Some character notes and episode notes for HZ090/HZ091, writing them down for future reference.
Quick summary of the two eps.
HZ090: First half is about Roy and Uruto battling a Kekking who is affected by the Rakurium. Roy decides to go meet Liko afterwards. Second half of the ep is about Liko’s current life at school. It ends with Roy finding Liko on her school’s rooftop.
HZ091: Liko and Roy reunite at Liko’s school. Roy explains the situation to Liko and asks her for help. Roy and Ann battle. Liko and Roy also battle. At the end, Liko decides to resume traveling with Roy in order to get back the truth of the Rising Volt Tacklers.
Lots of things to go over. I’ll go out of order.
Starting with Spinel’s words at the end of the episode. He said “the world will be kneeling before us in short order” (in the subs).. Putting aside the fact that he doesn’t have to go to such lengths and threaten me, I would follow him in a heartbeat if he asked nicely… I think the use of “us” here was pretty interesting? He isn’t only talking about himself. He says “us” which means that he considers himself as part of a group and that he isn’t only doing these things as part of a self-serving agenda, but that he might genuinely consider it as an action that would benefit said group he considers himself part of? Is he talking about himself and Blacky? Does he include the rest of the Explorers here, ie Agate, Sango and Onyx? Is he talking about someone else? Is he trying to honor Gibeon’s legacy in his own twisted way?
That’s something I really like thinking about and I hope we have answers to these questions. Spinel talked about the future of the Explorers in previous episodes and wanted them to prosper evermore.. Such as HZ064, when he trapped Liko and Amethio in a cave. He mentioned Amethio eventually getting in their way because he is special to Gibeon and added that Amethio had to disappear for the sake of the future of the Explorers. In HZ083, he mentioned that Gibeon needed to live forever for the Explorers to prosper evermore. It seems like Spinel is acting for a grander goal, or at least something that he considers as grand?
For a character like him, who admits to using others and seems pretty isolated in general, I think it’s intriguing that he seems motivated by something/someone and doesn’t strictly talk about himself. He’s mentioned “the Explorers”, “us” a few times by now (ie, the idea of a collective group he is part of, as opposed to just himself), and I wonder about his true feelings on the subject. He wanted to be chosen by Gibeon, too. Why is he doing this, why is he going to such lengths? What made him reach that point? I wonder how he locked up the Six Heroes (minus Rayquaza) too, it’s quite curious how he managed to do that. I like Spinel a lot in that he is effective without being portrayed as someone who relies on brute strength to achieve his goals. It’s smarter and much more interesting that way too.
More about Spinel, but I’m glad that he was canonically called an “ikemen”. I’ve been going on about him being an ikemen this whole time, so I like this validation from the official side of things. Like, they didn’t have to add that word before “director” when the girls at Liko’s school were talking about him, but it’s important that they did. Spinel is hot. The writers know this. They know we know, and we know that they know. The characters in-universe know this, and they comment on it. And it’s also pretty neat to me that there are implications that Spinel knows he is good-looking and is absolutely using his hot looks to further his own agenda? He went through a design change specifically when he decided to go public and reveal himself to the world, and he chose to present himself the way he currently is (ie, good-looking appearance, changing hairstyle, etc) as part of his plans. Spinel being easy on the eyes and pleasant to look at is absolutely one of the reasons why many onlookers stopped to listen to his interview, I think. It’s interesting that the first character (I think?) who had his looks commented on in the series and the character who is implied to use his looks as part of his agenda is a male character. Refreshing to see these kinds of comments directed to this type of character specifically. Diversity wins, the ikemen is using his looks, the seductress type of character is a guy, etc.
All of this to say that I’m happy that Spinel was called hot in-universe (because he is!), it feels like a funny wink-nudge from the writers to tell us that they know absolutely what they are doing with Spinel’s character. Also, it’s compelling to think about from the perspective of the themes of false narratives. Spinel constructing a false narrative and stepping into the public light while doing so. Looks can impact who you believe, it’s an indirect commentary on how “beauty/pretty looks” are perceived from a social standpoint and how immorality is considered as “ugly” and portrayed as such. Spinel is weaponizing his looks, etc. All in all, Spinel is hot. And it’s important to mention this because it’s relevant narratively speaking.
