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Review HZ133: To the Final Battle

First part of the big Laqua battle against the Explorers (something I've been looking forward to for ages) and unfortunately this is a very unremarkable way of kicking this arc off.

Not happy that it seems we won't be getting one last battle with Liko vs Sidian, Roy vs Coral and Dot vs Chalce since it would be a nice way to fully tie things up and give them one last win against them but noooo we gotta shove all that to the side for more boring tired Mega Evolution crap and poor Gargacnl misses out battling as a result, I feel so sorry for the poor fella. Nobody Jobber 1 and Nobody Jobber 2 do succeed in defeating Decidueye, Vaporeon and Gholdengo but they shouldn't celebrate too early now Hamber's here and they'll no doubt be jobbing to him.

Also the animation quality has decided to go off on a vacation as this episode just looks so tired and ragged in every department and next week doesn't look much better either. At least we'll get some Liko and Cap action among the Mega nonsense but so far, not a great start to what should be such a big moment for the show.
 
We've very close to the conclusion of the Arc. Where Spinel continue his overconfident manic claim he can get away as always.

Because of having Strong Sphere and with it Laquium core with his grasp.

Love to see Mega Evolve versus Mega Evolve as if Wasn't enough with Pink Crystal effect to back them up. Now, with Liko very close to the core. Wondering what inside of it.

Overall rating: A
 
You Know, if i was in charge of Horizons and made PURST Horizons, i would have that Glalie, Aerodactyl battle with Medicham against Decidueye, Vaporeon and Gholdengo as well as Loopy and Vernon with Paloma and the Supernoobs

Our Heroes don't lose because the SuperNoobs' Battleballs end up giving them faith (and here's a breakdown)

An Attack damages them as Tyler (Blue-Teleportation) teleports behind a mirror which weakens mega glalie and Jennifer/Shope (Purple-Weather Attacks) end up putting Aerodactyl to the Ground and gives Kevin (Red-Animal Transformation) an opening to turn into a Bird which Roach/Cafard (Green-Strength) to throw the Weaken Glalie onto Medicham riding onto Aerodactyl which knocks the 3 megas out giving Team Noob the Win

Next Week, The Wonder-Bearers and the Wranglers as Well as La Resistance Fight alongside the Galactic Guardians to Know what is inside the core, and what is Ditto Doing here in the show?

Next Week After That, Slagar and Professor Pester end up allowing the Creepy Farmer called MaxDonald and Their Leader Spinel McMonkey MaxDonald to possess the Drugged Core to take over the world with the Ultimate Killer Weapon on planet Nutshack, More Next Week

If you have a different opinion than mine, i respect it
 
RetroPokeFan said:
First part of the big Laqua battle against the Explorers (something I've been looking forward to for ages) and unfortunately this is a very unremarkable way of kicking this arc off.

Not happy that it seems we won't be getting one last battle with Liko vs Sidian, Roy vs Coral and Dot vs Chalce since it would be a nice way to fully tie things up and give them one last win against them but noooo we gotta shove all that to the side for more boring tired Mega Evolution crap and poor Gargacnl misses out battling as a result, I feel so sorry for the poor fella. Nobody Jobber 1 and Nobody Jobber 2 do succeed in defeating Decidueye, Vaporeon and Gholdengo but they shouldn't celebrate too early now Hamber's here and they'll no doubt be jobbing to him.

Also the animation quality has decided to go off on a vacation as this episode just looks so tired and ragged in every department and next week doesn't look much better either. At least we'll get some Liko and Cap action among the Mega nonsense but so far, not a great start to what should be such a big moment for the show.
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I personally liked it but hopefully it turns into something better with this just being the build up
 
I don't have a lot of deep thoughts about this episode. I had fun watching it, but the problems i did have with it are just symptoms of the overall problems the whole arc had with the pacing etc.
But the episode on its own is perfectly cool, Sango is a joy, the Cofagrigus/Runerigus trap was fun, the interaction between Starmie and Sableeye was so cute, the whole shtick with sticking the gem into Onigouri's (i always forget the english name lol) mouth was funny.

