#hz072

I can't help but notice the continuing thread of making Friede take a step back narratively so the trio can handle things themselves and showcase their respective knowledge. A process that has started to gain momentum even more ever since chapter 3 which was about the trio training and growing more independently (we already saw the trio acting on their own ever since chapter 1, such as when Liko was able to retrieve her pendant from Spinel in HZ016 with Roy and Dot's help, etc). While the first year was about Friede acting as a safety net and teaching the kids various things until they grew enough so that they could train on their own in Terastal Debut. Chapter 3's concept cannot exist or be consistent without the first two chapters leading up to it.

Quite literally in this week's episode too (re: making Friede take a step back) since Friede was holding off the wild Pokemon while letting everyone else go ahead without him. And next week's preview states that Friede will not be there to fight Basagiri, so it feels like the writing is deliberately isolating Friede from the trio so that they can get Basagiri on board with them, while Friede will be there after the battle to witness the results of their growth after Basagiri does join them..? Friede was there to help Liko and Roy various times with the previous Heroes they encountered, like back when they met Galar Fire and Lapras. Both times with Galar Fire and Lapras, Friede was able to pinpoint their location (in Galar Fire's case, Friede had to help during the battle to make Liko's strategy work and in Lapras's case, he was the one who understood that Lapras was tricking them etc). And this time, the trio was able to gather hints about Basagiri's location on their own, while Friede joined them at the end.

Not sure where I'm going with this but. Friede fits the mentor character archetype. The wiser older figure who serves as a teacher and guide to the protagonist to help them develop the skills they lack and overcome obstacles.

That, coupled with: Friede observing the kids' growth twice so far in this chapter (HZ068 and HZ072), Dot singling him out as the reason she was able to start traveling on the ship (he was the one who invited her, which led Dot to eventually meeting Liko and Roy etc.. either way, we got an in-universe reminder that Friede's presence was meaningful to Dot and his invitation was important to her). We also got to have reminders that Friede is talented, smart and respected (and hot) (and pathetic) in his field of study, since Sazare uses his research as a basis to look for Pokemon to take pictures of.. and Friede beating Zeiyu at every challenge, too (casually setting him as someone strong).

Anyway, I'm writing all of this because I'm still curious about this specific Friede scene in the opening. I am aware that me picking up on the stuff I wrote above could just be a case of bias, since I feel like the scene in the opening has a potential ominous feeling to it, so. Either way, Friede is the mentor and making such a character take a step back narratively so the protagonist can stand on their own is a common story beat. And it's currently what is happening in Horizons. Now whether the mentor character (Friede) will go through something bad or not, is another matter entirely. Some stories kill off their mentors (it won't happen in Horizons of course), some others don't, but incapacitate their mentors somehow so the protagonist can save them. Either way, I'm just taking note of the Friede focus in the recent episodes, which has him watching over and pointing out the trio's growth (which is something that happened because of his direct involvement in their lives) and that we have fresh reminders of the kind of person Friede is (knowledgeable, strong, etc).

I will also take this initial trailer for Rayquaza Rising released a few weeks ago into account to speculate on what's left to show.

Upcoming titles: HZ071 (here), HZ072 (here), HZ073 (here).

A lot of moments from the initial trailer for the current chapter were shown so far (such as scenes from HZ068 and everyone setting off again and battling the Six Heroes, meeting Zeiyu..).

The scenes with Briar, Sazare, Friede and Roy climbing up stairs somewhere, the trio "hiding behind rocks" and Basagiri weren't shown yet (the three Pichu playing with Cap is going to happen in HZ070 tomorrow). The scenes from 0:30 onwards in the trailer weren't shown yet (Lucius, Liko and everyone meeting the mysterious person at the Terasu Pool).

Usually, trailers only show stuff happening in the early episodes of a chapter, so the scenes not shown yet are going to happen soon, in the following weeks. Given the titles, it's pretty clear when some stuff will happen (they'll look for Basagiri in HZ072 and HZ073, etc). Though some others scenes, I'm not sure when they'll take place (such as Roy and Friede climbing up stairs).

The title for HZ071 mentions at encounter at the Terasu Pool (or Crystal Pool, etc). I don't think it's the scene with Liko and the others meeting the mysterious person there since Liko is wearing Lucius's belt which has four Pokeballs on it, so that will probably be after Basagiri joins them. Terapagos gains more power after meeting the Six Heroes, so Basagiri joining them is probably what will allow Terapagos to show more memories to the others?

So, I think HZ071 is about Liko and the others meeting Briar and probably Sazare too. She is the one who took pictures of Basagiri, so the group meeting her will lead into them searching for Basagiri, and Basagiri joining the group will lead into that last part shown in the trailer after 0:30, etc. Though, I'm not sure what Briar will do (in terms of information to give). Zeiyu said she was at the Terasu Pool so she is most probably showing up there too, and she will get excited over seeing Terapagos.

The Six Heroes episodes are usually two-parters. At least, that's how they've been so far. Oliva (ep 11 and ep 12), Galar Fire (ep 22 and ep 23), Lapras (ep 31 and ep 32). So, Basagiri will probably agree to join the group in HZ073. Also noting that the last time they met a hero (outside Rayquaza) was Lapras 40 eps ago. It's happening around the same time as last year.

