SunGodNika1997
You can call me Tanner.
Considering how closely TPC has been working with Netflix lately, you'd think they'd wanna strike a deal to simulcast Horizons. Seems like it would be mutually beneficial for both parties.
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The Pendant It All Started With! (001/002)
- Thread starter Serebii
- Start date
Spyro39
Well-Known Member
You'd think they would strike a deal with Netflix, yet they never did that with Journeys for the past 3 years.
Sham
The Guardian of War
I appreciate Liko's shy characterization and as a fellow shy person who can relate to her currently and younger, you spend a lot of your time talking to yourself mentally questioning everything and every single interaction down to the T so I'm amazed how Pokemon got that right and together. I'm hoping she does come out of her show and opens up but unlike Chloe it's more of a slower burn.
Kazuniya
read/watch dungeon meshi
Liko coma theory
Liko is just an ordinary, normal girl. She dreams about finding something special, she wants *something* to finally happen. Surely, the Indigo Academy is the beginning of something new. She gets her first Pokemon, Sprigatito, and starts following it around. During episode 1, after Sprigatito jumps, Liko fails to catch it, she slips and they both fall off the roof. No, there was no Snorlax there in reality. The ensuing brain damage sends Liko into a coma. It is no coincidence that after this, unexpected events start happening. The ordinary pendant Liko received from her grandmother? Now it's a magical pendant that hosts a special Pokemon. Suddenly there are strange parties chasing after her, multiple people fighting over Liko and causing destruction all over the place in order to grab her. She's become the heroine of a story, a main character with a special connection to a mysterious pendant. If you take into account the idea that Liko is dreaming this whole development in her coma, suddenly it all makes sense...
Liko is just an ordinary, normal girl. She dreams about finding something special, she wants *something* to finally happen. Surely, the Indigo Academy is the beginning of something new. She gets her first Pokemon, Sprigatito, and starts following it around. During episode 1, after Sprigatito jumps, Liko fails to catch it, she slips and they both fall off the roof. No, there was no Snorlax there in reality. The ensuing brain damage sends Liko into a coma. It is no coincidence that after this, unexpected events start happening. The ordinary pendant Liko received from her grandmother? Now it's a magical pendant that hosts a special Pokemon. Suddenly there are strange parties chasing after her, multiple people fighting over Liko and causing destruction all over the place in order to grab her. She's become the heroine of a story, a main character with a special connection to a mysterious pendant. If you take into account the idea that Liko is dreaming this whole development in her coma, suddenly it all makes sense...
Spyro39
Well-Known Member
You're certainly not the first to think this, dude. But at least you elaborated a little bit more on this craziness.
Kazuniya
read/watch dungeon meshi
Certainly makes more sense than Ash coma theory
SunGodNika1997
You can call me Tanner.
Liko in a coma, I know
I know, it's seriooouuus~
I know, it's seriooouuus~
British Soul
Top Hat Regulator
NO, you forgot to write an essay.
Part 1:
Going into this episode, I was expecting it to be set in Paldea, so imagine my surprise when it transpired that Liko is enrolling in an academy in Kanto, at least she hails from Paldea and receives a gen 9 starter, so I can at least let that slide. I will say that I can at least relate to Liko tbph considering she came across as socially awkward, and I certainly come across as socially awkward myself. Even on the bus, when the two girls were watching a Nidothing stream, whom Liko is also a fan of, Liko struggled to find a way to interact over a shared interest and decided to look outside instead, and I can understand that logic, as there is a right and wrong way to make conversation, and Liko probs felt that it'd be wrong to encroach on the other girl's personal space.
One thing I did like is how there are parallels between Liko/Sprigatito's relationship in this episode and Ash/Pikachu's in EP001, yet how that relationship is explored, it at least feels fresh, in the sense that Liko initially didn't understand Sprigatito at first, and thus they struggled in their first battle and subsequent training.
Another thing I liked is how action packed the second half of the episode was. The Explorers, specifically Amethio have a cool aesthetic and him having a Ceruledge certainly fits said aesthetic, I was certainly drawn to them the moment I saw the poster. During this portion of the episode, despite not knowing much, Liko had good instincts, being suspicious of the Explorer's intentions and mounting an escape, that being said, even when Friede stepped in, the battle between Ceruledge and Charizard was cool to see.
