The Island of Illusions! (Japanese: 幻影の島!霧の中のゾロアーク!!, Hepburn: The Island of Illusions! The Zoroark in the Fog!!) is the 30th episode of Pokémon: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyond.
Synopsis[]
From the ship, Ash, Iris, and Cilan see what looks like a giant Pokémon through the fog! No one else seems to have seen it, so they decide to ask around at their next stop, Grand Spectrala Island. A shopkeeper tells them about a rumor of such a sighting on a small island nearby, and they immediately run off to investigate before he can tell them the rumor is from ten years ago.
As they explore the small island, our heroes are threatened by a giant Heatmor! It also frightens several wild Pokémon, including a Foongus that attacks Axew while trying to get away, putting it into a deep sleep! Pikachu attempts to fight back, but none of its attacks seem to do anything. Then, a mysterious person runs out of the forest to stand between our heroes and the giant Heatmor—and then both of them disappear! Cilan thinks they’re dealing with illusions, but they have bigger problems on their hands: Axew still won’t wake up, and they need to find a Pokémon Center.
They discover an old, run-down Pokémon Center hidden deep in the forest, and its lobby is full of wild Pokémon awaiting treatment! Iris calls for help, and an Audino appears and then runs off to fetch Nurse Joy…who returns without Audino. Ash is a little confused by this, because Nurse Joy and Audino always work together. In another sign that this Pokémon Center is a little unusual, Nurse Joy makes some medicine for Axew by grinding several berries together with a mortar and pestle. But the low-tech approach is effective, and Axew wakes up full of energy!
Then the mysterious person appears again and introduces herself—she’s an older Nurse Joy who now investigates Pokémon Centers. She says this particular center, where she used to work, is supposed to be closed because there aren’t any Trainers on the island. Then, she accuses the younger Nurse Joy of being an impostor!
The younger Nurse Joy seems to shimmer, and our heroes see something strange: a vision of Investigator Nurse Joy from ten years ago, bringing an injured Zorua into the Pokémon Center. She tells our heroes that she released Zorua into the forest after treating it, but it would often return to help her out around the center. The two became good friends, but eventually the center was shut down, and Nurse Joy had to leave.
Soon all becomes clear: the Nurse Joy who treated Axew, and her Audino helper, are both Zoroark in disguise! Zoroark—who evolved from the Zorua that Nurse Joy rescued—has been running the Pokémon Center by itself to help out all the wild Pokémon who live on the island. Nurse Joy is touched by this and offers to stay so she and Zoroark can take care of the island Pokémon together. And after a very thorough housecleaning courtesy of our heroes, the Pokémon Center looks as good as new, and our heroes are off to their next adventure![1]
Episode plot[]
The heroes are the deck of the ship and notice a thick fog around them. They encounter a large being and as the ship seems to crash into it, the ship just passes on, as if nothing happened. Porter arrives, announcing they will rest at Grand Spectrala Island. The heroes ask if he saw that giant being. Porter admits he didn't, even the ones at the control room would see that. They soon see Grand Spectrala Island, so the heroes wonder if they can find answers to what just happened, while someone is spying on them. Arriving on the island, the heroes are told the next ship will arrive tomorrow morning.
Team Rocket observes from their Basculin submarine, and plans on catching Pikachu. The heroes go into a restaurant and see a giant Pokémon. Ash is surprised to find a Snorlax, but it is just a restaurant owner looking like one. They ask him about the giant being, but the owner denies knowing anything, for if it really would've appeared, the island would become a tourist attraction. However, he recalls something about this being, which was told to be on a small island nearby. Cilan takes a paper about the island and runs off with Ash and Iris, but the owner is sad, for he didn't get the chance to say the bridge to the island is torn down, as well as these rumors were told 10 years ago.
The heroes stop, for the bridge is torn down. Team Rocket dives out, noticing the twerps have stopped. Cilan looks at the papersheet, seeing the island is actually a Pokémon Sanctuary. Suddenly, the sea reveals a path to the island, so Cilan reads during the spring, a mysterious path is shown to the island. The heroes walk across, while Team Rocket dives, intending on catching Pikachu. Ash thinks this would be a good place for the giant Pokémon to live, while Cilan takes a deep breath, making Iris think the boys are just two little kids. The heroes walk to the center and are enveloped in a fog. Pikachu and Axew are alert, as something big is moving. The being is a giant Heatmor, who attacks. The fire causes the Pokémon to flee, causing Foongus to hit Axew in the head and putting him to sleep with Spore.