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↑I ship it now /hj

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"I will plan the volteccers downfall with the most kawaii smile on this entire mountain"
 
It looks like a bad end for our mini-team but Hamber saves them and stops the evil

Next Week, Uruto and Rory as well as Freedo fight off evil, meanwhile Liko and Amethio find out about the Laqua Core and the next week after that, Spinel is going to take over the world and there is the ultimate weapon
 
To me, this episode was a nice start to this arc. Honestly, the Mega Evolution battling was pretty stylish and had creative uses for each Pokémon's unique attributes. I am excited to see more of this battle. I will admit that Indy and Rubina's plan was rather creative, especially since they effectively crippled a portion of the Rising Volt Tacklers fighting force. That said, I love that Hamber came in to close the gap with Dusknoir and Ursaluna. And Indy and Rubina walked away because there was nothing left for them to do. I will say that they probably shouldn't have anything else to do since all of their Pokémon teams have fainted, but I will probably end up being wrong. I am really interested in seeing more to come, and I wonder what Spine's ultimate plan will be.
 
They didn't take Revives.

They went on an escort mission in a multi-stage boss fight dungeon without items.

Luckily they had "Summon Hamber" but it's a single use feat...

It's good to see some tactical thought on the two sides. The RVT will keep their tera-ritual members for the last. Explorers are an arm of a mega-corp and it shows. Indy and Rubella? 12 identical pokemons because we have the means to find them. Onix, Sango, Agate? Mega-bracelets for everyone because we know who's coming and we've researched the counters. Penny? Not worried, she has all the eeveelutions.
 
I'm hoping we get better animation for the upcoming episodes, and what is essentially the finale of Horizon's main story. The episode was alright, but not much more. I liked Onyx and Friede both swapping to another Pokemon they're usually not fighting with (even if we know the real reason was mega evolution), it means we get to see Aerodactyl and Starmie battle for the first time. The best part of the episode was the interactions with Sableye. Sticking your shield inside Glalie's mouth to block its moves is a great idea, until it starts using your own shield against you xD It's a great way to make use of the specific things of those mega evolutions, it's something that couldn't be done with them in base form.
Also it seems like Mega-Sableye forgets how to run and can only hop forward, poor thing.
 
As a Sango fan, I'm absolutely overjoyed! I feel this episode showcases really well what a fun character she is, she's just so silly!!
The animation was somewhat off this episode, but she still looked amazing imo!
I will say, I always make the "it's a weekly show" excuse in my mind whenever the animation isn't too hot, but idk, SM looks great and that was a weekly show.
I guess they just don't have enough time to make it look as good as it can.
Hopefully the finale of this arc looks better!
Anyway, even though the Sango, Onyx, Chalce battle was shorter than I'd like, Sango was so fun that I don't even really mind!!
I just love Sango so much!!
I laughed when Sango got pissed off and when Sableye put it's gem in Glalie's mouth lol!
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The rest of the episode was solid! To be honest, I don't find Rubella and Indi that compelling of characters, so it's a shame that we spent so much time on this battle with them instead of the three Explorers I actually like (and one whom I'm absolutely obsessed with), but at least the battle itself was good.
It was interesting seeing Curse used in such a prominent way.

It is a little unfortunate that Liko didn't get to do much this time around, but at least we got a lot of Dot! The episode feels like it just kinda ends, but the story's continuing next week and I'm sure we'll get more Liko than, so it's whatever.

I have to say, it's great enjoying a Pokémon episode again! To be honest, considering how I found the last two episodes to be just okay, if this episode wasn't good than I'd just have stopped watching the show weekly, and would probably take a bit of a break from the show.
So I'm glad that my favourite Anipoke series has gotten back on track quality wise! This episode wasn't amazing, but if we continue getting quality episodes like this than I'm happy!
Just really hope they nail the landing, I want the ending of this arc to be something special! The last time we were in Laqua, we had an amazing finale, so I'm hoping for the same this time and also hoping that the animation is great during said finale!
The show's disappointed me before, but I still have faith that it'll be good!

Oh and I forgot to mention that seeing the Terastal forms of all the Pokémon during the intro was incredible! Legit made me gasp lol!!
 
We're back after a break and getting right into the action! This is the climax of the series, after all!

Our heroes split into two teams - one to fly right in and gather up all the attention, while the other will sneakily proceed to the Raquium Core. Unfortunately, Spinel is somehow already aware of their plan and they are immediately faced by the might of the Explorers.

