#(his reactions to battling amethio vs his reactions to spinel are also things i could go on and on about.. w)

[amelikos]

Friede looks excited to battle Entei in the preview.

Thinking about how he said he is always excited to find out there are strong opponents out there because it means he has room for growth and that there are very few opponents who get this reaction out of him. (Amethio being one of them. He enjoyed battling him and teaming up with him.)

[amelikos]

Friede and Amethio's battle in HZ025 parallels their first battle in the first episode (at night, on a rooftop, Lizardon VS Soulblades).

Some observations about their battle because that warrants a post on its own, honestly. Their dynamics and interactions are interesting, and I feel like they both seek different things from their confrontations. Friede battles for fun and fights to protect what's dear to him, while Amethio seems to want to achieve something greater than the actual battle itself when they face each other. So they aren't exactly seeing the same thing.

I think the most intriguing part of the battle was that it highlighted how young and immature Amethio is by having Friede say that he isn't young enough to let words rile him up. This happens after Amethio tells him that it's not like him to lack spirit (which shows that they both really know each other by this point). Amethio wants to be composed and more mature than he actually is, but his facade has been breaking little by little ever since the beginning. Amethio has been shown to be easily riled up by Friede's words or attitude before, even though the latter wasn't necessarily looking to get a reaction out of him?

For example, Amethio thought he was being underestimated by Friede in HZ002 when he sent Cap to battle against Soulblades. We know Cap is a strong opponent, but Amethio thought that sending a Pikachu meant that he was being underestimated. He just made assumptions here, but that wasn't Friede's intention. Another example of Amethio being pissed off by Friede was in HZ003. When Friede and Liko went to him to get Nyahoja back, Friede managed to lure him into accepting his offer to settle this through a battle by asking "are you afraid you'll lose?" and it worked. Amethio immediately told him not to mess with him. This was intentional on Friede's part since he knew that Amethio would probably take the bait after suggesting he could lose.

There has been multiple instances of Amethio being angry towards Friede when he felt like he wasn't properly looking at him and acknowledging him. A recurring line between them has been "don't look away from me" after all, which Amethio told Friede in HZ005 when he was distracted during their battle (and it's not like Friede was distracted for the sake of it either, as the leader of his crew he was worried for Liko and Roy and the others being in danger and checked on them, hence why he looked away). And as much as Friede can be "forgetful", he remembered that specific line from Amethio and uses it back in HZ022 in the Galar Mine during their battle and says he won't look away. And in HZ025, Amethio immediately got pissed when Friede told him he was on the phone.

Other than that, there is mutual respect and honor between them. Friede initially thought that their battle (in HZ025) was going to be 2 VS 1 but Amethio called back Armorga so the battle could be a proper 1 VS 1. Even though he could have the advantage of numbers, Amethio always fights fairly. Which is something Friede knows as well, since he knew Amethio wasn't responsible for Liko's mysterious disappearance in HZ015. Friede knew that Amethio would fight head-on and show himself if he was coming for the pendant, something Spinel didn't do. Even when the tower fell in HZ025, Friede didn't feel worried by Amethio being higher and behind him in the sky because he just knows he won't do anything underhanded or attack him when he cannot see him.

They know each other and each other's Pokemon pretty well too. Friede commends Amethio for being serious, knows he tends to be impatient (he said this in HZ022), praises him for adapting and using the situation to his advantage in HZ025, knows he has to look out for Soulblades's ability in battle which shows that he respects Amethio as a trainer. Amethio also knows Friede and his personality (when he comments on his lack of spirit).

Either way, I feel like they both want different things from their battles and this causes misunderstandings between them. Amethio feels like he wants to prove something (to himself? to someone else?) through their battles and probably feels like Friede never took him seriously until this battle given how he quickly defeated him after using Terastal. But honestly, I feel like it's a bit more complicated than that. Friede could have dismissed Amethio and not given him the time of the day when he was asking to battle in the Galar Mine for example, but he still battles him. Friede takes him seriously, hence why he battles him again and again in the first place.

To me, the key difference is that now Amethio went from "worthy opponent" to "threat to defeat". (And it also speaks of Amethio's skill that he cornered Friede enough to get him to use Terastal, which he only used against Spinel before when it was a 2 VS 1 battle and Spinel had the advantage of numbers)

I feel like Friede genuinely considers Amethio as fun to battle? When he fled from their battle in HZ003, he told him they should do a battle again and he barely met Amethio at the time and yet still told him this. Even in the Dokimeki Diary opening, their scene together where they battle shows Friede with fire in his eyes as they are battling, which to me implies that he just enjoys their battles. Amethio is a fair and respectable opponent, and they more or less match each other in terms of strength (which I don't think is the case with anyone from the Rising Volt Tacklers as Friede is "the battler" of the group, the others have their own fields they specialize in). So battling Amethio is probably the first fun Friede has had in a while.

But now, Amethio became a threat. Friede clearly was battling to protect Liko and Roy in HZ025 and he only had Lizardon with him and if Lizardon was defeated, he wouldn't have any other Pokemon with him. Lizardon being defeated meant immediate danger.

Hence, to me, the shift in Amethio going from "opponent" to "threat to defeat" (to protect what's important to Friede). I think part of Friede was sincere when he apologized to Amethio after defeating him, and said he made him stop holding back. Part of him was probably holding back subconsciously before. The way I see it, Friede wasn't necessarily looking to defeat Amethio before that? He wasn't seeking the same thing as Amethio out of their battles. He could have fun with their battles (especially since now he is starting to openly praise Amethio's skills, so it seems like he sees potential in him).

While Amethio was seeking to defeat Friede and their battles were a much bigger deal to him. He was looking for something else through their battles, and in doing so he became a threat. Hence why Friede resorted to using his trump card.

Anyway, their dynamics is really interesting. I feel like Friede probably doesn't realize how much he is getting under Amethio's skin, and Amethio really feels like he is trying to achieve something specific or prove something whenever they face off. He was looking at the Brave Asagi flying away at the end of the episode, and he seemed affected by his loss in general... I wonder how he'll grow from this. I hope Friede and Amethio will battle just for fun someday.