Preview HZ013: A Sudden Picnic

[Emelie]

Maybe this is the reason why they skipped so many Galar characters in the Ash anime. They wanted to include them in Horizons instead?

Not sure what will happen once they leave Galar. Eventually they will have to show older characters? Although I wouldn't mind if they showed characters from the older games who never got to appear in the anime. Maybe that could be a fun idea if they want the Liko anime to be separate from the Ash anime.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Maybe this is the reason why they skipped so many Galar characters in the Ash anime. They wanted to include them in Horizons instead?

Not sure what will happen once they leave Galar. Eventually they will have to show older characters? Although I wouldn't mind if they showed characters from the older games who never got to appear in the anime. Maybe that could be a fun idea if they want the Liko anime to be separate from the Ash anime.

I highly doubt that's the case. Saving Galar characters for Horizons instead of the generation when they were more marketing relevant just sounds so backwards to me. They certainly could have used the time to showcase all of the Galar Gym Leaders, the DLC characters and Bede instead of ignoring them. Plus, since I don't think that they planned for Journeys to be Ash's sendoff series from the start, I don't think that they would have held off on showcasing more Galar characters for Horizons either.

I don't know if they really have to showcase older characters. I guess that they could use this as a way to introduce characters from previous generations that were never featured in the anime, but I don't really see much appeal in that, or at least the idea of Liko and Roy meeting older characters from most previous generations doesn't do much for me. I would rather that they focus primarily on showcasing Paldea characters instead of trying to showcase characters from throughout the franchise. They already did the latter with Journeys and how well that worked out is debatable.

 

[Karakuri18]

I don't know if they really have to showcase older characters. I guess that they could use this as a way to introduce characters from previous generations that were never featured in the anime, but I don't really see much appeal in that, or at least the idea of Liko and Roy meeting older characters from most previous generations doesn't do much for me. I would rather that they focus primarily on showcasing Paldea characters instead of trying to showcase characters from throughout the franchise. They already did the latter with Journeys and how well that worked out is debatable.

In my opinion, it would be a bit pointless if, in a series that spans the entire world, you don't show characters from older generations.
Some previously ignored characters deserve to appear.

 

[XavierAnime]

They aren't you thinking about Liko, Sprigatito, Roy, Fuecoco and the Voltionaut Tackles going to the Galar region to find four missing Pokémon heroes in the next episodes?

 

[Hidden Mew]

In my opinion, it would be a bit pointless if, in a series that spans the entire world, you don't show characters from older generations.
Some previously ignored characters deserve to appear.

I guess I just don't find much appeal of having Liko and Roy meeting characters from older generations. There was more of an appeal for that setup with Ash and Goh at least on paper since Ash had already been to these different regions and met a lot of characters from those generations too. Ash getting to see old friends again while introducing them to Goh was a big selling point for Journeys. Doing the same thing with Liko and Roy who don't have any real connections to these older regions or characters just doesn't sound as appealing to me.

I'm not against them showcasing characters from older generations, but since they basically already did this in Journeys, doing it again with Horizons just sounds less appealing or interesting to me. I'd rather have them prioritize the Paldea characters instead of trying to feature characters from throughout the franchise's history. At least the Paldea characters are new and they can adapt storylines from Scarlet/Violet too. They can't really do a lot with older characters by comparison.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

In my opinion, it would be a bit pointless if, in a series that spans the entire world, you don't show characters from older generations.
Some previously ignored characters deserve to appear.

I don't want them to put too much focus on Galar cause this should be Gen 9's time to shine, but there's a large chunk of characters that never appeared in Journeys from Galar, that would have otherwise in a more traditional series. Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Bede, Gordie, Melony, Avery, Klara, Peony, Peonia, Honey, Mustard, Sordward, and Shielbert all never got to appear. That's more than half of the game's characters that never got to appear. Usually there's only a small portion of characters that never get shown.

 

[Eitarou]

I'd much rather Horizons do its own thing and not be reduced to a "fix Journeys' mistakes" show.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

I'd much rather Horizons do its own thing and not be reduced to a "fix Journeys' mistakes" show.

Agreed. The time to correct the many, many mistakes of Journeys is already past.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

I guess I just don't find much appeal of having Liko and Roy meeting characters from older generations. There was more of an appeal for that setup with Ash and Goh at least on paper since Ash had already been to these different regions and met a lot of characters from those generations too. Ash getting to see old friends again while introducing them to Goh was a big selling point for Journeys. Doing the same thing with Liko and Roy who don't have any real connections to these older regions or characters just doesn't sound as appealing to me.

