Media Essays: Pokémon Horizons Rewrite (Part 3)

Parts 1 and 2 here.

And so here we are ladies and gentlemen, Part 3 of my Pokémon Horizons rewrite. The previous four seasons were easy enough as I stuck mostly to what came before while making changes when appropriate. But for this part, I'm more or less rewriting everything from the ground up while keeping very little of the original seasons. The time-skip era of Horizons is when the show really jumped the Sharpedo and just felt directionless with no sense of what the story should be and felt the need to rush everything to its conclusion. That and giving Roy way too much attention that he didn't deserve didn't help either.

For this part, we're rewriting Seasons 5 and 6 and also coming up with a proper Season 7 instead of that filler season we have going on at the moment. What you'll get is a time-skip era that actually takes advantage of its premise, gives Liko and Dot Mega Evolutions, doesn't shove a new character in out of nowhere, gives Blueberry Academy the attention it deserves and also doesn't ruin Season 4 by bringing Friede back. Remember, he's staying dead in this version of the story.

So then, let's get to it...

Mega Voltage

Like the original Season 5, this season opens with a two-part episode. A year has passed since the disaster in Laqua and Friede's passing and since then, Spinel has taken over the Exceed company, he's in charge of the Explorers and he's pushing the company towards the production of Strong Spheres. Also, the Rising Volt Tacklers have been painted as eco-terrorists due to Spinel blaming them for what happened over in Laqua and unlike the original series where that barely inconvenienced our heroes, Spinel provided pictures of the team and so everyone knows what they look like. Because of this, the RVT has been forced to disband for everyone's safety. They can't be travelling around like they used to since they're so easily recognized now. Even poor Liko has been forced to relocate and now she, Lucca and Alex are living in an isolated area in Paldea where there are no neighbours or anyone living close by and they have to do everything secretly, even resorting to always doing their shopping online just so they don't go out in public. Liko still trains with her Pokémon at least. Since there's no one around to see her, she, Meowscarada, Hatterene, Charcadet, Pikachu and Pagogo train in the back garden to keep up their strength and skill. Despite feeling the despair of her situation, Liko hasn't given up. She knows she can't just let Spinel win and she and her friends must get back together to put a stop to his evil ambitions. Meanwhile on Ann's side of the story, she's recently got back from Kalos and is hoping to reunite with Liko so she can bring Spinel down too. While searching for her friend, she receives a call from Dot that has to be encrypted so Spinel can't track her down. Ann is informed of a Laquium incident involving a wild Slaking. Ann goes to investigate by riding on Kilowattrel's back and she arrives at the scene. But to her surprise, Liko is there too. Dot sent the call to her as well and Liko answered since she's desperate to do something other than hide for once. Liko and Ann are astonished to see each other after so long.

Part 2 follows up with the duo fighting off the Laquium enhanced Slaking and they're both impressed how neither one has lost their touch while Liko is amazed by Ann's Mega Evolving Absol. After Slaking is defeated, Ann explains to Liko how she's been training in Kalos the past year and learned how to Mega Evolve. She reaches into her bag and produces a gift each for Liko and Dot...

...their own Mega Ring and a Key Stone each. Ann thinks in order to stand a chance against Spinel, all three of them need to master Mega Evolution. Dot will need to actually catch a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve since she only has a Quaxwell, a Tinkatuff and a Gimmighoul respectively and none of them can Mega Evolve. Liko has her shiny Pikachu, but she needs to evolve it into a Raichu first so she can Mega Evolve it, so Ann gives Liko a Thunder Stone to use on Pikachu. Dot is thankful for the gifts while Liko...is hesitant. A part of her IS glad to see Ann again, but another part of her is still angry with Ann for deceiving her this whole time and how it's all her fault Laqua is destroyed, Friede is dead and she and her friends are framed as bad guys. If Ann hadn't stolen Pagogo and lowered the barrier that kept all the Laquium sealed away, then Spinel wouldn't have been able to pull off his sick plan in the first place and everything that went bad could've been avoided. Ann doesn't even argue with Liko, acknowledging wholeheartedly that yes, this whole mess was her fault, but this is her making up for it by training herself up and gifting Liko and Dot a power boost that'll help them take down Spinel. Liko thinks they should have a battle just to settle things between them. Liko and Ann battle with Liko's Meowscarada vs. Ann's Crocalor. Unlike the original where the writers idiotically made Liko lose just to kiss Roy's ass when Liko winning would've made more sense as a motivator for her to get back in the game, the battle in this version ends in a draw. Liko and Ann can see they're both ready for this and Liko also feels she's gotten a huge weight off her chest.

With herself now putting her grudge against Ann to rest and feeling ready to get back at Spinel, Liko and Ann set off together with Dot intending to catch up to them as soon as she can. Meanwhile, it's revealed that Spinel has all six of the Legendary Heroes in captivity. Yes, even Rayquaza. In the original series, Rayquaza was the only one to escape capture, but I think it'll raise the stakes if all six are captured instead and it also means we don't have to waste an episode on the Dragon Gang and Team Wiggle. Also, unlike the original, we're not getting back the adult members of the RVTs. Once we hit the time-skip era, they really did become dead weights plot wise and this rewrite will prove how useless they are by being able to still carry out without them. So how will they get back to Laqua without the Brave Asagi? You'll find out in the next part...

