Review HZ022: Clash! Galar Mine

[BigDocFan]

The latest episode of Pokemon Horizons has aired, discuss here

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/HZ022

 

[RetroPokeFan]

This is easily the most intense Horizons has been with their cliffhangers so far.

Amethio, Zirc and Onia return, Galarian Moltres rises from the ashes causing a path of destruction, Friede and Amethio are back at it again with their battles and Liko and Roy have to make a break for it via the good ol'fashioned mine cart way with the mine collapsing right behind them.

Makes me eager to check out how next week will resolve all of this.

 

[Singaporean]

Easily the best episode of the series with the excitement of both gang for their objective as it turns out, Galarian Moltress and not Rayquaza in it. Which needed to be calm down and sadness according to Hatenna being trap inside the mines since whatever times been spend with Liko and Roy escape. But not with all the path being collapse. Next Friday will be exciting.

Overall rating: B+

 

[Eitarou]

Cap takes on a Legendary, with no Trainer, gets beaten to a pulp, gets back up regardless, never gets the swirly eyes.

He's a worthy successor.

 

[BigDocFan]

A bit disappointed that the other members of the RVT had cameo speaking roles, that felt a bit pointless, their VA's could have been credited on other roles

Really wish we'd seen more of a battle between Liko, Roy and the Explorers without Captain Pikachu or Moltres appearing

Moltres appearing would have made a great cliffhanger

 

[SamurottMan]

That was a crazy episode. Poor Hatenna, though, she's suffering from G-Moltres's bad vibes ;-;

I'm a a bit side eyeing the rest of the crew. Sure they all have their roles in the group, but they feel so detached from the overall Hero quest and don't seem interested in it at all. Like, it's a shiny Rayquaza, show some emotion!!

Not enough Sprigatito action, but looks like it'll battle Moltres next ep.

 

[Kurolegacy]

I’m honestly kinda disappointed that the Galarian Moltress turned out to be another of the ancient hero’s Pokémon. Not only is it really starting to feel more fanfic-like but if it ends up being anything like Arboliva, this means that if they manage to befriend it, they’re going to have a legendary Pokémon in their back pocket to bail them out of trouble for the future if things get to hairy. It’s one issue I’ve had with this pendant story as it robs the heroes from solving problems on their own rather than getting bailed out, which isn’t satisfying.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Ceruledge looks to have Weak Armor... that's all I have to add.

Also I dont think the ancient heros pokemon will actually help more than like, one time each, other than some climax, I could see them all helping with Rayquaza. But not doing all the work of course.

 

[Sakuraa]

Really great episode. Seeing Galarian Moltres here as one of Lucius's Pokemon was a crazy surprise. I could have done without Friede and the Explorers, but I guess we needed Cap, so whatever. Honestly, Cap was actually one of the better parts of the episode, considering how hard he fought to protect Roy and Liko from Galarian Moltres. Made me actually like him for a minute. Also, I loved when Roy and Fuecoco broke through Moltres's energy and got off an attack. Even though they obviously weren't gonna do much, it was amazing to see their courage and determination. The chase scene in the mine cart was so exciting and enjoyable and led to a perfect cliffhanger. I'm so glad that this Galar portion of the journey is turning out to be so epic. After how the region was slept on last time, I'm pleased to see it getting so many hype episodes. I'm excited to see how things will go next week. 8.7/10 episode.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Ceruledge looks to have Weak Armor... that's all I have to add.

Also I dont think the ancient heros pokemon will actually help more than like, one time each, other than some climax, I could see them all helping with Rayquaza. But not doing all the work of course.

Problem for me is that theres already precedence for it to happen and thus there’s always the possibility of it happening again. And even if it is only once, it still ends up cheapening the entire conflict because of the fact that the heroes have what is essentially a get out of plot free button. It reminds me of the Zeno button from Dragon Ball Super and how that cheapened the entire climax of the Goku Black arc because with the press of a button they had a god just solve everything for them. It just feels cheap going from having the main cast solving their problems with their own hands to having essentially a Deus ex Machina that can do it for them.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Problem for me is that theres already precedence for it to happen and thus there’s always the possibility of it happening again. And even if it is only once, it still ends up cheapening the entire conflict because of the fact that the heroes have what is essentially a get out of plot free button. It reminds me of the Zeno button from Dragon Ball Super and how that cheapened the entire climax of the Goku Black arc because with the press of a button they had a god just solve everything for them. It just feels cheap going from having the main cast solving their problems with their own hands to having essentially a Deus ex Machina that can do it for them.

It's not a Deus Ex Machina if it's foreshadowed and there are literally no other options open to them

If they whip it out for every single problem like we do in the games, then yes, it's cheap and anti-climactic

Same nonsense argument like:
Why didn't Ash bring in his strongest pokemon for [insert league here]?
Why didn't Ash ask any of the dozens of Legendary pokemon he knows to beat up [regional villain team]?
Why don't the gym leader/elite four/champion/government/police take care of problems instead of leaving them to literal children?

Tropes Aren't Always Bad

 

[Kurolegacy]

It's not a Deus Ex Machina if it's foreshadowed and there are literally no other options open to them

If they whip it out for every single problem like we do in the games, then yes, it's cheap and anti-climactic

Same nonsense argument like:
Why didn't Ash bring in his strongest pokemon for [insert league here]?
Why didn't Ash ask any of the dozens of Legendary pokemon he knows to beat up [regional villain team]?
Why don't the gym leader/elite four/champion/government/police take care of problems instead of leaving them to literal children?

