Media Essays: Why Liko Works And Roy Doesn't

Pokémon Horizons has come a long way in such a short amount of time, hasn't it?

The show feels like it barely just began and already we've had four seasons going on five and we're a week away from hitting 100 episodes! Like damn, already? Feels like yesterday since I was watching the first episode and when I made my post back in 2023 giving my first impressions...

Those who have been following my blog will be VERY familiar with my thoughts on Horizons and how I've reviewed it season-by-season (except for Season 3, I did a full on rewrite instead) and have given my thoughts on what I liked and didn't like about the series. For those who need a recap or don't know how I feel about Horizons, the sum up is this:

The show was a much needed breath of fresh air after the Ash era became stale and formulaic and the story has been far more intriguing than ever because of it. The show excels at its meticulously crafted world-building, excellent character development, fun character dynamics, villains who aren't annoying and actually pose a threat for once and a plot that has real stakes to it and continuously gets intriguing as it goes along. However, the show also suffers from pacing issues, poorly choreographed and executed battles, shaky handling of its new protagonists in the early seasons and a horrendous third season that I feel has done more harm than good for the show, especially in regards to Liko as the fandom still acts like she never wins anything despite it being objectively untrue.

Speaking of Liko, that's where we find ourselves for today's subject. This post is about my biggest problem I have with Pokémon Horizons, namely the fact that it sucks when it comes to the dual protagonist set-up they have. Having watched the show since Episode 1, I firmly believe that Liko is a well-handled character while Roy is anything but and his presence causes more problems than it solves. This show is an example of how NOT to write dual protagonists. When you do dual protagonists, they should both be well-handled, but not in this case.

Liko works, and Roy doesn't. This post is all about me explaining why I think as such. If you're a fan of Roy, then I deeply apologize for I'm going to be saying very unkind things to him and you might be better off reading another post. Sorry Roy fans, I just really don't think he's a good character. ^^;

Without further ado, let's dive in...

1: How They're Handled In The Story

Those who have read my previous posts about Horizons may remember my most recurring criticism towards Roy is that he felt like a useless spare spart and it wasn't until Season 4 when he finally stopped feeling like a spare part. I still stand firm in that criticism, because Roy objectively IS a useless spart part in the first three seasons!

Really think about it: what does Roy actually accomplish in the first three seasons that couldn't be accomplished by any of the other characters? Absolutely nothing, that's what. He really felt like he was just there because...the anime needed a boy character as well I guess? I have no idea. I once said in a previous post that I could rewrite Horizons to not include Roy and change very little in doing so, and that point still stands firm for me. Seriously, very little of this plot changes if Roy isn't in it. I'll demonstrate:

Episode 4 has the Rising Volt Tacklers stop to repair the ship as normal, but Fuecoco falls off the ship and gets lost, so Liko has to go and look for him. On her way, she finds a mysterious Pokéball that washed ashore and takes it with her to show Friede later. She shows him the ball but he has no idea what it is. Then during Episodes 5 and 6, the Explorers attack and Liko's pendant causes the ball to open and reveal Black Rayquaza. Friede being the adventurer he is wants to catch it and find out more about it and Liko wants to track it down as she feels it'll tell her more about her past and why her pendant is so special. See what I mean? Roy didn't need to be here in order to make this story happen. That's how tacked on he feels and why I stand so firmly in the belief he was a useless spare part. They could've easily given Roy's goal to Friede and any screentime that was wasted on Roy could've been given to Liko and Dot instead. Now you maybe asking "But what about Fuecoco? Without Roy, he's got nobody!" Simple, let Liko have him instead. At least her having two Paldea starters would give the writers more of an excuse to have her battle more often.

Now I said Season 4 was when Roy stopped feeling like a spare part, and that's only because he contributes to some of the fights in that season that saw our heroes beat Geeta and stand up to Gibeon's Zygarde. If Roy wasn't in this show, how would those fights play out instead? Liko and Dot would just handle the fights without Roy and in the fights with Kleavor and Zygare, Liko would command both Floragato and Crocalor instead. So how about the current Mega Voltage arc? Dot can call Liko and she gets Liko back into the game instead of Roy. Literally, this whole series can still happen without him. He's THAT much of a spare part!

