#i was really looking forward to friede

[x1702x]

Chat so it took me like half a playthrough to notice my fire fades edition of dark aouls i bought at cex got fucked up

Basically they store the cds separately from the games to avoid stealing.

Whoever gave me the game put the base edition rather than the dlc and kinda just made me think i had the fire fades edition when i just got tricked lol

[amelikos]

Horizons tomorrow.

[dragonaboni-blog]

So… One day while I was looking for content to survive until chapter 74 of Pokemon Horizons, I came across a number of one-shots written by @rising-volteccers and I have to admit that I fell in love with this fic in particular so I decided to make a little fanart for it.

Which evolved from a little fanart closer to what happened in the fic to a: "Imagine if instead of a picture with Friede tied up, Spinel had sent them a picture of him posing with poor hypnotized Friede and almost challenging them to find him :D"

Long story short: this little beauty came out lol (I'm so sorry for my terrible English, it's not my first language :"D)

[Here is the fanart without editing and the letters uwu]

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading the one-shots and I'm looking forward to more content soon <3

[trelinha9]

I loved today's episode. I loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!

Spoilers below the line, as always, and let's go to all the incredible points of this incredible episode in this incredible anime with incredible characters!

Spoilers below the cut!

1 - The episode begins where we left off, with Liko and Ametio trapped together in the cave. This opening scene is short but important. Terapagos is yelling at Amethio, and Liko tries to calm him down without success. Ametio takes a deep breath, steps forward and tells Terapagos that he wouldn't do anything, to trust him. I like how Amethio kind of prepares himself to say this sentence, as if he doesn't know how to handle the situation

2 - Terapagos apparently realizes that Amethio IS NOT Gibeon, despite probably looking a lot like a younger Gibeon. The small sparkling legendary turtle is clearly confused, but he simply turns his back and heads back to Liko. At that moment, Amethio sighs, he is relieved to have solved that problem

3 - The cutest scene of the entire episode: Ceruledge watching Floragato collect grass to help Liko stay warm, and he decides to use his blades to warm Amethio too! It's like, the cutest thing in the world. I love these two so much. I need more fics with these two. Ceruledge cares so much about Amethio, it's so beautiful

4 - Liko asks Ceruledge to burn the grass to make a fire, and Amethio agrees. The two sit together and do something that no one thought Pokémon writers would be able to do: THEY TALK!!!! Like, they ask each other questions, and they answer those questions, and they both end up understanding each other better in the end. Here are the notes, because it was my favorite moment of the episode by far:

5 - One thing I really liked is that Amethio is the one who starts the conversation. He asks why Liko was ready to give up when he terastalized Ceruledge, and Liko explains that she failed the terastal application test. Liko says she thought she would be more useful if she had passed. Amethio then asks if she's going to give up (HE ASKS IF SHE'S GOING TO GIVE UP OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH). His words (in the Brazilian dub) are "Are you going to give up just because you tripped once and you think you won't be able to help?" Amethio clearly identified with what Liko said here: he lost to Friede, he lost to Rayquaza twice, he lost to Hamber, and in the last episode he lost to Spinel's Umbreom. He had to recover from all these losses if he wanted to continue to be useful to the Explorers. Faced with Amethio's words, Liko reflects and says that she doesn't want to give up.

6-It's Liko's turn to ask a question, and it's interesting when she says that she always wanted to ask him that: because he saved her in the battle against Rayquaza. Amethio says that he didn't save her, and Liko says "But I was saved. You saved me" (which, coupled with the fact that she thanked him, shows that she is grateful to Amethio for saving her, since she thought on the subject).

7 - Liko says that the Explorers are "bad" people who are after Terapagos and Rayquaza, but she feels that Amethio is different in some way. This is in the episode. I'm not making it up. It's 100% canon. I'm normal. I'm fine.

8 - Liko asks why Amethio needs Terapagos and Rayquaza, and Amethio explains that, to fulfill his grandfather's, Gibeon, dream of finding Rakua, he needs them both. (Note, Amethio explicitly says that he wants to make his grandfather's dream come true. This is the first time we hear him say that he wants something, in this case, to make someone else's dream come true).

9 - Mini note: the moment Ceruledge kneels next to Amethio when he says "I want to make my grandfather's dream come true" is so... Sweet. Interesting. As if Ceruledge is saying "I'm with you on this, you're not alone"

10 - Liko and Amethio continue to bond over the fact that they are both following their grandparents' legacy, and how their path is similar.

11-One of my favorite moments of the episode: Liko says that she was happy to have had that conversation, because before she only thought of him as an enemy. Amethio responds that he only thought of her as "the girl who has Terapagos". This tiny moment is actually huge. It is explicit in the text that Liko and Amethio's view of each other has changed. The two talked, opened up, and ended up understanding each other. Now THAT'S what I call a wholesome bonding scene

12 - My greatest wishes were fulfilled in this episode: Amethio gets up and says "Let's get out of here, Liko". LIKO. LIKO!!! HE CALLS HER BY HER NAME!!!!! I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS.

13 - Amethio and Liko come up with a plan to enlarge a hole in the ceiling of the cave so they can get through safely. Ceruledge and Floragato climb onto Corviknight and use their attacks to open the hole wider. The two work very well together, and Amethio and Liko successfully exit the cave (also, considering the fact that the exit was on the roof of the cave, we can assume that Liko and Amethio rode Corviknight together, which is cute to imagine )

14 - I loved how Amethio reaches out to Liko and helps her get out of the crack they created. He is a gentleman indeed

15 - Amethio warns Liko to be careful with Spinel, because he would definitely try something like that again, which is nice of him. He hates the guy, that's a fact.

16 - Another super interesting conversation was when Liko asks Amethio why the Rising Volt Tacklers and the Explorers don't come together, since they both want the same thing, and Amethio says it's impossible. Amethio says that, even though the goals are the same, the paths are different, and that he will continue in his own way.

