Review HZ118: Liko and Tebrim - The Bond of Happiness!

[Eitarou]

The latest episode of Pokemon Horizons has aired. Discuss.

HZ118

 

[Singaporean]

What a funny alright episode. Also, how lovely to see Liko and Hattrem bonding that straight lead to it evolution with ditto collected always caught in fear after collecting them and scatter with one of them carelessly heading to the cave and caught into the territory of both Tynamo and Eelektrik lead by their leader, Eelektross.

Which Liko attempt to save from her partner, Charcadet and the newly evolve Hatterene trolling and toying with Eelektrik saving metamorphic pokemon to met Ann from the other side again.

Overall rating: B-

 

[Dr. Gro 3001]

An interesting way to handle an evolution episode. The preview made it seem like there was a degree of resentment from Hattrem to Liko about her not being used in battle or training that much. That or we just assumed that would be the case. Instead, it seems like both were rather in touch with each other's feelings, which made it seem like Hattrem evolved via happiness. I enjoyed the creepy witch aspects of Hatterene in this episode. Otherwise, I still wish we got some semblance of a battle that wasn't just training, but this was a nice bonding episode overall.

 

[Poke Trey]

It happened! Hatterene and Psycho Cut from it too. Ann really helped Liko out with this one.

 

[Singaporean]

Funniest segments of the episode as Hatterene toying with Eelektross imitating, Psycho Cutter and Heal till finally the fish submitted. Let Liko pass through the other side:

Spoiler

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Absolutely wild they only just now showed off happiness-based evolution, in episode 118 of a series almost 30 years old
Is that why Lucario was already evolved when Roy caught it?

Can't wait for that to be a mechanic in the games at some point



Also good lord what was that repeated animation with eelektross
Hatterene's evolution was already dangerously close to "evolving by doing absolutely nothing" it did not need padding to drag it out even more

 

[NumberOneSpinelApologist]

BRB, I'm on my way to found a Ditto Protection and Conservation Association.

Ok, I'm back. Where tf did that shiny ditto go?

Brimuon is giving me Yosano Akiko from Bungou Stray Dogs vibes. Absolutely terrifying in the best way possible. The reused animation was a bit too on the nose, but it was kind of funny anyway.

Oher than that, uhhh:
Something something celebration of emotion work of feminine coded individuals (imagine I am inserting a very smart Hochschild reference here or something like that, like the pretentious nerd that i am, whatever).

But yeah, power of friendship was very strong in this episode.
Also Anne and Liko are the best "roommates" ever. IYKYK.

Also, this episode needs a postsctriptum in which Lacey is angry because Liko and Anne did not clean up after their picnic. A scene in which she makes that "X" pose and tells the audience that it is wrong to litter!!!

Also, did they even clear that BB quest? Not important, but still.

 

[LegendsCelebi]

What an episode! This suspenseful writing certainly leaves more questions than answers!

• Did Anne and Liko succeed their Metamon challenge?
• How come Anne has ever graduated from anywhere if she doesn't know about friendship evolutions (EDIT: Same about Liko tbh)?
• And most importantly: Who cleaned up the picnic? Did the academy push this job onto Lacey again or are all Pidoves and Durants swarming this area now?

Galarian scientists have established, that Hattrems evolve by levelling up. However, no one told that to Liko's Hattrem so it could evolve with friendship! Is that a brand new retcon?!?!? Who knows!

Also, imagine being so, so blase about Pokemon, that you find a shiny Ditto and prompty disregard it.

 

[Karakuri18]

Hatterene's evolution was already dangerously close to "evolving by doing absolutely nothing"

Do you consider the fights Hattrem has fought so far to be "doing nothing"?
By the way, evolution through experience isn't the only method of evolution (evolution through luck exists too).

 

[ecargmura]

I like the clear message that "middle child syndrome" sucks at times, but Liko is able to overcome it with Hattrem.

I also love how Ann was the MVP of this episode as she understood Hattrem's behavior. This is why Ann is a fan-favorite!

I know the episode is about Hattrene, but can I talk about how cute Ann's Sandslash and Samurott look as they eat the sandwich and observe Hattrene?

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Do you consider the fights Hattrem has fought so far to be "doing nothing"?
By the way, evolution through experience isn't the only method of evolution (evolution through luck exists too).