Now compare Roy to Liko and the difference is as clear as night and day. While Roy felt very tacked on and like the story would not change if he wasn't in it, Liko was clearly intended from the very start to be the protagonist and the story was clearly developed with her in mind. Most of the world-building and lore surrounding Horizons revolves around her and her family heritage, she impacts the plot moving forward most of the time, her actions in the very first episode are why this plot even happens in the first place and if you took her out of the series, you'd have to rewrite the entire thing whereas Roy's absence would change very little in the grand scheme of things. It's why I scoff whenever the marketing tries to make it out that Liko and Roy are "dual protagonists" and "both the main character" when the writing of this show proves this to be objectively incorrect. Roy is a supporting character, NOT a main character. Liko IS a main character and it's so clear with how much of the plot revolves around her and how much of the world-building was crafted with her in mind. Liko is the main cog in the greater machine while Roy is just a spare cog that the machine can operate without just fine, if you get my meaning.

And already that's one reason why Liko works and Roy doesn't. Liko is important to the story while Roy just feels like he's taking up space and the story didn't need him. Not a good way to handle what are supposed to be "dual protagonists" am I right?

2: Their Wins

Am I the only person on planet Earth who's noticed that when it comes to these two, Liko's victories are always well-handled and convincing while Roy's wins are NEVER well-handled or convincing? I'm serious, I don't think I've seen a single battle where Roy wins convincingly in this show!

Watching these two battle, it's no contest as to who is the superior battler of the two. Liko relies on strategy, agile movements, catching her opponent off-guard and striking when they least expect it. I've even seen people compare her battling-style to Ash's infamously unorthodox battle-style, and I see why. The creative way she gets Floragato to use her yo-yo bud or the sneaky way she got Meowscarada to use Flower Trick and catch an unsuspecting Incineroar off-guard feel like tactics Ash himself would've conjured up. The writers make Liko's battles interesting to watch because of her creative battle-style and tactics she comes up with on the fly (in later episodes at least. In the early seasons, she basically spammed Leafage or Magical Leaf a lot). Her battles in Season 4 are the best examples of this.

Now compare that to Roy who's battle style is basically just singing to Fuecoco/Crocalor and having less creative strategies on the battlefield. He's just not as fun to watch compared to Liko due to his more brute force strategy, and then there's the fact he can't ever win a battle without it feeling dictated by the plot. Why do I feel this way? Because every time Roy wins a battle in this show, his opponents get handicapped in some way just so he can win, or the plot is forcefully contrived in his favour just to make it happen.

His win over Brassius? Brassius kept spamming Substitute and then made his Sudowoodo more vulnerable by Terastilizing into a Grass-type.

His win over Dot? Dot got crippled by anxiety because of cameras focused on her, so she couldn't fight back.

His win over Ryme? Somehow a few hours of training suddenly makes Fuecoco untouchable and Ryme's Toxtricity can now barely land a hit on him. That was stupid and everyone knows it.

His win over Coral? Coral keeps spamming Blizzard instead of being tactical and crafty like she usually is in their previous battles and Roy just wins because the plot says he does.

His win over Liko at the end of Season 3? Kilowattrel is suddenly really strong despite being so weak in the battle against Ryme and Liko very stupidly never tells Floragato to use Acrobatics at any point in the battle despite her knowing that move. Oh and Fuecoco conveniently happens to evolve during the battle. It's so obvious the writers wanted Roy to win but knew that logically, Liko should win, and thus had to contrive things in Roy's favour just so he could win.

His win over a wild Sandy Shocks? Crocalor was clearly struggling for most of the battle until Roy starts singing and then he just wins.

His win over Coral in Season 4? Coral uses Screaming Tail, a Pokémon she just caught, so Roy conveniently has a weaker opponent to deal with just so he can win.

His win over a wild Slaking? The time skip gives the writers a convenient excuse to have Roy learn Mega Evolution off-screen just so he can have the power to handle a Laquaium powered Pokémon.

His win over Ann? Just a forced as hell win to try and show how "cool" he is after the time-skip and make it seem like he's gotten stronger and he just conveniently has aura powers out of nowhere to make it happen.

His win over Liko in Season 5? Flower Trick conveniently seems less powerful than it was the first time Meowscarada uses it in Season 4, Liko makes a lot of stupid plays here like having Meowscarada grab Crocalor with her invisible vine and then...do nothing with Crocalor while it's ensnared and also never once tells Meowscarada to use Sucker Punch. Why do they keep making Liko lose several IQ points just so Roy can win?

I think the ONLY time Roy's wins have ever been convincing was against MC Sledge's Sableye and that's about it. Funny how his losses are always believable, but never his wins.

