Pokémon Horizons: The Series – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Found You, Fuecoco!

Episode 5 of Pokémon Horizons: The Series begins with Roy sneaking aboard Friede’s airship. Cap electrocutes Roy. Everyone wakes up from the ordeal. They all arrive and scold Roy for his actions. Roy says he wants to make Fuecoco his partner Pokémon. Although Liko thinks it’s a nice idea, Friede argues against it. 

He tells Roy that Roy should check in with Fuecoco to see if it wants to become his partner Pokémon. Having said that, Friede tells Roy he can rest at the airship for tonight. This will allow Roy to spend quality time with Fuecoco. Roy and Liko search for Fuecoco but can’t seem to find him. Roy and Liko take a break. 

He’s concerned that Fuecoco may not like him. However, Liko disagrees and informs Roy about her rough beginnings with Sprigatito. The next morning, everyone regroups. Orla rambles about having sleep troubles due to working on the ship’s repairs. She says they don’t have enough materials to patch the ship’s holes, making her worry that they’ll be stuck here for a long time. 

Roy suggests that the Rising Volt Tacklers ask the wild Pokémon to help them with their hole-oriented issue. Friede thinks that’s a brilliant plan and Orla believes they can navigate the airship to a sandy area, too. Later, Friede, Roy, and Liko visit Roy’s grandfather’s place, and Friede is concerned when he learns Roy’s grandfather is the same village elder he spoke to in episode 4.

Meanwhile, Fuecoco wakes up and heads to the airship’s kitchen. Fuecoco spots some Oran Berries on a stool and Mollie tells it that Roy left them for it. This entices Fuecoco to leave the ship and seemingly find Roy. Meanwhile, Roy’s grandfather is enraged because of Roy’s delinquent actions. Roy’s grandfather presents everyone with food and asks Friede for updates on his airship troubles. 

Before the three depart, Friede notices Liko’s taken an interest in the villagers’ Pokémon. This entices him to stay and have lunch with Roy’s grandfather and the villagers. Meanwhile, Fuecoco visits several locations but can’t find Roy. This leads him to the beach, where he spots Amethio and the other Explorers nearby. 

Amethio and the others plan to land on the island and investigate. While Friede and the others are having a blast with the villagers, Amethio’s henchman informs him about Friede’s airship and his whereabouts. Since Friede’s not onboard, his minions suggest that they take the airship hostage. Amethio disagrees.

He wants his henchmen to draw the others off the ship. Meanwhile, he’ll be searching for Liko and her pendant. We shift to following Liko and the others. Liko ponders how Roy will feel when they flee the island. Suddenly, Roy spots Fuecoco and Fuecoco tries warning them about Amethio and his minions’ arrival. 

Fuecoco points toward the beach, alerting Friede that something is amiss. He tells Liko and Roy to stay with the elder. Friede plans to return to the airship to see what’s happening. Then, we shift to Murdock and the others. They’ve landed the ship on the beach and are somewhat worn out. However, Cap and Charizard inform them that Amethio and the Explorers are heading their way. 

Murdock signals everyone to abort the airship. The elder notices something amiss nearby, and Liko tells them that it’s the Explorers. While the Rising Volt Tacklers prepare to battle Amethio and the Explorers, Liko tells Roy and his grandfather that the Explorers are bad news and are after her pendant. 

While the Explorers have the Rising Volt Tacklers on the ropes, Amethio’s female ally questions if Liko and Sprigatito are nearby. Elsewhere, Roy rallies the wild Pokémon together and asks them to help the Rising Volt Tacklers out. Although Roy’s nervous, the wild Pokémon promise to assist them. 

Before they head out, Amethio’s female ally confronts them. Realizing Sprigatito isn’t willing to side with her, Amethio’s female ally plans to battle Liko. Meanwhile, Roy arrives with the wild Pokémon to assist Murdock and Orla with the ship’s issues. While Friede is battling Amethio, Roy tells Mollie to stand aside and let him and Fuecoco battle Amethio’s male ally and his Rhydon. 

Unfortunately, Fuecoco doesn’t produce the best results, and Friede takes note of it all. He tells Roy and Fuecoco to retreat. Realizing Friede’s distracted, Amethio orders Corviknight to harm Charizard. Liko and Sprigatito return to the battlefield after defeating Amethio’s female ally. Liko offers Roy some encouraging words. 

After some chanting, Fuecoco performs a powerful Ember attack on Rhydon. Noticing Friede’s distracted, Amethio Corviknight heads after Liko and Sprigatito. Corviknight’s powerful wings whip up a sandstorm, making it difficult for Friede and Roy to reach Liko. The episode closes with Corviknight attempting to grab Liko and Sprigatito with its feet. 

The Episode Review

As expected, Roy’s interest in Fuecoco burns as much as Fuecoco’s Ember attack toward Rhydon. While this episode doesn’t offer anything too groundbreaking, it contains some compelling themes many families will adore. From perseverance to encouragement, fans will enjoy seeing Pokémon Horizons tackle those usual notions you’d find in typical Pokémon media. 

At the same time, some events here felt convenient and predictable. One instance that’ll leave some mixed is Roy and Fuecoco’s successful efforts against Rhydon. While Amethio’s male minion doesn’t seem like a proficient trainer in the slightest, an argument can be made for Liko and Sprigatito’s triumph over him and Rhydon in episode one. 

Considering Roy and Fuecoco are rookies to the whole Pokémon trainer and battle schtick, it’d been great to see them struggle more before pulling off what they did. Although they didn’t downright defeat Amethio’s companion and his Rhydon, some will find their short victory unearned. 

Nevertheless, we’re optimistic that Roy will accompany the Rising Volt Tacklers and Liko on their future endeavors. Overall, this was a fine Pokémon Horizons episode. It had positive and tense moments but nothing too astonishing.