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The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon (also known as The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon: A 10th Anniversary Special or The Terrifying Mirage Pokémon in Japan) is an hour-length special episode/TV movie of Pokémon the Series. This special premiered on Kids' WB on April 29, 2006. It became available on DVD in the United States on September 19 that year as a special feature on the 2-disc Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew release, and the original dub aired on October 28 in the same year on Cartoon Network. The special was produced to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise. This special first aired between The Symbol Life and Hooked on Onix (two episodes of Pokémon Advanced Battle) in the United States. The special was set during the events of Pokémon Battle Frontier, taking place after May's Egg-Cellent Adventure since Ash's Pikachu knows Volt Tackle.
Plot[]
Dr. Yung, an enigmatic Pokémon scientist, has developed a new Mirage system that uses computer data to resurrect extinct Pokémon, like Kabutops and Armaldo. Ash Ketchum and his friends meet up with Misty and Professor Oak to investigate Dr. Yung's new Mirage Pokémon system. But when the mysterious Mirage Master appears with a Mirage Mewtwo, Ash is forced to fight him to stop his plans to dominate the world with his Mirage Pokémon.
Cast[]
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Ash Ketchum | Rica Matsumoto | Kayzie Rogers Sarah Natochenny (redub) |
| Max | Fushigi Yamada | Kayzie Rogers |
| Officer Jenny | Chinami Nishimura | |
| Wobbuffet | Yuji Ueda | |
| Pikachu | Ikue Otani | |
| Brock | Yuji Ueda | Bill Rogers |
| May | Kaori | Michele Knotz |
| Misty | Mayumi Iizuka | |
| Jessie Nurse Joy Squirtle |
Megumi Hayashibara Yuriko Yamaguchi Tomoe Hanba | |
| James Meowth Professor Oak |
Shin-ichiro Miki Inuko Inuyama Unsho Ishizuka |
James Carter Cathcart |
| Dr. Yung | Hidenobu Kiuchi | Billy Regan |
| Mirage Mew | Satomi Korogi | |
| Mirage Mewtwo | Katsuyuki Konishi | |
| Narrator | Unsho Ishizuka | Rodger Parsons |
Production[]
According to The Pokémon Company International, the company wanted to give a special to American fans for Pokémon's 10th anniversary. The director of the special, Kunihiko Yuyama, said that their goal was to "convey the growth and evolution of Pokémon series over the past 10 years".[1] In Japan, the special was aired as a trial of delivering animated episodes over broadband.[2] This special marked the first time English-language production was handled exclusively by The Pokémon Company International.
Previously, 4Kids Entertainment was mostly responsible for the English dub of the anime. As a result of this change, costs were cut, and the English-language version of the special featured an all-new voice cast, replacing the original voice actors (except James Carter Cathcart, Kayzie Rogers and Rodger Parsons) for many major characters, many of whom had worked on the show for eight seasons and films. Rogers also voiced Ash Ketchum for the original version of the special, but was subsequently replaced by Sarah Natochenny. It was announced at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con that the version available on DVD would be improved from that aired on TV, with dialogue being re-recorded after the new voice cast became more familiar with their roles, and after Ash was given another new voice actor, Sarah Natochenny. The redub was included as a bonus disc on the home media release of Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
Music[]
Pokémon Go! serves as the theme song for the movie. The short version song is also played at the end credits of season 9. All the music used in the special was originally used in the Japanese movies and series, including music from Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back and Destiny Deoxys. 4Kids mostly used its own, American-composed music for the series.
Gallery[]
Reception[]
The change of the anime's voice actors and the film itself caused controversy and extremely negative reception among many fans as it is considered one of the worst Pokémon specials and movies ever made. However, some of them said that the new voice actors were considered inferior replacements to this day.
Trivia[]
- This is the only Pokémon production dubbed by TPCi to air on Kids' WB.
- This is the first time Michele Knotz plays Misty. She would not appear again in the role until the anime proper in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!, about seven years later. Knotz is also Jessie's current English voice actress.
- This was the first Pokémon anime feature to air in the U.S. earlier than in Japan.
- The second time this happened was later that same year when Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! (anime special of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team) premiered in the United States six months before the Japanese version aired.
- The scenes of Pikachu's memories of Lugia, Entei, Celebi, Latias, and Latios are taken from their respective movie appearances:
- Lugia: Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One
- Entei: Pokémon 3: The Movie: Spell of the Unown: Entei
- Celebi: Pokémon 4Ever: Celebi: Voice of the Forest
- Latias and Latios: Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias
- The one movie from the original series not shown in Pikachu's memories is Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back due to the fact that everyone's memories of that event were erased by Mewtwo at the end of that film.
- The password for Professor Oak's lab, "REDGREEN", is a reference to the original pair of Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green.
- This is the last time Misty is seen in her Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire outfit. Misty would later return to her original outfit during Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon.
- The copyright notice on the Japanese version reads © 2006 Pokémon USA, Inc./ShoPro. © 2006 Pokémon. © 1995 - 2006 Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc. Some of the U.S. production credits were also included.
- During the opening theme, a brief frame of Dr. Yung standing behind Mewtwo dressed as the unmasked Mirage Master can be seen, spoiling the special's climactic plot twist.
See also[]
- Mewtwo Returns (another anime special featuring Mewtwo and Mew)
- Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution (movies featuring Mewtwo and Mew)
References[]
External links[]
- The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon at Bulbapedia, the Pokémon wiki.
- Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon at the Internet Movie Database
- Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon at Anime News Network