Given it's been 65 episodes since she first evolved, and how little she's been used since, yes; moreso with the year timeskip

...Nor is Hatterene a happiness-based evo, so not sure why Anne and the episode treated it like it was, but anime gonna do what it does best and all we can do is sigh and go along with it

 

[Stray Cat]

This is easily one of the best episodes we've had recently audgukidaudkia
I'm a sucker for good character driven episodes and ann screentime and we got both in droves!! Ann herself made for a really good supporting character to liko and hatterene, and seeing a lot of emphasis put on liko's really empathetic side was nice (it's one of her defining character traits after all).

Also can we talk about that last scene with ann??? why did they make her proclaim that no one can top her love for liko and then have her pull out the special occasion exclusive diamond dust what did the writers mean by this why is this scene somehow more gay than the gurumin confession and the curry episode

 

[Karakuri18]

...Nor is Hatterene a happiness-based evo, so not sure why Anne and the episode treated it like it was,

It so happens that Liko asked Hattrem if she was crying with happiness, which the Pokémon confirmed. A few seconds later, the Pokémon evolved.

So why do you think it was different?

Given it's been 65 episodes since she first evolved, and how little she's been used since, yes; moreso with the year timeskip

Since when does rarely engaging in battles prevent evolution?

As I said earlier, experience isn't the only method of evolution.

 

[sonadowgenerations]

really good episode! probably my favorite of this arc so far. it was great seeing hattrem get a focus episode after being sidelined for so long, and the scenes between her and liko were so cute!! i love evolution episodes, and this is a really great one from horizons so far. it was also great seeing anne again, and i loved her scene with liko after liko made it out of the cave. excited for next week

 

[terashards]

oh boy i adored this episode. this might be my favorite in the arc so far. so glad i got to watch it tonight finally after a very busy weekend lol

i'm not going to lie i really expected this episode to be about liko ignoring that tebrim also wanted to actually battle and not just be stuck in a healing role. in fairness, it seems i wasn't alone in that assumption, and i think it was an appropriate read because of hints at tebrim's battle prowess back during HZ053 (the episode in terastal debut with the annihilape where tebrim first evolved). but honestly i like what they actually ended up doing a lot more than that assumption! tebrim actually being greatly fulfilled by being able to help others and understand others is so fitting for liko as one of her pokemon and it is also very fitting with what we know about tebrim. i am continuously happy about how horizons balances showing both literal physical strength and emotional strength as well... strengths. it's a really great message for kids (and especially any young girls watching but that's a ramble for another day)

all that being said i liked that they kept the characterization set up in HZ053 and that brimuon is a menace in battle too. i actually find it incredibly funny that she seems to be a physical attacking brimuon, evolving her brutal swing prowess to psycho cutter. the scene in the cave where she kept knocking out, then healing, then knocking out her opponent until they gave up was hilarious despite the repeat animation that, like nosa said, was pretty on the nose lol. (by the way, i know that ann and liko talked about friendship evolutions but i'm pretty sure that they got away with that because tebrim evolved from the picnic they were having. sandwiches increase both friendship and give EXP in SV so there was a mix of both things happening. this does not explain how on earth ann and liko don't know about friendship evolutions after all their schooling though LOL)

i'm going to be honest this whole episode kinda felt like an apology to both brimuon and ann for leaving them out of the narrative for so long. especially ann; the gayness closeness she had with liko in this episode was like... kinda 0 to 100 real fast after not seeing her for so long but i am NOT complaining. genuinely it was incredibly sweet and i'm also sooo glad to get more ann characterization. somehow all of her new characterization and the information about her family slots right in with an AU i've been planning for a while that features ann as a main character, where i've kind of had to OC-ify her because we know so little about her... so that's nice. i guess i have a decent read on her? but anyway that's besides the point. this is what i love about horizons. i love the character writing. i love seeing liko interact with others. when a horizons episode hits with the character writing it hits. it's so satisfying!!

