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Pokemon 13: Zoroark, Master of Illusions
If you name your kid Goone, you're kind of limiting his future employment options. |
Yes it seems even the Pokémon World where everybody is obsessed with cockfighting with their semi-sentient superpowered monsters isn't immune to sports obsession. In this case, they're watching a qualifying match of a game called "Baccer", which is a strange combination of Australian Football/Gridiron/"real" Football (also known as soccer) as well as a touch of Quidditch! Two trainers face off from podiums, instructing their Pokémon around a field that includes ramps and other obstacles, attempting to control a large spinning top and knock it into spinning pyramid-style goals.
As the twerps watch, cheering and shouting while a much quieter young couple just tries to enjoy the game, Team Rocket sneak in behind the couch, spotting the opportunity for a shot at Pikachu while Ash's guard is down. Disguising themselves as janitors (complete with Meowth in a ridiculous grey moustache and bedraggled hair); they ask Brock what they're watching. He explains it is Baccer, and Dawn notes the World Cup will be taking place in Crown City from the day after tomorrow. ON the television, the announcer points out the top team for the World Cup, a team consisting of Entei, Suicune and Raikou! That's one hell of an amazing team; their trainer is Grings Kodai, who has trained them into a well oiled machine. Team Rocket are enthralled and excited, a team of Legendaries! That sounds like just the team for them!
Nurse Joy steps in noting how excited everyone is, and Brock drops to a knee, excited to see HER! He makes the mistake of taking up the entire camera frame to wax poetic about his love for her, and when he steps back slightly.... Croagunk has simply APPEARED without a sound, and the predictable soon happens.
Ash is well used to Brock's possibly sexual molestation by now, and asks Dawn if they'll be able to make it to Crown City by the end of the day, and Brock returns remarkably fast, insisting that they can leave the shortcuts to him.
That night, high in the clouds, a giant multi-propellered aircraft flies towards Crown City. Inside, a fuzzy, fox-like Pokémon with dark fur and red "hair" is sleeping, woken up by a smaller, pre-evolved form of the same. The larger Pokémon is Zoroark, the smaller is Zorua, and they're in a whole world of trouble despite seeming to be fairly comfortable in their cell. One wall lifts up to reveal Suicune, Raikou and Entei, and further behind up in an observation room, Kodai smugly tells his assistant to begin.
Down in the cell, Zoroark glows yellow and suddenly BECOMES Raikou, smoke spreading out from its body over the three legendaries and through the windows of the control booth. Kodai seems unconcerned, however, as a small device around his wrist beeps and the smoke clears. His assistant, nervously explains that the smoke surprised her even though they're wearing Illusion Cancellers, but Kodai pays her no mind, smiling up at the television screens which show that the illusion even fools the cameras... but not him. A bald, angry looking male assistant communicates from the cockpit that they're approaching Crown City, and down in the cell the three legendaries suddenly disappear, three small multi-faced balls lowering into the ground - Pokeballs?
A Ninjask flies down out of the roof as electricity zaps Zoroark, allowing the Ninjask to grab up Zorua and fly it back up into the hole in the ceiling, which promptly closes up. Zoroark tries to crash through after it but can't, and Kodai tells it that if it doesn't want Zorua hurt... it will do as it’s told.
Inside the venting system of the airship, Ninjask is flying Zorua towards its ultimate destination when it manages to wriggle free and burst out into a corridor. A Scizor blocks its path, and Zorua.... becomes Scizor! It giggles at the surprised Scizor, leaps over its head, rushes down the corridor and becomes Zorua again, sliding into a smaller opening into venting that the other Pokémon can't get through. It zips along and finds another hatch, and bursts through it... and finds itself outside! It skids along the surface of the airship as the momentum and movement of the air pull it inexorably away, falling through the sky and bumping headfirst into a Skiploom. It spins about on the surprised Pokémon, then continues on its descent, but becomes Skiploom as it does, not floating safely instead of plummeting dangerously.
Inside the airship, Kodai takes the news that Zorua has escaped remarkably well. He notes that they still have Zorua's image data, so it doesn't matter... what DOES concern him is that the "ripple of time" will disappear in one day, and he needs to obtain it before that happens. What ripple? The one in Crown City, of course! As the timer shifts to a one day countdown till the Baccer World Cup, a Celebi emerges from the ripple and floats happily through the night sky, unaware that soon it and the ripple will be confronted by....
The twerps move through a dark forest, Brock's shortcut has delayed them beyond all reason. Ash asks Brock if he's sure this is the right way and he grits his teeth to hide his embarrassment and steals Dawn's line, telling her not to worry. As he moves on ahead, a large number of Beautifly rise up out of the tall grass and lift into the sky backlit by the moon. It's a pretty sight, and Brock happily notes they would have never seen it if they hadn't gotten lost... and Ash and Dawn note that he just admitted they ARE lost. As he takes the good natured ribbing in his stride, they're all watched from above by Team Rocket, pedalling their way through the air on an uncomfortable looking plastic seat suspended beneath a bizarre Yanmega dirigible/glider of some sort. Suddenly a Skiploom bashes into James' surprised head, smirking at him in a rather un-Skiploom-like fashion. It drops onto Meowth and Jesse swipes at it, the Skiploom darting aside with a giggle (Skiploom giggle now?) and Meowth getting knocked over the side, Jesse going down after him. James grabs her by the ankle and gets pulled over with her, and they all dangle beneath as Skiploom happily floats down to the treetops, knocking a Vigoroth out of midair as it swings through the branches with others. The Skiploom becomes Zorua again, bouncing onto Vigoroth's head as it struggles to get back up and giggling at it. The other Vigoroth drop down around their dazed comrade and jump at Zorua, which leaps aside easily and rushes away amused... till it finds itself on the far edge of a cliff.
Elsewhere, Pikachu perks up and gets the twerps attention, and they look out through the trees and spot the edge of the cliff poking off in the distance, and Zorua caught by the approaching gang of Vigoroth. It becomes a Vigoroth, then immediately Zorua again, unable to help snickering at the Vigoroth which are at first confused, and then figure,"Fuck it, let's just kill the fucking thing." Zorua backs up a step and becomes alarmed for the first time as its back feet slip over the edge. Ash - getting the wrong end of the stick - shouts at the Vigoroth for ganging up on the poor little innocent fox-pup, and sends out Infernape to teach the Vigoroth a lesson, and that lesson is THAT FLESH AND FUR BURNS, BABY!
