The Media Man Reviews: Pokémon Horizons Season 4

Oh this show has been such a roller-coaster of quality.

Season 1 was fantastic, Season 2 was directionless and Season 3 was frustrating. After Pokémon Horizons had that fantastic first impression, the show hasn't really lived up to that since then. Season 2 just gave up trying to have a plot and began meandering until the end with no real goal in mind and Season 3, which should've been good, ended up being an aggravating mess that made Gym battles boring and repetitive and treated Liko like garbage for no reason other than because the writers needed someone for stress relief, I guess. So when it came to Season 4 (titled Rayquaza Rising), my immediate reaction was "Please be good!", cause when this arc came out, it really did feel like the last straw and that if this arc wasn't good, I'd be done with this show.

So now for the big question: Is Pokémon Horizons Season 4 good? Or do we have another dud on our hands? Let's find out...

Section 1: The Story

After Season 2 pretty much abandoned the main plot and Season 3 went on a massive detour, Season 4 finally picks up from the plot we've been building up since Season 1 and has our heroes once again tracking down the Legendary Six Heroes belonging to the ancient adventurer Lucius so they can find the mysterious paradise known as Rakua (or Laqua as it's called in the English dub). As usual, the Explorers are right behind them and watching their every move, and also our heroes get to learn some pretty big things along the way...

I can't begin to tell you how damn refreshing it is that after two seasons of meandering and not really knowing what to do with itself, the plot is finally back on track and we have a VERY clear focus on what the story wants to do with itself. Here, the focus is on finding Rakua/Laqua and the plot never once deviates from that goal. Yes, we do get a couple of filler episodes here and there, but unlike Season 2 where the plot just ground to a halt and they spent the rest of the season stumbling around wondering what to do, that's all we get for this season, just a couple of filler episodes that can be skipped. The focus remains squarely on the main story and it never once resorts to meandering like Season 2 did, nor does it go on a massive detour like Season 3 did with Terastal Debut (seriously, that arc should've been Season 2 instead of Season 3 and Season 2's episodes should've been part of Season 4). Thus we have a season that feels like it has actual good pacing for the first time since Season 1. We're back to every episode flowing neatly into the next one and the amount of filler episodes being countable on one hand. It's so good to have the plot finally back on track after two seasons of padding.

Also, Season 4 ends up being a far more enjoyable watch than the previous two seasons were because of the improved pacing and how the focus is back on its main plot. We're no longer stuck with episodes that feel like they exist because the writers didn't have anything else to do at the time and we also lose all the annoying things about Season 3 that made it frustrating to watch. No joke, it feels like Season 4 was laser focused on fixing all the problems I had with the previous arc:

• Liko was done dirty: Not in this arc! Liko was capable, confident and wasn't constantly getting her ass kicked while pretending it's character development. Heck, Liko actually gets the biggest wins in this arc by being the one to take down Geeta's Glimmora in the end, largely contributing to Roy catching Rayquaza by battling it with Terapagos and she's the one that lands the finishing blow against Gibeon's Zygarde. Let me tell you, it was SO refreshing to finally see Liko being done justice for once and no longer being a punching bag.

• Roy was treated too well: Fixed. Roy isn't shilled like he was in the previous arc and he doesn't overshadow Liko. Both he and Liko actually feel like equals (for once) and actually feel like dual protagonists for the first time since the series started.

• The fights were repetitive and boring: Certainly not the case here. This season has by far the best fight scenes in all of Pokémon Horizons, and that's a big deal because this show has honestly sucked when it comes to fight scenes. Here, the fights have a lot of creative strategies, cool choreography and are no longer one-sided romps where our heroes get their asses kicked by a strong opponent. While it is a bit repetitive that most of the fight scenes here are Liko, Roy and Dot teaming up to fight a strong opponent, it's still way more entertaining than half the battles we've had in previous seasons.

• The Explorers were wasted: Not anymore! The Explorers are back to being a threat and they actually have a part to play in the story unlike last time where Coral and Sidian were reduced to comic relief and Spinel's plot was undercooked. The fact the Explorers outright WIN at the end of this season also does them a lot of favours.

