Finally continuing with Aether Arc, and my gosh how much Gladio, Lusamine and Lilie have changed after this arc to this day. Gladio was freaking COLD to his mom, and only after she protected him does he finally realise that he does, y'know, love his mom. His face is horrible to see, it's so horrified, and the way he runs after Lusamine.... gosh Gladio's grown so much from this moment on.
Same with Lilie, she's finally able to touch Pokemon here, but the happy moment dies when Sauboh manages to lure Nebby to succeed in summoning the Ultra Beast, and Lilie's worry for Nebby forces her to face the source of her trauma, Nihilego/Uturoid. Seriously, Lilie's screams are terrifying to hear, and the way Iwane manages to bring the terror to her face, god damn.
And Lusamine shows she can be a good mom by protecting her children and actually considering ther feelings now. It still hurts to see her throw herself in Nihilego's way to save Gladio. Gosh. Have I mentioned Pokeani!Lusamine is my favourite iteration?
I'll continue on and probs try to write less, just felt the need to write my thoughs on SM050. Because it's so darn good.