Some character notes and episode notes for HZ092, writing them down for future reference.
Quick summary of the ep.
First half of the ep: Uruto is following Liko and Roy. Liko and Roy catch up with Dot and they head to the place where the Rakurium signs have been spotted. They start battling the Haganeil.
Second half of the ep: The battle continues. They eventually manage to calm down the Haganeil. Pagogo awakens again. Liko meets Uruto. Last scene of the ep is Zir and Conia talking to Hamber, who tells them to find Amethio who has gone missing after the events of Rakua.
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Uruto.. Still in the process of forming my thoughts on the character, but I thought he had nice moments in the ep??
His awkwardness and inability to talk to girls was kinda endearing, because he looks like the kind of kid who is trying hard to be cool, and ends up embarrassed no matter how hard he tries. Yamirami making fun of him for being scared of going to talk to Roy at the beginning of the ep showed off their relationship between trainer and Pokemon quite well, too. Makes them feel like equals and gives a sense of how they are around each other. I wonder if there is a reason why Uruto is awkward around others, or if it just comes down to him not being used to people other than Roy? Either way, I thought it was cute that he was unsure how to act around Liko. Roy called him out on it (acting weird), and Uruto pretended everything was okay.. I was afraid he’d be rude to Liko or something, but he just seems to be awkward, which is cute. I thought it was nice that he told Liko to drop the “-san” and to just call him by name. I wonder how he’ll react to Dot when/if she eventually joins the group, and how Uruto’s relationship with Liko will change? Or will he just remain a character who mostly interacts with Roy? I am curious about that.
I was also pleasantly surprised that Uruto seems to be someone who doesn’t jump headfirst into danger? He followed Liko and Roy, sure, and he accidentally found the Haganeil. But he immediately recognized the Rakurium and made the connection to the Kekking encounter, so he tried to run away because he acknowledged how dangerous the situation was and he didn’t try to handle it by himself. I thought it was nice, and it showed that he isn’t necessarily getting ahead of himself and that he is cautious. He also helped Liko and her Pokemon, and later on helped the whole group deal with the Haganeil and worked well with them. He didn’t cause trouble and didn’t get in their way. Though he mostly worked in tandem with Roy, I do wonder if we’ll see him learn to work with Liko or Dot? Either way, he showed that he can be helpful. Another moment I liked is that Uruto immediately noticed that something was wrong with the Haganeil after the battle and that they were both fighting each other, which was due to the Rakurium’s effect. He showed that he can be observant. He pays attention to his surroundings, and it’s something that I didn’t necessarily expect from his type of character.
I also noticed that Uruto seems to bring out Roy’s desire to show off a bit, which is fun because Roy isn’t usually like that. Uruto teases Roy about feeling driven into a corner, to which Roy replies that there is no way it’s the case. It feels like Roy wants to show off his cool side to Roy, probably because Uruto is younger and Roy is older so he feels like he can’t appear “lame” in front of Uruto. Also interesting to me that they seem to be in sync and on the same wavelength despite butting heads outside battles.. It was cute when Roy introduced Uruto and put a hand on his shoulder (reminded me of when Friede did this to Liko and Roy), and when they both looked at each other and smiled when they showed off their Mega Rings to Liko and explained that they used Mega Evolution.
One thing I’m worried about in regards to Uruto is that he might be used as a running gag too much. Horizons usually avoids running gags detrimental to characters, so I hope it’ll be the case here, too.. Uruto seemed happy to be asked about Rayquaza and wanted to tell his story, but Roy led Liko away because he thinks Uruto can get annoying when he gets like this. I can understand Roy’s side of things, it seems like he wants to protect Uruto and not have him get caught up in the Rakurium stuff. Roy probably feels a sense of responsibility towards Uruto, and doesn’t want him to get hurt? Though, Uruto seems to genuinely like Roy and wants to follow him around (it was so cute when he showed the picture of himself and Roy at the beginning).
I am not sure how much Roy told Uruto about what he was doing. Is him avoiding Uruto in such a way supposed to be something that will be addressed by the narrative? Roy is avoiding Uruto on some level by ditching him, which indicates to me that Roy has closed himself off to some extent. Also, it makes me sad that Uruto is ignored when he wants to share things that clearly matter to him. He just wants someone to listen to him. It doesn’t really help that I interpret Spinel as a character who wants to be chosen and gets left behind by someone he wanted to be noticed by, so I can’t help but draw parallels between the two characters. Something, something, both green-haired characters being ignored and left behind by someone who matters to them.
