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Review S16 EP30: The Island of Illusions!

A rather boring episode imo. The gang just goes to an island after seeing a giant Zoroark in the fog and end up fixing a Pokemon Center. Not much else to say except that there were a few funny moments.

Cilan saying Heatmor was in an outrage followed by Iris saying that Heatmor can’t learn outrage and Ash telling her not to get technical was hilarious. The scene with Jessie and James walking together thinking they lost Meowth only for him to show up a few minutes later was also kind of funny. However, they also blasted off a few seconds later, making their appearance in this episode useless. Lastly, Ash repeatedly asking for Nurse Joy and Audino was great. He was just wasting so much time for no reason while Axew needed medicine.

The flashbacks and stuff with Zoroark didn’t really interest me. I was however confused as to how Zoroark was able to talk as Nurse Joy at one point and then it couldn’t later. Or maybe it just chose not to, which I also find weird. Either way, I still thought it was boring.

Yeah, this episode just wasn’t that interesting to me. Some parts were funny, but not that enetertaining. 1/10.
 
Did Cilan just say, “It’s too big to be a Pokémon!”? Really now? You haven’t seen bigger Pokémon than that?

Oh joy, another creepster standing behind a wall.

So Iris is gonna say what’s polite and what’s not after her attitude so far in DA? Especially on that boat and in the last episode? -_- You know, I’ve never realized how much I dislike Iris until now.

Why the hell is Team Rocket here?

What the hell is with this: “It’s too big to be a Pokémon attitude?!” Especially from Ash who’s already frickin’ been to an island of giant Pokémon?!

“Now don’t get technical.” - Ash. Alright, that was pretty funny, I’ll give them that.

Was that slow motion “Pikachu GET” really necessary?

And Team Rocket blasted off straight down. Why were they here in the first place? -_-

Nice to see “Who’s that Pokémon?” use different artwork.

Oh really? It’s a Pokémon center? But it’s too grassy to be a Pokémon center, right?

Did that Nurse Joy, Audino thing scare anyone else? Like...in addition to being hilarious and adorable? And why does it matter which one helps them anyway? Clearly, if Audino is trying to help you: TAKE IT!

The caped dude is Nurse Joy? Hello? What is going on? (I find it really ironic that I said “Oh joy” about the “Joy” behind the wall now) Also, they shut down a center because the number of trainers was dwindling? So if there was even one Pokémon trainer that needed help, it’s not good enough? Where do they go for help? DO THEY JUST LET THEIR BELOVED POKéMON DIE?!

Why the hell does Ducklett sound like Vullaby? Ducklett’s voice is way better!

How did this episode turn from Giant Pokémon to Nurse Joy flashback with Zoroark time?

And they cleaned up that 10 year old center in a few hours so that it sparkled. Alright…

I don’t know. This is the first episode of DA that I don’t find absurdly awful, but I can’t say that it was that good, either. From being so closed minded about what the maximum size of a Pokémon can be (particularly from Ash), to other minor annoyances, such as Team Rocker’s uselessness and Axew being weak and needing to be healed again, this episode was certainly not one of the best. And while I found that Nurse Joy and Audino switch-up cute and funny, it was definitely pretty stupid in the big picture of things. I’ll give it 3/10 for having some humor in it.
 
Time to do my job: TPTB filched from "The Crystal Onix" with the sometimes-there land bridge to an island rumored to contain a mysterious Pokémon, as well as pretty much ep featuring giant Pokémon or weird illusions. Considering how often Our Gang (especially Ash) has seen this stuff, you'd think the references would be in their mental speed-dials. And did the disappearing fog remind anyone else of N's sisters?

The Joy/Audino tag-team got old pretty quickly, partially because I had them pegged as the same being after the first couple iterations, while Our Gang didn't catch on until it was actually explained to them. And can we add Zoroark to the lineup of talking Pokémon? Too bad others haven't done this.
 
I was Originally going to give this a 7/10 but I am Boosting it up to an 8/10 because I felt the Emotions were Very Good in this Episode and Bella Hudson as the Older Nurse Joy was Great because I Liked her as that Role back in Hoenn and Team Rocket was SOOOOOOOOOO UNNECESSARY FOR THIS EPISODE. They were the Weakest Part of this Episode I feel Like.
The Line by Ash to Iris was Hilarious and the Nurse Joy and Audino was Funny I thought as Well.
 
Admittedly, there's not much to review for me today because this episode wasn't that special in my opinion. That doesn't mean is was bad but it simply lacked those moment that make an episode special.

