The Poster for "Ash Ketchum and The Dark Crystal".
Ash Ketchum and The Dark Crystal is the first Pokémon/Jim Henson crossover film by Daniel Esposito. It will appear on Pandora.TV in the near future.
Plot[]
A millennium ago on the planet Thra, two new races appeared when a shard was shattered from the Crystal of Truth: the malevolent Skeksis whose continued corruption of the Crystal to extend their lives ravaged Thra, and the gentle urRu, more commonly known as the Mystics, who made their home in the Valley of Stones to await for their destiny. The leader of the urRu, the Master UrSu, raised a young Gelfling named Jen whose clan were slaughtered by the Skeksis. As the Great Conjunction of Thra's three suns draws near, a dying UrSu instructs Jen to fulfill a prophecy to heal the Crystal by first retrieving the Shard from Aughra. As UrSu passes, the Skeksis' Emperor also dies, with the Chamberlain skekSil exiled after losing a duel of succession against the General SkekUng. When the Skeksis learn of Jen's existence, they send their army of giant crab-like Garthim to capture him, with skekSil following.
Jen meets Aughra and enters her orrery, which she uses to predict the motions of the heavens as she explains about the Conjunction before having Jen select the Shard from a box full of shards. Aughra was about to explain Jen's mission before the Garthim arrive and destroy the orrery, taking Aughra prisoner as Jen flees. Hearing the call of the Crystal, the urRu leave their valley to travel to the Skeksis' Castle. On his journey through the swamp, Jen meets Kira, another surviving Gelfling who can communicate with animals. The two learn more about each other when they accidentally "dreamfast", seeing into each other's memories. They stay for a night with the Podlings who raised Kira, only for them and Kira's pet Fizzgig to flee when the Garthim raid the village, with skekSil keeping the Garthim from pursuing then.
Jen and Kira discover a ruined Gelfling city with ancient writing describing a prophecy: "When single shines the triple sun, what was sundered and undone shall be whole, the two made one by Gelfling hand or else by none." They are interrupted by skekSil, revealing the prophecy was the reason for the Gelfling genocide while trying to trick them into coming with him to the castle under false pretenses. But the Gelflings run off and reach the Castle of the Crystal on Landstriders, intercepting the Garthim that attacked Kira's village. While trying to free the captured Podlings, Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig descend to the bottom of the Castle's dry moat and use a lower-level entrance to gain access. But they are intercepted by skekSil, who buries Jen in a cave-in after being refused and takes Kira to the Skeksis. skekSil is reinstated while giving Kira to the Skeksis' Scientist skekTek to be drained of her life essence for skekUng to drink so that he can regain his youth. Aughra, imprisoned in the Scientist's laboratory, tells Kira to call for help from the captive animals; they break free in response and free Kira while causing skekTek to fall down the crystal shaft to his death. One of the urRu vanishes. Aughra frees herself soon after Kira left and before Jen arrived.
The three suns begin to align as the Gelflings reunite at the Crystal Chamber as the Skeksis gather for the ritual that will grant them immortality. Jen leaps onto the Dark Crystal but drops the Shard, with Kira taking it after Fizgig is knocked down the crystal shaft by skekUng and is saved by Aughra. Kira throws the Shard back to Jen as she is fatally impaled by the Skeksis' Ritual-Master skekZok, with an enraged Jen inserting the Shard into the Crystal and fulfilling the prophecy. The Garthim disintegrate and the Podling slaves regain their essence while the dark stone covering the Castle crumbles away to reveal a crystalline structure. The urRu arrive and use the Crystal to merge themselves and the Skeksis into tall glowing beings known as urSkeks. The urSkeks' leader explains to Jen they had mistakenly shattered the Crystal long ago, splitting them into two races and decimating Thra, and that Jen's actions have restored them. The urSkeks revive Kira in gratitude for her sacrifice and Jen's courage, and then ascend to a higher level of existence, leaving the Crystal to the Gelflings on the now-rejuvenated Thra.
Transcript[]
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Trivia[]
- Louis, Team Rocket (Jessie, James, and Meowth), Arthur and Cecil, The Grand Duke of Owls, Hades and Pain and Panic guest star in this film.
- The Grand Duke of Owls, Hades, Pain and Panic and Arthur and Cecil will have full guest star appearances despite them planning to appear in the bonus ending of Winnie the Pooh and The Dark Crystal.
- The Dark Crystal and Rock-A-Doodle were first released on DVD in 1999, the same year that the TV show, Pokémon was still on Television and Pokémon: The First Movie was released in theaters in the US.