The Pokémon franchise has had much success in its long run of episodes and films. Occasionally though, there's bound to be one or two things about it where mistakes are made. To most who enjoyed the original set of voice actors, the new set to take over in Season 9 is the first biggest mistake. However, there was another moment where the voice cast was in the middle of a change. Upon its tenth anniversary, the franchise released a special to commemorate that milestone. Again, from the Japan side it was played fairly consistent with the voice cast being who they've been since it began. Not so much from the US side though. This special is unique all right, but for too many bad reasons. There's really nothing about it that makes it worth a ten-year recognition.
The plot is about Ash and company being invited to the laboratory of Dr. Yung (Bill Timoney), a colleague of Professor Oak's. It is there he wants to test out his newest creation of what he calls "Mirage Pokémon". To accomplish this, Dr. Yung uses sophisticated technology to extract DNA from Pokémon using a database and then creating holograms that produce the same kind of effects as regular Pokémon. That is until a mysterious figure known as "The Mirage Master" kidnaps Dr. Yung and intends to use this new creation as a means of world domination. The script was handled by a different duo from Japan. Masamitsu Hidaka directed who also headed Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2000) and writing was by Shinzô Fujita, who is no stranger to the franchise either. What doesn't make sense is just how uninspired the story is.
The identity of the mysterious mirage master should be of no surprise to anyone who's been watching all episodes and films up to this point. It's just not hard to figure out. Additionally, why was it that if this antagonist wanted to rule the world, why did he invite Ash and friends and even Misty? Of course it's because that's what fans recognize, but at least include characters that would make sense in the plan. Misty has no reason of being there other than to make fans happy that the original trio is back on screen. Additionally, the whole concept of mirage Pokémon speaks for itself. It's an idea that should never become a thing as it's just not practical or improve the style of Pokémon in any way. Who wants to own holograms that can think and act like real life Pokémon? It's not like they take up a lot of room; hence the full name pocket monsters? At least the villain has a backstory this time though.
It just feels random, kind of like just another episode with an extended run time but with lazier writing. Which thankfully still is rather painless as to if it were a full length film. What further makes this hard to watch is the voice acting from the US side. Unfortunately for those who saw this when it originally aired, Sarah Natochenny wasn't the voice of Ash just yet, even though she did a redub to this special later on. Originally, voicing the main character was Kayzie Rogers who really only voices Max in Season 9. Rogers as Ash is shaky at best and that's probably because she was trying to get the feel for the character. Michele Knotz also voices Misty in this special and it's an okay showing but nothing significant. Not even Bill Timoney as the mirage master is interesting and he's done voice work for other animes.
Really, the iffy voice acting and half-hearted story barely allows even for mild fluff. Making things more confusing is cinematography and animation which looks again to be of the regular episode quality. It's surprising since Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2000) was also a special but had a much crisper and vibrant look to it. Hisao Shirai returns for this special as director of photography but it's unclear where the digital camera sits as there's no swooping shots of any sort. Then there's Shinji Miyazaki returning to score the special which does have merit since he has been working on the franchise for quite some time. And to expect an album release at all for the cues composed would be a great misstep. Not even an album was released in Japan for this.
About as lame as the plot to Pokémon the Movie 2000 (1999), there's very little to enjoy out of this special. The plot is random, with uneven voice acting and the animation doesn't look any better than the TV show episodes. Music and runtime are probably the best things about this at all.
