Hamber on the Night of the Blood Moon - Pokémon Horizons Episode 130 Review - Fighting Explorers By Moonlight

While this was a great episode, I also find it both bittersweet and a bit terrifying. It’s bittersweet to see how Coral, Sidian and Chalce were like before, how they are now, and how Hamber has witnessed this all. It’s terrifying because the Strong Spheres have now launched to the general public.

The sight of trainers using the Strong Spheres to power up their Pokémon was rather scary, in that it alludes in a way to capitalism and the consumption that pollutes reality. There are some humans out there who chase after the newest tech gadgets to post, promote, and advertise them on social media, which then brings awareness of those to the public audience. These people do not care if their bond with their Pokémon severs as long as they can win battles. The way that Dachsbun’s trainer decided to just search for another Pokémon after losing and seeing his Pokémon run off in pain saddened me. He’s added onto my list of hated Horizons characters because of this.

The highlight of the episode is definitely Hamber vs, Coral, Sidian and Chalce. The episode finally details how the three came to join the Explorers, and gives a glimpse into their past. For Coral, she was always a menace who liked to battle for fun, and also make her Glalie explode. However, her chaotic nature makes her peers stray away from her. Hamber scouts her, and that’s how she joined. For Sidian, he was an infamous street punk who joined the Explorers when he lost to Hamber in a battle. Chalce has the more detailed backstory, in that her reasons to join the Explorers stem from her hometown being so poor that they couldn't afford to maintain a school, causing it to be shut down. Given that she was the only teacher, it broke her heart after she lost her job and her students so quickly. Hamber scouted her afterwards.

Since Chalce was the Explorer admin with the least amount of spotlight, it was really nice to be able to see what drives her to have unwavering loyalty towards Spinel. He promised her financial support so that she can open up a school in her hometown, but it does seem as if Chalce has lost her way in the process. Her backstory reminds me a lot of Hotaruko from Digimon Beatbreak, in that both are ladies who joined an organization for financial goals, but the organization they’re in isn’t the best in terms of morality. The twist of Chalce having a Mega Ring was shocking. She’s the best battler of the three admins, and it does make me wonder if she had been holding back in her battles with Dot this entire time. If she had used the Mega Ring earlier, Dot would’ve had a bigger crash out.

Hamber is really cool, another highlight of the episode. He’s an excellent battler with the way he uses clever strategies like Trick Room, and was able to hold off Glalie and Garganacl very well. His third Pokémon being Bloodmoon Ursaluna was a huge surprise. Given that Diana had visited the Kitakami hamlet in a flashback in episode 123, his encounter with the Ursaluna was definitely when she found her Pecharunt. It’s unfortunate that Hamber lost his battle, but it was still nice to see him be in action. I also like that Ursaluna cares a lot for him despite their short time together. It was sweet to see it be worried about its trainer.

The portions with the Rising Volt Tacklers are mostly them preparing for the confrontation at Laqua. The only major character without a Tera Orb is Ult, who states that he’s going to help out with Mega Evolution. It does make me wonder if Friede will also come along with his Megas as it does look as if he’ll rejoin the group next episode. I honestly can’t wait to see what the final battle will be about, but it does look like it’s going have to wait as the group takes a detour elsewhere next episode. Also, is Friede’s Starmie always going to be in its Mega Evolved state? Let me know your thoughts on this episode!