Part 2:
To start off, we see a mysterious pokemon, which was revealed on socials (like twitter) a couple days later and I'm not surprised that there was a bit of hoo-hah regarding this, especially after the TPCi twitter tweeted about the PWC finals not long after the episode aired in Japan, but despite that, even before the series started there were discussions about the link between Liko's pendant and Terapagos, at least the series have laid down some foundations early doors to prepare us for the DLC later in the year.
I think the introduction to the Rising Volt Tacklers, between Friede in part 1 and the rest of the crew in part 2, it was well handled in tandem with the ensuing conflict. I appreciate that the writers allowed for world-building to occur whilst also interspersing it with action, it was a nice balance and sets a good precedent for the series moving forward, and I can understand Friede leaving Liko in the dark as to who they are considering they were being pursued by the Explorers. I will say it was rather bold of the RVT (How I'll be abbreviating Rising Volt Tacklers moving forward) to use the storm clouds to elude their pursuers.
The continuation of the battle between Friede and Amethio didn't disappoint, the animation was pretty good and it's fitting that Cpt Pikachu has Volt Tackle considering Friede is the commander of the RVT, and I think it was neat to see Pikachu use Thunderpunch tbph, not something you see every day, though I'd say the battle ending with no result was fair, you don't want the Explorers to be defeated in their initial battle and the fact that they opted for a tactical retreat considering that the ship is flying through storm clouds was interesting and I certainly wasn't expecting them to kidnap Sprigatito, but at the same time, that proves they aren't to be trifled with and provides scope for further development for Liko.
Overall, I'd say that this was a solid opener to the series, there was decent pacing between parts 1 and 2, between action and establishing much of the main cast.
Part 1:
Going into this episode, I was expecting it to be set in Paldea, so imagine my surprise when it transpired that Liko is enrolling in an academy in Kanto, at least she hails from Paldea and receives a gen 9 starter, so I can at least let that slide. I will say that I can at least relate to Liko tbph considering she came across as socially awkward, and I certainly come across as socially awkward myself. Even on the bus, when the two girls were watching a Nidothing stream, whom Liko is also a fan of, Liko struggled to find a way to interact over a shared interest and decided to look outside instead, and I can understand that logic, as there is a right and wrong way to make conversation, and Liko probs felt that it'd be wrong to encroach on the other girl's personal space.
One thing I did like is how there are parallels between Liko/Sprigatito's relationship in this episode and Ash/Pikachu's in EP001, yet how that relationship is explored, it at least feels fresh, in the sense that Liko initially didn't understand Sprigatito at first, and thus they struggled in their first battle and subsequent training.
Another thing I liked is how action packed the second half of the episode was. The Explorers, specifically Amethio have a cool aesthetic and him having a Ceruledge certainly fits said aesthetic, I was certainly drawn to them the moment I saw the poster. During this portion of the episode, despite not knowing much, Liko had good instincts, being suspicious of the Explorer's intentions and mounting an escape, that being said, even when Friede stepped in, the battle between Ceruledge and Charizard was cool to see.
Part 2:
To start off, we see a mysterious pokemon, which was revealed on socials (like twitter) a couple days later and I'm not surprised that there was a bit of hoo-hah regarding this, especially after the TPCi twitter tweeted about the PWC finals not long after the episode aired in Japan, but despite that, even before the series started there were discussions about the link between Liko's pendant and Terapagos, at least the series have laid down some foundations early doors to prepare us for the DLC later in the year.
I think the introduction to the Rising Volt Tacklers, between Friede in part 1 and the rest of the crew in part 2, it was well handled in tandem with the ensuing conflict. I appreciate that the writers allowed for world-building to occur whilst also interspersing it with action, it was a nice balance and sets a good precedent for the series moving forward, and I can understand Friede leaving Liko in the dark as to who they are considering they were being pursued by the Explorers. I will say it was rather bold of the RVT (How I'll be abbreviating Rising Volt Tacklers moving forward) to use the storm clouds to elude their pursuers.
The continuation of the battle between Friede and Amethio didn't disappoint, the animation was pretty good and it's fitting that Cpt Pikachu has Volt Tackle considering Friede is the commander of the RVT, and I think it was neat to see Pikachu use Thunderpunch tbph, not something you see every day, though I'd say the battle ending with no result was fair, you don't want the Explorers to be defeated in their initial battle and the fact that they opted for a tactical retreat considering that the ship is flying through storm clouds was interesting and I certainly wasn't expecting them to kidnap Sprigatito, but at the same time, that proves they aren't to be trifled with and provides scope for further development for Liko.