17 - The scene where all the admins, especially Spinel, stab Amethio in the back is heavy. Spinel and Agate did a great job of pretending they didn't know anything, and Coral and Sidian, too. To clarify, no, Amethio was not kicked out of the Explorers, at least it is not said in the episode. Gibeon says that he was disappointed in Amethio, that even Amethio was turning against him, and tells Amethio to leave, that he doesn't want to see his face. This one is HEAVY. First, we get some hints about what happened to Amethio's father (he probably betrayed the Explorers), and second, the fact that Gibeon doesn't even give Amethio the benefit of the doubt to explain what happened is horrifying. He's his grandson, you should believe what he says!

18 - The episode ends with Amethio literally shaking. He was betrayed by his colleagues, and neither his mentor nor his grandfather wanted to let him explain himself. Additionally, he has been compared to his father. This boy needs therapy.

Episode 10/10 for sure! I didn't mention the scenes with Roy, Dot, and Friede throughout the episode, because the Ameliko content was the highlight of the episode for me and is more relevant than anything else. I can't wait to see how Liko and Amethio's relationship will develop in the next arc, and what the writers will do with Amethio's character.

[paldeian-wooper]

If you're still accepting the prompts, perhaps Friede and Sickness?

Okay, so this isn't the best I've written, but it is just over 1k words. There's not a lot of dialogue, and there's no sickness conclusion, but I like it?

Minific below the break!

   Standing at the helm of the Brave Olivine was none other than the commander himself. They were currently flying over the colder regions of the Paldea region, and well, it was cold. Even with heating, the pilot’s room felt freezing. The man prided himself in many things. His tolerance for the cold was unfortunately not one of them. 

   Stifling a sneeze, he reached over and flicked the auto-pilot button. Once he double checked they were on course, he dropped himself into the captain’s chair, Cap perched on top of the back like he usually was when Friede steered. Sniffling, Friede hugged his arms around himself and rubbed his arms. “Arceus, why is it so cold…” 

   A quiet ‘Pika’ drew his attention and he looked not up but to his left, where Cap was holding a folded up blanket. Sporting a small smile, Friede accepted the blanket and wrapped it around himself. He didn’t really know when, but he’d managed to fall asleep in the captain’s chair, as much as he usually tried not to. 

   Soft shaking and ‘Pika’s slowly jostled him back into consciousness. He opened his eyes and blinked away the haze of waking up only to find himself freezing. Even under the blanket, he could not get warm and was shivering. He distantly noted that it was still dark out, but he didn’t focus on that much. Not when a sniffle triggered a sneeze and the sneeze jerked his body, which made the pounding in his head apparent. 

   With a soft groan, the commander leaned his head back against the chair and looked up to see Cap perched precariously on the top of the back. The Pokemon was leaning forward and staring at him, a concerned look on his small face. Another sniffle had Friede flinching from the burn in his nose and a short coughing fit, which in turn burned his throat. With a defeated sigh, he resigned to the fact that he was sick. 

   It was no secret he couldn’t handle the cold. Murdock had offered to take tonight from Friede since the trip over this area would only be a day or so, but Friede had assured the cook that he would be fine. He didn’t technically lie, he thought he would be fine. He realized now how foolish of a thought that was, but he hated not being helpful or productive. Even on the nights he didn’t steer, he took to patrolling or lookout. 

   Back to the matter at hand, Friede shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. It wasn’t super thick, so it didn’t do much in keeping him warm. Despite that, Friede felt far too cold to get up and move. When Cap hopped from the back of the chair to the armrest to climb onto his lap, the commander hardly complained. The pressure actually helped give him something else to focus on instead of the incessant pounding in his head. 

   He hadn’t realized he’d fallen back asleep until he was being picked up. Yellow eyes fluttered open only for him to get a face full of yellow. Blinking the haze from his eyes, he realized it was Cap, sitting on his stomach. He moved his head minutely, distantly aware of the pounding headache still there, and saw white. “Oh, hey, you’re awake. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

   Murdock’s voice relaxed him in a way he hadn’t realized was possible. “‘S fine. What time ‘s it..?” His reply was quiet, and sounded congested even to him. “It’s just after breakfast. You never miss breakfast, so Mollie sent me to check on you. Glad I did. That position did not look comfortable, and you have a fever. When did you start feeling sick?” 

   A soft grumble was his response as he closed his eyes. He got a scolding ‘Pikapi’ and heard Murdock laughing above him. “Don’t worry about responsibilities today. Just rest so Mollie doesn’t gripe at you, and I’ll bring you some soup around lunch and see how you’re doing. You don’t have to tackle this alone.” 

   Not having the energy to fight back, Friede hummed and let himself relax as best he could against the cook. Murdock didn’t show if he was affected by the action, only continued to carry him the long way to his cabin. Surely so he didn’t worry the kids. If Murdock was going about it this way, he didn’t doubt he looked awful, so he was grateful. 

   Only when the cook had him laid down in bed with his thick winter blanket did he squint open his eyes and say something. “Thanks Murdock…” The cook paused by the door and smiled back at the commander. “Always. We’re more than just crewmates, we’re friends. And what else are friends for?” Friede let himself smile as Cap settled on his chest, offering that grounding. 

   Later, Mollie came by and made sure Friede took medicine, both for the cold and his splitting headache. Only a few minutes later, Murdock came in with some soup and helped him sit up to eat it. The whole while, he felt out of it, his head foggy and pounding. It wasn’t until well into the afternoon the next day that his head started to clear. 

   He was still under bedrest from Mollie after attempting to join them for lunch that afternoon, but he couldn’t help but be glad he had such a caring and patient crew. No, friends. They weren’t crew when they were helping him, they were his friends. Just like Cap as he was laid on Friede’s chest, and Charizard who stood outside his cabin door, mostly to keep the room from getting too hot and bright from his flame. 

