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I wonder what made the writers decide to give Pokémon Horizons three episodes back-to-back riddled with evolutions, but I’m not complaining! It’s no secret that I enjoy Dot-focused episodes and this latest episode is probably one of the better ones. I love it when Dot goes on her solo adventures, whether it be by herself or with another person—I think this is the first time she’s with someone. The fact that the frilly dress was Penny’s idea was also very funny.

I get that the Blueberry Academy focus is so short is because we already had an arc focusing on school during the Terastal Debut arc, and it would just be rinse and repeat at this point having the entire arc be about them training in school. Regardless, this week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was a good episode because it gave the group their next objective, and important lessons were taught to them along the way.

Last week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was quite a surprising episode! There was a lot on Ann focus too! It’s a very wholesome episode and I liked it a lot!

It looks like Ult received the ult-imate schooling of his lifetime. Before I send myself out for that bad pun, this episode was good for Ult’s development. In case you missed it, Ult vs. Lacey is the first time Ult has battled a Trainer on his own on-screen. His past on-screen battles were either with wild Pokémon, or Trainer battles where he was paired up with someone or participates in a group. The fact that his first solo battle had him get clobbered by Lacey really does show he needs to stop being such an overconfident shounen protagonist and start listening to advice.

A lot happened in this episode of Pokémon Horizons, so I’ll try to break it down and give my thoughts on each of them. First, I was surprised they already met with Briar. I thought it would take a while before they’d meet up with her. Still, it does feel like it’s not the only time they’re going to have meetings with her. Also, poor Carmine. They forgot who she was. Then again, it has been a year for them, and she only showed up briefly. I know that some people are upset over the fact that she didn’t mention Kieran, but I see it as she wants to be her own person and not have her personality revolve around her brother. She does make up for it by looking out for Liko, who tells her to be careful and stay strong if someone tries to heckle her for being a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

I like that the start of the new arc of Pokémon Horizons just drops the kids onto Blueberry Academy immediately. I thought the explanation behind the school’s battle mechanics and its history was explained well, without going over the limit or being cut off. It also gives a lot of foreshadowing of upcoming battles without giving away too much. It really does make me wonder who will show up in this arc and what’s going to happen.

I knew this mini-arc wouldn’t let me down! Everything got resolved coherently, and we can see how much Ult and Roy have changed since the Mega Voltage arc! Most of all, it’s definitely a set up for a possible return to Kalos for the anime’s final arc.

As someone who just finished playing Pokémon X a while back and remembering the post-game events, seeing Emma in this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons made me a bit emotional. I’m glad she’s happy and thriving well in the Looker Bureau.

One thing Pokémon Horizons has done well in past episodes is incorporating flashbacks into their storytelling. I really enjoyed watching how Friede met Cap, how Diana found the pendant, and how the Explorers were formed. In this latest episode, we’re finally getting a flashback on how Roy met his Lucario, and it’s going to be a full three-episode long flashback arc about his time in Kalos. It does make me wonder how the rest of the two episodes will play out, because so far it’s a lot slower paced compared to previous flashbacks.

I’m really disappointed with how the finale of this arc of Pokémon Horizons came out. Usually, the final episode of an arc would be bombastic and full of crazy twists. While there were some twists presented in this episode, it just didn’t leave the same kind of impact as the previous ones. It’s obvious that this arc was testing the waters to see how a timeskip would work out in the anime. While I wish they were able to showcase more for this arc, I’m sure that they’ll find their footing in the new arc.

I can’t believe we’re already at the climax of the fifth arc of Pokémon Horizons! This penultimate episode is a bit subpar in terms of animation, but as someone who watches Horizons for the plot, honestly didn’t bother me too much; in fact, I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next episode to arrive. I really looking forward to see how everything will wrap up.

One thing I really like about Pokémon Horizons is that the Pokémon have their own characters, and are not just cute, mindless pets. Like with this episode, Tinkatuff has a huge fixation on scrap metal, and when the piece she’s fixated on is on a truck that drove off, she became so sullen that she even plants her face onto the Nidothing costume like a child sulking when things didn’t go their way.

This might be a controversial take, but Diana easily trumps Professor Oak as the best grandparent in the anime. Yes, Oak may be iconic, but does he drive a convertible with shades and have a giant Arcanine in shades in the passenger’s seat? No, he doesn’t. It’s so nice to see Diana again in this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons. Her coolness just keeps going up every time we see her!

This Uruto-focused two-parter is great! It really establishes him as a character in Pokémon Horizons, and lets us see why he pursues a path of strength. It’s just that Uruto’s goal had been vague from his standpoint, because he didn’t fully understand or grasp what being the strongest meant. To him, it probably meant seeking out the strongest Pokémon, which was why he was in pursuit of the Black Rayquaza like Roy. However, his idea of strength was more for himself at first, which was why the Dragon Rampage Gang kept kicking him out on their bikes. He only realized that strength comes from being with others when Roy came to rescue him, realizing that someone does have his back. I feel like Uruto’s father might be the sole reason why he pursues the idea of being the strongest—either his father is dead, or something happened to him that caused Uruto to become the way he is.

I think this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons is the first full Uruto-focused episode since his debut in this arc! While Uruto has some spotlight here and there, most notably being episode 96 when he first joined Liko and Roy, up until now he hasn't ever had a full episode dedicated to him solely. Speaking of which, it was ten episodes ago where he showed off his Dusk Ball…

Maybe it’s just me, but this most recent episode of Pokémon Horizons feels a lot like those early Pokémon Journeys episodes where they had two segments that were completely different episodes plot-wise. However, a key difference between those episodes and this one is that the entire episode takes place in the same location.

If you look at the opening sequence of Pokémon Horizons, you can see that one shot of a beach basked in twilight. Now that this episode has finally aired, we can see that beach had been foreshadowing Amethio’s location all along! If you think I’m wrong, the beach has Krabby loitering around like in the opening sequence. You can’t deny it's the same beach! I bet my assumptions will come to fruition once they update the opening next week.

This latest episode is only a day old yet I love it already—heck, it’s probably high up in the top 5 Pokémon Horizons episodes of all time for me! I just love it that much! It’s so wholesome and cute that you can’t just help but smile. It’s such a great way to transition Zirc and Onia into the timeskip story for good, and for them to finally complete the task of finding Amethio!

Did you know that episode 57 of Pokémon Horizons aired back on July 5th, 2024, and this latest episode aired on July 4th? It’s been exactly a year, and I feel like it was done on purpose given the major events that transpired! Though, I do wonder why the episode started with a narration from Dot but ended with Liko getting spotlight. It did look as if it was only going to be a Liko episode from the previews, so having Dot be the narrator was a bit of a surprise. It’s like with how Roy got a narration in episode 90. I do hope Dot and Roy get narrations again in a future episode!

I’ve always praised Pokémon Horizons for the battle animations, but this latest episode was appalling in terms of quality and execution. Like, come on, Horizons, I know you can do better than this!