Before it can set a flame in their flesh, however, Dawn calls out Mamoswine and the Vigoroth realise they have been outflanked. Pikachu crackles with electricity as Dawn tells the Vigoroth angrily that bullying is wrong, and Piplup proudly offers its own defence and ends up tripping over the edge of a small step in the land and rolls between the startled Vigoroth and straight into a tree. It turns around and angrily squeaks at them, and they scratch their heads at all this weirdness, decide they've pretty much had enough and turn and head back into the trees. Piplup is delighted, proudly puffing itself in front of Infernape and Zorua.... and falling backwards when it overextends itself.
Ash recalls Infernape and Dawn recalls Mamoswine, and Pikachu and Piplup say a friendly hello to Zorua. Brock is glad they avoided a fight, but Zorua brattily tells them it didn't need their help. They note that it was in danger of going over the side, and Brock notes happily that it is one tough Poke.... HOLD ON A FUCKING SECOND, POKEMON DON'T TALK!
It's due to Telepathy, it isn't talking so much as projecting its thoughts. It sighs that "Meema" told it never to speak too strangers but... ahh well, too late now! It looks over the cliff and tells them it is heading for the city, and they realise with delight they're looking out to Crown City in the distance, the whole city lit up against the night, revealing a large bayside city set in against tall sloping hills.
Zorua tells them it is going to save Meema, and when they ask who Meema is, it explains that Meema is... well Meema is Meema! Heading towards the city, it explains that Meema was caught trying to protect it, and they were brought to Sinnoh from across the sea, and then put in a "flying boat" that it fell off. These muddled, child-like thoughts are easy enough for even the twerps to translate - it was poached and brought to Sinnoh, then transported towards Crown City in an airplane that it escaped from. Pikachu and Piplup jabber their own names and that in itself is easy enough to understand, they want to help Zorua find "Meema". The twerps are happy enough to do that, seems like they do something like that most every week anyway! Zorua smirks that it doesn't see anything wrong with letting them be its friends, and then... becomes Ash!
"....Pika-pi?" asks Pikachu, utterly confused. Zorua-Ash turns around and begins oddly mincing away, and they spot a tail coming out of Ash's ass (oh Lord it's a furry), which Pikachu angrily leaps at. Zorua tumbles over and changes, this time into Pikachu - with no fluffy tail though, obviously that only happens when it casts the illusion of a human.
In the docks at Crown City, the cargo bay doors of Kodai's plane open, and they open the door to Zoroark's Cell. On a television screen they show Zorua huddled sadly in a cage, and Kodai tells it what its mission is - to show its illusions to the people of the city. It growls, then with a roar bursts out into the bay and disappears into the city, while on the television screen the Zorua turns into one of the balls seen earlier - were Entei, Suicune and Raikou ever real? Kodai's male assistant reports that the remote cameras are being deployed.
As the sun rises over the city, the camera moves down between an impressive 3d city, following Celebi as it flies through canals and taps happy Sunflora on the head, waves hello to various Water Pokémon and blooms flowers on trees and bushes while Pokémon who apparently live in the park pop up and watch.
Elsewhere, as people start to move out and about, an aging woman is watering the plants in a small park with a statue of Celebi at its center. A fit young woman comes jogging by and is delighted to see the woman (Tammy), telling her that the Coronet Fighters are going to win for sure. She then deploys a series of flags out of her backpack and starts doing a bizarre cheerleading dance and singing her support for the Coronet Fighters. She heads on, Tammy watching her go with bemusement (and maybe a little resentment that her days of having an ass like that are long gone), when she spots Celebi swoop by and disappear around a corner, flowers sprouting up in its wake. Shocked, she leaps onto her bike, her gigantic and bizarre Tangrowth providing a massive weight in the basket behind her as she pedals her fat ass to Joe, a local shopkeeper's, place. He's outside his shop with his Mightyena, placing flowers on the windowsills. She leaps off of her bike and pants roughly, and he asks her what is wrong? WRONG!?! Celebi has finally come back to the city! He can't believe it's true, and tears well up in his eyes as she smiles, and he gasps that it’s been years since all the trees and flowers in the city were laid to waste, and she agrees, it's been more than twenty years.
Wait are they saying that was a good thing or that they're hoping it will come again?
It's still early, only 7am according to the big clocktower elsewhere in the city. Its chimes wake Jesse up from her "resting" place draped over the big branch of a tree. Apparently this is where Team Rocket and their Yanmegaible crashed the previous night, and Jesse complains that it should be illegal for there to be chimes before noon, and James moans that he wants to impeach the sun. Zoroark is braced all Batman-esque on the clocktower and leaps down, crashing into the ground and startling a large number of Starly. Team Rocket spot it from their place in the branches, which doesn't last long when Zoroark blasts waves of crimson energy around and sends Team Rocket flying, as well as the local populace enjoying an early morning breakfast at an outdoor cage. Zoroark zips away, receiving instruction from Kodai somehow (implanted mic? telepathy?) to take the forms of Suicune, Entei and Raikou and strike fear into the people of the city. It starts with Suicune, rushing past the startled breakfast-goers and delighting Team Rocket, Jesse gasping that it practically landed in her lap while Meowth's tail wags happily (but he's a cat?) and he proclaims that this makes Suicune his kind of sap.
Suicune charges down the alleyways and streets, bringing a rushing cascade of water with it. It passes the young Coronet Fighters fan, who watches it go and then sees the water and rushes up a pole, legs clasped around it in a sight that would usually have everybody's attention in better circumstances. From his control booth, Kodai has his female assistant record it all from his remote cameras, instructing her to film Suicune, then the fleeing crowds, and then putting together a composite shot that creates the impression of statues exploding as Suicune zips by.
Suicune rushes across the rooftops, becoming Entei and now leading flames down the streets and alleys behind it. On a small bridge over a canal, Team Rocket are looking about for Suicune when they spot Entei coming... and then the flames behind it! Entei bounds over them, and Team Rocket leap over the side of the bridge and into the river to escape the flames. Entei continues on, passing a tram that stops only just in time to avoid the flames, which continue down following Entei as it sets fire to all that it passes. Kodai watches happily, then declares that it is time for his "apology".