   The last thought he had before he fell asleep was how he felt truly blessed to have a crew of friends like the Rising Volt Tacklers.

[rising-volteccers]

Happy one year anniversary to Pokemon Horizons! I'm not even joking when I say that this series has been keeping my mental health afloat throughout the past year. I'm so happy that I'm able to have the enjoyment of looking forward to a new episode weekly, not to mention all the friends I've met and the motivation to do share my own content to the fandom!

This is a small request but I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you like / love / enjoy Pokemon Horizons!

I love this series because as an adult, it was super refreshing to see a cast of competent adults aiding the young protagonists of this series! Seeing Liko, Roy and Dot grow as Trainers really made me happy because they have people in their lives that looked out for them as they navigate through the pains and joys of growing up. They're able to just simply be kids exploring the world of Pokemon.

They've certainly been ups and downs when it comes to the episodes, and I do have my fair share of gripes with the series but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The visuals during big episodes are gorgeous, the score perfectly matches the scenes shown and this series resparked the wonder I have for the Pokemon franchise. While I'll always be a fan of the games, I haven't really watched the anime in years until Horizons. I feel like a kid again, tuning in weekly to watch the new episode of Pokemon. That kind of excitement and joy is such a bright spot in my life at this moment, and for that I'm grateful for this series.

Also thankful for Horizons by introducing me to the love of my life Mr Friede Rising Volt Tacklers you are so handsome and smart and my undiagnosed ADHD bisexual king I have spent so much money on you

[smilingperformer]

Me: "Yaaaay it's Horizons anniversary soon!!"

Others: "It's been a year since Satoshi's journey ended"

I... I didn't even think about that |D

Guess I was that ready to just let him leave the story.

Considering that none of the original series staff stayed in the writing team, they were too.

Since it's soon been a year and we're reaching the end of act 2, I can confidently say this is like, my favourite Pokémon series. Alongside Sun & Moon. And both are favs for wholely different reasons, as in, love Sun & Moon for tackling mature topics and for having wonderful humor, alongside good world building and nice focus on family theme. While Horizons I love the story focus shift from normal, cast that is super enjoyable and a take on a found family type of group, new original villains that I've come to like a lot, etc etc.

I love how different both shows are. I love how both dare to try new things out in different way. Liko is one of THE most relatable characters to me, and I love the whole entire cast to bits. I even adore the Explorers, esp. Sango is slowly making a hole in my heart that wants me to call myself a fan of hers. Yes. She's been that enjoyable to me. Even Amethio's grown on me immensely, I like how his character works, and excited to see his role this upcoming ep.

At the start Roy felt a tad bit too alike to Satoshi, and at times I can see that similar type of "forget about a skill and then do the skill" writing from Satoshi era is thrown on him, but he's still mostly his own character. But that is probably why I'm more drawn to the likes of Liko, Dot, Friede, Amethio and Sango, because their fighting styles are so refreshing for me. I even like how Onyx and Sango pairing works, with Onyx fitting Sango's oni-speaking pattern (srsly wtf that must have been intended and now I want to know if dub has ANYTHING to match this speaking pattern with.)

There's been clear growth, clear character progression, much much slower team progress than whatever the fuck JN did (not jabbing at anyone who likes JN but I won't deny that I really hate how fucking fast most Pokémon evolved there. It seems Horizons knows not to rush things).

Act 1 suffered from pacing issue where stuff happens in one episode and then the next ep sort of shrugs it off and continues the plot in a really weird tone-shift, but I don't think act 2 had that, which I liked. But act 2 also had more fill-ins compared to the action-packed act 1. But imo, it was good to have a more slower, calming pace for a while. It helped build on the characters more, and show how the Rising Volt Tacklers exactly live like. Which makes the Brave Asagi breaking in recent episode ever so more heartbreaking aaaaaaaaah-

I'm also kinda glad I was wrong on the "only a one year long series", because so far I'm quite attached to the cast and definitely wouldn't have felt happy to see them go yet. So knowing that Horizons seems to follow the usual 3 year pace (maybe 2, maybe 4, who knows) makes me happy. And I totally look forward to act 3 that is definitely caused by the Brave Asagi needing long, long time for repairs.

So um yeh. This was a weird ramble lol. But like, love Horizons, don't exactly miss old show as I felt it told whatever it wanted to and had the danger of just, butchering characters further from what I enjoyed it for. Sometimes it's better to let go. Fanfics and fanarts will still exists for a long long time, I'm sure. But my enjoyment on Horizons has definitely caused me to not miss the old days at all. And I'm glad.

(Do I want Satoshi to return? Honestly? No. 26 years is long enough for me.)

[purpleamethy]

Not so excited about this arc to be honest, it feels too much like Ash series with a lot of episodes centred on training/gym battles and I personally find those kind of things pretty boring especially if you compare it to all the interesting stuff they gave us in ep 45 which will be ignored for the next 20 + episodes... yay...

Worst of all is the lack of Amethio for probably the next 10 + episodes yay for that too...

I'm not really looking forward to it but I'll accept it and watch it anyway maybe it will be better than I thought who knows...

Friede researching on Lucius gives me hope we will still have a parallel mini arc with him going places and maybe meeting Amethio/Spinel or Gibeon? Idk hope we see something like that and not just gym battles stuff for the whole arc.

[zorquil]

Recent spoilers for Pokémon Horizons in the Read More below!

I felt like the ending for the first arc was rushed, but man! They're starting strong in the second arc. The loss of Friede impacting the Rising Volt Tacklers into disbanding and how they grown is really amazing.

With Roy, his character went through a huge change. He's now reflecting Friede's personality and a bit of his looks, trying to act more cautious and smart. He's still Roy, but way less impulsive. And the fact that his goal is still the same but with different circumstances is also really cool. In arc one, he wanted to find Rayquaza. In arc two, he wants to find Rayquaza. But instead of Arc 1 Roy wanting to battle and capture Rayquaza, Arc 2 Roy is trying to find Rayquaza so he can have a strong ally against the Explorers. It's just a neat contrast!