Episodes 92 and 93 proceed as originally with a battle with Laquium enhanced Steelix and an encounter with Litten Smitten (only this time the battle doesn't get interrupted since Ult doesn't exist in this version. We get a clean unambiguous victory for Liko here), but since we're not bringing the adults back yet, the Mollie episode is instead an episode focused on Liko's Pikachu as Liko gives her the choice of whether she wants to evolve or not. After an encounter with a Laquium powered Vileplume and watching Hatterene Terastallize in order to put a stop to it, Pikachu decides she does want to evolve. Ann reckons she wants to become stronger for Liko, and so Liko gives Pikachu the Thunder Stone, evolving her into a shiny Raichu at last. Ann excitedly tells Liko that now she has a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, which has Liko keen to try it out. But first, they need to find a Raichunite X, and Dot has some intel on where to find Mega Stones...

We follow up with a fetch quest episode that has Liko and Ann follow Dot's directions and go into a cave to search for a Raichunite X stone. The cave is full of Mega Stones and Ann and Liko have a hard time finding the right one for Raichu. Unfortunately...the Explorers are in the cave too. Spinel wanted them to dig up Mega Stones so they too can Mega Evolve their Pokémon. Liko and Ann battle against Coral and Sidian with Meowscarada and Mega Absol against Glaile and Garganacl and during the scuffle, a Raichunite X is unearthed. Liko grabs it in the nick of time and throws it to Raichu, who takes over from Meowscarada to battle. Thinking about what Ann did, Liko's Mega Ring activates...

...and Raichu Mega Evolves into a shiny Mega Raichu X. So you might be curious, why did Liko's Mega Raichu X have to be a shiny? Simple: because Roy's Mega Lucario was shiny. Also it gives Liko a more unique Mega and gives her a Raichu that stands out from Raichu we've had in the past. Thanks to Mega Evolution, Raichu defeats Glaile and Garganacl and Coral and Sidian are forced to flee. Ann thinks they need to seal the cave so the Explorers can't come back and get the Mega Stones. Liko agrees and both Mega Raichu and Mega Absol seal off the cave. Meanwhile, Spinel hears of Coral and Sidian's failure and scolds them over not using their Strong Spheres for a decisive victory. Sidian retorts that he won't win in such a dishonourable way or cause Garganacl harm and Coral is too arrogant to think she needs a power boost. Spinel just threatens to unleash Umbreon on the two if they disobey him again. Chalce wonders if this is necessary and Spinel just smoothly reminds her to watch her tone unless she wants him to walk out of the deal they made together...

Next up is an Explorers focused episode that shows us how they've been doing since the time skip. Following on from the last episode, Coral, Sidian and Chalce think back to how they got where they are now with Spinel revealing his grand plan shortly after the press conference he gave with successfully painted the RVTs in a negative light. He's a man who wants to leave his mark on the world and destroy the bonds between trainer and Pokémon since he believes that'll allow him to go unchallenged in the world at large, plus it gives him a way to make a profit to boot. And given Laquium can expand one's lifespan, Spinel plans to use it for that as well, meaning he can live on forever and continue to control the world as he sees fit. He gives strict orders that all Explorers admins and grunts are to use Laquium at all times in their battles and we see the first time Coral, Sidian and Chalce have used a Strong Sphere. They don't find the results pretty, but they have no choice since Spinel is in charge and they have to answer to him. However, Hamber drops a suggestion that they shouldn't just blindly follow Spinel's orders and think what's best for their Pokémon. A year has passed and it seems Hamber's words have fallen on deaf ears, but now the trio think it over again and wonder if they should defy Spinel...

We then get the Strong Sphere episode we got in the original series and it plays out as normal, only the crowd actually recognize Liko and Ann and call for them to be arrested, but Coral and Sidian say before they go to jail, they can at least try to win their freedom by taking part in their demonstration battle. Liko and Ann both use their Mega Evolutions instead of the Paldea starters, thinking it'll give them an easy win. But unlike last time, Mega Raichu X and Mega Absol get defeated thanks to the use of Strong Spheres on Garganacl and Glaile. Since Ult is absent here, I'll have it so Dot's the one that gets our heroes out of this pickle by hacking the system and turning all the lights off. Once Liko and Ann escape, Dot explains how she got here, which leads to the Stunfisk episode we got in the original version. Delighted, Ann gives Dot her Mega Ring and Key Stone, but now they need to find a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve for Dot. So readers, you may be curious, which Mega will I let Dot use? Well I personally think it'd be really cool (pun not intended)...

...if she was to use a Mega Froslass. The reason for this is because it better promotes Legends ZA if we use Mega Evolutions introduced from that game and I feel a Froslass would really suit Dot due to its purple colour scheme matching her hair and how Dot was cold and aloof once upon a time before opening up. Also the team could do with an Ice-type, so there we go.