Anyway, I’m curious about Uruto. I wonder what his story is. His role is still a bit unclear to me. I don’t want him to be only a running gag character, especially since in his case, being ignored when he wants to be listened to feels sad to me. Horizons usually takes its own characters seriously and handles occasional humor well, so I hope it’s the case here. If Uruto is meant to stay around, then I want him to be handled with care as a character.
Roy’s moments were pretty nice this ep, too. Liko noted that he became more dependable, and it felt that way for me too.
I think my favorite Roy moment was when he checked the ground and noticed that it had softened up. It struck me as such a Friede thing to do?? Especially since I remember Friede checking the soil in Rakua and analyzing the area they were in. It’s small moments like that that make me think Friede really influenced the kids. I think it was an interesting moment for Roy, too. It highlights something I like about the way the trio is handled, which is that all the kids are smart and capable in their own ways. Something that I also remember from Terastal Debut, too. I remember when the kids were doing their homework for the course. Roy knew something about a Pokemon they met simply because he looked it up, and he shared that information with his friends. Dot may be the character who is into information gathering and interested in Pokemon studies the way Friede is as a professor, but it doesn’t mean that she is the designated “smart” character at the expense of the others. There is not a strict separation between “smart” “strong” etc between the trio, they all show moments highlighting these aspects. It feels very respectful of the characters in general, I think.
Liko and Dot.. Liko getting nervous to talk to Dot after such a long time felt real. Not sure how she was supposed to react after seeing a friend for a long time, etc. Both girls apologizing to each other and naturally catching up was nice. Dot saying she feels bad about involving Liko in all of this was also interesting, because it highlights Dot’s protectiveness over Liko, an aspect I really like about her. Dot is strongly loyal to her friends and has expressed guilt multiple times through the story when Liko got in danger and she wasn’t able to help her.. Like, Dot held strong resentment against Spinel for what he did to Liko, for example. So, the implication that Dot potentially avoided Liko so she could keep her safe emphasized that protectiveness of hers. Liko asserted her agency though, and she said she was curious and wanted to know more about what was happening, so Dot doesn’t have to feel guilty.
Another moment I liked is when Liko told Dot that Pagogo hadn’t come out of its Pokeball ever since Rakua. Liko’s expression was hidden at that moment, so I wonder what kind of face she was making.. Dot pointed out that Tebrim being relaxed meant that Pagogo was okay, and I liked that kind of reassurance coming from her. Dot giving back to her friends and being able to offer support when they need it is meaningful to me. She spent a lot of time trying to catch up to them, after all.
Trio moments in general.. Roy smiling when Liko stopped walking to look at the scenery was cute. I also liked when they took time to reminisce about their past adventures and got nostalgic about the Terastal course. In retrospect, it makes the lighthearted episodes of Terastal Debut hit deeper because they are now adventures the trio looks back on fondly and instrumental in showing the tangible passage of time and its impact. The past impacts the present. Also shown through Liko remembering the way the Six Heroes rampaged when she saw the Haganeil fighting each other. It was painful for her to remember that and it’s something that clearly weighs on her mind.
The battle was okay. We got lots of battles in these past episodes. I do like that we got to see the trio working together again, though. I always enjoy seeing them cooperate and think of strategies together. The constant presence of the secondary Pokemon is something I enjoyed, too. Seeing them casually out of their Pokeballs, etc. Tebrim reassuring Liko about Pagogo. Masquernya carrying Tebrim around was adorable, and it reminded me of HZ051 when Nyarote was carrying Mibrim and trying to take care of Pagogo, too. Hope we see more stuff like this, because once Tebrim evolves, Masquernya won’t be able to carry her like that anymore so I’d like to see more casual moments between them as their current forms. I wasn’t sure when Pagogo would come back, but it seems like they didn’t intend to stretch it out too much. Pagogo awakening to protect Liko being such a constant thing in the series is really cute too, it emphasizes the strength of their bond. A worry I have is that we’ll get a pattern of Roy and Uruto finishing the battles with their Mega Evolution. I don’t want the male characters to hog the spotlight. It’ll rub me off the wrong way if this keeps happening. Liko showed interest in Mega Evolution and asked Roy and Uruto about it. The PR account posted about this after the episode (here) and highlighted that Liko was curious about it, so I hope this leads somewhere. The trio all got Terastal, so they should not restrict Mega Evolution to the male characters only.
