Lumiose City! A New Encounter!! - Pokémon Horizons Episode 142 Review - Strength is Justice

I wonder if this episode of Pokémon Horizons would be considered a Z-A mini arc. I’ve never actually played Pokémon Legends: Z-A myself, but I do know a few things like characters. The most notable thing that showcases the promotion is that Emma is in her time skip outfit. Regardless, I think this was a good episode, and a great way to introduce Navi, the future new member of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

Navi, as a character, is great! She has the youthful vigor that Liko and Roy had in the earlier Horizons days. I like her interactions with Ult as they act like antagonistic siblings, which is obvious since Ult is skittish towards new people and Emma technically adopted her while he was away; in a way, he’s like jealous sibling fighting for affection. The Dream Ball that is associated with her character is actually empty! It does make me wonder if Ditto will be caught in it. Regarding Ditto, its desire to help others is shown as it tried to apologize for spilling Navi’s favorite coffee milk, and it also picked up her lost Dream Ball.

I think what surprised me about this episode is how fast Navi is integrated into the story. While she doesn’t interact with Liko and Dot as much in this episode, she still has good interactions with Ult and Roy, especially with the former. Given how slow it took for Ult to integrate into the story, I feel like the writers understand the criticism of the slow pacing, hence why Navi is introduced and integrated fast. My only gripe with the episode is the lack of Liko and Dot screen time. They both take a backseat as they’re visiting Lumiose for the first time, so Ult and Roy are of more importance here in terms of interaction and plot progression. I just hope Navi gets to interact properly with the girls later on. The only thing Liko and Dot in this episode do is accompany Emma on the search for the Carbink, which prompts the appearance of Emma’s running animation.

In order to promote Z-A, Ivor makes his anime debut. He’s a tall and bulky young man who walks around in martial arts clothes, and also has monstrous strength as he destroyed his Rotom Phone and boulders. His signature Pokémon is a team of Falinks that he can Mega Evolve; the fact that he carries around a Falinks pouch is adorable. Anyways, Ivor recognizes Roy’s Lucario as the Yellow Blast, which is nice that it’s being respected. The battle does feel like it’s mostly there to show off Mega Falinks, which I honestly find cool as it’s basically a combined form. The way that it’s weakness is the poor struggling middle one and Roy aiming for it really hones in on his strategic sense of battling. While the rules are a little wacky, I do like that the fight isn’t dragged out too long and that the loss is reasonable. Also, Ivor’s sister Gwynn also gets a mention as she’s the one who found the missing Carbink that the group was looking for, and he was trying to find its Trainer.

Navi is voiced by Yu Serizawa who is the current voice actress of Gardenia in Pokémon Masters EX as her first voice actress has retired. Outside of Pokémon media, she’s known for voicing Mona Kawai from Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms, Kotoko Ijichi from Gals Can’t Be Kind To Otaku and Nicole Demara from Zenless Zone Zero. Honestly, her voice does make Navi sound a little older than her appearance, but I like it. Ivor is voiced by Kazuki Ura who makes his Pokémon anime debut. Some of the anime roles he’s played are Isagi from Blue Lock, Shiki Ichinose from Tougen Anki and Haruo Kuroya from Daemons of the Shadow Realm. I think this is the deepest voice I’ve heard from Ura so far, yet his voice is still recognizable.

What amazed me the most is the fact that Navi’s pockets most likely contain a hyperspace dimension due to the sheer amount of stuff she carries in them like a notebook, telescope and a Unown F shaped magnifying glass. I wonder what else she’s holding in those pockets of hers. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

 

I’ve never actually played Pokémon Legends: Z-A myself, but I do know a few things like characters.

Having logged well over 200 hours into it (it was my favorite game of 2025) and the Mega Dimension expansion, I'm deliberately keeping my expectations low for what's next. No matter how I look at it, we're in uncharted waters with Winds and Waves not coming till 2027.

 

Having logged well over 200 hours into it (it was my favorite game of 2025) and the Mega Dimension expansion, I'm deliberately keeping my expectations low for what's next. No matter how I look at it, we're in uncharted waters with Winds and Waves not coming till 2027.

Does Ivor really behave like he does in the game?

 

Does Ivor really behave like he does in the game?

Yes- His dojo is also where you can get stat boosts after completing his main quest line.

 

I liked that they also fully animated Ivor's mega evolution animation and that his Falinks had the movepool it does in the game