#hz073

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.

Starting with HZ073, which airs next week (link here).

Most surprising thing to me is that Michihiro Tsuchiya is handling the Basagiri two-parter since Six Heroes episodes are usually written by the core writers (such as Kureha Matsuzawa). The scope of episodes that the others writers handle is expanding. Michihiro Tsuchiya took care of some episodes I really liked, such as Nyahoja's backstory episode (HZ040), which is probably his screenplay that I love the most to this day, still. Nyahoja's focus episode was the one I found most emotionally resonant. Recently, he also wrote the episodes in which Roy's parents appeared and which showcased more of Roy's backstory. Also in terms of character focus... he also wrote HZ020, which was Kabu's episode (which I am bringing up because it has one of the most interesting traits explored for a character, aka Liko's tendancy to hold back her own wants in favor of others and how something she perceives as kindness can hurt her and others.. said character trait was later explored further in other episodes by core writers, and was even mirroring Nyahoja's own situation when she was holding back her own power because of her past when she hurt her friends trying to protect them..). Either way, this writer handling a Hero episode was unexpected. I am not sure we'll get a Lucius flashback next episode since Lucius is one of those characters written by specific writers. We'll see.

About the summary for HZ073. I find it intriguing that it mentions a relationship between Basagiri and Lapras. In the midst of old man yaoi drama happening between Lucius and Gibeon, you're telling me that we might even get drama among the Pokemon themselves- Exactly what was happening between the original Explorers and their Pokemon? I wonder if Lapras got the scars from Basagiri.

Also since we are possibly getting more insight into the Six Heroes themselves. Pointing out that Basagiri's episode describes him as a "lone warrior". While Lapras's episode where it joined the group (HZ032) is called "Lapras's feelings for its companions". One seems to be a loner by nature, and the other is surrounded by friends. Could that also be applied to Lucius and Gibeon? I hope we'll get to learn a bit more about the dynamics between the Six Heroes, it's really interesting.

--

Only the titles and staff lists are revealed for the remaining November episodes (HZ074 and HZ075). I think they want to keep the mystery going on a bit longer if the summaries weren't released in the monthly magazines.

Link here for HZ074, link here for HZ075. My initial thoughts on the title for HZ074 were written here.

Kureha Matsuzawa (the script coordinator) is writing this two-parter! Which is probably why he wasn't the one on the Basagiri two-parter (he was probably focusing on the Explorers backstory).

Kureha Matsuzawa's last screenplay was HZ068 (first episode of the current chapter). He was also the one who wrote the two-parter which had Amethio and Liko being stuck in a cave together (HZ064 and HZ065). So it's interesting to me that he is writing another two-parter 10 eps after the previous one.

Ep 64/65 focused on Liko and Amethio, and now ep 74/75 might focus on the truth behind Lucius and Gibeon.. interesting how we're getting AmeLiko and then LuciGibe, two pairs which could be viewed through a romantic lens if one is inclined to do so-

I have no idea what to expect. Is it going to be a two-parter in terms of flashbacks?

Also, the title for HZ075 reminds me of Lucius's words and wishes ("I want all of you to find your futures...", the first words said in HZ001 and which were brought back at the end of HZ025 when Liko was going through Lucius's memoirs). The idea of "entrusted future" is also something that is often brought up (these words are mentioned in the current opening, Only One Story).

I usually mostly pay attention to the writers for episodes but the staff list for HZ075 is particulary intriguing beyond that. Saori Den, the series' director, is taking care of the storyboard. Last time she worked on a storyboard for a Horizons episode was the very first episode of the series. So this definitely feels like something important is happening, in terms of reveals and the story overall if we're getting the combination of the script coordinator, series director etc, working on the same episode. I think we have probably hit the midpoint for Horizons now.