And this is why I enjoy watching Liko battle, but I don't enjoy watching Roy battle. The writers actually put in the effort to make Liko look competent and skilled (even if they make her lose too often) and anytime she pulls off a win, it looks impressive and like she pulled it off well. Roy by comparison just wins because of Plot Armour, and it makes him come off as unimpressive by comparison. If you need the story to bend itself in your favour just to win battles, then you're not doing a good job on making a character look skilled and competent. It comes off as if this story is being written by a fanboy who just wants his favourite character to win all the time but doesn't bother to try and make it convincing. Now some might feel I'm just biased towards Liko (and I confess, I am a little), but I'll just say right now: if Liko won any of her battles the way Roy did here, I'd be criticizing her for that too. It's an issue with the writing, not the characters here. How is it the writers can make Liko's wins look well-earned and believable but not Roy? Why does he constantly need his opponents to be handicapped or lose several IQ points just so he can win?

3: How They're Developed

When it comes to how these two develop over the course of the series, it's once again no contest. Liko excels in this department, and I'm sure even the most die-hard Roy fans have to agree that Liko is objectively the better developed of the two.

Over the course of four seasons, Liko has developed from a shy, socially awkward young girl who lacked direction in life and had trouble speaking up for herself to a more confident and capable trainer who isn't afraid to speak up for herself, is less passive, doesn't take crap from anyone anymore and has even come to develop more of a passion for battling. She also no longer lacks direction in life as she wants to understand the feelings of Pokémon, she wanted to go to Laqua and as of now, she's the one that wants to revive the Rising Volt Tacklers and get back the truth about them. It's staggering how much our girl has changed over the course of the series and I love it. The current Mega Voltage arc especially is proof of how much Liko has grown. She's grown to the point where she outright SNAPS at Coral to "drop the act" in one episode and even gives Uruto a stern telling off when he keeps being reckless! Liko in the early seasons would never have done that, so it's great that we get to SEE Liko's development and how her adventures have changed her as a person with these little character moments in the new arc.

Roy on the other hand? For the first four seasons, he basically felt static and like he was the same character with very little change in his demeanour. Liko from Season 1 and Liko from Season 4 feel like different characters. Roy from Season 1 and Roy from Season 4 do not. The only real change Roy has is going from inexperienced newbie to experienced newbie, but that's not really character development. That's a change in battle style, and character development should have more than just that to show how a character has changed. As I said, Liko has become more confident and assertive and is now unafraid to call people out on their crap. What changes in Roy's behaviour do we see that shows how he's developed? Not much. And unlike Liko where we SEE her development and how she changes as a person, Roy had to be given a time-skip in order to give him a change in character, and his development happens OFF-SCREEN as a result! While I kinda like this new Roy in where he's more snarky, a little more mature and he has some fun clashes with Uruto, I hate how we needed a time-skip to develop him off-screen in order to give him any character development at all. Liko's was slow, gradual and clear to see from one season to the next. Roy is the same character for four seasons straight and then one time-skip later, boom, he's a new character now and we don't even see his development. It just further adds to my point on how Roy feels like a spare part compared to Liko: the writers put the bare minimum into his character development while Liko gets the lion's share of it. And why? Because this story was clearly not made with Roy in mind. This show is and always has been Liko's story and Roy's just tagging along for the ride.

This overall is why Liko is a compelling protagonist who's growth has been enjoyable to watch while Roy feels like an afterthought. We actually see Liko develop as a character and get very noticeable changes in her personality and character while Roy needed a time-skip in order to give him any character development after four seasons of being static. How can we be invested in Roy's journey if we're not going to see how it changes him while we get to see how Liko's journey changes her as a person? If these two really were dual-protagonists, then they'd both be well-developed characters instead of one getting the biggest piece of the pie to themselves...

Conclusion

And that's my thoughts on why I think Liko works and Roy doesn't. Liko is an integral part of the story, her character development is compelling and plain to see, her wins are better handled and more convincing and she's overall a well-handled protagonist (for the most part) who feels important to the story while also being compelling to watch grow over time. Roy by comparison feels obsolete, his development happens off-screen so he's not as compelling, his wins never feel believable and overall it feels like the show would've benefitted a lot more if he just wasn't in it. If Liko was the only new protagonist and we didn't have Roy, the show wouldn't change much and would genuinely be better now we're not wasting time on this nothing character that frankly isn't worth our time. I'm sorry Roy fans, but this is how I feel and nothing will change my mind on that. If Roy was better utilized in the plot and his development didn't happen off-screen, then both he and Liko could've been great. As is, we have a show where one protagonist is great and the other isn't. I watch Horizons for Liko, but never for Roy and I doubt that'll change any time soon...

And that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed it and I also hope I didn't upset too many people with my opinions here. ^^; Feel free to tell me what you think below. Do you agree with my takes? Do you have an alternative opinion about Roy to offer that I didn't consider? Do tell me.

Next time I'll be fulfilling a Patreon request as I review Monsters Inc. See you then media fans!

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