Curious about Basagiri's personality (the title describes the Pokemon as a lone warrior). It seems a bit different this time since Liko and the others are going to battle him before Basagiri joins them. It probably won't be about defeating the opponent, but just making Basagiri respect them enough to join them. Lucius was probably a respectable trainer so Basagiri would want to test Liko and the others before taking a decision. We'll probably get another flashback Lucius flashback too? We usually get those after a hero joins the group (see ep 12, ep 23 and ep 32). Which makes me curious because maybe we'll get something about Lucius and then the meeting with the mysterious woman at the Terasu Pool will be something else entirely? Which means, potentially lots of information in the upcoming weeks. The memories shown by Terapagos get clearer every time a hero joins the group too, so we'll probably get a better view of Lucius?

So.. the meeting with the mysterious woman, and meeting back up with Diana is probably going to happen after HZ073. Since the trailer is showing things which will happen soon. Which is kind of interesting too, because it seems like we will get some truths revealed early in the chapter, and lots of episodes directly related to the Lucius plot back to back? And before we reach the end of the first cour for this chapter, too (aka, before 11/12 eps of the current chapter aired).

So far, the beginning of Rayquaza Rising is reminding me of the structure for chapter 2. HZ026 and HZ068 had quite a few parallels and interesting comparisons already. And the group met Lapras early in chapter 2 (6 eps in actually), while we're meeting Basagiri early in Rayquaza Rising too (5 eps in, according to the title for HZ072 which mentions searching for Basagiri, which potentially implies the Pokemon will be shown at the end of said episode, similarly to how Lapras was fully shown at the end of HZ031).

Back in chapter 2, we got four episodes related to the overarching plot back to back too (ep 31 and ep 32 were Lapras-related, ep 33 was written by Dai Sato, who is the lead writer, and had Amethio facing Rayquaza, ep 34 was Amethio training with Hamber, Gibeon talking, Liko and Amethio parallels etc..). So, I feel like it could be something similar here. We are probably getting several episodes related to Lucius/Six Heroes etc back to back.

Now, in terms of writers... not sure who could be writing HZ071, because that depends on whether we delve into Terapagos, or Basagiri. No summary so far, so I don't know what will happen exactly. It could be Naohiro Fukushima if the episode doesn't delve too much into the plot side of things? His last episode was HZ063 (Liko vs Grusha). Or Naruki Nagakawa. Still unsure, but we'll probably know next week or something.

The Basagiri episodes are probably written by Kureha Matsuzawa (the script coordinator). He is usually the one who writes the episodes when one of the Six Heroes joins the group (he did so for HZ012, HZ023 and the Lapras two-parter). Not sure if he'll take care of both episodes. The scripts for HZ011 (meeting Oliva) and HZ022 (meeting Galar Fire) were by Naruki Nagakawa and Muga Takeda respectively, so the lead up episode to the actual "hero joins the group" could be by one of the other core writers (though Muga Takeda hasn't written since chapter 1). We'll see.

Either way, since the scene showing Liko and the others meeting the mysterious woman at the Terasu Pool seems to be happening in a separate episode altogether, I feel like this increases the chances for Dai Sato to be handling an episode script soon. The similar structure to chapter 2 makes me think that (he wrote HZ033 which was almost in the middle of the chapter then, and HZ074 is in a similar spot too, an episode which takes place before hitting the 10-episode mark for said chapter). And since we're probably getting lots of truths revealed soon, especially in regards to the original Explorers, it would make sense for the lead writer to take care of that. He was the one who wrote HZ024 and HZ025, which is when we got a hint at a deeper connection between Lucius and the Explorers (when Diana said "the Explorers... weren't they Lucius's friends?"). Also noting that HZ074 is 50 eps after HZ024 (which is when Diana told the story of when she found Lucius's memoirs, etc). So getting some truths revealed one year in real time (a bit more than one year) after the first mention of the connection between Lucius and the Explorers also could feel fitting. Also, I'm thinking that we'll probably get a Dai Sato episode soon because Kureha Matsuzawa has been writing lots of eps lately, so if he writes the Basagiri two-parter, then I'm guessing Dai Sato will handle what comes after that?

Basically, that's what the upcoming titles make me think of. Of course, this is all speculation and me writing stuff because I like thinking about who could be writing what and what they could focus on.

A few additional things I'm thinking about. Amethio saying Gibeon's name in HZ065 makes me think that maybe, Liko and the others will get to hear his name (either Lucius saying it in a memory, or the mysterious woman saying it). Which could mean that Liko will connect the dots, and remember that Amethio said it? She is the only one who knows Gibeon's name so far. Though, she might have reported that info to the others offscreen.

Anyway, I feel like we could be getting lots of interesting info before the end of the year. Though that makes me curious about the second half of the current chapter if we're potentially getting answers early in this arc. What will it focus on? What will the characters do? Dot's VA did mention (here) to look forward to how Liko and the others will react and move forward after learning the truths behind the mysteries. Learning the truth is one thing, but it doesn't mean it stops there. How they move forward with that knowledge will be interesting to see, too.