After the dramatic ending of episode two, this one was unfortunately anticlimactic. Friede's plan went exactly as he wanted it to, Liko got Sprigatito back with little fanfare and the Explorers came off as far more incompetent than they were last time. There's probably some big brain plan here, what with the tracker on the ship and Amethio accepting Friede's challenge when he didn't need to, but I expected at least one thing to go awry somewhere along the line. On the more positive side, Conia showed an actual personality, which bodes well for the future. Amethio's lackeys came off dry in the two-parter as they simply followed his orders, so I was glad to see at least one of them has more going on in their heads.The big takeaways from the episode was the reveal Friede and his crew were sent to be Liko's bodyguards while they take her to her mother in Paldea, and Liko buying into her being an actual Pokemon trainer and expanding her horizons (also, I believe she's taking remote lessons if she's out on an adventure, so hey, more chances to see Ann, I guess). The former is interesting because a) it means Liko's family are probably loaded and b) the true nature of the pendant isn't as mysterious to them as it is to Liko and the Volt Tacklers. It does beg the question why Liko was even sent to a Kanto school in the first place, but I'm sure this'll come up at some point in the future. There's clearly more going on with Liko's family than we initially thought.
As for Liko, they're doing a good job with her so far. She lacks the battle prowess to directly take part in the big action scenes, but they've still given her stuff to do so she isn't passive and letting others handle everything for her. When the time has come for her to battle, she's recognised how outmatched she is and focused on escaping rather than fighting a futile battle. It's highlighting a tangible strength she seems to have (actually using her brain) without dumbing down the antagonists too much.
The other character of note? Mollie! Looks like a Nurse Joy, had a bunch of medical supplies on order from a Pokemon Centre yet refused to go inside it and made Liko go and do it instead. I'll be damned if there's nothing going on there.
Some other takeaways:
- Friede: "No money, no adventures." Very true. Something's gotta be funding that giant airship.
- Seems Friede not sharing pertinent information with people is going to be a running gag.
- Liko's grandmother has too striking a design to not be involved at some point in the future.
- The theory that the old man is Nidothing lost some momentum. While Liko was watching a stream in the Pokemon Centre, the old man was fishing.
- Roy's here! And not living by himself, either. I've a feeling him and Friede will get on very well.
ncG1vNJzZmiapaGvorPAq5uepl6jsrV706GpnpmUqHypxo9pamaZo2K5sLrGZpisZZmieri106Fkp7GRnbyrrYyipGarpaeyb36YcGdsal8%3D