Review HZ082: At the End of the Shining Rainbow

Eitarou

Eitarou

Lock, Stocking, and Barrel
Bulbapedia Administrator Fuecoco Fan
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
7,340
Reaction score
4,212
Pronouns
  1. He/Him
The latest episode of Pokemon Horizons has aired. Discuss.

HZ082

The episode isn’t geolocked (yet), so watch while you can.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Last edited:
An absolutely banging battle against Shiny Rayquaza where everyone gets a moment to shine and Terapagos gets to be bad-ass as well (really been warming up to it now, used to be a little annoying earlier but now it's proven it's no Goh's Grookey) but it's Roy who absolutely steals the show in this. I am so happy that he and Crocalor not only got to shine in this but also were the ones to capture Rayquaza as well since it was a very big goal of his and now he's finally accomplished it.
 
Last edited:
As predicted, they removed the region restrictions for this episode once again. That makes four times this arc, at least. Not happy they have to resort to this as it shows that things are getting more desperate, but it's their choice. Live household views for this week averaged out at 1.4% at the highest. So, average, but the higher average for this series (Apparently to those in Japan, scoring a 1.5% is the bar for an episode this series being well-viewed, household or individual)

That said, this is honestly the only episode of this arc where I can say I'm happy with this group winning (....Happy may be a stretch, but to walk away from an episode of this series feeling positive is good in my book). That is a feeling I haven't felt since the Terastral ending battle when Roy won. The battle was well-put. Rayquaza finally managed to show why the species as a whole is considered powerful, tanking and unleashing powerful attacks. The secondaries were used again after so long (Albeit, being just as useful as you could predict). And a few other things

But, most importantly, the best thing to come out of it is the fact that not only was this a more traditional battle, but the end result was a somewhat more traditional capture and it was Roy who did it (....Because, if I'm being serious, if it was Liko, I would've been....less than thrilled, at put it lightly. Things go way too well for that girl at times, especially when hervblood relation is a factor, and it can get really frustrating). The island boy and his cocodrilo really carried this episode (For me, at least). Sure, Terapagos contributed by doing some significant damage to the Dragon-type, but Roy, Crocolar, and even Killowattrel to a small degree (More Hattrem for certain others) really made the most impact in the episode. Normally, I'd be irritated that this group manages to rush and breeze through most tasks simply just for "trying their best and earning their opponents respect", but it worked for me this time. No talku-no-jutsu. No testing. No outside interference. Just your classic Pokemon battle and capture (....Good Arceus, I have missed that in the Pokemon anime). I can honestly say I'm thankful to the writers for not only giving Roy his dues as co-protagonist, but gave viewers a something long overdue when it comes to battles. And, apparently, his journey with Rayquaza isn't over, as it's pointed out that Roy not only wanted to battle it, but fully be worthy of being it's new trainer. So, if the writers could give him this, here's faith saying they'll do him one better down the line

Basically, I'm just proud of that boy, his croc, and even the writers for this one
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What an absolute intense episode to try to tame the Rayquaza to come with the crew. Despite, it hard fought battle. Roy finally got what his dream of to recapture Rayquaza back where it all begins. On to the Paradise and prepare for the worst to come.

Overall rating: B+
 
DaemonGuard26 said:
And, apparently, his journey with Rayquaza isn't over, as it's pointed out that Roy not only wanted to battle it, but fully be worthy of being it's new trainer. So, if the writers could give him this, here's faith saying they'll do him one better down the line
Click to expand...
It's not his journey with Rayquaza to have, though. Because the thing is, Roy didn't catch Rayquaza-as with all the Six Heroes, they merely weakened it enough to earn its approval and it willingly went back into its Ancient Poke Ball. Rayquaza doesn't belong to Roy now or anything of the sort-it already has a Trainer.
(A Trainer who is still very much alive.)

The only reason Liko was allowed to keep Terapagos is because Terapagos's original trainer is long dead.
 