Dot's character isn't changed too much at a glance. She's still on her computer being the researcher and using her skills to get more information. She's still shy when it comes to others being affectionate with her. However, seems we'll be getting more of Dot in the future.

And Liko. Poor Liko. She definitely has a some survivor's guilt and depression with her burying her feelings and not really contacting others. Anne even states she "had a cloud over her over the year", and yet she wasn't trying to be open about it. Liko even stops Anne from protecting the Rising Volt Tacklers when misinformation was spread, reflecting how much doubt she held with herself. I know Roy's battle with her helped her regain some confidence in herself in "she wasn't just standing around", but it's just a spark. Once she's back exploring, she'll just have more emotions she'll be hiding away and not working through. She really needs more support in the future episodes since she's definitely showing signs of depression, and just because she's out and about won't make those problems disappear.

Most of the time, her "healing" moments consists of finding out she's better than she thinks and feeling more connected with her Pokémon, but I feel like that might stop working sooner or later. And with the Rising Volt Tacklers being made enemies, I worry about others who will start antagonizing Liko just for being part of the group. So far, she's always been careful to avoid unnecessary conflict, even stopping others from causing problems. But once she starts getting called out by random people or even antagonized by them, I feel like that might break her down further. She's usually a gentle soul, and even with her passionate moments, she holds a tenderness within her battles even when going all out. How would she handle being antagonized just by affiliation of a group? We already saw how Roy was getting stink eyes and murmurs from surrounding school members. It's insinuated that Liko managed to calm them down off-screen (probably with help from Anne), but that's because she was a senpai to some of them and knew them a bit better. But imagining how it will be once she begins getting hated by random strangers, I worry about what her character arc will entail in the future.

Final notes. I love that we have an annoying rival brat contrasting against Roy's newfound immaturity. Meowscarada is adorable, and I really look forward to the magic battles that will occur with her. It makes me sad that Cap holds Friede's goggles around his body as a memento. And I wonder if Friede was captured by Spinel since the time skip or is he's still lost. I'm excited to see what will happen in this next arc!

[jacksfandomrandom]

LIKO BREAKS HER LEG

Summary: the title with some Liko/dot

It was a beautiful sunny day and the weather was perfect. In a field near a forest and stream, the Rising Volt Tacklers were enjoying the great outdoors with a fun picnic. They needed a break from trying to find the six heroes and a picnic sounded great, so they made a stop to relax a bit. And what was even better was that Dot decided to join them. Liko was very happy about that.

The crew had just finished making some sandwiches and the three kids were happily munching on their food. Roy was the first one to be done so he decided to go play in the field with Crocalor and Kilowattrel, leaving Dot and Liko to talk amongst themselves. However, just talking eventually got boring. Two socially awkward teenagers talking with no conversation starters prepared were bound to end poorly. But Liko got an idea.

“Friede? Can Dot and I go explore the forest a little? My phone is charged and there should be signal!” Liko proposed. Friede contemplated his decision, but eventually sighed and nodded.

“Just don’t travel too far!” He yelled as Liko happily dragged her girlfriend into the forest.

Liko held Dot’s hand and smiled, humming happily as they walked through the shaded trees and trying to fill out their pokedexes. They spotted lots of new pokemon and told each other the interesting facts they found about them. They both loved talking about Pokemon and getting new information about them.

They walked deeper and deeper into the forest, but would always make sure they knew how to get back. It was really fun! Until they came across a path over a pretty big ditch. Liko loved adventure and the thrill of danger so she stepped up and walked along the path. It was a bit nerve wracking, considering the ditch was deep but it was fun. Dot followed behind her, making sure to watch where she was stepping, not wanting to fall. 

As they continued to walk the path, Liko suddenly spotted a shiny Fletchling. She ran, wanting to catch up with it. This was the first shiny she’s seen in the wild (not counting rayquaza) and she really wanted to get a picture of it.

“Liko! Slow down, you don’t want to trip!” Dot warned her. She always was a little worried about her, not wanting her to get into danger like she tended to do.

“But it’s a shiny!” Liko stressed, continuing to rush forward. She should’ve listened to Dot though because a root of a tree snagged her foot, causing her ankle to bend awkwardly to the side and making her fall into the ditch. She tumbled down and stopped at the bottom. Dot saw it all happen in slow motion. The way the inside of Liko’s heel touched her upper ankle made her wince. There’s no way she was feeling okay after that.

“Liko!” Dot quickly rushed to the edge and peered over. Liko was at the bottom of the ditch, clutching her left ankle, the one that bent way too far, and had dirty scraped all over her knees and arms. Dot slowly slid down the side of the ditch and knelt down to Liko. The girl was whimpering and breathing heavy in pain. 

“It’s alright, Lemme see,” Dot tried to calm her down and see how badly she was injured. She took one look at her ankle and cringed. Yup, it was bad. They would need help.

“Liko, do you have Hattrem with you?” 

“Y-yeah,” Liko grunted as she pulled her pokeball from her backpack and  threw it, making Hattrem pop out. 

“Hattrem, can you try healing pulse on Liko please?” Dot asked. Hattrem looked at Liko’s injury and frowned but held her hands over it and tried it anyway. Healing pulse could only do so much on humans. It could help someone's healing but not heal it fully if it was bad. The best that Hattem could do was set the bone so it’d heal correctly. As it did, Liko let out a yelp, tears falling from her eyes.

“I’m gonna call Friede, alright?” Dot pulled out her phone and dialed Friede’s number.

Liko was barely paying attention to the phone call. She was too busy writhing in pain. Her ankle throbbed and it felt like the worst thing she’s felt in her life. It was utter agony. Dot noticed how hurt she felt and pulled her head into her lap so she could scratch her scalp and play with her hair while she was on the phone, hoping to provide Liko some comfort. 