Onto Hamber’s scene at the end, which was the most thematically interesting to me. We learn that Amethio went missing at Rakua one year ago and that Zir and Conia couldn’t protect him. According to Hamber, Spinel reported that Amethio betrayed Gibeon and that both of them perished in the ensuing struggle. Neither Crave nor Hamber believe this report. Hamber entrusts Zir and Conia with the Zygarde Cube and asks them to find out Amethio’s whereabouts.
From Crave’s perspective.. It’s genuinely heartbreaking to think that he had to hear the news that Amethio died. Something about the continuous tragedies in Gibeon’s family. Gibeon lost his only daughter and he outlived her, and now Crave has lost his only son and outlived him. (I do know that Amethio is alive, btw. But narratively, Crave is put in a situation which leads him to believe that his son might be dead.)
Crave lost his wife, and from what we can infer from his scenes, he buried himself in work to cope with his grief and ended up distancing himself from Amethio as a result. Ie, Crave is still wearing his ring even now (so he hasn’t forgotten his wife and didn’t take off his ring despite being a widow), Hamber is the one who was mostly present for Amethio after his mother died, Crave and Amethio’s only interaction onscreen was quite strained and awkward.. Crave has now quit work entirely and seemed to have intentionally vacated his seat as a director. He is probably torn apart about Amethio, especially knowing that he didn’t listen to his pleas in HZ078. I do think he had his reasons (the Rakurium is shady and dangerous and even if Crave didn’t exactly know what it was, it stands to reason that he wouldn’t want Amethio to get involved in something like that), but I’m sure he is thinking about their last interaction and potentially wishes it could have gone differently. If he had looked at Amethio and tried to talk a bit more, who knows if things could have ended differently? I can’t help but think about things like that and fill in the blanks with the information we’ve been given.
Interestingly, Crave doesn’t seem to believe Spinel’s report. Hamber doesn’t believe it either. From Hamber’s side, I think it stems from his absolute belief in Amethio’s strength.. He personally trained him and raised him (Amethio considers him a parent too). In HZ083, he spoke fondly about Amethio’s reckless behavior and just commented that it’s just how Amethio is. But from Crave’s side, I wonder about his feelings. Is his refusal to believe the report based on faith or denial? Does he also have faith in Amethio? Does he need to have faith in Amethio and need to believe he somehow overcame the odds and is alive out there because the opposite is unthinkable to him? Losing the only family he has left is probably his biggest nightmare, so he probably refuses to entertain that possibility for even a second. If he accepts the possibility that Amethio is gone, it means he is never going to see him again and that he knowingly avoided Amethio’s gaze the last time they interacted. Maybe he is hoping for Amethio to come back eventually, but he is starting to lose hope after months of waiting? It’d be easy to get discouraged and lose hope in such a situation. He has no way of knowing the truth, and last time he lost someone, that person never came back.
The only interaction between Crave and Spinel that we’ve seen in HZ078 was a civil one and they appeared to be on cordial terms. I wonder if Crave’s refusal to believe his report is because he doesn’t trust Spinel’s word specifically. I tend to think that he has no reason to distrust him in particular. From Spinel’s perspective, I wonder what led him to make such a bold claim. Either Spinel knowingly lied to Crave about Amethio being dead to make sure a grief-stricken would retire from work and vacate his seat as a director so he could take over his position. It could be a shameless lie on Spinel’s part. Maybe he didn’t do anything to Amethio. Or it could be that Spinel has a real reason to think that Amethio is dead. He might have attempted to do something to him while everyone was escaping from Rakua, and the outcome of such a situation led Spinel to believe that Amethio had no possibility of getting out of that situation alive. Both options are pretty cruel. He either told Crave, Amethio’s father, that his son was dead knowing that it’s a lie that would shake him to the core regardless of whether Crave believes that report or not, or he personally made sure that his statement was true.
