Ash sends Celebi to fly on ahead with Carl’s Bronzor to find the time ripple, but Kodai stops it-- only to learn it's actually Celebi! Hey, do you remember when in this movie we were specifically told Zorua can't fly when it takes Celebi's form? Neither do the writers! Neither. Do. The. Writers. Well, Zorua gets into trouble, so Zoroark rushes off to find it. Zorua does his best to fight Kodai, but only succeeds in slightly biting his wrist. Sucks, bro.
Kodai stops Ash and the real Celebi just before they reach the time ripple, but Zoroark appears. Kodai threatens the unconscious Zorua to stop it from stopping him, and puts his extendoclaw thing into the time ripple to drain its power, obviously feeling it flow through him. Ash tells him that the trees will die if he does this, and Kodai admits that he was the one who killed the trees twenty years ago, but who can stop him now that he has the time energy again?
However, the trees-wall-die ripple effects rewinds, and Kodai realizes it's all an elaborate illusion by Zoroark: his anti-illuision bracelet was bit and destroyed when Zorua bit him. Carl shows up and reveals that he used a camcorder to record Kodai's insane speech, so Kodai has Shuppet attack-- Zorua? Well, Zoroark jumps and takes the attack, so Kodai starts electrically torturing Zoroark before it breaks free. Pikachu and Zoroark defeat Kodai's pokemon, but Kodai still almost makes it to the time ripple before the Legendary Beasts appear and protect it. That's their entire contribution to the plot, by the way: they stand in Kodai's way for three seconds before he runs off in another direction. Kodai runs away into a stadium and seems to reach an airship, but it's obviously an illusion by Zoroark to trick him into falling off a ledge and onto an empty field, where he falls unconscious. Why does it bother with this elaborate trick? I don't know. I do not know.
Zoroark dies of its Shuppet-and-Kodai inflicted wounds for some reason, and it creates an illusion of where it lived: a vibrant meadow that would be horrible for a large, black animal that relies on trickery to survive. Everyone just kind of remembers the time ripple is still there, so Celebi enters it and, reinvigorated with life energy or something, flies back out and heals Zoroark. Now that it's alive, its illusion disappears (???). Celebi time travels away, the Legendary Beasts disappear, and a choir starts singing "Ba-ba-ba-ba-bam!" for no reason. Kodai wakes to Carl's video being played on every TV in the city, and is arrested by Officer Jenny for the crime of… deforestation, I guess.
Jesus Hell this movie is awful. The way Kodai’s visions work is never explained, he just kind of gets random glimpses of the future that may or may not come true, and his entire motive is “make my company do well,” which isn’t even that evil, let’s just be honest here. His plan to use Zoroark to evacuate the city only makes sense because his vision told him that, somehow, the Legendary Beasts needed to be involved, and otherwise, his plan would be needlessly elaborate and frankly idiotic. It’s also never explained how he found the first time ripple twenty years ago or why Celebi falls for the exact same man’s tricks involving the time ripple twice. Rowena and Carl literally only exist to give constant exposition on things the heroes otherwise can’t learn, and Zorua’s and Zoroark’s illusions make no sense if you give them any thought.
Also, Piplup is particularly annoying in this movie, but I made a point of not mentioning it.
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Started: July 6, 2005