These eleven episodes made me happy to be a modern-day Pokémon fan. I will not mince words here, this is the strongest batch of Pokémon episodes that I have watched in a very long time. I was worried about the initial setup, considering they seemed to be stepping away from the team dynamic of the Rising Volt Tacklers for an entirely new extended cast. However, Pokémon: Horizons utilizes this setup to bring out the best qualities of this series, filling it with fan service and character development that truly acts like a celebration of the franchise as a whole.

The introduction of this new arc and setting is exactly what a lot of people thought Pokémon: Horizons was originally going to be. Pokémon: Horizons aired around the time Pokémon Scarlet and Violet came out and if you enjoyed them, you are going to love everything about these episodes. We get introduced to various teachers and trainers pulled right from the games. While not all of them get equal screen time, all of them are properly represented and more or less seem to be taking over the role that the Rising Volt Tacklers did in the previous season. They are here to facilitate the development of our main trio, Liko, Roy, and Dot. If the previous season embodied the adventure aspect of the Pokémon franchise, then this season is emphasizing the battling aspect of it.

There are no gym badges here, but the setup feels very indicative of what older Pokémon fans might be used to. Liko, Roy, and Dot are taking the Terastal Training course which requires them to visit specific trainers and gym leaders to prove themselves as trainers worthy of using Terastallization. Each of our leads gets dedicated episodes, focusing on them overcoming specific trainers which fills almost every episode with purpose. Our cast isn't just battling to survive anymore, they're learning what it means to crave victory for themselves. The only episodes that deviate away from this are the ones that remind us about the ever-growing plot brewing in the background. Friede is investigating a few leads and we get glimpses into Amethio's relationship with the leader of the explorers, his grandfather.

Nothing feels wasted in these episodes, and even when it feels like a character isn't getting much focus, you can tell that their presence is meant to foreshadow their involvement in later episodes. Liko, Roy, and Dot truly develop as trainers. Their Pokémon evolve and they start utilizing more traditional battle setups. Even though our trio arguably loses just as many fights as they win, it's nice that they're put in an environment that allows them to lose and level up before returning to their main journey. You feel the connection that our trio has with a lot of the new adults that are now introduced into their lives and it helps that all these new trainers are bursting with personality.

The banter is fun without being too childish, the battles themselves consistently look gorgeous with next to no instances of repeated animation and you get the sense that everyone present is just happy to be here. A lot of that once again comes down to the stupendous voice acting which continues to impress me as more characters get introduced. The Pokémon Company seemed to keep integrating people from various corners of the voice-acting industry and everyone is bringing their A-game. Never in my life did I think that Clank from Ratchet and Clank would play the main villain in the main Pokémon anime! We have a lot of newcomers, veterans, and even some Texas actors. I might be biased, considering she was one of my favorite characters in the game, but a massive shout out to Erika Ishii as Rika. Her more androgynous and flirty personality won me over in a heartbeat.

The only criticism I can give to these episodes is with the power scaling. The elite four are supposed to be some of the best trainers in the entire region, and yet they are battling rather evenly with everybody present. Granted, you could probably hand-wave this as a sign that the adult trainers are not going all out against these kids, but it never really comes off that way. Granted, when you want to create exciting battles that have a flow to them, the last thing you want is for our main characters to get taken out immediately. Still, it would be nice to see more established moments of sheer power.

It is hard for me to come up with strong criticisms because this season is off to a fantastic start. Everyone is getting proper moments to shine, the animation and character acting are great, and the new additions to the cast serve a purpose while also being fun to watch. Pokémon: Horizons was already doing a great job establishing its identity with a few bumps in the road. The beginning of this season has smoothed out all of those wrinkles to deliver something that I truly think would entertain young anime fans, older anime fans, fans of the games, and maybe even people who were never into Pokémon, to begin with. Maybe I'm selling it a little bit too much but please take a moment to check out some of the episodes.