Tera Sparkle! Blueberry Academy - Pokémon Horizons Episode 115 Review - Welcome To Blueberry Academy!

I like that the start of the new arc of Pokémon Horizons just drops the kids onto Blueberry Academy immediately. I thought the explanation behind the school’s battle mechanics and its history was explained well, without going over the limit or being cut off. It also gives a lot of foreshadowing of upcoming battles without giving away too much. It really does make me wonder who will show up in this arc and what’s going to happen.

I do like that Ann’s battle with Lacey is the introduction to the academy’s double battle mechanics. It also serves as a nod to the tutorial battle with Lacey in the beginning of the Indigo Disk DLC where she uses her Plusle and Minun with their Hidden Abilities. By the way, was I the only one who had trouble in the tutorial fight? Then again, I was using a completely different team that consisted of Pokémon I chose randomly... Also, I think this is the first time Ann’s Sandslash is seen battling on-screen.

Nemona also makes a return, mirroring how she shows up in the games after the DLC’s story as a special coach. Her new Pokémon is Decidueye, which is canonically a part of her team if the player chooses Sprigatito as their partner—which Liko did. I honestly liked that Nemona battled a lot more strategically this time. Using Spirit Shackle really shows off Decidueye’s tactics. It makes sense why she takes the win in this fight with Roy, because Nemona had battled in the academy a bit longer, and there isn’t that rule where someone loses if one of their Pokémon is knocked out like before. This means that Nemona really did go all out, with a Pokémon she caught and raised all the way into its final form in a short amount of time. By the way, Nemona mentioned that she came with Penny, but that she couldn’t stay in the academy for too long as she had to catch a ferry back to Paldea… Did she leave Penny behind?

The newly introduced characters were really fun to watch! I don’t remember if Cyrano was always this forgetful in the game, but making him like this in the anime is funny. He’s a principal who dodges responsibility. I wonder if he’ll battle in the future. Lacey meanwhile is still the absolute sweetheart that she is in the games (TPCI should really sell her cardigan—I’d buy it). Her personality is the same, with her being a nice girl, but who knows how to talk back when needed. Drayton’s the same as he is in the game too—way too relaxed. I can’t wait to see more of them in future episodes.

Cyrano is voiced by Shinya Oowada who’s mainly an live-action actor, but he does have minor voice acting roles in media outside of anime like Holland from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. This is his first Pokémon role, but he has apparently been a fan of the franchise for a while. He likes Water-types a lot, and is a fan of the Quaxly line. Lacey is voiced by Seiran Kobayashi, a former child actress who's had a few voice acting roles with her most prominent being Eri from My Hero Academia. Like with Oowada, this is her first Pokémon role. Drayton is voiced by Hiroyuki Yoshino, who previously voiced Siebold in the Mega Evolution specials starring Alain during the XY era.

It does make me wonder how long it’ll take for Briar to have free time so that she can explain about Pagogo’s powers because it does feel as if it could drag out a lot. The preview also has Carmine showing up, which does make me wonder if she’s a part of the BB Elite 4 in Horizons as her brother Kieran, Crispin and Amarys are so far nowhere to be seen. Let me know about your predictions and theories for this arc!

 

can't wait to finally see the dynamic between the horizons kids and the bb academy elite four!