Overall, I'd say that this was a solid opener to the series, there was decent pacing between parts 1 and 2, between action and establishing much of the main cast.
KukuiFanatic501
Well-Known Member
Will be throwing my thoughts into the ring about the 2 first episodes of the new Ash-less era anime, but of course I’m “shocked” over the obviously expected Ash/Liko comparisons already being made and of course the usual group of Anti-Ashers coming out and being emboldened to give cryptic remarks on not only him but the older anime era. Will address that later, but first, giving thoughts on these episodes.
Overall for the most part, I share the same sentiment as everyone else that this was a nice solid beginning for the new anime. At first I was worried about how things would go after Ash and Pikachu left, but from the way this looks, if they can keep this momentum going all through the new animes run, then it’ll be a nice successor series. This gives me old vibes of how I felt when Legend of Korra first came up after TLA. Liko is a nice interesting protagonist, an obvious but great opposite to Ash and his very outgoing, upbeat confident personality. In her case she’s introverted, very analytical about how she views things, constantly thinks to herself about things she wants to say but doesn’t quite know how to, and has a big self awared outlook on everything happening around her. They definitely did a great job on setting her apart from Ash & making her relatable. So now, let’s give my pros and cons.
Pros:
-The animation was amazing for both episodes, definitely blows JN out of the water
-Even though the setting, like JN, is in Kanto instead of Paldea, theyve so far made it much more interesting to see, especially with the mix up of Pokémon from various regions
-Likos roommate Anne is already a great character, spunky and nicely outgoing
-The Academy gives me nice Yugioh GX vibes (ironically so with Horizons & GX both being the immediate successors to their respective OGs) with the school having dorms, the academy being heavily pokemon related with their coursework for up and coming trainers, the academy offering more than 3 standard starter Pokémon from a given Professor but all regions starters, etc.
-Spriggatio acting very reminiscent of an actual cat and her disobedience is similar but also different from how Ash & Pikachu first met, as it’s not full on disobedient and it’s mainly so because of Likos own lack of self confidence as others here have mentioned.
-Liko being a lot more self aware of who the bad guys are sure makes her a lot more attentive than Ash was about Team Rocket
-Ametio & the other 2 going after Liko already makes them a lot more serious than Team Rocket, a nice change of pace; making Ametio a kind of villainous rival wasn’t what I was expecting, but looks interesting
-Cereludge looks awesome as heck
-Friede is already one of my favorite Pokémon characters now; of course he has to have a Charizard, but that’s expected cuz of Charizard promotion, and they’re doing it in an interesting way.
-Rotom tablets. Looks like Rotom tech is moving up in the world
-Nice introduction of Terapagos with Likos pendant, even if it’s quite convenient
-Captain Pikachu. Just Captain Pikachu. I’m loving its badass personality and it’s moveset being so distinctly different from Ash’s Pikachu. Wasn’t expecting thunder punch to come out, but I’m all for it, looks awesome; nice to see Volt Tackle made a return too
-Spriggatio already got captured and we’re going to a 3 parter? Already more successful than TR haha
Neutral:
-Quaxly & the streamer “Nidothing”. Neutral about them, because while they are a fun duo and I suspect someone in the Volt Tacklers is Nidothing in disguise because of Quaxly being on the ship roaming around, they sound like a duo that will get old and annoying decently quick; reminds me of Buddyfight Ace when Yuga and Ranma did a YouTube channel
Cons:
-I don’t see pretty much anyone else saying this, so this’ll be unpopular, but am I the only one who thought the events of these 2 episodes were kinda rushed? At least episode 1? There were things I felt that could’ve been stretched out more into a 4 parter instead to make it better. This goes into my smaller issues with things like the lack of focus on the Academy, and Likos experiences since moving there being an afterthought rather than an episode for that alone to focus on before getting into the pendant plot line. Not even halfway into the episode, and everyone already leaves for break?