It’s also interesting that Spinel was hiding in the shadows for so long up until now and was much more reclusive before? Now, he is under the spotlight and centering the narrative around himself. It’s such a stark contrast from the Spinel we got to know in previous chapters. The girls at Liko’s school knew Spinel’s name and it’s something he was comfortable revealing in this specific context because he had agency and full control of the situation in which his name was known. In comparison, he was the only Explorers admin who didn’t give out his name to the RVT before that. While the viewers knew Spinel’s name from HZ006, Liko and the others only said his name from HZ064 onwards? And it’s not something Liko knew because Spinel revealed it to her, she probably overheard Amethio saying his name which is how she got to learn it.
Unlike all the others Explorers admins who actually introduced themselves to their respective opponents (Amethio giving his name to Friede when asked in HZ002, Sango casually revealing her name to Liko and Roy in HZ043, Onyx acknowledging Liko as a worthy opponent and introducing himself to her after his defeat in HZ066, Agate correcting Dot and telling her her real name in HZ066), Spinel never did. And now, he is using his name and makes his identity public because it serves a purpose. Just really interesting to me in general, because it shows how much power he is holding and the way he exerts his agency? He didn’t introduce himself before that simply because he didn’t want to, and maybe it wasn’t really something that had a purpose to him? He knew other people’s names, but he never gave out his. (He knew Friede’s name and even called him by his professor title in HZ044, and their dynamics was quite personal.. Still, there was an unbalance between how much Spinel knew about Friede vs how much Friede knew about Spinel.)
Liko’s battle style.. Bringing it up now because it draws interesting parallels to Spinel.
Liko and Roy’s battle was fun, and I really enjoy Liko’s style in general? It stands out to me every time that her style is cunning, relies on deception and trickery because it’s not necessarily the kind of thing you’d expect from a protagonist. Liko relies more on such things rather than brute strength and it makes her similar to Spinel in that way, as both of them are characters who rely on observation, using the environment to their advantage and trickery, etc. In general, I’m a big fan of protagonists mirroring antagonists (just like in my Precure shows, it’s the whole “I could have been like you, you could have been like me” that gets to me, etc). Spinel mirrors every single major character in the RVT, and I think it’s neat. From Liko (both rely on deception in their styles, have similar partners etc), to Roy (both are “outsiders” to the legacies of Lucius and Gibeon and are inspired by them), to Dot (both are tech savvy/gather information and work better in environments they can control/from their rooms), to Friede (both are researchers driven by curiosity).
There is just a nuance I really like about making the heroic characters mirror the antagonists so closely? Rather than making them completely different. It also highlights an aspect of Horizons I like, which is the lack of moral judgment on certain things. Things are “good/bad” depending on what you make of them. In the first chapter (Liko and Roy set off), there were many moments when Liko and Friede were willingly choosing to run away and escape from the Explorers/other situations rather than engaging in battles. For example, Friede just interrupted his battle with Amethio in HZ003 when Liko safely escaped and retrieved Nyahoja. He was battling to stall time for her, and when his objective was achieved, he just left. Liko chose to leave the Galar Mine against Galar Fire in HZ022 when she saw that they stood no chance as things were and picked self-preservation as the sensible choice. I liked the lack of moral judgment on these kinds of actions. Running away or escaping is not cowardly and it’s often the best course of action, actually. Similarly here, making Liko’s style a cunning one is compelling because it draws strong similarities with the current antagonist (Spinel). Rather than saying “this thing is good / this thing is bad” (or elevating one specific style as the righteous one), we’re just left to draw our own conclusions. Liko’s style is similar to Spinel’s, but her intentions and actions are different and it’s what sets her apart from him.
Liko’s emotional state was portrayed really well, and it was my favorite aspect of the episodes. I think the episodes were so effective in conveying her grief and sadness without addressing them directly? It had a good balance of showing the world still keeps going even after tragedies and that time doesn’t stop, and the feeling of being left behind as others manage to move forward without you. The shot of Pagogo’s Pokeball and Friede’s part of the picture of the RVT being the only one shown when Liko was in her room at night sums it up pretty well, because losing Friede and Pagogo is what is affecting Liko so deeply right now, even though she is trying not to show it and to act like everything is okay.
