Reunion at the Old Castle - Pokémon Horizons Episode 24 - The Finale of the First Arc

After two weeks, Pokémon Horizons is back! Although this week's episode is the penultimate episode of the first arc, Liko and Roy’s Departure, it feels more of a buildup rather than a closure. We meet Liko’s grandmother Diana, we learn of Terapagos, and the Explorers are going out of their way to become scarier threats with the way they’re gathering their admins.

After so much buildup, this episode finally introduces Diana is in the flesh. Diana is an adventurer, who got her start after to finding the pendant and Lucius’s diary in her family’s attic one day and deciding to set out. As she got older, Diana gave up on finding about the secrets of Lucius, but still had the adventurer’s spirit at heart, which was why she continued to travel around. The last time Diana saw Liko was a year before Liko’s story, when she visited Paldea and gave her the pendant as a good luck charm for school. At the time though, she had no idea the pendant harbored Terapagos.

As a character, Diana seems like a very cool person. I like that she still chases after her passion, adventuring, even at her old age. While she is finally introduced, I do feel as if she was mainly present for upcoming plot points and foreshadowing. She knows what Terapagos is, she knows what Rakua is, and she knows that the Explorers are after the pendant. I just find it annoying that the writers build all these up and then we get interrupted constantly, whether it be Fuecoco becoming hungry, or the actual Explorers intruding into her house. I just hope this isn’t the last we see of Diana. I want to see more of her next episode!

I do like that thanks to Diana, we got to learn a lot more about Terapagos. Diana mentions that the form she saw in a book was much bigger - which is hinted at the existence of the Scarlet/Violet book. Terapagos was most definitely Lucius’s companion. Regardless, while a lot was given, there are still things we do not know about this turtle Pokémon. Terapagos seems to be familiar with Diana, yet she never knew it was inside the pendant. I guess Terapagos familiarizes with the wielder, even if it does not show up in front of them. Personality-wise, it is very cute and childlike. I also find it amusing how Liko decides to carry Terapagos, Hatenna and Sprigatito all at once in different locations. Just like with Ash before her, there are going to be so many "Liko is swole AF" memes once Terapagos’s official weight is revealed.

The Explorers are building up to be even bigger threats than before now. Spinel was easily the scariest of the admins during his stint. Now, Hamber is building up to be even scarier than him, with the way his bangs reveal that the covered one has been open all the time while the uncovered one is purposely closed. Hamber's partner is a Dusknoir, and he's now recruited the help of Onyx and Sango to pursue Terapagos. Onyx’s partner is Garganacl while Sango’s is Glalie, surprisingly. Spinel and Agate meanwhile are stated to be doing something in a lab, which is why they’re inactive. Amethio and his goons are also back into the pendant search after he showed Hamber the video of Terapagos. I do hope we get backstories of why these guys are in the Explorers. I’d love to learn more about them.

Horizons really loves ending episodes with cliffhangers. I just hope nothing important is skipped over, like how Episodes 22 and 23 did with 22 ending in a cliffhanger and 23 starting with Friede already out of the mine. If something like that happens again, I will riot. Anyways, what are your thoughts on this episode?