Since we’re comparing the pilot episode of both animes, say what you will about Ash and Pikachus pilots, but at least for them, the pilot primarily focused on Ash meeting Pikachu, learning the ropes of being a trainer and beginning their bond. Likos on the other hand has things like her training with Spriggatio, her first battle with it, and experience at the Academy be big afterthoughts. Telling rather than showing. Since Likos never been to Kanto, or even outside Paldea, her getting to know peers outside Anne and getting used to Academy life could’ve been an episode in and of itself before we introduce the Volt Tacklers and the bad guys coming after the pendent. Not to mention seeing Liko learn more of the basics of being a Pokémon trainer, seeing her train with Spriggatio outside of a small snipet and an actual first battle that isn’t just launching one attack and forfeiting.
-Speaking of which, realism went out the door when Liko and Spriggatio launched off that big powered leafage as someone here mentioned
Overall, I’d say 9/9.5 out of 10. Few issues, but overall great start to the anime. Will always miss Ash & Pikachu, but I am excited for Liko and Spriggatios era to begin
Think I already beat you to the punch on that one dude :v
No but seriously, I agree. Besides me waiting to watch the episodes delaying my review, I’ve already intentionally downgraded my participation in the forums because I knew this annoying banter was coming before Horizons got dropped the first episodes.
If I wanted to I could throw jabs about Likos more than obvious opposite characterization, something not wholefully unique to Pokémon, but I want to take a chance on Liko as I’m liking much about her already, so I don’t.
Overall for the most part, I share the same sentiment as everyone else that this was a nice solid beginning for the new anime. At first I was worried about how things would go after Ash and Pikachu left, but from the way this looks, if they can keep this momentum going all through the new animes run, then it’ll be a nice successor series. This gives me old vibes of how I felt when Legend of Korra first came up after TLA. Liko is a nice interesting protagonist, an obvious but great opposite to Ash and his very outgoing, upbeat confident personality. In her case she’s introverted, very analytical about how she views things, constantly thinks to herself about things she wants to say but doesn’t quite know how to, and has a big self awared outlook on everything happening around her. They definitely did a great job on setting her apart from Ash & making her relatable. So now, let’s give my pros and cons.
Pros:
-The animation was amazing for both episodes, definitely blows JN out of the water
-Even though the setting, like JN, is in Kanto instead of Paldea, theyve so far made it much more interesting to see, especially with the mix up of Pokémon from various regions
-Likos roommate Anne is already a great character, spunky and nicely outgoing
-The Academy gives me nice Yugioh GX vibes (ironically so with Horizons & GX both being the immediate successors to their respective OGs) with the school having dorms, the academy being heavily pokemon related with their coursework for up and coming trainers, the academy offering more than 3 standard starter Pokémon from a given Professor but all regions starters, etc.
-Spriggatio acting very reminiscent of an actual cat and her disobedience is similar but also different from how Ash & Pikachu first met, as it’s not full on disobedient and it’s mainly so because of Likos own lack of self confidence as others here have mentioned.
-Liko being a lot more self aware of who the bad guys are sure makes her a lot more attentive than Ash was about Team Rocket
-Ametio & the other 2 going after Liko already makes them a lot more serious than Team Rocket, a nice change of pace; making Ametio a kind of villainous rival wasn’t what I was expecting, but looks interesting
-Cereludge looks awesome as heck
-Friede is already one of my favorite Pokémon characters now; of course he has to have a Charizard, but that’s expected cuz of Charizard promotion, and they’re doing it in an interesting way.
-Rotom tablets. Looks like Rotom tech is moving up in the world
-Nice introduction of Terapagos with Likos pendant, even if it’s quite convenient
-Captain Pikachu. Just Captain Pikachu. I’m loving its badass personality and it’s moveset being so distinctly different from Ash’s Pikachu. Wasn’t expecting thunder punch to come out, but I’m all for it, looks awesome; nice to see Volt Tackle made a return too
-Spriggatio already got captured and we’re going to a 3 parter? Already more successful than TR haha
Neutral:
-Quaxly & the streamer “Nidothing”. Neutral about them, because while they are a fun duo and I suspect someone in the Volt Tacklers is Nidothing in disguise because of Quaxly being on the ship roaming around, they sound like a duo that will get old and annoying decently quick; reminds me of Buddyfight Ace when Yuga and Ranma did a YouTube channel
Cons:
-I don’t see pretty much anyone else saying this, so this’ll be unpopular, but am I the only one who thought the events of these 2 episodes were kinda rushed? At least episode 1? There were things I felt that could’ve been stretched out more into a 4 parter instead to make it better. This goes into my smaller issues with things like the lack of focus on the Academy, and Likos experiences since moving there being an afterthought rather than an episode for that alone to focus on before getting into the pendant plot line. Not even halfway into the episode, and everyone already leaves for break?
