The status quo has shifted; the villains are in power, and the Rising Volt Tacklers are on the back foot. But now that they're finally back together, it's time to start launching a counterattack or at least start investigating what exactly has happened in the past year. The first batch of Pokémon: Horizons: Season 3 - Rising Hope episodes focused on establishing everyone's new positions. This batch sets up the next step in this journey while giving our cast much-needed character development. This part gives almost every member of the main cast, including some side characters, their own time to shine. Almost everyone gets at least one solidly built-up hype moment, while also laying the seeds for more development down the road. A general sense of hopelessness runs through this arc as the main cast is firmly in the underdog position, but I like that they still grow as they try to overcome insurmountable odds.

Of the main cast, Roy probably gets the least spotlight, which makes sense since he was frontloaded at the beginning of this new arc. Now he takes on a more supporting role. I like how his relationship with Ult is highlighted more here, foreshadowing the series potentially going into how they first met while also making it clear Roy still has a lot to learn as a leader when it comes to understanding his teammates. Ult definitely feels more fleshed out as a character after these episodes than he did at his introduction. Before, he came off as the louder, more abrasive shounen protagonist, and while he never really leaves that archetype, the show highlights where that attitude comes from. The loneliness and sense of belonging he craves come through here, even if the specifics of his backstory are a little confusing. Ult's desire to be accepted as part of something is physically represented by his desire to be worthy of a Pokémon left for him. That works well on paper and symbolically, but in execution, it's a little odd, considering he's trying to gain the acceptance of a Pokémon that seems to listen to him just fine. I hope future episodes will elaborate a bit more on what exactly that issue is.

However, with Amethio, everything is crystal clear. It is very much the Zuko arc from Avatar: The Last Airbender: a privileged boy losing all direction in life after being cast aside by the people and organization that gave him a sense of purpose, but it's still done really well here. It's one thing that he's been hiding since the Explorers have been after him, but another to follow through on the parallels he and Liko have had since the last arc to pull him out of his slump. If anything, I do feel like Amethio's arc is handled better than Liko's in part one. But the fact that these parallels are more physically represented in the Pokémon they have was a really nice touch. Given what the show is setting up, I'm really looking forward to seeing that character arc explored more later on.

Speaking of parallels, that is a consistent theme throughout the season; our protagonists are receiving Pokémon that act more as representations of where they are in the story. Liko's Charcadet acts as a rival and parallel to Amethio's Ceruledge as it tries to prove itself. Ult's mysterious Pokémon always hides away in its Pokéball to showcase his insecurities. Even Dot's new Gimmighoul better represents her becoming more outgoing as the series goes on. Dot's character arc feels like a natural extension of the arc she was already on, but it's still really solid, especially since she was one of my favorite characters from the last arc.

Thankfully, the presentation also took a massive step up from the last batch of episodes. There are some genuinely gorgeous animated hype moments throughout that really give a lot of these new Pokémon the gravitas they deserve. Only one episode felt stiff and lifeless, which is a shame because it was arguably a climactic point in the series. But aside from that, this is a more consistent step up from what I saw before. That includes the voice acting, which remains incredible. Daman Mills and Laura Stahl, in particular, get great material as Amethio and Ult, respectively, as the show explores darker layers of their characters. Also, a special shout-out to Larry Kenney for continuing to kill it as Might G.

Overall, this second batch of episodes is a step up from the last one in almost every way. The show still uses the time skip to tell a slightly more mature story; most of the cast gets a lot more depth, the symbolism is stronger, and the animation has greatly improved. Some things are still a little messy, and there's room to make it even better, but that's exciting in its own way. Seeing these characters come into their own has been a treat, and I'm curious what new direction they'll go in part three.