Tropes Aren't Always Bad

Regardless of if you want to consider it as such, doesn’t change that it is deeply unsatisfying to watch the growth of the characters who this is the story of only for them have to be bailed out by some plot coupon. It’s basically the anime equivalent of how in Sword and Shield we were constantly told to just worry about the gym challenge every time something plot relevant happened despite us being the PC that normally handles that.

And no, there’s a fine line between your examples and what’s happening here. Win or lose in a league, Ash handled the conflict himself with his own hands. Even as a rookie, he didn’t accept an easy button from someone else even if it would have made things easier for him. And that made Ash’s growth and victories feel all the more earned and exciting. With Liko and Roy however, they always have some kind of safety net whether it be Friede, the pendant activating or the Ancient Hero’s Pokémon. They’re never in any actual danger of losing because they always have something to bail them out if it gets too hairy. As such, it ends up being unsatisfying to see them resolve a major conflict because it’s not with their own hands that it’s done but instead with some intervention to save them.

 

[Poke Trey]

This gets an 9 for Moltres alone.

 

[Singaporean]

This gets an 9 for Moltres alone.

Two more legendary bird of Galarian form remains. Till, Glastrier, Spectrier and Calyrex making their debut as Journey missed out. That will be my wishes in future episode. If the studio can make that happen.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

What's frustrating is that Roy isn't going to face any consequences for disobeying Friede and endangering everyone

Really hope this is a wake-up call for him to stop obsessing over the ancient pokemon and actually pay attention

'course, we said that about the last two or three times Roy ran off and got into danger and he didn't learn then either, so...

 

[ehh123]

What's frustrating is that Roy isn't going to face any consequences for disobeying Friede and endangering everyone

Really hope this is a wake-up call for him to stop obsessing over the ancient pokemon and actually pay attention

'course, we said that about the last two or three times Roy ran off and got into danger and he didn't learn then either, so...

Well, there was the scene where Roy had a nervous breakdown over how too strong the Moltres was before Liko snapped him out of it, so maybe he'll learn something.

 

[skynerel]

Not a bad episode.

Observations

• Mibrim cried when feeling Moltres emotions which makes me think that despite all the screeching, this pokemon might actually be more sad than angry.
• Galarian Moltres was cool. Liked how the episode build little by little until they found him (the scared pokemon and the tired workers).
• Points for Fuecoco for speeding up that train kart with flamethrower.
• Good cliffhanger, although I doubt anything truly bad will happen to Amethio or Friede.
• Not a fan of Roy’s behavior. First he yells for Rayquaza in a dangerous secluded location where pokemon are running away and then he runs off after he was told not to move. Even if he did find Rayquaza. What was he planning on doing?
• Would be nice to let this characters finish a battle. Thought that Conia & Zirc vs Roy & Liko was going to at least be a little longer.

 

[Eclipsical]

It was a good episode but I thought the first half of the episode was kind of boring, imo. A lot of time spent wandering the mine and getting split up, which I know is important for the second half and next episode but wasn't really that interesting to watch.

I liked that Liko was able to help calm the wild Pokemon that were afraid. Continually getting better at reading their emotions and understanding them.

Galarian Moltres appearing is obviously the best thing about this episode. I think it is very interesting that it isn't in the Pokedex. The only reason I can think of for it to be so pissed that was shown in this episode is that the Ancient Pokeball is stuck between its talons and can't get it out. Maybe that's why it scratched at that big rock that Friede found.

Cap continues to be the coolest guy around, taking all that damage to keep everybody else safe like a true Captain. Almost thought they were going to leave his hat behind but thankfully Roy picked it up.

I think Roy just realized that catching Rayquaza is going to be a lot harder than he thought. He seemed to honestly believe that with enough determination and spirit, he could get through whatever was thrown at him. It was cool to see him regain his spirit through pure willpower but sometimes that is not enough, as evidenced by Moltres easily repelling Fuecoco. It dawns on him that if he can't win against this Pokemon, what chance does he have with Rayquaza? I'm looking forward to seeing how he behaves next episode.

It was cool to see the OG Explorers make their reappearance but yet again Liko & Roy don't get the opportunity to actually complete a battle with Conia and Zir without an outsider interfering. Amethio actually seems to have the upper-hand against Friede but ends up getting interrupted by Moltres. I just hope that Amethio, Conia, and Zir get some meaningful appearances and development.

The cliffhanger was good but we know that no harm is going to come to Friede or Amethio because this is Pokemon but it was cool to see Friede tell them to keep going and to take care of Cap. He is dedicated to keeping the kids safe.

Anyways, looking forward to next episode!

 

[ena9219]

Dot did get her cotton candy after all. Liko and Roy get lost in the Galar Mine (thanks to Sprigatito and Fuecoco and then Roy) and after a brief battle with Zir and Conia encounter another of the Legendary Hero's Pokémon, a Galaran Molteres currently in a very bad mood (Presumably we'll find out why next episode). Friede has yet another battle with Amethio while Cap finds Liko and Roy. Apparently, a sub-legendary is enough to beat Cap but he was quite heroic despite his loss. Liko and Roy escape while Fride and the Explorers are stuck in the mine for now.

 

[ecargmura]

Roy's behavior was annoying. He was told to stay put and it only got him and Liko even more lost.

However, I did like the scene where Liko was trying to calm down the scared wild Pokemon by giving them cookies. The Timburr was adorable. Also, Dot's Cotton Candy was suggested to her by a user named Muscle of Rhydon, who's implied to be Zir back in Episode 8. That means Amethio's group actually stopped by the Battle Cafe and got the treat. That's so cute if you think about it--Amethio holding the cotton candy and sharing it with Zir and Conia.