it's not just the human characters either. i loved seeing all of liko's pokemon interact in this episode. always a big fan of masquernya's big sisterly/motherly relationship with the fresher/younger pokemon on the team and tebrim helping carbou was the cutest thing ever. this episode also had me thinking about how liko is gonna have three bipedal pokemon that are taller than her by the time carbou evolves. they are really playing that up too lol liko walking out of the cave with masquernya and brimuon clinging to her had me saying to my friend i was watching with "omg liko and her entourage"; a win for women (we don't know liko's carbou's gender for sure but i'm kind of just assuming her team is all girls. makes sense because all of roy's pokemon with known genders are boys and dot has a team of mixed genders so if liko had a team of all girls that would fit with the balancing of the three's gender presentation too)

btw i love liko in the short sleeved yellow shirt. looks better color balance wise to me than the black sleeves with the only yellow being the strap across the front because the actual body of her bag has been moved to her back. i hope she keeps that for a little while

 

[da man/man]

She started as a jacket stuffer. Then she outgrew the jacket. And now ladies and gentlemen... SHE IS THE JACKET!!

I wanna lead with saying, I never was really a Hattrem fan, but this episode got to me.
As a middle child myself, everything that Ann said was, 100% absolutely correct, and I'm still kinda in shock that that was tackled to begin with. I always liked Ann, and didn't know why. NOW I know why.
The scene between Liko and Hattrem was so wholesome, what a perfect display of friendship evolu- Huh? Hattrem evolves into Hatterene through reaching Level 42 and only that?.. Then, uh, what? I know that Level doesn't really exist much in the anime, but this wasn't even in the middle of a battle. Though I guess picnics give EXP iirc so that might be it.

The sadistic pleasure in those eyes omg...

So that's what they mean by Psycho Cut. Cause that was some straight psychotic stuff I just witnessed. (I know what it's like to beat someone with a hypesquad behind them, and I get it, it's... sickeningly sweet...)
Now, I like Eelektross a lot, so I was excited to see one walk up. But as soon as that silly funky music started playing, I already knew "Oh, r.i.p Eelektross", and I was very right, cuz what was that beatdown XD

9/10 episode, 5 points for Ann, 4 points for Hatterene, this was so great!

Spoiler

Pffffffffft, did she just hug Hatterene?? Somebody's excited for their girlfri- Friend's Pokemon

Another note: People took Hattrem beating 3 Annihilape WAY too seriously. So I'm glad this one was very clearly a gag, but tbf Hatterene might actually just be that over the top now, so who knows.

 

[Singaporean]

View attachment 232341View attachment 232342View attachment 232346
She started as a jacket stuffer. Then she outgrew the jacket. And now ladies and gentlemen... SHE IS THE JACKET!!

I wanna lead with saying, I never was really a Hattrem fan, but this episode got to me.
As a middle child myself, everything that Ann said was, 100% absolutely correct, and I'm still kinda in shock that that was tackled to begin with. I always liked Ann, and didn't know why. NOW I know why.
The scene between Liko and Hattrem was so wholesome, what a perfect display of friendship evolu- Huh? Hattrem evolves into Hatterene through reaching Level 42 and only that?.. Then, uh, what? I know that Level doesn't really exist much in the anime, but this wasn't even in the middle of a battle. Though I guess picnics give EXP iirc so that might be it.

Liko and Hatterene bonding is pretty much paralleled to Mallow's and her lovely Tsareena:

It is also no coincidence during when it evolves to both Steenee and Hattrem is also using it move from it head against opponents however with Hattrem have a headling move set:

Steenee Double Slap against Team Rocket:

Hattrem Brutal Swing on Annihilape:

How similarity works.

 

[Greninjaman]

View attachment 232346
She started as a jacket stuffer. Then she outgrew the jacket. And now ladies and gentlemen... SHE IS THE JACKET!!

That just looks so wrong. Looks like she's just getting absorbed like what happened with Lusamine and Nihilego.

 

[Eclipsical]

I'm a little late to writing my thoughts on the episode, but here we are on Thanksgiving!

It was a very unique way of handling an evolution. I'm glad they tried something almost entirely character-focused with her after such a long time of being sidelined, really. I liked the understanding that Liko and Hatterene reached. Liko thought Hattrem was being forced to capitulate to the other Pokemon in the equivalent of middle-child syndrome, but with a little help from Ann, she realizes that Hattrem really does just like to help others. (Also, Ann proclaiming that her Liko love can't be surpassed by anyone? )

I am definitely a Hatterene fan, so I'm hoping Hatterene gets sufficient screentime from here on out. It was fun to see it repeatedly beat and heal that Elektross until it lost the will to fight and just let them pass. More of that lmao.