Really a heartbreaking situation all around for Crave and I feel a lot for him. Also, I want to add that he is pretty interesting to me as a father character. He doesn’t hold any power in particular in his family. He is powerless and all he can do is watch his entire world crumble around him as he keeps losing everyone he loves. He seems to be unaware of a lot of things, and he is a regular man who ended up in the strangest family? He is quite passive in comparison to how active Amethio is. I think it’s very compelling tbh. He is a pretty effective character in spite of his limited screentime because there is so much we can infer from his scenes and interactions with others, as well as the implications about Amethio’s family.
Hamber’s scenes with Zir and Conia were really good. Zir and Conia expressed guilt for not being able to protect Amethio (which I thought made their characters nuanced), and Hamber didn’t blame them in the slightest and entrusted them with the Zygarde Cube so they could search for Amethio. Hamber doesn’t believe Spinel’s report and has faith in Amethio and he is always his ally trying to help him from the backstage. The scene with the Zygarde cell was nice because in HZ083, Amethio interpreted Zygarde’s cell sticking around Hamber as a proof of Gibeon’s trust towards Hamber. Now, Hamber is entrusting it to Zir and Conia precisely because Amethio opened up to them and believes in them. This chain of trust and belief between all these characters. Gibeon’s partner being instrumental in eventually finding Amethio and saving him, as though Gibeon was doing one last thing for Amethio through his Pokemon?
I am pleased that Zygarde is most definitely still relevant and is going to come back somehow. It feels like we’re probably going to see Zygarde’s Complete form at some point in the show..? After all, Zygarde is said to use the Complete form power to suppress those who willingly endanger the ecosystem. I have to say that I don’t like this form much. 10% form being a dog and 50% form being a snake was peak in terms of duality regarding Gibeon. The dichotomy between a loyal dog and a sly traitorous snake fit the story really well. Zygarde “betraying” Gibeon out of loyalty towards him was really good. Very curious about how/where Zir and Conia will manage to find Zygarde, though. I do wonder what Zygarde is up to right now. The Rakurium is still active, so Zygarde will probably get involved in this situation and try to do something about it as the order Pokemon. We know he watched over the world the whole time after the first incident in Rakua to make sure nothing bad was happening. I also wonder how he feels about Gibeon’s death. Gibeon was the partner he chose.. So maybe Zygarde feels a little bit lonely.
Either way, I feel like this scene setting up the quest for Zygarde adds more weight to the idea that Amethio will eventually inherit Gibeon’s Pokemon. I see the vision of Liko Pagogo, Roy Rayquaza, and Amethio Zygarde. The idea of the Pokemon of the ancient adventurers becoming the partners of the next generation is really beautiful. Liko has recently officially caught Pagogo and they became partners. Roy is still on his way to becoming Rayquaza’s partner and it’s his current goal. And now, they are sowing the seeds for Amethio eventually getting closer to Zygarde, so I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
Friede and Amethio.. I am very pleased that both of them are in the same position in this chapter. More parallels between Friede and Amethio! Both Friede and Amethio have gone missing after the events of Rakua, and their absence left a massive vacuum in their loved ones’ lives. Mega Voltage is an arc that mirrors the first chapter of the series, and there were lots of parallels between Friede and Amethio during Liko And Roy Set Off. Friede and Amethio were in similar positions in their own respective groups. The trio we mostly saw during the Explorers encounters in the first chapter was the trio of Liko, Roy and Friede. Amethio was with Zir and Conia. Both Friede and Amethio were the leaders of said trios in terms of experience and skills, they were quite even in terms of battles and often faced each other, etc. Their similar positions served to highlight the mystery around Amethio’s character and emphasize his immaturity in comparison to Friede’s composure (Amethio is a kid, while Friede is an adult etc). Now, both of them are in a similar position: they are missing and it seems no one knows what happened to them after they disappeared. It does make me wonder what’s stopping them from contacting anyone else if they are still alive?
Also, both Friede and Amethio have had false narratives fabricated about them by Spinel, which in turn reinforces Amethio’s ambiguous status as the character who isn’t fully on either faction’s side as of now. Not fully on the RVT’s side, not fully on the Explorers’ side as they are currently, he is in the middle and he is just following his own path. Just very happy about the direction this is taking because Liko, Friede and Amethio are the first three major characters who were introduced in Horizons and set the story in motion. Mega Voltage which parallels the beginning of the series sets an intrigue and mystery around these three characters once again.
