Illusion Confusion! (123)

[GoodPokemonTrainer121]

ah a very decent episode but I did like Gary appearance

[Jesse GS the II]

This episode lacks that certain je ne sais quoi. Takeda's by-the-numbers direction certainly doesn't help, but I think a big part of it is Shigeru's disappointing appearance. I think it would have been better if they'd focused a little more on him, actually - you know, maybe compare how he's been doing in Jouto so far compared to Satoshi. There's talk about how he's been catching a lot of Pokémon in the area, but wouldn't it be awesome if he hadn't caught anything in Jouto yet? I just have this idea for an underlying plot thread where Shigeru realizes his "catch first, ask questions later" method of training doesn't work, and he's got a whole team of underdeveloped Pokémon as a result of it, and he gradually becomes more and more jaded with the whole concept of training, which'd foreshadow his eventual hiatus at the end of Jouto...

But look at me, I'm rambling again.

Anyway, there are aspects to this episode that I like. Hoho liking Kasumi better than Satoshi is a nice twist. They do it so much, though, that it starts out funny, becomes unfunny, and then goes on so long that it becomes funny again. (It's humor through repetition, like "The Simpsons" and the rake scene.) Suzu-sama and Kane-sama are some of the better Jouto characters-of-the-day - their crabby voices help to make them memorable. I like the music in this one, too. There's a lot of weird melodies that I don't think I've heard before, like when Satoshi-tachi are chasing Hoho to the shrine in the first place.

And of course, Musashi and Kojirou are the highlight of the episode yet again. They're so delightfully random - locking Pikachu in a strongbox, swinging Satoshi against a tree and then capturing the imprint of his body on carbon paper, and then escaping in a rowboat strung between the trees...which immediately falls to the ground 'cause it's so cheaply made. And I can't help but giggle at how Kojirou gets eaten by Utsubot again, then spends a good minute conducting dialogue with the rest of the characters while still standing inside Utsubot's mouth. That's just a funny visual.

Probably my favorite moment in the episode is somewhat of a meta-joke - when Satoshi is dangling from the rope that's snared Pikachu, he hears Musashi and Kojirou laughing up above, then exasperatedly sighs and asks "What's that?" with no enthusiasm, just so he can set up the Rocket-dan motto. He knows who it is, and he knows what's going to happen, and he's just so tired of it - it's like the show is poking fun at its own formulaic properties. (There's a similar joke in an Orange Islands episode where Satoshi-tachi just stand around yawning and shuffling their feet while they wait for Musashi-tachi to finish their motto, and when it's done, they immediately snap back to defensive poses and shout "Rocket-dan!" Only two years in, they're already making fun of themselves!)

[Ciccone]

It was a delightful episode really. I liked how Hoot-hoot debuted in a spooky forest setting. I also really liked how Hoot-hoot preferred Misty over Ash and seeing Ash try to teach it to be brave was funny since Hoot-hoot just attacked Ash and returned to Misty haha. I also liked how Gary showed up and as always, he was better prepared for the journey (having gotten his own Hoot-hoot to lead the way). 8/10.

[Ash-kid]

It was great to see Gary again.

I loved this Hoot-Hoot, but not the fact that it hates Ash, i didn't understand why.

[RickHoenn]

Nice episode, Gary appears, HootHoot is cool and I loved Agatha & Nogatha, it was a funny eps overall! 10/10

[Vern]

I thought it was a great episode. Hoothoot is a pretty cool Pokémon and it's the first time in a long time that I actually got to see it without with both legs. Gary made a rather random appearance here though which was pretty pointless.

[G50]

Didn't like this episode. It was cool however to see Hoothoot for the 1st time. They say you can't see the change, but it is very noticeable. The whole episode didn't show anything of note to me...

5/100

[TheEpicGoomba]

Didn't like this episode to much. But seeing Hoothoot was cool and seeing it only had one foot.

3/10

[AquaMilotic]

This was so funny, Hoothoot pecking Ash and liking Misty! And Gary being lucky getting the last "normal" Hoothoot. When Ash said there were no pretty girls, he didn't mean it. I don't see Misty as pretty, but I'm sure Ash does (I'm a PokeShipper). That old woman shouldn't have been mad, she's a woman, not a girl.

[Angel~]

I like the notion of needing a Hoothoot to navigate through the forest cause of some trouble making Ghost Pokemon, hehehe I like how some pokemon really take a liking to Misty. Omg when the bug illusions were on Misty I felt really sad for her, and hoot hoot didn't even help her until Ash gave it some confidence and told him how Misty always believed in him, I liked when Ash said that therefore hoot hoot saving Misty from the illusion bugs.

[Calamity™]

It's Bellossom!
Hagatha... what a brilliant name! This was an alright episode. It was nice to see Ash getting pecked, and a Pokémon that was sort of similar to Brock. I wouldn't mind a bunch of Haunter and Gengar making an illusion like they did for Team Rocket at the end.

[Aquarelle]

I didn't like how Gary was in this episode for like 5 seconds...why bother putting him in if he's not going to do anything? Oh well, aside from that I thought the rest of the episode was pretty good. I thought the illusions were pretty interesting and fun to watch. Also, I liked Hagatha and Nagatha, mostly because of how scary looking they were.

[32er]

Nice episode, I think it's kinda under-rated, but I guess that's a matter of opinion.

[7threst]

Considering Gary's appearance rate was pretty low for most of Johto (Excluding the Johto League of course) he appeared pretty fast already. I think this episode was hilarious while simultaneously having a great plot. Hoothoot was hilarious with Ash xD.

[Demon Kitsune Yoko Kurama]

Haha. That Hoothoot was too funny when it was pecking Ash. I do wonder what Pokemon Gary caught in the forest though. And haha, it likes Misty.