It was nice to see that it was just the kids battling with their strategies, and then Amethio going in alone at first, before he decided to blend in with the others. It shows how the kids are used to battling with each other, while Amethio was always a bit of a lone wolf before his turn. I do like how strategic they were with wanting to prioritize Crocalor’s Disarming Voice since he’s the only one who can do super-effective damage on the Dragon/Ground type. Despite their tactics, the White Zygarde is on another level, so the fact that it overwhelms them and destroys their Terastallization makes absolute sense.
I love the twist that the White Zygarde wasn’t actually hostile, and that it was only testing them. Though, I felt as if it was testing Gibeon more than the kids. Seeing Liko and her bond with her newly evolved Meowscarada was a sight that probably moved its heart, and what it lacked from Gibeon. Gibeon was too obsessed with Laqua and Laquium that he lost sight of what’s important, the bond between people and Pokémon. That’s why the White Zygarde decided to leave him. Gibeon was a pretty good villain to me. He’s very ruthless, but in a misguided way. He’s not persuaded by anyone, and his actions were all his alone. His breakdown was extremely satisfying to watch, with his selfishness leading to his downfall. Maybe he’ll start a path to redemption so that Zygarde will return to him one day. That is, if he lives to get the chance. Now that his partner is gone and his plans have been foiled, what's going to be his fate?
Since this is the penultimate episode, it makes me wonder what other surprises there will be as the new arc’s teaser does tease that something will happen with Friede. People are assuming he’s dead or injured, but I theorize that he might return to Exceed to research Laquium, and find a way for it to not harm Pokémon in contrast to Spinel’s methods. I mean, there has to be a reason why Exceed is always showing up occasionally, right? From Sohdayo’s appearance earlier in the series, we know that there have been members of the Rising Volt Tacklers who left before, so it's certainly not inconcievable for Friede to take his own leave, either temporarily or permanently. Maybe all of this is to hint at Friede’s return to his job as he did get burnout before, and now maybe the events of this journey have helped him to get that spark back… I want to know your thoughts on this episode and also your opinion on the upcoming arc as it is an unusual one where the protagonists appear to actually age—a first for the Pokémon anime series. What do you anticipate for the finale, and for the events of the future arc?