Joe and Tammy watch Entei rush by and quickly get their Pokémon inside, as up on the screen Kodai's female assistant appears and introduces the President of the Kodai Network Group. Kodai appears and explains to the gathering crowds (including Team Rocket, with Meowth draped over James' head) that his three Legendary Pokémon have fallen under the control of the evil Zoroark. He apologises again, assuring them that he will get them back under his control, but for now they should evacuate the city. Alarmed, the crowds start to break up and run, the Coronet Fighter's Fangirl running facefirst into a set of man-tits in her effort to escape, while Team Rocket are left alone delighted by the potential of a deserted city and at least three Legendary Pokémon ripe for the picking.
The Pokémon are alarmed too, and begin cheesing it out of the city across the bridge with humans, even the ones in the nearby forest huddling in a panic amongst the trees. But while they're doing that, elsewhere - somewhere in the world - the REAL Suicune, Entei and Raikou take note that somewhere, something is going wrong.... especially in their PR Department!
Outside the City, Officer Jenny is explaining to everybody that they cannot under ANY circumstances enter the city. Brock sees her and shows his priorities are right by making a pathetic attempt to declare his love, shoved aside by Dawn who asks what is going on. Jenny explains that Zoroark has taken control of Entei, Suicune and Raikou, and the Coronet Fighters girl rushes in (without getting a face full of man-tit this time) and tells them it's true. This time it is Ash (who has TWO Pikachu on his shoulder and head) who shows his priorities are right by asking what this means for the Baccer Tournament!
Jenny tells them not to worry, they're doing everything they can (standing outside of the city hoping everything works itself out). Kodai's voice gets their attention and they watch the television screen and see Zoroark up on rooftops in the city surrounded by flames, Kodai explaining how evil Zoroark actually is. The second Pikachu leaps up astonished, crying out that it's Meema! It leaps off of Ash's head and directly into Brock's face, lands and becomes... Brock! Mincing away with its odd little hopping motion like it was a dog running on its hind legs (which it pretty much is!), the Brock with a tail zips alongside the river, chased by the twerps. Ash stops Zorua-Brock from trying to leap into the river to find "Meema", insisting that Zoroark must have escaped and is kicking up a giant mess looking for it, and Kodai is the bad guy! They try to keep its "voice" down, but it’s too late, a tall young man with HORRIBLE hair who tells them he wants to hear the whole story.
Brock tries to fob him off by suggesting that Zorua-Brock is his retarded twin brother (seriously!), but the man isn't fooled, grabbing Zorua by the tail and squeezing it (OI!), causing it to jump up startled and turn back into its regular form. He identifies it to the twerps for the first time as Zorua, because Zorua apparently doesn't identify itself by the name of its species, unlike us humans who enjoy being called "human" by other people in place of a name that gives us individuality.
Meanwhile, apparently immune to all the chaos and fear going on up to this point, Celebi is still floating happily through the city when it finally spots Zoroark. It hides and watches it zip by, then heads on further through the city streets, caught on film by Kodai's remote cameras. His female assistant - Rowena - points out Celebi to Kodai, who is delighted, his vision is coming true, the time ripple MUST be in Crown City. Suddenly his eyes turn green (oh my God he's turning into the Hulk!) and he gasps that another vision is coming, and he sees the countdown clock switch from 1 to 0.... then confused visions of Pikachu blasting things, Ash and then the other twerps, including the tall man they just met and.... Rowena! But he also sees himself cackling with delight as he achieves his goal, and the vision fades to return him to the present, and his apparently traitorous assistant asking him what he's just seen.
Back with the twerps, the tall man has been filled in on the situation and offered to help them reunite Zorua and Zoroark. His name is Carl, a journalist who has been investigating Kodai because he suspects the millionaire media magnate who wears a white suit and flies around in a giant high-tech flying ship equipped with robotic drones and a private army of Pokémon just MIIIIIIGHT be up to something! He leads them into a windmill and down into the basement (STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!) which turns out to open into an underground tunnel that leads into the old part of Crown City. Calling out a Bronzor, it lights up with Flash and they head towards the city, Carl explaining Kodai's backstory. He's known as The Man Who Can See Into The Future, and it seems to be true - he has had a series of business successes that would only seem possible if somebody knew what was going to happen (or was a good businessman?), now controls the mainstream media seemingly worldwide (accompanied by a rather creepy image of television sets forming into a globe that becomes the planet that is held in Kodai's closed fist) and is apparently ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants - odd behaviour indeed for a man with a monopoly on mainstream media! He doesn't understand what Kodai hopes to gain with this current plan though, how does it benefit him to have Zoroark run wild.
Zorua could care less, brattily intoning that he's a bad man so they need to hurry up. To entice them forward, it then transforms into Dawn, leaping ahead of them and shaking its tail (and Dawn's ass!) in their faces. Dawn gasps at it not to change into her, while Piplup pitches a fucking fit and tears out of Dawn's arms, leaping straight for Zorua-Dawn's tail to tug on it and startle it out of its current form (and probably fulfil a fantasy or two on the way!). Zorua-Dawn becomes squat and fat, then transforms back into Zorua and giggles as Dawn grumps,"Good!"
Kodai's male assistant (who isn't bald after all, he has a small tuft of black hair atop his head) drives up into the city out of the water in a kind of amphibious jeep. A couple of Scizor sit in the back and a small platoon of Ninjask follow after, as Kodai gives his instructions - recapture Zoroark, it's done its part now. Further into the city, Zoroark is surprised to see Zorua and rushes towards it, only for a cage to come out of nowhere and surround it, zapping it with electricity as it unfolds around the Pokémon and locks it into place. Zorua disappears, revealing another of those image-projecting devices, and Kodai's Assistant drives around the corner with his Pokémon Posse. He reports the recapture complete as the walls close in on the cage and extendable grabbers come out of his jeep and grab up the crate, driving it away. Team Rocket rush out and watch them drive away, furious that "their" Zoroark has been poached - but still convinced that they can capture Entei, Suicune and Raikou.
Kodai steps onto a flying platform, accompanied by a Shuppet and Mismagius. He instructs Rowena to continue transmitting the footage and flies out over the sea from his plane towards the city. Back inside the plane, Rowena sighs happily, she thought he would never leave, then cracks her knuckles, ready to get down to some "real" work.
