Congratulations to Pokémon Horizons for reaching its 50th episode! It’s a special milestone, and as such is celebrated with probably one of the best battle episodes the show has offered to date. I’m amazed that Horizons' animators always manage to outdo themselves whenever it comes to creating amazing episodes. It feels like their highs are always getting one-upped, and this week's episode is no exception. Episode 45 was great, but Episode 50 really takes the cake.

It’s time for Dot’s battle with Iono at long last. This was a rather anticipated battle given the connection these two have as streamers and friends. It was intense too! Dot is definitely the best battler of the three kids and she put up an amazing fight. The way she cleverly used her Quaxly’s speed and movement to get an advantage despite having a type disadvantage was so cool to see. Iono is no slouch in battle either. She was always a bit of a tricky fight in the games. Dot should just be glad she didn’t bring out her Mismagius for this fight though! The way Iono fought was as clever as Dot in a way. She tricks Dot into believing she’d use Spark, but actually uses Discharge. The way she makes Bellibolt use Slack Off was also a key factor in her win, as Bellibolt was able to heal while Quaxly couldn’t. To be honest, I thought Quaxly was going to evolve in this episode, but he learned Liquidation instead. I think that’s a fair trade off. While Dot did lose, I think it was handled well, as losing or winning doesn’t matter in this course as long as the Gym Leader acknowledges your effort. This loss is also development for Dot as she learns to let loose and have fun as she’s always been a bit serious when it came to battling, which Quaxly teaches her in this episode. My favorite part of the episode was her terastalizing when the power was out.

Clavell shows up in Levincia City during this episode as sort of an homage to the Gym Challenge in the games, which he is a part of. Instead of playing Where’s Waldo with the principal, he shows up with a running gag of giving out extremely long and time-consuming lectures. When Roy tells Clavell that Dot’s battle was in process, he, Liko and Clavell start running. Clavell’s running pose is the exact same from the game, and it’s hilarious how much they put so much detail into this. I love that each of the kids fall victim to his lectures.

The Rising Volt Tacklers play support for Dot as Murdock goes all out for being her biggest fan. They watch the show in their hotel room as it’s streamed live. Liko and Roy are her biggest supporters too. Just to see Dot being loved by everyone when she’s not confident herself really makes me smile. She’s really coming out of her shell.

Now that all three of the kids passed their Basics Course, I do wonder what is in store of them later on. For now, they’re taking a bit of a break as they’re going to focus on their reports for Jacq. I honestly can’t wait to see the next stage in the Terastal Course. What about you?

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