I liked lots of moments that showed that Liko’s mind is affected and drifting somewhere else. For example, Liko not keeping up with Gurumin’s videos was interesting.. In general, I found it intriguing that Liko, Roy and Dot weren’t constantly in contact during the past year. Makes things feel kinda grounded? When you’re apart from your friends and doing your own thing, it can be a bit more difficult to keep in touch constantly. It also highlights the trio’s independence and shows that they don’t constantly need to be together.. They are capable of being apart, which means that when they are together, it’s because they choose to be. Anyway, Liko not keeping up with Gurumin’s videos was a nice touch. It shows that she wasn’t in the mood to indulge in her hobbies and passions anymore. We do know that Liko is a fan of Gurumin, so not keeping up with her stuff anymore is a visible manifestation of Liko’s sadness. Also pretty interesting from the perspective of Liko and Dot’s relationship. Liko felt like everyone was moving forward without her while she was the only one who wasn’t, so she may have avoided Gurumin’s videos because of this?
There are multiple potential reasons for this and I think it’s neat (too affected and guilty to indulge in her passions, intentional avoidance because she doesn’t want to face the physical proof that Dot is moving forward?). It also shows that Liko isn’t separating Dot and Gurumin anymore in her own mind. Which has been a thing since HZ049, but it’s still nice to see it displayed in a meaningful way like that. Liko knows that Dot and Gurumin are the same and she can’t look at Gurumin and think it’s someone else other than Dot. Really like the way that Liko being a fan of Gurumin has been portrayed so far because there is constantly a progression in that specific side of Liko and Dot’s relationship. Long gone are the days of Liko being embarrassed around Dot because she is the streamer she is a fan of. Liko has come to terms with it and supports Dot as her friend now.
I also liked the scenes of Liko being clearly affected when she listened to people at her school badmouthing the RVT. Willingly hiding things, not wanting to step in the conversation, and stopping Ann when the latter was trying to defend the RVT.. Loved the scenes of Liko’s friends clearly worrying about her and caring for her. Her relationship with Ann is fun, different from her other friendships. I like that they both notice little things about each other that show that they are used to living together. Liko knowing where Ann tends to put her stuff, Ann knowing Liko keeps caressing Pagogo’s Pokeball unconsciously, etc. Ann also knew Liko wasn’t feeling as well as she pretended to be and felt like something was weighing on her mind, but couldn’t really get the truth out of her.. She tried to get Liko to talk, but Liko avoided the topic because she is the kind of person who bottles up her own feelings and doesn’t want to inconvenience others. I like this too, because even if you’re friends with someone, you won’t always tell them what’s on your mind or confide about your problems. In the same vein, I thought Roy and Ann’s interactions were refreshing. They click well in terms of personality (their high five was so cute!), and they both connected over their worry/appreciation for Liko at the end and being relieved she wasn’t bottling up her feelings anymore.
Liko’s dynamics with her Pokemon was cute. I liked that the secondary Pokemon were included throughout both episodes and the fact that they are a casual part of the world. Liko being in the same situation as Rystal was in the past because Pagogo is currently dormant and won’t come out.. At least, for her it’s different because Pagogo didn’t turn back into pendant form. Something about history repeating itself under different circumstances. Liko has no way to know if Pagogo will come out of the Pokeball. Last time Pagogo went dormant, it was for a whole century and Rystal never got to see her partner again. So, Liko has to grapple with the fact that she might never see Pagogo again, coupled with everything else going on and Friede’s disappearance. It’s a lot for her.
Masquernya was really cool in these eps too. Love that she still remains free-spirited and does whatever she wants. I like how she pays attention to her surroundings and acts in a way that pushes Liko to move forward? Masquernya wanted Liko to battle to realize that she hasn’t been stagnant. Liko was also moving forward at her own pace and she was diminishing her own efforts and progression by thinking she was the only one who couldn’t take a step forward. Really like the nuance of Liko’s situation. She feels left behind and downplays her own achievements, which feels so human?
Liko compares herself to her peers and feels inadequate as a result. It’s not that she feels “jealousy”, it’s just that she can’t help but compare herself to others and feel like if others are able to move forward, then she should be able to do so as well. She diminishes her own feelings in the process. Liko is allowed to have her own worries and they are treated as legitimate, but they are also gentle about showing her that what she thinks isn’t necessarily the objective truth and that there are some things she might be missing (ie, her own progress). Masquernya’s behavior reminded me of Gibeon’s Zygarde, too. Zygarde trying to show the value of bonds to Gibeon through the battle, Masquernya trying to show Liko she’s been taking steps forward through the battle.. Something about the Pokemon caring about their humans so much and trying to communicate their love for them is so sweet.
