had a great opening, and I actually enjoyed Plusle and Minus as side characters in the film (it was pretty sad when one of them seemingly died for a period of time and made the other sad). The battle between Deoxys and Rayquaza was pretty neat too, and even the scene when the nanobots flooded the city was memorable too. Compared to other movies though, this isn't too as memorable as the others. I also remember cringing at the scene when Ash got dragged into a double battle with the main side character.
12) The Movie 200: The Power of One
Loved the battle going on between the legendary birds and Lugia (who had an awesome debut for its first major anime role), but the villain was rather forgettable.
13) The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back
A great movie for its time with Mewtwo being a highly memorable villain, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other movies.
14) Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
Definitely the best of the XY movies IMO. Props to the film for having one of the few complete monster villains in the entire anime, with the way he brainwashes Raleigh and how he tortures Magearna using its Soul Heart as the memorable moments (but he lacked the appeal that made Iron-Masked Maurderer and Grings Kodai good complete monster villains). Volcanion was quite enjoyable too. Other than that, this movie wasn't all that special for me. Its pretty much with this movie where we reach the ones that I didn't like overall.
15) Black: Victini and Reshiram/White: Victini and Zekrom
Definitely the best of the BW movies with some good scenes such as the Reshiram/Zekrom in their respective movies and the climax when the castle was being sent into the sky, but in all, it was still not a very memorable movie.
16) Hoopa and the Clash of Ages
We had the return of possessed Ash for a short period, and the side characters were pretty enjoyable. While the legendaries clashing with each other in a giant city was cool, I think there were too many legendaries for just one film to the point that it felt like too much was going on. It's also one of the movies where you really see how the dub ruins the soundtrack.
17) Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction
The only scenes that I liked was when Pikachu turned to stone and the reactions that followed and the relationship between those two thieves developing into marriage later on (it was also nice to see Greninja and Aegislash make their anime debuts), but other than that, not very enjoyable. Diancie's role was also wasted potential.
18) Genesect and the Legend Awakened
Pretty forgettable, with the only good scene I remember was when Mewtwo and Genesect looked at Earth from space. Other than that, this movie bored me.
19) Kyurem vs the Sword of Justice
Really boring and forgettable Pokemon movie overall.