The battle was basically a 4-vs-2 Multi Battle where two battle one Tauros, and the other two battle the other. I liked how the kids were able to figure out the biggest flaw of the Strong Spheres: using Laquium causes Pokémon’s instincts to become stronger to the point that they don’t listen to their trainers anymore. Just as Uruto said, it makes the Trainer useless after the usage. One of my Discord friends who also watches Horizons said that it reminded them of Shadow Pokémon from the Colosseum and XD games, and I agree with them! They’re like a modern version of the Shadow Pokémon gimmick in a way, especially with the parallels to the Hyper Mode mechanic. Even though the team won, Karna did say that their defeat wouldn’t have major repercussions towards Strong Sphere manufacturing because her factory is one of many small ones that Exceed contracted with. I wonder if this means the group will have to find other small factories to stop production, or try to convince people… it’s definitely going to be a grand feat given how stupidly stubborn people can be, especially during episode 95 where no one was on Liko and Roy’s side during the exhibition match.
The biggest shock of the episode is Friede revealing that he’s alive. I think this was already obvious, but it’s nice to get official confirmation. Still, the voice mail that he sent a month ago is still a bit ambiguous. He said that he was laying low because the Explorers are watching him, so is he somewhere in hiding in Laqua, or has he escaped the island? I wonder how long it’ll take for Friede to return on-screen. Besides, the reason why I knew he was alive was because Horizons tried to pull a similar trick back in episode 22 where he made Liko and Roy escape with Captain Pikachu as the mine caved in with him and Amethio trapped inside…only for the next episode have him escape off-screen with no explanation on how he did so. Wait, was that foreshadowing to the events of episode 89 in a way? Also, Friede wasn’t haunting the narrative as much as a canonically dead anime character would, so it was obvious he was alive, but his disappearance still left an impact on the group.
To be honest, the biggest shock of the episode for me was seeing Murdock’s Lycanroc slimmed down. How in the name of Arceus did the dog lose weight that fast? I’m honestly devastated. His Lycanroc was so adorable with all that chub. By the way, a character sheet in the official Pokémon anime X account has the Maushold family listed as Mollie’s Pokémon—does this mean she caught them off-screen?
I honestly can’t wait for what future episodes will be like. What’s Spinel concocting after learning that the Rising Volt Tacklers have reformed? What will they do to stop the Laquium consumption? Where will they go? To be honest, I can’t believe I’ve reviewed this anime up to this point! It’s such an accomplishment and an achievement! Just knowing that I’m in this journey alongside the Rising Volt Tacklers make it so special to me! Let me know what you think about this episode and your overall thoughts on the series so far!
