Quiz Time! What Is Ult's Training? - Pokémon Horizons Episode 117 Review - The Ultimate Schooling

It looks like Ult received the ult-imate schooling of his lifetime. Before I send myself out for that bad pun, this episode was good for Ult’s development. In case you missed it, Ult vs. Lacey is the first time Ult has battled a Trainer on his own on-screen. His past on-screen battles were either with wild Pokémon, or Trainer battles where he was paired up with someone or participates in a group. The fact that his first solo battle had him get clobbered by Lacey really does show he needs to stop being such an overconfident shounen protagonist and start listening to advice.

Honestly, it's a bit crazy that Lacey is the one to finally tame the gremlin, albeit slowly. It makes sense though since Lacey is both a girl, and smart—both of which are Ult’s weaknesses. Regarding the battle, it’s animated surprisingly well, even for the moments outside of battle. The Pokémon move around a lot in and out of battle, which I really liked! Lacey's advice to Ult is to see and know Pokémon. Like how Ult couldn’t figure out that Pikachu stored electricity in their cheeks, or that Tera types can go beyond a Pokémon’s usual typing. Ult needs to know Pokémon besides just his Sableye. He needs to study, observe and get to know them. That’s when his Dragonite will truly acknowledge him. It was nice to see the two finally starting to bond. Hopefully, Ult will find the answer he is seeking when it comes to strength and fighting for someone.

Liko and Roy mainly take the backseat in this episode. Liko is helping Briar with Terapagos trivia and being her temporary assistant, which upsets Carmine. Roy meanwhile is trying to learn how to be chill like Drayton by mimicking a Slakoth. Dot on the other hand does get some minor spotlight in that she gets into a battle with Carmine. However, the battle is not a serious one at all. It’s just Sinistcha and Gimmighoul using Astonish on each other. I’m surprised no one was laughing in the background because it was mainly comedy. However, this battle is a little upsetting in that Dot got the short end of the stick when it comes to training. How is this going to train her Gimmighoul? Like, Roy got focus by battling and losing to Nemona and Drayton, Ult got majority of the focus in this episode with his 1-on-1 training with Lacey. Liko will get focus next week. What did Dot get? A joke battle. Why is Dot done dirty when she’s basically the best battler of the group?

Other than that, there are also a few things like easter eggs and a funny detail that I want to talk about before I end this review. First off, Clay and Kieran are mentioned in this episode! Lacey mentions her father to Ult when she talks about her Excadrill. Carmine mentions her brother Kieran when after her battle with Dot gets called off; she says that Dot’s hair style is similar to her brother’s. I’m sure Kieran fans are finally rejoicing. It does make me wonder if this means he’ll show up in the future. The last thing I want to talk about is how Lacey broke the fourth wall. She said “Quizzes will continue right after this,” and then the eyecatches for the commercial break show up. I can’t believe they did that…and it’s not the first time this happened in this anime.

To be fair, I am a bit divided over Ult because his attitude tends to irk me, but I do like that he’s genuine. I just don’t like that his writing, specifically his personality, tends to be a little inconsistent. One moment, he gets overwhelmed and a bit humbled by his opponent, but then he goes back to being hot-headed and arrogant. Hopefully, the writers won’t forget the lessons he learned in this episode and actually start his path to development. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!