Some character notes and episode notes for HZ081, writing them down for future reference.
Liko and co go to the place in Area Zero where Entei is said to have been located. While they have lunch and discuss with Briar, Sango and Onyx are monitoring them from afar. As they start packing their things after lunch, Entei suddenly appears in front of the group but he looks different from the one they met in Johto. Entei does resonate with Pagogo, which confirms that it's Lucius's Pokemon. The other Heroes come out of their Pokeballs and eventually leave things to Liko. Liko reaches out to Entei and ask him to join them to go to Rakua. Entei will only join them and acknowledge them if they fulfill his condition, which is getting back Lucius's belt hidden in his fur.
Thus, they all decide to battle Entei. During the battle, they realize that Entei knows moves it's not supposed to know. They eventually realize that it's not an Entei, but a Paradox Pokemon: Gouging Fire. They continue the battle, which Dot is leading in terms of strategy. They end up getting back the belt and Gouging Fire acknowledges them. Pagogo shows the RVT and Briar a memory of the past, and they get to see Lucius playing with Gouging Fire in the past before he and Rystal renew their desire to go to Rakua.
Liko thanks Gouging Fire for joining them, and Roy gets excited as there is only Rayquaza left to find. As he says that, Pagogo reacts and all the Heroes come out of their Pokeballs and look up at the sky. Rayquaza has arrived.
Overall, liked the ep! Many things to cover as usual, I'll go out of order.
Not to be all "my ship had a kind of physical contact" but they had a kind of physical contact, so I need to point that out. And if they had to stay in Area Zero during the night, that means there is also the implication that they were camping together so that's also something worth thinking about. Shippy enjoyment aside, it keeps standing out to me that they gradually get even closer while everyone else in the Explorers are different? This kind of scenario (implication of camping, school, etc) can only be portrayed through them specifically. Even something as simple as physical contact is something that is exclusive to them so far? I don't recall any other characters in the Explorers having physical contact with each other (there is Amethio who held Liko's hand to help her, and she was someone outside the Explorers and this gesture was considered as treason). (Spinel is always spoiling/patting his Blacky, but that's a Pokemon and not a human.)
The whole scene with Sango telling Onyx not to give her orders was funny, and felt meaningful to me.. First, Sango reminded me of Amethio in HZ045 when he said the exact same thing to Friede ("don't give me orders"). So that's another parallel between Amethio and Sango. Onyx's delivery of his "we're on a mission" also kind of stood out to me.. Compared to that time in HZ044 when he felt a bit angrier when he told Sango not to idle around during the mission. In this ep, he feels judgemental but also like he knows this behavior is expected from her. Sango telling him not to boss her around also says a lot about her. It shows that she doesn't really have any interest in recon missions (the grander goal of the Explorers doesn't seem to be something she is interested in or even knows about). Usually, Sango ends up listening and following orders even when she initially complains.. Which made me realize that the previous times she did so, it was usually because there were characters like Agate around telling her what to do. It makes me think that she probably perceives Onyx as someone who is an "equal" to her, therefore she is not going to receive orders from him as if he was her superior. The fact that she talks back to him at all and isn't intimidated emphasizes that too. Sango throwing a jab at him, too.. Even though I like that they started arguing less than before after the school arc, I am also kinda happy that they still have the capacity to banter with each other. I always thought that the fact that they can act in such a familiar way around each other is one of those many elements that make them stand out as a duo among the Explorers. They are close enough to argue, talk back, spend a lot of time with each other, and also feel comfortable enough to be a bit vulnerable around each other sometimes, etc. It comes back to one of my train of thoughts about the comedy used around them, because I like the use of silly moments with them. It enhances and emphasizes specific aspects of their characters instead of being something that devalues them or make them grating? It humanizes them, stresses the fact that they don't really belong in the Explorers (compared to Spinel or Agate who seem to have deeper motives), the humor is used scarcely at appropriate times and as a tool to showcase the chemistry between both characters and reveals things about them, etc. And despite that, they are serious and competent opponents. I think it's good stuff.
Sango itching to join the battle also furthermore emphasizes that her only interest seems to be about getting to battle opponents and let loose in confrontations, it's probably her way to vent out her pent up energy. It makes me want to see more of her interactions with Roy. They built up a kind of rivalry around them, Roy is as excited when it comes to battles and he kept up with her before, etc. They play off each other in an interesting way, which is different from Sango's dynamics with Onyx. Roy is close friends with Liko and Dot, and seeing him interact with Sango (a girl who is a bit on the unhinged side) brings out sides of him we don't usually see either, which is fun to me. Like, their exchange in ep 43 when Sango was complaining about Liko and Roy "stealing" cakes from her ("Do you know how long I waited?!" "That's not our fault though :|".. Roy wasn't going to be "nice" to her about it and I thought it was fun).