• The battles had no stakes to them: Hell yeah they do in this arc! Unlike the previous arc where losing battles didn't mean anything because the kids still won in some way, this arc changes all that. It's made perfectly clear that they HAVE to win in order to get what they want, no more moral victories for the trio. And then there's the fact the final battle is between the RVTs and the Explorers with the fate of the world hanging in the balance as the Explorers want Rakaurium/Laquarim for their own needs. This helps to make the battles feel engaging and to make us actually care about what's going on this time around.

• The season finale was underwhelming: NOT THIS ONE! While Season 3 had a zero-stakes finale with the worst conclusion they could've given it (Seriously, Roy should NOT have won that battle! It should've been Liko's win or a draw!), Season 4 had a high-stakes finale where the outcome absolutely mattered and the conclusion was shocking. Seriously, our heroes outright LOSE in the end! I won't spoil too much, but I'm just going to say that I don't think we expected an outright victory for the Explorers when this season was over. Season 3's finale had me irritated and just relieved the season was over. THIS Season finale has me hyped to see the next one for the conclusion really has me keen to see what's next for our heroes.

See what I mean? It's staggering how this season fixed so much of Season 3's problems.

But that's enough of comparing it to previous seasons. How does Season 4 fare up on its own? Well, it's still a good season of Pokémon. The story is really engaging with how there's a lot of twists and turns and big reveals that come from it. We especially learn a lot more about the Explorers, their origins and how Lucius is indeed related to Liko. The story-telling also gets surprisingly deep and nuanced at times, especially with how Rystal and Hamber essentially tell their own side of the story regarding the journey to Laqua and paint Lucius and Gibeon as the respective villains of their stories, how some characters aren't as black-and-white as they seem or how Gibeon is a surprisingly tragic and complex villain that we don't usually get in this franchise. The season also continues Horizons's greatest strength: its meticulous world-building and how well-crafted and thought out its story is. Everything we see and learn about just fits together so nicely and every time we get answers to questions we have, the answers are logical and make sense. It's unreal how much effort has gone into this story and how incredibly well-thought out everything is.

And then there's the fact the season ends on a surprisingly bittersweet note and how the next arc takes place a year later. The fact we have a TIME-SKIP in a POKEMON anime is already something shocking. Why did we never get story-telling like this in the Ash-era? Pokémon Horizons continues to prove everyone's point that Ash was just holding the writers back this whole time and now they've got rid of him, the anime can be more experimental with its story and characters. For those who want Ash back, I question why since all Ash would've done is given us yet another formulaic season of doing the same thing all over again. Horizons is incredibly unpredictable with how its story-telling is so different to what came before, and this season is no exception. The conclusion especially has me curious on what's next, something the Ash era never did since we always knew what to expect with that series.

So from the sounds of things, Pokémon Horizons is finally good again. Yes, it certainly is, but it still has a few problems that prevent it from being the best season (that's still Season 1 in my eyes).

As mentioned, the story does have a bit of padding in there with some filler episodes that really had no business being here, but they're easily skipped. Some genuine problems with the story though come from the execution of certain ideas.

First of all, Episode 84 had a plot about a town that thinks Black Rayquaza is a bad omen. Black Rayquaza is NOT present whatsoever in this episode and the whole "bad omen" thing is completely dropped at the halfway point as we instead focus on the Legendary Heroes helping our heroes get to Rakua/Laqua. Either the episode should've been entirely about clearing Rayquaza's name, or it should've been about the journey to Laqua, it shouldn't have tried to do both.

Second of all, Lucius turns out to be alive...and there was no need for it to happen. Seriously, this plot does not change whatsoever if you take Lucius out of it. He did not need to be alive in order for this story to work. It just felt like a twist for the sake of a twist and it was such an underwhelming payoff in the end. I'll talk more about him in the characters section.

