#post commentary

Like HOLY COW did they not waste time at ALL with finding Mohn, I ended up loving that approach so much! The episode starts with Research Fellow trio being informed of some mysterious Pokémon found in the Crown Tundra (I guess the japanese name is The Snowfield of the Crown, localised name is kinda easier to say), and after Lilie, Lusamine and Gladio end up finding Mohn in a state of memory loss, we find out that he's been living WITH A FRICKING UTSUROID!! Shiny even! And like, all this time, he thought it was Lilie. Because Utsuroid made him see it as such. Oh god, this Utsuroid... ;-;

And like, once again I wasn't spoiled on anything regarding the ep, so when Satoshi, Gou and Koharu hear about a witness talk about a white Pokémon (the rest I was unable to understand, only white description), I thought it was gonna be Calyrex or Glastier lol. But nooooo, it's shiny Utsuroid. Which honestly fits way better and fits with the whole "Ultra Beasts reside in The Crown Tundra in Galar in the games as well" idea i wanted the anime to adapt asjkfhshkf. And y'know, this is as good as any.

BUT OH GOSH MY HEART, I collapsed real hard when Lilie played Mother and Daughter theme from Alola at the start, and then it became a theme in the ep, and like, props to the animators making the piano play accurate as heck.

And can we talk about how fricking well Lusamine's role was done in the ep, like Lilie was the true protag of the ep, and Gladio did some really nice stuff in the ep too, but LUSAMINE MY DEAR, she was.... oh god the shock she had when Mohn didn't recognize her was so heart-breaking, it's EXACTLY what I wanted, and yet I broke down again because ohgod they nailed that face, they fricking nailed it. You bet I'll be trying to gif it askhsfjhsf. As many other scenes jkahsfjh.

And like, the whole situation Mohn was living in was really sad, because Utsuroid ended up hiding every single mirror in the house, so its true from wouldn't reflect on it, and also to prevent Mohn from remembering and abandoning it? Like, it seems pretty twisted, but in the end, this shiny Utsuroid, who Mohn actually called Lilie, ended up being a kind one who just wanted to protect Mohn. ALSO THEY REALLY WENT AND MADE THE POPULAR FAN THEORY OF LILIE BEING UTSUROID A PLOT POINT WHAT THE HELL-

And the way I screamed so happily at Pikachu coming to save Lilie, Satoshi shouting Iron Tail, sakjsfjhsfjsfhfsjsf I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH AND I JUST, ooooh I felt so home, I felt like I was watching Sun & Moon, I enjoyed the ride of the ep so fricking much.

And and and and and when Mohn remembers the kids again, OH MY FRICKING, Lusamine's face was so, UUUGH it was so good, her beloved husband finally remembered her and she was so, you could tell she was releaved and so fricking happy. I'm happy for her too. We finally have an Aether Family, happy with all four members. Oh, sorry. FIVE!

They end up being thankful for Lilie the Utsuroid for taking care of Mohn all these years, for saving him from the accident aftermath, and they catch it in a Beast Ball. And I just.... fricking hell, LILIE WAS TRAUMATIZED BY UTSUROID, and now she befriended the one who took care of Mohn, her father, all these years, and took her form in an illusion.

And I I I I I i, hhhnnngghh there was still a lot of dialogue I need subtitles for but this was THE ABSOLUTE BEST episode JN has delivered so far. The best. Why do Aether Family eps rock so hard man-

Or maybe I'm wrong and Amane doesn't (assumedly) become a precure on June 26th sgshsjsk.

"Dunno what mystery they're talking about. I don't hate baths BUT..."

Mystery sinking into a steaming bath tub with a large mass of bubbles as cherry blossoms, lilac, and vanilla fill the air