#hz085

[amelikos]

Going over the remaining titles for February (HZ085 and HZ086).

No summaries or staff lists are available as of now, just the titles. I didn't think we'd have the full titles list for February so soon. I think it'll be a little while until we get additional information.

I went over the first two titles for February here.

Starting with HZ085 (here). And the title for HZ086 (here).

I'll go over both of them at the same time since it seems like a big confrontation is happening. These are just fresh thoughts that I need to write down because the titles are too exciting, etc. I don't really want to wait for the summaries and staff list to write them, since they'll come out in two weeks or something.

So it appears that Liko and the others will actually reach Rakua soon-ish. They did mention that Pagogo and Rayquaza are both the key to reaching Rakua and the path to it will be opened once they are all gathered. I didn't expect it to happen now! Ep 85 is 10 eps after ep 75 which is when we got the Rystal flashback with Rakua for the first time.

It does feel like there is something planned after Rakua because this cannot be the end? (For multiple reasons, such as: the series is definitely planning to have all the Paldea starters reach their final evolution stage, as well as the secondary Pokemon of the group, the new games haven't come out yet, etc etc.)

So there is something that will be established within the context of the story to explore further. I feel like the RVT could lose to the Explorers at this point in the story? Gibeon coming out as victorious in this confrontation, which would establish where Liko and the others will be heading to next?

I am also curious about the fact that they are reaching Rakua next month because after the batch of February episodes, there should be three or four episodes left for the current chapter (there are four Fridays in March, so unless the show is on break for a week, there will be four episodes airing that month). Horizons chapters function as two-cour anime and seasonal anime usually end at the end of March. And next chapter will start in April if it follows the trend set by previous chapters starting at the same time as other seasonal anime. So what will happen during March?

A few things come to mind when I look at the titles. I wonder how the path to Rakua will be opened, and how the Explorers will join the RVT. I also wonder if all of the Explorers will be gathered in Rakua. Spinel said he wanted to be the one to reach Rakua with Gibeon. I wonder if Amethio will tag along somehow? Will we see Gibeon and Amethio onscreen together with the rest of the Explorers? Will the others admins even appear in this set of episodes? I am curious about Agate's motivations, too.

The title for ep 86 is exciting too. I wonder how the confrontation between the two factions will happen. Who will battle? Or will it just be Gibeon vs the RVT?

I can't help but think about that One Friede Scene in the opening given that we know that Liko and the others are reaching Rakua soon.. Will we get Friede and Lucius parallels and Friede getting stuck in Rakua, which would establish the kids needing to save him? If Friede is is danger, will it be for a long period of time, or a short one?

Also, stray thought but if we go by the assumption that Onyx and Sango will be somehow present at Rakua, then I think the idea of Onyx having a moment where he prioritizes Sango's safety over the bigger goal would be sweet.. (I just think they are cute and also, that emphasis on Onyx protecting his allies in his battle with the Gym Leader in HZ055 made me wonder if we'll see more of that side of his.. And there is one person in the series that he cares about, and it's Sango.)

Also, I wonder if they'll go for a kind of timeskip for the next chapter? It depends on what they are planning for the climax of Rayquaza Rising. But I always thought that Horizons is a series that would easily lend itself to a timeskip given the emphasis on legacy, generations, growth.. (I always thought it'd be natural to show a timeskip for the actual ending of the series, show the trio as older, and a continuing line of mother and daughter with Liko.) Who knows what they are planning for the next chapter though.

Anyway, it seems like the entire month of February will be bangers one after the other. And definitely episodes which appear to be written by the core writers of the show, which means a lot of things to pick apart when they come out.

I really don't know what to expect. Amethio's character direction in this batch of episodes will be interesting to witness. I am also looking forward to how Spinel and Agate will act. And everyone else, basically. What will happen after Rakua, what will happen after this current arc, what will Liko and the others do, etc.

I'm probably going to be in danger if Friede, Gibeon, and Spinel all share the same space and talk in the same episode :/ Whatever shall I do when that old man shows up and does stuff, etc.

[smilingperformer]

Final arc vibes keep on going on hz085.

What am I supposed to feel about this lol.

Tbf there is also lots of "something is gonna go wrong, isn't it" vibes too.

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ085, writing them down for future reference.

Starting off from the previous episode, Rayquaza dissipates the clouds above the mountain and goes back to his Pokeball to rest. The RVT explore Rakua. The environment is warm, they discover berries they are unfamiliar with and witness many different Pokemon coexisting together in peace. Pagogo guides Liko and the others deeper in the forest, and after walking all day, they eventually set up their tents in an open field for the night.

At night, Liko, Roy and Dot admire the stars together and reminisce the adventures they've had together, the people they've met along the way, and their Pokemon's growth. Roy and Dot notice that Liko is looking down and she reveals her worry of having to say goodbye to Pagogo now that they arrived at Rakua. Roy and Dot cheer her up in their own ways, and Liko thanks them and decides to focus on enjoying her adventure. Afterwards, they go to sleep, unaware of Spinel's Orbem spying on them.

