#hz065

Spinel's whole thing underneath his outwardly nasty actions is thinking primarily in terms of facts and logic, meticulously arranging things to go a certain way based on assessments of all variables, and being 100 steps ahead, but he doesn't account for emotion and connection and how it can flip the script against him in surprising ways.

His first plan to steal Liko's pendant was to try to bait her into an alleyway using her kindhearted nature against her, then temporarily wipe her memory, incapacitate her, and swipe the pendant and escape without leaving a trace, while using the time she spends wandering around and misdirecting Dot through fake online posts to stall the RVT while he escapes without any trace of his existence of proof that he was around. He knew the memory wipe was temporary, but in his eyes, it would buy him enough time that once she did regain her memory, it would be too late to catch up to him and he'd be back at the base with the pendant in hand. What he didn't account for was Dot, not just in her ability to use her clout as Nidothing to her advantage, but the fact that Liko for the past several episodes before that went out of her way to befriend her and try to reach out to her was something Dot was grateful for. She decided to repay that kindness by going out of her way to find her using her clout and connections to her advantage and also fighting for her out of sheer loyalty. Dot was the unknown variable because of Liko specifically, where things Liko did for her led to her getting involved out of emotional investment and successfully backing him into a corner.

His other plan to get Amethio suspended from the Explorers involved trapping him specifically with Liko together in a cave, and he deliberately chose a cave that had a small opening to above ground, and had Beheeyem spy on that spot to record footage of Amethio escaping together with Liko. He used Amethio's more honorable nature against him and knew both that Amethio was smart enough to figure out how to escape and that he would not hesitate to help someone when necessary, even if said person is an adversary. What he didn't account for was the fact that Liko would actively take the time they were in that cave together to try to connect with Amethio and understand him. So even though he successfully managed to frame Amethio, he didn't account for the fact that it led to him and Liko forming a genuine connection and bond, and even though Amethio never formally joined her, he's been willing to ally with her when necessary ever since. And it's obvious from the way he talks about them, even in the recent episodes, that the fact that Amethio and Liko have an alliance is something he feels genuinely threatened by.

She was also the big factor once again post-timeskip when Spinel doubled down to mentally crush Amethio and force him to give up, knowing that he was tough enough to stay alive but by relentlessly pursuing him and forcing him into isolation he'd resign himself and give up trying to fight. Liko was the biggest factor in not only finding him but him coming back and being ready to fight again, much more than any of Zirc, Onia, or Hamber were. Sure, the former two are unwaveringly loyal to him, and Hamber is also his surrogate parent figure, and they went out of their way for him, but they alone could only do so much. It was when Liko got involved, thanks to Zirc and Onia running into her and knowing how much Amethio respected her, and in turn asking her to help them find him, that made the big difference. Liko is very attuned to emotion and feelings, and she figured out where he was through the family photos in his mansion, which was something Zirc and Onia couldn't figure out by themselves (no disrespect to them).

The whole Amethio getting trapped with Liko was all part of Spinel's plan, he used that to record him helping the enemy that is Liko and that got Amethio expelled(??? not entirely sure but Gibeon is NOT happy) by his own god damn grandad!!!

What I really find interesting is this subtle detail:

The atmosphere in the group is very different. I wonder whether it's a hint to the further events.

Both Sango and Onyx turned around to look at Amethio and both of them, even the butler, whose name I forgot completely, expressed their interest in proving the evidence wrong.

I wish for you to discover Master Amethio’s whereabouts, without him discovering you.

Before it becomes too late for us all…”

Been thinking of what Hamber said in HZ092

The last line makes me think, at least in Hamber’s eyes, that Amethio is the world’s last hope

Finding Amethio is Zirc and Onia’s most dire objective, because Amethio is the only one who can stop Spinel

Why isn’t the trio(+Ult kinda but not really) as capable as Amethio to stop Spinel? They were at Rakua too, and saw first hand what it can do and what Spinels motives are

Because not only was Amethio at Rakua, he’s Spinel’s coworker.

In HZ083, we learned that Hamber trained all of the admins, omit Spinel. He was a prodigy researcher of Exceed that Gibeon hand picked. Meaning, Amethio has most likely been around Spinel for practically his whole life(Crave, his father, being the former president of Exceed and all) and would know him best

Amethio practically knows the ins and outs of Spinel. How he works. His Pokemon. Battle style. Etc..

He knows Exceed, info about the explorers our main cast does not

I predict Hamber is banking on Amethio becoming some sort of mole, in a sense, of the Explorers

It’s clear Amethio wants to do the right thing. He actually WANTS to help people and Pokémon, and he’s not afraid to collaborate with Liko(and the RVT) to do so, as seen in HZ089. Though at first he tried to charge in alone and recklessly when fighting Zygarde, he did listen to Liko’s reprimand and worked with the trio

Especially Liko.

Not to get all Ameliko here, but it’s clear she’s one of the only people he trusts(I.E: Onia, Zirc, Hamber(to an extent), Gibeon(but he’s dead so it doesn’t really matter) and Liko). He opened up to her in “Amethio and Liko”

In any case, I feel Hamber wants Amethio to team up with the RVT, and that he is the key to stopping Spinel, with the support of Liko and Friends ™