Bronzor lifts a manhole cover up and allows Carl and the twerps to climb out before replacing the cover. Carl thanks it and recalls it, and they follow Zorua through the town and enjoying the pleasantness of the place, where trees and gardens seem to blend in with the houses. The twerps spot a statue of Celebi and Carl tells them that evidently it sometimes visits the city. He tells them about the blight alluded to earlier by Joe and Tammy, how for no reason all the vegetation in the city died off or was blasted out and blackened. It took years, but humans and Pokémon working together were eventually able to return Crown City to its former glory.
Zorua catches Zoroark's scent and Pikachu and Piplup begin sniffing about too... and then Ash as well! Zorua spots him sniffing around (why Ash, why!?!) and instantly transforms into Dawn again, before.... getting down on all fours and sniffing around with her (Dawn's!) ass in the air! Horrified and angry, Dawn stomps forward as an appalled Piplup stares right up the dress of its "trainer", and she grabs Zorua's tail and gives it a good tug to turn it back to its real form.
Zorua leaps up onto Ash's head and calls out for Meema, but there's no reaction. Ash grabs it around the belly and lifts it down onto his shoulder, telling it not to worry, he's sure Meema is trying to find it too. Carl walks by, somewhat confused, he's just spotted one of the objects he saw destroyed on the newsfeeds, but here it is, whole! He records the tram stop with his own camera, convinced that Kodai has faked the footage and this is his proof - the Legendary Pokémon were never there in the first place.
Speaking of which, Kodai is flying about the city enjoying seeing his vision come true. He remembers the vision that started all this madness, his male Assistant introduced him to Rowena as his new Executive Secretary.... and that's when the vision hit him hard. He saw the Legendary Pokémon attacking Crown City, saw Zoroark blasting everything, saw the objects destroyed and the countdown clock and the ripple in time. But the vision was unclear, muddied and non-specific, he knew it was Crown City but not precisely where the time ripple was located. His Assistant commented to Rowena that Kodai's "future visions" were becoming fewer and fewer, and Kodai knows what this means - his power of vision is weakening, and what happens to his Business Empire when that little trick that has kept him ahead of everyone else is gone? That night he sat staring out at the moon, going over the vision and knowing that he had to be there, and now he is, and everything else has come true, but he MUST find the precise location of the Time Ripple. A map on his flying platform reveals the locations of the many Countdown Clocks in the City, and the Time Ripple must be near ONE of them. Heading to the nearest, he has his Shuppet use Foresight, but it reveals nothing. He crosses it off on his list of locations, leaving only twenty other possibles. A sudden beeping near one gets his attention, and he activates a remote camera and discovers... Ash! Unlike every other new rival the idiot makes in a new region, Kodai recognises him immediately - not for his notoriety as a Pokémon Trainer, but as the boy he saw in his vision.
Back on the plane, the male assistant is packing away Zoroark's crate when he gets a call from Kodai, and we FINALLY learn his name. No longer will be have to consider him a nameless Goon, now he's got a name, and it is.... Goone!
He tells him he has a little problem to take care of. That little problem is currently following Zorua as it sniffs around for a fresher sign of Zoroark, and Ash and his friends spot a statue of Entei, Suicune and Raikou. Carl explains that the statue honours the protectors of the city who show up in times of need.... then remembers that he saw the statue destroyed earlier on the news footage - another example of Kodai's duplicity. Zorua gets a bead on Zoroark and leads them away, rushing down an alley and into another street, running alongside the river and alarming a group of huddled Pokémon that haven't fled the city. It hears Kodai talking on a television screen, informing everyone that Zoroark is responsible for the destruction, and angrily smashes the television, further scaring the Pokémon. One that isn't scared, however, is Mightyena, which comes charging over the bridge and confronts Zorua. Zorua tells it not to try that growling shit on it, it's strong... and then realises that Tangrowth is looming behind it like something out of a Japanese schoolgirl's nightmare. It blasts Zorua with Sleep Powder, knocking the little Pokémon out, and then the twerps come rushing around the corner and spot them. Mightyena bounds through the air and crashes into Carl, knocking him to the ground and.... happily licking his face!
Tangrowth picks up Zorua as Tammy and Joe rush up and spot Carl, who identifies Joe as his Grandfather. Tammy apologises for Tangrowth overdoing the Sleep Powder, as Zorua twitches in its sleep, moaning that it has to find Meema. They head to Joe's shop and watch Kodai's repeated message warning about Zoroark. Carl explains that the whole thing has been faked, the twerps ask Joe and Tammy why they didn't abandon the city along with everybody else. They couldn't bear to leave their home, especially with Celebi only just returning recently. The tears from earlier are explained, after the city's plant life was mysteriously destroyed, Celebi stopped visiting, but now it has returned, indicating that the city itself was finally healed.
Meanwhile, Zoroark is struggling to escape from its crate/cage, and it's angry, pained cries filter through to Zorua, waking it up. It bounds up from its place on the table in a panic, trying to find its "Meema", and rushes off of the table knocking over cups and plates. The twerps chase as it rushes outside and through the wrought iron bars of the fence, Ash and Dawn sending Pikachu and Piplup through the bars after it. Zorua doesn't get far though, as it's forward momentum is halted by an attack from Breloom, and then it finds itself surrounded by Pokémon, those who haven't fled the city (and the Starly that can come and go as they please), angry at Zorua which doesn't understand why.
Pikachu and Piplup show up and try to make peace, Piplup tripping and rolling straight into another tree. This time the bizarre action doesn't cause the other Pokémon to give up their angry ways though, Bellsprout blasting Razor Leaf at Zorua which Pikachu angrily Iron Tails away. Zorua insists they let it past so it can find its Meema, and Piplup comes rushing back into the fray and gets forehead to forehead with a Bellsprout before being slapped back rolling across the grass again like a comical, quivery weakling bureaucrat in a Bud Spencer and Terence Hill movie. Leaping up in a proud fury, it stands besides Pikachu and Zorua as the other Pokémon close in... and then Celebi floats in with a happy "BRRRRIIIIIIIII!" and shines light over all of them, causing the flowers to turn into berries. The Pokémon begin happily chowing down, Bellsprout even giving one to Piplup, and Celebi gives one to Zorua. It happily eats it, then becomes a Celebi, startling the real one which floats back down and tries to lift it up into the air to fly along with it. Zorua resists, telling it that it can't actually fly, but decides that it wants to be friends with Celebi too, telling it to come help it find Meema. They rush off together, followed from around the corner by the twerps, surprised to have actually seen Celebi. Before they can go any further though, they're flanked by Scizors and Ninjasks, and one of the unfolding cages opens up from above them, blasting them with electricity to prevent them escaping. When it comes to capturing Pokémon OR people, it seems that Goone doesn't fuck around!
