On the Origin of Species: Sobble, Drizzile, and Inteleon

The final batch of Pokémon Horizons: Season 2 - The Search for Laqua was released out of nowhere on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube in the United Kingdom. While viewers are used to getting these episodes on BBC iPlayer first, there have been no announcements on that front. This batch includes 11 episodes, taking up the second half of the レックウザ ライジング (Rayquaza Rising) arc from the Japanese version.

As part of a Summer Watch Party, the first three Pokémon movies will be released for a limited time on the Pokémon TV YouTube channel starting July 4th. The first movie, Pokémon: The First Movie, is now available to watch. This upload features English, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Swedish, and Turkish audio tracks, and English, Spanish (Latin America), and Portuguese (Portugal) subtitles.

As part of a special project called 「ポケモンと駆ける夏物語」 (Summer Stories Running With Pokémon), the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel will be releasing two animated shorts. Both of these shorts were released in Mainland China earlier this year.

I’ve always praised Pokémon Horizons for the battle animations, but this latest episode was appalling in terms of quality and execution. Like, come on, Horizons, I know you can do better than this!

100 episodes! I can’t believe we’re at the three-digit count now! This latest episode of Pokémon Horizon was a perfect way to celebrate the incredible milestone! I really liked it a lot! I especially liked how Liko and Roy finally managed to beat Strong Sphere users, even if Indy and Rubella are just grunts from the Explorers. It may not be the redemption from their loss against Coral and Sidian, but it’s still a win against Exceed and the Explorers nonetheless.

Out of the reunion episodes, this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons hit the hardest. I understand why Orla would be in such a depressive state. Friede was her closest friend, and he fell off the ship that was meant to save them. In a way, she probably felt that it was her fault. Yet, she still cares and tends to the airship, showing that she still has a lingering attachment to it even after a year has gone, and after all the events that transpired.

A new POKÉTOON short featuring Mega Evolution is in the works. No release schedule has been announced so far, but the announcement image features Mega Altaria, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Kangaskhan, hinting that these Pokémon may be starring in the short

I honestly found this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons to be really cute! I loved the interactions and the vibes! It was so nice to see Murdock and Katy again! The dynamic between Murdock and the kids have changed slightly due to the events of the timeskip, and also the inclusion of Uruto into their friend group. It was also really nice to see Uruto fitting in better with the group as well! He was really funny in this episode.

After completing the third season, episodes from the fourth season of Pokémon the Series, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, are now available on the Pokémon TV YouTube channel, with episodes being added weekly. These uploads have audio tracks in a total of 12 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Arabic, Croatian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), and Swedish; with closed captions only available in English and Latin American Spanish.

Is it just me or is this latest episode of Pokémon Horizons some sort of social commentary towards nuisance streamers? Given the rise of streamer culture in recent times, and how nuisance streamers have been making news in Japan, it really does feel like Horizons made their own take on the whole subculture. Like, Magyorō’s whole schtick with using his Stunfisk to prank people and Pokémon candidly is really reminiscent of how prank channels would do such a thing for clout.

What seems at first like a casual episode of Pokémon Horizons ends up surprisingly plot relevant. Now that Uruto is permanently joining Liko and Roy in their travels, there's clear differences in his dynamic with each of them.

Netflix has revealed that the third batch of Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua will be releasing exclusively on Netflix in the U.S. and other territories on June 27th. This batch is expected to consist of 11 episodes, from 2x23 HZ068: Into a New Sky! The Brave Olivine!, to 2x33 HZ078: Entei's Fierce Battle Cry!.

It seems like my theory of even numbered episodes of Pokémon Horizons being focused on quelling Laquium-affected Pokémon, and odd numbered episodes being focused on battles, may be coming to fruition given how intense this latest episode has been—though I'll admit this one does mix both Laquium and battles, making it a bit of an anomaly formula-wise. It makes me wonder how the story will progress here on out with everything that transpired.

It’s really nice to see Mollie, Chansey and Maushold again, and for them to be co-stars of a surprise Hattrem-focused episode of Pokémon Horizons. I consider this episode to be a sequel of sorts to episode 38 which also featured Mollie, Hattrem back when she was still a Hatenna, and Maushold. I mentioned it several times in my previous reviews, but out of the adult Rising Volt Tacklers, Mollie is my favorite. I’m glad that she’s the first of the adults to reappear after the time skip! Also, one fun fact: this episode’s title is called the Pokémon Center Lady, which is the canon name of the Pokémon Center workers in the game.

This episode of Pokémon Horizons is a more relaxed one compared to other action-packed episodes. This one doesn’t even involve pacifying any rampaging Pokémon at all. Instead, Liko and Roy work together to restore the Rising Volt Tacklers’ reputation. I do wonder if there is an intended pattern with these episodes. Since the Mega Voltage arc started, the even numbered-episodes revolved around Laquium-affected Pokémon, while the odd numbered episodes mainly focused on Trainer battles and the Rising Volt Tacklers’ reputation. I guess we'll know soon enough.

The second batch of Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua has now released exclusively on Netflix in the U.S. and other territories. Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua follows dual protagonists Liko and Roy grow as trainers as they continue their journey with the Rising Volt Tacklers to uncover the mysteries of the Pokémon world. This batch of episodes will see Liko, Roy, and Dot in the second phase of their Tera Training, on the path to getting stronger for the quest to Laqua.

While this episode of Pokémon Horizons marks the start of Liko and Roy’s new adventure in solving Laquium cases and restore the Rising Volt Tacklers’ reputation, I find it interesting how a lot has been shown and told, despite this episode being a bit more simplistic compared to the previous two. I feel like the next few episodes might be episodic, as they're mainly solving the Laquium case of the week, but hey, the new arc needs to get some solid footing before the important stuff happens.

It’s so nice to see Liko and Roy reunited. I do like that there’s some parallels in this episode to how they met back in the beginning of Pokémon Horizons, with Roy sneaking into the Brave Olivine to meet Liko, saying that he wanted to see her again (though, he wanted to see Fuecoco). This time, he snuck into Liko's school campus from the skies to meet up with her again. It’s like Roy’s always the one to find Liko. I also found it sweet how Roy’s first thought was to see Liko when he realized he needs more help to stop these Laquium outbreaks. It shows that Roy’s someone who cherishes bonds, and that both he and Liko are very good friends and trust each other. Roy has always been very understanding of Liko, like with how when she refused at first, he accepted her answer. It shows that even though Liko’s someone who wants to understand others, Roy’s also good at understanding people’s emotions too. I guess there's a reason he's popular with the girls now?

Pokémon Horizons is finally back after three excruciatingly long weeks! I'm glad to be back writing reviews, it honestly feels surreal to see a timeskip in a Pokémon anime. I hope it goes in a good direction. Welcome to Horizons Shippuden—er, the Mega Voltage arc of Pokémon Horizons. Sit back, relax and be prepared to read a long review of the new episode.

After completing the second season, episodes from the third season of Pokémon the Series, Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, are now available on the Pokémon TV YouTube channel, with three episodes being added weekly. These uploads have audio tracks in a total of 12 languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Arabic, Croatian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), and Swedish; with closed captions currently only available in English.