Either way, I am curious what this small arc at Area Zero will mean for Sango and Onyx in the future. Sango befriended a Pokemon who willingly joined her (and it was cute to see Onipurin out in this ep too). Onyx seemed curious and surprised about the white dome that enveloped Liko and the others when Pagogo showed them a memory of the past. They both seemed surprised at seeing Rayquaza show up, too.
I think the plot around Entei's true identity was really interesting too. Pointing out that Paradox Pokemon are recent studies and a product of modern research, which explains why people from 100 years ago like Lucius wouldn't know about them. They called Entei as such because they simply assumed it was one. The buildup and the red herring with the previous Entei were good and Briar giving the explanations and analyzing in real time didn't feel out of place. Dot figuring out the truth at the same time as Friede and Briar was also a cool moment for her. She was on the same level as two professors!
I also liked that the flashbacks we've gotten from the Heroes who joined this arc felt personal to them. Basagiri's flashback was the first time he met Lucius, and when Lucius accepted him at a time he was rejected and feared by everyone. Gouging Fire's memory is a simple one: playing with Lucius. Which reframes the battle Liko and the others had with him in an effective way, because it used to be a kind of game he'd play with Lucius and something that allowed them to become closer. I like when Pokemon feel like beings with their own thoughts and feelings, and this made Gouging Fire really endearing to me. Same for Rayquaza. He showed up at the end. I think this implies that Rayquaza has probably been keeping a close eye on Liko and the others, watching over them and wait for them to become stronger, like a guide.. Rayquaza also showed up of his own volition at the end of HZ032 which was when Lapras joined the group and after Liko and co got three of the Heroes to join them. So he decided to show himself after they got half of the Heroes to potentially encourage them and see how they were faring.
The battle was fun and well coordinated. I like battles that aren't just about winning, and the test given by Gouging Fire made for interesting strategies. Dot being the main strategist and leading the others was really cool. Friede trusting her and letting her handle it felt significant. I feel like Friede could have come up with something himself, but he probably wanted to push and encourage Dot to grow further. Also a way to showcase that the trio is learning to stand alongside Friede as full equals even in battles, which is really nice to see. Roy's Achigator saving Cap was also a nice callback to the previous Entei battle in HZ078 when Cap had to save Achigator from being hit. Now, it was Roy's turn to save Cap.
I find it really compelling that Dot's growing passion for battles is directly tied into her character and interests, too. It's something I appreciate about the way the trio is handled. Their motivations are unique to their characters and fit them, instead of trying to make everyone fit the same mould. They are trying to portray "battles" differently for each of the characters. Liko learned to stop holding herself back, she learned to immerse herself in battles fully and grew more passionate, and it became a way for her to connect with her Pokemon's emotions. The depiction of Dot's passion for battles in this episode was tied to her curiosity about Pokemon themselves. She found them fun because it allowed her to learn about an unknown species of Pokemon and enrich and broaden her knowledge. She approached them from a professor perspective, which makes me think she could follow Friede's footsteps in this aspect too.. Anyway, the way battles are explored in Horizons is really interesting. There are many different reasons for battling, which go beyond the competitive stuff, but it also helps characters find a kind of common ground as they can have "fun" through it.
I am hoping that this isn't the last we see of Rystal either. I am glad we got to see her again with Lucius a little bit (especially knowing how things end and that she never got to see her beloved again).. It was also interesting seeing sides of Lucius we've never really seen before. Usually, the Six Heroes flashbacks emphasized his heroic aspects and felt more mysterious. Seeing him as someone who just loved playing around with his Pokemon felt like such a simple yet meaningful moment (and it was meaningful because Lucius did that so Entei could get used to him). I hope we get to see more of the original Explorers together.
The scene when Rayquaza showed up at the end was beautiful.. The music used during that scene was great too. I hope they release it someday in the next Horizons OST. They keep using great BGM when Rayquaza appears. I remember the one used in HZ044 really left an impact on me (for reference: it was the first 30 seconds of track 19 of the first OST here).
I wonder if we'll see a Pagogo flashback once Rayquaza joins the group? Gibeon wasn't in any of the flashbacks so far. Though the RVT have seen a picture of him in black and white when he was younger, so they should know what he looks like? He grew older since then though.