The next thing Liko knew, she was being lifted into the air by Charizard as Dot and Friede tried to calm her pained gasps and hyperventilating. She was told to take some deep breaths as they flew over the forest and back onto the landed ship. Friede took her in his arms and burst open the door to the infirmary. Mollie practically jumped out of her seat, scared by the sudden intrusion.

“Friede, what the f-” 

“Sorry, Mollie! We got a hurt kid here!” Friede announced, placing Liko on a stretcher with Dot following close behind. He explained what he heard from Dot to Mollie as Dot sat by her girlfriend’s side, trying to comfort her.

“It’s alright, Liko, just take some deep breaths,” Dot said to Liko and held her hand, “Friede’s gonna take your shoe off, so Mollie can get a closer look,” she warned.

Even with the warning, Liko still hissed through her teeth as her ankle was jostled, causing pain to rise back up again. Friede apologized as he cleaned a bit of dirt off her leg. Mollie put on gloves and began to slowly poke and prod at her leg. 

“Does this hurt?” She asked before pushing her palm into the heel of her foot, simulating what it would be like if she were to put pressure on it. Liko yelped, squeezing Dot’s hand, indicating that it did in fact hurt.

“Can you tell me on a scale of one to ten the pain and where it is?” the doctor asked.

“L-like an 8 and right h-here,” Liko sat up a little and pointed to where it was causing her the most amount of pain. 

After a few more tests and an X-ray, Liko ended up having a broken ankle. Mollie had said it was likely from rolling it from her misstep and then falling on it right after. However, Hattrem had already managed to set the bone, making the Mollies' job a bit easier. Now she needed to wrap it up in a cast.

“You’re lucky I have the materials for an actual cast and not just ace bandages,” Mollie told her as she started to work her magic. Dot was helping Liko stay calm through it all. She used her phone to show her some of her bloopers and cut out scenes from her recent video, trying to make her laugh. Luckily, it worked, and Liko was feeling a bit better.

“Alright, I’ll have crutches ordered for a pickup but until then, you’ll just rest in here,” Mollie told her as she finished up the cast. Luckily, the pain had stopped being so bad now that her ankle was elevated and she was on pain meds. After hearing this Friede left the room. Liko was a little confused and thought that he was getting bored of sitting there.

However, within a couple of minutes, Friede returned with Liko’s Sprigatito plush, her blanket, and her drawing supplies. Liko smiled when she realized that Friede wasn’t bored of her and was just trying to help make her comfortable. He also brought a couple of markers with him.

“I thought we could all sign your cast,” He said. 

“That would be really nice, thank you, Friede,” Liko smiled. 

“I wanna be first!” Dot spoke up and snatched a marker. She was Liko's girlfriend! She was gonna be the first one to sign her cast! It was her duty! Liko chucked and thought it was adorable how much being the first to sign meant to Dot.

Dot wrote her name in the best handwriting she could do (she didn’t write a lot) and drew a little Nidothing (gurumin) picture. After Roy heard about Liko’s injury, he immediately ran back to the ship to check in on her and also sign her cast. But in the end, everyone got a chance to sign.

Roy and Dot didn’t want Liko to feel lonely so they stayed with her for the rest of the day and snuck into the infirmary late that night to have a small sleepover with her, even though Mollie told them they couldn’t because Liko needed to rest. Liko was happy to have all her friends support and care about her. She was a little worried that her new injury would cause her to miss out on a lot, but Roy and Dot made sure she didn’t miss a single thing.

[ballonleaparadise]

With the reveal of the latest anipoke poster, I wanted to talk about the upcoming arc in Pokemon Horizons bcs I have so many thoughts about it!!

Firstly, FLORAGATO 👀 Secondly, I'm really excited to see the Naranja (Uva) academy being properly adapted in the anime. It'll be an important training arc for Liko, Roy and Dot, who want to develop their skills as trainers. I'm interested to see how the sv characters shown in the poster will be portrayed, since we've already seen Nemona, Brassius, Iono and a Larry cameo.

At first glance, the upcoming arc seems kind of random with the ongoing Lucius plot. However, I think it actually makes a LOT of sense when you think back to the structure of the first arc. We were introduced to Nemona and Brassius back in episode ten, who will presumably have some involvement in the training of Liko, Roy and Dot. It's also an opportunity for the writers to develop the dynamic between Dot and Iono. Since episode fifteen, they've been established as having a competitive rivalry/friendship, so it'll be nice to see how that evolves. On top of this, Liko's Mum Lucca is a teacher so maybe we'll find out more about her. I'm not sure if she's supposed to teach at the Naranja academy or elsewhere in Paldea, but I want to learn more about her regardless.

Even though the adult rvts are not in the new poster, I'm hoping that they'll at least stick around for this arc (Friede and Orla are my comfort characters fr 😭). As Friede's a pokemon professor, I can see him fitting in with the other academics at the school. As for the other adults, they could either help out with the academy's facilities (Murdock being the cook would be a blast) or join as mature students. Collectively, the adults might be interested in researching terapagos and/or learning more about the six heros.

In hindsight, this arc could tie the loose thread of Ann's involvement in the story. Since episode two, she's only appeared through video calls. Since Liko's an exchange student from the Indigo academy, it wouldn't be a stretch for Ann to transfer to Paldea as well. It would give her some much-needed screen time, and give Liko a rival to train against. I don't know whether this will happen but it would be cool if it did!!

Overall, I'm really looking forward to the next arc. The end of the chapter two also looks hype, so I'll be watching it with no interruptions 😤 I think a training arc is necessary for Liko Roy and Dot, so that they can become more independent as trainers.

[amelikos]

Horizons tomorrow!