I'm not against them showcasing characters from older generations, but since they basically already did this in Journeys, doing it again with Horizons just sounds less appealing or interesting to me. I'd rather have them prioritize the Paldea characters instead of trying to feature characters from throughout the franchise's history. At least the Paldea characters are new and they can adapt storylines from Scarlet/Violet too. They can't really do a lot with older characters by comparison.

Honestly with Horizons being the start of a new era I very much think the new writers (for the four writers we have as of now, this is the first time they've done anything for the franchise as a whole) will be doing their own thing and there won't be much if any returning faces from the prior era especially companion wise (well aside from Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny but they've always been part of the series regardless) with the big focus being on the new cast and the Paldea crew even if it is taking place in the same universe as all the other series.

 

[XavierAnime]

Let me guess, does this have something to do with... Penny?

 

[Nicolas721]

I'd be pretty happy if Roy did catch one. I just wanna see a capture happen soon, and a Wattrel would be nice. Is there any merchandise that could potentially hint at a Wattrel capture?

There is, actually! https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxd-P1BEvdyIKaqYgLegiaIBYPNgY18s3m

Also, Armarouge is everywhere, I think it will belong to Spinel.

 

[VetProf]

I don't know if they really have to showcase older characters. I guess that they could use this as a way to introduce characters from previous generations that were never featured in the anime, but I don't really see much appeal in that, or at least the idea of Liko and Roy meeting older characters from most previous generations doesn't do much for me. I would rather that they focus primarily on showcasing Paldea characters instead of trying to showcase characters from throughout the franchise. They already did the latter with Journeys and how well that worked out is debatable.

I think it ultimately depends on how much time Liko and Roy end up spending in the other regions. If they're only going to spend a short time in other regions, then the spotlight will mostly be shining on new characters from Paldea, so there's no need to worry about "interference" from past character showcases. Conversely, if there's actually a decent amount of focus on the region-hopping, it's gonna be difficult to avoid bringing up characters like Gym Leaders and Pokemon Professors who are/should be a major presence in their respective regions.

I'm not saying Horizons should be trying to fix Journeys' shortcomings, but at the same time, I don't want to see Horizons repeating or doubling down on them either. As much as we're used to them, I'd preferably like to see less "city is struck by a disaster but the Gym Leader is completely absent" kind of situations. If Horizons can showcase characters from previous generations when it feels natural for them to show up, then I'm all for it. Assuming Paldea still gets its fair share of attention, of course.

 

[Eitarou]

I dunno. We're only in the early stages, but I feel the writers have improved on some of Journeys' weaker aspects so far. Namely the world tour and focus on the current region and its Pokemon.

 

[nickdt]

There is, actually! https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxd-P1BEvdyIKaqYgLegiaIBYPNgY18s3m

Also, Armarouge is everywhere, I think it will belong to Spinel.

Well...

I don't think the starters being there actually mean anything.

Obviously, the Pawmi, Rockruff and Charizard belong/are on the Volteccers ship
Baxcailbur might mean Hassel is going to show up soon
We know Iono is coming, hence the Bellibolt.
The only oddities are Charcadet and Cetoddle. I feel like one of them is gonna be captured by Liko (I prefer Cetoddle)

 

[BigDocFan]

Summary and Partial VA list courtesy of Adamant

Just as the Rising Volt Tacklers are ready to set off for the Galar region where Liko's grandmother is, there's technical difficulties with the airship's control system... so they decide to have a picnic until the system is back up and running. Liko has fun making sandwiches with the rest of the crew, but can't stop thinking about Dot, who stayed behind on the ship...

Voice Cast:
Minori Suzuki: Liko
Megumi Hayashibara: Nyahoja
Yuka Terasaki: Roy
Daiki Yamashita: Hogator
Taku Yashiro: Friede
Ayane Sakura: Orio
Kenta Miyake: Murdock
Kei Shindo: Molly
Ikkyu Juku: Landau
Yoshino Aoyama: Dot/Gurumin
Daisuke Namikawa: Kuwassu
Shun Horie: Amethio
Kohsuke Tanabe: Zir
Arisa Shida: Conia
Ikue Ohtani: Captain Pikachu

 

[BigDocFan]

Staff list courtesy of Dephender at Serebii

Screenplay 松澤くれは (Kureha Matsuzawa)
Episode Director 月野正志 (Masashi Tsukino)
Storyboard 齋藤徳明 (Noriaki Saito)
Animation Director 羽野広範 (Hironori Hano)
Animation Director 高添響 (Go Cheom Hyang)

 

[BigDocFan]