Kodai arrives on the scene and Ash rushes up to the bars demanding to know what is going on... and promptly crackles as he grabs the bar and gets hit with a blast of electricity that blows him off of his feet. Kodai tells them that they can do nothing to stop him, HE can see the future, and he must remove all obstacles in his path, including them. The walls of the crate begin closing down, Ash charging forward and getting hauled back by Carl so only his nose gets slightly fried by the still electric walls. The crate is lifted up and carried away, watched from a distance by Team Rocket who are convinced that the crate contains Entei, Suicune and Raikou. They head after, sure they have the element of surprise this time, but are themselves surprised when they see the crate being driven out into the water of the bay by the amphibious jeep.
Outside of the city, Zorua is leading Celebi up the trunk of a HUGE tree overlooking the city. Pikachu scampers up the trunk after them, Piplup scrabbling to keep up, and high up in the tree Zorua takes in the view and calls out for its Meema, howling. In the boat, Zoroark appears to hear or otherwise sense it and tries once again to smash its way through the wall, blasted back again and looking in a great deal of pain. In the tree, Zorua walks into a dark knothole to hide its depression, and Celebi tries to cheer it up by causing small vines/leaves to grow up out of the knothole, surrounding Zorua in a kind of nest that reminds it of sleeping in Zoroark's fur.
Back on the boat, a bored looking Rowena is rifling through Kodai's computer files until finally locating a deeply hidden, locked set of files. She ponders a possible password and enters "V I S I O N", and for a wonder this unlocks the deepest, darkest secret files of the world's most powerful media magnate. It seems too easy, Rowena joking about it to herself but not taking the warning to heart. The files seem to be scans of old books of prophecy, and one in particular gets her attention, and she gasps that this explains everything. Suddenly Goone appears on the screen, startling her as he informs her that he's heading to Kodai's location and she is to remain in place until the mission is complete. He cuts communication and she breathes a sigh of relief, then goes back over a replay of the transmission, noting the large crate Goone brought back with him. What is inside? She has to go see, and makes her way down to the hold where the crate reveals its contents to be some meddling kids!
She tells them she is Rowena, Kodai's Executive Secretary, and Carl laughs that that'll be the day. Is he making a crack about her being Kodai's mistress or something? Not at all, she's happy to admit that she's an undercover reporter, working with Carl, and then (after undoing the ribbon in her hair and letting it down for some reason) tells them that she's just located the key to everything. The twerps are delighted to learn she's on their side, though not as much as Brock who is relieved to discover he can release his barely held in check lust now that she's revealed as a good person.
Outside, Wingull scatter in fright as Rowena pilots them away in an inflatable boat, and explains what the fuck Kodai is up to. The Time Ripple is caused by Celebi travelling to them from the future, lasting only for a day and filled with the power of temporal energy, enough to allow Celebi to time travel. Kodai means to take that power for himself, but why and for what? To power his visions, apparently, and she reveals that 20 years ago, Kodai read the books of the prophets and learned about the Time Ripple. Travelling to the giant tree outside of Crown City, he had his Shuppet use Foresight to show the location of the Time Ripple, and then Misdreavus to keep Celebi back from touching the Ripple, which would cause it to disappear. With Celebi knocked back, he used a mechanical device to reach into the Time Ripple and take the energy for himself. It wasn't a very pleasant experience, in fact it hurt like fuck and seemed to drive him even further over the edge into insanity.... but it also gave him the ability to see into the future - the visions that have made him a rich and powerful man. Doing so affected the city though, the great tree blackened and a massive burst of soot and dust washed over Crown City and destroyed all of the plant life. Kodai could care less, because it was then he experienced his first vision, and saw the power he would gain.
The man himself has just finished checking the last of the Countdown Clocks with Shuppet's Foresight and is alarmed to discover that there is no sign of the Time Ripple. He can't understand, his visions have never failed him before... but then he has another, seeing for the briefest of moments himself strangling Celebi (okay this dude is pretty much one sick fuck) and experiencing yet another vision that apparently delights him. He knows what he has to do now, he has to find (and strangle!) Celebi.
Rowena is explaining the source of this desperation to the twerps - the temporal energy he absorbed from the Time Ripple has begun to fade, his visions are becoming less frequent and more unfocused. He needs to find the Time Ripple again, absorb the energy and recharge himself... which will blow out all the plant life in Crown City once again! Carl has some sort of scanner which is telling him where Kodai is - presumably given to him by Rowena - and he notes that the man is on the move again, though they don't know why.
The current target of Kodai's obsession - Celebi - is heading down the tree trunk with Zorua, Pikachu and a far from surefooted Piplup. It struggles down the side as Pikachu and Zorua easily make their way down (and Celebi is flying, of course), trips and tumbles down to the nearest branch, providing some of the physical comedy that is usually Pikachu's province.
It pops back up proud as can be, puffing out its chest while Zorua chuckles from up in the branches and Celebi floats around happily.... and a camera lights up in its face. It backs up in alarm and Kodai comes sailing in on his floating platform with a small army of Ninjask, plus his Shuppet and Mismagius. He is bemused to see Zorua, and surprised to discover that it can "talk", and it replies that it never wanted to talk to him! He doesn't care, his business with Zorua is done, it was only ever a tool to get Zoroark to do what he wanted, and he's done with Zoroark for the time being as well, it seems - now the new tool he wants to use for his own purposes is Celebi. Zorua warns it to be careful of the bad man, but there's not much it can do when Shuppet grabs hold of it with Psychic.
Now that's a different story.
Furious at the interference, he sends in his Ninjasks to blast Pikachu and Piplup with Shadowballs, and Celebi hides behind Zorua which promises to protect it. It becomes Tangrowth, blasting thick vines up to grab Shuppet and Mismagius around the throat, but Kodai's Illusion Canceller is still operation and the vines are powerless to do anything to him. The vines start to unfocus as the illusion cancelled does it work, and he orders Shuppet to use Shadowball, blasting at the "Tangrowth" and knocking Zorua back into the tree. It tries to struggle back up but can't, it's too small and weak, and it crashes to the ground with a weak moan for Meema. But there's nothing Zoroark can do, it's caught up in a cage that can't be escaped from (Rowena might have done something about that before they up and left you know!), there's no wa-
Oooooooooh shiiiiiiiit.
