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Where Heaven And Earth Meet! - Pokémon Horizons Episode 84 Review - On The Road To Paradise

This past week's episode of Pokémon Horizons was a nice respite before the group makes it to Laqua. It also makes sense that they have to make a stop as the Brave Olivine isn’t impervious. It does suck that Orla, Mollie, Murdock and Ludlow are always left behind at the airship, but it makes sense for them to stay just in case something bad happens as it’s revealed that the Explorers’ base is on the island, and that Chalce is wandering about.

It also makes sense that the people in Kumuri Town might not know what Laqua is despite it being on the same island as them. It was considered a fairy tale to the outsiders, but to them, it’s probably just a place high up in the mountains. It’s probably also a difference in culture, as the people in Kumuri Town seem to live fairly rural lives without technology and such. In the village resides two people of note, Yuha, and his great-great grandmother the village elder, who had been alive during the era of Lucius and Gibeon.

The episode can be thought of as structured into four parts. The first was the stuff before the gang got into Kumuri Town. Next is a split section where the kids help out Yuha, and Friede goes to the village elder. This is really just giving the kids something to do while they wait for Friede go gather information. Yuha believed the black Rayquaza was an omen for disaster, but Roy was defending the Pokémon's honor. It was nice seeing Roy get into a disagreement with someone, as he’s usually pretty chill and also very nice to Liko and Dot. The kids actually used their second Pokémon efficiently this time around, and Dot's Tinkatuff didn’t get knocked out by a Dragon-type this time around! Though, not having Mollie around might have been a needless worry, as Liko's Hattrem fills in the role of healer well.

For the Friede segment, it’s mainly a big lore dump. There is some valuable information given out here, in that Gibeon had been found after the explosion in the mountains occurred. The elder’s mother had tended to his wounds. The Explorers’ base being on that island makes absolute sense now. Though, I do wonder how Gibeon was able to have children? Was he able to get out of the island later on? Did he stay on the island? How was he able to create Exceed? There’s still a lot we don’t know about Gibeon that gets me excited. Also, the village elder is voiced by Masako Nozawa, who has been in Pokémon before as Morrison, Ash’s Hoenn League rival; she’s also known for being the voice actress of Goku, Gohan and Goten from the Dragon Ball franchise, and also Guilmon from Digimon Tamers. The last part of this episode is essentially treading through the mountain path to get to Laqua. It was interesting to see the Six Heroes be used as HM mules as sorts. It was cool seeing them contribute to help the group reach Laqua, and I also find it interesting how they only come out when Terapagos yells for them. I wonder if they did the same thing when Lucius’s group traversed to get to Laqua.

Now that the team have finally reached Laqua, what's going to happen next? I’m super curious to see where the story will go now that they have finally reached their goal. Will the story continue after the events of Laqua? I can’t wait to find out! Also, I apologize for getting this review out so late. I’ve been behind and I am at a point where I am catching up! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

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