Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014) has better plot, villains and characters compared to most of the previous Pokémon films. Beautifully animated, what's most pleasant about this animated feature is that there are no more pointless just-there-to-be-there supporting characters and the new travelling companion characters are much more interesting and endearing!

Then, there are more villains in this one as well. In fact, it has the most villains by far. Some may find this overwhelming but I find this great! Finally, a typical villain's pursuit of legendary Pokémon makes sense; a lot of villains are after Diancie here because mythical or legendary Pokémon are supposed to be well-known by many! Those creatures aren't supposed to be something so exclusive to the featured villain to the extend that no one else in the entire Pokémon Universe knows about it so in this case, there are four parties which is great!

There are also more mega evolved Pokémon showcased in Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014) which is nice. It is fun to see how much Pokémon has evolved over the years. Unfortunately, legendary Pokémon Xerneas and Yveltal are only briefly featured. They are still powerful here in their own ways but I guess this animated feature is ultimately all about Diancie. Those who love these two legendary Pokémon may be delighted to watch them coming to life in animation but they may be disappointed as well since these two are just a minor character with not much purpose; with one giving life and the other doing destruction.

The shiniest part of all, is surely Diancie's scenes. It is a Pokémon Princess, made of diamond and can make diamonds too. She is so pretty, princessy and pinkish! Her charming and adorable personality can be amusing at times but she is always in trouble so too bad she is made a damsel in distress here. Still, there is a great friendship story between the characters, some feminine cosplay for a bit and unexpected turns of situations thus overall Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014) certainly is an enjoyable one and it is certainly the most kawaii Pokémon film ever!

As a conclusion, the beautifully animated Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction (2014) is not perfect but as a whole, the animated feature is certainly better than many of the previous Pokémon films in many aspects. It can also be dark yet uplifting due to the powerful characters, beautiful friendship and a very gentle ending!

There are six generations of Pokémon to-date and this one is a great start for the sixth generation films! Hopefully, the performance of the next Pokémon films will not go downhill again but it is quite unlikely since the new Pokémon XY series seems to be promising!

In an earlier review, I compared the "Diamond and Pearl" era Pokémon films to "Star Trek," in that the even-numbered ones were significantly better. I guess the films that followed it are more like "The Next Generation," in that some are slightly less awful than the others. Whereas "Vicitini and Zekrom/Reshiram," "Genesect and the Legend Awakened" and "Hoopa and the Clash of Ages" are probably the worst films in the entire franchise, "Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction" follows "Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice" by being just boring and bland.

As has become common in these films, the story is not about Ash but about some Pokémon he comes across, in this case Diancie. She is the princess of an underground kingdom and has the power to create gems, which are somehow needed to keep subterranean life sustainable. When her attemps to create a giant crystal fail, she goes aboveground, where she is immediately hunted after by three or four different parties, depending on whether you count Team Rocket.

She is saved by Ash, who happened to be in the neighbourhood and pledges to accompany her on her travels. He seems to be quite confident of his protective skills, as he walks openly and casually aside one of the world's rarest Pokémon, going shopping, getting ice cream, and taking a river cruise. Their destination is the life-giving Xerneas, these films' third and most shameless rip-off of the forest god from "Princess Mononoke." The mood becomes more anguished once it turns out the legendary is hiding in the forest of the death-Pokémon -- excuse me: *destruction-Pokémon, the well-known antonym of 'life' -- Ylvetal.

Reading this summary of the plot is probably more exciting than watching it play out, and certainly more economical. It is nice to have a main character that goes through some actual (if superficial) development, but the execution feels so tired and workmanlike. There isn't even enough plot to fill the mercifully short runtime, making the film feel less like an epic quest and more like a sight-seeing tour through Canada. Seeing how the story was actually conceived on one, I may not be far off the point.

Ash's new companions do not have much personality, but are infinitely preferable to Iris and Cilan. This time, we are stuck with Clemont, a boy wearing pyjamas and a backpack filled with inventions (that are completely useless because a Pokémon can do the same thing but better,) and two girls, Serena and Bonnie, who sleep in a tent shaped like a clam. I will try not to read into that too much. Although the three of them aren't bad as companions go, I still cannot stomach the disposal of Brock; it is not as if the show has gotten less formulaic now that he is gone.

What's worse: The film is rather horrible to look at. Making your backgrounds almost as brightly coloured as your characters has always been a bad idea, but the digital bloom caused by overexposure that taints most shots can be actually painful, especially when the whole screen is filled with crystals. A remarkable exception is Ylvetal's entrance, which is so poorly lit I had to turn up the brightness to the highest setting. Despite these films being made by mostly the same people, the visual presentation looks strangely amateurish -- a shame, because the Canada-inspired locations are quite appealing.

"Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction" is slightly better than "Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice," but its flaws are the same: A forgettable plot, dull fight scenes, and Ash having barely anything to do; except this time does Ash even fail at what he set out to do (namely protect Diancie) and is it necessary to wear sunglasses while watching the film. I do not see how this would be a more appealing pastime than mostly anything else.

This is the first Pokemon movie I saw, and I felt underwhelmed. The whole thing, story, climax and all, was too soft for my tastes.