It's wild how far Pokémon: Horizons has come. This final batch of episodes feels like the climax of this time skip and the entire Pokémon: Horizons series. While some things are glossed over or could've received more focus, I genuinely believe this might be one of the strongest climaxes that the franchise has ever had. The growth of all the characters, the setup for where they could eventually go next, and the emotions that inform everybody's actions feel exceptionally strong here. During the final episode in particular, I even found myself getting a little emotional, which shocked me despite my overall positive view of the series.

What makes this final batch of episodes so strong is that almost everybody gets a moment to shine or a moment of introspection. The series finally starts paying off the idea of legacy and forging a happy future with Pokémon from the main cast. Obviously this includes Liko, Roy, Amethio, and Dot, but even members of the Explorers start having their motivations tested. This is the first time the series goes into why some of them chose to follow a beautifully evil man like Spinel. Some feel they don't have a choice or are forcing themselves to be villains, which mirrors the show's heroes, who always try to optimistically believe in the bonds they forged with their Pokémon. It's very shounen and not breaking any new ground, but it's executed very well in both overt and surprisingly subtle ways.

This season continues to push Mega Evolution as one of the main gimmicks, but now it focuses more on how it directly parallels the inclusion of Laquium. Mega Evolution is a phenomenon built on a strong bond between the trainer and their Pokémon, while Laquium continuously erodes that bond. As the heroes grow stronger through training and evolutions, the way the game shows the Explorers slowly falling apart because their relationship deteriorates is handled extremely well. This, of course, culminates in Spinel being an absolutely fantastic villain for how far gone he's played up to be. In a lot of ways, he represents what I wish Gibeon represented last season, but I think that's kind of the point. Spinel reflects what characters like Gibeon and Amethio could have been if they hadn't found people who made them believe in those bonds or friendship. Matthew Mercer also does a fantastic job of giving this character a lot of presence despite his limited screen time. I do think the message could've hit a lot harder if I'd been allowed to see more of Spinel, which is ironically a complaint I had about Gibeon before the time skip, but in the end, his story comes together a lot stronger than Gibeon's.

A lot of this bond testing and planning culminates in a climax that feels like it carries a lot of weight, emotionally, thematically, and literally. It also helps that this batch of episodes might have the most consistently best-looking episodes of the entire season. The way certain moves and how Mega Evolution itself is showcased genuinely looks phenomenal, with a variety of distinct Pokémon getting their chance to shine by the end of this season. It truly does feel like everything has come full circle, as everyone's love of Pokémon fully defines who they are. In fact, some characters are handled so well I wish I got more time with the rest of the cast.

Some characters like Ult still arguably don't have their stories fully showcased, despite solid setup in previous episodes, and other characters just feel like they're there to move the plot along. The plot feels tightest here, and that looming sense of urgency makes it hard to have any significant downtime, but I guess that's more commentary on the arc as a whole than just this batch of episodes. Besides, there is technically more Pokémon: Horizons after this climax, so a lot of that development could still happen later on. The staff clearly wanted to keep the focus on that finale, and it's probably better off for it, even if I still feel like I wanted more.

One drawback of the finale, from a production standpoint, is the music. It's not that the musical compositions themselves are bad, with a variety of newly implemented themes and bombastic orchestrations. Rather, it's the timing and implementation of the music that sometimes took me out of the moment. Some scenes have music that's so aggressively loud and in my face during what feels like they are supposed to be quiet moments. I've complained about this for Pokémon as a whole in the past, where it almost feels like the series is afraid of letting the characters just talk, but this is the first time I feel like Horizons has been the most egregious with that business practice in particular. It's just a shame that this is happening during one of the most emotional parts of the series.

Season three of Pokémon: Horizons had a lot to juggle: new cast members, time skips, and specific gimmicks from relevant games. Still, the series had a clear story it wanted to tell. I have a lot of respect for Pokémon: Horizons, even if it could've gotten to this point a bit more seamlessly. I've grown to love this cast and their journey. I found myself cheering during this final confrontation, and I still smile at all the references to the rest of the franchise scattered throughout. This was a well-done finale to a multi-year story arc. I don't know what the future holds for Pokémon: Horizons, but at the very least, I've been very satisfied with the risks and passion this series pushed.