#also really wondering about how close spinel and agate are

[amelikos]

PR account posting (here) about this week's episode and mentioning that Spinel is keeping Liko under surveillance (the wording not being "Liko and the others", so it's just Liko he is monitoring, he did think she was the key back in HZ016 and Gibeon's orders were to keep an eye on her). Also, the mention that Amethio is tracking Spinel, so there is the possibility that Spinel lured him to Mt Nappe on purpose so Amethio would run into Liko?

Also the recap for next episode (here) emphasizes Spinel's relationship with Agate (so I guess he is not completely acting alone and may have told her about getting the Rakurium?).

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ027, writing them down for future reference.

I like how Liko and Mollie's relationship is highlighted in the episode. These two have been close since the beginning: Mollie entrusting Liko with her order at the Pokemon Center in HZ003, Mollie telling Liko about her past as a doctor and the reason why she quit in HZ011, Mollie helping Liko understand Mibrim's issues better in HZ021 (and complimenting her for being compassionate!), and now Mollie is encouraging Liko to be more reckless and assertive instead of thinking too much and being stuck. Given how Mollie is a doctor and heals, it really fits well with Liko's desire to understand more about Pokemon and empathetic nature. Liko learns a lot from her.

Dot being tricked by Spinel once again was good and I hope to see more of their dynamics in the future. It was nice how Friede tried to reassure her about experiencing setbacks and seeing things for herself. We usually see Friede being more of a mentor to Liko and Roy so I like when Dot gets to learn from him too.

Terapagos and the others playing with Kajirigame was cute. There were many nice Pokemon moments in the episode, I like seeing them do their own thing.

Seeing the Explorers in a setting other than missions or meetings was fun. They seem to be able to sit in a room together. I also like that their Pokemon are always with them and not in their Pokeballs, it really highlights the bond between them.

Onyx gets irritated by Sango's behavior. Sango said something intriguing which is that anything goes in the Explorers, so I wonder if she joined the organization because it gave her a sense of freedom?

Spinel and Agate's dynamics is interesting. I like how they seem to be able to work closely together (they were already in a laboratory together in HZ024), given how Agate asked Spinel about his misinformation campaign. So he probably told her that he wanted to do something like that and actually shared his plans with her. Despite that, Agate remains a bit suspicious of him, like when she asked him during the meeting if he knew something they didn't when Spinel suggested they shouldn't resort to force against the Rising Volt Tacklers. She probably knows how he is and tries to subtly get information out of him, even if Spinel immediately dodged the question. I hope we see more of them eventually.

Food being used in Dot's storyline as a way to get her out of her comfort zone, interact with others and try different things has been really good. She was a bit reluctant at first but it's nice that she eventually tried to help for the curry and look for berries with Liko, and finally shared a meal with everyone.

Roy seems to know how to cook and was skilled at cutting onions, I wonder if he used to cook with his grandfather?

Liko and Roy really got into the curry battle and it's fun to see that they were on the same page when it came to putting their hearts into their meal. Episodes like this one really reminds me that I enjoy the way these two click together and interact. Their friendship is good.

Friede feeding Cap was the cutest thing.

Zir reflecting on the word "friends" when he watched Gurumin's video was curious... I wonder what will come from it. Gurumin's video talked about how being with friends is reassuring, so I wonder if he wants to be like that to help Amethio. (Also, confirmation that he is indeed a Gurumin fan, which was obvious but still nice to see him actually watching her stuff)

Explorers meeting and they actually shared information with each other, for the most part. Spinel still doesn't reveal everything he knows since it's unverified information. He'd rather monitor Liko and the others and knows it's risky to confront them given how Oliva was summoned when he faced them. I wonder if he'll act independently out of curiosity since he seemed interested in Liko being the key to what he witnessed.

Amethio speculated that the one who awakened Oliva and Galar Fire wasn't Terapagos but Rayquaza, which I suspected too. It really feels like Rayquaza is guiding everyone to where Lucius's Pokemon are located. Interesting to see that Amethio didn't react to any remarks made towards him (but his Soulblades did) and remained calm. Seems like Friede's words about not letting words rile him up made him try to keep his composure? He listened to others and explained his thought process. He even agreed with Spinel when the only time they interacted before was Amethio being riled up by Spinel's words. I also thought it was curious that everyone seemed to follow his lead and that Amethio was at the center visually. Gibeon wasn't there, but Amethio gave a new direction to the mission since everyone agrees with prioritizing finding Rayquaza over Terapagos? I wonder about his place in the organization.

I liked how Dot noticed that Liko seemed to be pushing herself this episode, it shows that she is paying attention to her and knows how she usually is. It's not just Liko paying attention to Dot. The way they grow closer at their own pace is really good and I hope they get to talk more in the future. I feel like so many things about Dot are still a mystery (why she is on the ship, why she considered that IRL relationships were a waste of time, her family) so when the time comes, perhaps she'll talk about it to Liko.