The following day, the RVT walk deeper into the forest and find a rock hill that reveals a thick wall emitting Terastal energy underneath. They conclude it's the barrier that Lucius and Pagogo created to protect Rakua. In order to get past the barrier, Liko and Paggoo try to bring it down and Pagogo successfully removes it after transforming into Terastal Form. Friede tells Liko, Roy and Dot to stay behind while he checks in for any danger and also adds that they are free to act on their own if anything happens. As he is surveying the area which contains Rakurium crystals, Friede gets accosted by Spinel, while Onyx, Sango and Agate are confronting Liko, Roy and Dot.

--

Lots of characters moments I found nice in this ep. I'll go out of order.

Rayquaza being sleepy and wanting to return to his Pokeball was genuinely an endearing moment? It was unexpectedly cute, and I like when they give these kinds of moments to Pokemon you don't expect to come off as cute. Rayquaza may be a legendary Pokemon, but he still needs rest like anyone else. It was also a nice moment for Roy.. We've seen that the other Heroes can come out of their Pokeballs and go back whenever they want without human interference (Liko isn't the one calling for them whenever they appear, Pagogo is, and they are Lucius's Pokemon). So, I feel like Rayquaza could have gone back to his Pokeball without asking for it, similarly to the others? So the fact that he didn't and actually asked for Roy to return him inside the Pokeball shows that Rayquaza is considering Roy as an individual and that there is some kind of trust growing between them? I think it's definitely a step in the right direction for Roy to become Rayquaza's real partner someday.

In terms of Dot moments.. I really liked when she immediately thought of Botan and wanted to send her a picture of the Eevee that are in Rakua. The fact that it was so spontaneous too. Dot is open about her friendships and she doesn't have to send a picture of her friend's favorite Pokemon (at least I think Eevee are Botan's favorite?), but she is doing it because she cares. Even though Dot isn't at school anymore, I'm glad they are showing that her relationship with Botan is still growing (they interacted back in HZ079, and now we can assume that they are in contact offscreen and send each other messages). Also, the way Dot tried to cheer up Liko and told her that Pagogo probably didn't come to Rakua just to say goodbye to Liko.. She's been doing that for a while now, but Dot giving back to her friends the kind of support they showed to her is just sweet. She is still a bit embarassed about being honest, but she is trying and wants to be there for her friends when they need her.

Random moments of the trio (Liko, Roy, Dot) I found meaningful: Liko telling Dot that she could take off her coat in Rakua, Liko noticing when Dot was having trouble walking (I just like the way Liko is observant when it comes to Dot and how she thinks about her when it comes to these small everyday things..), Dot wondering if Lucius and Rystal were gazing up at the sky in the past (I felt like it was such an emotional insight from Dot? Not something I would have necessarily expected from her so it was surprising in a good way), Dot complaining about the paths in Rakua (I love that Dot is allowed to complain about the weather or things that she finds difficult to deal with and that no one is holding it against her, they just let her vent because she needs it), Dot pushing through her exhaustion because she wanted to keep exploring (I thought it was courageous of her), Roy's comment about the Pokemon getting plenty of sunlight since the sky is so close in Rakua (I thought this comment was really cute and highlighted the fact that Roy is a kid? In contrast to Friede's analysis of Rakua's environment.. It shows that Roy has the knowledge of a kid in a very endearing way to me). The scene with Liko, Roy and Dot gazing at the stars was beautiful and emotional. Liko's growth is always a delight to watch. She felt comfortable enough to express her worries instead of bottling them up, and decided to enjoy the moment instead of worrying too much about the future (and we do know that Liko had a tendancy to overthink and freeze in situations she wasn't used to, but she is learning to immerse herself in the present).

The parallels between Friede and Gibeon keep growing, too. The way both of them immediately analyzed their surroundings in Rakua and had an analytical approach in order to understand how this kind of environment came to be. Gibeon was curious about the reason this bountiful environment came to exist. Friede had a similar reasoning and was observing everything in Rakua to make sense of it (the soil to explain the warmth, the crater form, the way the Pokemon behaved...). I just really liked Friede in general in this ep. He was as excited as the kids to discover Rakua and had the same wonder for adventure, but his approach was wiser (not rushing and knowing when to take breaks, etc). His VA was great this ep too (the way he delivered some of his lines especially when he was whispering.. too good).

I also liked that this episode addressed the worries that it might be the end of the journey soon since they are in Rakua now. Liko was wondering if Pagogo might leave her too. These are real worries I also have as a viewer, so it's interesting seeing them voiced through the characters? I wonder what will happen. Part of me wants Pagogo to stay with Liko (I don't want Nyarote to lose another friend, among other things), but I also want Pagogo to be free to choose. I also definitely understand Roy and Dot's perspectives that Pagogo chose Liko and may not want to say goodbye either, so it was reassuring to hear a counterpoint to Liko's worries.

