Crown Grading

FILM NOTES

Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai was released in Japan in 2007 and reached North American theaters in 2008, produced by OLM, Inc. under the long-running Pokémon animated franchise. The film marked a turning point in the series, introducing the Sinnoh-region legendary Pokémon in a story with notably darker emotional stakes than earlier entries, earning it a distinct place among fans of the theatrical run.

This cell, titled Dialga Battling by the operator, captures Darkrai suspended against an open blue sky, channeling or releasing a dark energy attack from its torso. The adjacent frame shows nearly the same pose with a subtle shift in animation, preserving a rare glimpse of the hand-drawn progression that defined theatrical anime production of this period.