Pokémon Horizons' Finally Sets Liko and Roy Following in Ash's Footsteps (2024)

Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons, Episode 46

Pokémon Horizons kicked off its third major arc by having Liko, Roy, and Dot begin attending Naranja Academy in the Paldea region. Their first assignment sets them on a path that was well worn by Ash: collecting the region's gym badges.

Liko, Dot, and Roy are enrolled in a special course which focuses on providing experience with Terastallization, the unique phenomenon of the Paldea region which turns Pokémon into a crystallized form and changes their typing. Friede is well-experienced with Terastallization, and wanted to give the kids a chance to master this extremely helpful transformation before allowing them to battle the Black Rayquaza once again.

As part of the course, the trio was each assigned a Gym Leader to tackle first. For Liko, that was Katy, while Roy is matched up with Brassius and Dot is matched up with Iono.

Liko and Roy Aim for Their First Gym Badges

Despite having done some training with other Gym Leaders, like Kabu in the Galar region, Liko and Roy still don't have a tremendous amount of battle experience, so tackling the Gym circuit may be a good way for them to finally build up a little experience in a way that's less high-stakes than their battles with Rayquaza or the Explorers have been. Liko seems to be up first, judging by the preview for the next episode, and will have to counter Katy's Bug-types, which have an advantage against both her Floragato and her Hatenna.

So far, Pokémon Horizons hasn't really done much with Gym badges, despite the fact that Roy previously battled against Brassius, and their experiences with Kabu. Neither Liko nor Roy have been particularly interested in challenging the Pokémon League, instead having their own dreams and goals that they wish to tackle. With the airship unfortunately out of commission, though, their previous goals have to be put on hold, and it makes a lot of sense to use that time to train and gain experience.

While gathering the Gym badges was often the sole focus of Ash's seasons of the anime, it seems like the "Terastal Debut" arc of Horizons will be tackling the idea of collecting them at a much faster pace than Ash usually did. The pacing of the anime during Ash's era was often painfully slow, typically taking over a hundred episodes for Ash to gather all 8 badges, so one can certainly hope that Horizons will stick to its faster pace. Given that the two previous arcs of Horizons were 25 and 20 episodes long, a similar length for this arc seems to be likely.

Still, the new arc should give many of the Paldea region's Gym Leaders their first chance to shine in anime form, starting with Katy, who will be making her debut in the next episode. Challenging Gyms will definitely be familiar territory for long-time Pokémon fans, but seeing how Liko, Roy, and Dot handle themselves in Gym battles will be interesting, as they're sure to react very differently than Ash did. Will Pokémon Horizons' new heroes be able to battle their way to the top like Ash did? Only time will tell.

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Pokémon Horizons (2023)

TV-Y7

Action

Adventure

Animation

Pokémon Horizons is the sequel series to the 1997 original series. It follows the adventures of Liko and Roy, two aspiring Pokémon trainers from different backgrounds, as they explore the Paldea region. Equipped with new gadgets and strategies, they encounter a variety of Pokémon and face challenges that test their skills and courage. With each discovery and battle, Liko and Roy learn about the vast world of Pokémon and strive to make their mark in the Pokémon leagues.

Cast

Alejandra Reynoso , Crispin Freeman , Anjali Kunapaneni , Mara Junot , Michael Allan Schneider

Release Date

April 14, 2023

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Franchise(s)

Pokemon

Main Genre

Adventure