Well then, I remember three aspects that I feel need some criticizing. Let's start with two minor points: First, more mysterious moments and scenes would definitely not have hurt. You simply expect more thrill, so to speak, from an episode titled "Island of Illusions". The only creepy thing (if you can call it creepy in the first place) was that deserted Pokemon Center.
Second, the episode didn't really give us anything new. We've already seen giant Pokemon, deserted islands and lots and lots of Pokemon creating illusions or tricking people into believing all kinds of things. I can't help it but the word "rehash" comes to mind here.

And finally, let's talk about two scenes that were clearly logical mistakes in my eyes. Maybe you see it differently, then I'd be glad if you could explain it to me.
When the giant Heatmor was threatening to throw our heroes down that cliff, the unknown person with the cape who later turned out to be Nurse Joy suddenly jumped in and, by just looking Heatmor into its eyes, made it go away. So, correct me if I'm wrong, at that point of time Nurse Joy must already have known that "Heatmor" was in fact an illusion created by Zoroark because she seemed to be so familiar with that Pokemon in said scene. So, how come she was totally surprised when Zoroark revealed itself later on? She should have known it was her old friend who was behind all that.

And another logical mistake I realized: At the end of the episode, Nurse Joy explained that Zoroark had created the giant illusion we saw at the beginning just because it had known that she was coming. But guys, let's be honest, if you're awaiting a friend's return, do you think it's a nice way to say hi by terrifying everybody? I don't really get it.


All in all, this week's episodes could have had potential but I'm afraid there were just too many mistakes in it.
 
The episode was... absolutely nuts and crazy. I like that, actually! Definitely one of the better Da episodes, anyway. :D

Well, we start off with our heroes riding the boat.

Then, we get to hear Porter's voice actor reading off his lines in his bored, monotone voice. I can't stop laughing at how bored the guy sounds playing the character! ROFL.

Oddly enough, when they were saying bye, Porter's voice actor did a lot better than usual, and put some actual emotion into the role. I wish he'd do that all the time. lol.

Ash, Iris, and Cilan were pretty cool today.

Team Rocket...Jessie and James were annoying today, but okay. Tolerable.

Jimmy Zoppi's Meowth...uh, what can I say that I haven't already said the last few months? Come on, man, make him sound sweeter. He sounds way too gruffy now.

Some notable quotes:

Ash: "Knock it off...don't get technical." What, Ash? What are you even...no 10 year old says that last part. xD.

Cilan: "Why would a Pokemon center be on such a desolate island."
Iris: "I don't think now is the time to discuss this."

LOL.

"Nurse Joy" : "Audino" = ROFL.

Ash: "Nurse Joy? Audino? Nurse Joy? Audino." = WIN.

Anyway, back to the episode:

Erica Schroeder played the old Unova Nurse Joy. Nice to see her playing a new Nurse Joy. Funny how she was the second VA for Kanto-Sinnoh Nurse Joy. Nice job, Tom, good casting choice. Alyson Rosenfeld also did a great job as Unova Joy, as always.

Billy Bob Thompson did a lot better with the large Illusion Heatmor than the regular voice he uses for Heatmor. His voice is much better now.

Ducklett's voice...my god. Nope: just not right.

Also, now we have a Nurse Joy Headquarters. Cool!

It was pretty heartwarming and sweet to see Nurse Joy reunite with Zoroark. That really made this episode one of the best in Da!

7.5/10
 
I loved this episode, although tpci! why did you change the bgm during the flashback :'( WHYYY!!!!

Anyways, i thought it was well acted, and i did giggle a little when they used that outrage pun
8/10
 
A rather dull episode at best, and albeit one with a number of plotholes. For instance, Cilan states that the illusion is "Too big to be a Pokemon" (somewhere, a Wailord is crying), then we have the fact that a Pokemon Center is closing down because "the number of trainers is dwindling", even though in the games you sometimes see Pokemon centers with almost NO NPC's in them, another thing is that Team Rocket was in the episode just for the sake of being in the episode, the episode could have been no different without them.

But the part that bothers me the most is how the Zoroark could talk in the form of Nurse Joy, yet it couldn't in it's normal form. I know the Zoroark in movie 13 could "talk" (it was telepathic, and you know how telepathy bugs me because of how I think it's an excuse for them to not make any other physically talking Pokemon but Meowth), but wouldn't it instantly learn how to speak the Ehglish/Japanese/whatever language in all of it's forms? I don't get it at all...