And finally, Amethio's heel-turn didn't feel earned in the end. Once again, I'll talk more about him in the character's section, but let's just say that Amethio ain't no Prince Zuko in terms of execution.

As is, the problems are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. Pokémon Horizons Season 4 is an example of how the show at its most intriguing and that when it's focused on world-building, unravelling mysteries and adventuring, that's when it's at its best. Here's hoping we get more of this in the next season...

Section 2: The Characters

The characters have a lot to talk about this time around, so make yourself comfortable. I might be a while.

Let's begin with our main lead, Liko (voiced in Japanese by Minori Suzuki and in English by Alejandro Reynoso). When it comes to this season, I can announce with the utmost pleasure that...

LIKO ISN'T TREATED LIKE CRAP ANYMORE!

No joke, it feels like Liko's a completely different character compared to the pathetic punching bag she was reduced to last time! This Liko actually gets to hold her own in battle and win pretty decisively and isn't constantly getting her ass kicked anymore! Even against an opponent with a type-advantage, she gets to win! Where the hell was all this in Season 3, I must ask? Why didn't we have THIS Liko back then? Anyway, Liko is at her best in this arc, and I'm not just talking about battle prowess. This whole journey has clearly changed her for the best as she's considerably braver, more determined and more invested in her goals than ever before. One such example is when the Explorers gloat about how they've been playing the RVTs like puppets and she basically tells them they're full of crap and none of this was for them. Her crowning moment of awesome was in Episode 88 when she stood beside Floragato and kept her going long enough to evolve into Meowscrada and land a decisive blow on Zygarde. She's no longer the shy, meek nervous wreck with no direction in life that she started out as, she's come such a long way and I love it. The fact she's able to hold her own and no longer has Friede holding her hand is a massive plus too. Maybe Season 3 did do her some good after all as all those losses back then clearly toughened her up by a mile. Writers, more of this please! I like this Liko! This Liko is awesome! I really hope to see more of this in the next arc!

And now there's the second protagonist of course, Roy (voiced in Japanese by Yuka Terasaki and in English by Anjali Kunapaneni). Remember how for three seasons straight, I've called Roy a useless spare part and that the show wouldn't change if you got rid of him? FINALLY, I can put that claim to rest because here in Season 4, Roy actually feels like he's useful and that if you took him out of this season, Liko and Dot would've struggled a lot more against opponents like Geeta, Gouging Fire and Rayquaza if he wasn't there. Like Liko, Roy is at his best here, being more capable in battle, actually feeling like he has a point being here and thankfully HE is the one that gets to land the finishing blow on Black Rayquaza and catch it in the end. That would've sucked so much if anyone else had done it, so I'm glad nobody stole Roy's thunder here. It took them four seasons, but they finally made Roy feel like he's truly part of the story and not a useless spare part anymore. And considering the next arc has him older with a Mega Lucario on his team and Captain Pikachu by his side, I have a feeling Roy will feel even less like a spart part going forward. Just as long as he doesn't cause Liko to feel like a spare part, I don't mind.

Next up is arguably our third protagonist, Dot (voiced in Japanese by Yoshino Aoyama and in English by Faye Mata). Out of the three kids, I think Dot got the short end of the stick here. Now don't get me wrong, Dot gets some great moments in this arc, especially in some of the battles where she comes up with some of the clever strategies that helps our heroes out every now and then, but it's just compared to Liko and Roy, she doesn't get as many big wins or big standout moments and her character doesn't develop any further. It's like the writers have done all they can with Dot in the previous three seasons, so now they don't really know what else to do with her. Not helping is the fact that of the trio, she has the least amount of emotional attachment to the story. Liko wants to help Terapagos find Laqua and learn more about her heritage, Roy wants to catch the Black Rayaquaza and prove himself worthy of being his trainer. Dot...just wants to see more of the world, I guess? That's all I can think of for her. Ironically, I was calling Roy a spare part before and now it's starting to feel like DOT is the spare part. Hopefully the next season can give Dot more to do and maybe also give her more of an emotional attachment to what's going on.