Zoroark smashes into the electrified walls of the crate, actually denting and bulging out the metal before it tears through with a crackle of electricity, half mad with rage and pain and wanting to know WHERE THE FUCK IS ZORUA!?!
It smashes out of the holding cell, explodes out of the roof of Kodai's Cargo Plane and roars out its fury against the backdrop of the moon, spied but a very uneasy Team Rocket in the paddleboat they seemingly stole to launch an ill-equipped attack on Kodai's ship. Zoroark is out and it is pissed, and nothing is going to get in-between it and Kodai now, you can be-
Oooooooooh shiiiiiiiit.
Entei, Suicune and Raikou have arrived to protect the city, and they've identified Zoroark as the source of the danger. Team Rocket are caught in the middle of these monsters, and James and Meowth are sensible enough to be a trifle concerned about this. Jesse, though? Jesse is crazy enough to believe that this is a good thing - now they have a one-stop swipe!
Back at the tree, Piplup is dangling from Pikachu's tail as the fat little rat tries to drag them up from the branch they're hanging from. Its little paws start to slip and it has to bite into the bark to try and keep from plummeting to their deaths. A little above them, Shuppet grabs up Celebi with Psychic and drifts it over to Kodai, who grabs it in his arms and strangles it, shaking it roughly to recreate the conditions seen in his vision, getting only the briefest glimpse of the Time Ripple. He demands to see more, and far off in the distance Celebi's screams of pain seem to actually generate the Time Ripple. Kodai shakes Celebi about, and Zorua wakes up and sees the disturbing scene. It leaps up and lands on Kodai's face, causing him to stumble back and hit the brakes on his flying platform. It spirals out of control and crashes them down to the base of the tree, Celebi falling clear while Kodai just grabs Zorua around the belly and HURLS it through the air and into the side of the tree.
Zoroark senses this ill-treatment and is about to do something about it when Suicune strikes, blasting a gout of ice at the vulpine Pokémon. It dodges, but Raikou and Entei take the opportunity to blast at the airship as well, blasting the propellers and causing explosions that rock the boat, create waves and send a indignant Team Rocket sweeping away complaining that the paddleboat really isn't seaworthy. The ship explodes and sinks into the sea, while the three Legendaries gather together to oversee their destruction, overseen by Joe, Tammy, Mightyena and Tangrowth. Joe and Tammy realise that the Legendaries believe Zoroark is to blame for the clearly "wrong" nature of what is currently happening in the city, but they're not going to walk into the middle of the big fuck-off fight currently going on as Zoroark bursts out of the water prepared to throw down.
At the tree, Kodai approaches Celebi for another hit of vision-goodness, but the ground before him is zapped by Thunderbolt, followed by a Bubble-beam. Pikachu and Piplup have managed to get onto the relative stability of a branch and are trying to keep him clear of Celebi. In a rage, Kodai sends in his Scizors to attack, and they use their identical appearances to flummox the two little Pokémon and blow them off the branch with X-Scissor. They plummet towards the ground far below.... and Togekiss swoops in and catches them, the goddamn twerps have FINALLY arrived!
It's just like in Kodai's vision, though Rowena's grim expression quickly disappears as she has the good graces to look somewhat embarrassed by apparently turning on her Boss. She hides behind Carl for a moment, but Kodai just smirks, apparently more pleased for one of his now muddied visions to have been proven right than the fact he was betrayed. She jokes nervously that he can forget sending her a final paycheck, while we're left to ponder why the fuck Kodai didn't do anything to quarantine her after he discovered she was going to betray him... and why the Christ he used such a cheap-ass password as "V I S I O N"?
Ash and Dawn lead Pikachu and Piplup in to cover them grabbing up Celebi and Zorua. They cheese it out of where, chased by Kodai's Pokémon who get cut off by the Pokémon of the forest. The twerps jump into the rubber dinghy and float back down the river, Pikachu blasting away the remote camera trying to track them. Kodai remains unconcerned though, he foresaw all of this, and he lifts up a pen that opens up a tiny propeller, and heads out into the night.
Inside the deserted city, the battle that Zoroark faked is now going on for real. Suicune, Entei and Raikou are chasing Zoroark, which is attempting to blast its way through and get to Zorua. Elsewhere, Carl leads the twerps to Joe's workshop, overheard by Joe and Tammy who head in and get caught up on what is going on now... and also what went on 20 years earlier. Zorua is despondent because it couldn't help Celebi (which Brock is currently bandaging up), and hides in the shadows under the desk. Tammy tells them that the real Legendaries are now throwing down with Zoroark, and Joe wonders how they can tell them that they're wrong.
An alarmed Zorua wants to go find Meema straight away, and Celebi tries to fly after and almost crashes into the ground, caught by Ash who tells it to take it easy. Rowena says if they can get Celebi to the Time Ripple it will be all right, but how to find it? The Time Ripple in Kodai's vision occurred next to a Countdown Clock, but he's checked them all. Surely that means he knows where the Ripple is now, but the town's plant life still exists, so it stands to reason he HASN'T found it yet. Joe checks out the checked off locations on Rowena's laptop and notes there is one more Countdown Clock, he's the one who built them and he installed one inside the stadium itself amongst the trees - the prototype, put there to commemorate the stadium's completion. They finally have the advantage over the all-knowing Kodai, they know something he doesn't!
Kodai, meanwhile, now knows what they know! Thanks to the little pen camera-copter he sent to follow them after they escaped him earlier. Sitting in the open window, it's broadcasting everything back to him. Delighted, he heads for the Stadium, and the camera prepares to return, but it's buzzing catching Pikachu's attention and it blasts it, sending it fizzing to the ground. Realising that Kodai now knows the location of the Countdown Clock, Carl says they have to get Celebi there first, but it can barely fly at all. Ash says he'll take it, and the others of course all say they're going too, including Zorua which seems to have a strange perspective on things considering it's spent every other moment to this point obsessed only with the idea of getting back together with "Meema" which is currently singlehandedly fighting three Legendary Pokémon. They get ready to leave, but Carl stops them, pointing out that Kodai can see the future, so they're going to have to work together to CHANGE that future.
The "real" twerps head through the underground tunnels lead by Carl's Bronzor, Dawn worrying a little about another of Brock's "shortcuts". He tells them to trust him, and Ash beams at his "mother" that he always trusts him!
