One Pokémon’s Signature Ability Proves How the Anime Improves the Games’ World

One of the best attributes of the Pokémon anime is how it can improve upon the world that the games have built up, showcasing a different side of life in the Pokémon world. A fantastical example of this takes place in the Black and White era of the anime, where one Pokémon’s exclusive ability allowed it to become the ultimate movie star.

Because the anime often has side stories and slice-of-life episodes, it’s able to show what life is like with Pokémon for those who aren’t battling and challenging gyms. People are often shown to have one or two partner Pokémon, like a pet, but a Pokémon can do far more than the average pet can, and these partners are usually skilled at something that makes them very useful to their human. In the episode “Movie Time! Zorua in ‘The Legend of the Pokémon Knight’!”, there’s a perfect example with the eponymous Zorua, whose ability to make illusions is one of the most unique in the franchise.

Zorua is the Ultimate Pokémon Movie Star

In the episode, a young director name Luke is trying to make a movie, but has almost no budget to work with. Thus, he’s decided to enlist his trusty Zorua in the film, causing it to take on the appearance of the characters in the film and essentially do all the acting by itself. Luke also has a Golett, which helps to carry film equipment, and a Leavanny to sew costumes. While Ash and his companions meet up with Luke and decide to help him out by starring in the film alongside Zorua, Luke was completely prepared to film the entire movie with Zorua in every role, and it was only due to Zorua’s insistence on playing one particular role that Ash’s group were able to join in.

It’s not hard to imagine how useful Zorua’s illusion ability would be for a filmmaker, and it’s the perfect example of the way a person’s partner Pokémon can make their life a lot easier. Other episodes focused on making movies have also featured Pokémon in key roles, like having a Pidgeotto providing wind, and Water-type Pokémon providing rain for stormy shots. There’s even a Hawlucha used as a stunt double in an XY episode. It’s completely logical that Pokémon’s unique powers would be employed to help in the production of movies in the Pokémon world, and their movies are probably quite convincing due to the real sources of their effects.

Zorua does have one major limitation, though: it can’t speak, even in illusory form, so all its dialog had to be dubbed over by Iris. Despite this, Zorua’s ability to take on other forms makes it a fantastic choice for a filmmaker’s partner, and with a little creativity this downside is hardly even relevant, especially since dialog in films is often re-recorded in sound booths anyway. Of course, there are countless other non-film related jobs a Pokémon could do as well, but few are as useful as a Zorua is in this particular scenario. This window into a different side of the Pokémon world than the games might show is exactly the kind of thing that the anime does well, and it’s always entertaining to see Pokémon outside of a battle context.