Liko and Roy’s relationship was really good in these eps. Got some nice RoyLiko dokis and vibes, too. Roy being the kind of guy who casually says killer lines and having no idea how he comes off, while Liko is absolutely aware of the potential implications and misunderstandings that could ensue was funny. Roy said he had to see Liko no matter what and that he had something to tell her.. Liko immediately stopped him and knew that the girls who overheard their conversation were probably getting the wrong idea. It was funny, Liko’s mind absolutely went there and knew that they were probably thinking Roy was going to confess to her or something. It reminded me of that time in HZ005 when Roy came to the ship at night and told Liko he had to see that face no matter what.. But he was referring to Hogator’s! And Liko initially thought he was talking about her w
Other than that, I like how much Liko and Roy both respect each other. Roy wanted to tell her that their adventures weren’t over yet. Very reminiscent of Lucius’s last words to Gibeon. The fact that Roy immediately seeks Liko when he needs help for something, too. Speaks of how much he values his bond with her, and that he knows how her strengths and how capable she is. I liked that Roy was completely understanding and didn’t push Liko when she initially said she wouldn’t be able to help him. He didn’t force her, and knew it was a lot to drop on her. He wasn’t completely certain it was the Rakurium too, and acknowledged it. Liko felt guilty for not being able to immediately help, and he reassured her and said it wasn’t a problem.
This specific interaction between Liko and Roy also highlighted something I currently find intriguing about Roy. He seems desperate to do something, anything, at all costs? He threw himself into training after losing Friede and being separated from the RVT. Emphasized by the fact that his Mega Evolution phrase mentions “power”, though “power” could have many different meanings here and not just refer to brute strength.. but his Terastal phrase emphasized dreams first of all in comparison. Either way, he dedicated himself to training and feels like they (him and the others) have to do something about the Rakurium. He remembers his promise to Lucius and feels a sense of responsibility and duty.
While it shows that he matured and that he is more conscious of his surroundings, I feel a sense of hastiness from him. Like, he wants to move fast and do something and not let a problem get worse. If he can do something, then he will. There was another moment that stood out to me in regards to Roy. When he set up camp with Uruto, Uruto slept first while Roy was pictured pensive and still up during the night. The following morning, he set off first and left Uruto behind. Which means that Roy slept after Uruto and woke up first and that he got less hours of sleep than Uruto. It makes me wonder if he is overworking himself to some extent? Not taking care of himself as properly as he should? His way of dealing with problems contrasts in interesting ways with Liko’s. Roy wants to act fast, while Liko is hesitant to take a step forward.
Speaking of Uruto, he is a character that I will need to get used to. I hope he won’t keep being confrontational like that for the rest of the chapter. I think his presence shows how much Roy has grown in comparison. I liked that Roy felt more mature. He is taking after Friede, and feels much more aware of his surroundings and pays attention to what’s going on around him? His voice direction is really good. One of my favorite Roy moments is when he immediately worried about the Pokemon in the forest getting caught up in Kekking’s rampage and asked his Pokemon to lead them to a safe place. The fact that this was one of his first thoughts and that he made sure to care about the Pokemon’s safety. It reminded me of the episodes in Oliva’s forest (HZ011), when Liko had to stop him from using a Fire type move in the forest because it could cause a fire and Roy hadn’t thought about this possibility back then. Now, he seems more conscious of the potential consequences of his actions and acts while taking these things into account.
There are lots of mysteries around Uruto right now.. I thought it was interesting that the writing established that Roy and Uruto seem quite “close” and have a history that the viewers aren’t aware of as of now. Uruto having a Ghost type as a main partner Pokemon makes me think about how Achigator’s last evolution form will gain this type too. Also makes me think about how Amethio’s Soublades is part Ghost type too.
I wonder how Uruto got to know Rayquaza, and why that is his goal. Uruto seems to have a one-sided(?) rivalry with Roy? Roy’s mind is concerned with other things currently. But they seem to work well together too, despite butting heads (though that part is more Uruto’s doing than Roy’s). A moment that stood out to me during their battle is Roy’s Lucario using Yamirami’s big jewel as a stepping stone to gain momentum while jumping. It was spontaneous and Uruto didn’t seem to mind, so it seems like this is something they are both used to? It seems they are both familiar with each other’s battle styles. Uruto was also able to pick up on Roy’s change of behavior when Roy recognized the Rakurium. He snapped Roy out of it by asking him if he was going to run away. It makes me wonder if this is something that happened before. Either way, Uruto seems to know what words to say and how to encourage Roy in his own way. I wonder how they both met.