Meanwhile, the "other" twerps have headed for the current site of battle between the Legendaries and Zoroark. It's a fountain in a small town square where the three Legendaries seem to have Zoroark cornered, till it turns the water of the fountain into purple crystals that grow up around the Legendaries and trap them. Rowena activates her Illusion Canceller, and shows that the crystals are just more illusions. Joe yells at them to stop this nonsense, and Mightyena blasts the ground in front of Zoroark and the illusion fades. Mightyena and Tangrowth try to get in the Legendaries ways (Tangrowth kind of wobbling in front of Suicune and going,"Rah! Rrrah!" at it) and then a wave of various Pokémon rush into the square, surrounding the Legendaries and trying to get through to them that Zoroark isn't the problem here.
Bronzor lifts the manhole cover and the twerps climb out, spotting the stadium off in the distance. Bronzor's light fades, but a new one comes in as Kodai's jeep comes around a corner and spots them. Dawn and Brock send Ash on ahead, calling out Mamoswine, Sudowoodo and Croagunk to hold off Kodai and his men. Kodai spins around to avoid running them over (odd behaviour considering his previous actions) and tells Goone to deal with them, then drives the jeep down into the river and zips along parallel to Ash.
Arriving at the stadium, Ash tries to have Pikachu blast the jeep with Thunderbolt (should have done that while they were in the water!), but Mismagius' Psywave helps block it off and the two moves cancel out. Ash throws Celebi into the air and tells it to fly to the Time Ripple, and it heads off accompanied by Bronzor. This freaks out Kodai and he reverts to form, almost running Ash down as he blasts after Celebi in his jeep, screaming at his Pokémon not to let it get near the Time Ripple.
Piplup Bubblebeams and Whirlpools Ninjasks aside, while Croagunk and Sudowoodo Kung-Fu fight with the Scizors (hell, Croagunk once turned aside the blast of a GOD with its bizarre pink paws, it can handle a Scizor!), while Mamoswine smashes shards of Ice at excess Ninjasks and absorbs a lot of damage. Dawn is concerned for it, while Goone is getting tired of fighting people who fight back and wants to end this now. Luckily for him he's about to get his wish... because Zoroark just showed up!
It charges down the road towards a horrified Goone who has never seen it freed from restraint AND not under Kodai's command before. His Scizors charge it and it claws through them and sends them crashing to the ground - and that's no illusion. Unleashing a massive crimson burst of energy, the twerps hide behind Mamoswine's flank as the power overwhelms Goone and his Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Bronzor and Celebi are still heading through the trees inside the Stadium when they're cut off by Shuppet and Mismagius. They blast Celebi which is sent flying backwards... and turns into Zorua! But then how was it flying? Thanks to Bronzor's Psychic, which also enables it to be safely lowered to the ground instead of crashing down. Zorua cackles at Kodai as he pulls up in his jeep, realising that for once he's been fooled by an illusion. Bronzor psychically lifts Kodai's jeep as well and he has to leap clear before it is tossed aside, angrily ordering his Pokémon to blast the fuck out of it. Zorua leaps at his wrist and bites at it, and he slams it aside in a fury and activates a wrist mounted claw-grip that lifts a screaming Zorua high into the sky, the sound of which catches Zoroark's attention.
On the steps, Ash opens his backpack to reveal the real Celebi, still bandaged up. It still can't fly, so he carries it on towards the sundial and Countdown Clock, besides which glows the Time Ripple. Ash starts running towards it.... and then finds himself lifted into the air, caught up by Mismagius' Psychic. Pikachu floats next to him, and a smug Kodai easily passes Ash and smiles at the sight of the Time Ripple, noting that it is has revealed itself due to Celebi's injury. He heads onwards utterly convinced of his destiny, and even when Zoroark arrives his confidence isn't remotely dented. Instead he lifts his wrist and reveals Zorua still attached to the claw grip, and warns Zoroark that one step closer and Zorua will pay the cost. He blasts it with electricity and it moans that it doesn't have much time left. Telling Shuppet to "clean this up", and it blasts Zoroark as Kodai struts confidently to the Time Ripple..... he's.... he's won!?!
Dropping Zorua to the ground, he fires the wrist-claw into the Time Ripple and begins drawing in the Temporal Energy. Ash shouts out a warning that the plants and trees will die, and he laughs that he doesn't care. The Time Ripple darkens and grows smaller as the power courses into Kodai's body, and a massive blast of dark energy bursts over the entire city as Kodai roars with laughter - yes he caused the devastation 20 years ago, but nobody knows that and nobody will ever know that he caused this one as well! As far as anyone knows, he's the one doing his best to capture the evil Zoroark! Black smoke and a dark wind wash over them all as Kodai roars that victory is his, he's won! He roars with laughter, cackling madly as Zoroark.... smiles!?!
Suddenly the devastation reserves, the Time Ripple returns as clear as ever and the power coursing through Kodai ceases to exist. He can't understand, it can't be an illusion! He's wearing his Illusion Canceller..... and finally he looks at it and sees it is cracked and broken, it hasn't worked since... since Zorua leaped at him and bit at his wrist a few minutes earlier!
Carl and Rowena emerge from the trees, Carl holding the camcorder that he recorded Kodai's insane, ranting confession only seconds ago. Kodai is utterly defeated (In Kanto, Giovanni wakes up and looks around for a moment, then shrugs and goes back to sleep, confident he'll have his chance to be SOMEHOW UTTERLY DEFEATED another time soon) and ruined, there's no way out of this now. At his feet, Zorua struggles up and sees an equally exhausted Zoroark, and struggles happily toward its "Meema", reunited at last.... and Kodai has Shuppet blast at it with Shadowball because he really is just that much of a prick! Zoroark leaps into the way of the attack and takes it full on, then struggles up and... gets a wrist claw right around the throat and zapped full on by a furious Kodai, who demands that it will pay for what it has done to him!
Well maybe it's the indignity of the attack, or maybe it's the added insult of Kodai complaining about things being done to HIM after all he's done to Zoroark, but in a fury it reaches through the pain and grabs the collar from around its neck, and blasts a burst of black energy straight down the cable back at an astonished Kodai who really did not see that one coming!