And finally, there's the Rising Volt Tacklers. With the exception of Friede, they're REALLY starting to feel like useless spare parts now. Only Mollie and Ludlow get any episodes devoted to them (and neither episode is that important to the story in the first place) and the team doesn't even get to participate in the climax. They just sit back and let Friede and the kids do all the work. Maybe it's time to retire the Rising Volt Tacklers and not have the story be a globe-trotting series anymore, because the RVT just feel like they're taking up space at this point.

On that subject, Professor Friede (voiced in Japanese by Taku Yashiro and in English by Crispin Freeman) is finally handled well for once. He's no longer a glory hound stealing Liko and Roy's thunder and he's no longer holding them back like in previous seasons. He gets his time to shine without outshining the kids and he isn't just instantly solving the problem either. Even in battles against Gouging Fire and Black Rayquaza, him being there doesn't guarantee an automatic victory for the kids and during the big battle with the Explorers, he actually has to fight strategically and cleverly in order to beat Spinel, unlike in previous battles where he wins just by being overpowered. Where the hell was this in previous seasons? The fact he (seemingly) dies at the end was surprisingly shocking too, but I'm not buying for once single minute that he's dead. I'm calling it now, he'll turn out to be alive and he'll return some day. For now, him being gone is a good thing as it will allow Liko, Roy and Dot to continue to shine without him being there to hold their hands. And to think in the original draft of the series, he was going to betray everybody! No, I'm serious! Thank god they didn't do that as that would've been dumb...

And now onto the ancient adventurer himself, Lucius (voiced in Japanese by Daisuke Namikawa and in English by Steve Blum). After so much build up and so much intrigue about the guy, Lucius...was kinda underwhelming to be honest. Despite this season revealing more about him, we still barely know anything about the guy and despite him being related to Liko (he's her great-great-grandfather), the two barely have any interactions with each other! What was the point of them being related if they were barely going to exchange any words together? Liko getting to meet Lucius should've felt big and impactful, and instead we barely got anything! Also, what was the point of him turning out to be alive in the end? Just so he could snap Gibeon out of his delusions and help him die in peace? Lucius didn't do anything and the twist of him being alive feels like it happened for the sake of having a twist. He was such a let down, and that's a shame because there was so much intrigue behind him.

Instead, his wife Rystal (voiced in Japanese by Yukana) ended up being more interesting. She reveals the past of the Explorers and the fact she lost her husband and her partner Terapagos (which she nicknamed Pagogo) during the events in Laqua makes her a very tragic and sympathetic character. Oh and she died young as well. Damn, life was a b***h to her, wasn't it? Also, what is it with Liko's family and losing loved ones in Rakua/Laqua? Rystal loses her husband, friend and partner, now Liko and friends lost Friede? Rakua/Laqua is cursed, let me tell you!

Now onto the villains, starting with the leader of the Explorers himself, Gibeon (voiced in Japanese by Show Hayami and in English by David Kaye). Gibeon ended up being a fascinating villain for he's a man of science and a man who has VERY little tolerance for treachery. Given the events of the past caused him to lose everything, it's understandable why he takes betrayal so hard and it makes him kinda tragic as well. I also like how he's not just an evil villain and has noble intentions with the Rakuarim/Laquarium by wanting to help people live forever. Unlike Lucius, Gibeon wasn't underwhelming in execution and stands as one of the most interesting characters in the entire series.

His grandson Amethio (voiced in Japanese by Shun Horie and voiced in English by David Mills) however, left something to be desired. Many fans predicted he'd get a heel-turn and big shocker, he did. Yet I felt underwhelmed by the outcome. Why? Very simple: this guy didn't get anywhere near enough appearances, that's why! He appeared way too sporadically throughout the series, so his heel-turn just didn't feel earned in the end. He needed more episodes devoted to him in order for his heel-turn to land, much like how Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender had plenty of appearances before his heel-turn. Instead, it just felt rushed and thus I couldn't enjoy it as much as everyone else did. I don't mind Amethio being a good guy now, it's just I think he needed more episodes before he turned good. At least the episode devoted to him was interesting and we got to learn more about his family and such. It's also somewhat touching that he's still devoted to Gibeon's cause despite being disowned by him and following Spinel's ideas.

