Pokémon Horizons Uses Its Gym Leaders Better Than the Franchise Ever Did

Warning: Spoilers for Pokémon Horizons Episode 55

Summary

Pokémon Horizonsmay not be about gathering gym badges, but the series has found an excellent way to utilize its Gym Leader characters: by making them into mentors. This has resulted in the main characters having much closer relationships to these Gym Leaders than Ash typically did, something that’s ultimately better both for these fan-favorite characters and the narrative as a whole.

The current story arc inPokémon Horizonshas seen Liko, Roy, and Dot traveling as part of their “Terastal Basics” course, with each of them having to meet up with a different Gym Leader and battle against them to prove their competence with the transformation mechanic known as Terastallization. For Roy and Dot, that meant associating with Brassius and Iono, respectively; Roy had battled Brassius once before and developed a friendly relationship with him, whileDot and Iono are streamer colleagueswith a history of collaboration.

Gym Leader Iono and Dot prepare for battle in front of a crowd of Naranja Academy students.

These existing relationships were leveraged for the Terastal course, reuniting Roy and Dot with their friends, but this time as instructors. They even ended up facing an Elite Four member in a double battle alongside their new mentor.

Gym Leaders Deserve to Be Fully Developed Characters

Pokémon Horizons Gives Gym Leaders the Respect They Deserve

One thing fans often lament aboutPokémongames is that, while Gym Leaders often have good designs and interesting personalities, they rarely factor into the story heavily, and these characters end up sitting on the sidelines. The anime has traditionally fleshed out Gym Leaders more than the games, but even the anime often only spotlights them for a few episodes at most, while Ash is in their immediate vicinity and preparing to battle them. There are exceptions, like Bea orKorrina, who even traveled with Ash and Pikachu for some time, but for the most part, Gym Leaders were relegated to small parts and not explored much.

SincePokémon Horizonsisn’t really about collecting gym badges, there was some debate about when or even if certain Gym Leaders might show up in the anime.This Terastal course has given the series a chance to show off some of these characters by pairing them closely with a protagonist, and using these Gym Leaders who’d appeared before was an excellent decision. It was certainly interesting to see Roy and Brassius battling side-by-side against Hassel, where Roy was able to put forth what he learned and, with Brassius' guidance, even fared well, despite ultimately losing.

Pokemon Horizons: Liko and Roy

I’ve Been a Fan of Pokémon’s Anime Since the Start, & Horizons is the Best the Series Has Been in Years

Pokémon Horizons is very different from what came before, but these differences have led to a quality series with more character development.

Dot and Iono managed to win their fight against Poppy, giving Dot a boost of confidence that she desperately needed. With these two, Iono encouraged Dot to act rather than freeze up, overcoming one of her biggest weaknesses in battle. Their existing friendship comes out in the battle, and their shared victory helps to deepen that relationship further. It wouldn’t be nearly as impactful if Dot were paired up with another Gym Leader; it’s a meaningful win because it was fought alongside Iono, who Dot looks up to.

By giving the Gym Leaders real relationships with the heroes, particularly mentor roles, fans are able to explore more of their characters and see just what it takes to berecognized as a Gym Leader besides battling talent.Pokémon Horizons' three heroes are still quite new to the world of battling, after all, and could use help in a way that Ash never really needed. It feels safe to assume that Roy and Dot’s relationships with Brassius and Iono will continue to develop throughoutPokémon Horizons, making them more important than almost any Gym Leader before them.