Last edited:
Kurolegacy said:
The fact that they had Roy accomplish his goal this early into the series and they’re now headed to Rakua which was Liko’s goal, I now wonder if we’ll see the plot shift to cover paths like Victory Road and Path of Legends as this is like having Goh catch Mew not even 2 years into Journeys.
Click to expand...
IKR? Roy's story is basically over now. He achieved his goal, so for him now it's pretty much............

nemo-end.gif
 
And I thought, that Fredie is holding off Explorers try to disrupting them. I'll was wrong.
 
Die-Hard Dragon Devotee said:
It's not his journey with Rayquaza to have, though. Because the thing is, Roy didn't catch Rayquaza-as with all the Six Heroes, they merely weakened it enough to earn its approval and it willingly went back into its Ancient Poke Ball. Rayquaza doesn't belong to Roy now or anything of the sort-it already has a Trainer.
(A Trainer who is still very much alive.)

The only reason Liko was allowed to keep Terapagos is because Terapagos's original trainer is long dead.
Click to expand...
I'm aware. With Lucius still around, it's clear that Rayquaza and the others would be returning to him. Without subtitles, I can only assume that it's mostly speculation developed by some of the Japanese audience who are hoping that Roy will get more under his belt as a Trainer and not get sidelined like before. And, I can't lie, it has me hopeful, myself. I don't care much for this series, but Roy is my favorite among the trio, if not the whole cast. I'd just rather he have more to do for himself, especially away from the Rakua plot. But, if he has to walk away with a physical symbol of his role in the story, new ownership of Rayquaza would be my choice

As for the capture? Recapture? Forced return? How ever you want to define it, Roy made it happen. The other heroes didn't get weakend and such (Or not to a noticable amount in Kleavor and Goug. Fire's case), they just agreed to join for trivial reasons such as the ones I listed. Rayquaza did not, as it returned to its ball with a throw reminiscent of a classic catch after a much needed battle. That's what made it more entertaining than the others. Whether people want to deem his part in Rayquaza's story his to have or not, it can't be denied that the work he put into making the battle and capture happen makes him worthy of being it's trainer. That is if Lucius does not survive and he wants to pull a Rystal and pass it down to someone. At least in that case, I would be more okay with it than when it happend with Terapagos
 
Last edited by a moderator:
god the absolute spite put behind those targeted draco meteors. im actually surprised and pleased that hattrem used brutal swing to deflect some of them, and also floragato using acrobatics to climb the rocks held up by hattrem was VERY reminiscent of how pikachu and froakie did it against grant. it was really well done.

looks like the anime is back to not showing dragon tail's secondary effect. unless this means that friede ONLY has charizard and pikachu, meaning the effect just couldn't activate. it could be that, or he has a third pokemon that they're wanting to keep secret until THAT SPOILER happens.
i wouldve liked to see more from kilowattrel, given that rayquaza is a flying opponent, but it was just used to get crocalor close enough to land flamethrowers and get on top of ray's head.

actually i think my biggest disappointment is that this is the first time (in the present) that pagogo is commanded in battle, which was raw as hell, but it didn't really do much that it hadn't done before. mostly just used tera starstorm and ancient power, only really using protect once. still, it was really nice to see liko consider using pagogo in a battle.
 
One question why did Tinkatuff get knocked out by rayquaza? Tinkatuff is a combination of fairy and stee type
 
DaemonGuard26 said:
As predicted, they removed the region restrictions for this episode once again. That makes four times this arc, at least. Not happy they have to resort to this as it shows that things are getting more desperate, but it's their choice. Live household views for this week averaged out at 1.4% at the highest, so average, but on the higher average (Apparently to those in Japan, scoring a 1.5% is the bar for an episode this series being well-viewed, household or individually)

That said, this is honestly the only episode of this arc where I can say I'm happy with this group winning (....Happy may be a stretch, but to walk away from an episode of this series feeling positive is good in my book). That is a feeling I haven't felt since the Terastral ending battle when Roy won. The battle was well put. Rayquaza finally managed to show why the species as a whole is considered powerful, tanking and unleashing powerful attacks. The secondaries were used again after so long (Albeit, being just as useful as you could predict). And a few other things

