Reviews

Wait a second, is this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons the first time that Friede hasn’t shown up in an episode? Wow! I just realized this when his seminar came up right at the end. Anyways, this was actually a really great episode! Liko gets to battle Katy, and terastalizes Floragato for the first time too!

What I like most about this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons is that so much is given out, and that it's all explained so thoroughly. Instead of having the kids go on a Treasure Hunt like in the game, Liko, Roy and Dot enroll in Naranja Academy’s Terastal Course. It turns out that the school allows students from all over the world to enroll in the course to learn more about the Terastal phenomenon, as permitted by Director Clavell and Chairwoman Geeta.

What a great way to end the second chapter of Pokémon Horizons! The raid battle against the Black Rayquaza in this week's episode was intense! Liko, Roy and Dot all show off their improved battling tactics alongside Friede and Amethio, who shows up unexpectedly after his colleagues retreated. Just seeing the fruits of their hard work, from Amethio mastering Terastal, to Liko and Roy battling so competently without the need of Friede’s handholding, to Liko’s Sprigatito evolving into Floragato, a rare occurrence for Grass-type starters.

Things are getting intense now, with the Brave Olivine sustaining major damage in this week's episode from the Black Rayquaza crashing into it. I think the third arc of Pokémon Horizons being a school arc makes a lot of sense now, as the kids can spend time at school while they wait for the airship to be fully repaired, which you have to imagine could take a long while.

When the Explorers start showing up, you know it’s getting to the end of an arc. With the third chapter of Pokémon Horizons announced, and with two of the Explorers showing up in this episode, it’s inevitable that a big battle is going to happen. I’m excited for the next two weeks. I also enjoyed this week's episode a lot too! It was surprisingly fun.

What did I just watch? Was this a Pokémon Horizons episode or a superhero flick? Whatever it was, I want to see more! I think this week's episode was really fun, and I feel like they should make something similar in the future! This was definitely an interesting way to write a beach episode for a Pokémon anime show!

Why are Dot-focused episodes of Pokémon Horizons so good? Episode 15, which was a mix of Dot and Liko-focus, was good; Episode 39, the first true Dot-focused episode, was really good; and this week's episode focusing on Dot’s backstory, was really really good!

This week's episode of Pokémon Horizons reveals the origins of Liko's Sprigatito! It’s interesting how Sprigatito knew where she came from, and even came back to visit. It’s also nice to learn how these starters come to be, and how they get sent off to schools and labs for beginning trainers. In Sprigatito’s case, it seems she came from a breeder who specializes in breeding feline Pokémon.

Like I mentioned back in my Episode 37 review, I think it's good when episodes focus on just the kids without adult interference. This week's episode of Pokémon Horizons is no exception. Not only is this is a really good episode, it also focuses on Dot! Dot episodes have been rare, so it’s best to savor this one as much as possible!

Since last week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was Roy-focused, it makes sense that this week's episode would be Liko-focused. What’s even better is that it’s also a Hatenna-focused episode too! I think this is the first time she's had focus since her debut. And what's even better than a Hatenna-focused episode? The adult accompanying Liko for this episode isn’t Friede, but Mollie! She’s one of my favorites in Horizons, so I’m glad that she gets to have some of thee spotlight again!

On the third part of the odd jobs saga in Pokémon Horizons, the Rising Volt Tacklers are given a task to move a giant rock as requested by Friede’s archaeologist friend. Although the episode doesn’t explicitly mention it, the group seems to have gone to the Unova region for this task, specifically the Relic Castle located in the middle of the Desert Resort. With this series of odd jobs looking to cointinue for a while, it’s nice to see that they're not just going to be restricted to Paldea, and could potentially be anywhere in the Pokémon world.

The odd jobs saga continues in Pokémon Horizons this week as Liko and Roy are tasked to help one of Nidothing’s viewers with a problem. The viewer, who goes by the username Yunorin, wants to join the Tag Battle Tournament being held in Pigton Town, but her Oinkologne isn’t too thrilled about partnering up with another Pokémon. What could be the issue? It’s nice that the kids are the main focus of this week's episode without adults interfering this time around.

Pokémon Horizons has finally returned after taking a few weeks off due to the holidays. Now that the festivities are over, we’re back to our weekly schedule for Horizons until the series takes its next scheduled break. This week's episode happens to be a fun, relaxing episode about the group working odd jobs.

While this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was mainly a straightforward episode with the gang holding a party for Diana’s departure, I actually liked the subtle hints of foreshadowing for the future they snuck in. This episode has hints of the Rising Volt Tacklers going to find the Scarlet/Violet Book that harbors details about Terapagos, Dot going into battle, and Spinel and Agate hinting on usurping Amethio’s chances of finding the Black Rayquaza. This episode has done a lot to help build my excitement for what's coming in future episodes.

This week's episode of Pokémon Horizons treated us to a beatdown, with Amethio getting totally wiped by Rayquaza, in humiliating fashion. Silly Amethio, did you really think you have the power to defeat a legendary? I do wonder why Rayquaza showed up though. It seemed like he wasn’t as chummy towards Terapagos as the other Hero Pokémon were. Does it not like Terapagos for some reason?

Is it weird to tear up from this anime? This final episode of Paldean Winds isn’t even a sad one, yet I still shed some tears. They’re not tears of sadness though, but rather tears of joy. I felt overwhelmed because this finale was the perfect love letter to the Paldea region.

I’m quite a bit divided over this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons, in all honesty. While there are several good aspects of this episode that I liked, there are a number of things that are nagging at me a lot. So sit down, relax, and let me explain what's got me so conflicted with this episode.

While this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was primarily buildup to the reveal of the fourth of the Six Hero Pokémon, I did like the mystery building up around the Lapras. A cargo ship thought it was helping them escape a fog, when it reality, Lapras was looting their food. Lapras's Pokédex entries going back to the first generation have mentioned how they are gentle and kind-hearted Pokémon, so that means it should be a good Pokémon, right?

Have you ever envisioned a brawl between a Shuckle and a Polteageist? Whether you have or haven’t, this episode delivers just that, as Polteageist makes its official anime debut. I liked that this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was more of a Pokémon-focused episode, rather than Horizons’ usual human and Pokémon-focused episodes. While there were some humans that played a key part in this episode, they weren’t the real focus of this episode as it was all Polteageist.

This latest episode of Paldean Winds one wasn’t as action-packed as the previous two, but it was still a gentle story showing its central character learning an important life lesson. This time, it’s Hohma’s turn in the spotlight, focusing on his attempts to get a video with Team Star as part of the main character's overall video project for the academy.