Pokémon’s New Heroes Just Suffered The Kind Of Crushing Loss That Proves How Horizons Is Different Than Ash’s Era
Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons: Mega Voltage, episodes 1 and 2Pokémon Horizons has kicked off its post-timeskip era, and the new situation is revealing just how badly the heroes lost out in their confrontation in Laqua. While the villains may not have gotten everything they wanted, they have been able to seize the narrative, and have come out looking like heroes.
The finale of Horizons‘ first major arc was centered on Laqua and its mysterious Laquium, a material that originates from beyond Earth that has steroid-like effects on Pokémon who are exposed to it. While the Explorers’ leader, Gibeon, ended up abandoning his plans, his follower Spinel gladly picked up the torch and devised a clever plan. His actions triggered the destruction of Laqua, forcing the heroes to flee and ultimately costing Friede his life. Spinel also managed to capture five of the Six Heroes, and has been on a PR tour for the past year, claiming that the Explorers are protecting Laqua and that the Rising Volt Tacklers destroyed it.
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As a result of Spinel’s PR campaign against the Rising Volt Tacklers, the group was forced to disband, and the members of the team have become somewhat infamous. When Roy arrives at Liko’s school, for example, he’s recognized by some students as being associated with the Rising Volt Tacklers, and they worry about having someone with such a reputation on campus. Liko had been forced to conceal her connection to them, living with that secret for the past year, with only her roommate Ann knowing the truth.
Worse still, the Explorers have set up a perimeter around Laqua, preventing anyone from approaching the mountain, and thus making it impossible to truly search for Friede as well. Roy has been working on his own, and occasionally with information from Dot, investigating strange goings-on around the Kalos region. Roy and his new rival Ult came into contact with a Slaking that was affected by Laquium, for example, proving that the threat wasn’t destroyed along with Laqua, and that Spinel and the Explorers are likely still up to no good.
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The new series showcased rather quickly how much Roy had grown up and matured over the past year, as he strives to live up to the example set by Friede. Liko, on the other hand, has been back at school and acting like everything’s fine, while it’s quite clear that she’s extremely depressed as a result of the way their adventure ended. Liko’s dealing with some trauma, for sure, and the series handles that carefully. It’s a surprisingly realistic take on how these kids might be feeling, and it’s definitely the sort of thing that never would’ve happened in Ash’s era.
Pokémon Horizons is once again setting itself apart from what came before, and it makes this new post-timeskip era all the more exciting.