But, most importantly, the best thing to come out of it is the fact that not only was this a more traditional battle, but the end result was a somewhat more traditional capture and it was Roy who did it (....Because, if I'm being serious, if it was Liko, I would've been....less than thrilled, at put it lightly. Things go way too well for that girl at times, especially when blood relation is a factor, and it can get really frustrating). The island boy and his cocodrilo really carried this episode (For me, at least). Sure, Terapagos contributed by doing some significant damage to the Dragon-type, but Roy, Crocolar, and even Killowattrel to a small degree really made the most impact in the episode. Normally, I'd be irritated that this group manages to rush and breeze through most tasks simply just for "trying their best and earning their opponents respect", but it worked for me, this time. No talku-no-jutsu. No testing. No outside interference. Just your classic Pokemon battle and capture (....Good Arceus, I have missed that in the Pokemon anime). I can honestly say I'm thankful to the writers for not only giving Roy his dues as co-protagonist, but gave viewers a something long overdue when it comes to battles. And, apparently, his journey with Rayquaza isn't over, as it's pointed out that Roy not only wanted to battle it, but fully be worthy of being it's new trainer. So, if the writers could give him this, here's faith saying they'll do him one better down the line

Basically, I'm just proud of that boy, his croc, and even the writers for this one
Click to expand...
Is Pokemon Horizons not doing very well in Japan? I honestly don't get the impression Roy is that popular, but Liko seems to be well-liked.
 
It looks like the Black Rayquaza has lost its Terastallized appearance, returning the power to Pagogo so it could fully use its Terastal form.
 
Amazing episode! :bulbaLove: I truly did not have the highest expectations, but this episode basically did everything I wanted, but was highly skeptical would actually happen. I love that Roy, Liko, and Dot battled with all of their Pokemon here. I know they didn't do too much, but just seeing Killowattrel, Tinkatuff, and Hattrem battling is great. And they even landed some good hits against Rayquaza. I also enjoyed seeing Liko actually battlign with Terapgos. A bit overdue, but better late than never. Even Friede didn't get on my nerves. Cap using the rising Volt Tackle move was cool, and I thought Crocalor being able to battle alongside his idol Charizard was very symbolic. Especially considering that Roy and Crocalor were the last ones standing against Rayquaza and they were able to weaken it so he could catch it. This was easily my favorite part of the episode. I was so worried that he wouldn't be able to have the big, special moment against Rayquaza, but he did and deservedly so. :bulbaWave:

Now that all of the heroes are officially reunited and the group is heading to Laqua, I'm interested in seeing what will happen next. The teaser showed that we're clearly about to reach the major climax, so it'll be nice to see where things go from here in terms of the overall story. I'll give this a 9/10.
 
Adelon said:
Is Pokemon Horizons not doing very well in Japan? I honestly don't get the impression Roy is that popular, but Liko seems to be well-liked.
Click to expand...
(Sorry that this is so wordy. Couldn't really cut it down without the key specifics) That's a hard one to narrow down. But, one can definitely say it's the series with the most divided fanbase

Some will praise it and deem it a success for it's different direction with an original story to the anime and use of characters (Liko being an obvious factor), but there are a good deal who deem it struggling due to how few the amount of viewers are, live broadcast and streaming, the amount of discussions centered around the series are, and how little they make use of certain aspects of regions, past ones and Paldea. If anything, you could say that it's more "flat-lined" since the series doesn't experience any great drops to the point that they are in the 0.9% or below percentile, but also doesn't experience great spike, either. It hasn't reached 1.8% or above since it's first few weeks. All that can really be said is that the hype for it has truly passed and most who continue to watch are the more "casual viewers", as some have called them