Since we’re comparing the pilot episode of both animes, say what you will about Ash and Pikachus pilots, but at least for them, the pilot primarily focused on Ash meeting Pikachu, learning the ropes of being a trainer and beginning their bond. Likos on the other hand has things like her training with Spriggatio, her first battle with it, and experience at the Academy be big afterthoughts. Telling rather than showing. Since Likos never been to Kanto, or even outside Paldea, her getting to know peers outside Anne and getting used to Academy life could’ve been an episode in and of itself before we introduce the Volt Tacklers and the bad guys coming after the pendent. Not to mention seeing Liko learn more of the basics of being a Pokémon trainer, seeing her train with Spriggatio outside of a small snipet and an actual first battle that isn’t just launching one attack and forfeiting.
-Speaking of which, realism went out the door when Liko and Spriggatio launched off that big powered leafage as someone here mentioned
Overall, I’d say 9/9.5 out of 10. Few issues, but overall great start to the anime. Will always miss Ash & Pikachu, but I am excited for Liko and Spriggatios era to begin
No but seriously, I agree. Besides me waiting to watch the episodes delaying my review, I’ve already intentionally downgraded my participation in the forums because I knew this annoying banter was coming before Horizons got dropped the first episodes.
Exactly. I’ve said several times before in past threads that I don’t see the point of people who hate watch just to drag down the enjoyment other people have, and it’s one of the most annoying consistent things about this forum. It’s one thing to just hate Ash, it’s another to continuously throw out insults about him time and time again.
If I wanted to I could throw jabs about Likos more than obvious opposite characterization, something not wholefully unique to Pokémon, but I want to take a chance on Liko as I’m liking much about her already, so I don’t.
Sulfurian
Well-Known Member
I don't know what that full powered op leafage was, don't know if it implied overgrow boost or maybe protein activation? I kinda hope this cat isn't the same as ash's pikachu where it is just "special" and has different stats than normal.
Also the line "a pikachu, really?" Is interesting. It might imply that this is a prequel to ash winning or several years after ash so a pikachu is just overhyped. Hopefully not a throwaway line.
It kinda feels like a special than full term series for the non stop action, I like it and different enough from a pokemon journey we've seen for years, I just wonder if they can keep the whole "running away from evil team" for long with the same serious tone or will it turn into comedy again. "Oh you want my special turtle necklace? Leafage bye bye"
Also the line "a pikachu, really?" Is interesting. It might imply that this is a prequel to ash winning or several years after ash so a pikachu is just overhyped. Hopefully not a throwaway line.
It kinda feels like a special than full term series for the non stop action, I like it and different enough from a pokemon journey we've seen for years, I just wonder if they can keep the whole "running away from evil team" for long with the same serious tone or will it turn into comedy again. "Oh you want my special turtle necklace? Leafage bye bye"
KukuiFanatic501
Well-Known Member
Was it ever confirmed if Horizons is the same or a parallel universe from Ashs? Or is it one of those things that well just have to wait and see later down the line?
GohMaster!
Goh Gettem!
Not confirmed either way.
Sham
The Guardian of War
So do with this what you will but I found it pretty interesting that Amethio asked was Friede joking with him for sending out a Pikachu like a Pikachu didn’t just finish off a match crowning the newest monarch so food for thought.
GohMaster!
Goh Gettem!
It's possible he maybe didn't watch the M8.
KukuiFanatic501
Well-Known Member
That or he’s one of those cocky type people who thinks a Pikachu beating the strongest trained Pokémon is a joke. Whichever comes first.
Sham
The Guardian of War
That’s why I said “food for thought”. It’s just throwing something out there and not outright confirmed which it hasn’t.
SunGodNika1997
You can call me Tanner.
To be fair, Ash's Pikachu was like a one-in-a-million kind of Pokemon, so it could be reasonable that Amethio would underestimate any other random Pikachu.
KukuiFanatic501
Well-Known Member
If they ever want to cameo Ash/Pikachu I could see Friede mentioning he and Cap were inspired by their monarch win so they trained up to become the badass duo we see them as
Friedes a battle junkie like Ash so I could see this being a thing (if desired)
Friedes a battle junkie like Ash so I could see this being a thing (if desired)