Ash gets literally chained to a legendary Pokémon that hates him, and the movie commits to that friction instead of smoothing it away in act two. Volcanion's contempt for humans never softens into acceptance, only into something harder to name: a partnership forged in necessity. The whole film moves like clockwork because it has to, a rescue mission that earns its stakes by refusing to let either character get what they want until they stop wanting it alone.

Ash's world turns upside down when Volcanion, a Mythical Pokémon, crashes down from the sky and a mysterious force binds the two of them together. Volcanion despises humans and wants nothing to do with Ash, but the binding force means it has to drag him along wherever it goes. Forced into an unlikely partnership, the two carry on with Volcanion's rescue mission and reach a city built of cogs and gears. There, a corrupt minister has stolen Magearna, an Artificial Pokémon created 500 years ago, and he intends to use its mysterious power to seize control of the mechanical kingdom. Ash and Volcanion must learn to work together if they hope to rescue Magearna, in a fantasy action adventure that builds toward a huge battle.