Although Indi and Rubella feel like they've overstayed their welcome as an antagonistic duo, their strategy was quite smart this time around. Using a combination of Destiny Bond, Curse, and Mean Look to place the trio of Dot, Nemona and Penny in a situation where they are damned if they do, damned if they don't. Gholdengo is the one to step up and take on the brunt of every Destiny Bond at once by taking all of the Cofagrigus and Runerigus down at once. Unfortunately, their sacrifice seemed to be undermined when Indi and Rubella sent out even more Cofagrigus and Runerigus, but luckily Hamber appeared to save the day.

Meanwhile, the air team of Roy, Ult and Friede are stopped by Sango, Onyx and Agate. Surprisingly, Sango and Onyx have obtained Mega Evolution since their last confrontation with Hamber. We have a 3v3 Mega Evolution showdown. Ult was clever propping open Mega Glalie's mouth with Sableye's gem, too bad it didn't work out exactly as he planned.

I brought this up in some other thread, but the likelihood that they are all going to be make it to the Raquium Core without a single knockout is slim. The fact that they haven't considered having a backup for each is pretty poor planning on their part, but I won't be surprised if they end up having to improvise when the time to purify the Raquium comes.
 
It sort of feels contrived that Sidian and Coral can Mega Evolve their Pokemon...

Indy and Rubella are the most competent they've been...but how do the Explorers know about the 18 Teratype plan? Is there a spy amongst the RVTs?

Also, Tasuku Hatanaka is working overtime in this episode. He voiced Kilowattrel, Ghouldengo AND Starmie.

It's crazy how even after almost 50+ since Yuha's return, his voice actor is still unknown.
 
The RVTs and friends arrive at Rakua, where Roy, Ult, and Friede act as a distraction in the air, while the rest head in on foot, where they encounter Indy and Rubella. Liko, Ann, and Liko's grandmother go on ahead while Dot, Nemo, and Botan battle the two Explorers. 3 Cofagrigus and 3 Runerigus vs Gholdengo, Decedueye, and Jolteon. A Cofagrigus and Runerigus quickly fall thanks to Decedueye and Jolteon's attacks, but the latter two are defeated as well thanks to Destiny Bond. Ribombee and Vaporeon are then sent out. The remaining Cofagrigus and Runerigus use Curse and Mean Look to punish our heroes for not attacking. Gholdengo heroically sacrifices itself to defeat all 4 opposing Pokémon at once, also allowing Nemo and Botan to return their Pokémon. However, Indy and Rubella then send out another set of 3 Cofagrigus and 3 Runerigus. Our heroes send out Quaquaval, Pawmot, and Flareon, but are unsure how to defeat their opponents this time. Just as all seems lost, Hamber shows up, and Nemo and Botan defeat the distracted opposing Pokémon. A bunch of Explorers grunts show up, and Hamber holds them off while Dot, Nemo, and Botan go on ahead.

The episode cuts to Roy, Ult, and Friede having successfully lured Sango and Onyx away (the former not even realizing that was the plan). Agate shows up, and an all-Mega Evolution battle starts. Lucario, Sableye, and Starme vs Glalie, Aerodactyl, and Medicham. Roy is quite surprised to see Onyx actually use a Pokémon that isn't Garganacl, and Ult is surprised the bad guys can also use Mega Evolution. The episode ends with the battle in progress.

It appears the climax of the Rakurium storyline is here, although we've been here before. Is the second time the charm, or will we be doing this again? I expect the former and look forward to finding out what the writers think is worth not saving the end of the main storyline for the end of the series.
 
Doubl - Echo said:
I'm hoping we get better animation for the upcoming episodes, and what is essentially the finale of Horizon's main story. The episode was alright, but not much more. I liked Onyx and Friede both swapping to another Pokemon they're usually not fighting with (even if we know the real reason was mega evolution), it means we get to see Aerodactyl and Starmie battle for the first time. The best part of the episode was the interactions with Sableye. Sticking your shield inside Glalie's mouth to block its moves is a great idea, until it starts using your own shield against you xD It's a great way to make use of the specific things of those mega evolutions, it's something that couldn't be done with them in base form.
Also it seems like Mega-Sableye forgets how to run and can only hop forward, poor thing.
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135 and 136 might have better animation so I guess they wanna end this on a high note
 
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