In order to save on a capture episode, I'll have it turn out the Snorunt that once lived on the Brave Asagi actually left the ship to stay with Dot and so we can focus an episode on finding a Dawn Stone in order to evolve it. Then we get a follow-up episode that focuses on Dot getting a Froslassite so she can Mega Evolve it. And of course, there'll be a training episode in where we see Dot Mega Evolve Froslass for the first time ever and we also get something the actual Pokémon Horizons series has yet to give us: a Liko vs. Dot battle. Liko doesn't use Mega Raichu X so Dot has more of a fighting chance. She uses Meowscarada and despite Dot's best efforts, Mega Froslass is defeated, but Dot feels completely energized by the experience, seeing why Ann wanted to introduce her and Liko to it. There'll then be another new episode that sees Liko, Ann and Dot meet Indy and Rubina for the first time and its Mega Raichu X, Mega Absol and Mega Froslass vs. their Paldean Tauros. Dot, for obvious reasons, struggles the most while Liko and Ann put up the best fight. After the Tauros are defeated, the trio make plans for where to go next and Dot suggests they go to Naranja Academy. That episode plays out as normal, except for the fact Ann will lose to Nemona since unlike the original series, I remember that Nemona is a Champion ranked trainer and thus she should be completely untouchable to someone like Ann who's only been a trainer for a year and I'm not nerfing Nemona just to make Ann look good!

Also unlike the original, I'm not cramming a pointless Dot vs. Penny battle in the first five minutes of the next episode. Since Charcadet got caught back in my version of Season 3, we can instead make the episode about Dot vs. Penny and have a subplot in where Liko and Ann go to investigate if there are any signs of Laquium infected Pokémon they can record for information to give to Naranja Academy. During their search, Liko finds an Auspicious Armour lying in some ruins and Ann tells her to take it since it could help Charcadet evolve. As for Dot vs. Penny, its Quaxwell and Tinkatink vs. Flareon and Sylveon and since more time will be devoted to the episode, we get a proper battle that doesn't feel so brief. In the end, Penny wins, but Dot feels like she's learned some valuable lessons that she can use against the Explorers next time they fight.

The episodes focused on Zir and Conia trying to find Amethio are kept intact here and play out as normal, only this time Liko's Charcadet evolves during the battle with Amethio since it found the Auspicious Armour in a prior episode. This to me feels like the perfect time for Charcadet to evolve into Armarouge. After the battle is over, Amethio accepts Liko's offer to join the Rising Volt Tacklers and he'll do what it takes to take Spinel down. However, there's tension between Amethio and Ann as soon as he joins the team, something that'll get explored in the next season. We also have the training episode with Liko and Diana like before, only this time we don't have Liko losing because the plot says so. Given her Meowscarada kicked Diana's Arcanine's ass as a Floragato, it makes zero sense that she loses to it as a Meowscarada. Also unlike the writers, I remember that Meowscarada is swift and agile, so she won't stand there like an idiot and get hit by Flare Blitz. No, Liko will emerge victorious this time around and after this, we get the set up for the three-part finale that sees Dot's Tinkatink evolve into Tinkaton and our heroes try and fail to save the Legendary Six Heroes. The fight will play out differently to the original version in where the main trio use their Mega Evolutions first and then after they're beaten, they Terastalize their starters and despite them holding out longer, they still lose in the end.

Unlike the original, Amethio hasn't found Zygarde yet and the RVT's defeat in the finale is what inspires him to go and find his grandfather's faithful partner. Also Rayquaza is part of the battle too since as a reminder, all six of the heroes got captured this time. Another big change is that Spinel won't idiotically leave his enemies alive after they lose to the Six Heroes like in the original. No, for this rewrite, he actually gives an order to have Liko, Ann, Dot and Amethio killed, but they're saved at the last second by the police arriving, having been alerted to the commotion by local civilians in the area. Spinel instead hastily orders the Explorers to retreat so the kids can take the fall. After all, they ARE seen as the bad guys to the public, so the police will easily fall for the ruse. After the Explorers leave, the police arrive and Liko, Ann, Dot and Amethio are placed under arrest for vandalism, eco-terrorism and destruction of company property. The foursome just let themselves be taken in so they don't look more guilty to the police. However, a certain white Zygarde bears witness to all this and secretly follows the police cars...

And here we are, a far stronger beginning to the time-skip era in where we've once again trimmed the fat and better paced the story out while also giving Liko and Dot Mega Evolutions (which the original should've done!) in order to better advertise Legends Z-A, and most importantly, the Rising Volt Tacklers being seen as villains ACTUALLY matters to the story! Unlike the original, it's not some minor bump in the road that barely inconveniences our heroes. Here, it actually inconveniences them greatly and gives this season an even bigger downer ending since our heroes actually have to escape custody and risk looking like even bigger criminals as a result. It's staggering just how easy it is to improve the story of this show and I'll never understand why the writers fumbled so hard with it...

Join me next time for the epic conclusion as we get a season that does Blueberry Academy more justice and an extra season to better wrap things up. See you then media fans!

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