Hello everyone, and welcome to my look at Pokémon: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction! With the release of Pokémon the Movie I Choose You upon us and the release of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon drawing closer, I will start my look at the XY series films; so let’s open this up!
We open on the Diamond Domain, where the princess Diancie is very carefree, despite the words of her Carbink retainers. Naturally, Dace, as well as his minions Merrick, Bort and Allotrope tell of her responsibility to look over the Heart Diamond, as well as her kingdom. I rather like Diancie, she seems much more interesting than Jirachi. As for the pronunciation trouble: it kind of reminds me of that whole Saruman/Aruman thing in the 1978 Lord of the Rings movie. I’ve heard it both “Di-On-See” and “Diane-See.” Not going to let it bother me too much, since it’s actually a pretty good movie for the XY movies to start off with.
Anyway, Dace tells of the legend of the “All Earth Forest,” where everything was once laid to waste by Yveltal, until it was restored by Xerneas. The CGI actually isn’t that bad for Xerneas, and it looks like it was taken right from the games. I suppose these two would be part of this Apocalypse team I’m working on, with Yveltal representing War/Death, and Xerneas representing Pestilence.
After that, we get the “world of Pokémon” segment, and a relatively fun opening battle between Diantha, and a brief cameo from Wikstrom of the Elite Four. Wish we could have seen more of him or Drasna.
The animation is also fantastic, and I am glad the Origins animators were given the XY series to work with.
Anyway, after a battle between Ash and Astrid from the Mega Evolution Specials; our main cast of Ash, Bonnie, Clemont and Serena help Diancie elude a competing duo of thieves: they are Merilyn, a mage who uses a Delphox; and Riot; a ninja who uses a Greninja. I see what you did there.
After they’re introduced, while I still have no formal opinion on Diancie being telepathic; I will once again address the voice acting, since it’s been a point of contention among fans, especially after Tom Wayland let slip that he basically just lets the cast do what they want for their performances.
In their defense, they’re not… that bad. I obviously don’t hold them to the same standards as the cast of Cowboy Bebop or Gurren Lagann; and they are trying at least.
Team Rocket then catches Diancie in a burlap bag; and she sees right through their thievery! Jessie welcomes Diancie to the city, and Diancie decides to humor them by making them some diamonds! Anyone else getting a vibe of No-face and the gold in Spirited Away?
I also don’t really agree with Dogasu’s displeasure with James’ Inkay. Personally, I thought its evolved form of Malamar was weirder, and not just because it sounds like a chocolatey marshmallow treat. Different strokes, I guess.
Diancie escapes from Team Rocket with the help of Millis Steel, who is tracking Diance with her Chesnaught and her father Argus.
Team Rocket also discovers their diamonds are worthless as a Famiclone SNES Classic knockoff, since they just vanish after that! Diancie then decides to travel with everyone to the Diamond Domain as Millis reports to her father. She wishes Argus would stop eating so much chocolate, which even has a bit of OR/AS cross-promotion as he mentions he imported it from Hoenn.
If it sounds like I’m covering a lot in such short time, you’re right. This movie covers a lot of ground in an hour and 15 minutes; and I’ve already covered a third of the movie’s runtime. I’ve been at this for a long time, I’ve been getting good at covering these movies in just a few paragraphs.
As everyone boards a ferry to get Diancie to Xerneas, they see a bunch of Buizel and Floatzel in the water. I wonder how my associate Blaze the Movie Fan would like this area.
I also like the casual sweatsuits that Bonnie and Clemont wear after they’re splashed by the water Pokémon. My head canon version of Clemont has something similar: wearing beat-up jeans and a nerdy t-shirt under his flight suit.
After they make landfall, we get a scene in a large shopping mall; including a brief cameo from a character known a Uschi, based on real-life soccer player Uchida Atsuto. The film came out in Japan around the same time as the World Cup that year; and even had Pikachu help promote the games, hence the Pikachu on his shoulder and the soccer ball in his hands.
Hilarity also ensues when everyone almost mistakes the Carbink retainers for working with the thieves. Immediately after that, they have a skirmish in the streets with Merilyn!
I also like how Serena is able to use her background with Rhyhorn racing to help Diancie escape.