The heroes flee and end up at the end of a cliff. Cilan sees Heatmor is outraging, so Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but has no effect on Heatmor. Pikachu uses Electro Ball, but with no effect. Heatmor strikes back, so Pikachu jumps, but nearly falls down the cliff. However, Ash grabs him by the tail and pulls him back. Suddenly, a person appears, blocking Heatmor's attack, who vanishes in a fog. The heroes are surprised, for the forest fire is gone, as is this person. Cilan suspects there are illusions at hand, but since Axew is still asleep, they decide to seek out a Pokémon Center. Team Rocket is also walking to find the twerps and find a gigantic Meowth and run away from it. They reach the end of the cliff, where the giant Meowth cornered them. James wonders if the boss would be pleased with this gigantic Meowth, but is reminded there is not a giant Poké Ball enough. Since the Meowth scares them away, Team Rocket jumps down, into the sea.
Cilan realizes they are lost on this island. Iris notices a lodge, which seems to be an abandoned Pokémon Center. Cilan wonders what is it doing on this island. Nevertheless, they enter the Center and a bunch of scared wild Pokémon run out. The heroes seek for Nurse Joy, who appears after Audino sought her out. Nurse Joy goes to prepare the medicine, while Audino places the mortar and pestle. Audino seeks Nurse Joy, who claims to prepare the medicine. Iris sees something is wrong, while Nurse Joy places the berries. Ash asks for Audino, who appears, though Nurse Joy is not present. After a while, Nurse Joy makes the concoction for Axew, who drinks it up. Cilan notices this is a more traditional method, feeling Nurse Joy and Audino behave strangely. Axew wakes up, full of energy.
Suddenly, the mysterious person that stopped Heatmor's attack appears. She takes off the disguise, revealing to be Nurse Joy, who is also a Pokémon Center investigator. She has received word of an illegal Pokémon Center, which was supposed to be closed 10 years ago. Nurse Joy is certain the one operating here is not the real Nurse Joy. Fake Nurse Joy starts glowing and shows everyone the past of the Pokémon Center. A Nurse Joy runs with a Zorua and the real Nurse Joy realizes it was her when she was working here 10 years ago. Zorua was captured in a net, so Nurse Joy had it healed and release it into the wild. However, Zorua came back, with some berries to use it as medicine, even helping Nurse Joy make the concoctions. Nurse Joy realizes this fake one is actually Zorua, just shapeshifted.
Zorua asks why did Nurse Joy leave it. Nurse Joy replies since very few trainers visited the Pokémon Center, the council asked her to shut down the Pokémon Center and leave. She tried to tell Zorua about this, but Zorua never came back. Zorua shows an another past image, when it evolved into a Zoroark, since it saw two poachers capturing a Ducklett. Fortunately, Zoroark managed to shapeshift into a giant Heatmor and scare the poachers off. The heroes and Nurse Joy see the things they saw were just illusions created by Zoroark. Nurse Joy asks Zoroark why did it re-open the Pokémon Center, since it must not be taken as a prank. Iris realizes this was no prank, for Axew drank Zoroark's medicine, while Cilan sees the wild Pokémon they saw here needed medical help.
Zoroark confirms it has been here all these years, tending to the Pokémon and shifts to its original form. Iris asks Nurse Joy couldn't she re-open the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy asks Zoroark to be with her to open the Pokémon Center, which can be used primarily for wild Pokémon. Zoroark is pleased and hugs Nurse Joy, while Iris proposes to clean-up the Pokémon Center. After hours of long work, the heroes managed to shape the Pokémon Center in order. Ash asks Nurse Joy to keep the Pokémon Center in shape. Zoroark and Nurse Joy confirm and promise this. The next day, the heroes bid farewell to Nurse Joy and Zoroark, as they sail off.
Quotes[]
- "Do you think the boss would be gratefully impressed if we were to catch that mammoth Meowth for him?" - James
- "We'd need to find a big poke ball!" - Meowth
- "No to step on your creativity but shouldn't we be more concerned with getting ourselves out of here in one piece?" - Jessie
- "WE'RE BLASTING OFF STRAIGHT DOWN!" - Team Rocket
Trivia[]
- Who's that Pokémon?: Zoroark
- Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Haxorus
- Music from Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram and Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom is used in this episode.
- This episode marks the debut of Team Rocket's Basculin submarine.
- Ash and Professor Oak narrate the preview for the next episode.
- At the end of the preview, Professor Oak says "Everyone, get Pokémon" which is also what he says at the conclusion of his lectures.
- Let's Join Hands is altered to include live-action shots of Shiritsu Ebisu Chūgaku in order to promote the upcoming short Pikachu and Eevee Friends.
Mistakes[]
- When Zoroark attempted to switch to from Audino to Nurse Joy to fool Ash and his friends, he came out with a feeler on Nurse Joy, which was supposed to be only on Audino
- The feeler was the wrong color, regardless.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ (n.d.) . "The Island of Illusions! | Pokémon TV (pokemon.com)". From The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024.