[voids-colourful-creations]

So Keep Coming Home (please) - A Molly and Friede Fic

[Read on Ao3]

Rated: G Pokémon Horizons Friede & Molly (Platonic) Content Warnings: Descriptions of non lethal injury, non explicit references to death/(not) wanting to die. Words: 2.8k

Summary: Friede gets a bit scraped up in a battle with the Explorers. Molly patches him up.

--

It’s not too loud in the med room, save for Molly’s footsteps.

It’s a bit too quiet, actually. Molly’s not a particularly chatty person, but when she’s this quiet…

It’s generally not a great sign.

Friede tries not to worry about it. Instead, he’ll just sit patiently, waiting on the med room’s bed. The positions a bit awkward, with his leg stretched out like this. He’s restless, this much staying still is unusual for him. Not a fan.

Part of the reason it’s so quiet in here is probably because the only people in the room are him and Molly. She’d shut the door and told everyone to stay out until she was finished, Cap included.

When she’d said that, Friede had almost expected her to start yelling at him. Scold him for being stupid enough to get himself hurt like this. Instead, the door locked shut, and Molly’s mouth did the same.

He kind of wishes she’d start yelling. It’d be better than the silence.

Friede watches from his spot on the bed as Molly walks about the room, bouncing between the desk and the cabinet.

She’s growing a rather large collection of bottles and boxes on the table, but Friede can’t read any of the labels. Not from here at least.

At some point, the tension becomes too much for Friede, and the barrier preventing him from speaking snaps.

“Mol, do you really need all that stuff? I don’t think it’s all that bad-“

Molly cuts him off before he can finish the sentence.

“I don't tell you how to do your job, Professor Friede. So please, don’t tell me how to do mine.”

Oh. She was angrier than Friede had thought. A lot angrier.

“Ah.”

Finally, she finishes with whatever she’d been doing at the desk, and walks over towards Friede. Molly looks him up and down for a moment, sizing up the injury as well as his state as a whole.

He’d say it wasn’t too bad. He’s not sure she’d agree.

“I had it under control.” Friede tries, though he doesn’t look at Molly while he speaks. “I just did what was the best thing in the situation. And it all worked out, didn’t it? It’s fine.”

Molly just blinks for a moment.

Then she reaches forward, her hand grabbing his ankle in a quick, smooth motion.

The gash slashing into Friede’s leg is a bit lower than the knee, but with even that movement, he hisses as he breathes in sharply.

“I beg to differ.” Molly says, expression switching to a scowl.

There’s a moment, a heartbeat, and then her expression softens again.

Somehow, that hurts Friede worse.

“Now.” She says, “Hold still, this might sting a little.”

Friede does as he’s told, and Molly slowly gets to work at disinfecting the wound.

It’s a long cut, though not all that deep. Deep enough to hurt, deep enough to bleed enough to scare the colour out of Liko’s face, deep enough to make Roy cover his eyes. Not deep enough to need stitches. Not deep enough for Friede to take it as seriously as he probably ought to.

Friede takes another attempt at reconciliation.

“Molly, what do you want, then?”

Molly raises an eyebrow, through she doesn’t look away from Friede’s leg, carefully applying another round of disinfectant.

“Elaborate.” She says.

“Do you want me to apologize?”

Molly just hums noncommittally, still focusing on the task at hand.

“That’s a rather stubborn way to phrase it.” She says after a moment. “I guess that means you don’t think you should.”

Friede shrugs, careful to keep the motion from making the rest of him move.

“I don’t regret it.”

Molly grits her teeth a bit, though her work on Friede’s leg is as gentle as ever.

“Obviously not.”

There’s something about her tone, the way her voice catches the words partway through the sentence that sparks something in Friede.

“So you’d rather I’d done nothing? I won’t apologize for protecting Roy, Molly. I’d do it again. Him or Liko or Dot. Any of you. Sorry , Molly. Sorry I make things so difficult for you, having to patch me up. If it’s such a bother, I’ll just do it myself.”

His voice is dipped in sarcasm, it’s dripping and bitter. Friede isn’t being fair to Molly, he knows it perfectly well, but he can’t help himself. The idea that he would’ve just left Roy standing in the way of a stray Psycho Cutter shot, when he could see the way he froze. When he could see the way the purple flames reflected in Roy’s eyes and just knew he wouldn’t make it out of the way alone.

Friede doesn’t move though. He keeps still like he was told, and simmers for a moment while Molly keeps silent.

“Do you know exactly why you got hurt, Friede?” She asks after a moment. The scrape’s been cleaned up now, but she still won’t look at him.

“Pushed Roy out of the way of one of Amethio’s attacks that would’ve hit him otherwise, the ground was uneven and I slipped down the rock face. But if I hadn’t-“

“If you hadn’t, then Metang would’ve deflected the shot. Orio was right there, and was already directing it.”

Friede just sits there, mouth still open, in silence.

“You hurt yourself because you’re reckless. Because you’re awful at communication, and because your first instinct at the sign of any danger is to throw yourself into it headlong. You always toss yourself up to the front lines and never even consider the consequences, before or after.”

Friede purses his lips.

Quietly, Molly picks up the gauze and bandages, begins to set them in place and starts winding them around.

“This isn’t just about today, is it?” Friede asks quietly.

Molly shakes her head.

Soft clouds drift by the window lazily. It’s evening now, and the sunsets on the opposite side  from where Friede can see. Instead of the vibrant oranges and pinks, he watches the inverse, the way the darkest blues melt into pure black, the way the brightest stars begin to speckle the skyline. In the dying light, the clouds almost seem to glow in what remains. Gentle lavenders and violets, passing them by as the ship proceeds forward.

Friede addresses the window when he replies to Molly.

“Things are just… like that, aren’t they? You know how it is, Captain goes down with the ship and all that. Though, it’s not like anyone would put that on Cap, so… It’s me.”

“Do you really think anyone on this ship wants that? For you to go out instead of them?”

Friede pauses, considering.

