Review- "Celebi and Joy" (Pokémon Chronicles)

Hey fellas- with the reveal of Pokémon Arceus Chronicles getting dubbed in English at last; it's time to pick up where I left off with Pokémon Chronicles. Let’s open up "Celebi and Joy."

"The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here in our present, tonight..."

The episode begins with Richie and his partner Sparky coming across a Pokémon Center with a rustic appearance and a shrine to Celebi. As Richie stops the building from being razed; the elderly Nurse Joy watching over the place mourns her lost childhood love, who died in a landslide. His name was Nick, and if you haven’t guessed yet; this episode is going to have Ritchie time travel 75 years ago to prevent this from happening. Charitably, this means we’re following Terminator rules; where we’re deliberately trying to change the future to prevent a worse one; as opposed to Back to the Future rules; where all potential changes can have immeasurable consequences.

At roughly the 7-minute mark; Celebi sends Richie & Sparky back through time 75 years; saving Joy from falling off a ravine while riding on Ponyta. Guess they might call that the Eastwood Ravine.

Wouldn’t you know it- Nick is the one who built the shrine; and he has feelings for Joy as well. If you have figured out what's going to happen; congratulations- the episode will take much longer to get there. 

Before that happens, we get scenes of Joy remarking on Richie's outfit as a "Traveling Trainer." If she asks about him wearing a life preserver, I'm out.

They reach the Pokémon Center under construction, and it turns he builds with leftover material after his dad finishes big jobs. Guess that's like our clock tower in Hill Valley; just hope nobody has the almanac.

So, Nick reveals that tomorrow is Joy's birthday and the opening ceremony for the Center; but he has to leave with his father on another job. Richie basically has to prevent him from dying in the landslide that will take place then.

Before that, we have to sit through a "will he/won't he" of Nick admitting his feelings toward Joy; despite the ticking clock. Again, we have what's actually not the worst idea for a story getting turned into a sitcom-caliber story.

As Richie tries to convince Nick to open up to Joy; it turns out Joy has gone missing during a storm; and the townsfolk need help to find her! They find Joy unconscious under a log; taking her into the crook of a tree; and wow is this scene badly-animated. Even Nick trying to save the shrine looks worse than this screensaver I used to have on my computer back in Sebastopol. 

The next day, Richie rides after Nick and convinces him to attend the party; as well as confess his feelings for Joy, which his dad agrees to; evading the landslide in the process! He did change the future after all!

Celebi takes Richie back to the present of Marion Town (not even the time travel shenanigans made this town memorable enough to mention before now). The laborers from before are now helping preserve the building and the town itself. Not quite a bully becoming an auto detailer after getting decked; but I will take it. We close on the reveal that Nick stayed after confessing his feelings to the elder Joy, and Marion Town now looks a mix of Olde Town village with a dash of solar punk. I guess Richie made a good future in this zone.

"Celebi and Joy" does not spark joy, but it doesn't make much for sadness or rage either. The concept isn’t the worst; but the execution of its time travel plot fails to invoke any emotional reaction on the Voight-Kampf test. Honestly prefer Captain America looking at how "thick" he was in his 2012 costume. The animation looking worse than a Newgrounds fan project doesn't help make up for the underutilized story either.

Post-review follow-up: most annoying characters go to the laborers bookending the episode, with a dishonorable mention going to young Nick for his self-doubt making zero sense in the context of the story.

Since I already recapped "Training Daze," next Chronicles review is on "Journey to the Starting Line," a textbook example of how not to start a journey of a new trainer. That's all for now, take care. Later.