Pokemon Horizons Episode 96 Review - Cycling And Slithering Dragons
What seems like a casual episode ends up surprisingly plot relevant. Now that Uruto is permanently joining Liko and Roy in their travels, his dynamic with Roy and Liko differs greatly. With Roy, it’s like how it was shown when he was first introduced with him being annoyed by Uruto’s antics, but now that Uruto is their companion, Roy and Uruto’s dynamic feels like an older brother trying to tame his younger brother as he keeps calling out on his selfishness and impatience. With Liko, he’s a bit more vulnerable due to his awkwardness around girls—on that note, I just want give people a reminder that Uruto does not have a crush on Liko given how he behaves around other women in this episode—awkward, flustered, bumbling.
As a character, Uruto is very self-centered and arrogant, but he does have a bit of depth as his desire to get stronger stems from wanting someone’s approval in the form of a Dusk Ball. I’m assuming that’s his second Pokemon who does not acknowledge him at all? I do like that he gets called out for his behavior several times in this episode. First is from Roy after Uruto eats all of the leftover pancakes at night. He tells him that if he wants to travel with them, he has to be more considerate. It makes sense why Roy would tell Uruto this as Roy and Liko have been traveling together for a while. Even when they traveled with Dot, who’s not the most athletic person, they try to match her pace. Next, he gets called out by Liko who knows about his desire to be the strongest as she tells him that his desire to be the strongest can’t be attained by himself. The leader of the Dragon Rampage gang, Neki, doesn’t like him at all as she keeps telling him that she doesn’t like his tone and even abandoned him. Though, I do find the scene where he tells Rayquaza that he doesn’t think he’s strong if he’s just sleeping for a year. While that could be divisive for fans and viewers, I believe that Uruto is just trying to tell Rayquaza to get strong the next time they see each other, but in his own awkward way.
It was interesting to see two different factions in this episode. There’s the Dragon Rampage Gang who are bikers and outcasts of the Dragon Clan in Johto who wear masks and capes. I do like that their outfits look like they take inspiration from Lance’s outfit; poor Clair—no one wants to mimic her fashion. Still, I do like the twist that they were a group of women and that they have protected Rayquaza for a year. What I liked the most was that Neki is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, but it’s uncredited due to her role as Meowscarada. It’s like a call back to the 36th episode in the original series, The Bridge Bike Gang, where Jessie (and James) were once part of a biker gang. I do like that the gang specifically states that they got their Cyclizar from Paldea in order to show off their status as rebels. Say what you will about the globalization in Pokemon, but I like it when they mention little details like that!
The other faction is Team Wiggle, a group of poachers collecting wiggling, slithery Pokemon like Dratini. The poacher, Snake, uses Arbok and Seviper, a nice little call back to Jessie as those were her signature Pokemon. What’s even better is that Snake is voiced by Kazuma Miki, who is the son of Shinichiro Miki, the Japanese voice actor of James. This entire episode feels like a nice little Team Rocket legacy call-back in some ways…
I also noticed that Rayquaza is seen curled up like how its encountered in Sky Pillar and I think that’s the first time it’s seen in that state in anime history. With how the episode was building up, I was expecting a dud but it wasn’t. Given that it’s only six episodes into the new arc, Rayquaza is definitely going to play a huge part later on. That’s why the reunion is early!
All the pancakes Liko made in this episode look tasty! It also reminds me of the Diamond and Pearl episode Doc Brock, where Ash and Dawn look after the gang’s Pokemon as Brock goes out; Dawn makes pancakes for lunch. I don’t know why I thought about that episode—maybe it’s because a blue-haired girl makes pancakes and a Pikachu was involved… Still, Liko’s artistic skills shows up with her talent for pancake art.
One more little thing I want to talk about is how Lucario seems to be full of personality in this episode compared to its previous appearances. It dabbed when it wanted to collect firewood with Roy, growled in anger when all the pancakes were eaten, and gestured that Crocalor was out of commission due to his stuffed belly. I wonder why it took this long to give Lucario a personality, but I’m all for it—I need more.
Now that the group has reunited with Rayquaza, the next order of business is to meet with Murdock who has been working at Soapberry since the group’s disbandment. It’s nice to see that he decided to work there full-time after being a part-time worker throughout the third arc. The next episode seems to be a solo Dot episode, which excites me because she’s finally getting some action and not be mission control anymore! Just to let you know, there will be a break next week, so the next episode will air on the 30th! Let me know your thoughts in this episode!