“I- It’s not-“

“We’re all like that, you know. Everyone here’s too reckless and too caring. So trust me, idiot, when I tell you that no one wants that.”

And it’s such a simple statement in essence, but it’s so jarring to hear that Friede feels out of place. Like everything’s just been shifted to the left, but he’s right where he was a moment prior. Spinning in both directions and neither at once.

“What do you want, then?” He manages to ask.

And that’s when Molly looks up at him. Her expression is as blunt as ever, her eyes bore into him like they always have. But ever so slightly,  there’s tears dotting the edges, and Friede hates that more than anything.

“For you to keep coming home.”

Molly turns her attention back to her bandage work, leaving Friede to sit with his thoughts.

“I-“ He’s coming out tongue tied again, it’s not like him, and he hates it. “I want to come home. I’m not just… tossing myself into danger because I think- because I…”

Friede trails off.

“I understand.” Molly replies as though he’d actually finished the sentence. Her voice drops to a deep whisper. “I just- we just… want you to value yourself a little more, that’s all. Put some of that weight you place on yourself on our shoulders, yeah? It’s not good for you to take it all like this… and if you can’t do that for yourself yet, at least do it for the kids? You don’t see the way Roy looks at you, like you hung the stars or something. And Liko too, even if she’s quieter about it. There’s this way about her, where she likes to bundle all the world’s problems into her own personal pile, you know this. They both look up to you a lot. Even Dot does, though I think she’d rather toss herself overboard than admit it. So don’t… don’t do something that’ll make you regret them following in your footsteps. That’s all.”

It’s a burst of words that comes rushing out of Molly’s mouth, the most Friede’s heard her speak in an age. It’s odd to hear. Not just her voice, everything about her sentiment settles awkwardly on Friede, like clothing a few sizes wrong.

She’s right though. He hates it when she’s right like this. It means that awkwardly shaped truth is something he has to learn to accept, to slot into place.

Because Friede doesn’t want to leave the Volteccers just as much as they don’t want him to leave them. Just as much as he wants to prevent the loss of any of them.

It was easier then, in those flashes of panic to forget that. Rationality is discarded, a protective instinct he’s still not accustomed too even after all this time takes over. How do you balance those feelings and that knowlege? What’s the right thing to do? And even if he knew that, in those moments of fear, would he even be able to act on that?

Friede didn’t know.

But… it was something to explore. To try and achieve. There’s a lingering feeling in Friede that there’s more than that, there’s something about the way he feels himself moving without thinking when he sees Liko or Roy in danger he doesn’t quite get yet.

There’s time to figure it out. He’d have to stick around long enough to find that at least.

“I’m sorry.” Friede says, looking over to Molly. “I’ll try.”

With a final pull at the bandages and a patch of medical tape, Molly finishes the job and looks up and over to Friede.

“That’s all I wanted to hear.”

With that she stands, stretching out her arms above her as she goes.

“How’s that feeling?” She asks, looking Friede up and down again.

“Good!” Friede says as he swings his legs down, perching on the edge of the bed. Molly doesn’t miss his slight wince as he does. She gives him a deadpan look.

“Better.” He amends sheepishly. “It does sting a bit.”

Molly nods.

“That’s to be expected, and not anything to worry about.” She pauses for a moment, “But if it starts to feel like it’s burning -“

“That’s bad?”

“That’s bad.”

There’s a brief moment, the both of them smiling before Molly shifts her expression back into something more typical for her.

“Seriously though, if something feels off, tell me. None of that idiot ‘putting on a brave face stuff’, now's not the time for it. If I catch wind that you weren’t telling me something I’ll make Lucky tail you around every time you get hurt from now on.”

Friede grins.

“You got it, Mol. Will do!”

Molly whips her head around from where she was placing bottles back in the cabinet, eyes narrowing.

“I mean it!”

“So do I!”

With that, Friede gently slips down off the bed, stepping back onto the floor again. It takes a moment, a few awkward steps to get a hold of how to handle the weight, but after a moment, he stands up straight and smiles at Molly.

“We good?”

She smiles back.

“We’re good.”

Carefully, Molly places the last bottle back in the cabinet and shuts the door.

“Now will you both stop hiding behind the door and come out?”

Before Molly’s sentence is even fully finished, the door slides open so hard it nearly bounces back closed. Roy flings it open with all his strength and comes running into the room, stumbling over his feet a little. He skids to a stop in front of Friede, immediately bending over in apology so low his hat threatens to topple over his head.

“I’m sorry! I’m really really sorry! It’s all my fault- I-!” Roy cuts himself off, raising his arm to his face to wipe away tears.

Startled, Friede whips his head over to Molly for a split second. She just stares back at him, then nods towards Roy.

“Whoa, whoa, Roy!” Friede says, raising his hands, “Roy, calm down, okay? I’m fine, see?”

Roy looks up, eyes still teary. Friede smiles at him, giving a little wave and shaking his leg out.

“See, Molly patched me right up, like she always does. Don’t go beating yourself up, yeah?”

Roy looks back to the floor, clutching his fists out in front of him. They’re shaking.

“B-but if I had-“

And there’s a bit of a chill that crawls down Friede’s back when he watches Roy in front of him like this, trembling under the weight of misplaced guilt.

“Nope, none of that.” Friede interjects. “What’s done is done. We’re moving forward, onto the next adventure. So don’t go blaming yourself for everything.”

The words fit his mouth well, they’re familiar. Friede kind of hates that, the idea that this isn’t the first time he’s had to say it in recent memory.

He takes a quick look up, glancing towards the doorway. Poking her head around the edge of it is Liko, just the edges of her hair and eyes peeking out. She makes a small noise as her eyes lock with Friede’s, and ducks back behind the door frame.

She stumbles out through it a second later, Orio’s familiar gloves pushing her forward.

“A-ah!” She takes a few steps forward, carried by momentum, but holds herself back.

