Fuecoco, You're Becoming A Delinquent?! - Pokémon Horizons Episode 37 Review - Singing Crocodiles

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.

This episode doesn’t actually give us much in terms of battles between trainers. The stars of the episode, aside from Roy and Fuecoco, are the female Krookodile and her family. This one has eyelashes to signify that she's female, and I think it’s quite interesting actually to see a Krookodile with such a unique appearance. This isn't the first time the anime has given a Krookodile its own unique appearance, with Ash’s Krookodile having its own pair of sunglasses. I also liked the fact that Krookodile is the mother and the father is a Krokorok. I feel like it’s rare that the anime makes the bigger Pokémon female and the smaller one male, so it’s nice to see a different change in the formula.

This is primarily a Roy and Fuecoco episode. Surprisingly enough though, Roy doesn’t battle at all! All he does is dance and sing with Fuecoco and other crocodiles. I do like that he befriends them, which then helps Roy understand that Krookodile and her family aren’t the villains, and that they only attack the excavation site because the noise is bothering her babies. I also thought it was interesting that while it was hinted that Fuecoco might learn Round like how the other crocs used the move, which is a move Fuecoco can learn naturally, the writers opted for him to learn a TM move in Disarming Voice instead. If Roy wants to challenge the Black Rayquaza, they do need the Fairy-type advantage; I wonder if Fuecoco will learn Alluring Voice later on. I don’t know about you, but Roy and Fuecoco were super adorable in this episode. The best part is that the title of this episode lied about Fuecoco turning into a delinquent. While he dons shades, Fuecoco is still a good boy.

Liko and Friede actually don’t do much in this episode. Captain Pikachu also doesn’t interfere with the conflict this time too! I did like how Cap punches the quicksand and sinks down with a serious gaze while Friede and Liko are freaking out. I think the true villains of this episode are the people at the excavation site. They didn’t realize that they were bothering Krookdile’s family and even wanted Friede to exterminate them; that’s pretty dark for Pokémon standards. They also promised a hefty sum for the rock excavation, but when the croc family obliterated it with Round, their pay suffered the same fate. What jerks. Though, I do commend them for being strategic battlers. While Minccino and Diggersby might not be the best choices, I do like that they have moves that are super-effective against them with the former having Disarming Voice and the latter having Hammer Arm, moves that have the advantage against Krookodile and Krokorok’s secondary Dark typing. I was honestly worried that they would’ve used Luxray against them, but Luxray was only lookout.

This was a cute episode all in all. It’s nice to see Fuecoco learning a new move. Will he stop using Ember now? Who knows. What are your thoughts on this episode?

 

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.

Idk...personally I feel like it's a Paldean animé location. They're supposed to be learning about Terastalization, and that's why they're headed to Paldea. So, I don't see why they'd want to leave the Pokémon equivalent of Spain, fly alll the way across the Pokémon equivalent of the Atlantic Ocean, just to do an odd job in the Pokémon equivalent of New York City. Though, that track during Roy and Fuecoco's training did have sort of a Striaton City melody at the end...

It’s nice to see Fuecoco learning a new move. Will he stop using Ember now? Who knows.

I pray....

I'm just glad that, at last, Roy used his one brain cell this episode and realized that they were in NO shape to be battling a Rayquaza! Roy and Fuecoco's training at the start of the episode was...questionable (though definitely amusing), but at least he achieved his goal of getting Fuecoco to learn a new move. It's a pretty unusual take on move-learning for the animé.