Dot and Blanca.. The scenes were quite short, but I liked them either way.
I thought it was really cute that Blanca brought her hotcakes. Food being used as a means to get Dot to open up and connect to others never gets old, and I’m glad it remains a strong component of her arc. When Blanca appeared for the first time in HZ041, she learned that Dot liked donuts and Murdock told her bringing some to Dot could make her talk more easily. Now, Blanca is making hotcakes for her. I think she is really trying to connect with her daughter and make her try out food she’s never had before? Which is really sweet, because Dot has so many people caring about her and they all want her to have fun eating different kinds of food. Murdock made donuts for her in order to reach out to her and kept showing his care for her by making her food. Liko wanted Dot to try out sandwiches and curry. Blanca is also making for Dot specifically now. She isn’t just following Murdock’s suggestion of bringing donuts to Dot, she wants to do her own thing for her. Dot is so loved, and it warms my heart.
Another line that stood out to me during the exchange between Dot’s conversation with her mother is that Blanca thought it was fine to enter her room since Dot wasn’t streaming. When Blanca first appeared in the series, she didn’t seem to know anything about Gurumin or Dot’s streaming activities. We also got to learn through Liko that she once entered Dot’s room while Dot was doing a livestream. Now, Blanca seems to know about the concept of streaming. It seems like Dot probably talked about her Gurumin activities to her mother, or that Blanca might have tried looking up this stuff on her own? I do like the idea that Dot may have talked about it to her, because it’d mean that she is trying to communicate with her mother and open up to her. Which she did before, because Dot sent a message to Blanca when the RVT were about to set to Rakua after Rayquaza joined the group in HZ082, so I like to think that she keeps trying and wants to open up to people close to her.
Either way, now Blanca seems to know that she should avoid entering Dot’s room without warning while she is streaming, so Dot probably warned her about this and told her to pay attention. Which, again, means that Dot is communicating. Though, there is still the contrast of personalities between Dot and her mother because Blanca thought it was fine to enter Dot’s room because she wasn’t streaming so it’s okay right? But Dot was still a bit bothered by it. It’s fun. I like that it highlights different sides from Dot that we don’t usually see (she is a kid too!), and the whole interaction felt very realistic and the kind of thing that happens between parents and their children. I like Blanca and Dot a lot for this, their relationship feels very real and human.
Won’t go too much over the battles. The eps were a bit too battle heavy to my liking, and I always prefer battles/confrontations that feel narratively significant and convey something specific in terms of themes. Roy and Uruto’s battle was fun because it showed off the two of them working together and said something about their dynamics. Liko and Roy’s battle was a bit awkward visually. I liked that it showed off their appreciation of/respect towards each other. Liko and Roy complimenting each other and clicking so well because they both admire things the other has that they don’t is something I really appreciate about their dynamics. I hope we get to know Roy’s Lucario outside battles. What kind of personality does he have? How did they meet? I wonder if we’ll get to see some of Roy’s flashbacks in Kalos? (This part worries me because of the risk of overlap between things the past anime has visited, etc. I need Horizons to remain its own thing until the end, please and thanks. No references or allusions to it. Also, avoid game characters.)
Overall, I liked the beginning of Mega Voltage. There is a lot I liked and probably forgot to mention while writing this. The themes of this chapter were laid out well. False narratives being constructed, getting back the truth/legacy, etc. Very interesting thematic direction. I am also sad about Friede (grieving a lot about my man, etc), and I noticed that they mentioned that he was someone they got separated from.. I wonder if Liko and the others genuinely believe Friede is dead? Thinking about it this way is a lot, because they clearly struggle with his absence. They tried looking for him but couldn’t find him and eventually had to stop their search because Exceed made the area off-limits. I wonder where the others are currently and what they are doing.
I loved Liko’s depiction a lot. I love her inner world. Her introspection is always so good and feels so nuanced and respectful? It’s taken seriously and she is allowed to feel the way she does. She has so much depth. Female characters with depth and interiority and rich inner worlds and complexity and conflicting emotions and feelings that are explored by the narrative. Big love. I am constantly shook by how good Liko is as a character because of this. Her writing is so refreshing and nuanced and it makes her feel so well rounded as a character. Dai Sato’s episodes often emphasize her thoughts and I enjoy that a lot.
I look forward to Liko’s arc in this chapter. Also, I am curious about how the Explorers will factor into this. Many questions currently.