As for Amethio and Spinel.. The reveal that Spinel made a report claiming that Amethio perished with Gibeon was a lot?
I don’t know why Spinel is able to make such bold claims and I wonder if he had a hand in making sure his statement was true, but it’s so strong symbolically because he is metaphorically killing the last of Gibeon’s bloodline to make sure he reigns supreme as Gibeon’s legitimate and rightful heir. Taking over both Exceed and the Explorers and claiming Gibeon’s chosen heir, Amethio, has died. Spinel seething with jealousy towards Amethio is something that was becoming increasingly clear since HZ064. In that episode, Spinel said that Amethio was special to Gibeon and that he would eventually get in their way because of this.. And in the last episode of Rayquaza Rising, Spinel was blunt and direct about the fact that he thought he was going to be the one to inherit Gibeon’s will. He specifically wanted to be chosen and he doesn’t seem to take it well that he wasn’t. Spinel witnessed Gibeon entrusting the future to Amethio, but he still creates a scenario in which he reigns as the victor and as the one who was chosen. He is lying to himself, and probably knows that he is, but he still keeps going anyway.
Spinel getting rid of Amethio is an act of fratricide out of jealousy for not being chosen, and it’s a bit insane to me. I’ve had interpretations and readings of their dynamics as one that echoes Cain and Abel for a while now, and this episode just added a lot of weight to this reading by specifically mentioning that Spinel has pronounced Amethio as dead. Amethio wasn’t declared as missing or anything else, Spinel stated that he was dead. Both of them are narratively “brothers” in everything but blood. The fight over Gibeon’s legacy, the jealousy, the need to be chosen, the older character (Spinel) resenting the younger one (Amethio), Spinel coming off as the bastard child trying to usurp the throne and steal what rightfully belongs to the legitimate heir.. Welcome back Cain and Abel. Actual fratricide (in the narrative sense) in my Horizons has me shook. (It also adds in terms of parallels between Friede and Spinel, etc. Friede also comes off as this older brother figure to Roy, but their version of brotherhood is much healthier compared to the messy connection between Spinel and Amethio, etc.)
I do wonder if Spinel genuinely sees Amethio going against Gibeon in Rakua as an act of betrayal? Spinel upholds Gibeon’s warped fixation towards the Rakurium and he continues his will in that sense, while Amethio wishes to do something for humans and Pokemon and he vowed to find a way to do without using the Rakurium, so he is continuing Gibeon’s pure dream. Spinel’s report made me think that it added parallels between Amethio and Lucius too, as both of them were said to have betrayed Gibeon. Gibeon thought that Lucius betrayed him, while Spinel’s narrative is that Amethio betrayed Gibeon.
It does make me sad to think about Spinel’s situation, though. He is similar to Gibeon as both of them were fascinated by the potential of the Rakurium. Spinel was chosen by Gibeon and he is sinking deeper in his ways with no way out currently. Gibeon had never reached the same low as Spinel (lying to others, or using the Rakurium on Pokemon). Gibeon had people and Pokemon who all cared about him. Lucius, Amethio and Zygarde all tried to bring Gibeon back to his senses and make him realize what was truly important, and they eventually succeeded in making him feel at peace enough to move on. Gibeon’s dream was stated multiple times to be something noble, which was the reason why Zygarde (the order Pokemon) even chose him as his partner in the first place. Gibeon genuinely wanted to bring happiness to people and Pokemon.
Spinel, on the other hand.. I’m not sure what his true motivations are, or what his ultimate goal is. Spinel hasn’t really given an indication of what he truly believes in? (he does seem to be fascinated by the potential of progress through research, though) No one has any reason to care about him, except his Pokemon. Blacky, in particular, is a friendship evolution and the one being who highlights Spinel’s better sides as they are both very affectionate towards each other and love each other.. Blacky might be a key eventually, but I’m not sure. Unlike Gibeon, he doesn’t seem to have close bonds with others and keeps people at arm’s length. No one in the Explorers seems to trust him. Agate is the closest to him, but it is mostly a professional relationship rather than a friendship?
