Pokémon Horizon's New Protagonist Follows in Ash's Footsteps With Her Latest Victory

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Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons Episode 66Pokémon Horizonsjust saw Liko score her first major victory over the Explorers, and much like Ash, is being rewarded for her heroism in unexpected ways, helping to make up for her poor performance on her Terastal Implementation test. This turn of events is perfectly in line with how Ash achieved several gym badges over the years, and goes to show that Liko is becoming a suitable successor.

In episode 66 ofPokémon Horizons, Naranja Academy came under attack from the Explorers, who were performing a hack from within the school. The hack was caught by Penny, who alerted Dot, who then summoned Liko and Roy for additional help. The team were finally able to expose one of the high-ranked members of the Explorers, Chalce, who had managed to disguise herself and secure a job as a teacher at the academy.

Explorers Admin Chalce disguised as a teacher at Naranja Academy.

However, Chalce wasn’t alone, and Sidian and Coral were soon summoned to stand in Liko and Roy’s way.

Liko’s Battle Against Sidian Showed Her Skill

Liko Fought Bravely to Defend Terapagos and Save the School

Liko recognized the effects of Salt Cure on a security guard, and immediately took off to track down Sidian of the Explorers, leaving her Hattrem behind to heal the unfortunate guard. As Liko confronted Sidian,he took notice of Terapagos in Liko’s bagand attempted to battle her with his Garganacl in order to take it from her, forcing Liko to defend herself. While Liko’s Floragato had the type advantage, Garganacl proved to be an exceptionally difficult opponent, making use of healing moves in order to regenerate any damage that Floragato managed to inflict.

Meanwhile, Grusha arrived at the academy and saw the remains of the Salt Cure, then followed Hattrem to a window from which they could see Liko’s battle taking place. Sidian used his Tera Orb to Terastallize his Garganacl, forcing Liko into a difficult position;having failed her exam, she wasn’t supposed to use Terastallization anymore, but the situation left her with no choice. Liko Terastallized Floragato and was finally able to overpower Garganacl with a Tera-boosted Magical Leaf, defeating Sidian. Unfortunately, the hack was complete by that point, and Sidian took the chance to escape.

Ash running out of a fire, carrying Erika’s Gloom.

Grusha called Liko to the principal’s office, where Clavell and Geeta were waiting along with him. Grusha apologized for failing Liko, noting that her skill in battle came out because she was defending something precious. As a result, Clavell and Geeta allowed Liko’s grade to be retroactively changed to passing, allowing her to keep her Tera Orb, partially as thanks for helping to defend the school from the Explorers.

Liko’s Heroic Actions Being Rewarded is Just Like Ash

Ash Often Benefited from Saving the Day

This turn of events is a familiar one for many fans of the anime, as something similar often happened to Ash Ketchum. Perhaps the first notable instance of this was Ash’s attempt to challenge Erika’s gym. Ash wasn’t faring too well in their battle, but the battle was interrupted when Team Rocket set the gym on fire. While Brock and Misty helped to fight the fire,Ash bravely ran back into the burning gym to rescue Erika’s Gloom, and was rewarded for his courage with the Rainbow Badge, despite their battle having been unfinished.

Impressing a Gym Leaderlike Erika or Grusha is no easy feat, and it seems Gym Leaders have a lot of leeway to determine just what actions are deserving of their approval, be that to earn a badge or to pass the academy’s Terastal course. Ash would go on to win most of his later badges the old-fashioned way, and fans will often debate to this day whether he deserved to receive the Rainbow Badge. It’s clear, though, that this is a perfectly legitimate way of obtaining a badge in the anime, even if it’s not an option within the video games.

If anything, Liko’s situation is a bit more straightforward than Ash’s, as Grusha still got to see her skill with Terastal in particular, which was the original goal of their battle. Like Ash, Liko has proved she’s at her best when she’s defending someone else, calling on all her experience and knowledge to protect that which is dear to her. It also proves that Liko really has grown stronger as a result of this Terastal course, as previously she hadn’t performed wellin battle against the Explorers. This kind of unconventional success was a trademark of Ash, and it seemsPokémon Horizonswill have Liko carrying that torch from now on.