I am also not sure what to make of the many "death" flags raised around Friede. Wondering what they should do if they find the Rakurium in Rakua in HZ083. The insistence on the kids growing as adventurers (Friede noticing that they were quick to set up their tents, etc). Friede telling the kids that they should think and act for themselves if anything happens, which shows that he grew to trust their judgment.. and which could indicate that there could be a moment when Liko, Roy and Dot will have to take a decision by themselves? We do know that Friede will be there with the trio when they find Lucius, which could indicate that Friede will win against Spinel (or that Spinel will escape, since I think his aim is mostly to buy time for Gibeon so he can retrieve Zygarde's cells etc?). But that doesn't mean something can't happen after Friede's battle with Spinel.

While I am worried about upcoming events, I like that there is so much unpredictability right now? Like, this is the fun of original anime. You don't know where it's going next because it's not based on an existing story and right now, we have no idea where the story of Horizons is going. This reminded me that I enjoy Horizons to such an extent because it's an original story that has its own tale to tell, and that it's taking Pokemon to new places and exploring a different kind of narrative instead of always relying on the same mould (doing the competition thing, or relying on the game characters to just be game story 2.0..). Please stay peak Horizons, it's all I'm asking from you. Please stay peak after this chapter and until the anime ends.

Also, I had another opportunity to take part in a stream held by the scriptwriter for this ep (Kureha Matsuzawa) after it broadcasted. I sent a small comment with my thoughts on the weekly episode, and the scriptwriter replied to me and elaborated on his thoughts on Rayquaza among other things. I also remember that he mentioned at some point that he was grateful that he got the opportunity to write HZ083 (Amethio's episode). There was lots of interesting talk in general, from what I could understand. Lots of general talk, not just Horizons related talk, but he mentioned his work as a writer.

Overall, just pleasant episode. Loved the sceneries, the depiction of Rakua (a paradise for Pokemon, so it was explained in a way that made it come off as a paradise for them and not humans), the writing highlighting each character's unique traits, emotional and endearing moments.. An episode that makes me feel both anxious and excited for future developments.

The Only One Story picture in this episode was really good, btw. I especially like the bit with Murdock fussing over Dot!

[amelikos]

Going over information for February episodes (from HZ084 to HZ086).

Mostly taking a look at the writers list for this month now that the information has been released.

Starting with HZ084 (here).

Noting that Naohiro Fukushima is writing this ep.. We know the Six Heroes are going to appear, so that's the first time this writer will be handling an episode with them.

Continuing with HZ085 (here) and HZ086 (here).

No summaries released in the monthly magazine, so I take it as "we want to hide a little more what these episodes will be about".

But we do know that Kureha Matsuzawa (the script coordinator of Horizons) will be writing both episodes.. which is a great point of interest to me. He wrote the last two episodes (Rayquaza joining the group, and Amethio's focus episode). Surprised that almost four episodes in a row are written by him (ep 84 won't be though, so that's just one week skipped before going back to two eps in a row by him).

Since he wrote the original Explorers backstory and most of eps with Amethio and Gibeon, I'm looking forward to what's in store. Especially since we do know by the upcoming preview that Amethio will side with Liko and her friends, and that Lucius and Gibeon will meet again.

Also, ep 86 is airing one day after Pokemon Day. Makes me wonder what kind of reveal we'll have on that day that could be relevant to ep 86. Probably some kind of news related to Legends ZA (and by extension, Zygarde?), or something. When the Indigo Disk DLC was released on December 14 (2023), HZ033 aired one day after that and it was the episode in which Pagogo turned into the Terastal Forme for the first time in the series. So, some news coincide with anime episodes etc. (Personally, I dislike when game stuff is implemented in the anime in a way that harms the original narrative or feels like obvious "hey, buy our games, this is nothing but promotion, and also look at these characters from the games". Which means that most of the time, I don't want to see game characters or any game events etc. So far, Horizons has been good about this but still, my only demand is for it to keep being original and if game stuff has to be implemented, it has to be in a way that elevates the original narrative and feel natural. Please and thanks :v)

Either way, I'm curious who will be writing the remaining episodes of chapter 4. I think there will be three episodes airing in March. There was some kind of info about the second season (in the dub, named "the search for Rakua", I think??) having 44 episodes. (So if calculations are right, it means chapter 4 will end in HZ089 etc).

If Kureha Matsuzawa is already handling so many episodes in a row, I wonder if he'll be writing more for March or if the climax will be handled by someone else.. Naruki Nagakawa or Dai Sato? For information, so far the climax of each chapter has been handled by one of these three writers. Chapter 1: Dai Sato, chapter 2: Kureha Matsuzawa, chapter 3: Naruki Nagakawa. Anyway, the Rakua episodes look very promising! Also a bit stressful since we don't know what will happen after this w

Also, for future reference, the Animedia character poll is here. Love seeing Liko on those. And the Wonderful Precure girls all being up there too!