The site I go on has a patreon who charts the amount of views the series receives on both a broadcast and collective YouTube narrative (Sometimes other official and pirated sites, as well). They even go on to measure how they have differed from past series, namely JN. The TV broadcast aren't fully up-to-date, but the lowest viewer percentile JN received is what current fans consider to be a high point for HZ at this point: 1.7%. And while some want to use the streaming argument to why TV views are lower, even by YouTube standards, even though JN's was deemed a failure by some, the amount of views an episode would receive upon upload far exceeded what HZ receives (i.e. Episodes with 1M+: JN - 47.6% (70 episodes out of 147). HZ - 7.8% (6 episodes out of 77. Less now since the later 4 episodes didn't get anywhere close, with or without restrictions)). Even nearly 30% of JN's episodes received 800-990K while HZ only having 10% of it's episodes get that high, all of which were during the first arc. And JN's never really received the special treatment HZ gets, with the restriction lifts, constant YouTube ads, promotional toys, cards, and such. It's said the staff is making note of this and trying many more different means to bring up said numbers (i.e. Staff asking on social media for fans to watch a specific episode), but they're not have much success and some believe that doing so somewhat means that they don't have faith that the series can do well enough without influence in it's home country compared to past series', especially when the episodes that usually receive more views with the restrictions are the ones less about Rakua and more about the classic fun scenerios the anime is best known for (i.e. The Roy/Croclar body-swap and the Sango/Scream Tail catch). Don't know how true the struggle belief is, but the actions taken do say a lot about where things are at. Plus, given that most merchandise that promotes the series apparently wind up in bargain bins more often than not, I think that's a sign that things are not as positive as fans of it like to make it out to be

Some put the blame on old fans leaving, but as many also like to point out, this series is meant to bring in new fans. And unless fans both old and new are able to stay invested in the story told, the down trend will continue, which is normal for any franchise, not just Pokemon. If you have a hard time staying finding reason to stay in a series when you don't fully enjoy it or others watchers in it, wouldn't you find it easy to leave? Doubly so when many of those watchers keep telling you to leave if you don't like it, insult others, and to "stop ruining their fun time"? Sometimes the heartache is just too much to try and stay, especially when there's more out there to enjoy

As for whether Liko and Roy are popular? I'd say they both somewhat are, just for different reasons. With Liko, many take to her for any reason: Some enjoy her growth, symbolism, and her stable relationships with Roy, Dot, and her Pokemon. But, a large percentage of her supporters are really subjective when they deem her "the best character in Pokemon history", as they obsess over her for being relatable, cute, precious, and what not (Heck, high chances are you'll see someone say she's better just because she's not "you-know-who". And, there's literally a whole X account focusing on being a "circle-****" to her). With the site I view, when she's discussed....let's just say it's never about her role in her own story and her supporters get very PG-13 with their appreciation (....Really praying they're all around her age given what they say they want to do). Roy, on the other hand, while not mentioned as much, is definitely talked about with more depth discussions (His future. Whether or not he would accomplish his goal. Possible ways he can develop Crocolar and Killowattrel further. Various topics). Same with Dot and, occasionally, Amethio and such. So, it shows that while not as large in numbers, his supporters are less....enthralled, I guess?

Basically, whether it is doing well might be more up to the individual viewer. So, if you feel it's enough of a success, roll with that
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This might be one of the best episode of Pokemon. The battle was great, animation was great. Everyone and every Pokemon had a role.

Big shoutout to Hattrem. An honor to be personally targeted by Rayquaza because she was giving him a such a hard time. Also outlasted 3 Pokemon. Big improvement from her last battle appearances. Pagogo terastalizing Crocalor was also pretty cool.
 
Die-Hard Dragon Devotee said:
IKR? Roy's story is basically over now. He achieved his goal, so for him now it's pretty much............

View attachment 209486
Click to expand...
Honestly this is why I haven’t been a fan of the fact that the kids’ series goal basically became Rayquaza and Rakua respectively rather than that being the overarching goal with their trainer paths being the sub-goal. Now unless it just becomes a case of this unless they want to then explore the prospect of just what the dog that chases the car does once they catch it.
 
This battle was certainly a step up from last week and I liked how they had all hands on deck when fighting against Rayquaza. It took nine pokemon to get him back on his pokeball and even that wasn’t enough to make him faint. I’m glad that Terapagos finally got to battle properly and Hattrem really shined this time around. They really took advantage of the environment they where in, it might’ve been more difficult in another setting.
 
Please note: The thread is from 1 year ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom