Important note: Spoilers are unmarked. Browse this page at your own risk.
Fridge Brilliance:
- So, why is a brand new Pokémon Professor present instead of Professors Sada or Turo? Well, with what happens in the games, there evidently needs to be an active Pokémon Professor here.
- In addition, why is the anime doing another world tour instead of a straight adaptation of the SV story? In SV, there's three stories you can do in any order you want (well, there is a level order to ensure you don't accidentally go up against a stronger opponent and get curbstomped) and a fourth story that's unlocked after you complete the first three. It's likely that they realized that being able to do three stories in any order you like, combined with Paldea's open world would be way too unwieldy for an anime adaptation, so they went with the world tour to keep things simple.
- Why is Liko's bag worn in front as opposed to her back? So there's an added layer of protection to prevent her pendant from being stolen.
- It seems strange to have Liko attend a school in Kanto rather than one of the two academies in her native Paldea. However, look at the episode numbers; she attends a school from the first generation region in the first episode, and only goes home to the ninth generation region in the ninth episode. The writers were cleverly playing up to homage where the series began, and where it will go next.
- It also seems the writers guessed that fans would speculate that Liko was somehow related to Ash given her hair pin is the exact same shape as the logo on his first hat. Despite contradictory information (i.e. her parents as mentioned attending Indigo Academy, her grandmother's obscured appearance not looking like Delia or any of the Pokégirl's mothers), the theory held somewhat held out as the show spent eight episodes defining her as being the exact opposite of Ash in terms of skill and personality. By that same token, Ash was the lead of the show for eight generations until he was retired as the lead before the ninth generation hit, and when Horizons hits its ninth episode to show the region of that generation, it puts the theory to bed that he's Liko's father by showing Alex, who looks almost nothing like Ash. In short, Horizons subtly reminded its viewers that the show would be focusing towards a new generation away from Ash and his friends.
- Fuecoco's song isn't just a personality quirk, it's an instinct. They are training to use Torch Song in the future!
- Unlike in past Pokémon series, there hasn't been as strong an emphasis on catching Pokémon, with Liko having been given Sprigatito and Roy's Fuecoco chooses to join him without a fight. But from a writing standpoint, this makes perfect sense; as of Generation 9, there are 1010 species of Pokémon in the franchise, with more on the way, as opposed to the original 151 when Ash started. With that many to choose from, even just limiting one's focus to Paldean Pokémon, it's not an easy pick for either character (unlike the players, who choose more often than not to catch all 1010 where possible), especially since the series has moved towards the idea of the Pokémon choosing their own trainers rather than the other way around.
- In the same way that Spinel acts like the Joker, Amethio could be considered the Pokémon franchise's version of Lex Luthor. Unlike the insane, sociopathic Spinel, who Would Hurt a Child and is wildly unpredictable as he is chaotic, Amethio is far more stoic, straightforward, and draws the line at using Liko's Sprigatito hostage, not wanting to actually hurt her or her Pokémon if he can avoid it. Furthermore, Spinel managed to steal the pendant because he would resort to brainwashing Liko and luring her away while simultaneously attacking the Brave Asagi, much like how Joker would have no qualms about beating Robin to death with a crowbar or poisoning Gotham's water supply with Titan while he turned his own men into monsters. Amethio, like Luthor, is so single-minded in his approach (trying to steal the pendant by brute force and one-up Friede in the same manner that Luthor tries to destroy Superman to prove his superiority) that he fails every time. Indeed, Spinel shows that there is a method to his literal madness, and gets the results because he would cross certain lines.
- Why does Friede's Charizard have a Dark-Tera Typing? Think about who he first uses it against — Spinel, who's the franchise's equivalent to The Joker. And what dark-clad caped crusader does Joker typically fight?
- Mitchell specializing in matcha-flavored sweets isn't a random choice: To get a Ruby Swirl Alcremie like Murdock's, you have to spin counterclockwise for more than 5 seconds during the day. To get Matcha Cream Alcremie, you spin clockwise for less than 5 seconds at night. Those two types are perfect opposites when you look at the evolution methods, which emphasizes the rivarly between the two.
- In Episode 36, Dot's Quaxly challenges an Oinkologne by dancing, which impresses the female Pokémon and has Dot/Nidothing wondering how Quaxly was able to pull off such moves. Just like Fuecoco's singing, dancing is part of the Quaxly line's nature and the first step (no pun intended) to eventually learn Aqua Step.
- Gibeon's Shiny Zygarde might seem odd at first, as to why would Gibeon have such a legendary under his control other than to market the upcoming Legends:ZA? But then you realise it's a perfect fit for multiple reasons other than Legends:ZA promotion.
- Zygarde is a Ground/Dragon-type. Many of the Explorers are named after gemstones and rocks used in the creation of jewelry. And many of these rocks are found in the ground.
- It's the perfect Foil to the Shiny Rayquaza that the Explorers are pursuing, since Rayquaza is a Flying/Dragon type compared to Zygarde's Ground/Dragon, with the two being opposing types, and both are also Shiny Legendary Dragon-types that act as a balance to the other members of a legendary trio. It would also be thematic to the Explorer's continuous failures to obtain the Shiny Rayquaza, as Flying is immune to Ground.
Fridge Horror:
- So the Big Bad of the Explorers, Gibeon, has a Shiny Zygarde and by extension, a Zygarde core loyal to him. As shown in XY, a single Zygarde core can transform into its 50% form. The 50% form was already enough to devastate a city, destroy entire kingdoms, and was overall borderline untouchable. Maybe there's a reason why Gibeon is feared by his subordinates...
