Mega Awesome!? The Unopenable Dark Ball - Pokémon Horizons Episode 106 Review - What's Inside The Dusk Ball?

I think this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons is the first full Uruto-focused episode since his debut in this arc! While Uruto has some spotlight here and there, most notably being episode 96 when he first joined Liko and Roy, up until now he hasn't ever had a full episode dedicated to him solely. Speaking of which, it was ten episodes ago where he showed off his Dusk Ball…

Uruto, as a whole, still feels like a mystery because he’s been around for 16 episodes, yet there’s still much not known about him in terms of lore. All we know about him is that he’s shy around girls, has constant motion sickness, possesses a Key Stone and carries around a mysterious Dusk Ball. The fact that he didn’t even know what was contained inside was the craziest part. I did like how they handled the reveal that it was a Dragonite, because it could have been anything, in all honesty. The unpredictability was the fun part! However, having it be a Dragonite makes the most sense, as it is the poster child for the new batch of Mega Evolutions that we’ll be getting in October. It’s like how Roy got a Lucario, as it was the poster child for the gimmick when it was first introduced. Speaking of which, if Uruto had no idea what the Dusk Ball contained inside, does this mean the Dragonite isn’t actually his? There are so many questions I have here. I hope the anime will answer them all in due time.

Uruto’s personality definitely shows that he didn’t have much in the way of proper discipline growing up. I’m assuming he’s an orphan, or perhaps just had neglected upbringing? Liko, Roy and Dot are all more poised and know how to accept responsibilities, because they were raised by parents and grandparents. With Uruto still being a mystery, there’s only so much one can assume by his behavior. All I know is that he definitely has some sort of rebellious streak due to his inability to compromise. Though, this episode does establish that he likes collecting rocks. Maybe it’s for his Sableye to eat, or he just likes them in general… I don’t really like how Roy was quick to accept that he was in the wrong, because Uruto was making a mess in the observation deck. Yes, he was in the wrong to argue with Uruto, but Roy was still right in that Uruto’s rock collection is in the way to the point that it’s hard to walk by.

Despite his awkward people skills, Uruto does become fast friends with Rayu, a struggling painter who wants to show off his Grafaiai’s paintings. However, his Grafaiai only paints with pink ink as it is picky with what it eats. Their moments were very cute, honestly. I think this is the first instance of Uruto interacting with a boy around his age who’s not Roy; his people skills are a lot better than I expected… It’s crazy how Rayu quickly betrays Uruto by stealing his Dusk Ball, and trying to swap it for a Strong Sphere. I do like how the shopkeeper was hesitant on accepting the ball because it contained a Pokémon that could belong to someone else. Regardless, I do like how Rayu admitted he was wrong for doing all that. He’s not a bad kid, all he wanted was to better his Pokémon’s paintings. His Grafaiai even participated in battle to protect Uruto and his Sableye from the Explorers, even if it did get knocked out in one hit. The casting in Pokémon Horizons still goes crazy because what do you mean Romi Park voiced Rayu? If you’re not familiar with Park, she’s a very famous voice actress who’s known for voicing characters like Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, Ken Ichijoji from Digimon Adventure 02, and Toshiro Hitsugaya from Bleach. She’s also been in Pokémon in the past as Brock’s younger brother Forrest, and the Zoroark from Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

I wonder if Indy and Rubella’s Pokémon will always be different. They had two Paldean Tauros back in their debut episodes, and now they have both Unovan and Galarian Darmanitan. I’m guessing their schtick is to use Pokémon variants? Does this mean that they’ll use Alolan Pokémon next time they battle the Rising Volt Tacklers? This has been a very exciting episode to be because of the Uruto spotlight, and the surprise at the end. It makes me anticipate next week’s episode even more! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!