Summary
- Fan theories about Friede and his Charizard appear to have been confirmed in Pokemon Horizons.
- Friede and his partner Pokemon seemingly sacrificed themselves to save Captain Pikachu.
- Fans were worried after Friede was absent from the first look at the next arc which takes place after a time skip.
Pokemon Horizons confirmed it will do something it never did with Ash during the anime’s next arc and skip forward in time, aging up its characters in the process. The lack of Friede in the tease for its upcoming time jump had some fans fearing the worst about his fate, and it appears they were right to be fearful.
The Pokemon Horizons’ Search for Laqua arc finale aired in Japan last week. That means when it returns, the teased time skip will have taken place, rumored to be just a year after last week’s episode even though Liko and Roy look quite a bit older. The big moment from last week’s finale was Friede, a core character in Horizons since its inception, and his Charizard seemingly sacrificing themselves.
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The heroic act happens so that Friede’s Captain Pikachu can get back onto the airship with Liko and the rest of the crew rather than perish in the storm along with Friede and Charizard. Friede’s last words to his Pikachu are the trainer telling the Pokemon to look after everyone before he makes the sacrifice and he and Charizard disappear into the clouds. Liko notes that’s the last thing she saw at the end of her adventure.
Pokemon Horizons’ Latest Episode Was An Emotional One
Did We Just Say Goodbye To Friede And His Charizard?
The teaser for the next chapter in Horizons doesn’t include Friede, but Captain Pikachu is shown wearing the, potentially dead, trainer’s cracked goggles around him, hence the fear that a tragic ending to Friede and Charizard’s story was where we were headed. Some have been worried this was the direction Friede might be headed for longer as the most recent Horizons’ opening has the trainer walking into a bright light. The signs have been there for a while, it seems.
Add death to the topics the Pokemon anime is tackling for the first time via Horizons, even if Friede and Charizard’s fate wasn’t confirmed. This is probably as close as you’re going to get to an on-screen death in Pokemon’s TV show, though. Liko and the gang discovering Friede and Charizard’s bodies, confirming that neither will be back, is probably a step too far.
The ambiguity of them flying off into the clouds also leaves the door open for the pair to make a triumphant return. Although if they’re still absent after a year has passed, it seems pretty likely they’re gone for good. So, falling out of the sky can be fatal in the Pokemon universe. Team Rocket got off easy every time they were blasted off again if that’s the case.
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