I give this episode a 2/10, if you're a fan of Zoroark, it's best to avoid this episode and go watch Movie 13 instead.
 
But the part that bothers me the most is how the Zoroark could talk in the form of Nurse Joy, yet it couldn't in it's normal form. I know the Zoroark in movie 13 could "talk" (it was telepathic, and you know how telepathy bugs me because of how I think it's an excuse for them to not make any other physically talking Pokemon but Meowth), but wouldn't it instantly learn how to speak the Ehglish/Japanese/whatever language in all of it's forms? I don't get it at all...
I assumed that Zoroark was just speaking 'Nurse Joy' in the same way that it could say 'Audino' while transformed that way. The speech as Nurse Joy was very awkward and repetitive, suggesting that Zoroark is simply able to mimic speech that it heard Nurse Joy say - things like "I'll go prepare something" instead of commenting on Axew's condition for example.

The main thing that bothered me in the episode is how badly Nurse Joy aged in 10 years. I don't want to know what happened to her Audino in that time.
 
So far, my favorite episode of the Decalore Islands Saga. It was very heartwarming to see Nurse Joy and Zoroark's backstory, and I really didn't want to see them leave. It was really sad and that's why I say 9/10
 
But the part that bothers me the most is how the Zoroark could talk in the form of Nurse Joy, yet it couldn't in it's normal form. I know the Zoroark in movie 13 could "talk" (it was telepathic, and you know how telepathy bugs me because of how I think it's an excuse for them to not make any other physically talking Pokemon but Meowth), but wouldn't it instantly learn how to speak the Ehglish/Japanese/whatever language in all of it's forms? I don't get it at all...

You mean Zorua? Zoroark never spoke in the movie.
 
then we have the fact that a Pokemon Center is closing down because "the number of trainers is dwindling", even though in the games you sometimes see Pokemon centers with almost NO NPC's in them, another thing is that Team Rocket was in the episode just for the sake of being in the episode, the episode could have been no different without them.
The games are pretty simplified, hence why towns are usually so small and have about 30 people altogether. It's just saving on detail.

It's sad, but it makes sense why they shut this branch down. Keeping the Center open when it's not doing any trainers good would just be a waste of money and other resources.

The only problem I have here is that the refurbished Pokemon Center will be there to treat the native Pokemon. Nurse Joy and Zoroark could probably make medicine with berries, but how will they afford the upkeep? They're not helping Trainers most of the time, they're helping wild Pokemon. And if Nurse Joy could convince their superiors to pay for the Center and keep it running for wild Pokemon, why wasn't it always kept open to help them? I'm hoping this was answered in the first half of the episode, which I missed.
 
That episode was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Still sick of all the filler though.
 
I thought this episode was cute! That line by Ash to Iris was indeed hilarious lol. "Don't get technical" lol.

I feel kind of dumb for not figuring out that it was a Zoroark behind all the shenanigans for awhile though. xP And Team Rocket's presence felt rather unnecessary, but besides that, great episode. :D
 
I don't know why, but it annoys me to no end how they made a big deal out of some gigantic shadow they saw.

Group: "Waah!! We saw a humongous shadow!"
Group member #1: "Don't worry guys, I'm sure we were just seeing things; you know, due to this thick fog."
Group member #2: "You're right! Let's stop at the next island and see if anyone knows anything about it!! :D"

Whyyy? Why would they do that? I mean, I understand this is a kid's show, but surely they could've done better. Like making a whole episode based on some serious incident or a tournament. But... making a big deal about a shadow? If I saw my dead dog walking around being transparent in a thick fog early in the morning, I would get the f*ck out of there instead of knocking on the nearest door and asking, "Hey neighbor, ever saw my dead dog walking around here?"

Surely they could've introduced the character of the day first to get a good story going, but nooo~ "Let's introduce the character of the day at half the episode!! :D"
 
I really liked this episode when it aired in Japan, and the dub does fine job (expect with replacing those bgms). Zoroark's story really got me.
 
I enjoyed the episode, if only because I'm very fond of the Zorua and Zoroark line! And I'm a sucker for heartwarming stories, it doesn't take much for me to get invested.

... oh, and the big, gravelly-voiced man Ash mistook for a Snorlax. xDD The episode had cute animation and funny scenes!

( Oh, and everyone pulling their weight around, renovaitng, while Cilan just sticks flowers in a vase. xDD )
 
Still haven't found an answer to my questions. I guess those two scenes I was talking about were just (unintentional?) mistakes made by the writers.
 
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