Riot tries to use his Greninja’s tongue to kidnap Diancie, but thanks to Clemont’s Aipom arm and a nuzzle from Dedenne; they’re able to break free! This may not be my favorite of these movies, but the XY films definitely had a strong start with this one. Definitely better than the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie at least.
Diancie then tires making a Heart Diamond, but she isn’t able to sustain it! Fortunately, Millis is able to hold off Riot and Merilyn so everyone can escape! This is a very strange movie, but it’s still pretty fun overall. I got this as a birthday present a couple years back, and even though I haven’t seen it as much as the other movies, I am still enjoying writing about it.
At the 40-minute mark, Diancie and her retainers lead everyone to the Diamond Domain, but the Heart Diamond is losing is its energy! Huh. I know it’s been around for longer in the movie’s universe, but it’s strange this mystical power source has less capacity than my phone or my 3DS.
Anyway, Diancie must make a new Heart Diamond; and she needs help from Xerneas to master this skill! Ash agrees to help her find Xerneas before it’s too late. Now that’s a quality I like: he’s willing to help a diamond princess he’s never met just because it’s right.
Everyone reaches the All-Earth Forest, which is a desolate place where no one dares to travel! So, kind of like Michigan. Apologies to anyone who lives there seeing this, no disrespect intended.
Still, Dace exposits that the forest is recovering since Yveltal last was there; and it may have been part of the plan! I know: sometimes things don’t go the way you expect, but they do end up making sense later on.
Diancie spots Xerneas, but the Pokémon is a bit hard to follow without feet! Also, Xerneas kind of sounds like Galadriel.
Xerneas grants Diancie’s wish for the power it seeks, and a special power known as a “Fairy Aura!”
Just then, they’re ambushed by Millis and Argus, who were after Diancie all along! What a twist!
Also, they have a Honedge with a surveillance camera on the hilt; and an invisible aircraft! So, the final battle begins with not only our heroes, but at least four different kinds of crooks vying for Diancie! It is a might crowded, but the animation itself is very sharp and colorful nonetheless.
Their attacks end up awakening Yveltal from its cocoon! It starts unleashing Oblivion Wing, turning everything in its path to lifeless rock! This forces Xerneas to fight off the Legendary Pokémon! This is actually a pretty dark example of its power, and it comes close to the final battle of Rogue One, but not totally.
Still, it really says something when Riot and Merilyn are prepared to accept their fate; and they’re turned to stone by Oblivion Wing as well!
As the forest is rendered a lifeless husk, Merrick tells Ash to keep Diancie safe right before they’re turned to stone! The last hour sure escalated quick, didn’t it? Still 15 minutes left, too!
Diancie discovers her true power just in time: not only does she create the Heart Diamond, she can also Mega Evolve! Her design is very impressive, covered in glittering jewels that resemble an ornate dress; and it’s powerful enough to ward off Yveltal!
Millis and Argus then start firing rockets at Yveltal from their ship! They don’t totally stop Yveltal, but they buy enough time for Xerneas to keep the balance and stop its rage!
Still, Pikachu has been stricken with Oblivion Wing, rendering him lifeless in Ash’s arms! … Once I get to the I Choose You movie, I will address the scene everyone is wondering about. I also might not say what some of you think I will, just so you know.
Moved by everyone’s goodwill, Xerneas restores life to the land and plants itself as a tree as Yveltal returns to sleep! “We. Are. Groot.” Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
So, we close on Diancie restoring the Heart Diamond to her kingdom, and congratulating everyone for their help. It also turns out that the diamond she made for the first time is also her Mega Stone, a Diancite! This may not be my favorite of these movies, but it was still a solid first entry for the XY films.
“Pokémon: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction” is a worthwhile film in the long-running Pokémon series. While it’s no masterpiece, and it still serves as an arm linked to the best-selling video game series; I definitely enjoyed writing about it to share with you all. I wanted to do this for a long time, and I’m once again glad I have finally gotten around to it. The animation is delightful, and I am glad that I was able to write this with the full version in mind. One key advantage over when I watched it on Cartoon Network: “no cuts.” If you have access to Netflix or the full DVD, I can recommend giving this movie a watch. It’s not perfect, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Next time, my look at the XY series films continues with my look at Pokémon: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages! See you space cowboy!
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