 “I-I’m sorry too. I-I saw the attack coming, but I just… froze. I couldn’t say a thing.”

She ducks down too, just her head, like she’s waiting for Friede to scold her.

“Both of you, come on, heads up! You’re gonna make Murdock think I’m punishing you guys!”

In unison, both children look up, eyes a bit watery, waiting expectantly for Friede to continue.

He takes a deep breath, trying to let the words roll around in his mind until they fall into the right order.

“Look. When we’re exploring, sometimes it’s going to be dangerous. Sometimes we’re going to get hurt. That’s okay! As long as you can get up afterwards. So don’t go worrying just because I got a bit scraped up.”

Friede takes a breath, looking over to Molly.

“But… you both should be careful. It’s much worse to go tossing yourself in harm's way without a plan. You want to be strong enough to protect what you care about, I understand. But I’ll let you guys in on a secret, okay? Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is step back and realize when you’ve got to let someone else handle something, or help you with it.”

Roy stares at Friede, eyes wide.

“Even if it’s someone you really love?”

Friede nods.

“Especially then.”

Liko looks up as well, glancing over at Roy’s face before looking back to Friede’s. She looks like she wants to say something, but whatever it is, she keeps her mouth shut. After a moment, she seemingly makes up her mind.

“What if it’s… hard. To let someone else handle it.”

Friede hums lightly.

“Yeah… asking for help is hard. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Even if it’s late. That’s the point of having a team, yeah? It’s not just you out there, there’s all of us working together and helping each other out.”

When he says it aloud like this, Friede feels kind of silly. For rushing in and being reckless. But when he’s talking to Liko and Roy like this, he almost feels like he’ll be able to get himself to believe it.

“Sure you say that…” Liko mumbles under her breath, and it’s not like Friede doesn’t think she has a point.

He takes a deep breath.

“I’ll make you kids a deal.” He says, “If you try to count on us to help you out a bit more and don’t go blaming yourself for my recklessness, I’ll try and rely on you both a bit more, okay? Sounds good?”

Liko and Roy share a quick glance, split second communication understood only by them.

“Okay!” They say in unison. Even though there’s still a few tears dotting Roy’s eyes, though Liko’s face is a touch red from worrying, there’s something of a smile on their faces.

And that, he tells himself, is why he’ll get better at trying. At making sure he always comes home.

[End]

[colourful-void]

Liko's Mom is Lucca-Sensei (i think)

I thought the woman in the preview was this Lucca-Sensei, yeah, but then I saw everyone saying she must be Liko's mom? She does have a wedding ring on! It's not really something we see on a lot of pkmn characters afaik, unless they're like. clearly married (see kukui/burnet).

But like... what if she's both.

Think about it, why would Friede be calling some teacher? He doesn't answer to anyone as far as we know, esp not some random teacher? And not a professor, a teacher.

So who do we know that's a teacher? Liko's mom is a teacher! And we know Friede's been trying to call her and failing! What other teachers could we know of at this point in time? Sure, it could be someone we don't know at all yet, but like... why? Horizons has been so good with the forshadowing, so why set up something like this.

Lucca-Sensei and Liko's mom have gotta be the same person! And that's probably the woman in the preview!

But that's not my main point here. My main point is, if Lucca-Sensei is Liko's mom, what does that mean about the way the scene with Murdock/Orio/Friede plays out?

He says, staring at the calls Lucca-Sensei hasn't picked up.

Even though Liko's talked with her Dad, we still haven't followed up with her Mom yet. Because Horizons has stayed pretty focused on it's plot lines so far, if it starts a thread of something one episode, it'll continue in another. So we should still hear from Liko's mom specifically.

What kind of person is so worried for their kid she hires bodyguards to take em home, yet sends them overseas in the first place. What kind of person doesn't pick up calls from those same bodyguards for days?

What kind of person indeed... Ms Liko's mom, I'm looking forward to meeting you =))).

// Bonus

I wonder why ;)

[epicspheal]

So I finally caught up with all the released episodes of Pokemon Horizons I have to say I really love the series so far. I find Liko extremely relatable on so many levels and I want her and Sprigatito to succeed. Roy is just a pure bean and I love how he and Fuecoco love to sing. I also want them to succeed. I really love the friendship between Liko and Roy and how they both have skills (Liko's art skills and Roy's throwing skills) but are still novices and are treated as such by the storyline.

Friede is hot, talented, smart, good-natured, and a little mischievous, and apparently, that's my type in fictional men. They're really being careful with how they drip-feed us information about Friede and I'm curious to see where it all goes. Murdock, Mollie, Orla, Ludlow, and Dot are all lovable and I love the interactions they all have with each other. It will be really cool to see how their relationships develop over the series. I like the Explorers group as well. They strike a nice blend of mystery and danger but not being too over-the-top serious. Definitely looking forward to seeing how the series develops over time!

[lunartonehana]

horizons is an interesting case for me rn bc its becoming apparent that its following an ~10 eps then plot format which i have no issues with but those 10 eps r often mediocre and aren’t really fun which is a shame since the cast is great

my biggest issue rn, is that horizons is underutilizing its cast in the weirdest ways and its effecting the non-explorers/lucius eps. the only character i can 100% say they have *utilized* well is dot and she isn’t even my fav in the show (its roy </3). i love friede and i like cap but its a shame how much times the show loops back to them even if they weren’t relevant in the episode. it doesn’t help that the plot of the show is attempting to make a mystery and a grand adventure out of the pendent, the explorers, and lucius but it doesn’t really feel that way imo. i’ve only really found myself looking forward to horizons whenever they were building up to the explorers returning bc i don’t find the pendent or lucius stuff particularly interesting rn.

i’m fully expecting that horizons’ og story will be ~100 eps long so obv my opinion might change…but usually with every anipoke season ik how i’ll feel about the rest of the season by ep. 30 and i’ve yet to be wrong so 😶