So what's changed with Murdock since the time skip? Well, he works at Patisserie Soapberry full time, and his Rockruff evolved into the cutest and chubbiest Midday Form Lycanroc ever. Other than that, his personality remains the same, but his worries for Dot and the kids have increased. I do like that his worries are also expressed with his sweets. His sweets are good, showing that he’s still more or less the same, but the “wow factor” has yet to emerge from his creations, hinting that he’s longing to chase after something, which could be Rising Volt Tacklers. Though, I do feel as if I’m the only one who thinks this way…
Speaking of his Lycanroc, it went viral in the Japanese X community! The Japanese Pokémon account uploaded a gif of the pudgy dog, and it got so much buzz. You know the chonky Lycanroc was the star of the episode when the general Pokémon account gets ten times the amount of buzz than they usually do. And it’s for good reasons too! It’s unusual to see a body type change in Pokémon! Size differences has only been implemented in recent games, but it’d be nice to see other kinds of body shapes in the future installments. I’d love to see some chub in Pokémon that aren’t canonically chubby! I think the biggest highlight of the whole Lycanroc segment was how the stairs creaked when it climbed them. That was such good detail to showcase the weight gain!
To be honest, the match was a little clunky. It wasn't as smooth as Horizons battles normally are. I guess it’s because they took it in a slower pace? The part where they were waiting for Pagogo to move closer to Ursaring was a little silly. Still, it was nice to see Liko finally beating Katy and showing off how much stronger she has gotten. It was also nice to see Pagogo win its first Trainer battle.
Uruto was absolutely hilarious in this episode. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he’s growing on me. I didn’t hate him before, but I am growing fond of him now. He’s so silly with how he fought against the Pokémon to get some of Alcremie’s cream before getting smacked by Hattrem. I had a feeling Uruto would mistake Dot for a boy at first due to her androgynous appearance, and I was right! He did mistake her for a boy, and when Murdock told him she’s his niece, he suddenly got red as he had touched her hand. He also got flustered around Katy. I do wonder if his meekness towards girls will be explored later on. He looks as if he grew up with little to no girls in his life, or perhaps he’s just someone who doesn’t know how to handle them. I wonder how his dynamic with the girls will be like in future episodes…
I think it was a nice episode to reintroduce Murdock, and I can’t wait to see what happened with Orla and the Brave Olivine. Still, the chubby Lycanroc made my day, and I hope it made yours! Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