He's knocked onto his ass and Zoroark tears the claw from around its throat. Bubblebeam blasts Mismagius out of nowhere and Ash and Pikachu drop to the ground, turning to see a hilariously proud Piplup puffing up its chest in front of Dawn and Brock. Mismagius tries to attack again and Bronzor returns, throwing up a light screen, and then Pikachu makes short work of Mismagius, blasting it with Thunderbolt and Volt Tackle. Shuppet is blasted from Kodai's side by Zoroark, and Kodai stumbles back in a fright.... right towards the Time Ripple! Spotting it, he gasps that it will be his and rushes for it.... and the Legendaries show up to have a word or two with Mr. "I Eat The Life Energy of Cities To Power my Avarice".
Oh Kodai.... son, you is really fucked right now.
He scuttles away in a panic looking like he's shit his pants, struggling through the door and up a set of stairs as far behind him Zoroark collapses. As he turns up the steps, light glows from the top of the stairwell, and he emerges on the deck of his Airship, high above the clouds and at the height of his power... and then Zoroark's illusion is stripped from him and he finds himself falling from the Trainer's platform inside the Stadium Baccer Ground.
Zoroark manages a slight smile from where it lies unconscious on the ground, and Zorua panics as it realises just how bad a shape its Meema is in. It promises to get stronger just like it and they'll go home together, weeping a single tear that hits the ground and casts an illusion across the entire stadium, recreating the sunny, green hills and blue skies of their home. The twerps are gathered around, looking upset and a little uneasy at basically intruding on a pretty private moment. Light flares in the blue sky and the Time Ripple intrudes on the illusion, Ash carrying Celebi to it and letting it float inside.... and immediately return fully healed and glowing with the temporal energy that Kodai had intended to fuel his visions for another 20 years. It touches a fingertip to Zoroark's nose and concentrates as they all watch, the Time Ripple fading out and the glowing energy disappearing... and Zoroark wakes up and staggers up to all fours, smiling at a weeping Zorua that jumps into its arms crying, finally getting the hug it's been wanting. The illusion of their home disappears, revealing the Stadium again, and Zorua thanks the twerps, telling them it is all thanks to them.
Zorua thanks Celebi too, which flits about happily causing flowers to bloom, and calls after it that it will be its friend forever. Ash chimes in with a me too as Tammy and Joe show up in time to see Celebi time travel back to the future, Zoroark trilling a goodbye since it can't "talk" like Zorua can.
Inside the Baccer Field, Kodai wakes up hearing Ash's voice yelling at him.... and his own? Staggering up, he's horrified to see himself on the big screen, brimming with power and revelling in his own glory. Even the illusion itself is captured on the screen, and all over Crown City (which the citizens are now returning to) and probably the world, his dark secrets and true nature are being exposed. Horrified, he looks up into the stands and sees the twerps and, more importantly, Officer Jenny. Normally happy to let the rich and powerful run roughshod as she does as little as possible, there's no way to avoid this arrest - it's all over the television screens! She tells him he can tell her all about it at the precinct, and all he can manage is a frustrated grunt of sheer despair.... while Zoroark stands in the stands and lets loose with a satisfied and truly happy bark of delight.
The next day (probably!), Dawn, Brock, Joe and Tammy are waving their goodbyes to the ferry that is bearing away Carl, Rowena.... Ash and Pikachu!?!
Suddenly Ash comes rushing up to join Dawn and Brock, Pikachu on his shoulder and carrying a big sticky bun of some type. He calls out to Zorua to stop looking like him, and Rowena reaches over and tugs on Zorua-Ash's tail, turning him back to Zorua. Pikachu leaps up and returns to Zoroark's form, and Ash, Dawn and Brock rush after the departing ferry calling out that they'll come and visit them one day in their region, they can't wait! They watch the ferry leave, standing on the end of the dock together and watching them go.
Of course, though the movie ends, there's always an end credit sequence to follow - and as always it includes a few extra scenes thrown in to wrap things up and add some flavour. We see Crown City, full of life and populated again; the stadium full as the Baccer World Cup takes place; the Coronet Fights Fangirl freaking out as her team doesn't do well; Ash almost missing the action while talking to Brock; people who couldn't get tickets watching on screens out and about the city; Entei, Suicune and Raikou watching the ferry with Zorua and Zoroark on it heading out to sea, seen by the two Pokémon, Carl and Rowena who wave their goodbyes. Joe and Tammy are watching the action of the Baccer Cup on television, while Kodai and Goone are driven away in the back of a police car with cameras flashing to plaster their faces all over the media that Kodai once controlled; media read by the likes of stern Professor Rowan and Johanna in their respective homes. We see the twerps leaving Crown City, and even shots of Barry, Conway, Kenny, Nando, Ursula and Pokémon Gym Leaders! Even the Elite Four and Cynthia!
The twerps continue on through the grass, Ash walking backwards to chat as he walks; Zoe and her Glameow sheltering from the rain in a hollow tree trunk; Paul wandering through some ruins; Team Rocket stalking the twerps from above in their Happy Buddha Face Meowth Balloon, licking ice-creams and Meowth almost getting knocked out of the basket when Wobbuffet pops out to happily salute and shout its own name. The Legendary Pokémon race back through to their own homes; Celebi darts in and out of time; and Zoroark sits in the fog, Zorua popping out of its fur delighted to see their home region coming into sight. As for the twerps, they sit on a hilltop at night and look out over the stars, and then they and their Pokémon look out from a clifftop over a giant forest as the sun rises, ready to move on through more forests to more towns, to meet more characters of the day and take part in Gym Battles and Contests. But those are stories for another day, and we'll leave this guide with a wonderful scene that technically took place at the end of the movie BEFORE the credits rolled. You see, the question remains, what happened to that OTHER trio? What happened when Team Rocket got washed out to sea?
It seems they worked out okay, they're sailing serenely down one of the narrow canals of Crown City on what appears to be the upside down remains of their paddleboat. Having apparently seen the video of Kodai's downfall or at least heard the story of what is probably the scandal of the decade (perhaps century), they're pondering Kodai's power and what they could do with it. James asks them their thoughts on if they could peer into the future, and Meowth replies he'd be bored out of his creative mind. why? Jesse explains that not knowing what will happen is the spice of life, the uncertainty of the future makes the here and now a party! Meowth complains that she's simplifying his schtick!
A breeze washes over them and they enjoy living in the moment - a lovely breeze, a life of ease, life's but a dream, float downstream.... and this time, in a boat!