Either way, Spinel doesn’t have anyone who would care enough about him to stop him in his tracks or make him reconsider his actions. He is lying to others, and making enemies out of everyone by framing both the Rising Volt Tacklers and Amethio. There is something really tragic about it to me, because I interpret his actions as being motivated by the desire to be chosen to some extent, yet no one is choosing him and he is unwanted. From his perspective, Amethio is taking everything from him. In the story, Spinel has an interest/attachment to people like Gibeon and Friede, yet in both cases, Amethio is favored by both of these characters.
Spinel is digging his own grave and I’m not even sure what he needs narratively to think twice about what he is doing? Or what would be satisfying to him as a character in terms of closure? In comparison, Gibeon’s deal was quite straightforward to me. Once he mentioned Lucius in HZ045, I had a hunch about their past and knew that Lucius would be instrumental in saving Gibeon from himself. I just had doubts about it because it wasn’t certain that Lucius was alive then. However, once the series hinted at Lucius actually being alive when he didn’t show up at the Crystal Pool, it was becoming more clear to me that Lucius and Gibeon’s ending was going to be both of them passing on together and Gibeon finding peace. (The alternative was unthinkable to me, because Gibeon not finding peace would mean that Amethio failed at reaching his heart, and it just wasn’t going to happen. It wouldn’t be satisfactory for Amethio’s character from a writing perspective, etc.)
On the other hand, Spinel.. Unlike Gibeon who needed to clear up the misunderstanding with Lucius to be able to pass on, I don’t know what he “needs”. Spinel wanted to be chosen by Gibeon, but Gibeon is gone now. Even if Spinel wishes to hear specific words from him, it’s not going to happen. So, I am not sure what is going to happen to him. His character still remains very enigmatic.
To me, this episode hammered home the weight of Spinel’s despicable actions towards Amethio. Not that he wasn’t terrible before, but his actions reached a new low in this episode. I thought that report was probably the most cruel thing in Horizons (by that, I don’t mean it’s bad btw lol, it’s one of the most compelling writing choices I’ve seen and I do like that cruelty takes different forms in this way, and that out of all the things that happened in this series, such a sentence makes me think about all the implications it had on other characters etc). Telling a father his son died (either as a lie or because you somehow made sure it happened) is something I find heartbreaking, and it really made me feel for Crave’s character. Eventually, Spinel is going to face what he’s done, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen when the time comes for it. He is so far gone in a way that I find both interesting and tragic. Why is he willing to go to such lengths? What happened to him in the past? Why did he fixate on Gibeon? Did no one value him before that? I don’t know what pushes him to do everything he is doing and if he ever will find it in himself to change/reconsider his actions. I can’t even say “I could fix him” because I’m not confident I can do that, actually :/ Either way, I’m really looking forward to his arc, because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Overall, I’m just very pleased with what they set up for Amethio’s character. After Rayquaza Rising, I was curious about where his character would go. I didn’t expect them to take the direction of “Amethio has been pronounced dead by Spinel”, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Amethio is experiencing metaphorical death at the midpoint of Horizons as part of his hero’s journey, so he can be reborn and gain new insight. It’s not a coincidence that they specifically chose to mention that Amethio “died” because it’s one of the stages of the hero’s journey. Amethio’s journey mirrors Liko’s, and both of their arcs are influenced by classical narratives (Liko losing her mentor is part of this, for example). It really gives Amethio strong exiled prince vibes as well. His Pokemon have a knightly aesthetic, so it fits too. Amethio will eventually come back and get back what is his and what Gibeon entrusted him with. I hope it’ll be satisfying and rewarding to witness.
Anyway, I really liked the ep, especially the last scene! Written by the lead writer (Dai Sato) of Horizons btw. So rich thematically. So happy about Amethio’s current direction (there is so much to say about it), the hints of Zygarde coming back, Friede and Amethio parallels (I can’t help but hope we’ll see them working together again someday, but even if they don’t, I’m really pleased with the fact that they are parallels right now), Crave’s tragedy, Spinel committing fratricide, Spinel’s messy situation that is all his own doing but that makes me question how he got to this point in the first place.. Horizons, my favorite magical girl show with biblical narrative influences and sprinkles of Shakespearian and Greek tragedies, etc <3