Step By Step! Dot And Quaxwell!! - Pokémon Horizons Episode 128 Review - New Quack On The Block

I grew up watching Korean variety shows, and one of the ones I watched always had the song Step by Step by New Kids on the Block playing on some occasions. Since this episode’s title has Step by Step in it, the song was playing in my head. Hence why the review’s title is a reference to the band.

As a whole, I really liked this episode! It’s one of the better battle-focused episodes recently. There aren’t multiple battles squished together, nor was it a guaranteed win. I was honestly worried that the writers might pull a twist and make Dot lose, but I'm glad they didn't. This is essentially a revenge match as the setting is similar to Dot’s previous battle with Iono in that it’s Quaxwell vs Bellibolt, everyone in the Rising Volt Tacklers are in the audience (minus Friede this time around), the duck learns a new move and Terastallizing happens. The only difference from then and now is that Dot won.

I did like that it was Iono who pulled Dot out of her slump. Out of everyone, it does make sense that she’d be the one to do so. While Dot is the closest to Liko and Roy, they’re also very considerate of her and she doesn’t know Ult well enough for him to be the trigger. In a way, Iono is also Dot’s personal rival. All Iono had to do was use her soft spot—her love for Quaxwell—to bait her.

Regarding the battle, it went a lot better than before. Since this is the anime, Iono spamming Thunder as many times as she wants is a bit more reasonable than doing it in game where it’s practically a game of chance. My favorite part was definitely the surprise twist of her making Bellibolt use Slack Off, and causing the audience to react comically. Quaxwell evolving into Quaquaval was also really good. I really liked how he was animated, and how he used Wave Crash. While the battle is a bit slow paced, it’s not choppy and it flowed well! I think they were saving budget for this battle as Quaxwell and Quaquaval are Pokémon that need to move around a lot in the battlefield.

Now that Dot has finally regained the courage to be a part of the crew again, she stays behind as Liko, Roy and Ult head to the Dragon's Den in the Johto region to visit the Black Rayquaza. People might be upset on why Dot isn’t joining them, but given how this match is a nod to her first Terastal Course exam, going to visit the Black Rayquaza is a nod to how Liko, Roy and Ult discovered its location. I honestly can’t wait to see what sort of battle awaits next week. Let me know your thoughts on this episode.