Speaking of Spinel (voiced in Japanese by Makoto Furukawa and voiced in English by Matt Mercer), he's the one who truly came out on top in the end. I love what an evil son of a b***h he is compared to the other Explorers where they have shades of grey to their characters and aren't completely evil (except for Chalce, she seems just as bad as Spinel). He continues to be fascinating with what a slimy and conniving character he is and how he's always five steps ahead of his opponents. The fact he managed to win in the end and pretty much become the show's new main villain after Gibeon is pretty big and I can't wait to see what he'll do now he's in charge of The Explorers...

The rest, Coral, Sidian and Chalce aren't as important as Gibeon, Spinel or Amethio. Coral and Sidian continue to feel more like comic reliefs than an actual threat and Chalce is just the one who's loyal to Spinel...because. I wish the writers would do more with her since she's the least developed of the Explorers so far. Now Spinel's in charge, maybe she'll get more screen time.

By far the most fascinating character in this season for me was Gibeon's White Zygarde. You'd think it would be yet another loyal minion to its trainer, but no, it turns out White Zygarde was spying on Gibeon the whole time and making sure he didn't pull off the same stunt he did last time. That really caught me off-guard, the fact it wasn't evil and was actually working against Gibeon, not with him. It looks as if it was going to turn on our heroes, but instead it was just testing them and buying Terapagos some time to build up power and purify the Rakuarium/Laquarium and once our heroes passed the test, it abandoned Gibeon as one final lesson to abandon his goals. I've never found a Pokémon so interesting in my life, yet here's White Zygarde proving to be one fascinating specimen.

For those who play the games, we do get a few game characters in this season. We get to see Geeta and the Paldea Elite Four again as Liko, Roy and Dot are challenged by Geeta to prove they can enter Area Zero, but we also get characters from the Scarlet and Violet DLC such as Carmine, Perrin and Briar. Carmine had no business being here. She only appears in a skippable filler episode and her entire presence basically amounts to getting shown up by Friede so the writers can shill him some more. Cause lord knows he hasn't had enough of that already! (sarcasm) I don't like Carmine, but even I wouldn't have treated her that badly. Briar is equally as pointless. She just tags along with the group when they go to Area Zero and that's about it. She didn't need to be here either. Perrin at least felt well-used. She helped our heroes find Lucius's Kleavor and all and her role called back nicely to the games, so that was neat. Still, one out of three guest-stars were used well. That's pretty sad if you ask me...

The characters do have some issues, but for the most part they're at their best here, especially Liko and Roy, and who knows what's in store for them now a year has passed and we're in a whole new status quo...

I'm skipping the animation segment this time as this post is long enough as it is and I don't really have a lot more to say about the animation that I haven't said already. I will at least say that the visual highlights are the battles with Gouging Fire, Black Raquaza, Geeta's Glimmora and White Zygarde, Liko's Floragato evolving into Meowscarada and the Brave Asagi transforming into its faster, more hi-tech mode. That last one was especially cool. :D

Overall

I am more than happy to declare that Pokémon Horizons is back to its former glory and has more than improved after the last two seasons. The story is back on track, the story-telling continues to be intriguing and well-thought out, the world-building is as meticulous as ever, the characters are handled better than before, the fight scenes are actually awesome to watch for once and the animation continues to be great with some awesome moments to watch. It's not perfect by any means and I still think Season 1 was Horizons's best season, but it's been a HUGE improvement in comparison to the previous two seasons. Pokémon Horizons is back and I cannot wait to see the next arc! Here's hoping they can keep it going now they've got the show back on its feet again...

And that's it for this review. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. Do you like Pokémon Horizons Season 4? Do you not like it? Do tell me.

Next week, I'll be doing a shot-by-shot analysis on D-16's transformation into Megatron. See you then media fans!